Fitness Tweaks You Need to Make

Forget keeping your arms shoulder-width apart, doing crunches for your flabby belly and tackling squats for the perfect behind. Breaking rules like these can up your fitness level and prep you for that barely-there bikini.

• Spread your arms out a few inches or pull them in, says New York City personal trainer Steve Lischin about the shoulder-width-apart rule, which is great for stability and all. It's just good to mix things up for better strength and tone.
  
• Pilates moves beat crunches if you're aiming for a sculpted midsection. Ever heard of "The Teaser"? It's an exercise that reportedly works 39 percent more of your six-pack and 266 percent more of your love handles. Ready to try it? Instructions right here.
• Hip extensions might be better than squats for the perfect bikini bottom. The American Council on Exercise says the move hits 55 percent more of your hamstring muscle and 79 percent more of your glute muscle.
• Slow down on the protein. Sure, it's a vital muscle food, but you don't want extra, because the calories will be stored as fat. Dietitian Molly Morgan says 20 percent of your calories should come from protein.

• Vary your up-down, up-down motions by pausing when raising and lowering a weight (or your body). Pause when you're halfway up and when you're halfway down. Adding just 16 to 24 seconds to each set will fry more fat.
• Move away from the mirror. Check your form quickly and then face the other way. Close one eye and force your body to work on balance.
• Cut down on cardio. Focus on strength training for a better calorie burn and a boost in metabolism for up to 39 hours after you finish your last rep. Try interval training if you love cardio -- it has similar benefits.
• Rest less for a better calorie burn and to keep your heart pumping.
• Step away from the scale -- it measures water and muscle too, so it's not a great indicator of fat loss and can hinder motivation. Want an accurate measure of body fat? Tom Seabourne, co-author of "Athletic Abs," says: Place your fingers on your belly and inhale deeply so that it expands. As you exhale, contract your abdominal muscles and push your fingertips against your hard abdominal wall. Now pinch. "You're holding pure fat," he says.