Some muscles are like fashion trends. Their owners flaunt them, dress to feature them, and post about them. Different muscles can lurch in and out of fashion depending on the whims of the public and the popularity of the celebrities who display them. A recent addition to this A-list of fashionable body parts — particularly […]
Even if you’re just starting out, fitness leaves clues: physical vigor, greater ease of movement, a flat stomach, etc. If you stick with an exercise routine long enough, however, a few telltale signs of elite fitness start to appear. One of those is increased vascularity — visible veins on the arms, calves, shoulders, and elsewhere. So if you’re trying […]
What do a mixed martial artist, a sprinter, and an Olympic weightlifter have in common? Besides a drawer full of spandex, they all rely heavily on type 2 muscle fibers, also known as fast-twitch muscle fibers. Type 2 muscle fibers give a roundhouse kick more oomph and a barbell snatch its signature snap. But even […]
So, you can’t work out — on account of illness, work stress, gym closure, or life upheaval. It happens. As you get your life back on track, you may start to worry about your waning fitness. How long does it take to lose the muscle mass you built in the weeks, months, or years you’ve […]
Don’t underestimate the value of your body weight when you’re training at home. You don’t need a squat rack and bumpers to build strength and challenge yourself. All you need is a little know-how and some calisthenics equipment. Calisthenics requires you to move your body weight through exercises like pull-ups, push-ups, dips, or static holds. […]
The rise of drugs like Ozempic (semaglutide) and Mounjaro (tirzepatide) has been propelled by their success in helping celebrities and civilians lose weight. But many questions remain about these medications, a common one being: Can you exercise on Ozempic, Wegovy, Rybelsus, Mounjaro, and Zepbound? These pharmaceuticals — collectively known as incretin mimetics or GLP-1 (glucagon-like […]
Ask people why they work out, and chances are glucose levels and insulin sensitivity won’t enter the conversation. But for many people, physical exercise can be a game changer for metabolic health. Produced and released by the pancreas, insulin is a regulator in myriad metabolic processes. “Insulin plays a number of important roles, including allowing […]
We associate cracking and snapping sounds with breaking, so it’s understandable that a noisy knee might give you pause or make you wonder, “Why does my knee pop?” Unfortunately, there’s no single definitive answer. Knee popping is very common and occurs for a number of reasons, ranging from relatively benign to potentially concerning. To help […]
There’s just something about being sore. Maybe it’s that it draws attention to those muscles you’ve built. Perhaps it feels like a testament to how hard you went during your last workout. No matter the reason, it hurts — but you also kind of like it. (Is that weird?) Liking the soreness after a challenging […]
Neck strength may be critical for contact sports like wrestling and football, but for those of us who get our exercise at home, in the gym, or on the pavement, neck strength hardly seems necessary. However, if you spend most of your day looking up at a computer screen or looking down at a phone […]