Functional fitness

Exercising regularly, every day if possible, is the single most important thing you can do for your health. In the short term, exercise helps control appetite, lift mood, and improve sleep. In the long term, it reduces the risk of heart disease, stroke, diabetes, dementia, depression, and many cancers.

Chest workouts: exercises for strength and function

Chest exercises are a key way to build upper-body strength. Strengthening the chest muscles can help you achieve a strong, sculpted physique, but the benefits go well beyond looking toned.

Your chest muscles, the pectoralis major and pectoralis minor, let you rotate your shoulders and draw them in and forward. They also stabilize the shoulders, which lets you move your arms up, down, in, and out. These muscles matter for everyday actions like pushing open a door, pushing a grocery cart, or lifting a child off the floor, and they are crucial for sports such as swimming, baseball, and tennis.

Effective exercises for building a strong back

A strong back benefits overall health, well-being, and function. Targeted exercises can build back strength and protect against injury.

Pelvic floor exercises: help for incontinence, sexual health, and more

Say the word "Kegels" and it will likely prompt an involuntary squeeze and a vow to add pelvic-floor conditioning to the to-do list. But Kegels, which strengthen the pelvic floor muscles, are not the only pelvic floor exercises worth knowing. Many people actually have overly tight pelvic floor muscles that benefit from stretching and lengthening.