Women are not small men. From their cells and chemical compositions to their ability to own more than one towel, women are physiologically distinct from men. Yet to gain respect in athletics, apparently all women need to beat every man who has ever played in the history of playing. If…

Nope, it’s not yoga or HIIT — In 2018, The Lancet Psychiatry published a massive study linking exercise with fewer experiences of depression. The landmark part of this project was the revelation that people experienced significantly fewer depressed days each month if they exercised for 30–60 minutes most days a week. This revelation was huge. But it…

Learn to speak spine language. — This is one of those back pain recommendations that come relentlessly from doctors, trainers, and physical therapists. They have a patient with classically “bad” posture — hunched shoulders, rounded upper back, forward head drop, and usually pain — and recommend that they do tons of seated rows to correct it. …

And are you going to become the most annoying person ever? — We can all picture the maniacal fit-spo images that people love to share: Eat Clean, Train Mean. Be Stronger Than Your Excuses. Sweat Is Your Fat Crying. And the classic, No Days Off. No Days Off, meaning this person exercises each and every day in pursuit of their fitness dreams…

Grapes of Wrath, Schmapes of Wrath — High school is the long, meandering bridge that carries us from child to adult. We can all look back and see how those unpredictable years shaped us. From the highs of friendship to the lows of lunch seats, we are molded by the exposure to Chemistry, Sociology, and Advanced Placement…

No ellipticals necessary. I promise. — I saw a tweet recently: “I wanna get addicted to working out like y’all. What’s the secret? When I work out, I want to ✨ die ✨.” The first two replies suggested she try a number of drugs beforehand and while this suggestion is funny, I give it zero stars…

No crunches or planks necessary — Core training is often presented as the holy grail of exercise: strengthen your core to fix posture, improve balance, heal current injuries, and prevent future injuries. But if you’re only training the four large abdominal muscles, then you’re missing out. The core also includes the diaphragm, pelvic floor, lower-back muscles…

The basics of exercise programming — I get this question a ton, because even gymrats get puzzled by weekly programming. No, you don’t have to have every set and repetition programmed months in advance. But you definitely want to know what the main goal is and how to get there over time. If you don’t, you…

Give yourself a quick reset — Most exercises in the gym are high-investment, high-return. You have to put in time, effort, and technique in order to reap their best benefits. This is true for cardio, most weightlifting, mobility training, and speed work. Sure, individual bouts are great (something is ALWAYS better than nothing), but these are…