By avoiding these common blunders, you’ll put yourself on the fast track to results. Check out the following 5 fitness mistakes and the solutions you need to avoid danger and to get fit fast.

Mistake 1: You use the wrong weight

The goal is to challenge your muscles, not to simply go through the motions. If you are able to complete 15 repetitions easily, then the weight is too light. On the flip side, if you aren’t able to perform an exercise through its full range of motion, and find yourself cheating on form, then the weight is too heavy.

The correct weights will feel challenging by your last few repetitions, but won’t force you to sacrifice form.

Mistake 2: You do the same routine

You may have noticed that most people do the same exercises each time they visit the gym. Maybe you’ve been doing the same exercise routine as long as you can remember – if it isn’t broken then don’t fix it, right?

The truth is that exercise routines have expiration dates, and that is the date that they begin to lose their effectiveness. As a rule of thumb never use the same routine for more than 4 weeks.

Mistake 3: You don’t warm up

Most people consider warm up time to be wasted time – they’d rather jump right into the heart of the routine. What they don’t realize is that a good warm up will allow you to perform at a higher intensity, which means greater results.

The point of a warm up is to increase your muscle temperature. This increases blood flow, muscle contraction and reduces muscle resistance. Your warm up should last 5-10 minutes.

Mistake 4: You use bad form

Gyms are filled with people performing exercises with bad form. The two biggest reasons are that you aren’t concentrating on the exercise, or you’re trying to lift weight that is too heavy. Lifting with improper form almost always results in injury.

Take the time to achieve proper form, by doing so you’ll avoid injury and will reap the full benefit from each exercise.

Mistake 5: You workout alone

People who exercise alone are less challenged, less accountable and typically see fewer results. It makes sense, doesn’t it? Why rush to the gym if no one is there waiting for you? Why push yourself if no one is watching? Exercising alone is a recipe for disaster.

The best way to avoid injury and to see results is to work with me, your trusted source on fitness. I am passionate about seeing my clients achieve results – without wasting time, energy and effort on mistakes.

Give a try at the Express Fat Loss System and start to get results.  I will personally Guarantee That This Book Will Change Your Life. Accept my 60 Days Satisfaction Guarantee and get your money back if you are not happy!!!

Seriously, you’ve gotta check out this recipe from my partners over at Prograde. Tell me that popsicle doesn’t look SOOO good!

It’s simple to make, too.

Home Made Protein Popsicles recipe

Keep Moving, Stay Fit,

But what’s the truth of the matter here?

Is empty stomach cardio really one of the best exercises for weight loss or does it really matter when you do your cardio training as long as you get it in?

Let’s look at a few of the most important things to remember when it comes to empty stomach cardio training.

Overall Workout Program Set-Up

The first thing you should think about when deciding if this is one of the best exercises for weight loss for you is what the overall design of your workout program looks like.  If you’re using a workout program that calls for you to be in the gym four days of the week, chances are pretty high that this doesn’t leave you a lot of time to get in your cardio workouts as well.

Since you really shouldn’t be performing cardio workouts before your weight lifting workouts, that does tend to mean that you will be better off performing empty stomach cardio first thing in the morning to get it out of the way.

If you can do that and then include your weight lifting workouts later on in the day after work or school, that will likely be the most ideal set-up.

Diet Plan Design

Second, also look at your diet plan design. If you are using a rather lower calorie and carbohydrate diet, you may not need empty stomach cardio in order to successfully lose belly fat.  In this case your body is likely burning off enough body fat as it is so if you can just maintain your current diet and focus on good weight lifting workouts, you’ll do fine.

Remember, diet and cardio go hand in hand. The stricter you are with your diet, the less cardio you will have to do overall.  Likewise, if you want to relax a bit more with your diet, then you will likely have to do a bit more cardio to make up for it.

Intensity Of Cardio To Be Performed

Finally, one thing that you must know about this one of the exercises for weight loss is that you should never aim to perform a high intensity cardio session without eating first.

This form of cardio really does rely on glucose for fuel so if you haven’t eaten before hand, it’s going to be incredibly difficult to maintain the degree of intensity that you’ll likely want to work at.

Moderate intensity cardio is fine on an empty stomach but save the higher intensity interval cardio training for times when you have eaten before hand.

So keep these quick tips in mind for your cardio training. It’s one of the exercises for weight loss that can be very effective but only when used in the right manner.

Take control of your progress and learn the best exercises for weight loss.

Be sure to stop by ExpressFatLoss.com to pick up your FREE Fat Loss and Weight Loss Myths Buster Report.

Quinoa is quite possibly the perfect thing to have for breakfast to start your day off on the right foot. You can use this easy recipe for a Post Workout Meal as well.

Servings: 1

Here’s what you need:

• 1/2 cup quinoa, cooked in water according to instructions on package

• 1 Tablespoon golden raisins

• 1 Tablespoon date pieces, chopped

• 1 Tablespoon pecan pieces, chopped

• Dash of cinnamon

• Dash of nutmeg

• Drizzle of pure maple syrup

1. Top cooked quinoa with raisins, date pieces, pecan pieces, cinnamon, nutmeg and a drizzle of maple syrup.

Nutritional Analysis: One serving equals: 344 calories, 5g fat, 59g carbohydrate, 6g fiber, and 12g protein.

You’ll refuse the baked goods at the office. You’ll speed past that fast food place at lunch. You’ll turn a blind eye to the vending machine in the mid-afternoon. And you’ll pass on the ice cream after dinner.

But… you hadn’t counted on the fact that a box of your favorite donuts would be sitting in the break room. Or that co-workers would invite you to join them for fast food place at lunch. Or that Girl Scouts would come through the office after school with boxes of thin mints. Or that your special someone would come home with a pint of Coffee Heath Bar Crunch.

And as you get into bed each night you tell yourself that tomorrow will be different.

Tomorrow you will conquer temptation.

But tomorrow comes with its own set of special circumstances and temptation gets the best of you once again.

Why Does Temptation Always Win?

We live in society where food temptations are everywhere.

• Walk through a store and you’ll see the unhealthy food items displayed front and center.
• Turn on the TV and you’ll be assaulted with commercials for fattening foods.
• Open a magazine and you’ll notice glossy pin-ups of sugary snacks.
• Go down the street and you’ll have restaurant signs clamoring for your attention.

In addition to the abundance of tempting edibles, you also have deeply ingrained positive associations with indulging.

• You treat tempting food as a reward.
• You turn to tempting food for comfort.
• You rely on tempting food as stress relief.
• You allow tempting food to become a habit.

It’s Your Turn to Win

Temptation doesn’t need to have the upper hand on you anymore. It’s time to fight back using your most powerful asset: your brain.

Your mind is an amazing thing. Once it is made up about something it is nearly impossible to change it.

A Matter of Perspective

Imagine for a moment that you’re peacefully floating down a river in an inner tube. The sun is out, the birds are chirping, and you are having a wonderful time. You feel great about the river because it is making you feel good.

Now imagine that you are in a plane flying over the river. Your eye is immediately drawn to an enormous rocky waterfall. You look up the river and just around the bend is a person floating in an inner tube, having a wonderful time, headed straight for the treacherous falls.

Do you think that after your plane ride you’d be happy to get an inner tube and float down the river? Of course you wouldn’t. You’ve seen that the river spells disaster.

You now have a negative association (watery death) with the river rather than your initial positive association (relaxing fun).

Overcoming temptation is all about building negative associations in place of existing positive ones. Use the 2 steps below to harness the power of your mind to become stronger than any temptation.

Step One: Create a Strong Negative Association with all the BAD STUFF

• If cookies and chips and burgers are put on a pedestal in your mind as your favorite things to eat, then you will always eat unhealthy and will continue to gain weight.
• What do you dislike about tempting food?
  • It makes you unhealthy.
  • It causes weight gain.
  • It drains your energy.
  • It kills your confidence.
  • It degrades your quality of life.
  • It hurts your love life.
• Every time that you encounter tempting food items focus on your list of negatives. It’s time to kick those cookies off the pedestal and to put something healthy in its place.

Step Two: Create a Strong Positive Association with all the GOOD STUFF

• Now that your mental pedestal has been cleared, put healthy food items on it. Juicy fresh fruit, crispy vegetables and savory lean meats are a great place to start.
• What do you love about healthy food?
  • It makes you healthy.
  • It causes weight loss.
  • It boosts your energy.
  • It builds your confidence.
  • It improves your quality of life.
  • It enhances your love life.
• Immerse yourself into the world of healthy food. Browse the aisles of a natural food store. Walk through a farmer’s market. Bring healthy snacks to work. Clear your kitchen of anything unhealthy.

Using the technique above, you will soon find that healthy food is your favorite food.

And temptation will become a thing of your past.

Here’s what you need…

• 2 cups raw pecans
• 1/2 teaspoon ground vanilla beans, divided
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 1/2 cup pitted dates, divided
• 2/3 cup water
• 3 ripe mangoes, peeled, seeded and sliced

1. Combine the pecans, 1/4 teaspoon of the vanilla bean, sea salt and 3/4 cup of the dates in a food processor. Press half of the mixture into the bottom of a pie pan, set aside.
2. Combine the remaining 3/4 cup dates, 1/4 teaspoon vanilla bean and water in a food processor or blender. Mix until a thick syrup forms.
3. Place the mangoes in a large mixing bowl. Toss with the syrup until fully combined.
4. Arranged the mangoes over the crust, then sprinkle with the remaining crust.
5. Keep in the fridge and eat within 2 days.

Nutritional Analysis: One serving equals: 220 calories, 12g fat, 27g carbohydrate, 5g fiber, and 3g protein.

Whether you can’t wait to bare it all on the beach, or if you’re still working toward a weight loss goal, exercise is the key to looking and feeling great in summer months.

But why else should you exercise? Here are the top 7 reasons to exercise this summer:

Reason #1: To Melt Fat Away

The most coveted side effect of exercise is, of course, fat burn. The combination of a challenging exercise routine and a balanced meal plan is the best known way to lose fat. Here’s what losing fat feels like:

• Your pants become loose
• People around you begin to say that you look great
• A glance at yourself in the mirror makes you smile
• Your energy levels soar
• You feel amazing

Reason #2: To Alleviate Pain

Regular exercise is a great way to alleviate chronic muscle and joint pain. Persistent back pain can be lessened by strengthening your core, and you’ll protect yourself against injury. It amazes people when the chronic pain that they’ve lived with for years begins to fade after starting a regular exercise program.

Reason #3: To Increase Lean Tissue

More muscle is good for many reasons. You see, muscle requires many more calories each day than fatty tissue. In fact, one pound of muscle burns 30-50 calories each day at rest – compared to a measly 9 calories per pound of fat.

When you exercise your body composition will change to contain more lean tissue, thus resulting in extra calories burned while you sleep. What could be better than that?

Reason #4: To Stay Young

Tim D. Spector, a professor of genetic epidemiology at King’s College in London, led a study on the effects of exercise on aging. The results were astounding. They found that exercise appears to slow the shriveling of the protective tips on bundles of genes inside cells (called telomeres), which means a slowing of the aging process.

“These data suggest that the act of exercising may actually protect the body against the aging process,” said Spector.

Here’s the study in a nutshell:

• Telomeres cap the ends of chromosomes and every time a cell divides, the telomeres get shorter.

• Once a telomere gets too short, that cell can no longer divide.

• Aging occurs as more and more cells reach the end of their telomeres and die. This results in weakened muscles, skin wrinkles, loss of eyesight and hearing, organ failure and slowed metal functioning.

• The study analyzed the telomeres from the white bloods cells of twins over a 10-year period. Telomere length was used as a marker for the rate of biological aging.

• It was found that the length of telomeres was directly related to that twin’s activity level. “There was a gradient,” Spector said. “As the amount of exercise increased, the telomere length increased.”

• People who did 100 minutes of weekly exercise had telomeres that looked like those from someone about 5-6 years younger than those who did 16 minutes of exercise each week.

• People who did 3 hours of vigorous exercise each week had telomeres that looked like those from someone about 9 years younger.

Reason #5: To Prevent or Control Type 2 Diabetes

Regular exercise helps to stabilize blood sugar levels. This is something that people with type 2 diabetes, or at risk for type 2 diabete, gain substantial benefits from.

Exercise improves the body’s use of insulin, and the related weight loss improves insulin sensitivity. Of course patients with type 2 diabetes need to get guidelines from their doctor before starting an exercise program.

Reason #6: To Lower Blood Pressure and Cholesterol Levels

Exercise has shown to lower blood pressure and cholesterol levels for these two reasons:

• Weak Heart Muscles pump little blood with lots of effort. By exercising you strengthen your heart muscles and train them to pump more blood with less effort. The stronger your heart is the less pressure will be exerted on your arteries.

• Exercise Increases HDL levels in some people – this means a decrease in your risk for heart disease. Other heart disease risk factors such as weight, diabetes and high blood pressure all show improvement with regular exercise.

Reason #7: To Feel Great

The first thing that clients tell me after starting an exercise program is how much better they feel.

Most didn’t even realize how bad they felt. It is easy to get used to feeling sluggish, achy and unmotivated.

Exercise boosts your energy levels and makes you feel amazing.

The quickest, easiest way to guarantee that you’ll meet your fitness and weight loss goals is to work one-on-one with a qualified fitness professional. You’ll be held accountable with your workouts and you’ll be instructed properly and shown techniques and strategies that will expedite your results.

What are you waiting for? Lace up your shoes and get moving!

You know why? It’s because you can’t do any spot reduction. It’s that simple. Sure when you perform your crunches you will strengthen your abdominal muscles, but you’ll still have that layer of fat on top of your abs. They may be strong and firm, but you won’t be able to see them under the belly fat!  So what is the best way to burn your belly fat and show off those abs?

If you train your big muscle groups like your chest, back and legs you will burn more calories during your workout and therefore burn more fat. This is the best way to burn those calories – focus on the big muscle groups. I feel so sad when I see someone who’s overweight and they’re doing something like a triceps kick back or biceps curl for half of their workout.  If they could see how many calories they can burn with my approach with big muscles by comparison, they’d be watching their melt away.

If you really want to work your biceps, but you also want to burn fat, try adding a squat to your movement. Do a squat with your dumbbells at your side and when you come up perform your biceps curls. This works because you will burn more calories. You can try the same thing with the shoulder press.

Here’s a list of few exercises I like to perform because they engage 2 muscles groups (a big and a small).

1. Squat with overhead press
2. Squat with biceps curl
3. Lunges with Lateral Raise
4. Squat with Kick back
5. Chest Press on Ball with Hip Drive
6. Sumo Squat with dumbbell and Up right row

I could write more than 20 different exercises like this. Just use your imagination and I’m sure you can come up with something too. Try to mix a big muscle group (chest, back, legs) with a small muscle area (biceps, triceps, shoulders, calf). That’s all there is to it!

I suggest having this pancake after a tough workout. It’s high in carbohydrates, but after your workout this is exactly what you need. Good carbs will boost your energy and at the same time replenish glycogen (sugar levels) in your muscle.

High Protein Apple Cinnamon Pancake

• 3/4 cup Quaker quick Oats
• 4 egg whites
• 1/2 cup apple, diced
• 1 scoop of Protein Powder
• 1 tsp. Of Cinnamon

Directions

1- Put all ingredients together in a mixing bowl. Stir until the mixture has a semi-liquid pancake-batter-like consistency.

2- Spray some non-stick spray on a frying pan and pour the mixture into the pan.

3- Cook on medium heat. When one side is lightly browned and solid enough to flip, turn the pancake over with a spatula and cook the other side until lightly browned and firm.

Notes: For higher protein diets, add one scoop of vanilla protein power. Wrap up your pancake in foil and take it to go, put it in the fridge for later use, or eat it hot! Oatmeal pancakes will stay fresh all day long without refrigeration.

The best thing about this recipe is you can prepare it ahead of time and bring it with you to the gym.  That way you can eat it right after your workout. Trust me this pancake is so good it’s almost illegal.

If you want some more great recipes like this one (197 recipes) go and grab your copy for only $4.95. GET YOUR RECIPES E-BOOK RIGHT NOW