September 04, 2019 at 11:03PM by CWC Hitting the gym before work usually makes me feel like the Energizer Bunny. By 9 a.m., I’ve had two cups of coffee, covered 6 miles of terrain, and feel ready to tackle my to-do list and clear my inbox. Every so often, though, my extracurricular sweat activities leave me more drained than invigorated. Jonathan Leary, PhD, an expert in exercise science and founder of Remedy Place, says there’s a simple explanation. My energy-boosting fitness strategy could use a little fine tuning—and he told me exactly how to do it. “When we talk about exercising for energy, we are focused on introducing strain to the body with muscle activation, which gives us an increased heart rate, and enables the body to release endorphins,” says Dr. Leary. “Endorphins are those feel good hormones that are released as a result of exercise and important components for an energizing workout. They are responsible for keeping you awake and also contribute to positive changes in your mental health.” His simple formula for channeling your inner-Tigger is simple: increased blood flow + endorphin circulation = energy. Increased Blood Flow + Endorphin Circulation = Energy Now that you know the basic principal of fitness that makes you want to go, go, go, here’s what the formula looks like in practice. Dr. Leary says you want to look for workouts “that are going to keep your heart rate up for an extended period of time.” This includes circuit training (with non-stop
Month: September 2019
With the rise of digital fitness, gyms need to be built differently
September 04, 2019 at 10:12PM by CWC Hot take: the way we use gyms is changing, which means gyms themselves need to change with us. Thanks to the rise of digital fitness, gyms have become a playground, rather than a maze. With coaches in our pockets and on our wrists, we can work out anywhere, anytime, with nothing more than a mat and our bodyweight. We no longer need to schlep to the big-box down the street to get our sweat on—hey, we don’t even need to leave our living rooms or put on pants. So, as physical spaces become less of a necessity, how can those who run them adjust so that they don’t become obsolete? “I think they should build their gyms to look different,” says Brynn Putnam, founder of Mirror Home Gym System. “The era of consumers prioritizing the newest treadmills and the nicest showers is over. Now, they’re prioritizing smart content and great instruction, so resources should be allocated appropriately.” Traditionally, these have been the things that have drawn gym-goers to want to pay a monthly membership to a gym, but now that demand is shifting. “The rise of digital fitness has shown that the consumer is hungry for better quality content and instruction, and they’re willing to pay a premium for it more-so than high-end amenities.” Putnam says she first noticed this when she was building Refine Method, a barre studio in New York City that offered minimum amenities, but poured its resources into instruction.
Put those mushy bananas on your counter to good use with this vegan banana bread recipe
September 04, 2019 at 09:45PM by CWC Here’s my one problem with bananas: Even though I love the idea of grabbing a banana as a snack, it’s nearly impossible for me to use up a whole bunch before they go bad. They just sit on the kitchen counter until they’re completely brown. Thankfully, that’s why we have banana bread. Now, even though bananas themselves are healthy as all hell—Potassium! Fiber! Healthy carbs!—traditional banana breads are, mm, less-than-great. They’re usually made with lots of butter and refined sugar and skew a little far from vegan (see: BUTTER). Luckily, chefs Jenny Dorsey and Mia Rigden created a gluten-, grain-, and refined sugar-free version of the classic treat in a recent episode of Well+Good’s YouTube series Alt-Baking Bootcamp. Gaze upon the OG healthy rendition below, but what final tweak would make for some delightful vegan banana bread? [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HzRLZdwygNQ] “You should be able to make the banana bread vegan by substituting flax eggs and coconut oil,” Dorsey tells me. Only two changes? Seems do-able. At this moment in history I will be shocked if you don’t have a vat of coconut oil in your pantry; you’ll only need two teaspoons here to substitute the butter or ghee. As for the flax eggs (which helps baked goods bind together like a regular egg), Rigden shares that you can make one by combining one tablespoon ground flax seeds with three tablespoons of warm water, then letting it sit for 15 minutes. For a recipe that
This flawless $44 vibrator promises the most intense orgasm of your life in less than a minute
September 04, 2019 at 08:43PM by CWC The French refer to loss of consciousness during an orgasm as la petite mort, or “the little death.” I wonder what chic name they’d have for the Tracy’s Dog Clitoral Sucking Vibrator ($44), which if Amazon reviews are to be believed, is a veritable Grim Reaper. The five-star accolades make no shortage of references to being beamed up to heaven, possessed by “72 demons from The Lesser Key of Solomon,” exorcised of said demons, or simply “dead.” “This time, my soul left me, and god himself said, ‘Child, it is not your time,’” writes a reviewer of her orgasm. “Mind you, agnostic.” Another woman who claims to have died, been resurrected, and then died again was hit so hard by her orgasm she practically saw stars. “Trust me,” she writes. “Best believe you will never see me frown ever again. My life has completely changed. Have a blessed day.” “It literally felt like a demon was coming out of me,” writes yet another satisfied owner of a Tracy’s Dog Vibrator. “My orgasm was AT LEAST 30 seconds longer than usual and my skin is clear, my eyesight is cured and my anxiety has dissipated.” (The orgasm glow is real, by the way.) So, it’s damn good is my read. Also, back it up, Clitoral Sucking Vibrator? Okay, I’m like, super vanilla when it comes to sex toys. I get a Silver Bullet in an industry party gift bag every three years, and that’s,
Move over, adult coloring: Friendship bracelet making is the best way to soothe a busy mind
September 04, 2019 at 08:41PM by CWC When I was seven, a camp counselor at the Warwick, Rhode Island YMCA taught me how to make a friendship bracelet. She gave me three different colored strings, and demonstrated the “four” pattern I had to follow to tie each individual knot. My first foray into crafting my own was total crap, but I triple-knotted that thing within an inch of its life and wore it until it was so faded and frayed that my mom made me cut it off because it was embarrassing her. (And also, it smelled.) But man oh man, did I love it… and the hundreds of other friendship bracelets I made from the years of 1999 to 2006. So this summer, when I saw everyone on Instagram shelling out over 40 bucks a pop to stack their arms with the multicolored string bracelets in the latest nostalgia-centric style trend, I thought, “pshht, I could do better than that” and ordered myself a 13 dollar kit of string and beads on Amazon. When it arrived, I posted up on my couch in complete silence, tied six pieces of string around my toe—the way my counselor taught me to—and got to work on a chevron pattern. By the time I looked up, three hours had passed. I hadn’t checked my phone once (no small feat for someone who averages 193 pick-ups per day, according to the Screentime app), and the intense anxiety that I’d been feeling about work/never finding a
Is the 28-Day Cycle A Myth?
September 04, 2019 at 08:35PM New study, published in Nature, shows that only 13 percent of women have a 28-day cycle. Continue Reading… Author Gretchen Lidicker, M.S. | Life by Daily Burn Selected by CWC
A dietitian’s hunger scale makes ‘listening to your body’ so easy
September 04, 2019 at 07:31PM by CWC Hunger cues are kind of like micro-flirtations. That is, they’re subtle (sometimes to a frustrating degree). Even if I’m 98 percent sure that my body’s begging for fuel, I’m never sure whether a snack or meal is in order. Which is why, with the help of a few dietitians, I set out on a quest to equip myself with the self-awareness: “Am I hungry?” Amy Gorin, MS, RDN, owner of Amy Gorin Nutrition tells me that first, it’s important to understand how hunger cues function. “A hunger cue is your body’s way of telling you that it needs energy. Hunger cues also help you to know when you feel full and should stop eating,” she explains. “Hunger cues are regulated by hormones in your body—including the hunger hormone, ghrelin, and the fullness hormone, leptin.” Apart from those two, you may also feel something called “hedonic hunger,” which refers to your desire for salty, fatty, or sugary foods. “Hunger cues are regulated by hormones in your body—including the hunger hormone, ghrelin, and the fullness hormone, leptin.” —Amy Gorin, MS, RDN When too many hours have passed since your last meal, your body will raise one or more red flags. “Physical signs of actual hunger include lack of energy, a growling stomach, or headache,” says Gorin. In other words, you may find yourself throwing an internal hissy fit until you can nuke your lunch or get your hands on a piece of fruit. In the the most ideal
The 4-ingredient, protein-packed soup recipe I begged an Italian chef in Tuscany to share with me
September 04, 2019 at 07:00PM by CWC After returning back stateside from the picturesque hills of Tuscany, people usually rave about the pasta, pizza, gelato and other well-known Italian-cuisine staples they enjoyed. Not me. The high-protein dish—bowl, to be more precise—that stole my heart the second I took a whiff of it simply doesn’t fit in with those other must-eat meals. What could possibly compete with gnocchi, fusilli, and penne, to permanently imprint itself in my memory, you ask? A cannellini bean soup so divine that I followed a waiter into the kitchen and asked (er, begged) for the Italian soup recipe from the chef. It all started when we sat down for lunch in the teeny-tiny town of Parma, just a short drive from the villa my family called home for the week. People around us chatted and shared enormous plates of pasta and broke out in fits of laughter. It wasn’t just lunch on a Tuesday—it was midday happy hour. If you’ve ever spent time eating your way thorough the Italian countryside, you know that each contorno (as side dishes are called in the boot-shaped country) is a mini-masterpiece—and that section of the menu is exactly where I found my sacred soup. Served up in a steaming bowl, the beans didn’t look special, but as I dipped my spoon in the half inch of broth to scoop some up, I took a deep inhale. An earthy aroma wafted into my nostrils; if some genius food scientists somehow bred
The Latest On Why Certain Sounds Are Physically & Emotionally Healing
September 04, 2019 at 03:19PM We can’t wait to hear what’s next. Continue Reading… Author Emma Loewe | Life by Daily Burn Selected by CWC
5 Dinners That Start With A Bag Of Broccoli Rice
September 04, 2019 at 02:27PM It’s an easy way to get dinner on the table, stat. Continue Reading… Author Liz Moody | Life by Daily Burn Selected by CWC