If you are pedaling along on the elliptical machine, pounding out thousands of reps of crunches, and hammering out hour after hour of long boring cardio chances are you are completely wasting your time and not burning any body fat. Here are my top four biggest time wasting exercise routines of all time.

1) Never-Ending Abs

Sometimes they say the truth hurts, but here is the truth and it will probably sting a little. You have probably been wasting your time doing thousands of crunches and sit-ups, when this does practically nothing for your abs. Endless reps of abs or side bends will never take any inches off your waist or reduce any fat from your mid-section. The good news, however, is that by changing your workout and utilizing compound multi-joint that work the major muscles you will transform just about any exercise into an abdominal exercise.

The 3 most important tools to burn fat:

1. Nutrition/Diet

2. Strategic Workouts

3. Core strengthening.

2) Boring Cardio Workouts That Takes Forever

Every time I am in the gym I see the same people doing the exact same workout that they did the day before. Not only are they doing the same boring workout that they did yesterday, but they are doing the same workout EVERYDAY. Usually they are on an elliptical, treadmill, or stationary bike and glide along for an hour at an insanely slow pace, and all the while looking at the calorie meter hoping that someday they will be skinnier.

What is the result of all of their efforts? Week one no change. The next week no change. Week 12? Nothing. Two years later they still have their same physique with minimal changes. I have seen this progression happen over and over but my main question is...why not change things up? The answer I usually receive is, "Well, obviously I just need to do more cardio..." I have even overheard some gym trainers telling these same people to keep up their hard work and that if they stay in the "fat burning zone" the fat will eventually go away.

I am telling you right now...the fat will never go away and doing the extra cardio will just be a waste of your precious time. 7 to 10 hours of weekly cardio was not working...and that is a TON of cardio...so why would 12 to 15 hours of weekly cardio work? This is a surefire way to get zero results from your exercise program.

All too often, people get caught up with trying to maintain a certain heart rate level or stay in the "fat burning zone" as this is hypothetically supposed to cause fat loss. They also watch the calorie meter on the exercise machine like a hawk, but this is also a big waste of time as these estimates are usually way off.

My least favorite fat loss machine of all time, which is one of the most popular time wasters of all time is the elliptical machine. Say goodbye to your affair with the elliptical machine and long boring cardio and begin burning fat with multi-joint compound exercises performed at high intensity levels.

3) "Toning" Workouts

How many times have you asked yourself "I definitely need to lose weight here" or "I really need to tone up my thighs" or "My triceps look flabby I need to do more reps of triceps"? If you have ever asked yourself any of these questions, or a similar question, you have fallen victim to one of the oldest fitness myths of all time. There is no way to spot reduce body fat on a particular area of the body and performing high reps of an exercise does not help to "get you cut".

I am a big fan of lifting moderately heavy weights for 6-12 reps because this rep range allows you to build muscle and burn fat simultaneously. Not only does lifting moderately heavy weights burn a ton of calories, but when performed correctly, you will be burning fat for up to 48 hours after your workout!

Working out this way is beneficial for women AND men. Honestly, there is no real need for women and men to train differently. The best exercises are the best exercises regardless of gender. I tend to see many women shying away from weight training and if they do lift weights, they use very light weights. Most of them do this because they are afraid to "bulk up" and start looking manly and this is a shame because if they used moderately heavy weights they would be able to maximize the amount of lean muscle in the body, and as a result burn much more body fat as a result. This is the only way to get that lean, sexy, "toned" look.

A lot of popular women's magazines often give women bad workout and diet advice and this could be the main source of the problem. Women begin to believe these fairy tales because they read it in a popular magazine and before you know it a new exercise myth is born. Here is a good exercise tip: Stop listening to your favorite magazine exercise instructor because 50% of the time they are feeding you BS.

If you are a man or a woman and want a lean, sexy, more defined body make efficient use of your time and incorporate multi-joint exercises into your routine and use moderately heavy weight. This will give you better results in much less time.

4) Spinning Classes

Sorry to break it down for you in this way but your spinning class is a very inefficient way to workout. I know you probably think spinning is great and you feel "the burn" and you are sweating like crazy, but spinning sessions do not burn enough fat to warrant the amount of time that they take to complete. You can double the amount of calories that you burn in an hour just by replacing your spinning workout with a resistance training workout mixed with bodyweight exercises. I can guarantee that you feel get a much better workout in half of the time.

How do you ever build your upper body muscles if all you do is take spinning classes? Will you have decent legs and just flabby arms and a nasty gut? I don't know about you but that is not the type of body that I want! There are a few good aspects about spinning classes, but with a better workout strategy, you will get better results in much less time.

There are dozens of ways to quickly burn stubborn body fat without using "traditional cardio", just be creative and you will get better results.

As always, best wishes for a healthy body, and good luck with your fat burning!

Jamin Thompson is a professional fitness model, motivational speaker, and author from Los Angeles, California. Creator of the popular book THE 6 PACK SECRET

http://www.the6packsecret.com

Register for my FREE HARDBODY FITNESS EZINE and get tons of free hints & tips about how to lose body fat and build muscle at http://www.jaminthompson.com/hardbody

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