February 21, 2019 at 09:00AM by CWC To strengthen my arms, I’ve tried boxing, lifting weights, doing a zillion push-ups, and knocking out weight machines like my life depends on it. But nothing has ever burned my arm muscles as much as punching with a resistance band. I was simply instructed to pick up a resistance band with handles during one full-body strength-training sesh and jab and cross (AKA punch with the left, followed by right hands) for 30 seconds to a minute at a time. The result? I was out of breath, and my arms were on fire. I knew resistance bands could upgrade pretty much every move, but wow—with punching, they can really enhance your workout. “For me personally, I spend about 6 minutes shadowboxing with resistance bands before strapping on my gloves,” says Joe Ferraro, a founding trainer of Rumble Boxing. “It’s a good way for me to get loose without the impact of the punching bag.” If you’re a boxing devotee, resistance bands can help you greatly improve your punch power, speed, and stamina, according to Ferraro. But if you’re simply looking to get a kickass arm workout in, resistance band training is a quick-fire way to do it. “The primary target areas when boxing with resistance bands are your shoulders, biceps, triceps, and core,” says Ferraro. Yep, it gets your abs in, too, which adds to how burn-worthy the move is. “The arms and shoulders are under constant pressure from recoil of the band. Your core is
Category: 2019 Health
This trick will save you a lot of time—and stress—when rebooking a cancelled flight
February 21, 2019 at 08:58AM by CWC Airports are already stressful enough. But when you spend all that time getting through security, grabbing your coffee and snacks, and waiting at your gate only to find out your flight has been cancelled, feeling defeated is an understatement. Unfortunately, you’re not alone: Plenty of travelers have been in the same boat this year with more than 5,000 cancelled flights since Tuesday alone. When it does happen, just don’t rush to the counter to rebook like everyone else. Instead, grab your phone. Reddit user LaSwanduh recently shared a travel-related #LifeProTip for the books. Instead of waiting in line for a ticket agent to help you get on a new flight—which will likely take a while since everyone at your gate is doing the same thing—stay in your seat and call the airline’s 1-800 number. Not only will it get the job done quicker, but—as she puts it—it also lets you avoid the “red-faced screamers” standing in line. (You know the ones.) Another important reminder: Once you get on the phone with someone, stay as polite as possible. Because despite how you’re feeling in the moment, whoever’s on the other end of the call wasn’t responsible for the weather messing up your travel plans. “They might have the power to make your travel a lot more pleasant. And even if they don’t, they don’t have control over your flight getting cancelled, so taking your frustration out on them isn’t solving anything,” she writes. For your reference,
How to use love languages to be the best possible friend to all the VIPs in your life
February 21, 2019 at 08:21AM by CWC The concept of love languages isn’t quite new, but I sincerely wish my school offered a course in it. I just recently learned mine (quality time, specifically quality activities), and it’s revolutionized how I approach relationships—most surprisingly, my platonic ones. In his 1992 book The Five Love Languages, Gary Chapman offers the framework as a method for keeping love alive within marriage. Spin-off edition tackle other ways to purpose the love-languages, like The 5 Love Languages: Military Edition and The 5 Love Languages Singles Edition. But, based on my experience, it seems Chapman is sitting on yet another best-seller waiting to be written: the friendship edition. The gist of the concept is that people don’t receive love the same way, but rather via one or several love languages: quality time (conversations, activities, undivided attention); acts of service (folding laundry, making dinner, arranging a group birthday gift); receiving gifts (cards, treats, anything that communicates the other person wants to make you happy); words of affirmation (positive feedback, gassing, saying “I love you”); and physical touch (hugs, handshakes, pats on the back). Basically, what makes you feel loved might not do the trick for you loved ones. “Knowing your own love language is a bit like knowing a chapter in your own owner’s manual,” says Rebecca Hendrix, LMFT, an integrative holistic psychotherapist. It can help you identify patterns that reveal what gives you emotional boosts—and the knowledge is theoretically applicable to all of your relationships. “The
What to know about phosphates, the food additive that’s in (almost) everything you eat
February 21, 2019 at 08:19AM by CWC At this point, most of us are pretty canny about shady food additives in our food (ahem, high-fructose corn syrup, much?). But there are still some sneaky ingredients that we as consumers often are still in the dark about, like phosphates. Did you hear crickets when reading that word? Don’t blame you. It’s a very common food additive, present in lots of packaged foods, but it’s been flying under the radar for years. Yet a growing number of studies link it to some pretty undesirable side effects, from heart disease to early death (gulp). It’s also hard to accurately determine just how much phosphorus you’re consuming. “It’s not a required nutrient listed on food and drink labels, so a lot of companies are not analyzing amounts of phosphates in food,” says Christy Brissette, R.D., President of 80 Twenty Nutrition. “It’s possible that we’re getting too much of it.” Before you start to panic, though, here’s what food experts want you to know about phosphates. What are phosphates, exactly? Backing up for a second: Phosphorus is a mineral that’s naturally found in protein-rich foods including dairy, fish, meat, and eggs—and your body needs it to help your kidneys, bones, and muscles function properly. “It’s part of pretty much every cell in our body,” says nutritionist Jessica Cording, R.D. Because phosphorus works with calcium to support strong bones, you’ll often see it added to calcium supplements. Phosphate, on the other hand, is an inorganic (read: not
Acne can happen at any age. Here’s what to do about it in your 40s
February 21, 2019 at 07:00AM by CWC Listen up, everyone: We need to stop thinking about acne as a puberty problem. As any full-fledged adult who’s had a pimple pop up out of nowhere knows all too well, it’s something that can follow you into your 20s, 30s, and beyond. In fact, acne at 40 is a common problem (so no, you’re not alone), but if you’ve had clear skin for your entire life, it can be confusing to deal with. “We don’t totally understand why, but new onset acne is a growing problem in adult women,” explains New York City-based dermatologist Joshua Zeichner, MD. “It is thought to be due to a combination of hormonal fluctuations, environmental stress, and diet.” Virginia-based derm Lily Talakoub, MD highlights the “hormonal fluctuations” part of the problem, noting that women tend to start menopause at some point during their 40s. “When we are young our estrogen is high and protects our skin against acne, but the older we get, especially around menopausal years, the progesterone is higher than the estrogen, and that causes painful cystic adult acne,” she explains. “It’s awful, and hard to get rid of. Most topical medications don’t help.” There’s no “one size fits” all answer as to what acne looks like, and that extends into acne at 40. But what sorts of symptoms can you look out for? “It can appear mostly along the jawline, as large red or pink inflammatory bumps on the cheeks, small fine whitish bumps on
A-ten-hut: You really, really should skip the military diet, say these dietitians
February 21, 2019 at 05:21AM by CWC So far, 2019 has been the year of #TBT eating plans. (Eating Mediterranean-style and going high-fiber are both on-trend once again.) But as for the military diet, which has recently resurfaced online…the two nutrition experts I spoke with say it just doesn’t deserve a “Backstreet’s back, alright!” moment. According to the plan’s official website, the requirements include following a certain menu (which can be adapted for vegans or vegetarians) three days out of the week. For example, one day of meals includes crackers and cheese for breakfast with one small apple; a hard-boiled egg and toast for lunch; and tuna, banana, and vanilla ice cream for dinner. During these days, your total calorie intake will be between 762 and 1,066 calories within each 24-hour period, reports CNN. Then, you get four days “off” the plan where you can eat 1,500 calories per day. It promises to help people lose up to 10 pounds in a week. (It should be noted that despite invoking the military in its name, the military diet doesn’t seem to have any real connection to any branches of the military.) If alarm bells are already sounding in your head, there’s a reason. Bonnie Taub-Dix, RDN, creator of BetterThanDieting.com and author of Read It Before You Eat It – Taking You from Label to Table and Brittany Michels, RD, registered dietician for The Vitamin Shoppe, say there are three major red flags with this plan. Below, they break them down. Red flag number one: The diet involves cutting calories
Ohhh, so that’s why my curls look so much better some days than others…
February 21, 2019 at 05:00AM by CWC When it comes to my curls, I never know what I’m going to get. Some days, I roll straight out of bed with hair that looks like it belongs on the cover of a movie about mermaids. Others, I wake up with a dry, matted mess on top of my head that—I kid you not—a pigeon once mistook for his nest and tried to land in (seriously, there are pictures). I’d always thought that the end product of my curls was exclusively based on the weather and products I had been using, but I recently discovered that there was a third factor at play: my haircut. “I think a good haircut can work with your curl pattern,” explains Garren, celebrity stylist and co-founder of R+Co, noting that while a particular cut can’t exactly change your curl pattern, per se, it can alter the way it looks. “Curls look bouncier when you cut your hair because you get rid of split ends and take some of the weight away. It’s keeping your hair healthier so you have more of a wave pattern and curl pattern.” While a haircut can provide structure and cohesion to curls, always pay attention to the tool that your stylist is using to help you get them. “I think the first time you cut your hair, it should always be cut with scissors—not a razor, as that can thin the hair and cause the hair to fray,” he says. From there, it’s all about
How to tell your S.O. you have debt—and navigate other tricky money chats
February 21, 2019 at 03:00AM by CWC Whether you’ve been dating someone for just a hot minute or are in a committed relationship, talking about money with a romantic partner can feel like navigating a conversational minefield, à la asking about religion, marriage, kids, or even politics. Still, chances are at least one of you wonders about the financial situation of the other—even if it doesn’t feel quite right to broach the subject. Think: “I wonder if I make more than her.” “He better be saving for a ring.” “I bet their parents are loaded.” “They sound loaded.” At least one of these has likely crossed someone’s mind. But while most couples who have been together for a certain amount of time and are relatively serious about building a future together do eventually broach the topics of religion, marriage, and kids, Shannon McLay—founder and CEO of finance-coaching service Financial Gym—says she regularly sees clients who haven’t talked about money with their partner at all—even if they’ve been together for years. “We talk about getting financially naked with someone,” she says. “Just like determining if you have chemistry in the bedroom, it’s important to find out if you have chemistry with someone financially,” she says. “Just like determining if you have chemistry in the bedroom, it’s important to find out if you have chemistry with someone financially.” —Shannon McLay, founder and CEO of Financial Gym Easier said than done though. How do you tactfully find out if your S.O.’s money goals are aligned with
These boots were made for walking…like, a lot
February 20, 2019 at 02:05PM by CWC You can find a ton of shoes and sneakers that you can wear all day without getting a number of miscellaneous body aches. For some reason, though, comfortable boots—that aren’t (unintentionally) ugly or orthopedic looking—are harder to come by. Such practical shoe unicorns do exist, however—it just requires, pardon the pun, a little legwork to find them. How to spot a pair? There a few features to keep in mind while shopping for comfortable boots, according to Miguel Cunha, DPM, founder of Gotham Footcare. The first is shock absorption. Some products and brands will let you know whether their boot has this feature. If not, look for things like rubber soles and try bending the shoe—if it bends in the middle of the sole this mean it doesn’t have shock absorption and is generally not great for foot support, he tells me. Dr. Cunha also says that despite what you (I) may think, a completely flat boot is not ideal for your foot health. “I recommend avoiding boots that are completely flat as they will contribute to pronation and collapse of the arch which may contribute to planter and posterior heel pain, shin splints, knee pain, and back pain,” he explains. Something else to keep in mind, according to Marion Parke, DPM, a podiatrist turned shoe designer is that “our feet tend to swell throughout the day and you want to provide some room for that. When it comes to shoes millimeters count.” To
Identifying your “hard” and “soft” emotions could be the secret to banishing your anger
February 20, 2019 at 02:01PM by CWC Real talk: Trying to decipher my emotional landscape sometimes feels like a full-time job. I’m at least a little bit tangry (that’s tired-angry) at all times, but other not-so-great feelings are constantly sliding into my mental DMs, too. Were they invited? No. Do I have to deal with them anyway? Yep. And according to Ellen Hendriksen, PhD, of the Savvy Psychologist podcast, one of the most accessible ways to carefully shepherd these negative emotions out of center stage in your brain is by categorizing them as either “hard” or “soft.” According to a 2007 article published in the journal Personal Relationships, hard emotions include anger and aggravation, while the soft variety includes sadness, hurt, and other forms of vulnerability. As Dr. Hendriksen explains it in a recent episode of the podcast Relationship Advice, hard emotions often rush in to mask your soft emotions, which can be harder to sit with. “It’s uncomfortable to feel that softer emotion,” she says. “No one likes to feel ashamed, no one likes to feel hurt. So we get mad because that feels better.” But learning to dig through that hard emotion to discover its soft core may be key to vanquishing the bad vibes at their source. A look at three studies of how participants expressed these type of capital-F Feelings during interpersonal conflict (published in the aforementioned journal) found that those who reported experiencing hard emotions tended to have more negative forms of communication. On the other hand, people who tapped into soft emotions instead experienced