Month: August 2020

It’s been almost seven months since Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gigi tragically died in a helicopter accident, and the world continues to mourn their loss. On Aug. 23 — what would’ve been Kobe’s 42nd birthday — Nike released a moving video paying tribute to the pro athlete’s legacy. The clip focuses on what made Kobe “better,” and in turn, what everyone can improve on moving forward.

“I don’t care who you are, where you’re from, doesn’t matter. You wake up every single day to get better today than you were yesterday,” Kobe said in a voiceover. “That’s always the most important thing.”

Nike’s video featured a number of athletes in addition to Kobe, from Meghan Rapinoe to Serena Williams. Kobe’s wife, Vanessa Bryant, and his daughters Natalia, Bianka, and Capri also appeared in clips, emphasizing his role as a “girl dad.” Rapper Kendrick Lamar served as the spot’s narrator.

The release of this video coincides with the relaunch of Mamba and Mambacita Sports Foundation, which honors both Kobe and Gigi by providing access to athletic funding for students. Their memory lives on, through this organziation, touching tributes like Nike’s, and so much more. Watch the full tribute to Kobe’s impact — on and off of the court — above.

In pre-pandemic days (remember those?), I trained myself to be a morning person. This means I went to bed early, usually by 10:30 p.m., woke up between 5 and 5:30 a.m., and was at the gym by 6 a.m. for a workout class or a self-trained sweat sesh. This undeniably led to a more productive day: I would shower at the gym (public showers! can you imagine?), come home and make my filling 400-calorie smoothie, and get ready to leave for work.

There’s a lot to say about having a productive morning that sets you up for the day: any personal development book you read or podcast you listen to will probably preach the powers of getting up early and checking a couple things off your to do list while your peers are still asleep. And for years, that worked for me. On the mornings I woke up early and got in a workout before work, I felt accomplished and more focused.

But more than five months after the coronavirus pandemic hit NYC, I have been struggling to find a routine and have some semblance of normalcy. Since we aren’t planning on going back into the office until 2021, I haven’t felt as much structure to my day when I work from home. The gyms and fitness studios I used to frequent are closed, so there’s less accountability to make a class by a certain time in the morning. Sure, I do live fitness classes over Zoom with studios like Barry’s and Monster Cycle, but it’s hard to feel motivated to get up and work out when my commute is just from my tiny bedroom to my tiny living room, with not much room to move around in, and no one to greet me or give me high-fives.

If the last few months have taught me anything, it’s to give myself grace and not beat myself up for abandoning my previous regimented schedule. There are some weeks where I’m firing on all cylinders: getting up early, doing an at-home workout, showering and putting on real clothes, and ready to slay the day. But more often than not, I’ve found myself sleeping until the last possible second and getting up right before I have to log on to work. I usually leave just enough time to brush my hair, make coffee, and change out of my pajamas and into a pair of leggings.

Sticking to a schedule is vital for my mental health, but I have also had to remind myself that we are all doing the best we can during a global pandemic. When thoughts creep in about how I’m lazy or worthless or a disappointment, I remind myself that each day I wake up feeling healthy is a gift in and of itself. If I can still keep up with my email inbox, meet deadlines, and stay in communication with my team, I consider those all wins.

Since this way of life will be my normal for the foreseeable future, I am learning to cut myself some slack and get in some movement when I can: taking a walk over my lunch break or after work, taking the time to leave my computer and stretch, and going for longer runs on the weekends when I have more time. Is it the same as the hour-long high-intensity classes I used to do before 8 a.m. in my pre-pandemic life? No, of course not. But engaging in negative self talk and shame-spiraling only makes things worse. I hope to get to a place where I can resume my early bird schedule and get in a good workout before logging on. In the meantime, I’m going to remind myself that anything I check off my to do list, I checked off during a global pandemic.

To be 100-percent real, nothing motivates me to exercise more than some new workout clothes. The cute-but-sweaty selfie is underrated, people! Whether I’m going for a run or taking a yoga class in my living room, it’s important for me to wear comfortable, well-made pieces that I don’t have to constantly adjust. They also can’t be hot, because the temperatures have been crazy high these days. That’s why I was excited to test out Girlfriend Collective‘s newest drop, Float Activewear ($38-$68).

Float promises to be lightweight and soft: the ideal pieces for summertime “lounging or lunging,” as the brand says. I can confirm that as soon as I opened my package, I muttered “oh, damn” to myself because the fabric was so smooth and luxurious. If you’re worried about these leggings slipping down or the bra riding up, don’t be. I’m a D cup and wore a size large in both of my pieces; I don’t have to tug or adjust anything for hours.

The sports bra is quite supportive — my boobs don’t bounce while I’m running and the straps don’t dig into my shoulder. The same goes the leggings: they stay tight to my body and never sag. Overall, this is my dream set, and I love it so much I’m going to buy it in another color. I test tons of activewear as a shopping editor, and this is my sincere take on Float.

Ahead, check out how the set looks on me, then shop the pieces I wore. This incredibly popular collection is selling out fast, so get what you can before it’s all gone.

It makes me so happy to see the antidiet and intuitive eating message take off on TikTok. And actually, registered dietitian and certified intuitive eating counselor Sam Previte, LDN, CPT, who specializes in helping clients make peace with food and enjoy life, was hesitant to join TikTok because she told POPSUGAR, “I thought of it as just another app that I would have to create content for, and be another time suck, and end up aimlessly scrolling on.” But once quarantine hit, she had extra time, dowloaded the app, and started to engage with the content. Previte of Find Food Freedom said, “I would see a range of people on this app sharing their struggles with dieting and body image and I thought, “WOW! They are so courageous to share this publicly, so how can I help them?'”

She has always loved creating fun and funny content, and used to do a segment on Instagram called “F*ck Diet Culture Friday,” where she would do similar videos before TikTok was ever a thing. People loved those videos because they were so relatable to anyone who has lived years in diet culture. She started making videos as an outlet to share her anger and sadness with everything diet culture has taken away from her, and to let others know that it doesn’t have to be this way.

The inspiration behind these TikTok posts comes from things Previte hears all the time from friends, family, clients, and followers. “I absolutely love sarcasm and dry humor so you will also see a lot of that on the page,” Previte said. She covers topics around intuitive eating and why diets are so harmful. “I just want them to know that they’re not alone and they don’t have to live like this for the rest of their life. Intuitive eating is their ticket to food freedom and enjoying life again,” she said.

She’s gotten so many amazing clients through the TikTok, who had never heard of intuitive eating before they downloaded the app, which Previte said, “is so freaking exciting! I feel honored that we have the opportunity to spread the amazing work of Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch [authors of the book Intuitive Eating], and to help thousands of humans make peace with food and their body again,” Previte shared.

Previte also wanted to share that TikTok has also been a platform for her to connect with other amazing registered dietitians who are preaching the good word of intuitive eating and body positivity. “For example: @beautifuleatsandthings is an amazing body-positive, Black dietitian who is crushing TikTok,” Previte said, and added that only 2.6 percent of dietitians are Black and we need more dietitians that are not thin, white women. She said there is absolutely a lack of diversity in the field and it’s amazing that apps like this can give everyone a mic. “It’s my responsibility to pass the mic and amplify videos of women of color. I recognize that I live in a very privileged body and people will listen to me because of that, and that is a problem. We need more diversity in this field if we want to see it change, and TikTok has been a blessing to connect with other amazing humans like Andy,” she said.

As for Previte’s TikTok videos, she said that they “embody the frustration that myself and many other similar medical professionals deal with when there are influencers and not medical professionals spreading misinformation that is not only wrong but harmful.” In her practice, when Previte surveyed her clients, she found out that 65 percent of women ages 20 to 45 engage in disordered eating behaviors, and an additional 10 percent have a clinically diagnosed eating disorder. So many people can relate to the topics she covers in her videos, and she’s hoping seeing them will make people feel like they’re not alone, and can get the support and help they need to live with food freedom. Scroll through to see some of her best TikToks and how she spreads the message.

Heavy periods. Birth control mishaps. Painful sex. Ob-gyns have seen and heard it all. Yet many people still find themselves feeling embarrassed or uncomfortable about opening up to their doctor. If that’s you, try following any of these amazing ob-gyns on TikTok. They’ll answer some of the most commonly asked questions, like what to expect during your first Pap smear, how and when to be screened for STIs, and what is (and isn’t) safe to put down there. But most importantly, they’ll help you see that ob-gyns — including your own — just really want to help.

Keep reading for a list of must-follow docs, and be sure to check in with your physician if you have any concerns about your own health.

Home gyms have always puzzled me. For one, the thought of exercise outside of gym class confused me as a child. (My family was more of the earn-your-sweat-hiking or silly-dancing-while-making-dinner type.) Secondly, the thought of having the space in your home to devote specifically to fitness seemed like such a luxury. But as I got older and fitness became a more central part of life — sports in high school, access to a college rec center, and an extensive running history as an adult — I began to long for the space for home exercise gear.

Of course, this dream never seemed possible living in a New York City apartment, as I was lucky to have a separate living room and bedroom, let alone any kind of space leftover for recreational gear. (I was offered a treadmill to review once, and sadly, I laughed upon receiving the generous offer because I knew if I accepted, I would have to give up my bed to make space for the equipment.)

Even earlier this year when I made the move to a slightly larger apartment, I had zero intention on devoting precious real estate to workout gear. (I actually gave away a lot of the bits and bobs I had acquired as an editor over the years.) Not to mention, I liked my routine workout classes and didn’t want to give up the social aspect my favorite studios provided.

But when studios and gyms shut down across the board a few months back, I brought my beloved workouts into my home space. Much to my surprise, I liked this new indoor me. I liked the freedom to workout whenever I wanted without relying on a commute or keeping my fingers crossed for a slot in a certain class. I quite liked tossing on my UA Meridian Crop ($60) for a workout session and then feeling comfortable and cozy all day. What’s more, I didn’t mind letting my workout gear carve out its own space in my apartment.

I had a bit of an advantage as a fitness editor in that I already had a few workout mats, hand weights, and yoga blocks. But after a few weeks of working with what I had on hand, I found myself wanting to elevate my workouts. This lead to an inner dialogue of, “Am I willing to lose space for equipment? Is this a worthwhile investment or just a here-and-now want? A home gym is for someone else and not for me, right?” Now, it may all sound so trivial, but I was considering something in my life that I always assumed was far-fetched for me.

But I realized investing in a kettlebell, resistance bands, and even an indoor cycling bike was more than a space and monetary commitment. Working out had been my way to handle stress and anxiety for the last six months. Between a new job, a new apartment, family health problems, and my own bout of anxiety, devoting time each day to exercise of some form was my escape. No more did an investment in a home gym seem frivolous or something unattainable, but rather, it was a commitment to myself.

I may have devoted an entire wall in my living room where a normal person would have put a chair or coffee table to an indoor bike, and I may have a whole corner of my kitchen with weights, yoga mats, and fitness gadgets and gizmos stacked next to cutting boards and mixers, but I realize now that adding all these home-gym features into my life has been an investment in my physical and mental well-being.

And that is, and will always be, entirely worth it.

If you want to focus more on building muscle than simply burning calories through cardio, but you have no idea where to start, you’ve come to the right place. Strength training encompasses a wide variety of workouts — from Pilates to HIIT — that you can do with or without equipment, like dumbbells or kettlebells. Fortunately, there are a ton of workouts on YouTube, dedicated to full-body toning or strengthening specific muscle groups, that you can do right from the comfort of your home. To help get you started, we’ve rounded up some of the best 30-minute strength workouts you’ll find on the platform. Grab a set of weights, your yoga mat, or ditch the equipment altogether, and get to work.