Maggie Fazeli Fard

Minneapolis

Senior Fitness Editor at Experience Life

senior fitness editor @experiencelife

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Articles

Move Your Body Through Grief

1 week ago | experiencelife.lifetime.life | Maggie Fazeli Fard |Molly Kopischke

Season 10, Episode 11 | April 15, 2025We all experience grief. Whether it’s due to the loss of a loved one, a scary health diagnosis, a breakup, a change in life circumstance, or some other cause, it’s a feeling we often need to learn to live with. Maggie Fazeli Fard, RKC, MFT-1, Experience Life’s editorial director of fitness, explains how physical movement can be used as a tool to help transform your grief. Maggie Fazeli Fard, RKC, MFT-1, ALPHA, is Experience Life’s editorial director of fitness.
Can the Arrival of Spring Cause Seasonal Affective Disorder?

4 weeks ago | experiencelife.lifetime.life | Henry Emmons |Maggie Fazeli Fard |Jill Metzler Patton |Frank Lipman

During winter, our bodies want to hibernate. We sleep more, eat more comfort foods, and spend more time indoors. Come spring, when nature awakens, so do we. We might need less sleep and feel energized to give the house a good cleaning. Yet for some of us, the pendulum swings too far: Spring energy turns into agitation, moodiness, irritability, and insomnia. We might think of having seasonal affective disorder (SAD) solely as being tired, sluggish, and depressed during the winter.
Can Red-Light Therapy Help Fitness Performance and Recovery?

1 month ago | experiencelife.lifetime.life | Jessica Migala |Lauren Bedosky |Maggie Fazeli Fard

The quicker and better you recover from a workout, the quicker and better you can jump into your next one. The quiver of recovery tools these days includes foam rolling, cold plunges, percussive implements, wearable compression devices, and more. Add to this red-light therapy, which can help reduce inflammation, promote muscle recovery, and heal injuries. 1) What exactly is red light? This therapy is a type of photobiomodulation, or the use of light at specific wavelengths for health benefits.
How to Foam Roll Your Hip Flexors

1 month ago | wellandgood.com | Ciara Lucas |Jaime Osnato |Maggie Fazeli Fard |Danielle Cohen

If your hips feel tighter than a jar of pickles that just won’t open, it’s probably time to show your hip flexors some love. These little muscles in the front of your hips work overtime whether you’re walking, running, or (let’s be real) sitting for hours behind a desk. When these muscles get too tight, they have a tendency to pull on your pelvis, throwing your alignment off and making movement feel stiff and restricted, according to celebrity trainer and fitness coach Kollins Ezekh, CPT.
Perfect Your Plank With These Expert Cues

2 months ago | experiencelife.lifetime.life | Lauren Bedosky |Maggie Fazeli Fard

Dropping the hips. “One of the biggest setup mistakes I see is people dropping their hips toward the ground,” Gentilcore says. Not only does this strain the lower back, but it also makes it harder for your abs to fire. Shoulder blades collapsed. Letting your shoulder blades draw together is a sign that your upper body isn’t engaged in holding you up off the floor.
Moving Through Grief

2 months ago | experiencelife.lifetime.life | Maggie Fazeli Fard |Jessie Sholl |Courtney Helgoe

Navigate directly to a A Flow to Move Through Hard TimesA strength coach once shared some training wisdom that has stayed with me through the years: “Move where you can so you can move where you can’t.”In a literal sense, the aphorism applies to improving range of motion in, say, a squat. Rather than force your body into an uncomfortable position or depth, approach your personal edges, train strength and resilience there — and in time your body will find more space to move.
Build Arm Strength With the Biceps Curl

2 months ago | experiencelife.lifetime.life | Maggie Fazeli Fard

The biceps brachii, which lies on the front of the upper arm between the shoulder and the elbow, is a hugely functional muscle. Strong biceps make it easier to lift things and maneuver during daily activities — say, while carrying groceries or pulling open a door. This muscle is also engaged while performing many exercises (think pulling moves, like pull-ups, rows, and deadlifts) and while playing sports that involve grabbing or grappling with an opponent.
Watch Out For These Common Split Squat and Lunge Errors

2 months ago | experiencelife.lifetime.life | Lauren Bedosky |Maggie Fazeli Fard

Stance too long. Many people make the mistake of stepping too far forward or backward, creating a longer stance than necessary. “What happens when the stance is too long is there’s a lot of pressure on the back knee when you lower down because it doesn’t bend as much,” Heilig says. Over time, that added pressure can lead to knee discomfort and pain. Walking a tightrope.
How to Set Up a Barbell Bench Press

2 months ago | experiencelife.lifetime.life | Lauren Bedosky |Maggie Fazeli Fard |Jen Sinkler |Sarah Tuff

Feet on bench. Gaudreau sees people place their feet on the bench, often because their feet don’t comfortably reach the floor. But this modification takes the legs out of the lift. “We need to push through the legs to create stability in the core and tension in the lower body when we bench,” she explains. Otherwise, your midsection will rock from side to side as you struggle to stay rooted in place.
A Powerlifting Primer

2 months ago | experiencelife.lifetime.life | Andrew Heffernan |Lauren Bedosky |Maggie Fazeli Fard

Explore this workout:Workout Overview • Primary Lifts •Accessory Moves In 2017, Sylvia Atkinson decided she wanted to lose some weight. At her local health club, Life Time Mississauga in Ontario, she took a liking to heavy iron. A year later, she began competing in powerlifting — a sport in which athletes strive to lift the most weight in the squat, bench press, and deadlift.