Author: Richard C. Trotter
The benefits of adding cardio exercise into your daily routine? Well, the list is seemingly endless. Cardiovascular exercise improves your stamina and energy levels, boosts your metabolism, and reduces your stress levels, blood pressure, and chance of heart disease, stroke, and other chronic health conditions, according to the Mayo Clinic. What if we told you that you could still get all of this by sitting down? This seated cardio workout is high-intensity and will keep your heart rate elevated, make you sweat, and leave you feeling strong. Not only that, but it’s a great option if you’re new to strength…
Classified as an asymmetrical standing balance posture, yoga’s tree pose (Vrksasana) evokes the feeling of being both grounded and wide open. Like a tree, this yoga pose illustrates the importance of cultivating a solid foundation that supports growth in all directions, while also inviting us to play with our balance and focus our attention on the here and now. Nourishing for both body and mind, tree pose is commonly taught to students both young and old, which speaks to the many benefits of this popular standing yoga posture. No matter your age or experience level, this is a pose worth…
As many as 90 percent of menstruating people have premenstrual symptoms, according to a 2020 study in the Annals of General Psychiatry, with the leading hallmarks being irritability, appetite changes, mood swings, and fatigue. That last one can be a real doozy, even getting in the way of your ability to carry out your day-to-day responsibilities like work, social commitments, and raising children. Here, an OB/GYN explains why you might feel really tired before your period and what you can do about it. What causes extreme fatigue before your period? 1. Natural hormone fluctuations As with most PMS symptoms, you can…
Sniffly allergies aside, springtime is thrilling—after trudging through the cold, dark days of winter, the world is finally teeming with life again. With the resurgence of flowers, trees, and bushes comes the reappearance of creatures big and small, and on any given spring day, you could cross paths with ladybugs, a dragonfly, a monarch butterfly, a firefly, or even a praying mantis. You may also encounter bumblebees, perhaps causing you to ponder the spiritual meaning of bees. Writing off animal sightings as happenstance may be tempting, but some spiritual intuitives and psychics beg to differ. “There’s a magical connection between…
Okay headaches, okay friends who see me order a Diet Coke, I get it: I need to drink more water! I’m not alone, either: Around 75 percent of Americans are dehydrated. And unfortunately, dehydration can lead to pretty rough (and surprising) side effects, such as muscle cramps, mood problems, allergy and asthma symptoms, decreased immunity, and more. But between graduate school, work, playing volleyball, and maintaining a social life, I may not make it the whole day without caffeine (and, let’s be real, some flavor in my beverages). Given this predicament, you can imagine my joy at the discovery of…
If you’re a tampon-wearer, it may feel like you’ve been using these convenient cotton contraptions for, well, eons. Yet even after all these years, you may still have random questions about them—including how and why they work. (Don’t be embarrassed: We’ve all had these thoughts. Plus, reproductive health still isn’t talked about enough, so it’s no wonder we have questions!) Sure, you can Google these questions when you have them, but you may have to do some digging to separate fact from fiction. And even without the internet, who hasn’t heard a myth or two about tampons over the course…
Your hips are like the hinges of a door, facilitating your ability to walk, run, and sit comfortably. When your hips are “rusty,” movement is difficult and even painful. But when they’re “well-oiled,” suddenly, everyday tasks become much easier. So how do you keep your hips running smoothly? Adding hip mobility exercises to your workout routine. For our March 2024 Movement of the Month Club, you’ll be guided by Alicia Rios, CSCS, personal trainer and programming manager for Bold, an at-home, digital fitness platform. She’s dedicated her career to creating personalized exercise prescriptions for people who want to maintain strength,…
With the Well+Good SHOP, our editors put their years of know-how to work in order to pick products (from skin care to self care and beyond) they’re betting you’ll love. While our editors independently select these products, making a purchase through our links may earn Well+Good a commission. Happy shopping! Explore the SHOP Before expanding its offerings to high-tech hair dryers and the best air purifiers money can buy, Dyson was synonymous with some of the most powerful vacuum cleaners on the market. And the company’s bestseller—which normally retails for $570—is currently on sale at QVC for $450. At 21…
Let me clue you in on a little secret: One of the easiest ways to make restaurant-quality meals at home (I’m talking barely lifting a finger here) is by enlisting the help of a trusty slow cooker. Even after the hundreds (!) of hours I spent at culinary school learning the hundreds (!!) of chef-approved cooking techniques there are—blanching, poaching, roasting, frying, you name it—slow cooking yields some of the finest results with the least amount of effort of them all. Between the sheer convenience of simply letting a machine do the cooking for you to the fork-tender proteins and…
The idea of training for your first marathon can feel just as overwhelming as the thought of running the 26.2-mile race itself. The process can take up months of your life, and if you’re a runner used to 5Ks, you may be unsure of how to safely get your body ready for such a long distance. Take a deep breath. To make this lofty undertaking feel manageable, follow this all-inclusive beginner’s guide on how to train for your first marathon. Here, you’ll find run coach-approved tips on how to structure your marathon training program—including runs and other fitness modalities—how to…