By Jessica Cassity

A successful workout program requires tracking and progression, says Brynn Jinnett, owner of Refine Method in New York City. By keeping tabs of your fitness, you'll be more inclined to improve it. Create a baseline fitness test, making sure to include moves that measure the strength of all of your major muscles. Maybe you gauge things like the number of pushups you can do, how long you can hold a plank, how many lunges you can do in 60 seconds, and how long you can hold a wall squat. Then make it your goal to beat those numbers one month from now.

By Jessica Smith

It happens every year: The weather gets warmer, the daylight lasts longer, and the stuffy gym sounds more and more unappealing. But since spring-like weather is also a sign that bikini season is right around the corner, skipping your gym session to sip cocktails at happy hour won't get you any closer to revealing those tight, toned abs (or to reaching any health or fitness goal).

The good news is you can still skip the gym and get an effective total-body workout. We asked top fitness pros to share some of their favorite ways to blast calories outside (typical answers like cycling and rollerblading were not accepted). Check out their awesome ideas below to get out of that turtleneck and into that bikini—pronto!