Zest – May 2007

Get 100% more from your workout

Want to make the most of every second in the gym? A panel of top trainers revelas how to avoid the top eight time-wasters

Time-waster: Only crunching
"Performing countless abdominal crunches and thinking this will get rid of the pouch area on your lower abdominal area is pointless," says trainer Laura Williams. "Doing crunches will only serve to strengthen muscle – you won't see any benefit if there's too much fat on top of it."
Solution: You need to reduce your overall body fat by cutting the number of calories you take in, and by adding resistance exercise (weight training) to stimulate your metabolism. You also need to up your cardiovascular exercise to bur extra calories. "This is the best way to guarantee abdominal fat loss,", says Williams. "Then, once you've shifted the excess body fat, doing ab crunches after your cardio workout will pay off."

To book a session or to find out how Laura can help you get into shape, email her at laura@laurawilliamsonline.co.uk

Or call her on 07712 001525.