
Celebrity trainer
Harley Pasternak who's trained
Alicia Keys,
Eva Mendes, and
Halle Berry has a little tip for us when it comes to strength training. He recommends a one sided workout like this: "Work with only one arm or one leg at a time when strength training with dumbbells. This way, while you're resting one side of your body you'll keep the other side going strong."

When you're strength training, there are definitely certain
multitasking moves where you sit, kneel, or lie on the floor or a balance ball. I think that is fine, but for all other upper body exercises, be sure to do them standing instead of sitting on a weight bench. Standing makes the exercise more challenging to your entire body.

You know you should be spending time strength training, but you already spend a lot of time at the gym doing cardio and don't think you can fit in toning sessions. Don't assume you have to spend hours lifting weights — it doesn't take much to start seeing results. Start with 20 to 30 minutes of strength training sessions
twice a week.

Whether you're using
dumbells or a
weightlifting machine, you aren't doing yourself any favors by cheating. So make sure that for every rep, you complete the full range of motion for the exercise.
If you're using free weights, this means returning to your starting position after every rep: If you're doing bicep curls, lower you hands all the way down and bring them all the way back up.

When you're
strength training, whether you're using dumbbells, resistance bands, or machines, most of your mind is probably focused on the muscles getting worked. That's great, but you don't want to forget about proper form, and part of that means thinking about your shoulders. You want to be sure to relax them and elongate your neck.