Day: April 26, 2019

April 26, 2019 at 12:05PM by CWC You are fully aware that you need to stop prodding at that zit, but there it is, glaring back at you in the mirror, taunting you to do something, anything, to somehow fix the situation. Picking and squeezing at it until something emerges is never the best move—you know this, and yet, you continue. For what simultaneously seems like five hours or maybe five minutes, you’re stuck at the mirror, picking and prodding, with Lady Macbeth’s “out damn spot” monologue echoing in your head. You hate what you’re doing as you’re doing it, and before you realize it, you’ve created a mountain from a molehill, the damage has been done, and it’s too late to go back. “The goal here is obviously to learn from the mistake so that it doesn’t happen again, but also, to make a pimple less noticeable,” says celebrity esthetician Renee Rouleau. “Depending on where the blemish is in its life cycle, you’ll want to treat the infection, and use a product that creates a seal over the texture.” If your pimple is going through its scabby, flaky phase, Rouleau recommends using a product like her Daytime Blemish Gel ($40) to help simultaneously smooth over the texture and keep bacteria at bay, but if you’re in a pinch, a few drops of water and the curve of a spoon can do the trick. “When the skin is crusty and flaky, the cells have dried in that position and are

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April 26, 2019 at 11:19AM by CWC As much as I love yoga, a good chunk of a vinyasa flow can be pretty uncomfortable. High lunge with a twist? Not easy to hold. Chaturanga is just a glorified, high-vibe push-up. And don’t even get me started on chair pose.  So when I found myself in a yoga class at New York’s Sky Ting yoga studio yesterday doing something called “shoulder flossing”—which felt really, really good—I was pleasantly surprised. If you’ve never experienced such a move before, allow me to explain: It involves standing up straight, clasping your hands and  turning your palms outwards, then circling your arms behind and over your head, coming through on the other side of your body. And over and over again in both directions. It looks kinda funny and you feel like a monkey or something, but it is a delight to do. “I do it every single day—it’s my go to,” raves Tommy Lucas, my yoga instructor from Sky Ting. “I teach shoulder flossing in every single class. You just clasp your hands, put them over head, and pretend you’re Vogue-ing, sing a song, do anything—put music to it. Go in both directions and get weird with it.” Doing this shoulder-opening technique feels good for a reason: It moves them around a lot, which is necessary considering how much of the day most of us spent hunched over. “It’s great because it moves truly around every possible direction of the shoulder,” says Lucas. “We get pretty

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April 26, 2019 at 11:09AM by CWC The first time I was made aware of electrolyte drinks, I was a kid and my parents were pushing Gatorade on me after soccer practice. These days, the neon beverage is still handed out on the sidelines of marathons and plenty of special waters are branded with “extra electrolytes.” “Studies show that most people enter into the gym in a dehydrated state,” says sports nutritionist and The Vitamin Shoppe expert Jacob Wilson, PhD. “When we sweat along with fluids we also lose electrolytes. During vigorous exercise the average person loses one-and-a-half liters of sweat per hour on top of this.” Yes, replenishing your body with fluids high in electrolytes is, in fact, important. But have you noticed that most electrolyte drinks out there tend to be coupled with a heck of a lot of sugar? If you’re working out intensely—running a half marathon or perhaps taking a spin class—that added sugar serves a purpose. “For quick energy, you want rapid digestion and quick blood-sugar spikes—so sugar from refined foods,” trainer-nutritionist Albert Matheny, MS, RD, previously told Well+Good. But for a typical workout, you likely don’t need electrolyte drinks with any added sugar. “Following exercise it is recommended to consume about one to 2 grams of sodium, an essential electrolyte which would range from two-and-a-half to 5 grams of table salt,” Dr. Wilson says. “For the electrolyte potassium, we would recommend 500 to 600 milligrams of potassium which can be found in a cup

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April 26, 2019 at 10:59AM by CWC If someone from the past time-traveled to the 21st century, they’d be astounded by many things, including A) that you can get a blood test to determine your life expectancy and B) how crazy high-tech fitness has become. We’ve entered the age where ab exercises are literally at our fingertips, fit tech is a full-blown industry, and even babies are sporting wearables. But the latest innovation that’s changing the way you break a sweat is likely to have even the most internet-savvy millennials starry-eyed with workout wonder. Meet the interactive gym, Mirror ($1,495, plus a $39 monthly subscription). At first glance, the device looks like a sleek, no frills reflective surface you might hang up to checkout your leggings-sports bra combo before heading off to spin class. Switch the device on however, and you’ll come face-to-face with a trainer who can lead you through a full class of cardio, strength, yoga, Pilates, barre, boxing, and stretch—all of which you can tailor by time and skill-level to your personal fitness goals. “I was a professional dancer in the New York City Ballet,” says Brynn Putnam, founder and CEO of the startup. “I opened a chain of fitness studios about 8 years ago called Refine [Method], but about two years ago, I just found myself struggling to get to my own gym. I had a child and life got busier. So I started to think about how I could work out at home.” To do so, Putnam went to

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April 26, 2019 at 09:53AM by CWC In middle school, there were three looks I wanted (oh so desperately) to achieve: the fluffed-up Dutch braid, the messy bun, and—the classiest hairdo of all—the wrap around ponytail. Because the name is a bit clunky, allow me to explain. The sleek AF hairstyle involves singling out a strand and wrapping it around the base of the ponytail to hide an aesthetically unpleasing hair tie. It’s unquestionably a #glowup to the simple updo, and thanks to a YouTube video tutorial, I finally know how to do it properly. YouTuber Luxy Hair’s so-simple-it-should-be-criminal trick makes quick work of the wrap. In fact, her method is seamless enough that you won’t even need a single bobby pin. Grab a hair tie because we’re doing the damn thing. Learn how to master the wrap around ponytail like you always wanted to. [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yzqpfjEeWf4] Step 1: Put your hair up in a normal pony. Low, high—you choose. Step 2: Take a chunk of hair (wide enough to conceal the hair tie). Step 3: Wrap it around the base of the ponytail, counter-clockwise, until there’s just a little more than an inch left. Step 4: Pull at the bottom of your hair tie and slide the strand through the opening. Tuck the excess into the hair at the nape of your neck. It should hold by itself, but you can use a bobby pin, if you so choose. Step 5: Separate the ponytail in two and pull the whole

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April 26, 2019 at 09:18AM by CWC You can only do so many sit-ups before extreme boredom sets in. You’ll feel the burn, sure, but you’re not alone in wishing for a way to make your ab workout more interesting. The next time you hit the mat, mix up your regular routine by integrating some suitcase sit-ups, a super-challenging variation that will keep both you and your core engaged. You know that moment of accomplishment when you finally get your suitcase to close and zip it shut tight? That’s essentially what you’re doing with your body during suitcase sit-ups. The exercise (which is an easier variation of a V-up) involves lying on the mat and raising your upper body and knees simultaneously so you’re folding up like a piece of luggage. The tuck in this move requires you to have full control of your entire body in order to keep that perfect form. And, you know it—that means they’re really hard. How to do suitcase sit-ups Lie on your back with straight legs extended off the floor in front of you and your hands behind your head. At the same time, lift your upper body into a crunch and tuck your knees to your chest so they meet your elbows. Lower your upper body back onto the floor and extend your legs long so they’re hovering a few inches above the floor. Repeat. [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBLFRACnveE] Need a variation? Try knee tucks If suitcase sit-ups are too challenging, ease your way

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April 26, 2019 at 08:28AM by CWC For transparency’s sake, I feel compelled to share that this isn’t exactly a How To Lose a Guy in 10 Days “love fern.” For one, we didn’t share custody; the plant was mine. Her best friend and her best friend’s boyfriend gifted it when the four of us were painting our new apartment—which wasn’t ours, exactly. The one-bedroom was mine and she didn’t formally live with me in it, but it finally offered some privacy from my former roommates and her current ones. Despite not sharing the lease, we shared the space whenever we wanted—its solitude, its newly painted walls, its plant; all firsts for me. Less than a year later, all of it crumbled. Leaks and bed bugs and a winter without heat and a caricature of a diabolical New York City landlord resulted in the decision to tear it all down and pack it all up: repaint the walls back to that awful off-white and take down the shelves, the artwork, and, of course, the plant, which had been suspended near a window, flourishing, and glowing in the sunlight beautifully, naïvely. We dismantled the apartment together; three months later, she dismantled us. Like many who get dumped, I was forced to purge lots of things, either because they belonged to or reminded me of her. I piled together a T-shirt of hers I’d kind of accidentally stolen and worn more than my own clothes; same with her button-down, her bomber jacket,

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