Gretchen Reynolds
@gretchenxreynolds.bsky.social
Columnist for The Washington Post, covering health and exercise science. Also runner, cyclist, dog mom and human mom. Always curious. Usually tired.
wapo.st/3HrwOR9 Is it a good idea to bring back the presidential fitness test?
Kids hated the presidential fitness test. Researchers aren’t fans, either.
Readers vividly remember the humiliation — and experts say the test probably did more harm than good.
wapo.st
August 10, 2025 at 4:57 PM
wapo.st/3HrwOR9 Is it a good idea to bring back the presidential fitness test?
Had such a fun, fascinating conversation with Dr. Eric Topol about aging well wapo.st/3H2R6QC
How a scientist who studies ‘super agers’ exercises for a longer life
Cardiologist Eric Topol, 70, spent years researching healthy aging. Now, he lives by what he’s learned.
wapo.st
May 21, 2025 at 8:53 PM
Had such a fun, fascinating conversation with Dr. Eric Topol about aging well wapo.st/3H2R6QC
How to be healthy without exercise wapo.st/4jo1aSr
Here’s a science-backed way to get healthier if you don’t like exercise
Doing everyday activities faster, such as gardening and cleaning, may lead to gains in health and longevity — even if you don’t exercise.
wapo.st
April 17, 2025 at 4:19 PM
How to be healthy without exercise wapo.st/4jo1aSr
Reposted by Gretchen Reynolds
Don’t #exercise? Do your chores faster. Changing how you do everyday activities such as gardening and cleaning could have some of the benefits of exercise without a trip to the gym, by @gretchenxreynolds.bsky.social www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/202... via @washingtonpost.com
Don’t exercise? Moving a bit faster may make you healthier.
Doing everyday activities faster, such as gardening and cleaning, may lead to gains in health and longevity — even if you don’t exercise.
www.washingtonpost.com
April 15, 2025 at 1:16 PM
Don’t #exercise? Do your chores faster. Changing how you do everyday activities such as gardening and cleaning could have some of the benefits of exercise without a trip to the gym, by @gretchenxreynolds.bsky.social www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/202... via @washingtonpost.com
Inside the scientific quest to reverse human aging My latest story about longevity science and the risks and promise of cellular reprogramming
March 6, 2025 at 4:19 PM
Inside the scientific quest to reverse human aging My latest story about longevity science and the risks and promise of cellular reprogramming
A kinder, gentler version of the original 7-Minute Workout. (A tougher, sweatier version will be coming next month.) wapo.st/4gZuhcI
The 7-Minute Gentle Workout: Low-impact exercises to get you fit fast
Ease yourself into better shape with this modified routine by exercise physiologist Chris Jordan, creator of the original 7-minute workout.
wapo.st
February 27, 2025 at 11:54 PM
A kinder, gentler version of the original 7-Minute Workout. (A tougher, sweatier version will be coming next month.) wapo.st/4gZuhcI
An older story, re-published just in time for Valentine's Day. (The answer, of course, is 'yes!') wapo.st/3EvCjwC
Does sex count as exercise?
Sexual intercourse burns calories, raises the heart rate and rarely causes cardiac arrest.
wapo.st
February 12, 2025 at 11:04 PM
An older story, re-published just in time for Valentine's Day. (The answer, of course, is 'yes!') wapo.st/3EvCjwC
A great New Year's resolution: more fartleks! wapo.st/3DA9Bu2
Don’t like to exercise? Try this simple, science-backed trick.
‘Fartleks’ are an effective way to add intensity to activities, which a growing body of science indicates can make your workouts more beneficial.
wapo.st
January 2, 2025 at 4:36 PM
A great New Year's resolution: more fartleks! wapo.st/3DA9Bu2
Reposted by Gretchen Reynolds
This is a real charmer from our Nicki Jhabvala. The Commanders eat 93,000 eggs a year?! wapo.st/4fmGQ0R
Turning NFL team meals into fine dining
How the Washington Commanders’ restaurant-trained chefs chop, cook and serve hundreds of pounds of high-end fuel each day.
wapo.st
December 19, 2024 at 7:18 PM
This is a real charmer from our Nicki Jhabvala. The Commanders eat 93,000 eggs a year?! wapo.st/4fmGQ0R
The 93-year-old rower who inspired millions to at least consider taking up exercise, whatever their age wapo.st/3BeQ7KF
At 93, he’s as fit as a 40-year-old. His body offers lessons on aging.
The human body maintains the ability to adapt to exercise at any age, showing that it’s never too late to start a fitness program.
wapo.st
December 12, 2024 at 12:06 AM
The 93-year-old rower who inspired millions to at least consider taking up exercise, whatever their age wapo.st/3BeQ7KF
A very personal story about the limits of exercise and limitlessness of friendship wapo.st/3VAARi3
Heart health, women and the limits of exercise
Fit, healthy people can and do develop heart disease, and the symptoms can be very different for women. Here's what you should know.
wapo.st
December 12, 2024 at 12:02 AM
A very personal story about the limits of exercise and limitlessness of friendship wapo.st/3VAARi3
Ashleigh Johnson, goalie for the US women's water polo squad and one of the most delightful humans I've ever interviewed, on how she protects her hair and skin from water and sun. True service info, for anyone who swims or aspires to ... wapo.st/3DmBa9N
She’s an Olympic water polo star, but fans just want skin and hair tips
Ashleigh Johnson, one of the world’s top water polo goalies, shares the routine that keeps her skin and hair glowing, despite long hours in the water.
wapo.st
December 12, 2024 at 12:00 AM
Ashleigh Johnson, goalie for the US women's water polo squad and one of the most delightful humans I've ever interviewed, on how she protects her hair and skin from water and sun. True service info, for anyone who swims or aspires to ... wapo.st/3DmBa9N
How the US Artistic Swimming team prepared to win silver in Paris. Some of the most grueling training I've ever seen, complete with sequins and smiles wapo.st/4iHZrYm
How artistic swimming became a contact sport
The sport, formerly known as synchronized swimming, has a new name as well as more muscular athletes and more risky tricks.
wapo.st
December 11, 2024 at 11:34 PM
How the US Artistic Swimming team prepared to win silver in Paris. Some of the most grueling training I've ever seen, complete with sequins and smiles wapo.st/4iHZrYm
Four easy workouts/warm-ups from US Olympians, any of them suitable for fulfilling indoor, winter-time fitness resolutions. wapo.st/41uR8Zz
Miss the Olympics? Try these Olympic workouts at home.
Four Olympic or Paralympic athletes share home workouts to improve your fitness.
wapo.st
December 11, 2024 at 11:31 PM
Four easy workouts/warm-ups from US Olympians, any of them suitable for fulfilling indoor, winter-time fitness resolutions. wapo.st/41uR8Zz
Since I'm still new here, I thought I'd share a few of my top WaPo stories from this year. This one is from a four-part series of easy workouts from Olympic athletes. (It's also a terrific arm workout, I can attest.) wapo.st/4g8pLJv
How a javelin thrower gets those arms
To build a strong upper body, try this javelin workout that requires three medicine balls and a wall.
wapo.st
December 11, 2024 at 11:28 PM
Since I'm still new here, I thought I'd share a few of my top WaPo stories from this year. This one is from a four-part series of easy workouts from Olympic athletes. (It's also a terrific arm workout, I can attest.) wapo.st/4g8pLJv
wapo.st/3Z9ynbn
A Q and A about our metabolisms, exercise and what makes Thanksgiving so marvelous and strange ...
A Q and A about our metabolisms, exercise and what makes Thanksgiving so marvelous and strange ...
Exercising to lose weight? Science says it rarely works.
A metabolism researcher dispels myths about how we burn calories and how this changes as we age.
wapo.st
November 27, 2024 at 5:05 PM
wapo.st/3Z9ynbn
A Q and A about our metabolisms, exercise and what makes Thanksgiving so marvelous and strange ...
A Q and A about our metabolisms, exercise and what makes Thanksgiving so marvelous and strange ...
The first in a series of Post stories I'm writing about the science of aging. I hope we all turn out to be 'brain youthers'
wapo.st/3V5DTut
wapo.st/3V5DTut
Inside your body, aging unfolds at remarkably different rates
New research shows aging is not a uniform process. Parts of our bodies start aging earlier than others, right down to our organs and cells.
wapo.st
November 25, 2024 at 5:15 PM
The first in a series of Post stories I'm writing about the science of aging. I hope we all turn out to be 'brain youthers'
wapo.st/3V5DTut
wapo.st/3V5DTut
Reposted by Gretchen Reynolds
Yesterday, I interviewed three dairy safety scientists and asked a few basic questions about raw and pasteurized milk.
Drinking unpasteurized milk is “a really stupid, bad idea,” said John Lucey, the director of the Center for Dairy Research at University of Wisconsin at Madison.
wapo.st/4fxPScm
Drinking unpasteurized milk is “a really stupid, bad idea,” said John Lucey, the director of the Center for Dairy Research at University of Wisconsin at Madison.
wapo.st/4fxPScm
RFK Jr. says he drinks raw milk. How safe is unpasteurized milk?
Raw milk can pose a serious health risk, especially for children and older adults.
wapo.st
November 21, 2024 at 7:41 PM
Yesterday, I interviewed three dairy safety scientists and asked a few basic questions about raw and pasteurized milk.
Drinking unpasteurized milk is “a really stupid, bad idea,” said John Lucey, the director of the Center for Dairy Research at University of Wisconsin at Madison.
wapo.st/4fxPScm
Drinking unpasteurized milk is “a really stupid, bad idea,” said John Lucey, the director of the Center for Dairy Research at University of Wisconsin at Madison.
wapo.st/4fxPScm