March 01, 2019 at 10:00AM by CWC You know those moves that look easy but leave your body feeling like it’s on fire? Yeah, the oyster exercise is one of those. Also known as clamshells, the Pilates exercise is done right on the mat—no equipment required—to target your hips, thighs, and glutes. While the move is easy enough for total beginners to successfully complete—and gentle enough to do while you’re pregnant, according to Kate Hudson—it results in feel-good burn. Plus, it brings on benefits beyond a perkier booty. Not only is the low-impact move super easy on your joints, but it also protects your knees from high-intensity exercises that can cause pain like jump squats and burpees. “The gluteus medius helps in external rotation of the hip, and strengthening it also prevents internal rotation of the femur, which prevents internal rotation at the knee, keeping it tracking properly to prevent injury,” exercise physiologist Michelle Lovitt tells Self. So what are you waiting for? Mastering it will only take you a minute, tops. How to perform the oyster exercise. According to the American Council on Exercise, there are only a couple steps to performing the oyster exercise. 1. Lie on your side with your knees bent to 90 degrees. 2. Raise your top leg, keeping your feet touching the entire time, then lower it back to the ground. Yep, it’s that easy. All you need is 15 to 20 repetitions on each side during your workouts to help increase your strength. And if you
Year: 2019
Why fitness pros say the treadmill is the best way to get your run in
March 01, 2019 at 09:25AM by CWC People think I’m a freak, but I can go on-and-on about my love of treadmills for hours. Days, even, probably. The cardio machine is my OG fitness love, and it’s become a total source of empowerment for me and my workouts. But I get that, for a lot of people, the tread is torture. And to be honest, that’s exactly why it was created. According to Business Insider, at its advent in 1818, the treadmill was first released as a form of punishment for prisoners that was akin to a stairclimber that just. kept. going. It was outlawed in the 19th century, but in the middle of the 20th century made a resurgence for the purpose of helping people exercise. Now let’s be clear: I definitely know plenty of people who hate the monotony of running in place, and other runners who swear that an outdoor jog is the most elite form of running…but I am not one of those people. The main reasons why I live for treadmills is because they give you total control over your speed. When I run outside, I have no earthly idea how fast I’m going and if my sprints even compare to the 8, 9, or sometimes 10 mph speeds I hit on the treadmill. When I run outside, it’s a true guessing game, in which I’m blindly adjusting my speed and how long my intervals are. When I’m on a treadmill, it’s a safe space in which I
Here’s how to eat at Olive Garden on keto, Whole30, or the Mediterranean diet
March 01, 2019 at 08:15AM by CWC Even if you live in a city with endless restaurant options, chances are you still end up at Olive Garden from time to time. (Those breadsticks are everything.) But with “endless,” “bottomless,” and “never ending” options galore on the menu, sticking to a health-minded eating plan isn’t always the easiest thing to do. Fortunately, there are a decent amount of healthy options to choose from if you know what to look for, says executive chef and registered dietitian Jessica Swift, RD. Her general advice: Share your order or take half home for later, since Olive Garden’s serving sizes are pretty massive. “I would also suggest taking advantage of the vegetable side dishes, like asparagus with minced onions, instead of just focusing on the pasta,” Swift says. But if you’re craving pasta, opt for one that has a tomato-based sauce rather than a creamy sauce to save on calories and saturated fat. And unless you have a gluten allergy, you don’t need to sub their GF pasta for the sake of better health. “Nutritionally, the gluten-free pasta is right in line with the regular pasta,” she says. “It’s actually lower in protein because it’s made with potato starch and not wheat.” However, if you’re on an eating plan like Mediterranean diet, ketogenic, or Whole30, things can get a little more challenging when navigating the menu. Here, Swift gives tips on how to enjoy Olive Garden—in all its glory—while still sticking with your health goals. Mediterranean diet Menu picks: Herb-Grilled Salmon; Chicken Giardino What an
I’m a mascara skeptic, but this $8 tube might have me convinced
March 01, 2019 at 08:37AM by CWC As a self-admitted clutterbitch, my makeup philosophy mirrors my decor inclination—I try to work in as many bright and sparkly cosmetics as I can to achieve the exact opposite of no-makeup-makeup. That includes: red and blue eyeshadows, a highlighter that is almost blinding, and the continued use of lip liner (despite it being, like, the only ’90s trend that hasn’t made a comeback). But, I’ve never really gotten into mascara, which is, for all intents and purposes, starter makeup to my crimson lids’ dash of daringness. That is, until 7 tubes of $8 Colourpop mascara made their way into my vanity. To be quite honest, I’m not sure that I’ve own another single full-sized tube of mascara. To me, mascara either didn’t have a noticeable impact on my eyelashes, it didn’t make enough of an impact once I put my glasses over my shellacked fringe, or it morphed my lashes into three giant long clumps. So, when I first tried Colourpop BFF mascara ($8) I was skeptical to say the least. The mascara comes in 7 shades total: black, lilac, hot pink, red, teal, yellow, and navy. Photo: Colourpop And so, I pulled out the black tube and mindlessly combed it into my eyelashes before sauntering off to watch TV, and TBH, I forgot I had it on. Half and hour later, I walked past a mirror and caught a glimpse of myself looking bold and beautiful. “Who is she?” I asked myself outloud. The mascara did make my
This is exactly how long to spend in the shower, according to a derm
March 01, 2019 at 08:16AM by CWC There are two types of shower-takers: those who lazily luxuriate under a waterfall as they lather up with essential oil-spiked suds and those who simply cannot. I fall in the latter category. I treat my showers like sprint practice—the sooner I’m in and out the better. And TBH, while my mom side-eyes the fact that I regularly keep my showers under three minutes (way below average), my skin is likely thanking me for it. For many people, their average shower time far exceeds dermatologists’ recommendations. Allow me to explain. Despite the fact that the warm water is the perfect antidote to chilly temps, the heat isn’t so great for our first line of defense. Studies have shown that hot water can strip away moisture within the epidermis, leaving the skin barrier compromised, inflamed (and dry, in the irony of ironies). Given this, dermatologists say that there are a few things that we can do to address the situation. First off, keep showers short. They don’t have to compete with my gold medal efforts, but they shouldn’t run the length of, say, a Netflix episode either. “I definitely would cap it at 15 minutes,” says dermatologist Mona Gohara, MD. “If your fingers and toes are wrinkly, you’ve been in for too long.” (Rather than Seinfeld, maybe you flip on an episode or two of our YouTube series What the Wellness to count as your timer.) While the length of your showers is super important, so too, is keeping the
Why Sunday is the best day to have sex—and other things I learned about peace in the bedroom
March 01, 2019 at 07:56AM by CWC One of the most popular topics discussed at Well+Good HQ is sleep. Sometimes we’re drooling over cozy, fluffy, hygge-heavy bedrooms on Instagram, and other times we’re trying different hacks to get the R&R that we need, but one thing is constant: the pursuit of grade-A is a THING. And, based on the results of a survey we conducted on the topic, it seems some of us are blaming our partners for our less-than-stellar zzz’s. When asked if it would be an issue if your partner had a different bedtime, 43 percent of respondents said yes (though only 14 percent noted a bedmate as a main cause of sleep disruption). The discrepancy created a lot of chatter in the office—so we took to Slack to figure it all out. (Slack chats are how we’ve recently delved into such mysteries as the real meaning of fish photos in dating app profiles and why astrology is suddenly everyone’s not-so-secret obsession.) Here, senior lifestyle editor Alexis Berger, Los Angeles editor Erin Magner, audience development manager Celine Cortes, and client services manager Caprice Serafine help me get into the real challenges that come when you share a bed with someone night after night (and not necessarily a set bedtime). ERIN HANAFY: Hi everybody! So if you had taken the survey, what would your answer be: Would it be an issue if your partner had a different bedtime? And why? ALEXIS: YES—huge problem. My husband and I are (maybe weirdly?) codependent when it comes
4 ways to stretch your neck when it’s feeling seriously tight
March 01, 2019 at 07:19AM by CWC When I wake up in the morning the first thing I do is stretch out my arms, my legs, and crack my back. That’s the extent of prepping my body for the day ahead though something I know I’m likely falling short on since my back and neck are likely the most strained parts of my body. And I know this isn’t just me either—there’s a reason we’re all so obsessed with our posture and the 21st-century boogeyman that is tech neck. According to Alain Saint-Dic, trainer at Stretch Relief, there are many other reasons that you could be feeling discomfort in your neck. “The first form can come as acute pain, such as being involved in something that causes impact (ex. car accident or contact sport), or rapid movement in the neck area which is surrounded by tight muscles groups, leading to a strain.” The second type of neck strain and tension is the more common one and comes from things like postural issues, or “by constantly leaning your head forward to look at a computer screen or phone, spending long periods of time driving, or sleeping in an awkward position.” In general, Saint-Dic says that prevention is always better than treatment, which is why he advocates “stretching regularly when you wake up in the morning, or before you go to sleep every night.” But stretching your neck is not a cure for a serious issue, and if you suspect you’re dealing with something more
For the love of energy, why am I TATT (tired all the time) despite sleeping 7 hours every night?
March 01, 2019 at 06:00AM by CWC I have not experienced every sensation available in the human experience, but I imagine persistent exhaustion—one I most definitely have felt—is up at the top of the list of the most terrible feelings. To paraphrase a prolific poet of my generation (memes in general), being an adult means telling everyone how tired you are all the time. I relate so hard. What’s crazy though is that I frequently get seven to eight hours of sleep…sometimes more. Yet I still have trouble getting out of bed in the morning, and I feel fatigued during the day. This is by no means a unique experience. According to the UK NHS, feeling tired all the time is so common, it has its own freaking acronym: TATT (tired all the time). And a recent Well+Good survey of nearly 1,500 people about sleep habits found that and 92 percent of respondents feel fatigued more than one day per week. But—plot twist!—on average, the people surveyed were getting seven hours of sleep, i.e., very close to the amount recommended by the CDC. So what gives? Why are we all so exhausted if we’re getting the right amount of sleep? Le major sigh. The main culprits behind fatigue—aside from, you know, not getting enough sleep—all have common denominator of disrupting your quality of sleep. In other words, you could be logging the right quantity of sleep, but not the right quality. Here, licensed psychologist and sleep-health expert Shelby Harris, PsyD, breaks down common
7 Ways Couples Can Practice Self-Care Together
March 01, 2019 at 05:35AM Self-care doesn’t have to be a solo thing. Continue Reading… Author Erinne Magee | Life by Daily Burn Selected by iversue
I went on a mission to make friends at the gym—here’s what I learned
March 01, 2019 at 05:15AM by CWC Whether you’re swinging kettlebells at boot camp or getting in formation to Beyonce at dance cardio, typically everyone heads into the studio, does their thing for an hour, and then goes home without so much as a high-five to the person on the mat next to them. Which is too bad, because for someone who’s looking to expand her squad, post-college—and who prefers not to hang out with coworkers after 6 p.m.—making new friends can be harder than perfecting a push-up. I decided to make it my mission to try and make one friend at a class. Hoping that there’s more camaraderie in boutique fitness than meets the eye, I decided to make it my mission to try and make one friend at a class. So, over the course of a week, I did everything from a recess-inspired gym class (remember how easy it was to make friends in school?) to an out-there group mindfulness exercise. How easy was it to bond with new a BFF? Here’s what I learned about looking for (platonic) love at the gym. Photo: Stocksy/Jovo Jovanovic Get there early I kicked things off at Throwback Fitness in New York City, which incorporates grade-school games into the class. And you know what that means: team activities. Tip number one for making friends at your next class: Get there early. I learned right away that having 10 minutes or so to try and strike up a conversation is crucial. As soon as I walked into the studio, it was very clear that