Year: 2019

April 08, 2019 at 03:00PM by CWC From about ages two to eight, vitamins were fun. Wilma, Fred, Betty…every day was a game to see which Flintstone character you got to eat up. And then you grew up and vitamins just got annoying. Until about three years ago, when basically every supplement company started swapping capsules for gummies. Whatever nutrient you’re considering supplementing, there’s probably a gummy version of it. Probiotics. Fiber. Vitamin C. Magnesium. Even adaptogenic gummies. Vitamin time is fun again, just like when you were a kid. However, those little guys taste good. A little too good. In fact, it’s hard to stop at just one. So what would happen, say, if you had five instead of one? Or, um, 20? (Not that I’ve ever done that or anything…) I talked to some experts to find out. Too much of a good thing is very possible with vitamins Let’s just get something out of the way: Everyone who is taking a supplement should be following the directions on the label (or the instructions their practitioner provided). Your body can only handle so many vitamins at a time (more on that in a second) so the “serving size” on the label really does matter. Popping a few too many gummy vitamins every so often likely won’t cause any serious harm beyond some unpleasant digestive issues, says integrative health expert and Superwoman Rx author Taz Bhatia, MD. However, in rarer cases, downing your whole supplements jar can have pretty

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April 08, 2019 at 10:55AM by CWC Sometimes when I look around the weight room at my neighborhood gym, I think, “Wow, these people are contorting their bodies into works of art.” One such masterful move I’ve witnessed is the single-leg squat, also known as the pistol squat. Done correctly, it can make a fitness buff look like a human arrow. But it also happens to be one of those exercises that looks deceivingly effortless. You can hack it, though, with three doable (yet challenging) modifications, says Maillard Howell, owner of Crossfit Prospect Heights in Brooklyn. The first thing the trainer tells me about these supercharged squats is that they’re excellent prehab and rehab. Working each side of the body independently is a surefire way to become holistically stronger. Before you get in the ring with the pistol squat, however, Howell says you’ll need to know the components required to  balance on one leg in an “ass to the grass” position. “The first thing is strength. The other variables are flexibility and balance,” he says. Skill levels vary across these three modalities, so you’ll need to tweak the single-leg squat depending on your strengths and weaknesses. Below, Howell explains exactly how to inch your booty closer to that gym turf. How to modify a single-leg squat—whether you’re lacking strength, flexibility, or mobility. For each of the following modifications, complete 5 reps on each side. Start by alternating right, left, right, left. Then, work your way toward doing five in a

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