All workouts were not created equally. Sadly, many people simply waste time in the gym.

Here are 5 tips to ensure that every minute of your workout is well spent burning fat and toning your muscles…

Workout Smarter Tip 1: Use More Resistance

In order to get the most from each rep it’s important to challenge your muscles, and 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.

Workout Smarter Tip 2: Keep it Fresh

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.

Workout Smarter Tip 3: Never Skip the 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.

Workout Smarter Tip 4: Focus on Proper 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.

Workout Smarter Tip 5: Together is better

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. I am passionate about seeing my clients achieve results by working out smart and without wasting time, energy and effort on mistakes.

Don’t know where to start when it comes to exercise? Let me help you!

The best way to guarantee that you’ll meet your fitness and weight loss goals is to work one-on-one with a qualified fitness professional.

I’ll hold you accountable with your workouts and will share techniques and strategies that will expedite your results.

Call or email today to get started on a program that will take the guesswork out of fitness and will set your results on fire. Let’s do this!

​Here’s a salad recipe that serves as an entire meal. It’s filled with fresh ingredients that increase your fiber count for the day. The simple dressing tastes fantastic. Add a grilled chicken breast to increase the protein in the dish and enjoy leftover for lunch the next day. Enjoy!

Courtesy of RealHealthyRecipes.com

What you need
Servings: 8

For the Dressing:

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon garlic, minced
½ teaspoon Dried Oregano
½ teaspoon sea salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
 ¼ cup olive oil
1 Tablespoon lemon juice

For the Salad:

8 cups Baby Arugula
1 cup cooked quinoa
1 can (15 oz.) chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 heirloom tomato, finely chopped
½ cup celery, minced
¼ cup fresh scallions, thinly sliced
¼ cup fresh basil, thinly sliced

Instructions

1. Combine the dressing ingredients in a jar. Close the lid and shake until fully combined.

2. Combine the salad ingredients in a large salad bowl. Toss with the dressing and serve immediately. Enjoy!

Nutrition
One serving equals: 196 calories, 8g fat, 25g carbohydrate, 262mg sodium, 1g sugar, 4g fiber, and 7g protein.