Natural Beauty: Homemade Spinach and Honey Facial Mask

Posted on May 9, 2012 by Lucille Roberts

When it comes to rejuvenating your skin, you want to stay away from chemicals and artificial colors, which unfortunately are found in most cosmetics. We can prepare our own beauty products at home using simple ingredients. This easy formula is economical and natural.

There is a growing trend towards skincare at home, such as preparing your own exfoliate scrubs and facial masks. When experimenting with a new skin rejuvenation or hydration concoction, glossy magazines and health specialists seem to have thousands of recipes for us. Really, the best one is just what works for you. If you have dry skin, you are going to need something with more oil in it, but stay away from oils if you have oily skin.

A lot of popular facial masks are made of honey, which is used as a gentle, soothing astringent. Honey also has bee pollen, which is generally respected as an effective antioxidant and antibiotic. Some vegetables seem to have a fabulous effect on our skin. For example, spinach is full of vitamin C and contains other essential compounds, such as carotene and lutein; both help improve skin elasticity.

Here’s a recipe I tried recently.

Spinach and Honey Facial Mask

1. Ingredients

  • 4-5 medium sized spinach leaves
  • 1 Tablespoon honey
  • 2 teaspoons lemon juice

Optional: 1 teaspoon almond oil, depending on skin type and allergies. Almond oil is rich in vitamins A, B, and E and has been shown to reduce darkness under the eyes. Continue reading →

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Recap: EIF Revlon Run/Walk for Women

Posted on May 8, 2012 by Lucille Roberts

Participants gather at the start line early Saturday morning.

This past Saturday, Lucille Roberts was thrilled to be a part of the EIF Revlon Run/Walk for Women. In the month of April, many of our class instructors donated their time to teach special classes at our gyms. Members contributed a small donation to take the classes, and every single dollar was donated to the run/walk, which raises money to support research for women’s cancer.

Saturday morning’s events began in Times Square, where a huge crowd of 50,000 people gathered for the opening ceremonies. Reporters from Telemundo interviewed audience members, who shared touching stories of how their lives or the lives of loved ones had been affected by cancer.

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Then, instructors from Lucille Roberts led the crowd in a Zumba warm-up to prepare for the 5K run/walk.

Actresses Oliva Wilde and Emma Stone also spoke onstage about women among their families or friends who had been affected by cancer. And Jimmy Fallon made an energetic appearance to officially kick off the start of the run/walk as red and white confetti fell over the starting line. Continue reading →

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Dr. Emily’s Fitness Tip: How to Use a BOSU Ball

Posted on May 8, 2012 by Lucille Roberts

Have you seen a BOSU ball at the gym and wondered what it’s for? Dr. Emily explains!

 

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Contest: Enter to Win a Copy of Skin Rules by Dr. Debra Jaliman

Posted on May 7, 2012 by Lucille Roberts

Last week, we featured an interview with Dr. Debra Jaliman, author of the book Skin Rules: Trade Secrets from a Top New York Dermatologist. This week, we’re raffling off a copy of the book!

Skin Rules is a fabulous, concise guide to healthy, affordable skin care. Dr. Jaliman’s rules are simple and easy to follow. It’s perfect for summer, when we all tend to spend more time in the sun and our skin needs extra protection.

Enter to win below. Contest ends Wednesday night! We’ll announce the winner on Thursday, so be sure to check back then.

Continue reading →

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Blogger Makeover Update: Linda Vertlieb – Working Out at Home

Posted on May 4, 2012 by Lucille Roberts

Linda Vertlieb of FrugalPhillyMom.com is a Lucille Roberts “Makeover Blogger” training at Lucille Roberts Bala Cynwyd. Here’s her most recent update on her progress.

Linda demonstrates "invisible chair" move with trainer Ben.

As much as I love getting out of the house and working out at Lucille Roberts in Bala Cynwyd, being a busy mom doesn’t make it easy. It wasn’t until I started working out at Lucille Roberts that I began to look at things in my house a little differently.

For the times I was unable to make it in to the gym, I found that I could apply what I learned during my personal training sessions and in fitness classes right at home. I found that simple things that can be found in everyone’s home could offer me a great workout without any additional equipment.

Here’s what I’ll do on my busy days at home:

Steps – The Step Workouts during fitness classes make a great warm up and cardio. This also is great exercise for my lower body. Apply the same techniques on the bottom step in your home. Continue reading →

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What’s the Best Exercise for Me to Lose Weight?

Posted on May 3, 2012 by Lucille Roberts

Common question: What’s the best exercise for me to lose weight?

The answer is cardiovascular fitness. Cardiovascular fitness is one of the three angles of our fitness trilogy triangle: cardiovascular, strength, and flexibility. “Cardio” refers to the blood and oxygen both coming to and leaving from the heart muscle and the lungs; “vascular” refers to the arteries and veins through which the blood flows to get from the heart to the muscles and back. Because blood gets “tired” and needs “refreshing”, the blood travels through the lungs for this exchange–kind of going through a service station. The harder you work and start puffing air, the more you work the heart and lungs for this exchange to occur, and the more you nourish the brain and body with good oxygen. Other benefits of cardio exercise include increasing the strength and efficiency of the heart as a “pump”, so it has to beat fewer times per minute as it pushes more blood and oxygen throughout your body. This means that, over time, a person who becomes fit will have a lower heart rate than before because the heart becomes extremely efficient.

Continue reading →

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Trainer Tip: 4 Tips for Getting the Most Out of Personal Training

Posted on May 3, 2012 by Lucille Roberts

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As a member of a gym, you may be wondering whether personal training is suitable for you. Members train with a personal trainer for many reasons, such as motivation, a change of routine, discipline, etc. Here are some tips to get the most out of your training sessions.

1. You must be consistent with your workouts. This includes cardio 3-5 times per week and weight training/toning/strength training 2-4 times per week. You can do cardio the same day you do weight training, but do not exhaust your body to the point where you can’t function.

Do not work the same muscle group everyday. Rather, alternate the days. For instance, work your upper body on Monday and Wednesday and your lower body on Tuesday and Thursday. Or, do a total body workout on Monday and Wednesday, but don’t lift weights on Tuesday. Always make sure you do cardio for 5-10 minutes before starting weight training.

2. Eat a well-balanced diet. To control portions, write everything down that you eat on a daily basis. Stay away from foods high in fat, carbohydrates, and sugar.

3. Ask questions. If you have any concerns about your training, ask your personal trainer so that he or she can give you suggestions or tips to help you.

4. Apply what your trainer shows you to the workouts you do on your own. After finishing your personal training sessions, continue to eat well and exercise 3-5 times a week. Pay very close attention to the different exercises your personal trainer shows you so that you can continue with them on your own. Keep in mind that just doing one personal training session per week and not working out on your own/not taking classes will not get you the results you want. Personal training should supplement, not replace, your regular workouts.

Good luck with losing weight, toning up, and feeling better about yourself! Remember that you are #1!

Trainer Tip by Gisela Andalia, group fitness instructor and personal trainer at Lucille Roberts Jersey City.

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Dr. Emily’s Fitness Tip: Why Women Can Lift Weights Without “Bulking Up Like a Man”

Posted on May 2, 2012 by Lucille Roberts

Dr. Emily explains why women can lift weights without worrying about bulking up like a man.

 

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Recipe: 20-Minute Tofu Stir-Fry

Posted on May 2, 2012 by Lucille Roberts

This vegetarian meal is quick and easy! It makes 1 serving, and all you need is 15 minutes to prepare the ingredients and 8 to 10 minutes to cook them. It’s dinner for one in 20 minutes or less!

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Tofu Stir-Fry

Ingredients

  • 1/4 of a 1 lb. block of firm-style organic tofu
  • 2 Tbsp. soybean or sesame oil
  • 1/2 cup onions, raw and sliced
  • 1 garlic clove, chopped
  • 1/2 cup sliced mushrooms
  • 1/2 cup zucchini, chopped
  • 1/2 cup spinach, raw
  • 1 Tbsp. soy sauce (low-sodium)
  • 1 oz. water

Continue reading →

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Interview: Dr. Debra Jaliman on Skin Rules

Posted on May 1, 2012 by Lucille Roberts

This summer, many of us will be heading to the beach or to the park to soak up some sun, but it’s absolutely essential to protect our skin at the same time. In preparation for this outdoorsy season, we decided to check out Skin Rules, a new book by renowned New York dermatologist Dr. Debra Jaliman. Skin Rules is a fabulous, easy-to-use, quick read that gives 77 simple guidelines for healthy skin.

Dr. Jaliman is one of the top experts on skincare. In addition to having her own private practice, she’s an associate professor at Mt. Sinai School of Medicine. She has been featured on shows like 20/20 and Nightline, and she has been quoted in publications such as Allure, Cosmopolitan, O magazine, Vogue, and The New York Times—just to name a few!

We were fortunate enough to have the opportunity to ask Dr. Jaliman some questions about her book and her skincare expertise. Here’s what she had to say!

Lucille Roberts: Your book has 77 great skincare rules, all of which are important. But if you had to come up with a top 5 list, what would those top 5 rules be?

Debra Jaliman:

  • Rule 14. It’s the sun that ruins skin, not age. Most of what we call aging changes are really sun damage.
  • Rule 62. Tighten before you cut. I’ve had Thermage CPT radio frequency skin tightening, and it’s very effective to make you look younger.
  • Rule 24. Tanning beds and salons should be made illegal. I’ve seen too many skin cancers on young people.
  • Rule 8. Exfoliate, exfoliate, exfoliate. Even the best skin doesn’t look its best with dead skin on the surface.
  • Rule 5. Remove makeup before going to sleep. Cleansing the right way is crucial.

LR: In your book, you say you’ve never seen a case of acne that you haven’t been able to beat. That’s amazing! Is this really true? Continue reading →

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