If you've joined a gym to lose weight, then try not to get trapped in the 'cardio zone' or even worse, the 'women's section'! I've heard that term used so often when referring to the section of the gym that has countless bikes, cross trainers and tread mills. Quite commonly though, this is where you'll usually find a higher number of females.

Steady cardio is great, it will get your heart and lungs working and help improve your fitness levels. It will even make your body slightly stronger and it will help burn off calories. However if you are pushing out 60 mins of steady cardio 5 days a week, you'll look back in a few months and wonder why you've not got much results form all that hard work. Surely all those calories you've burnt off will have burnt off all your body fat?

If you want to burn fat, then there's much more efficient ways to burn it off, and faster.

Incorporate weight training into your routine, this will make you stronger, give tone to your muscles and will increase the amount of fat you burn off. The more muscle tone you have , the higher your fat metabolism will be. Interval training, such as sprints or short bursts of more intensive cardio will burn off more calories and it will also take your body longer to recover after your training session so you'll continue to burn off more afterwards.

If you've never used weights or have no idea where to start with intervals then you could join in a class, that way you'll have the guidance of an instructor. Book a session with a trainer to get one-to-one advice, that way you'll know it will be specific to you and your needs.

Finally, exercise improves your health, mind and body, so whatever form you do, it will come with benefits.