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Beyond the Scale: How Metabolic Health Impacts Fitness, Energy, and Long-Term Wellness

For decades, weight loss has been a primary concern for people on a medical, aesthetic, and personal level. The idea of weight loss has been heavily romanticized in the media over time; the simple idea that seeing that number on the scale go down indicates positive progress. This makes sense as visual shorthand, and it is incredibly easy for the general population to latch onto, since a scale is one of the few health indicators that has become so commonplace that many people have a gym at home. However, ideal fitness and health improvement involves far more than simply lowering the number on a scale. Other under-discussed elements, such as sleep, metabolism, and nutrition, play an integral role in an individual’s health in ways a simple scale can’t interpret. Maintaining a healthy body composition is about far more than losing weight at all costs, and this has been misinterpreted over the years, with vital information becoming distorted and obscuring how people can take a more compreh...
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FDA Approves First Myostatin Inhibitor: What Isembyld Means for the Future of Muscle Growth

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For decades, the bodybuilding world has treated myostatin like the Loch Ness Monster with a lab coat. Everybody has heard of it. Everybody knows somebody who supposedly knows somebody who inhibited it. And every few years another vial appears on the Internet promising that you’ll wake up looking like a Belgian Blue bull provided you’re willing to inject something manufactured behind a back-alley noodle shop. Well, something rather important just happened. On Sept. 11, the FDA approved Scholar Rock’s Isembyld—apitegromab-mstn—for adults and children age 2 and older with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) who are already receiving an SMN2-targeted therapy. More importantly for our little corner of the universe, it’s the first approved SMA treatment designed specifically to target the muscle itself. And the target is myostatin. News The Future of Steroids and PEDs Explore the advancements being made to PEDs, emerging drugs, an...
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Nick Walker Wins the 2026 Mr. Olympia: How the ‘Mutant’ Defeated Samson Dauda & Derek Lunsford

There are bodybuilding stories you have to go looking for. This isn’t one of them. Nick Walker just won the Mr. Olympia. Yes, Nick Walker, the guy with the nickname that isn’t even remotely hyperbolic. The guy is built like somebody took a regular bodybuilder into Photoshop, highlighted everything from the neck down and dragged the scale slider until the computer overheated. The guy who finished sixth at this very contest one year ago is now Mr. Olympia. He beat 2024 champion Samson Dauda , defending champion and two time Olympia winner Derek Lunsford and 2026 Arnold Classic winner Andrew Jacked. Walker got the Sandow, $600,000 and the People’s Champion award. Dauda was second, Lunsford third, Andrew fourth and Tonio Burton fifth. But the part I like isn’t that Nick won. It’s how close he came to not winning. This wasn’t Ronnie Coleman standing next to a lineup and everybody immediately wondering what time the buffet opened. The final score was Walker 18, Dauda 20, Lunsford 24. Just ...
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How Smelling Dark Chocolate Can Instantly Increase Your Workout Volume

A “sweet” new study has found that simply smelling some chocolate could lead to more reps without the workout feeling tougher to complete, and while this news sounds like a bizarre work of Willy Wonka style fiction, scientists suggest that food aromas may increase our level of motivation, because of our relationship with eating. “Exposing moderately trained men to chocolate odors right before and between sets of resistance exercise significantly increased their overall training volume without increasing their perceived exertion,” said Dr. Mohamed Nashrudin bin Naharudin , who was a senior author on the study published in Frontiers . “Seeing a substantial increase in repetitions without the athletes feeling like they were exerting themselves any harder is a fascinating psychobiological outcome.” How was the study carried out? A small sample of 23 men, in their 20s, were split into three groups. 15 minutes before exercise, the subjects were given repeated exposure as follows: Group ...
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“A Stronger Soldier Is Harder to Kill”: Military Fitness Leaders Reveal Peak Human Performance Secrets

The Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS) headquarters in Arlington, Virginia served as the host location for the fifth installment of M&F Senior Military Editor Rob Wilkin’s Military Health and Wellness Symposium series. Military leaders and experts from a variety of human performance fields gathered to share information and research that could be taken back to help service members, veterans, and their families improve their own health and fitness levels. Wilkins emphasized that due to how fast information can change and how often new knowledge is discovered, hosting events like this are vital because the physical well-being of those who wear the uniform is a matter of national security. Bringing in a mix of experts who have served in the military, the government, and a variety of leaders in other roles is what make these events so successful. Wilkins said, “No one organization can generate all of the answers. We want people to be able to know all this information so t...
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Ultra-Processed Foods Linked to Higher Prostate Cancer Risk in New Study

Eating too many calories from Ultra Processed Food’s has been linked with several health conditions, ranging from heart disease to diabetes, but a new study has added weight to the theory that UPF consumption can lead to a significant risk of prostate cancer, according to a new scientific study. The report , coming out of Florida Atlantic University and published in the American Journal of Medicine, showed that even after adjusting for age, race, smoking, and other factors, UPFs posed a significant risk to prostate health. This is a major concern, not least because Ultra Processed Foods, which are often high in sugar and preservatives, and have nutrients like fiber stripped away, make up almost 60% on average, of the energy intake of men in the United States. How Was the Study Carried Out? Researchers at Florida Atlantic University’s Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine crunched the data of over 17,000 men from the U.S., aged 18 and older, based on a Health and Nutrition Examinat...
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How ‘Fightland’ Star Nicholas Pinnock Uses Pilates and Kettlebells to Stay Fit at 53

Nicholas Pinnock has become a highly feared villain in his latest project, blurring the lines between British boxing and organized crime in the popular Starz series, Fightland. But while his character, Kingsley Marshall, is far too smooth to step between the ropes, Pinnock’s intense performance requires that every movement matters, and he says that a penchant for Pilates has been a game changer for his health. “I’ve always been a fan of boxing,” says Pinnock, who has become enemy No. 1 in the Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson-produced drama. “I grew up on the ‘70s and ‘80s and that era of boxing was just fantastic.” While Pinnock shares that his family didn’t encourage the idea of him getting between the ropes for real, the London born star was able to pursue his passion for boxing as a performer instead. Ten years ago, the actor undertook a combination of circuits and resistance training to get into fighting shape for the play The Royale .  On stage, he starred in the role of “Jay Jackson,”...
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Why IFBB Pro Bodybuilder Sheriff Taiwo Uses Walking to Help Lose Fat

IFBB Pro bodybuilder and busy dad, Sheriff Taiwo, knows what it’s like to juggle with competing priorities. But when it comes to staying in shape, this transformation coach and social media influencer, better known as “FitDad,” says that you don’t need to sprint for miles, or sweat it out under a barbell to drop weight. Instead, you should be walking for the win. Here are the steps you need to know. “What I’m about to share with you is one of the biggest fast loss hacks,” says Taiwo, who competes in the Men’s Physique division, and turned IFBB Pro in 2025 .  Fortunately, this concept is not a fad or gimmick, but a simple daily walk, and there are plenty of reasons why a simple stroll works for busy people and elite athletes alike. Why Walking Works For Fat Loss In addition to the brilliant benefits to our heart health, and the positive impact that walking has on our mood, Taiwo explains that walking is a great calorie burning tool for busy people and even bodybuilders, because there...
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Meet Phoenix Giselle, The Youngest Female Yoga Instructor

As kids, many of us were unsure of what the future might bring, but for Phoenix Giselle, her achievements already include a Guinness World Record, thanks to her commitment to becoming a yoga instructor while still under 6 years of age. At just 5 years and 337 days young, Giselle completed 200 hours of yoga training to become a certified instructor. The feat not only secured the world record for youngest female yoga instructor, but her achievement is also now featured in the Guinness Book of World Records 2027. Apparently, Giselle had first taken to the discipline of yoga during a “Mummy and Me” class and soon gave the adults a run for their money. “I love teaching classes with my mum,” said the now 8-year-old, via guinnessworldrecords.com .   “She inspired me to be a yoga teacher, so it’s fun when we get to teach together.” View this post on Instagram   Phoenix Giselle Reflects on Her Yoga World Record “I was the only kid in a class of all ...
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World-Record Freediver Vitomir Maričić Inducted into the 2026 International Sports Hall of Fame

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The International Sports Hall of Fame stands out from other honors because they not only recognize champions of the field, court, or stage. They also honor champions of causes and advocacy. Vitomir Maričić is an athlete who embodies being both the best in the world for his sport and best for the world when it comes to his causes. Maričić’s induction at the 2026 Olympia Weekend in Las Vegas, NV alongside Dexter Jackson, Forrest Griffin, the Harlem Globetrotters , and Garry Kasparov will be for more than his world-record breath hold underwater and his world championship free diving efforts. He will also be celebrated for what he is most passionate about; making a difference. “That made me feel really proud because I will finally receive an award that encompasses everything I do,” he said. “I value this award because it is about more than results.” News The International Sports Hall of Fame Just Announc... From Chess King Ga...
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