Start Making Choices: The Secret of a Better Workout Part 1

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Simple ideas for living healthier on a budget.

Knowing the secrets to performing an exercise correctly will save you pain and help you burn more calories, build strength, and avoid injury. Real Simple consulted fitness experts and put together this guide to getting the most from popular forms of exercise.

Walking

Think about your feet. Instead of moving through the standard heel-toe step, lead with your heel and roll through your entire foot before pushing off with your toes. This can turn a stroll into a power walk that engages your shins.
Pump your arms. By making your stride more purposeful, you'll pick up the pace, meaning you'll burn more calories and get a better cardio workout. Bend your arms at a 90-degree angle and punch them forward and back.

Running

Take longer strides. Many runners try to go faster by taking more steps more quickly, but this is tough on the knees and the lower back. Test out several strides. Once you find the one that makes you feel like you're gliding rather than pounding, that's your ideal length.
Increase the incline. When running on a treadmill, set it at a 1 percent gradient, which mimics outdoor conditions. Over time, increasing the incline (or the number of hills when running outdoors) will make you work harder and may improve your speed once you go back to flat ground.

Weight Training

Don't slouch. Perfect posture is crucial to effective strength training. Tuck your hips slightly forward, engage your lower abs, and keep your ribs lifted. This will let you work more muscles and give you more stability. When your body is stable, you will be better able to lift the weights with a controlled, fluid motion, rather than a jerky one, which can cause injury.
Take it slowly. Slow movement uses actual muscle movement, not momentum, to move the weight, thus lessening the amount of stress on joints. Take two seconds to lift the weight and four to lower it.

Spinning

Sit back and low in the saddle. Sitting too high and hunched close to the handlebars puts pressure on your knees. Sit a little lower and farther back and your glutes, calves, and hamstrings will do the work—especially if you keep your heels down (no toe-pointing).
Stay in control of your jumps. When doing jumps many people never sit or stand fully; they move forward and backward in a push-up-like motion, which is hard on the back and the elbows. Either do one jump for every two the instructor does or put more resistance on your flywheel, which will force you to pedal more slowly.

Stability Balls and Yoga

With a stability ball, use your core muscles—not just your feet—to keep your balance. Sit or lie closer to the center of the ball.
Watch your neck. For seated exercises, keep your feet flat on the floor, abs in, shoulders down and relaxed, and chin neutral. You should be able to fit a baseball in between your neck and chin to resist straining your neck. When lying down, position your knees over your ankles, and protect your neck by not letting your head drop back over the ball.