If you're kicking your week off with a goal to increase your fitness, there's a wide range of expert advice that can help inspire you. Photo / 123rf
If you're kicking your week off with a goal to increase your fitness, there's a wide range of expert advice that can help inspire you. Photo / 123rf
If you’re feeling motivated to have an active weekend, read on for the best stories with expert advice on fitness and exercise
‘No pain, no gain’: Experts debunk common workout myth
Should you always be sore after a workout? Experts explain if it’s true.
There’s a pervasive beliefamong fitness enthusiasts that if you aren’t sore after a workout, you’re not getting into shape or working your muscles hard enough to build strength.
But soreness is not equivalent to progress, fitness experts say. And constant soreness is not something to strive for.
“A common misconception is that soreness means a workout was effective,” said Cedric Bryant, an exercise physiologist and the president and CEO of the American Council on Exercise. “While some soreness is normal, it is not a requirement for muscle growth.”
You can absolutely be fitter at 40 or 50 than you were at 30 – it will just take effort. Photo / Getty Images
How to hit peak fitness after 40: Tips for staying active as you age
You can’t train in middle age like you did in your 20s. But if you’re strategic, your best days can still be ahead.
Not long ago, 40 was considered over the hill in sports. But we are increasingly seeing athletes, like skier Lindsey Vonn, 40, and climber Chris Sharma, 43, staging midlife comebacks. Peak performance is still within reach for the rest of us, too. Just look at Ken Rideout, a father of four from Nashville, Tennessee, who became serious about distance running in his mid-40s and then one of the world’s fastest marathoners his age by his early 50s.
You can absolutely be fitter at 40 or 50 than you were at 30 – it will just take effort, said Dr Elizabeth Matzkin, an orthopaedic surgeon at Mass General Brigham Sports Medicine in Boston. “And you have to approach training differently,” she added.
If you are setting a fitness goal this year, it’s wise to steer clear of any fitness plan that promises a quick and easy fix. Photo / 123rf
Beware of fitness fads: Experts debunk social media workout trends
Fitness advice on social media can be littered with misinformation and impossible promises.
No single exercise can give you a six-pack, and just because someone has a large following doesn’t mean they’re qualified to give fitness guidance, said Dr Amy Comander, director of the lifestyle medicine programme at Massachusetts General Hospital.
If you are setting a fitness goal this year, it’s wise to steer clear of any fitness plan that promises a quick and easy fix. If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Focus on finding movements you enjoy and building a regular habit, rather than pursuing the latest miracle workout.
Talya Minsberg asked dozens of experts about the fitness trends that irk them the most, and what they recommend doing instead.
Maintaining your enthusiasm for a long-term fitness goal is challenging for any exerciser.
Whether you are hoping to run a marathon or do your first pull-up this year, you need a plan to get there. That means setting up a series of benchmarks, like how many push-ups you can do, with assessments along the way to track your progress.
“I like to think of a benchmark as a snapshot of your fitness at a specific time,” said Dr Tamanna Singh, co-director of the Cleveland Clinic Sports Cardiology Centre. “Having an objective measure of current strength and cardiovascular health is key to building a safe exercise programme.”
But the first step is knowing and accepting your starting point, she said. It’s easy to overestimate.
Runners of all levels can benefit from the run-walk method. Photo / 123RF
The secret to better running? Walking
The run-walk method is often considered a training plan for beginners. But runners of all levels can benefit from the strategy.
During a recent half-marathon, I was taking a walk break when a man on the sidelines shouted, “Come on! Keep running!”
I was using the run-walk method, a plan that incorporates intentional walk breaks during runs, and this 30-second walk gave me a chance to catch my breath and take a sip from my water bottle before running again.
I knew that, for me, walking wasn’t a sign of struggle. Still, I couldn’t resist letting the spectator know. So I smiled and shouted back: “It’s a STRATEGY!”
Your body doesn’t have to go downhill in your 60s - I’m fitter and stronger than ever - Jacqueline Hooton
A fall six months ago resulted in a broken wrist, but now I’m lifting my heaviest weights and refuse to give into ageing.
Despite what you may have been led to believe, I honestly don’t think it has to be the case that things go downhill as we age. Sure we pick up some wrinkles and a few creaky joints over the decades, and I know from personal experience how our confidence can take a hit in our so-called twilight years.
Six months ago, while on holiday, I fell backward off a raised patio area next to a swimming pool. It was only half a metre off where I’d lost my balance and remember thinking, “I’m going to break my back or drown in the pool”. Luckily, I escaped with only a broken wrist from trying to break my fall.
We all know that injuries can be devastating though, particularly for us “oldies”. But what I learnt from my experience was that losing my confidence and halting workouts wasn’t the answer.
Why cultural running retreats are 2025’s top travel fitness trend
Running is one of the easiest wellness pursuits to take up but the hardest to keep going. There is, however, a new travel trend that could help you stay the course: the running retreat.
What your heart rate can tell you about your fitness
Most fitness trackers offer a wealth of heart-rate data. Here’s how to make sense of it.
If you wear a smartwatch or fitness tracker, you probably already have access to a steady stream of data about your heart health.
Beyond basic heart rate monitoring, smartwatches and fitness trackers can also measure and track heart rate zones, heart rate variability and heart rate trends.
This information can be powerful for your health and fitness if you’re open to experimenting with different intensity levels during exercise – and if you understand the limits of the data.
Here are the top movement techniques to calm the mind – and none of them are running.
Pounding the pavements, despite what we’ve been led to believe, might not in fact be the best way to run off a bad mood. Academics at Ohio State University compared “arousal-increasing” activities such as hitting a bag, jogging, cycling and swimming with “arousal-decreasing” activities; deep breathing, mindfulness, meditation and yoga. The latter were most effective at calming anger, while (arousal-increasing) jogging was the most likely activity to increase anger.
Walking has many health benefits, according to experts. Photo / 123rf
The benefits of a daily walk, according to the experts
Walking is great for your physical and mental health – and even the most casual stroll can give you a boost.
“Ten thousand steps a day.” It has become almost a religious mantra for anyone embarking on walking as an exercise routine. But you don’t need to adhere to this to feel the benefits of getting outside and stretching your legs.
This weight-lifting workout in your 60s can preserve strength for years
It’s never too late to start lifting weights - and now there are more signs it can provide enduring health benefits for older people.
Researchers at the University of Copenhagen in Denmark found that regularly lifting weights for a year in your mid-60s can preserve the strength of your leg muscles for years to come.
Cyclists are likely to be fitter, leaner, less stressed and mentally more positive than road or rail commuters. Photo / Jason Dorday
Why cycling to work could be the fitness boost you need
With more endorphins and no train cancellations, one way to make your commute more bearable is to get on two wheels.
During a lifetime, workers will spend thousands of hours commuting to and from work. Although the Covid-19 pandemic allowed many of us to work from home, a 2022 United Kingdom government survey suggests that the average person in England travels over 1610km every year while commuting. One way to make these journeys more enjoyable – and improve your fitness in the process – is to get on two wheels.
Cyclists are likely to be fitter, leaner, less stressed and mentally more positive than road or rail commuters. They don’t pollute, they cause very little congestion, and their commuting costs are far, far less than those of drivers or public transport users. What’s more, they know exactly how long it takes to get to work.
Running is bad for your knees. The heavier the weight the better. Ice baths. And more.
When done right, exercise can be a veritable miracle drug. But follow the wrong advice and you can easily set yourself up for injury. Take the sit-up: Once considered the gold standard of core exercises, we now know that it can make low-back pain worse.
Fitness culture is rife with such misconceptions, because of constantly evolving science and fitness influencers who share tips based on “anecdote and gym lore”, said Brad Schoenfeld, a professor of exercise science at Lehman College in New York. “Once those opinions are disseminated to the public and take hold, they are hard to change.”
Samantha Bluemel from Ponsonby's Mode Studio recommends Auckland's best gyms.
Auckland’s best gyms, fitness and wellbeing spots
Auckland is full of fantastic fitness and wellbeing hotspots that could be your new go-to for exercise, recovery and wellbeing and to help create positive lifestyle habits.
It’s all about finding the right thing for you and making sure you love it enough to keep coming back. Try an intro-offer pack before committing and chat to the staff about your needs and preferences. You’re guaranteed to find friendly coaches or even other members who are happy to help along the way.
Hit an exercise plateau? This is the fastest way to boost your fitness
One reason many adults avoid sprinting is that the thought of past injuries (or possible future ones) can be frightening. Another, of course, is that sprinting is hard, often leaving us doubled over gasping for air.
But hard is the idea. Sprinting puts an enormous amount of stress on our physical systems, which — when done safely — makes us stronger, more resilient and more fit.
Meta VR Headset offers immersive fitness experiences, from Les Mills Body Combat to high-intensity training, in dreamlike virtual environments.
From smartwatches to VR headsets, the best technology to help boost your fitness
When it comes to mixing fitness and wellbeing with technology things are becoming increasingly complex. An endless list of companies now promise to increase your health exponentially with the help of their latest (and more often than not, expensive) gadget, and it pays to do the research before you invest.
Likewise, taking the time to consider your personal lifestyle and approach to health is a helpful tool worth employing to avoid clever marketing designed to suck you in. There’s no point investing in the latest at-home workout solution if you’ve never tried its modality before, nor is the world’s most expensive fitness tracker necessary if you’re new to exercise overall.
