When Your Heart (And Abs) Ache From Joy
Health icons, a rainbow, and a reminder that community always wins. Plus, news from across the wellness world...
It took the entire cross-country plane ride home for my cheeks and throat to stop hurting from smiling, laughing and whooping so much. Yes, I’m back from one of The Best Days of my life, a.k.a. Global Close Your Rings Day at Apple Park in Cupertino, California. You probably think that sounds like an exaggeration, but I assure you it is not.
I knew it was going to be amazing, but I did not anticipate the level of magic I experienced. I’ll try to describe this as succinctly as possible while it’s all fresh in my heart…
Industry leaders in the health and fitness space gathered at Apple HQ from all over the world…Australia, India, Germany, China, the UK, France and more (remarkable, considering what is happening globally). Beautifully, the group of 90 reflected myriad perspectives, experiences and backgrounds. We were young, old, Paralympians and Olympians, recreational athletes, app founders, creators, coaches, podcasters, authors, Substackers, DJs, and so many other things.
The common denominator: our passion for movement and a deep desire to help others step into their healthiest, happiest selves. In short, these were my people. It was surreal to be part of such a powerhouse crew and celebration of the pursuit of health.
AppleFitness+ trainers led us through an epic field day of play and sweat across the Apple grounds where we tried something new (flag football for me), did what we love (yoga in the shadow of a giant rainbow sculpture at the center of campus), and pushed ourselves (a run-row-run relay race). We also shared breakfast, lunch and dinners, plus morning ice-breaker games that had us all laughing so hard that we were clutching our abs.
“I choose to believe the ones who say that I can.” —USA marathon icon Kara Goucher, who is navigating dystonia in one leg and ran her fastest mile in eight years in the relay finale.
Technically, Apple created this event to commemorate the 10th anniversary of Apple Watch. But in practice, it revealed the power of community at this scale. I know that can be such an overused and vacuous marketing word, but when community is created authentically (1) you know it in your soul and (2) the vibes are the opposite of cringe.
It’s a tangible energy that doesn’t dissipate when the flag football cones are cleared. Community expands organically, cartwheeling into the future, stretching in ways that no one can predict, and warmly embracing more and more people along the way.
I made so many new friends. I learned so much hearing others share about their challenges, wins, and hard work. I felt so overwhelmingly lit up, so seen, so inspired. And now? I’ll share all of that energy with my communities.
By that, I mean that I get to bring my leveled-up motivation right here to Best Case Scenario, of course. But also, I will carry it with me into my local Brooklyn neighborhood where I’m on the YMCA board, to my kids’ schools, on the sidelines of their sporting events, into all of the special projects and teams I now work with, and everywhere else I venture.
Who knows where it will ultimately go and exactly how it will grow, but in the meantime I’m grateful to be back home with this community forever a part of my DNA.
That’s where I’m blowing the whistle today, because it’s time to get into the news of the week.
Across The Wellness World…
Leandra at The Cereal Aisle made my dreams come true with her delightful Susbtack post devoted entirely to “sport” (as a vibe) taking over fashion. Lots of fancy brand leads here too, if you’re feeling rich.
Protein curious? The New York Times launched a fun new tool that allows you to dial in how much you need each day based on your activity level and some basic vitals. It also shows you the amount of protein in common foods, from eggs to meat to beans and beyond.
Meanwhile, The Wall Street Journal says that we’re driving nutrition experts nuts with our protein obsession. You know where I stand on this! (We’re not nuts.)
Congrats to all of my awesome friends who crushed the London Marathon yesterday. From afar, it looked like the brand activations from the marketing teams at New Balance, Adidas, Nike, Bandit, Puresport, and others were very awesome.
An estimated two thirds of middle school and high school kids at my boy/girl twins’ spring choral concert were wearing Sambas. So I’m not surprised that Adidas is having a Very Big Year.
Marathoners who train with friends are less likely to bonk or hit the wall on race day.
The New Balance x Miu Miu rollout continues to Coco Gauff’s cadence. The tennis star fronts the collab and new drops coincide with her tournaments in Rome, Berlin and the USA.
Behold, the rise of women-only gyms: Impact breaks down the trend in a cute IG carousel.
Related! Crunch, Planet Fitness and other gym chains are increasingly removing cardio machines to make space for more weight training equipment…thanks to a rising demand from female members. I love to see it and props to Bloomberg for the scoop.
Shoutout to my inspiring friend and Peloton super-instructor Robin Arzon, who is a newly minted No Bull athlete.
Can a woman go sub-4 minutes in the mile? Faith Kipyegon will attempt to shave eight seconds off her PR on June 26 and National Geographic has some thoughts after spending time with her at her Kenyan training camp.
Pro Shop NYC, yet another chic tennis brand, hosts a pop-up in NYC this week.
More on protein, because, I guess we really are crazy for it. The New Yorker’s Hannah Goldfield takes a bite out of how to build a perfect protein bar in this featurette.
Final protein moment for the day, I promise! Hormbles Chormbles are finally available (10g protein, 100 calories) and Bold Bar (20g protein, 100mg caffeine, 300 calories) will launch soon. Will these newcomers dethrone David and Quest? Time will tell.
Peloton is looking for a new CMO as Lauren Weinberg departs after 16 months, reports AdWeek.
The Garden of Forking Paths, penned by Brian Klaas, is such a banger of a Substack. Equal parts science and philosophy, it would make your brain hurt if it weren’t for his accessible writing. Anyway, check out his excellent new “longevity” piece, which unpacks the perils of living forever…if we even could.
Cheers and biceps flexes in honor or the Women’s Sports Foundation’s Load Women fundraiser, with a mission to get more girls and women lifting weights.
Also pubbed by The Wall Street Journal this week: a piece about whether or not we really need breakfast, following decades of pendulum-swinging research. Like most things, it’s personal and it’s also complicated.
New over at the Verge, Jon Fisher takes Apple Watch users through a tutorial on setting up sleep tracking. I really want to do this, mostly so that I can unlock the Training Load features. Just need to adjust to sleeping in my Ultra.
Footwear company R.A.D. seems to be outfitting all of my favorite fitfluencers in new sneaks as part of their very rad spring “Resurgence” campaign.
Can’t seem to go a week without cold plunge news! The Cold Life now allows customers to customize their tub (color, logo, etc.).
Tracksmith, which seems to be the Brooklyn uniform of Prospect Park runners, expands into an increasing number of retailers, including Running Warehouse.
Aflac and the WNBPA are teaming up and ponying up to pay WNBA All-Stars what they’re worth. Let’s go!
When I was in Austin recently, we had Chobani Coffee Creamer on set. It now lives rent-free in my fridge and I’ve even begun to occasionally drink iced coffee. ‘Tis the (spring…summer…) season.
Eli Lily appears to have the winning formula in their new oral weight loss medication for obesity. Time reports on how they did it and when to expect it.
This creeped me out: Robots are running half-marathons now, as shared on Morning Brew’s IG.
I pride myself on my midwestern niceness, but I’m about to get a lot more curt with ChatGPT. Futurism explains how typing please and thank you waste electricity.
I enjoyed the transparent conversation about midlife weight gain that I had with endocrinologist and obesity expert Dr. Disha Narang on Friday. Our webinar is posted to Alloy Health’s YouTube channel if you’re curious (really tried to ask all the hot button questions, and she went there with me).
I recently shared my experience at Canyon Ranch’s menopause retreat, which includes intimate lectures, a DEXA scan and bloodwork, spa treatments, food and lodging, plus more. A friendly reminder that I’ll be back as a Guest Lecturer for the next retreat May 28–31. Wanna join me? Book here and use code LIZ for a 10% discount.
This week I’m heading to Big Cedar Lodge in my home state of Missouri for their first-ever women’s wellness retreat. I’ll lead some talks, workouts, rucks and more. Make sure to follow me on IG and watch my Stories if you’d like to see what we get up to in the Ozarks.
Virtual high-five from me to you for reading this far. Give me one back? Tap the heart and/or comment below. Appreciate you, mean it!