Upon seeing The Great Lock-In Challenge in my feed, I cringed, sighed, and rolled my eyes. I鈥檝e been a health editor for nearly a decade, so I鈥檝e seen my fair share of viral wellness challenges. In 2025 alone, we鈥檝e been presented with the , (a less intense version of the 75 Hard), and the .

While I鈥檓 a proponent of taking care of my mind and body, I鈥檓 not one to advocate for trends鈥攁t least not all of them. Some often feel performative. That’s partly because of the comparative nature of social media and partly because of the message these trends send: “I’m doing health the ‘right’ way.” But there鈥檚 no one way to be healthy. Everyone has different lifestyles, fitness goals, dietary habits, and personalities. The Great Lock-In felt like virtue signaling wrapped in a self-care bow.

I鈥檓 my happiest when I do things as the mood strikes. When I exercise out of joy rather than obligation, it feels more meaningful and increases the likelihood that I鈥檒l do it again.

The Great Lock-In, which runs from October through the end of December, is meant to prepare us for the New Year by 鈥渓ocking in鈥� (the Gen-Z term for intense focus) on our wellness and financial goals now, so that whatever resolutions we choose next year feel a bit more attainable.

The feeling that comes with a new month 鈥�

There are no official rules. However, some people choose similar daily goals, like hitting 10,000 steps鈥攁lthough we recently wrote about how this number isn鈥檛 actually necessary for good health鈥攇etting nine hours of sleep, drinking 12 cups of water, and ditching your phone one hour before bed. Some people are trying to limit spending to build up their emergency savings. Others want to commit to journaling every day or exercising X times per week.

FEW HOURS TILL THE GREAT LOCK IN | RULES .

As a health editor, I often feel pressure to be the perfect example of wellness. This pressure, however, is self-imposed.听

For instance, 10,000 steps each day isn鈥檛 easily achievable for me. My job means I鈥檓 sitting at a computer very often. Sure, I get up, stretch, and take breaks, but my daily job duties don’t require movement. Back when I was a barista in college, hitting 10,000 steps a day was no problem. But I was also living with my parents, which meant fewer responsibilities, so I had more energy and more time to spend at the gym, taking pole-dancing classes, and running along the beach. My schedule now? Work. Cook. Run errands. Do laundry. Grab the mail. Take out the trash. When鈥攁nd big if鈥擨 get all that done, I might have the time and energy to go for a run or a bike ride.

Another reason why I opt out of this particular TikTok challenge is that routines just don鈥檛 work for me. I always get so caught up in doing the routine that I don鈥檛 enjoy it and forget why I started it in the first place. I鈥檓 my happiest when I do things as the mood strikes. When I exercise out of joy rather than obligation, it feels more meaningful and increases the likelihood that I鈥檒l do it again.

My biggest gripe about The Great Lock-In is that it seems like everyone posting on TikTok about it is just trying to prove that they’re winning at life. But performing and doing things for external validation is draining. Of course, sharing your goals and progress with others can be encouraging, but this challenge feels more performative than motivating.

My version of The Great Lock-In would be less about coming up with routines and goals and more about not having any and being OK with that. I don鈥檛 need to force myself to 鈥渓ock in鈥� because when something is exciting to me, I听naturally give it all my attention. The only thing that matters is how we feel in our bodies鈥攁nd isn鈥檛 that what being healthy is really about?

Want more听国产吃瓜黑料听health stories?听. Ready to push yourself? Enter MapMyRun鈥檚听 running challenge.

The post I鈥檓 a Health Editor, and I鈥檓 Not Participating in the Great Lock-In Wellness Challenge appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

I was in second grade when I learned that outdoor spaces were not meant for me. It was also when I realized that I was Black. Honestly, 鈥渞ealized鈥� isn鈥檛 the correct word鈥攎ore like declared. It was recess. The air was a little chilly, and the sky was gray. My classmates and I were pretending to be Star Wars characters. Another girl, who was white, and I both wanted to play Padm茅 Amidala. We bickered back and forth until a second white girl looked at me and spat out: 鈥淵ou can鈥檛 play her, because you鈥檙e Black and you look like poop.鈥� The other kids, mostly White and one Latino kid, laughed. I laughed, too. Not because I thought it was funny, but because I laugh when I鈥檓 uncomfortable or angry. I immediately felt out of place. I didn鈥檛 want to play anymore. I walked away, found a spot to sit along the wire fence enclosing the playground, and stayed there for the rest of recess.

This is a memory I鈥檝e frequently cycled between replaying and burying in my mind throughout my 31 years of living. But, most recently, it was Netflix鈥檚 newest true crime documentary told through hours of bodycam footage, that hauled this memory鈥攐ne that impacted my identity and self-worth for years鈥攆rom the depths of my brain to the forefront.

The Perfect Neighbor opens with an aerial view of a complex located in Ocala, Florida. Large green lawns are dotted with ivory homes, and a wide paved road cuts through the complex, marking the battleground of a two-year-long dispute between Susan Lorincz, a white woman, and 35-year-old Ajike, 鈥淎.J.,鈥� Owens鈥� four children鈥攁ll of whom are Black. Lorincz, who referred to herself as 鈥渢he perfect neighbor,鈥� was known around town as anything but. She frequently took issue with Owens’ young children and other neighborhood kids playing outside. Her disdain for their typical adolescent activities鈥揻ootball, cartwheels, hide-and-seek鈥攎anifested in several episodes of verbal harassment, racial slurs, and dials to 911. She, allegedly, even . Tension brewed and came to a devastating head on June 2, 2023, following an argument between Lorincz and Owens that ended in the latter鈥檚 tragic death. Lorincz was of manslaughter with a firearm in November 2024 and sentenced to 25 years in prison.

It would be an understatement to say that this story rocked me to my core. Watching Lorincz target those kids just for having fun outside transported me back to that time on the playground during recess, where my Blackness鈥攏ot my emphatic and slightly obnoxious 鈥淚-am-Padm茅鈥� declarations that matched the tone and volume of those spouted from the girl I argued with鈥攕ucked the joy out of playtime. I was left to reckon with, yet again, that damn Star Wars game.

I鈥檝e always loved being active and getting outside. My dad owns a printing company, so he sets his own hours. This meant he was home with my twin sister and me a lot as kids. We went bike riding, flew kites, climbed trees, and went paddleboating. Every Tuesday night, while I was still in grade school, the three of us met up with my uncle at the YMCA to swim. Sometimes, we鈥檇 go to an open field, lie in the grass, and watch the Blimpie blimp fly overhead. My dad, mom, and uncle were always around. It was almost suffocating at times. It wasn鈥檛 until I became an adult that I understood where their fierce protectiveness came from.

For me, the outdoors is a place where I find peace, an escape from my laptop or my apartment. But it’s also where my hypervigilance peaks.

I can鈥檛 remember exactly how old I was when my dad first gave me and my sister 鈥淭he Talk,鈥� not the sex talk. The Talk that most Black kids are familiar with: about how to be Black in America. While my dad’s tone was gentle, there was a sense of urgency and warning underneath it. Even when I was young, I got the feeling he was telling me this because he鈥檇 lived it himself. I was instructed to never be too loud, never leave my sister鈥檚 side, and never answer the door.

I recall a moment where I was in the middle of the road in my uncle鈥檚 neighborhood, kicking around a water bottle left lying on the ground. Me, my sister, and my dad had just left the community playground and were on our way back to my uncle鈥檚 house. His neighbor, an older white lady, admonished me for punting the bottle around, to which my dad said, 鈥淪he鈥檚 just having fun.鈥� The woman then proceeded to badger my dad with questions about where we were from and if we all lived together. 鈥淲e live together,鈥� he replied. She pressed him further. 鈥淏ut where do they鈥攔eferring to my sister and me鈥� live?鈥� My dad firmly told her that my mom, sister, and he all live together under one household as a family. I didn鈥檛 fully understand what had just happened. He later told me that 鈥渁 lot of white people can鈥檛 understand that a Black father would live under the same roof as his children.鈥�

The Talk evolved as I got older. In high school, he told me I had to be twice as good as my white peers to get half of what they had. When my dad taught me how to drive, I learned that I should never have my music too loud and that if the cops ever pull me over, I should keep both hands on the wheel. Now, I love to go for long runs in the park or rent a bike when I don鈥檛 feel like running. I remember my dad telling me to always pay attention to my surroundings and not have the music in my headphones so loud that I can鈥檛 hear if someone 鈥渞uns up on me from behind.鈥�

For me, the outdoors is a place where I find peace, an escape from my laptop or my apartment. But it’s also where my hypervigilance peaks. Instead of only having to worry about encountering a rabid raccoon on the trail, falling, or getting lightheaded if I neglect to fuel properly, I鈥檓 also worried about which white person is staring at me like I don鈥檛 belong. I worry if I look intimidating or angry鈥攐r like I鈥檓 going to attack someone. I fear that if I cover my hair with my sweatshirt鈥檚 hood, even to just protect my ears from biting winds, someone will think I鈥檓 a criminal. So, I just let my ears get cold.

The outdoors is supposed to be for everyone. But who is everyone? If Owens鈥� four Black children, Israel, Isaac, Afrika, and Titus, can鈥檛 play outside without being verbally attacked, then who can? I don鈥檛 know the answer to that. But I think not having that answer is one of the reasons why I took this job as an editor at 国产吃瓜黑料. I ache to see that day when people who look like me can enjoy the outdoors without fear of being deemed a nuisance, a threat, a stain. I鈥檓 still going to go for a run tomorrow, not just for the second-grade version of myself who never got to be Padm茅, but for Owens and for her four Black children鈥攚ho dared to play outside.

The post Netflix’s New Documentary ‘The Perfect Neighbor’ Forced Me to Reckon with What It Means to Be Black Outdoors appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

The pop queen, Taylor Swift, just dropped her twelfth studio album, The Life of a Showgirl, at on October 3鈥�leaving Swifties and the rest of the music industry in a chokehold.

Swift first her newest album to the world鈥攚ith a nonchalant unboxing of the vinyl record鈥攐n August 12, on her now-fianc茅 Travis Kelce and brother Jason鈥檚 podcast, New Heights. She created this album while on the European leg of her 2024 Eras Tour. Despite her exhaustion, she to the Kelces, the mental stimulation of creating something new is what kept her going.

features a dozen tracks and is inspired by her life as a singer, dancer, and performer. Swift even alludes to the less-than-fun parts of showbiz in the second track of her newest LP, “Elizabeth Taylor:” Oftentimes it doesn鈥檛 feel so glamorous to be me.

So, how does a dancer build the stamina, endurance, and mental fortitude needed to push through a slew of performances? We asked real-life showgirl , a current dance convention teacher and a former backup dancer鈥攚ho toured with Lady Gaga between 2009 and 2020, and performed with Selena Gomez, Justin Bieber, Nicki Minaj, and others鈥攖o find out.

OUTSIDE: You鈥檙e an actual showgirl but also, clearly, an athlete. We want to know about the type of athleticism and endurance it takes to be stage-ready ahead of a grueling pop tour. Can you describe what that鈥檚 like?

Sloan-Taylor Rabinor: That鈥檚 a loaded question. For me personally, I’ve always been a really big believer in cross-training because if you just look at the show as the show, your body only acclimates to that kind of effort. Muscle memory kicks in, my body acclimates, and [the show鈥檚 routine] becomes less strenuous on the body. That also means my body is not necessarily getting stronger; it’s just doing a routine every day. But I鈥檓 preparing for a career in longevity, so I constantly have to be getting stronger. I can’t just rely on those 90 minutes of show work to carry me through my career. If I start with a specific show, I鈥檓 going to focus on those eight-hour rehearsals until my body acclimates. Then, when I get less sore, I鈥檒l take on a bigger workload. For the show to feel seamless and easy, I start running in the gym. I start strength training to keep everything strong and sturdy, to build a foundation for my body. I鈥檓 sandwiching all these things around the show, the heartbeat of what we do, to make sure it鈥檒l be the best it can be.

Can you describe a typical day for you when you鈥檙e on tour, from warm-ups to cool-downs and recovery?

STR: I started touring at 19. At 19, the body is incredible. When I got older, I realized I needed more prep [ahead of a show]. When I went on my second or third tour, I got really into running because I wanted better stamina. I wanted it to be hard. I would run anywhere between six and eight miles every day before each show.

Wait, before each show?

STR: Yes. Before every show. It鈥檚 not for everybody, and [other dancers] would be like, “You鈥檙e crazy.” When I got older, and we had a physical therapist on the road, I asked her if she could set up a group warm-up. A functional training warm-up. We needed recovery. So we started doing ice baths and post-show massages. But I鈥檓 not touring right now, because I would like to start trying for a baby next year. But if I were on tour right now, I would do a two- or three-mile warm-up, some dynamic stretching about 45 minutes before a show’s start time. I want to make sure my ligaments and tendons can maintain me through a 90-minute show.

Dancers are putting just as much effort into their craft as sports players.

What happens midway through the show if you鈥檙e feeling fatigued and are struggling to push through?

STR: We call that our Come-to-Jesus-Meetings. You learn when to pull back. You鈥檒l know when you鈥檙e not on the big screen and can catch your breath. You do have to forge through it unless you have a “swing,” a backup, who can step in for your part of the show. But unless my leg is falling off, I鈥檓 going to finish that dance. I fell in Guadalajara, Mexico [while on tour with Lady Gaga]. I don鈥檛 remember what year it was, but we were performing during the song 鈥淏orn This Way.鈥� I slipped in the rain, and I hit my head and my back. I flipped right in front of Gaga on the stairs, and it was brutal. I finished that dance. But they did the last dance without me. I went to urgent care, and she checked in on me, and her team did. She鈥檚 very, very good about checking in on the people around her.

That鈥檚 so sweet. After you finish a show, what do you do next?

STR: I immediately want to scrub my face because I’m not a big makeup person; show makeup is a lot for me. If there is a cold plunge available, I鈥檒l do that. If not, then a hot shower. I would normally foam roll for a bit, and then, depending on where we were going next, I would either get on the bus, eat a really big meal, or go to the hotel and sit in a robe and be so proud.

Do you have a showgirl persona when you鈥檙e on stage? What does that transformation feel like when you get on stage and you鈥檙e in your element?

STR: I’ll speak specifically to when we did . It is quite literally the definition of the biggest show in the world. It’s not based on attendance. It’s based on how many people are actually watching this performance at one moment in time. I can remember the way it looked, the way it smelled, where I was, who I was next to. Right before we went out, I remember looking up and seeing everybody, and I cried in an instant. It鈥檚 so much adrenaline mixed with joy and excitement. When people tell me they want to dance, I always tell them you have to be clear about what kind of dance you want to do, because not everyone is built to handle that kind of adrenaline.

Are you ready for Taylor Swift鈥檚 The Life of a Showgirl era? What are you hoping to see or feel from this album, especially as someone who lives the showgirl life on stage?

STR: Listen, I’ll be totally honest. I am not a crazy Swiftie. However, I have so much respect for her from every lane. Every dancer I know who has worked for her, worked with her, been around her, and my friend who’s a backup singer for her, they all have the loveliest things to say about Taylor. She is an artist who treats their team really well. I may not jam out to her music on repeat, but I will listen. I will support. I鈥檓 so happy for my friends who are a part of her visuals. I鈥檝e heard nothing but genuinely beautiful things, so I鈥檓 excited.

Is there anything that you would like 国产吃瓜黑料 readers and people who are really dialed into the performance world to know about dancers?

STR: That we should be treated like actual athletes. They鈥檙e training for the show. Dancers are putting just as much effort into their craft as sports players. If we start viewing dancers as major athletes, we’ll get so much more credit and credibility, which would make us even more valuable.

For further proof of a dancer鈥檚 athleticism: Just before my call with Sloan ended, she said she was going to hop on the bike for a two-hour ride. She鈥檚 training for her second Ironman.

Editor’s note: This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Instagram Embed Photo Credit:

The post The Life of a Showgirl Is an Athletic Feat鈥擩ust Ask Lady Gaga’s Backup Dancer, Sloan-Taylor Rabinor appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

I bought an eye mask for the first time a few weeks ago. It was an impulse buy at Whole Foods鈥攁long with the whole, organic rotisserie chicken that my fridge didn鈥檛 have room for.

Languishing through the personal care aisle (as I always did in a grocery store, even when I didn鈥檛 intend to buy anything), I saw an eye mask by the beauty brand on display near some hair accessories. It was the brand’s . Though the sight of an eye mask鈥攑un intended鈥攕lotted near hair clips and hair ties seemed odd, the packaging, an unassuming blush pink, caught my attention. So, it was no surprise that I gravitated towards it. The box was smooth. And the face of it was open, purposely, so you could feel the uber-plushness and silkiness of the mask. I flipped it over. Eighteen dollars? For an eye mask? Well, it was soft. Very soft. The open-face packaging did its job because I placed it into my cart鈥攆ar away from my chicken.

Full disclosure: I never liked eye masks. My mom, however, loved them, and I remembered trying one of hers as a teenager, simply because I liked stealing whatever she had. She had this strange way of making everything she donned look better and more interesting than it was. I think a lot of moms are like that. She watched me put it on one night, and I hated it immediately. She laughed when I complained that it felt heavy and suffocating. She took it back.

Because I’m a lifelong night owl, I was excited to try my new mask. (I put it in a quick wash cycle first because I imagined many other fingers had also stroked it before I had.) It was late, around 4:30 A.M., when I slipped under my covers. Lying my head on my (Is it obvious that I like satin?), I pulled the eye mask down over my eyes and dozed off.

I woke up to darkness and lifted the mask. Holy shit, I felt good. Usually, when I wake up, I feel groggy, have watery eyes, and feel sort of zombie-like, as if the nerves in my eyeballs were stretched just a bit further than they should be. But I felt alert that morning. My eyes were relaxed, and I didn鈥檛 feel the urge to blink my lids in rapid succession to wake myself up more.

I grabbed my laptop and logged in to Slack to brag to my coworkers about the great night鈥檚 sleep I had. I texted my mom and best friend a photo of the mask, accompanied by a long wall of text about how well-rested I was. My friend replied: 鈥淚s that underwear? Like boyshorts?鈥� I looked at the photo again. 鈥淟MAO. They do look like shorts. But no, it鈥檚 an eye mask.鈥� I have to agree with my BFF: the thickness and large surface area did make it look like an undergarment.

I told my editor听that I听wanted to test the mask for听one week and write about it, and she told me to go for it.

How I Tested the Kitsch Pillow Satin Eye Mask

Testing was easy鈥攋ust seven days. All I had to do was make sure I slept every night and remembered to put on the mask. I created a spreadsheet, which you can , to keep track of four pieces of data:

1. How many hours of sleep I got: I would text myself when I went to bed to get a timestamp and then would do the same when I woke up the next day. Then I calculated, roughly, how many hours I had.
2. Detailed description of my sleep: I essentially freewrote about how I felt, jotting down anything I could remember as soon as I got up
3. Sleep quality rating: I decided on a 1-to-5 scale. (1: Bad; 2: Just OK; 3: Good; 4: Great; 5: Amazing)
4. Detailed description of how I feel upon waking: Again, I used this as an opportunity to treat my spreadsheet like a digital diary to ramble and reflect on the day I had. I used the same 1-to-5 scale as I did for my sleep quality rating.

(Want to see the two different ways I wear my eye mask at night? Check out the video below.)听

Testing Results

After I woke up each day, I updated my spreadsheet. At night, I rated the day I had.

Day 1: I Didn鈥檛 Know Five Hours of Sleep Could Feel So Good

I already mentioned how great my sleep was on night one. But when I put the mask on for the first time. It did feel jarring because the mask is designed to cover both my eyes and ears. My anxious brain听wondered if I鈥檇 be able to hear an intruder breaking in at night if my ears were covered. To test my theory, I asked Alexa to play some sleep sounds after I put on my mask. I could still hear it, but not so much that it felt distracting. It felt like white noise of white noise. OK, cool. I鈥檓 safe.听

My sleep quality was a 4. I gave the day I had a rating of 5. I felt bright-eyed and had an insanely productive work day. I also felt happy and more engaged in conversations with friends.

Even though my brain felt like it had been superpowered, my body felt heavy and sluggish. I鈥檇 been running a lot recently, so I still felt sore. Because I only had five hours of sleep the previous night, I imagine my body didn鈥檛 have time to recover adequately from my long run the day before.

Day 2: I Woke Up with Lots of Eye Goop

Falling asleep was tough for some reason. I eventually did, though, and woke up to my alarm. I gave my sleep quality a score of 3, mainly because I didn鈥檛 get enough sleep鈥搄ust four and a half hours.

When my alarm rang, I lifted the mask, and the light poured in, heightening my eye sensitivity. It felt like I walked out of a cave. But my eyes adjusted in about ten minutes.

I also had a lot of eye sand, some dry, some goopy. According to the eye goop forms because we don鈥檛 blink at night, so any eye discharge and tears build up on the lash line. I鈥檓 thinking that because I wore it over my fluffy curls, the mask was tighter than usual. It鈥檚 possible the mask restricted my eyelids from moving around, creating the perfect environment for eye gunk to pool around my eyes. I wiped it away with a damp washcloth, and once I started work, I felt mentally clear. I gave the day a 4 rating.

Day 3: I Got Used to Sleeping with Something on My Face

By night three, I finally felt comfortable with the eye mask on. The pressure and pitch-blackness no longer felt foreign or oppressive. Unfortunately, I only slept for about four hours. Enter a two-hour nap sans eye mask. However, I did talk to my BFF, the same one who said my mask looks like underwear, and we had a deep, thought-provoking conversation.

Day 4: The Afternoon Slump Had Me in a Chokehold

Although I slept for seven hours, it was a mediocre seven hours鈥攅ven my rating of a 2 feels generous. I woke up feeling groggy, but that passed after about 30 minutes, and I felt pretty good the rest of the day.

Day 5: From Decent to Great

I slept for about six hours, and my sleep was good overall. Like the previous day, I woke up groggy and then had a burst of energy. When the afternoon rolled around, I was overcome with tiredness. I napped for an hour, which refreshed me enough to go for a run after work and do some errands. I gave the day a 4 because even though the afternoon slump was rough, I had a very productive day and felt accomplished.

Day 6: It Was a Good Day

Queue Ice鈥檚 Cube 1993 hit 鈥淚t Was a Good Day.鈥� I don鈥檛 have much to say about day five. Not bad. Not amazing. Just鈥ood. I was pleased.

Day 7: Like the First Day, I Felt Fantastic

I logged a full eight hours of sleep. I had some wild dessert-induced dreams. Sleep quality? 4. The next day: a 5.

What I Love About the Kitsch Eye Mask

I love the silkiness of the satin fabric. It feels really luxurious against my eyelids. It’s thick but not enough to feel like I鈥檓 lying on an extra pillow, despite the mask鈥檚 name. I like that it still allows for sound to pass through and is flexible enough to accommodate side sleeping.

I鈥檝e been wearing the mask most nights, even though the experiment is over, and my overall sleep quality has improved. When I wear the mask, I feel energized the next day鈥搖sually鈥揳nd find that my productivity and mood increase.

What I Don鈥檛 Love About the Kitsch Eye Mask

Because the mask is so silky, it does shift a bit on my face. The shift is minimal, but it鈥檚 still noticeable. When I first lay down and put it on at night, I find myself adjusting it a few times before it feels secure.

Initially, the mask felt a little too snug on my face, pressing on my eyelids a little more than would be considered comfortable. But after a few uses and washes, it鈥檚 loosened up and now feels perfect for the combination of my head and hair size.

Final Thoughts

Despite some of its flaws, I definitely recommend this eye mask to anyone鈥攅specially fellow night owls who don鈥檛 always get enough sleep but need something to deepen what sleep they do get.

After the experiment ended, I went mask-free on day eight. The next morning, I went to make coffee. I loaded the K-Cup into my Keurig and hit start. I walked away while it brewed. Upon walking back to my machine, I noticed all of my coffee had spilled on the counter, the brown liquid dripping on the floor. It was then that I realized I never put the mug underneath. I鈥檝e had Keurigs for a few years now, and I have never, ever made this mistake. Had I slept with the mask, I鈥檇 probably have been awake enough to remember.

The post I Tested Kitsch’s Charcoal Satin Pillow Eye Mask for One Week鈥擨 Felt Energized Even After Little Sleep appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.