Month: June 2019

June 20, 2019 at 01:12PM by CWC Almost all novice rowers make the same mistake within seconds of strapping into a rowing ergometer, says world-class rower Libby Peters, the former associate head coach of the University of Pennsylvania’s women’s rowing team. As a member of the U.S. National Team, Peters won a bronze medal at the 2008 World Rowing Championships. Needless to say she knows how to use a rowing machine properly. It’s not entirely intuitive, but with practice, rowing becomes as natural as, say, breathing. And now that it’s no longer a sport reserved for Ivy League athletes, rowing machines have finally found their way into fitness studios throughout the country. From New York’s City Row to high-tech at-home equipment, strokes are becoming as ubiquitous as cycling or running. But perhaps rowing’s greatest appeal is the uniquely low-impact efficiency of the movement. While providing a great full-body workout, a rower is designed primarily to target your legs—but the most common mistake is that too many people task their arms with all the work, pulling with all their might, says Peters. She recommends rethinking the way you approach the exercise. ad_intervals[‘402428_div-gpt-ad-9261280-3’] = setInterval(function () { if (ads_ready) { clearTimeout(ad_intervals[‘402428_div-gpt-ad-9261280-3’]); googletag.cmd.push(function(){googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-9261280-3’);}); } }, 100); “The thing to remember about rowing is, it’s basically like you’re lifting like a heavy load,” says Peters, the former associate head coach of the University of Pennsylvania’s women’s rowing team. “When you’re in a boat, the load is you and the boat itself; when you’re on

Read More

June 20, 2019 at 01:00PM by CWC Retinol comes with a lot of rules. Don’t wear it without SPF! Don’t mix it with powerful acids! Don’t use it right before you get your eyebrows waxed! And, one more worth adding to the list: Don’t use it anywhere near lasers. Retinols work to exfoliate the skin from the bottom up by stimulating cell turnover, which is why your face looks like that of a newborn infant angel when you use it regularly. But because it’s so powerful, it can make your skin more sensitive to outside forces—whether they’re chemical, mechanical, or thermal—hence all of the rules about staying away from things like certain skincare ingredients, hot wax, and, yup, lasers. “Retinols can be irritating and drying which can lead to a possible adverse skin reactions post laser treatment which is associated with a higher risk of a burn,” says Lauren Abramowitz, Board Certified PA-C, founder Park Avenue Skin Solutions and dermatologist Estee Williams, MD, agrees, noting, “the risk associated with using a laser device on facial skin that has been treated with retinol in the last one to two weeks is that the recovery period will be longer than usual due to the skin being extra sensitive to the laser.” I learned this lesson the hard way a few weeks ago, when I simply forgot to pause my retinol regimen before going in to get my mustache lasered. As any skin-care pro could have predicted, my upper lip was red (albeit hairless)

Read More

June 20, 2019 at 11:57AM by CWC Doulas—trained professionals who provide physical and emotional support throughout a person’s pregnancy and into the postpartum period—have been helping people with their pregnancies for hundreds of years. But recently, they’ve been gaining attention for their potential role in combatting the maternal health crisis in the United States. Approximately 700 women are dying from pregnancy-related complications in the U.S. each year. Black women are three times as likely to die from pregnancy-related health issues as white women; in New York City, they’re 12 times more likely to die from pregnancy complications. But studies have found that mothers who work with doulas are two times less likely to have birth complications and four times less likely to have a baby with low birth weight. Some states (and even presidential candidates like Kamala Harris and Elizabeth Warren) have worked to find legislative solutions to the factors that contribute to poor maternal health, such as institutional bias against black mothers and poor access to health care. Yet in New York state, which has made headlines for its ambitious task force aiming to combat maternal mortality, doulas are concerned a new law will be a major setback for those who are currently making progress on this front. ad_intervals[‘402150_div-gpt-ad-7435403-3’] = setInterval(function () { if (ads_ready) { clearTimeout(ad_intervals[‘402150_div-gpt-ad-7435403-3’]); googletag.cmd.push(function(){googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-7435403-3’);}); } }, 100); Bill A364 (and its state senate counterpart S3344), seeks to establish ground rules for certifying doulas, a multi-step process that includes either completing a training course sanctioned by

Read More