A self-motivated, SEO-savvy wellness writer, I've written over 1,000 articles on fitness, health, and wellness for brands like Livestrong, Well & Good, Cosmo, Health, Women's Health, and more.
Strong Schedule: How Often Should You Strength Train?
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Maybe you loathe lifting but have goals you wanna achieve. Maybe you’re worried you’re under- or overdoing it at the gym. Maybe your schedule is fuller than your Netflix queue.
Whatever your situation, you’re here because you want to know how often you need to do strength training to hit your goals.
Ahead, your answer.
Let’s get this out of the wa...
Gains Playing Hard to Get? Here Are 9 Reasons You’re Not Getting Stronger
Strength is — Ron Burgundy voice — kind of a big deal.
It’s what allows us to lug the groceries from car to fridge. It’s what keeps us from mutilating our muscles on the playing field. And it’s undoubtedly the foundation behind many of the “qualities” we’re chasing in the weight room, be it speed, agility, power, or just looking like a “Game of Thrones” character with our clothes off.
To understate it: Strength training is good.
But if you’re training and, try as you might, you find your stre...
5 Nutrients That Support Women’s Hormonal Balance
The biggest lie ever told was that hormones wreak the most havoc on adolescents. In fact, hormones can cause major disruption at any age, especially for women.
Our hormone levels, which are regulated by the endocrine system, play a massive role in how we feel, as well as how our body functions. And, unfortunately, hormonal imbalances impact many women, manifesting as menstrual cycle issues, fertility struggles, and much more.
Thankfully, there’s a whole slew of lifestyle changes women can mak...
Why It’s So Important For Women To Prioritize Calcium
When you think about calcium, chances are the image of a milk mustache immediately comes to mind. Perhaps memories of being encouraged (okay, forced) to down milk at mealtimes as a kid still even haunt you. After all, the common health narrative suggests that kiddos need lots of calcium to build strong, resilient bones (which is true!).
However, children aren’t the only demographic who benefit from prioritizing calcium intake. Women—and especially postmenopausal women—would benefit from payin...
How To Tell Whether You've Got A Secure Attachment Style, According To Relationship Experts
True or false? There’s rarely a time where secure is the suboptimal option.
Think about it: You want the mattress lassoed to the roof of your car to be secure before you vroom, vroom on home. You want the passcode of your Spotify account to be secure so that there’s no chance of your enemies finding out your sex playlist features Ed Sheeran. And unless you’re a drama-driven diva, odds are you want your relationship to be secure, too!
Well, according to psychologists, there are some people who...
The Le Wand XO Vibrator Is Basically a Love Letter to All Your Pleasure Needs
If "XO" is widely understood to be shorthand for "hugs and kisses," let your imagination run wild as you consider what luxury vibrator brand Le Wand's new XO sex toy aims to offer. The uniquely shaped vibe proves that love notes aren’t the only things that can (ahem) come to completion with this letter combination.
Upon first sight, whether you’re a veritable sex toy collector like me or brand new to bringing buzzy buddies into your bed, your eyes will widen at this babe's body. To me, it app...
How To Have Pleasurable Sex When Your Partner Has a Penis on the Smaller Size
It's widely known that for many things in life, bigger isn't necessarily better. (Just take tiny gift-wrapped boxes containing precious jewelry for example.) That sentiment absolutely stands for penis size, as well. And yet, when many pleasure-seekers of any anatomy learn their penis-having partner isn't on the larger side, they may worry their sex life will suffer. Well, it's time to put those worries to rest, once and for all: A smaller penis is no more an indicator that intercourse will be...
Here’s Why Knowing Your Body Fat Percentage May or May Not Be Beneficial
If you follow any body positive influencers, fat activists, or holistic health providers, you’ve probably heard that—far from a reliable measure of health—body mass index (BMI) is racist and sexist, in both its origins and applications. But as some allies and practitioners fight for the move away from this as a measure of health, others are eager to find a suitable, more accurate measurement. In its place, some are proposing body fat percentage.
Exactly as it sounds, body fat percentage measu...
Lighten the Mental Load of Endometriosis
Learning to tend to your emotional wellbeing can go a long way in helping you cope with endo.
When you read about the pain associated with endometriosis, it’s often a catalogue of the physical kind that ensues when endometrial cells grow outside the uterus and wreak havoc. But, as most anyone with endo can tell you, the mental and emotional spillover is real, too. “Endometriosis impacts everything from someone’s sex life to their social life,” says Shannon Chavez Qureshi, Psy.D., a psychologi...
The 13 Best Sex Toy Cleaners to Keep Your Devices (& Intimate Areas) in Good Shape
Spoiler alert: Sex toys aren't as formidable as cast iron skillets. Left unwashed, a sex toy doesn't introduce extra flavor into your life — rather, a dirty sex toy is merely a recipe for unfavorable infections. Luckily, there are plenty of sex toy cleaners that make cleaning a jiff. But before we delve into the best sex toy cleaners on the market, let's get some clarity on why these cleaners are so essential to maintaining a healthy sex life. Two words: bodily fluids.
"If you're masturbating...
Drop It Low: The Best Squat Racks for Your Home Gym (2022)
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Squat racks are a necessary purchase for anyone looking to maximize gains, improve their squat numbers, or strengthen their shoulders and pecs.
Because all squat racks are not created equal, we put together this squat rack and power rack buying guide. Whether you’re looking for fitness equipment for your CrossFit box or your home g...
The Best CrossFit Barbells, According to a CrossFit Athlete and Coach
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If you’ve ever been stuck with the ugly duckling barbell at your affiliate—whether for strength work, barbell cycling WODs, or percentage work—you know that a bad barbell can wreck your workout.
And if you haven’t? Well, lucky lifter, that’s likely because you know intuitively that a bad barbell is a bad omen and therefore bee-line...
10 Signs You're In An Intimate Relationship, According To Experts
Much like falling in love or getting "The Ick," intimacy is one of those things that’s hard to define, but you know it when you feel it.
While no intimacy expert, wordsmith Merriam-Webster defines intimacy as a type of familiarity. But psychologist and sex therapist Megan Fleming, PhD, says it’s deeper, more intense than that. "Intimacy is a culture of closeness and connection between two (or more) people that builds over time," she says. It feels safe, supportive, sacred, and sometimes even ...
9 Surprising Questions Urologists Get Asked
From erectile dysfunction to penis size, learn which concerns made the list—and what it means for your health.
If there’s one takeaway here, it’s this: Don’t be shy around your urologist. “You can guarantee there’s no question they haven’t gotten before,” says Marc Cohen, M.D., a urologist in Sarasota, FL, and medical adviser to Bastion Health, a telehealth platform for men. “Sometimes, people have a hard time talking about their concerns, due to the personal and intimacy issues these can cau...
Prostate Cancer: What It Means for Your Sex Life
Among the many farflung questions you might have running through your mind after a prostate cancer diagnosis, some burning ones are likely with respect to your love life. Most people—and their partners—do have plenty of those, according to Marc Cohen, M.D., a urologist in Sarasota, FL, and a medical adviser at Bastion Health, a telehealth platform for men. Dreading the awkward sex ed discussions? Our experts have the right bedside manner to put you at ease. Let this peek into what treatment m...