October 04, 2018 at 07:09AM On some days, a couple hours at the gym can be just the endorphin-fueled antidote you need to unwind (and lift your spirits) after spending 9-5 chained to your desk. On others, though, the siren song of your Netflix queue might call a little bit louder than the treadmill. So when that’s the case, just steal actress Jenna Dewan’s preferred hotel sweat sesh. “Sometimes a quick on the go home/hotel workout is all I have time for,” wrote the dancing queen in the caption of an Instagram post on Wednesday. In the time-lapsed video, Dewan completes 25 knees-to-chest (AKA, mountain climbers), 20 squats, 10 push-ups, 10 squat jumps, and 25 sit-ups. View this post on Instagram Sometimes a quick on the go home/hotel workout is all i have time for…! 25 knees to chest, 20 squats, 10 pushups, 10 squat jumps, 25 sit ups- repeat 5x A post shared by Jenna Dewan (@jennadewan) on Oct 3, 2018 at 9:45am PDT //www.instagram.com/embed.js Complete five rounds of the circuit (which should take you about 20 minutes) and—bam—you’re ready to stretch it out and hit the shower. Alternatively, if you reach the end of the routine and decide you want to step it up (see what I did there??), try tacking on Dewan’s toning exercise or bust a move with her 45-minute dance routine. Now all you need is a killer playlist to sweat along to: Check out Nina Dobrev’s and Barack Obama’s. Continue Reading… Author Kells McPhillips | Well and Good Selected by iversue
Category: 2019 Health
3 common issues runners face in the month leading up to a marathon—and what to do about them
October 04, 2018 at 06:18AM With months of marathon training behind you and just a few more long run and ice bath cycles ahead, you’re on track to squash 26.2 miles come race day. In the final month of marathon training, don’t let obstacles that commonly sidetrack you from reaching your race-day dreams—whether you’re aiming to break four hours or cross the finish line, period. “You’ve been working for months to get to this point. So trust that your training has you prepared.” To amp you up for the starting line and overcome the OMG-so-annoying issues that can sneak up on you as race day gets closer, we asked Erin Bailey—director of fitness programming and community for ASICS Digital, head trainer at ASICS Studio, and Boston Marathon finisher—for advice to (literally) go the distance. Her biggest words of wisdom? “Trust your training,” says Bailey. “You’ve been working for months to get to this point. So trust that your training has you prepared. Keep following your plan, rest, eat good foods, and enjoy the process.” In other words, you totally got this. Scroll down for how to avoid three all-too-common mistakes runners make before race day—and an inspirational downloadable map of the course. 1. Overtraining and not tapering correctly Ironically, the most difficult part for marathoners is not running all those miles, but tapering down the mileage at the tail end of training after getting into that long-distance groove. After that one last push—“You’ll run your longest run to date either
10 awesome health benefits of hugging that’ll make you want to squeeze someone like right.now.
October 04, 2018 at 05:19AM To steal a line from Britney Spears, there are two types of people in the world: those who consider themselves huggers and those who don’t. You can typically figure out what camp someone falls into over an awkward hello or goodbye. Our general rule is “you do you” when it comes to sharing your personal space; however, there are some pretty interesting research findings regarding the health benefits of hugging that make a case for embracing the form of nonverbal communication. A number of studies have identified how important hugs are to physical and emotional wellbeing. Here are nine really good reasons to hug it out on the reg. 1. Hugging helps you communicate your feelings in a way words can’t Whether conscious or sub, the way we physically interact with people communicates a lot. “Touch is the first of our senses to develop in the womb and reaches maturity well before the other senses do,” says psychologist Danielle Forshee, PsyD. AS a result, interpersonal touching such as hugging plays an important role in emotional well-being she says. 2. Hugs help protect you from stress-related illnesses Sure, an apple a day might help keep the doctor away (or so the saying goes), but you might be better off with a hug. A study published by Carnegie Mellon found that there’s a relationship between receiving hugs and your immune system. Specifically, the study looked at the types of sickness and infections that you’re made more susceptible to
There’s never been a better time to be a woman runner
October 04, 2018 at 04:00AM It’s Saturday and I’m joining up with my friends to download on the week that’s just zoomed by. I show up a few minutes early, and as I glance around for them, I notice that our meeting place is already packed. I shouldn’t be surprised, I live in New York City after all, but considering it’s 9 a.m. and the spot in question is the Central Park running loop, where we plan to knock off miles the week’s to-do list, I somehow am anyways. Unlike the gym, which is dominated by bulked-up bros, the path around the park seems to be filled predominantly with women (yeah, a few dudes can be spotted here or there, doing their best shirtless Bachelor audition impressions). But I imagine that in these tense times we’re living in, these women are here for the same reason that I am: to decompress mentally and connect emotionally with their friends. And while they’re connecting, these women are pushing themselves to smash PRs and log never-before-seen mileage. Quicker paces and packed race courses are the epitome of women supporting women, and I for one, can’t get enough of it. “The beauty of running is that it’s a sport that can be selectively engaged in to meet others and create lasting bonds, to independently release stress, and to achieve personal goals,” explains New York City sports psychologist Leah Lagos Wallach, PsyD, who’s board-certified in biofeedback. “Alternatively, many women choose to run solo as a way to
Yes! You can outsmart that “hormone belt” of chin pimples, according to a derm and OB/GYN
October 04, 2018 at 03:13AM I’m just going to say it: There is a special place in hell for hormonal zits. You likely know the ones: The kind with deep roots that set up shop on your chin and jawline—otherwise known as the “hormone belt”—and threaten to stick around forever and haunt your dreams. They make your regular old whiteheads look like a walk in the park, because not only are they annoying to look at, but they are painful—especially if you make the mistake of trying to pick at them. It’s an unfortunate reality that hormonal acne doesn’t just go away because you’ve made it through puberty (a fact I’m reminded of every month, without fail, three days before my period). To make things easier (or at least in an attempt to keep you from regularly cursing your endocrine system or clawing at your pimples), I chatted with the experts to find out everything you need to know about that pesky hormone belt on your face, and what you can do so that you’ll never have to see it again. Photo: Getty Images/Extreme Photographer First up: Why does hormonal acne actually happen? “Hormonal fluctuations cause acne to those who are susceptible,” explains Sherry A. Ross, MD, a New York City OB/GYN and Author of she-ology. The Definitive Guide to Women’s Intimate Health. Period. “Some of the hormones responsible for acne are called androgens, including testosterone, which have a more male hormone affect causing oily skin, skin inflammation, clogged hair follicles, which all lead to acne. Hormonal
Those viral moth memes can teach you about achieving your dreams (I’m serious)
October 03, 2018 at 02:07PM In the middle of one particularly stressful workday last week, I sought a momentary reprieve in the form of social-media scrolling (as one does). And then I saw it: a meme of a huge moth pulling up to a McDonald’s drive-through window and ordering a large…lamp. Cue: me laughing until tears—happy tears, you guys—streamed down my face, effectively flipping off the light on my gloomy mood. While chuckling at viral memes is hardly a new phenomenon, something about seeing a human-size moth driving a car to get a lamp from McDonald’s just gave. me. life. The moths began to infiltrate my all feeds at a rapid pace. There was a moth as Drake, waving away a turned-off light bulb, beckoning in the lit one; a photo of hurricane-evacuation traffic with a lone moth driving in the opposite direction because it forgot its lamp; another of a fangirling moth, professing its love to Thomas Edison. Basically, all the memes share one thing (in addition to being hilarious): the idea that moths live for the pursuit of lamps. View this post on Instagram ｔ?ＡＮҜ ?ᵒ? ·._.·°¯°·.·° .·°°° A post shared by Sonny Side Up (@sonny5ideup) on Sep 14, 2018 at 11:46am PDT //www.instagram.com/embed.js And really, when you think about it, the notion is rather romantic. The moth is absolutely devoted to its true love and will do anything in order to be with it (with “it,” of course, being the lamp). And it’s totally relatable to have a goal
The designer behind SoulCycle and Peloton bikes is on a mission to trick out all your workout gear
October 03, 2018 at 12:15PM Exercising at home now comes with all the high-tech gadgets you’d find in the country’s hottest boutique studios. (That is, if you’re willing to invest.) But fans of the sweat-from-home lifestyle will soon be seeing even more majorly upgraded gear entering the domestic workout sphere, thanks to Villency Design Group—led by the creator of the stationary bikes used by beloved sweat-stitutions SoulCycle and Peloton. In an exclusive interview with Forbes, VDG’s CEO Eric Villency revealed that not only will the company soon be releasing its most innovative bike model to date in collaboration with Chicago’s Studio Three (starting at $1,900), but they have plans to create equipment that goes far beyond the spin studio. “[W]e’ve been collaborating with world-class athletes, physical therapists, and doctors during the past year to develop products that promote health and wellness by optimizing form and balancing the body,” says Villency. “[W]e’ve been collaborating with world-class athletes, physical therapists, and doctors during the past year to develop products that promote health and wellness by optimizing form and balancing the body.” —Eric Villency, CEO of Villency Design Group So what can you expect? According to the CEO, yoga mats, customizable dumbbells, athletic gloves, and thoughtfully designed cycling shoes are all in the mix. Each object will be designed to help you improve your posture by bringing a greater awareness to your body’s positioning. Although VDG hasn’t yet released the deets on how they intend to do this, the prospect of even more personalized equipment sounds like an endorphin lover’s dream come true. After
There’s now an official start date to cuffing season (and hey, you’ve got time)
October 03, 2018 at 11:58AM Every year as the season changes and the winter coats and heavy-quilts get lugged out from storage, singles are faced with the choice to either endure the cold temps alone—bring on the merino wool—or embark on a winter-inspired quest to find a snuggle buddy. Tis (almost) cuffing season, after all—you know, the time of year when, according to Urban Dictionary, “People who would normally rather be single or promiscuous find themselves along with the rest of the world desiring to be ‘cuffed’ or tied down by a serious relationship.” If you’re still wondering why it’s called cuffing, it’s a derivative of “handcuffing,” because you’re basically shackling yourself to another person for a season. (And they say romance is dead.) The hosts of the Save The Date Show podcast, Imani and Kandice, understand the struggles of singledom—which they portray through LOL-inducing memes and oh-so-real-checklists. And they definitely get the appeal of coupling up in cold weather. After all, hygge-ing, cuddling up in front of the fire, and romantic-comedy marathons are better with an S.O. But they have one message for you: Relax, you’ve got time. View this post on Instagram Uh oh… the seasons are changing. You got your roster organized ?? How do you narrow your options? What characteristics do you look for in your cuffing season partner? • • We discussed cuffing season last year around this time in episode 8. Catch up on that and our latest episode TODAY! Tag a friend! • • #dating
Cupping marks have become a wellness badge of honor
October 03, 2018 at 10:29AM After the 2016 Olympics in Rio, everyone was talking about two things: the powerhouse U.S. gymnasts, and Michael Phelps. Or, more specifically, those giant, circular bruises all over Phelps’s ridiculously ripped, gold medal-winning body. What were they? Was he OK? Did someone punch him repeatedly, and in a perfectly symmetrical motion? The bruises, of course, were from his cupping therapy. Phelps is part of a growing group of stars relying on cupping —a suction cup-aided bodywork technique that’s been used for thousands of years in Traditional Chinese Medicine, said to speed up recovery by reducing tension and promoting blood flow. What is cupping therapy, anyway? Cupping was a widely performed in ancient times to reduce fevers, arthritis, and gout. Now, it’s mainstream thanks to celebrities—hi, Gwyneth—and high-profile athletes, who use it to reduce inflammation, provide pain relief and relaxation, and promote overall wellbeing. Marissa “Isang” Smith, co-owner of On Point Sports Care in New York City, uses cupping in her clinic to help patients who are experiencing musculoskeletal pain and tightness. “A typical case would be when an active individual comes in and explains that they just started bootcamp or finished a WOD at their CrossFit gym, and now they are insanely sore or experiencing slight pain somewhere,” says Smith, a licensed acupuncturist and massage therapist. “The most common areas I place cups include the upper back, lower back, quads, calves, and hamstrings.” She claims that by doing so, patients can recover faster from training or injury. The
How long should you actually leave on that acne-busting hydrocolloid patch?
October 03, 2018 at 10:10AM There’s nothing worse than a giant pimple popping up out of nowhere. Before, the primary course of action was slathering on some cream and impatiently waiting as it dries out—but now with pimple patches (aka a true K-beauty godsend), your zits can vanish in record time. There’s something you should know before leaving them on your skin for hours on end, though. Pimple patches—also called hydrocolloid patches—work their magic due to hydrocolloid’s ability to attract the zit’s fluid to the surface of your skin like a magnet, resulting in a mound of pus. (Yes, gross, but all sorts of satisfying.) Because of the method of enclosing your zit with a medicated bandaid of sorts, you can heal up much quicker than what you would using a typical spot treatment: “The thin, clear hydrocolloid patch protects the zit from further irritation and infection by providing a ‘sealed’ environment for the skin to heal itself,” says dermatologist Dendy Engelman, MD. And the results are so good that one product even has a 3,000-person waitlist. Because of how well they get the job done, people tend to get excited and take a more-is-more approach, wearing their patches as long as it takes for that pesky pimple to disappear—in fact, one Redditor left hers on for 24 hours. But even if your pack of patches doesn’t have a maximum time listed, there is a limit to ensure the product erases acne without hurting your skin in the process, and it’s def not a full day.