You can go through most of your life without worrying about whether and how you’re breathing, but as soon as somebody mentions that you’re supposed to breathe a certain way in the gym, it’s easy to get tripped up. Out when? In when? Oops, I held my breath instead—is that bad?

As with anything else in the exercise world, there are different recommendations for different people doing different things. If you’ve heard conflicting advice, don’t worry, we’ll sort it out. First I’ll address whether you should breathe during lifts, and then we’ll talk about how to breathe.

Should I hold my breath when I’m lifting weights?

I don’t breathe during most of my lifts. I spend most of my time in the gym doing big compound lifts: squats, deadlifts, snatches, cleans. I wear a belt for most of them. And I brace my core hard while I do them. For these lifts, the valsalva maneuver is a powerful tool. That’s the fancy name for building pressure in your torso by holding your breath. You’ve probably done it on the toilet at some point.

Between my belt, my braced core, and the pressure of the air in my lungs, I’m doing a lot to stabilize my torso and protect my spine from injury. I’m also able to lift more weight this way than if I didn’t brace or hold my breath. Watch any competitive powerlifter’s face turn tomato-red during a squat, and you’ll know they’re doing it, too.

While this is safe for most people, most of the time, some people shouldn’t hold their breath while lifting for safety reasons. The valsalva can increase blood pressure temporarily, and it can result in dizziness and even blacking out, especially if you hold the pressure for more than a few seconds. The American Heart Association recommends that beginners and people with cardiovascular disease not hold their breath during lifting. The valsalva is also not recommended during pregnancy, because the increased pressure poses risks to the placenta. (If you have any questions about whether you personally shouldn’t hold your breath while lifting, talk to your medical provider.)

If you do use the valsalva, you’ll hold your breath during each rep, and you’ll stop to exhale and inhale between reps (for example, when you’re standing up in between squats). One way to remember this is to pretend that you’re squatting in a pool of water that comes up to your chest. You hold your breath while you’re “underwater,” and take your next breath once you’re standing up again.

If I breathe while lifting weights, how should I do it?

First, there’s not really a wrong answer to how to breathe, but there is a rule of thumb that will help most of the time. You’ll want to breathe out during the hardest part of the exercise, and breathe in when the exercise is easier. This generally means exhaling during the concentric contraction (lifting the weight) and inhaling during the eccentric (lowering it down). If you forget, just ask yourself which part of the exercise is hardest.

So let’s say you’re squatting. You can breathe in while you’re lowering yourself down, and then breathe out while you’re on the way up. The hardest part of the squat—the sticking point, it’s often called—is just after you start going up. How about a deadlift? The hardest part of the movement is while you’re lifting the bar up, so exhale there. You can inhale while you’re lowering the bar down.

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The Dyson V15 Detect Extra cordless vacuum is on sale for $339.99 on StackSocial, a notable discount from its usual price. This is a refurbished model of Dyson’s top-tier cordless vacuum from a few years ago. It adjusts suction based on what it picks up, shows you what it is collecting on a small LCD screen, and even uses a laser on the cleaner head to highlight dust you would normally miss on hard floors. It sounds like a gimmick until you see how much fine dust shows up under that green light.

In everyday cleaning, the V15 is built for people who want one vacuum to handle everything. The motor is strong and has enough power to pull debris out of carpets and pick up fine dust on hard floors without switching machines or exerting much effort. Plus, its Motorbar head does a good job of handling hair without tangling, which is useful if you have shedding pets or long hair. You also get a long list of tools, including a hair screw tool for upholstery, a crevice tool for tight corners, and a soft dusting brush for more delicate surfaces. It also converts into a handheld in seconds for use on stairs or in car interiors. Battery life can stretch up to an hour, but that depends on how much power you use. If you keep it on higher settings for deep cleaning, you will need to recharge sooner.

It’s a Grade-A-rated refurbished unit, which means it’ll arrive in practically mint condition but only comes with a 90-day third-party warranty instead of Dyson’s standard coverage. But if you’ve been eyeing a Dyson and just couldn’t justify paying full price, this deal makes it easier to get a high-end vacuum without paying retail.

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Sony’s portable speakers don’t get the same attention as its headphones, but they should. This Sony ULT Field 3 is a compact, rugged speaker you can toss into a bag without worrying about it, and right now, an open-box unit is on sale for $109.99 on StackSocial. Its sale price offers features you’d normally see at a higher cost.

The Sony ULT Field 3 is clearly tuned for bass, with a dedicated woofer inside a relatively small body, and you’ll notice that low-end presence even at moderate volume. Turn on the ULT mode, and the bass gets more aggressive, which works well in open spaces where sound tends to get lost. Indoors, though, it can start to overpower vocals and finer details. The speaker works better if you spend a few minutes in the Sound Connect app adjusting the seven-band EQ. Dialing things back gives you a more balanced profile for podcasts or softer music. It also supports Party Connect, letting you sync it with other Sony speakers for a wider sound setup, if you need wider coverage for a group setting.

It’s also built to handle rough use, with an IP67 rating for dust and water resistance, so it can survive splashes, sand, or light rain. Battery life is another area where this speaker holds up well. Sony claims up to 24 hours of playback, though that depends heavily on how loud you listen and whether ULT mode is on. Push the volume to the max, and that number drops closer to five hours, which is in line with most speakers of this size. Fast charging adds some flexibility, though, with about two hours of playback from a quick 10-minute charge. Overall, the Sony ULT Field 3 is a great portable speaker, and this sale makes it a good time to buy just before summer.

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The 2020 HP EliteDesk 800 G6 is on sale for $319.99 at StackSocial right now. It’s a compact business machine, not a modern performance PC, so the hardware is a few generations behind current systems. Still, for a home office, backup system, or simple workstation, it covers the essentials without asking for much money up front. You get a certified refurbished unit with a Grade A+ rating, which means minimal wear and a clean chassis. It also comes with a basic wired keyboard and mouse, as well as a 90-day warranty. That setup makes sense if you need a simple, ready-to-run system without spending much, but it also means you are buying older hardware with a shorter safety net than a new machine.

It has a compact form factor that is easy to place on a desk or even mount behind a monitor, and at just over three pounds, it stays out of the way. The core of this system is a 10th Gen Intel Core i5-10500T, a six-core processor designed for efficiency rather than raw power. Paired with 16GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD, it handles everyday tasks like keeping multiple browser tabs open, working in spreadsheets, and switching between apps smoothly. Boot times are also quick, and file transfers don’t drag. As for connectivity, you get multiple USB-A ports, a USB-C port, DisplayPort and HDMI for dual monitors, and Ethernet for a stable wired connection. Plus, it runs Windows 11 Pro, so you have access to business-focused features like BitLocker and remote desktop.

That said, it’s important to be clear about what this machine is not. It’s not built for gaming, and it will struggle with heavier creative tasks like video editing or 3D work. The integrated graphics are fine for streaming and basic visuals, but not much beyond that. The hardware is also a few generations behind current systems, so it will not age as well if your needs grow. But for a home office, backup system, or simple workstation, it covers the essentials without asking for much money up front. If that is all you need, this refurbished HP is a good pick.

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If you’ve ever tried dragging a too-large speaker—or worse, relied on your phone’s tiny audio for sound projection—you should appreciate this sale on the Skullcandy Terrain Mini: It’s palm-sized, no-frills, and currently on sale for $32.99 on StackSocial, with free shipping in the U.S. For under $35, you’re looking at an IPX7-rated waterproof speaker that won’t be damaged if it’s dropped or gets wet.

The Skullcandy Terrain Mini features Bluetooth 5.3, ensuring a stable connection up to 33 feet. The battery is said to offer 14 hours of playtime, which should cover most day-long adventures or at least a solid workday playlist without needing a recharge. When the battery dies, it can be charged via the included USB-C port, so you won’t need to dig through old cords. It also comes with a wrist strap that you can clip to a bag or swing around like a lanyard when you’re on the move.

As for sound quality, it’s decent on its own, but the True Wireless Stereo feature lets you pair it with a second unit for true stereo separation. You can also use Skullcandy’s Multi-Link to chain together up to 99 of these. Realistically, you’ll probably never do that, but the option’s there if you ever want to DJ a flash mob.

That said, this speaker doesn’t punch far above its size. It’s built more for casual, portable listening than booming bass or high-volume precision. The fabric mesh helps with durability and sound clarity, but it won’t replace your home speaker setup. If you’re in the market for a rugged little speaker that’s waterproof, rechargeable, and easy to toss in a bag, the Skullcandy Terrain Mini fits.

If you’re trying to access X on Friday afternoon (Eastern Time), you might be hitting a roadblock. That’s what happened to me: I went to refresh my feed one last time before stepping away for the weekend, but noticed that nothing was loading. In fact, the site acted as if I had a brand-new account, and invited me to explore users to follow. But whenever I clicked anything, I’d just get errors.

I thought it might have just been on my end, because when I checked Downdetector, the site said: “User reports show no current problems with X (Twitter).” Indeed, the chart was flat, minus a small spike earlier today. But the comments were full of users talking about the site not working, confirming that I wasn’t alone here. (Disclosure: ZiffDavis owns both Lifehacker and Downdetector.)

X has experienced plenty of similar instances of downtime, so, in all likelihood, the site will be back up soon. (It might even be up by the time you read this.) But it comes at the same time that X competitor Bluesky experienced interruptions to service due to a distributed denial-of-service attack (DDoS). It could be a coincidence, but in Bluesky’s case, the issue didn’t stem from a bug—instead, it was an attacker flooding Bluesky’s servers with too much traffic to function.

The funny thing about smartphone addiction is that it makes low-effort tasks feel totally productive. When I finally quit doomscrolling through Instagram and TikTok to watch an actual movie or TV show, I feel like I’ve just spent the afternoon studying physics. Platforms like Netflix, which could once be seen as time-wasting entertainment, now seem like antidotes to endless, useless scrolling.

But Netflix doesn’t seem to appreciate its new role. Instead, the company apparently sees short-form video apps—and smartphones themselves—as a direct threat to its business, and is jumping on the bandwagon. It’s not only that Netflix is reportedly now making content with phone scrollers in mind, encouraging creators to craft dialogue that makes their shows and movies easy to understand even if you’re not actually paying attention; Netflix also wants to position its mobile app as an actual competitor to TikTok and Instagram by introducing a short-form video feed directly within the app.

Netflix’s take on TikTok

The company officially introduced its plans for short-form video during its fourth-quarter earnings call back in January. Then, on Thursday, the company confirmed its plans to introduce the vertical video feed in its redesigned mobile apps by the end of this month. This isn’t totally new, as the company has been experimenting with vertical video feeds since May, but we’re about to see Netflix’s official take on this type of video for the first time.

Unlike TikTok, Instagram, or YouTube, you won’t hop on the Netflix app to find short-form videos from independent creators. Instead, Netflix will serve users clips from Netflix-distributed shows and movies in a scrollable TikTok-style feed. You might swipe through this feed and see clips from Stranger Things, Emily in Paris, or Bridgerton. Many of us already waste our time watching clips from shows and movies on other platforms—often cropped, slowed down or sped up, in low-quality, and besieged by artifacts meant to throw off copyright claims. Netflix obviously won’t need to do this, so I expect the experience will be filled with high-quality videos (depending on how you define “quality” of course).

It won’t just be TV shows and movies on the feed. Netflix also has big plans for its video podcasts, which are growing, following deals with Spotify and iHeartMedia to bring existing podcasts to its platform. Expect Netflix to sprinkle clips from these video podcasts into the short-form feed to create an experience that sounds not too far off from scrolling through other apps.

The thing is, we were really close to potentially seeing a lot of content on this vertical feed, and Netflix’s platform in general. Had Netflix acquired Warner Bros., I wouldn’t have been surprised to see clips from HBO shows like A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, The White Lotus, and Euphoria. Now that the company has backed off on its acquisition plans, the list of potential properties that could be turned into vertical videos has shrunk.

Catering to the short attention span

I get the move from a business perspective: Netflix is likely losing subscribers’ attention due to the addictive nature of vertical video apps. But do any of us really need another app to scroll through, especially when we’re already paying for access to the full content to begin with? Maybe could be a helpful avenue to find new shows and movies to watch, but in all likelihood, it will just be be another addictive time-waster. I have too many of those in my life as it is.

AI is a divisive technology. Some of us can’t stand it, and avoid it at all costs. Others are AI-curious, and dabble with certain apps or features; still others still embrace it with enthusiasm, and use the tech for as many purposes as possible. Still, though I’m aware of this AI spectrum, I’m struggling to understand who exactly would want to connect their Starbucks account to ChatGPT—so, naturally, I connected mine.

Starbucks rolled out this collaboration on April 15 as a “natural, personal, and fun” way to discover new drinks to order. As someone who only ever orders a plain coffee with cream, or maybe an iced espresso, perhaps this would finally be my opportunity to branch out my taste buds, and have artificial intelligence recommend a new favorite? I’m far too shy to just, like, ask the barista for a recommendation, and I don’t trust my friends to have good taste. ChatGPT really is my only hope of finding a new coffee I might enjoy!

Integrating ChatGPT and the Starbucks app means giving up a lot of your privacy

To get started, you need the latest version of the Starbucks app, as well as the ChatGPT app. You first open ChatGPT, head to “Apps,” locate “Starbucks,” then hit “Connect.” ChatGPT then presents you with some information about what data you agree to share (boring!), including a “summary of your recent context and intent within ChatGPT.” That’s quite a bit of data just to ask for drink recommendations, and I’m not sure why it’s necessary. It does seem to be the standard data agreement with other ChatGPT apps, but, again, why is that much data needed here? I understand requiring access to ChatGPT in order for the app to function, as well as the data generated by your requests for drinks, but in my view, Starbucks really doesn’t need a summary of any past ChatGPT use to recommend me a coffee.

To that point, I also have the option to let ChatGPT reference chats and memories when sharing data with Starbucks. I’m looking for my next go-to Starbucks order; why wouldn’t I share my all of my intimate ChatGPT interactions with Starbucks? At least this one’s optional: If you leave the toggle disabled (the default setting), Starbucks won’t have access to memories and chats—just the aforementioned summaries. ChatGPT also warns that by connecting the Starbucks app here, attackers could target my Starbucks data, or use the Starbucks app to access my ChatGPT data. Exciting! This definitely seems worth it!

Again, it doesn’t seem like the Starbucks app integration is particularly special. You’re presented with the same splash screen when you do the same for other apps, like Photoshop. But I think it’s important to think through the privacy implications of any app integration with ChatGPT, especially as not all apps are created equal. Do you really want to be giving Starbucks access to your ChatGPT data, and vice versa? Do you want ChatGPT knowing where your nearest Starbucks location is? All for, and I can’t stress this enough, a generative AI’s recommendation for a Starbucks drink? And how are those recommendations, anyway? Let’s find out.

Putting the ChatGPT barista to the test

Once you agree to the terms, you’re in. You can now start up a ChatGPT conversation as usual, type @starbucks to pull up the Starbucks app, and fire away. My first query was for an afternoon pick me up. This generated a widget featuring six different menu items, including an “Iced Caramel Ribbon Crunch Frappuccino,” “Vanilla Sweet Cream Cold Brew,” and “Nondairy Vanilla Sweet Cream Cold Brew.” If I wanted, I could hit a “Customize” option to adjust the ingredients in the order, and an “Add to cart” button to add the drink to my cart. Underneath the widget was a breakdown of each drink recommendation, including things like flavor and caffeine count.

Upon seeing the caffeine count listed, I decided to ask ChatGPT for the drink option with the most possible caffeine. Again, I was given six recommendations, but the top choice was my go-to: a venti blonde roast, which the app said contained around 315mg of caffeine—despite Starbucks’ website claiming the drink has anywhere from 390 to 490 mg. That’s a big difference, seeing as the safe daily caffeine limit is generally listed at 400mg.

Next, I decided to see if Starbucks would recommend something with as much sugar as possible. It came back with another list, this time with the “Caramel Ribbon Crunch Frappuccino” taking the crown, packing 60g of sugar. (Starbucks’ website confirms this for the grande size; the venti has 78g.)

That’s a lot of sugar, sure, but was it really as much sugar as Starbucks could give me? ChatGPT seemed to sense my disappointment, and said, “If you want, I can build you a custom order that maxes out both caffeine and sugar at the same time.” Now we’re talking! ChatGPT returned with a step-by-step list to turn a Caramel Ribbon Crunch Frappuccino “into a monster:”

• Venti Caramel Ribbon Crunch Frappuccino Blended Beverage

• Add two to three shots of espresso (affogato-style if you want it poured on top)

• Add extra caramel syrup pumps

• Add mocha sauce (for even more sugar + flavor)

• Add extra caramel drizzle

• Keep whipped cream + crunch topping

The bot said that the modifications would increase the sugar from 70 to 90g, depending on how “aggressive” I got, while the caffeine would shoot from from 85mg to a range of 200 to 300mg.

I asked ChatGPT to make me the worst drink possible

When ChatGPT asked if I’d like to optimize my custom drink so it would still taste good, rather than like “liquid candy sludge,” I said “actually, could you make it worse?” And it did, giving me instructions on how to “break” the drink, offering a list of changes, including tons of syrups, sauces, more chocolate chips, and light ice to make it “less refreshing, more dense and overwhelming.” It gave me the choice to make it even worse, and I agreed. ChatGPT took another opportunity to “ruin it on purpose.” Its new concoction, it said, was designed to taste like “burnt coffee trying to escape a caramel milkshake,” with “chocolate chips suspended in syrup cement.” Perfection.

You can’t actually order your drink with ChatGPT

I asked the bot how I could order it, and, to my surprise, it only recommended how to order it in person or on the Starbucks app—not through ChatGPT itself. At this point, I realized ChatGPT had stopped offering me ordering options, and instead opted for text-based recommendations only. When I asked why, it told me I couldn’t ask it order in the app. When I told it that it had previously given me the option (and noted that an ad for the feature indicated I could order in the app), ChatGPT said “That ad is a bit misleading.” Okay. Even after I went back to the previous chats that still had the ordering widget, either the widget would “expire,” or I’d be taken to the store locator but not allowed to choose a location. I chalk this up to ChatGPT dropping me down to a weaker model with less angentic capabilities.

But it doesn’t matter, because there’s no way I’m ordering this monstrosity, on the app or in person. The whole point was to avoid human interaction, after all. Now I’m left with no new coffee orders, a chatbot that’s gaslighting me, and a severe caffeine withdrawal. Maybe ChatGPT has some advice for how to deal with that.

If you haven’t thought recently about which Android apps have access to your device’s location, camera, microphone, or other features, now is a good time to do a privacy audit and ensure these permissions are up to date. There’s another permission type that allows apps access to system-wide resources, so while you’re at it, you should check these too.

Android’s various types of app permissions

Android devices have a dedicated privacy dashboard through which you can choose how apps access private data, like your camera, microphone, call logs, location, files, calendar, and contact list (to name a few). If you go to Settings > Security & Privacy > Privacy > Permission manager, you can see every app that has these permissions and change them if needed. For apps with location, camera, and microphone permissions, you can choose whether to allow access all the time, only when using the app, or not at all—you can also force apps to ask permission every time you open them.

But there’s another type of app permissions known as special permissions, which include the ability to modify system settings, display and draw over other apps, gather usage data, or access and modify any file or folder on your device, among others. In many cases, these are useful, or even essential for app functionality. For example, Display over other apps permits one app to display its UI over another, which may include notifications or a pop-up for an incoming call. Picture-in-picture permissions allow apps like YouTube or TikTok to continue playing while you’re using another app.

For legitimate apps, these permissions generally aren’t a problem, though not all apps need all of these system-level permissions to function, and you may not want every app to be able to access things like system settings and usage data. There are also cases where these permissions could be used maliciously, such as screen overlays designed to steal your login credentials or sensitive information collected from device and app notifications.

Audit your special permissions on Android

Android apps should request special permissions in context (meaning only when you try to use a feature that requires this type of access) and they should clearly explain why the permission is needed before redirecting you to your device’s system settings. However, if you are accustomed to granting access whenever it is requested, you may have given apps more permissions than they really need without realizing it. As always, you should be especially cautious of permissions requested by apps downloaded from outside the Google Play Store (though even apps vetted and approved by Google can be malicious).

Special permissions live in a different section of your device settings from the privacy dashboard, so even if you regularly audit your apps’ privacy settings, you may not come across these system-level permissions. Go to Settings > Apps > Special app access (this may be hidden behind a three-dot menu) and click on the permission type to see which apps have been granted access. You can then choose to disable permissions for any apps that don’t really need them.