beginner fitness tips

The start of any new fitness regimen can be full of many unknowns, like how much you should be exercising and how to do basic strength-training moves. One more important aspect of your new exercise routine you shouldn't ignore? Finding the right fit for you.

While it can be easy to sign up for the closest gym or just tag along with your friends to Pilates class, if you don't take time to find a workout you actually like, then your new beginner's enthusiasm might wane into pre-workout dread — and neglect — before you know it. So take time out to try everything to find what you really love, says Natalie Uhling, a kickboxing and SLT Yoga instructor who found her perfect fitness fit — loud music and lots of movement and intensity — after a lot of trial and error. "I've tried every exercise you can imagine," she told us. "I know what I like."

Follow Natalie's advice and think outside your exercise box. "Take everything. Even if you're like, 'Oh, that description doesn't sound like something I would do' — take it all," she advises. Once you've figured out your fit, take note of what gets you excited to work out. "Do what's best for you, not what your friends do and not what someone's telling you to do," she says. "Do what you love to do, and then you'll be able to incorporate it into your life." And don't let embarrassment keep you from trying that new hip-hop dance class. "Don't be afraid to try anything," she adds. "I've looked like a total fool in tons of classes."

If your workout needs a little boost, having caffeine before you exercise can be just what you need. Studies have shown that ingesting caffeine before a workout increases your endurance, can help ease postexercise muscle soreness, and can help sedentary people exercise more vigorously. While caffeinated gels, drinks, and chews help give a much-needed boost during endurance races, you should play it safe when it comes to your caffeinated workout. Stay away from energy drinks, and opt for naturally caffeinated options with these tips.

Have a shot: An espresso shot before a workout is convenient, since it won't weigh you down and can be drunk quickly if you're on your way to the gym. Take the shot, which on average contains about 75 milligrams of caffeine, about 30 minutes before your workout to reap the effects of the caffeine during your workout.

Take a coffee break: If you are going to drink a full cup of coffee or tea before you exercise, make sure that you drink it about an hour before so you won't be full of liquid when you work out. Note that a 16-ounce cup of Starbucks coffee contains 330 milligrams of caffeine, so don't drink a full cup before an evening workout if caffeine normally keeps you awake.

Look for caffeinated snacks: A recent study found that eating a small piece of dark chocolate before a workout can help with endurance because it contains a flavonoid that may help muscles resist fatigue. While a small piece of dark chocolate may not contain that much caffeine, the combination of carbs, caffeine, and flavonoids may help give you a small boost. For a bigger caffeinated effect, look for energy gels and chews that contain caffeine.

No matter what your caffeine strategy, if you are training for a race and use caffeine to help your workouts, endurance running and nutrition coach Matt Fitzgerald recommends in his book The New Rules of Marathon and Half Marathon Training to go on a caffeine fast a week or two before your big day. Since your body acclimates to the effects of caffeine, taking a weeklong break will ensure that you feel the greatest effects during your race. You should also take care to not go over the recommended daily intake of 300 milligrams.

Whether you run on a treadmill and glance at the display, or keep track of your run outside with a GPS, you understand that it's nice to know how many calories you're burning, especially if weight loss is one of your goals.

Here's a nifty chart to let you know what your pace and workout time translates to in calories burned. It can also help you figure out how intensely and how long you need to exercise in order to negate the cupcake you savored at lunch.

*Calculations based on a 130-pound woman

You know it's the right thing to do, but every once in a while, getting to a workout can feel close to impossible. A late night or a tough day at work can leave you wanting to cancel your fitness plans and have a date with your couch.

During these times, making time to exercise is even more essential, since it can restore endorphins, clear your head, and leave you with a sense of calm. If making moves to the gym is feeling difficult, then try one of these low-key ideas that start slow but might turn into a more intense workout session.

Go out for a walk: Start off on a leisurely walk, plug into your favorite inspiring workout playlist, and see what happens. Once you warm up a bit, you might find yourself on a brisk jog or alternating between a fast-paced walk and sprints.

Head to the pool: Planning on a pool day where you'll relax and cool off? All those bikini bodies might inspire you to get moving! What started off as a quick dip can easily turn into a few rounds of treading water or a ton of laps.

Stretch on your mat: Rolling out that yoga mat might be the only motivation you need. Once you move through a series of relaxing and restorative poses, your body might be feeling so great that you start moving through a few series of Sun Salutations to get your heart rate rising.

Start slow on a machine: Hop on the elliptical or a stationary bike, and start at a slow and steady pace as you catch up on your favorite show or magazines. Once you start to get into the groove, you might find yourself moving through your own short interval workout, alternating between periods of pushing your body of the max and rest periods.

How do you trick yourself into a workout? Tell me below!

Yoga may be blissful, but it isn't cheap! Depending on where you live, classes can run you an average of $15 to $20 a pop. Dropping $50 or more for yoga classes each week isn't an option for everyone, but we can all benefit from a regular practice. The Internet is bursting with free full-length classes or shortened yoga routines. If you're willing to pay a little, then you'll be able to view a greater variety of videos. Here are some sites to check out.

• Yoga Today: This site offers one free class each week, and if you're itching for more, download other classes for $4 each. You can choose ones geared toward your ability level, or choose by instructors you like. If you're really into it, pay $90 for a yearly membership, which includes unlimited classes. Store them on your computer, and follow along anywhere you happen to be.
• Yoga Journal: For beginners and advanced yogis, these videos, ranging in length from five to 35 minutes, are the high quality you'd expect from Yoga Journal. Some of my faves include the hip-opening sequence Bird by Bird and Heart Wide Open, full of chest openers.
• My Yoga Online: These videos may not be free, but they're dirt cheap. Pay $10 per month or $90 for a year for unlimited access to the entire library of videos for yoga, Pilates, dance, martial arts fusion, meditation, and workplace wellness. The site also offers samples of popular yoga DVDs such as Shiva Rea's Surf Yoga Soul and David Life's Transform Yourself With Jivamukti. Another plus: you can sample a clip before you buy.

Keep reading for more websites that offer inexpensive yoga classes.

It's tough to keep dragging yourself to the gym's treadmill when the sun is shining so warmly outside. Before lacing up your sneaks to hit the open road, here are some reasons you might want to spray on a little bug spray and find some woodsy trails instead of pavement.

1. Sticks, boulders, and streams: With the unpredictable surface, trail running is like doing a natural obstacle course — you can't just run in a straight line. Varying your steps prevents overuse injury and tones your lower body more effectively, and because you have to stay more alert, it also prevents boredom.
2. Shady trees: When it's hot, going outside for a run feels like you're baking in an oven. Tall trees found in the woods make for a cool, shady run that can be 10 or more degrees cooler than the open road. Without your energy feeling zapped from the oppressive heat, you'll be able to cover a longer distance and run more intensely while also preventing heat exhaustion.
3. Ahh, the fresh air: When you're huffing and puffing during a run, the last thing you want to do is inhale car fumes. There's no pollution in the woods — all you have to breathe is the fresh oxygen given off by the trees and plants. There's also no noise pollution or the danger of getting hit by a car, so you'll feel less stressed while running in nature.
4. Soft earth: Going from the more-forgiving surface of the treadmill belt to the hard, dense pavement can be so jarring on your joints that pain prevents you from being able to run at all. Well-loved trails offer a much softer surface that absorbs shock with each step, which means less impact on your joints.
5. Hills: Woodsy trails are often naturally hilly, and although you may loathe inclines, you'll love the way they make you work harder and end up toning your legs, tush, and core, as well as your arms. Stronger muscles not only make you feel more confident in your bathing suit, but they'll also help you build speed and endurance.

Shin splints slowing you down? Freeze away the pain with an ice cup! An athletic DIY of sorts, ice cups are an easy and affordable way to treat common athlete woes like sprains and sore muscles. All you have to do is fill Dixie cups with water and freeze; once ready, peel back the paper to expose the ice. These beat bulky ice packs or a bag of peas because you can use them to pinpoint your trouble spots and massage the muscle. Keep a few stocked in your freezer so at a moment's notice you'll have your post-workout treatment ready. Be sure you don't follow up with heat for at least 48 hours, and once the pain diminishes, try these easy exercises to strengthen the tibialis anterior, the muscle that runs on the outside of the shin.

If you do have pain or shin splints often, consider visiting a physical therapist and checking in with your form and running shoes.

Hitting the open road has many benefits over running on a treadmill — fresh air and sunshine, gorgeous scenery to prevent boredom, and you can also run with your four-legged fitness buddy. You also have more freedom of movement to incorporate muscle-toning moves into your runs, and here's how.

• Run baby run: While running in general will tone your legs and booty, adding sprinting intervals is even more effective. Incorporate 30- to 60-second bursts throughout your workout and you're sure to feel your lower body working. Since you're outside, you can use landmarks to motivate you such as sprint to the stop sign or until you see five red cars, or if you're on a track, sprint the straights.
• Walk this way: Sprints aren't the only type of interval you can include. When you need to catch your breath after a sprint, throw in a few sets of walking lunges to target your glutes, quads, and hamstrings.
• Head for the hills: Find a steep hill in your neighborhood or in the woods and do hill repeats. Run up the hill then back down to target all the muscles in your lower body. If you need some motivation, try this hill repeat workout to build muscle and endurance.

Keep reading to learn three more ways to build muscle on outdoor runs.

Enthusiasm will get you far when starting a new workout routine, but you can't stop there. When it comes to strength training, start by simply learning the basics.

Perfecting the basic moves — think sit-ups, push-ups, squats, and planks — helps you build on your strength-training routine safely and effectively, especially since once you've learned how to do a basic move, you can add variations to make it more challenging. Not taking the time to learn a move correctly before you advance can lead to overuse or straining injuries as you continue your workout routine.

If you're new to strength training or it's been awhile since anyone has helped you correct your form, sign up for a circuit class at your gym and ask the instructor questions afterward, or buy a single personal-training session for a refresher. Our basic strength-training exercises primer will also have you lunging, planking, and squatting with the best of them.