• A personal trainer in his 50s got back in shape after colon cancer treatment with simple workouts.
• His routine includes rucking, walking with a weighted pack to build muscle and endurance in less time.
• He recommends shorter, more consistent workouts instead of exhausting yourself for long-term gains.

Shorter workouts could be the key to getting in shape and staying that way into your 50s and beyond, according to a personal trainer who learned to work smarter instead of harder.

Bill Maeda, 56, said recovering from a health crisis taught him that short, simple, and consistent is key to building muscle and fitness long-term.

"My raw horsepower is less than it was 10 or more years ago, but I don't care," he told. "The difference is now, I'm moving better, and it's fun."

Inspired by Bruce Lee to start training at 8 years old, Maeda had been a personal trainer for decades, even landed a few movie roles with his muscular physique. But in 2012, he was diagnosed with stage 3 colon cancer in his early 40s, requiring major emergency surgery and half a year of chemotherapy.

Recovering from cancer made him realize that focusing on his physique over his health was like building a nice car without proper brakes or steering.

"I wanted a strong frame. I wanted a powerful engine, but I spent so much time building this car, I forgot how to drive it. That's what I'm doing now," he said.

Maeda slowly rebuilt his fitness, one rep at a time, and said shorter and simpler can be better for long-term gains.

Build a foundation on the basics: deadlifts, squats, push-ups

Maeda's current workouts on social media often feature unusual exercises, but he said most people shouldn't do complicated workouts unless they've mastered the basics. You don't need elaborate movement to build muscle, and the risk of injury can increase as an exercise become more intricate.

"Well into my forties, I didn't do anything fancy. It was deadlifts, squats, kettlebell swings, just a lot of very fundamental movements," Maeda said. "Those are what built my physical base, what people see now, the muscle I carry."

To gain muscle and strength, focus on progressive overload, performing the same exercises over time with gradually increasing weight.

From there, you can explore variations of exercise to keep workouts fun and challenging while improving mobility, agility, and balance.

"I do less of that heavy basic lifting because of the time I have now, I'd rather put it towards movements that spread the stress of what I'm doing more evenly throughout my body," Maeda said.

Work out in less time by rucking

One regular part of Maeda's fitness routine is rucking, or walking with weight. He typically carries a 45-pound backpack for 30 minutes a day, at least five days a week, while walking his dogs.

He first starting rucking as he was slowly rebuilding his endurance after colon cancer. He began with short walks wearing a backpack full of bricks and added weight (and better gear through his partnership with fitness brand GORUCK) over time.

Building muscle and endurance comes from challenging your body over time. Rucking provides a convenient way to work the muscles during activities that are already a part of a routine, like walking dogs or taking a hike.

For Maeda, it added an extra challenge without taking more time out of his day.

"It got me to a point where just walking seemed like a total waste of time," he said. "If I'm doing something that often and I can just put a 45-pound backpack on, that's a lot of minutes under load."

Ending a workout early can pay off

In his younger years, Maeda embraced the "no pain, no gain" mindset of tough exercise, but now warns against it.

"I don't personally recommend programs that are aggressive and based on sucking it up and willpower. Life is hard enough," Maeda said.

He said it's better not to be completely exhausted after exercise, so you're energized and excited for the next workout, even if that means cutting your workout short.

"Consistency over days is way more important than a hard weekend warrior workout that means you're sore for the rest of the week," he said.

Try this no-equipment workout for beginners

Maeda recommends starting with a workout you can do at home.

To complete his "exercise ladder," do:

• one squat, one push-up;
• two squats, two push-ups;
• three squats, three push-ups;
• continue up to five reps, or until the next set starts to feel daunting.

Over time, you can repeat the workout, aiming to reach a higher number of reps as you progress, or change up the exercises (doing lunges and pull-ups, or single-leg deadlifts and burpees).

Strava is making it easier to plan workouts and keep activity leaderboard rankings fair. The updates rolling out over the coming weeks focus on helping users optimize their workout routes to compete against other users and their own personal bests, building on some of the existing AI features that Strava announced last year.

Anyone paying for a Strava subscription (starting at $11.99 monthly) can now access a new AI-powered routes experience under the Maps tab that should provide more intuitive suggestions based on popular routes enjoyed by other Strava users. Users can generate community-backed routes from custom starting points or their current location, pulling data from Strava’s heatmaps feature.

Other route-related updates will be rolled out to the Strava mobile app in the coming months, including changes to the tappable points of interest (POI) feature that currently enables subscribers to instantly generate routes to cafés, restrooms, viewpoints, and other locations. Starting in June, POI’s will also display elevation, distance, and estimated arrival time information, and allow users to upload photos of the location. Point-to-point routing will also launch in July, which uses heatmaps and machine learning to deliver “the most efficient, activity-specific route from A to B,” according to Strava.

Strava is also doubling the number of live segments, which allow users to view real-time performance data and achievements in sections of their route, and introducing additional data screens for subscribers.

Finally, Strava says it’s “continuing to advance” the AI-powered Leaderboard Integrity feature it launched to weed out cheaters on cycling and running paths. The company says that 4.45 million activity logs have been removed so far that carried the wrong sport type, or were recorded in vehicles — which is an easy way to fabricate scores now that e-bikes can make anyone the king of a mountain.

• Jasmine "JB" Badie is a choreographer and creative director for pop stars, including Beyoncé and Sabrina Carpenter.
• She helps train the artists to sing and dance at the same time for their big performances.
• "Cardio is major," Badie told BI. "You train hard because you want the show to be great."

Have you ever wondered how pop stars such as Beyoncé and Sabrina Carpenter can sing for hours at a time while performing to massive audiences? No, they're not superhuman, but they do have a secret weapon: choreographer Jasmine "JB" Badie.

The 36-year-old Atlanta native helps singers get fit enough to sing their hearts out while dancing onstage — a feat requiring impressively high cardiovascular fitness. She shared how she gets clients fit enough for a big show in just two to three months and how you can replicate it in your own (offstage) life.

Badie was the co-choreographer for Beyoncé's 2018 Homecoming Coachella Performance, which ran for an hour and 45 minutes. She's also the choreographer on Carpenter's Short n' Sweet tour, which kicked off in September 2024. The tour, which runs through November, includes 19 songs and lasts roughly 90 minutes.

Badie told Business Insider that to achieve this level of sustained fitness, her clients' weekly workout schedule involves lots of rehearsals, cardio, and Pilates.

"Cardio is major," she said. "You train hard because you want the show to be great."

Daily workouts, rehearsal, and stretching

Badie likes her clients to wake up early, eat breakfast, and do a morning workout before they move on to 30 to 45 minutes of stretching.

For the morning workout, she recommends different types of exercise throughout the week, as some help strengthen while others are good for mobility, flexibility, or fitness. For example, Badie likes Pilates for stretching and working deep, stabilizing muscles.

"Pilates strengthens muscles that we may not know we have sometimes," she said, adding that barre classes help with posture, standing up straight, and opening up the hips.

Meanwhile, hiking or jogging on a hilly trail is good for breath control, which enables singers to belt out long notes, maintain the correct pitch, and not breathe too loudly when singing. "Running on the different intervals is great instead of just straight because you can feel where your breath is and where it's not," she added.

Then her clients start all-day rehearsals. "We'll run our cue points," she said, referring to specific points in the music. "We'll run all of our dance steps. We'll run our marks on the stage."

Pop stars focus on Zone 2 training. You should, too.

Although most of us aren't preparing to perform for thousands of fans night after night, we can still benefit from improving our aerobic fitness. It has many positive knock-on effects, such as better sleep and improved mood.

Being able to exercise and hold a conversation at the same time without being out of breath is a sign that you're training in Zone 2, a buzzy exercise term that some longevity experts believe can help ward off chronic disease as well as boost fitness.

In Zone 2, you're working at about 60-70% of your maximum heart rate, your body is mainly burning fat for energy, and your muscles have access to oxygen, making it an effective way to increase your aerobic endurance.

Once you enter Zone 3 or 70% to 80% of your max heart rate, you're moving at an intensity that's too much for the available oxygen supply, so your body starts using carbohydrates for energy.

We store carbs in limited amounts, so it wouldn't take long for your body to run out of energy. So, the more you train in Zone 2, the longer your body can last before needing to make that switch. That's important for a singer because once they're in Zone 3, they'll sound out of breath.

Zone 2 training causes your body to adapt at a cellular level by boosting mitochondria. Having more mitochondria is associated with increased athletic performance, better insulin resistance, and heart health. It's also the part of the cell responsible for making energy, which increases the power output of the muscle tissues, Dr. Morgan Busko, the sports medicine physician at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center, previously told BI.

Singing while running or jumping rope

In addition to the daily workout and rehearsals, Badie asks her clients to practice their setlist and script while doing strenuous cardio for at least 30 minutes a day.

"It's doing everything you need to be doing on the stage, off the stage," she said.

The choreographer often starts her clients' workout with a jump rope that involves jumping for four minutes, taking a one-minute break, and repeating it three more times. During the break, they have to catch their breath and practice what they are going to say to the audience.

"We'll be like, 'How are you guys doing out there?" she said, mimicking how pop stars engage their audience onstage.

It also involves running on a treadmill while saying their script and singing aloud. "That's how you notice where your breaths are," Badie added.

As they get fitter, Badie shortens the break in between sets and gets them to practice wardrobe changes.

"You have to really work on it," she said.

• For NBA All-Star Kevin Love, it's his job to reduce inflammation in his body.
• Love said you can forget expensive hacks — simple tweaks help him perform better on the court.
• He eats beets, takes cold showers in the morning, and exercises outside.

You don't need a multimillion dollar salary to optimize your body.

Take it from NBA All-Star Kevin Love, who makes a living out of being in perfect shape, reducing inflammation, and avoiding injury.

While Love is a fan of some high-end wellness treatments like longevity IVs, he said the vast majority of his routine is about perfecting the basics.

"In a lot of ways, I'm just like everybody else," Love, 36, told Business Insider in an interview on his partnership with plant-based protein brand Koia.

"Simplify, simplify, simplify, and then build out your routine and your schedule from there."

Love swears by habits anyone can implement like cold showers, a consistent sleep schedule, and more time in nature for better recovery.

A cold shower in the morning to activate your mind and body

Love said he takes a cold shower for one to five minutes after waking up in the morning or after a nap.

"When I need to really wake up and get that, boom, dopamine hit and be firing, I'll do that," he said. "My mind is working at a very high level as well as my body being just refreshed."

Ice baths or cold plunges are a popular wellness trend because small doses have shown promising benefits to improve mood, reduce pain, and lower risk of injury or illness. Exposure to the cold prompts the release of endorphins in the body that help lower inflammation.

The tradeoff is that icy baths or showers too soon after a workout might impair muscle growth, so scheduling them early in the day can be a better option for optimal gains.

Exercising outdoors to reduce stress and boost vitamin D

Love is a big fan of being in nature, and said heading outside helps to maximize the benefits of his workout sessions, whether he's taking a walk or strength training.

"It kills two birds with one stone. Just walking and being outside in nature keep my cortisol levels down and keep me feeling really good, getting my vitamin D out in the sun," Love said.

Consistent exercise helps to reduce chronic inflammation (the kind that leads to illnesses like heart disease).

Spending time outdoors has health benefits like relieving stress, another source of inflammation. The exposure to sunlight helps your body get enough vitamin D for healthy muscles and a strong immune system.

Foods like fish and berries fight inflammation

Love said his team has weigh-ins throughout the season, so it's important to stay lean and avoid eating too much added sugar.

Instead, he opts for nutrient-dense, anti-inflammatory foods. Raised in the Pacific Northwest, salmon is a staple source of protein and healthy fats like omega-3s.

"Keeping inflammation down, a lot of that moved in the right direction through food like fatty fish," Love said.

Other favorites include high-iron veggies like leafy greens, nuts, berries, dark chocolate, eggs, almonds, and olive oil. For a quick boost after a workout, Love is a fan of Koia's plant-based protein shakes.

Love also drinks coffee and enjoys wine in moderation, both of which have also been shown to lower inflammation in some people.

He includes tart cherry juice and beets in his diet for an extra athletic boost, thanks to antioxidants that can speed recovery.

A sleep routine is key to good rest on a busy schedule

Love's bedtime routine is all about maximizing good sleep. It includes a hot shower or Epsom salt bath for muscle relaxation, some light stretching, and keeping his room cool, since a lower body temperature can facilitate deeper sleep.

It's not always possible for Love to get enough on a busy schedule, traveling coast-to-coast for games and fighting jet lag. Instead, he tries to be as consistent as possible about going to bed and waking up around the same time, which research suggests may be even more important for health than hours spent sleeping.

When things get off track, Love tries to focus on long-term consistent rather than a perfect routine on any given day to avoid unnecessary stress.

"I give myself a little bit of grace, to not turn up the anxiety and get my mind racing on why I'm not getting to bed at the exact same time," he said,

• Hyrox is a buzzy fitness event and Danny Rae, a physical trainer in the British Army, is the current UK champion.
• Hyrox and military fitness share movements, but the contest still humbled him, he said.
• His tips for succeeding at Hyrox include familiarizing yourself with the movements but not overthinking it.

As a soldier and physical trainer for the British Army, Danny Rae thought he'd find the buzzy fitness competition Hyrox a piece of cake.

Part of a growing trend of contests designed to be accessible to average gym-goers and elite athletes alike, competitors work in pairs or individually to do functional exercises, like wall balls, sled pushes, and rowing. These movements are sandwiched between eight one-kilometer runs. You win by finishing first.

In 2023, Rae watched his first Hyrox event, in Manchester, UK, and saw a lot of parallels with military fitness.

"It was probably very naive of me, but I saw people doing it and thought, 'I could be good at this,' and then I actually did it and I got humbled straight away," Rae, 29, told Business Insider.

Still, Rae got hooked on the fitness race. He used his first contest to work out what he needed to improve and changed his training accordingly.

17 months later in February 2025, Rae became the UK men's open Hyrox champion at an event in Vienna. He holds the record for Hyrox both as an individual and in the men's doubles, and has competed in over 25 of the events.

"It's given me something to focus on, it's measurable," Rae said. "I know where I can improve, I can periodize training, so I'm focusing on strength for one part and running on the next."

Rae shared what he's learned about succeeding at fitness contests like Hyrox, including how to train your body for unfamiliar movements quickly but safely.

1) Build a solid foundation of fitness

Rae is from a military family and was an active kid. When he joined the British Army at age 18 in 2013, he quickly became responsible for keeping the soldiers in his regiment fit. But that doesn't mean he has an unnecessarily hardcore mindset.

In general, Rae thinks it's a mistake to train hard every day because you will likely get injured or see progress plateau as your body won't have time to recover.

He recommends aiming to do low or moderate-intensity movements most days and then upping the intensity once a week to build your fitness while allowing yourself time to recover.

That sets the foundation for building toward competing in events like Hyrox.

2) Familiarize yourself with the movements

"They are functional, holistic movements which incorporate all muscle groups, so if you train regularly, you won't struggle to do them," Rae said.

But you need to learn the movement standards so you don't get penalized for, say, not squatting low enough for a rep to count, he added.

For example, one rep of wall balls involves squatting to 90 degrees as a minimum.

3) Get comfortable with being uncomfortable

Rae said that his time in the military has made him more resilient and able to work through discomfort. That came in handy for running on tired legs during Hyrox or when he needed to work out despite not having the time or motivation.

Rae is deployed worldwide, from the jungles of Brunei to Poland, and his working hours are always changing. That can make it hard to commit to a regular workout schedule, but staying fit is part of his job.

"When we're busy, you've really got to find time," Rae said. "Whether that means setting your alarm a little bit earlier or getting someone to help you out to get the job done quicker."

He added: "When it's 5:30 a.m. and it's cold and windy outside, regardless, you have to find a way to get it done."

4) Don't overthink it

While you need to be familiar with the movements, you don't need to be an elite athlete to try a Hyrox. Just have a go and then you'll learn what you need to work on.

"I know some people think they're not ready to do one yet, but they most likely are," Rae said.

Garmin's back with a bunch of goodies for runners. That includes two new Forerunner watches, a new chest strap, and several new running and triathlete features that won't be paywalled behind its newly launched Garmin Connect Plus subscription.

On the watch front, there's the $749.99 Forerunner 970, which replaces the 965 as its top-of-the-line running watch and includes offline maps. Meanwhile, the $549.99 Forerunner 570 is a new mid-range option that's a slight step-up from the more affordable Forerunner 265. It doesn't have offline maps.

Let's start with what the Forerunner 570 and 970 have in common. (There are currently eight lineups of multisport watches on Garmin's site, each with several models and SKUs.) Both add a built-in speaker and microphone so you can take calls on the go, OLED displays, skin temperature sensors, a new evening report feature that summarizes how much sleep you need, plus your workouts, events, and weather for the next day. For both models, Garmin is introducing bolder colors with spiffy translucent bands. I got to see all the new models at Garmin's launch event, and the color combos really do pop compared to past models. The translucent bands in pa …

Read the full story at The Verge.

• The sports scientist Lorcan Daly studies champion rowers over the age of 50 — including one who is 92.
• He found that rowers who took up the sport later in life could still reach elite performance levels.
• His tips for getting fit at any age include making exercise part of your routine.

A sports scientist who researches athletes who are 50 and over shared his tips for getting fit at any age.

Lorcan Daly, a lecturer in sports science at the Technological University of the Shannon, Ireland, studies how aging affects the athletic performance, physical strength, and endurance of older indoor rowers. He has found that rowers appear able to become champions in their age category no matter when they take up the sport, as long as they build up enough muscle mass and endurance.

For example, Daly's grandad, Richard Morgan, took up rowing at 73, and won four rowing world championships by the age of 92.

"In ideal circumstances, you'd be rowing all your life and just see a little decline in performance with age. But you can still massively increase your performance even at very advanced ages," Daly said.

"The clear message is that it's never too late to start exercising," he added.

Daly shared four tips on how to get fit at any age, inspired by the later-life rowers he has studied.

Do strength and endurance training

"The key thing is to have an endurance component and a strength component to your training," he said. "That's the perfect recipe for what you should be doing to be fit and healthy."

This is widely seen in research. For example, a 2022 study by researchers from the National Cancer Institute examined the exercise habits of almost 100,000 adults aged between 66 and 76. It found that participants who did 150-300 minutes of aerobic exercise as well as resistance training once or twice a week had a 41% lower chance of dying from any cause than participants who did neither.

If you're sedentary, Daly recommended alternating between going for a walk one day and doing as many sit-to-stands (where you sit down on a chair, stand up, and repeat) as you can the next. You can work up from there, making walks longer and brisker and graduating to simple bodyweight exercises at home, he said.

Every little helps

Even adding the smallest amount of movement into your routine will have an "enormous impact on your life quality," Daly said.

"People see professional athletes and think, 'I'm nowhere near that level, so what's the point?'" he said. "But even if you do a tiny bit more, you get a huge benefit to your health."

A 2023 study of almost 12,000 participants, all aged over 50, published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, found that doing just 10 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity (such as brisk walking, cycling, or housework) each day appeared to reduce the risks of dying of any cause by 28—55% — even if they were sedentary for 10.5 hours a day.

Build exercise into your routine

"People say they don't have time to exercise, but that's like saying, 'I don't have time to brush my teeth.' If someone said that, you'd look at them like they're crazy — and you could argue that exercise is more important than brushing your teeth." Daly said.

"You just have to build it into your routine so that you just do it without even thinking, without relying on your motivation, just like brushing your teeth," he added.

Supatra Tovar, a pilates instructor, psychologist, and dietitian, previously told BI that she "anchors" habits she wants to solidify to existing ones so that they become routine, such as associating her morning coffee with 20 minutes of exercise.

You can also use tech to help build habits, by gamifying new routines and creating rewards.

Make it social

The best way to motivate yourself to exercise is to do it with loved ones, a Harvard paleoanthropologist previously told BI, because they will hold you accountable and can make it more enjoyable.

The rowers that Daly studied are all part of a rowing club. But you don't have to belong to a club to get the same benefits, he said — exercising with friends can work, too.

Smartwatches have come along way since the first Apple Watch arrived on the scene more than a decade ago. However, despite how ubiquitous they’ve become, they’re still nowhere near as discrete — or long-lasting — as a smart ring like the Samsung Galaxy Ring. Thankfully, if you’re looking to ditch the watch, Samsung’s first-gen smart ring is available with a $100 gift card at Best Buy and Amazon, where you can pick it up in a variety of sizes starting at $299.99 ($100 off), an all-time low.

In many ways, the Android-only Galaxy Ring is more of an accessory for existing Samsung users than it is a standalone device. It’s not as a capable as the Oura Ring 4, our No. 1 pick for the best smart ring, though it does showcase excellent hardware and comes in wide ranges of sizes, from 5 to 15. Plus, unlike the Oura, the Galaxy Ring provides standard activity and sleep tracking without requiring you to pay a monthly fee. That’s a boon for anyone with subscription fatigue.

In terms of basics, Samsung’s IP68 water-resistant ring can measure your blood oxygen level, skin temperature, heart rate, and track your steps and workouts. That being said, you’ll need a Galaxy phone to leverage all of Samsung’s ecosystem-centric tricks, including the ability to access insights about your quality of sleep and Samsung’s Energy Score feature, which attempts to quantify your fatigue levels. If you own a Samsung Galaxy Watch 7 or Ultra, you’ll even get several additional days of battery life, thanks in part to the way Samsung’s Health app prioritizes which device’s sensors to pull from.

All that is to say that the Galaxy Ring remains best suited for existing Samsung users, rather than those tapped into other ecosystems. But if that’s you, the current promo is the best deal we’ve seen.

Read our full Samsung Galaxy Ring review.

More deals and discounts

• The holidays might be a ways off, but that also means it’s the best time of the year to load up on discounted decorations. Right now, for instance, Govee’s 50-foot Outdoor Dots String Lights are on sale at Amazon for an all-time low of $89.99 ($90 off) — the lowest price we’ve seen on the Matter-compatible, smart LED string.
• I’m a firm believer in bone conduction headphones like the Shokz OpenRun Pro 2, which leave your ears more exposed while working out. Thankfully, if you haven’t tried them before, they’re available at Amazon, Walmart, and Best Buy for $139.95 ($40 off), matching their all-time low. The latest open-ear Shokz still offer big sound and plenty of bass, only this time around, they now support USB-C charging and AI noise cancellation. Read our review.
• The Xbox Series X version of Metaphor: ReFantazio, a game that deftly build upon a winning RPG formula with a powerful narrative and harrowing turn-based combat, is going for $24.99 ($45 off) at Woot this weekend. It was easily one of our favorite games of 2024, even if it does feel like a remixed Persona title. Read our review.

• My two teenage sons have started lifting weights at the gym.
• I'm worried that they're going to hurt themselves or that it'll develop into an obsession.
• When I spoke with my trainer, I learned I need to stay engaged in their workouts.

Instead of asking, "What's for dinner?" my teenage sons — 16 and 18 — now say, "What protein are we having tonight?"

They recently joined a gym and are focusing their time on strength training.

Since they started, the pull-up bar has been a fixture on the laundry room door, and they challenge one another to see who can do the most reps. They also now flex their "guns" at any opportunity.

When they started, I was concerned about their physical and mental well-being. But I'm now trying to be more open to it.

The idea of my boys lifting weights concerned me

When they started at the gym, the idea made me uncomfortable. It seemed like an adult activity.

I was mostly concerned about the potential impacts of gym culture — being surrounded by guys bulking up and obsessing over their muscles in mirrors as they counted their reps.

While I recognized it was good that they were taking an interest in their health and fitness, I worried about the potential harms of weightlifting on their growing bodies if they used bad technique, used machines incorrectly, or attempted to lift heavier weights than they were able because of peer pressure.

Part of the appeal is the social aspect; they never go alone, always meeting friends at the gym before or after school. It's great to see them out of the house and socializing in real life rather than online, but my mind defaults to the flip side of image-based social media influencers and the teenage need to look a certain way and fit in. What if this interest becomes a preoccupation?

Joining the gym myself and speaking with my trainers helped

After doing some research, I learned that strength training can be beneficial for young people. It can help strengthen their muscles, help them maintain a healthy weight, protect them from sports-related injuries, and keep blood pressure low, the Mayo Clinic says.

To fully understand what my sons are getting into, though, I've joined the gym too — a different one so I don't embarrass them. I started strength training for the first time.

It has been reassuring to speak with a qualified trainer about how to support my sons with strength training and generally living a healthy lifestyle.

My trainers put into context my worry that the move to weightlifting could be about getting the right physique rather than general health and fitness. My sons are teenagers, so, of course, they're going to care about how they look, but I should stay engaged with what they are doing at the gym and how much.

We don't spend every dinner talking about lifting, but I do regularly ask what exercises they're doing, who is guiding them, and how much they're lifting.

My trainers also advised that it's important that strength training is balanced with other activities to give the muscles time to rest and recover, so I've instituted a three-times-a-week rule and insisted they don't quit their team sports.

As for diet, there's no way I'm cooking steaks or pounds of chicken breast each night, no matter what the gym influencers they follow on Instagram suggest. There's a bag of protein powder in the cupboard for after their workouts, but we continue to eat a balanced diet with protein, vegetables, and fruits, as well as carbs, which are essential to fuel their growing bodies.

I'm hoping to instill positive habits

I know strength training and exercise can lead to obsessive behaviors, so I'm trying to teach them how to stay positive as their bodies change.

By informing myself and bringing my own gym experience to the conversation, I'm trying to create a positive narrative about health and strength for people of all ages.

Whenever I get nervous about their gym activities, I remind myself that they're getting off their screens and moving their bodies.

Whoop just announced its new Whoop 5.0 fitness tracker yesterday, but some existing users are already calling foul. Previously, Whoop said people who had been members for at least six months would get free upgrades to next-generation hardware. Now, the company says that members hoping to upgrade from a Whoop 4.0 to 5.0 will have to pay up.

Whoop is a bit different from other fitness trackers in that it runs entirely on a subscription membership model. Most wearable makers that have subscriptions will charge you for the hardware, and then customers have the option of subscribing to get extra data or features. A good example is the Oura Ring, where you buy the ring and then have the option of paying a monthly $6 subscription. Whoop, however, has until now said that you get the hardware for “free” while paying a heftier annual subscription.

Previously, Whoop promised users that whenever new hardware was released, existing members would be able to upgrade free of charge so long as they’d been a member for at least six months. However, that has since been scrubbed from Whoop’s site — though it was there as recently as March 28th this year, according to the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine.

On Whoop’s current official “How to upgrade” site, the company states that existing members have one of two options. They can either extend their membership by another 12 months and receive new Whoop 5.0 hardware “at no extra cost,” or if they’d rather not extend, they can pay a one-time upgrade fee of either $49 for the regular Whoop 5.0 or $79 for the Whoop 5.0 MG, which includes EKG sensors. An official Reddit thread also notes that people who either joined or extended their membership in the past 30 days are eligible for a free upgrade.

Understandably, Whoop fans are none too pleased. The r/Whoop subreddit is full of angry users who are accusing the company of misleading them.

“One of the main reasons I chose a Whoop over an Apple Watch was due to the free hardware upgrades,” writes one Redditor. “Conveniently my 12 month subscription is up around the same time the Apple Watch is released. The cost isn’t the issue, it’s them changing what was promised.”

“I’m definitely cancelling mine now, over the Whoop hype. Was excited to see they had a nice update and deflated after I saw they went back on their word about not charging for future hardware,” writes another.

The Verge reached out to Whoop for comment about why its changed its hardware upgrade policy, but didn’t immediately receive a response. We’ll update when we hear back.

It’s another example of how changes to subscriptions often results in customer backlash. Garmin recently angered its customer base by introducing a paid tier to the Garmin Connect app after years of touting its lack of a paywall. Oura also received hefty backlash when it introduced a subscription with its third-gen smart ring.

• Good hydration can improve your energy, mood, and focus, but timing is important.
• An elite sports nutritionist explains how much water you need, and when to drink it.
• Look for three key signs of dehydration, and eat more hydrating foods with electrolytes.

Hydration plays a huge role in performance, mental focus, physical stamina, and recovery. That's true whether you're an NBA star or a weekend warrior.

The pros have mastered the art of optimal hydration, according to Matt Jones, a sports nutritionist who advises supplement brand Cadence and worked with the Boston Celtics during their 2024 NBA Championship-winning season.

"It's those routines that allow them to perform to the best of their ability, because ultimately the most important thing with any nutrition intervention is the consistency part," he told Business Insider.

After years of experience coaching elite athletes and military professionals, Jones has 5 key tips to get enough water and electrolytes for better focus and energy throughout the day.

Use a three-part test for dehydration

Drinking enough water is crucial to keeping your brain and body performing well in the office or on the basketball court, according to Jones.

"It can impact your mood, your decision making, it can impact the way you just go about your normal life," he said.

A key part of his job is being able to tell whether athletes need to drink more water, which he does using a gold standard test. You can use the three steps to see if if you're dehydrated:

• Waking up thirsty. You can lose fluids overnight, so morning thirst is a good sign to start drinking water.
• Daily weight changes. Slight changes in your daily weight are normal, but if decreases by 1% or more overnight, you could be low on fluids.
• Dark urine. Normal urine is pale or transparent yellow, so a color closer to amber can indicate dehydration.

How much water you should drink in a day?

Jones said the gold standard recommendation is one milliliter to 1.5 milliliters per calorie of energy expenditure.

For example, a person who burns through 2,000 calories a day would need about two liters or eight cups of water per day — the advice you probably heard as a kid.

If you have higher calorie needs because you're more active or weigh more, your hydration needs will be proportionally higher.

Drink most of your water by 4 p.m.

Being well-hydrated can backfire if you drink water too late, since frequent bathroom trips disrupt your sleep.

Jones said the solution for his athletes, including the Celtics, is to drink 80% of their fluids for the day before 4:00 p.m, so their bodies have time to process all that liquid before bedtime.

Hydrate with fruit, coffee, and tea

Plain water is your first priority for hydration and a healthier choice than sugary juice or soda, but other drinks and even foods can count toward your daily total.

For instance, your daily morning coffee can help keep you hydrated. It's best in moderation to avoid the side effects of excess caffeine.

"Caffeine itself can be a diuretic, but when consumed in the form of coffee or tea, the net effect is a net gain in fluid," Jones said.

Hydrating foods like fruits and veggies also provide electrolytes to regulate the fluids in your body.

We need sodium, or salt, but most of us probably get enough in our diets already. Jones said it's better to focus on getting the right amount of potassium for balance and to offset the side effects of too much sodium, like high blood pressure.

Good sources of potassium include bananas, avocado, coconut water, pomegranate, and watermelon.

Start drinking before you're thirsty

It's ok to sip water when you feel like it during the work day, but if you wait until you're thirsty during a sweaty workout, you'll already be dehydrated.

"During intense exercise, particularly in warm environments, thirst is not a good indicator of hydration status," Jones said. "People are often chasing their tails a little bit."

You can calculate your sweat rate to estimate just how much water you need to replace during exercise, like Jones does with the pros.

Prevent a dip in performance by drinking water at regular intervals.

"The first priority as soon as your big toe hits planet earth in the morning is to rehydrate," he said.

Peloton said it’s not sweating tariffs in its Q3 2025 earnings today, noting it is “predominantly a subscription business” while acknowledging that macroeconomic uncertainty could impact demand for its pricey bikes and treadmills.

“During the period of GDP decline between 2008 and 2009, external data showed that us spend[ing] on fitness continued to grow, and that implies the fitness industry has some resilience to external economic factors,” Peloton CFO Liz Coddington said on its earnings call, while underscoring the company’s main revenue comes from subscriptions and that it has a loyal subscriber base. “Or to put it more plainly, the data suggests that fitness isn’t among the first places that consumers are likely to scale back when times are tough.”

Peloton disclosed in its shareholder letter just how tariffs are impacting its business. Its hardware is subject to 25 percent tariffs due to its use of aluminum, while its apparel is subject to whatever tariffs end up being levied on China. For its Q4 forecast, Peloton said it expected about $5 million in headwinds for its free cash flow as a result.

While Peloton downplayed the impact of tariffs, it’s a fact that Peloton hardware isn’t the cheapest on the market. To that end, Coddington was keen to emphasize that Peloton offers zero percent interest financing, a bike rental program, as well as lower-priced refurbished models. Stern also said the company worked with partners to “pilot dedicated vans stocked with Peloton spare parts” for repairs in a bid to increase customer satisfaction. Stern also shared that the company had appointed a new Chief Operating Officer Charles Kirol, whose main goal is to focus on supply chain logistics and cost management.

CEO Peter Stern added that the company is taking a hard look at pricing, “taking into consideration the impact of tariffs.” Regarding subscriptions, Stern declined to comment but noted it’s been nearly three years since the company hiked subscription prices.

Overall, however, Peloton saw losses with hardware sales falling 27 percent year-over-year and subscription revenue dropping four percent over the same time period. Despite that, the company raised its outlook from $247.6 to $247.7 million.

A bit more out of left field, Stern took time out of the call to emphasize how AI will help Peloton improve customer satisfaction and efficiency. “I think AI has the potential to give humans superpowers, and so that’s how we’re using AI,” says Stern. As for how, exactly, the company is using AI, Stern primarily discussed how customer support staff now have an AI agent to help them take notes on calls. Peloton has also added AI-powered translations for subtitling its classes. It says it subtitled 3,300 classes this way in Q3, and has ramped up to translating roughly 100 classes per day using AI.

Stern also noted that Peloton has been “deploying Google Gemini to most of its Peloton team members” as it will allow them to use their “big creative brains to do big creative thinking.” He added that Peloton is also using AI in personalized plans where the company “take[s] our amazing human instructors and allow[s] them to basically create a program so that we feel more like a personal coach.” Launched in Q3, Stern says that the company is already up to half a million personalized plans set up.

“The future is bright for Peloton members with AI,” he said.

• Olav Aleksander Bu is an elite endurance coach whose training balances intensity for better results.
• You can use his strategies for better VO2 max, a key metric of fitness and longevity.
• Understanding factors like heart rate, threshold, and heat can help you work out smarter.

For Olympic triathlete gold medalist Kristian Blummenfelt, training is a full-time job.

He exercises up to 10 hours a day to keep his heart and lungs in peak shape, and doubles up on tough sessions as part of a workout strategy known as "The Norwegian method."

That same method can help you, a mere mortal, improve your own longevity and fitness spending just a fraction of the time working out, according to his coach, Olav Aleksander Bu.

"We think of elite athletes as freaks of nature. In reality, what we see is working with elite athletes works with everybody," he told Business Insider in an interview tied to a partnership with fitness tech company Core.

Bu, who has coached some of the best endurance athletes on the planet, uses the Norwegian method to dial in workout intensity while avoiding injury or burnout.

The same principles can help you work out more efficiently.

What is the Norwegian method?

At the most basic level, the Norwegian method is about balancing volume — the amount of work you're doing — with recovery. The key principle is alternating periods of high intensity with periods of lower intensity and rest.

To train with the Norwegian method for a higher VO2 max (the ability to circulate and use oxygen effectively) and better endurance, you need the right kind of stress on your body, which means being able to measure intensity.

How tired you feel isn't necessarily an accurate measure of how hard you're working, Bu said. Pace may not be a good measure of intensity either because it varies so much between athletes, and even for the same athlete under different conditions.

Running five miles in 40 minutes might be easy for the pros but crushingly difficult for a newbie.

To stay on target, Bu uses metrics like body temperature and lactate, a byproduct the body produces during intense exercise, to precisely assess how hard athletes can push during training.

While you can buy a device to measure lactate, heart rate can also measure effort, and it's easier to do at home with a smartwatch or fitness tracker.

How to boost your VO2 max

A sample workout plan to increase VO2 max involves three sessions per week of your preferred cardio exercise, such as running or biking.

You'll aim to spend time at your threshold heart rate, the maximum effort you'd be able to sustain for about an hour of work. The pros test their threshold in a lab, but you can estimate it.

One popular technique is to run or bike hard for 30 minutes and record your average heart rate for the last 20 minutes. Your threshold for running or biking may be different.

For threshold sessions, alternate between periods of work at that intensity and rest to recover. Some example intervals from different Norwegian training plans include:

• Four minutes of hard effort, followed by three minutes of rest, repeated for four total sets, popularized by coach Ulrik Wisløff.
• 1,000-meter effort, followed by a minute of rest, repeated 10 times, is a go-to for athlete Marius Bakken.

In one of those sessions, you could incorporate heat training — one of Bu's favorite ways to get the right workout intensity, both in his own workouts and for his athletes. Adding heat also works the heart and lungs while preventing joint pain during exercise.

You can be most precise by using a sensor to monitor your body temperature. Aim for around 101.3 degrees Fahrenheit, building toward 102.2 during your session, but not exceeding that temperature, Bu said. Increase the heat by exercising in warm weather or wearing more layers.

Over time, you can safely challenge your body to keep getting stronger by gradually spending more time at that threshold intensity.

The key is thinking long-term. Working out for an hour or two once a week isn't going to make much of a difference to your fitness. Progress comes from repeating the routine for weeks and months.

"People that find great pleasure in training find a sustainable intensity, and they get to perceive the tremendous effect it has on their physique," Bu said.