Be Health And Wellness

Posts

M&F Writer Shares his 2026 American Pro Experience

August 17, 2026

When you are standing backstage at a prestigious powerlifting meet like Powerlifting United’s American Pro meet in the Henrico Sports and Events Center, smelling the sting of ammonia and hearing the low-frequency thud of loaded barbells hitting rubber flooring, you begin to understand a fundamental truth about strength sports: months of preparation ultimately come down to your ability to execute when all eyes are on you. On August 7 and 8, the author of this article went from covering one of the biggest powerlifting events of the year to becoming part of it. Day 1 required the singlet. Day 2 called for the media credentials. The event recap can be found here , but this is the story from the other side of the platform. The purpose of this was to know, with absolute certainty, that Theodore Roosevelt’s famous “Man in the Arena” warning didn’t apply. Being the man who was actually in the arena struggling and whose face was actually marred by dust, sweat, and blood instead of the cold c...

How Much Protein Do You ACTUALLY Need to Build Muscle?

August 14, 2026

Perhaps the most debated, not to mention maligned, topic in the fitness world is how much protein we need. And if you’ve done any investigating at all into the topic, you will no doubt have bumped into this calculation: 1 to 1.5 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight. (If you’re a bodybuilder, that means at least two.) Like so much of bodybuilding folklore, the recommendation has been repeated so many times that it’s become accepted as fact. The problem is, nobody ever asks, “How do we know?” Specifically, no one knows. Is the ‘1 Gram of Protein Per Pound’ Rule Science or Myth? The original one gram per pound rule wasn’t born from a landmark scientific study. It evolved from decades of bodybuilding experience, trial and error, magazine articles, coaches’ recommendations, and a healthy dose of “more must be better” broscience. It’s basically just a simple rule of thumb, not a biological law. Total Body Weight vs. Lean Mass: Why Most Lifters Overeat Protein The problem most peop...

No Time to Train? How 15-Minute Micro Workouts Build Muscle and Strength

August 14, 2026

Some days, a full workout fits. Other days, you look at the clock, realize you’ve got 15 minutes, and start talking yourself into skipping the whole thing. Micro workouts give you a way to make that window count. A focused 10- to 20-minute session can provide enough training stimulus to move the needle when time is tight. You might train a major lift, push one muscle group hard, or knock out a conditioning session without filling the time with random exercises. Keeping the session narrow also makes it easier to stay consistent during a crowded week. Give the workout one clear goal, then use the available time to accumulate enough quality work to support it. The workouts ahead follow that approach across strength, hypertrophy, and HIIT, with two options for each. They’re built for days when your schedule is packed, and you still want to get something worthwhile done. What Is a Micro Workout and Does It Actually Work? A micro workout is a short, focused training session that usually...

Bent-Over Rows Bother Your Lower Back? 5 Back-Building Moves That Still Do The Trick

August 13, 2026

The barbell bent-over row is the row with the most bang for the buck because it trains the lats, upper back, rear delts, biceps, grip, and the lower back. For building a thicker, stronger back, nothing beats it. But there is one little thing… Holding the hinge position in the bent-over row requires lower-back muscular endurance. For some, the lower back waves the white flag long before the lats do, and it becomes less of a back builder and more of a test of lower-back endurance. Lower back fatigue doesn’t make the bent-over row a bad exercise, nor does it mean something is wrong. But if the lower back becomes the weakest link, it ends your set early, limits the load, and gains go bye-bye. If that’s a problem, here comes the solution. The solution may be better form, reduced loading, or adjusting where you place rows in your workout. Before ditching it, let’s figure out why your lower back is tapping out first—and what you can do about it. If it is still an issue, the 5 back-build...

2026 Britain’s Strongest Woman Results: Deadlift Legend Lucy Underdown Dominates to Claim Historic 3-Peat

August 13, 2026

Far from being an underdog, Lucy Underdown has secured a third “Britain’s Strongest Woman” title after dominating the field once again, with her trademark power and sheer determination. Underdown, who is a serving police officer in Kent, England, first took the title of Britain’s Strongest Woman in 2024, and has won again this year to mark her third consecutive victory. “What a great competition!” wrote Underdown in a celebratory post via Instagram. “I knew exactly what I needed to do and when it came down to the competition, I had a sense of calm I have never felt before. I knew each event, what was needed, and I executed everything perfectly.” The strong woman, 36, who is also known for her female world record deadlifting feats with the standard bar (717 pounds / 325 kilograms) and elephant bar (701 pounds / 318 kilograms) reigned supreme at the York Barbican on July 25, winning the Deadlift and Stone to Shoulder events outright, and amassing a 4.5-point lead on the runner-up, Reb...

New Study: Once-a-Week Brisk Interval Walking Can Help Reduce Waist Size

August 12, 2026

Exercising is an efficient way to burn calories, but there’s no getting around the significant time investment required to get our reps in while juggling our personal and professional lives. So, a new study coming out of Hong Kong that supports brisk interval walking as a way of reducing our waist size comes as welcome news. And, better still, one long session is almost as good as three seperate stints, according to the latest science. The new research, published in Nature Communications, provides encouraging news for those of us who are time-poor, or just too poor to afford a gym membership right now. How was the study carried out? Between 2021 and 2024, a group of 315 overweight adults were placed into three groups: Interval treadmill session: once per week Interval treadmill session: three times per week Control group While the control group received support on the subject of health education, both walking groups completed a total of 75 minutes exercising. One group took o...

‘I Play Rocky’ Trailer Hits 20 Million Views: First Look at Anthony Ippolito as a Young Sylvester Stallone

August 11, 2026

There may already be six Rocky movies and three Creed spin-offs out there for your viewing pleasure, but if like us, you just can’t get enough of the “Italian Stallion,” the news that Anthony Ippolito is set to channel Sylvester Stallone—to tell the fabled story of how the original movie got the green light, will be welcome news. And, if the newly released trailer is anything to go by, the box office can take our money right now. What Is the ‘I Play Rocky’ Movie About? Stallone fans already know that he was a struggling actor, failing to find his footing in Hollywood before taking matters into his own hands and writing a winning script, but not everyone knows the challenges that Sly faced to play the starring role of his own creation. While producers loved the underdog story of a no-named challenger who is given a million-to-one-shot chance at the heavyweight title, they wanted anyone but Stallone on the poster. Instead, the young actor was offered increasing sums of money to sell th...

He Once Trained to Play in the NFL. Now, JB Copeland Works as a Voice for Mental Health

August 11, 2026

In the last four years, JB Copeland has cemented himself as an encouraging presence in the mental health advocacy space, especially among young men. But this was never his Plan A. From adolescence into early adulthood, the 31-year-old had envisioned a future that looked much different. In his mind, football had always been the ultimate goal. “Football had been my life since I was 6 years old. When I thought about what I wanted to do, it was always, ‘play in the NFL,’” he told Muscle & Fitness. “There was no Plan B. I’d made up my mind that this is why I’m here and this is what I’m going to do.” However, during his junior year of college at University of North Carolina, Copeland was forced to adapt to a new, unprecedented reality. A Promising Trajectory Born Dec. 6, 1994, John Byron Copeland grew up in Southlake, TX, later attending Southlake Carroll High School, where he proved to be a gifted linebacker. Copeland completed 90 total tackles his junior year (with 45 solo sto...

World-Class Powerlifters Set Records at 2026 American Pro

August 11, 2026

The Henrico Sports and Events Center in Glen Allen, VA served as the venue for Powerlifting United’s (PLU) American Pro on August 7th and 8th. The first day of the American Pro was an “Open Day,” meaning that any PLU member could register to compete. Saturday, August 8th was the Invitational Day that included 28 of the best powerlifters in the world stepping onto the platform to attempt breaking records and earning part of the $25,000 purse that was on the line. Best Lifter Winners Women’s Best Lifter – Brittany Bowles Brittany Bowles earned Best Lifter honors on the women’s side of the stage thanks to her 215-kilogram (474-pound) squat, 137.5-kilogram (303-pound) bench press, and 228.5-kilogram (504-pound) deadlift. Her 581-kilogram (1,281-pound) total makes her the new all-time world record holder for the total in the 60-kilogram (132-pound) division. Bowles 646.109 DOTS score, which used gender, bodyweight, age, and weight lifted to determine an overall score was not only the b...