Social Workout

Pay to Not Play

CVS Employee Wellness Screening: Fair or Foul?

Starting May 1st, reports the Boston Herald, CVS Caremark Corps will require all employees on its health insurance plan to submit to regular wellness screenings. Should they opt out of the screening, employees are subject to a fine of $50 per month, or $600 per year.

CVS' policy is just the latest in a series of increasinglly aggressive and controversial attempts by companies to reign in their health care costs. CVS aims to "incent our colleagues to improve their health care and manage health costs," but the move is seen by some as an invasive and punitive policy that could lead to discrimination against unhealthy or disabled workers. 

Sex Ed

More on the Pelvic Floor, the Psoas, and the Big O

Yesterday, our poll on Pilates and sex prompted healthy debate. A few key points to highlight: The general consensus suggests that exercise focus on the pelvic floor can bear very positive results for the orgasm-er; but also that those benefits do not necessarily accrue to the orgasm-ee. In any event, the discussion prompted a yoga teacher friend to email the following:

Psoas release is where it's at for the ladies.  A little something called "constructive rest" for about 10-20 minutes a day can really unlock it, and that helps everything work better.  I recommended it to one of my classes, and women were thanking me for months.  :)

Naturally, I insisted that she elaborate. Included after the jump, then, a small tutorial on "constructive rest," the importance of releasing the Psoas major muscle, and the female orgasm. 

Sacred Sweat

Does the Pope Sweat?

It's Day One of a new papal regime. This got us to thinking: What's the Pope's daily routine, and does he go to the gym? Dawn Patrolers will recall that we also covered the daily routine of the Dalai Lama. Call it the Sacred Sweat series.

It's early to know how Pope Francis will spend his days, but we do know that he will not be running any marathons. Turns out Francis is working with only one lung, having had the other removed due to dangerous teenage infection. Outgoing Benedict wasn't much of a cardio fiend, either. He limited his daily exercise to a 10 minute walk around the Apostolic Palace, but he also kept a strict and healthy schedule: Up at 5AM after six hours of sleep, a Mediterannean diet, sans alcohol, and plenty of prayer.

The public record suggests that fitness, in the conventional sense, has not been a major preoccupation of the Vatican. True, Pope Pius XII, a controversial pontiff who presided over Catholicism during World War II, used a rowing machine in his youth. By the time he was Pope, however, Pius' routine was strictly 15 minutes of "knee bends and arm flexes" timed with a gold Swiss watch.

Buns of Steal

Breakneck Ridge: Hike of Death

The Workout: 5.5 mile hike up Breakneck Ridge Mountain
Location: About an hour north of NYC, between Beacon and Cold Spring, NY
The Pass: Free hike, courtesy of Columbia University's Environmental Law Society
Money Saved: Entrance to the park is free, but I saved $22 in transportation, plus a free lunch...(though I'm sure my exorbitant law school tuition dollars indirectly paid for all this.)

There are hikes, and then there is Breakneck Ridge. This isn't your Sunday afternoon family hike. You are literally climbing up a mountain.The NY-NJ trail conference describes it like this: "Despite its relatively short length, this is generally considered to be the most strenuous hike in the East Hudson Highlands." True dat.

100 Days to Get Summer Ready… and Then Some!

I know it may seem crazy to start thinking about getting ready for summer when the thermostat hovers at around 15 degrees and the weatherman still warns of impending snow storms. However, this really IS the time to start training for a summer ready body.

New York

Day 28: Blood,Sweat’n Tears

Yes, that's the name of the class @ David Barton. And it really felt this way!!!
It was 45 min of high repetition exercises and intense cardio movements, integrated with boxing drills. It was more of a fighter training - one that makes you wanna scream when you do it, cuz it's so hard.

but it was worth it, cuz now I feel like a million bucks;)

Yoga Trends

Nude Yoga Hits...Salt Lake City?

Nude yoga is old news in New York. (There's still time to sign up for Hot Nude Yoga's summer retreat!) But it's brand new to the fair state of Utah (last seen hosting the squeaky cleanest pole dancing competition in the lower 48). The AP reports today that thanks to pioneering Utah yoga instructor John Cottrell, SLC yoga enthusiasts can now enjoy twice monthly nude classes (a reasonable start, though a far cry from NYC's daily offerings). While the classes are supposed to be all about fitness, the AP reporter who attended noted "an undeniable sexual charge...in the room, making the exercise at times painfully weird and embarrassing." Having never been, I can't comment. Though I can certainly think of something even more painfully weird and embarrasing: Hot Nude Yoga Private Yoga Lessons. Awk-ward! 

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