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There’s a particular kind of insult that only science can deliver. Not the dramatic kind. Not the “your lifestyle choices will catch up with you” kind. No. Science prefers something far more devastating: Matter-of-fact documentation. Charts. Longitudinal data. Forty-seven years of patiently watching humans decline while everyone else was busy arguing about carbs. And now, after nearly half a century of observation, a Swedish research team has calmly informed the world that your physical peak showed up around age 35… and then quietly left without saying goodbye. No fireworks. No warning siren. No Apple Watch notification. Just a slow fade, like a band you loved that stopped releasing albums but still tours county fairs. This isn’t a hot take. It’s not wellness influencer content. It’s not a “do these three exercises to reverse aging” headline. It’s the result of the Swedish Physical Activity and Fitness (SPAF) study , run by researchers at Karolinska Institutet and published...

Every generation has its own version of “Hold my beer.” Apparently, ours is: “Hold my phone while I livestream myself doing something catastrophically stupid for engagement.” So now we have a fitness influencer—an actual professional whose job was to keep people alive and healthy —deciding that the best way to motivate his clients was to binge-eat junk food like he was training for the Olympics of Bad Decisions. Ten thousand calories a day. Ten. Thousand. Do you know what ten thousand calories looks like? That’s not a diet. That’s a structural engineering challenge. That’s the kind of meal plan you’d give a medieval king right before he drops dead and the peasants finally get a long weekend. But here we are. A guy who spent his entire adult life sculpting his body turned himself into a one-man demolition project… all because the internet loves a spectacle. And because somewhere along the way, “fitness inspiration” mutated into “watch me destroy myself in real time.” This wasn’t...

Planet Fitness is opening two new gyms in Metro Detroit this winter — one on Dixie Highway in Waterford and another in Detroit’s Harbortown neighborhood. Because if there’s one thing Michigan doesn’t have enough of, it’s underused gym memberships purchased in a burst of New Year’s guilt. EPIC Fitness Group, the franchise operator that already runs more than 65 Planet Fitness locations across Michigan, Ohio, and Illinois, is doubling down on what they call “making fitness accessible.” Translation: making sure every strip mall in America smells faintly of rubber mats and crushed dreams. Mary Scott, the vice president of marketing for EPIC Fitness Group, said, “Opening a new Planet Fitness is about building community and making fitness accessible, affordable, and welcoming for all.” Beautiful words — the kind usually printed in lavender font on a motivational poster above an elliptical no one’s using. The Church of the Lunk Alarm Planet Fitness isn’t just a gym. It’s a sociological ...

Introduction: The Fitness Industry’s Love Affair With Shiny Useless Things If the fitness industry had a Tinder bio, it would say: “Looking for a quick buck. Swipe right if you like overpriced gear that promises abs in three minutes.” Today’s right swipe? The weighted vest. You’ve seen them: people strutting around your park looking like underpaid mall cops training for a very slow apocalypse. Influencers swear these vests will give you steel bones, perfect posture, Olympic-level endurance, and maybe even a better personality. TikTok, of course, is brimming with twenty-somethings promising that wearing ten pounds on your chest while walking to Starbucks will cure menopause, osteoporosis, bad posture, global warming, and your inability to commit to leg day. But here’s the real question: are weighted vests actually good for bones and muscle, or are they just another expensive security blanket for people who don’t want to buy dumbbells? Let’s fact-check this fitness fad before you dr...

Let’s get one thing straight: the only thing more predictable than a newspaper website covered in pop-ups and autoplay ads is the little link buried at the bottom that says Accessibility Statement . You know, the online version of “we care, we promise” that nobody actually clicks—unless they’re trying to scroll past the cookie banner and accidentally hit it. Yes, the Washington Post (Democracy Dies in Darkness™) proudly waves its Accessibility Statement like a participation trophy: proof that somewhere, deep in the bowels of corporate compliance, someone remembered blind people exist. Bravo. Clap it out. Now, before you roll your eyes and say, “This feels harsh,” let’s remember the stakes. Accessibility isn’t some cute website garnish. It’s the difference between “I can actually read this article about constipation” and “I’m trapped in an infinite CAPTCHA loop where every traffic light looks suspiciously like a mailbox.” So buckle up, because we’re about to dig through the empty cal...

Congratulations, You Slept. Here’s a Gold Star From the Algorithm. Ah, the sweet siren call of AI — that shiny, silicon promise that someday, somehow, an algorithm will finally make sense of your chaotic, donut-fueled existence. I, like many a health-tech sucker, dared to dream that day had arrived. After nearly a decade of logging every step, nap, fart, and heartbeat, I was ready for my wearable overlords to whisper transcendental wisdom into my ear. Instead, they regurgitated my Apple Health dashboard like a nervous 8th grader presenting a book report they barely skimmed on SparkNotes. Rise and Shine, You Glorious Data Packet It starts every morning, with a cheery note that’s equal parts kindergarten teacher and vaguely medical chatbot. “Good morning! You slept 7 hours and 2 minutes last night. Your resting heart rate was 60 bpm. This suggests you may not be fully recovered. Maybe try sleeping more tonight! Health is about balance!” Thank you, HAL-9000, but I was there. In th...

Let’s all take a collective deep breath and remember: weight is a number, not a personality trait. That said, nothing— absolutely nothing —fries a certain subset of fragile male egos faster than a fit woman who dares to exist at 187 pounds and be proud of it. Enter Hannah Barry , a statuesque fitness trainer from London, standing 5'10", weighing in at around 85 kg (or 187 pounds for the non-metric bros in the back), and rocking a body built by dumbbells, not insecurity. She had the audacity—the gall —to post a video saying something outrageous like, “Hey, women! Maybe obsessing over being teeny tiny isn’t the path to happiness.” Naturally, a certain flavor of internet man lost his entire will to scroll. Cue the meltdown. Her video, which has now racked up over 5.4 million views and enough testosterone-fueled whimpering to fill a protein shaker, showed Hannah stating facts. Real facts. Not “I once knew a girl who was 5'2" and weighed 120 and she was, like, super h...