December 26, 2019 at 11:00PM by CWC There’s no question that plain ol’ planks are perfectly great for working your core muscles. But if you want to kick things up a notch and tack stability and oblique work into the mix, take a cue from Jiu Jitsu and try a “rolling plank.” The rolling—or side-to-side—plank involves switching between a left and right side planks with a brief forearm plank in between (whew). Combining the three poses together into one fluid movement works all of the muscles in your core and challenges your stability, and according Noah Neiman, co-founder of Rumble Boxing, it’s the hardest plank variation out there “When we create structural instability through movement, it forces our core to compensate to protect our spine,” he says, explaining that the main purpose of your core in general is to keep your spine safe. “The rolling plank creates a ton of instability, as keeping our core muscles engaged through the movement helps create strength in those muscles.” So in addition to lighting your abs on fire, the rolling plank is also a great option after a long day of desk sitting. To do the move properly, begin in a forearm plank with your hips down, abs tight and engaged, and your spine in neutral. Then roll into one side plank with your top arm raised straight into the air, feet stacked on top of each other (or staggered for better balance) and your hips raised up. Hold at the top, roll
Day: December 26, 2019
I’m a dermatologist and this is exactly how many steps should be in your skin-care routine
December 26, 2019 at 11:00PM by CWC [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mDP4SIOAIeA] Looking at the bottle-heavy shelfies that dominate Instagram, it’s easy to believe that, when it comes to skin care, more is more. But according to board-certified dermatologist Mona Gohara, MD, that’s not necessarily true. In fact, all you need for an effective facial regimen is six steps—three in the morning and three at night—which means you’re about to get a whole lot of space cleared up on those bathroom shelves. Derms will tell you that using too many product at once can actually compromise your skin barrier, and ultimately lead to issues like dryness and acne. So in order to keep skin healthy, you really want to make sure you’re slathering on the right products, and nothing more. The best way to do this, says Dr. Gohara, is to think of your routine as being “protective” in the morning and “restorative” at night, and choosing products that will help achieve those goals. First things first, you’re going to want to start with a cleanser in both the a.m. and in the p.m. to clear away any grease and grime from your skin. In the morning, you’ll want to apply products that will stave off environmental damage from things like pollution and UV rays, so antioxidants and SPF are key. At night, it’s all about rebuilding and nourishing your skin barrier, which means you should reach for ingredients that stimulate collagen and contain skin-similar lipids to help support the barrier. To find out which
The 5 best productivity tips we’ve learned in the past decade to get you through 2020 (and beyond)
December 26, 2019 at 10:00PM by CWC As I write this, I’m fighting the urge to take advantage of one of the post-eggnog holiday sales and marathon-watch the latest season of You. In other words, my productivity isn’t exactly spiking at the moment and I’m not alone. Research shows that people seriously lose their ability to do, well, most things in the very first month of the year. A 2017 study found that come January only 7.2 percent of workers reported completing most of their tasks. And, like, same. So to make sure you start the decade off on a productive foot, we’ve rounded up the very best productivity tips we’ve collected over the past 10 years. The productivity tips that are so good, we’re taking them into 2020 1. Use GMAIL’S “SCHEDULED SENDING” FEATURE Good productivity starts with your inbox. If you’re hesitating about sending an email (“I just want to read it one more time!”), then this feature ensures you don’t get too trigger-happy. Simply schedule it for tomorrow and let it haunt you overnight. 2. complain at work (no, really) This advice may run counter to the usual “be positive” messaging that’s par for the course these days, but complaining at work can actually work wonders for your productivity. A study published in the journal Organization Studies loooked at the habits of physicians and nurses to pharmacists and bereavement counselors—for longer than a year and found that “griping” at work can actually improve your mental health and your overall
An organizational expert shares how to do a decade detox for 2020
December 26, 2019 at 07:00PM by CWC You know how when you get back from a vacation, you tend to not unpack your baggage? It feels so overwhelming that you leave all those unwashed, rolled up clothes in there for what feels like an eternity. That’s how I feel with 2020 approaching; it is a new decade, I have 10 years worth of baggage to unpack, and I don’t even know where to start. “New Year, New Me” is a fallacy that we embrace every year. With a new decade, though, we factually are new people weighed down by a lot of emotional and literal clutter. I started my decade as a senior in high school, and there are certain things like neon yellow bangs and the dream of being a lingerie designer that I’ve given up. It’s the, you know, rest of it all that I’m struggling with. And if you’ve had a significant 10 year transit, you’re probably looking to shed some of your baggage too. Luckily we were able to sit down with organizational expert Patty Morrissey, who gave us the rundown on how to do a successful decade review and cleanse. First, center yourself and envision the major plot points in the movie of your decade “I use a framework that’s modeled after the Ignition spiritual exercises, called the Jesuit Examen, it’s really a process of first getting centered, becoming still with your breath,” Morrissey says. “They practice it on a daily basis, but I like to practice it on bigger time
These are Amazon’s best-selling beauty products this season
December 26, 2019 at 06:30PM by CWC Whether you’re buying for yourself or your besties, this is truly the season of giving—so it’s no wonder Amazon had record-breaking numbers this year with billions of items delivered around the globe. While that included everything from home tech to kitchen goods (hello, Instant Pot!), some of the top beauty items really stood out. Customers went wild in the makeup, skincare, and personal hygiene departments. And out of all the items they scored, there were five in particular that were purchased more than anything else. These are the best-selling beauty products on Amazon. Makeup Haus Laboratories by Lady Gaga Glam Room Palette No.1: FAME, $34 This shimmery liquid powder eye shadow is super pigmented, long-wearing, and buildable, allowing you to swipe it on for work or build it up for a night out. Skincare Mario Badescu Drying Lotion, $17 This drying lotion should be in everyone’s acne-fighting arsenal. All you need to do is apply a small dab on your whitehead and leave it on overnight for clearer skin in the morning. EltaMD UV Clear Facial Sunscreen Broad-Spectrum SPF 46, $33 If you have sensitive or acne-prone skin, this oil-free sunscreen is for you. The mineral-based option calms your skin while protecting it, giving you a two-for-one skincare win. Personal hygiene Philips Sonicare DiamondClean Classic Rechargeable Electric Toothbrush, $140 This high-tech toothbrush has five different brushing modes and a timer, and it works so good that it removes seven times more plaque than
12 muscle-melting stretches that will have your whole body saying “ahhh”
December 26, 2019 at 06:00PM by CWC In 2019, recovery was the fitness trend that reigned supreme, and because of this, we’ve spent the last 365 on the hunt to find the best ways to have our muscles saying ahhh! While the Theragun and the foam roller certainly found a place in our routines, in the past year, we also couldn’t get enough good old fashioned stretching to warm up and cool down the body. As the clock ticks into a new decade, we’re taking a moment to revisit the top stretches we’ve learned this past year. Whether they’ve been recommended by physical therapists, fitness trainers, or yogis, these are our fave mobility and flexibility-boosting stretches for every inch of the body. We’re talking hip flexor stretches, yoga poses that open your back right up, jaw stretches (because these are important too!), and everything else you can dream of. Keep scrolling for 2019’s best stretches to memorize—and consider bookmarking ’em for easy reference in all future workouts. Your body will thank you. [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rMfTHG6QeVE] 1. For your hip flexors: fire log pose It’s tough to get into, but once your legs are set up into the fire log pose (also known as the “double pigeon”), your hip tightness will dissolve into thin air. Be sure to keep your feet flexed in the position with your shins stacked on top of each other. [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQMEX_nHFR0] 2. For your hips and hammies: figure-four stretch When we asked a trainer who stretches people for a living what
The weirdest wellness things we tried this year (and the verdicts)
December 26, 2019 at 05:00PM by CWC If there’s one thing to be said about life as a wellness reporter, it’s that boredom is not part of the job description. Team Well+Good spends hours each month trying new fitness trends, testing new technology, and vetting woo-woo wellness practitioners—and as you can imagine, some of the opportunities that cross our desks are more out-there than others. As 2019 winds down, we’re looking back on some of the most out-there products, experiences, and fitness trends we tried this year. Not all of them got our seal of approval—let’s just say that you can probably take “get busy at a sex resort” off your bucket list—but we did take something away from every oddball experience. Keep reading to find out which weird wellness activities you might want to add to your 2020 itinerary, and which ones you can confidently skip. 1. I worked out in CBD-laced leggings—and boy, do I have some feels Beauty and fitness editor Rachel Lapidos braved a HIIT class wearing Acabada’s CBD-infused leggings and sports bra, in hopes that they’d help ward off post-workout soreness. While one osteopathic doctor claims the concept may not be as bonkers as it sounds, our intrepid reporter says she didn’t notice much of a difference in her recovery. 2. Here’s what happened when i tried “vabbing” and wore my vaginal secretions as perfume for a week When she heard that dabbing one’s own vaginal secretions behind their ears may help make them more
This blow dryer is the best thing I bought this year, and it has rendered my straightening iron useless
December 26, 2019 at 04:02PM by CWC Let’s get this out of the way right here at the beginning: I know how absurd it is to spend $400 on a blow dryer. Which is why for two years, I resisted the urge to try the Dyson Supersonic, rolling my eyes at the people who told me it changed their lives thinking, “It’s a blow dryer—how great can it really be?” Welp, I’m here to (reluctantly) tell you: It really is that great, and worth the $400 price tag. I tried the Dyson Supersonic ($400) for the first time this year at the behest of famed celebrity hairstylist Jon Reyman, who (like so many other people) told me the dryer would change my life. Turns out, he was right. The dryer, equipped with its new wide-tooth comb attachment, is honestly the best thing I’ve ever done for my hair. Photo: Amazon Shop Now: Dyson Supersonic Hair Dryer The Dyson Supersonic has become a sort of unicorn in the beauty world—even if you haven’t tried one for yourself, you’ve likely heard someone bragging about how magical it is. When it came out in 2016, its technology was touted as above and beyond anything the haircare world had ever seen before, and it wasn’t an exaggeration. There are a number of features that set the Dyson apart from every other dryer on the market: The motor is teeny-tiny, and located in the handle of the dryer to help you avoid mid-styling shoulder soreness; it’s
Dame’s co-founders made your sex toys objectively chic, and the duo is just getting started
December 26, 2019 at 03:00PM by CWC In 2014, sexologist Alexandra Fine and engineer Janet Lieberman joined forces with a then-lofty goal in mind: to close the pleasure gap. But as the decade waned, the public discourse about sexual wellness as it pertains to vulva-owners expanded, and Dame Products continued setting records with launch after launch of sleek-looking sex toys. These innovative products have developed a cult following for solving problems many consumers may not have realized they had in the first place—and even if they did realize, they likely wouldn’t have voiced concern. In large part thanks to the thoughtful engineering of each item in Dame’s catalog, plus chic design elements that strongly make the case for displaying the products in plain sight atop nightstands rather than hidden deep within drawers, Fine and Lieberman can be credited for cultivating an audience of loud, proud aficionados of sexual wellness. Below, the co-founders (who are on Well+Good’s list of 2020 Changemakers) share how they got to this place and what’s next for both Dame Products and pleasure for all. Well+Good: Can you fill in the blanks that led you two to start Dame? Alex’s background is in human sexuality and Janet’s is in engineering, which seems like the perfect equation for the foundation of a sex-toy company. Alexandra Fine, co-founder and CEO (pictured above, left): I’ve truly always been interested in sex. As far back as I can remember, it seemed like a really natural thing to be curious about. Originally,
An underwater yoga class in Dubai helped me find inner peace after a breakup
December 26, 2019 at 02:00PM by CWC I’m an active, exercise-loving person—but my favorite workouts are sweaty, high-intensity sessions, à la Rumble and SoulCycle. I prefer to be so busy that I’m more focused on the struggle to catch my breath than on mindfulness about my breath’s very existence. I generally use my workouts as a means to distract me from how I’m feeling (whether that’s good or bad), so I can clear my mind and think about nothing at all. However, a recent breakup, which heightened my anxious thoughts, changed all of that. I tried calming yoga for anxiety, and it worked. In the weeks following the rough breakup, I couldn’t eat, I barely slept, and my mind was running amok in circles. Traveling generally would have been a great, Eat, Pray, Love-approved way to escape these emotions, but unfortunately, my ex was slated to join me on a work trip I was taking to Dubai only a few weeks after our breakup. Clearly, that plan was no longer in tact. And even the trip itself, which I had be excited to take, became an emotional trigger. So, when I found myself newly single and sad about it in the UAE, I searched for HIIT-style workouts to help take my mind off the anxious thoughts that wouldn’t stop buzzing: What’s he doing right now? Is he seeing other women? What could I have done differently? When will I be able to think about something else? And while I did