Issue #184: My Daily Workout Routine and 10+ Favorite Apps

From effective strength programs to mind-body connection.

📚 Pieces You’ll Never Get Back by Samina Ali: Five days after giving birth to her son Ishmael, Samina awakes from a coma with significant memory loss, from nearly dying from a rare form of preeclampsia her doctors missed. Her stunning memoir, out today, straddles cultures, and even life and death, as Ali recovers painstakingly slowly, navigating motherhood while putting herself back together like a puzzle.

📺 ‘Paradise’ on Hulu: There are so many good dramas out right now that this dystopian political thriller (from “This is Us” creator Dan Fogelman) may need to wait until we all catch up on “The Pitt,” “White Lotus,” and “Severance.” The show alternates between a “present-day” timeline in a sort of utopian community, and five years prior, when Sterling K. Brown is hired to be the President’s right-hand Secret Service agent. I don’t want to give away too much, so just trust me (and

Grace Atwood

, who brought it to my attention!).

🎥 ‘In the Summers’ movie on Hulu and Disney+: This Sundance darling, released this month on Hulu, follows siblings Eva and Violet from childhood to adulthood, as they visit their father in New Mexico over four summers. Its themes has resonances with ‘Aftersun’ and The Hypocrite, in which daughters grow to understand their father’s flaws.

I’m also excited to read Broken Country by Clare Leslie Hall, which I first came across through

Olivia Muenter

’s glowing review of it, and Dream Count by Chimamanda Ngozi Adiche (both out today!).

I’ve always played sports, so when I graduated from college, fitness classes became a familiar anchor when everything else in my life was changing. I had just moved to New York for a graduate program and new job, and several mornings a week, I left my apartment before sunrise for whatever bike or mat I had snagged on ClassPass. The next hour would pass in a rush of sweaty, happy bliss until the moment the instructor uttered the word “stretch,” and half the room would unclip and speed-walk in an unspoken race to the two available showers, before crowding around steamy mirrors to apply our makeup for work. I loved it.

When the pandemic hit, I naturally pivoted to online classes as a way to maintain my sanity, and find some semblance of normalcy and community from inside my apartment. I bought weights, then a Peloton, even as I swore I’d head back to studios the moment restrictions lifted. Flash-forward five years, and my current routine includes the best of both worlds: daily workouts at home, as well as regular visits to my favorite hot yoga studio.

Issue #84: A Tutorial for Post-Gym Hair (and 6 Things of Note)

The investment, in both time and money (I spend between $100 and $200/month on exercise), is sizable, but is also one of the most important things I do for my mental health. After all, regular exercise decreases our anxiety and depression, increases our cognitive ability and memory, and makes us happier across the board. I’ve also noticed the ways in which it helps me pay attention, and is the single quickest way to feel better when I’m having a bad day. Since beginning my clinical internship in January, daily exercise has become a nonnegotiable for me. Every morning looks a little different, whether a high-intensity or recovery day, but the consistency of movement grounds me. It provides a daily, mindful touchpoint with my body, and allows me to show up as a stable container for my clients. Read on for:

• 10+ of my favorite at-home workout apps, from targeted strength programs, to Pilates classes that center mindful movement

• What my specific workout routine looks like, for “on” days and “off” days

• Tips for maintaining a consistent routine

• Links to my long-time favorite sports bras and running shorts!