Social Workout

Scientific

Sore Muscles? Try Ginger

In a recent study, researchers at the University of Georgia showed that ginger consumption can cut exercise-induced pain by 25 percent. In the study, they plied subjects with either raw ginger, cooked ginger, or a placebo for 11 straight days. On the 8th day, they made the people do hard weight lifting that "induced moderate muscle injury." Then they assessed their pain over the next three days. The ginger-eaters: Way less pain. A few of our favorite ginger recipes after the jump.

Practical Drinking

The Lemon-Ginger-Garlic-Pepper Winter Health Savior

Here at Social Workout HQ, we all have colds. Our landlord, co-founder of Flavorpill Sascha Lewis, is among the afflicted, and while some of us are drinking nasty, chemically-flavored Theraflu, Sascha, ever the natural wellness guru, is drinking a concoction of lemon, ginger, garlic, and cayenne pepper. He's the first to admit that the brew is aggressive in flavor, but you get what you pay for it, and what you're paying for here is power passage clearing effects. Sascha got the recipe from his friend Aarona, who got it from Jena at Jena Wellness, and we're passing it along in a similar friend-to-friend fashion. To all of you currently ailing, drink up and get well soon! Full recipe after the jump.

SW-e-AT

Food-Ex Pairing: Ginger Face

What: Face

And: Ginger

How: Gently

And: In Hot Tea

Why: They Did it in the '80s

Practical Eating

In Praise of the Green Star

The Green Star Green Power Gold juicer, a "twin gear" machine of sheer power, is the Sub Zero of extractors/food processors. It may seem nuts to spend upwards of $500 on a counter-top appliance in this economic climate, but, well, you might think of the purchase as a capital acquisition. Raw foodies are fanatical about the machine because it extracts the absolute maximum of nutrients from every lemon, apple, or kale it encounters. It's not a starter juicer, but if you're already splurging on $7 drinks at your local health food store, think about it.

And I would burn 500 hundred calories...

...and I would burn 500 more!

I'm making up for an easy weekend of pillow fighting, push ups, bartending and jogging by hitting the gym hard this week. I still don't know if the numbers on the treadmill/ellipticals are accurate, but last night I burned about 1100 calories in my first hour alone.

New York