On Sunday February 9, 2025 the Philadelphia Eagles will take on the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX. Travis Kelce will be there. Taylor Swift will no doubt be cheering him on. Kendrick Lamar is slated to perform the halftime show. There’s a lot to look forward to.

Here at șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű, we are still thinking about an infographic published by the in the fall of 2024, which charts, of all things, the sheer volume of Uncrustables being consumed by the NFL. Yes, that’s right, if you haven’t heard, professional football players eat an ungodly amount of the pre-packaged, crust-cut-off, frozen peanut butter and jelly sandwiches sold by Smuckers and available in virtually every grocery store. According to the Athletic, NFL teams are tucking into somewhere upwards of 80,000 Uncrustables a year. And that’s just among the teams that chose to respond to their inquiry.

For their part, Smuckers has made the most of players’ love of their iconic sammie, with teams like the Ravens and players like the Kelce brothers.

Now, I don’t claim to be a nutritionist, but I do devote quite a bit of rent-free space in my brain—and quite a bit of my time—to reading about and researching the latest science on diet and nutrition. And I try to reasonably modify my own and my family’s diet in response to evidence-based things that I learn.

Alcohol is connected to higher risks of at least seven types of cancer,? Alrighty, Aperol Spritzes only on special occasions moving forward. ? Never going to buy a can without BPA-free on the label! And on down the line to microplastics in kitchenware. You get the gist.

So I think what surprises me most about Uncrustables as professional athlete fuel is my perception that they fall into that most contemporary of negative food categories: ultraprocessed. Although the research on the effects of ultraprocessed foods is still emerging, early , among other potential downstream health considerations. So I guess I would assume they are, broadly put, something to be avoided, especially in the context of peak athletic performance.

But let’s challenge my assumptions, starting with my broad brush view of ultraprocessing. As a recent article published on our sister site , “Sports nutrition” requires ultraprocessing in order “to create fast-digesting carbohydrates in the form of gels, chews, and beverages to keep your muscles adequately fueled.” The ultraprocessed factor of certain specially manufactured foodstuffs, arguesÌęTriathlete, ensures their capacity to meet nutritional needs in a unique way for endurance athletes. Again, as a total non-nutritionist, that feels like a fair point in their favor.

Peanut Butter and Jellies Are Pretty Amazing Workout Calories

And we do know that PB&Js are a great workout option.

șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű writer Michael Easter put it simply in a 2018 story he wrote on peanut butter and jelly sandwiches as the unassuming—but ultimate—adventure fuel: “A basic PB&J—sliced white bread, Jif, and grape jelly—contains 350 calories and 16, 45, and 11 grams of fat, carbs, and protein, respectively. That’s roughly equivalent to a Peanut Butter ProBar—a favorite among endurance athletes—with its 380 calories, 20 grams of fat, 43 grams of carbohydrates, and 11 grams of protein.” And, according to his estimates, they “[clock] in at roughly 25 cents each.”

Kelly Jones, a registered dietitian, certified specialist in sports dietetics, and owner of and told me that if she were my nutritionist, she’d recommend making my own PB&J or peanut butter banana sandwich “out of whole grain bread and having half or a full one depending on the timing before activity” to net out greater nutrient density.

Uncrustables aren’t that far off a typical homemade PB&J in their caloric content, coming in at around 210 calories with 28 grams of carbs, 6 grams of protein, 9 grams of fat, and 8 to 10 grams of added sugar. On Amazon, , which makes the cost somewhere in the neighborhood of $2.75 per sandwich. And there’s definitely something to be said for the convenience of an Uncrustable when it comes to the per-unit price breakdown.

So I guess my first assumption—that peanut butter and jelly sandwiches aren’t the best thing to eat when working out—is pretty far off the mark. That said, making one at home is definitely a better bang for your buck and probably has denser nutritional value.

But who wants to make 80,000 homemade PB&Js in a year?

What Do Nutritionists Say About Uncrustables?

To get more perspective—and to test more of my assumptions—I reached out to , a nutritionist and certified personal trainer based in Denver, Colorado. Carmichael runs her own nutrition and fitness company, Team Humble Yourself, where the mission is to educate and empower women to take responsibility for their habits within nutrition and fitness.

Carmichael gave me some really helpful food for thought. She said she likes “to think of nutrition as paralleling finance. Like a budget, you can spend your money on whatever you want, but long term, all the short-term gratification spending (like consistently eating a highly processed diet) will not lead you to an early retirement or a life full of financial freedom because of small choices that were made daily.”

As such, an Uncrustable here or there is totally fine, but “whole foods are elite,” as she said. “It takes less energy to digest ultraprocessed foods. It takes more energy (calories) to digest and process whole foods, so relying on more of a processed item for recovery isn’t something that should be habitual.”

Jones added another layer of complexity to my thinking about ultraprocessed foods as a part of athletic training and recovery. She noted that “rather than label all ultraprocessed foods as unhealthy, we should recognize they fall on a spectrum from low to high nutrient density. Athletes who burn 1,000 calories or more per day participating in their sport may have more flexibility to choose foods such as Uncrustables in their diet versus the average American just working to fit in three workouts each week.”

To emphasize that spectrum of ultraprocessing in food, Jones noted that Oreos may be an obvious example to most people, but few recognize canned beans or Greek yogurt as ultraprocessed foods. In fact, I think most of us would agree that the latter examples fall into our idea of healthy eating.

Other Post-Workout Snack Options

Carmichael gave me a whole list of great ideas for post-workout fuel that she believes can help replenish your body’s glycogen storage, repair and rebuild muscle, and enhance metabolic function. She suggested, “post workout, if you’re not ready for a bigger meal, a large bowl of yogurt or cottage cheese paired with a fruit and honey, or even a slice of toast with some turkey” are all great options.

From Carmichael’s perspective, it’s all about moderation. “Make a whole food snack or meal after a workout more of a habit, and have something like an Uncrustable when you really want it,” she said. “Moderation is key for everything!”

Even Uncrustables.

Ryleigh Nucilli is °żłÜłÙČőŸ±»ć±đ’s columnist for the Pulse. Once her dad, Rob, wanted to try eating Uncrustables on a long road trip, but her sister insisted he eat the homemade variety—served on hot dog buns.

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Mick Jagger is 81 years old and on the Rolling Stones’ “Hackney Diamonds” tour. The shows run somewhere between two and two-and-a-half hours long. Jagger is running, gyrating, singing, and dancing at each one. I couldn’t help but notice that Jagger is in incredible shape—for a person at any age. How does he do it? And what would it feel like to work out like him?

How to Work Out Like Mick Jagger

Jagger has worked with the Norwegian personal trainer Torje Eike for many years, and cite yoga, dancing, strength training, sprinting, and meditation asÌęthe types of workouts that Jagger tends to do five to six days each week.

Using these online sources—along with videos Jagger has shared and interviews he has given—I put together a five-day Jagger workout plan that incorporates each of his core fitness practices.

And then I tried it.

Day 1: 1 Hour of Vinyasa Yoga to Start the Day

I decided to start my Jagger week in my comfort zone with a form of physical activity we both seem to love: yoga. I practice vinyasa two to three times a week and have done soÌęon and off for a decade.

Today’s class started with a dash of kismet, though. The instructor at my usual studio, ,Ìęasked if anyone in the room was familiar with Rick Rubin. Surely she can’t be talking about the record producer, right? I thought to myself as I tentatively raised my hand. But Rick Rubin, the unparalleled American producer of albums ranging from The Beastie Boys’ 1984 License to Ill to Mick Jagger’s 1993 Wandering Spirit,Ìęwas exactly who she was talking about. She used Rubin’s thoughts on creativity to ground that day’s practice, which ended up going pretty heavy on the chair poses if you ask me.

Mick, are you here with us in the room right now?

Day 2: Transcendental Meditation and Strength Training

I’m not going to lie; I was dreading the meditation component of Jagger’s routine. will tell you that meditation is one of his major habits. Except, and this is important, I have spent at least 15 of my 36 years on the planet very aware that meditation might help quiet my usually screaming mind. But I’ve always refused to do it because it sounds a little too quiet. And 15 minutes sounds like a very long time.

So, since I’m a meditation avoider and thus a total novice, I did some cursory research on Transcendental Meditation before I sat down to try it. From what I , picking a mantra, one that consists of sounds vs. meanings, and repeating that mantra throughout the practice serves as step one. Step two is sitting for 15 to 20 minutes twice a day, choosing a comfortable position, and repeating the mantra until the end of the allotted time.

Obviously, I went for the 15-minute option. I chose the classic Sanskrit “Om” as my mantra and settled into a comfortable position in my office and guest room. As the minutes ticked by, I resisted the urge to check the remaining time on my phone and to focus on the meditation.

And, honestly, it was kind of great. The time passed much faster than I expected. I assumed I was around the five-minute mark when the timer went off to signal 15. Repeating the mantra made it easier to push out intrusive thoughts, and I felt myself settle into silence in a way that is usually pretty elusive to me. I think I might keep meditating even after my Jagger week.

Oh, I also did strength training on Day 2Ìębecause Jagger gets in a few good gym workouts each week, and weight training is already part of my regular routine. I performed bench presses, shoulder presses, tricep extensions, flys, concentration curls, medicine ball twists, incline bench with dumbbells, and kettlebell shrugs.

Not bad.

Day 3: 1+ Hour of Vinyasa and Sprints

Most places I looked online included a striking detail about Jagger’s purported regimen: in the past at least, he’s done sprints to keep in shape. A lifetime ago, I, too, regularly did 100-meter sprints, and I was actually very good at them. I was a high school soccer player who set the all-time scoring record for the sport at my high school because, in addition to a strong right foot, I was just really, really fast.

But then,Ìęclose to 20 years elapsed, and I became a sedentary knowledge worker and had a baby. I can’t say sprinting is part of my week unless we’re talking about hustling behind my child after she darts toward the street in front of our house.

So sprinting hurt, and I went relatively easy on myself since it had been a while.ÌęI opted to do four 100-meter sprints with a ten-minute warmup consisting of a short jog, leg swings, and some stretching. I tried to be reasonable, too, and get some negative splits going by starting at around 70 percent of my already diminished sprinting capacity. I was huffing and puffing by the end, but I made it through, which was my singular goal for this exercise.

I should note that I also did an hour and 15 minutes of vinyasa yoga in the evening. I’m not sure if Mick Jagger combines workout types across his days, but I have to imagine that if he’s feeling up to it, he does.

Day 4: Dance Workout

No Jagger workout week could exist without at least one . (And in one , Jagger said he does two dance workouts a week.) I kept it simple and found a , though I’m certain Jagger must be able to dance for much longer stretches.

Dancing isn’t at all part of my regular regimen, and it was hard. It required coordination and speed, and I had to keep my eyes on the screen to be able to follow the instructions with any semblance of proficiency. I think the cardio component of this workout is great, and I totally get why it makes sense for someone performing “I Can’t Get No Satisfaction” on the regular, but I’m not sure I’d subject myself to this particular form of training again. My dancing is best saved for family wedding receptions.

Day 5: Strength Training

On my final day of Jagger Week, I repeated my strength training circuit from Day 2. This is my regular lifting routine, and it makes my arms and back feel strong and pliable. I figured I would end the Jagger week in my own comfort zone.

Should You Work Out Like Mick Jagger?

I spoke with , a former Division 1 athlete, SoulCycle instructor, and certified personal trainer, to get her take on the workout plan I put together, as well as what she would suggest for anyone who really does want to get started working out like Jagger.

Gaines told me it would be best to ease into the Jagger-style workout if you’re a relatively sedentary person. She recommends working out two to three times per week for the first month, building up to four times per week in month two, and maxing out at five to six times per week in month three. “For the first month, I would suggest strength training two times per week and cardio once a week,” she says. “Strength training will help prevent injuries and will give your muscles the foundation to take on other activities, such as dance or yoga.”

If my week as Mick Jagger taught me anything, it’s that a diversified workout plan and a focus on mindfulness feel really good. If I were to habituate some of what I tested out this week—and move beyond the initial soreness—I think I would feel really balanced and strong.

And, as Gaines reminded me, the most important thing to remember when starting any routine is to take it easy on yourself. “Have patience in building a program that works best for you, but also patience in getting the results you are looking for, she says. “The best way to build a Jagger-style regimen would be over time, so patience is key.”

Ryleigh Nucilli is the former Director of Digital Content at National Geographic and the former Digital Managing Editor at șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű Online. Sturgill Simpson is her favorite musician, but she’s not sure what he does to stay in shape.

The post I Worked Out Like 81-Year-Old Mick Jagger for a Week. Here’s What Happened. appeared first on șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű Online.

Growing up in South Florida, a mere 30 minutes from the Everglades, the creatures that go bump in the night never really scared me, especially when it came to snakes. When I discovered snake yoga was offered an hour away from my current home in West Los Angeles, California, I was intrigued. I’ve been practicing yoga for four years and have enjoyed my fair share of vinyasas and sun salutations, but synthesizing my practice with snakes would take it to an entirely different level.

On a cloudy December day, I embarked on an hour-long trek on the 405 to . Studio owner Tess Cao opened the door to a private entrance, and I was greeted by by macrame wall art and the tangy smell of incense.

Tess and her husband, Huy Cao, opened LXR studios in 2019, but it wasn’t until the pandemic that the idea of snake yoga was born. Some people picked up baking bread or running during isolation, but Tess decided to pick up a ball python. She bought her first snake, Howlite, and integrated it into her daily yoga practice.

In June 2024, the Caos launched snake yoga. Today, LXR offers two every week for $160 per class. As it is a private practice, only one to three people are allowed in the class.

I sat on a bench in the welcome area as Tess introduced me to one of her beloved pythons. She demonstrated how to correctly handle one: gently supporting it behind the head, ensuring to keep the belly down, and not touching the snake’s face or neck. I took a turn holding the snake in my arms while sitting on the bench and getting a feel for the support and weight of the animal before meeting the one I’d holdÌęduring practice.

Next, I selected a bowl from a row lined up on a table. Each contained a different crystal hidden beneath it that represented which snake I would be paired with. I picked the Larvikite crystal, which was the size of my thumbnail and had a silver-blue shimmer; it representsÌęgrounding, tranquility, and transformation.

After the meet-and-greet and selection process, I headed to the practice room. As I rolled out my mat, I took in my surroundings of the studio’s backdrop. There were pythonÌęcages all stacked on top of each other that formed a wall of snakes. I settled into the jungle-like space, and it was time to begin.

Practice started like any other: cats and cows and deep inhales and exhales. But when it was time for the first Mountain Pose, Tess gently placed Larvikite intoÌęmy palms. I looked in front of me at the four-foot long, six-pound, bone-white snake as it settled into my hands, grounding itself in the space between my thumb and index finger. It wrapped around both of my arms and slithered up to my chest before descending back down to my hips.

Fear bubbled up in my chest, and my diaphragmatic breathwork turned into nervous tension. From there, my classmates and I moved into Tree Pose, using our snakes as extensions of our branches.

At this point, I was sweating—my forehead was soaked, and I was breathing deeply with anxiety and apprehension. I’m used to practicing in a room heated to 112 degrees Fahrenheit, and this class was closer to 75 degrees. But adding a six-pound weight in the form of a snake mimicked my usual Yoga Sculpt classes. While meditating in a pose, my limbs began to shake from the weighted resistance.

Breathwork, the act of breathing in and out in conjunction with various poses and movements, is a key component of yoga practice. The added python made it difficult for me to breathe, causing me to break into a sweat. I found it hard to focus on my breath while I felt the spine of a snake crawling over my shoulders. Larvikite and I were only one-third of the way through the class and I already felt exhausted. But as I got used to the snake, it became easier to keep up my concentration.

After Tree Pose, I transitioned to a Warrior Pose. I have never felt more like a warrior than with my legs spread wide, in a fighting stance, with a serpent wrapped around my neck. At the precise peak of our Warrior Two, Tess recounted the ancient royals and pharaohs of 50 B.C. who would wear snakes as accessories to display their power and status. At this moment, Larvikite was no longer a focus in my practice but had become a part of it.

Next, came Camel Pose. While I placed my hands on my lower back, opening up my chest to the ceiling, Larvikite explored my posterior. I felt the push of her muscles contracting as she slithered down my spine, giving me a slight massage. Because pythons are cold-blooded and use their environment to regulate their temperature, Larkavite was attracted to my body heat. I felt her forked tongue flick out to take in her surroundings as she slithered from my back to between my arms.

The practice was closing and our cool-down to Supine started. I went to touch my toes and Larvikite stretched with me, both of us grounding ourselves from the practice. We went into a Runner’s Lunge, and I felt at peace focusing on the deep stretch while Larvikite wrapped around my neck. We then transitioned into our final Savasana, Larvikite gave a final slither across my body before Tess came to collect her. By the end of our practice, I missed having a friend attached to me by the hip, arm, or shoulder.

Since I’ve taken the class, I’ve successfully boasted about the experience to every person who will listen. Initially, I expected the practice to be just another trendy yoga class that substituteÌęgoats with snakes, but Larvikite helped me find new depths to my breathwork and concentration. I won’t be adopting a ball python anytime soon, but I’d practice yoga every week with a snake if I could. For now, though, I’ll keep working on my cobra pose.

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I recently saw a Reddit thread that started with a deceptively simple question. On the subreddit r/bitcheswithtaste, : “Are we wearing Uggs this year? I wanted Uggs so badly in high school and never had them but after seeing them come back last year I am considering getting a pair for this fall. Are they back in style for good? Or was this just temporary?”

To understand this question—and all the weight it carries—we might need a short history lesson. In the early aughts, socialitesÌęParis Hilton and Nicole RichieÌęruled the small screenÌęon The Simple Life. The slender, flippable Motorola Razr phone reigned supreme (sorry, Nokia brick) and found its place in the back pockets of teenagers the nation over. Trucker hats, dresses over jeans, Juicy Couture tracksuits, hair scrunched with so much Aussie mousse that it continuously looked crunchy and wet: this was the aesthetic of many a millennial in their prime. I would know. I was there.

Circa 2007, Uggs were expensive and hard to get your hands on. I remember scouring the aisles of a Nordstrom Rack in the Cleveland suburb of Westlake, Ohio, until I finally foundÌęa pair of mint green, size 6 Uggs. I, too, could participate in the trend. And at a discount!

And then, like so many other artifacts of the increasingly fast-fast fashion cycles that we inhabit, Uggs were out and branded as “cheugy” by the late 2010s. The shoes remained relegated to the margins of fashion until 2023, when model in a pair of tiny white shorts that resembled men’s underwear and a pair of Ultra single-handedly reviving the aughts staple. .

But there’s another response to the Redditor’s question that flitted through my mind as I read the original post. Did Uggs really ever go away? Or were they always there, lurking unfashionably, stalwartly serving practical purposes for outdoor enthusiasts? I’d been happily packing Uggs for car camping trips for well over a decade by the time Bella Hadid performed the resurrection. And I knew from talking to other folks at șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű that they found all manner of uses for Uggs in the adventures they were having.

So, what gives? Did Uggs die? Or had they just been hiding in the woods?

The Original Departure of Uggs

To be fair, the initial rise and fall of the Ugg boot wasn’t solely driven by changing aesthetic preferences, although they played a big part. Delving into recent history suggests that concerns over the production of Uggs—along with some high-profile celebrity campaigns—brought legitimate skepticism to the animal welfare component of their production. One such highly memorable non-endorsement came from Pamela Anderson who, after wearing Uggs on the set of Baywatch and subsequently learning they were made of sheepskin, told in 2007: “I feel so guilty for that craze being started around Baywatch days—I used to wear them with my red swimsuit to keep warm—never realizing that they were SKIN! Do NOT buy UGGs!”

The animal welfare group PETA has long campaigned for that uses real hide, and they’ve taken Uggs to task over the years for their use of real sheep.

The Ugg brand states on their website that, for them, “it is essential that all animal-based materials we use are sourced from animals that have been raised humanely using sound animal husbandry.” To ensure this, they say they “use an internationally-accepted welfare standard for livestock” called the .

And, Uggs actually do come in vegan options now, which .

But What If They Never Really Went Away?

I never got rid of my Uggs despite being told by my much-hipper younger sister that they were no longer cool, because, well, I wasn’t wearing them to be cool anymore. My once-cutting-edge mint green Uggs had gone the way of the minivan: their functionality usurped their image. I didn’t don them for an early morning dog walk on a snowy day to impress my friends and neighbors with my sartorial sensibility. I wore themÌębecause they were warm, and I didn’t need to worry about socks. I could go directly from slippers to Uggs with little friction.

I asked my colleagues at șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű to share a little on their relationship with Uggs if they had one, and it seems I’m not the only person who has worn them regardless of the trend cycle.

Fellow millennial Abigail Wise, digital director of șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű, told me: “For years, my climbing partners have made fun of what we call my ‘approach Uggs.’ But even the relentless teasing couldn’t stop me from slipping on my favorite crag shoes. They’re easy to pull on between climbs, which gives my toes a break from restrictive climbing shoes, and they keep my feet warm on chilly mornings without having to bother with tying laces—or even socks.”

Mary Turner, senior brand director for șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű, has also been letting Uggs keep her feet toasty for adventure. “I live in my ankle-height Uggs all winter. No socks needed, just slide ’em on and head to yoga
 Makes life so easy!”

And, Teaghan Skulszki, social media editor and a card-carrying member of Gen Z, says that she first started wearing Uggs in elementary school.Ìę“As a little girl, I remember going to school with everyone matching their Uggs, instantly creating a connection and community. Today, that community has transitioned to my friends in the outdoor community. With all of the different styles that have come outÌęrecently, I’ve been able to accommodate my different pairs of Uggs to different versions of myself. I have my comfy slip-ons that I throw on after a long hike to relax or my thrifted knee-high leather UGG boots that have survived several Coachella festivals. Uggs are reflected in all different areas of my life and match all of my different personas and styles. They are timeless and adapt and grow as I have.”

So there you have it. We may not all be wearing platform Uggs with men’s underwear, but we’re wearing them. And we have been for some time.

Ryleigh Nucilli is a digital consultant and The Pulse columnist who started her love affair with Uggs in a steeply discounted pair of mint greens. Now, she owns some Baileys for outside and some Cozy Slippers for indoors. She’s writing this bio wearing said slippers. They are cozy.

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Earlier this fall, GQ’s Global Style Director, Noah Johnson, wrote an obituary for gorpcore: “[gorpcore] as a trend
 is dead. Let it be known.” For the uninitiated, “gorpcore” uses an acronym for trail mix (“good old raisins and peanuts,” although that meaning is ) to describe aÌęstyle that involves wearing outdoorsy clothes as streetwear.ÌęThe term, which has its origins in “normcore,” was coined by former New York Magazine writer Jason Chen in 2017.

Here’s the thing, though, if gorpcore is dead, why is Prada selling (that look a lot like regular ol’ Carhartts)? Why are outlets like theÌęNew York Post still breathlessly ? Why did a collaboration between break the internet for a day? Why did the iconic ski brand Salomon set up a aimed at courting a new, high-fashion consumer base?

In reality, the title of the GQ piece, “,” is a bit deceptive. When Johnson eulogizes gorpcore, he doesn’t mean that you won’t be seeing men and women from Brooklyn to the Harper’s Ferry headquarters of the Appalachian Trail in the North Face, Marmot, Salomon, and Patagonia. Instead, he argues that the style has become so ubiquitous it shouldn’t be considered a new trend anymore.

So where do $1,000 fleeces fit in?

To make sense of some of 2024’s most outlandish high-end outdoor wear, I talked to , the internet’s foremost men’s fashion historian, who helped me put the year’s key pieces into a broader context.

The Prada Barn Coat, a Cool $4,900

First up: Prada’s canvas barn coat, which the fashion blog In the Groove named The coat, which apparently became the , looks like something Kevin Costner’s Yellowstone character might wear while taking a rideabout on the family ranch. That, plus the Prada triangle logo. Its price is listed at $4,900. (There’s also a cropped version, which sells for $3,700.) The Prada site describes it as “borrowed from menswear” and “enhanced with a distressed effect.”

“Distressed effect” really stayed with me. Isn’t there something a little ironic about a $4,900 pre-worn-out jacket that is trying to mimic the type of coat that someone would actually distress over time while wearingÌęit, typically at work? I grew up in a small West Virginia town in the late nineties and early aughts. The men I knew wearing barn coats (Carhartts, specifically) definitely didn’t purchase them pre-distressed, and they certainly would have something to say about anyone who did.

But, according to Guy, something like the Prada canvas coat can really be seen as a celebration of the values associated with its original uses. From his point of view, all fashion choices are the result of the cultural values of the period from which they emerge.

Think about it: What other pop culture or trends might suggest that Western-adjacent, work-worn clothing would be having a moment right now that signals that culture is interested? Yellowstone is a great example. So are the insanely popular videos. Even in recent years. And what are the cultural values associated with ranching? Hard work, fortitude, honesty, independence, self reliance, connection to the land, and traditional masculinity are a few that come to mind. These values are also tied deeply to at least one version of the general American ethos.

Guy says that when different groups become culturally respected and reflect societal values, their style choices—even if they’re initially made for technical functionality—end up influencing the broader population. Consider the fact that Marmot, Patagonia, and the North Face all have their own version of the canvas barn coat. (I love my Marmot prairie jacket that I bought a few years ago, and the only time I’ve been on the prairie is when I drove through it.) And it’s likely that none of those more traditional outdoor brands started with a vision of creating aesthetic rancher-style workwear coats. They likely also didn’t have a core customer base of ranchers and farmers looking to upgrade their jackets. The brands created these garments to meet emerging consumer taste.

Still, does close to $5,000 for a pre-distressed coat make any sense? “The reason we celebrate these things, but then also create absurdly expensive versions is because
 individuals also seek status,” says Guy.

When there are enough versions of a beloved item to meet various individuals’ price points, one way to separate yourself from the rabble is to buy the really, really expensive one.

So ranching-farming-barn culture is having a moment. People are motivated to show status. I’m still good with my dad’s vintage Carhartt from the eighties, though.

$1,000 Fleeces

If people generally aspire to the life and values that go with the barn coat aesthetic—so much so that we’re now seeing super expensive luxury versions of the staple—how do thousand-dollar fleeces, like the ones , fit in?

The answer is pretty simple. The values associated with outdoorsy lifestyles are also aspirational for many, even if they don’t have imminent plans for a long thru-hike in their . And what are those values? Hopefully they’re familiar to anyone who considers themselves an outdoors lover: adventurousness, self discovery, environmental stewardship, physical prowess, community, self sufficiency, and technical expertise to name a few. These values, plus the promises of escape and leisure that a trip to the wilderness can provide, roll up into gorpcore style choices. Add in the basic human desire to flex status, and it makes sense why you wouldÌęend up with inaccessibly expensive all-wool fleece pullovers.

Hasn’t Outdoor Gear Always Been About Status?

My dad is a consummate outdoorsman. When I was young, he hiked and hunted. He taught me to identify North American trees and walk quietly through the woods. I have vivid memories of watching him and my uncles process a buck that they’d killed up a snowy run in West Virginia and then lugged back over the miles to a humble camp that served as their base. And they did all of it in Coleman gear.

It wasn’t until I went to college at an elite Southern university that Patagonia Synchillas entered my consciousness as a marker of status. The kids in the right sororities and fraternities all knew that you paired your Synchilla with Chubbies and artfully worn out Sperries. Those of us who didn’t come from quite the same backgrounds had to quickly make sense of the way core outdoor gear fit into the social hierarchy. I bought my first Patagonia fleece (not quite a Synchilla but close enough) at a steep discount as part of a bulk order my cross-country team made. I felt myself relax as I settled into its cozy heft on campus. Now, I think I own upwards of a dozen Patagonia, Marmot, North Face, and Cotopaxi fleeces and jackets. When I had the chance to signal my values and status, I seized it in the way Guy helped me understand.

Does that mean I’m going to start spending a grand on Austrian-made fleeces anytime soon? I’d like to say no, that’s a bridge too far, but consumer desire can be a funny thing. Even my own is a little bit unscrutable.

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December 8, 2024, marks the day that Taylor Swift ends her record-shattering Eras Tour. It lasted 22 months, spanned over five continents, and earned more money than any tour that had ever come before it, grossing more than $1 billion in its first year alone.

At șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű, we wanted to pay homage to Swift’s Eras achievements through the lens of distance traveled, which, we realized, must also be superlative. And to be clear, we aren’t referencing the controversies surrounding her . We wanted to know: HowÌęmuch ground did Swift—herself—cover over the course of her 149 performances?

To get an answer, we devised a nifty method to calculate how many steps she might have taken at each of her shows. We reviewed three different concerts from the tour, one from its , , and . Within each of the selected concerts, we watched ten randomly chosen one-minute intervals, and countedÌęthe number of steps taken each minute. This allowed us to calculate her average steps per show and to create a rough total of steps across all her performances.

An average Eras Tour concert runs for about 3.5 hours, which is 210 minutes. We based our numbers on that average show length.

Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour by the Numbers

Here’s where we landed on Swift’s Eras Tour distance.

Miles Covered

Between dancing and walking across the stage, Swift took somewhere in the neighborhood of 657,090 steps throughout the durationÌęof the Eras Tour. That’s the equivalent of 329 miles walked across the stage.

Races Completed

It also equates to roughly 12.5 regular-length marathons, 6.5 50-mile ultramarathons, and 3.3 100-mile .

Calories Burned

Using the average number of calories burned per mile walked (which is 100), Swift expended something like 32,900 calories—just in steps. That number is to say nothing of the other dancing, squatting, gyrating, and guitar-holding she did onstage, which burned additional calories, too.

Distance Traveled

Let’s put her steps on a map. Looking at the globe, Swift walked a distance longer than the length of Scotland or the state of Massachusetts. She completed the extent of the John Muir Trail, plus an extra 100 miles.

And she did most of it in thigh-high-heeled boots.

Our guess is that Swift is probably more impressed with the fiscal records she shattered during Eras or the meaningful interactions she’s had with her legions of fans. But we’re not going to lie, 6.5 ultramarathons are pretty cool, too.

Ryleigh Nucilli is not a self-described Swiftie, but she’ll admit to listening to “The Man” on repeat. When she’s not calculating musical superstars’ step counts, she’s reading, writing, and consulting for digital brands.

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For the past two summers, TikToks of Paul Mescal’s training regimen for Ridley Scott’s Gladiator II have gone viral. Mescal, an Irish actor known for his breakout role in Hulu’s adaptation of the Sally Rooney novel Normal People, looks ripped. , which has over 2 million views, Mescal does continuous upright rows with dumbbells for over 20 seconds. I can’t discern the weight he’s holding, but I can see from his strainedÌęface and measured breathing that it isn’t light.

5 stars

I have to be honest, though, when the internet started salivating over Mescal’s physique, I wondered, is that—at all—what gladiators looked like? What do we actually know about gladiators’ diet, exercise, and appearance? Frankly, it all seems ripe for some real Hollywood inaccuracy.

To answer my questions, I talked to Alexander Mariotti, a.k.a “.” Mariotti, who has been a historical consultant on numerous films and television series, including Gladiator II, also lives a bit like a gladiator, so he is a wealth of information on my Paul Mescal-focused queries andÌęthe gladiator diet, exercise, and philosophy in a much broader sense.

OUTSIDE: We’ve all seen the videos of Paul Mescal working out to play Lucius in Gladiator II. Does his physique align with what we know about real gladiators?
MARIOTTI: Well, [Mescal’s body] is built for a different reason. It’s a physique built for a short period of time and not to be an enduring athlete. So, the aesthetic is important for the movie, but it doesn’t actually have to perform. The Romans believed, above all, that the body should be functional. And certainly, I think for people like Mescal when you’re training, there is a level of functionality, too, because he’s got to perform all those scenes.

So the Romans weren’t into how fit they looked?
There’s a very interesting break in culture between the Romans and the Greeks (after the Romans conquered the Greeks), where the Greeks became obsessed with diets, and they wanted to look like statues (). If you look at modern gym culture, it’s very much the same. You’ve got some people who aesthetically look great, but they can’t do anything. They’re physically perfect, but they can’t run, can’t lift, can’t play. I see that in our culture as well, with what the Romans warned about: excessive obsession with the “look.”

Work Out Like a Gladiator

So, what do we actually know about how gladiators trained? Is there such a thing as a “gladiator workout?”
I can give you a very good idea, because I use it, and I’ve used it now for probably 15 years. It’s a system called the Tetrad. It’s a four-day split, and it was originally devised by Greek trainers for the Olympics. But it was such a good system that it made its way into the Roman army.

The way it works is that the first day is a preparatory day. The second day they called “an inescapable test of one’s limits.” The third day is rest, because they believe that rest and recovery are very important. And the fourth day is a skills day.

What might using the Tetrad gladiator training system look like for a modern person?
Day 1: On the preparatory day, I tend to do rowing. Nothing’s more ancient than being in a galley on a ship. I’ll do maybe 2,000 meters of rowing and then put in something else aerobic, like a short circuit, but nothing that’s going to exhaust me.

Day 2: The next day is when I do a full workout. The Romans had medicine balls, so you can use a kettlebell, medicine balls, circuits, weights, whatever. But the point is to test the limits of your body, to do more than you can do, to do as much as you can do.

Day 3: The third day you rest; that’s very important.

Day 4: The fourth day is skills. And skills, for me, is boxing training. So, I’ll do circuits on boxing, which are very similar to the movements they used in gladiator fighting.

Eat Like a Gladiator

And what about gladiators’ diets? Were they really the barley eaters that ancient texts describe?
Mike Tyson couldn’t survive off barley alone. The human body hasn’t evolved in the last 2,000 years. Our capabilities are what they are. If you took a heavyweight boxer and you started feeding him barley and ash, he wouldn’t be able to perform at the level he needed. So, yes, they were given sustenance.

They were given in the same way that sumo wrestlers are given stews to fatten them up. You had to, in a very economic way, feed your fighters. It’s findings in places like Herculaneum that are breaking these myths and giving us the understanding that they had very varied and balanced diets—just like us—including meat, fish, and cheese.

Gladiators, they’re just like us. Gladiators were people. Gladiators were high-performance athletes. Just like with modern fitness, their diet and exercise would have been honed and iterated upon by those who had a vested interest in their performance over the course of centuries.

Knowing they prized functionality over appearance gives me a critical eye for my own viewing of pop culture. That said, even if movies aren’t perfectly historically rendered, their role is to entertain and inspire. They’re allowed to deviate.

This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.

Prior to șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű, Ryleigh Nucilli was the Senior Manager of Ranker’s Weird History brand, where she spent lots of time investigating the historical accuracy of pop culture. Her work on gladiators’ diets can also be found in The New York Times bestseller .

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I started watching the hugely popular TV series Yellowstone in 2020, during the height of the COVID pandemic. By then, there were multiple seasons available, and my husband and I had nothing but time. We were hooked.

We’re not the only ones. The second half of Season 5, which came out on November 11, saw more than . Only NFL football had than Yellowstone last season. Character names like Rip and Dutton have seen exponential increases in their use for newborn babies. And, as the recently reported, Americans really want their own piece of the Yellowstone landscape, and the show may be partly to blame.

Which got me thinking: How much of the show is based in reality, and is it really affecting what’s happening in the West? The show is over-the-top melodrama, but writer and co-creator Taylor Sheridan obviously chose real-life conflicts in Montana and other western states to base the plot on. Here are four ways the show bears more resemblance to reality than a casual fan might realize.

1. The Series Suggests Big Developers Will Stop at Nothing to Broker Land “Deals”—That May Be True.

In Yellowstone, the Duttons are constantly navigating nefarious plots to seize their ranch by out-of-state land development interests. Some, it seems, will stop at nothing to dispossess the family in order to capitalize on the value of their land, creating ridiculously violent scenes.

In real life, there is example after example of complicated land deals in Montana and the West in which developments for the wealthy take up premier land. The Yellowstone Club, which is just north of Yellowstone National Park in Big Sky, Montana, has been a bastion for the ultra-wealthy since it opened in the late nineties. Boasting “private powder” and ruthlessly protected privacy for its members, among other features, the Club was created through swaps with the Forest Service, which turned a checkerboard of public and private land into consolidated acreage for the Club’s founder, Tim Blixseth.

While the Yellowstone Club is already controversial among Montanans (few of whom can afford the steep costs of membership, which involve a , annual club dues of $36,000, and annual property owners association dues of $10,000), it’s also trying to expand into a contentious area of the Crazy Mountains. As Ben Ryder Howe reported in New York magazine’s , a group of billionaires associated with the Club has been maneuvering to privatize contested swaths of land that yield access to the Crazies for some time. The Forest Service, ranchers, the Native Crow, the general public, and the Yellowstone Club all seem to have a stake in the outcome.

2. Places Like Bozeman, Montana, Really Are Becoming Overrun with Furs and Fancy Cars.

I know folks who live in Bozeman, and I’ve read plenty of the reporting we’ve done here at șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű (and elsewhere) related to life in mountain towns like Bozeman, where affordable housing shortages, the aftermath of a global pandemic, remote work, and the glamorization of mountain lifestyles have created a rich broth of income inequality that is apparent as you navigate the city.

Writing in 2022 for șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű, Maggie Slepian, who has been based in Bozeman for more than a decade, noted the visual changes on the town and the landscape that were being wrought by the influx of new, wealthy, second-home residents. Watching Yellowstone, some of the fashions my beloved Beth Dutton opted for on her runs to town struck me as a bit much even for her unparalleled character. (Silky sheaths beneath a luxe full-length fur coat, anyone?)

Sartorial considerations aside, affordability remains a major issue, and Yellowstone focuses primarily on the more glamorous troubles a family that owns the largest ranch in the area would face, not on the person being priced out of their apartment or the family acknowledging that they’ll never be able to swing it for a single family home.

3. The Duttons Struggle to Afford Their Ranch. So Do Many Real Families.

In the years since Yellowstone premiered, a number of outlets have interviewed real generational ranchers in Montana to get a sense of their view of the show. The dynamics among the family itself often get highlighted as one of the most believable elements. In an Variety from 2023, a third-generation rancher from Idaho, Jesse Jarvis, highlights the familial dysfunction as one of the most realistic elements of the show.

The Duttons’ interpersonal conflicts are largely driven by the struggle to afford their 700,000-acre ranch. In real life, the total number of farms and ranches in Montana is down 10.3 percent from 2017, from 2022. And with continued interest from developers to obtain large tracts of land in the area, it seems likely land and home prices will continue to rise. Recent data from the indicates a consistent increase of cropland value in Montana from 2012 on. And this is to say nothing of the capital needed to operate a large-scale ranch.

4. Indigenous Land Is Being Acquired and Compromised by Development.

Fans of Yellowstone see complex dynamics of power and history at play in the dealings of the Duttons and others with the fictional Broken Rock Indian Tribe. As the screw twists and turns, the Broken Rock, led on the show by the Chairman Thomas Rainwater, find themselves on both the dealing and receiving ends of bad land deals and villainous behavior from local and out-of-state actors. This contemporary dispossession of Indigenous people fits into the long and violent history in which legal and extralegal measures are taken by those in power to forcibly remove Indigenous inhabitants from their land.

To cite a recent real example, you can look again to the Crazy Mountains in Montana. The Crazies are filled with significant and sacred sites for the Native Crow. In the current proposal for there, private land prevents the Crow from visiting many of these sites without permission from the landowner. °żłÜłÙČőŸ±»ć±đ’s reporting on the Yaak Valley offers another illustrative example of these dynamics.

There’s likely much more to say about the real power dynamics in the Mountain West and the fights for public lands that overlap with some of what you see on the small screen in Tyler Sheridan’s fantasy universe. As they say, truth can really be stranger than fiction.

Ryleigh Nucilli got a master’s degree and half of a PhD in literature and culture from the University of Oregon before leaving to pursue a career in digital media. She loves reading and writing about the intersection of popular media and culture.

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I have never run a marathon.

I have no intention of running a marathon. It isn’t on my bucket list. I don’t get a tinge of envy when I see the 26.2 bumper sticker proudly emblazoning the back of the car in front of me at a stoplight. I’m, personally, good. That said, I do love staggering feats of human endurance when other people accomplish them.

Thus, I was fascinated when a friend sent me a of two women arriving at the 2024 Chicago Marathon with—as the text overlaid on the video explains—“no training, no breakfast, no sleep, no headphones, no battery, and no sense.”

I sat rapt for over five minutes, watching Jaryn Garner and Paula Hughes check in mile after mile, their legs flagging but somehow still smiling, laughing, and cracking jokes deepÌęinto the back half of the marathon.

my legs are still humming #@Jaryn Garner

The majorÌęheadline of this year’s Chicago Marathon was Ruth Chepngetich’s dizzyingly fast new women’s record of 2:09:56. The TikTok is pretty good, too, though,Ìęand I found myself wanting to know more about why it was created.

I reached out to Garner, one of the masterminds behind the video (in it, she’s the one holding the phone camera and wearing the beanie), to learn more about the backstory and to ask the ever-present internet question: Is what you claim in the video true? And if it is true, what did it feel like after the fact?

This Is What a Marathon on Minimal Training Looks Like

OUTSIDE: What did it actually feel like to run one of the country’s most famous marathons totally unprepared? How did it come to be, and what was the lead-up like?
GARNER: There was no real inspiration. The company I work for (, a lifestyle brand founded by professional athletes Alex Morgan, Chloe Kim, Simone Manuel, and Sue Bird) had four bib entries for the Chicago Marathon and asked if anybody was interested about six weeks before it. Nobody jumped at the thought of the idea, so Paula [Hughes, the other woman you can see running in the video] reached out to me and said, “So, are we running the marathon?” 
 I truly felt it was a joke until we got to a month away, and I just kept thinking, wow, we’re really doing this.

We started to get all the information emails, and Nike began to send us stuff for the marathon, and that’s when it really got real. In the lead up, we had a Nike coach give us a few pointers (that we tried our best to attempt), and we started running like once or twice a week, but it was nothing that exceeded two to three miles. So, not enough at all.

Your baseline fitness seems… high! You don’t strike me as just popping off your couch and running a marathon. What’s your workout schedule look like, marathon training aside? Are you into distance running? Walk me through a little of your backstory.
Neither of us are runners in the slightest. We are both former D1 athletes. Paula rowed crew at Syracuse University, and I played basketball at the University of Virginia and finished my career at St. Joseph’s University. With that being said, we both hate distance running, so although we aren’t true couch potatoes, the thought of even running a mile is laughable to the two of us.

The caption on the video (“my legs are still humming”) indicates some post-race pain. Can you describe what the day and week after the race were like for your body?
The moment we crossed the finish line, we went back to a tent Nike provided to celebrate and recover for about 20 minutes and took pictures. After standing up, walking out of the tent, and heading out to get picked up, I experienced probably some of the worst pain I’ve ever felt in my lower body. Moving at a snail’s pace, every step hurt from my feet all the way up to my hips. I definitely had never experienced that. The very next day I struggled to walk and actually crawled a bit to move around.

The worst part for me was my feet. I didn’t get to 100-percent pain-free walking until nine days later, and my legs came back to 100 percent about five days later.

Seriously, Though, You Need to Train Before Your Marathon

As fun as my conversation with Garner was, I’d be remiss if I didn’t talk through the very real dangers of running 26 miles without training that builds up circulatory, respiratory, muscular, and mental fitness over time.

If you read the comments on the viral video, you’ll see lots of upvoted commenters pointing out the danger of rhabdomyolysis, a condition in which muscle tissue enters the bloodstream following overexertion, among other health concerns. (You can read a longer explanation of the .)

For some perspective on the issue, I also reached out to my friend Kaylyn Christopher, a former NCAA All-American distance runner for West Virginia University, Boston Marathon qualifier, and the current men’s and women’s cross-country coach at Fairmont State University, for her perspective. She had already seen the video and said she thought “it was a brave undertaking!”

But, Christopher notes, marathons typically require intentional preparation. In addition to getting miles under your belt to make sure your body is physically ready, there are other factors to consider, like nutrition and hydration. Most marathon runners spend a lot of time honing their system during training runs.

“Do you carry a handheld bottle? Is it filled simply with water or perhaps electrolytes? Or do you practice grabbing cups from water stations? Do you carry salt tabs? What about gels? Do they cooperate with your digestive system?” says Christopher. “These are things that marathon runners seek to answer through trial and error during training.”

With her own athletes, she says, under-training leads to higher occurrences of things like IT band issues and shin splints.

Garner herself noted the same in our conversation. I asked her what she would say to folks inspired to mimic her feat. She told me that she does want to be conscious of health concerns. At the same time, she says that commenters pointed out how “we helped make them feel better about their upcoming marathon, inspired them to sign up for a marathon, or just to start working out, and that has probably been more rewarding than getting that medal at the end.”

Watch the video. Run the marathon. Just spend some time training beforehand.

This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.

Despite her feelings about marathons, Ryleigh Nucilli actually did run college track and cross-country at Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia. When she’s not writing, walking dogs, or wrangling a toddler, she’s lucky to get in a few miles a week.

Want more of °żłÜłÙČőŸ±»ć±đ’s Health stories? .

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