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As a mom to four young kids, I desperately needed an outlet that would give me some time to myself, and running seemed like the perfect fit, since I wouldn't need a lot of equipment. Plus, something about the idea of my feet repeatedly pounding the pavement sounded meditative.

But finding the right exercise gear for my new hobby proved to be a bigger challenge than I had anticipated. As a larger-chested woman, I was always told that running would probably be painful—and every time I tried to run, that theory was confirmed. Running hurt, and it made me uncomfortable. I tried every trick in the book, such as wearing two sports bras, but my mind was always hyper-aware of the pain in my back and the movement happening on my chest. I didn't want to give up my dreams of becoming a runner, so I needed to find the right workout gear for my shape.

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I knew I couldn't be the only one who needed more support from her sports bra, so I read every online review I could find. I bought numerous styles from different brands, all of which ended up not being quite right. And then, finally, I found it: after spending hours on various running message boards, someone recommended the Enell Sport bra ($64; amazon.com, barenecessities.com).

The moment put it on, I thought to myself, This is going to work. It fit like a glove with no uncomfortable chafing. I felt secure—there was zero bounce, but I could still move around comfortably. Most importantly, I could run pain-free. I was thrilled when I didn't have to ice down my back and shoulders after my first workout in the Enell. It was truly like magic.

Since finding this perfect workout companion, my fitness routine has been transformed. There's no greater feeling than getting into that "running zone" and finding mental clarity, and now I can run faster and stay in the zone for longer. This bra also means no exercise is off-limits to me; I can try new workout classes without worrying that I'm going to injure myself. And after being told all my life that I was never going to be a runner because of the shape of my body, it's an incredible feeling to prove everyone wrong.

My typical week of workouts typically means a couple of spin classes along with a weight-training day and the occasional yoga session. Being bored while sweating is my biggest exercise turn-off, which is why I love to mix things up in terms of style and intensity.

So when I had the chance to try a Daily Ultimate Training (DUT) class at a UFC Gym in New York City, I thought,why not?

If you're unfamiliar with DUT, I can tell you that this workout lives up to its name, that's for sure. The boot camp–style class involves an active warmup followed by a circuit of exercises that test your stamina, agility, and core strength.

"These types of workouts replicate the pace of a fight and provide the conditioning to build the best structural foundation for [a fighter's] body to prevent pain and push them to their pinnacle both in and outside the octagon," explained Javier Lee, training manager at UFC Gym SoHo, in an email to Health.

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No two DUT classes are the same, but a typical session might include exercises like box jumps, burpees, push-ups, squats, and footwork drills in a Tabata–style structure. (Tabata workouts alternate a period of work with a period of rest.)

I arrived at the UFC gym on a sweltering Thursday evening with my friend Nora in tow. I expected to receive hand wraps and boxing gloves for our class—after all, this was a gym geared toward training fighters. But we were instead ushered to a patch of fake grass with about 10 other DUT-ers.

There, we began the class with a light jog, lots of lunges, and squats of all varieties. Don't stop! our instructor yelled as he pushed down on my shoulders, signaling to sink deeper into my lunge. My legs were on fire. I felt tears in my eyes. And that was only the first 10 minutes of class.

After this warmup, our instructor set up nine stations, each featuring a different exercise. We split up into pairs and Nora and I snagged what appeared to be the easiest station. Unfortunately, nothing in this workout was easy. For the remainder of class, we spent two minutes at each station, taking 15-second breaks between each until we completed all nine exercises. The circuit included:

Wall sits

Rather than remain stationary, we were tasked with shimmying down the wall until fully seated. Then, we extend our legs for a moment, bent our knees again, and had to stand up without our hands, using only our back and ab muscles.

Tricep dips

This classic bodyweight exercise involved planting your hands on a windowsill, bending your elbows and extending them for an upper-arm burn.

Box jumps

"I don't think I can jump that high," Nora whispered to me as we approached the 3-foot cushioned box. With a bit of arm swinging for momentum, we got through it. 

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Inverted push-ups

With our feet propped against a windowsill while positioned downward, we used our shoulder muscles to complete the exercise.

Assisted rope climb

After planting our feet on the ground, we grabbed a thick hanging rope and climbed up and down to work our chest, arms, and core.

Kettlebell crawl and pull

Think bear crawls while pulling a 20-pound kettlebell beneath you, alternating pulling with just the left arm, then the right.

Bulgarian bag swings

We lifted the weighted bags overhead, then twisted to the side and slammed them down onto a tire in front of us.

Plank with elliptical

Why do a stationary plank when you can throw in a little ab-blasting movement? We tightened our cores in a normal plank position, then placed our hands, palms down, on elliptical pedals and pedaled it out.

Rows

We finished up the circuit on the rowing machine doing reps of this classic back, arm, and shoulder move.

The hour-long class didn't end there. Following the nine-exercise circuit, we hit the faux grass again for ab exercises such as crunches, bicycles, and scissor kicks before finishing up with some much-needed stretching.

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Following a tough sweat session, it usually takes me at least a few hours or until the next morning to feel the muscle aches that tell me my body was challenged. But by the time I finished the warmup at UFC Gym, I already knew that my legs would burn for the hours and days that followed (my abs, shoulders, and upper arms were sore too). I waddled home from class, my legs feeling like Jell-O.

After DUT, I gained a whole new appreciation for the time and effort fighters like Ronda Rousey, Conor McGregor, and Floyd Mayweather put into their fitness regimens. Being a top-notch UFC fighter isn't just about throwing the perfect jab or uppercut. It also involves next-level stamina, not to mention mental strength. When my legs finally stop aching, I plan to head back for another push-me-to-my-limits workout.

Whether you're looking for a challenging sequence that will increase your heart rate or a restorative flow that's suitable for beginners, there's something for everyone on this list of the all-time best online yoga videos.

If you've ever experienced an ear infection, then you know how uncomfortable and even painful it can be. Swimmer's ear is a specific type of ear infection that also causes discomfort and pain in and around the outer ear canal. It typically starts out mild, with moderate itching and redness, and then can become tender and inflamed, potentially harming your ability to hear.

Despite its name, you don't have to spend time at a beach or in a pool to pick up swimmer's ear. This condition can happen after you take a shower or bath, or you simply clean your ears with cotton swabs. And while kids are more prone to swimmer's ear because they have narrower ear canals, adults are very much at risk well.

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Here’s how to know if you have swimmer's ear, and what you can do to ease the swelling and aching fast, and then prevent it from happening again.

What causes swimmer’s ear?

Swimmer’s ear, also known by its medical name, otitis externa, usually occurs after water gets trapped inside the ear. This allows bacteria (and in some cases, a fungus) in your ear canal to start multiplying, leading to an infection near the opening of the ear, explains Ileana Showalter, MD, an ENT-otolaryngologist at Mercy Medical Center in Baltimore.

True to the condition’s name, swimming, or just splashing around in a body of water, is a major cause. But swimmer’s ear can also arise from any situation where your ear traps a small amount of water, like after a shower or bath, or even time in a hot tub.

Sometimes swimmer's ear develops not from trapped water but from a cut or scrape just inside the ear canal. Overly aggressive cleaning with cotton swabs tends to cause it; if the swab scratches the skin inside the ear, bacteria can thrive and trigger an infection. People with excessive ear wax or the chronic skin condition eczema, which causes itching and redness, are also more likely to develop swimmer's ear, according to the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery.

Symptoms to watch for

Swimmer’s ear usually starts off with mild itching, redness, and swelling. As the infection progresses, the area becomes inflamed and painful, says Dr. Derek Lam, ENT-otolaryngologist at Oregon Health and Science University. 

A word about the pain: it can be severe; it's typically worse than garden-variety middle-ear infection triggered by a cold. That's because there are lots of nerves linking the base of the brain through the ear canal, the jaw, and down to the diaphragm, explains M. Jennifer Derebery, MD, clinical professor of otolaryngology at USC School of Medicine in Los Angeles. "Pain in one area of the nerve may refer to another area," says Dr. Derebery. "That is why it is common to have jaw pain with swimmer's ear as well."

If left untreated, symptoms can intensify. You might notice discharge or fluid leaking out of your ear. Swollen lymph nodes around the neck and even a fever can also occur. In extreme cases, the skin can swell up and close over the ear, leading to muffled hearing. Luckily, any hearing loss you experience will go away once the infection is treated.

How to treat swimmer's ear

If the discomfort doesn't stop after a few days, or it becomes more severe over a short period of time, see a doctor. “If you leave the infection unattended, the pain can get excruciating,” says Dr. Showalter. “In fact, it’s one of the most severe pains we see in our specialty.”

If symptoms hit over the weekend or you’re unable to immediately see a doctor, Dr. Showalter advises taking an over-the-counter pain reliever like ibuprofen or Tylenol. As soon as you can, however, get some face time with your primary-care provider, warns Dr. Lam, or head to an urgent care facility. Your doc will examine the ear and perhaps take a fluid simple. If it's swimmer's ear, you'll likely go home with antibiotic ear drops. If these don’t clear the infection, an oral antibiotic might be the next defense. 

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If symptoms don't go away

Sometimes the antibiotic ear drops don’t work because swimmer's ear has caused a buildup of debris or fluid in the ear canal, and the drops can't get through. “An ear that hasn’t been cleaned will not respond to the treatment, so you have to get rid of the gunk so that the medicine can work,” Dr. Showalter says. Your doctor will clear the outer ear canal by using a vacuum-type apparatus that sucks out the debris. Then the antibiotics can do their job.

Another reason the infection might persist is because it's not caused by bacteria after all. While the majority of cases of swimmer’s ear cases are bacterial in origin, there is a subset of patients who develop a fungal infection, which requires different treatment, Dr. Showalter says. If you’re eating lunch, put down the sandwich now: that type of infection looks the same as fungus growing in bread, and it’s often not easy to see because it can be obscured by wax.

If your symptoms linger and antibiotic drops don't have any effect, tell your doc you suspect it might be a fungal infection. Fungus grows slowly, so the hallmark of this kind of infection is that it really never gets better. “You might find that your ear has been itching for months; and you’ve used several types of drops and it persists,” says Dr. Showalter. "That would be highly suspicious," she says, of a fungal infection.

How to prevent swimmer's ear 

No need to give up swimming or limit yourself to bodies of pristine, chemically treated water. While it seems logical to assume that a murky lake or river might promote an infection more than a crystal-clear pool, that’s not necessarily the case, says Dr. Lam. It's the wetness trapped inside the ear, not the type of water you're in, that causes the infection.

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To prevent water from getting caught in your ear canal, consider wearing ear plugs when you go for a dip, and make sure you dry your ears thoroughly after time in a pool or following a shower. Dabbing a few drops of rubbing alcohol or white vinegar just inside each ear can help dry them faster. A short blast of warm air from a hair dryer gets them dry quickly too.

If you suspect that vigorous ear-cleaning led to your infection, lay off the cotton swabs and clean your ears with a washcloth. "Generally we advise people to avoid cotton swabs because everyone's ears are different, and there are some subset of people who will have trouble because the wax tends to be dry or the canal is small—so they are pushing the wax [further inside]," says Dr. Showalter. 

That said, she is okay with people cleaning with swabs within reason, for example, by being very gentle and sticking to the outer ear. If you use them to go deeper into the ear canal, you might end up pushing the tip of the swab inside.That packs the wax so it builds up, or it removes too much wax, so dirt and debris (and bacteria) can enter. Both set up the ideal conditions for swimmer's ear—which you really want to avoid.

With this fun and practical gift guide for runners, you're sure to find a present any runner will appreciate, both on and off the trail.