If you want to slim down and tone up fast, you need to do exercises that stimulate as many muscles as possible at the same time.  

Mistake #1: Doing Long Bouts of Cardio

If you’ve been doing cardio workouts to try and slim down, I have some alarming news…

Steady-state cardio (like jogging or doing the elliptical) increases the production of a stress hormone called cortisol.  Cortisol causes weight gain and makes it more difficult to burn off stubborn belly fat. 

That’s why no matter how much cardio you do, you can’t seem to raise your metabolism and you always hit a plateau eventually.

Even worse, too much cardio accelerates aging!  When you put your body under prolonged stress, you start producing free-radicals, which damages your cells and causes inflammation.

Mistake #2: Doing Crunches & Sit-Ups To Get Flat Abs

When you do ab-targeted exercises (like sit-ups, crunches or side bends), your muscles get sore, which makes you think you’re strengthening your abs.  There you are, crunching away thinking it’s only a matter of time before you’ll be looking beach ready with your rock-solid core.

So even though you “feel the burn” when you do crunches and sit-ups, you’re actually putting unnecessary pressure on your back, causing much more harm than good.  These ab-targeted exercises can cause lower back injuries by forcing your spine to flex too much, and they do very little to actually strengthen your abs.

Mistake #3: Using Gym Machines

Those big, shiny machines sure make the gym look high-end, but truthfully, the only thing they’re good for is for sitting down while you tie your shoes or catch your breath!

The problem is this: Machines alter the way your body naturally moves, restricting your range of motion. This severely limits your ability to fully activate all of your muscles fibers, which means less fat burning and less muscle toning.

Worse yet, machines can cause muscular imbalance and excessive strain on your joints, leading to nagging injuries down the road.

If you want fast results, you MUST incorporate exercises that allow your body to move naturally with full range of motion so you can skyrocket your metabolism and put fat-burning on autopilot.

Mistake #4: Repeating The Same Workouts Over & Over

Repeating the same workout routine over and over is a surefire way to STOP getting results. We’re creatures of habit and we tend to stick to things we’re familiar with and good at. But when it comes to working out, if you want to make progress and keep seeing changes in your body, you’ve got to start switching things up.

You see, your body has an amazingly ability to adapt quickly and when it does, that’s when you hit the dreaded plateau and you STOP making progress.

Mistake #5: Doing Loooong Workouts

Longer workouts do NOT equal better or faster results. If you’ve been slaving away at the gym and your body isn’t visibly changing, you can’t do more of the same thing and expect a different result.

How To “Fix” Your Metabolism

Alright, now that you know what NOT to do, here’s the good news…Science has proven that there are specific types of exercises that trigger a potent fat-burning effect, which skyrockets your metabolism and boosts your fat-burn for up to 48 hours after your workout is over.

Source: https://www.cravepersonaltraining.com/blog/post/4-mistakes-that-are-slowing-down-your-metabolism