While beginning an exercise routine can be exciting and rewarding, it also involves work on your part. To help make the path to a newer, healthier you a little smoother, here are 10 things, courtesy of sportsmedicine.com, that you should not do on your way to a better life. Don’t Skip It: Many people get hung up on the “all or nothing” approach to exercise, but even if you don’t have the amount of time you want or think you need for a complete workout, doing something quick can give you long-term benefits. Even 10 or 15 minutes of exercise can provide a needed pick me up, help reduce metal fog or stress, help build strength, get the blood circulating and give you a cardiovascular boost. Don’t Get in a Rut: Mixing up the type of exercise you do with cross training, and changing the intensity of your workouts throughout the week and months can help you maintain a well-rounded fitness routine and keep your body in balance. If you do the same thing day after day, odds are higher that you will overuse some muscles or movement patterns and neglect others. This will not only set you up for chronic overuse injuries but it can also lead to mental fatigue and boredom. Exercising the whole body in a variety of ways can help you achieve both physical and mental balance. Related: 5 ways to stay motivated to exercise Don’t Get Sloppy: Poor technique or poor body mechanics are more likely to result in injury. If you aren’t certain how to safely do certain exercises, it may be worthwhile to work with a certified personal trainer. Exercise equipment is adjustable and it’s important that you set it up to fit you before you use it. Using poorly adjusted equipment is a set-up for injury. Don’t Rush Results: Exercising too hard and too often, and doing too much too soon not only ups your likelihood of pain, but it also leads to fleeting fitness results. Consistency and gradual progression are important principles to follow in order to avoid injury as you make lasting fitness improvements. Don’t Skip Your Warm Up: Taking even just five minutes to gradually warm up by increasing your body temperature and heart rate has been shown to decrease your risk of injury. Don’t Underestimate Your Sleep Needs: Sleep is one of the most underrated training tools in your toolkit. In a sleep-deprived culture, many of us don’t receive the sleep we need to function optimally, but lack of sleep is even more detrimental to training, performance and health. Don’t Be a Weekend Warrior: Exercising only on weekends may be better than nothing, but it’s not the ideal strategy for building fitness or maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Saving all your exercise for the weekend can also make you more prone to injuries. Related: Do you homework when hiring a personal trainer Don’t Overdo the Energy Foods: If you exercise less than 90 minutes, and you eat regular meals, you probably don’t need to replenish your calories during your workout. If you feel hungry before or during a workout eat something, but be mindful of how much you consume and if you really need the extra high-calorie bars and drinks. The casual exerciser can easily overcompensate for an average exercise session by thinking they need to eat more, or eat special “energy” foods. In most cases, this isn’t necessary and can lead to more calories than you really need. Don’t Worry About Perfection: Worrying too much about your training times, results, body shape and workout routines can set you up for an unhealthy exercise obsession. When you neglect other aspects of your life and exercise becomes your entire focus, you may be heading toward an unhealthy relationship to exercise. Don’t Be Rude: If you exercise in a gym or around others, there is some basic gym etiquette that you should heed. Some of the tips are basic common sense, but you’d be surprised by how many people in the gym fail to share or simple wipe down sweaty equipment. Always be considerate of other exercisers.

You’ve just completed an awesome workout, but feel as if you should do just a little bit more before hitting the showers. Why not try a finisher? Finishers are short (10 minutes, and often shorter than that) exercise routines that you perform after your workout is already over. As a high-intensity, short-duration routine coming after you’ve already completed a full workout program, finishers are a great way to push yourself to your absolute limit. Related: Four 1-and-done finishers to build your conditioning Utilizing a finisher program adds a metabolic element to your workouts, thus creating an EPOC (excess post-exercise oxygen consumption, informally called afterburn) effect within the body. By challenging you to perform at a high intensity for such a short duration, finishers rev up your metabolism to help your body burn fat better and longer. The best way to use these finishers is to choose one routine and add it to the end of your workout. Don’t add more than one to a given workout because you increase the risk of breaking down, getting injured and not enjoying your workouts. Today we’ll look at several finishers you can perform without any equipment and in a small space. These are perfect to do when you are traveling and don’t have time to hit the hotel gym, or if you had a workout that included a lot of heavy lifting. Multi-Planar Leg Matrix Perform 12 of each of the following: Stagger Squats Lateral Lunges Skater Jumps Stagger Stance Skier Swing + Jump Don’t be fooled by the simplicity of this workout! The combination of squats, lunges and jumps will rev up your metabolic engine all while training your legs to move in different planes of motion. You might discover muscles you didn’t think you had! Repeat for up to 3 sets. 20s/20s/20s Do 20 of each of the following: Bear Crawl – forward 4 steps, backward 4 steps Crab Walk – forward 4 steps, backward 4 steps Inchworm to a Push Up Repeat for up to 5 sets. These exercises will challenge you in basic functional ways that we hardly ever do in a typical Western life. Build your mobility and functional movement patterns while urging your muscles to burn more fat. Escalating Superset Perform these in sets of 20 seconds on, 10 seconds off: Split Jumps (right) Split Jumps (left) Forward Lunge to Reverse Lunge (right), Forward Lunge to Reverse Lunge (left) Plank, Plank Jacks Two-Point Plank (right), Two-Point Plank (left) Perform split jumps on your right leg, then rest, then perform a plank, then rest. Next, move on to split jumps on your left leg, then rest, then do plank jacks, and again rest. Continue with 20s on and 10s off for the remainder of the exercises. Related: Down-and-back finishers provide a change of pace Train Like a Champ These should be performed for 60 seconds, followed by 30 seconds of rest: Fake Jump Rope (or real if you have one) Side to Side Low Box Runners Run in Place Shadow Box Train like Rocky to beat your fitness into submission. 30 Seconds On, 15 Seconds Off Wall Sit Bear Crawl BW Skier Swing Towel Hip Turn Isometric Hold Eccentric Push Up (5 seconds down) You’ll only have to go through this once to feel the total-body burn, but feel free to run through this more often if desired! Remember that not all exercise programs are suitable for everyone, so be sure to check with your doctor before beginning any fitness program to avoid or reduce the risk of injury.

Use it or lose it is a popular saying when it comes to fitness. While it is true that you will lose fitness when you stop exercising, just how quickly you lose it depends on several factors, including how fit you are, how long you have been exercising and how long you stop. Losing fitness when you stop working out, which is known as detraining or deconditioning, is one of the key principles of conditioning, according to sportsmedicine.com . The principle of use/disuse simply means that when we stop exercising, we generally begin to decondition, with a subsequent lose of both strength and aerobic fitness. No matter how dedicated you are, there are times where you have to stop exercising for any number of reasons. Illness, injury, holidays, work, travel and social commitments often interfere with training routines. When this happens, you will often see a decline in your level of conditioning. Detraining in Fit Athletes: Deconditioning in fit athletes doesn’t appear to happen as quickly or drastically as in beginning exercisers. One study looked at well-conditioned athletes who had been training regularly for a year. They then stopped exercise entirely. After three months, researchers found that the athletes lost about half of their aerobic conditioning. Detraining in Beginning Athletes: The outcome is much different for new exercisers. Another study followed new exercisers as they began a training program and then stopped exercise. Researchers had sedentary individuals start a bicycle fitness program for two months. During those eight weeks, the exercisers made dramatic cardiovascular improvements and boosted their aerobic capacity substantially. At eight weeks, they quit exercising for the next two months. They were tested again and were found to have lost all of their aerobic gains and returned to their original fitness levels. Detraining and Exercise Frequency and Intensity: Other research is looking at the effects of decreasing training level, rather than completely stopping all exercise. The results are more encouraging for athletes who need to reduce training due to time constraints, illness or injury. One study followed sedentary men through three months of strength training, three times a week. They then cut back to one session per week. They found that these men maintained nearly all the strength gains they developed in the first three months. There are many individual differences in detraining rates so it’s impossible to apply all of these study results to all athletes. But it appears that if you maintain some higher intensity exercise on a weekly basis, you can maintain your fitness levels fairly well. Studies have shown that you can maintain your fitness level even if you need to change or cut back on you exercise for several months. In order to do so, you need to exercise at about 70 percent of your VO2 max at least once per week. If you stop exercise completely for several months it’s difficult to predict exactly how long it will take you to return to your former fitness level. After a three-month break it’s unlikely that any athlete will return to peak condition in a week. In some athletes it may even take as long as three months to regain all their conditioning. The time it takes to regain fitness appears to depend on your original level of fitness and how long you’ve stopped exercise.

Any type of activity that places unaccustomed loads on muscle may lead to what is known as delayed onset muscle soreness. This type of soreness is different from acute soreness, which is pain that develops during the actual activity. Delayed soreness typically begins to develop 12-24 hours after the exercise has been performed and may produce the greatest pain between 24-72 hours after the exercise has been performed. While origins of the soreness and accompanying symptoms are complex, it is well-established that many types of physical activity can cause delayed soreness, according to the American College of Sports Medicine. Most believe soreness develops as a result of microscopic damage to muscle fibers involved in the exercise. This type of damage likely results from novel stresses that were experienced during the exercise. Related: 10 Things Not To Do During A Workout One common misconception about delayed onset muscle soreness is that it is due to lactic acid accumulation, but lactic acid is not a component of this process. The soreness appears to be a side effect of the repair process that develops in response to microscopic muscle damage. Examples of activities that are known to cause delayed onset muscle soreness include: Strength training exercise Walking down hills Jogging Step aerobics Jumping Activities which cause delayed onset muscle soreness all ones that cause your muscles to lengthen while force is applied, or what is known as eccentric muscle action. Examples of eccentric muscle actions include the lowering phase of a bicep curl exercise or the lengthening of the thigh muscles while the limb brakes against your body’s momentum as it walks or jogs down a hill. Jogging or running on a flat surface can also elicit delayed onset muscle soreness symptoms for those who are unaccustomed to this type of activity. The severity of soreness depends on the types of forces placed on a particular muscle. Running down a hill will place greater force on the muscle than walking down the same hill, so any soreness that develops will likely be greater after running down a hill. A high number of repetitions will cause more damage and soreness than a low number of repetitions. As a result, it is recommended that you work your way gradually into a new exercise program. All people are susceptible to delayed onset muscle soreness, even those who have been exercising for years. However, the severity of soreness normally becomes less as your body becomes adapted to the work it regularly performs. Even just a single bout of soreness-producing exercise actually develops a partial protective effect that reduces the chance of developing soreness in that same activity for weeks or months into the future. Does Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness Only Cause Soreness? There are numerous characteristics of delayed onset muscle soreness beyond local muscle pain. According to the American College of Sports Medicine, some of the most common symptoms include: Swelling of the affected limbs; Stiffness of the joint accompanied by temporary reduction in a joint’s range of motion; Tenderness to the touch; Temporary reduction in strength of the affected muscles (lasting days); In rare and severe cases, muscle breakdown to the extent that the kidneys may be placed at risk; and Elevated creatine kinase (CK) enzyme in the blood, signaling muscle tissue damage. Seeking Medical Treatment Delayed onset muscle soreness symptoms do not typically necessitate the need for medical intervention. But if the pain level becomes debilitating, if your limbs experience heavy swelling or if your urine becomes dark, then medical consultation is advisable. Prevention One of the best ways to reduce the severity of delayed onset muscle soreness is to progress slowly in a new program. Allowing the muscle time to adapt to new stress should help to minimize the severity of symptoms, but it is unlikely that soreness can be avoided altogether. It is also important to allow the muscle time to recover from work that produces soreness, and participating in the same exercises on subsequent days should to be done judiciously. Related: 8 Dangerous Exercise Habits To Avoid Proper warmup is also important in preparing the muscle for the types of forces that may cause damage, but there is little evidence that warm-up will be effective in preventing delayed onset muscle soreness symptoms. Stretching is sometimes done before exercise, but it is better to stretch after the body is warmed up and after exercise. Stretching has not been shown to reduce or prevent symptoms of delayed onset muscle soreness, but delayed onset muscle soreness should last only a few days (usually 3-5 days) and the involved muscles will be better prepared for future bouts of the same type of exercise. Discontinuing Exercise Often, symptoms will diminish during activity, but they will return after recovery. Performing exercise while experiencing severe symptoms may make matters worse. On the other hand, light activity should not impair your recovery. However, there is also not much evidence that this will hasten your recovery. If you find that your symptoms make it difficult or too painful to perform the activity, then it is advisable to refrain from the activity for a few days and return to the activity as symptoms subside. Easing Symptoms There is little evidence that treatment strategies will hasten your recovery and ability to return to normal function. If the primary goal is to reduce the symptoms, then treatments such as ice pack application, massage, tender-point acupressure, and oral pain relief agents may be useful in easing pain. It is important to be aware that pain reduction does not represent recovery. Rather, these treatments may only be effective in reducing symptoms of pain, but underlying muscle damage and reduced function may persist. No Pain, No Gain? It is unlikely that you will avoid soreness altogether when beginning a new exercise program. However, pain does not need to be present to achieve gains in fitness status, and pain may indicate a need to reduce or refrain from an activity. While eccentric loading of muscle to achieve gains in muscle size appears to be important, gains in strength will occur without overemphasizing the eccentric component of a weightlifting exercise. Pain that occurs during exercise (i.e., acute) signals a problem with the exercise (too intense, bad form, etc.) and should be halted before muscle or joint damage occurs

Ever finish off a great workout only to find yourself unable to move the next day? Maybe your quads are burning from those mountain climbers, or your back is tight from that superset of lat pulldowns, or it’s another part of your body that you didn’t even realize you had been working on. Don’t worry – you are not alone. Related: Understanding delayed onset muscle soreness Any type of activity that places unaccustomed loads on muscle may lead to what is known as delayed onset muscle soreness. This type of soreness is different from acute soreness, which is pain that develops during the actual activity. Delayed soreness typically begins to develop 12-24 hours after the exercise has been performed and may produce the greatest pain between 24-72 hours after the exercise has been performed. But how do you know if what you are feeling is part of the positive sign of all your hard work or if it is something more serious? Both weight training and cardiovascular exercises put stress on our bodies, but in a positive way by increasing our strength and endurance. If you push yourself hard you are doing your body a favor, but it can come with some residual pain. So how can you tell the difference between “normal” levels of pain and ones that you need to be concerned about? According to the Cleveland Clinic, in addition to delayed onset muscle soreness, don’t worry if you feel a burning muscle pain during your actual workout. That pain is caused by a buildup of lactic acid in your muscles and will generally go away once you complete the particular exercise. That burning sensation is also the body’s way of signaling that it is time to stop overworking a particular muscle and allowing the body to clear the lactate and other metabolites. So while you should anticipate some pain as a result of exercising, you do need to pay attention to your body if it hurts. If the pain is severe or persistent, it could be a sign that you have sustained an injury. If you experience any of the following pains don’t ignore them: Decreases your range of motion — Sharp pain that prevents you from moving a body part, decreases your range of motion, or prevents you from moving altogether. Is in an area of a previous injury or surgery Is associated with deformity or massive swelling Does not go away despite care — If you do not experience relief after several days of rest, ice or over the counter anti-inflammatory medication. Is constant — If pain never stops or worsens in severity. Involves pressure and bruising Is intense — If pain is so intense that it causes nausea and/or vomiting. Is associated with fevers and chills If you experience any of these pains, seek treatment from a medical professional. The sooner you resolve an issue with pain, the sooner you can get back to exercising.

When many people think of having a strong core they focus on the abs, working hard to try and develop what is commonly referred to as a six pack. When it comes to strengthening your core, don’t overlook your back. Too often, we focus entirely on the front of our bodies, forgetting that developing strong midsection strength and postural support also involves the upper and lower back. Just because you can’t see your back in the mirror doesn’t mean you shouldn’t give it some love at the gym. Not only will a strong back help your posture, it will give your physique a wide and powerful look, along with the illusion of having a smaller waist. Related: Planks do more than just rock your core Unlike the chest, the back is made up of more than just one major muscle group as it houses a complex system of muscles – from your lats to your rotator cuffs to your upper, middle, and lower traps, with each area performing a variety of functions. Here are five exercises to add to your workout routine that will help you build a strong back. Seated one-arm cable row: To get into the starting position, first sit down on the machine and place your feet on the front platform or crossbar provided making sure that your knees are slightly bent and not locked. Lean over as you keep the natural alignment of your back and grab the single handle attachment with your left arm using a palms-down grip. With your arm extended pull back until your torso is at a 90-degree angle from your legs. Your back should be slightly arched and your chest should be sticking out. You should be feeling a nice stretch on your lat as you hold the bar in front of you. The right arm can be kept by the waist. This is the starting position of the exercise. Keeping the torso stationary, pull the handles back towards your torso while keeping the arms close to it as you rotate the wrist, so that by the time your hand is by your abdominals it is in a neutral position (palms facing the torso). Breathe out as you perform that movement. At that point you should be squeezing your back muscles hard. Hold that contraction for a second and slowly go back to the original position while breathing in. Perform three sets of 12 to 15 repetitions per set. ( muscleandfitness.com ) Superman: Lying down in a prone position with your arms crossed and your head resting on your hands, start by gently lifting your shoulder off the floor, extending your spine. You can keep your head relaxed on the back side of your hands for support to maintain a neutral neck. Slowly release back toward the floor. Keep your shoulders relaxed and pulled down away from your ears throughout the range of motion. For an added challenge, simultaneously squeeze your gluteals to gently lift your legs off the floor. Keep your legs long and your feet relaxed. (Do not bend your knees or pull your heels toward your glutes.) ( My Fitness Pal ) Related: Benefits of using a rowing machine (Video) Lat pulldowns: The lat pulldown is great for increasing muscle. Sit down at a lat pulldown station and grab the bar with an overhand grip that’s just beyond shoulder width. Without moving your torso, pull your shoulders back and down, and bring the bar down to your chest. Pause, then slowly return to the starting position. You will get the most out of the move by performing the exercise at a slow, controlled tempo. You should be able to feel your lats working each rep. Do 8 to 12 reps like this, making sure your upper body remains in nearly the same position from start to finish. ( Men’s Health ) Opposite arm & leg lift: Get down on all fours with hands under shoulders and knees under hips. Reach your right arm forward; at the same time, stretch your left leg back. Hold for 5 seconds, then release and repeat using the left arm and right leg; that’s one rep. Do 10 to 15 reps. ( health.com ) Bent-over underhand barbell row: Compared to other variations of the row—like the single-arm dumbbell row—the barbell version allows you to use more weight. Rowing with heavier loads elicits more muscle growth in your middle and lower traps, rhomboid major, rhomboid minor, upper traps, rear deltoids, and rotator cuff muscles. Use an underhand grip to target your rhomboids, the small muscles that start at your spine and attach to your shoulder blades. They assist your traps with pulling your shoulder blades together. These muscles tend to be weak due to the long amount of time we spend sitting at desks, in cars, or on couches every day. Grab a barbell with an underhand grip that’s just beyond shoulder width, and hold it at arm’s length. Lower your torso until it’s almost parallel to the floor, and bend at your hips and knees. Let the bar hang at arm’s length. Pull the bar to your upper abs as you squeeze your shoulder blades together. Pause, and slowly lower the bar back to the starting position. ( Men’s Health ) (Photo courtesy of Men’s Fitness)

Larry Tedor is the owner and operator of AMP Fitness, a personal training fitness center located in Beachwood. A certified personal trainer and certified nutrition consultant, Larry specializes in training individuals for weight loss and building lean muscle. Larry’s passion for fitness stems from his time as an elite runner in high school and he has been involved with personal training for more than five years. He loves to work with all age ranges, especially clients who have special needs, including back, knee and shoulder injuries. His attention to detail is apparent during training sessions, as he focuses on using the proper biomechanics to ensure the best results. Larry’s philosophy of, “if you want something in life, don’t wish for it, work for it! Life is too short to wait,” is apparent in the work he does as a fitness professional, personal trainer, lifestyle fitness coach and nutrition consultant. Larry earned his personal training certification through the National Personal Training Institute. Every trainer at AMP Fitness works to provide clients with the knowledge, motivation, dedication and desire needed you to transform their bodies, while leading them toward a more productive and healthy lifestyle. To learn more, visit ampfitness.com.

The holiday season can be a festive time, complete with office parties, dinners with friends, seasonal lattes while shopping and a seemingly never-ending array of tempting food designed to make you pack on the pounds in the weeks leading up to between New Year’s Day. But along with the fun can come stress over getting the right present for everyone, making sure you create the “perfect” holiday for family and friends, and wearing yourself out from attending too many parties — which doesn’t help your eating habits. “You’ve got the stress of the holidays, along with a lack of sleep, and, for many, a cauldron of bubbling emotions coming to the surface — and you’ve got all this food beckoning you at every turn,” says Warren Huberman, PhD, a clinical psychologist specializing in weight control at New York University Medical Center, according to an article at WebMD.com. “It can be a dangerous combination for those who have problems controlling what they eat.” Here are eight tips to help you get through the next couple of weeks with no regrets. If you are spending time with family, bring some fresh vegetables with you. Moms love to have our favorites waiting for us when we arrive home, which can mean piles of cookies, cakes and other sweets, but not a vegetable in sight. (And, no, sweet potatoes topped with marshmallows do not count.) If you find yourself in that situation, there is nothing wrong with bringing your own healthy foods with you. It isn’t always easy, but by having a plan and following through with it, you can stay securely in the present and avoid sliding into old patterns and old ways of eating. ( prevention.com ) On a related note, start with the fruits and veggies. Many of us don’t eat enough vegetables anyway, so take this opportunity to eat the healthier options first. By the time you get to the cheesecake and chocolate dip, you may find that you have less room to overindulge in high-calorie foods. ( ghc.org ) Never arrive at a party hungry. New York psychologist Carol Goldberg, Ph.D., says planning ahead can help you maintain discipline in the face of temptation. “Don’t go to a party when you’re starving,” she warns. Try to have a nutritious snack beforehand. If you do arrive hungry, drink some water to fill up before filling your plate. ( webmd.com ) Everywhere you turn, you see tempting food. Listen to your body before, during and after you eat. If a cookie looks good to you, ask yourself: Do I want it because I think it will curb my hunger or because I want to treat myself? If you really are hungry, then eat it and enjoy it. But be sure to pay attention to how you feel 10 to 15 minutes afterward. If you’re tired, spacey, or depressed, it wasn’t really a treat, was it? (prevention.com) Be sure to pace yourself. Have you ever tried telling yourself you’ll only eat during the first half hour of a party? Goldberg says this strategy is a mistake. “If you cram in as much as you can in half an hour, you chew faster,” she explains. “Chewing more slowly will fill you up with less food.” To munch at a leisurely pace, try putting your fork down between every bite. ( webmd.com ) Variety is the spice of life. Try small amounts of multiple foods rather than taking two or three servings of any one food. This helps keep your portions smaller and ensures that you will get to taste more dishes. ( ghc.org ) Limit your alcohol intake. There is nothing wrong with having a drink, but remember you are consuming empty calories. There are also health risks involved with excess drinking. If you do have more than one alcoholic drink, make a point to drink a full glass of water between drinks. It will slow you down, fill you up and help keep you from getting dehydrated. ( ghc.org ) The most important strategy of all. Stick to your exercise routine during the holidays or start one. And if you are feeling inspired, add five or 10 minutes to it.

Larry Tedor is the owner and operator of AMP Fitness, a personal training fitness center located in Beachwood. A certified personal trainer and certified nutrition consultant, Larry specializes in training individuals for weight loss and building lean muscle. Larry’s passion for fitness stems from his time as an elite runner in high school and he has been involved with personal training for more than five years. He loves to work with all age ranges, especially clients who have special needs, including back, knee and shoulder injuries. His attention to detail is apparent during training sessions, as he focuses on using the proper biomechanics to ensure the best results. Larry’s philosophy of, “if you want something in life, don’t wish for it, work for it! Life is too short to wait,” is apparent in the work he does as a fitness professional, personal trainer, lifestyle fitness coach and nutrition consultant. Larry earned his personal training certification through the National Personal Training Institute. Every trainer at AMP Fitness works to provide clients with the knowledge, motivation, dedication and desire needed you to transform their bodies, while leading them toward a more productive and healthy lifestyle. To learn more, visit ampfitness.com.