Marty Munson

To be among the Fittest Cities in the <a href="https://americanfitnessindex.org/" id="fa427f3b-5de0-33ff-ae29-de5adeb9f369"> American Fitness Index </a> , compiled by the American College of Sports Medicine and the Anthem foundation, its citizens dont only need to rank high in doing healthy behaviors. The city has to help them out, too, with infrastructure that supports and encourages healthy behaviorslike parks, farmers markets, and recreational facilitiesas well as good <a href="https://www.menshealth.com/health/a27226694/air-pollution-health-effects/" id="02345c5e-82fa-3876-a81c-994ab9329474"> air quality </a> and a low pedestrian fatality rate.

The report ranks 100 cities on 33 different health metrics, and Arlington ranked among the top 10 in 19 of the health indicators. Some of these do reflect individual health behaviors, like the percent of residents meeting the guidelines for aerobic and strength activity and a low rate of adults with obesity, and Arlington ranked #1 in both of those. The metrics also reflect the percent of people who consume three or more vegetables and two or more fruits per day, as well as how people rated their physical and <a href="https://www.menshealth.com/mental-health/" id="3a2fe055-478a-3318-a9f3-9cd4af52dec7"> mental health </a> .

This year, Boston made the top 10 for the first time. And while Buffalo, NY, Toledo, OH, and Anchorage, AL werent in the top 10, their rankings improved by at least 15 spots from 2019.

<ol><li> Arlington, VA </li><li> Seattle, WA </li><li> Minneapolis, MN </li><li> Madison, WI </li><li> San Francisco, CA </li><li> Washington, DC </li><li> Irvine, CA </li><li> Denver, CO </li><li> Boise, ID </li><li> Boston, MA </li></ol>

There were notable improvements across the board in all 100 cities when it came to park proximity: the index saw a 5 percent overall improvement in that metric. That means that more people than last year had a park within a 10-minute walk, and it turns out that the bottom 25 percent of cities this year had the greatest improvement in park access. Other stats that improved since 2019 in all 100 cities: The average rate of residents exercising and a dropping number of residents smoking.

If you think you live in a climate that makes it impossible to bit fit and healthy all year round, that excuse doesnt hold up. Three cities with weather extremes made it to the top: Minneapolis, Madison, and Denver.

Even with all this Fittest City glory, though, nobodys perfect. Most people are still falling short of healthy activity and eating guidelines. While more than 75 percent of people in the largest cities said they exercised in the last 30 days, only 22 percent meet both the aerobic and strength activity guidelines. Only 16 percent of people in these cities eat the recommended three or more serving of vegetables daily (check out how our Food and Nutrition editor <a href="https://www.menshealth.com/nutrition/a26586481/healthy-greens-recipe/" id="af8d6686-80a0-3206-a2c6-46b2759b6622"> eats a days worth of healthy greens in 14 minutes </a> , and hes no speed eater) and 33 percent eat the recommended two or more servings of fruit a day.

Want to see how your city ranks? Use the <a href="https://americanfitnessindex.org/rankings/" id="acea638b-bc47-36e6-abf6-c2f1eb5efb94"> online city comparison tool </a> to check it out. And to improve your own health metrics, find more ways to eat well <a href="https://www.menshealth.com/nutrition/" id="4cc374f9-ef78-3ef2-a3c3-7e8ad5057844"> here </a> , and get new ideas, moves, and routines for meeting aerobic and strength guidelines <a href="https://www.menshealth.com/workouts/" id="5fb165b2-755f-3c70-a966-8dcb9c861361"> here </a> .

Exactly what are the people of Arlington, VA, doing so well to be named Americas Fittest City in 2020, for the third time in a row?

These Are America’s 10 Fittest Cities

In New Zealand, identifying close contacts quickly and having them isolate has been credited as a big reason, along with widely available testing, that the country has almost eliminated COVID-19 within its borders.

So who exactly is a close contact? How much contact, exactly, does it take to be considered one? If you rode a bus for a few moments with someone who later tested positive, does that count? What if you spent longer than you expected in the coffee shop, waiting to pick up your pre-order?

The <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/php/contact-tracing/contact-tracing-plan/contact-tracing.html#:~:text=For%20COVID%2D19%2C,the%20patient%20is%20isolated." id="8ecb4d3a-61b1-316f-afa5-3316aa86aa10"> CDC has some answers </a> on this one, in its guidance for contact tracers. It says that a close contact is any individual who as within 6 feet of an infected person for at least 15 minutes, starting from two days before illness onsetuntil the time the patient is isolated. Or, if the person who tested positive was asymptomatic, you had that much contact with them two days prior to their positive test.

If youve been a close contact, then <a href="https://www.menshealth.com/health/a31787414/workout-diet-advice-social-isolation-distancing-coronavirus/" id="db1e3752-1233-3e0c-a184-8c226670d338"> self-isolation </a> is the next step. You may also get tested, and the contact tracer or case investigator should be able to help you figure out how to help with that, even if you live in an area with limited testing or other health resources. Youll also want to do the stuff you know to domonitor symptoms and avoid people at higher risk for severe illness.

In the ideal situation, people who are identified through contact tracing get checked in on via calls or video conferencing to see how theyre doing and help them monitor their health.

Of course, the 6-feet/15-minutes definition doesnt mean that if you were with someone for 12 minutes, you dont have to be concerned. As weve seen so far, the novel coronavirus doesnt like to follow traditional rules. So always assume that the virus can be transmitted from you and to you and take the appropriate steps to stop the spread.

Who's Considered a 'Close Contact' in COVID-19

To prevent the spread of COVID-19, <a href="https://www.menshealth.com/health/a32500999/contact-tracer-coronavirus-what-its-like/" id="06d11d90-3c3b-34e0-aa24-d84ac618c7fd"> contact tracers </a> get in touch with close contacts of people who have tested positive. They let them know that they might have been exposed, and they help them know what to do next. They often spend significant amounts of time on the phone or via email, text, or videoconference with the sick person to figure out exact...

Here's Who's Considered a 'Close Contact' to Someone with COVID-19

Take the idea that drinking water every 15 minutes might flush out the coronavirus and protect you from COVID-19. Facebook posts claimed the advice came from Japanese doctors, and that sipping would wash the virus down your throat and into the stomach where stomach acid would kill the virus.

In reality, it doesnt work that way. Drinking water frequently isnt bad for youcheck out how much you really need in a day <a href="https://www.menshealth.com/health/a27822478/how-much-water-should-i-drink-a-day/" id="3459f656-98bd-35ea-ae75-5184e3f1cb54"> here </a> . (Its not necessarily 8 glasses.) You just cant expect it to flush out the novel coronavirus. As Krys Johnson, PhD, an assistant professor of epidemiology and biostatistics at Temple University, put it to the myth-busting site <a href="https://www.factcheck.org/2020/03/viral-social-media-posts-offer-false-coronavirus-tips/" id="0053c1c1-35b4-310e-a610-cf49fe0b81bf"> Factcheck.org </a> , water consumption has no bearing on the virus getting into your airways and lungs; if you breathe an infected persons respiratory droplets, the virus will travel through your airways.

The best use of water to prevent COVID-19: You knew <a href="https://www.menshealth.com/health/a23780788/how-to-wash-hands/" id="7f28cfc8-aefa-3998-a309-1f4ef333c4b0"> wash your hands </a> was going to come up somewhere, so here there it is. You know what to do. Its not that the virus enters your body through your hands, its that your hands touch your face, and the virus gets into your mucus membranes that way. So youve got to wash it off before it can get inside and cause you trouble.

Another water-based myth thats also floating around the internet is that taking a bath in very hot water can prevent a COVID-19 infection. The theory is that it would raise your body temperature and deactivate the virus. But <a href="https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/advice-for-public/myth-busters" id="c2ada80e-037a-3056-a38a-6297000bbafa"> the WHO says </a> , Your normal body temperature remains around 36.5C to 37C [97.7 to 98.6], regardless of the temperature of your bath or shower. Actually, taking a hot bath with extremely hot water can be harmful, as it can burn you.

Of course, you should still drink water and bathe as you like in a day. Just dont expect them to miraculously protect you from COVID-19. Get a refresher from the CDC on what does actually help protect you from the disease <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/prevention.html" id="b99e5575-9efc-3937-a74f-7f5ed0000205"> here </a> .

Can Drinking Lots of Water Flush Out COVID-19?

Scientists still have a lot to figure out about the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19. And where theres a lack of concrete information, theres often a flood of well-meaning advice, hopeful rumors, and blatant bad information that gets circulated among people digitally or in person.

The bar itself is the bigger challenge when it comes to preventing the spread or transmission of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19. Especially if youre hanging out indoors. Maintaining physical distancing in bars is difficult. And as if it is crowded, people tend to have to speak loudly, which increases the potential for transmission. Essentially, in a bar, youre mixing with everyone else in the bar. If one person is infected, you can expect several others to become infected, he says. It has <a href="https://www.cnn.com/videos/us/2020/06/17/friends-test-positive-coronavirus-after-night-out-florida-bar-warning-cpt-vpx.cnn" id="9f210387-b6d6-381e-a322-2d1e445ececc"> famously happened recently </a> in Jacksonville Beach, FL, where a group of 16 friends went to a bar to celebrate a birthday and all tested positive afterward. <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/25/well/live/coronavirus-spread-bars-transmission.html" id="3d590e02-01d1-30a5-a92b-381bf63e406d"> Reports </a> are filtering in from Louisiana and Idaho as well.

Sitting or standing outside the bar is likely to be a little better in preventing acquiring or transmitting COVID-19. But it is still important to consider whether the people youre socializing with are people youve been with or people that you havent seen for a while. If it is people you havent seen, youre expanding your social circle and increasing risk. And it is hard to wear a mask and drink, so youll lose that element of the protection, Dr. Miller says.

Also keep in mind that alcohol has never had a reputation for making people more cautious about anything. So its not a big leap to conclude that people are going to be less rigorous about mask wearing and social distancing.

Infectious diseases specialist Emily Landon, at the University of Chicago Medicine, MD, memorably put it this way <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2020/05/23/861325631/from-camping-to-dining-out-heres-how-experts-rate-the-risks-of-14-summer-activit" id="3261675a-abcc-3544-a629-53e8b3d2aeb9"> in a recent story by NPR </a> : "Always choose outdoors over indoor, always choose masking over not masking and always choose more space for fewer people over a smaller space."

<h1> OK, but what about the bathroom? </h1>

Bathrooms have two potential modes of transmission, the air and surfaces, Dr. Miller says. You can manage the risk for surfaces by washing your hands thoroughly as youre leaving, and then using the paper towel to open the door.

Paper towels are good for drying hands <a href="https://aem.asm.org/content/84/8/e00044-18" id="2ed1694c-922c-3938-ac86-f04eb9f9f95e"> one study </a> from UConn Health on bacteria, not coronaviruses, found that air dryers tended to stir up bacteria that was already in the room and could deposit it back on hands. Nobody really knows what the deal might be with coronaviruses, but paper towels are likely not a bad idea.

The air in the bathroom is harder to manage. Here you only have control over the length of time youre in there, but dont skimp on the hand washing to get out, Dr. Miller says. A good bathroom will have a ventilation fan running constantly during business hoursnot just when someone is in there. In other words, if the fan isnt on when the light isnt on, thats not great.

If you cant tell whether a fan is running, you can do the sniff test (through your <a href="https://www.menshealth.com/style/g32099210/fabric-face-masks-buy-online-charity-donation/" id="7f82eb18-7375-34f0-a280-7cbac25bf013"> mask </a> , though, because you need to be wearing it in there) and assume that more stink equals less air circulation.

None of this is simple; there are complicated factors that go into assessing the risk of going to a bar and of using the bathroom there. You should take into consideration things including the number of cases in your area, the behaviors youre seeing in the bar, and your own vulnerability. And even when you do consider all that, theres no exact formula for how those factor into a personal should-you-or-shouldnt-you go to a bar decision. Of course, its a moot point if you live in somewhere like Texas, which is now moving to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/26/world/coronavirus-live-updates.html" id="276ce54a-0797-3949-a69e-51ac434e53ef"> shut down bars </a> to stop the spread of the virus.

If youre worried about hanging out with friends at a bar because at some point, you might have to use the public bathroom, thats the least of your worries, says William C. Miller, MD, MPH, PhD, senior associate dean of research and professor at The Ohio State University College of Public Health.

To Pee or Not to Pee? What to Know About the Bathroom at the Bar Right Now.

Its usually not just due to losing muscle mass over time (more on that later). "It's multifactorial," says Fatima Stanford, MD, MPH, obesity medicine physician scientist at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School. Numerous factors can sneak up on you and help you gain or hold onto weight, including your lifestyle, your food, your biology, and your sleep habits. The good news in that is that there are also numerous ways to tackle getting your weight to where you want ityou don't have to force yourself into one approach, and you get to choose what works for you.

Guys often wonder whether a dip in testosterone is at the root of their weight gain, says Dr. Stanford. "When men develop overweight and obesity, they tend to have a drop in testosterone that leads to a drop in energy and more retention of adipose tissue, she says. The excess adipose tissue drives testosterone down. But taking testosterone isnt usually the answer. Thats not the underlying problem. Once we normalize the weight, the testosterone normalizes," she explains.

Instead of looking to testosterone first, try these other, more effective strategies to hack your biology and lifestyle and lose weight after 40.

1) Dont force yourself to do the most popular plan

There are many eating patterns that can be used to lose weight, says William Samuel Yancy, M.D., director of the Duke Diet and Fitness Center and associate professor of medicine at Duke University. Many have evidence behind them, whether thats keto, Paleo, Mediterranean, vegan, or anything else. Interestingly, theres not as much research on what works for men as there is on women, but for men, sometimes its as simple as shortening the time in which you are eating to an 8- to 10-hour window a day, says Kristin Kirkpatrick, R.D.N., consultant for Integrative and Lifestyle Medicine for the Cleveland Clinic. Even something as straightforward as not eating after 6 PM can make a big differenceone of her male clients who lost 150 pounds found that to be especially helpful, she says.

If you prefer a specific plan with specific rules, make sure it goes with your lifestyle, which, for most guys, gets increasingly complicated in your 40s with more responsibilities at work, with your family, and maybe even with your aging parents. A vegan diet can be hard to do in a healthy way if you live a grab-and-go existence. <a href="https://www.menshealth.com/nutrition/a19544125/beginners-guide-to-meal-prep/" id="08b71dfc-c5f3-3623-a38c-ac644e1fc832"> Meal prep </a> is going to be a challenge if youre never home long enough to cook. Dont just pick what worked for a friend; pick whats likely to work with your busy, over-40 lifestyle.

Dr. Stanford is emphatic that you need to be sure that the eating style you choose to lose weight after 40 is something you can do for the rest of your life. "If it's not something you can sustain for the next 20 or 50 years, then why are you doing this at all?," she points out.

For a sustainable plan, "I don't like to hyperfocus on calories. It's important to have a high-quality diet of lean protein, whole grains, and fruits and vegetables," Dr. Stanford says. "Processed foods lead to weight gain, so the less processed the food you eat, the better." And the more satisfied you could end up being. Her example: A nice meal of salmon plus some grains and a vegetable and a salad can give you a lot more volume than a Shake Shack stop would, and would give you more of a sense of being full afterward. When it comes to the high-quality diet she advocates, "nothing is bizarrewe know that lean protein, whole grains, fruits, and vegetables are constant no matter how the guidelines for healthy eating have changed over the years," she says.

Starting in your 30s, you can lose three to five percent of your muscle mass each decade if you dont stay active. Note the last part of that point: If you dont stay active. As you get older, "there's a lot of competition for your time and energy," says Dr. Yancy. For some men, that can push exercise out of the picture. But it doesn't take heroic efforts to put it back into your life.

You can maintain that muscle or regain it with a regular strength routinemeaning you do moves that hit the major muscles of the body at least twice a week. A great place to start: This 3-Week <a href="https://www.menshealth.com/fitness/a26476348/men-over-40-workout-week-1/" id="35f8ed60-1bc8-3e7d-af26-a09ea4435d94"> Full-Body Workout Plan for Men Over 40 </a> .

Why thats so important: The more muscle we have, the more calories we burn, Kirkpatrick says. Even if it doesn't actually help you lose weight, it can help keep you from gaining italong with all the other good things it does for your body, mind, and life. Lots of over-40 guys like HIIT, since its compressed timeframe ends up having a low impact on your schedule.

That doesnt mean you should only strength train; aerobic activity is helpful, too. But supplementing your Spin/run/row/elliptical routine with strength training is essential.

Sometimes the medicines you're taking for other issues, such as high blood pressure and antidepressant meds, can increase your weight or keep you from losing it, says Dr. Stanford. Ask your doctor if your weight concerns could be side effects of the prescriptions you're getting filled. Often, there are other formulations that can be effective but wouldn't have those side effects for you.

<h1> 4) Make sure you're sleeping well </h1>

Sleeping enough is important, and if your lifestyle is making you cheat sleep, then think about what you can do to get enough. Sometimes, however, biology is keeping you from enough shuteye, and it's imperative to solve that. "Untreated obstructive sleep apnea can lead to additional weight gain," says Dr. Stanford. If you are making <a href="https://www.menshealth.com/health/a19545134/how-to-fall-asleep-faster/" id="b94516c3-e523-3f28-a9de-2da87ba0ab4c"> all the right efforts to get restorative sleep </a> and still don't feel restored, consider seeing a sleep doctor, who can drill down on the problem and help you find some solutions.

Another factor I see that can help men is to take a look at drinking habits, Kirkpatrick says. Men that I counsel who cut alcohol or significantly cut back tend to lose weight more easily.

Now that the whole sober curious moment is making not drinking trendy, its easier to find alcohol-free options. Less alcohol not only means youre drinking fewer calories, it can also mean fewer late-night bowls of ramen or plates of double cheeseburgers on the way home from happy hour. Today, its also easier to maintain a social life when youre not overdrinking, since theres the new perception that youre not saying no to a beer or five; youre part of a movement.

In your teens and 20s, it used to be that you could eat pizza every night for a week without a lot of pushback from your body in the form of extra pounds. In your 40s, not so much. Maybe youre even eating much better now, but weight is still accumulating.

The 5 Best Ways to Lose Weight After 40

Tear gas does a lot more to your body than just make your eyes tear. Heres what tear gas is, what it does to your body, how to protect yourself, and what to do if you come in contact with it.

Tear gas can be composed of a few different chemical agents and its not technically a gas; its actually a powder thats propelled into a spray thats extremely irritating to the human body. "Tear gas should actually be thought of as a type of <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3136963/" id="2cc29445-3df3-3aa5-ae8f-5ded8ee31957"> nerve agent </a> that doesnt just irritate cells, but <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5096012/" id="29acf611-843e-30e0-afef-d988dad26b3d"> activates specific pain receptors </a> , (TRPV1, TRPA1) leading to the intense and burning pain on all affected surfaces and membranes," Robert Glatter, M.D., Men's Health Advisor and emergency physician in NYC, has told Men's Health.

It activates when it comes in contact with a tiny amount of moisture on your skin, eyes, mouth, nose and lungs, explains Rohini Haar, MD, MPH, an emergency physician at Kaiser Medical Center in Oakland, and a research fellow at the Human Rights Center at the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law. Although it was developed about 100 years ago, research around it is pretty limited. Theres no regulation and no transparency around its production, and theres no research around what potency is safe or how theyve proven its safe.

<h1> What do you feel when tear gas is released? </h1>

Your eyes, nasal, and oral passages start burning. It causes your eyes to spasmit feels like theres something in your eye and you cant see straight and keep your eyes open. This causes people to feel really disoriented and agitated, especially since you cant keep your eyes open long enough to run away. It inhibits people from orderly dispersal, Dr. Haar says.

In your airways, the irritation triggers mucus, makes you cough, and makes breathing difficultsome people say it feels like theyre drowning. Lung tissue is very sensitive and can be burned and injured pretty quickly, says Dr. Haar. Children, the elderly, and people with asthma and other chronic respiratory conditions can be especially susceptible. Tear gas also causes skin irritation, sometimes so badly that theres roughness, swelling and blistering. People say it feels like their skin is going to burn off, she adds.

Dr. Glatter notes that some people have died after being tear gassed. A <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5096012/#nyas13141-bib-0008" id="a16fd3fe-e327-3214-ae9f-9082948c6143"> study </a> published in 2016 in the New York Annals of Science conducted by a collaboration of top universities states that many believe the risks of tear gas exposure are understated and that perceived risks are based on insufficient human epidemiological and mechanistic data.

So its important to protect yourself as much as possible and act quickly if you are exposed to it.

<h1> How can you protect yourself? </h1>

Wearing eye protection and masks while protesting would be recommended, says Dr. Haar. Ski goggles would protect your eyes from getting any of the tear gas, but they tend to be disorienting and uncomfortable. Safety glasses or sunglasses at least can protect you from getting any spray directly in your eyes. For COVID-19 protection, you'll be wearing a mask, anyway.

To keep tear gas off your skin as much as possible, cover upwear long sleeves and long pants. <a href="https://www.amnestyusa.org/files/pdfs/protestresourcepacket_web.pdf" id="bf8b1762-b34f-39d9-af20-13643cad56e2"> Amnesty International </a> recommends avoiding oils and lotions, since they can trap the chemicals on your skin, prolonging the irritation.

Be aware that injuries can also occur from the propellent or bits of the canister that the tear gas is detonated from, and can burn you if you touch them. If you see one being launched, get out of the way. (For tips on other aspects of protesting, check our <a href="https://www.menshealth.com/trending-news/a32733153/how-to-protest-safely-covid/" id="4364d118-25f7-3d5e-a632-b31803f2c4d1"> guide to protesting safely amid the pandemic </a> .)

<h1> What to do if youre tear gassed </h1>

If youre exposed to tear gas, get out of the space. You need to stop the exposure, then decontaminate, says Dr. Haar. Move away and get as much fresh air as you can.

The <a href="https://emergency.cdc.gov/agent/riotcontrol/factsheet.asp#:~:text=Riot%20control%20agents%20(sometimes%20referred,to%20be%20riot%20control%20agents." id="589e21c6-3bad-32a2-ae20-7021f3bcb742"> CDC recommends </a> getting to the highest ground possible, because riot control agents will form a dense vapor cloud that can travel close the ground.

Dont rub your face or eyes, and if you wear contact lenses, remove them with clean hands. Amnesty International recommends that after you take care of any immediate medical needs, you should start walking around with your arms outstretched to take advantage of fresh air.

Tear gas sticks not only to skin but also to clothes, so as soon as you can, remove contaminated clothing. Try not to pull your clothes over your head in order to prevent getting more in your eyes and mouth. Flush your eyes with water, recommends Dr. Glatterdont just rinse them quickly from a water bottle. You may need several liters to rinse themAmnesty International recommends irrigating by tilting your head back and slightly toward the side being rinsed and irrigate the eye from the inside corner of the eye toward the outside.

Take a cold shower as soon as you canwarm water opens your pores and lets the chemical into themand wash your clothes. It may take more than one wash to get the chemicals out. In fact, some of the new tear gasses are designed to be more potent and have a longer shelf life. These can stay on surfacesif you kick it up a few days later, it could still make you symptomatic, Dr. Haar says.

Eventually, your body breaks down the chemicals, says Dr. Haar, and the sensations subside. If youre having issues with vision within about 30 to 60 minutes of good decontamination efforts, seek medical attention. Always seek help if youre having significant breathing issues.

Tear gas is technically a chemical weapon, and its use as a weapon is prohibited in armed conflict, according to the <a href="https://www.icrc.org/en/doc/resources/documents/interview/2013/02-06-toxic-chemical-weapons-law.htm" id="af6dc4dc-a2ee-30d1-a470-3dd8080e1414"> International Committee of the Red Cross. </a> Yet it can be, and is, used as a riot control agent in numerous countries, including the U.S. (thats what was recently used to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/01/us/polit...

What to Do if You're Exposed to Tear Gas

I think for almost everyone, theres been a real expansion in terms of what our limits are regarding the number of stressors were processing at the same time, says Drew Ramsey, M.D., MH advisor and assistant clinical professor of psychiatry at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons.

<h1> Why you're maxed out, and why that's natural </h1>

Still, if youre feeling maxed out, that makes sense, says Dr. Ramsey. The pandemic is a once-in-a-lifetime event, he says, and were also now seeing events and protest well remember for the rest of our lives. In the past two weeks, he says, he and other therapists started hearing more despair and fatigue from people about quarantine.

Now, with the protests highlighting racial injustice, its like being handed a 50-pound backpack at mile 24 of a marathon. Except were not at mile 24 of a marathon. Were at mile 24 of an ultramarathon, he says.

So its natural to have a lot of feelings about it. And theyre not neatly compartmentalized. People are telling me theyre exhausted, and theyre wondering if theres something wrong physically, he says. But if your health seems to be in place except for the exhaustion part, its understandable. Were experiencing these real splits. Just a few days after George Floyd was killed in Minneapolis, the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket was launched. So you could be weeping because our country is so badly broken when it comes to race and cheering because were also heading out into the universe. Its a profound zigzag for our emotional selves, and its very uncomfortable, Dr. Ramsey says.

So exhaustion is coming from experiencing so many extreme emotions at once, as well as trying to pin what youre actually feeling down to one particular thing. Its sort of a mistake to try to pin things down to one emotionits a good day because we feel happy, for instance, he says. People feel a kaleidoscope of feelings, and part of understanding them so that you can figure out how to cope with them is understanding that youre probably not feeling only one thing. Give yourself some slack to feel all kinds of things crashing around at once. Thinking that you shouldnt be feeling something doesnt help you process and learn to manage it.

<h1> So how do you process all this? </h1>

We all process emotions a little differently, says Dr. Ramsey. And its worth recognizing that not all of those ways are necessarily available right now, so you may have to work harder to mimic them or they may not be tools you can use right now.

Take humor. This is one of our healthiest psychological defenses, he says. And its hard to make jokes about any of this or have a laugh, since its such awful stuff. So if thats your go-to tool, youll need to replace it with another coping skill.

Similarly, community helps people process what theyre thinking and feeling, and the traditional ways people have experienced community have shifted. You can still experience community, it just will be in a different way than youre used to.

Another source of relief is taking action, that is why the stress of early quarantine was easier for some. Taking action against racial injustice may feel less tangible at first than what you did to take action against the novel coronavirus, whether that was preparing your kitchen and figuring out your PPE.

It can be a useful starting point to let your mind be with itself in a very private way, he says. Go on a walk or write things downthat may help clarify things. Really make a commitment not just for self-examination, but for what actions you can take in a daily way to do better in preventing racial violence, he says. If you feel guilt over having not done better in the past, there is good news that you can start to begin to get better at this today.

He suggests reaching out to friends, especially among people in your circle who identify as BIPOC, or friends or family who have knowledge or perspective on race. Many people are having significant mental health symptoms being triggered. Don't hesitate to contact an advisor, a mentor, or a mental health professional, especially if youve had one previously. Thats especially important if youve had depression or anxiety and your symptoms are coming backits a good time to be proactive, says Dr. Ramsey. Every mental health provider Ive spoken with lately has returned to treatment. They try to be ahead of the curve and take care of their own mental health. So its a cue worth copying in your own life. (Check out Dr. Ramseys recent conversations about mental health with prominent cultural figures <a href="https://www.instagram.com/menshealthmag/?hl=en" id="a2532093-e304-39af-aff2-ac5c6eefbe85"> here </a> .)

These are extreme times that breed a flood of emotions, often confusingly all at once, Dr. Ramsey acknowledges. And, he adds, humans have an incredible capacity to tolerate stress and adversity.

How to Deal with New and Overwhelming Anxiety

Just when you thought you had enough anxiety over all the novel coronavirus itself, there were all the issues it brought along with it. And if the personal, political, social, and economic fallout wasnt enough, now theres more, with the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/01/us/floyd-protests-live.html" id="19d02526-d019-31d8-a6c3-76d81c1e0f56"> nationwide unrest </a> sparked by the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

A Guide to Dealing with Overwhelming Anxiety Right Now

So you need a good tick repellent. Especially since the number of tick-borne diseases continues to climb in the U.S., <a href="https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/26/4/19-1629_article" id="ff6296ed-f720-3ebc-a447-3206e7118b7a"> according to the CDC </a> . Ticks are pretty much everywhere in the U.S. right now, and the CDC says that especially in the northeast, we can expect every year to be a "bad" year for ticks.

But to protect yourself properly, youve got to get the right tick repellent. Many people have the perception that anything that sucks blood can be repelled similarly, says Thomas N. Mather, Ph.D., founder and director of the Tick Encounter Resource Center at the University of Rhode Island. But mosquitos, ticks, and fleas have different ways of finding youmosquitos fly to you, and ticks dont fly, and they dont have eyes, he says. So theres no reason to think that the same product that would work for a mosquito would work against a tick.

Which repellent to use? "We always recommend that someone wears the repellent they're most comfortable with," explains Jody Gangloff-Kaufmann, coordinator of community Integrated Pest Management at the New York State Integrated Pest Management Program. "If you have one less tick on you, there's one less chance of your getting a disease," she says.

<h1> The best tick repellent you can use: Permethrin </h1>

Our experience and our research shows that permethrin products work best as a tick repellent. DEET works effectively against mosquitos and biting flies, Mather says.

Some people have a hard time believing that permethrin will do the trick since you dont apply it to yourself, you apply it to your clothes. In other words, if ticks bite you, not your clothes, why does this product work? Mather explains:

Ticks are genetically programmed to walk upward. Even if youre just wearing shorts and a t-shirt, the tick is eventually going to encounter some of your clothes. When it does, the permethrin affects the ticks nervous systems. They start stumbling around like drunken fools, Mather says. Since they cant fly, they have to hang onto your clothing and you if they want some food. But when their nervous systems are disrupted, they cant do that as well and they stumble and fall off, he says. The chemical also causes them to die.

In one of many of Mathers studiesin which, by the way, participants sat in a room and had ticks placed on their shoes, their knees, and their elbowshe found that people with treated shoes and clothing had far fewer ticks than those whose clothes were untreated.

You can get permethrin onto and into your clothes in a number of ways (you just have to do a little planning ahead, as youll want it to dry into the clothes. So spraying it on two seconds before you hike isnt the way to go):

<ol><li> Sprays. Spritz permethrin on your clothes, let them dry, and the treatment will stay in your clothes for weeks, even after you wash them. One product Mather likes, <a href="mailto:https://sawyer.com/products/permethrin-insect-repellent-treatment/">by Sawyer</a> , stays in clothes for 6 weeks and 6 washings. </li><li> Clothes that are already treated. Some clothes already have permethrin in them. Those by <a href="mailto:https://www.insectshield.com/">Insect Shield</a> come in workwear, hiking clothes, tech clotheseven bandanas and Buffs. <a href="mailto:https://www.bugbewear.com/">BugBeWea</a> r also sells tops, bottoms, caps, and gloves. </li></ol>

If its toxic to ticks, is it OK for you? The EPA says its poorly absorbed through your skin. And since the agency cant know if you applied the product correctly at home, so it says this about factory-treated clothing: Its unlikely to pose any significant immediate or long-term hazard to people wearing the clothing.

Of course, if you're wearing shorts, tick repellent on your clothing won't repel these insects from your legs. So you should use another kind of tick repellent on exposed skin, and there are a number of them that the EPA has tested. Consider products with these ingredients:

<ul><li> DEET. Consumers have been using this productoriginally developed by the U.S. Armyfor 60 years. Occasional reports of adverse effects cast doubts on this product, but EPA reviews have concluded that it's safe for use. Find out more about its history, safety, and use <a href="https://www.menshealth.com/health/a32688498/what-is-deet-spray/">here</a> . </li><li> Picaridin. This product is similar to a chemical in the black pepper plant. Consumer Reports testing found picaridin sprays to be more effective than lotions or wipes. </li><li> IR3535. This man-made compound has been tested by the EPA, but Consumer Reports testing found them less effective than products containing DEET, picaridin, or oil of lemon eucalyptus. Be aware that some products that contain this and sunscreen together don't protect you against ticks for very long, according to the EPA's excellent <a href="https://www.epa.gov/insect-repellents/find-repellent-right-you">insect repellent finder tool</a> . </li><li> Oil of Lemon Eucalyptus. You want a tick repellent that has oil of lemon eucalyptus formulated into itthe essential oil on its own isn't effective. </li></ul>

Use it whenever youre in areas where ticks live. And use tick repellent on yourself anywhere youd use protection on your dog. In one survey, Mather found that close to 90 percent of dog walkers said theyd treated their dog with tick protection, but hadnt done anything for themselves. And theyre only about two and a half feet away from the dog on the leash!, Mather says.

A young couple walk their dogs in the woods

<h1> Check that no ticks got through </h1>

Even if you use repellents, its a good idea to check yourself for ticks. Its a myth that they like warm, moist areas, says Mather. They just end up in the armpits or groin because thats where clothing is binding and the ticks cant go any farther. Regardless of why theyre there, check all over your body, especially the groin, back of the knee, and around your waistband.

The last thing you want to bring home from a long hike or a quick dog walk is a case of Lyme disease, Rocky Mountain Spotted fever, or even a single one of the ticks that carry these (and more) diseases.

How Not to Get Bitten by Ticks This Summer

So youre going to want to keep these and other pests including biting flies, fleas, and other small flying insects away, and DEET, an ingredient in many insect repellents, is a well-known way to do that. But in its 60-plus-year history, its picked up a bad reputation. Here, we look at exactly what is DEET and how safe it is.

Chemists know it as N,N-Diethyl-meta-toluamide, and its a compound that was developed by the U.S. Army in 1946 and then registered for use for the general public in 1957.

Its a very effective insect repellent, and true to its name as a repellent, it doesnt kill insects, it just keeps them from landing on you. Theres a theory that it prevents bugs from smelling you, so theyre uninterested in coming closer.

In 1998, the <a href="https://www3.epa.gov/pesticides/chem_search/reg_actions/reregistration/red_PC-080301_1-Apr-98.pdf" id="312acc17-2b09-387a-ac04-33944f730c76"> EPA did a big review </a> of safety concerns about DEET. It looked at reports that a small percentage of people who had used DEET had experienced seizures (one per 100 million exposures, but they couldnt be sure whether the exposures were caused by DEET or were coincidental). There have also been reports of products containing high concentrations of DEET causing skin rashes.

In 2014, it <a href="https://www.epa.gov/insect-repellents/deet" id="de413a93-7885-3786-a182-e354d7d796c0"> conducted another review </a> and concluded that insect repellents containing DEET do not present a health concern when products are used as stated on the label. That includes label recommendations for how to use these products on the face (spray on hands and use your hands to apply it to your face); advice not to spray it on open cuts and numerous other instructions.

<h1> What percentage of DEET should you choose? </h1>

Products containing DEET range from 4 to 100% DEET. A higher percentage of the active ingredient doesnt mean its better at fending off pests. It means it lasts longer.

So you can use a product with a low percentage of DEET as long as you reapply it as often as the label states. If youre just sitting in your back yard having coffee, you wouldnt need the kind of concentration youd apply if youre headed out for a longish walk or hike and not taking the repellent with you.

Hiker on dirt track, Canazei, Trentino-Alto Adige, Italy

DEET certainly isnt the only effective insect repellent out there. Other effective repellents include:

<ul><li> Picaridin: This repellent is modeled after a compound in the black pepper plant, and protects against ticks and mosquitoes. </li><li> IR 3535: The Environmental Working Group suggests that this provides good protection against ticks. While it does protect against mosquitos, the <a href="https://www.ewg.org/research/ewgs-guide-bug-repellents/repellent-chemicals">EWG suggests</a> it may offer a bit less protection from these than other repellents do. </li><li> Oil of lemon eucalyptus: This can repel mosquitoes if formulated into a repellent productthe essential oil on its own wont do the job, according to the CDC. </li></ul>

To get the right repellent for you, check out the EPAs <a href="https://www.epa.gov/insect-repellents/find-repellent-right-you" id="dba11de3-37ef-3d09-aa56-15e1b27b0316"> interactive insect repellent tool </a> . You can choose which insects you want to target (ticks, mosquitoes or both), the type of repellent youre interested in, and even a brand name, and it will show you a list of products to choose from, along with how long they last before you need to reapply.

Whether youre in the backwoods or in your back yard, one of the challenges of being in the great outdoors is that biting insects are there, too. Ticks and mosquitos arent just a nuisancethey can be vectors for diseases including Lyme, Zika, West Nile, chikungunya and many more (and dont forget malaria, a huge threat to world health).

Is DEET Actually Bad for You? Here's What to Know.

And in other cases, eye allergies arent related to seasonal allergies at all. Allergic conjunctivitis, as doctors call it, can occur at any time of year, sometimes due to dust mites or animal dander.

Many allergy sufferers find that taking their oral meds or nasal steroid spray controls the eye symptoms. But sometimes they dont, and eye drops might help. One of the benefits of eye drops for allergic eye symptoms is that they have a quick onset of action, explains Courtney Jackson Blair, M.D., vice president of the Greater Washington Allergy, Asthma and Immunology Society and owner of <a href="https://www.virginiaallergyrelief.com/doctors/courtney-jackson-blair-md-faaaai/" id="998915a0-6faf-3718-affb-c21f64dd4ac4"> Allergy and Asthma Associates </a> in Virginia. So you feel reliefand stop rubbing your eyeswithout too much delay.

There are many allergy eye drops at the drugstore and available by prescription. Heres how to navigate the options.

<h1> Over-The-Counter Allergy Eye Drops </h1>

On the shelf at your drugstore, youll generally find two types of products: Those containing ketotifen, and those containing a combination of drugs called pheniramine maleate and naphazoline hydrochloride. Its a mouthful, but heres what to know about each, plus what to know about prescription eye drops:

<h1> Eye drops containing ketotifen </h1>

This drug is an antihistamine, meaning it blocks symptoms by blocking receptors for histamine, a chemical that you make during an allergic reaction which causes those familiar allergy symptoms. Its also whats called a mast cell stabilizer, which means it blocks chemicals including histamine from being produced in the first place.

Find them in products including: <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Zaditor-Eye-Drops-5ml-Size/dp/B00B618T1Y/ref=sr_1_7?dchild=1&amp;keywords=zaditor+eye+drops&amp;qid=1587861907&amp;sr=8-7" id="68f63d9b-b4a7-34f9-a8e0-118b3827deaa"> Zaditor </a> , <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Bausch-Lomb-Alaway-Relief-Ounce/dp/B001ET7D4W/ref=sr_1_2_sspa?dchild=1&amp;keywords=zaditor+eye+drops&amp;qid=1587861951&amp;sr=8-2-spons&amp;psc=1&amp;spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUEzUU41M0g0QVI3WkVZJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwNzM0MDE0MjY3MTYyUFg0WTg4TCZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwMDMzMzI5OTlOTUxaUE84U0kxJndpZGdldE5hbWU9c3BfYXRmJmFjdGlvbj1jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ%3D%3D" id="e4e74aeb-9d77-32ff-ae06-c657d0c09e39"> Alaway </a> , and <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Rite-Aid-Antihistamine-Original-Prescription/dp/B07SXCXFQK/ref=sr_1_12?dchild=1&amp;keywords=eye+itch+relief+drops&amp;qid=1587861999&amp;sr=8-12" id="65a1b417-022d-3911-a006-6f127418dd59"> Eye Itch Relief </a> by Rite Aid.

<h1> Eye drops containing pheniramine maleate and naphazoline hydrochloride </h1>

Were not expecting you to remember those names, so bookmark this page when you go to the drugstore so you can match them to the products on the shelf that contain them. This is a combination antihistamine (pheniramine maleate) and decongestant (naphazoline hydrochloride).

The only challenge with decongestants, which act as redness reducers, is that sometimes the redness reducer will cause a rebound effect, says Dr. Jackson Blair. The redness can come back worse than it was before. Also, eye drops with a decongestant can increase eye pressure, so patients with glaucoma should avoid this group of eye drops.

Find these drugs in: <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Naphcon-A-ALCON039925-Naphcon-A-Drops/dp/B000GG5UEO/ref=sr_1_14?dchild=1&amp;keywords=eye+itch+relief+drops&amp;qid=1587862044&amp;sr=8-14" id="f8fe1627-9d1f-3c71-a162-a95a7e16842e"> Naphcon A </a> , <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Visine-Multi-Action-Relief-Drops-2-Pack/dp/B07QWYHK55/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&amp;keywords=visene+eye+allergy+relief+multi+action+drops+pheniramine+maleate&amp;qid=1587862274&amp;sr=8-1" id="fe92c8c5-68ed-337a-a4c6-98b23b608efe"> Visine Allergy Eye Relief Multi-Action </a> , and <a href="https://www.walgreens.com/store/c/walgreens-eye-allergy-relief-drops/ID=prod6291173-product" id="2d3ee728-6bcc-3f28-a187-d87d81046151"> Walgreens Eye Allergy Relief </a> .

<h1> Prescription allergy eye drops </h1>

There are a whole host of options in prescription eye drops, from mast cell inhibitors to antihistamines of different types. If your eyes arent easily soothed by over-the-counter problems, its worth seeing an allergist. One of the many reasonsnot just so you get the right dropsis that they can help you figure out what specifically is causing the reaction and you can try to reduce your exposure to it. Finally, in limited instances, a prescription steroid (such as Alrex or Lotemax) may be used for more severe symptoms of allergic conjunctivitis. Steroids however, should be used cautiously as they can also increase the risk for glaucoma and cataracts. If used for more than a week it is advisable to also have an optometrist or ophthalmologist assist in the management, explains Kirk Waibel, M.D., former Allergy Consultant to the Army Surgeon General, now at <a href="https://www.aspireallergy.com/" id="579492c9-6960-30d8-af43-c5fb2c3d5af3"> Aspire Allergy &amp; Sinus </a> in San Antonio, TX.

<h1> Tips for using allergy eye drops </h1>

Use these tips from Dr. Waibel to get the most from the allergy eye drops you use:

<ul><li> Check with your eye doctor about how to use prescription meds, and read OTC labels carefully regarding dosage and how many times a day you need to use the drops. </li><li> Ask or read the label to see if the drops can be used with contact lenses. Some can, but you may have to adjust your lens-wearing schedule, since you need to wait ten to 15 minutes after using the drops before putting in your lenses. </li><li> Eye drops are best used like other allergy medication: Daily if you are having frequent symptoms or intermittently when allergies are less bothersome, he says. </li><li> Keep the eye drops refrigerated. The cool sensation is also soothing, he adds, which can help minimize redness and itching. </li></ul>

In addition to taking drops, washing your eyes with cold water or using a cold washcloth after time outdoors can also help reduce itchy, watery allergy eye symptoms.

Sometimes, your seasonal allergies are pretty well under controlyoure taking your meds regularly and youre not sneezing up a storm. But your eyes are still itchy and red. Other times, you seem to have no symptoms of seasonal allergies at allno feeling fuzzy, no stuffed or runny noseyet your eyes get super itchy and red when youve been outdoors. Maybe they tear up or get watery, too.

The Best Eye Drops for Relieving Allergies and Redness

First, as with any exercise, the number of calories you burn by swimming depends on the intensity with which you do it.

<h1> How much do you have to swim to lose weight? </h1>

Swimming at a somewhat casual paceabout 50 yards a minuteburns about 625 calories per hour. Kick that up to a high-level recreational athlete, where youre swimming 75 yards in a minute, and youll burn a little more than 750 calories an hour. To lose a pound, youd want to burn about 3,500 calories. So if you swam for an hour three times a week, youd burn a pound off in two weeks. And that doesnt even count any dietary changes.

Any kind of activity is better than just sitting aroundif you were previously sedentary, even 20 to 30 minutes of swimming allows you to burn calories you wouldnt have before. See how <a href="https://www.menshealth.com/health/a29234059/weight-loss-swimming-hiit-training-alcohol-diet-115-pound-transformation/" id="fe87a1ef-bd90-34a4-af4f-17696ed056eb"> this guy used swimming to help lose 115 pounds </a> .

<h1> Does that mean swimming burns off belly fat? </h1>

Sort of. Swimming doesnt preferentially burn belly fat, but if its something that youll do consistently because you enjoy it, then it will help you drop pounds all over, including youre your belly.

<h1> How to torch calories by swimming </h1>

To torch more calories, either get in more frequently, swim longer each session, or swim at a higher intensity. There are benefits to each:

As with any exercise, the key to losing weight with it is to be consistent. Swim coaches talking with athletes who want to get stronger and faster encourage them to swim less, more often. You get more out of a swim when your technique is good. So getting in the water more frequently beats banging out a long session where youre just fighting falling-apart technique at the end.

Also, unless you have a pool in your back yard, swimming requires a little planningyou have to get to the pool when its open, make sure you have your cap, goggles, towel and whatever else you need for the shower afterward. (Check out the best goggles <a href="https://www.menshealth.com/fitness/g26560104/best-swimming-goggles/" id="4746b145-cc8f-3cdf-ab29-f776e5726dca"> here </a> .) Make it easy for yourself and have your swim bag ready to go at all times, so you can spend less time looking for stuff and more time working out.

Once your technique stays in place for a whole workout, see if you can make one swim a week slightly longer than the others. This will not only allow you to burn more calories, it will improve your endurance so you can swim stronger for longer in future sessions and gradually extend your time in the pool.

To burn more calories in less time, use an interval training approach. Instead of swimming the whole time at 65 or 70 percent of your max heart rate, break your workout into sets. There are a million different ways you can approach it. One way would be to try swimming 4 laps at 70 percent, 4 at 80, and 4 at 90, resting between each set of four. Then descend the ladder (4 at 90, 4 at 80, 4 at 70). You can find good swim workout suggestions all over the internet, but <a href="https://www.swimmingworldmagazine.com/swim-cgi/" id="10edb854-c3b9-38fa-ae8b-47c08a217475"> this tool from Swimming World Magazine </a> lets you customize them to your fitness level and how long you want to swim.

If youre looking for a total-body cardio workout thats kind to your joints, swimming is it. And it can be a total calorie-burner, too. Just keep a few things in mind to get the most out of it.

Swimming Can Help You Crush Your Weight Loss Goals

<h1> Is swimming a better cardio exercise than running? </h1>

This swimming versus running rivalry has been around for a long time. In fact, its two-thirds of what inspired the very first triathlon, which was a competition between a swimmer, a cyclist, and a runner to see who was more fit.

Swimming and running do different things for your body, but they both get your cardiovascular system in shape. Both create healthy changes in the heart, although they do it slightly differently. In athletes who do cardio, the left ventricle often gets larger and stronger so it can better handle pumping more blood quickly throughout the body in response to what youre asking it to do.

<a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fphys.2018.01700/full" id="a30de886-6656-3ddb-a09b-e0a7cf9c0369"> Research </a> published in Frontiers in Physiology looked at the hearts of elite runners and swimmers and saw that both had stronger, bigger left ventricles, but runners were even larger than swimmers, likely because runners circulation has to work against gravity. Lying prone to swim places lower demands on the heart, so it doesnt have to change as much. But the research didnt find that one type of athletes heart was healthier than the other. So the is swimming or running better question is still a draw.

<h1> How to get cardio benefits from swimming </h1>

To get the most cardiovascular benefit from swimming, it helps to be reasonably decent at it. If youre a proficient runnermaybe you run a sub-six-minute mile, then all of a sudden you hop in the pool, if youre not that strong of a swimmer, you wont get the same benefits, Gagliardi says. But if you refine your swimming skills so you dont have to stop after every lap and you can give yourself a meaningful workout at a high intensity, youll see cardiovascular benefits.

<h1> You can burn as many calories swimming as you can running </h1>

You might have to swim for longer than you run to achieve the same caloric result, says Gagliardi.

Heres how many calories a 160-pound guy would burn during each type of workout in 30 minutes, according to ACE Fitness numbers:

<ul><li> Running at a 10-minute mile pace: 370 calories </li><li> Running at a 6-minute mile pace: 548 calories </li><li> Swimming recreationally fast (75 yards per minute): 378 calories </li><li> Swimming moderately (50 yards a minute): 312 calories </li></ul>

<h1> Other facts about swimming versus running </h1>

Swimming and running ask different things from your body. Good runners tend to have stiff ankles while good swimmers tend to have flexible ones. A new sport called <a href="https://www.menshealth.com/fitness/a29520737/swim-run-races/" id="c7354ec7-a7b6-3fa3-a35d-42934026ec3e"> Swim Run </a> has cropped up that combines both disciplinesyou generally swim to one point, get out and run to another, then swim to another and so on. Some coaches call the sport the great leveler, since neither native swimmers nor native runners keep an advantage the whole way through.

<h1> Can you build muscle in the water? </h1>

Yes, but you really have to work at it and do specific exercises other than just swimming laps. Swimming will tone your whole body, but to build muscle, <a href="https://www.menshealth.com/fitness/a26594882/swimming-exercises/" id="483877e0-2eba-30e3-ac55-792c35a4808a"> try these exercises </a> in the pool.

Take an Olympic swimmer and Olympic runner and stand them next to each other, and theres no doubt both will look super fit. Theyll both also have excellent cardiovascular conditioning. You often hear people wonder whether swimming is a cardiovascular workout, especially if it feels easy to them, says Chris Gagliardi, the scientific education content manager at ACE Fitness. Swimming is absolutely a cardio activity, he says. It gets your heart rate up and increases the amount of oxygen your bod...

Why Swimming is Considered Cardio

Its a Saturday morning in late February, and OConnor, 51, who serves as safety director for the annual Memphremagog Winter Swim Festival, is holding a quick briefing inside the East Side Restaurant and Pub, a tavern that doubles as a staging area just a few hundred feet from the competition zone.

Race safety director Greg OConnor reviews the rules before swimmers hit the 31-degree water.

As basically the only subzero meet in North America, the Winter Swim Fest is free to make its own rules. The frigid pool is limited to two lanes and 25 meters. Races range from 25 to 200 meters and include the classic swim-meet strokes of freestyle and butterfly and various relays. While parka-clad volunteers clock times, competitors race attire must be chillingly confined to English Channel rules: just a cap, goggles, and a standard swimsuit.

This setup means no flip turns. (If you turn wrong, you end up under the ice, OConnor says.) No holding the ladder or the wall too long at the end. (It gets icy, and your hand can freeze to it.) And no matter what, you need to stay in touch with how youre feeling. (You can go downhill really fast.) The popularity of ice swimming has spiked in recent years, so about half the field at Winter Swim Fest is new. If you dont have anxiety, OConnor clarifies, it means you have no idea what youre getting yourself into.

Submerged bubblers keep the water moving so the pool doesnt freeze over before the races start.

It all started out as a half-joke deep in the winter of 2014. Race director Phil White, then in his mid-60s, posted a photo of himself on Facebook standing on the ice of Lake Memphremagog with a three-foot circular saw and the now-infamous phrase Anybody want to go for a swim? Then Darren Miller, a marathon swimmer and race organizer in Pittsburgh, saw the post and called to ask, Are you serious? One year later, 40 hardy swimmers turned up for the first event, and over the next half decade participation doubled with little obvious reward at stake.

The 2014 Facebook post from race director Phil White that led to the creation of the Winter Swim Festival.

Bragging rights and pool records aside, the top finishers receive little more than Vermont maple syrup and a lot of homemade beef jerky (for first place), or a little less beef jerky (for second), which hints that there must be some stronger pull below the surface. After the briefing, several swimmers around me chatter nervously about how maybe this whole thing wasnt such a good idea. I can empathize. Im a devoted warm-water marathon swimmer and cant get my head around the draw. So Ive signed up to participate in the 25-meter breaststroke. In less than five hours, I too will be forcing myself into the frigid water.

THE WINTER SWIM Festival always kicks off with the hat competition, a true icebreaker of an event: a 25-meter head-up breaststroke thats judged not on your speed but on your hat alone. Its a showcase of creativity and engineering, with some headgear accessorized by lights and waterproof speakers.

Among this stream of contestants now heading toward the water, Derek Tucker, 49, stands out for wearing a bright pink papier-mch pig hat so voluminous you could probably see it from space. He and his kids designed it together, he explains, regarding it with a mixture of pride and trepidation. Hes fully aware that hes broken the classic nothing new on race day rule by not test-captaining The Hat beforehand. Despite being an ultraswimmer and ultrarunner, hes not sure he can actually keep his head above water while wearing it. Worst case, Ill just tread water and scull, he says, shortly before descending into the pool.

Once exposed, Tucker and I descend some wooden steps on either side of the pool and stand on a submerged platform that runs between them. We take one second to fist-bump, then grab the ice-crusted rail behind us in a set position. Someone shouts Go, and were off. The adrenaline of the moment takes over, and within a few strokes Im able to duck my head under the water. My 25-meter race takes all of 25.97 secondsand even though Tucker beats me to the far wall, I arrive there tingling, ecstatic, and can't stop grinning.

Whether youve finished or pulled out early, volunteers at the end of the lane do the same thing, heat after heat, swimmer after swimmer: Bundle, aid, congratulate. The hallmark of this festival, as much as it is the ice pool itself, is the wrapthe move a volunteer does with a towel or giant robe to bundle the swimmer back up when they emerge from the water, skin varying in shades from ruddy to full-on lobster. Now its my turn to feel it, as the volunteers make sure my frozen feet get into my shoes and that my robe is zipped.

Earlier, I spoke with one of the fast, young up-and-comers in the sport, the Dutch athlete Fergil Hesterman, 28, who described the ice-swimming community as one big family that helps each other out. Its easy to feel what he means.

MY TIME IN the breaststroke placed me solidly midpacktenth place out of 21 womenand yet I still spent the rest of that day feeling victorious. Id tapped into the mind-over-matter part of the sport, which is incredibly satisfying.

Perhaps no one embodies that ideal more than CIBBOWS swimmer Seth Bornstein, who is attending his fifth festival and has recently returned from the international championships in Bled. When we meet, one of the first things he tells me is Im the slowest swimmer on world record. Thats verified. He still swims regularly. I realized that I know I can do this; I dont have anything to prove to anyone anymore, especially myself.

The author smiles post-race as volunteers work to ensure she warms back up safely.

Bornstein, 63, swam in the hat competition, sporting a stuffed turtle atop his cap. It went well, he says, but he decided to scratch his 25 freestyle scheduled for later in the day. For him, its not about fast times or specific distances; its about just being among the field. I didnt grow up athletic, he says. I was born with cerebral palsy and I wore a leg brace as a kid. I never thought I could do physical stuff. Those who have known me for a long time are kind of happy. They know its something I wantedto be athletic. It took me 50 years to get to that point. Its fun.

Toward the end of the day, more names get crossed out, more people are re-paired up, and in Memphremagog festival style, everyone rolls with it. By dinnertime, its like one big Christmas night, people strolling around in their pajamas (wear your PJs, get one free shot of vodka from the bar) and feeling the effects of adrenaline fatigue, pride, and whatever you call the feeling that comes from being with people who totally get you. People whove watched you shiver, dare, fail, and do things you never thought youd do, again and again.

When the sun rises the next day, the outside temperature remains low, with a real feel of nearly zero. Thats lucky, in a way, because its an inconvenient time for ice swimmings popularity to be surging. Warmer weather caused the water at the recent British Ice Swimming Championships to hit a balmy 43.5 degreestoo warm to be considered an ice swim, so no records could be officially counted. At least one extremist, Lewis Pugh, a British-South African endurance swimmer and activist, is embracing that sad fact by doing ever more dramatic swims in places you wouldnt think humans could flutter-kick, like the North Pole and, recently, a tunnel of melting ice in east Antarctica, to bring attention to global warming.

The second days races go much like the firsts, except for the final event, a set of spirited relays that are as much about whats happening on the deck as in the water. Theres a flurry of activity as swimmers and volunteers race around to coordinate just whos about to go into the water, and how to make sure everyone exiting the pool is wrapped and cared for. Its a game of timing and positioning, frequently messed up, always forgiven, with choruses of Sorry! Sorry! and Go! Go! mingling in the air while volunteers shuffle dry, warm clothes around on deck to get them to the right swimmer at the right moment.

Competitors crowell and born swim aggressively for during their 25 meter fly race

Relays are supposed to be pod against pod, except theyre kind of not. Cheers erupt everywherefor your team, the other team, the volunteers around the pool. And I find that Im cheering for everyone else, too. Its all, as Tucker once warned me, so silly and unnecessary, and yet energizing and fun and empowering to watch. I think the sport is growing because it connects us to a real feeling of being alive, says Margaret Gadzic, 41, a soft-spoken swimmer and organizer on the Buckeye Bluetits. This is something you can do to feel your breath catch, your heart race, and your blood pump in your veins.

"I DON'T WANT to scare you, but if you dont have a little anxiety about being out there, dont go out, says Greg OConnor to the 93 swimmers who have committed to launching themselvesat various times over the next two daysinto a lap pool that has been carved into the thick ice of Lake Memphremagog in Newport, Vermont.

Marty Munson

Articles written by the author

These Are America’s 10 Fittest Cities

Here's Who's Considered a 'Close Contact' to Someone with COVID-19

Can Drinking Lots of Water Flush Out COVID-19?

To Pee or Not to Pee? What to Know About the Bathroom at the Bar Right Now.

The 5 Best Ways to Lose Weight After 40

What to Do if You're Exposed to Tear Gas

A Guide to Dealing with Overwhelming Anxiety Right Now

How Not to Get Bitten by Ticks This Summer

Is DEET Actually Bad for You? Here's What to Know.

The Best Eye Drops for Relieving Allergies and Redness

Swimming Can Help You Crush Your Weight Loss Goals

Why Swimming is Considered Cardio

What It Feels Like to Compete at the Biggest Ice Swimming Race in North America

How to Keep Your Energy Up When You Don’t Know When the End Is

The Difference Between Allergy and COVID-19 Symptoms

How to Keep Your Face Mask from Fogging Up Your Glasses

You Shouldn't Be Wearing Gloves to Go Grocery Shopping

How Coronavirus Actually Behaves Inside Your Body

Coronavirus Disease Symptoms Take About 5 Days to Show Up

CDC Warns It's Time to Start Preparing for Coronavirus in the U.S.