July 02, 2019 at 11:29AM by CWC Last October, at a dinner in celebration of the Well+Good Council, Barry’s Bootcamp CEO Joey Gonzalez hinted that the boutique-fitness giant was in the process of making big, green moves. Now, one of those eco-positive changes is happening: Beginning today, all Barry’s Bootcamp studios in the United States and United Kingdom—a total of 43—are discontinuing the sale of plastic water bottles. “By 2050, there will be more plastic in the ocean than fish,” Gonzalez says. “We’re just trying to do our part to combat the negative impact of single-use disposable plastic.” Instead, Barry’s is partnering with (JUST) Water, a brand of spring water co-founded by Jaden Smith, to offer $3.50 water cartons that have a significantly lower carbon footprint than the average plastic PET bottle. “We’ve been longtime fans of Jaden and what he’s doing with (JUST),” Gonzalez says. “The bottles are made of 82 percent renewable resources and ethically sourced.” ad_intervals[‘405582_div-gpt-ad-9261280-3’] = setInterval(function () { if (ads_ready) { clearTimeout(ad_intervals[‘405582_div-gpt-ad-9261280-3’]); googletag.cmd.push(function(){googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-9261280-3’);}); } }, 100); In addition, the spring water inside is sourced from the Glen Falls, New York, watershed, where (JUST) purchases excess water at an above-market price—treating water as a valuable commodity. (As contrast, Nestle pays as little as $200 per year to siphon millions of gallons of water from a tiny Michigan town near Flint, which is currently in the throes of a water crisis.) “Making the choice that is better for the environment is something we all must do for
Year: 2019
Hear me out: The best full-body stretch routine I’ve ever tried came from a clown
July 02, 2019 at 09:05AM by CWC My name is Rachel Lapidos, and the best stretching routine that I’ve ever found during my time as a fitness editor is one that’s taught by a clown. Seriously: You can find amazing inspo anywhere if you just look for it!!! I’ve stolen moisturizing tips from a monkey frog (just look at her g-l-o-w) and gleaned uplifting mental health advice from a moth meme. So you can just consider it completely normal that I firmly believe that a specific clown has the best stretching moves ever and I’m stealing them for my own recovery regimen immediately. Needless to say, pitch meetings at the Well+Good office are a wild time. But I digress. ANYWAY. Have you ever watched “The Big Comfy Couch”? If you haven’t been so fortunate to have seen the (children’s) show, which was big in 1993, allow me to explain. It’s about a clown woman—named Loonette, which makes me LOL every time I type it—and her doll Molly, who solve problems from the comfort of a ginormous couch. Considering they are l-i-t-e-r-a-l-l-y sedentary couch potatoes, they aren’t exactly beacons of health. More like, beacons of amateur detective work, oversized furniture, and logic-defying hairstyles (… see below), if anything. ad_intervals[‘405491_div-gpt-ad-9261280-3’] = setInterval(function () { if (ads_ready) { clearTimeout(ad_intervals[‘405491_div-gpt-ad-9261280-3’]); googletag.cmd.push(function(){googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-9261280-3’);}); } }, 100); But somehow, Loonette thinks she can counteract that lazy lifestyle with a simple stretch, which truly makes her a woman after my own heart. Each episode, she teaches her stretch—called the “Clock
9 slider exercises that will leave every muscle in your body quaking
July 02, 2019 at 09:03AM by CWC Heading to the gym and checking into boutique fitness classes is fun and all, but what if you could get a killer workout without leaving your living room? With sliders…you can. The small, hand-sized circular discs are beloved by personal trainers and fitness instructors alike thanks to the way they can drastically improve balance and core strength. They work because when you place your hands or feet on them, your body is forced into a state of instability that forces all of your muscles to stand at attention. Intrigued? Below you’ll find a 9-move circuit that, when cycled through three times, will help you slide and glide your way to a killer workout. To perform the exercises, you’ll need a set of sliders or you can get creative with a couple of towels or paper plates. Remember, it’s totally cool to take a minute or two between rounds. 9 slider moves to try in your next workout 1. Reverse lunge: Achieve peach perfection with this booty and leg sculpter. “Stand with feet hip-width apart with a slider under your right foot,” instructs co-founder of Tone It Up Katrina Scott. “Slide your right foot directly behind you and sink into a lunge position, knees bent at 90 degrees, with your back knee hovering just above the ground. Engage your core and booty as you come back up to start position, driving through your standing heel. Do 12 reps on each side.” ad_intervals[‘402203_div-gpt-ad-9261280-3’] = setInterval(function
Use Myers-Briggs compatibility intel to find your best romantic match
July 02, 2019 at 08:00AM by CWC Ever wonder about who your perfect match may be? Of course you have. Humans are always in search of their other puzzle piece, aka the person with whom they’ll build a loving, long-term partnership. Good news on that front: Myers-Briggs compatibility is totally a thing, and it offers some general rules about compatibility, specifically which of the 16 types typically get along to form a solid relationship. (Don’t know what your MBTI is? Read this first!) There’s also, in my personal opinion, a “wild card” for each and every type; I’ve been studying the personality indicator for some time now, and once thing I’ve noticed about Myers-Briggs compatibility is a lot of types are attracted to people who are more different than similar. Sometimes the person can help strengthen your weaknesses is also a great match. Find out below which types might make a great better half. ad_intervals[‘399310_div-gpt-ad-7435403-3’] = setInterval(function () { if (ads_ready) { clearTimeout(ad_intervals[‘399310_div-gpt-ad-7435403-3’]); googletag.cmd.push(function(){googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-7435403-3’);}); } }, 100); Find out who your meant-to-be romantic partner is, based on Myers-Briggs compatibility. Graphics: Well+Good Creative ISFJ You’re most compatible with ESFPs and ESTPs, who tend to break you out of your shell and bring a dose of spontaneity into your life. You communicate similarly to these types, preferring details, facts, and a grounded worldview to abstract reasoning. Wild card: ENTP or ENFP. These types could not be more different from you, but you may be drawn to what you lack. You sometimes wish
Asking for Team USA: What’s the difference between confidence and arrogance?
July 02, 2019 at 07:40AM by CWC Having confidence as an athlete can give you a competitive edge. But as the U.S. women’s soccer team has demonstrated in the past few days, confidence and arrogance sometimes wear similar if not indistinguishable attire. The team faces off with England on Tuesday in Lyon, France, at the World Cup semi-final. With accusations swirling about a hotel turf war (aka “Spygate“) and unwarranted cockiness, the real question is: When does confidence enter the territory of arrogance? Susie Moore, life coach and author of What If It Does Work Out?, says that the basic difference between the two manners of expression is a person’s—or a player’s—intention. “Confidence comes from grounded, healthy self-esteem,” she tells me. “Confidence is the willingness to experience negative emotions like fear, uncertainty, embarrassment—and do the thing anyway.” Arrogance, on the other hand, comes from insecurity. “Arrogance is about thinking you’re the only one that matters—winner take all. You’re the only star,” adds Moore. ad_intervals[‘405468_div-gpt-ad-7435403-3’] = setInterval(function () { if (ads_ready) { clearTimeout(ad_intervals[‘405468_div-gpt-ad-7435403-3’]); googletag.cmd.push(function(){googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-7435403-3’);}); } }, 100); In the case of the three-time World Cup champions, it’s not exactly clear what Team USA’s goals were with their actions toward England’s team. England viewed “Spygate”—the alleged effort by Team USA staff to scope out the rival’s hotel in Lyon—as a breach of etiquette. “It’s not something that I would want my team ops person doing,” England coach Phil Neville told CBS Sports. “It’s not something that we’d do, send somebody around to another
I have an “eyebrow cowlick”—here’s what two pros told me to do about it
July 02, 2019 at 06:55AM by CWC I was today years old when I learned that I had a cowlick in my eyebrow. What is an eyebrow cowlick, you ask? Similar to the kind that happens on your head, it’s a patch of hair that grows in the opposite direction than all of the other hair surrounding it. In my case, it’s on the inner corner of my left brow, and the result is a teeny, tiny bald spot that I can’t stop staring at every time I look in the mirror. To be clear, I always noticed the rogue hairs sticking out, I just didn’t know there was a name for them until brow god Joey Healy told me. “Sometimes cowlicks are nothing more than just clusters of hair that have a lot of texture and curl,” he says. “They can occur anywhere, and the most common place people see them is in the front of the brow—I call that area your ‘sprouts.’” FWIW, the name makes them sound a whole lot cuter than they actually are. ad_intervals[‘404542_div-gpt-ad-7520022-3’] = setInterval(function () { if (ads_ready) { clearTimeout(ad_intervals[‘404542_div-gpt-ad-7520022-3’]); googletag.cmd.push(function(){googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-7520022-3’);}); } }, 100); But if you, like me, have got one—you may as well learn to live with it, because there isn’t a whole lot you can do to change it. “Just like you can’t get rid of a cowlick on your head, you can’t completely change the direction of hair growth in your eyebrows,” says Umbreen Sheikh, Founder and CEO of Wink
Why some women are pushing back against the taboo of first trimester pregnancy announcements
July 02, 2019 at 06:00AM by CWC When it comes to sharing the news of your pregnancy with the world, it doesn’t matter how excited you are, how long you’ve been trying, or how many questions you’re dying to ask your mom friends. Society has been pretty clear: Mum’s the word for three months. “The reason this has been the rule is because in the first trimester, 20 percent of pregnancies end in miscarriage,” says OB/GYN and women’s health expert Pari Ghodsi, MD. After those first 12 to 13 weeks, she says, the chances of miscarrying go down significantly (an estimated 1 to 5 percent of pregnancies end in miscarriage after the first trimester). Those odds are the reason why she gives this advice to her newly-pregnant patients: “Don’t tell anyone who you also wouldn’t feel comfortable telling that you miscarried until you’re past that first 13 weeks,” she says. At first glance, this recommendation makes sense: It can be emotionally painful to have to tell people who know you’re pregnant that you no longer are, so why not play it safe and wait to spread the news until later? But Jessica Zucker, PhD, a psychologist who specializes in women’s reproductive and maternal mental health, argues that this norm can further stigmatize people who have miscarriages—and leave them alone in their grief. “Why do we not want to share bad news? When a grandparent dies, we share that. Why not with a lost pregnancy?” she asks. “Not sharing is exactly
How a 5-euro yoga class in Paris helped me feel at home while living abroad
July 02, 2019 at 05:00AM by CWC Very few sob stories begin with, “I moved to Paris.” Mine doesn’t either, but when I arrived in the city’s 11th arrondissement (aka, neighborhood) as an 18-year-old college freshman, I’d never felt more lonely. While unpacking the contents of my childhood life into my new adult (!) apartment, I could practically feel the miles of ocean separating me from my family and the only life I’d ever known. Over the first few weeks, I learned the ins and outs of the metropolis. Paris was gorgeous and enchanting; it somehow outshone its own dazzling reputation. Still, I spent that first August like a stranger in a strange land. When I wasn’t in class learning how to conjugate French verbs, I would explore Paris’ tangled streets—wondering how to connect who I’d been in my hometown (Charleston, South Carolina) with the person who had packed her suitcases and moved to the romantic epicenter of the world. ad_intervals[‘402209_div-gpt-ad-6934292-3’] = setInterval(function () { if (ads_ready) { clearTimeout(ad_intervals[‘402209_div-gpt-ad-6934292-3’]); googletag.cmd.push(function(){googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-6934292-3’);}); } }, 100); My answer arrived one evening while I was eating dinner in my itty-bitty Parisian kitchen. Both my windows were open, my building’s resident opera singer had taken up her nightly tune, and I was googling “American meet-ups in Paris” with the hope that my future friends were doing the same in their own neighborhoods. I scrolled past potlucks and philosophy clubs, group outings to the Seine river and fromage (cheese) parties and then, finally, one activity caught
This just in: Sitting at your desk all day could be the reason your hamstrings are so tight
July 02, 2019 at 04:00AM by CWC If there’s one part of my body that is literally sore 24/7, no matter how good I am about stretching and foam rolling, it’s definitely my hamstrings. It’s pretty unfortunate, considering how large the muscle is and how often you use it (which is basically… always). You know what I’m talking about if you’ve ever let out a big groan or sigh of pain while doing the most minor of things, such as leaning down or walking upstairs, or even standing up (amirite?). “It’s extremely common to have tight hamstrings,” says Kit Rich, celebrity trainer and founder of KICHGO. “Tight hamstrings, for the most part, are genetic—I’d say that’s the number one reason.” Ahem, thanks mom and dad. But muscle imbalances are also play a role “Your hamstrings will tighten when you work them out. They’ll also tighten if other parts of your body are weak and your hamstrings tighten in response to ‘help’—so, for instance, if you’re weak in the hips or lower back, your hamstrings will tighten more.” ad_intervals[‘401938_div-gpt-ad-9261280-3’] = setInterval(function () { if (ads_ready) { clearTimeout(ad_intervals[‘401938_div-gpt-ad-9261280-3’]); googletag.cmd.push(function(){googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-9261280-3’);}); } }, 100); If you’re moving with your pelvis tucked or your weight shifted forward on your feet, Bloom points out that you’re probably “working your hamstrings overtime.” Or if your back is weak, your hamstrings will tighten up to compensate for that. “And not teaching the hamstrings to work eccentrically and at length or not properly supporting with your core and other
This hyaluronic acid hack will make every single one of your other skin-care products more effective
July 02, 2019 at 03:00AM by CWC When you’re spending over a hundred dollars—or any amount of money, really—on a skin-care serum (ILYSM Skinceuticals CE Ferulic, and I would give 166 bucks plus one of my organs for you), you want to be damn sure the stuff you’re using is actually working to the best of its ability. And how can you make sure that happens? By prepping your skin with hyaluronic acid. As any beauty geek worth their product stash knows, hyaluronic acid is the ingredient when it comes to hydration. It holds four times its weight in water, which helps to plump and moisturize your skin all at once. Because of this, when you use it before your other products, it acts as a sort of vacuum—drawing them into the surface of your skin so that they can penetrate your pores. “This is the tip, as hyaluronic acid will help every other active ingredient get deeper into your skin by drawing it in,” explains Mark Curry, founder of The Inkey List. ad_intervals[‘403526_div-gpt-ad-7520022-3’] = setInterval(function () { if (ads_ready) { clearTimeout(ad_intervals[‘403526_div-gpt-ad-7520022-3’]); googletag.cmd.push(function(){googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-7520022-3’);}); } }, 100); “It’s important to apply HA before your other serums because it helps to seal in the moisturizer you’ll be putting on top,” confirms board-certified dermatologist Shari Sperling, MD. She adds that it works great as a moisturizer because of how well it binds to water, plumping and hydrating your face. Pro tip: In the morning, use it before a few drops of a vitamin