Nine Mistakes Basically Everyone Makes When Recycling

Recycling is a nightmare. We all want to reduce waste— 93% of Americans support recycling—but in the real world, many/most people don't really know what's recyclable and what isn't. So we toss every empty bottle, can, and cardboard box into the bin and hope for the best. This is known as "wishcycling," and it's a bad idea.

Mixing up the recyclables and the send-it-to-the-landfill-ables complicates the sorting process; it can contaminate otherwise useful recyclable material, or even break the machinery that makes recycling possible. But don't blame yourself for not understanding what to recycle; it's not easy.

The complexity of plastic recycling

Plastic recycling is maddeningly complicated. The triangle label that you might assume indicates "this item is recyclable" doesn't actually mean that. The number inside the triangle doesn't tell you whether it's recyclable, either. It denotes the kind of resin a piece of plastic is made from, and that will give you a big clue as to recyclability, but there's no universal rule. For instance, most items marked with a #1 or #2—your water bottles and detergent containers—are good to put in the blue bin, but not all #2's are created equal. Your municipal recycling program doesn't want a garbage bag, for example, no matter what number it is.

Some plastic, like #6—polystyrene—can be recycled, but generally isn't because it's not economically feasible. Some plastics, like polyvinyl chloride (#3), can even be harmful to recycle. Some kinds of plastics, like low density polyethylene (#4), are recyclable, but whether your local recycling program wants them in the bin depends on where you live. You get the idea: It's a mess. Check out this chart for a more in-depth explanation about what each number signifies.

Ultimately, reducing waste is a systemic challenge as opposed to an individual one, but until the rest of the world starts passing stronger laws like California’s recent plastic bag ban, the best a conscientious citizen can do is try to navigate the system we have as well as they can. To help out, I put together this list of nine common recycling mistakes. It's far from comprehensive, but it's a start.

Not knowing the recycling rules where you live

Giving any specific advice about recycling is tricky because different municipalities have different rules for recycling, and some kinds of materials are accepted in some cities but not others, so don't assume that any general rule about what to recycle applies to your specific location.

What to do instead: Do your research. Earth911's recycling database is a good general source with a zip-code searchable database, but your best bet is to visit your local government’s website to learn what, exactly, to put in the bin.

Ignoring the “reduce and reuse” part of “reduce, reuse, and recycle” 

There’s a reason “recycle” is the last part of the saying. Reducing and reusing are more effective at minimizing your waste footprint, and they're way easier to understand, too.

What to do instead: Whether it’s bringing your own tote bags to the grocery store or buying products in bulk instead of individually, you can plan ways to reduce the amount of waste you generate in your day-to-day. Reusing can mean washing out jars and using them as drinking glasses (classy) or turning old t-shirts into rags instead of tossing ‘em out. All of this is a hassle, but it will probably make a bigger difference than recycling.

Packing your recyclables in a garbage bag

Garbage bags are generally not wanted by municipal recycling concerns, even though many of us use them to pack up the empty bottles and cans we put in the bin. Luckily, if you're doing recycling correctly, you won't need a bag.

What to do instead: "Keep it loose," advises Amy Hammes, the Recycling Specialist at the Burbank Recycle Center. "We ask the public to remove liquids and any food residue. If you're doing that correctly, there is no need for a bag."

Not breaking down cardboard boxes

Cardboard boxes are usually great to recycle, but the packing material that keeps your Amazon purchases safe often isn't, so don't toss the whole mess in the bin.

What to do instead: Separate the styrofoam, bubble wrap, and any other packing material from the cardboard. Then put the pure cardboard in the bin. Whether the ancillary material is recyclable depends on what it's made of.

Throwing dirty pizza boxes in the recycling bin

Pizza boxes might seem perfect for recycling—it's a big piece of cardboard, just asking to be turned into next week’s toilet paper—but the grease, cheese, and related pizza goo aren't wanted. Too much grease and oil in the recycling works can spoil a whole batch of recyclables or even damage the recycling machinery.

What to do instead: "The safest thing is to just tear off the clean side of the pizza box and put that in recycling," Hammes says. "If you can't find a use for the dirty side, like using it in your landscape for weed mitigation, then go ahead and just put that in the trash."

Putting plastic wrap in the recycling bin

Plastic wrap highlights the complexity of recycling, circa 2024. It is incredibly common, and a lot of it is possible to recycle, but most municipalities do not accept it in curbside bins. Common household detritus like the plastic wrap that covers other products, dry-cleaning bags, bread bags, sandwich bags, freezer bags, produce bags, etc. usually shouldn't go in the bin.

What to do instead: Take plastic wrap and bags to a specific recycling center or store that collects them. You can find a local store that is part of the NexTrex program to recycle plastic wrap, as long as it's clean and either a #2 or #4.

Putting dirty plastic in the bin

Even if your plastic container is the right number for your local recycling programs, don't put it in the bin dirty. "When you leave too much food, it's going to create more problems for us, because that can lead to smells and attract rodents," Hammes says. "If it's a really liquid-y type of food, it could leak into other materials like paper, and that would contaminate it, and then you would be making the paper not recyclable."

What to do instead: Rinsing and cleaning is a recycling best practice, so make sure anything you're recycling is free of food waste and liquid.

Putting styrofoam in the recycling bin

While it's technically possible to recycle styrofoam packaging like egg cartons and insulation, it's rarely done. Styrofoam is a form of polystyrene, #6 on the plastic scale. In its rigid form, polystyrene is used to make things like plastic cutlery and CD cases. Those aren't generally recyclable, either.

What to do instead: "Styrofoam is a material that is very, very difficult to manage. It's economically not feasible to recycle it, and so that material, unfortunately, has to be thrown in the trash," Hammes says, "or avoid it, if you can."

Recycling milk cartons (maybe)

Milk cartons are a bit of a question mark; some recycling programs accept them and some don't. "It takes a very set kind of paper mill to accept them. That means it's difficult for recyclers to find a buyer, and so in some cases, if they can handle it, they'll take it, but other recyclers cannot," Hammes says.

What to do instead: When it comes to milk cartons, you'll have to do some research. "The best thing is to check with your local city or your waste hauler to find out if they can accept it."

The 35 Scariest Non-English Language Movies Ever

As English-speaking fans of Japanese horror have known for decades, the genre exports itself particularly well. Scary movies are often built on shocking visuals, which means when done well, horror loses little power when it travels. And, just as often, horrifying tales unique to the residents of a particular country are just nightmares the rest of us haven’t had yet. (Before The Grudge and The Ring made their way to America, I thought long, black, wet hair was terrifying only in the sense that it might clog my drains. Now, however...)

Horror movies remind us that no matter what language we speak or the country of our origin, we’re all the same on the inside: red, squishy, and oh so vulnerable. But if you’re looking to explore new types of terror, you may need to look outside your cultural experience. Here are great horror movies that don’t happen to have been filmed in English, each bringing a distinct regional flavor of horror into your living room.

Audition (1999)

Language: Japanese

Director Takashi Miike made a name for himself as one the 21st century’s foremost horror directors, and Audition offers a perfect example of his squirmy, deeply disturbing style. Here, he follows widower Shigeharu (Ryo Ishibashi, who later appeared in the first two American Grudge movies) as he re-enters the dating world by concocting a fake film production and setting up auditions for the role of his new flame. Hitting it off with the quiet Asami, he pursues a relationship. It doesn’t go very well for him. At all.

Where to stream: Tubi, digital rental via Apple TV

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Tigers Are Not Afraid (2017)

Language: Spanish

Blending fantasy with horror, Mexican writer/director Issa López’s story of children displaced and orphaned by the Mexican Drug War deftly tells a story that’s heartbreakingly believable, even in our world, where the supernatural is less terrifying than the actions of greedy and heedless adults. Tenoch Huerta, later Namor in Wakanda Forever, plays an insidious crime boss.

Where to stream: Shudder, AMC+, digital rental

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A Tale of Two Sisters (2003)

Language: Korean

Part of a wave of South Korean horror that terrified the world in the early 2000s, this Kim Jee-woon shocker is a visual stunner, even if the plot is a bit opaque. It’s the somber, Shakespearean tale of a South Korean teenager who reunites with her beloved sister following a stay in a mental hospital. Their father has a new wife, which creates an uncomfortable situation in the house, but not nearly so uncomfortable as the strange, horrific, and sometimes absurd events that plague the family. As with some of the best horror movies, it all comes back to the cruel family secrets that saw the sisters separated in the first place.

Where to stream: AMC+

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Good Madam (2021)

Language: Xhosa

In need of a place to stay, Tsidi (Chumisa Cosa) brings her daughter to live, temporarily, into the Cape Town house where her once-estranged mother Mavis (Nosipho Mtebe) has worked as a domestic for decades. The Good Madam of the title, an elderly white woman, is now bedridden and infirm, but Mavis remains entirely devoted—a reminder to Tsidi of her childhood, when she took a backseat to Madam's family. Naturally, things get increasingly and disturbingly creepy in the house, the effective horror elements masking an examination of class and race in modern South Africa.

Where to stream: Shudder, AMC+, digital rental

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Eyes Without a Face (1960)

Language: French

The producers were eager to make a move into the horror market, but wanting to dodge problems with European and local censors, director Georges Franju was cautioned away from including all the blood and gore that the story might have otherwise called for. It’s just as well. The sly, suggestive tone of Eyes Without a Face stands in stark contrast to its lurid synopsis: Following his daughter’s disfiguring accident, a plastic surgeon is determined to provide her with a face transplant that will restore her to his idea of beauty. The problem, as you can imagine, is where to get the face. This could’ve been a schlocky Bela Lugosi movie, but Franju injects it with a poetic style that turns it into a work of art (it’s even a part of the Criterion Collection).

Where to stream: Max, The Criterion Channel, digital rental

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Saloum (2021)

Languages: French and Wolof

At the start, Congolese director Jean Luc Herbulot seems to be setting up an action movie; the story of mercenaries fleeing a coup looks for all the world like an American military thriller of the 1980s. Soon, however, it is revealed to be something distinctive, effortlessly blending genres and styles as things take a turn for the horrific when the band crash lands in a remote and eerie part of Senegal. The hunters become the hunted, but undergirding it all are interesting questions about power and possibility of redemption.

Where to stream: Shudder, AMC+, digital rental

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Suspiria (1977)

Language: Italian

Dario Argento’s giallo masterpieces are almost all vibes, blending glossy filmmaking with buckets of blood until there’s not much different between beautiful and gruesome. Suspiria, likely the director’s masterwork, follows talented dancer Susie Bannion (Jessica Harper) who signs up as a student at a prestigious dance academy in Berlin, where she does great, at least until the accusations of witchcraft begin to flow. (The English remake, starring Tilda Swinton, is also worth a watch, but not until after you’ve digested the original.)

Where to stream: Kanopy

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Ring (1998)

Language: Japanese

Hideo Nakata's original Ring film, an adaptation of the Koji Suzuki novel, was the movie that brought J-horror roaring back, kicking off a franchise that now spans continents and decades (including eight Japanese films, two television series, three American remakes, a Korean remake, and a couple of video games). Though the thrill has dimmed, a bit, with repetition and endless parodies, there's no question that Sadako's image—climbing from her well and through the TV screen—remains indelible. The movie itself is a clever, spooky supernatural mystery punctuated by some truly "holy shit!" moments of fright.

Where to stream: Kanopy

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Funny Games (1997)

Language: German and French

Austrian and German directors developed a reputation for extreme horror during the 1980s and 1990s (see movies like Nekromantik, or Violent Shit), which I’m sure says something about European cultural upheaval in the wake of the fall of the iron curtain. Maybe. Here, director Michael Haneke tells the story of a couple on a lakeside holiday who are terrorized and sadistically tortured by a couple of thoroughly deranged young men, one of whom winks at the camera and occasionally narrates the film as a way of reminding us, the audience, that we’re here to witness the depravity, not the quiet holiday.

Where to stream: Max, The Criterion Channel, digital rental

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The Dead Lands (2017)

Language: Māori

Heavy on the action, New Zealand-born director Toa Fraser’s film depicts pre-colonial Māori in the story of a teenager who pursues the chief responsible for the slaughter of his tribe into the titular “dead lands,” an area believed to be protected by a Taniwha that will kill anyone who ventures into the area.

Where to stream: Tubi, Crackle, digital rental

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The Lure (2015)

Language: Polish

Agnieszka Smoczyńska directs this thoroughly bizarre and wildly entertaining rock opera about a couple of mermaids who leave the water and get jobs at a Warsaw nightclub. If someone in your life is mad about Disney’s new race-bent Little Mermaid, show them this bloody, sexually charged version.

Where to stream: Max, The Criterion Channel, digital rental

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Stranger by the Lake (2013)

Language: French

A serial killer movie in the style of erotic thrillers of yore, Stranger stars Pierre Deladonchamps as Franck, a regular visitor to a nude beach and the surrounding woods, both popular cruising spots. Franck begins a passionate relationship (meaning: lots of fairly explicit sex in the woods) with Michel (Christophe Paou), who Franck later spots drowning someone in the lake. Franck's obsession with Michel makes him hesitate to reveal what he knows to the police—increasingly a problem given that the murder he saw will not be the last.

Where to scream: Digital rental

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The Wailing (2016)

Languages: Korean and Japanese

The elevator pitch is that The Wailing is about a rage-inducing extraterrestrial plague that impacts a remote village, triggering zombie-adjacent symptoms in the locals. Sounds like the kind of thing we've seen before, but director Na Hong-jin manages such deft and wild shifts in tones that it feels little like any other movie. Starting out as a police procedural involving a somewhat bumbling country cop, it quickly gives way to something far more evocative, before becoming genuinely disturbing.

Where to stream: Netflix, Tubi, Peacock

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Baskin (2015)

Language: Turkish

With old-school Italian-style giallo flair, Turkish writer-director Can Evrenol builds to a surreal, nightmarish, and bloody third act from a sly and deliberately paced opening. A group of police officers are drawn to a small town (full of locals who try to warn them off), and to a building in the middle of nowhere, where things get truly weird. The movie’s gradual shift in tone is so subtle that we hardly realize that we’ve been drawn into a bloody, gory trap.

Where to stream: Digital rental

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Ravenous (2017)

Language: French

It’s a foreign film! From Canada! Director Robin Aubert does the zombie genre proud by injecting a fair bit of George Romero-style social commentary into his story of a small Quebec town under siege. Here, the zombies have a society and culture of their own, and the threat they pose speaks to regional history and a variety of cross-cultural issues. Even without that specific context, it’s a smart and effective survival thriller.

Where to stream: Digital rental

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Verónica (2017)

Language: Spanish

Loosely based on purportedly true events, the import from Spain is all spooky atmosphere and old-school chills in its story of a young woman who conjures up evil demons following some ill-conceived Ouija-play. Nothing here reinvents the wheel, but the creepy fundamentals are sound, and there are plenty of solid scares.

Where to stream: Netflix

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Rec (2017)

Language: Spanish

A thoroughly effective found footage film (one of the best, really), Rec follows a reporter doing a by-the-numbers ride-along with a Barcelona fire crew as they respond to a call that takes them to an apartment building where odd things are happening. It’s a zombie-style movie involving demonic possession, but the real draw here is the deft camerawork and the sense of geography and place that draws us into this building and leaves us feeling as trapped and frightened as the residents.

Where to stream: Tubi, digital rental

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Noroi: The Curse (2005)

Language: Japanese

What looks like a found footage horror movie is more precisely a faux-documentary dealing with a paranormal researcher and her investigation into a series of supernatural occurrences in different parts of Japan. The movie proceeds methodically through the investigation, weaving a tapestry of curses, ghosts, and demons that could compete with The X-Files for complexity. That’s part of the trick, though: by the final act, it feels like a trap has been sprung that we never really had a way out of.

Where to stream: Hoopla

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Kuroneko (1968)

Language: Japanese

A horrific and eerie story sees two women, a mother and her daughter-in-law, raped and murdered by a troop of samurai, only to rise from the dead (with the help of a black cat) with the goal of taking brutal revenge on any samurai foolish enough to be taken in by their charms. Catching on, a young warrior is assigned the task of destroying the spirits: a man who, as fate would have it, is the son and husband of the two murdered women.

Where to stream: The Criterion Channel

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Martyrs (2008)

Language: French

Bloody torture-fest or meditation on the inescapable scars of trauma and abuse? Almost any film in what’s been called the New French Extremity movement (see also: High Tension) invite those kinds of questions. Here, a young woman who was tortured by an apparently normal family seeks revenge as an adult, joined by her friend, Anna, who discovers that the Belfond family are using torture to discover the true nature of the afterlife (or something). Not for the faint of heart or stomach, it’s still a classic of extreme violence.

Where to stream: Tubi, digital rental via Apple TV

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Train to Busan (2016)

Language: Korean

South Korean director Yeon Sang-ho’s zombies-on-an-unstoppable-train story never misses an emotional beat despite its bloody action movie identity. Amid all the violence, its emotional core lies in the story of a workaholic father and his daughter attempting to reconnect following a divorce—you know, while also staying alive amid a flesh-munching apocalypse. The movie would work just fine if its human story took a backseat, but instead, it’s a horror/action masterpiece.

Where to stream: Peacock, Tubi, digital rental

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Let the Right One In (2008)

Language: Swedish

This Swedish film, based on the novel by John Ajvide Lindqvist, was instantly a classic unpon its release in 2006, when it made clear that there are still new stories to tell when it comes to cinematic vampires. Here, bullied kid Oskar (Kåre Hedebrant) forms a friendship with neighbor Eli (Lina Leandersson), whose connection to a string of local murders quickly becomes obvious. Disturbing, but somehow impressively heartfelt.

Where to stream: Prime Video, Peacock, Tubi, digital rental

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Under the Shadow (2016)

Language: Persian

A woman estranged from her husband during the Iran-Iraq War is forced to protect her child from mysterious supernatural forces as the bombs continue to fall. Writer/director Babak Anvari’s Under the Shadow invokes the jinn as a way to process the strife and turmoil of war and political conflict, as well as about the anxieties of women in oppressive societies. The atmospheric film plays simultaneously as the story of a haunting, and also as one about women and civilians in times of war; each element has its own terrors.

Where to stream: Netflix, digital rental

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When Evil Lurks (2023)

Language: Spanish

A wonderfully gnarly Argentinian production from writer/director Demián Rugna, When Evil Lurks takes place in a world where demonic possession is common, and very contagious. It's brutally effective in its practical gore effects, but also works by humanizing its main characters so that when the hammer falls, it absolutely rips your guts out. Not for the squeamish.

Where to stream: Hulu, Shudder, AMC+, digital rental

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Kwaidan (1964)

Language: Japanese

I love a good horror anthology, and this is a sensuous and atmospheric classic of that sub-genre. Director Masaki Kobayashi weaves color into each of the stories, whether it’s blood on snow, the earth tones of a haunted tea house, or the jet black hair that never portends anything good in a Japanese tale.

Where to stream: Max, The Criterion Channel, digital rental

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The Devil’s Backbone (2001)

Language: Spanish

An early triumph from Guillermo del Toro, and a taste of things to come, this Spanish/Mexican co-production tells a story of childhood shattered by conflict (it’s set during the Spanish Civil War—but that’s a sadly evergreen story), while also being an effectively chilling ghost story set in an orphanage.

Where to stream: Peacock, digital rental

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Diabolique (1955)

Language: French

Blending horror elements and Hitchcock-style thrills (director Henri-Georges Clouzot was inspired by Hitchcock, who, in turn, made Psycho to top this film), Diabolique involves a married woman and her husband’s mistress, who both conspire to murder the man and to conceal his death. He’d been headmaster of a gossipy boarding school, and the two are pressed to keep things on the down low through a deliciously twisty-turny plot.

Where to stream: Max, The Criterion Channel, digital rental

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May the Devil Take You (2018)

Language: Indonesian

A pretty straight-up, but nonetheless freakily effective, story of demonic possession and being-very-careful-what-you-wish-for involving a man who sells his soul for wealth and success, only to release a demonic presence that plans to take it out on the guy's loved ones in some exceptionally gruesome ways. If you like demons and body horror, this is going to be for you. The 2020 sequel, May the Devil Take You Too, is very nearly as good.

Where to stream: Netflix

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Cure (1997)

Language: Japanese

Beginning as a Seven-esque serial killer procedural, Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s Cure builds patiently into something far more ambiguous and disturbing. Cinematically directed and intelligently scripted, the movie crystallized the J-horror boom that was to come.

Where to stream: The Criterion Channel, digital rental

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Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum (2018)

Language: Korean

Found footage shocker Gonjiam was incredibly popular in South Korea, and deservedly so: the format is familiar, but it’s a particularly effective and well-made example of the sub-genre. The key here, as in real estate, is location, location, location: director Jung Bum-shik and the rest of the filmmakers meticulously recreated the real-life Gonjiam Psychiatric Hospital in Gwangju—by reputation, one of the most haunted locations in Korea. It’s an incredibly freaky setting for the inevitable undoing of the film’s doomed web series crew.

Where to stream: Peacock, Tubi, Shudder, Prime Video

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Terrified (2017)

Language: Spanish

In a perfectly normal, average Gran Buenos Aires neighborhood, some very strange shit is afoot. It starts with strange voices coming from the sink, but escalates quickly into a full-scale incursion from a supernatural realm. That synopsis is fairly stock, but Terrified blends an elevated-horror visual style with utter relentlessness of some of the grittiest horror you've ever seen. The ingredients aren't necessarily unique, but they're blended so skillfully here that Terrified became a mini phenomenon upon its release, scaring the hell out of unsuspecting viewers.

Where to stream: Shutter, AMC+, digital rental

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Viy (1967)

Language: Russian

One of the only horror films to come out of the Soviet Union, Viy is all atmosphere, an unnerving and disorienting experience that blends moments of quiet creepiness with some genuinely nightmarish imagery and impressive practical effects. Several seminary students go drunkenly wandering the countryside, only to stumble upon and murder someone they believe to be a witch. Khoma, who did the deed, is warned of dire consequences if he refuses to make amends by guarding the body from evil spirits for three nights. It goes about as smoothly as you’d expect.

Where to stream: Tubi

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Dream Home (2010)

Language: Cantonese

What could possibly be more horrific than the housing market? Even among the world’s major cities, Hong Kong is a particularly tough place to buy real estate, and HK director Pang Ho-cheung has some fun with that idea in the story of a young woman, Lai-sheung (Josie Ho) whose dreams of affordable living are thwarted again and again. When she finally gets close to her dream apartment, stock speculators throw the stock market and send prices rising further: at which point she snaps. Can you blame her?

Where to stream: Digital rental via Apple TV

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La Llorona (2019)

Language: Spanish

Not to be confused with the (amusing but unspectacular) Curse of La Llorona, this Guatemalan film places the legendary weeping woman in the context of the family of a barely fictionalized dictator, the man responsible for the native Mayan genocide of the early 1980s, whose family is haunted by vengeful spirits.

Where to stream: Shudder, The Criterion Channel, digital rental

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M (1931)

Language: German

M was director Fritz Lang’s first sound film, and he dives right in. Other early talkie filmmakers dipped their toes in by using sound effects and dialogue sparingly—but Lang isn’t playing around here, and it’s effective. There’s not a police procedural nor serial killer drama that doesn’t owe M a bit of a debt, but this one has something that they don’t: Peter Lorre, so brilliant as a killer who’s made more frightening by virtue of his mundane, sometimes pathetic life.

Where to stream: Max, The Criterion Channel, digital rental

Today’s Wordle Hints (and Answer) for Thursday, September 26, 2024

If you’re looking for the Wordle answer for September 26, 2024 read on. We’ll share some clues, tips, and strategies, and finally the solution. Today’s puzzle is easier; I got it in three. Beware, there are spoilers below for September 26, Wordle #1,195! Keep scrolling if you want some hints (and then the answer) to today’s Wordle game.

How to play Wordle

Wordle lives here on the New York Times website. A new puzzle goes live every day at midnight, your local time.

Start by guessing a five-letter word. The letters of the word will turn green if they’re correct, yellow if you have the right letter in the wrong place, or gray if the letter isn’t in the day’s secret word at all. For more, check out our guide to playing Wordle here, and my strategy guide here for more advanced tips. (We also have more information at the bottom of this post, after the hints and answers.)

Ready for the hints? Let’s go!

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Does today’s Wordle have any unusual letters?

We’ll define common letters as those that appear in the old typesetters’ phrase ETAOIN SHRDLU. (Memorize this! Pronounce it “Edwin Shirdloo,” like a name, and pretend he’s a friend of yours.)

There are four common letters from our mnemonic today. The fifth is somewhat common.

Can you give me a hint for today’s Wordle?

Part of a phrase expressing appreciation.

Does today’s Wordle have any double or repeated letters?

There are no repeated letters today. 

How many vowels are in today’s Wordle?

There is one vowel.

What letter does today’s Wordle start with?

Today’s word starts with T. 

What letter does today’s Wordle end with?

Today’s word ends with K. 

What is the solution to today’s Wordle?

Ready? Today’s word is THANK.

How I solved today’s Wordle

I started with RAISE and TOUCH, which left THANK as the best solution.

Wordle 1,195 3/6

⬛🟨⬛⬛⬛
🟩⬛⬛⬛🟨
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

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Yesterday’s Wordle answer

Yesterday’s Wordle was easier. The hint was "this is carried to the Olympics” and the answer contained four common letters and one pretty common letter.

The answer to yesterday’s Wordle was TORCH.

A primer on Wordle basics

The idea of Wordle is to guess the day’s secret word. When you first open the Wordle game, you’ll see an empty grid of letters. It’s up to you to make the first move: type in any five-letter word. 

Now, you can use the colors that are revealed to get clues about the word: Green means you correctly guessed a letter, and it’s in the correct position. (For example, if you guess PARTY, and the word is actually PURSE, the P and R will be green.)

• Yellow means the letter is somewhere in the word, but not in the position you guessed it. (For example, if you guessed PARTY, but the word is actually ROAST, the R, A and T will all be yellow.)

• Gray means the letter is not in the solution word at all. (If you guessed PARTY and everything is gray, then the solution cannot be PURSE or ROAST.)

With all that in mind, guess another word, and then another, trying to land on the correct word before you run out of chances. You get six guesses, and then it’s game over.

The best starter words for Wordle

What should you play for that first guess? The best starters tend to contain common letters, to increase the chances of getting yellow and green squares to guide your guessing. (And if you get all grays when guessing common letters, that’s still excellent information to help you rule out possibilities.) There isn’t a single “best” starting word, but the New York Times’s Wordle analysis bot has suggested starting with one of these:

• CRANE

• TRACE

• SLANT

• CRATE

• CARTE

Meanwhile, an MIT analysis found that you’ll eliminate the most possibilities in the first round by starting with one of these:

• SALET

• REAST

• TRACE

• CRATE

• SLATE

Other good picks might be ARISE or ROUND. Words like ADIEU and AUDIO get more vowels in play, but you could argue that it’s better to start with an emphasis on consonants, using a starter like RENTS or CLAMP. Choose your strategy, and see how it plays out.

How to win at Wordle

We have a few guides to Wordle strategy, which you might like to read over if you’re a serious student of the game. This one covers how to use consonants to your advantage, while this one focuses on a strategy that uses the most common letters. In this advanced guide, we detail a three-pronged approach for fishing for hints while maximizing your chances of winning quickly.

The biggest thing that separates Wordle winners from Wordle losers is that winners use their guesses to gather information about what letters are in the word. If you know that the word must end in -OUND, don’t waste four guesses on MOUND, ROUND, SOUND, and HOUND; combine those consonants and guess MARSH. If the H lights up in yellow, you know the solution.

One more note on strategy: the original Wordle used a list of about 2,300 solution words, but after the game was bought by the NYT, the game now has an editor who hand-picks the solutions. Sometimes they are slightly tricky words that wouldn’t have made the original list, and sometimes they are topical. For example, FEAST was the solution one Thanksgiving. So keep in mind that there may be a theme.

Wordle alternatives

If you can’t get enough of five-letter guessing games and their kin, the best Wordle alternatives, ranked by difficulty, include:

• Wheeldle, which lets you play one puzzle after another

• Dordle and Quordle, which ask you to play two (Dordle) or four (Quordle) puzzles at the same time, with the same guesses. There is also Octordle, with eight puzzles, and Sedecordle, with 16.

• Waffle, which shows you several five-letter words, scrambled in a grid; you play by swapping the letters around until you solve.

• Absurdle, which changes the solution after each guess, but needs to stay consistent with its previous feedback. You have to strategically back it into a corner until there is only one possible word left; then you guess it, and win.

• Squabble, in which you play Wordle against other people with a timer running. You take damage if you spend too much time between guesses; winner is the last one standing.

• Antiwordle, in which you are trying not to guess the day’s solution. You’re required to reuse any letters that you (oops) guessed correctly, so the longer it takes you, the better you are at the game.

How to Maximize Your Travel Rewards Points

Though I consider myself to be an avid traveler (18 countries and counting), there was a time where I paid little attention to my travel rewards credit cards. I assumed that as long as I was making purchases, I was earning points—but maximizing your travel rewards is a lot more complex than that.

You are probably familiar with the basics of travel rewards: You take a flight to accrue miles, or you open a credit card that gives you points for purchases that can later be redeemed for flights or other perks. But even if you're already earning points and miles, there are strategies you can employ to earn rewards more quickly than you would just by swiping your card for everyday purchases.

Let's explore how travel rewards cards work, and more importantly, how you can you maximize their benefits.

How travel rewards credit cards work

At their core, all travel credit cards operate on a simple premise: They reward you for your spending with travel-related perks, from free flights to flight upgrades. Every time you make a purchase using your travel credit card, you earn points or miles. These rewards can then be redeemed for travel-related expenses, effectively reducing the cost of your trips, or even making them free.

Travel cards are known to entice new customers with substantial sign-up bonuses. These can often be worth hundreds of dollars in travel value, jumpstarting your rewards balance. The three main types of rewards are points, miles, and cash back:

• Points: General rewards that can be redeemed for various travel expenses or transferred to partner programs.

• Miles: Often associated with specific airlines, but which can sometimes be used more flexibly, miles are generally redeemed to discount or eliminate the cost of your flight.

• Cash back: Some cards offer cash back that can be applied to travel purchases.

Sign-up bonuses aren't the only way to earn a substantial number of travel points—lifehacker even has a guide to earning travel points without having to open a new card. (Though I'll go into some of those methods below.)

Another thing to note is that as you're earning rewards, most travel cards offer a tiered reward structure:

• Higher rates (e.g., 3x or 5x points) on travel-related purchases.

• Moderate rates (e.g., 2x points) on common spending categories like dining or groceries.

• Base rate (usually 1x point) on all other purchases.

Understanding the value of your rewards will help you choose redemption options that offer the best return.

Types of travel credit cards

Once you know you want a travel-specific card, you can choose from different types of travel cards.

• General travel cards: Offer flexible points that can be used across multiple airlines and hotels or redeemed for statement credits on travel purchases.

• Airline co-branded cards: Partner with specific airlines, offering miles for that carrier and often including perks like free checked bags or priority boarding.

• Hotel co-branded cards: Similar to airline cards but focused on hotel chains, often providing perks like elite status or free night awards.

• Premium travel cards: High-end cards with luxury perks like airport lounge access, travel credits, and concierge services, usually accompanied by higher annual fees.

To pick a card, start by comparing earn rates across different cards. Some offer flat-rate rewards on all purchases, while others provide higher rates in specific categories. Choose the structure that will maximize your rewards based on your spending patterns.

How co-branded travel rewards cards work

Co-branded cards are partnerships between credit card issuers and travel companies (usually airlines or hotels). They offer several unique advantages:

• Earn miles or points directly in the partner's loyalty program

• Often provide elite status or a fast track to status

• Include travel perks specific to that brand (e.g., free checked bags, room upgrades)

• May offer bonus points for spending with the co-brand partner

However, these cards typically offer less flexibility than general travel cards, as rewards are tied to a specific program.

How to make the most of travel rewards credit cards

Now that we understand the basics, let's explore strategies to get the most value from your travel credit cards:

Choose the right card(s)

Not all travel rewards cards are built the same. Before choosing one, assess your spending habits and travel goals and consider cards that offer bonus points in categories where you spend the most. Look for cards with perks that align with your travel style, e.g. lounge access for frequent flyers.

Make sure you'll meet minimum spend requirements

Many cards offer large sign-up bonuses if you spend a certain amount within the first few months. One of the easiest ways to do this is to plan large purchases around new card applications, so you can easily meet these requirements (without spending more than you need).

Maximize category bonuses

If travel rewards are your focus, save your travel card for all purchases in high-earning categories. If you don't have any major purchases on the horizon, you can stil spend smarter by buying certain items at merchants that qualify for category bonuses (such as cleaning supplies at the grocery store). Consider multiple cards to cover different bonus categories.

Stack your rewards

If you have multiple credit cards that offer different rewards for specific categories (such as dining, travel, groceries, etc.), use the card that provides the highest rewards rate for a particular purchase. For example, if one card offers 4x points on dining and another offers 3x points on travel, use the appropriate card for each type of expense. You can also combine credit card rewards with store loyalty programs, online shopping portals, or dining programs for extra earnings.

Leverage transfer partners

If you ask me, transferable points reign supreme—they’re the most versatile currency in the points and miles world. Many general travel cards allow you to transfer points to airline and hotel partners, typically providing more value than redeeming directly through the card's portal.

Points are usually worth more when transferred to a travel partner’s program compared to just cashing them in for statement credits or gift cards. For example, Chase Ultimate Rewards are worth one cent per point towards cash back, but could be worth 1.5 cents or more per point when transferred to airlines. Get in the habit of looking out for transfer bonuses to partner programs.

Timing is huge here. Booking travel during off-peak times can mean better award availability.

Shop via online portals

To earn even more—anywhere from 2x to 5x points—on top of your standard credit card rewards accrual, try using a shopping portal to make purchases with participating retailers you would shop directly with anyway. Some airlines also have their own shopping portals that link with your membership number to earn miles that go into your loyalty account.

If you have a handful of loyalty programs you could earn points with, consider using a tool like Cashback Monitor or add the Chrome extensions for several shopping portals to compare where you get the most bang for your buck. Note that the bonuses may be even greater around big shopping holidays.

Understand your redemption values

Some programs offer experiential rewards with outsized value, while things like gift cards and merchandise typically offer poor value. Generally, using points for flights (especially business or first class) offers the best value. For hotel stays, look for properties where the cash rate is high relative to the points required. Aim for at least one cent per point in value, but many redemptions can yield two cents or more.

Evaluate the annual fees

A card's annual fee is an ongoing cost that you have to weigh against the value of the benefits it provides (including the welcome bonus). If you don't work to maximize your travel benefits, the annual fee may not be worth it. Plus, the desire to justify the annual fee may lead you to overspend on the card. You need to be honest, not aspirational, about your spending habits.

Take advantage of your perks

Make sure to use benefits like travel insurance, purchase protection, or airport lounge access to maximize your card's value. If you use enough card benefits, you can effectively offset annual fees.

Redeem points early and often

As we’ve previously covered, one rule of thumb is to only bank points for what you plan to use in the next year or so. Otherwise, you might be throwing away their value. Again, here are even more ways to rack up travel points.

The bottom line

Travel credit cards can be powerful tools for turning everyday spending into extraordinary travel experiences. Compare your options with different best-of lists, like this one from Nerdwallet or this one from Bankrate.

Just make sure you’re using my tips above to earn enough points—and redeeming them regularly—to justify the card’s annual fee. Remember, the key lies in choosing the right cards for your lifestyle, using them strategically, and being thoughtful about how you redeem your hard-earned points.

Today’s Wordle Hints (and Answer) for Wednesday, September 25, 2024

If you’re looking for the Wordle answer for September 25, 2024 read on. We’ll share some clues, tips, and strategies, and finally the solution. Today’s puzzle is easier; I got it in three. Beware, there are spoilers below for September 25, Wordle #1,194! Keep scrolling if you want some hints (and then the answer) to today’s Wordle game.

How to play Wordle

Wordle lives here on the New York Times website. A new puzzle goes live every day at midnight, your local time.

Start by guessing a five-letter word. The letters of the word will turn green if they’re correct, yellow if you have the right letter in the wrong place, or gray if the letter isn’t in the day’s secret word at all. For more, check out our guide to playing Wordle here, and my strategy guide here for more advanced tips. (We also have more information at the bottom of this post, after the hints and answers.)

Ready for the hints? Let’s go!

---

Does today’s Wordle have any unusual letters?

We’ll define common letters as those that appear in the old typesetters’ phrase ETAOIN SHRDLU. (Memorize this! Pronounce it “Edwin Shirdloo,” like a name, and pretend he’s a friend of yours.)

There are four common letters from our mnemonic today. The fifth is also pretty common.

Can you give me a hint for today’s Wordle?

This is carried to the Olympics.

Does today’s Wordle have any double or repeated letters?

There are no repeated letters today. 

How many vowels are in today’s Wordle?

There is one vowel.

What letter does today’s Wordle start with?

Today’s word starts with T. 

What letter does today’s Wordle end with?

Today’s word ends with H. 

What is the solution to today’s Wordle?

Ready? Today’s word is TORCH.

How I solved today’s Wordle

I started with RAISE and TOUCH, which made it easy to guess the solution: TORCH.

Wordle 1,194 3/6

🟨⬛⬛⬛⬛
🟩🟩⬛🟩🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

---

Yesterday’s Wordle answer

Yesterday’s Wordle was easier. The hint was "good with tools, for example” and the answer contained four common letters and one uncommon letter.

The answer to yesterday’s Wordle was HANDY.

A primer on Wordle basics

The idea of Wordle is to guess the day’s secret word. When you first open the Wordle game, you’ll see an empty grid of letters. It’s up to you to make the first move: type in any five-letter word. 

Now, you can use the colors that are revealed to get clues about the word: Green means you correctly guessed a letter, and it’s in the correct position. (For example, if you guess PARTY, and the word is actually PURSE, the P and R will be green.)

• Yellow means the letter is somewhere in the word, but not in the position you guessed it. (For example, if you guessed PARTY, but the word is actually ROAST, the R, A and T will all be yellow.)

• Gray means the letter is not in the solution word at all. (If you guessed PARTY and everything is gray, then the solution cannot be PURSE or ROAST.)

With all that in mind, guess another word, and then another, trying to land on the correct word before you run out of chances. You get six guesses, and then it’s game over.

The best starter words for Wordle

What should you play for that first guess? The best starters tend to contain common letters, to increase the chances of getting yellow and green squares to guide your guessing. (And if you get all grays when guessing common letters, that’s still excellent information to help you rule out possibilities.) There isn’t a single “best” starting word, but the New York Times’s Wordle analysis bot has suggested starting with one of these:

• CRANE

• TRACE

• SLANT

• CRATE

• CARTE

Meanwhile, an MIT analysis found that you’ll eliminate the most possibilities in the first round by starting with one of these:

• SALET

• REAST

• TRACE

• CRATE

• SLATE

Other good picks might be ARISE or ROUND. Words like ADIEU and AUDIO get more vowels in play, but you could argue that it’s better to start with an emphasis on consonants, using a starter like RENTS or CLAMP. Choose your strategy, and see how it plays out.

How to win at Wordle

We have a few guides to Wordle strategy, which you might like to read over if you’re a serious student of the game. This one covers how to use consonants to your advantage, while this one focuses on a strategy that uses the most common letters. In this advanced guide, we detail a three-pronged approach for fishing for hints while maximizing your chances of winning quickly.

The biggest thing that separates Wordle winners from Wordle losers is that winners use their guesses to gather information about what letters are in the word. If you know that the word must end in -OUND, don’t waste four guesses on MOUND, ROUND, SOUND, and HOUND; combine those consonants and guess MARSH. If the H lights up in yellow, you know the solution.

One more note on strategy: the original Wordle used a list of about 2,300 solution words, but after the game was bought by the NYT, the game now has an editor who hand-picks the solutions. Sometimes they are slightly tricky words that wouldn’t have made the original list, and sometimes they are topical. For example, FEAST was the solution one Thanksgiving. So keep in mind that there may be a theme.

Wordle alternatives

If you can’t get enough of five-letter guessing games and their kin, the best Wordle alternatives, ranked by difficulty, include:

• Wheeldle, which lets you play one puzzle after another

• Dordle and Quordle, which ask you to play two (Dordle) or four (Quordle) puzzles at the same time, with the same guesses. There is also Octordle, with eight puzzles, and Sedecordle, with 16.

• Waffle, which shows you several five-letter words, scrambled in a grid; you play by swapping the letters around until you solve.

• Absurdle, which changes the solution after each guess, but needs to stay consistent with its previous feedback. You have to strategically back it into a corner until there is only one possible word left; then you guess it, and win.

• Squabble, in which you play Wordle against other people with a timer running. You take damage if you spend too much time between guesses; winner is the last one standing.

• Antiwordle, in which you are trying not to guess the day’s solution. You’re required to reuse any letters that you (oops) guessed correctly, so the longer it takes you, the better you are at the game.

My Go-To Recipes to Make After Apple Picking (That Aren't Pie)

Despite the early appearance of the PSL, pumpkins themselves are still waiting on deck. Right now, it’s prime time for the wholesome apple. While this sweet fruit is available all times of year, it’s the unofficial ambassador of fall in my book. Whether you’ve recently come home from an orchard with 16 pounds of Jonagolds or you get your harvest from the grocery store, it’s a good time to dust off those apple recipes. Here are 12 of my favorite apple recipes (that aren’t apple pie) to make all season, from indulgent desserts to daily staples. 

OXO Good Grips Apple Slicer, Corer, and Divider

$11.96 at Amazon

$11.96 at Amazon

While there are a few recipes in this bunch that don't require peeling or coring, most of them do. An apple corer like this one can be a life saver (or hand saver, really) when it comes to prepping a dozen apples or even just four, frankly. When it comes to peeling, I suggest a speed peeler, which angles the blade in a more natural way and reduces fatigue. Then you'll be ready to tackle a mountain of apples for any of the following.

Silky apple butter

Credit: Allie Chanthorn Reinmann

Apple butter is a simple spread that packs a massive punch of flavor. It’s made by slowly cooking down loads of peeled apples, way past the point of apple sauce. The fruit pulp browns and the flavors concentrate until you have a pot full of chunky apple mush. Add a generous amount of warming spices and run an immersion blender through it until you have the most luxurious possible topping for your morning toast. 

An indulgent ice cream topping

Surely you’ve topped apple pie with ice cream, but have you ever thought your ice cream could use a scoop of apple pie filling? Cook down cubes of apple with a splash of water, a couple spoonfuls of brown sugar and a squeeze of lemon juice until they’re soft and they’ve released a bit of juice. Stir in a small amount of cornstarch slurry to thicken the sauce and add a tab of butter. Cool the filling and proceed to spoon it over your ice cream (or pancakes, or yogurt, or toast).

Apple as a helper

Credit: Brent Hofacker / Shutterstock.com

Sure, you can make a whole dessert or condiment that spotlights apples, but apples are an excellent helper ingredient too. Cut apple slices are the perfect ingredient to add a bit of sweetness, acid, or crunch to another dish. Add slices of apple to a deli sandwich, or cube the fruit and toss it into a salad. Tuck apples under a roast along with onions and carrots for a lovely aroma and sweetness. 

Cook a batch of cider

Cider is a great way to use up those 10 or 12 apples lingering from your trip to the orchard. Though you should avoid the core, you don’t have to bother peeling the apples because everything gets strained by the end. Cook the apples with some water, sugar, and seasonings until you have a fragrant mash. Then strain it thoroughly with a layered cheesecloth or nut milk bag. Serve it warmed up or cold from the fridge. Try this step-by-step recipe which includes helpful pictures. 

Tuck into apple cake

Credit: larik_malasha / Shutterstock.com

A homemade apple cake is the quintessential day-to-night cake for your kitchen table. Make it in the morning and snack on it whenever you walk by. In the evening, dress it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream to get ready for bed. Here’s an old-fashioned apple cake recipe from King Arthur Flour that piles on the apple. The icing is a bit thick for my taste. You could simply dust the cake with powdered sugar to make your life easier. 

Cozy apple crisp

When it comes to classic apple desserts, I’d say pie is the first thing that comes to mind—but in many ways I prefer apple crisp. It’s quicker to make, less fussy, and the texture of the crispy oat topping with soft apple segments is pure comfort. It’s also easier to make a double or triple recipe. You can just use a bigger baking dish (as opposed to making multiple pies). Here’s Ina Garten’s recipe, because I trust her the most with comfort food. 

Air fryer apple turnovers

Credit: Allie Chanthorn Reinmann

Speaking of air fryer apple desserts, these turnovers provide all the sweet flavors of fall in a handy, crisp pocket. Simply sautée apple chunks with butter and spices before scooping the plump fruit onto a puff pastry square. Air fry them for about 15 minutes at 300°F and cool. I love these as an inviting breakfast pastry if you’re staying with family or you have house guests in town.

A billowing apple Dutch baby

If you like the drama of a towering popover, you should try making a cast iron skillet Dutch baby. The simple egg-based batter balloons up the sides of the hot skillet to create a voluminous crater of custardy pancake. An edible bowl for fresh fruit, if I may be so bold. Add sliced apples and whipped cream, or even stewed, spiced apples as a cozy variation. This recipe includes a stout beer as the liquid but you can swap the measurement for milk to make it a classic Dutch baby.

Snackable apple chips

If you’re not in the mood for dessert, try apple chips. Simply slice them into thin rounds, about an eighth of an inch thick. Season them, if you’d like, with a light dusting of cinnamon and pop them in a 225°F oven on a wire rack for about two hours, or in an air fryer at 300°F for 10 to 15 minutes. Allow them to cool completely on a wire rack before snacking.

Bite-sized apple puffs

Credit: Allie Chanthorn Reinmann

I love puff pastry desserts. They’re gorgeous and tasty—and frozen, packaged puff pastry dough gives you the excuse to treat yourself to this effortless opulence with much less effort. These apple puffs are great for Rosh Hashanah or any weekday you’re craving something sweet and simple. Start by slicing apples into rounds and sautéing them in butter. Top circles of puff pastry with the softened apples and bake them until risen and browned. Drizzle with honey and enjoy. (You can use other fruits like this, too. I used up my last summer peaches in a similar way.) 

A gorgeous galette

A galette is kind of like a single layer fruit pie without the pie dish. You can make tempting summer galettes with stone fruits or berries, so why not swap those out for a heap of sliced apples? Roll out a round of flaky pie dough, unceremoniously pile on the pre-cooked apple filling (this technique will keep the crust from getting soggy), and pleat the edges with egg wash before baking. Soon after, you’ll have a rustic-chic apple dessert.   

A classic tarte tatin

Credit: hlphoto / Shutterstock.com

In case I didn’t make it clear, apples and puff pastry are great partners. The combination of sweet, soft apples set upon a background of crisp, buttery pastry is utterly satisfying. It doesn’t have to be complicated with spices and seasonings, but the pairing is undeniably open to embellishment. Tarte tatin is exactly the type of dessert that can be crafted with apples, butter, sugar, and puff pastry, or zhuzhed-up with vanilla bean and fresh ginger. This recipe uses quartered apples (cored), so you can put five or six of them to use in this tasty treat.

Hopefully these ideas can help you make a sizable dent in your bounty of apples. Luckily, apples store remarkably well in the fridge so you can keep cooking as the days march on toward winter.

I Rated the Top Three TikTok 4-2-1 Workout Routines

Your workout routine doesn't need a fancy name like "CrossFit" anymore—now we can just string numbers together and call them workouts? I kid...mostly. Because today I’m considering the 4-2-1 workout trend that’s all over TikTok (and other places).

As 4-2-1 is less a workout and more a vague set of rules, I can’t give it an overall “good” or “bad” grade, but I can rate some of the different ones going around, and also explain the overall pattern of a 4-2-1 routine. But first, let’s define our terms.

What is a 4-2-1 workout? 

Well, it’s actually not a workout. It’s a routine. And it’s not even a routine, it’s a vague structure for a routine. To put it another way, the 4-2-1 is a split. 

A split simply refers to the way you split up your workouts for the week. In this case, 4-2-1 means: 

• 4 days of strength training

• 2 days of cardio

• 1 day of rest or, depending on who you ask, one day of mobility work.

That’s what people usually mean by 4-2-1, but I'll talk about some variations on this theme in a minute. 

Is 4-2-1 the best way to split up your routine? 

It’s important to remember that a split is just a method of organization. Asking if 4-2-1 is a good workout routine is like asking if “breakfast, lunch, dinner” is a good diet. You can’t answer that question until you find out what the diet (or routine) contains. 

But I will say that, like “breakfast, lunch, dinner,” the 4-2-1 split is a great structure to build on if your priority is building strength. On the other hand, if your focus is cardio (say, you’re a runner), you might want to flip that around and do four days of cardio and two days of strength training. 

What does a 4-day strength training split look like? 

Within the 4 strength days, you still have a lot of options for how to split up your training. Here are some of the best 4-day strength splits: 

Upper/lower split

Probably the most common way 4-day strength split is this one:

• Upper body

• Lower body

• (rest or cardio here)

• Upper body

• Lower body

This way, you never work the same muscle group two days in a row. That allows you to go a bit harder in each workout than if you were using the same muscle group back-to-back. 

4-day full body split

Contrary to internet bro science, however, there is no hard-and-fast rule about how much rest you need between workouts. The 23 hours or so between Monday morning and Tuesday morning are plenty of time to recover, if you want or need to work the same muscle in both workouts. With that in mind, you can try something like this: 

• Full body (light) 

• Full body (heavy)

• (rest or cardio here)

• Full body (light) 

• Full body (heavy)

That’s exactly the split I’m on right now, in a program from my Olympic weightlifting coach. The “light” days feature competition lifts like snatches and jerks, and the “heavy” days are heavier strength lifts like deadlifts.

Mixed split with focus day

You could also do a combination of the above, with some body part days and some full body days. Something like this: 

• Upper body

• Lower body

• (rest or cardio here)

• Full body

• Arms & shoulders

This variation hits most body parts twice: upper body on days 1 and 3, lower on days 2 and 3. And then on day 4 you give a little extra love to the body parts that you think might benefit from a third day. In our example here, that would be arms and shoulders, but that would also be a good place for a glute day if you’re trying to build a butt, or a strength/skill day if you’re trying to work on something tricky like handstands, or even a different focus for that day each week.

Let’s rate TikTokers’ 4-2-1 splits

I searched TikTok for “4-2-1 workout plan” and "4-2-1 workout routine," hoping to find a ton of examples of how people are doing this routine. Here are the top results, with my critiques.

Olivia Iannelli

• Day 1: Lower body (video of back squat)

• Day 2: Upper body and HIIT (video of bench press)

• Day 3: Steady state cardio and mobility (video of treadmill running)

• Day 4: Lower body (video of deadlift)

• Day 5: Upper body & glutes (video of overhead press)

• Day 6: HIIT cardio

• Day 7: full rest

Does it fit the structure? Yep. That’s 4 strength days, 2 days dedicated to cardio (but a total of 3 days with some kind of cardio), one mobility day (combined with cardio) and one day of rest. That fits the bill, with the “1” day being that full rest day. 

Is it a good workout plan? I don’t know! She doesn’t say what she’s doing on those days, just gives a video clip of one rep of one exercise for each. The caption includes an ad for a workout app called Ladder (her username is @livfromladder, so that tracks). 

My verdict: This isn’t a workout plan, just an ad. 

Training Truths

This one is a dude in a ball cap giving us a 4-3-1 split. Not a typo, those are numbers that add up to eight.

• 4 days of cardio, 40 minutes a day, any cardio you want. This can be done on lifting days or non-lifting days.

• Weights day 1: chest, shoulders, triceps (3 exercises per body part, 3 sets per exercise)

• Weights day 2: back and biceps (same rules as above, you pick the lifts)

• Weights day 2: quads, glutes, hamstrings

• 1 gram of protein per pound of your body weight, as lean proteins

He then gives an example of the exercises you might pick for each of the weight training days, and a list of protein sources. 

Does it fit the structure? Not the 4-2-1 we talked about, no. And rather than the numbers all referring to days of training and adding up to 7 (arguably the number of days in a week), two of the numbers are about days of training and one is a reminder to get your protein. 

Is it a good workout plan? It’s missing some things, but what’s here is not bad! The lifting split is a push/pull/legs split, which I would rather see as a 6-day instead of a 3-day routine (so that you can hit each muscle twice per week). That said, if you like this schedule and you make progress on it, there’s no reason for me to stop you. The structure of three exercises per body part, and three sets per exercise, is simple enough to remember and gives you some flexibility in picking exercises that you like and that you can do with the equipment that is available to you. I wish it said more about weights, reps, or progression, but certainly some part of the target audience will take this, run with it, and get good results. 

The 4 days of cardio are a nice addition. A lot of people following this bro-ish kind of workout structure might try to skimp on the cardio. But 4x40 minutes is 160 minutes per week, which neatly fits the 150 minute requirement for general health. I like it. 

One gram of protein per pound of bodyweight is overkill, but it’s stuck in everyone’s minds because it’s easy to remember, and I suppose there’s some value to this. You also don’t need to stick to lean proteins; fats are good to have in your diet as well. 

My verdict: If this appeals to you, I say go with it. The cardio and weights days will benefit your health, and if you do your best to challenge yourself on the weights days, you’ll make some progress in strength. I’d ditch the nutrition guidelines as long as you get a reasonable amount of protein in your diet.

Dr. Robin B

I kept seeing this account in the search results for 4-2-1 workouts, but each video was just the creator doing a compound dumbbell move (like a squat, clean, and press, or a lunge and curl) with promises that 4-2-1 dumbbell combo moves will snatch your waist and help you lose 10 pounds!

Does it fit the structure? Hard to say, but she’s doing the moves with light weights at a fast pace, so this isn’t likely to work well as strength training. She says you “just” need a pair of dumbbells, so I suspect there may not be any heavier work in the mix. 

Is it a good workout plan? Sigh. It’s another Ladder ad.

My verdict: Most of the 4-2-1 videos out there seem to be ads for workout apps.