Author Archives: Ashley Hurley

Most people don’t quit fitness because they can’t work out—they quit because deciding what to do every day gets exhausting. Apple seems to be targeting that exact problem in 2026. Starting January 5, Apple Fitness+ is rolling out structured, multiweek training programs that prescribe short workouts and gradually build week over week. The goal: reduce […]

What if group fitness felt less like “performing” and more like showing up to a concert with friends? That’s the magic behind Swiftie Liftie—a Taylor Swift-inspired workout experience built around music, rhythm, and community. It started inside a Phoenix studio and quickly turned into something bigger: a high-demand class format where spots disappear fast, and […]

Here’s a surprising research headline that’s actually motivating in a practical way: a short burst of intense exercise may create measurable changes in the bloodstream that affect cancer-related pathways—at least in lab testing. What researchers tested In one study, 30 adults (ages ~50–78) who were overweight/obese but otherwise healthy completed a short, hard cycling test […]

Natural killer (NK) cells are part of your immune system’s rapid-response crew—the ones that react quickly when something’s “off,” like infected or abnormal cells. A new study looked at whether two very modern problems—anxiety and insomnia—might be linked to changes in those immune defenders. Researchers studied 60 female students (ages 17–23) who completed questionnaires about […]

Sweat isn’t just something to wipe off—it’s a biochemical message. A new research review argues that sweat could become a needle-free health monitoring channel, especially as wearable sensors and AI get better at reading complex patterns.  The idea: ultra-thin patches collect sweat continuously, then use advanced sensors (and eventually AI models) to interpret what’s inside—things […]

Pilates has become the defining boutique fitness story of the post-pandemic era—and the numbers back it up. It was the most-booked workout on ClassPass for the second year in a row, with reservations reportedly up 84% since 2023. That demand is fueling a wave of studio openings across North America and beyond, driven largely by […]

Depression therapy goes high-tech at home. U.S. regulators have approved the first at-home brain stimulation device to treat depression, offering a drug-free alternative to medications. Developed by Flow Neuroscience, the FL-100 headset delivers gentle electrical pulses to the part of the brain that regulates mood. With depression rates in the U.S. surging ~60% over the […]

Dark chocolate might hold an anti-aging secret, according to new research. Scientists at King’s College London discovered a link between theobromine – a natural compound in cocoa – and slower biological aging. In a study of over 1,600 people, those with higher levels of theobromine in their blood tended to have a “younger” biological age […]

The science behind cold plunges is clear: brief exposure to cold triggers powerful benefits like reduced inflammation, faster recovery, better circulation, and improved metabolic health. But jumping into an ice bath at 39°F? That part’s not for everyone. Enter PolarWave, a new dry cold plunge system that replicates the effects of cold-water immersion — without […]

For a while, it sounded almost too good to be true: the same GLP-1 drugs people use for diabetes and rapid weight loss might also protect the brain from Alzheimer’s. New data says… not so fast. At the recent Clinical Trials in Alzheimer’s Disease meeting, researchers shared results from EVOKE and EVOKE+, two large, two-year […]

If you live with prediabetes or worry about your blood sugar, mango probably sits in your mental “too sweet” category. A new study suggests you might want to move it back onto the menu. In the first long-term clinical trial of its kind, researchers split adults with prediabetes into two groups. One group ate a […]

If you’ve ever tried to meditate and ended up doom-scrolling instead, this new piece of wearable tech is going to sound very strange—and strangely useful. Stanford researchers have built a mindfulness wearable that doesn’t track your heart rate or steps. Instead, it listens to the tiny sounds your hands make while you move through your […]

GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic®, Wegovy®, Mounjaro® and Zepbound™ are already headline news for diabetes and weight loss. Now they’re at the center of a much bigger question: could the same class of drugs help slow Alzheimer’s disease? Two large, global Phase 3 trials—EVOKE and EVOKE+—are testing whether semaglutide, a GLP-1 drug, can slow early Alzheimer’s. […]

“California sober” has gone from niche phrase to mainstream trend—ditch the drinks, keep the weed. But can cannabis actually help people cut back on alcohol, or is it just swapping one habit for another? A new experiment from Brown University offers some of the clearest evidence yet that getting high can, at least in the […]

If your workout ends the second you rack the last weight, you’re missing the part your body craves most: recovery. Gyms, hotels and wellness clubs are starting to treat recovery the way they once treated cardio—essential, not optional—and JK Wellness is helping them do it in a way that feels more like a spa than […]

Gold’s Gym is going back to its roots in Southern California, opening the region to new franchisees for the first time in over three decades. The move follows a major deal with EoS Fitness, which acquired 23 Gold’s Gym SoCal clubs, including high-profile locations in the Beverly Center, Hollywood, Long Beach and Santa Barbara. EoS […]