Start here

The Brief

Welcome back, Wellworthy readers.

The American College of Sports Medicine just updated its resistance training guidelines for the first time since 2009, and it’s making us rethink what a "good" workout really looks like.

This week, we're diving into what the latest science says about how you should be training.

Here’s what’s inside:

• Revised guidelines on building muscle, strength, and power

• David Beckham's IM8 just added blood testing to back its supplements

• NEW DROPS: A retractable sauna, ground beef cereal, and a security system for mold in your home

Here we go!

— Jake, Joana & Ash

The Breakdown

The ACSM analyzed 137 studies involving more than 30,000 people, making it one of the most comprehensive looks at strength training ever published.

Researchers examined how different training styles — including free weights, machines, resistance bands, bodyweight, and at-home workouts — stacked up for strength, muscle size, power, and endurance.

Why it matters

Across programs lasting six weeks to a year, every major outcome improved regardless of equipment or workout style. Training to failure wasn't necessary. Neither was a highly structured program, a specific split, or a set time of day.

The biggest gains didn't come from optimization. They came from simply getting started.

And once that habit was in place, consistency mattered more than any other variable.

That said, Lauren Kleban, celebrity trainer and founder of LEKfit, offers an important caveat: "Walking or Pilates may support overall fitness, but they may not be enough on their own if you want to keep getting stronger."

In practice the formula was simple: train at least twice a week, moving through a full range of motion, and perform 2-3 sets per exercise.

The takeaway

Resistance training has a reputation for being complicated, but the ASCM tells us the bar is much lower than most people think. 

So what makes a good workout? It’s the one you enjoy and can stick with over time.

As Kleban puts it: “If you hate what you're doing, you're not going to stick with it. Just start somewhere and be curious — when you enjoy it and see that it works, consistency becomes much easier."

Just Dropped

New products and drops spotted → 

Performance & style

Polar's new fitness-focused smartwatch, Street X is built for people whose routines don't fit one category. It covers 170+ sport profiles, recovery tracking, up to 10 days of battery, and a built-in LED flashlight. ‘Training Load Pro’ tracks how hard you've been training and tells you whether to hit the gym or take the day off. Check it out.

norda just dropped two new colorways of the 005 trail shoe on its one-year anniversary. Laser comes in white with red accents and gold detailing. Comet brings back the original grey base with a neon pink streak across the upper. Both keep the 005's ultralight, plateless build. Running shoes keep getting harder to leave on the shelf. Take a look.

R.A.D just dropped its first-ever seasonal collection, Factory Racing. The CrossFit cult favorite built its following on hype drops that sold out in minutes — now its ONE V2 and R-1 functional training shoes are available in 7 new colorways. See the collection.

247 by Represent just dropped Technical Numbers,a collection built specifically for hybrid athletes who move between lifting, running, and competition. You’ll find marathon-grade quick-dry base layers, ripstop shorts with reflective hem taping, a spacer fabric hoodie for recovery, and details like auto-lockable zip hardware. Shop here.

Supplements & nutrition

SPYRE launched a carbonated ready-to-drink bottle combining 27g of clear whey protein, 2,000mg of electrolytes, and 160mg of natural caffeine from tea in 12oz. Perfect for those of you carrying three separate products to the gym. Shop here.

Snooz is a UK ice cream brand built around late-night cravings. While most ice cream is loaded with sugar that wrecks your sleep, their formula swaps usual additives for chamomile, L-theanine, magnesium, and lemon balm. Find out more.

Meaties is the first-ever ground beef breakfast cereal. Real, crunchy bites made from grass-fed American beef with 20g of protein per serving and zero grains. Naturally, it's going viral, and the high-protein breakfast crowd is loving it. Shop here.

Lucille is a new complete nutrition shake built specifically for older adults. Within 230 calories, 23 vitamins, and 5g of fiber (more than most shakes), it's made with milk protein isolate, avocado oil, chicory root fiber, and date syrup for natural sweetness. Shop here.

Wellness tech & self-care

HomeCleanse just launched the Guardian, an air quality monitor that tracks mold, fine particulates, airborne viruses, and even humidity. When something crosses a threshold, their team calls you directly to walk through next steps. Plus, it covers a whopping 5,000 square feet. Learn more.

KLAFS built a sauna that can compress to the size of a bookcase, and now they're expanding to the US. The SI runs five climate modes covering dry Finnish heat and soft steam, up to 210°F. A home sauna that can finally live in your living room. Check it out.

On Our Radar 

What's moving in wellness this week → 

Supplements meet blood testing. IM8, the clinical-grade supplement brand co-founded by David Beckham, just partnered with Superpower, a preventive health platform that tests 100+ biomarkers. Subscribers get access to Superpower's full platform, including a 24/7 concierge care team, and can retest after 90 days to measure results. As the line between supplements and diagnostics blurs, this is what proactive health is starting to look like.

Recovery just got a lot more literal. GymNation in Dubai just launched NapTime, a 45-minute “gym” session that moves through gentle yoga and meditation before participants literally get into beds with duvets and eye masks and nap to live handpan music. Marketing play? Maybe. But there's something to the idea that we could all stand to step back and unplug a little more.

Strava just got a whole lot bigger. The platform's latest update adds Muscle Maps to help visualize strength workouts, five new sports, including dance and Padel, heart rate tracking via AirPods Pro 3, and live elevation tracking. Subscribers also get expanded Instant Workouts with audio cues and auto-adjusted pace zones. Well past logging miles, Strava’s coming for every type of athlete.