How Stoicism Can Help You Overcome Anything This Year

Strength Training: 2-3 Days

The magic formula, according to Noam Tamir, CSCS, founder of TS Fitness, is three days of strength training, two days of cardio, and two days of active rest per week.

Strength training days are absolutely crucial for maintaining a healthy weight. In addition to forming and shaping a strong, sexy bod, adding muscle mass increases your resting metabolism — meaning you'll burn more calories when you’re at home on your couch, enjoying a good Netflix binge. If you’re not looking to add any noticeable muscle, you can theoretically strength train twice a week and make use of that third day for cardio, but we wouldn’t recommend skipping it altogether.

You can strength train in a variety of ways, too. Lifting is an obvious option, but for those who are really looking for a leaner physique or who just hate lifting, pilates and intense vinyasa yoga are also fabulous. Functional training, like rock climbing or rowing, also qualifies.

Make sure to take a break between your strength training days. Most experts say that you need at least 48 hours for your muscles to recover. In the meantime, there’s cardio!

Cardio: 2-3 Days

Cardio is undoubtedly important, not only for keeping your heart healthy, but also for burning fat. Without getting too technical, you should aim to hit 85-100 percent of your target heart rate for roughly 15 minutes. You can calculate your maximum heart rate by subtracting your age from 220. So, if you’re 27, your max heart rate would be 193, and 85 percent of that would be 164.

You can get there with high-intensity interval training, long-distance running, Zumba, cardio kickboxing — whatever floats your boat.

Active Rest: 2 Days

Finally, one of the most important parts of your workout plan: active rest. Two days of your week should be fully focused on letting your muscles rebuild through gentle stretching, walking, restorative yoga, or foam rolling. By completing these kinds of workouts twice a week, you’ll be staying active and building flexibility all while chilling out!

The Dangers of Over-Exercising

It’s important to take time off from your workouts if health is your overall goal. For one thing, over-exercising can lead to adrenal fatigue and other disorders, as exercise is literally added stress for your body. Your adrenal glands respond to exercise by releasing stress hormones like adrenaline and cortisol, and over time, not giving your adrenals a break can lead to tiredness, lethargy, and even thyroid problems.

And besides, it’s important to take a mental break from exercise. When you start to obsess about fitness, is when a healthy habit turns into something more sinister. Do yourself a favor and take at least two days a week for rest or active recovery. Your body will thank you!

How To Prepare Zoodles

Cut Your Zucchini Noodles The Right Way

To make zoodles, cut both ends off of the zucchini. Slice the zucchini into two halves. From there, use a tool like the Kitchenaid spiralizer attachment that screws onto your stand mixer or a free-standing tool like the one from OXO, or an Inspiralizer to unspool fine or extra fine zucchini ribbons from the core of the zucchini.

In a pinch, you could try using a vegetable peeler to peel long planks off the zucchini and then slice them into noodles. Or, cut the planks using a chef's knife and then further slice them into matchsticks. Once you've processed the zucchini into zoodles, store them in the refrigerator where they taste best within three days.

While zoodles can be eaten raw and dressed up in pesto or another salad dressing, if you want to cook them, these are the three methods to try.

How To Cook Sautéed Zoodles

Heat a skillet over medium heat. Add two teaspoons of oil (olive or coconut) or a pat of unsalted butter. Toss in the zoodles (spiralized from one zucchini), salt to taste, and sauté for several minutes, turning with tongs until the color of the zoodles deepens and they become soft.

Serving Suggestion: After oil is heated, stir in thinly sliced garlic or minced fresh ginger to sizzle and scent the oil. This would be the time to also add a dash of spice like a curry powder, if you like. Once zoodles are cooked, garnish with a scattering of toasted coconut, shredded fresh cilantro and/or mint leaves, and chopped scallions. Pair it with fish.

Zoodle Recipes That'll Make You Want More

Shrimp Scampi with Zoodles

Swap out traditional noodles with zoodles for a flavorful, healthy dish. (via Feel Good Foodie)

Spiralized Zucchini Chicken Noodle Soup Jars

This recipe is the perfect low-carb meal prep idea. Just add boiling water, microwave and enjoy! (via The Girl on Bloor)

Zoodles with Tomatoes and Capers

This raw five-ingredient zoodle recipe will take you through all the warm months. It’s fresh, fast, and furiously flavorful. (via A Spicy Perspective)

Pesto Zoodles

This delicious summertime recipe adds color, nutrition and fun to your meals. (via Feel Good Foodie)

Vietnamese Chicken Pho with Zoodles

This healthy zoodle recipe is gluten free, paleo, and oh-so tantalizing! (via A Spicy Perspective)

Avocado Zucchini Carbonara Pasta

There's so many options that'll come up when searching how to cook zoodles, but none of them will taste like this avocado zucchini carbonara pasta recipe. It's not complicated to make, but it is pretty to plate! (via Half Baked Harvest)

Is there a Tortured Poets Department cardigan?

Yes, you can order a Tortured Poets Department cardigan on Taylor Swift's website now (or at least, while supplies last!). The gray button down is in the same cable knit style as all her previous cardigans, which makes it the perfect collector's item! Plus, it's got that iconic "The Tortured Poets Department" patch on the bottom left of the sweater.

What is TTPD the Anthology?

Taylor Swift released the full version of TTPD with The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology. After all those 2 references, some fans thought we'd get a Taylor Swift book, while others wondered if it was part of the TS12 countdown. Instead, it was a double album that features 31 songs instead of the initial 17! Some tracks the internet is already obsessed with are "thanK you aIMee" and "The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived."

How many songs will be on The Tortured Poets Department?

Taylor Swift dropped The Tortured Poets Department 's first song list February 5. "I Can Do It With A Broken Heart" is totally referencing Taylor Swift's Eras Tour performances following her split from Joe Alwyn (you can see her crying during the set), while "Florida!!!" is all about using the southern state as an escape. Taylor Swift's dad Scott Swift recently told fans he's most excited for Swifties to hear the title track and "Florida!!!"

While we were excited for these tracks, Taylor surprised us with even more at 2AM! The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology has all the songs from the original album, plus 15 more. Here's the full tracklist for TS11:

1. Fortnight (feat. Post Malone)
2. The Tortured Poets Department
3. My Boy Only Breaks His Favorite Toys
4. Down Bad
5. So Long, London
6. But Daddy I Love Him
7. Fresh Out the Slammer
8. Florida!!! (feat. Florence + The Machine)
9. Guilty as Sin?
10. Who's Afraid of Little Old Me?
11. I Can Fix Him (No Really I Can)
12. loml
13. I Can Do It With A Broken Heart
14. The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived
15. The Alchemy
16. Clara Bow
17. The Black Dog
18. imgonnagetyouback
19. The Albatross
20. Chloe or Sam or Sophie or Marcus
21. How Did It End?
22. So High School
23. I Hate It Here
24. thanK you aIMee
25. I Look in People's Windows
26. The Porphecy
27. Cassandra
28. Peter
29. The Bolter
30. Robin
31. The Manuscript

What is a tortured poets department?

Taylor Swift has spent years talking about her anxiety, her sleepless nights, and her emotions. "My muses, acquired like bruises / My talismans and charms / The tick, tick, tick of love bombs / My veins of pitch black ink," she writes in her official Instagram post. "All's fair in love and poetry."

As far as the name, it looks like The Tortured Poets Department could be referencing her ex-boyfriend Joe Alwyn's group chat name — "The Tortured Man Club" with Paul Mescal (who starred in Normal People while Joe starred Conversations With Friends. Both series are based on Sally Rooney books).

Taylor Swift is also making major connections to the "poetry" aspect of TTPD because ahead of the album release, she gave us a limited library installation pop-upfull of Easter eggs and references!

When is The Tortured Poets Department release date?

The Tortured Poets Department dropped on April 19, 2024. Ahead of the release, Taylor Swift sent fans on a scavenger hunt to gather clues about the album. @eurosweetheart on TikTok points out that on Apple Music, certain song lyrics from Taylor's discography featured random capital letters. But when the letters were strung together, they formed words! The final message was “We hereby conduct this post mortem.”

At the Eras Tour shows in Tokyo, Taylor Swift explained when she started working on TTPD. “I’ve been working on Tortured Poets since right after I turned in Midnights,” she said onstage. “So, you turn in an album months in advance…and I’ve been working on it for about two years. I kept working on it throughout the U.S. tour and when it was perfect, in my opinion, when it was good enough for you, I finished it.”

"Soon you'll get to hear it, soon we'll get to experience it together," she continued. "I'm over the moon about the fact that you guys care about my music...Everyone’s like, ‘Why do you make so many albums?’ And I’m like, ‘Man, because I love it! I love it so much! I’m having fun, leave me alone.'”

The brand new album follows Speak Now (Taylor's Version) and 1989 (Taylor's Version). When Midnights was announced after Fearless (Taylor's Version) and Red (Taylor's Version), I wondered whether she'd have a two rerecordings, one new album pattern and it looks like that's what we're getting!

What is Taylor Swift's The Tortured Poets Department?

Taylor Swift's new album (which is also referred to as TS11) is called The Tortured Poets Department. Taylor Swift announced the album while accepting the award for Best Pop Album at the 2024 Grammys. Just like "Daylight" at the end of Lover sets up Midnights, I think "Dear Reader" sets up The Tortured Poets Department.

In honor of the eclipse on April 8, Taylor Swift posted the first lyrics from TS11! "Crowd goes wild at her fingertips // Half moonshine // Full eclipse," the lyric post (which ended up being from "Clara Bow") reads. "The first line makes you think of someone who’s famous (Clara Bow was an actress) and...moonshine was a type of alcohol that was popular during prohibition during the 1920s which is when Clara Bow was famous," one comment reads.

Taylor's official announcement features even more beautiful language that evokes the same emotion "The Lakes" does, and TTPD is very similar to Folklore and Evermore in terms of lyrics, but the sound reminds me of 1989. It also has ties to Reputation.

"I think the two albums are sisters albums, but in like an opposite way," one Reddit user says. "Reputation is all black, this one is going to be all white and softly coded." Another agrees: "Reputation is presented as a dark album but is truly a love album...This one is presented as soft and white but I bet the lyrics will be devastating."

TS11 has the same lyrical prowess as songs like "Would've, Should've, Could've," The National's "The Alcott" (on which Taylor's a featured artist), and "You're Losing Me." Taylor is all about looking past appearances and telling a complex story, and The Tortured Poets Department will be no different. Just like Reputation is an edgy, glittery, emotionally-charged version of the beginning of her relationship with ex-boyfriend Joe Alwyn, I totally agree that TTPD looks grounded, airbrushed, and dreamy from the outside, but the lyrics are SAD.

During her Eras Tour show in Sydney, Australia, Taylor played another round of suspicious surprise songs. While sitting at the piano, Taylor Swift takes her earpiece out and calls attention to the keyboard. "Do you hear that?" she says (via TikTok). "My damn keyboard's playing a synth sound." She then does what she almost always does when dropping an Easter egg: she smirks.

"That sound is how the album starts, mark my words," one comment reads. Another says, "That smirk tells me everything I need to know."

Will The Tortured Poets Department be explicit?

There are 7 explicit songs on the original The Tortured Poets Department: "The Tortured Poets Department," "Down Bad," "But Daddy I Love Him," "Florida!!! (feat. Florence + The Machine)," "loml," "I Can Do It With A Broken Heart," and "The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived."

On The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology, "The Black Dog," "thanK you aIMee," "Cassandra," and "The Bolter" are also explicit.

What is The Albatross about?

During one of her Eras Tour shows in Sydney, Australia, Taylor Swift announced a new version of The Tortured Poets Department featuring exclusive bonus track "The Albatross." This new album already has some crazy track titles — all with pretty noteworthy meanings.

According to Collins Dictionary, if you call someone an Albatross, "they cause you great problems from which you cannot escape, or they prevent you from doing what you want to do," while a Bolter could refer to someone bolting out of a relationship (or bolting from a restaurant to a car like in this viral clip 🤨).

Meanwhile "The Alchemy" refers to the continual process of trying to turn something into gold — remember how Taylor Swift spent 6 years saying her relationship with Joe Alwyn was golden? Buckle up Swifties, TS11 is one wild ride.

What does loml mean?

At first glance, the twelfth song on The Tortured Poets Department, "loml," means "love of my life." Some fans were wondering if the song was a nod to Harry Styles since his Harry's House finale track is "Love of My Life" (the album also features a track named "Daylight" which is another funny connection to Taylor Swift). But Taylor ends the song saying he's the "loss of my life" and I will never be the same.

How can I buy The Tortured Poets Department?

You can order a bunch of different versions of The Tortured Poets Department on Taylor Swift's website right now, includingThe Tortured Poets Department CD + Bonus Track "The Manuscript" and The Tortured Poets Department CD + Bonus Track "The Manuscript".

Will The Tortured Poets Department have any featured artists?

Yes, The Tortured Poets Department will feature Florence + The Machine on the song "Florida!!!" and Post Malone on the song "Fortnight." And after Taylor Swift teased a variety of collaborations by posting handwritten lyrics from artists like Harry Styles and Lorde, Swifties wondered if The Tortured Poets Department will be the "collab album" we never got.

Another clue that leads me to believe this is true is the fact that the title of this album is so much longer than her other titles — and she refers to herself as "Chairman" of the department. Who are all the constituents?! Are they all the same artists who left Scooter Braun's management last year? Only time will tell, because as far as I'm concerned, surprises aren't out of the question until the TS11 era is over!👀

What is the theory of Taylor Swift's double album?

Throughout her stay in Sydney, Australia for the Eras Tour, Taylor Swift dropped lots — and I mean lots — of twos. @v_swiftie_ points out that in addition to holding up the number two while announcing The Tortured Poets Department, she's been playing more surprise song mashups than normal, and Taylor Nation has been posting Instagram stories featuring the number 2 instead of the number 13. And it turns out, we were right about this leading to a double album! Taylor dropped the second half of TTPD — The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology — at 2AM EST.