Why Your Workout Plan’s Not Working–And How To Fix It

You do the exact same training program as your running partner—but finish the 5K 10 minutes behind her. After months of diligent forward bends, you still can’t even touch your toes. And while your totally toned co-worker swears by a strength-building DVD, you don’t see a single sculpted muscle for your efforts. Before you blame yourself or give up altogether, consider whether your obstacles have been written into your genome. Read the full article on Prevention.com.

5 Surprising Ways Stress Affects Your Workout

Fighting with your guy or having your brilliant (or so you thought) ideas vetoed in a meeting can compel you to head straight to the weight room or the running path—and for good reason. A serious sweat session zaps stress, releasing tension and anger, and boosting levels of feel-good brain chemicals including endorphins. Read the full article on Shape.com.

The Socks That Help Workout Recovery

If you’ve hit the path or checked out the crowd at your local 5K lately, you’ve likely seen athletes wearing tall, colorful compression socks. Some runners—and the companies who make the socks—swear the tight-fitting garments help you stride faster and recover more quickly. But a new study casts doubt on at least some of these claims. In fact, college runners actually exercised for less time when wearing them, according to results just posted online in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. Read the full article in Prevention News.

The Biggest Fitness Myths

As quickly as exercise scientists work to banish them, new fitness misconceptions rear their ugly heads. Meanwhile, other untried and untrue myths just won’t go away. Here, we round up a few of the most common fitness falsehoods, and ask researchers and other experts to help correct the record. Read the full slideshow on OutsideOnline.com.