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Readers offer their best tips for keeping your mind off the pain while exercising, getting knots out of your back without someone else’s help, and keeping a secret stash of greeting cards for forgotten occasions.

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About the Tips Box: Every day we receive boatloads of great reader tips in our inbox, but for various reasons—maybe they’re a bit too niche, maybe we couldn’t find a good way to present it, or maybe we just couldn’t fit it in—the tip didn’t make the front page. From the Tips Box is where we round up some of our favorites for your buffet-style consumption. Got a tip of your own to share? Add it in the comments, share it here, or email it to tips at lifehacker.com.

Use a Metronome to Keep Concentration While Exercising

Photo by Nick Odolphie.

Matthew Thornton keeps his time and his mind straight when exercising:

Similar to the recent post about self distraction in order to help with exercise, I have found that if I have a metronome on then it helps me with push ups, since I focus on keeping in time, not on the ache. Even better is if you put some music on in the background at the same tempo as the metronome.

Use a Tennis Ball to Give Yourself Back Massages

Photo by mylerdude.

Aim4WhirledPeas keeps his muscles loose without anyone else’s help:

My back tends to get pretty knotted up, and I’ve found a new way to deal with it (besides soliciting massages from my girlfriend). Grab a tennis ball and put it between your back and a wall (or lay down on it on the floor). As you move around, you can apply pressure and release the knots. It’s so simple, but seems to work wonders.

Keep a Secret Stash of Greeting Cards for Forgotten Occasions

Photo by Clean Wal-Mart.

Anthony saves himself from certain doom by keeping greeting cards to his wife for the future:

I, like most husbands, don’t intentionally try to forget to buy a card for my wife’s birthday, our anniversary, or other special occasions. However, as the occasion approaches, time slips away from me and I am sometimes left without a card on the big day. This either leaves me scrambling or empty handed.

My simple way to avoid the pain that comes from procrastination is to buy 2-3 extra cards for the various important dates throughout the year and file them away in case of emergency. It only takes a few minutes and around $20 for a fantastic marriage insurance policy.

I refill my stash once a year and haven’t taken a beating for quite a while now – at least not for forgetting her cards. I also pick up bonus “Awesome Husband” points for the “Just because I love you” cards that I drop on her a few times a year.

This works even if you don’t know who you’re buying for—Hallmark and all those stores stock up so far in advance these days, you could make a few trips a year and stock up on cards for all sorts of holidays, so when your cousin’s birthday rolls around you aren’t stuck running to Hallmark the evening of.

Add Documents to your Startup Folder to Remember to Work on Them

Nicholas remembers his tasks for the day by keeping the documents themselves at the front of his attention:

I used to keep my computer running far too long without restarting, because I didn’t want to close documents I was still working on. I often keep stuff open to remind me I need to work on it.

Now, I just drag a shortcut to whatever document/file/folder I’m working on into the Startup folder, and can safely shut down or restart my computer. It will automatically open the next time I start! It’s a really handy reminder. I can delete it from Startup once I’m done working with it.

Getting fit is hard enough without having to buy fancy in-home exercise equipment. Health and nutrition web site SimpleFit is loaded with info on how to eat right, lose weight, and get strong without spending a dime.

This free community-based web site focuses on helping readers build muscle and get healthy with simple circuit training exercises that don’t require any special equipment. Instead you’ll rely on exercises like pull-ups, push-ups, and squats to burn fat and build muscle. To help keep you from straining something, SimpleFit includes videos of each exercise so you can be sure you’re doing it just right.

Users can customize plans according to fitness level and general strength, then use the online tracker to monitor progress. If you want other community members to cheer on your efforts, you can even share your log with others. Eating right is an important component of getting and staying healthy so SimpleFit devotes and entire section of the site to helping users plan meals and make good food choices.

What are some of your best weight loss and fitness tips that won’t break the bank? Let us know in the comments.

We’ve already explained why the push-up belongs in your fitness routine, but if you’ve grown weary of the standard method, weblog Art of Manliness rounds up “the ultimate push-up guide” with 35 variations on the classic, including “The Hindu”.

Concerning “The Hindu” push-up, Art of Manliness says the technique has been used for centuries and “consists of a dynamic full body movement that will build strength and flexibility in your chest, shoulders, back, hips, and triceps.”

Watch the above video to see the method in action. Two things to keep in mind when applying this technique:

• Make sure to get a good stretch in your back.
• The first time you perform a Hindu Push-up you might find yourself falling on your face during the initial descent.

If you’re looking to give your muscles even more of a workout, try “The Dive Bomber” push-up, which is performed exactly like The Hindu, except upon returning to the starting position, “you follow the same swooping motion you make on the descent in reverse”.

A third variation is “The Tiger,” which combines The Hindu and Dive Bomber. The Tiger focuses on your triceps and, if positioned properly, should look like an upside down V.

Browse the full post for the entire list of push-up variations—complete with videos—and if you’re looking for a push-up plan, check out previously mentioned One Hundred Push-Ups for details on how to go from 0 to 100 push-ups in a matter of six weeks. Still prefer doing crunches over push-ups? Here’s why you should switch gears and ditch the crunches now.