Monday October 1, 2018

A River Runs Through It

 

HYDROW

The latest entry into the burgeoning world of high-end home fitness is the Hydrow – a rowing machine meets Peloton concept that is unlike any indoor rower you’ve ever seen. This sculptural work of art features a sleek HD touchscreen monitor that delivers an immersive outdoor rowing experience at home.

Home fitness equipment is no longer related to the basement or closet with the evolution of machines so beautifully designed they become the focal part of a room. First there was Ciclotte that redefined the indoor bicycle with its striking and unconventional design. Then came Peloton, a SoulCycle-inspired indoor cycle, that was the first to integrate a sleek, oversized tablet-like monitor to stream both live and on-demand spinning classes at home. Coming soon is the Peloton Tread, the same concept on a treadmill, as well as Tonal that expands interactive home fitness to weight lifting, and Mirror that streams yoga, Pilates, barre, cardio, and strength workouts. Both of these turn the wall mounted monitor into an object of desire.
 

CICLOTTE, MIRROR, AND PELOTON TREAD

Launching nationally for pre-order on October 2nd, Hydrow takes home fitness to the next level with an indoor rower that brings the outdoors in. Hydrow offers over 100 rowing workouts, both live and on demand, from the waters of such rivers as the Charles in Boston, the Hudson in NYC, and the Miami River. Founded by CEO and US National team coach Bruce Smith, Hydrow instructors are all elite level athletes that include three-time World Rowing Championship silver medalist, Danielle Hansen. Hydrow delivers an on-river outdoor rowing experience that engages two times more of the body’s muscles than biking or running. A 20-minute workout on the Hydrow burns over 400 calories compared to 40 minutes on bike.
Read More

 

Thursday July 26, 2018

The Custom Smoothie

 

 
How many days a week do you do cardio? How many are strength training? Do you eat meat or are you vegan? Are your goals weight loss or building muscle? How many servings of fresh fruit and vegetables do you eat daily? These are just of the few questions asked as you go through the iFit Nourish questionnaire to determine the perfect shake for you.

There are a plethora of protein powders on the market, and one size does not fit all. What works for a bodybuilder looking to bulk up, does not for a woman looking to slim down. With a blend of protein, carbs, and fat, each iFit shake packet is custom blended for your body type, fitness goals, and nutritional needs. Delivered monthly in a subscription service, most importantly the shakes are delicious too!

I make a protein shake for breakfast every morning after I work out, and look for a nutritionally dense protein powder sourced from high-quality ingredients that tastes great, blends icy smooth, and keeps me satisfied all morning long. The protein options in an iFit shake are a dairy-based whey, or a vegetable blend of brown rice, hemp and pea. As compared with a single-source protein, these help provide higher levels of amino acids for better muscle recovery and growth.

So for this cardio junkie editor, it’s Formula 33747 with 230 calories and 21g of whey protein (I find it blends better than vegetable), 35g of carbs, 9g of fiber, and 2.5g of fat. It’s loaded with calcium, folate, potassium, and other vitamins and minerals targeted to a woman my age. A shake can reveal a lot about a person. What does yours say about you?

 

Wednesday July 18, 2018

Sporty Summer Sun Savers

 

Image Map

CLICK PRODUCTS TO SHOP

Hey sun lovers… we want to make sure you’re taking care

of your skin and hair this summer! Protect, hydrate, and moisturize from head to toe with these all-natural beauty favorites.

 

ROW 1: SUPERGOOP PERFECT DAY 2-IN-1 EVERYWHERE LOTION $19. It’s a broad spectrum SPF 50 sunscreen and SPF 30 lip balm all in one handy tube. Protect your face and body with this anti-aging, anti-oxidant enriched sunscreen, with moisturizing Mint Condition Lip Shield neatly hidden inside the cap.

RINSE BATH & BODY PEPPOFIT FOOT STICK $16.95. Feet take a beating in the summer so give them some love. Triple distilled peppermint and tea tree essential oils are blended with shea butter, apricot and avocado oils for invigorating foot moisturizer in a handy stick.

BARE REPUBLIC HYDRATING AFTER SUN SPRAY MIST $12.99. This refreshing spray features cooling aloe vera and anti-inflammatory seaweed in an antioxidant blend of citrus, apricot, almond, and vanilla essential oils that calm, hydrate, and soothe sunbaked skin. Read More

 

Saturday March 10, 2018

W.O.W! Working Out With Bob Harper

 

PHOTOGRAPHS BY MICHAEL WILLIAMS 

On January 31st of last year, day 31 of my 31 Days of Fitness challenge, I worked out with Bob Harper for the grand finale. Bob is one of the most famous trainers and personalities in the fitness industry, having starred on “The Biggest Loser” for 17 seasons. The workout did not disappoint. Bob lived up to his all-star billing, pushing my body beyond what I thought it was capable of in a high intensity circuit workout that kicked my butt after 1 round. Relentless but nurturing he kept me going for 3 more — dropping my time with each round.

12 days later Bob suffered a massive heart attack on the floor of that very same gym.

Bob calls it “the heart attack heard round the world”. It was the top story on every entertainment program, morning television, and the evening news. The last thing you ever expect is for one of the world’s most famous trainers to have a heart attack. Bob had what is known as a “widow maker”, which usually has about a 6% rate of survival. He credits the doctors who happened to be at the gym that day. and the AED (defibrillator) on the premises, for saving his life. He has since said he won’t ever work out at a gym that doesn’t have one.

When Bob woke up from a coma in the hospital two days later, he had no recollection of what had happened, nor anything about that day. He confessed recently he didn’t remember our workout or how we had met, as his short term memory was affected by the heart attack. Since then, however, he has been making steady progress, documenting on social media what has been both a physical and emotional journey back to health. Confronting his mortality and the realization that despite his physical fitness he could not avoid his family history of heart disease has been extremely challenging. His mother died of a heart attack and his priorities have shifted dramatically. He doesn’t sweat the small stuff, and he doesn’t sweat the big stuff either.
Read More

 

Friday March 9, 2018

Two Trainers, Two Books, Two Friends

 

BOB HARPER & STACEY GRIFFITH

Photo by Debby Hymowitz

Super trainers Bob Harper and Stacey Griffith have been friends for over 20 years with a lot of history between them. Two of the most recognized faces in the fitness industry, they first met at Crunch Fitness in West Hollywood in 1996. Stacey was there to take Bob’s spinning class as part of the audition process to be an instructor. Crunch was looking for a new star, Stacey told the audience in a conversation between the two at the 92nd Street Y, someone to be the next “Bob Harper”. Bob jumped in aghast, “Isn’t that awful? I would have said, I don’t want to be him. I want to be me!” Stacey would get the gig, and go on to be that fitness star by being her. Bob and Stacey were recently on the 92Y stage together to talk about their new books. Stacey’s first book, Two Turns from Zero: Pushing to Higher Fitness Goals — Converting Them to Life Strength is now out in paperback; and Bob’s newest book, his fifth, The Super Carb Diet: Shed Pounds, Build Strength, Eat Real Food was published in December.

Stacey Griffith is one of the founding Senior Master Instructors at SoulCycle whose popularity helped create the boutique fitness behemoth the brand is today. With a cult-like following whose classes are sold out within moments of sign-up, she is an expert motivator and self-empowerment guru. Stacey was a featured trainer on one of Oprah Winfrey’s “Live Your Best Life” tours, teaching to audiences of more than 15,000, and now a motivational speaker as well, regularly invited to lecture at various universities and corporations. Not bad for one who admits she didn’t even go to college. Read More

 

Monday January 1, 2018

31 Days of Wellness!

 

 
Happy New Year everyone and welcome to the “31 Days of Wellness”! In years past, January 1st has commenced my 31 Days of Fitness odyssey, with SOS (aka me) sampling all the hottest workouts every day for 31 days straight. With a few nagging injuries from 2017, I decided to shift the focus this year from the outside to the inside with 31 days of the most buzzed about wellness trends, classes, and studios. Yoga, meditation, sleep, breathwork, cleanses, sensory experiences, restorative therapies, and more… it’s about looking good AND feeling good in 2018, which can only happen with that mind and body connection.

CLICK TO ENTER THE

SOS WEEK OF WELLNESS GIVEAWAY

DEADLINE TO ENTER FRIDAY, MARCH 9 AT MIDNIGHT!

 

What’s also unique this January is that the first day of the week, year, and month are all on January 1. The planets have aligned for a fresh start! So here we go…

Day 1: HOT VINYASA YOGA. With most of the country in an arctic freeze, what a perfect way to kick off our 31 Days of Wellness than with a Hot Vinyasa class — especially as I started the new year with the 9 degree NYRR Midnight Run at 12:01am this morning! Read More

 

Sunday December 10, 2017

W.O.W! Working Out With Kelly Ripa

 
KELLY RIPA, SOS EDITOR CLAUDIA LEBENTHAL, STACEY GRIFFITH
 
PHOTOGRAPHS AND VIDEOS BY DEBBY HYMOWITZ

 
From daytime television to morning television, Kelly Ripa has been making her presence known on the airwaves since 1990. We first got to know her as Hayley Vaughan on ABC’s “All My Children”, before becoming the co-host of “Live with Regis and Kelly” in 2001. Now the solo host of “Live with Kelly”, Kelly Ripa has proven she’s a force to be reckoned with and not just on the small screen. Packed into a 5’3” frame, this media powerhouse is a whole lot of muscle and endless energy, all of which I’ve witnessed plenty while riding with her over the last few years at SoulCycle.

The bubbly personality we all know and love on television is balanced by a sarcastic wit that fellow riders at SoulCycle experience on a regular basis. There is no diva here; Kelly is just a fresh-faced, funny, and approachable spin mate who didn’t hesitate to say yes when I worked up the nerve to ask if she’d be on Style of Sport. Her only request was that she didn’t have to wear any makeup. ‘How cool’, I thought, ‘How real! How Alicia Keys!’ The daily application of makeup is one part of her job that she is happy to skip when not required.
 

CLICK IMAGE ABOVE TO WATCH US IN ACTION!

 
For this installment of “WOW: Working Out With”, Kelly and I “doubled” at SoulCycle with one of our favorite instructors, Stacey Griffith — a star in her own right whose book, Two Turns from Zero, comes out this March. Anyone who rides with Stacey knows we are a tight knit group. The “double” seems to be a phenomenon unique to SoulCycle where riders just can’t get enough, taking not just one, but two classes in a row.
Read More

 

Friday December 8, 2017

Moo-ve Over, There’s a New Milk in Town!

 

 

ILLUSTRATION BY FERDINAND VAN ALPHEN

 
It used to be if you were looking for an alternative to cow’s milk, your only option was soy milk. It was the first non-dairy milk to go mainstream, popping up in grocery stores and soy lattes everywhere. Soy milk fell out of favor, however, for the digestive and allergen issues it caused some people, and rice milk became the popular alternative. Almond milk soon took its place, and has held court as the nut milk of choice for a few years.

Walk into a health food store or your local hipster coffee house these days, and you’ll find a plethora of plant-based milk alternatives, from cashew to coconut, oat to hemp, and more – each claiming to be the best alternative to the alternatives, and leaving us to wonder which one we should drinking.

Plant-based nut and grain milks vary in their macronutrient composition (protein, carbohydrate and fat), and also in the micronutrients (vitamins and minerals) they contain. Each have their pros and cons, and for many it comes down to personal preferences – taste, consistency, and dietary needs. For me, it’s which one makes my coffee the creamiest, and is the color closest to cow’s milk. The good news is on that front there are a number of options available in a barista or coffee creamer blend. Read More

 
 

BACK TO TOP