exercise

Exercise: The Skin Impact

exerciseWhen thinking of anti-aging, we know we have to protect our skin from stressors like the sun, free radicals and pollution, but have you ever thought about protecting your skin from exercise?  Seems like an oxymoron as we're encouraged to work out for a healthy lifestyle, but according to Dr. Dennis Gross, that too, can cause premature aging.  So what's a girl to do?

"When our cardiovascular system is functioning optimally we have proper circulation, which ensures the optimum flow of blood and nutrients to the skin," explains Dr. Gross.  Exactly our thinking.  Right?  Exercise is crucial for so many reasons.

"That being said, high impact exercise, especially running, may result in fabulous legs, but it can negatively impact the skin. It has been my observation that most die-hard runners have premature lines, wrinkles, and sagging."

Wait, what? It seems we're always sacrificing somewhere.  While I hate running, the risk of aging isn't going to make me stop as it's something I need to do for my body. You with me?  One recommendation Dr. Gross has is to reduce the amount of high impact exercise or alternate your routines to incorporate both high and low impact exercise like yoga to give your skin a break from being “stressed-out.”

Dying to know what you think about this... comment below!

5 Health Inspired Apps Worth Your Time

apps, iphone, health,

We're addicted to our phones; Let's just be honest here. It's 24/7, but if we're going to be on our phones we might as well make sure we're using them wisely. Here are 5 health apps to download immediately (you're welcome).

Charity Miles

charity-miles-small-logo, charity, health, fitness, app,

The premise of this app? Simple; For every mile you run you get to donate $0.25 to the charity of your choice. What could be better than that? You get a great workout and help your favorite organizations. Some of the organizations included in this app are Feeding America, ASPCA, Habitat for Humanity, RED, Autism Speaks, and more!

Trivia Crack

Trivia_Crack_logo, brain, health, app,

Now, we're sure you've heard of this app but, if you haven't, let's review! This app is great, because it's like a mini trivia game show you get to play with your friends, which is great for you mind. You won't even notice you're getting an amazing brain workout, and really, it's just as important to workout your brain.

Lumosity

Lose It! (1), fit, fitness, health, app,

This is another great brain workout, except, this is the Insanity of brain workouts. You can download the limited version of this app for free or get the upgrade for $15 a month (and trust us, it's worth it). The best part? You can track your progress and watch as you turn from oblivious to Einstein!

Personal Zen

personal-zen-mhAV1Z0, stress, health, brain, app,

Honestly, this is one of our favorite apps. Finding zen is an important part of functioning as a human being. This app will help with relieving stress and helping you find the perfect balance in your life by focusing on helping you find the positives and releasing the negatives. You can get this peaceful app for free in the iTunes app store!

Lose It!

Lose It! (1), weight, health, fitness, app,

This is another great (free) app, and you know how much we love those! This one helps keep track of what you're eating and does the calorie counting for you, because that's the most stressful thing in the world if we're being honest. All you have to do is enter what you're eating in the database. Plus, it has bonus feature like logging your weight or allowing you to store great recipes that make it a must-have.

6 Ab Exercises, As Demonstrated in GIFs

Even though we were just counting down to the new year, guess what I'm counting again.  To my wedding you think?  Well, but no.  To Memorial Day weekend!  There are 138 days until Memorial Day, which is my bachelorette party in the Hamptons and bikini time for all of us. If a New Year's resolution wasn't enough motivation, my count down to summer may help. Here are six ab exercises (in GIFs!) that'll help you tone up before the clothes come off. 1. Let's start with basics.