When my treadmill broke down a few weeks ago, I wondered how I was going to get in some regular exercise at home during the winter. I texted a friend asking for advice and she sent me a slew of (old) Pilates workouts on YouTube with this note: “Sorry for the lack of modern suggestions. Apparently when I find something I like, I stick to the VHS tape.”

Strength training is good for your muscles; cardio is good for your heart. Both are essential if you want to be a fit, healthy person, but what’s the best way to combine them?

If you’ve been skipping rope with us all month, you’ve probably mastered the basic jump and maybe even a few fancy moves. So how can you put your new skill to use in a full workout? Here are some ideas.

Joining us for the jump rope fitness challenge? You might be wondering what exactly you can do with your rope, besides just jumping over it and counting how far you can get before you get tangled up. That’s a start!

All of the cardio machines are lying to you. There’s probably some workout on the elliptical that promises to keep you in the “fat burning zone,” and a chart on the treadmill informing you that the zone exists when your heart is beating at a certain rate. Forget it. The fat burning zone is a myth.

Summer is a great time to get in shape — you can enjoy the non-freezing weather, the longer days and, depending on your line of work, you might have more free time. But then a holiday happens, and your fitness goals take a back seat for a little while. Here’s how to minimise the damage.

Non-smokers can no longer smugly lord their decreased mortality over smokers, unless they also have a high level of cardiovascular fitness. A new study has revealed that a sedentary lifestyle could be the most deadly way you could possibly live, even more so than smokers or those with diabetes.

You can get fit by running outdoors, or by exercising at a fancy gym, but in the end all your muscles care about is that they got to contract a bunch of times. Need a workout you can do when you’re stuck in one place with no gear? Ask a former prisoner.

There's almost never a bad time to start running — or to get back into it, if you’ve taken a break. We just spent a month trying to stand on our heads, so a little plain old jogging is going to feel great by comparison.

How long do you spend at the gym? There's an optimum amount of time you should be spending on your daily workout, and chances are it's a lot shorter than you think. Think of what you'll do with all that extra time!

We all hit a slump near the beginning of a fitness program. Not at the very start, when we’re excited to get going — more like a few weeks in. It may take six weeks to notice more muscle or better endurance, but how do you get through that time without losing hope?

Killer workouts come with bragging rights: can you believe you survived that? But you can get a perfectly good sweat on without doing anything labelled "high intensity" or headed by a sadistic coach. It's okay for a workout not to feel like torture, but only like work.

It's a beautiful day and we're going on an adventure! For the May instalment of the Lifehacker Fitness Challenge, your mission is to find a fitness trail (sometimes called a parcourse) near you - they're often hiding in plain sight.

Crossfit's intense workouts are a polarising subject of discussion. It seems the first rule of Crossfit club is that you must never shut up about Crossfit club, and on the flip side, the sport (routine? Discipline? Hobby?) has its share of haters. So let's take a minute to cut through that for anyone who's intrigued but isn't sure what they would be getting into and whether it's worthwhile.

Video: Ever wonder how MMA fighters and football players get those quick feet? A big part of the secret is footwork drills like these. Practise them in short bursts, and you've got a great cardio workout.

Video: This week's lunch break workout is perfect for people who can't move their legs, or who just don't want to. That's right, you'll work your upper body and core without having to get out of a chair.

Walking your dog, it turns out, counts as legitimate exercise -- the kind that will help you live longer. Dogs really are man's best friend.

If you aren't sure where to go when you step onto an ice or roller rink, this handy guide will help you out. Traffic flows in one direction (usually counterclockwise), with the center reserved for people to work on their skills.

It's no surprise consistent exercise keeps you healthy, but a new study suggests a certain type of workout can actually dramatically improve your longevity. This is how you can get your sweat on well into your golden years.