No light, no problem.  This bright running gear will keep you visible all season long, and you can run to your heart's content until the sun comes out from hiding.

From the latest steely metallic Brooks running shoes to Lululemon Lab's capsule collection with all-over silvery splatter, you'll be bright at night from head to toe.  Check out jackets, headbands, shoes and shoe laces, and everything in between that fits your style, budget, and nighttime (or early a.m.!) running needs.

 

Lululemon All Sport Bra (Splatter)

Lululemon All Sport Bra (Splatter) ($98)

 

Nike Aeroloft Flash Running Vest

Nike Aeroloft Flash Running Vest ($280)

 

Old Navy Go-Dry Reflective Running Shorts

Old Navy Go-Dry Reflective Running Shorts ($13, originally $23)

 

Brooks Adrenaline GTS 17

Brooks Adrenaline GTS 17 ($130)

 

Nike Power Flash Epic Tight

Nike Power Flash Epic Tight ($120)

 

Saucony Razor Jacket

Saucony Razor Jacket ($175)

 

New Balance Flat Reflective Lace

New Balance Flat Reflective Lace ($4)

 

Lululemon Speed Tight (Splatter)

Lululemon Speed Tight (Splatter) ($298)

 

Brooks Chaser 3" Running Shorts

Brooks Chaser 3" Running Shorts ($50)

 

Athleta Reflective Floral Triple Dare Bra

Athleta Reflective Floral Triple Dare Bra ($46, originally $54)

 

Asics Lite-Show Capri

Asics Lite-Show Capri ($68)

 

The North Face Rapida Moda Jacket

The North Face Rapida Moda Jacket ($110)

 

Nike Power Speed Flash Tight

Nike Power Speed Flash Tight ($175)

 

Lululemon Cool Racerback II (Splatter)

Lululemon Cool Racerback II (Splatter) ($68)

 

Asics Gel-Nimbus 18 Lite-Show

Asics Gel-Nimbus 18 Lite-Show ($150)

 

Athleta Reflective Detail Relay Tight 2.0

Athleta Reflective Detail Relay Tight 2.0 ($89)

 

Brooks Bolt Reflective Headband

Brooks Bolt Reflective Headband ($20)

 

Old Navy Go-Dry Mid-Rise Run Legging Reflective

Old Navy Go-Dry Mid-Rise Run Legging Reflective ($40)

 

Brooks Drift Shell

Brooks Drift Shell ($175)

 

Asics Lite-Show Winter Tight

Asics Lite-Show Winter Tight ($80)

 

Nike Pro Fierce Reflective Bra

Nike Pro Fierce Reflective Bra ($60)

 

Lululemon Hotty Hot Short (Splatter)

Lululemon Hotty Hot Short (Splatter) ($148)

 

New Balance Reflective 690v2 Trail Running Shoe

New Balance Reflective 690v2 Trail Running Shoe ($80)

 

Asics Lite-Show Winter Jacket

Asics Lite-Show Winter Jacket ($130)

 

Athleta Reflective Floral Track This Run Short

Athleta Reflective Floral Track This Run Short ($64)

 

Nike Power Flash Tight

Nike Power Flash Tight ($75)

With your packed schedule over the holidays (and honestly, throughout the rest of the year!), it can be tough to set aside time for yourself to get to the gym or studio.  But you're in luck!  We have so many at-home workouts and workout videos that'll help you break a sweat without having to leave the house — and these ones will give you a heart-pumping sweat sesh in under 10 minutes.  You might be short on time, but you definitely have 10 minutes!  Let's do this.

 

Debloat and Detox With Some Flat-Belly Yoga

Yoga is good medicine! Along with keeping your hamstrings flexible and your spine supple, yoga can provide relief when your uncomfortable, distended belly needs a little debloating. Travis Eliot, creator of the Ultimate Yogi DVD series, designed this quick sequence to target your middle with strategic twists to aid digestion. Bonus: these poses are great for toning the abs, too. Grab your mat, press play, and get ready to get your om on.

 

The Best 10-Minute High-Intensity Workout

High-intensity interval training, aka HIIT, is one of the best ways to maximize your workout time. Burn a ton of calories and boost your metabolism in little time with celeb trainer Astrid McGuire's full-body HIIT workout. It may be only 10 minutes long, but it will leave you dripping with sweat. There's no equipment needed for the workout, so press play and get at it!

 

Ultimate Arm Workout

This workout is all about the upper body! Grab a set of light- to medium-sized weights, and get ready to tighten and tone the arms. Not only will this strength-training workout target the arms, chest, shoulders, and back, but it will also challenge your core and balance. It's the perfect complement to a cardio workout, or try it on those days when you only have time for a quick workout.

 

10-Minute Jumping Workout

Get ready to get your cardio on! This jumping workout is fast and furious and perfect for burning mega calories in a short amount of time. But don't worry — we offer modifications for every move so anyone can join in the fun. The workout doesn't require any equipment, either. So what are you waiting for? Press play and get at it!

 

10 Minutes to Your Flattest Belly Ever

You have to mix up your moves to get cut abs, and this 10-minute workout does just that. After a short warmup, be prepared to go all out with a core-focused circuit filled with plank and roll-up variations that will leave your abs burning. For a fun twist on the basic plank, we use towels for gliders to make those variations more challenging. You can use gliders if you have them, or if you are on carpet, opt for paper plates. Press play, and get ready to feel the burn.

 

10-Minute Runner's Workout to Prevent Injury

We want to help keep all you runners on the road, so we created this short strength-training program just for you! This 10-minute workout targets areas vulnerable to injury when logging many miles, but we also put some core exercises in the mix, too, which will make you a more efficient runner. And the more efficient you are, the speedier you will get. Fear not if you are new to strength training, we offer beginner variations on all of the moves. We suggest doing this workout once or twice a week — it makes a good warmup or cooldown.

 

10-Minute Workout to Tighten the Arms

Sculpted arms are always in season, so it's time to say adios to the arm jiggle. Here's a 10-minute workout to tone your arms with extra focus on the triceps. Grab a set of dumbbells, from three to five pounds, and get ready to bare arms.

 

The Quiet At-Home Workout That Crushes Calories

We don't want the cranky downstairs neighbors or a napping child to interfere with your fitness life, so we made a quiet workout. You can still burn calories and build muscle without all that noisy jumping around. Grab a mat (to muffle any noise you might make), a light set of dumbbells, and get ready to work — quietly.

 

The Ultimate Bodyweight Workout Featuring Just Squats and Planks

We've made a kick-ass workout featuring just two moves: the squat and the plank. There are so many effective variations of these classic exercises, but we manage to fit five of each into this quick 10-minute workout. Plus you don't need any equipment for this bodyweight workout, so you can do it anywhere. Press play, and get ready to get moving!

 

Namaste Away Your Heartbreak

Breaking up is hard and can even be physically debilitating. If you are suffering from a broken heart, unroll your mat and give your body and mind the love it deserves. This yoga sequence is designed to open the heart and release any tension you may be holding on to. And let's not forget the rush of endorphins that comes with a good sweat session. While getting over a breakup takes time, this will help.

 

A Sexy Floor Workout to Increase Your Flexibility

Yes, your basic exercise routine will lengthen and tone your muscles, but how about a workout that also makes you feel sexy? One that will most likely improve your sex life, too? To meet all those needs, we created a fun and flirty floor workout with Leigh Ann Reilly, the founder of BeSpun Pole Dance Gym. Spend 10 minutes increasing your flexibility with hip rolls and sexy push-ups while sculpting your arms, legs, and glutes with sultry variations on classic exercises. No equipment is required, but feel free to wear your highest heels, as one does in a pole-workout class. Press play, and get ready to bring the sexy.

 

10-Minute Ab Workout

This short 10-minute workout will leave you breathless with your abs burning — two things we love from a short sweat session! It's full of killer combination moves that strengthen your abs from all angles while getting your heart rate up to torch calories. Celeb trainer Idalis Velazquez keeps you moving and inspired for the entire workout! Grab a five-pound dumbbell, press play, and get ready to work.

Two years ago I ran my first half marathon; if you had told me that just two and a half years ago, I would've laughed at you!  How could I run a half marathon without even running a single mile?  I considered myself — at that point — totally and utterly physically inept, incapable of reaching such an incredible fitness feat.

A concept that was once an absolutely impossible, distant, never-gonna-happen figment of my imagination (honestly, so far-fetched that I never even thought about it) became something I enjoy doing twice a year now, and I went from thinking running was a joke to loving races and cherishing my half-marathon memories.

I talked with Robin Arzon, ultra-marathoner, running coach, and author of Shut Up and Run about this idea, and she too started in a similar way:  by signing up for her first half marathon.  Now, the woman who "wasn't a runner" has done several ultra-marathons and run distances most of us still can't even dream of.  So how do you go from having an impossible and lofty goal to actually accomplishing it and making it your everyday reality?

A combination of "micro successes" and "tiered goals," according to Robin.  She explained that these two things will get you from the couch to a physical accomplishment you wouldn't have envisioned in your wildest dreams.  This idea can be applied to weight loss or any other physical fitness endeavour.

"I think that people forget that there are so many micro moments that require the feeling of success," said Robin.  "When you're training for something [like a half marathon or a 5k], there are a million times when you feel like you can't do it."  It's so natural for those moments to happen, but the key is to not live in those moments where you feel some kind of setback or failure.  The key to getting through?  "Celebrating those micro successes, whether it's not hitting the snooze button, figuring out a pace for a 30km run, or sometimes just getting out the door;  maybe you don't hit the distance or the pace that you want, but getting out the door is the success that day."

Lacing up your shoes?  Micro success.  Going for a run when you don't feel like it?  Micro success.  Choosing a piece of fruit instead of a cupcake?  Micro success.  Getting anything under a 15-minute kilometre pace?  You get the picture!  "It's a matter of constantly reinforcing your will-power muscle;  I do think that that reinforcement requires continually celebrating micro success, which often is in daily training."  You can have a big overarching goal — like your race distance or goal weight — but keep things in perspective.  That leads to Robin's second tactic for goal-setting:  having tiered goals.

"I think it's important to have an A goal, a B goal, a C goal, a D goal," said Robin.  "Some people's dream is to qualify for Boston or to break a four-hour marathon, so maybe that's your A goal, but then what's your B goal, what's your C goal?"  Her concept is something that will keep you from failing:  setting smaller goals to reach your larger ones will keep you focused.

Robin said, "Tiered goals keep us goal-oriented, but also they're a touchstone for things that happen.  The weather could be sh*tty, you could get injured, you might get broken up with the day before your first half marathon — which happened to me!"  The smaller goals are excellent benchmarks that keep you from feeling derailed entirely when something goes wrong, and less likely to give up on those big dreams.  Equip yourself for major success with these tiers of goals and micro celebrations — you'll feel better than you ever have in your entire life.

There are a lot of fitness options to choose from, and new gyms and studios are popping up everywhere, but how much should a gym membership cost?  What do you get based on how much you pay?

We asked our subscribers where they work out, how much they pay, and what they get for the price — uncensored, all pros and cons considered.  Is a $20 per month membership at 24 Hour Fitness right for you, or do you want the eucalyptus-scented frills at Equinox?

Here's where we work out, how much we pay, and what we do and don't get with our memberships.

 

Planet Fitness

Price:  $10/month

Pros:  Probably the cheapest gym out there;  lots of locations;  free pizza and bagels

Cons:  No group fitness;  basic machines;  free pizza and bagels

• "It's all machines.  I didn't love the boring atmosphere, and it felt very stale.  Plus it was all about me motivating myself, so that was hard.  It worked for a year, but then I got too bored running on treadmills watching TV.  Also, you're trying to work out and smell pizza ... WTH." — Jenny

 

24 Hour Fitness

Price:  $5/month to $80/month, depending on membership package.

Pros:  Very inexpensive;  lots of locations;  personal training;  some locations provide complimentary towels;  group fitness classes

Cons:  Not the best group class schedule;  basic machines;  some locations charge for towels

• "I was a member at 24 Hour Fitness for a couple years.  My gym had a pool and a ton of class options.  My 24 Hour provided complimentary towels, the facility was brand spanking new, and I never had trouble getting a machine." — Hedy
• "I always felt like I was being watched or judged when I tried to workout.  It got to the point where I would purposefully not wear my contacts so I wouldn't notice any stares or creeps." — Alaine

 

LA Fitness

Price:  $30/month

Pros:  Very inexpensive;  basic machines provided;  group fitness classes

Cons:  Busted machines;  not a great group class schedule;  no nice amenities

• "You literally get what you pay for, and I only wanted access to a treadmill and some classes, which I got, and nothing more, nothing less (well, sometimes less, as the treadmills are frequently broken).  I knew I was getting a bare-bones experience for it to be that cheap.  That being said, it's worse than bare bones;  even for that price, I do expect the machines to be in better working order, and worst of all, they canceled most of the yoga classes I liked taking (the real reason I signed up in the first place)." — Shannon

 

New York Sports Club

Price:  $40+, depending on location and membership package

Pros:  Inexpensive;  basic machines

Cons:  No clean towels for the showers or shower products;  always crowded;  outdated/broken machines;  cleanliness issues

• "Yes, I belong to New York Sports Club.  HOWEVER, the gym kinda sucks.  They offer classes but I've never really tried them and I would never think to shower there (not very clean)." — Sam

 

Crunch

Price:  $40 to $80 depending on location and membership package

Pros:  Inexpensive;  great group fitness classes and instructors;  personal training;  Bliss products in the locker rooms

Cons:  Some dated machines;  no frills

• "Awesome class instructors by virtue of being in hypercompetitive LA, but it's pretty frill-free." — Lindsay

 

ClassPass

Price:  $40 to $200, depending on location and package

Price Structure:  Base — 5 classes per month ($65 in SF);  Core — 10 classes per month ($115 in SF);  Unlimited, $175 in SF (prices vary by location).

Pros:  Tons of classes to choose from;  constant variety;  incredibly flexible schedule;  you can change your membership month to month;  less expensive than paying individual studio fees;  gets you to different neighborhoods and classes

Cons:  Expensive;  no centralized gym;  can be tough to get to different studios around your city;  you can only go to the same studio 2 to 3 times per month

• "ClassPass gets you out of your comfort zone!  It just might lead you to discover a favorite workout you'd never heard of before (for me, that's Pop Physique)." — Erin
• "I have ClassPass and I love it because I get to try out different studios around the city.  It's also a great way to discover new studios that I probably wouldn't have known about myself.  If you look at it in terms of paying for individual classes, the average in San Francisco is about $20-30 per class, so you are getting your money's worth." — Nicole
• "I supplement my Crunch membership with the Base ClassPass.  $12 a class is usually more than a 50-percent discount on regular prices, but sometimes I forget to use one before my month expires, and figuring out a new studio's parking/quirks is kind of a hassle." — Lindsay
• "The con is that it's only 5 classes a month, but the larger membership is more than I can afford (#NYCproblems)." — Hedy
• "I wish that they never hiked up the prices because I miss having unlimited classes (they should have somehow settled it with letting you go to a studio more than 3 times or letting you cancel without a fee)." — Nava
• "Like most members, I was pretty pissed off when ClassPass raised prices this year.  Even so, I still decided to buy into the most expensive membership.  I hate the gym and don't like to run;  ClassPass has kept me on a consistent workout routine — plus, it's really fun trying so many new classes!  Since I work out about four times a week, getting a $35 class for the average price of $11 is worth it to me." — Michele

 

CrossFit:  Champlain Valley CrossFit

Price:  $165, varies by location

Pros:  Great equipment;  personal daily coaching;  workouts laid out for you;  tons of classes offered daily;  one shower available

Cons:  Expensive;  no group fitness like yoga/barre/etc.

• "My gym has an awesome community which provides the inspiration and encouragement I need to get up for the 5:45 a.m. classes.  Also they offer a Saturday class and a Sunday open gym so you can work on anything you want and get extra help.  I go five times a week, so it works out to about $8.25 a class." — Jenny

 

Equinox

Price:  $150-$200, depending on location and package

Pros:  Kiehl's products;  eucalyptus towels;  ultraluxe facilities;  state-of-the-art machines;  "fluffy towels";  steam rooms;  personal training;  amazing group fitness classes (unlimited);  exceptional instructors;  always clean

Cons:  Membership is very expensive;  Pilates not included;  personal training is very expensive;  only one club included in membership price (unless you buy a more expensive package);  can be crowded at peak hours

• "I don't have to sign up for classes (except Spin), so I can just decide what I feel like doing right before a class vs. having to book it out (like ClassPass).  Eucalyptus towels and Kiehl's products speak to me;  I never feel dirty showering there.  Also, it is BS that I have a passport membership but can't access all clubs (like Printing House and the Sports Club LA gyms Equinox bought)." — Lauren
• "The Williamsburg location was actually cheaper than ClassPass, and I got tired of roaming all over the city to go to classes;  it's kind of comforting to have one location that you can consistently go to.  I also really like Equinox's classes;  they're really similar to the ones I was taking on ClassPass anyway — minus the $20 fee for missing a class.  Also, the eucalyptus towels are pretty dope." — Kelsey
• "Top of the line equipment and instructors who know what they're talking about;  they helped me lose 30 pounds!  Cons:  a lot of half-dressed men and women doing a lot of nothing but looking at themselves." — Candace
• "Equinox is sooooo luxe;  I feel like a Kardashian or some kind of celeb every time I go.  Con:  I don't have access to all the gyms with the single-club price, and it's hard to get downtown on the weekends.  For the price you pay, you should have access to more than just one club in your area." — Dominique

Running is not only an awesome form of calorie-burning, heart-pumping cardio, it also doubles as a strength-training workout for your lower body.  Run and you'll quickly see how it can tone your tush without bulking up your booty.  Want to get even more out of your runs?  Incorporate these strength-training techniques and you're sure to notice a difference when you slip on your bikini bottoms.

 

Hills Baby

Both inclines and declines are tough because they're more demanding on your muscles.  Run both uphill and downhill to work your calves, hamstrings, quads, and glutes.

 

Step It Up

Most people run the exact same way every time, in a forward motion, moving 20 or so centimetres with each step, which means working the same muscles in the same way every time you run.  Challenge your muscles in new ways by varying your steps.  Run with high knees, big leaps, tiny baby steps, in a zigzag, with your right or left side facing forward, or backwards (while periodically looking over your shoulder, of course).  You might feel a little silly, but you'll certainly feel the lower-body burn.

 

The World Is Your Treadmill

Just as varying your steps can strengthen your muscles, so can varying the surfaces you run on.  Mix it up between the treadmill belt, the beach (the sand farther away from the water is even harder to run on), rocky trails, and dirt roads.  This type of training will make you a stronger, more efficient runner.

 

Go Go Go

Sprinting intervals are a must to strengthen your lower body, and because they last a short amount of time, they're easy to incorporate into your runs.  Sprint for a certain amount of time (say 30 seconds) or use a visual such as running as fast as you can to the end of the street.  As an added bonus, intervals diminish belly fat and also make you a faster runner.

 

Run With Resistance

Seeing someone running with a parachute may seem like the person's feeble attempt to fly, but they're actually strength training while running.  Companies actually make parachutes specifically designed for running that add 15 to 30 pounds of added resistance.  Wearing a weighted vest is another method for adding resistance, as is running in deep water.  These are all safe ways to work your muscles without harming your joints, so opt for one of these techniques rather than wearing wrist or ankle weights.

 

Baby Power

Running while pushing a stroller is a great way to entertain your little one while getting a great workout for your upper body.  You can hold the stroller with both hands or alternate between right and left to target one side at a time.  If you don't have a child of your own, offer to babysit your friend or relative's kiddo.