Regular exercise is a huge commitment of time, willpower and physical exertion. Everyone wants to know that the effort they are putting in at the gym will yield maximum results. Here are the most common errors seen in gyms, robbing fitness goers of their fat burning potential.

1. Doing cardio before weight training

Those who choose to get their cardio out of the way before completing their resistance training might not be optimising their fat-burning potential. By doing your weight training first, you empty your glycogen stores (your main source of energy). Following your weights session with cardio, with depleted glycogen stores actually results in greater fat loss Tip: After your resistance training, go for 20-30 minutes of low intensity cardio for better fat burning

2. Not changing your exercise program

How long should you do the same exercise program for before changing the exercises, number of repetitions and weight? Every 3-6 weeks. This principle is fundamental to any professionally written exercise program, but is underused in most gym programs. Here are some handy resources for choosing a new exercise program http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/training.html A wide range of gym-focussed exercise programs http://www.popsugar.com.au/Workouts A huge database of at-home workouts aimed at women http://www.woddrive.com/wods.html Try a crossfit workout from this easy to use website

3. Doing low intensity cardio

Half an hour on the treadmill may not be as useful for fat loss as once was thought. Research suggests that performing high intensity interval training (HIIT) is much more effective for fat loss than traditional low intensity cardio. HIIT is only recommended for healthy people with a reasonable level of cardiovascular fitness.

Richard’s Fat Burning Bike Workout Duration: 19 minutes Warm up on the bike at a slow pace for 4 minutes Pedal as hard as you can for 45 seconds Pedal slowly for 75 seconds Pedal as hard as you can for 45 seconds Pedal slowly for 75 seconds Pedal as hard as you can for 60 seconds Pedal slowly for 120 seconds Pedal as hard as you can for 60 seconds Pedal slowly for 120 seconds Pedal as hard as you can for 45 seconds Pedal slowly for 75 seconds Pedal as hard as you can for 45 seconds Pedal slowly for 2:15 minutes

4. Doing ab crunches to lose belly fat

A common misconception is that doing abdominal exercises are the key to fat loss. Doing 150 ab crunches a day can strengthen your abdominal muscles, but will not make them any more visible unless you take an integrated nutritional, lifestyle and activity approach to reduce your overall body fat. Tip: Try Air squats, Burpees or any other full body exercise for better fat loss

Richard Taylor Weight Loss Consultant and Personal Trainer

Richard specialises in exercise for fat loss. He is available for 1-on-1 Personal Training, Small Group Training and Corporate Personal Training in the Lower North Shore area. Book a FREE fat loss consultation to discover what he can do for your health. Find out more about Richard and book your consultation here