Happy Napping

Researcher and meditation guide Kelly Howell, known in her field as "The Brain Whisperer," has spent over 30 years studying things like mind expansion technology and brain wave frequencies with neuroscience heavyweights. But Howell's specialty is in meditation and sleep, making her the perfect expert to discuss the long lost art of napping. National creative manager of group fitness Lashaun Dale sat down with the guru to learn why we should all close our eyes for 20 minutes each day and how to make it happen.

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METCON3: Have You Tried It?

Looking for something to spice up your boring workout routine? Try a METCON3 class. John Q, an anonymous reviewer, explores the latest class Equinox has to offer. Often confused with DEFCON3, a mixture of military style conditioning, METCON3 is distinguished by its metabolic conditioning elements. This type of training works  all three types of the metabolic systems, two anaerobic and one aerobic. The anaerobic conditioning consists of short explosive movements and sustaining them for a specific amount of time, while the aerobic system is strengthened through movements that increase heart rate.

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Exercise After Injury: Why Your Bum Foot is No Reason to Quit

After getting injured recently and loafing on the couch for probablyway too long to "heal" my foot, I started to wonder what I actually should have done. So I took a look around and found an excellent bit of advice from Dr. Howard LeWine, and it is exactly what I did not do. In the article posted below, he takes you step by step through the best process to regain strength after an injury, and guess what...it does not involve taking a day off.


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You Can't Buy Fitness

A new study published in the latest Economist shows how Americans might spend money on fitness, but aren't truly investing in their health.  Among wealthy countries, we spend the most, and still have higher rates of deaths from non-communicable diseases (or health complications).  Which makes it all the more obvious that it can't be an occasional leisure activity like heading to the movies on a Saturday, it has to be a lifestyle.  No matter how much money you put into it, there won't be results until you get into it! Read the full article here:

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Your Problem Isn't Motivation

As you make our way into the New Year and attempt to stick to your New Year's resolutions, you may find that sticking to your new workout goals proves to be a challenge. Check out this article for some tips to keeping your 2013 fitness goals!

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Replacing the Happy Hour with the Sweat Party: Social Workouts Led Fitness Trends in 2012

From mud races to sweat parties to spin classes, 2012 churned out the biggest workout trend so far: group fitness classes! Experts say these social workouts improved the quality of exercise and the results gained. Thanks to help from ever-popular smart phones and strong social circles, who says going to the gym must replace spending time with friends?

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How to Fight Illness Using Food

Hippocrates once said "Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food". This simple statement is being considered more and more as people are looking towards non-medicinal treatments and preventative measures for common illnesses such as colds and flus. Find out which foods made the top ten list of foods for fighting these ailments!

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Equinox. By Terry Richardson.

Sure, Equinox can lure you with its impossibly clean smell, top-rated facilities, and some seriously intense instructors, but they make ads anyway.  And if you weren't enticed already, you will be.  For the third season in a row, Terry Richardson has created a series of ads for the luxury gym showing exactly what Equinox can do for you.  Want a stairmaster?  You've got it...click below for the entire story:

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For the Love of (Peanut) Butter by: Katie Russ

So back in my high school days I was in much better shape...I did ballet and jazz competitively and was a cheerleader.  School, practice, school, practice, competition, competition, practice...you get it.  I miss so much about being that athletic teenager; the rock hard abs, that 118 that met me on the scale, the insane amount of energy, and the fact that I could smear peanut butter on anything and everything, and the added calories were nothing if not beneficial.

So how healthy is peanut butter for non-16-year-olds who don't exercise five hours per day?  The answer is not so simple, because not all peanut butters are created equal.  One thing to remember about all peanut butters is that they are all very calorie and fat dense.  In other words, a little goes a long way so measure out how much you are eating so you know you have the right serving size.  But how do you start making distinctions?

1. Cut the additives!
Anything that is labeled "natural" or "organic" does not mean they have not put any additional sugar or oil into their product.  Peanut oil has healthy fat, but if there are added oils, they may add fat without adding nutrition.  It should go without saying that sugar does not add nutrition unless you have recently been in the hunger games arena.

2. Check your local health-food stores!
A lot of healthy grocery stores such as Fresh Market have machines which literally grind the peanut butter in front of you, so you know exactly what you are getting, it is incredibly fresh with no additives, and you can get a little at a time so that it does not spoil.

3. Cut the Carbs!
Because peanut butter already contains a decent number of carbohydrates, it is much healthier to pair it with a fruit or vegetable that also provides your body with water, vitamins, and fiber, rather than smearing it on bread or dipping pretzels.  Apples, bananas, and celery all pair well with peanut butter and provide nutrients the pb can't.

Now no healthy food plan should completely eliminate the foods you love, so of course every now and then I spread some peanut butter on a brownie, but this, sadly, is no longer my daily routine and I balance those peanut-butter-brownie days with more rigorous workout routines.  Not five hour routines, but you know, rigorous for ten years after my glory days.

Katie Russ

What's the Truth Behind "Sweating Out a Cold?"

As I'm currently suffering from a minor cold, I thought I'd research some health topics related to the common cold. Read this advice from Dr. Sugar, as he gives the truth behind the idea of "sweating out a cold." There may be better options for me yet...

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Does Drinking Extra Fluids Really Help Beat A Cold?

Does this age-old advice have any scientific backing? Find out here...

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Study: Women Exercise Less Than Men

A study by Oregon State University found women less likely than men to get the recommended amount of daily exercise. This makes women at greater risk of developing metabolic syndrome, a condition related to obesity.

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3 Massage Myths You Should Stop Repeating

Expert masseuse, Sara Cafiero, has a lot to say on the topic. Find out the truth about some massage myths.

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The Strange Relationship Between Pro Sport Leagues, Athletes, and Adderall

How does Adderall affect athletes and their performance? Should it be banned as a performance enhancer? What about athletes who need it for psycholgical purposes? There's no easy answer to this tricky issue.

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20 Top Fitness Trends For 2013

As you make your list of New Year's Resolutions, check out this slideshow of the top 20 fitness trends for 2013.

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How Does Marijuana Affect Athletic Performance and Overall Health?

This article gives some enlightening information about the effects of marijuana on physical health and athletic performance. You may be surprised with some of these facts.

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Fixing NY Medicaid

The government may alter Medicaid to include behavioral and dietary incentives. Too much governmental control?

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Why It's Easy to Get Fat and Hard to Slim Down

Losing weight may not be as simple as choosing to walk up the stairs over taking the elevator. Weight loss may be more complicated than avoiding sugary snacks, especially when some find little weight loss results even after years of healthy eating habits and exercise. Find out what makes people predisposed to storing fat in certain places.

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Holiday Fitness: Bend -- Don't Break -- Your Routine, Experts Say

Instead of cutting your workout routine completely during the holidays for that "special occasion," consider slightly mending your routine to fit your holiday schedule. This will help to avoid backtracking by decreasing the chance of gaining that extra holiday pound.

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The 44 Healthiest Companies to Work For

Check out if your company makes the list of top 44 HEALTHIEST companies to work for! Whether you are just curious, looking for a new job, or a recent graduate, this list might be worth a look! 

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FAT Chance

The state can do some things to encourage people to eat less, but not a lot. Government regulations on school food and planning fitness friendly neighborhoods are needed changes, but they won't be enough. It comes down to the choices of the individual: how and where you spend your money on health. 

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A Juicing Journey

Is juicing for you? Before you answer this question, you should first consider why you want to try this type of cleanse. If you want to detox and start fresh by making new, healthy lifestyle changes, then you are on the right track! But if you think this is a one time deal to solve all your problems, think again. Like any temporary diet, the weight and toxins will eventually come back if you resume your old eating habits. When Judith Newman experiments with a juice cleanse herself, she finds the true benefits of juice cleansing in moderation. 

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Increase Your Salary with Your Workouts!

Forget about what you can't control, stagnant wages and shaky investment markets, and focus on what you can control: your work out! After all, you might just find that the treadmill offers better financial returns than Wall Street. 

Workers who exercise regularly earn 9% higher pay on average than those who don’t, according to a study published in the June issue of the Journal of Labor Research.

Past studies have linked exercise with higher earnings, but the direction of cause and effect wasn’t clear. If gym-goers are more disciplined than their slothful coworkers, they might earn higher pay simply because they’re better workers, not because they exercise.

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Exercise and Your Body's 24 Hour Clock

Having trouble sleeping at night and staying awake during the day? A study shows your internal clock is not only impacted by getting the appropriate amount of exercise, but more importantly, WHEN you choose to exercise.

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Pull-Ups: The Female Disadvantage

It all comes down to strength, low body fat and shorter stature for both men and women. But why do men still have the advantage? Well, lets break down the pull-up: using your arm and back muscles lifts your chin to the top of the bar and you slowly lower to reset for the next one. So how do you win a pull-up test? Common sense would tell you to work those muscle groups, and maybe some cardio to decrease body fat. WRONG! A study utilizing this approach in 17 women failed. Research shows the missing ingredient: TESTOSTERONE. Due to the fact that women naturally have lower levels of testosterone than men, no amount of training will ever compare to the men's results. Hence, women are not required to fulfill the marine recruiting pull-up test.

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A Link Between Marathon Runners and Shorter Life Span

Running has always been thought of as one of the healthiest total-body exercises, but how much is too much? After researching the effects of daily long distance running on mice for four months, Dr. James O'Keefe found a pattern of increased heart damage in these mice. When the mice were released from their running regime, their hearts eventually healed. Similarly, a 30 year study on humans found that although runners as a group acquired a 10 percent lower death risk than non-runners, the group of runners who ran more than 20-25 miles per week were equally prone to the death risks of non-runners. The good news is that rest heals! By breaking up your intense work outs with a day off, you can literally save yourself!

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Extreme Obstacle Course Races Forge a Bond in Mud and Guts

You may already know that New Yorkers like to take things to the extreme, so instead of your average 5k, why not compete in a mud-covered military-style obstacle course?  The growing popularity of these types of themed and more challenging races has caught the attention of many ambitious New Yorkers.  Brooks brothers Monday through Friday, mud brothers on the weekends. 

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Could You Guess the Healthiest, Happiest City in the World? In America?

In this site you will find a global overview of Mercer 2012 Quality of Living survey and a summary of results, including key changes, within each region.  These results reflect such factors as access to medicine and healthcare, air pollution, participation in recreational activities, sports, and trends in food consumption.  You may be surprised with the results!

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Equinox President Shares Top 5 Health and Fitness Innovations

Sarah Robb O'Hagan, the first and current president of the Equinox fitness empire, has a lot to say about how physical fitness fits into our modern, technologically based culture.  In this helpful article, O'Hagan discusses her top 5 best fitness apps to help people achieve their health and fitness goals. 

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Danny Meyer Gets Into Juices?

Equinox is excited for the arrival of Creative Juice, a healthy juice bar established alongside Danny Meyer's Union Square Hospitality Group.  Find out what makes this juice bar so special, as well as which Equinox locations will be the first to add Creative Juice!

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