Hip Adduction Exercises: The Secret to Lower-Body Strength and Mobility

You may think of your hips as bones or the focus of pop songs (cue: Shakira, Shakira), but they’re so much more than that. The hip joint is quite complex, including about 20 different muscles that work to move your legs in various directions, stabilize your pelvis, and help your body move as one synergistic unit. Your hip adductors, a group of muscles often thought of as the inner thighs, typically don’t get much attention—but if they’re tight or weak, it can have cascading effects on how your body moves. Everything you need to know about training your adductors (including the five best hip adductor exercises to try), ahead. What Are Your Hip Adductors? Your hip adductors are a group of muscles on the inner thigh, sometimes referred to as the groin muscles or inner thighs. “The hip adductors help stabilize the pelvis,…

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The 5 Best Exercises for the Backs of Your Thighs

Want stronger, more powerful legs? Don’t skip the muscles you can’t see—your hamstrings. These often-overlooked workhorses, located on the backs of your thighs, do everything from powering your stride to protecting your knees and lower back. Whether you’re an athlete chasing a PR or a weekend warrior just looking to stay injury-free, adding targeted exercises for the backs of your thighs to your routine is a must. Let’s dive into the best moves to keep your hamstrings strong, balanced, and ready for anything. But first, the benefits of strengthening your hamstrings Your hamstrings do more than you might think—they’re powerhouses for both hip extension and knee flexion, according to Shawn Collins, PT, DPT, CSCS, a performance physical therapist at Bespoke Physical Therapy in San Diego, California. For hip extension: They help you bend at your waist, like when picking something up off the…

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Your Daily Horoscope for December 23, 2024

The moon is in peaceful, calming, and beauty-obsessed Libra today, in a friendly conversation with Mercury and Jupiter. Your daily horoscope encourages connection and community—it’s an ideal moment to forge and maintain social bonds, even superficial ones. In other words, don’t go it alone if you don’t have to. If you’re isolated or doing a WFH day, reach out to friends and consider Facetiming so you can see them smiling. Co-regulating your nervous system is key at the moment, with an emphasis on the co. Yay, besties. Bonus: This lunar energy is also excellent for booking a spa visit or just grabbing a quick mani-pedi. Right now, pretty heals.AriesMarch 21–April 19The moon is in your opposite sign, lighting up your seventh house of relationships, Aries. With wounded healer Chiron in your bold and audacious sign at the same time, there could be a…

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So, You Want to Smell a Toasted Marshmallow This Winter? Here’s How

Of all the surprising fragrance notes popping up in the last few years—milk, violet, and pink peppercorn, to name a few—one of the most unexpected, and a personal favorite, is marshmallow. Not so much “ooey-gooey” as fluffy and sweet, these scents are here to carry you away on a cloud of lightly toasted comfort. First, a quick history lesson: When marshmallows are mentioned, the “roasted at the end of a stick” variety may come to mind, but did you know that their name comes from an actual plant? According to the Farmer’s Almanac, marshmallow (also known by its Latin name althaea officinalis) is an “herbaceous perennial native to Europe” that blooms in the summer months and has long been used as an ingredient for medicinal treatments, dating all the way back to Ancient Egypt. The confectionery treat differs considerably from the original herb…

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Group Fitness Boomed in 2024: Here’s Why Everyone Is Getting Social and Sweaty

When I moved to Los Angeles, the first friendships I made were with two girls I’d met at a Thursday morning boxing class. At the time, I was working as a journalist doing the overnight shift, so while catching up on sleep would’ve been ideal, I was there every week purely motivated by seeing my friends. While the class no longer exists, we’re still close over six years later. You’re not alone if you’ve noticed that run clubs and other fitness groups have been on the rise over the past year. People have been turning to sports to find community and the stats back this up. According to Strava’s Year in Sport trend report, 58 percent of their 5,000+ respondents (and 66 percent of Gen Z) said they made new friends through a fitness group in 2024. Meanwhile, 55 percent of Gen Z…

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Rediscovering Joy: My Experience with the Viral Color Walk Trend

The "color walk" is one of the latest walking and mindfulness trends. While it started gaining traction on TikTok in 2021, it's still around in full force and has even recently spread to Instagram. Seeing all of the videos online lately inspired me to give it a try—and I’ll take any excuse to get moving and get outside, especially in the winter when I need that extra motivation. Want to give a color walk a try yourself? Keep scrolling to learn more about what it is, its benefits, and how to do it. You'll be glad you did. What is a color walk? The color walk is a form of walking meditation, where you pick a color right at the start of your walk and notice that color in your environment during your stroll. For example, if your color is yellow, you might…

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Our 10 Favorite Wellness Tips From 2024 That Helped Us Level Up

Earth has almost completed its annual journey around the sun, and you know what that means—another year is coming to an end. 2024 was a big year for wellness, whether that was adding more gentle movement to our daily routines, following a regular skincare routine, or improving our sleep hygiene. While well-being will always be a core pillar in our lives, our health editors wanted to share which wellness tips from this year were their favorites. We chose from several health categories and rounded up our top 10 tips. See which ones made the cut. 1. Leave your phone in another room before you go to sleep After talking with sleep experts and looking at our habits (doomscrolling, anyone?), we’ve officially determined it’s time to leave phones—and all screens, for that matter—out of the bedroom. Why? The blue-spectrum light emitted from screens keeps…

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19 January Nail Ideas to Start 2025 Off Right

A new year is approaching, and we’re using our manicures to manifest only good things in 2025. From success and money to love and good vibes, use your nails to set the tone for the year ahead. Even a simple white mani can have meaning—maybe it’s a silent ask for peace, or it could represent a blank slate going into the new year. Bold or understated, bright or neutral, you can find a way to work your 2025 goals into your nails, whatever your personal style may be.Ahead, we’ve rounded up 19 of our favorite nail ideas to try in January that’ll start the year off right.1. Winter milky whiteSome may see a white shimmer-y manicure, but we see a manifestation for a bright new year (and a really chic set—we love a winter white).Get the look: To recreate, try Holo Taco’s Milky…

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Rediscovering My Passion for Running with Garmin’s Daily Suggested Workouts

After finishing the Run Barbados Marathon last December, I found myself at a crossroads with running. In the post-race lethargy, I wasn’t sure what my running goals were. I bought myself a Garmin Forerunner 265S ($450) as a reward—a type of post-run treat—but in a twist of irony, my training became inconsistent. I’d lace up my shoes now and then, but it was more about not forgetting how to run than pursuing any real progress. Adding to the challenge, 2023 turned into a whirlwind of travel. I was going from country to country, and in the midst of it all, I walked the Camino de Santiago one month and trekked to Everest Base Camp a few months later. Between the constant environmental changes and jet lag, my running routine fell to the wayside. Squeezing in a 5K a few times a week was…

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Elevating Sports for Menstruators: The Call for Better Support and Products

2023 was a monumental year in women’s sports, marked by a record-breaking attendance at the Women’s World Cup 2023 and the highest-scoring NCAA women’s basketball championship of all time. As we move into 2024, the momentum continues: the WNBA reports its biggest increase in viewership in 24 years, and women represented more than half of Team USA's medal haul at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Yet, despite this progress, an alarming 2022 survey by Puma and Modibodi reveals that up to half of young menstruators are opting out of sports due to period shame and inadequate menstrual products. This situation highlights a critical need for innovation in how we support menstruators in athletics. Improved accessibility to a variety of period products—ranging from menstrual cups to athletic period clothing—could ensure that menstruators are empowered to continue participating in sports. Below, we discuss insights from elite…

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