How to stay busy during a snow storm

All of the New York woke up to snow today. AGAIN?!? Looks like we will all be spending tonight inside. What to do? Here are a few fun ideas to keep yourself busy during the storm.

Organize your closets. How many times have you said “I’ll get to that closet this weekend”, only to find it overflowing with winter coats, scarves and boots. Using baskets and bins is a great way to organize and be able to see what you have. My favorite place to buy these is The Container Store. West Elm also has funky woven baskets. New York City is notorious for having tiny closet spaces, so I’ve become a real pro at organizing in small spaces.

Plan a fun meal and invite friends over for a snow storm party. Dust off those cook books or go online and pick an exotic or difficult meal to cook. Put everyone in charge of preparing one ingredient for the meal. Cooking can be relaxing and you will feel a sense of accomplishment when you conquer that hard recipe. And if all else fails just order in!

Give yourself an at-home body or hair treatment. Take some Coconut oil or your favorite lotion, rub it on your hands and feet, put on gloves and socks and let the hydration begin! Your hands and feet will be silky smooth. Coconut oil is also amazing for your hair. Apply to dry hair and leave on for 30 minutes. Then shampoo and condition as usual. Your hair will thank you! If you don’t have Coconut oil around, Olive oil works just as well.

Let us know what fun things you do when you’re stuck inside during a storm. Have a safe, fun and safe weekend!

by
,

Is the Gym Making You Sick?

As I was waiting to go into spin class this morning, I overheard two women talking about the cleanliness of gym towels. Where I spin, towels are provided and seem very clean, but my ears certainly perked up! One of the women said, “I have a canker sore in my mouth-do you think it could be from the towels?”. Her friend replied “I recently read something about these towels that made me very uncomfortable”. I will add that both women went ahead and used the towels in class. The towels are definitely washed and you can’t catch a canker sore. Canker sores are usually caused by a run down immune system or if you’re body is fighting something off. However, could she have caught this germ that is causing the canker sore at the gym? It is very possible and more than likely. But, the culprit is not the towel.

Germs live on surfaces as well as in the air. Here are a few easy rules to follow to keep them away!

  • Do not touch your face. Hands are dirty. They touch the door knob, the spin bike, the treadmill and the the lockers just to name a few. Hundreds of other people are touching these things too.
  • Use the hand sanitizer and wipes the gym provides-it is there for a reason.
  • Always wipe your bike handles, seat, treadmill and weights down before and after you use them
  • If you have a wound, cover it. Open cuts and scratches invite bacteria and viruses to jump on
  • Be aware of who is in your class or near you.  If they look sick or are sneezing, stay away form them
  • Do not walk barefoot. Athletes foot is rampant on locker room floors and showers. Throw a pair of flip flops in your gym bag.
  • Shower right after you’re done, do not wait to get home if you can help it. The quicker you shower the less time bacteria has to set in on you. If you use the hot tub or steam room at your gym, make sure you shower before going in them to get rid of bacteria.

Hopefully I haven’t freaked you out of going to the gym or spin class.  It is still healthier to goto the gym and be exposed to germs than not to exercise at all! We just want to give you the tools to stay healthy!

by

Fallen from grace-lies,doping and LIVESTRONG

Another hero has fallen from grace. Just this morning Lance Armstrong was stripped of another title, another medal, by the IOC. I along with millions of people am extremely disappointed and saddened by his lies and overall intent to deceive. I am also very excited to watch his interview on Oprah tonight. It is difficult for me to overlook the amazing work and charity he has done with cancer and LIVESTRONG. I want to believe there are two versions of Lance Armstrong, the ‘good’ one that is a beautiful humanitarian and the ‘complicated’ one, that fell into the machine/world of doping and black listed and threatened so many people around him. How could a man who has committed so many kind acts do something so sinister and dishonest?

What is doping exactly? Doping in sports is considered the use of any performance enhancing drug or procedure (blood transfusions) that give the athlete an unfair advantage. There are numerous types of hormones and drugs that fall under the category of doping. The following are the main ones that Lance Armstrong is being accused of taking.

EPO- increases the number of red blood cells in the athletes circulatory system.  This drug can be administered through and IV in what is called “micro-dosing”, as to not be detected during routine urine screenings.

  • Blood Transfusions-this is where the athlete’s blood is drawn and then re-infused a few hours before a race. By re-infusing blood, the red blood cells are carrying more oxygen. This helps the athlete to recover more quickly during competition. There is really no way to test for this, but many teammates testified seeing Armstrong participate in this on numerous occasions.
  • HGH- Human growth hormone is used to increase lean muscle mass, aid in weight loss, increase strength and help with recovery.
  • Cortisone- can increase recovery and is said to give a burst/high of energy.

The world will sit and wait for the interview that will set the record straight tonight. But, what is the worst part of this whole thing? The fact that he took the drugs or that he lied? And maybe we should let all athletes take enhancing drugs, at least they will all be on an equal playing field.  What are your thoughts?

 

by