Monday 30 December 2013

WORKOUTS YOU NEED TO DITCH IN 2014 (SORRY, ELLIPTICAL FANS)

A new list of common exercise
mistakes includes hour-long ca...

The last bits of holiday leftovers have
made their way to the trash, the
thought of another frosted cookie is
less than tempting, and our bodies are
actually craving movement beyond a
trip from the couch to the kitchen. Or
maybe, all the cooped-up family time
sparked enough motivation to start
tackling those New Year’s fitness
resolutions.
Related: The Four Week Workout to
Crop Top Worthy Abs
But if the elliptical is your go-to, if you
were thinking about finally trying out
that pole dancing class, or if you
resolved to go on an hour-long run
every morning, you may have to re-
think your 2014 workout strategy.
Health.com has come up with a list of
the workout habits we need to break.
It turns out there is a good reason I
am overcome with a pang of guilt
every time I choose the elliptical
machine over the treadmill, and why
the decision always coincides with the
days I actually don’t feel like
exercising. It doesn’t work. Or at least
not as well as a machine that emulates
natural motions like running or
jumping. Sorry if you thought you
were a natural-born glider.
That said, an hour on the treadmill
catching up on reality TV isn’t going to
do the trick either. Those long and not-
too-much sweat inducing workouts
need to be replaced with short, non-
stop, intense strength training sessions
rather than cardio. It’s all about in-
and-out exercise and switching up our
routines each time we work out. Not
actually bad news for a busy working
woman with a short attention span.
Related: A Flat Tummy by New Year's
in Five Steps
So it's not the year of the gym rat.
We’ve got to give up the lollygagging,
because not-so-surprisingly,
Health.com also reports that hanging
around chatting and texting does not
burn calories. But that doesn’t mean
the gym can’t be social: 2014 is all
about no longer working out alone. It’s
the year we’ll all find that gym
partner we’ve been looking for.
With this new regimen, it's also about
what you're not doing. Limit yourself
to 15 to 30 second breaks—another
bad habit you may have picked up. No
more sugar and calorie-filled sports
drinks, either—it’s time to return to
our good old water roots.
As we usher out our bad workout
habits, it’s also time to bid adieu to
some workouts entirely. Today’s
Health declares the pole dancing
workout dead, despite Jennifer
Aniston’s stellar performance in We’re
the Millers. And along with it, its
slightly less sexy cousin, the stiletto
workout. For the less ladylike (and for
those sick of hearing about Tough
Mudder), good news! The “Mud,
Obstacles, Beer” endurance challenge
and gas mask training are seeing their
last days. And finally, it's time to turn
(back around) on the backwards
walking trend.

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