After 10 years of jogging, I officially ran out of steam. As much fun as I had finishing my first marathon in 2024, the training burned me out. In the months that followed, I had no desire to hit the track near my home, let alone sign up for another race. Plus, my go-to running buddies and I all moved, making running a more solitary and, frankly, boring activity. While I could join a new local run club, I resisted.
There's a particular kind of winter quiet that settles in around January - a soft, heavy stillness that seems to press itself against windows that look out into a muted world of dull skies and bare branches. The idea of stepping outside feels like far more effort than it should. Inside, the air feels warmer, and my home becomes a nest made of cozy blankets, soft lamplight, and familiar corners.
All the weight loss tactics I'd grown up internalizing - painstakingly tracking calories and steps, feeling "naughty" for eating half a cupcake, pretending raw almonds are a treat - didn't just present a challenge to my soul. I was also pretty sure they didn't work for me. So, I got a body composition analysis: a complimentary service offered through my membership at Life Time Fitness, an athletic club. On average, membership costs between $100 and more than $330 in the US.
'More songs about Buildings and Food' was the title of a 1978 album by the rock band Talking Heads. It was about all the things rock stars normally don't sing about. Pop songs are usually about variations on the theme of love; tracks like Rose Royce's 1976 hit 'Car Wash' are the exception.
Living in a place where it's cold and dark for several months at a time can take a toll on even the toughest person. During Alaska winters, I'd go to work in the dark and come home in the dark. Summers bring almost 24 hours of daylight, but that doesn't necessarily mean sunshine, as Alaskan summers can also be quite rainy. The light made sleep extremely difficult, too.
Flanked by the Welsh border and sprinkled with quaint villages and ancient forts, Shropshire's hills are a wonderful place for a serendipitous stroll. So the story goes, the Victorians referred to this quiet corner of England as "Little Switzerland." While that's being a tad generous to its blustery ridges-there are no snowcapped mountains here-Shropshire is an underrated delight. And it's not just spectacular walking you'll find here either.
Every weekday afternoon, Harvard neurologist Jasmeer Chhatwal gets up from his desk, heads out of the office, and walks about three-quarters of a mile to get a cup of coffee from a neighborhood cafe. There's a perfectly good coffee maker in the office, but the afternoon ritual isn't (just) about caffeine. The 20-minute stroll is helping to stave off symptoms of brain aging like memory loss, according to Chhatwal's research.
Research shows that walking just 30 minutes a day can boost your cardiovascular fitness, strengthen bones, reduce excess body fat, and increase muscle endurance and strength. It's also a preventive measure against health conditions like heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and some cancers, as well as supporting mental health and banishing seasonal blues. And during the cooler months, you can walk further without overheating.
Daily walking - even at a leisurely pace - significantly lowers the risk of chronic back pain. The study confirms that volume of walking is more important than intensity. Credit: Shutterstock A major study has investigated the relationship between walking and the risk of developing chronic lower back problems. The findings could save the healthcare system significant amounts of money while also alleviating many people's back pain - if we just follow the simple advice provided.
The typical new car today costs almost $49,000 - near a record high. Used cars are also flirting with all-time highs. That's because car prices skyrocketed during the pandemic and have hardly fallen since, making car ownership one of the biggest financial burdens Americans face.
