You can do a lot with your mind and a computer, but a healthy and honed body will get you even more out of life (if only more of it). Here are our favorite tips and tools for staying in shape.
10. Stay Fit Despite the Summer Heat
Even if you're motivated enough to actually get out the door when it's hot out, you might not be doing your body any favors by treating a scorcher like any other day. Try
drinking a slushie (a great excuse if we've ever heard one), avoid
falling for hydration myths, and stay in shape
despite the heat.
Photo by avlxyz.
9. Stay Working Out in Winter
If there's anything worse for workout willpower than the summer heat, it's the deep cold of winter. But take heart: the average blast of cold air
can't hurt your lungs, and if you take the right precautions, slippery roads and even bronchial symptoms can be
overcome in a cold run. If you're the biking type, but find the passing wind and conditions far too cold, take seriously avid cyclist (and MetaFilter founder) Matt Haughey's advice on
tips and equipment for winter cycling.
8. Try a New Fitness Plan
Ever heard of
shovelgloving? The
Couch to 5K plan? Maybe you've heard some more gym-rat friends discuss
interval training? Switching up your routine, using new tools, and
picking up a different fitness plan can stretch your body and skills in helpful ways that don't require a whole new set of gym equipment to get started.
7. Use the Marine Corps Test to Gauge Your Fitness
Can you pull off 20 pull-ups, 100 crunches, and a three-mile run in under 18 minutes, within the same two-hour span? Congratulations, you just scored 100 on the
Marine Corps Fitness Test. If not, you're in good company, and you can use the points of the armed forces to keep track of your fitness. (
Note: The crunches scoring conflicts with other advice to avoid them, but you can swap in push-ups for a similar upper-and-mid-body test).
6. Go Barefoot, or Just Skip Expensive Running Shoes
You might just think of shoes as a fancy cover for your foot, but people run very differently in shoes than barefoot. What's more, running barefoot isn't just a natural kick—it's usually
better than wearing expensive, engineered running shoes. There's more to it than just kicking off your shoes, of course. Leo Babuta of the Zen Habits blog has a
wealth of advice on barefoot running, as do the
experts interviewed by Science Daily. One halfway solution is a barely-there shoe like the Vibram FiveFingers, but
our readers are definitely divided on it. In any case, consider that it's the foot, not the shoe, that does the running.
5. Get in Shape with Little or No Equipment
You think that if you drop $1,500 on that elliptical machine, you'll be honor-bound to spend some serious hours on it. But
it doesn't work that way. Instead, try some of the no-equipment roster of fitness moves
explained by the Zen Habits blog, or a similar set of no-stuff-needed workouts
4. Track and Train with Great Mobile Apps
If you don't mind bringing your smartphone with you while you're working out, you can do a lot more with it than just listen to music. Apps like RunKeeper, CardioTrainer, and other
great mobile fitness apps can serve as great motivators, as they show you exactly how much further you're going, how long it's taking, and how far you're covering every time you head out. (RunKeeper, by the way,
is our readers' favorite.)
3. Create the Ultimate Workout Playlist
Creating the right soundtrack for your run, bike, or other exercise is part art, part science. You can read up
what the New York Times' interview experts have to say, but you can also use some tools and techniques to
pick out the right pace. Having great, high-energy music won't make you a marathon runner, but it can keep you moving toward the finish line with determination. Our readers also offered up their own takes on
the best workout music.
2. Trade Static Stretching for Dynamic Warm-Ups
Forget what your gym teacher told you—touching your toes, bending at the waist, and other exercises that stretch your muscles
don't help much, if at all, according to a study of thousands of runners of all ages. Instead, try gradually moving up from a fast walk to a run, swinging your arms and legs a bit, and other
dynamic stretches before you head out.
Photo by lululemon athletica.
1. Stick with Push Ups for Overall Fitness
How can something as old-school as a push up—hands on the ground, knees off the floor, and push—still be in use, and even be growing in acceptance? Because it
works out your whole body, it's
better on your back than crunches, and you can use your raw push up count as a graduated curve toward fitness, as with the
Hundred Push Ups program. Some things about getting in shape never get tired
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