Surprise! Your workout might be to blame. We talked to trainers and exercise physiologists across the country and discovered six surprising ways your well-intentioned fitness routines might not match your weight loss goals.
MORE: How to know when to skip a workout
"Many women assume that 30 minutes of exercise will change their bodies, but it's not automatic," says Geralyn Coopersmith, global director of performance and fitness training at Nike. "If you're focused and smart about how you use that half hour, you will be amazed by your results." (Get a flat belly in just 10 minutes a day with our reader-tested exercise plan!)
Here is what to do—and what not to do—to get the results you want.
You sacrifice good form.
It's important to focus on your form, even if that means lowering the intensity. "You recruit fewer muscles and burn fewer calories when you're slouched over," Coopersmith says. Same goes for strength training, says sports scientist James Levine, whose research found that standing while lifting weights boosts your burn by about 100 kilojoules per half hour. Best of all, one study shows that good posture allows you to take in more oxygen, so your workout feels easier even while you're blasting more kJs.
MORE: The surprising benefits of walking just 10 minutes per day
You exercise while parched.
When it comes to working out, the importance of drinking water is clear. "Nearly every cell in the body is composed of water—without it, they don't function efficiently during exercise," says professor of kinesiology Dan Judelson. Translation: You'll fatigue faster, and your workout will feel tougher than it should. In recent studies, Judelson discovered exercisers who were dehydrated completed three to five fewer reps per set while strength training. Part of the problem is that dehydration decreases the body's levels of hormones that are necessary for strong muscles. On workout days, drink water 1 to 2 hours prior to exercise. Then keep sipping during and after your session to replenish what you lose through sweat.
MORE: How drinking more water can help you lose weight
You read on the treadmill.
"If flipping through a magazine keeps you motivated, by all means do it," Coopersmith says. "But reading while exercising is so distracting that you're probably working at an intensity too low to burn a significant number of kJs." Instead, turn on some tunes to increase the duration and intensity of your cardio workout. Researchers at Brunel University in London discovered that runners who listened to motivational rock or pop music (think Queen or Madonna) exercised up to 15 per cent longer—and felt better doing it. You don't have to nix TV shows, cell phones, books, and magazines every workout—just leave them behind a couple of times a week so you can focus on intensity.
You hate your workout.
No matter how many kilojoules an activity promises to burn, if you don't enjoy it, you'll be less likely to do it and won't reap the benefits. Think of it this way: If you burn 600 kJs every time you exercise, but you dread it so much that you skip one session a week, it adds up to 2,400 kJs a month. Instead, find a workout you want to do, rather than one you feel like you have to do. When University of Nebraska–Omaha researchers polled women who'd been exercising regularly for longer than a year, they found that one of the top predictors of adherence was choosing enjoyable activities. Study author Dr Jennifer Huberty also suggests experimenting with ways to make exercise more appealing. For example, if walking is your workout of choice, try recruiting a friend to join you.
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You skip weight training.
Studies suggest that more than 80 per cent of women forgo strength training. If you're one of them, it may be the No. 1 reason your scale is stuck. You've probably heard that strength training can boost metabolism, but here's something you may not know: People who pair aerobic and resistance training eat less than those who do only cardio, reports a study in the Journal of Sports Science and Medicine. The combo workouts may increase satiety hormones and boost your body's ability to break down food and stabilise blood sugar, so you feel full longer, says study author Dr Brandon S. Shaw.
You trust kJ-burn estimates.
Oh, how sweet it would be if 20 minutes on a cardio machine really did blast 800 kilojoules. But like most things in life that sound too good to be true, those digital displays broadcasting mega burn are often bogus. Researchers found that elliptical trainers overestimate kilojoule burn by an average of 30 per cent. But you can still utilise those counters as a gauge of how much you've exercised—and as a benchmark for ramping up your workouts. Try to raise the number you see on your machine every week, and you'll continue to make exercise gains.
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