Photo: Twenty20 Why does running have to be so damn hard? You head out the door with a spring in your step but five minutes later, you’re huffing and puffing and ready to quit. Or maybe you check your watch all the time, relying on it to tell you precisely …

Photo: Twenty20 Whether you’re a newbie runner chasing your first finish line or a seasoned athlete who took a sabbatical from pounding pavement, this 5K training plan will set you off on the right foot. Your first task (after signing up for your race, of course): Start slow. You might not …

Photo: Pond5 These days, foam rollers are everywhere — the gym, your physical therapist’s office, your living room and even your suitcase. After all, foam rolling has emerged as the darling of the fitness world and the cure-all for many different aches. Essentially, foam rolling is a form of self-myofascial …

Photo: Twenty20 While kettlebells may be all the rage and dumbbells never go out of fashion, its time to give some love to the no-frills medicine ball. Great for at-home workouts or at the gym, weighted med balls can target just about every muscle group, improve coordination, challenge core stability, …

Photo: Twenty20 High-intensity training is getting a mindful makeover, and you’re going to want to clear some headspace for this. Thanks to a few fitness renegades, yoga studios aren’t the only group fitness classes that are baking meditation into their exercise regimen. So don’t be surprised if you find yourself …

Photo: Courtesy of The LIT Method Don’t get us wrong: We’re big fans of high-intensity training and running, but what happens when you’re recovering from an injury and want to take it easy on those burpees and sprints? Fitness trainers Justin Norris and Taylor Gainor were faced with this dilemma …

Photo: Pond5 The second you walk into the weight room, you’re faced with a million questions: How much weight should I lift? Once I actually find a dumbbell I can pick up, how many reps should I perform? How many sets? Does it even matter? If you’re a newbie, either …

Photo: Twenty20 Avoiding push-ups like they’re the plague? We don’t blame you — the bodyweight exercise is daunting if you’re new to fitness. But if you’re reaching for any crazy excuse to skip this bootcamp favorite, you might be cheating yourself out of a seriously effective workout.  RELATED: Hate Crunches? …

Photo courtesy of CorePower Yoga When you think of yoga and HIIT, two separate workouts probably come to mind. But combining them into one — now that’s pretty genius. You get the best of both top-notch fitness worlds: Intense, sweat-inducing intervals maximize your calorie and fat burn, while yoga poses …

Photo: Twenty20 By now you know if you want to build a lean, fit body, you can’t stick to the treadmill or elliptical alone. It takes some heavy lifting to get that strong and chiseled physique. In fact, even if you want to be a better runner, you still need …