June 14, 2019 at 08:45AM by CWC White jeans are inarguably the chicest part of any casual summer look. During a time of the year where khakis run rampant and flip flops finally see the light of day, they’re one of the few warm-weather items that truly elevate your look. But as much as I love them, I find it so odd that the one time of year we’re allowed to wear white jeans is also the time of year when we’re our sweatiest and come in contact with the most dirt. How the heck are you supposed to keep white jeans bright white when you’re not really supposed to even wash your jeans? To get the job done right, we’ll have to enlist the holy trinity of laundry: distilled water, vinegar, and baking soda. “Baking and white vinegar are natural cleansers and distilled water is super important as, unlike tap water, it has no minerals and won’t leave behind mineral residue as it dries,” says Maeve Richmond, founder of home organizational company Maeve’s Method. “The baking soda and white vinegar are working together to create a powerful natural stain remover solution.” ad_intervals[‘400938_div-gpt-ad-7520022-3’] = setInterval(function () { if (ads_ready) { clearTimeout(ad_intervals[‘400938_div-gpt-ad-7520022-3’]); googletag.cmd.push(function(){googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-7520022-3’);}); } }, 100); For spot cleaning, fill a spray bottle with a cup of distilled water, half a cup of white vinegar, and a tablespoon of baking soda. Then spritz the spot until it’s damp, and let sit for up to 15 minutes. Blot with a clean, dry cloth
Category: Fashion
Old Navy’s $1 flip flops are the best thing that ever happened to my shoe collection
June 14, 2019 at 05:00AM by CWC Throughout your life, relationships come and go—especially the ones with the items in your wardrobe. My flared black leggings featuring a bedazzled “PINK” logo on the behind are no longer part of my collection, and my once-beloved light-up sneakers were retired long ago. But one item that’s remained a constant in my life since day one? Old Navy’s $1 flip flops. Old Navy’s flip flops are the gift that keep on giving. When the brand’s $1 Flip Flop Sale first started back in 2005, they were paired with velour tracksuits and denim capris in high school hallways from coast to coast. And my love has never wavered all these years later. I have a pair in my gym bag that allows me to shower after my workout bacteria-free, pairs designated for trucking down sandy beaches in search of the perfect spot, and pairs that grace my feet at the grocery store. No matter what I’m doing, these $1 flip flops have never let me down. I don’t wind up with blisters between my toes five minutes after wearing them—or ever. And starting Friday for Old Navy, Banana Republic, and Gap cardholders (and Saturday for everyone else!), the $1 Dolla Balla Flip Flop sale is back, letting you score flip flops in every color of the rainbow for the amount of change you can find hiding beneath your couch cushions. ad_intervals[‘400119_div-gpt-ad-7520022-3’] = setInterval(function () { if (ads_ready) { clearTimeout(ad_intervals[‘400119_div-gpt-ad-7520022-3’]); googletag.cmd.push(function(){googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-7520022-3’);}); } }, 100); You
I can never seem to get my workout clothes clean—here’s what finally worked for me
June 13, 2019 at 06:30PM by CWC Pros of working out five to six times a week: overall health boost, workout friends, and tons of endorphins. Cons: My laundry bin perpetually exists in a state of mostly full, leaving me with this frustratingly unsolvable puzzle: How the heck do I get my workout clothes clean? Disclaimer: I’m not walking around constantly smelling like I just left a workout class, mind you. But my athletic clothes don’t quite have the laundry detergent commercial vibes I’m after (you know the ones, with white curtains blowing in the breeze and puppies snuggling into baskets of fluffy towels). The advice I’ve found has been less than helpful: Wash your sweaty clothes immediately after wearing them (who has time for that??), use vinegar (no thanks), add a capful of bleach (nope, too scared of accidental white spots), or use extra-strength detergent (still no, since I’m trying to go plant-based with my cleaning products). ad_intervals[‘398948_div-gpt-ad-5443410-3’] = setInterval(function () { if (ads_ready) { clearTimeout(ad_intervals[‘398948_div-gpt-ad-5443410-3’]); googletag.cmd.push(function(){googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-5443410-3’);}); } }, 100); “We don’t believe people should have to choose between clean clothes and a plant-based product.” Seeing as my trial-and-error methods with natural detergents have failed me, it was time to call in the professionals. So I hit up Laura Goodman, senior scientist for Procter & Gamble Fabric Care, for her recs on products and cleaning methods to transform my workout wardrobe from funky to fresh. Taking my desire for a plant-based detergent into account, Goodman recommended Tide purclean™—an eco-friendly
Changing the position of your feet can make a *huge* impact on your workout
June 13, 2019 at 01:00PM by CWC Whether you’re jogging, doing Pilates, or hitting up a strength training class, you’re probably already savvy about remembering to keep your shoulders back and your core engaged. But there’s another body part that you should be paying attention to in workouts, and it often gets the short end of the stick: your feet. Having correct foot and ankle form (and the strength and flexibility to maintain it) not only makes certain exercises more effective, but it can also help prevent you from from getting hurt. “I think of not engaging your feet as really not engaging much of your leg,” says Shannon Berkeley, a manager and instructor at Uptown Pilates. “In order to engage your foot in flexion or pointing it, you’re probably engaging other muscles in your leg at the same time.” So practicing proper foot form is really helping you to get the most out of your workout. Why it matters if you’re pointing or flexing It makes a lot of sense when you think about it: Imagine you’re pointing your toe while your leg’s fully extended. This means you’re lengthening the top of your leg from your quads through your shins, and all the way down to your big toe, according to Berkeley. On the other end of the spectrum, flexing your foot lengthens the back of your leg from your hamstrings, down the back of your knee, into your calf, and out through your heel while also engaging your
Why this acupuncturist swears by abdominal massage for better digestive health
June 13, 2019 at 08:40AM by CWC Hear the word “massage” and your mind probably goes to getting one on your back or your feet… but abdominal massage is the underrated treatment that more people should be incorporating on the reg. “Abdominal massage is actually a subset of regular or Swedish massage or Western massage,” says Daryl Thuroff, LAc, LMT, acupuncturist, herbalist, and massage therapist at Yinova Center. “There are certain aspects of Thai or Shiatsu massages that also have abdominal work in them, and that can be helpful for a variety of different things.” Trained practitioners such as Thuroff use abdominal massage for three main things, she says: promoting digestion, increasing fertility, and helping with musculoskeletal issues. “It can also be used as a diagnostic tool,” she explains. In acupuncture, she says practitioners massage and feel the organs within the abdominal cavity to look for areas of tension, and to find out if something is “excess or deficient.” ad_intervals[‘398995_div-gpt-ad-7435403-3’] = setInterval(function () { if (ads_ready) { clearTimeout(ad_intervals[‘398995_div-gpt-ad-7435403-3’]); googletag.cmd.push(function(){googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-7435403-3’);}); } }, 100); That’s because a lot happens in the belly—it’s where your gut is located, which is central to so many other aspects of your health. “Inevitably, when the belly is stuck, it could lead to inflammation in other areas, water retention, cloudiness of mind… a lot can be happening concurrently,” says Thuroff. “Stress is something that can cause things to get stuck in the middle,” she adds. Basically, you want everything in your abdominal area flowing properly so that you
8 ways to make chafing last year’s problem—and not one is over $20
June 12, 2019 at 11:00AM by CWC Summer is officially here, and if 2018 was any indicator, it won’t be long until the breezy 75-degree weather takes a turn for toasty temps nearing the 90s. While that means it’s officially time to swap out our cold-weather wardrobes in favor of sleeveless shirts, retro skirts, and dresses galore, it’s also an indicator of one not-so-fun side effect: chafing. You know when you’re walking down the street just trying to live your best life and enjoy the fact that it’s no longer frigid AF outside, but then your thighs, feet, or braline start to go haywire? Yeah, it’s not fun. In fact, it can be pretty damn painful if we’re being honest. That’s because as the temperatures start to rise, these areas of skin are more likely to sweat, and with the added moisture comes the potential for even more rubbing—whether against itself (in the case of your thighs) or your clothes (in the matter of boobs V bras). ad_intervals[‘396197_div-gpt-ad-7520022-3’] = setInterval(function () { if (ads_ready) { clearTimeout(ad_intervals[‘396197_div-gpt-ad-7520022-3’]); googletag.cmd.push(function(){googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-7520022-3’);}); } }, 100); While chafing can be irritating all on its own, it’s the aftermath that’s truly daunting. Think: rashes, blisters, and, in the most extreme cases, bleeding. Nobody has time for that. Luckily, with the perfectly-stocked beauty arsenal, you can avoid it all. The trick is to look for products formulated with moisturizing ingredients—like shea butter, beeswax, and coconut oil—that will help create a smooth glide to reduce friction and curb irritation.
Why you should care about the difference between “running” and “training” shoes
June 12, 2019 at 03:30AM by CWC Finding a pair of kicks that perfectly align with your workout goals can feel like hitting your metaphorical (and, okay, physical) stride. Just take it from a girl who fell, um, head over literal heels with running after finally trading in her high school gym sneakers for a pair of high-tech Brooks Ghost kicks. Still, there’s a common roadblock of navigating the overwhelming amount of choices the market offers. Knowing which shoes will help you soar through mile after mile of marathon training and which are better equipped for squats and box jumps isn’t always a straightforward exercise. In fact, lacing up training shoes when running shoes are really your best bet, and vice versa, may open you up to more to injuries. So before you sign up for a HIIT class and slip your track shoes into your gym bag, read on to see why certain sweaty occasions require layers of plushy support while others necessitate you to be just shy of barefoot, according to experts. Of course, you’ll also want to consult with the virtuosos at your neighborhood shoe store who can take an IRL look at your gait to ensure that you and your kicks go sprinting and/or burpee-ing into the sunset. ad_intervals[‘328637_div-gpt-ad-9261280-3’] = setInterval(function () { if (ads_ready) { clearTimeout(ad_intervals[‘328637_div-gpt-ad-9261280-3’]); googletag.cmd.push(function(){googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-9261280-3’);}); } }, 100); Consider yourself a footwear pro: Here’s how to determine whether you need running shoes or training shoes every single time. Photo: Stocksy/Guille Faingold What to look
Here’s the tea on the centuries-old practice of tasseography (aka reading tea leaves)
June 11, 2019 at 05:00PM by CWC With all the goings-on of modern life, sometimes it’s nice to call upon some woo-woo practices to guide us to see what’s to come rather than leave our mind to its own (often catastrophizing) devices. Tools in your toolbox for accomplishing this include—but are certainly not limited to—a meditation ritual, an astrology app, and tarot, but reading tea leaves definitely also deserves a place in your rotation. Enter tasseography, which comes from the French word tasse, for cup, and the Greek suffix graph and mancy, meaning writing and knowledge. Upon adding it all together, you get the art of finding messages in tea leaves. But, ahem, why? “A lot of times, people are looking for the future. Sure, sometimes it comes out. Like ‘Around March, it looks like you’ll get a big check,” occultist Katelan Foisy, who is familiar with the practice of reading tea leaves, tells me. “Sometimes it’s more about what’s going on with you—looking at blocks or what’s helping you.” ad_intervals[‘398290_div-gpt-ad-7435403-3’] = setInterval(function () { if (ads_ready) { clearTimeout(ad_intervals[‘398290_div-gpt-ad-7435403-3’]); googletag.cmd.push(function(){googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-7435403-3’);}); } }, 100); If, like me, your only point of reference for reading tea leaves is that Harry Potter scene when Professor Trelawney freaks after seeing a bad omen in Harry’s cup—no worries. With Foisy’s help below in explaining the centuries-old method for fortune telling, you’ll likely be a tasseography pro in no time. Where did tasseography come from? When tea arrived in Europe via China in the 17th century,
Trainers say this is the one spot you should never, ever foam roll
June 11, 2019 at 12:17PM by CWC Whenever I’m feeling muscle pain or some tightness in my body, I immediately grab a foam roller and roll that sh*t out. Sore quads? I just lie them down onto the recovery tool and move it along my thigh. And the same goes for my hamstrings. And my butt. But as soon as I started trying to foam roll my lower back (sup, lower back pain?!), a trainer in my gym came up to me and said that foam rolling your lower back is actually not a good idea. Cue the record scratch. It may seem like the foam roller is the magical remedy to all muscle pain, but actually, that’s not the case. In fact, you can do more harm than good if you start rolling your lower back area. “When you think of typical foam rolling, like rolling out the calves or quads, you move up and down over that tight muscle,” says Danielle Weis, PT, physical therapist at Spring Forward Physical Therapy. “You don’t want to do that same type of rolling out with the spine. The vertebrae’s spinous prominences are bony and it can’t be really uncomfortable and irritating to roll up and down like that.” ad_intervals[‘400241_div-gpt-ad-9261280-3’] = setInterval(function () { if (ads_ready) { clearTimeout(ad_intervals[‘400241_div-gpt-ad-9261280-3’]); googletag.cmd.push(function(){googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-9261280-3’);}); } }, 100); Not only can it be kinda painful, but it can mess with your joints and lead to even more back pain, because foam rolling creates an “extension force” throughout your spine.
Trainers share their favorite (and least favorite!) gym machines
June 11, 2019 at 09:58AM by CWC Let’s face it—gym machines get a bad rap. Nowadays, people are more interested in swinging kettlebell around or heading out to a HIIT class to fire up those muscles, and it’s easy to see why. Since many machines generally isolate specific muscle groups, you’re not getting the multi-benefits that compound movements tend to allow for. Plus, form can too often be sacrificed when working with machines, which can raise the risk of injury. “Many exercisers do not know at what height the seat or handles should be set, or the proper range of motion of the exercise which can increase their risk of injury when using machines,” says Jeff Monaco, CSCS, National Education Manager at Gold’s Gym. So if you find yourself looking like a shrug emoji, get up and ask someone to show you the proper form. And even better, go into the gym with an agenda and the knowledge of which machines are worth your time and which are totally fine to skip. To help with that, we’ve polled trainers to help you navigate the gym machines and look like a pro. ad_intervals[‘399769_div-gpt-ad-9261280-3’] = setInterval(function () { if (ads_ready) { clearTimeout(ad_intervals[‘399769_div-gpt-ad-9261280-3’]); googletag.cmd.push(function(){googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-9261280-3’);}); } }, 100); The good The cable-cross: “One of my favorite machines in the gym is the Freemotion dual cable cross. This machine has two multi-angle adjustable arms and two weight stacks that can be used independently or together,” says Monaco. It’s super versatile and is easy to position the