Lean for life series.

Lift Heavy Weights

Even thin bodies can be flabby if muscles aren’t kept strong. Heavier bodies always benefit from being firmer. In addition to daily cardio activity, it’s crucial to target muscles with specific strengthening exercises. But the one mistake many people, especially women, make is lifting weights that are too light. “The downside of doing this is that some of the muscle tissue remains untrained.

For best flab-fighting results, I recommends lifting weights two to three days a week, with rest days in between, working the same muscle groups. Vary the intensity and include one heavy-lifting session at least once every two weeks. In addition to light-to-moderate effort workouts doing one to three sets of eight to 15 reps, aim for using a weight that is heavy enough to fatigue your muscles after three to five repetitions of an exercise, and do three to four sets of these. If you think you’re not strong enough to lift heavy dumbbells, step on the scale after you bring your groceries home—chances are you lift 15 to 20 pounds or more per bag when you go shopping.