Don MacNaughton offers motivational advise on building and maintaining an effective workout routine..

1. 7 Ways QX_12 Reasons 19/01/2012 14:37 Page 2
Starting block
7 MISTAKESg!
you’re Pro
The experts tell us what most of us are
doing wrong during our sessions and
how to get it right…
Workout
bably Makin
GOING
THROUGH
1 BEING AIMLESS
Perhaps you have a rough goal of wanting to
lose weight or get better at your sport, but you
need to set specific, smaller targets that will
get you closer to achieving your overall aim.
“It’s a well known fact that preparation is the
key to success,” points out ‘sports shrink’ Don
MacNaughton, author of The 12 Hidden Laws of
Performance (£8.99, HeadShrink Publications).
“Considerable research has been done in this area and
THE MOTIONS
It’s not enough to simply get your backside
into a gym – you need to make each training session count.
“It’s not the hours you put in, it’s what you put into the hours,”
Don quips. “Some gym members seem to be there every day –
yet they never seem to improve their fitness or change their
body shape,” he says. “They wonder why other gym goers
have made enormous progress by only working out three
times a week for no more than one hour each time,” he
results show that keeping a daily training diary can be says. “It shows that a winning effort has little to do with
enormously helpful. A diary allows goals to be set on a daily quantity of effort but everything to do with quality.”
basis and makes recording results a form of daily analysis.” Follow Don MacNaughton on Twitter
@donmac007
IGNORING THINKING SIT-
WEIGHTS
“A lot of women think they’ll UPS = SIX-PACK
bulk up if they use weights, The sad truth is that abs work alone won’t
in fact it would take at least give us a waist like Cameron Diaz’s. “Just
2-3 very intense resistance training doing stomach crunches twice a week won’t
sessions per week for this to begin to get the result you want. A toned midriff has a lot
happen,” explains Paul Sampson, PT and to do with your diet, as well as doing the correct
managing director of the International exercises,” Paul tells us. “One of the best moves for
Training Club (the-itc.co.uk). “The most abs is actually a squat, which targets your core
common mistake is not having a muscles as they act as stabilisers, and this ultimately
correctly designed programme, or just hits other body parts at the same time.” It pays to
doing your own thing in the gym hoping have a pro on hand who can supervise you to make
to achieve results,” he adds. So, don’t be
sure you perform this exercise correctly and to get
afraid to ask the gym staff – that’s what
the most out of it, plus you’ll be improving your butt:
they’re there for!
“For bums and tums, do squats!” adds Paul.
16 Bodyfit