Heather Muir has been named Fitness magazine’s new beauty director. Muir was most recently the beauty news editor at Allure. Prior to Allure, Muir was the beauty editor at Seventeen magazine.

“We look forward to the fresh approach Heather will bring to our expanding beauty coverage,” said Fitness editor-in-chief, Betty Wong.  ”Her vast beauty knowledge and enthusiasm are tremendous assets. We’re thrilled to welcome Heather to the Fitness team.”

Fitness is celebrating two decades on the newsstand in style! The New York-based wellness magazine is launching its first-ever free-for-all May 1, teaming with several gyms nationwide. Loyal readers will get a one-day, free workout at any of these facilities including: Bally Total Fitness, Crunch, Gold’s Gym, New York Sports Clubs, 24 Hour Fitness, and select YMCA locations.

Along with free access to gyms across the country, Fitness is also hosting five V.I.P. workout events with celebrity trainers Jackie Warner, Harley Pasternak, Billy Blanks, Jim Karas and Beto Perez.  The trainers will be teaching exclusive classes for Fitness readers who respond to calls to action via Facebook and Twitter.

“We’re so excited to be turning 20! To thank our amazing readers for their continued support and commitment to fitness—their own as well as the magazine—over the last two decades, we couldn’t think of a better way than to offer them a free day at the gym and a chance to workout with some of the best trainers in the business,” says Fitness editor-in-chief, Betty Wong.

There are more details about participating gyms and how to download a free pass on the Fitness website.

Fitness magazine has named Andrea Rogan as its new Associate Publisher. Rogan was promoted from Director Corporate Sales, where she has been since 2006. She will report to Eric Schwarzkopf, Publisher of the magazine.

“Andrea has been a key member of the Meredith Corporate Sales team for the last five years,” said Schwarzkopf. “She brings incredible mulit-platform selling experience to the brand and I am confident her expertise will be vital as we expand the range of our integrated offerings to clients.”

Who has their bikini body ready? We do! [Editor's note: For clarification purposes, I do not, in fact, wear a bikini.] But if you don’t, you might want to check out Fitness magazine’s TV show, titled Get Bikini Ready.

Hosted by Jackie Warner, a celebrity personal trainer, Get Bikini Ready will guide viewers through the You Can Do It! diet and exercise program that originated in the pages of Fitness.

Lee Slattery, Fitness’ Vice President and Publisher explained that moving the program to TV was a natural progression for the magazine. “More than a million women have used the You Can Do It! plan to reach their better-body goals and television was the perfect way to expand the program, while also giving sponsors a new multi-platform opportunity to connect with readers.”

Get Bikini Ready airs tonight at 5:30 pm on ABC. For areas outside of New York, here are more listings.

Moms across the world, dust off your mom jeans and get ready to party, because Meredith has launched iPad versions of its Better Homes and Gardens, Parents, and Fitness brands.

All three are available for single purchase in iTunes. Better Homes and Gardens is $3.99, while Parents and Fitness are $2.99 each. Those with Android tablets win here, because Meredith plans to offer subscriptions via Next Issue Media eventually.

Liz Schimel, Executive Vice President, Consumer Relationship Management and Digital Media, for Meredith says that when creating the apps, reader feedback was vital. She adds, “Our consumer insights were incredibly valuable during every step of planning and creation.”

Each iPad version carries content from the print editions, as well as new, interactive elements.

The MPA held its first social media conference on Tuesday, and Dylan Stableford at Media Alley has a report that while most magazines have Facebook figured out, more than a few are still confused by other forms of social media, like Twitter.

Fitness magazine’s Digital Director, Christie Griffin, says Twitter is “a tough nut to crack,” Time has an entire team dedicated to its feed, and Sasha Smith, Rodale’s Executive Director of Creative Services, is merely hoping that magazines have stopped acting like they’re above social media.

Look, FishbowlNY is on Twitter, so we’re willing to help out. Log on, then link to something on your website. If someone asks you a question, answer them. See something good? Retweet it. When you come across an article you enjoyed, share it with your followers. And if all else fails, cross your fingers and hope that the Biebs retweets you.

That’s just a quick lesson, but there’s really not much more to it than that. We’ll have our people send your people a bill.

If you had a choice between working for two similar titles, one which was owned by a publishing company that was publicly cutting staffers down to bare bones, or one that was winning awards and actually gaining ad pages in 2009, which would you choose?

Yeah, we doubt Eleanor Langston had to think too long about it either: the former beauty editor of Condé Nast-owned Self has just been named beauty director of Fitness magazine, which is owned by Meredith Corp. We say: smart move.

Full press release after the jump.

Previously: Meredith Turnaround Wins Publisher Of the Year, Tallying Up The Condé Nast Layoffs — So Far

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Here’s some early holiday cheer for the magazine industry: Rodale Inc., which holds such fitness titles as Men’s Health, Runner’s World and Bicycling magazine, has just hired one of its freelance contributors as fitness editor for Prevention magazine.

Jessica Cassity has recently worked as a freelance fitness writer for The New York Times, Fitness, Self, Shape and Weight Watchers, as well as Prevention. Previously, she was a contributing editor at Health magazine.

Cassity also co-created the Pilates instructor Web site www.pilates-pro.com and worked as Soho community leader for Lululemon, where she managed the apparel company’s community-based programs like free yoga in Bryant Park.

Full press release after the jump.

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In a turbulent year for print titles, only ten magazines managed to show a positive gain for the number of their ad pages. According to min Online, five of those titles happen to belong to the Meredith Corporation, including Family Circle, Better Homes and Gardens, Ladies’ Home Journal, Fitness, and More.

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Prevention magazine is doing what many print publications are doing — expanding its sales team.

Today, the health and wellness publication announced the appointment of Estee Cross as an account director in New York and Hillary Duff as account manager in Chicago.

Cross, a former franchise sales director and beauty director at Health magazine, will now be overseeing Prevention‘s food and packaged goods, DTC, retail and financial categories, while Duff, a former associate media director at Starcom Worldwide’s Procter & Gamble Print AOR division, will be overseeing print and digital sales.

Prior to Health, Cross worked at Fitness, Marie Claire, House & Garden and Victoria magazines. Duff previously worked for News Corp.‘s News America Marketing division and the Tsunami Foundation.