February 27, 2020 at 12:00PM by CWC Blood flow restriction training may sound like some kind of kinky bedroom activity. (Hey, I’m a fitness and sex writer. My mind goes there.) But this on-the-rise lifting technique, sometimes called occlusion training or abbreviated as BFR, is actually a G-rated method that athletes use to get stronger muscles, faster—without using ultra-heavy weights. To understand BFR, you need to know a bit about about the circulatory system. Ready? Your arteries carry oxygenated blood away from your heart to the rest of your bod, while your veins carry deoxygenated blood from your bod back to your heart. During blood flow restriction training, a specialized cuff—one that looks like a doctor’s blood-pressure cuff—is wrapped around one’s arm or leg near the shoulder or hip. This cuts off venous flow from the limb while still permitting some arterial flow, ultimately reducing the amount of oxygen available to the muscles. At first blush, depriving your muscles of oxygen sounds like it can, in no way, be a good thing. But it can actually help to build muscle mass. Here’s why: Whenever you lift heavy weights, your muscle fibers work so hard that they quickly become depleted of oxygen. This metabolic stress is one reason why lifting weights makes muscles grow. By cuffing up, you mimic that limited-oxygen environment. “It actually tricks your brain into believing it is using heavier weights than it’s using,” says Nicholas Rolnick, DPT, MS. The result? More muscle growth with less weight-induced stress
Month: February 2020
The most important dietary factor tied to healthy aging, according to a functional medicine doctor
February 27, 2020 at 02:00AM by CWC There’s a belief in our society that aging and a decline in health inevitably go hand-in-hand. Thirty-somethings joking about being unable to tolerate a hangover as well as a decade before or forty-somethings wondering when the heck their bones started aching every morning certainly aren’t imagined. And then of course there’s the ailments that plague older populations, such as dementia and Parkinson’s. But according to functional medicine doctor Mark Hyman, MD, author of the new book Food Fix, it’s not impossible to get healthier as you age. Of course it takes a conscious effort of living well to age in this way, which Dr. Hyman says often comes down to common sense every day habits, such as regularly exercising, not smoking, and eating a predominately healthy diet. On the food front, Dr. Hyman offers up this important intel on how to live longer, healthfully: “A diet that helps to protect against insulin resistance is the number one factor,” he says. “The main driver of all the diseases related to aging is sugar and starch.” Dr. Hyman says that the reasons why minimizing consumption of these two ingredients is directly linked to aging well is because they are both linked to insulin resistance as well as diabetes, heart disease, cancer, Alzheimer’s, and even depression. If the idea of protecting against insulin resistance is totally new to you, getting acquainted with the glycemic index is a good tool to use as a guide. The glycemic
Combine these two anti-inflammatory herbs to make the world’s most soothing face mask
February 27, 2020 at 01:00AM by CWC [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NDO5-cDa7jI] Whip up this soothing herbal face mask for soft skin in no time. Here’s how to make it. Whenever I get a facial (read: not as often as I should), the esthetician inevitably exclaims, “Wow, you have sensitive skin!” Meanwhile, my baby bro phrases the same sentiment another way: “Bahahah, you look like Rudolph!” (Siblings…amirite?) Both statements refer to the fact that my face is typically angry, inflamed, and as red as a stop sign. Fortunately, Supernatural founder Rachelle Robinett offers a solution to my woes in the latest episode of Well+Good’s video series Plant-Based: a DIY, skin-soothing face mask. As an herbalist, Robinett takes this home remedy far beyond the ubiquitous honey masks proliferating your YouTube feed by supercharging it with the legit healing powers of calendula, arnica, and more. “Calendula is known as a wound healer,” she says. “It helps to heal the epithelial lining, which is sort of a coating that goes around our skin and our glands and our organs and all these different parts of our body that are exposed to other surface or other environments.” Arnica, meanwhile, is an ingredient with which you might be familiar if you’re partial to natural remedies for aches and pains. “It’s a fantastic plant for topical use,” Robinett says. “The action of arnica comes from two different phytochemicals, which modify the action of immune cells, which in turn can kill bacteria and reduce inflammation.” This, she explains, can reduce swelling
This is the hardest oblique ab move you’ll ever do, according to a fitness trainer
February 27, 2020 at 12:00AM by CWC Any time you walk into a megaformer-inspired pilates class, you know you’re in for a challenging workout. And while all the moves on the machine are enough to leave your body shaking, there’s one muscle group in particular that’s a special kind of hell to target with instability training: your obliques. These side-core ab muscles are responsible for stabilizing your body, and working them on an unstable platform is a surefire way to burn them out. Fast. While pretty much every oblique move done on a megaformer will leave you sore for at least a day or two, there’s only one that’s earned itself the title of “hardest oblique move of all time.” “Twisted army crawls”—which are, as you’d imagine, army crawls with a twist—involve holding a plank with your hips and feet rotated and walking forward and backwards on your forearms. In addition to working your internal and external oblique muscles, the plank-forward move also hits what Nat Straub, senior manager at solidcore, calls a “plethora of muscles,” including the rest of your core, lower back, quads, shoulders front hip flexors, inner thighs, triceps, chest, and intercostal muscles (phew!). Full disclosure, they are so challenging that the first time I tried them, I cried a little bit. So what makes them so difficult? Well, there are a few reasons. “For starters, it’s performed with instability in mind, since the moving carriage or gliders are forcing those stabilizing muscles to work hard,” says Straub.
Here’s how Sephora’s new CBD standards affect your skin-care regimen
February 26, 2020 at 10:25PM by CWC On Wednesday, makeup and skin-care distributor Sephora announced new standards for the CBD beauty products it sells in-store and online, making it the first national prestige retailer to do so. Certain CBD-specific retailers, like Standard Dose, spell out similar guidelines. “We’ve seen clients’ demand for transparency continue to grow, and it’s important to Sephora that we are a trusted resource,” Cindy Deily, vice president of merchandising and skin care at Sephora, tells Byrdie. “With the amount of products flooding the market, there can be confusion and mistrust.” Take a look at the Sephora CBD standards: Inclusion of only full- or broad-spectrum CBD from U.S. grown hemp CBD must be tested at least three times for quality and purity A Certificate of Analysis (COA) that verifies the CBD content matches any label claims must be available upon request All products must meet Sephora’s Clean at Sephora standards While these regulations are an important step in the right direction, it doesn’t guarantee that these products actually work, says Adam Friedman, MD, a dermatologist and professor of dermatology at George Washington University. “These are just quality assurance measures that you’re getting what you’re paying for,” he says. “We need science to prove that a certain concentration delivered in a certain way works.” CBD is often sought out in beauty products for its potential ability to fight inflammation. “CBD has been shown to have a soothing effect on the skin, and has been used in the treatment of
The stretches for glutes that will take the edge off an intense leg day
February 26, 2020 at 10:00PM by CWC Whether you kickbox, spin, or do scrambled eggs on a Megaformer, you’re likely all too aware of how tight your bum can get after a good old-fashioned leg day. Instead of wincing for 48 hours following your workout, it’s time to add a few stretches for glutes into the mix. “It’s the workout of the week I never miss,” says Kate Ligler, a certified trainer and MINDBODY wellness manager. “But leg day also requires attention to detail in terms of recovery. Tightness and adhesions (aka ‘knots’) in your body’s tissue are a natural response to exercise intensity. The good news is that releasing tension at the hips and glutes through some simple movements can help to release tissue and muscle tension, restoring range of motion and helping to re-engage muscles to their full strength and power following a workout.” To ensure that you stretch out your booty in a soothing and effective way, Ligler and a couple other trainers offer up their wisdom to help you get the job done. Ahead you’ll discover a handful of stretches to incorporate into any recovery routine. Double pigeon stretch [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1gEGLtF1p0] “One of my favorite glutes stretches is a double pigeon stretch,” Andrea Dusel-Foil, a says Lagree NY megaformer instructor, noting that it stretches your glutes, hamstrings, and lower back. “Sit on the floor with the right leg bent (almost like you are going to sit crosslegged). Keep the right shin parallel to the front edge
Wear foundation? Dermatologists don’t go a day without recommending this one
February 26, 2020 at 09:00AM by CWC The idea that foundation is inherently at odds with your skin is officially dead. We now know that most of the current offerings won’t do anything bad (or anything at all, really) to your pores, and that many modern formulas actually offer skin-care benefits. In other words, as long as you wash your makeup off at the end of the day, your skin will likely remain happy, healthy, and unbothered. But while there are plenty of “good” foundations on the market as far as skin is concerned, according to dermatologists there’s only one that’s earned a spot as “the best.” Dermablend Cover Creme ($39) currently holds the crown for the number one most dermatologist-recommended foundation, a title that makes sense given the brand’s history. It was developed in 1981 by dermatologist Craig Roberts, MD, and his wife, makeup artist Flori Roberts, as a way to provide people with high-performing, dermatologically-savvy cosmetic coverage that worked for all skin types, tones, and conditions. In the last three decades, the products have become known for their long-lasting, color-correcting capabilities. And just as the creators hoped, these have become the go-to choice for anyone looking to even out significant discoloration and textural concerns on their skin. Photo: Dermablend Dermablend Cover Creme, $39 Dermablend offers four different facial foundations—a cream, two liquids, and a powder—each of which gives high-impact coverage while still being kind to all skin types. “All our foundation formulas are non-comedogenic, and developed specifically to
The best sex hits all 4 phases of the sexual response cycle—not just orgasm
February 26, 2020 at 08:30PM by CWC My boyfriend doesn’t orgasm. He does this—or rather, doesn’t do it—by choice. At first, this was uncomfortable for me, as I thought it meant he wasn’t enjoying himself; however, he says it allows him to extend the other phases of the sexual experience, which enhances the whole situation for us both. After getting used to the whole no-finish thing, I’d have to say I’m now converted to his method. TMI, but often we cycle through the other three phases of sexual response multiple times in a night. (Well, I hit all four usually, but him only hitting three allows us to rinse and repeat until we fall asleep or die.) I know, I know… I picked a winner, as many men think there are at most two phases of sexual response: excitement and orgasm. You’d be forgiven for thinking that, too, as neither formal sex education nor porn features much else. Jess O’Reilly, PhD, host of the @SexWithDrJess Podcast, covers the phases of sexual response in her Mindful Sex E-Course. “Early sex researchers [William H.] Masters and [Virginia E.] Johnson divided the sexual response cycle into four sections: excitement, plateau, orgasm and resolution,” she explains. “Helen Singer-Kaplan [later] proposed a three-phase model (desire, excitement and orgasm), noting that sexual response is also cognitive and psychological.” Others, she said, have since added “anticipation” to this updated model. Before we delve into the details of each phase, Dr. O’Reilly notes that each sexual experience is
Well+Good TALKS: How Women are Advancing the Wellness Start-up Space
February 26, 2020 at 08:24PM by CWC Female entrepreneurs are leading the way in wellness—launching and scaling innovative, sustainable companies (and workplace cultures) that are disrupting conventional industries. Alexia Brue, Well+Good’s co-founder, will moderate this special conversation in honor of Women’s History Month. You will learn from three founders & CEOs at various stages of their entrepreneurial journeys—from early boot-strapped days to proof of concept to scaling quickly with venture funding. You’ll hear in-the-trenches stories from visionary founders about what it takes to build your own business, from tools and skills to temperament and funding. EVENT DETAILS Tuesday, March 24, 2020 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Location: WeWork Now | 902 Broadway, New York, NY 10010 THE PANEL Sarah Larson Levey | Founder + CEO, Y7 Studio Sarah Larson Levey is the founder and CEO of Y7 Studio, which she created at age 26 to answer her desire for a yoga experience other than the traditional practices available to her. Since launching in 2013, Y7 has been breaking down the barriers of yoga, making it accessible and inclusive (all while flowing to the latest beats), and it has expanded to a national business with studios across New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago. Her industry-disrupting efforts earned her a spot on Create & Cultivate’s 100 for 2020 and Entrepreneur’s 100 Most Powerful Women for 2019, among other honors and awards. Elisa Shankle | Co-Founder, HealHaus Elisa Shankle married her love for design (she holds an interior design degree from Pratt Institute) with her passion
What pros have to say about using hemp oil for hair
February 26, 2020 at 07:00PM by CWC Long before CBD was the cannabinoid star of the beauty aisle, hemp seed oil reigned supreme. The OG plant-derived ingredient—which has always been legal—might not have the same name recognition as its buzzier cousin, but it does have plenty of benefits worth being aware of. One worth diving into? Hemp oil for hair. But before we get into the wonders of coating your strands with hemp seed oil, let’s make sure we’re all on the same page about what’s what in the world of cannabis derivatives. Certain ingredients—namely hemp oil and hemp seed oil—may sound the same, but ultimately, these ingredients do different things for your hair and skin, so it’s important to understand what you’re spending your money on. Allow us (and the pros!) to break it down for you, so you know exactly what’s worth buying… and why. The difference between hemp seed oil and hemp oil First things first: you need to understand the terminology, because hemp oil and hemp seed oil are two completely different things. They both come from the cannabis plant, but hemp is derived from the leaves and the stalk. Meanwhile, hemp seed oil is derived from—you guessed it!—the seeds, and is cold-pressed the same way other carrier oils like jojoba and sunflower seed. The biggest difference between the two is that hemp oil is chock full of cannabanoids, like THC, CBN, and CBD, while hemp seed oil doesn’t have any of these. Hemp seed oil,