fitness tips

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.

Spring is a time for new beginnings, and if you've spent the Winter neglecting your normal routine, now's a good time to make sure you've got everything you need for a safe, fun workout — including checking your running shoes to see if they're worn out.

The amount of time it takes to replace your running shoes depends on how often and where you run, but if it's been a while since you've replaced your pair, check yours closely before you use them for another season. If the foam seems flattened or worn out or your shoes seem to be loose and not be giving you as much support, it may be time to replace them. Look for frays and tears in the mesh as well. Also, if you run in your shoes and notice joint or muscle pain while you run, your shoes have probably lost their ability to absorb shock, meaning it's time to buy new shoes.

When you spring for a new pair, make sure you watch our tips for buying new running shoes, and go to a reputable running shoe store to get properly fitted. And before you throw out your old pair, read our tips for recycling and donating them here.

There comes a time in every athlete's training regimen when it's time to flee from the comfortable and up the mileage. Whether you're a runner, swimmer, or biker there is general protocol to follow when amplifying workouts. As always, with this type of commitment, TLC between training sessions is key. From stretching to sleep, here are a few tips to keep in mind leading up to race day.

• Add more stretching: Soreness comes with the territory whenever taking a workout to the next level. Rather than looking at this as a bad thing, recognize it as your body's way of getting better. To prevent injury and minimize the aches and pains between workouts, it's essential to stretch. Follow these tips to maximize your stretches before and after every workout.
• Take time for TLC: If you've become serious about training, proper recovery is key to go the extra mile. Although massages seem like an unnecessary luxury, they are crucial for athletes. Not only do massages help your body recover quickly, they boost the immune system. The frequency and access to massage therapy will depend on your time and budget. But, you can also continue to foam roll or follow these tips to get similar massage benefits at home.
• Increase your caloric intake: Like any high-powered machine, proper fuel is critical for you to be at your best — especially complex carbs and lean protein. To keep energy levels high and allow the body to build muscle and recover properly, pre- and post-workout fuel must be a priority. Replace highly processed foods with greens, protein shakes, and healthy gym bag snacks.
• Invest in proper equipment: Increasing your mileage isn't just tough on your body, it's tough on your equipment too. For safety, make sure all your biking equipment is up to par or your running shoes can handle more than the treadmill. Over time, running shoes lose their ability to absorb shocks, properly cushion your steps, and support your arches. Before you know it, you could have easily racked up enough mileage to spring for a new pair. Aside from offering proper support, a new pair of runners can be just the motivation you need to finish strong.
• Get enough sleep: Sleep is vital to maximize training and performance. Our body uses sleep, like it uses nutrition, to repair and recover. A full night's rest will leave you feeling energized each morning to be at your best and make the most of your workout.

It's true what they say: 80 percent of success is just showing up. Once you're there — you're there. This advice can be hard to take when, after a late night of fun, your alarm goes off before the sun is up. Propelling yourself to the gym, pool, mat, or trail can feel like a hurdle in its own right, but it's always one worth jumping. If you've resolved to work out more this year and get fit for 2013, motivate yourself to keep on sweating with these tricks.

1. Channel that glorious post-workout feeling. Whenever you feel the instinct to skip a sweat session, imagine how accomplished and energized you feel after just 30 minutes or an hour of exercise. Just get there already.
2. Make a date with a friend or fitness trainer. If you set a time to meet someone, you'll feel obligated to go, even when your mind and body are telling you otherwise. If you're looking to get your sweat on outside of the gym, here are some of our favorite ideas for fitness dates, from rock climbing to ice skating.
3. Create a healthy post-workout routine and make time for it, too. Reward yourself after a workout by scheduling extra moments to relax in the steam room, blow out your hair to perfection, or get a hot coffee or a protein-rich smoothie.

Keep reading for more tips.

We don't want to be too critical; group classes are fun. But when you grow bored of your instructor, it's easy to get distracted. They might be having an off day or running out of motivation themselves, so just make sure their energy isn't affecting you. Here are some quick tips to stay motivated all hour long and ward off the day dreaming. Since you are there to work out, keep your eye on the prize and don't lose that excitement.

• Focus on the music: While your instructor's cues are important for staying on tempo, choose your own breaks to focus on the music for motivation. For instance, if your teacher is counting down the reps or repeating the same cue over and over again, take a break from listening to them and open your ears to the lyrics to pump yourself up.
• Look at others: Your instructor should be demonstrating, but if they aren't, look at other strong students in class. Sometimes witnessing someone else's strength will make you step up your game and even correct yourself based on their excellent form. Take note of the advanced women around you and raise your bar a little.
• Zone in: When boredom strikes, think about the reason you're there. It helps to concentrate on your trouble areas in class to remind yourself to keep them engaged. There are mirrors everywhere in the studio, so use them to your advantage. Choose one muscle group per class that you want to make a change with and challenge it throughout the entire class.
• Set a date: Goals are fun. When you grow bored of your teacher and can't muster the energy to listen anymore, just think about an upcoming event you want to look good at. Having an end goal in mind will help you keep your head in the game and carry your workout to the best of your ability. Stay focused and stay engaged.

If you're truly bored, try a new class! Do you ever come across boring instructors? Share your motivation tips with us!

Crunches may very well be the oldest toning exercise, ever. While they have proven to show results, they can be very time-consuming and ineffective if they aren't executed properly. Here are three simple tips to feel the burn longer and finish your ab work sooner. These tips may even change your plank!

• Exhale: During ab work, your breath helps you contract your abdominals toward your spine. If you don't pay attention, then your breath can work your abs incorrectly, bringing them inward instead of out. The next time you're sitting on the couch, watch what direction your stomach moves while you breathe. It should expand on the inhale and shrink with the exhale. Just exaggerate this natural movement during ab work for more effective results.
• Elongate your neck: One of the biggest mistakes while doing crunches is cranking your neck forward. Not only will it give you a sore neck, but it will also take the work out of your abs. Drop your chin toward your chest to access your deep neck flexors; do this by imagining you are holding an orange between your chin and chest. You can also find the position using your own fist as the orange.
• Shift your hips: Whether you're in plank or a crunch position, remember to shift your hips so they are evenly aligned with your ribs — this keeps you from overarching your low back. Another way get rid of the arch: close your rib cage; think of the low ribs sliding toward your hips.

Elliptical trainers are a gym favorite. Not only is this cardio machine joint friendly, it's incredibly versatile. You can go forward and backward, work your arms and legs, or focus on your core — all while getting your heart rate up. Here are some tips to help you maximize your minutes on the elliptical machine.

• If your focus is cardio: Watch your strides per minute. SPM is the number of times your legs go around in 60 seconds, a stat most ellipticals conveniently track for you. After warming up, aim to keep your strides per minute between 140 and 160. If you're doing intervals on the elliptical, make sure your "sprints" are above 160. Here's a great elliptical workout with sprint intervals so you can start practicing this technique.
• If your focus is toning your thighs: Pay attention to your feet. Pressing more with your heels will work your hamstrings and butt more, while pressing more with your toes will tone your quads on the front of your thighs. Pedaling backward on the machine is also a great way to tone your backside — hamstrings and glutes. Increasing the incline is another way to focus the work on your glutes. Do try this 35-minute workout that truly targets the backside.

Interested in a few more tips? Then read more.

Whether or not you love the treadmill incline as much as Jennifer Aniston does, increasing it is an efficient and smart way to get the most out of your run. Here are three important reasons to up the incline on your treadmill.

Calorie burn: Upping the incline, even just a little bit, will help you burn a few extra calories with just a little more effort. Going from a zero-percent incline to five-percent incline burns over 100 more calories when running for 30 minutes, no matter your pace. Check out our chart to see just how many calories running on an incline burns. You might be pleasantly motivated.

Bikini bum: Kill two birds with one stone by working your lower body while raising your heartbeat, just in time to show off all your hard work on the beach. Just like running hills or hiking, running on the treadmill is a great exercise for toning your glutes and quads.

Better runner: If you've never run outside before, hopping off the treadmill and onto the road can be a wake-up call, since running outside isn't as easy as running on a flat, consistent treadmill. But if you increase the incline whenever you run inside, you'll be amazed at how much better your endurance and stamina become.

Of course, you'll really feel it when you start upping the incline more than a few percentages (it'll affect your pace as well, so take it slower if needed), but you'll be glad you did. Ready to start? Here's an under-20-minute incline treadmill workout if you're pressed for time, or try this rolling hills treadmill workout instead.