Here’s why fitness buffs do dead bugs for a strong core — growing research

We look up to athletes for a lot of reasons. They are the gladiators of our day. They enter an arena and put their bodies on the line specifically for our entertainment. But to do that, there has to be a commitment. A mindset to shoot for the best of the best and devote everything you are to the perfection of your battle. For us, we tend to revere those men who reach the peak of human performance and want to recreate it in the best way we can. Sure, we can follow their fitness routines, but deep down we know we’ll likely never come close. So, instead, we buy their gear. The things they wear to perform and to chase their own glory. Michael Jordan revolutionized this with his shoes, and now the top athletes recreate it with their own collections.

Ja’Marr Chase, Cincinnati’s #1 wide receiver, chose Fabletics to be his vessel of greatness, and his third drop with the brand goes beyond the gridiron, and we got a chance to go beyond it with him.

When I was in the Army, I woke up at 4 am (my clock no longer has two fours), and I would just get to running eight miles. Then go back to bed. No stretching. No warm-up. No cool down. It was never a problem. I am no longer twenty; I am sorry to say. And that means my body needs more. As a matter of fact, it needed more way back then too. I got an opportunity to sit down with chiropractor and recovery expert Dr. Jason Wersland, the man behind that percussive massage gun you have seen at every gym, every yoga studio, and even a lot of office buildings. What was it about his creation under his company, Therabody, that took over the wellness and recovery industries? I asked him. And I dug into why us guys have a hard time accepting that we’re getting older and need to spend more time in prep and recovery.

Just do something. The small decisions you make every day – moving your body, prioritizing sleep, managing stress, taking a few minutes to recover – they compound over time. That’s where real change happens. – Dr. Jason Wersland, Founder, Therabody

First and foremost, anyone who dares throw on boxing gloves and headgear to step into a ring deserves all the respect in the world. It doesn’t matter if you’re sparring in a boxing gym, going three rounds as an amateur, or fighting a sanctioned match. It’s the kind of moxie you can’t help but admire.

Second of all, I won’t lie to you and tell you that my boxing journey began inside a hot and humid boxing gym, like the ones Rocky Balboa trained in during Rocky and Rocky II; far from it. I was 6 years old when I saw my first fight: Julio Cesar Chavez vs. Meldrick Taylor for the WBC light welterweight championship of the world in 1990. I became obsessed with the sport thanks to Oscar De La Hoya’s marvelous run in the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, where the Golden Boy from East Los Angeles won the gold medal. I told Oscar as much when I interviewed him at length in 2023.