Fitness
I write reported articles and features that share exercise tips, strength training advice, cultural fitness trends, the science behind fitness, and more.
Why You Should Try Doing Calisthenics
What to Know About Doing a Barre Workout at Home
How Often Should You Vary Your Running Terrain?
What It’s Like to Take a Barre Class
The ballet-inspired workout has gained a massive following in the past five years, its main claim to fame being the ability to strengthen and sculpt your muscles to dancer status.
Running to Stay Healthy During the Holidays
Pounding the pavement can help you combat weight gain, maintain your fitness, and preserve your sanity amidst the chaos.
How to Get Back In Shape: 8 Tips to Help You Start Working Out Again
Sticking to a regular exercise routine can be challenging, even in the best of circumstances. But it's never too late to start working out again.
5 Runners on Battling Breast Cancer
Runners are no stranger to adversity, but these five runners were confronted with one of life's greatest challenges: being diagnosed with breast cancer.
How to Become a Stronger Runner When You're Starting From Zero
If you're new to running, figuring out how to start—let alone get stronger—can seem like a daunting task. But, here's the good news: You can still become a confident, capable runner even with zero experience.
How to Do Lateral Raises for Sculpted Shoulders
When it comes to sculpting strong, defined shoulders, the lateral raise is one of the most underrated exercises out there. Not only do lateral raises target the most visible muscles covering those joints — the deltoids — but they also helps fill out your upper back by working several other muscles that support and control shoulder movement, including your traps.
How to Do an Overhead Triceps Extension
Triceps are easy to skimp on during a workout, but they’re absolutely critical to your upper body’s overall strength and power. And since the triceps muscle accounts for two-thirds of your upper arm’s overall mass, isolating it is key to gaining size and strength. One of the best movements for accomplishing this is the overhead triceps extension.
Can Running Less Often Make You Faster?
When you’re trying to shave seconds or even minutes off your mile times, you may be tempted to schedule a run almost daily. This strategy, though, can often lead to burnout, overtraining, and injury. In fact, reducing the frequency of your runs can—literally and figuratively—take you much farther.
13 Easy Health Hacks to Get You Through the Holidays
The holiday season can quickly derail your healthy habits if you’re not prepared. That’s why it’s crucial to implement a few simple, effective strategies to help stay on track — without restricting yourself or skipping out on the festivities.
10 of the Best Shoulder Exercises You Can Do at Home
Strong shoulders are the unsung heroes of the upper body: they’re powerful, mobile, and highly attractive in tank tops and strapless dresses. They’re also one of the most frequently used muscle groups in the upper body.
Women Who Lift: Why Body Transformation Selfies Are Bulking Up
There’s a new fitness photo trend taking hold of the Internet. No, it’s not the sweaty gym selfie or the self-timed yoga pose pic. It’s a variation of the classic before and after weight-loss photo, with one major difference: the focus is not on losing weight, but rather on gaining strength. These new selfies show people, particularly women, sharing their evolution from slim to strong, thanks to strength training.
6 Important Things to Do After Your Workout
So, you had an intense workout. You legs are shaking, your mouth is dry, and your shirt is drenched. But before you call it a day and throw in the sweat-soaked towel, there are a few crucial things you need to do to jumpstart your recovery process, prevent injury, and make sure you’re prepared for your next workout.
7 Ways to Make Room For Working Out at Home
When it comes to exercising, sometimes sweating it out at home is best. After all, it’s more affordable and convenient than a gym or workout studio, and you don’t have to worry about what you look like when you’re sprinting (or dying) on the treadmill. Here's what you need to know about making space for your home gym.
10 Tips to Get Motivated For a Run
6 Benefits of Cycling
How to Prepare For Snowy and Rainy Races
The best running weather is the kind you don't notice. But what happens when the forecast says rain or snow?
Stem Cell Therapy to Regain Health
Seamus Mullen is an award-winning chef, cookbook author, and restaurateur. After dealing with rheumatoid arthritis and chronic shoulder pain for years, he crashed his bike on a cycling tour in Italy. Thanks to a combination of stem cell therapy, functional nutrition, and training, he’s back to full health almost one year post-op.
What Is Cardiorespiratory Endurance and How Can You Improve It?
Along with greater strength and more defined muscles, a fitness goal worth striving for is greater cardiorespiratory endurance. It’s a skill that can improve your performance in just about any athletic endeavor, allowing you to exercise harder and longer—and reach your goals faster.
Everything You Need to Know to Go Running in the Rain
Running in the rain is not unlike running in general: demanding and occasionally uncomfortable, but also super gratifying — and maybe even a little fun. Instead of resorting to the treadmill next time it pours, embrace the elements.
How to Do a Dumbbell Military Press With Perfect Form
If you want to gain both strength and mass in your shoulders, the military press is the way to go. It’s the perfect shoulder-building exercise because it activates every area of your deltoid, leading to greater muscle growth.
How to Do an Overhead Press With Proper Form
Experimenting with new and innovative weightlifting exercises can be fun, but when you want guaranteed results, nothing beats a classic. Enter: the overhead press.
13 Things You Need to Know Before Starting a Weightlifting Program
Weightlifting is straightforward in theory (you just, erm…lift weights, right?). But it’s a bit more complicated in practice. As a beginner to weightlifting, it’s confusing (not to mention intimidating) to figure out which muscles to target, how much to lift, and how often to work out.
Why Your Daily Exercise Routine Isn't Working
Improving your health and fitness takes time and hard work. You shouldn’t expect to see changes after one or two workouts, but if your daily workout routine isn’t producing noticeable results after a month or so, there might be a good reason why.
12 Powerful Reasons Why You Should Be Running
On the definitive list of all-around amazing exercise activities, running ranks pretty highly. The practical benefits of running include its convenience and affordability, but from a health standpoint, it’s an effective way to keep both your body and brain in great shape.
How Your Fitness Level Affects Your Sweating Habits
If you’ve ever wondered why you’re always drenched in sweat at the end of a boot camp class while your friend is barely glistening, fret not. Your heavy sweating could be a sign that you’re physically fit. Research shows that fit individuals, especially those who train for endurance sports like running and cycling, sweat sooner and more profusely than people who rarely get physical.
11 Benefits of SHIFT SHOP: Lose Weight, Build Muscle, and More
Want to kick your health into high gear? Beachbody Super Trainer Chris Downing has you covered. He’s the creator of SHIFT SHOP, a program filled with high-energy workouts and a targeted nutrition plan that will help produce incredible results in just three weeks. The benefits of SHIFT SHOP are many, but the best part is that it’s designed for people of any age, weight, or fitness level who want to take charge of their health.
The 10 Best Workouts to Prepare For a Move
Loading and unloading bulky furniture and heavy boxes for an entire day can wear you out if you’re not prepared. That’s why we’ve compiled this list of trainer-approved workouts to help increase your strength, improve your flexibility, and ramp up your endurance. Here are 10 awesome exercises to make your move easy and injury-free.
Everything You Need to Know About Strength Training For Beginners
How to Maximize Your Rest Days
Bored With the Typical 5K? Try These 10 Fun Runs Instead
Even the most eager runners among us occasionally fall into a running rut. When that happens, switch things up with a fun race.
What is the FIIT Principle?
Creating a safe, effective exercise routine that you can actually stick to takes some strategy. Enter: the FITT Principle.
How to Get Back Into Running After a Long Break
If it's been a while since you've laced up for a run, you're not alone. A packed schedule, unexpected injury, or long trip can easily throw you off your running routine, leaving you sidelined for weeks or months at a time.
What to Do With a Foam Roller
Next to supportive sneakers and blister-proof socks, one of the best items to have in your arsenal of running equipment is a foam roller. Not only are they super versatile and easy to use, foam rollers can help speed up your recovery and improve your running performance.
Smart Cross-Training Tips For Runners
Sometimes the best way to improve at running is to take a break from it. That's where cross-training comes in — incorporating a few days of non-running-related exercise into your fitness routine can help you gain strength, prevent injury, and stave off running fatigue. That's a win-win-win.
How to Do a Triceps Rope Pushdown
If you’re weight machine–averse, the triceps rope pushdown probably isn’t part of your tri-building regimen. But if you’re relying solely on non-machine exercises to sculpt triceps muscles, you’re missing out. The triceps rope pushdown is one of the most effective (and versatile) ways to build big, powerful tris.
8 Ways To Get Fit Without Joining A Gym
If you want to ramp up your fitness, joining a gym probably seems like the obvious solution. But while that method works for some people, it’s certainly not the only path to better fitness ― nor is it the most convenient, efficient or cost-effective option for everyone. Looking for a different method? Below are expert tips for improving your fitness ― no gym required.
10 of the Best Exercises For Upper Back Workouts
On the list of often overlooked, but vitally important muscles, are those of the upper back. Why? Because it’s easy to skimp on them in favor of toning the more impressive muscles, like your legs or arms. But strong upper back muscles set your body up for success by helping with increased mobility in sports, regular exercise, and daily life.
8 of the Best Exercises For a Calves Workout
It can be easy to make these smaller muscles an afterthought, but strong calves don’t only help to balance out your appearance, they’re also key to gaining power and explosiveness both inside and outside the gym.
How to Avoid Getting Nauseous When You Exercise
Picture this: you’re halfway through a three-mile run, intense pilates class, or round of your weight circuit when — suddenly— you’re hit with the overwhelming urge to throw up. Exercise-induced nausea is a common phenomenon, one that most people — fitness experts and novices alike — have experienced at some point. The good news? That turbulent feeling in your stomach is avoidable if you take the proper precautions.
Can Walking Help You Lose Weight?
Walking might be the simplest form of exercise. It’s straightforward, requires no special training or fitness prowess. It’s also free, highly accessible, and usually very enjoyable, especially if you have a chatty friend by your side or a fun podcast to listen to. In short, walking is awesome. But is it an effective way to lose weight?
The 7 Best Vacations For Your Body
If your idea of a vacation is getting sloshed at noon, eating your weight in chips and salsa, and then falling asleep in the sun, it’s time to start thinking outside the box. Yes, vacations are the perfect time to unwind and relax, but they’re also ideal opportunities to prioritize your mental and physical well-being.