Working smarter is the key to a great exercise regime, ‘there is no magic to it’.  You don’t have to work out for hours at a time to achieve desired results.  This old saying rings true… you get out of it what you put into it, and with African Mango in the story, you are bound to win! Generally it is agreed by those in the know that not all exercises are created equal. Some exercises are simply more efficient than others, whether they target single or multiple muscle groups, are aerobic, resistance, suitable for a wide variety of fitness levels, help you burn calories more effectively, the list goes on…  remember it is about quality, not quantity! So what are the best exercises? Fitness experts advocate the following…

• Any exercise program should include cardiovascular (aerobic) exercise, which tones vessels, strengthens skeletal, smooth and heart muscles and burns calories.
• Walking is an aerobic exercise which can be undertaken anywhere, anytime, with no equipment necessary other than a decent pair of shoes.  It is not just for beginners either, even the very fit can enjoy a good workout walking, doing a brisk walk can burn around 400 calories per hour.  Beginners should start by walking ten minutes at a time, gradually moving up to at least 30 minutes per session quickly, over a period of a week.
• Tip: It’s better to lengthen your walks before boosting your speed or incline.
• It doesn’t matter what level of fitness you are at, adding interval training to your cardiovascular workout will boost your fitness level and help you lose weight.  Varying your pace throughout the exercise session stimulates the aerobic system to adapt, the more power the aerobic system has, the more capacity you have to burn calories.  The way to do it is to push the intensity or pace for a minute or two, then back off for anywhere from two to ten minutes (depending on how long your total workout will be, and how much time you need to recover). Continue doing this throughout the workout.
• Resistance and strength training is essential, the more muscular fitness you have, the greater the capacity you have to burn calories.  Strength-training exercises that target multiple muscle groups are more effective.  Squats, which work the quadriceps, hamstrings and gluteals are an excellent example, as they give you the best bang for the buck because they use the most muscle groups at once.
• Form is key!  What makes an exercise functional is how you perform the exercise, if you have bad technique, it is no longer functional.  Think about perfect form, for squats keep feet shoulder-width apart and back straight. Bend knees and lower your rear, the knee should remain over the ankle as much as possible.  Think of how you sit down in a chair, only the chair is not there, practising with a real chair can help, start by trying to just tap the chair with your bottom, then coming back up. Then do the same motion without the chair.
• Like squats, lunges work all the major muscles of the lower body, gluteals, quadriceps and hamstrings.  A lunge is a great exercise because it mimics life, it mimics walking, only exaggerated. Lunges are a bit more advanced than squats, helping to improve your balance as well.  Here’s how to do them right
  • Take a big step forward, keeping your spine in a neutral position.
  • Bend your front knee to approximately 90 degrees, focusing on keeping weight on the back toes and dropping the knee of your back leg toward the floor, imagine sitting on your back foot, the trailing leg is the one you need to sit down on.
  • To make a lunge even more functional, try stepping not just forward, but back and out to each side.
  • Life is not linear, it is multi-planar, and the better they prepare you for the various positions you’ll move in during the course of a day, the more useful exercises are.
• If done correctly, the push-up can strengthen your chest, shoulders, triceps, and even the core trunk muscles all at once.  We are very much into planking exercises, almost yoga-type moves, anytime you have the pelvis and the core [abdominals and back] in a suspended position, you have to rely on your own adherent strength to stabilize you.  Push-ups can be done at any level of fitness, for someone who is at a more beginning level, start by pushing from the kitchen-counter height. Then work your way to a desk, a chair, the floor with bent knees, and, finally, the floor on your toes. Here’s how to do a perfect push-up
• From a face-down position, place your hands slightly wider than shoulder width apart (the further apart and away from you the harder the exercise).
• Place your toes or knees on the floor, and try to create a perfect diagonal with your body, from the shoulders to the knees or feet.
• Keep the gluteals [rear-end muscles] and abdominals tight.
• Now lower and lift your body by bending and straightening your elbows, keeping your torso stable throughout.
• There are always ways to make it harder, once your form is perfect, try the “T-stabilization” push-up:
  • Get into push-up position, now do your push-ups with one arm raised out to the side, balancing on the remaining three limbs without rotating your hips.
• Abdominal crunches for flat abs a standard crunch is best…
  • Begin lying on your back with feet flat on the floor and fingertips supporting your head.
  • Press your lower back down and begin the exercise by contracting abdominals and peeling first your head (tucking your chin slightly), then your neck, shoulders, and upper back off the floor.
  • Be careful not to pull your neck forward of the rest of your spine by sticking the chin out
  • Do not hold your breath
  • Keep elbows out of your line of vision
  • Keep chest and shoulders open
• Crunches can be excellent, but if they’re not done correctly, with the back arching, they can actually weaken the abdominals
• To work the obliques (the muscles on the sides of your waist)
  • Take the standard crunch and rotate the spine toward one side as you curl off the floor, twist before you come up, as it is really important that the twist comes first because then it is the obliques that are actually getting you up.

Keep in mind that you won’t get a flat stomach with crunches alone, burning belly fat requires the well-known formula, using up more calories than you take in.

• Bend over row, this exercise works all the major muscles of the upper back, as well as the biceps.
• Here’s how to do it with good form. Stand with feet shoulder-width apart, then bend knees and flex forward at the hips. (If you have trouble doing this exercise standing up, support your weight by sitting on an incline bench, facing backward.)
• Tilt your pelvis slightly forward, engage the abdominals, and extend your upper spine to add support. Hold dumbbells or barbell beneath the shoulders with hands about shoulder-width apart.
• Flex your elbows, and lift both hands toward the sides of your body. Pause, then slowly lower hands to the starting position. (Beginners should perform the move without weights.)

These exercises are excellent, efficient choices, however with just about any strength or resistance exercise, the question is not so much whether the exercise works, as how well you execute.  The trouble is that poor form can change the whole exercise, putting emphasis or even strain on different areas than intended.  This can hurt, rather than help you. So especially if you’re a beginner, it’s a good idea to seek the advice of a fitness trainer, whether it is a personal trainer or a trainer at your gym, to be sure your form is safe and correct.