Shape

In a world that seems to get more chaotic by the day, exercise is often the safest harbor—a retreat for the mind and body and soul. You’ve undoubtedly felt the euphoria after a run, the mental clarity post-Pilates, or the glorious buzz from strength-training afterburn. Physical activity is the best form of self-care you could gift yourself. Period. “Regular exercise creates an overall sense of health and well-being,” says Farah Hameed, M.D., assistant professor of rehabilitation and regenerative medicine at Columbia University Irving Medical Center in New York. “When part of a routine, it can lead to a much longer-lasting feeling of wellness than other more temporary forms of relaxation and self-care.” It does wonders for the brain, too. But with everyday demands on your time, your regularly scheduled flow can be…

Home Gym • Cardio 2.0 • Play Days You’ve probably noticed that gaining strength can help you feel better mentally and physically. But strengthening certain muscle groups (think: your glutes) can also improve your performance in the gym and make everyday tasks in your life easier. Functionally, muscles protect your bones, organs, and tissues—and even help you heal quickly. Muscles can be an important factor in maintaining your weight, too, says Kathryn Sansone, a certified fitness trainer in Missouri. “Muscle requires more energy and therefore burns more calories than fat. The more muscle mass you have, the faster your metabolism is.” More muscle means burning more calories at rest, plus being able to work harder during your workouts. Double win! All these perks have you wondering how to build muscle, stat? Of course,…

Click here for the best dumbbells at every budget and fitness level. Already have a gym or fitness studio membership? Nice—but why limit yourself? Set up a properly stocked home gym, too: It can be an asset in reaching your fitness goals, mainly because of the flexibility that comes with it. “In the time it takes you to travel to the gym, you can be finished with your workout at home,” says Tom Holland, an exercise physiologist and author of The Micro-Workout Plan: Get the Body You Want Without the Gym in 15 Minutes or Less a Day. “Exercising at home also gives you the freedom to do it whenever you have spare time.” Don’t have time to devote a dedicated hour to training? No problem. Numerous studies have revealed the benefits of…

Got a ball? Then you’ve got an instant workout—and a recovery tool, too. Head to the yard, park, or beach to mix it up and engage in some powerful full-body conditioning. ENERGIZE YOUR YOGA “Using a ball with your flow can be a great energy boost,” says Tara Stiles, the New York City–based founder of Strala Yoga and author of Clean Mind, Clean Body. One yoga pose that a ball toss can perk up is the high lunge, lift, and slide. Start by holding a yoga or exercise ball close to your center as you come into a high lunge (rear leg straight). Inhale as you lift your hips up, and toss the ball overhead. Catch the ball as you exhale and sink down, and bring the ball back close to your center.…

When you think about the benefits of exercise, you likely think about the gains you can see, feel, and measure. My biceps are bigger! Lifting that thing was easier! I just ran without wanting to die! But have you ever thought about how your body gets the energy to squat heavy, run long trails, or take a HIIT (high-intensity interval training) class—and what happens to make it easier the next go-round? The answer comes down to the body’s three main energy systems (also called the metabolic pathways), which fuel every single thing you do. Understanding the metabolic pathways can help you train with more intention. Before going into the details of the metabolic pathways, we’ll emphasize that your body uses food for energy by converting it into ATP (adenosine triphosphate). “ATP is…

If you’re lounging as you read this, the next sentence may scare you sit-less. “Sitting is the new smoking—it’s just as insidious,” says Marc Hamilton, Ph.D., director of the Texas Obesity Research Center, an affiliate of the University of Houston. Hamilton is making a point about how so many Americans are letting their leg muscles—and therefore their bodies—turn to mush. “You’ve seen the flatline on an EKG when all the doctors rush in? That’s what’s happening to your leg muscles when you’re sitting.” As he speaks, I flash back to a job I had at a digital agency. I showed up on my first day of work in the New York City office to find half the staff standing at their computers. Because they didn’t have chairs. The office consisted mostly of makeshift…