Lift heavy to build muscle: that’s advice you’ve probably seen in a million places. But how heavy is “heavy,” and how do you know if your workout qualifies? There’s no specific number of pounds that will constitute “heavy” for everyone. What’s heavy for a teenage girl picking up a dumbbell for the first time will be a lot less than what’s heavy for a pro strongman. (If you do want to compare your lifts to other people, sites like Symmetric Strength can show where you stand—but please ...

In the fitness world, people often say you should “listen to your body” when deciding what to do if you aren’t feeling great. That advice often amounts to permission to take the day off, which is certainly a valid option in many cases. But “listen to your body” doesn’t mean “take the day off if you’re not feeling 100%.” That suggests a relationship where our brain is pushing us to go go go, while our body is like a stubborn donkey—sometimes complying, sometimes sitting down and refusing to budg...

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It can be hard to convince yourself to exercise, especially if it means dragging yourself to the gym. But not all exercise has to be a high-intensity sweat sesh.  In fact, just walking can help you meet the US Department of Health and Human Services exercise guidelines. Walking can also be a great, low-impact way to burn calories.  However, how much you burn depends on a few factors. Here's what you need to know about the calories you burn while walking and how to burn more. ...

If you think marathon runners are incredible — but the idea of lacing up sneakers yourself makes you dread a workout like it's the Presidential Fitness Test in fourth grade — it's time to reframe that narrative. After all, with most gyms closed because of the COVID-19 pandemic and Zoom fatigue being completely real, getting out for some fresh air might be the perfect antidote for your housebound muscles (and mood). And since all you need for a great run are your sneakers and yourself...

Just like your mouthwash can work without that burning sensation, your muscles shaking during strength workouts isn't a prereq for getting stronger. Technically, your arms or legs feeling like Jell-O is a sign of exhaustion but that doesn't directly correlate to increasing muscle mass or upping your one-rep max. In truth, that quaking feeling can actually be an indicator that you're not giving yourself enough time to adequately recover in between rounds. "When you feel really fatigued quickly, a...

You've heard it time and time again: Getting enough sleep is one of the best things you can do for your health. But when it comes to catching zzz's, it's not just about the number of hours you log in bed. The quality of your sleep is just as important as the quantity-meaning getting your requisite eight hours isn't going to matter if it wasn't "good" sleep. (This is a common problem. One-third of women are not getting enough quality shut-eye, according to recent data&nbs...

Trying the popular, healthy Mediterranean diet could benefit not just you, but everyone you live with, new research suggests. Family members of people who followed a Mediterranean diet lost weight and improved their eating habits, even without doing a specific diet program themselves, according to a study published March 3 in the International Journal of Obesity. The Mediterranean diet, based on traditional eating patterns in countries like Spain, Italy, and Greece, is one of the most res...

Frozen foods have gotten a pretty bad rap over the years thanks to the rise of T.V. dinners and microwaveable mac and cheese. Traditionally, freezer meals are loaded with sodium, preservatives, synthetic flavors, and other sketchy ingredients to help prolong shelf life as well as enhance flavor that's seriously lacking. So to say that most frozen meals are unhealthy is pretty accurate. But stepping into the freezer section isn't all that bad. Along with all the bad of prepared froze...

The outbreak of the coronavirus (COVID-19) has rocked our world and caused all of us to isolate in ways we never dreamed of doing before. For some of us who have a severe mental illness diagnosis, this isolation is more than we might have ever experienced with our most extreme symptoms. While I have to fight my tendency to self-isolate as a result of my schizoaffective diagnosis, recent days have caused me to think about my routine and how it can, not only keep me s...