Be Health And Wellness

Past your prime? Too far gone? At 79 years young, Joan MacDonald says she is just getting started. The fitness inspiration, who has amassed more than 2 million Instagram followers during her decade long journey, is eager to get others active and recently shared a smart workout for those who want to stay strong. Why not give it a try for yourself and kickstart the new year’s resolutions early this year? “At 79, I’d rather crank out a squat that need help of the couch,” quipped the inspirational figure who has graced the cover of fitness magazines, proving that it’s never too late to make positive changes. “Strength isn’t just about lifting weight, it’s about living full and safely,” she explained in a previous Instagram post .  “We don’t just train for strength, we are training for independence,” she added. Of course, the benefits of exercising as we age are well documented. Short term results from working out include improved sleep duration and quality, better mental health, and ...

For many gymgoers, back day can be a bit of a bore, but if you want to shake things up and put in some work while making the most of every minute, Dana Linn Bailey’s “100’s Back Day Workout” could breathe new life into those lumbering back sessions. “If you’ve only got 30 minutes but still want to feel like you put in some WORK… 100’s will smoke you,” teased the former Olympia Women’s Physique winner in a recent Instagram post for her 2.2 million followers. Here’s how to build some volume: Dana Linn Bailey’s 100’s Workout: Back Day Choose Your Weight “Grab a weight you can hit 15 – 20 clean reps with, fresh,” coaches the powerhouse from Reading, PA.  For the uninitiated, “fresh” means that the muscles should be able to handle this number of reps without becoming too fatigued, around 45-55% of your max capability, she suggested. “Heavy enough to burn, light enough to move fast.” How long can you rest between sets? “20-30 seconds, max,” said Bailey. “Shake it out, breathe, righ...

Joey Thurman enjoys a scroll-stopping health and fitness challenge. When we connected and he shared that he was about to do a 24-hour Dunkin’ Donuts challenge while wearing a continuous glucose monitor, I said, “I want in.” Thurman, a Chicago-based fitness expert, who’s worked with a wide range of clientele from WWE wrestlers to hedge fund executives, is known for putting his body through self-experiments to better understand what his clients might go through. “I’m a human guinea pig myself,” he told me. “I like really seeing what happens to my body and how I feel.” This time, he set out to consume nothing but Dunkin’ Donuts a la carte for an entire day while tracking his blood sugar response. Think sandwiches, wraps, donuts, bacon snacks, and coffee. I jumped in to bring a female perspective to the metabolic madness. Equipped with continuous glucose monitors (CGM) and a food log app, we wanted to see if resistance training, walks, and apple cider vinegar could blunt the damage, or w...

In Episode 262 of The Menace Podcast, host Dennis James was joined by regular guests Milos Sarcev and Jose Raymond, and the conversation took a turn down memory lane, discussing super-heavyweight contenders like ’90s and 2000s Mr. Olympia challenger, “Marvelous” Marvin Anthony. During the show, The Menace even called the big man himself via FaceTime, to find out if there was any truth to his success as a natural bodybuilder, and when he might have started taking steroids. Dennis James kicked off the conversation by recalling just how big Anthony really was. In his heyday, the marvelous one competed in multiple Mr. Olympia competitions and also won contests like the 2004 Night of Champions and the 2008 Atlantic City Pro . But when Jose Raymond said he recalled Anthony entering a natural bodybuilding contest, James was not convinced and wasted no time getting his old bodybuilding buddy in on the discussion via FaceTime. “Yo, two quick questions,” asked James of his impromptu guest. “Be...

Not every purchase in the world of Manny Khoshbin demands a black card. Despite owning an absolutely jaw-dropping collection of high-end, high-powered supercars, the real estate mogul can still sniff out a bargain haircut and gladly opts for home-cooked meals over high-priced restaurants whenever his hectic schedule allows. For all the Bugattis and McLarens now filling his massive garage, ask the Iran-born businessman about his greatest investment and he might point out, smiling, of course, to the $2 pair of swap-meet dumbbells he bought as a teenager—an impulse buy he credits with having the most impact on his life. Even with the glitz and prestige of owning a multimillion-dollar fleet of the world’s most coveted supercars, Manny Khoshbin has managed to maintain his “Honda Accord mindset” in both business and life. His everyday ethos is a tribute to his very first car—a 1983 four-cylinder—which he bought at age 17, just three years after arriving in the United States from Iran with ...

As the famous daughter of one of the Real Housewives of New Jersey, Gia Giudice is familiar with the inner-workings of glossy reality television, but that experience would provide zero advantage when signing up for Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test , where celebrity recruits are brought back down to earth during a seriously intense course that mimics a number of genuine elements from real-life United States Special Forces selection. While Giudice got off to a shaky start, she outlasted former athletes from the NBA and NFL to make the final cut, but how did she do it? Now back in her civvies, Giudice gave M&F the inside perspective on TV’s most realist reality show. Despite the immense physicality of the show’s challenges, including being submerged under water, rappelling from flying helicopters, running uphill with sandbags, and even brutally boxing other cast members, Gia says the psychological element is the most difficult aspect of Special Forces. “I would say the course i...

Social media can be a valuable space to find information and motivation, helping you to reach your health and fitness goals, but it can also be a place of dangerous extremes. The recent death of budding social media influencer, Dmitry Nuyanzin highlights the importance of carefully managing your diet. The Russian fitness trainer, known as “Dmitryfit” had built up almost 50,000 followers on Instagram before passing away in November. Apparently, the 30-year-old had been on a mission to gain 25 kilograms as part of an attention seeking stunt to show how quickly he could slim down, and this wasn’t the first time he’d tried it. Back in July, Nuyanzin posted that he’d slimmed down from 105 kilograms to 91 kilograms. Later that month he explained that he’d “specifically gained weight to show the weight loss process form a personal example.” View this post on Instagram Dmitry Nuyanzin Died of Heart Failure After Extreme Yo-Yo Diet In September, Dmit...

In just a few short years, Matt Mathews has built a massive, and fiercely loyal, fanbase, all thanks to his comically candid chronicles of life on his Alabama farm during COVID. What began as down-to-earth, honest online clips quickly went viral—one post even notched 17 million views. His popularity had fans immediately urging him into stand-up comedy. The results? You can call it comedically chaotic electricity. Deadline named Mathews one of 2025’s Comedians to Watch, and he’s more than lived up to that billing, consistently delivering top-tier performances in front of sold-out audiences from coast to coast. “I always wanted to be a performer, so I just started sharing my life on the internet,” Mathews recalls. “And people were loving it.” His stand-up act is an authentically edgy mix of personal stories and his signature, off-the-cuff back-and-forth with the crowd—a combination that’s endeared him to millions, both in sold-out theaters and across both his YouTube and TikTok cha...

Natural bodybuilder and science-backed coach, Jeff Nippard recently undertook a successful 100-day low volume training experiment that showed muscle can still be maintained while cutting your workout time. To that end, the canny Canadian has now developed some low volume workout sessions to keep him on track, and here’s how to try his efficient but highly rewarding leg day. “This leg workout only took me 45 minutes,” enthused Nippard in a recent Instagram demonstration for his 3.4 million followers. “Low volume, high intensity. Let’s go.” Jeff Nippard’s Low Volume Leg Day Session Aim for failure, or close to failure: Leg Extension: 2 Sets, 8-10 Reps Barbell Roman Deadlift: 2 Sets, 6-8 Reps Hip Thrust: 2 Sets, 6-8 Reps Leg Press: 1 Set, 6-8 Reps Standing Calf Raise: 2 Sets, 8-10 Reps View this post on Instagram Workout Breakdown Leaning the seat back for a bigger stretch, Nippard got this workout started with leg extensions, a mov...