Month: August 2019

August 13, 2019 at 08:36AM by CWC If asked to describe myself in a sentence, or even in a string of adjectives, “left-handed” likely wouldn’t make the cut. There are just so many other traits and preferences that that I think more accurately depict me. Like, to name a few: lover of avocados and ice cream, hater of zoos, Bravo superfan, and couch potato. That I’m a member of the estimated 10 percent of the population that’s made up of left-handed people isn’t something I’ve given much thought because it’s never seemed to matter in the greater scope of my life. Given that the majority of my top defining traits outlined above involve eating, lounging, and lazing about, it should come as no surprise that I never aspired to thrive in the world of sports, an arena in which left-handedness is noted to provide a supposed leg up in certain modalities, like baseball, boxing, and tennis. Research hypothesizes this is an evolutionary social response to balance cooperation and competition—basically, play by the rules, but find a loophole to elevate yourself because you’re at a disadvantage in other ways. And sure, I’m a classically stubborn Leo who’s sometimes partial to a contrarian disposition just for the sake of it, but I have to doubt that this evolutionary finding applies to my case of left-handedness. ad_intervals[‘415057_div-gpt-ad-7435403-3’] = setInterval(function () { if (ads_ready) { clearTimeout(ad_intervals[‘415057_div-gpt-ad-7435403-3’]); googletag.cmd.push(function(){googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-7435403-3’);}); } }, 100); Being a lefty wasn’t a factor in my mediocre-at-best skill level for my childhood

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August 13, 2019 at 07:00AM by CWC At my gym, there are these three-foot long horizontal tubes with cut-outs. They look like foam rollers, but are far from it. They’re actually not meant to help with recovery at all, they’re supposed to add some serious intensity to your sweat sesh. And boy, do they deliver. In fact, the ViPR PRO—pronounced viper—made a plank series the hardest I’ve ever done. A personal trainer had me get down into a forearm plank with the ViPR perpendicular to my body, lying underneath my chest. I then had to maintain my plank position while pulling the ViPR horizontally to the side by the opposite hand (back and forth). The product was made to help with whole-body integrated movements, including movements like the plank. “ViPR PRO is a great way to recruit type two muscle fibers or as a great introduction to strength training,” says Jan Hutnan, trainer and the brand’s account coordinator. “The product’s length and diameter allow the user to modify their leverage over the device, offering numerous ways to challenge the person.” ad_intervals[‘411925_div-gpt-ad-9261280-3’] = setInterval(function () { if (ads_ready) { clearTimeout(ad_intervals[‘411925_div-gpt-ad-9261280-3’]); googletag.cmd.push(function(){googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-9261280-3’);}); } }, 100); Master trainer and professional bodybuilder Branko Teodorovic of FlexIt also says the ViPR is great for full-body movement that also incorporate balance. “The ViPR is generally safer for key joints, especially your shoulders,” he tells me, pointing out that it works like a barbell, but has vertical grips. “Those vertical grips help make ViPR a safer tool for your

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August 13, 2019 at 05:00AM by CWC Hearing about people’s “morning routines” can often be exhausting. Who has time to wake up, work out, make matcha, whip up breakfast, have mind-blowing sex, meditate, journal, and save the world all before going to work?  Literally no one (unless their work day starts at like 5 p.m.). One thing that’s worth adding to everyone’s morning routine, though? A skin-care regimen that helps to “wake up” skin and get it ready for the day the same way cup of coffee does. “Many times people sleep on their side or their stomach, and all of their lymphatic fluid pools in certain areas, especially under the eyes, under the chin, the jaw, and below the cheek pads,” says Melanie Simon, founder and CEO of ZIIP Beauty. That’s not all: “As it pertains to morning, skin can be puffy, red, blotchy, dehydrated or oily. Typically, if you’re suffering from sleep deprivation, the effects of restricted blood flow will be reflected in your skin,” adds Sheel Desai Solomon, MD, a board-certified dermatologist. ad_intervals[‘414826_div-gpt-ad-7520022-3’] = setInterval(function () { if (ads_ready) { clearTimeout(ad_intervals[‘414826_div-gpt-ad-7520022-3’]); googletag.cmd.push(function(){googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-7520022-3’);}); } }, 100); Because of this, it’s worth adding “wake up your skin” to your morning to-do list (right after you cross all those other things off the list). “Waking up your skin is all about moving those fluids through your lymphatic pathways and increasing your circulation, while also constricting parts of the muscular structure that have become relaxed throughout the sleeping process,” explains Simon.

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August 13, 2019 at 04:00AM by CWC One of the strongest arguments for Aladdin being the hottest Disney prince is that whole “A Whole New World” routine. If someone showed up at my window with a one-way ticket to Greece, Egypt, and China, my crop top would be flying faster than any magic carpet. In reality, though, a late night trip around the world would probably show more people bug-eyed and in the throes of insomnia. Behold the results of 2019 Philips Global Sleep Survey, answered by more than 11,000 adults from 12 countries. As it turns out, sleeping around the world—here defined as “whether we have good sleep hygiene across the globe” and not your wild semester abroad junior year—shows that we’re all failing a little together. But since I’m aggressively American, let’s focus on how we’re slaying the competition first. The United States, in case you’re curious, actually wins the bronze medal for being one of the more well-rested countries (U-S-A! U-S-A!). So when it comes to at least feeling like we’ve gotten enough sleep, the only countries that have us beat are India for the gold and Saudi Arabia for the silver. Way to go, global fam. ad_intervals[‘414740_div-gpt-ad-7435403-3’] = setInterval(function () { if (ads_ready) { clearTimeout(ad_intervals[‘414740_div-gpt-ad-7435403-3’]); googletag.cmd.push(function(){googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-7435403-3’);}); } }, 100); The world average for optimum sleep, however, shows that most of us are falling short. We all know that we’re all supposed to be shooting for a coveted 8 hours of sleep. To that I respond with a

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August 13, 2019 at 03:00AM by CWC The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator has been around for decades, helping countless people understand how they think, feel, and behave. More general, though, than being able to highlight what you were like as a kid and where you find motivation in life, your Myers-Briggs personality can help you decipher where you lie in the matter of introvert vs extrovert. The test breaks down whether you’re introverted or extroverted, intuitive or sensing, feeling or thinking, and perceiving or judging. And while general understandings of what it means to be an introvert vs extrovert are widely held (there’s even a quiz you can take here!), deciphering what, exactly, those terms mean in today’s world isn’t necessarily straightforward. This is especially true given the entire concept of social media asking us to communicate at all times. (Are we ever really alone anymore?) Since it’s complicated—but knowing yourself and whether you identify as more of an introvert or extrovert can be helpful—it’s time to break down how these terms apply to people in today’s world. ad_intervals[‘413819_div-gpt-ad-7435403-3’] = setInterval(function () { if (ads_ready) { clearTimeout(ad_intervals[‘413819_div-gpt-ad-7435403-3’]); googletag.cmd.push(function(){googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-7435403-3’);}); } }, 100); What are the key differences between introverts and extroverts, again? “An introvert is a person who is most comfortable being alone and gets the most fulfillment and energy by being alone,” says clinical psychologist John Mayer, PhD. He adds that, in general, introverts tend to spend time thinking about communicating to the point of overthinking and also skew sensitive. They

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