Tips to Make Running Easier

Not to mention, you’ll be able to run faster and farther than ever before.

No one heads out on a run thinking, “I want this to feel as hard as possible.” Nuh-uh. We want it to feel good. We want it to feel less difficult than before. And it will if you try out these 11 simple-to-follow running tips:

1. Shorten Your Stride
It’s counter intuitive, sure, but shortening your stride and aiming to take more steps per minute (180 is ideal) can help you run more efficiently. It saves you energy you would have spent trying to cover more ground with each step.

2. Look Ahead
Keeping your eyes focused on a target in front of you can actually make your runs seem shorter and easier, according to research from New York University. You'll likely perceive your target as closer in distance than you would have if you were taking in everything else around you.

The (15 Minute) Belly Blasting Workout

Even women who are otherwise slender and fit can end up with a belly pooch due to underworked lower abdominal muscles. This workout will tap into the deep abdominal muscles—the transverse abdominis—that pull in your waistline like a corset. Do these moves one after another with no rest in between. Then repeat the circuit so you're performing it a total of two times.

Stability Ball Pelvic Tilt Crunch

7 Facts About Cellulite You Need to Know

How common it is, how it happens... and how to banish it, as well as you can...

Ah, cellulite. Like your nosy aunt, it's annoying—but also a nearly unavoidable part of life. Anybody can develop this pesky skin situation: It appears when collagen fibers that bind fat to the skin stretch and tear, allowing fat cells to expand. Learn more about cellulite and your body, especially how to get rid of those annoying marks once and for all (or at least how to make them less noticeable).

Cellulite Is Not Fat
Don’t get the two confused: Cellulite is just the dimples and bumps that are seen when fat is divided into tiny pockets in the skin, says board certified plastic surgeon Matthew Schulman, M.D. Interesting…

It’s More Common in Women Than in Men
How unfair is this? Women's skin collagen is arranged in parallel rows, like pillars. This pattern lends itself to the compartmentalization of fat, which makes cellulite visible, says Schulman. Men's collagen, however, is arranged in an X-pattern. This creates only very small fat compartments and doesn’t allow for dimpling of the skin.

BodyLove: Ways to Boost Your Confidence

 Weed Your Feed
Scrolling through a newsfeed of size 0 celebrities and models can make you feel like a figure failure. In fact, the more women are exposed to selfies and other online photos, the worse they feel about their appearance, according to a new study. But Facebook doesn't have to mess up your mojo. "The benefit to social media is the ability to curate your own content, so use that power to hide anyone who makes you feel insecure and follow friends and pages that make you feel good," says Claire Mysko, the study author and a project consultant at the National Eating DisordersAssociation. "Creating a feed that includes a variety of shapes reflects the real world and takes you away from the mind-set that there's only one size that's acceptable."

 Like -- No, Love Yourself in Photos

When a friend tags what you deem to be an unflattering pic, resist the urge to cringe. "We're typically much kinder to others than we are to ourselves," says psychologist Robyn Silverman, PhD, author of Good Girls Don't Get Fat. After all, think about how quick you are to like someone else's Facebook photo. Would you be as quick to like your own? Instead of seeking out flaws, ask yourself what your bestie would say about the picture -- maybe that your smile is gorgeous or your legs look toned. "Treating yourself as you would your best friend gets you in the habit of speaking to yourself kindly," Silverman says. "The more you say positive things, the more it becomes a natural part of what your brain thinks."

Dry Skin Remedies for Your Entire Body

It's zero degrees and zero humidity, and suddenly your precious parts have zero tolerance. Help is on the way! We called on winter skin whisperers—top spa pros and dermatologists—to help you ease the dryness and get soft and smooth all over.

 Winter Woe: Chapped Cheeks

Your flaky, flushed face is a telltale sign that you've been braving the elements. "When you're outside for long periods, the cold air extracts moisture from your skin," says Francesca Fusco, M.D., a dermatologist in New York City. The result: cracks in the skin's barrier.

Smooth moves: Because exposure to harsh detergents and even water can strip moisture from your skin, switch to a creamy, sudsless cleanser like Aveda Botanical Kinetics Purifying Creme Cleanser ($21, aveda.com) or a no-rinse formula like Perricone MD Blue Plasma Cleansing Treatment ($39, perriconemd.com). Then slather on a barrier cream, which contains ceramides that fill in the tiny cracks in the skin. Try Avène Hydrance Rich Cream ($30, aveneusa.com). Still flaky? Use a 10-percent-glycolic-acid serum twice a week (after cleansing; before your night cream). We like Renée Rouleau AHA Smoothing Serum 10% ($42, reneerouleau.com). "Acids eliminate dead skin without causing irritation and help repair your barrier," says Renée Rouleau, a celebrity esthetician in Dallas and a FITNESS advisory board member.

Hormones Gone Haywire?

They're your body's secret weapon: Hormones keep your heart thumping, your digestive system churning, and your brain sharp. "Whenever you feel off, your hormones could be the cause," says Scott Isaacs, MD, an endocrinologist at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta. They can get out of kilter when you're stressed, tired, or eating poorly and create all kinds of havoc. Here, five signs that your hormones have gone rogue — and how to get them back on track.

You're Tired All the Time

"If you're logging eight hours in the sack and still waking up groggy, low progesterone levels could be stealing your sleep," says Sara Gottfried, MD, the author of The Hormone Cure. Progesterone naturally plummets with menopause, but it can begin dropping as early as your thirties, when your ovaries start releasing fewer eggs. Because the hormone regulates your internal thermostat, a low level of it may cause your body temperature to yo-yo at night, resulting in night sweats that prevent deep, restorative sleep.

Let's Start Loving Our Bodies

Even the most gorgeous celebrities hate on their frames—what's up with that? It's time to start thinking more highly of your body, whether you live in Hollywood or Timbuktu. It begins here.

"I don't like my thighs, my midsection..."

It sounds like a snippet from you and your girlfriends' weekly body bashing sessions. But this exact quote comes from none other than Scarlett Johansson, and it's proof that poor body image can affect people of any shape—including, apparently, women who dominate multiple Sexiest Woman Alive lists.

When Barbara Walters recently asked the new mom about her bod with a cult following, Johansson replied, "It's an okay body, I guess. I wouldn't say it's particularly remarkable."

Home Remedies for Heavy Menstrual Bleeding

Heavy menstrual bleeding, medically known as menorrhagia, is characterized by abnormally heavy or prolonged periods.

Some of the most common symptoms and signs include menstrual bleeding that lasts longer than 7 days, the need to change your sanitary pad or tampon every 2 to 3 hours repeatedly, menstrual flow with large blood clots, severe and continuous cramping in the lower abdomen during a period, fatigue, shortness of breath, nausea, headaches, mood swings and extreme weakness.

Best Shoulder Exercises According to Science

You've got running, yoga, and spinning down to a science, but finding the perfect shoulder-scultping routine can feel a little more daunting. Solution: Focus on these shoulder exercises that have been proven to show serious results, then start counting the days until tank-top season.

Sculpting strong, sexy shoulders is as easy as one, two, three. New research from the American Council on Exercise revealed the most effective exercises for defining your delts. Grab some weights and add this triple-threat sequence to your workout. Do three sets of 10 to 12 reps each.

Dumbbell Shoulder Press: Standing with feet hip-width apart and a dumbbell in each hand, lift weights to shoulders, palms facing forward and elbows bent at 90 degrees. Press weights upward until arms are extended overhead, then lower to starting position.

45-Degree Incline Row: Lie chest-down on a 45-degree incline bench, holding a dumbbell in each hand with an overhand grip so palms face you. Let arms hang straight down toward the floor. Pull elbows toward ceiling by bending arms and squeezing shoulder blades together, then lower to starting position.

Seated Rear Lateral Raise: Sitting on the edge of a bench with a dumbbell in each hand and arms hanging straight down, palms facing each other, hinge upper body forward. Keep back straight and raise arms out to sides until elbows are at shoulder height, perpendicular to torso, then lower to starting position.

3 Ways to Lose 5 Pounds in a Month

Eat right all the time? Not gonna happen. Make small daily changes? Sure, you could do that. To prove it, we put three women to the test. Read on to see how making tiny tweaks to their eating habits helped them lose 5 pounds in a month.

No Alcohol
My one small change: "I ditched alcohol for one month"

Kellie Fagan, 25

Height: 5'0"

Current weight: 128.5

Pounds lost: 6.5
The Challenge

"My diet downfall is drinking," says Fagan. "Social events with my friends and colleagues always involve alcohol. I can end up having a dozen or more light beers, margaritas, or glasses of wine during any given week. And when I get a buzz, it's hard to resist junk food, which makes losing weight close to impossible."
The Expert Says

Why Practice Is More Important Than Talent

Sure, "practice makes perfect" is a total cliche. But now Northwestern University researchers are saying it, too. With good reason: They recently found that singing (which most people think is a "you have it or you don't" skill) is something most people can master with the right amount of repetition, according to a new study published in Music Perception.

The study looked at three groups: kindergartners, sixth-graders, and college-age adults. Participants were asked to sing a single-pitch sequence. When researchers followed up, kindergartners and late elementary school students showed the most improvement, likely because of their consistent exposure to music classes at school. The adults, on the other hand, weren't regularly singing, so their skills stayed the same or got worse.

Couldn't care less about karaoke? The theory doesn't only apply to budding Beyonces; it applies to your fitness goals, too. Mastering a handstand in yoga? Learning to dunk a basketball? Signing up for your first swim meet? Improving your 5K time? All: Mission Possible. And if you're not amazing in the beginning, don't ever say, "I'm just not made for this!" You won't feel that way once you practice.

Can Loving Your Body Keep You Slim?

Showing your body some love may help ward off weight gain. Teens who perceived themselves as overweight (even though they weren't) were at a greater risk of becoming obese as adults, as compared to those who had a more realistic body image, according to a new study in Psychological Science. Researchers say the findings likely hold true for adults, too.

The specifics: Those who inaccurately thought they were overweight at age 16 were 40 percent more likely to be obese by age 28, researchers found. "Women who misperceive themselves as overweight tend to engage in extreme dieting behaviors that have been shown to lead to obesity," says study author Angelina Sutin, PhD, a psychologist at Florida State University College of Medicine. For example, they may be more likely to starve themselves or take diet pills or laxatives. Research also shows that people who feel anxious or depressed about their weight may be more prone to emotional and binge eating, which can lead to weight gain, too.

Ways to Eliminate Back Fat

Back bulge around the bra area or a pesky muffin top aren't fun to deal with. But you can feel more confident in your own skin with just a little extra effort. Sure, targeting specific body parts to burn fat doesn't work, but these healthy tips can help you get the results you want faster!

Turn Up Your Cardio
If you're serious about getting rid of fat, you've got to start getting serious about cardio. According to the USDA, you should perform 60-minute sessions five times a week.

For even more intense cardio, opt for interval training that alternates between periods of pushing your body and recovery, since it offers an "afterburn effect." This means that after exercising, your body can burn more calories—an extra 200 calories throughout the day even at rest or sleep—than you would after completing a steady-paced workout.