What Did We Learn This Month?: Women's Health
Women's Health magazine: September 2010
Women's Health Cover Model:
Brooklyn Decker who just so happens to be married to hot tennis ace Andy Roddick and splits her time between their homes in Austin and yes--Brooklyn. (The DUMBO neighborhood from what I hear--very cool!).
Brooklyn graces both the front and back cover with the September issue as this is Women's Health's "Fall Style Guide" and whom better to show off the latest trends than one of the hottest models in the biz? Here is Brooklyn's back cover:
The "Curvy" Model:
Brooklyn is 5'10" and a perfect size-4 which makes her "curvy" in the modeling world. This fact is giving me a major case of the sads. :(
But Brooklyn has the good sense to not starve herself in order to fit into the glamazon world of high fashion and use her perfect curves to her advantage. After rejecting extreme diets and embracing her shape; she quickly became one of the most in-demand models on the market.
The blond bombshell, who is also beginning an acting career, stays fit by mixing it up with cardio, ab moves and weight training. This September, Brooklyn is releasing a series of fitness DVDs under the title of Make Better where she will offer diet and fitness advice. (Can she teach me how to bag a hot tennis pro?)
In case you are wondering, Brooklyn follows a pretty strict but sound diet, rarely drinks, does not smoke and will allow herself an occasional treat to satisfy her sweet tooth. So in other words, she is beyond sensible when it comes to taking care of herself.
But enough about the cover model--what else is there to find in Women's Health this month?
Also in the September Women's Health:
"Saved by the Bell"
In the past I have already talked about my new interest in kettlebell workouts and the September issue features a pretty cool routine created by Sean Armstead of "Phenomenal Fitness" in Chicago. Did you know that you can burn up to 300 calories in 20 minutes using kettlebells? Now you do. You're welcome!
You can see some of those moves here:
"Boozing Vs. Losing":
When it comes to alcohol, my consumption lies somewhere between Brooklyn Decker's (seldom imbibing) and TV host Chelsea Handler (who titled her first book Are You There Vodka? It's Me, Chelsea.) As far as I am concerned--I never drive and I make sure to sip water while enjoying my vino so I am not harming myself or anyone else.
Women's Health offers advice on how to cut back on the calories when boozing it up with this handy "Drink This, Not That" section. You can also buy the book "Drink This, Not That" here.
"What Men Think"
Women's Health has the good manners to go and feature True Blood cutie pie; Joe Manganiello. All I can say is, yes please!
I tried reading his interview but kept being distracted by his beautiful face. Wowza! This is a good-looking man people!
Anyhoo, our pal Joe is kind of old-fashioned when it comes to dating and relationships. For example: he thinks "real men" pick up the tab when dating, women should notice if a guy will wait to have sex as it shows he is interested though I would argue it might show he is gay, (Maybe that is why I am still single? hmm), and that breaking up should only take place in person. (No e-mail and text dumping please!) This page is a winner.
Fry Fat On the Mat:
Love this! From the upcoming Slim Calm Sexy Yoga: 210 Proven Yoga Moves for Mind/Body Bliss by Women's Health Contributor Tara Stiles (who is also Brooklyn Decker's personal instructor!) we get a few awesome poses to try out and torch some calories on the yoga mat. If you don't think yoga can be a butt-kicking workout--just go through a few of these poses and see how much you will sweat. Body weight is the toughest amount of weight to work with--trust me.
Heal After Haiti:
If you ever want to know what courage, grace and an indomitable spirit look like--I give you Christa Brelsford.
When I find myself complaining about dumb, inconsequential things that bother me-- from now on I am going to remember Christa. Last winter when the 7.0 magnitude earthquake hit Haiti the 25-year old graduate student was there volunteering for "Heads Together Haiti" (a literacy and environmental organization) along with her brother Julian. Good deeds come naturally to Christa who was raised as a Quaker in Alaska.
When the earthquake hit on January 12th, Christa and her brother were inside a friend's house that crumbled into itself leaving her trapped under a concrete slab. Her right leg was crushed under the pressure and though she was flown to Miami for emergency surgery the damage was already done and her leg was amputated form the shin down 48 hours later.
While this would be a tough slog for anyone, Christa was an outdoors chick who liked nothing more than mountain climbing on her down time.
As worried as she was about her future, she worried more about the reaction from her boyfriend Ethan. Being an awesome kind of guy he proposed as soon as he saw her. They now live in Arizona and Christa is back to mountain climbing and ice climbing and letting nothing stand in her way from achieving her goals. Yeah Christa!
Oh, and she also created a charity to help fund a school she helped design that serves children in Haiti who had lost their previous classroom to the earthquake. You can help her out by visiting her website at www.christasanagels.org. Do it! Thanks for writing about this Women's Health!
And now for something completely different...
"Have You Met Your Vagina?"
I did not make up that sentence. Women's Health jotted down that title down for a story about the wonders of your girly bits. Yes, they sure did. Now by all counts this should therefore be a cheesy "love your privates just because" story but I have to say it was actually enjoyable and informative so thank you Women's Health health editors!
And along with their usual excellent photography you will find this picture accompanying the story which when reading on the subway I noticed made one dude go completely red-faced when he saw it! Ha!
By the way Women's Health, I noticed you had another article (for home hair-coloring) which could have worked for the above story as well: "Think Inside the Box'-- Get it? Thank you! I will be here all week! Tip your waitresses!
And finally I bring you this:
A recipe for "Individual Pizzas with Gruyere, Caramelized Onions & Apples"--nom nom! We are taking 648 calories for a whole pie but of course are talking about sharing this right? Right?
What Else is in the September Women's Health?:
- "The Bad Girl's Guide to Good Health": Sometimes I can be a big cranky cow. (Shock!) But here's the thing-- letting off steam is a good thing. And its not so terrible to be bit sloppy sometimes and ignore the hamper that needs to be emptied. And what is the big deal about drinking coffee anyway? All that's to say that Women's Health is cool enough to tell you when your supposed "bad" habits can be of use. Wee!
- "Don't Sweat It": I hate sweating. Despise it. Even when I teach--a little is okay but a lot makes me go "blech!" Get the skinny on sweating and the latest treatments available for dialing it down to a less sauna-like level.
- "Take Back Your Weekends": Boy do I need this. As I am typing this, today is Sunday and I have been at my desk most of the afternoon. Tips to really learn to chill out on Saturday and Sunday. (And how to tell the Sunday-evening blues to piss off!)
- "Shake the Habit": Excellent tips for decreasing salt usage. (Wish my grandma were alive so I could pass this along to her. She dumped salt on everything.)
- "Eat Health in a Hurry": Awesome, fast recipes from the brains behind The South Beach Diet-- Dr. Arthur Agatston. When it stops being hotter than hell in my apartment I will try out the Asparagus Bisque recipe. Totally has the potential to be a "nom nom" favorite!
And Finally, The Fall Fashion Guide:
Lots of pages devoted to the fall trends we should all follow this season and most of them I really liked but I must say this particular one left me a little cold. Way too much denim and not enough cute stuff to support the story. See for yourself:
Polish, pumps, Uniqlo shirt and chair yes. Clogs and 80s "kind of acid-wash" skirt from Surface to Air -not so much.
But that is really the only big "wrong" I could find with this issue. Mostly it's a fun, informative read and I will keep it on hand rather than recycle so that is saying something--yes?
Overall Grade:
A!
Nicely done with tons of beauty, health, fitness, fashion and human interest stories to keep me interested. Keep it up Women's Health! See you in October!
ox ox,
Brooklyn Fit Chick
(BFC)
<script type="text/javascript">
var _gaq = _gaq || [];
_gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-20751029-1']);
_gaq.push(['_trackPageview']);
(function() {
var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true;
ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js';
var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s);
})();
</script>
