My obsession with Friends started at the ripe age of 8 years old, when it was one of the few shows my family and I would watch together every week. Even though most of the jokes flew right over my head, I was obsessed with Rachel. I even begged my mom for the ‘Rachel’ haircut—and succeeded.

While my shaggy Rachel bob is a thing of the past, my adoration of Jennifer Aniston is not. In fact, when the actress shared her current must-haves with InStyle earlier this month, I immediately wanted to try every single recommendation.

The first item on the bucket list: Sweaty Betty Zero Gravity Leggings ($108, was $135; sweatybetty.com). Along with Varley leggings and Outdoor Voices sports bras, they’re one of the fitness staples Aniston said she’s currently “loving.”

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Other than briefly walking through a Sweaty Betty store in New York to admire the selection, my interaction with the cult-favorite activewear has been pretty limited. I knew the company was British and made plenty of fun prints (part of the brand’s goal to create stylish activewear for women when it launched 20 years ago)—however, I had never worked out in a pair of Sweaty Betty’s Aniston-approved leggings or even tried them on.

My first impression of the so-called bum-sculpting leggings out of the package was that they felt like an unexpected cross between a windbreaker and spandex leggings. The super lightweight fabric made a strange crackling sound when I aggressively brushed my hand over the delightfully aesthetic black and maroon print. I couldn’t imagine the lightweight (and noisy) fabric offering any sort of compression, let alone squat coverage. I felt duped and immediately questioned everything Jennifer Aniston stood for.

Headed to a typically sweaty dance class, I meekly pulled on the high-waisted leggings prepared to sweat the night away while making subtle wooshing sounds with each cha-cha-cha. Despite my concerns, they were the *perfect* high-waisted fit.

And I stand corrected—the supportive fabric actually curved perfectly to my derriere and even gave a subtle lift that I spent a moment too long admiring as I entered my workout class (so this is what they meant by ‘bum-sculpting’). I didn’t understand how a fabric that felt barley-there could also offer the sculpting support I only expect from my thickest workout leggings.

RELATED: The 7 Best Leggings You Can Buy on Amazon

At the gym, my next mission was to determine if these leggings were squat-proof. The site advertises the Zero Gravity design at just 80% squat-proof, so I boldly asked a few fellow classmates to report whether they could see my underwear when I squatted or not. Every person adamantly replied they couldn’t see a thing. Even when I explained I was testing the leggings and needed the truth, their answers stayed the same.

I was also pleasantly surprised to discover the lightweight fabric made *zero* sound as I walked around. I can’t explain why this was such a strong fear, when I happily clomp around the office all day in booties. But the thought of rustling like the wind through a dance routine was almost enough for me to opt for a solo workout that night instead.

Relieved that these leggings were closer to 100% (than the advertised 80%) on the squat-proof spectrum and completely quiet, I proceeded to dance my heart out for the next 55 minutes.

To buy: Sweaty Betty Zero Gravity Leggings, $108 (was $135); sweatybetty.com

Next came the sweat test. The lackluster air conditioning in my local gym combined with my workout (which, in this case, was a cardio-heavy dance sesh) almost always results in sweat-soaked fabric that clings to my body, and leggings that stay damp until I unceremoniously peel them off. But not this time! The material was like sweat-wicking magic on my skin. Believe it or not, by the time I left the gym, my sweaty (betty) leggings were already dry.

While the fabric isn’t magic, it is a brand-specific performance fabric that’s designed to be quick-drying. The elastane and polyamide blend is made from hydrophilic fibers that swiftly wick away moisture for an unbelievably speedy drying time post sweat sesh. Considering damp leggings are a breeding ground for yeast and bacteria—and just straight up uncomfortable—this single feature alone sold me on these leggings forever.

Of course, there’s plenty of other awesome design components that also stand out, including outer pockets large enough to fit an iPhone and an adjustable drawstring waistband that results in a super comfortable fit. But the sensation of riding the subway home completely dry after a workout isn’t something I’m ready to give up any time soon.

Best of all, they not only come in a plethora of fun prints to choose from for fall, but they also come in 7/8 length with a shorter inseam (a great option for short legs or increased air flow during your workout). Plus, the trendy leggings are 20% off on Sweaty Betty right now, knocking their total price down almost $30.

If there’s anyway to live like Aniston, these high-quality leggings are as close as I’ll get. While stylish haircuts make come and go (RIP The Rachel), a good pair of leggings can last a lifetime.

To buy: Sweaty Betty Zero Gravity Leggings ⅞ Running Leggings, $108 (was $135); sweatybetty.com

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Breakfast for dinner. Outdoor showers. When the gauc *doesn’t* cost extra. These are some of life's underrated pleasures. Another to add to the list? Goblet squats.

Goblet squats are air squats that are performed with the addition of a dumbbell, kettlebell, medicine ball, or really anything else that’s heavy and compact, like a boulder, Keurig, lamp, massive crate of cheese puffs—hey, get creative! “Goblet squats require you to hold the weight in front of your chest, usually so that your hands are positioned as if you’re holding onto a goblet,” explains certified strength and conditioning specialist Shane Savoy, trainer at New York Health & Racquet Club.

But goblet squats are a little less about the fire and more about the burn. That whole-body burn. “Goblet squats are a full-body movement. They work your quads, calves, glutes, and entire core, and your arms and grip strength because you’re holding onto the weight,” says Savoy.

“They’re an awesome choice for people looking to tone their cores and increase their glute strength at the same time,” he adds. So, if you’re trying to save time in the gym while tightening your abs and lifting your bum, this move is your new go-to.

RELATED: 11 Celeb-Approved Workouts for a Toned, Sculpted Butt

How to do goblet squats

Hold a weight at your chest using both of your hands and stand with your feet about hip-width apart. If you’re using a kettlebell, Savoy says you can hold it with the handle facing up or down.

When you’re ready to begin, brace your core, then drop your butt back and down to lower into a squat while keeping your chest up. As you squat, sit back into your heels without shifting your weight forward onto the balls of your feet. Try to get as deep into the squat as possible to maximize glute activation. Then, driving through your heels, come back up to standing and give your glutes a squeeze at the top. That's one rep.

Savoy recommends warming up with two sets of 10 to 12 reps at a very low weight, and then doing three working sets of eight to 12 reps at a moderate (i.e. challenging, but manageable) weight. For example, if you want to use a 35-pound kettlebell in the workout, warm up with a 12- or 16-pound kettlebell first.

Want to make it harder? Either increase the weight or slow down your descent. Try a tempo of four seconds on the way down and one second on the way back up, followed by a one to two second pause at the top before your next rep.

“Slowing down the eccentric, or downward, portion of the squat increases the amount of time under tension, which increases calorie burn and muscle activation,” says Savoy.

If you need to make it a bit easier, either decrease the weight or find something to hang onto, like a column, TRX band, handle, or door frame.

“Holding onto something while you squat down will help counterbalance your weight, so it will keep you from falling over. This will help you get used to the squat motion while holding onto something,” says Savoy.

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The benefits of goblet squats

Once you get the hang of the goblet quat, you'll reap these four gains:

A booty pump. “The placement of the weight in the squat allows most people to sink lower into the squat, which means more glute activation than a typical squat,” says Savoy. One study, published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, found that when combined with other kettlebell movements, goblet squats helped athletes increase their overall strength and power over the course of six weeks.

A stronger core. “In a front squat, the load is shifted forward, which means the person doing it must maintain a strong and stable back and core to protect the spine,” says Savoy. Basically, the core must work double-time, he says.

Increased core strength means safer daily movements, heavier lifts, a more powerful trunk for your entire body, and a tighter, stronger mid-section. While having a toned or sculpted stomach also comes down to things like body fat percentage, genetics, eating habits, and where you are in your menstrual cycle, goblet squats can help build those six-pack muscles.

Increased mobility. “Because you’re able to sit lower into the squat, when done correctly, the goblet squat will help improve your hip and ankle mobility—two joints that tend to get stiff and tight from too much sitting,” says Savoy. “If your ankles are incredibly immobile, consider raising your heels up ½ to 2 inches with weight plates so that you can squat [more] comfortably. Then over time, reduce the height of the weight plates until you can do them on the flat ground,” he adds.

Fewer injuries. Sure, the exercise sounds otherworldly, but the goblet squat is actually a very natural position for most women because it’s the same position as picking up a heavy object, like a child or a box, which means it’s widely accessible. As an exercise, the goblet squat gives you the opportunity to perfect your form on this everyday position—which helps protect injury in day to day activities, says Savoy.

For most of my adult life, my relationship with exercise existed on a cycle. After I finished high school and no longer played competitive basketball, I found myself in college trying to figure out fitness outside of the context of team sports. For most people, this would mean discovering the type of exercise that made them feel best, or which workout they enjoyed the most.

For me—someone who had had been trying to be smaller since I was 12 years old (I'm now 26), yet always had hours of sports activities each week to accomplish this—it meant researching what could help me lose weight in the quickest, most effective way.

During college and for a long time after, I would weigh myself or look at myself in the mirror closely. If I noticed a change—a new stretch mark, an extra 5-10 pounds—I would panic. Eventually, I would turn this panic into action, convincing myself that I had to do something to get my body back to the way it was. I was a problem to be fixed.

RELATED: The One Thing That Finally Helped Me Stop Overeating After Decades of Yo-Yo Dieting

I would go on Pinterest or Instagram and map out a plan. I would sign up for a half-marathon and print out a scheduled training program. I would buy a huge pack of SoulCycle classes with money I didn’t have. I would order some fitness Instagrammer’s at-home bodyweight workout plan. I would shell out thousands on an expensive yearly gym membership and convince myself that the high price would be motivation for me to go to the gym regularly (spoiler alert: this rarely works).

In my early 20s, I would have said that my desire to exercise was just me trying to be healthy, get stronger, and stay focused. But the truth is that I wouldn’t have done any of it if someone told me that my workouts would never result in weight loss. I wouldn’t have done it to improve my mental health, anxiety, or energy, nor to build strength or endurance. I wouldn’t have done it for any reason at all if it didn't make me smaller. 

A love-hate relationship with fitness

It’s no surprise, then, that I never stuck with any of my fitness routines long-term. Sometimes this was because I didn’t enjoy whatever the exercise was, despite feeling like I should (looking at you, hot yoga). Other times it was because I read or heard that a particular type of exercise probably wasn’t going to make me lose weight at all, even if I did enjoy it (jogging, walking, spinning).

I would abandon a fitness routine and then spend a long while not exercising regularly at all, feeling guilty. Eventually, the pattern would continue all over again. The shame, the plan, the money, the lack of exercise. All of it. But recently, I decided to stop.

Inspired by a new career, home, and the desire to live life intentionally, I looked this exercise cycle dead in the face for what it was: an unsustainable, toxic recipe for never learning to like exercise at all—and for never appreciating fitness for the mental or physical health benefits it offers that have nothing to do with weight loss.

So I decided to retrain myself. I made a decision to stop hemorrhaging money in the hopes of buying motivation or thinness. Instead, I bought a $2.99 running app for beginners on my phone and started jogging once a week, then twice a week. No weigh-ins before and after workouts. In fact, no weight-ins at all. I threw out my scale and focused on how I felt after each workout.

Slowly, something started to shift. I noticed how I felt a little bit stronger on each run. My breathing got easier. My legs felt more powerful. And the anxiety that's plagued me since college, compelling me to worry about mundane things to the point where I can't focus on anything else nor fall asleep at night? After every 30-minute run, it felt like the anxiety was cut in half. Sometimes it disappeared entirely.

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Feeling stronger, healthier–and happier

For the first time in my life, I've started to crave going on a run when I feel anxious or nervous. For the first time in my life, I'm able to enjoy exercise without beating myself up for not being good enough, or simply being enough. The only reason any of this is possible is because I separated exercise from the idea of weight loss.

When I run now, I don’t do it picturing a smaller version of myself in my head; I picture a happier version. Like so many people, I feel happier when I exercise regularly. I simply never viewed happiness as enough in the past; happiness without thinness was an impossibility to me.

Rebuilding a healthy relationship with exercise can be understandably difficult for people with complicated feelings surrounding their bodies and weight loss. The first thing that helped me was reacquainting myself with the science-proven benefits of working out that have nothing to do with shedding pounds. Divorcing exercise from weight loss is something Liz Josefsberg, a nutrition exercise specialist and nutritional advisor to The Vitamin Shoppe, does with her clients.

“I ask them to connect to what it feels like to effortlessly play with their kids or grandkids, to remember that we exercise for strength, balance, and stability, and for better mental health as we age and to live the lives we dream of,” Josefsberg tells Health. “It really helps to keep them motivated and consistent.”

RELATED: The 7 Best Workout Apps You Need to Try

"Exercise is a gift, not a punishment"

If focusing on the long-term health benefits of fitness outside of weight loss don't motivate you, consider the instant gains. As a freelancer with a need for concentration, this was my motivation. “Exercise improves and maintains cognitive function,” certified health and wellness coach Roxanne Summerville tells Health.

Another immediate benefit of exercise is something everyone's heard of thanks to Legally Blonde: endorphins. Working out causes our bodies to release endorphins, which are sometimes thought of as natural antidepressants. "We experience a dramatic lift in mood after completing a workout,” says Summerville.

If you want to score the benefits of exercise yet can’t figure out where to start, focus on movement rather than calories burned or specific classes or types of fitness.

“My recommendations for the average person looking to start a fitness routine would be to aim for 3-5 hours of activity per week," certified personal trainer and owner of M.O.V.E N.J Jarrett Hahan tells Health. "That does not mean spending an hour to an hour and a half in a gym 3 to 5 days per week. It just means to get active and move your body for that total amount of time over the course of the week." 

What helps me to keep exercise separate from weight loss is to remember this phrase: "exercise is a gift, not a punishment." Every time I run now, I feel grateful that I’m able to give the gift of exercise to my body.

This was true even before I changed my relationship with exercise. All those times I would close my eyes and push myself harder, pushing myself to go faster, get better—my body was amazing then, too. The difference is, I actually believe it now.

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While I’ve personally taken (and occasionally posted) my fair share of mirror selfies, I can safely say that approximately zero of my closet selfies can compare to a Kardashian’s—especially the latest photo shared by resident Kardashian wellness guru, Kourtney Kardashian.

The Poosh founder added a post-gym selfie to her Instagram story on Tuesday that not only highlighted her visible abs (hello!), but also credited the equally-famous A-lister, Victoria Beckham, for “elevating” her workout.

While we could only dream of a fitness routine collab between the pair of famous moms, the oldest Kardashian sister was *actually* referring to her chic workout set from Beckham’s Reebok collection. Launched in January 2019, the Victoria Beckham x Reebok collaboration combines Beckham’s love of fitness and fashion and includes a variety of activewear pieces, from seamless sports bras and crop tops to leggings and dance skirts. Naturally, we couldn’t think of a better supporter of the brand than a Kardashian.

RELATED: Kourtney Kardashian’s Favorite Leggings are So Good, Everyone Should Own a Pair

While Beckham’s Reebok line recently dropped the second half of its fall collection, Kardashian is actually sporting pieces from the debut launch in her post, including the Victoria Beckham Seamless Bra ($90; reebok.com) and the VB Performance Tights ($130; reebok.com).

Kardashian’s strappy bra is highlighted on the Reebok site as a great option for low-to-medium-impact workouts, thanks to a secure fit designed to minimize unwanted boob bounce. It also has a seamless construction with adjustable straps and removable pads, so you can really personalize the fit to your body. While Kardashian opted for the night navy shade, the bra also comes in black, orange, white, and maroon.

To buy: Victoria Beckham x Reebok Seamless Bra, ($90; reebok.com)

She’s also sporting the matching performance leggings in night navy, which are made of a sweat-wicking fabric with smooth bonded cuffs. Part of the collection that’s actually designed for workouts, the leggings also boast a non-slip elastic waistband and ditch the front seam for maximum comfort.

Kardashian rounded out the look with a loose, black athleisure jacket draped over her shoulder. While there aren’t tons of jacket options in Beckham’s collection, it appears that Kardashian is wearing the slightly (read: MUCH) pricier Victoria Beckham x Reebok Oversized Bomber Jacket ($500; reebok.com). Unfortunately, we’ll have to wait for another workout selfie for confirmation.

RELATED: Kourtney Kardashian's Secret for White Teeth Is This $4 Toothpaste from Amazon

To buy: Reebok VB Performance Tights, $130; reebok.com

The post also caught the eye of Beckham, who swiftly re-grammed the selfie. She linked out to her collection’s Seamless Bra and sent kisses back to Kourtney. While we can’t guarantee you’ll score a regram by Beckham, you can score the rest of Kourt’s gym look right from Reebok. Just be sure to double check the size guide before buying your own Kardashian-approved set!

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You don’t need a pricey gym membership to get an amazing workout.