(ThyBlackMan.com) If you’re working out, then you’re probably wasting your time and energy doing particular exercises that aren’t particularly effective. Why? There’s just so much information out there…and a much of it isn’t as accurate as you’d like to believe.
Plus, you’re probably so anxious to achieve your fitness goals that you’re willing to do just about anything to get there.
But before you waste another minute, dollar, or ounce of energy, know that the best way to obtain your fitnes goal is the old fashioned way: cardio, resistance, diet, repeat.
So, what exercises DON’T you need to waste your time doing?
1. Don’t do a gazillion crunches
You can crunch until the cows come home and still have a muffin top folding 
over your jeans. Why? Doing 100s of daily sit-ups is actually extinguishing the oxygen from your muscles, suffocating them as opposed to strengthening them. Instead do 3 sets of 15 10-second crunches, moving like molasses, or simply hold Plank pose for 1 minute every day. BUT even that won’t guarantee a 6-pack. You have to burn off the fat that sits on top first. How? Cardio and diet. This doesn’t mean that crunches are pointless. The more muscle you have, the more calories you naturally burn, even during rest.
2. Don’t stretch without first warming up
Imagine a stick of taffy. If you try to bend it in half without first gently warming it up, it will snap. That could be your muscle. That’s why you never want to stretch a cold muscle- ever! More than risking ripping, stretching before working out also makes your muscles produce less force. In other words, you get less out of your workout because of your pre-exercise stretch. So what should you do before your workout? Warm-up! Before you run, jump, or do anything strenuous, get your blood flowing for a few minutes by walking or marching in place.
3. Don’t carry hand weights while walking
So you think that rhythmically pumping your arms forward and back while you walk or run helps create momentum, which makes you move forward even faster while simultaneously getting your abs and arms in the toning action (upping the calorie burn)? Think again. Holding weights actually slows that momentum, decreasing your speed and therefore your cardio output and calorie burn. You are also putting yourself at risk for injury thanks to the repetitive weighted movement and force on your elbows.
4. Don’t hunch over or lean on that cardio machine
We get it: you’re tired, over it, and just want to get through the last few minutes of your treadmill, stationary bike, or elliptical workout, so you rest your elbows or hands on the handlebars and allow your upper body to slightly hunch over. While you might be relieving your legs of some of your bodyweight burden, you could also be throwing off your alignment, shifting your spine, tensing your shoulders, and agitating your elbows, creating long-term discomfort or even injury- not so conducive to a continued effective workout. Instead, stand up straight and imagine shifting your weight into a different lower body area. For example, if your quads are tired, try to shift your focus to your butt, putting the work into lifting and trimming those cheeks. Stop cheating!
5. Don’t try “spot-reducing” moves
Non-existent. You simply can’t burn fat from a specific area of the body. Fat burns off evenly from the entire body thanks to a combination of cardio, diet, and consuming less calories than you burn. You can, however, spot train. In other words, you can hone in on a specific muscle group and you will see a definite difference in how tone that section gets, even if the muscle tone lies under a layer of fat.
To repeat, there aren’t any magic spells when it comes to exercise. So it’s time to bite the bullet, get up and move your body… right now if you want to get a head start.
Written by Marcus Williams
