Fitness Archive
While we can’t always recall where we’ve put our keys, we’re not so sure we’d like the ability to remember every single moment of our lives — the horrible ones as well as the great ones — in perfect detail. A handful of people, including actress Marilu Henner, has this rare ability, called hyperthymesia, or superior autobiographical memory. This TV season, fiction follows fact in the CBS drama Unforgettable, premiering tonight and starring Without a Trace’s Poppy Montgomery. Her character, Carrie Wells, had a breakdown nine years before and quit her police job, but she’s coaxed back to the force after using her unusual gift to help her ex (Dylan Walsh) solve the murder of a neighbor.
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When we heard Bethenny Frankel was coming out with her new Skinnygirl workout DVD, we were eager to get a glimpse at her recipe for staying in shape. Frankel — of reality TV notoriety as one of the original cast members of The Real Housewives of New York City and her own spin-off Bethenny Ever After — is known for her sassy attitude and fabulous figure, even post-baby. In Bethenny’s Skinnygirl Workout ($12.99, exclusively at Target), Frankel and New York-based yoga instructor Mike McArdle lead you through three 15- to 20-minute yoga routines, each a complete head-to-toe workout.
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We’ve practiced yoga in some of New York City’s most bustling places: Solstice in Times Square, Yoga on the Great Lawn and, most recently, Salutation Nation in Central Park. But we were impressed with the concentration and serenity displayed by yoga power couple Rodney Yee and Colleen Saidman Yee and the 20 yogis in the Barclay’s Capital Grove at Lincoln Center during the unveiling of the LI-NING X Vivienne Tam Fashion Yoga Collection at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week. Tam teamed up with former Chinese Olympic gymnast Li Ning’s sportswear company to create the line of eco-friendly, fashionable and functional yogawear for women.
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In the July/August issue of VIVmag, we shared “The Right Spa for a Big Moment” for five of life’s biggest ups and downs, from celebrating a big anniversary to regrouping after a personal tragedy. Now through Sept. 11, Spa Week Daily, the official blog of Spa Week, and Joy Bauer, M.S., R.D., nutrition expert for the Today show, are offering the chance to win a six-night lifestyle makeover package for a winner and guest at the Biggest Loser Resort at Fitness Ridge in Malibu, CA, with the Fast Track to Health Giveaway. Geared towards healthier living, those who stay at the resort get a head start on weight-loss goals.
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When you are invited to climb a mountain with Ellen Miller, the first American woman to summit Mount Everest from both the north and the south sides, you go. That’s how we found ourselves standing in the lobby of The Vitality Center at the Vail Mountain Lodge & Spa at 6:30 am one recent morning. As we surveyed our seven incredibly fit companions gathered for the 60-minute Mountain Divas interval training class, we rethought the cocktails, duck confit dumplings and molten chocolate cake we’d consumed at Terra Bistro the previous evening and let everyone within earshot know that we were not yet acclimated to the Colorado altitude.
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We joined ubiquitous celeb trainer Bob Harper, who can be seen on Season 12 of NBC’s The Biggest Loser when it premieres Sept. 20, for a seaside workout recently outside the swanky Casa del Mar hotel in Santa Monica. The Los Angeles-based Harper led the strenuous partner fitness demo for female bloggesses to call attention to health insurer Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield’s new Health Footprint campaign — a RealAge-style health assessment that weights your social-media clout heavily in its scoring. (We, for example, beat our workout buddy by 5,000 points, due no doubt to our multitudinous Facebook friends. You don’t have to be an Anthem member to use the calculator: You can see how you score on the company’s website.
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When we hear about celebrities with their teams of trainers, nutritionists and health professionals, we often wish we too had an entourage pushing, polishing and pampering us so we look and feel our best. Now with Zeel.com, it’s possible to access a network of experts who can help us do just that. And to help VIVmag readers get started, Zeel is offering a special $25 credit through the end of the year!
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Perusing local vegetables, fruits and herbs at farmers markets is one of our favorite summer activities. Often, we get to meet the farmers and better understand where our food is coming from, and we love that less fuel is used to transport local products. We can conserve even more fuel by participating in an organized bike tour to a local farmers market—or in some cases, to several markets within an area. As National Farmers Market Week draws to a close Aug.13, here’s a look at bike tour options around the country.
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At age 73, Jane Fonda is experiencing what she calls her Act III. Having had several careers (actor, activist, fitness guru) and marriages (to Roger Vadim, Tom Hayden and Ted Turner) and children (Vanessa and Troy), Fonda, now a grandmother, finds that “I am beginning to become who I was meant to be all along.” In her new book published today, Prime Time: Love Health Sex Fitness Friendship Spirit — Making the most of all of your life (Random House 2011), Fonda shines a light on this phase of life, combining her own stories with insight and advice — from longevity experts, medical doctors, Zen practitioners and older women and men — about how this third act can be positive and meaningful.
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Visiting a luxury spa at any time is a heavenly treat. But we find attending a special weeklong program that caters to a particular interest makes our stay even more meaningful and rewarding. At the original Golden Door Spa, for instance, located in the rolling hills of Southern California near San Diego, visitors can choose from several upcoming special programs. Anya Ushakova-Crain will guide participants to finding and expressing what is in their hearts during the Writing from the Soul program from July 31 to August 7. Water Week from August 28 to September 4 includes swim lessons, a chance to improve your stroke technique and/or daily Olympic-style water workouts.
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