As SELF’s fitness director, I’ve tested a lot of smartwatches and fitness trackers, so I know there are a few basic must-haves for me: The device needs to accurately measure distance, pace, and heart rate during my workouts (no lagging GPS, please!); operate intuitively out of the box; and sync seamlessly with my phone without […]
Locust pose, or salabhasana, is a belly-down, or prone, yoga posture that stretches your chest, shoulders, and spine. It’s also a backbend that’s suitable for beginners. “Locust pose improves strength and flexibility, and it is thought to reduce the effects of physical stress because it reverses slouching,” says ACE-certified personal trainer Jennifer Fuller, RYT 500. There is […]
The benefits of fitness are far-reaching, both for your body (the strength to hoist that heavy box back on the shelf! The speed to sprint to your train stop with seconds to spare!) and your mind (who doesn’t feel less stressed after a workout?). Problem is, lots of folks miss out on those perks because […]
A fitness TikToker is warning people about an unsettling experience she had after using a massage gun on her neck. In the video, which has racked up 4.6 million views so far, Sophie Dolce explained that she recently woke up with “the worst kink in her neck.” So she turned to her massage gun for […]
The 2024 Paris Olympics might still be six months away, but after scrolling through gold medalist Suni Lee’s Instagram yesterday, we can’t stop hoping that it would come just a little sooner. On January 23, the 20-year-old Olympic gymnast posted a carousel of four short videos of her training. And they’re…pretty amazing. In each, Lee […]
Not since the advent of the moonwalk has walking backward had such a moment. TikTok and Instagram are filled with videos of physical therapists and fitness influencers touting the benefits of walking backwards, aka retro walking. You may have also noticed people at the gym (and not just that one attention-seeking weirdo) walking backwards on […]
No doubt about it: Pilates exercises offer incredible benefits for the core. But when it comes to the best leg exercises, Pilates can also provide a major boost, according to Andrea Rogers, founder of Xtend Barre and XB Pilates. Best of all, the practice uses compound moves, so you’ll feel those Pilates “leg” exercises working other areas of your body, too. Pilates can […]
So, you’ve got your workout routine down to a science: strength training three days a week, cardio twice, mobility work during Netflix binges. You’re killing it. But as a wise trainer once said, a workout is only as good as your capacity to recover from it. If you hit the gym hard and don’t give equal attention to rest, nutrition, sleep, and other recovery […]
Although this exercise may be called the hip thrust, you’re really going to appreciate what it does for your butt. In fact, hip thrusts can fire up your entire posterior chain, according to Holly Perkins, C.S.C.S., Los Angeles-based trainer and author of Lift to Get Lean. That can help reduce your risk of low back pain and also […]
When building a workout routine, you really can’t go wrong with functional exercises, or ones that mirror actions you do in daily life. One prime example? The single-arm dumbbell row, an upper-body smoker that also sneakily hits your core—while providing a bunch of other benefits, too. Here, we dig into all the one-arm row has […]