That's Fit

So you're exercising regularly and really making it a priority. That's great! But make sure you don't fall into some of these exercise traps. You want to make sure you're following good technique so you can get the most out of your workout. AOL Health shares some common bad exercises techniques:

• Weight overload. Lifting too much weight can, at worst, cause injury and, at a minimum, cause the move to be ineffective. When you're lifting too much you may not be isolating the muscles properly.
  
• Biceps only. The bicep curl is a great exercise, but don't spend all of your strength training time on one muscle. Be sure to work out your shoulders, triceps, legs, core, and glutes as well. When strength training, you want to strengthen all the muscles of your body.
  

There are dozens of great exercises that can be made even more effective when performed on a Swiss ball. The traditional floor crunch, for example, is a mediocre ab exercise. But, done on a Swiss ball, the exercise is made almost 45 percent more effective in recruiting muscle fibers throughout your core.

Similar benefits can be obtained from other exercises performed on this fitness orb. Rather than list a few and do my best to explain the movements with words, I thought a much better idea would be to find some video demonstrations of a variety of Swiss ball exercises. To that end, here is a great website (from the University of the Pacific) that offers .mpeg video of a very wide variety of moves and techniques.

So go ahead, join the ranks of the Swiss Army and start experiencing the fitness results you've been working toward. Each new recruit also gets a free multi-tool knife -- complete with toothpick and can opener.

I remember doing the Jane Fonda aerobic workout with my mom when I was a kid. It was on a record. (Wow... I'm really aging myself here.) My mom's ideas of fitness are still roughly from that era. Every once in a while, when I talk to her about exercising she'll pull out a gem like "crunches will do away with belly fat." Umm... no. AOL Body has a slideshow debunking some fitness myths such as:

• Muscle turns into fat. Fat and muscle are two completely different tissues and one doesn't turn into the other.
• Crunch away ab fat. There's no such thing as spot reducing. Crunches will work your abdominal muscles, but it won't burn away the fat just in your belly area.
  
• High reps rule. When you're trying to lose weight and tone muscles, it is good to choose a weight that's light enough to do higher repetitions. However, if you're picking a weight that's so light you can lift it more than 15 reps, you're probably not getting much benefit from the weight at all.

Have fitness questions? Fitz has your answer. Our ThatsFit.com fitness expert -- and now your own virtual personal trainer -- will help you get fit, increase your overall health and do it in a fun way. Drop your questions here in the Comments section below and we'll choose two per week to publish on That's Fit! Learn more about Fitz here.

Q. Fitz, For about a year now, I've been doing exercises for my obliques. I've done them about three or four times each week and have done a variety of different exercises each workout. I'm also a naturally thin person who recently lost 10 pounds (so I'm really thin now) and I still have those awful love handles! How do I get rid of them? Emily

A. Ugh Emily! This is a question I've answered before, but since it's such a tremendous source of frustration for so many...I believe the topic of love handles is worth visiting again. You're actually the perfect example of how annoying they can be. You are a trim person who does a variety of abdominal exercises frequently. Most folks would believe that would be enough. Unfortunately for some people, it is not.

Love handles often have to do less with abdominal muscles and more with body type. For example. I'm a pretty trim chic, but when I have gained weight...it's all gone to my boobs, belly and thighs. In fact, I used to be 40 pounds heavier than I am today, but I've never had love handles. Some people get it all in their hips. Even if they achieve their ideal weight, some of those people are still stuck with dreaded 'saddlebags'. Your issue is the same. Great fitness. Lean body. One or two annoying pockets of fat.

When you're stuck in a rut sometimes all you need to do to get back on track is to switch things up and try something new. I've tried a lot of different ways to workout, like with a stability ball, resistance bands, free-weights/dumbbells, a stepper, etc, but here's something I have yet to try: a workout using a foam roller.

Foam rollers can help with strength, balance, and even stress relief. Foam rollers themselves are very similar to the foam "noodles" kids use in swimming pools, but they're thicker and shorter. The primary benefit of adding foam rollers to your workout is an increase in calories burned and better core strengthening due to the balance challenges added to traditional moves like squats, arm exercises, and even massages. Try some of these foam roller moves from Alive.com and see if you don't feel muscles working that you didn't know you had!

These days, we have access to an overwhelming amount of fitness gadgets and gizmos, not to mention snazzy programs and classes that incorporate everything from martial arts to hula hoops to modern dances and the like. But, like many things in life, we are often exposed to so many flashy and new ways of doing things that we eventually come back to the inevitable truth: that the old way of doing things is sometimes the best way. Another way of putting it? Simple is best.

Don't mistake me for old fashioned--I've tried the super cardio hip hop dance kickboxing classes, and some of them really do work at whipping you into shape (and they're fun too!) But at the end of the day, some of the best exercises are the ones that we, and our parents, and our parents' parents all learned in school: Things like running, jump-rope, calinsthetics and so on.

Just yesterday I caught an old episode of the popular Discovery Channel show Myth Busters. In the ten minutes that I watched, I saw the hosts try to dispel the myth that if someone holds onto too many balloons, they will be lifted off of their feet and soar into the sky. I wish I could tell you how it turned out, but I had to hit the gym so I never saw the end. But, my dash for the gym, coupled with what I had just watched on TV, led me to think of the following:

FITNESS MYTH BUSTERS!!

It's all too often that people hear things, or read things, or hear things that other people have read, etc. about what constitutes a healthy diet and exercise program. Other times people just kind of wing it, doing their best to make it up as they go along. Is that the right way? Wait -- IS there a right way? Or are all the things we've heard that people do to get in shape merely things of myth? Ahhh -- let's find out!!

MYTH #1 - I Want to Lose Weight in My Stomach, So I'm Going to do Some Ab Exercises

Sorry, but you can't lose weight or inches only from a specific area on your body. While it is possible to tighten and tone that area, body fat cannot be "spot reduced," but will instead peel off of you in an even fashion with proper diet and full-body exercise. Abdominal exercises would certainly help tone the muscles in your midsection, but they really won't do much to help you lose weight.

Fitness is one of those things in life that requires constant study and lifelong learning. Most times, the principles and practices of diet and exercise don't change all that much from one era to the next (save for the major, anti-carb movement of the late 1990s that was a diametric change from the carbo-loading that went on in the 1980s), but there's always something new to learn.

Even when you know how to do something, you may come across a small bit of information that shows you how to do it better. How to fine tune everything, if you will. To that end, I thought I'd offer up a few tips on how to make some common exercises even more effective.

Side Lateral Raises. Instead of focusing on using the strength of your entire arms to hoist up the dumbbells, let your hands and arms remain only slightly rigid throughout the movement. Concentrate on raising your shoulders, which will then, in turn, raise the weight. You'll feel much more tension on your deltoids if you perform the exercise in this manner.

Swiss Ball Crunches. To make this exercise even more difficult and place even greater emphasis on your core muscles, try placing your feet together on the ground. Keeping your feet spread far apart better stabilizes your body as it rests on the ball, reducing the effort required by your core muscles to keep you from falling off.

Hanging Leg Raises. These are pretty tough to do in the first place, so making them tougher may not be in the cards right now. But if it is, try pulling your body to the top of a pull-up position and stay there. From this position, perform your hanging leg raises as you would if you were dangling with your arms fully extended. You'll immediately find that this method requires a great deal more core strength and endurance. Once you've reached your last rep, drop down by finally extending your arms and burn out with a few more from the more standard position.

There are so many little tweaks that can be done to really amp up some exercises. These are just a few I figured you might benefit from, but there are literally hundreds more for you, me, and the rest of us to learn. If you have any of your own you'd like to add, please be my guest in the comments section below.

Have fitness questions? Fitz has your answer. Our ThatsFit.com fitness expert -- and now your own virtual personal trainer -- will help you get fit, increase your overall health and do it in a fun way. Drop your questions here in the Comments section below and we'll choose two per week to publish on That's Fit! Learn more about Fitz here.

Q. Hi Fitz, I am 15 and I weigh 225 pounds. I'd like to lose a lot of weight. For exercise, I fast walk on the treadmill for 15 minutes a day. I try to eat the right foods, but I keep having a temptation to go back to my old habits. I keep trying, but because of my brother's metabolism... he can eat anything. That is not helping me at all. I need help, but I'm afraid that no one will help me because of my weight, so I hope you guys can. Shelby

A. I'm really glad you reached out for help here, Shelby. Being overweight is no fun, especially as a child.....which you are. I struggled with my weight as a teenager too, but thankfully I eventually figured things out. I remember way back then thinking a good weight loss technique was to simply eat fewer Cheetos. My parents never spoke about weight management to me and I simply didn't have much guidance on the subject. I felt bad about myself and desperately wanted to change. Sounds like you're in the same boat.

I was thrilled to see that my post, Fitness Misconceptions, was highlighted on the main page of AOL two days ago. I truly appreciate all of the great comments that were left -- particularly those that highlighted the host of other health and fitness myths that were in dire need of debunking.

To that end, I think the time is just right to do just that. Join me, will you, for another installment of Fitness Myth Busters.

1 - You Can Lose Your Belly by Performing Crunches. If I've said it once, I've said it a thousand times (which is probably the amount of crunches some people have done this week, still wondering why they can't see their abs): The only way to cut that gut is to lower your overall body fat. This means cardio, this means resistance training and, uh oh, this means proper diet. So, say goodbye to crunches (including the Captain) and say hello to the rest of the gym.

2 - Running on a Treadmill Puts Less Stress on Your Knees. Not true. Running on any surface, be it asphalt or the rotating belt of a treadmill, taxes your knees to the same degree. This stress occurs regardless of surface, so your best bet is to vary your cardio workout, so as to allow your knees to get adequate rest and repair time.

3 - If You're Not Working up a Sweat, You're Not Trying Hard Enough. If you were performing a short, intense workout -- such as an interval or circuit training routine, this is probably true. However, it is certainly not true in all workout situations, which is why this blanket statement is mostly false. Sweating is merely your body's way of cooling itself, but it is not necessarily an indicator of effort. For example, if you were to walk for several miles, you could easily burn several hundred calories, yet your brow might show no signs whatsoever of dampness. Does this mean that you're not working out hard enough? Hardly. To find out the answer to that question, you might want to check out my earlier post.

There you have it, folks. Three more fitness myths BUSTED!!!

Losing weight is hard work. It seems like losing even five pounds takes manic exercise sessions and near-starvation. Does it have to be this way? According to AOL Body, no. There are some easy ways to lose 5 pounds without even really trying. Want examples? Here are some of their tips:

• Chew gum when you're hungry
• Drink green tea several times a day
• Use smaller plates
• Fidget
  
• Eat grapefruit
• Get some sleep
• Slow down when you're eating
• Do crunches during the commercial breaks
• Don't take seconds

Want to find out why these things can help you lose weight? Click here.

Flat abs are not only the status symbol of men and women of all ages, flat abs are a decent reflection of overall health. Ever see a chubby guy with a skinny middle? Probably not. Know a lot of plus-sized mamas who flaunt a whittled waist? Not so much. A trim waist line is usually a good predictor that one is doing the right thing.

Of course there are the rare exceptions. We know the folks who eat all sorts of junk food and can never gain a pound. Skinny people die of heart attacks too. Having said that, most little middle people take decent care of themselves. It's almost a tad frustrating, because tight flat abs are usually the last thing people earn on their fitness journey. Trim legs and arms come waaaaaaaaay faster than abs worthy of a teeny bikini.

So how do you get yours? The formula is simple. Burn more calories than you consume to become leaner, and work your abdominal and back muscles to create a firm and tight core.

One of the biggest physical issues people wish they could change about themselves is their midsection -- everybody wants a flatter and more toned stomach. But somehow even though it's one of the most desired physical changes it also seems to be one of the most elusive. Part of it is that even the slightest layer of fat can cover up a toned tummy and make it look flabby, and the other part is probably not having the time to work on it. But like anything, having the time is all about priorities and about how bad you want it, and if you're looking for a fast way to squeeze in some ab work these exercises may make it easier to get started. eDiets has tailored common moves like sit-ups, leg raises, and others into a fast and efficient ab routine.

Happy crunching!

You might have heard of the phrase "muffin top." If that mention got your mouth watering, you probably haven't been educated as to what the modern-day muffin top is -- it's that bit of flab that hangs out over top of your pants. It's also known as "Dunlap Syndrome" as in, your stomach done lap over your jeans.

So how do you get rid of the "muffin top-Dunlap Syndrome"? Well, you start by doing 500-crunches and running a few miles every day for a month, or you could take a more novel approach -- buy bigger pants and looser, longer tops. Also, take advantage of the fact that high-waisted jeans are coming back into style and put your ultra low-rise ones away ... for now.

How do you conceal your muffin top?

For some people fat may be the new norm, but for those of us who still dream of a slim and buff midsection and are doing everything we can to have one some workouts work better than others. There are countless ab exercises available out there but which ones are the best? I don't want to mess around and waste my time -- if I'm gonna workout then I want to see results! eDiets has compiled this list of the ten best moves for your midsection, and here they are (click the links for instructions on how-to):

1. Bicycle Maneuver
2. Ab Crunch
3. Reverse Ab Curl
4. Double Crunch
5. Cable Kneeling Rope Crunch
6. Machine Hanging Knee Raise
7. Fitball Advanced Reverse Crunch
8. Lying Bent Knee Leg Lift
9. Machine Angled Leg Raise
10. Incline Bench Leg Raise