September 29, 2019 at 06:00PM by CWC Stretching doesn’t always feel like a necessity. You already just pounded out a workout, and the last thing you want to do is take even more time out of your busy schedule to stretch out your muscles, too. But making it a commitment can do your body good. Especially your feet. Despite my feet (literally) carrying me around every day, allowing me to hit my 10,000-step goals without hardly any complaints, I never really give them their due for such impressive efforts. The easiest way to reward your feet for a job well done is to do some yoga foot stretches. And because it’s hard to know where to start, yoga instructor Brett Larkin of Brett Larkin Yoga came through with a 15-minute routine on YouTube featuring all of her favorite easy-to-follow foot and ankle stretches. Paired with deep-breathing, the yoga flow goes through stretches made to give your body some relief after running or doing a cardio sesh, as they target the Achilles tendon, fascia, and entire foot. Because the area is often forgotten about in recovery, even doing a few of them will quickly make you realize just how tight your feet really are and help you loosen up between workouts, whether you’re power walking or sweating it out in HIIT. So change into some comfy clothes, grab a mat, and press play on the video below. Your feet will thank you. [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2qPYMi97-hY] Want to keep on treating your feet?
Category: You and your body
I’ve tried hundreds of natural mascaras, and this is the only one that doesn’t make me look like a racoon
September 29, 2019 at 05:00PM by CWC I’ve always had a bone to pick with natural mascaras. Traditionally, every one I’d ever tried had barely done anything to my lashes (aside from making them look clumpy), and without fail would drip down my face within two hours of applying it. And let me tell you: I don’t make a particularly cute raccoon. But then, a makeup artist turned me onto Ilia Limitless Mascara ($28), and my eyelashes and I had to rethink our historic beef with the clean mascara category. Not only does it amp up my eyelashes to five times their normal size, but it manages to keep them that way all day long. It’s unclear how, exactly, it works this type of mascara magic, but it does. It’s made with all kinds of good-for-my-lashes ingredients—like shea butter and carnauba wax—that leave them conditioned, and don’t have me worrying that they’re going to dry out and flake off of my face at the end of the day. The brush lifts and separates them flawlessly, leaving no clumps in sight (which, for me, is an absolute dealbreaker in any mascara situation). And even though it doesn’t budge when I run from work to drinks to dinner to my friend’s basement comedy show near the West Side Highway, it comes off seamlessly with micellar water and a cotton pad when I’m ready for my lashes to return to their regularly scheduled, non-extended programming. My eyes also tend to be super sensitive thanks to years as
I spent a month eating only ‘ugly’ vegetables to help fight food waste
September 29, 2019 at 04:00PM by CWC I’ve always considered myself a champion of the underdog. It’s the reason why I hate the Patriots even though I know exactly nothing about football, and why Jerry Gergich is my favorite character on Parks and Rec. And, most recently, it’s why I overturned my old way of shopping for vegetables and replaced perfectly spherical apples, rod-straight cucumbers, and bright purple eggplants with their, quote, “uglier” counterparts. In an attempt to lessen the massive amount of food waste in the United States (an estimated $165 billion worth of food, which generates more than 3.3 billion tons of greenhouse gases annually and to make healthy eating more affordable for everyone—delivery services for less-than-perfect produce having been popping up right and left. “Almost half of what our nation’s farms grow is never eaten,” says Abhi Ramesh, founder and CEO of Misfits Market, one such service. “In fact, a recent study from the University of Santa Clara reported that a staggering 33 percent of U.S.-grown food is unharvested or left on the field.” There are lots of causes behind our food waste problem, including people not cooking everything they buy before it expires, restaurants and cafés over-ordering food that ends up not getting eaten, and issues with industrial processing. But one big contributing factor is our own tendency to prefer perfect-looking food. “One reason for this abundance of food waste is that mass supermarket chains have deemed misshapen, scarred, or abnormal-looking produce simply unsellable,” explains Ramesh. The ugly
Surprising signs of inflammation that most people overlook
September 29, 2019 at 02:00PM by CWC When I think of inflammation, images of swelled skin and rosy cystic acne-dotted cheeks come to mind. But our bodies are capable of producing signs of inflammation that many of us overlook. And given that inflammation is a protective response against cell injury, infection, trauma, stress and allergen exposure, according Cynthia Li, MD, board-certified internist and author of Brave New Medicine: A Doctor’s Unconventional Path to Healing Her Autoimmune Illness, keeping inflammation levels to a minimum is a great way to optimize your chances of living a long and healthy life. A new study from JAMA Pediatrics proves how important it is to think about inflammation in broader terms than, say, that recent infected paper cut. In the study, researchers from the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center tracked 106,000 healthy adolescents free of any preexisting conditions, and noted that participants who had the highest levels of inflammation early in life were at a greater risk of contracting heart disease and cancer three decades later, and dying prematurely. Researchers measured their levels of inflammation by determining their erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR)—the speed at which red blood cells settle at the bottom of the test tube. (The idea is that the quicker the cells fall, the more likely they are to be filled with dense proteins that indicate some form of inflammation). But there are far easier ways to identify inflammation that don’t necessarily require you put yourself on your family physician’s three-month waiting list.
Master your lunge form in order to drop it like it’s hot and feel your glutes burn
September 29, 2019 at 12:00PM by CWC There are a few moves everyone has in their at-home workout arsenal: the burpee (oh, the torture!), the pushup, the squat—and, of course, the lunge. “Lunges are effective, efficient, and dynamic,” says Angie Miller, master instructor for the National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM). “Lunges work multiple muscles and joints in different planes of motion, and depending on the type [or variation] of lunge, you can change the demand placed on your body,” she says. The two biggie muscle groups challenged: glutes and quads. (I found you, Ms. New Booty!) Thing is, to get the most out of any move, you have to execute it correctly. And, just because a lunge seems simple (and, really it is), doesn’t mean it’s foolproof. That’s why we asked Miller for her how-to so you can crush the lunge on the next leg day. How to do a basic lunge 1. Start with your feet pointing straight ahead, knees straight, torso long and extended, and hips facing forward. Shoulders should be down and back, ears in line with shoulders, and keep your head in a neutral position. Hands may be placed on hips. 2. Step forward with one foot. 3. Bend both knees, inhale, and lower the body to approximately 90 degrees (until your front thigh is parallel to the floor) or until you achieve a range of motion that is comfortable for your body. Your knee should not touch the floor. 4. Make sure that your
I streamed a hardcore elliptical workout—here’s why you should, too
September 29, 2019 at 12:00AM by CWC In the daily game of treadmill versus trying new things at the gym, treadmill always wins out. So despite the fact that I’ve been meaning to give an online elliptical workout a go for months, I kept putting it off. Finally, however, this weekend, I had a change of heart. I walked into the gym with one mission: To revisit the old-school cardio machine and see what it could do for my fitness game. “Who are these elliptical devotees?” I wondered to myself as I stepped onto a machine in a very crowded row. After flipping on the TV to see The Devil Wears Prada playing (a pleasant surprise), I busted out my phone to stream the NEOU Fitness elliptical workout. I’m greeted by Jane Do trainers Jacey, Dani, and Cristin, two of whom are on ellipticals to muscle through the sweat sesh with me. The workout itself is 20 minutes of “Taking it Back to the 80s,” so once the music’s cued up, I immediately start gliding with attitude. We start with a warmup, of course, which involves low intensity to get the legs and arms used to the flowing movement—and this requires lots of attention to form, helping to take the workout up a notch. While your legs are moving back and forth, your arms are pushing and pulling the handlebars, and you’re keeping your core engaged, being sure not to let your quads do all of the work. It takes
Why desert skin-care ingredients know your skin better than you do
September 28, 2019 at 11:00PM by CWC As the climate change discussion reaches a fever pitch, an awareness of changing temperatures, unpredictable environments, and survival instincts has become a constant in our lives—and promises to remain an important part of our future. In the beauty industry, this bent towards environmentalism is being reflected in organic farming, compostable packaging, non-toxic product recipes, and, as of late, a very clear uptick in ingredients harvested from plants that thrive in the harshest of conditions. Super-natural brands like Ayond, which uses its signature botanical potion derived from Spanish desert flowers in its Rock Rose Face Serum ($140), or Kypris, which sources prickly pear seed oil from the Arizona desert for all of its beauty elixirs, have gained a cult following for their formulations. Even science-focused labels like Vitabrid C12, whose new Dual Drop Serum ($65) relies on the antioxidant properties of desert rose, and Acaderma, touts a barrier booster (aptly named The Oasis, $68) that’s infused with kinkeliba from Africa’s sub-Saharan region, are tapping the trend. With bottles filled to the brim with functional botanicals, the prowess of desert plants brings up some interesting questions. Are the survival instincts of plants translating to our complexions? Can the same intelligence that allows a botanical to thrive with, say, very little water, help our own skin adapt to dehydration, pollution, or even stress? We collected research from founders, dermatologists, and facial plastic surgeons for their take on the rising concept. There’s comfort in cacti The theory
15 date night ideas for married couples to shake up the dinner-and-a-movie routine
September 28, 2019 at 10:00PM by CWC I’ve always found it kind of odd that every fairy tale ever ends with “…and then they got married and lived happily ever after.” I mean, don’t get me wrong—the setup can be great, but it’s also forever, which means sometimes the vibe is bound to shift from elated and smiley to bored and complacent—especially when it comes to date night ideas for married couples. In real life, after the figurative honeymoon period (and literal honeymoon) ends, you’re less likely to find yourself swept off your feet than with your feet kicked up, marathon-watching vintage episodes of Friends. To be clear, I’m not suggesting marriage is a bummer, but it can definitely become routine. But all that a stale routine needs is some fresh inspiration. And the good news on that front is that relationship expert Susan Winter says injecting some novelty into date night ideas for married couples shouldn’t be a tall task. All it really requires is the reintroduction of a sense of adventure and an element of play. And maybe Yelp. Adventurous date night ideas An adrenaline rush can be good for you and doesn’t need to be limited to rewatching your favorite horror flick. Again. “The adventure date is designed to break away from routine,” Winter says. “It’s not just a Friday-night movie or Saturday-night Netflix and pizza; the adventure date shakes things up. It’s a chance for each partner to expand their personal limits and interests.” Pushing past
No, really: Your belly button holds the key to a good hip stretch
September 28, 2019 at 08:00PM by CWC Anyone with a desk job asks a great deal of their hips. Apart from coffee breaks, trips to the bathroom, and the occasional out-of-office lunch, the muscles hugging your booty are accustomed to living at a 90-degree angle for eight hour days. Meaning, when it comes time to stretch them, it’s all-the-more important to take time and care. To help you do just that, Donna Flagg, a dancer and stretching instructor at Broadway Dance Center, says that you’ll need one unexpected body part to get on board: your belly button. Now, I know what you’re thinking. Belly buttons are weird, smelly, and pretty useless. All that is true, but Flagg tells me that you innie or outie has one more purpose. Namely, you can use it as a marker for getting a deeper, more complete hip flexor stretch. “What many people don’t know is that hip flexors start in the lower back and insert into the top of the femur,” says Flagg. “So, in addition to being tight and uncomfortable in the front of your hips, they can also cause lower back pain and gripping.” When you slip into a low lunge on the floor to lengthen out your hip muscles, you won’t quite reach your lower back unless you do one extra step. “It’s a super easy fix. All you have to do is suck your belly button in as hard as you can once you are in the lunge,” says the dancer.
‘I’m a derm, and here’s what you can do every day to deal with hyperpigmentation’
September 28, 2019 at 06:00PM by CWC Dealing with hyperpigmentation can be quite the battle. Whether it comes about from acne, rashes, bug bites, or a wax gone wrong, you’re left with spots on your skin that are darker than the surrounding areas. And aside from grabbing your concealer, it’s tricky to make them disappear. That is unless you have pro-advice from a dermatologist who knows exactly what your daily skincare line-up should consist of in order to say goodbye to the spots for good. According to dermatologist Keira L. Barr, MD, founder and chief wellness officer of Resilient Health Institute, there are two simple ways to combat hyperpigmentation that you should know about before getting into the fancy skincare ingredients: Avoiding the sun, which can make those dark spots worse, and making sure you’re properly dealing with air pollutants, which have been associated with hyperpigmentation. “The most important part of a skincare routine to help minimize hyperpigmentation is sun protection. Sun protection is always going to be number one,” Dr. Barr says. “Right behind sun protection as a contributing cause of hyperpigmentation is air pollution—especially if you live in a bigger city. Various air pollutants such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, volatile organic compounds, oxides, particulate matter, ozone, and cigarette smoke affect the skin. So one of the biggest parts of a skincare routine is washing your face to get the grime, dirt, and pollutants off.” Aside from wearing sunscreen year-round and never skipping out on your face washes, Barr