Miss America ditches the swimsuit competition 👏

We're not complaining. No Images? Click here   SOME GOOD NEWS Miss America ditches the swimsuit competition, and yeah, it's a big deal  For ever and ever, the Miss America competition assured us it was about scholarship and empowerment, but the extremely gross men leading the organization begged to differ. But now? Now (thanks to the badass new president and majority female board of directors, we assume) it's actually following through on its promise by getting rid of the swimsuit competition, letting contestants wear "whatever they feel most confident in" in the evening gown portion, AND encouraging women with more diverse body types to compete. Apparently the swimsuit competition was about health and fitness this whole time Cool? We guess? Except the way your body looks in a bikini is the very last thing we should be using to gauge health. And according to some former competitors, that portion of the competition encouraged unhealthy habits in order to be in "swimsuit shape" (though other competitors disagree). Who's still skeptical? ✋ The pageant promises from now on, contestants will be judged more on talent and poise than beauty, but this is a see-it-to-believe-it situation. Either way, we'll find out in September when the national competition airs.       But wait—what's the other side? Here's what the people against the change are saying: Beauty exists, and there's nothing wrong with celebrating it. Removing the swimsuit competition doesn't guarantee contestants won't be judged on their attractiveness anymore. And even if they are, isn't that the point? If a beauty pageant isn't judging its competitors on their outward appearance, then what's the point of calling it a beauty pageant? This change will cause ratings to plummet 📉             STUDY UP You can use HIIT for weight lifting to get better results faster High-intensity interval training is the most efficient way to work your cardio. We know this. But a new study applied the same HIIT philosophy to strength training (which we didn't even know you could do, tbh) and found it works just as well for strength as it does for cardio: People who did HIIT resistance exercise got just as strong (if not stronger) than people who spent twice as long in the gym every week. Here's what HIIT strength training looks like Two to three 20-minute sessions per week. That's it. In each session, pick 10 exercises (in the study, participants did back extensions, biceps curls, chest presses, lat pull-downs, leg curls, leg extensions, leg press, seated row, shoulder press, and triceps extensions) and do one set of five reps. The only catch is the weights have to be as heavy as you can handle—you should be able to do all five reps with good form, but it should take 100 percent of your energy to do them.           Try this A fun way to make your gym routine even more effective? Phone a friend. People who have an exercise partner are more likely to get and stay active than those doing it on their own. Greatist           HELP SOMEONE Share these resources In light of the tragic deaths of Kate Spade and Anthony Bourdain, we want to remind everyone that there are resources that can help. The number for National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-8255. We also have a list of affordable mental health resources here.       EDITOR'S PICK Follow @kaisafit on Instagram for bonkers workouts, inspiration, and a generally good time It won't cost ya a cent and you'll get endless inspo from Kaisa Keranen's super-creative (and flat-out impressive) workouts. And muscles. We'll never understand how someone looks this happy while doing box jumps that are as tall as she is, but we love it. She brightens our feed every day, and you deserve a piece of it. (Bonus: Keranen made our list of the 100 Most Influential People in Health and Fitness this year. She rocks.)   FOLLOW HER           Read this Finimize is the daily newsletter that everyone in finance secretly reads. Join more than 200,000 people and get a three-minute breakdown in your inbox every day—for free.         A LITTLE BIT OF HISTORY FOR YA Treadmills used to be atonement machines Does running on the treadmill feel like torture? That's because it is. The device got its start in English prisons at the beginning of the 19th century. The first machine was a cross between a stair-climber and treadmill: Each step inmates took turned gears, which pumped water, crushed grains, or powered mills (hence the name). What's more: Prisoners were forced to spend about six hours per day, five days per week on that road to nowhere. And here you thought 15 minutes was cruel. Greatist, JSTOR       HERE'S THE REST About 70 percent of people diagnosed with breast cancer don't need to be treated with chemo. 👩‍⚕️ Vox A new seven-minute workout for people unable to do the original. 💪 New York Times Is it better to go to the gym or skip if you didn't get enough sleep the night before? 💤 Reddit If you keep choosing unhealthy foods at restaurants, blame the volume of the music playing.  Washington Post What exactly are the genetics of mental illness? 👨‍👦‍👦 Huffington Post Teamwork makes the dream work, but it's coffee that makes the teamwork work. ☕️ Science Daily       Well Now is Greatist's new roundup of all the health stories you were too busy to read this week. We won't be sending it to you forever, so sign up to make sure you keep getting it.   © Greatist 2018 Greatist, Inc. 30 Vandam St., Floor 3, New York, NY 10013   Forward  Unsubscribe