The Best Fitness Tips of 2012

A recap of the smartest stay-fit strategies of the year

Work out as hard as you can—within reason

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When you’re tackling a workout plan that pushes you to your limits, like CrossFit, it’s tempting to see just how far your body can go. But how far is too far? When we asked Jessica Matthews, exercise physiologist for the American Council on Exercise, about when to cap exercise intensity, she said that working out until you throw up is a sign you’re overdoing it (sorry, CrossFitters, it’s not a right of passage). Plus, the unpleasant experience of not being able to keep food down may hold you back from sticking to a new routine. To learn about smarter strategies for gauging exercise intensity, read The Best and Worst Ways to Measure a Workout.
Looking to map out your workout strategy for next year? See our list of the Hottest Fitness Trends of 2013 for some inspiration.

Discover new ways to use old equipment

Instead of shelling out big bucks to bulk up your collection of exercise equipment, learn how to perform new moves using the basics, like barbells, dumbbells, medicine balls, and resistance bands. You’ll not only save money and wake up a stale routine, you’ll also challenge your body in new ways. Take the medicine ball burpee, for example. If you think the football training move is hard on its own, try holding a weighted ball as you squat, and perform a pushup off of it as you kick your legs back into plank position. For more ideas, check out 12 Things to Do with Common Fitness Equipment.

Pick moves that don’t pinch

You work out to feel better, but some of the moves you’re doing could do more harm than good. Full situps, for example, can squeeze the discs in your lower back. Plow pose, a yoga move where you lie on your back and then flip your legs over your head until your feet touch the ground behind you, compresses your neck. And deep squats put pressure on your knees. For safer alternatives to these moves, see 6 Dangerous Exercises You Should Never Do

Use a doorframe to stretch at work

We lost count of how many studies came out this year stating that sitting for hours a day can take a toll on your body—and years off your life. Over time, extensive sitting can round your shoulders forward, tighten your hips, and turn the natural “S” shape of your back into a “C.” (Search: What other side effects are associated with sitting?) But we can’t all quit our desk jobs. Instead, combat posture problems using a tool you probably haven’t considered: a doorframe. Read Un-Jamb Your Body to learn how an entryway can help you stretch out your chest, spine, arms, and legs

Stop trying to tone your trouble spots

Studies suggest that it’s not possible to burn off fat from a specific part of the body by selectively exercising that area. If you’re seeing results, it’s probably because you’re torching enough calories to shrink fat all over your body. A smarter strategy for attacking your trouble spots (and making sure you’re staying strong from head to toe): Do a combination of cardio and full-body strength training, exercise on a regular basis, and eat a sensible diet. For more on this topic, read Is It Possible to Tone Your Trouble Spots?

Don’t worry that distance running will wreck your knees

Though pounding pavement puts stress on your knees, running can actually help protect your joints rather than destroy them. According to research from Stanford University, runners’ knees are no less healthy than non-runners’ knees. In fact, regular exercisers often have thicker, healthier knee cartilage compared to people who lead a sedentary lifestyle. A few tricks for keeping your knees injury-free: perform proper warm-ups and cool-downs, replace your running shoes every 300 to 500 miles, and check your form. To learn more, check out Confusing Fitness Advice, Decoded and Fact v. Fiction: Running Is Bad for Your Knees.

Fix your six-pack slip-ups

If you’ve been logging hours at the gym, and still don’t have the abs you’ve after, a bunch of things could be to blame. You might be eating too much of the wrong foods, like refined carbohydrates, sugar, and alcohol, which can all pack on belly fat. Or perhaps you’re sticking to strength training and forgetting about interval training cardio workouts that help peel off pudge. If you’re always frazzled, elevated levels of the stress hormone cortisol could keep your abs in hiding. For a full run-down of mistakes—and fixes—read 10 Reasons Your Ab Exercises Aren’t Working.

Come around to (some) diet and fitness fads

Whether or not a gluten-free, Paleo, or raw foods diet helps you lose weight fast or turns you into a machine in the gym, giving one of these eating plans a go will at the very least make you more aware of—and perhaps smarter about—your food choices. And since they all focus on eating whole foods opposed to heavily processed fare with little nutritional value, like bread, pizza, and pretzels, you’ll probably feel better, too. To learn more, check out 8 Cult-Like Diet and Fitness Trends Worth Trying.

Schedule an afternoon workout if you suffer from seasonal allergies

If a runny nose and itchy eyes slow down your workouts every spring, schedule your outdoor sweat session for later in the day, as pollen counts peak between 6 and 10 AM. Also, change out of your workout clothes immediately after you get home to avoid prolonged exposure to pollen—it clings to your shirt and shorts. For more advice, see 6 Tips for Exercising Through Allergy Season.

Eat a protein-packed bedtime snack

You’re probably accustomed to packing protein into your post-workout meal or snack, but new research suggests that eating it before bed may improve muscle recovery and development while you sleep. Taking in 40 g of casein protein at bedtime stimulates protein synthesis, according to a study published in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise. Drink a glass of milk before turning in, and read Build Muscles in Your Sleep for more muscle-building food ideas.