Check Out These Free(!) Fitness Classes at Nike, Lululemon, and More

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The rising popularity of boutique fitness studios (think Pure Barre and Orange Theory) has us all itching to discover fresh and fun ways to work out . The problem though, is that boutique studios tend to charge a pretty penny. A single class can set you back more than 30 bucks; and many yoga studios have drop-in fees around $20. But you don’t need to spend a fortune to score a great sweat sesh. Some of our favorite brands—from Lululemon to Nike—are offering free fitness classes in-stores and online, so you can breathe new life into your usual routine for no cost at all.

Lululemon Athletica

Since the company opened its first store in 1998, it has grown from a yoga-based brand to one that caters to all sorts of active pursuits. But in keeping with Lululemon‘s core mission, locations across the country offer complimentary in-store yoga classes. The stores partner with local studios that send in a certified instructor each week to teach an open-level class. And many locations collaborate with other types of fitness studios too, so they can offer additional classes. Some stores even facilitate a weekly run club.

RELATED: A 5-Minute Yoga Routine for Strong, Slim Arms

Sweaty Betty

Sweaty Betty’s #GetFit4Free community initiative includes in-store classes in select locations, as well as online videos of classes, including boxing, HIIT, barre, even boutique classes like Barry’s Bootcamp and Body by Simon—so you can do these super-intense workouts right in your living room, for free! Check out the offerings on Sweaty Betty’s YouTube channel too.

Nike

What can’t Nike do? In addition to providing us with some of our favorite high-performance gear, the brand also makes fitness accessible to anyone willing to put in the sweat. Most major cities across the country have a Nike+ Run Club, which offers a series of workouts aimed to help improve your running game, whether you’re a newbie or a seasoned athlete. Expert coaches and pacers teach classes for speed training, long runs, HIIT, full-body workouts, and more. Be sure to also download the free app Nike+ Training Club to access workouts you can do anywhere.

RELATED: 15 Running Tips You Need to Know

The North Face

If you gravitate toward more outdoorsy activities (say, hiking, climbing, or running) head to The North Face for their Mountain Athletics Training programs. The free sessions are held twice a week in Washington, D.C., Boston, Chicago, New York, and San Francisco at 6:30 p.m.—rain or shine. They are designed to get you closer to your goal, whether that’s building endurance, becoming a stronger skier, or summiting a 14er.

R.E.I.

Much like The North Face, R.E.I. offers programs designed to facilitate your adventures in your activity of choice, from paddling and cycling to climbing and snow sports. You can search by location or activity to find free classes, outings, and events run by experts.

RELATED: 11 Fitness Foods to Help You Get in Shape Faster

Athleta

The brand’s flagship location in New York City has a full schedule of free classes every day from 9 a.m. until the evening; and Athleta stores nationwide offer free classes—such as yoga, Core Fusion, and pilates—on weekends. Use the Athleta store locator to look up retailers and class schedules near you.

November Project

It’s not a retail brand, but the November Project is an incredible resource for people looking to get fit and join a community—all for free. It is a worldwide movement that holds members accountable for sticking to their outdoor workouts (no matter the weather). Currently, there are 21 groups in the U.S. All you have to do is find the nearest one and show up! “We welcome everyone and anyone regardless of age or fitness level,” the site explains. “Our members range from professional athletes and Olympians to recent couch potatoes that decided to do something about their fitness.”

RELATED: This is the Best HIIT Workout, According to Science

Your local running store

Many local shops organize weekly group runs and cross-training workouts that you can attend at no cost. One of the bigger networks of running stores, the Running Specialty Group, offers various events. Check to see if there is a store in your area and stop by to find out what they’re up to.

 

 

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FDA Issues Warning on Essure Birth Control Device

Guys, Want to Be a Leader? Muscle Up

WEDNESDAY, March 2, 2016 (HealthDay News) — A muscular physique can improve a man’s image as a potential leader, but only if he doesn’t come across as a bully, a new study suggests.

The researchers asked men and women to rate people’s status and leadership qualities based on photographs. The study participants overwhelmingly tied physical strength in men with higher status and leadership. Physical strength wasn’t linked with status or leadership for women, however.

“The physically strong men in the pictures were given higher status because they are perceived as leaders,” said study co-author Cameron Anderson, a professor of management at the University of California, Berkeley.

“Our findings are consistent with a lot of real examples of strong men in positions of power,” Anderson said in a university news release.

However, the study authors added that the findings don’t necessarily mean that less physically imposing men are at a disadvantage.

“Perceived strength does give people an advantage but it’s not make or break. If you’re behaving in ways that demonstrate you are a leader or are not a leader, strength doesn’t matter,” Anderson said.

The researchers also found that strong people don’t succeed by bullying their rivals.

“Strong men who were perceived as being likely to behave aggressively toward other group members were actually granted less status than their apparently gentler counterparts,” study co-author Aaron Lukaszewski, an assistant professor at Oklahoma State University, said in the news release.

The study was published online recently in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.

More information

The U.S. Small Business Administration has more about being a leader.

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Guys, Want to Be a Leader? Muscle Up

WEDNESDAY, March 2, 2016 (HealthDay News) — A muscular physique can improve a man’s image as a potential leader, but only if he doesn’t come across as a bully, a new study suggests.

The researchers asked men and women to rate people’s status and leadership qualities based on photographs. The study participants overwhelmingly tied physical strength in men with higher status and leadership. Physical strength wasn’t linked with status or leadership for women, however.

“The physically strong men in the pictures were given higher status because they are perceived as leaders,” said study co-author Cameron Anderson, a professor of management at the University of California, Berkeley.

“Our findings are consistent with a lot of real examples of strong men in positions of power,” Anderson said in a university news release.

However, the study authors added that the findings don’t necessarily mean that less physically imposing men are at a disadvantage.

“Perceived strength does give people an advantage but it’s not make or break. If you’re behaving in ways that demonstrate you are a leader or are not a leader, strength doesn’t matter,” Anderson said.

The researchers also found that strong people don’t succeed by bullying their rivals.

“Strong men who were perceived as being likely to behave aggressively toward other group members were actually granted less status than their apparently gentler counterparts,” study co-author Aaron Lukaszewski, an assistant professor at Oklahoma State University, said in the news release.

The study was published online recently in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.

More information

The U.S. Small Business Administration has more about being a leader.

---

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Smartphone Blood-Pressure ‘App’ Often Wrong, Study Finds

By Dennis Thompson
HealthDay Reporter

WEDNESDAY, March 2, 2016 (HealthDay News) — A popular “app” that uses your smartphone to check your blood pressure is inaccurate, missing high blood pressure readings in four out of every five patients tested, researchers report.

Instant Blood Pressure promises to provide an estimated blood pressure reading if users place their smartphone on the left side of their chest while placing their index finger on the phone’s camera, said lead researcher Dr. Timothy Plante, an internist with Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore.

But close to 80 percent of people with clinically high blood pressure, defined as 140/90, showed normal blood pressure with the app, his team found.

“If someone with high blood pressure is using Instant Blood Pressure to follow their blood pressure at home, more times than not it’s going to tell them they’re fine,” Plante said.

The $4.99 app is no longer for sale on the iPhone App Store or Google Play, Plante said. However, several copy-cat apps are still available, he and his colleagues noted.

Between its release in June 2014 and its removal in July 2015, the app spent 156 days as one of the 50 best-selling iPhone apps, with at least 950 copies sold each of these days, the study authors said.

“It outsold Angry Birds on a few of those days,” Plante said. “This (was) a big seller.”

Untreated high blood pressure can lead to heart disease, stroke, kidney damage and a wide array of other health problems, Plante said.

Because of these potential harms, “we thought someone really needs to validate this,” Plante said.

The researchers recruited 85 adult volunteers in Johns Hopkins clinics, and twice measured their blood pressure using the Instant Blood Pressure app and a standard inflatable blood pressure cuff.

The investigators found that, on average, the app was 12 points off for systolic, the top number in a blood pressure reading, and 10 points off for diastolic, the bottom number. Systolic represents pressure when the heart is beating, and diastolic the pressure between beats.

Those results are “not good enough,” said American Heart Association past president Dr. Clyde Yancy.

“We understand that when we’re measuring blood pressure, the numbers do matter, and we can’t be off by plus or minus 5 or plus or minus 7,” said Yancy, chief of cardiology at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration in February 2015 issued new guidelines on the regulation of mobile medical apps, months after Instant Blood Pressure went on sale.

In these guidelines, the FDA said it would regulate any app intended to transform a smartphone or tablet into a regulated medical device — such as a blood pressure monitor.

“Instant Blood Pressure probably should have gotten FDA approval before it was released,” had the guidelines been in place, Plante said.

Yancy said doctors have relied on inflatable cuffs to test blood pressure for decades, and he added that a more user-friendly method would be a welcome medical advance.

But the stakes are too high to accept such inaccurate blood pressure readings, given the results of recent clinical trials, Yancy said.

“Based on the results of significant research, we understand that — particularly in high-risk individuals — being able to adequately control blood pressure saves lives,” he said.

The developer of Instant Blood Pressure, a company called AuraLife, did not respond to a request for comment. Neither did Apple or Google.

A warning across the top of the Instant Blood Pressure website says: “Do not rely on Instant Blood Pressure for medical advice or diagnosis. It is not a replacement or substitute for a cuff or other blood pressure monitor.”

The website further states that Instant Blood Pressure is “for recreational use only.”

Those warnings are well and good, but the [study] authors’ concern over misuse of the app is “realistic,” said Dr. Michael Grosso, medical director and chief medical officer of Northwell Health’s Huntington Hospital in Huntington, N.Y.

“The high-tech appearance of the app’s display will mean that all but the most discerning consumers might treat its results as accurate and actionable,” Grosso said.

Plante said he is unsure whether an app like this can be recalled, once it has been downloaded to a person’s computer or smartphone.

“We just need to get the word out, that things like this exist and there’s a potential for harm,” he said.

Results of the study, published online March 2 in JAMA Internal Medicine, were presented Wednesday at a meeting of the American Heart Association in Phoenix.

More information

For more on mobile medical apps, visit the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

---

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Smartphone Blood-Pressure ‘App’ Often Wrong, Study Finds

By Dennis Thompson
HealthDay Reporter

WEDNESDAY, March 2, 2016 (HealthDay News) — A popular “app” that uses your smartphone to check your blood pressure is inaccurate, missing high blood pressure readings in four out of every five patients tested, researchers report.

Instant Blood Pressure promises to provide an estimated blood pressure reading if users place their smartphone on the left side of their chest while placing their index finger on the phone’s camera, said lead researcher Dr. Timothy Plante, an internist with Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore.

But close to 80 percent of people with clinically high blood pressure, defined as 140/90, showed normal blood pressure with the app, his team found.

“If someone with high blood pressure is using Instant Blood Pressure to follow their blood pressure at home, more times than not it’s going to tell them they’re fine,” Plante said.

The $4.99 app is no longer for sale on the iPhone App Store or Google Play, Plante said. However, several copy-cat apps are still available, he and his colleagues noted.

Between its release in June 2014 and its removal in July 2015, the app spent 156 days as one of the 50 best-selling iPhone apps, with at least 950 copies sold each of these days, the study authors said.

“It outsold Angry Birds on a few of those days,” Plante said. “This (was) a big seller.”

Untreated high blood pressure can lead to heart disease, stroke, kidney damage and a wide array of other health problems, Plante said.

Because of these potential harms, “we thought someone really needs to validate this,” Plante said.

The researchers recruited 85 adult volunteers in Johns Hopkins clinics, and twice measured their blood pressure using the Instant Blood Pressure app and a standard inflatable blood pressure cuff.

The investigators found that, on average, the app was 12 points off for systolic, the top number in a blood pressure reading, and 10 points off for diastolic, the bottom number. Systolic represents pressure when the heart is beating, and diastolic the pressure between beats.

Those results are “not good enough,” said American Heart Association past president Dr. Clyde Yancy.

“We understand that when we’re measuring blood pressure, the numbers do matter, and we can’t be off by plus or minus 5 or plus or minus 7,” said Yancy, chief of cardiology at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration in February 2015 issued new guidelines on the regulation of mobile medical apps, months after Instant Blood Pressure went on sale.

In these guidelines, the FDA said it would regulate any app intended to transform a smartphone or tablet into a regulated medical device — such as a blood pressure monitor.

“Instant Blood Pressure probably should have gotten FDA approval before it was released,” had the guidelines been in place, Plante said.

Yancy said doctors have relied on inflatable cuffs to test blood pressure for decades, and he added that a more user-friendly method would be a welcome medical advance.

But the stakes are too high to accept such inaccurate blood pressure readings, given the results of recent clinical trials, Yancy said.

“Based on the results of significant research, we understand that — particularly in high-risk individuals — being able to adequately control blood pressure saves lives,” he said.

The developer of Instant Blood Pressure, a company called AuraLife, did not respond to a request for comment. Neither did Apple or Google.

A warning across the top of the Instant Blood Pressure website says: “Do not rely on Instant Blood Pressure for medical advice or diagnosis. It is not a replacement or substitute for a cuff or other blood pressure monitor.”

The website further states that Instant Blood Pressure is “for recreational use only.”

Those warnings are well and good, but the [study] authors’ concern over misuse of the app is “realistic,” said Dr. Michael Grosso, medical director and chief medical officer of Northwell Health’s Huntington Hospital in Huntington, N.Y.

“The high-tech appearance of the app’s display will mean that all but the most discerning consumers might treat its results as accurate and actionable,” Grosso said.

Plante said he is unsure whether an app like this can be recalled, once it has been downloaded to a person’s computer or smartphone.

“We just need to get the word out, that things like this exist and there’s a potential for harm,” he said.

Results of the study, published online March 2 in JAMA Internal Medicine, were presented Wednesday at a meeting of the American Heart Association in Phoenix.

More information

For more on mobile medical apps, visit the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

---

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Target’s #NoFOMO Campaign Is All the Swimsuit Confidence You Need

If you’ve ever had fear of missing out (or FOMO as the kids like to say), then that means you are a human being just like the rest of us. It’s hard not to push aside feelings of insecurity to do something you really want to do, like, say, hit the beach even when you’re not feeling very swimsuit model-y. But Target’s new swim campaign is all about the #NoFOMO, because they want every single body to feel comfy looking cute in a suit.

RELATED: A Burn Survivor’s Makeup Tutorials Inspire Way Beyond Outer Beauty

By now you’ve probably spotted some of your favorite bloggers rocking adorable bathing suits (both bikinis and one-pieces) in both year-round warm locales and even in the snow (that’s #brave) on Instagram using the hashtag #NoFOMO.

As you can see, even Barbie and her girl squad is getting in on the action, so the bloggers featured are in very good company.

RELATED: #PrettyLipsPeriod Is Keeping the Beauty Diversity Conversation Going

It’s all part of Target’s to abolish #FOMO from your vocabulary this summer, promoting their stylish, flattering and impossible-not-to-feel-good cuts available in sizes 2 through 22. Because the most stylish accessory you can rock is your confidence…and that doesn’t fit in a beach bag.

This article originally appeared on MIMIchatter.com.

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Steroid Shot for Hip Pain May Carry Infection Risk If Too Close to Surgery

WEDNESDAY, March 2, 2016 (HealthDay News) — Patients who’ve received a steroid injection for hip pain should wait at least three months before having hip replacement surgery, a new study suggests.

“The risk of developing an infection after surgery increased significantly in patients who had a hip replacement within three months of receiving a steroid injection,” study author Dr. William Schairer, from the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City, said in a hospital news release. “However, in patients who had a steroid injection and then waited three months or longer to have the surgery, there was no increased risk at all.”

Steroid injections are widely used to ease pain and inflammation associated with arthritis. These injections can weaken the immune system, which could increase infection risk, the researchers explained.

“Hip replacement is a common and safe procedure that relieves pain and improves quality of life, and overall, the risk of developing a joint infection is low,” said senior study author Dr. Seth Jerabek, an orthopedic surgeon at Hospital for Special Surgery.

“Although the risk is low, an infection is one of the most dreaded complications of joint replacement. Patients often need to undergo additional surgery, receive intravenous antibiotic treatment, and are off their feet during a lengthy recovery,” Jerabek said.

For the study, the researchers analyzed the records of 177,000 patients who underwent hip replacement surgery for osteoarthritis between 2005 and 2012.

After identifying those who received steroid injections before surgery, the researchers divided the patients into one of four groups: those who did not receive a steroid injection, those who had hip replacement surgery six to 12 months after a steroid injection, those who had surgery three to six months after receiving the injection, and those who had surgery within three months of an injection.

The infection rate was 2.06 percent among the patients who never received a steroid injection, but rose to 2.81 percent for those who had surgery within three months of an injection. That represents a 40 percent higher risk for infection.

Patients who had a steroid injection three to 12 months before surgery were at no greater risk for surgical site infection, the study showed.

The findings were to be presented Wednesday at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons in Orlando, Fla.

Research presented at meetings is considered preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal.

More information

The U.S. National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases provides more information on hip replacement surgery.

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Ovarian Cancer Is More Than One Disease: Report

WEDNESDAY, March 2, 2016 (HealthDay News) — Ovarian cancer isn’t a single disease, but rather a number of different malignancies involving the ovaries, an expert U.S. panel says.

Evidence suggests that many ovarian cancers begin in other tissues, such as the fallopian tubes, and eventually spread to the ovaries. In other cases, cancers arise from cells not considered to be part of the ovaries, a report from the U.S. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine said. The report was mandated by Congress.

The authors noted there are “surprising gaps” in knowledge about ovarian cancer. They called for additional research to learn more about the causes and improve prevention, early detection, treatment and management of the disease.

“While progress has been made in ovarian cancer research over the past few decades, much remains to be learned,” Jerome Strauss III, chair of the report committee, said in an academy news release. Strauss is also executive vice president for medical affairs and dean of Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine, in Richmond.

“The more that is understood about the basic biology of various types of ovarian cancers, such as where they originate in the body, the more rapidly we can move toward advances in prevention, screening, early detection, diagnosis, treatment and supportive care,” he explained.

Each year, more than 21,000 women in the United States are diagnosed with ovarian cancer, the researchers said. And, more than 14,000 women die from the disease each year, they added. The five-year survival rate is less than 50 percent, the researchers noted.

Early ovarian cancer doesn’t have any distinctive symptoms. There’s also no effective screening test for ovarian cancer. About two-thirds of these patients are diagnosed in the late states of the disease, when the cancer has already spread to other parts of the body, the report authors said.

The report also found that the quality of care for ovarian cancer patients varied widely across the nation. Several groups have developed standard-of-care guidelines, but less than half of ovarian cancer patients receive that recommended care, the research revealed.

The report found two main predictors of a better outcome for women with ovarian cancer. One was being treated by a gynecologic oncologist. The other was receiving treatment at a hospital that handles a large number of such cases. However, many patients don’t have access to such care, the report authors said.

To reduce disparities in care, they recommended that doctors and scientists look for ways to ensure consistent use of the current suggested standards of care.

The report also said that better methods of identifying women at high risk for ovarian cancer could improve prevention and early detection. For example, there are strong links between ovarian cancer and a family history of the disease, specific inherited genetic mutations such BRCA1 and BRCA2, and certain hereditary cancer syndromes, the authors noted.

More information

The U.S. Office on Women’s Health has more on ovarian cancer.

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Study Questions Link Between Multiple Moles, Risk for Melanoma

WEDNESDAY, March 2, 2016 (HealthDay News) — It’s commonly thought that people with many moles may be at heightened risk for skin cancer, including melanoma. But a new study found that patients with melanoma skin cancer often had few moles, and no abnormal moles.

Of the 566 melanoma patients in the study, about 66 percent had zero to 20 moles in total and about 73 percent had no atypical moles, according to a team led by Alan Geller of the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston.

Melanoma thickness is an important factor in patient outcomes, since thicker tumors are more likely to spread. But in the new study, patients younger than 60 who had more than 50 moles in total actually had a lower risk of having a thick melanoma tumor.

However, people with more than five abnormal moles were more likely to have thick melanoma than those with no atypical moles, the researchers said.

The study was published online March 2 in the journal JAMA Dermatology.

Speaking in a journal news release, Geller said that the study suggests that melanomas are actually found in people with fewer moles compared to those with many moles, so doctors shouldn’t rely on mole count as “the sole reason to perform skin examinations or to determine a patient’s at-risk status.”

However, one skin cancer expert believes that moles may still be a good indicator of melanoma risk, and there may be a simple explanation for the new findings.

“People with lots of moles have been encouraged from an early age to have routine surveillance screenings by their dermatologists,” and so any cancers they had were probably spotted early, said Dr. Katy Burris, a dermatologist at Northwell Health in Manhasset, N.Y.

“Patients with higher numbers of moles were found to have thinner melanomas upon diagnosis in this study,” she added. That’s at least partially explained “by the fact that their dermatologists are seeing them on a regular basis, and are therefore able to diagnose them at an earlier stage,” Burris said.

In contrast, “people with few moles have been overlooked or not as vigilant in getting their skin checked regularly,” she said, so their melanomas may be spotted at a later, thicker stage.

“We must not forget that there also may be a difference in the biological behavior [of tumors], and the melanomas may simply be more aggressive in patients who have fewer moles,” Burris theorized.

In the meantime, everyone needs to monitor the health of their skin, another expert said.

“Malignant melanoma is one of the deadliest skin cancers,” said Dr. Doris Day, a dermatologist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City. “It is responsible for the death of one person every hour in this country and is one of the highest cancer killers of women 29 to 35 years old.

“The important things to know are your risk factors, starting with family history. If you have a first-degree relative with melanoma, meaning parent or sibling, your risk dramatically increases. If you burn easily, your risk also increases,” she explained.

Besides cutting your exposure to UV rays from the sun and tanning beds, “you also need to know that melanoma can also occur where the sun doesn’t shine,” Day said. “So it’s important to have a regular skin cancer screening by a dermatologist, as well as doing regular self-exams to identify new or changing moles.”

More information

The U.S. National Cancer Institute has more on melanoma.

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