Social Workout

Figure Skaters

Johnny Weir Does Pilates and Loves Foot Massages

In case you slept through the Olympics, or, more important, missed the recent New York magazine story, Johnny Weir is a figure skater. He's the flamboyant, "dancerly" American who wears feathers and who did not win the gold medal at Vancouver. Lagging the story just a little, Gawker.TV has today posted several home videos of campy Johnny talking about his Pilates practice, his orgasmic foot massage machine, and about how he's not getting enough action. Were these taken before or after the Games? Hard to say, just as it's hard to say they're 100% authentic. Still, figure skating junkies and South Park script writers should check them out....

Busted!

Conclusive Proof that All Men's Health Magazines are Actually the Same

A year ago we speculated that Rodale was run by robots. (How else to explain the mind-numbing repetition of articles.) Last week we noted the absurd use of random and recurring numbers as story pegs? Well, Gawker has one-upped us, pointing out in an hilarious series of posts over the last 48 hours that Men's Health is actually just running the exact same cover over and over again. Note similarities between the current Taylor Lautner issue, and the October 2007 issue above. WTF? Caught with his pants down, Men's Health editor Dave Zincenko try to explain the duplication was on purpose:

...it was not inadvertent, and it was part of overall branding strategies that we wouldn't share for magazines, books, international editions, mobile applications or anything else.

As Gawker points out, this is Palin-esque in its illogic and incoherence. We're both amused and horrified. Let the search begin: Could it only be these two issues? (No.) Can Zincenko possibly keep his job? And could Women's Health really be untainted? We're off to look....

Link Love

Drink Beetjuice, Stay Positive, and Go Yankees!

And in today’s news….ThatsFit announces Beetroot juice improves stamina and increases exercise duration…And the buzz on PopSugar is that Athleta (the preferred brand -- we hear -- of hot uptown mothers) is having a summer sale with discounts up to 70%... WebMD declares having a positive mental attitude protects you from heart disease…. And on the gratuitous celebrity sports front: Gawker  says Kate Hudson’s been spotted cheering on A-Rod at a Yankees game…. Um, now back to the health care debate.

Duking It Out

Fitness Establishment Freaks Over Time Article

Last week's Time magazine article, "Why Exercise Won't Make You Thin," has created quite a holy ruckus. Gawker expressed its doubts. New York Magazine jumped in, if only to complain that the article was a rip off of a piece they did two years ago. Then the LA Times times jumped into the action yesterday with "Hey, Time, 'Exercise won't make you thin'? What were you thinking?" wherein they dutifully cited loads of research about the importance of exercise for long term weight loss and noted that the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) takes "strong exception" to the Time article. Whammo! Take that you Time sloths!

In Summary

Annals of Cellulite

The New York Times has gone deep into the dicey cellulite question, (and Gawker has noted the attempt with cynical glee.) Here's the summary: Women get cellulite, and men don't. Not fair. The former spent $50 million in the U.S. last year to try to make it go away. They bought creams, did liposcution, and even tried products involving lasers, with names like SmoothShapes and Vela Smooth. Serious Doctors say the benefits are dubious, and that for many woman it's just a "secondary sex characteristice," like breasts and remembering birthdays. The creams give you a temporary lift by -- get this -- irritating the skin and inducing swelling, which tends to smooth things out. Here's the good news: Exercise and eating right helps alot, though, of course, "spot reduction" is a fools game.