A self-motivated, SEO-savvy journalist, Gabrielle Kassel has written over 2,500 articles about issues on sex, sexuality, and fitness for brands like Healthline, Greatist, Well + Good, Health, Shape,
Good News: Running Actually *Isn't* Bad For Your Knees
Amongst those who lace-up, the only thing more common than a post-workout runner’s high is being told that your running is bad for your knees. The rampancy of this reprimand might have runners worried they need to dial back their mileage or hang up their sneakers in favor of a cap and goggles or helmet and bike. But there’s not actually any trust in this widespread warning. Phew.
“Running is not bad for your knees, period,” says certified running coach and personal trainer Alysha Flynn ISST, ...
The 6-Ingredient Recipe You Need To Get Faster At Running
Good news: you don't have to do intervals 24-7 to get faster at running.
In This Article
The Benefits of Getting Faster
Strength Training
Recovery
Shaving seconds (or minutes!) from your race splits, beating your bud at an upcoming event, and traveling further in the same amount of time all come down to one common goal: Run faster.
But how do you run faster, exactly? The answer probably isn’t what you think. Most people believe that the only way to run faster is to sprint. “But that couldn’t ...
The 11 Best Elliptical Machines of 2024, Tested and Reviewed
If you’re looking to beef up your home gym or fitness-ify your office with a cardio machine, odds are you’ve considered the elliptical—especially if you hate running on treadmills, have bad knees, or your fanny numbs out on the rower. Well, even if you've always thought the low-impact machine was equivalent to low-effort (it’s not!), fitness pros think it's time you take the classic cardio machine more seriously.
“Elliptical machines help improve cardiovascular capacity without placing pressu...
The 15 Best Bikini Trimmers for a Precise, Smooth Bikini Line
There's no "right" way for your pubic hair to look — it's a personal choice that's totally up to you. But if you decide to trim it up, there is a right tool to get your desired down-there. End up with something other than one of the best bikini trimmers on the market and you’re one swipe or slash away from a lacerated labia, fupa fo-hawk, and splotchy pubis. Pass!
A bikini trimmer is a tool that is designed to help you craft your designer bush, without leaving nicks or painful razor burn behi...
What Happens if You Wear Barefoot Shoes for 30 Days?
Spoiler alert: Barefoot shoes help with functional strength and mobility.
The rage around minimalism doesn't just start and stop with makeup and tiny house living. The less is more ethos is bleeding over into people’s shoe choices, too. Minimalist shoes—sometimes known as barefoot shoes—are having a moment among runners, hikers, and other people passionate about holistic health.
But this shoe trend is one that most (if not all) shoe-wearers should consider. After all, there are more benefits ...
3 Steps to Workout Motivation, According to Experts
Because sometimes, you just don't want to.
Scroll through any social media platform, and within seconds you’ll be face-to-face with a "fitfluencer" claiming to have the thing you need to find your workout motivation. From “habit stacking” to “sweating with your besties," advice can leave you scratching your head, and no closer to working out.
Here's the thing—finding and keeping motivation to work out can be achieved with the help of just three simple steps. Ahead, exercise psychologists and ...
Bulking vs. Cutting: 10 Tips on How to Cut and Bulk, From Fitness Professionals
Fitness pros explain the pros and cons of each method.
In This Article
What Is Cutting?
What Is Bulking?
Gymshark, Ghost, greens, and creatine. Among bodybuilders there are no shortage of companies, concepts, and products designed to help them meet their goals. But there is one bodybuilding methodology that cannot be ordered online or snagged for a deal—cutting and bulking.
Bulking and cutting involve strategically editing your exercise, nutrition, and other lifestyle factors to gain muscle a...
This 30-Day Yoga Challenge Will Strengthen Your Entire Body
Committing to this challenge will build your core, upper, and lower body strength — and improve your balance and range of motion, too.
In This Article
Challenge Benefits
How to Complete The Challenge
Yoga Challenge: Week One
Yoga Challenge: Week Three
Yoga Challenge: Week Four
Safety Tips
If you aspire to be chiller than an iced chai tea latte, more mobile than the inflatable air-dancer, or want to live a life of greater ease, then yoga has your back (and breath and brain). As a practice that...
Everything You Need to Know About Sun Salutations
From the basic sequence and modifications to the health benefits, here's what to know about the asanas that make up this yoga flow.
In This Article
Sequence of Sun Salutations
Benefits
Variations and Modifications
Breathing Techniques
Common Mistakes to Avoid
If TikTok has had any influence, you already have a robust morning routine replete with tongue scrapers, eye-brightening patches, green powders, and skin serums. But if you want to promote low-stress levels all day long, improve your mob...
The 13 Best Shoes for Strength Training, According to Personal Trainers and Podiatrists
Because no, you shouldn’t be lifting heavy in your running shoes.
In This Article
Our top picks
Reviews
How We Tested
What to Know
Why Trust Shape
We independently evaluate all recommended products and services. If you click on links we provide, we may receive compensation. Learn more.
When you first begin adding strength training into your workout routine, you probably didn't think too deeply about the shoes you wore — whatever sneakers you owned were fine for dumbbell or kettlebell workouts...
9 Lifestyle Changes That Can Help Manage Atopic Dermatitis
If you’ve ever fallen down a #SkinTok rabbit hole (guilty), you’ve probably heard of atopic dermatitis (AD). But even if your feeds tend to be of the fitness or OOTD variety, odds are you or someone you know has the condition.
More commonly known as eczema, atopic dermatitis is a common inflammatory skin condition that causes dry, itchy skin, explains board-certified dermatologist Mariano Busso, M.D., F.A.A.D., who practices in Beverly Hill, California and Miami, Florida. “This widespread, ch...
The Best Recovery Shoes of 2023, According to Podiatrists
Your feet have never been so pampered.
In This Article
Reviews
How We Selected
Why Trust Shape
We independently evaluate all recommended products and services. If you click on links we provide, we may receive compensation. Learn more.
When most people think of post-workout recovery, they think of plopping on the couch and kicking their feet up — not wearing special shoes. But that’s the idea behind recovery shoes.
“Recovery shoes [are] meant to be put on after some physical activity,” says Dr...
7 Exercises Trainers Say You Should Skip —and Why
Plus, alternative moves you should try instead.
In This Article
Smith Machine Squats
Leg Extensions
Conventional Barbell Deadlift
Crunches
The Elliptical Machine
Running
Olympic Lifts
There are some things — season finales, first dates, fake eyelashes — that can be easily separated into categories of ‘good’ and ‘bad’. Exercises, however, cannot.
“There is a time and place for almost every exercise,” according to strength and conditioning specialist Alena Luciani, M.S., C.S.C.S., founder of Tr...
10 Secrets To Make Treadmill Running Less Boring
If your treadmill workout is as entertaining as being on hold, waiting for a computer update, or listening to former prom royalty blather on about the glory days, you’re doing it wrong! Sure, your workouts might not always be quite as captivating as a post-game-analysis call with your BFF or people-watching at your local first-date spot. But, your time on the treadmill — or any exercise machine for that matter — should not be boring.
Thankfully, if your treadmill jaunts are starting to feel a...
Cozy Cardio Is Popular On Social Media — But Is It Actually Effective?
The low-impact, low-intensity exercise taking over TikTok may have some benefits.
In This Article
Benefits
A fitness trend taking over social media, cozy cardio is an at-home fitness trend that prioritizes comfort over intensity, vibes over weights, and self-care over buckets of sweat. Essentially, it’s exercise that’s been hygge-ified.
Does a group fitness class, run race route, or CrossFit metcon sound about as appealing to you as, say, a colonoscopy? You could be a good candidate for cozy ...