Last year I was searching for a fitness watch to calculate distance. I was surprised to find the only kind that existed were bulky GPS varieties that didn’t look much like a watches at all or ones that included a foot pod. Now, Garmin has finally come out with a style that looks like a watch but tracks mileage and calculates speed and pace using GPS–the Forerunner 405.

You can upload your date to free Garmin Training Center software where you can keep track of workouts and calories burned, map routes you’ve run and design future workouts. You can also connect with other users online and even compete against other 405 users with the unit nearby. The watch is available with or without a heart monitor. If you workout indoors you can opt for a foot pod to track treadmill mileage (since GPS won’t work inside your gym) and if you’re a cyclist you can get a cadence sensor. I don’t think you’ll find a more fully-funtional fitness watch.

Here’s a cool way to be more eco-friendly when you go to the gym. Gaiam’s Everything Fits Gym Bag is made from 100% recycled polyester. And at a large size of 18″ X 8.5″ X 13″ you’ll have enough room for all of your gym gear–there’s an outside pocket for your reusable water bottle (like Sigg’s “I am Not Plastic” bottle), a vented compartment for sweaty stuff or your bamboo gym towel and straps on the bottom to secure your yoga mat (try one made from natural rubber and recycled materials). Now while you’re getting fit, you’re helping keep the planet fit too.

I’m ready for a new pair of running shoes and that fact fills me with both excitement and dread. I love having an excuse to treat myself to a new pair of shoes (it’s been six months), but always struggle to find a shoe that fits perfectly and feels great even after I get out of the store and into the gym. I did well with my last purchase–a pair of Brooks Radius R7s. I could stick with the same, but how fun is that?

So I decided to try the Running Shoe Finder from Runner’s World. It’s really cool! You input your gender, shoe size, preferred price range, favorite brands and shoe type and it produces a list of suggestions from the Runner’s World Shoe Lab. And if you don’t know what shoe type is best for you (i.e. cushioned, stability, etc.) there’s a separate tool for that too. Once you get your list, you can do a side-by-side comparison of up to four styles and print it to take along when you go shopping. While I still need to take them for a test run at the store, at least I’ve narrowed down the selection and have an opinion to consider other than the (not always so qualified) shoe salesman’s opinion.

Have you ever wondered what you’re supposed to do with those foam rollers in the gym? For one, you can use one to give yourself a massage. If your muscles are tight, say your quads, you can lie on the foam roller and slowly roll your body back and forth along the roller to work out the kinks. When you get to a knot, you can stay put until the pressure eases and then continue rolling.

But if your muscles are feeling fine, you can use rollers to add instability and variety to strength building moves. Here are a couple ideas from Diet.com.

I took a new class the other day that incorporated the Body Wedge–basically it was sculpt on an angle. The Wedge is like an incline bench except it’s made out of soft foam material which adds a challenging level of instability (and it’s more comfy to lay on!). With it, you can work pretty much every muscle in your body (back, butt, triceps, shoulders, etc.)

During the class we stood and sat on the wedge, lifting weight with dumbbells and body bars. We also laid on it for ab work. If you’ve ever done ab exercises on the incline bench after months of doing crunches on the ground or tried lifting weights while standing on the Bosu, you’ll know what I mean when I say the extra incline and instability really helps you feel the burn!

The Wedge didn’t seem like a dramatically different fitness tool, but it will work your muscles in different ways, so try it the next time you want to mix up your strength routine.

The editors over at Her Active Life posted a poll last week asking, “Would you wear a running dress?” My first reaction was no way! I admit, I don’t run every day, but when I do, I have no desire to hit the pavement in a dress! Shorts and a t-shirt work just fine for me. The little black dress seems best reserved for Saturday night with a pair of heels and a blow out, not a pair of sneakers and a hat.