Best Rowing Machine Tips.

Rowing machines are pieces of exercise equipment that simulate rowing a boat indoors. You use the rowing machine by taking a seat and using your upper body to propel you backwards. Muscles used during a rowing workout include the arms, legs and core. According to Fitness for Life, a website from exercise education author and fitness coach Roy Palmer, you can burn as many as 800 calories in an hour of strenuous rowing.

• Position Your Body Correctly:

Good form ensures that you are getting the best possible workout without putting stress on the joints. Start by sitting down and placing your feet securely on the foot pads. Bend your knees slightly, so that your legs form a triangle shape. Lean your hips forward while keeping your back straight. Grab the handles and keep your elbows at your sides. Push off with your feet to fully extend your legs. Straighten your arms and bend your knees to return to starting position.


•Choose the Right Resistance:

Although you may want to challenge yourself, you don’t want to choose a resistance level that is too high for your fitness ability. The Fitness for Life website recommends resistance levels that allow you to row smoothly at a fast pace. Start with a lower level and move up as your muscles adapt to the workout. Lower resistance can also help you work on maintaining good form.

•Rotate the Hands:

If you plan to use the rowing machine for an extended amount of time, your hands and arms may grow tired from maintaining the same position. To prevent this from occurring, you should alternate between an underhand and overhand grip on the handlebars.

•Interval Training:

To burn more calories and use the rowing machine effectively, work faster strokes into your routine. For instance, keep a steady pace of 30 strokes per minute for three minutes. Then, add in one minute of rowing at 35 strokes per minute. Recover at a rate of 25 strokes per minute.

4 Workout To Get a Superman Chest.

Getting a chest that looks like the Superman superhero involves utilizing a variety of chest exercises, such as the pushup, which defines, tones and enlarges your chest muscles. A developed chest often makes your waist appear smaller, particularly if you simultaneously gain muscle while losing excess body fat through healthy eating and aerobic exercise.

• Strategies:

A superman chest workout involves more than just one exercise. Your chest muscle is not just one singular muscle, but a group of muscles that work together. When designing a chest workout, select exercises that work your pectoralis major and minor muscles, as well as your rotator cuff.

The pectoral muscles cover the upper part of your chest, with the pectoralis major muscle sitting on top of the pectoralis minor muscle. Your rotator cuff functions to hold the bones in your upper arm into your shoulder.

1- Planks and Pushups:

Both planks and pushups focus on your chest muscles, and each has the added benefit of strengthening your core. Perform pushups on the floor or by utilizing a stability ball. When you perform your pushups with a stability ball, the instability of the ball makes the pushup more challenging. Place your hands on either side of the ball, and push your body away from and back toward the ball. Plank exercises involve holding your body in a straight line with only your hands and toes coming into contact with the floor. Set a goal of holding the plank position for 60 to 90 seconds. Use a stability ball to perform planks for increased difficulty.


2- Dumbbell and Seated Flys:

Dumbbell and seated flys both work your chest muscles. Lay down on a weight bench with a dumbbell in each hand. Extend your arms away from your body, keeping your elbows almost locked. Lower the dumbbells a few inches toward the floor, then lift your hands in the air, bringing them close together. Use a machine fly to perform a seated fly. Put your hands directly in back of the pads on the machine, then push your hands together causing the pads to meet. Control the movement back to your original starting position.

3- Barbell Incline Bench Press:

The bench press builds up your pectoralis major and upper chest muscles, giving you the well-built superman chest. Begin with lighter barbells and work your way up to heavy weights. Lay back on the incline bench. Using a wide overhand grip, lift the barbell from the rack. Lower the barbell to your chest, then lift in a smooth motion until your arms are completely extended. Repeat the exercise according to your workout plan.


4- Dip Variations:

Dips and their variations work all of your chest muscles, including both pectoralis muscles. In the beginning, you may need to use a dip assist machine, rather than parallel bars, as this chest-building exercise takes strength you may not yet possess. Once you can perform dips on the dip assist machine, move to the parallel bars. Suspend yourself in midair with your elbows locked and hands grasping the parallel bar. Slowly lower yourself toward the ground by bending your elbows. Keep your feet off the ground, and lift yourself back to your starting position. Add a weight belt to make the dip more challenging.

6 Quick Tips To Avoid Injury In The Gym.

Generate an injury in training is easier than many people realize. There is no "closed body" within the academy, sooner or later an injury can "get" you. See a short list with 6 quick tips to avoid injury in the gym.

1 - Make a medical check up:

Nowadays no one does it, but if you have questions about their health or is leading a sedentary life, consider a check up before you start training hard or some problems may appear and generate a delay in their earnings.

2 - Heating:

Always do a warm up before you start training. There are 10 minutes can save you weeks without training. You can do 10 minutes of mild aerobic to circulate blood and some series weightless only to heat the ligaments that will be used in training.

3 - Use tabs:

Use clips in bars so that the weight does not fall during the year. It sounds silly, but many people are distracted and end up dropping the weights of a side of the bar and causing injury.

4 - Ask for help when needed:

Avoid trying to increase the burden of compound exercises like squats, bench press and others, without the help of someone. You can not take it and end up injuring some ligament trying to return the weight to support.

5 - Good run forever:

Do not sacrifice the quality of the exercise by the amount of charge. Execution weak, poor results.

6 - If you have doubt, do not:

If you have questions about performing an exercise, do not try to do alone, ask someone more experienced help before doing anything you're not sure how to do.

Best Ways To Gain Muscle Or Lose Fat.

We all know what to do to gain muscle or lose fat, yet difficult is precisely in the "to" and the small details. If it were easy, everyone would be having results but is not quite how things work. Next, see 15 Ways to amplify your results in the gym directly and indirectly, said simply and without hypocrisy.

1) Eliminate once refined sugar from your diet. This crap will not make you well in any occasion. With a little intelligence, you can replace it with other infinitely healthier things and still bring you benefits within the academy.

2) Control the consumption of processed foods. For those unaware, processed foods are all foods produced by man, without being directly from nature. Eg chips, cookies and other industrialized things.

3) If you burn money with supplements, choose the basic, which have proven efficacy. As whey protein, creatine, multivitamins, vitamin C, fish oil, etc ...

4) Drink at least 2 liters of water on a maximum 4. Take water is not cliché phrase to be healthy, the water plays a key role in the body, particularly if you train in order to gain muscle mass.

5) Eliminate the consumption of soft drinks. In addition to also being processed, most of refrigerants containing horsy amounts of sugar and other substances which will delay its results.

6) Sleep always at the same time to establish a sleep pattern, thus increasing the rest and muscle recovery.

7) Computer Drop a few hours before bedtime. The display generates stimulus too in some glands of the brain and can fuck with your rest.

8) Stop thinking too much about what is the best workout and diet, as they forget the basics, which is what really produces results.

9) Pay attention to the environment you sleep, especially when it comes to hygiene. This is the environment you spend a third of your life and is the main place where muscle recovery is generated.

10) keep the same workout more than one month before it is impossible to know if the training is effective or not. Jumping from branch to branch, only delay its earnings.

11) Try to keep track of your workout progress record, to try to understand what exercises are generating more results.

12) Take the sun for 20 minutes without sunscreen, during safe times. This will cause your body generates vitamin D, one of the most important vitamins to aid in muscle hypertrophy.

13) Avoid excessive accumulation of fat in the off-season (bulking). This will only weaken their ability to gain muscle mass. If you already have a considerable amount of fat, lose first before you focus on hypertrophy.

14) Cut up with negative people. This will generate no benefit in your life or your goals within the academy.

15) Control stress. Do not take life so seriously, high levels of stress in addition to reducing your life, still hinder its results in training.

The Best Upper-Body Workout Machine Routine.

Weight machines are generally targeted more toward beginners, or those recovering from injuries, but they can be useful for anyone. Machines allow you to concentrate more on individual muscle groups by removing the total-body stability aspect of free weights; plus, it's quicker to transition between weight machines and change the load of an exercise with one movement of a pin. When training your upper body with machines, ensure your routine is balanced and progressive.

• The Perfect Plan:

Working your upper-body muscles in proportion is vital. It can be easy to focus on the "mirror" muscles such as the pecs and biceps, but keep in mind that you do have other muscle groups, too. Include two chest exercises, one shoulder move, two back exercises and one exercise each for biceps and triceps. A typical routine could include machine chest presses, the pec fly machine, seated shoulder presses, lat pulldowns, machine chest-supported rows, preacher curls and triceps extensions.


• Cable Considerations:

Consider adding cable machine exercises into your workout. The benefit of the cable machine is that you can change the direction and height of the force; they also maintain tension on the muscle throughout the entire exercise. They're also versatile, writes trainer James Stoppani in the "Encyclopaedia of Muscle and Strength." Swap two or three regular machine exercises for cable exercises. You could get rid of pec flyes, machine rows and machine triceps extensions, for instance, and replace them with cable crossovers, seated one-arm cable rows and overhead cable extensions using a rope attachment.

• Strength Versus Endurance:

Aim for a variety of repetition ranges in your workout. Traditionally, heavy weights and lower reps are considered best for strength gains, while lighter loads for higher rep sets are judged best for endurance. While this is true, mixing up your rep ranges keeps your training fresh and challenging. Perform your first chest, shoulder and back exercise for five sets of six to eight reps each, then your second exercise for chest and back, plus your two arm moves, for three sets of 15. Do this for four weeks, aiming to add weight or reps each session, then reverse the order in weeks five to eight by going higher rep on your first lot of exercises and lower rep on your second.

•The Machine Routine:

Machines can be highly effective, but you need to pick the right ones, warms strength coach Charles Poliquin. Watch out for biceps curls and triceps extensions that don't have adjustable seats; lateral raise and pec dec machines where you can't position the handles to suit your biomechanics; and be careful not to round your back when grabbing the handle for seated machine rows. If you hit a plateau in training and can't move up to the next level on a machine, consider switching to a similar machine for a few weeks, or attach a smaller 2.5- or 5-pound plate to the weight stack using the adjustable pin.

Fitness : The Most Common Habits That Affect Testosterone.

Low testosterone is an increasingly common problem, and do not think that being young you are out of this, as are most of the problems not caused by age or pre-existing conditions, but by bad habits that dramatically affect the levels this hormone.

Then see, the main symptoms of the most common followed habits that affect testosterone.

•Main symptoms
•Excessive tiredness
•Lack of energy to perform daily tasks
•Discouragement
•Humor unstable
•Depression
•Low sex drive
•Unsatisfactory erections
•Low immunity
•Fat gain unusual
•Loss of muscle mass and strength.

Testosterone plays a very important role in our body that is not just to control how much muscle mass can have and maintain adequate levels of this hormone are essential to maintain the health and quality of life.




 As much as you think "quality of life" is a matter for women's magazine, know that their well-being in general can affect all areas of life that directly and indirectly will hinder your training, so this is something that we must worry.

Top Habits  That Generate Testosterone  Fall:

•Lack of rest (sleep incorrectly)
•Stress
•Industrial products in the diet
•Lack of good fats in the diet
•Practice very often and / or volume
Completely avoid saturated fats and cholesterol.

With the above list can not only discover how to prevent testosterone decrease, but also to avoid them, amplify your natural production.

Look for an endocrinologist
With the symptoms you can get an idea of ​​the problem, but only a doctor can tell whether the testosterone is really low and how much it is below normal, and can also find out other causes for the problem.

The Best Weight Lifting Routine For Females.

There truly is no "best" weight lifting routine for women, because any number of training programs can get similar results. In fact, you should switch your lifting routine every four to six weeks to force your body to adapt to new training stimuli. Women do not need to train differently than men, according to "The Female Training Bible." Besides having one-sixteenth of the testosterone of men, women's bodies respond to training in a very similar way, except that they cannot gain much muscle mass due to their hormonal profile. However, targeting training for growth hormone-release may help women because it plays an important role in their muscles' recovery process.

÷ Build and Burn Super-Sets:

For this weight lifting routine, you will utilize super-sets, which are done by performing one exercise and then immediately doing another with very little rest between them. The weekly breakdown might look like this:

 Shoulders on Monday, arms on Tuesday, legs on Wednesday, chest on Thursday and back on Friday. For each day and muscle group, you choose one to three super-sets, each made up of three sets with 12, 10 and eight repetitions respectively. For your back for example, you choose two super-sets, combining pull-ups and straight-arm pull-downs into one and bent-over rows and machine pull-overs into the other. On the first super-set you would do a 12-rep set of pull-ups, rest 30 seconds, do a 12-rep set of straight-arm pull-downs, rest 30 seconds, do a 10-rep set of pull-ups, rest 30 seconds and continue alternating until you have completed three sets of each for the prescribed number of reps. Then proceed to the bent-over rows and machine pull-over super-set and do the same thing.

÷ 10 X 10 Workouts:

The 10X10 weight lifting routine is very simple, but can provide quick and impressive results, according to "The Ultimate 10X10 Mass Workout." This program crunches a lot of exercise volume, meaning sets and repetitions, into a short amount of time. It also helps to trigger the lactic acid response of the body, which stimulates more GH, or growth hormone production. Since women produce only a fraction of the testosterone of men, their bodies rely more heavily on GH for muscle recovery. This routine follows a four-day cycle, after which you should rest at least a day, if not two, before repeating the program. The first day you work arms and shoulders, the second day targets legs and abs, the third day is a rest day and the fourth is chest and back. Each day you pick one compound exercise for each muscle group being trained and you do 10 sets of 10 repetitions, resting 30 to 60 seconds between sets. Pick a weight you can lift for 15 reps so that you do not reach muscle failure. For example, on chest and back day, you might do 10 sets of 10 reps on the bench press and then finish with 10 sets of 10 reps at the lat pull-down machine.

How To Build Up Leg Muscles.

Leg strength is essential to many sports and recreational activities, such as soccer, martial arts and weightlifting. Although there are various methods to increase the size and strength of your legs, the best ways to build them up would depend on your goals, fitness condition and what you play.

1- One at a Time:

The isolation technique often focuses on one muscle group and one joint at a time rather than moving several of them together. Sample exercises include the leg extension, leg curls and calf raises. By isolating these muscle groups -- usually with a machine -- with minimal movement in other body parts, you can apply more resistance upon the muscle you're training. This can stimulate more muscle growth than multi-joint exercises, such as squats and lunges. Although isolation exercises don't translate well with sports skills and multi-joint movements, they are ideal for those who want to increase specific muscle size, such as bodybuilders and fitness models.

2- Go Full Body:

A larger muscle doesn't always mean that it's stronger or faster. Isolation leg exercises don't train your body to move to specific sports and activity skills and may hinder your performance. This is based on the SAID principle, which stands for specific adaptation to impose demands. For example, sitting on a machine and doing leg curls doesn't coordinate your hamstrings to work with the rest of your body when you kick a soccer ball. To improve your performance and skill, you must perform the specific skill itself or an exercise that closely mimics the skill. Compound exercises, such as deadlifts, squats, step-ups and lunges, coordinate your leg muscles to work together. These exercises often mimic the foot positions and movement patterns that are common in most daily activities and sports.

3- Eccentric Strength:

During resistance training, your muscles contract concentrically and eccentrically, which refers to the shortening and lengthening of muscle fibers under tension, respectively. Whether you use the isolation or compound method, emphasize on the eccentric contraction because the amount of force that lengthens the muscle is greater than concentric contractions, according to exercise physiologist Len Kravitz, Ph.D. This stimulates a greater increase of muscle growth. For example, lift the resistance at a rate of one to two seconds and lower at a rate of three to six seconds.

4- Recovery and Timing:

Proper nutrition and timing optimize your ability to increase muscle size and performance. Dr. Kravitz recommends that you consume a meal consisting of proteins and carbohydrates within 45 minutes after your workout. This replenishes your carbohydrate stores into your muscles and helps repair damaged muscle fibers immediately. The ratio of proteins to carbs should be a one-to-three ratio. Within the next one to three hours, consume another protein and carbohydrate meal at a five-to-one ratio. Consult with a sports dietitian to help you personalize your meals to obtain the optimum amount of nutrients you need to achieve the results you want.

5 Tricks To Help Build Muscle.

Most people are not blessed with the ability to lose weight and gain muscle very quickly. Yes, genetics plays a big part in this, but they aren’t crucial. The biggest problem is that a large number of people don’t exercise properly or pay any attention to their eating and sleeping habits. In this article we will show you 5 great tricks to help build muscle.

1 – Eat Every 3 Hours:

Nutritionists say that if you don’t eat very often, you are actually limiting the rate at which your body builds new proteins. By eating every three hours you are maximizing this number. Just make sure you consume protein in every meal (20-25 grams).

2 – Go Easy on the Carbs After a Workout:

Carbs are great on your rest days, as they help your body rebuild muscle faster. However, researches have found that you should go easy on the carbs after a workout, as they can slow down the rate of protein breakdown. Instead, opt for a peanut butter sandwich, a sports drink, or a banana.


3 – Eat More Protein:

This may sound obvious, but you’ll be surprised by how many people don’t change their diet (or make an insignificant change) when they start exercising. If you’re trying to pack on muscle, you simply need to consume more protein. Try eating 1 gram of protein per pound of your body weight. Aim for the groceries that are rich in protein – cottage cheese, eggs, milk, nuts, fish and of course, meat.

4 – Exercise Your Biggest Muscles:

A good amount of quality sleep is essential if you want to build your muscles faster. Rest improves your growth hormone profile, and allows your muscles to fully recover. It will allow you to train harder and make progress. Some people might need less sleep than others, but generally aim for 7-9 hours of quality sleep every day.

5 – Get More Quality Sleep:

A good amount of quality sleep is essential if you want to build your muscles faster. Rest improves your growth hormone profile, and allows your muscles to fully recover. It will allow you to train harder and make progress. Some people might need less sleep than others, but generally aim for 7-9 hours of quality sleep every day.

Fitness: 9 Weight-Lifting Tips For Beginners.

A lot of guys hit the weights without knowing the first thing about resistance training. This lack of knowledge can delay results and even cause injury, so it’s important to have an idea of what you’re doing and why. Use these basic weight-lifting tips and tricks to help you get started on a weight-training routine:

1. Choose a Goal:

Having a goal is mandatory for all beginners. Not only will it define what direction you want to go in, but it will also determine what exercises you will need to do in order to achieve your goals. Whether your goal is to bulk up significantly or blast fat, always keep it in mind to motivate and guide you.

2. Be Positive:

With your end goal end in mind, now it’s time to get to work. Stay focused and determined by finding someone to work out with – a close friend or a personal trainer are both great choices. It also helps if you post something up on your wall that keeps track of your progress. Be proud of yourself for taking the first step toward your goal of a dream body.

3. Know Your Limits:

Start off with something light — even world renowned body builders had to start somewhere. Remember that fewer reps and heavier weights build muscle, while more reps and lighter weights, in turn, confer definition. Doing too much too soon can cause injury and sideline you for days, weeks or even months. Start off slow and build from there. For a structured exercise plan.

4. Keep Increasing The Weight:

Although you should start off light, you shouldn’t become stagnant. Getting in shape is all about increasing your repetitions and weight, so try to add at least ten pounds a month, or more, to your exercises. By continually challenging your body like this, you’ll avoid a plateau and keep seeing results. For a performance boost, you may want to consider a creatine supplement, which can provide your muscles with extra energy for more reps and power.

5. Don’t Work The Same Muscle Group  Two Days In a Row:

Your body needs a chance to recuperate. Working the same group of muscles twice in a row burns your muscles out and doesn’t give them the chance to repair and strengthen. In fact, this can actually weaken your muscles. If you worked on your legs today, then work another part of your body tomorrow.

6. Don’t Forget To Work Your Legs:

Having a huge upper body with a small lower body not only looks awkward, it is also dysfunctional. While most people are mainly concerned with having big arms and tight abs, it is crucial to include lower body workouts as part of your routine. To help you carve a solid lower body, check out “How to Build Better Glutes.”

7. Stretch & Flex:

Stretching before and after a workout can help prime your body for exercise and may even prevent some injuries. Do a combination of static and dynamic stretching for best results. After stretching at the end of your workout, you should consider taking a post-workout supplement to help speed up recovery.

8. Keep Proper Posture:

Working out with poor posture is almost as bad as not working out at all. Always practice proper form. Slouching and other habits that can affect your form may increase your risk of injury – not to mention post-workout soreness. Once you feel your form heading south, put the weights down.

9. Practice Proper Nutrition:


Proper nutrition is the only way that you will be able to gain muscle and appreciate the toning that working out gives you. Workout supplements, in particular, can help you get the results you want.

5 Best Free-Weight Exercises For Men.

Achieving an incredibly lean physique does not have to be difficult. Many men are often bombarded with complicated exercise routines and equipment when trying to shed fat and achieve an awesome beach body.

For a basic routine, there are only five free-weight based compound movements that men need to engage in to transform their appearance. These five movements to recruit several muscle groups and simultaneously flood the body with anabolic hormones like testosterone. Make sure you take the right workout supplements like creatine and whey protein to get maximum results.

1- The Squat:

Known as the “King of Lifts,” the squat is the best compound movement that recruits the glutes, hamstrings, quads, core (obliques, abs, lower back and hip flexors), and calves. Many strength coaches like Charles Poliquin recommend squats as a necessary exercise to increase speed, power, balance, flexibility and — more importantly — shed body fat! Squats are the most effective when you go to or dip below 90 degrees.

Variations of Squats — Back Squats, Front Squats, Bulgarian Split Squats

2-The Deadlift:

Ronnie Coleman, several time winner of the Mr. Olympia, credits the deadlift to developing a massive back. This movement is a highly functional strength movement that mimics picking up heavy objects off the ground. The deadlift primarily recruits the glutes and hamstrings. The core is also involved in order to pick up the loaded barbell. Deadlifts also strengthen the traps, upper back and shoulders.

Variations of Deadlifts — Traditional Deadlift, Romanian Deadlift, Sumo Deadlift

3-Presses:

Perhaps one of the most favorite free weight exercises commonly performed by men is the bench press. This movement helps develop a massive chest, but also recruits the core, triceps, biceps, upper back and shoulders. Presses can also be performed using dumbbells.

Variations of Presses – Flat, Incline and Decline Bench Presses, Supinated Dumbbell Presses, Shoulder Presses, Military Presses

4-Chin Ups:

Chin Ups, often confused with traditional pull ups, is a very dynamic compound movement that requires one to pull one’s body weight up utilizing not only the biceps, but the upper back. The core is also used help stabilize the body during the chin up.

Variations of Chin ups – Neutral, Pronated, Supinated Grip Chin Ups, Loaded Chin Ups (weight attached to belt).

5-Rows/Pulls:

Row or Pull movements, similar to Chin Ups, primarily recruit the upper back, biceps, and posterior deltoids. Similar to all other exercises, the core is used to help balance the body and concentrate on the main muscle groups.

Variations of Rows/Pulls – Lat Pull Downs, Seated Rows, Dumbbell Rows, Barbell Rows, Cable Rows.

How To Breathe During Exercise Bodybuilding?

If this question is asked a teacher experienced weight, it is common to hear the following answer: "just breathe" ...

This simple and objective response aims to encourage students, especially beginners, to create a continuous pattern of breathing during exercise series, thus avoiding the Valsalva maneuver.

The Valsalva maneuver is understood by a blockage of the glottis that prevents the expiration of the inhaled air, resulting in increased intra-abdominal pressure (chest), decreased venous return and increased blood pressure. For this reason it is advisable that realization is avoided in order to educate beginners and special groups such as hypertensive.

However, it is common to observe experienced individuals on weight training performing this maneuver because of increasing intra-abdominal pressure, which provides security to the spine and help in performing exercises with heavy loads. In such cases, the maneuver happens involuntarily. Note that this technique should only be applied by advanced students. In beginning to intermediate students, breathing should always be continuous.

As the pattern of breathing, this can be classified into two types, depending on the phase in which they inhale and exhale:

Active breathing: draws during the concentric phase and expires during the eccentric phase of the movement.

Passive breath: draws during the eccentric phase and exhale during the concentric phase of the movement.

Generally, the active and passive breaths are used in exercises that push and pull, respectively, however, this is not a rule. In fact, there is no consensus in the literature on what would be the best way to breathe during exercise.

Some scholars recommend, preferably, the adoption of passive breathing during exercise, especially in hypertensive and other special groups.

The most sensible, in my view, is that students are instructed to breathe so that there is as comfortable as possible, with a ratio of one respiratory cycle (inspiration and expiration) for each repetition, regardless of the type for which it was decided (active or liabilities).

Fat Torching Tips.

Whether you're chasing the last 5 pounds or seeking the motivation to get started, our top 10 fat torching tips can help you reach your goal.

1. Try Tabata

This high intensity training approach burns fat fast. Create your Tabata circuit as a series of bodyweight exercises like squats, press-ups and burpees. Work at maximum intensity for 20 seconds, then rest for 10 seconds before moving on to the next exercise.

2. Play to Your Strengths

Strength training sessions - lifting heavy dumbbells and barbells - should feature in your programme 3 times per week. Lean muscle mass is more metabolically active than fatty tissue, so the more you build, the more you burn.

3. Sprint to the Top

Sprint intervals push your body into its anaerobic system for short bursts. By switching between energy systems, your body becomes more efficient at using fuel - including calories stored in the body.

4. Go For a Spin

Indoor cycling classes like LA Spin or RPM are demanding. You're guaranteed a serious calorie burner, involving high intensity interval training and serious toning benefits.

5. Protein Punch

Make sure every meal includes a complete protein source like lean meat, fish, poultry or eggs. Complete proteins contain amino acids, necessary to build and repair the muscle tissue that fuels your fat-burning furnace.

6. Get Moving

An active lifestyle outside the gym will keep you feeling energised and help you maintain a healthy weight. Pick up a pedometer to monitor your progress and aim to hit 10,000 steps per day.

7. The "Big Bang"

So-called "big bang" exercises recruit multiple major muscle groups, burning serious calories - and building muscle - in just a short session. Try squats, lunges and deadlifts.

8. Stress Less

The stress hormone cortisol is notorious for its relationship with high levels of abdominal fat. Try calming your body and mind with yoga sessions, and improve your sleep schedule by powering down at least an hour before bedtime.

9. Limit Sugar

Excess sugar sets off a number of harmful processes in the body. The liver can only digest a certain amount of the stuff before it starts turning into fatty acids, which then get stored throughout the body.

10. CrossFit

Try a new challenge. Combining gymnastic movements, strength training and an element of competition, CrossFit workouts will get you in the best shape of your life.