The Teaser is Smarter for Your Abs

Do you constantly burn the most calories with cardio, stick with crunches, and watch your form in the mirror? Those are three of nine fitness habits you may want to break.

Women's Health gives nine common habits in the gym a new spin. I definitely plan on trying a few, check out my favorite three:

• The Teaser -- stop crunching and try The Teaser, a Pilates move with 39 percent more activation of your six-pack and 266 percent more of your love handles. Lie face-up on a mat and raise your legs with thighs perpendicular to the floor and knees bent at a right angle. With hands raised toward the ceiling, lift your torso and straighten your legs, forming a V. Hold for a second, roll back down with legs still raised. Eight to 10 reps should do it. I do a version of this, but I'm lazy on the V.
  
• Pause During Your Rep -- Instead of lifting up and down, add a one second pause on the up, and one second on the down. It'll exhaust your muscles to mush, and only add a handful of seconds to each set. To stay out of a resistance training rut, I've also started periodized training this week, lifting three sets of 12 reps for the past three weeks, followed by three sets of six repetitions at a significantly higher weight for the next three weeks.
  
• Dodge the Scale, Hold Your Fat Instead -- I jump on the scale nearly every day for a reality check, but it doesn't always reflect fat loss. Holding your pure fat tells a truer story, and if you've replaced fat with muscle, your clothes will fit better and the pinch will be smaller, even when the number on the scale stays the same. Place your fingers on your tummy, inhale deeply to expand your stomach. As you exhale, contract your abs, push your fingers firmly against the abdominal wall and pinch. You're holding pure fat.

Now eat right and work your butt off to remove that fat. Once you do, be ready for a six-pack reveal. Read the full article for six other fitness habits to break.