Raise your hand if you’ve ever been told that to lose weight, you need to do cardio? Whether it’s running, cycle classes, or the elliptical, it seems like everyone’s preaching that the only way to drop pounds is to slave away on some cardio machine for hours, to sweat at least a gallon each workout, and to be so sore that you can’t walk for 3 days. The truth is, if you want your workouts to be effective, you must work out smarter, not harder. More time does not equal more results. More sweat does not equal more pounds lost. More muscle soreness does not equal more pants sizes dropped. Working out smarter looks like this: Instead of doing long workouts on a cardio machine, do shorter workouts working multiple muscle groups throughout the week. Instead of trying to push yourself to 100% every workout, do workouts that vary in intensity and work different energy systems throughout the week. Instead of pounding the cardio every day, combine strength and metabolic c...