FitSugar

How Rihanna Got In Soldier-Worthy Shape For Battleship

Michele Foley — Thu, 17 May 2012 00:01:00 PDT

To get in shape to play Battleship's hard-hitting Petty Officer Cora Raikes, Rihanna geared up to work alongside the real-life Navy. From weapons training to boot camp, find out how the pop songstress got in shape for her big-screen debut.

Drop and give me 20: Forget what you think you know about bootcamp workouts. Rihanna's training was the real deal. She worked alongside Navy soldiers, performing drills that challenged her entire body. She describes the experience as "really intense with lots of yelling," and, of course, lots of push-ups. The goal was to get her in action-hero shape while also breaking her out of the "celebrity mindset." In order for Rihanna to really connect with her role, she needed to understand the mentality of a soldier. You can train just like Rihanna - minus all that yelling - by doing our 11 total-body bootcamp workouts.

A weighty affair: Wielding a big gun is no easy feat. Aside from a ton of weapons training, Rihanna needed serious upper-body strength to maneuver around with such a heavy arsenal. Her trainer's answer? Weighted sandbags. Working out while carrying added weight helped Rihanna prepare for running, jumping, and kicking her way across the screen with heavy artillery strapped to her chest. Feel like challenging yourself with military-style tactics? Get going on these CrossFit workouts that anyone can do, or wear a weighted vest the next time you hit the treadmill.

5 Tricks to Get the Most Out of Your Outdoor Run

Shape — Thu, 03 May 2012 04:11:45 PDT

We are pumped to share one of our fave stories from Shape here on FitSugar. This week Shape turns to celebrity trainer Jay Cardiello for some help!

The weather is getting nice and you may have been bitten by the "run bug." To make the transition from indoor runs to the great outdoors seamless and safe, I compiled a list of my top five tricks to get the most out of your outdoor run. Whether you have had some success running on the treadmill, or you are completely new to outdoor running, there are two crucial factors that you must understand.

25 Most Deceiving Exercises (They Tone More Than You Think).

First, let's talk about a little guy named Newton. See, Newton has this law that states that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. Are you with me so far? Good. Well, with runners, the concern is what we run on. The harder the surface the greater the ground reaction force, which is basically the force exerted by the ground back onto the body (in this case, our little legs) that are in contact with it, is. To simplify this, surfaces like concrete and pavement will cause a greater reaction back into our joints and legs than an energy absorbing treadmill. This not only makes us work harder, but will tire us out faster and cause greater stress on our joints.

Are Your Workouts Causing Pain? How to Find Out.

Second, the treadmill is a flat belt that provides consistency with each step. There are no stones, traffic, or inclement weather activity that would cause you to be off balance or have to change your gait. Running outdoors forces the body to make constant small adjustments. That said, here is what’s going to make your outdoor run a successful one.

5 Unique Ways to Make the Most of Your Treadmill.

Learn how to make the most out of your outdoor runs after the break!

9 Easy Tricks to Maximize Your Wardrobe

LearnVest — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 00:15:31 PDT

Despite what you think, you actually don't need more clothes. The trick is to just maximize your wardrobe. LearnVest shares how.

Whether you live for shopping the latest trends or wish you could spend every day in your favorite pair of jeans and a white t-shirt, your clothes project a message about who you are.

The great thing is that you have the power to control that message entirely - as long as what you already own isn’t standing in your way.

From having a wardrobe that’s bursting with every item of clothing you’ve had since childhood to owning a ton of pieces that you never wear (the definition of wasted money), these are the ways your closet can stop you from being the most stylish version of yourself.

To cut through the clutter and help you get the most from the items you already have, we polled everyone we know - including all of the LearnVest editors, who are definitely invested in looking their best on a budget, and one fashion expert - to come up with nine easy, inventive ways for you to make over the closet you have without spending a ton on new trends.

At least one of these strategies will dramatically change the way you feel about getting dressed in the morning.

1. Follow the Rainbow

This strategy comes courtesy of LearnVest reader Erin Greenbaum, who has used this technique for years with great success. Every day for a week, make sure that your ensemble includes an item of a certain color: week one is red, two is orange, three is yellow, etc. This will encourage you to search through your closet and actually wear the pieces that have been languishing, unloved, underneath your go-to items.

2. First In, Last Out

In her new book, You Are What You Wear, Dr. Jennifer Baumgartner says that the majority of people wear 20 percent of their closet 80 percent of the time. There are variations on this “first in, last out” wardrobe strategy, which prevent you from wearing a few pieces nonstop.

Instead of wearing the same small percentage of your closet every week, do what Assistant Editor Alden Wicker does: after wearing an outfit, she hangs it in the most remote corner of her closet, which forces her to see only pieces she hasn’t worn frequently. If she’s totally uninspired by a piece staring her right in the face, she has to decide whether to consign it or not. Another approach (which might be better if you like to organize by item type - dresses near dresses, shirts near shirts) is to hang each item inside out after you wear it (assuming you don’t have to wash it immediately). This way, you can easily see which pieces you’ve recently worn and which items you may have forgotten about.

Read on for more.

3 Steps to a More Relaxing Weekend

SavvySugar — Sat, 14 Apr 2012 00:15:43 PDT

To make Monday through Friday run more smoothly, tweak your weekend routine and take advantage of the extra free time. Saturday and Sunday tend to fly by, but if you learn to make the most of those hours, you'll be able to tackle extra tasks and set yourself up for an easier work week. Follow these three tips for a productive weekend and prepare to reap the benefits all week long:

Schedule a time slot for errands. Spend five to 10 minutes each Friday figuring out which tasks you need to check off by Sunday night. Make a list and plan to take care of them in one day so that you'll have at least one full day to have fun and fill however you'd like. Once you've finished brainstorming and marked the to-dos on your calendar, move the chores to the back of your mind and focus on enjoying your days off.
Keep up your routine. If you wake up at 6 a.m. throughout the week, don't sleep until 11 a.m. on weekends. Give your body a break and stick fairly close to your standard sleep schedule. Same goes for your diet: don't shock your body with excess food or alcohol or you'll risk getting sick. Just because it's Saturday doesn't mean you should toss your healthy habits aside, so keep your mind and body in shape by taking your vitamins, eating balanced meals, and staying hydrated.
Chill out, guilt-free. The best thing you can do to kick-start a productive work week? Relax. Use your time off to cut yourself some slack and enjoy the things you love. It's important to maintain a work-life balance, so remember to reserve at least one day each weekend to sit back and unwind.

10 Diet and Exercise Tips From Supermodels

Leta Shy — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 04:30:00 PDT

They're celebrated for their bodies, so is it any wonder that supermodels take care of their bodies? Here's how 10 healthy supermodels stay in shape, otherworldly genes aside.

Everything You Need to Know About Retirement

LearnVest — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 12:02:28 PDT

Does the topic of retirement make you scratch your head? LearnVest breaks it down for you in simple terms.

You know what’s awesome?

Retirement.

No, really. Imagine it: Waking up every day to head to your favorite yoga/art/synchronized swimming class. Catching up with friends daily. Starting (and finishing) every book or movie that catches your eye.

It’s the ultimate extended vacation, and the best part is, by the time you get there, you’ve already paid for it. You know how that happened? You started today.

No, really, today. There’s an important deadline you need to know: April 17th. This year, it’s the deadline to contribute money to a Roth or traditional IRA for 2011-in other words, if you didn’t get around to saving the maximum you could for retirement last year, you still have this window to do so. (The maximum contribution for 2011 is $5,000-unless you’re over age 50, in which case you may contribute up to $6,000.)

Now that you know that, want to make sure you’re on the right track for retirement? Don’t worry, we’ll walk you through everything you need to know, right here and now.

So go ahead, start stocking up on sketchbooks.

Your Options

To set the stage, let’s refresh our memories about the main types of retirement accounts available to us. There are three: the 401(k), the traditional IRA and the Roth IRA.

401(k)

A 401(k) is a free retirement account you can only get through an employer, and it holds money taken directly from your paycheck. Sometimes, said employer also contributes money to your retirement fund-that’s called “matching.” Traditional 401(k) plans grow tax-deferred, meaning that you’ll pay taxes when you take the money out, not when you put the money in.

Read on for more.

B. Toys' New Symphony in B Orchestra Is Music to Lil Ones' Ears

Rebecca M Gruber — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 08:36:00 PDT

Finding a really good toy can be like searching for a needle in a haystack. There are so many out there, but nothing stands out from the crowd. Luckily that wasn't the case at Toy Fair this year. One toy truly wowed me with its unique take on combining fun and music education - B. Toys' Symphony in B Orchestra ($60).
A virtual orchestra pit, the Symphony in B is preprogrammed with 15 songs and symphonies. It comes with 13 instruments that can be added one-at-a-time to the "stage" to actually create the music. So if the tuba, piano, and violin are on stage, the song sounds different from it does if the sitar, cymbals, and clarinet are there. When Gisela Voss, chief toymaker at B. Toys, introduced me to it, I was mesmerized. I couldn't stop playing around with the pieces and seeing what the different combinations would make. The question was would my LMFAO and Kidz Bop-loving boys find it as exciting as I did?

Who is this product designed for? According to B. Toys, the Symphony in B is for kids ages 3 to 13, but my 2-year old loves it! While he doesn't quite understand the music-making process, he enjoys placing the instruments in their shape-sorter-like places, as well as adding as many percussion instruments to the stage as possible. On the other hand, my 6-year-old is happily learning about the differences between woodwinds and strings.

What sets it apart? Truly, everything! I've never seen a toy that packs so much into one piece. Aside from simply teaching tots the sounds the instruments make (including some that are not typically taught in American schools like the Japanese koto and the Indian sitar), the entire device lights up to illustrate the instrument classifications such as woodwinds, brass, and strings.

Keep reading to see what could be better and if I would buy it.

Spotted on the Streets of Milan: Pointy-Toe Pumps

Marisa Tom — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 07:00:40 PST

We've been seeing this pointed look crop up on fashionable fixtures at New York Fashion Week, then in London, and now on the cobblestoned streets of Milan. Yes, it's safe to say that classic silhouettes and slick pumps are getting a fresh update for Spring 2012, by way of colorful patterns, structured shape, and sky-high heights. Aside from its ladylike pointy-toe effect, you can evoke a sportier vibe with a track-inspired pant, or a girlier feel with sheer ankle socks, or even a fierce edge with ultra-tailored separates. It's all in the way you style it against your own wardrobe that makes these pumps a serious statement piece. Click through to see how these stylish ladies - spotted out and about at Milan Fashion Week - rocked their version of the pointy-toe pump look, then shop your favorites at the end of the slideshow.

McQ by Alexander McQueen Fall 2012

Marisa Tom — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 17:01:48 PST

Tonight's McQ by Alexander McQueen lineup was a breathtaking showcase of stylized beauty and fashion fantasy. Considering this was the diffusion line's first-ever showing during London Fashion Week, we'd say the bar has been set pretty high. Immersed in dark tones, rich fabrics, and even richer embellishments (think velvet embroidered onto sheer lace), each nipped-waist dress marched out onto the leaf-ridden runway with just the right amount of retro nostalgia and tough-girl attitude. Standout pieces ranged from the super-structured outerwear and signature tartan plaid dress with sheer lace detailing to the brocade-felt skirts and chunky harness-inspired belts. If the impeccable designs alone weren't enough to move you into a state of awe, then tales of the spectacular finale certainly will. As model Kristen McMenamy took her final turn in an ivory lace gown, all went dark except for a spotlight overhead. From there, gold flecks were showered over her from above, she found a rope hidden beneath the foliage, and she pulled herself to the end of the catwalk where a dark enchanted forest awaited her. I promise, I am not making this up. High drama and poetic undertones aside, this collection was exquisite and featured all the tell-tale tailoring that we've come to revere from McQueen wares. Get the breakdown below.

Trends: Tulle ballerina skirts, nipped-waists, embellished lace and velvet, wide belts, long gloves, and super structured outerwear.
Colors: Black, crimson red, ivory, military green, and pops of colorful floral applique.
Key Piece: The nipped-waist shapes ruled, especially the final ivory lace dress.
Accessories: Chunky wide belts, opera-length gloves, fur neck wraps, and lace-up combat-style boots.
Who Would Wear It: The girl who loves a strong, yet ultrafeminine silhouette like Jessica Chastain, Rose Byrne, and Zoe Saldana.

A Shooting Star Valentine Gift

Kelly Schwarze — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 04:42:28 PST

Diamonds may be forever, but a meteorite, well, a meteorite that once flew thousands of light-years from the edges of the solar system is forever ever. The Meteorite Heart Pendant ($85) from Etsy shop ThePolkadotMagpie is made from real meteorite chunks discovered in 1967.

Composed of iron and nickel alloys, iron meteorites are believed to be made up of the core of planets that broke apart billions of years ago and traveled the universe until they one day hurtled to Earth.

The density of meteorite makes it a tough material to work with: a heavy-duty, large band saw and grinder are used to shape the hearts. Practicalities aside, the pendant is a romantic way of showing your love that you'd wander the depths of space for them, just like this shooting star.