ALL ABOUT MOVEMENT,
NUTRITION AND YOUR BODY
Articles prepared together with doctors, nutritionists and biomechanics specialists.
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MOST READ THIS MONTHCottage Cheese Before Bed: What Casein Actually Does Overnight
A gym-lore classic that turned out to be true — with footnotes. We break down the overnight studies: how much cottage cheese it takes for muscle to grow while you sleep, and why it won't make you fat.
The Splits From Zero: Honest Timelines, Safe Progress
Why Am I Getting Weaker at the Gym? 8 Causes of Strength Regression
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238 ARTICLESStepper Benefits and Side Effects: Does a Mini Stepper Help You Lose Weight?
A mini stepper fits under a bed and turns one TV episode into a stair climb. At 70 kg (154 lb), 30 minutes burns 160–325 kcal depending on pace: enough to train your legs and stamina, but weight loss still depends on what you eat.
What Does a Hand Gripper Work, and Can Bands Replace Dumbbells?
A hand gripper trains your grip and forearms, not your biceps, because the muscles that close your fingers sit in your forearm. Resistance tubes and bands can stand in for dumbbells: in a review of 8 studies, they built strength just as well.
Dumbbell Bench Press: Form on a Flat and Incline Bench and on the Floor, Muscles Worked and How Much Weight to Use
A dumbbell bench press is a chest exercise where you lie on a bench and press two dumbbells from chest level up over your shoulders. Each arm moves its own weight, so the chest stretches more at the bottom than it does with a barbell, and your weaker side can't hide behind the stronger one. Below: flat bench form, the 30° incline, the floor press at home, grip options, how to get heavy dumbbells into position, how the dumbbell press differs from the barbell bench press and the fly, the mistakes you can feel, and an 8-week weight plan for women and men.
Leg Curl: Lying, Seated and Standing Form Step by Step, Muscles Worked and How Much Weight a Beginner Should Use
A leg curl is a machine exercise where you bend your knees against a padded roller while the rest of your body stays still — lying face down, seated, or standing on one leg. The hamstrings do the work and the calves help. Below: all three machines with numbers from the research, step-by-step form, the toes-pointed-or-flexed debate, an 8-week weight plan for women and men, mistakes you can feel, and what to do when your gym has no leg curl machine.
Burpees: How to Do Them Right, How Many Calories They Burn for Your Weight, How Many to Do a Day and an 8-Week Plan
A burpee is a squat, a plank, a push-up and a jump rolled into one movement. It loads your legs, chest, arms and core, and in 30-second all-out bursts your heart rate sits at about 85% of max. Below: step-by-step form, calories burned for your weight and pace, per-minute and 3-minute standards, an 8-week plan from zero for women and men, easier and harder variations, mistakes you can feel, Tabata and a 30-day challenge.
Tabata Workout: What the 4-Minute Protocol Really Is, How Many Calories It Actually Burns, and Three Routines to Do at Home
A Tabata workout is 8 rounds of 20 seconds of all-out effort and 10 seconds of rest, 4 minutes in total. The protocol came out of Izumi Tabata's lab in 1996, and its promises have grown a lot since then: 15 calories a minute, fat burning for a full day, a flat stomach in a month. Below are the honest calorie numbers, what the research says about weight loss, three no-equipment routines for home, timer settings, an 8-week plan, and who should not do Tabata at all.
Dumbbell Pullover: What Muscles It Really Works, How to Do It on a Bench or the Floor, and How Much Weight to Use
A dumbbell pullover is a lying exercise where you lower one dumbbell behind your head with nearly straight arms and bring it back over your chest. The chest does most of the work, the triceps help, and the lats come third. Below: form along and across the bench, a floor version for home, how far to lower the dumbbell, an 8-week weight plan for women and men, and the truth about the «rib cage expansion» claim.
Bench Dips and Chair Dips: Proper Form, Muscles Worked and How to Keep Your Shoulders Safe
Bench dips are a triceps exercise with your hands behind you: palms on the edge of a bench or chair, hips hanging in front of it, feet on the floor. You bend your elbows to lower your hips, then press back up. The triceps do most of the work, with the front delts and upper chest helping. Below: step-by-step form, where to put your hands and feet, how to make it easier or harder from bent knees to a plate on your lap, an 8-week plan for women and men, and the numbers behind why this exercise hurts shoulders and how to avoid that.
Bulgarian Split Squat: Step-by-Step Form, Muscles Worked, How Far From the Bench to Stand and What Weight to Use
A Bulgarian split squat is a single-leg squat with your back foot resting on a bench behind you. The front leg carries 84% of the load, so your glutes and thighs work harder than they do in a regular squat. Below: the form step by step, how to pick the bench height and the distance to it, dumbbell, barbell and at-home versions, the mistakes you can feel, and an 8-week weight plan for women and men.
Assisted Pull-Up Machine: How It Works, How to Use It and How Much Weight to Set as a Beginner
An assisted pull-up machine, often called a Gravitron, helps you do pull-ups and dips: you kneel on a pad, and a counterweight takes away part of your body weight. Below: how to set the weight and why more plates make it easier, pull-up form, which grip to choose, an 8-week plan for women and men, and a simple rule that tells you when you're ready for the bar.