strength-training

Celebs like Jessica Alba and Cameron Diaz love it, and if you're a runner, you may love CrossFit, too. This workout is all about basic exercises involving body resistance, gymnastics, aerobics, weight lifting, and other high-intensity moves. Read on to learn why you might want to skip today's run and head to the nearest CrossFit gym.

The Problem With Running

"The challenge is that runners think that their legs are strong, and they are strong at that one movement pattern. But life is more than just that one movement pattern," says Reebok CrossFit ambassador Yumi Lee, who trains Jessica Alba. Since running is a linear, repetitive movement that involves mostly your legs, it can cause an imbalance in the rest of the body, which can lead to injury now or down the road. Solely running also leads to workout plateaus, so when the muscles become used to the demands placed on it, a runner needs to run further or faster in order to keep up her level of fitness.

Why CrossFit Is a Good Complement to Running

"CrossFit exercises involve your whole body rather than isolated muscle groups," which strengthens your overall body and makes you a better runner, explains marathoner and CrossFit instructor Shirley Brown of CrossFit LA. Yumi explains that specifically, CrossFit combines power lifting, strength training, and gymnastic training, all of which benefit your fast twitch muscles used for sprinting and your slow twitch muscles used for long distance. Working your entire body in CrossFit will also help you lose overall body fat, which will increase both endurance and speed, and also helps you maintain proper form during your runs, which is one way to avoid a running injury.

Another benefit? CrossFit helps prevent those dreaded workout plateaus so you'll actually be excited to work out. "CrossFit forces you to do things you would have never done before. It forces you to push yourself in a way that you thought you had pushed yourself . . . and it makes you better at overall life," Yumi says.

Tips For Getting Started

Shirley and Yumi recommend finding a reputable facility and signing up for the on-ramp (sometimes called foundations or fundamentals) program so you can learn the basic exercises. "It's a comfortable and safe way to learn the movement patterns so you can stay injury-free," Yumi says. You'll also learn beginner versions of certain moves — if you've never done a pull-up, they'll show you how you can do one using a box and a band. Then you can jump right into regular classes, modifying exercises as you need to. Some gyms offer endurance programs or private instruction, so if you have a specific running goal, they can help you achieve it.

Don't just jump into a new CrossFit program, however. Meghan and Tyler Barnes, owners of CrossFit TT, warn that "you'll be super, super sore when you start," so it's probably not a great idea to sign up when you're training for a race. Definitely listen to your body, but stick with it — don't miss a class on account of being too sore. Good programs will go easy on the muscle groups that were worked hard the day before, and getting your heart rate up can ease soreness.

Keep reading to learn how to prevent a CrossFit injury and whether runners should eat strictly Paleo.

A bed isn't just for catching zzzs; think of this elevated, soft structure as another piece of fitness equipment you can use before or after hitting the hay in your own home, at your in-laws' house when out for a weekend visit, or at the hotel while on your Summer vacation. These moves may be basic, but they are super effective at toning your body.

Triceps Dips

— Targets arms

• Stand a few feet away from the edge of the bed, facing away. Place your hands on the mattress, fingertips pointing toward the feet.
• Begin with your torso in one straight line. From here, bend your elbows behind you, lowering your hips toward the ground. Then straighten the arms to lift the hips, squeezing the glutes at the top.
• Complete three sets of 15 to 20 reps.

Elevated Lunge

— Targets legs and tush

• Stand about three feet away from the foot of the bed, facing away. Lift your left leg up and rest the ball of your foot on the mattress (as shown in the above photo).
• From here, bend your front knee, lowering your left knee toward the ground so it's at a 90-degree angle, and then rise up.
• Complete three sets of 15 to 20 reps on each leg.

Keep reading to learn three more toning moves using your bed.

If you want to torch calories and tone your tush, running is one of the most effective forms of exercise. The problem is, it leaves your upper body and core high and dry, and if you forget to stretch, you're left with tight, tense muscles that could suffer an injury that keeps you from lacing up your sneaks. Here's a 60-minute running workout that includes one-minute strength-training intervals as well as a short stretching session at the end.

0:00 - 5:00 — Warmup — brisk walking
5:01 - 15:00 — Run (fast pace)
15:01 - 16:00 — Push-Up Walks
16:01 - 21:00 — Run (fast pace)
22:01 - 23:00 — Plank With Arm and Leg Reach
23:01 - 28:00 — Run (fast pace)
28:01 - 29:00 — Mountain Climbers
29:01 - 34:00 — Run (fast pace)
34:01 - 35:00 — Burpees
35:01 - 40:00 — Run (fast pace)
40:01 - 41:00 — Three-Point Touches
41:01 - 46:00 — Run (fast pace)
46:01 - 51:00 — Cooldown — walking
51:01 - 60:00 — Stretch session

Keep reading to see the six essential postrunning stretches.

If you haven't already, learn to love lunges. They are the ultimate exercise; you can do them anywhere, anytime and see (bikini bottom) results fast. This compound exercise works your entire leg and is an easy addition to both your cardio and weight workouts. Once you've mastered the basic lunge, speed up the process to long, lean legs with the addition of a BOSU.

Here's how:

• Standing it front of the BOSU, engage your core. Keep your upper body straight with your shoulders back and relaxed.
• Similar to the position of a basic lunge, bring your right leg behind you, placing it on the BOSU.
• With control, lower your hips until both knees are bent at about a 90-degree angle. Make sure your front knee is directly above your ankle and your right knee doesn't touch the floor. Keep the weight in your heels as you push back up to the starting position. This completes one rep.
• Do two sets of 10 reps on each side.

The infamous lower-belly "pooch" plagues plenty of women, but finding the right moves to target this problematic area is easy. Whether you're a barre buff, yoga star, or gym rat, there's an exercise on this list to suit your taste.

Ab Scissors

For anyone who grew up dancing, you'll be well acquainted with the ab scissors that rock your lower abs while lifting your booty:

• Lie flat on your back. Extend your arms so they're against the sides of your body with your palms pressing into the floor, or bend your elbows and place your palms under the back of your head. Bend your knees and draw them into your ribs. This will make it easier to pull your navel in toward your spine and actively press your lower back flat on the ground.
• Lift both legs straight up toward the ceiling, continuing to engage your abs and pressing your lower back into the ground. Keeping your core strong, slowly lower your right leg down toward the ground until it is a few inches above. Then slowly scissor your legs, lifting your right leg back up as you lower your left leg down toward the ground.
• You may not feel this until you do it for a while, so repeat this move for a total of 20 to 30 times on each leg (or more if you're still not feeling it).

High Curl

Beauties who love a good ballet barre workout will love the high curl:

• Sitting up, place an exercise ball between your upper thighs. Pull behind your knees with your fingertips as you inch your heels closer to your seat.
• Then roll your lower back down toward the floor, and use your abs to lift your chest closer to the ball.
• Complete 15 to 20 reps.

Boat Pose (Navasana)

For all the yoginis out there, a few rounds of Boat Pose will challenge your strong core and tighten up those lower abs:

• Begin sitting on your mat. Bend your knees and lift your feet off the floor, balancing on your tush. Keep the spine long and straighten the legs as much as you can without rounding the back. If this is too hard, then keep the knees bent — you're still working your core.
• Perform six rounds of Navasana, holding the pose for five breaths each. Or challenge yourself and try to hold for 30 seconds to one minute without a break!

Keep reading for one more all-ab exercise.

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.

For tight, toned legs, jump into your lunge! Although the basic lunge is a great starting point (and exercise to master), adding a jump will give you a bikini backside in no time. Often found in Tabata interval workouts, this lunge (also considered a jumping split lunge) is an intense move that increases the burn and tones your calves, too. Here's how you do it!

• To begin, start standing tall with your feet staggered, your left foot slightly in front of your right. Making sure you're not too stiff, keep your stance active with your knees bent in a slight but not full lunge.
• With your core engaged, push off the bottom of both feet into a jump, switching the position of your feet in midair, landing in a basic lunge with your right leg in front.
• Without rest, repeat this movement alternating which leg is in front. To prevent injury, make sure your back leg is bent directly underneath your body and your front leg is bent at 90 degrees at the knee and hip.
• Do three sets of 20 or modify the number specifically to your workout.