Gabrielle Kassel

A lot of airtime is given to what you should eat before and after workouts. For good reason: The former gives you a boost of energy for your workout, while the latter helps you recover from it. But what about what you eat (or drink) in the middle of your workout?
In recent years, intra-workout supplements have become a booming business—there are endless options of gels, chews, and powders designed to be consumed smack-dab in the middle of a sweat session. But for certain exercisers, workout s...

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If you had to sum up the word sexy, Bad Bunny at the Super Bowl would likely come to mind faster than your job. Yet for many of us, managing our love lives has started to feel like clocking in for work—a phenomenon called the “fifth shift.”
“The ‘fifth shift’ refers to the invisible work women tend to do in heterosexual relationships to maintain romantic and sexual connection with their part...

Does your partner pen the birthday card for your pops, pick and paper the holiday gifts for the kiddos, pester you about making plans with your recently-dumped pal? Do they play the unofficial role of your therapist, life coach, and social secretary? Hate to break it to you, my friend, but you might be mankept.
Mankeeping is a relatively new term for the often-invisible emotional, relational, and logistical labor that people do to maintain their male partner's social and emotional lives, says...

Many people in long-term relationships have used the same phrase to quiet thoughts of leaving: But it’s already been so long! If I leave now, all of that time and effort will go to waste. As it turns out, there’s an economics term that perfectly describes why years together can start to feel like a reason in itself to stay: sunk cost fallacy.
“The sunk cost fallacy refers to the tendency to keep investing in something because of what has already been invested—rather than because of its curren...

8 min read
POV: You started working out a few months ago, and you've been consistently hitting the same reps of the same movements. You have a goal of reaching a deadlift PR in a few months, and while you do feel stronger now, you find your strength has plateaued. To the rescue: periodization training.
Put simply, periodization training is an intentional exercise program with “strategically fluctuating variables like volume, intensity, speed, and weight,” says strength and conditioning specia...

10 min read
Stopping the safer sex convo at condoms and birth control is like describing Heated Rivalry as a hockey show—it’s not wrong, per se, but it is incomplete.
Preventing unwanted pregnancy and reducing the risk of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) is just one part of the equation, says Dr. Jennifer Lincoln, a board-certified OB-GYN and author of Let’s Talk About Down There. “Safe sex is about protecting your physical, emotional, and mental well-being.”
In fact, you can’t have one...

Whole corners of the internet are dedicated to helping men understand—and ultimately boost— their testosterone levels. Sure, higher T may support bigger muscles and heavier lifts, but it’s not the only hormone required for a healthy, balanced endocrine ecosystem in men.
“Estrogen is essential for male health, too,” says Justin Houman, M.D., a board-certified urologist who specializes in hormone health, sexual health, and fertility. “In men, estrogen supports bone density, cardiovascular healt...

If nutrients were boxers, protein would beat out all other nutrients for the championship title. Most recently, chatter about the macronutrient has reached a climax, partially driven by social media trends and propped up by an influx of protein-infused drinks and snacks. Case in point: Searches for protein on The Vitamin Shoppe website jumped 81 percent in 2025, while Google searches for protein also reached a fever pitch during that time.
Certainly, protein has earned its place in the spotli...

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TOUCH IS ONE of the key ways we humans communicate connection. Yet, in our increasingly conservative, touch-starved society, men rarely feel free to give and receive touch outside of romantic and sexual domains, which leaves an entire category of physical contact underexplored: sensual touch.
“Sensual touch is the category of soothing touch that doesn’t demand performance of any kind, but instead offers pleasure, stress reduction, and connection,” says Holly Richmond, Ph.D., a somatic psychot...

Pleasure powerfully contributes to overall wellbeing. If your sex life feels good, it's likely that you feel good, too—emotionally, mentally, physically, and relationally. That's why, especially for people with vulvas, exploring multiple orgasms can be such a good way to amplify your life in—and out—of the bedroom.
Simply, “multiple orgasms refer to a person having more than one orgasm in a single session, with short or no recovery time in between,” says Shamyra Howard, PhD, CST, LCSW, a lice...

Strokers may not have the same notoriety vibrators do, but these simple toys can bring some serious pleasure for some folks. Beginner-friendly and intuitive, strokers can help people of all genders reimagine masturbation⁠ or manual sex⁠ with a partner⁠, adding textures, sensations, and sometimes vibrations that the human hand can’t replicate. And while they’re sometimes called masturbation sleeves, these versatile toys aren’t just for solo play: strokers can also be enjoyed with partners in w...

If you’ve seen the term “metabolic workout” pop up on your social feed, you’re not alone. “Metabolic workouts are definitely having a moment,” says internal health specialist and endocrinologist Hayley Miller, M.D., the medical director of Nurx Weight Management.
The term may sound fitness mumbo-jumbo, but “it’s just a term that describes a well-balanced exercise program that supports how efficiently your body produces and uses energy,” says Miller. In general, that means combining strength a...

If you’re a menopausal woman who has ever stood in your kitchen wondering why you opened the fridge, forgotten a familiar name in the middle of a meeting, or struggled to focus on a task you’ve done a hundred times before, you’re in good company.
Those moments of brain fog are far from unusual during the menopause transition. In fact, research suggests that roughly half (44 to 62 percent) of people in menopause report brain fog. Meanwhile, experts say that as many as 80 percent experience bro...

Romantic relationships pose particular concerns when you’re also dealing with hair loss. Here’s how to navigate them.