Fitness

I never ran before getting sick. Most days, my health was a constant I didn’t even think to acknowledge — a kind of ignorance I almost envy now. After contracting COVID and surviving two strokes, I spent months in and out of hospitals, focusing only on recovery. My resting heart rate remained in the triple

Katie Ledecky doesn’t mean to be so iconic. When asked how she built her confidence as a young athlete, the Stanford grad and Olympic athlete thinks carefully before admitting, “I guess I’ve kind of had it for as long as I can remember.” She credits her mom for getting her in the pool, and various

There are a lot of things that can go wrong with your gut, leading to serious discomfort on your part. Gas, bloating, diarrhea…no one wants to deal with that. But if your doctor has ruled out conditions like irritable bowel syndrome, food intolerances, and other common issues, you may wonder if you could be dealing

After spending a month in a blue zone, dietitian and content creator Maggie Hennigan felt so good, she decided to start re-creating some of her favorite blue zone meals at home. “As a registered dietitian, I’m challenging myself in 2024 to make my life as much like a blue zone as possible, and obviously that

As a little kid, Maria Solis Belizaire was a fiercely competitive runner. She’d blaze around the gym during PE. “I had to be first place,” she says. “Even when I wasn’t in school, my father and I would race around the track.” But when she got into high school, she fell away from the sport,

The term “alcohol-induced dementia” has been getting a lot of attention recently, after the Lifetime documentary “Where Is Wendy Williams?” included claims that the former talk show host was facing the condition. The ethics of the documentary are currently being debated, with some feeling that the project is exploitative and wrong, especially considering that Williams’s

Pope Francis might not have meant to target the LGBTQ+ community when he called for a global surrogacy ban, but that didn’t soften the blow. On Jan. 8, the pope gave a speech in Vatican City in which he described the process so many people rely on for family building as “deplorable,” as the Associated

After seeing a few posts about posture correctors on social media, I quickly turned my attention to my own posture. In that moment, slouched over my phone and mindlessly scrolling through Instagram, my posture was anything but correct. I kept my shoulders rounded and my head tipped forward, letting my lower back deal with the

When the Alabama Supreme Court ruled that frozen embryos created through in vitro fertilization are people — effectively shutting down IVF clinics in the state — Katie Potsma was “so mad and upset.” Potsma had an embryo transfer scheduled for March 12, which was canceled days after the ruling came down on Feb. 16. We

For days filled with hikes, treks, sightseeing, and other adventures, you’ll want gear that’s flexible and agile, without sacrificing comfort or style. That’s why I opted for two of Lululemon’s bestsellers, the Align High-Rise Pant ($98) and the Scuba Oversized Half-Zip Hoodie ($118). The Align pants are lightweight, breathable, and move with my body, with

Anxiety manifests differently for everyone. Whether you’re healing from the past or spending hours worrying about the future, it can sometimes feel impossible to center yourself. Thankfully, when you’re caught in the tight grip of anxiety, grounding techniques can help you shift your focus back to the present. To find the best grounding techniques for

No matter how fast she’s going, Kathrine Switzer always gets the job done. As the first American woman to officially finish the Boston Marathon in 1967, Switzer has dedicated her life to carving out space for female athletes, encouraging women to defy limitations and live more fearlessly. She originally caught international attention after a race

All runners know that cross-training is essential — but forcing themselves to actually do it can be a struggle. That’s why we love this circuit, led by fitness instructor Ashley Joi. It’s actually the first of a three-episode runner’s series presented by 26.2 Team Milk, and it’s designed to boost your running endurance and help

Having clogged, stuffy sinuses is hardly a picnic, which is why plenty of people turn to Neti pots to help clear things out. But nasal irrigation at home is a little tricky if you’ve never done it before — and that can leave you wondering how to use a neti pot. A neti pot, in

So you want to run your first half marathon? You’re going to need one thing: a desire to run … a lot. With the right approach, almost anyone can tackle 13.1 miles, but following a half-marathon training schedule for beginners is a major time commitment. “To take on a half marathon, you have to really

Learning how to run longer can feel like gaining a superpower. Distances you used to only drive across suddenly become something you can cover on your own two feet. Still, heading out the door for multiple miles can be incredibly intimidating. And in the process of building up your endurance, it’s easy to make mistakes

If you’ve ever been to a college volleyball match, you know things can get intense. Whether it’s a killer block, elite dig, or perfectly executed bump, the game is full of skill. But there’s been a major change to NCAA women’s volleyball rules as you may know it: double contacts are now allowed. A double

I wish I could say I was surprised. Shocked, hurt, appalled, disgusted. I wish I could feel furious, seething, incandescent with rage, irate. All of those would be appropriate responses — or maybe not. Maybe there is no appropriate response to the death of a child. Maybe I just want to be able to communicate

The pandemic changed everything, including the social norms around how to behave when you’re sick, afraid you may be sick, or want to avoid getting sick. Some of the same, long-held courtesies pre-2020 still apply — sneeze into your elbow or a tissue; don’t show up at a social event with a clearly contagious flu

Image Sources: POPSUGAR Photography / Christa Janine and Photo illustration by Aly Lim Just about everyone could benefit from adding more upper back stretches to their routine. While upper back pain isn’t as common as lower back pain, factors like stress, poor posture, and muscle strain — caused by things like spending hours in front

Ever wonder why your runs seem so inconsistent? If you feel like you have endless energy some days, while others leave you gasping for air, your breath might be the culprit. Although performance can also be affected by your diet, amount of sleep, and stress levels, learning how to breathe when running can make a

Alex Rodriguez can’t cook. He tells me that within the first 20 minutes of our lunch at an event space right outside of Union Square, where Top Chef’s Eric Adjepong is preparing our bibimbap bowls. “I think I would burn a kitchen if I tried to do something,” Rodriguez says. Even his daughters, Natasha and

When it comes to women and exercise, less might actually be more. In a recent study from the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, researchers found that women generally needed less exercise to reduce their risk of dying. Whereas men needed 300 minutes of weekly exercise to lower their chances of cardiovascular mortality by

On Friday, the Alabama Supreme Court ruled that frozen embryos created through in vitro fertilization are people under state law, and that anyone can be held liable for destroying them. In effect, the ruling could heavily impact access to IVF clinics in the state, which may opt to shut down or move to other states