‘Just jump on the spot if you can’t keep up’: my 90 minutes of ballet for beginners

In her fortnightly review of fitness and wellbeing activities, comedian Jennifer Wong finds her balance and apologises to her toes.

I walked 1,000 miles alone through Europe – and learned that fear is the price of freedom

I take risks on solo hikes, navigating animal traps and dangerous terrain. But for a woman, men are the biggest threat. I do it to be more open to the world, in the hope it will be more open to me

No gym fees, no fancy equipment: it’s the skint bouncer’s guide to fitness!

Forget treadmills, rowing machines and air-conditioned exercise suites: you can get in shape with a staircase, a chair and fridge. Take it from a man who can’t afford to throw money around

Do you really need to walk 10,000 steps a day? And 17 other fitness ‘rules’, tackled by the experts

From stretching before a workout to the truth about protein, we separate the facts from dodgy exercise ‘wisdom’

I’ll never be able to achieve the perfect burpee or run a marathon, so why do I suddenly love going to the gym?

My body has mostly changed without my input. Now it hurts because of something I did, not just because I’m getting older

Runs in the family: racing around the coast of Sweden

Three days running and hiking on the stunning Bohuslän coast with my pre-teen son is joyfully exhausting

Should I worry about working out too hard?

Push your body too much and you could end up in A&E – or worse. But how much is too much? And which activities are most likely to end in tears?

‘My daughter started to run a fever’: Britain’s swimmers on how sewage changed their summer

With pollution at high levels and growing worse, some keen swimmers have stopped going in the sea. Many have felt the impact on their mental health – not to mention the pain and discomfort of E coli

The key to a longer life? Why I tried to walk exactly 3,967 steps in a day

A study says this is the number needed to cut risk of dying from any cause – so I took on the task

3,967 steps a day: the new magic number for a healthy, happy life?

The very thought of exercise can be tiring. But don’t despair. Small changes can make a big difference

The isometric secret: 15 ways to get much fitter – without moving a muscle

What are the best exercises to reduce your blood pressure? The plank and the wall sit. Here is how to do them – and some other great poses – whatever your current fitness level

Beat stress, get to sleep and find your focus: seven ways better breathing can improve your life

We do it 20,000 times a day but the way we breathe in different scenarios can have a big impact. From tongue position to finding your D-spot, experts share breathwork techniques

How to do the perfect plank

With research showing doing a plank regularly can combat heart disease, here is how to go about it

The slow running revolution: how to move at a ‘sexy’ pace – and really enjoy the race

Forget personal bests, stopwatches and numbers on the scales. More and more people are taking up running to enjoy time in nature, chatting with friends and stress reduction

A new start after 60: ‘I became a powerlifter at 71 – and I’ve never felt so good about myself’

Peeps Nicol was newly widowed, ‘really unfit’, and struggling with MS when she first visited her local gym last year. Now she can deadlift 55kg and has begun competing