Fitness

In May 2019, six months after a 35-year-old Marian Dancy gave birth to her second child, she became strangely ill. Her symptoms started as general fatigue and swelling in her legs and ankles, which she chalked up to being a tired postpartum mom, always on her feet. But a few months later she started to

In 2019, Simone Biles became the first woman gymnast to land a triple-double in her floor routine — that’s a triple-twisting double backflip, if you’re unfamiliar. The move has since become a staple in her competitive performances, and as of June 2024, ahead of the Paris 2024 Olympics, no other woman has completed the move

Like many cusp Gen Z millennials, my first introduction to fencing was through the 1998 film “The Parent Trap.” If you haven’t seen the movie in a while, there’s an iconic scene where twins Hallie and Annie (both played by Lindsay Lohan), who’d been split up as babies and 11 years later wind up at

If you’ve ever watched the pregame ceremonies of a soccer match, you’ve probably noticed a sweet detail: the players always walk onto the field holding the hands of kids, who are dressed like an adorable little squad themselves. It’s a longstanding tradition that’s rarely explained during international tournaments such as the World Cup — so

Editor’s Note: We at POPSUGAR recognize that people of many genders and identities have menstrual cycles. This particular story includes language from experts who generally refer to people with menstrual cycles as women. Online, anyone can sound like a professional. Of course, not everyone is — and that means a lot of bad information circulates

You’ve heard of “gymtimidation,” but we suspect people suffer from another common ailment that saps some joy out of their fitness routines: gymposter syndrome, our term for the sneaking suspicion many of us have that everyone else is working out more than us. It’s to be expected. You can only swipe past so many gym

When it comes to upper-body day vs lower-body day at the gym, everyone has a favorite, right? But whether you look forward to squats and deadlifts or push-ups and bicep curls, the key to a balanced, healthy body is to incorporate a mix of both in your routine. So if you’re finding yourself returning to

If you’re looking to build muscle, the question of when to eat protein around a workout (before? after? during?) becomes an important one, especially because it seems like everyone has their own routine. You might see some people shaking up a protein smoothie between reps at the gym or munching on a protein bar right

It’s May 2022 and I’m hiding from my therapist. I haven’t had a session in over a month, which feels like eternity after meeting every week for three years. “I’m not feeling too well,” I type into another email draft. “Can we reschedule?” I listen to the whoosh of my email and close my laptop

This informational guide, part of POPSUGAR’s Condition Center, lays out the realities of this health concern: what it is, what it can look like, and strategies that medical experts say are proven to help. You should always consult your doctor regarding matters pertaining to your health and before starting any course of medical treatment. Maybe

Strength training is an essential component of any workout regimen, especially if your goal is to get stronger. That doesn’t always mean picking up weights — for example, Pilates totally counts as strength training, as do bodyweight exercises and moves with resistance bands. However, if you’d like to up the intensity and really focus on

Every editorial product is independently selected by our editors. If you buy something through our links, we may earn commission. The Expert Edit features interviews with specialists about the products they swear by in their chosen field. For the latest installment, we spoke to Evelynn Escobar, social activist, professional explorer, and founder of the Hike

Every once in a while, the internet gets together and declares that a perfectly normal aspect of the human anatomy is actually a huge issue. Enter into evidence the “thigh gap” conversation of the 2010s (reinvented into the “leggings legs” trend of the 2020s) and, recently, the “hip dip” trend that’s corroding social media feeds

“Get uncomfortable! That’s where we need to be to get stronger!” instructor Mercedes Owens says in this PS Fit video, leading the way with a series of upper body exercises using wrist weights. Based in Los Angeles, California, Owens can also be found teaching at Barrys and as a Nike Trainer for the Nike Well

The key to getting a stronger core is pretty simple: spend more time strengthening your abdominal muscles. No, you don’t have to schedule hour-long ab sessions, but your workouts should contain a core proponent. It can be as simple as spending a few minutes activating your core before moving into a strength routine or after

As we witness women’s sports breaking records left and right, money has consistently been at the center of the conversation. People want to know what pay equity really looks like. But in addition to debates about revenue shares and sponsorship dollars, there’s another factor that must be considered: financial literacy. After all, it’s hard to

If you’ve ever been midway through a run and experienced that urgent, need-a-bathroom-right-now feeling in the pit of your stomach, you’re not alone. Over 800 people a month search the question, “why does running make you poop?” looking for answers. So we talked to Linda Nguyen, MD, a gastroenterologist at Stanford Health Care, to find

Muscle soreness is about as comfortable as running into your ex in the weight room (meaning, not at all). And even worse is delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS), which can be even more brutal. Though they’re not exactly the same thing (more on that later), muscle soreness and DOMS are often used interchangeably, and both

People talk a lot about the bittersweet feelings that surround age-related milestones like turning 30 or 40. But one milestone you don’t hear so much about: when you realize you’re older than all the Olympic athletes competing in your favorite sport. Did I really think I would one day qualify to join the USA Gymnastics

You’ve likely heard of anxiety disorders, which are thought to affect nearly a third of people at some point in their lives, according to the National Institute of Mental Health. But recently, the idea of high-functioning anxiety has been becoming more popular, meant to refer to someone who might experience symptoms of high anxiety, but