February 26, 2019 at 08:09AM by CWC When I was watching the Oscars last weekend, the standout wellness wins—including Melissa McCartney’s now-iconic Adidas track suit—weren’t the only things that caught my eye. When Brie Larson arrived, I may or may not have experienced a full-on jaw-drop: I couldn’t take my eyes off her ridiculously toned arms. So much so that I ignored the next 10 minutes of the show because I was too busy stalking her Instagram page to steal the real-life Captain Marvel’s gym routine. Larson has admitted she’s never been a fan of hitting the gym, but that all changed when she started amping up her training sessions to prepare for her starring super hero role. Big-time. This girl’s workouts don’t involve a quick run on the treadmill and some dumbbell exercises. Instead, she literally pushes a 5,000-pound Jeep around. Basically, she’s officially my inspiration for all things fitness-related from here on out, and these badass workout videos will most definitely make her yours, too. Keep scrolling to find her workouts to bookmark now (if you have a Jeep that is…). View this post on Instagram A training highlight – pushing @risemovement almost 5000lbs Jeep(with a full tank of gas and Alyssa behind the wheel for safety!)for 60 seconds. In Captain Marvel @nike Metcons! It’s a strong vibe but I like it. A post shared by Brie (@brielarson) on Feb 11, 2019 at 4:03pm PST //www.instagram.com/embed.js 1. Jeep workout Oh you know, she’s just pushing a 5,000-pound jeep will a
Category: 2019 Health
As a queer woman who dates men, Miley Cyrus makes me feel seen—but she’s wrong about one important thing
February 26, 2019 at 08:01AM by CWC Miley Cyrus is queer—and her recent Vanity Fair cover story makes clear that she wants to everyone to know her recent marriage to Liam Hemsworth doesn’t change that. “A big part of my pride and identity is being a queer person,” says the artist, who came out as pansexual and then genderqueer several years ago. I, a member of the LGBTQ+ community, applaud Cyrus for the reminder—but she still has some work to do as a public ally. After identifying as a lesbian for the first quarter-century of my life, I fell for a cisgender man. From the outside looking in, we didn’t seem all that different from any other hetero duo. And as our relationship grew more serious, I felt like my previous experiences as a queer-identifying woman were getting erased. I wondered whether it possible to continue identifying as queer, even within my relationship, which felt very heterosexual in nature. At the time, the answer seemed like a clear, hard no. And as such, I felt an incredible sense of loss. But what Cyrus (rightfully) contends in the Vanity Fair piece is that your queerness doesn’t disintegrate just because your relationship looks heterosexual. Your sexual identity is not a reflection of your partner’s gender, but rather a reflection of how you define yourself. For both queer women like me (who do, have, or will date cisgender men) and a general society that glosses over the intricacies of desire and identity, that’s a powerful notion.
Hold the golden milk latte: Is turmeric actually worth the hype?
February 26, 2019 at 06:10AM by CWC [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OzFL6rA7aGU] You might have noticed the spotlight on inflammation in the past few years, and for good reason. Anxiety and stress are at an all-time high in America, and that can manifest in your body as inflammation (which some experts believe is the root of most diseases.) Enter: anti-inflammatory foods, and another installment of our nutrition debunking series You Versus Food. In this episode, registered dietician Tracy Lockwood-Beckerman unpacks the anti-inflammatory super spice taking over the world (and your latte): turmeric. The pungent spice is grown in India, eastern Asia, and Central America, and has been a mainstay in holistic medicine for hundreds of years due to its wide array of health benefits. “There’s a compound in turmeric called curcumin, which has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties,” says Lockwood-Beckerman. It potentially could help relieve soreness after a workout, she adds. It’s also been linked to a ton of other benefits, like reducing bloating and promoting gut health. Lockwood-Beckerman adds that while randomized clinical trials have been somewhat inconclusive, she says that the ingredient still has a ton of promise. To make sure you make the most out your turmeric, Lockwood-Beckerman suggests pairing it with black pepper. The curcumin compound isn’t easily absorbed by the body, she says, but a complex in pepper called piperine blocks your liver from filtering it too quickly. In short: piperine keeps the turmeric in your body longer so you can actually reap the benefits. Beyond adding some pepper to your
The 30-minute yoga flow that will turn anyone into a yogi, care of Adriene Mishler
February 26, 2019 at 06:00AM by CWC Adriene Mishler—or, as her 4.6 million YouTube followers know her, “Yoga With Adriene“—has a surprisingly simple approach to yoga: Find what feels good. She uttered those four words in her first-ever YouTube post in 2012, and recently released a line of TeeSpring merchandise emblazoned with the phrase. “It’s what inspired me to want to share yoga and now has become a multifaceted mantra that can help guide you to explore who you really are, practice moving in a way that serves your body, and ultimately lead you to find your own unique and meaningful contribution to society,” Mishler says of the provenance of the mantra. But what exactly does it mean to “find what feels good”? “One quiet mountain pose, one purposeful downward dog, one minute of dancing —to me it’s all about taking the moment and not worrying too much about what you’re doing (or not doing), but rather focusing on how you exist inside whatever you set out to do,” she explains. “Whether it’s a 15-minute flow, a 90-minute sweaty flow, or a light jog with the dog, ask yourself if it’s conscious. How are you moving and treating yourself each day? I always say that it is not often what we do, but how we do it. How you move matters.” If you’re an aspiring yogi struggling to make this happen for yourself, not to worry: There’s a flow for that. Mishler recommends the Movement Medicine series on her YouTube
Of the dozens of thrift stores in NYC, these are the best places to shop for secondhand gems
February 26, 2019 at 05:15AM by CWC Despite its reputation for being pricey, New York has a deceptive abundance of thrift stores dotted throughout its five boroughs, making it an ideal spot to secondhand shop. Some of these places are the type where you need to (or should) dedicate at least a couple of hours to sift through the thousands of garments in search of sartorial gold. Others, aware of their space limitations, are a little bit pricier but more curated and easier to sort through—I like to think of them as thrifting lite. Regardless of where you choose to go, you should really save your time and energy for finding gems rather than finding thrift stores. Luckily the city’s best are rounded up below. And before you get shopping a little trade secret: All of the best slip dresses are in fact found in thrift stores. 1. L Train Vintage Finding an L Train Vintage store can be a little bit confusing. Technically it’s a chain of stores but certain locations go by different names—like the one in the East Village, which is called No Relation. But regardless, this is perhaps the most tried and true thrift store experience in New York City. It specializes in basics like shirts and plain dresses, priced at $7. (Things get incrementally for expensive depending on what exactly you’re looking for, though still definitely affordable.) In true thrift store fashion, you should expect to dedicate at least an hour to sifting through the
Welcome to the era of exhaustion, where tiredness is our new currency
February 26, 2019 at 05:00AM by CWC I have a theory that if we followed up with Taylor Swift five years after she first dropped her bags on her New York apartment floor, they’d still be in the same spot, collecting dust, because she was too spent to unpack them. Tired. Sleepy. Wiped. Worn out. She probably told her whole #squad about how she just didn’t have the energy to do it. And the way we talk about sleep isn’t just becoming a popular way to answer questions like “how are you?” or “why are these suitcases still on the floor, Taylor?” Rather, it’s creeping into how we approach the 24 hours at hand. We spend nights wide-awake and days sleep-deprived; our tanks are physically empty, our brains are on overdrive, and—to cut to the chase—it’s defining the time in which we live: Welcome to the era of exhaustion. As tiredness has become cultural currency, the word now means more than the absence of simply clocking the recommended minimum of at least a solid 7 (something that the Centers for Disease Control confirms that only 2 in 3 Americans do, FWIW). A recent Well+Good survey of 1,478 people is proof: While a piddly 23 percent of respondents reported not getting enough sleep on the reg, a whopping 92 percent feel chronically fatigued throughout the week. And that probably explains why data from Google Trends shows searches for the word “tired” have surged 65 percent in the 15-year span from 2004
Yes, Nickelodeon, I’m a grown woman who is afraid of the dark and sleeps with the light on
February 26, 2019 at 03:00AM by CWC I think my nyctophobia turned my partner into Sandra Bullock in Bird Box. At least, that’s who he most reminded me of the other night when I saw him wearing the sleep mask he uses as a shield from the light I desperately need to stay on all night. Without it, my anxiety soars sky high and my heart pounds. All of this is because—to answer that famed Nickelodeon-prompted question—I am indeed afraid of the dark. Or, maybe I’m just afraid of Samara from The Ring. I don’t find it a coincidence that I started sleeping with the light on after watching the film in 2002, but many find it puzzling that my fright has extended so many years. I’ve found that being an adult and simultaneously having a fear of the dark prompts so many questions from the few people who know about it, and the tonal subtext is often, “Why—and why would you ever share that information?” I get the judgment. See, nyctophobia, as Healthline has taught me with a not-so-necessary air of condescension, tends to dissipate with age. However, my fear really isn’t that huge of an anomaly. One doc says an estimated 11 percent of the United States population is afraid of the dark, making it a more common phobia than a fear of heights. And unlike with heights, where the visual stimuli is responsible for the palpations, nyctophobia is more rooted in the anxiety of having impaired vision, invoking a feeling
How to lift light and still get stronger, according to fitness pros
February 26, 2019 at 03:00AM by CWC No matter what workout or fitness class I’m into at the moment, when it comes time for strength training, I tend to reach for light weights rather than heavy ones. Despite the fact that a single Pure Barre sesh can leave my arms on fire after roughly 10 bajillion up-and-downs with two-pound weights, it’s unclear to me whether or not the lighter-for-longer method is a good way to build muscle compared with fewer reps of heavy weights. “There’s some recent research that suggests you can build muscle just as well with light weights as with heavy weights,” says Alex Hutchinson, PhD and author of What Comes First, Cardio or Weights?. “The key is lifting to failure in each set, or least very close to failure—the point at which you can’t lift the weight one more time. You don’t necessarily have to choose a really heavy weight to do that, which some people find intimidating. You can get pretty much the same effect by choosing a relatively light weight and lifting it more times.” That’s not to say that lifting heavy doesn’t have its own set of benefits (and more on that later…), the point is that no matter what weight you’re working with, you have to make sure you’re challenging yourself and not just curling a two-pound dumbbell aimlessly or without any effort. If you’re curious about how to train with light weights and get stronger, keep reading for some intel from the
The ab-busting move that also helps with lower back pain
February 25, 2019 at 12:24PM by CWC In the ab workouts I’ve been streaming lately, I’ve noticed two things that remain true for all of them: A) they burn, and B) I always have to do the dead bug. The good news is that this doesn’t mean I pause my workout sesh to kill a spider in the corner—it’s actually a core-quaking move that makes your abs quiver with that hurts-so-good feeling. Of course, it did get its name from somewhere. Namely, the fact that you do essentially imitate a dead bug when you’re working your core. But it’s a serious workout move praised by countless trainers. “Don’t let the cute name and silly form fool you—the dead bug is a killer core exercise,” says Cat Kom, fitness expert and founder of Studio Sweat onDemand. “It’s amazing because it’s so simple, but can target your inner core muscles and spinal stabilizers—AKA your obliques, transverse abdominis, rectus abdominis (your “six pack”), multifidus, diaphragm—and even your pelvic floor.” “Don’t let the cute name and silly form fool you—the dead bug is a killer core exercise.” —Cat Kom Unlike crunches, this move forces you to engage your inner core without putting pressure on your spine. “It allows you to raise your arms and move your legs without arching your lower back,” says Kom, who notes that crunches and sit-ups put a lot of force on your spine. The dead bug is all about isolation, which is nice and gentle. “It teaches your body to
8 pairs of hot yoga pants that stood up to our sweat test
February 25, 2019 at 12:16PM by CWC Heated studio classes, be they hot power yoga (my exercise of choice) or something similar, are unique when it comes to the needed uniform. I’m constantly seeking out leggings that have a rise just high enough to stay up, but just low enough to allow for optimal movement; styles that are as tight as a second skin, yet feel supportive at the same time. The prime requirement, though? Sweat-wicking power. Even when I think that I’ve found the next best thing, all too often I take them into a hot class and am disappointed by the way they handle the sweat that’s inevitably released from pores I didn’t even know existed. So, I put the newest crop of performance leggings through a personal sweat test. Below you’ll find eight pairs of hot yoga pants that were able to take the heat. 1. 90 Degree by Reflex Squat Proof Interlink Legging, $25 Photo: 90 Degree Reflex These leggings have accumulated more than 5,000 reviews on Amazon.com and still managed to remain at a solid 4.5 stars, so I had to try them out. Let me tell you, they are sleek, moisture-wicking, and perfect for the sweatiest of workouts. Honestly, the price point ($25!) might have been the initial draw for many, but it’s simply an added bonus—they work just as well as performance tights I’ve paid much more for. 2. Splits59 High Waisted Workout Shorts, $58 Photo: Splits59 While I personally gravitate toward bottoms of