Making the most of your workout: 3 mistakes keeping you from losing weight

Are faults in your fitness routine delaying your development?  You think you are moving all the right muscles as you stride, sweat and stretch, yet the scale doesn't budge.  A true calisthenics conundrum!  Don't get worked up about your workout - just tweak your training technique!  Here are the top three mistakes standing in your way of wellness and weight loss.

Faulty Form.  You just finished your workout and feel like a rockstar.  There's just one problem Sweaty Van Halen: While sweat is evidence that your body is working, it does not guarantee that you are cranking out your cardio correctly.  Faults in our form may seem like an innocent offense, but they carry severe consequences such as missing the muscles you wanted to tone, or worse, injuries.  Form always comes before function.  Therefore, don't be afraid to lower your level of intensity in order to ensure good form.  Your body is like a motor vehicle.  Pushing the pedal to the metal on a broken tire axis and misaligned tires increases your chances of ending up in a ditch.  Don't let yourself end up in a ditch.

Your Workout is the Worst.  Eliminate the work from your workout routine by incorporating exercises you truly enjoy.  If you dread your workout, chances are you won't adhere to it.  Get in the game by finding what you love — or at least like — to do.  Tap into your physical fitness history by thinking of which sports or exercises you enjoyed most in your youth.  For example, I played tennis from a young age.  Sprints and fast footwork drills interested and challenged me.  Therefore, a lot of my current training involves speed skills and exercises that focus on explosive movements.  When I want to get out of a gym setting, I hit the court and play a few rounds of tennis.  The point is, if you want to banish boredom and unwanted weight, be enthusiastic about your exercises.

Calorie Counter Confusion.  Congratulations!  Your StairMaster screen reads that you just burned 526 calories in 20 minutes.  You feel great.  So great, you feel justified in rewarding yourself with a McMorbidly Obese Meal at McDonald's.  One thing to consider before going ham on that burger, calorie counters are inaccurate.  While they can try to ballpark your caloric expenditure based on your height, weight and level of cardio, they often fall short in exactness.  If you really want to pinpoint your calories, a heart rate monitor is a good choice.  They can be found at Target, online or at any sporting goods store.  Otherwise, use your cardio contraption for what it does best - calculating time and distance.  Aim for at least thirty minutes of cardio, and try to maintain a steady, swift pace.  These factors are far more valuable than calorie counters.

If you want to win the war on weight-loss, you must avoid training traps and tricks.

Earn it.

To learn more about the types of classes Ashley offers, visit ashleyblakefitness.com.

Read more Sports Doc for Sports Medicine and Fitness.