Sometimes your muscles need a little nudge, especially if they’re stubborn and are refusing to shape up. Shoulders are notorious hard-gainers, but this drop-set program could be the key to getting them to move in the right direction.

A drop set is an extended set in which you do more repetitions by lowering the weight several times during the course of the set in order to maintain tension on the muscle and encourage growth. For example, if you were doing a dumbbell lateral raise, you might start with 12 pounds in each hand. You’d do as many reps as you could with that 12-pound weight, then you’d put them down and pick up a lighter set, say 10 pounds, and again do as many reps as you could. Once you failed with the 10’s then you’d move down once more to the 8’s, and once you achieved failure with the 8’s that set would be over.

Many women could be wasting their time performing endless squats, says Alesha Dixon’s personal trainer Janet Malinowska, because they’re not working your gluteal muscles properly – and could be causing harm to your back.

‘Many women have trouble performing normal squats and this is due to the Q angle position of the female pelvis (associated with our wider pelvises), and also tightness in the ankles from wearing high heeled shoes,’ she explains. ‘Women tend to lean forward a lot when squatting, rather than squatting down and backwards (as if sitting back in a chair) because of the issues above, which means they can overload and place pressure on the back (see image below).’

Some will argue it’s not possible to increase your intelligence, saying you’re better off focusing on what you already have. But here’s what our experts – and the latest research – say about boosting your brainpower.

1. MEDITATE

Meditation improves your memory, increases brain size, makes both brain hemispheres work together and enhances your emotional intelligence, according to the Exploration of Consciousness Research Institute. Plus, a 2012 study published in Frontiers in Human Neuroscience found participating in an eight-week meditation training program had measurable effects on how the brain functions even when you are not actively meditating.

TRY > There are various meditation practices, but the Australian Teachers of Meditation Associationsays it’s broadly a discipline that involves turning the mind and attention inward and focusing on a single thought, image, object or feeling. A quiet space makes meditation easier and you don’t need to take up any particular posture, just be comfortable so that you don’t need to readjust part way through the practice. High Performance Coach Stephanie Kakris, who teaches meditation, recommends starting with a guided meditation using an app such as Relax and Rest, which gives five, 13 or 20-minute options with music or nature sounds.

2. PLAY GAMES

The jury is still out on whether cerebral exercises have any long-term effect on mental performance. “The main problem is that although people can train themselves to do better on particular tasks, the performance improvement rarely generalises to other tasks and abilities,” says professor Nick Haslam, of the Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences. But a 2008 study called Improving Fluid Intelligence with Training on Working Memory was the first research to show it might be possible to increase your intelligence to a significant degree through training.

TRY > Neuroscientists have designed a series of games called Lumosity to help challenge certain parts of your brain. The online and smartphone resource let’s you exercise core cognitive abilities whenever and wherever you like.

1. Cereal

The gripe: "For the most part, cereals are not exactly high in nutrients, apart from synthetic nutrients that are added. Cereals are also low in protein and high in carbohydrates, so if weight loss is your goal, then it's going to be pretty hard if you're fuelling your body with carbs." Many cereals have a high glycaemic index (GI), meaning they're unlikely to keep you full and are likely to bring an energy crash. "In my experience, people who eat cereal for breakfast are generally the people who have the energy slump in the afternoon," Ellis says.