5 Pilates Moves to Help You Get Younger
Pilates is not only a great way to tone the body, but also helps to reduce stress, combat fatigue and improve mental focus and circulation. Doing just a few Pilates mat exercises a day will rejuvenate you both physically and mentally – helping you to look and feel younger. These 5 Pilates moves from leading Pilates trainer Debi Monahan can be done anywhere – at home, at the office, even while you travel.
1. The Roll-Up
Stregthen your spine and abs with this posture-improving move. Start by lying on your back and extend your body into a full stretch with your arms extended over your head and your legs straight and squeezed together. Inhale, drawing in your abs, and lift your arms toward the ceiling. Continue the movement forward, and as your arms pass over your chest, begin to roll up vertebra by vertabra, using your core muscles. Try to lift up our of your hips and over your thights as you pass through a sitting position. Exhale as you stretch forward, keeping your navel pulled back toward your spine and your fingers reaching toward your toes. Then reverse out of the posture by inhaling and rolling back down as slowly as you came up, keeping your abs engaged and your tailbone curled under. Repeat 3 to 5 times.
2. The Hundred
This ab and breathing exercise helps to increase circulation and warm up the body. Start by lying on your back with your knees and hips bent at a 90-degree angle and your arms resting on the mat beside you. Exhale, draw in your abs, and lift your upper spine slightly off the mat while reaching your arms forward. Straighten and extend your legs to a 45 to 60-degree angle. Begin pumping your arms straight down and then up on each count for a total of 5 counts, inhaling for the duration of 5 and exhaling for 5, reaching forward as you breathe. Maintain this position, pumping your arms and breathing for 100 counts (or as long as good form can be maintained).
3. Single Leg Stretch
Lie on your back with your head and shoulders off the mat, chin toward your chest with your inside hand on your knee and your outside hand on your ankle, elbows extended. The straight leg should be extended in front of you at a height that allows your back to remain flat on the mat. Inhale as you being to bend your straight leg and straighten your bent leg. Exhale as you complete the switch. Your hands switch to the opposite knee and ankle. Maintain core stability while executing, with your abs drawn in and your spine pressed into the mat. Repeat the sequence 5 times on each leg for a total of 10 times.
4. Criss Cross
This sit-up exercise will work your obliques, waistline and core. Start by lying on your back with your head and shoulders lifted off the mat, knees bent into your chest and hands behind your head, elbows wide. Exhale. Straighten one leg while simultaneously rotating your upper body toward the opposite bent knee. Inhale as you being to switch legs while your upper torso rotates back to center. While switching legs, rotate your trunk toward the opposite side and exhale as you fully straighten one leg and bend the other. Complete 5 to 10 sets.
5. Leg Pull
Start this ab, arm, legs and buttocks-strenghtening exercise in a push-up position. Squeeze your buttocks and concentrate on using your abs to stabilize your lower body. (Your body should be in one straight line from the top of the head to your heels.) Inhaling, raise one leg toward the ceiling, squeezing the buttocks. Do not lift your hip when lifting your leg. Exhaling, lower your leg back to the mat. Inhaling, raise the opposite leg. Exhaling, lower that leg back down, always keeping your abs engaged and pelvis lifted to prevent your lower back from arching.
For more detailed step-by-step instructions and modifications to these Pilates exercises, pick up a copy of YOUNGER: The Breakthrough Anti-Aging Method for Radiant Skin.
Turn Back Time with Pure Youth Serum
We think our new, proprietary Pure Youth Serum is pretty incredible, but don’t just take our word for it. In this video, Vogue and W Magazine alum Sally Lyndley breaks down why Dr. Lancer’s latest creation is a must-have for anyone who’s concerned about aging. (And that’s all of us, isn’t it?)
Buy it here.
Skincare is a Family Affair for The Beckhams
Victoria Beckham recently sat down with Harper’s Bazaar to talk about her capsule collection of nail lacquers with Nails Inc., based off of her epoynmous clothing line. The chat turned towards the famous designer’s skincare routine, where she gushed about her love of Lancer products, saying:
“I swear by Dr. Lancer products. He’s a dermatologist that I met in Los Angeles. I started going to him for oxygen facials, and I haven’t looked back. I don’t really use products other than his. I keep it quite simple with a really good polish, then an exfoliating cleanse, then I use a nourish cream, which is a really beautiful moisturizer. I just do that twice a day, and I think it’s very important to drink lots of water and get as much sleep as you can.”
When asked if she shares her beauty products with husband David Beckham, she added, “You know, he uses all my Lancer products. So we share all of our beauty products.” It seems that the family that cares for their skin together, stays together. Take a look at Victoria’s longtime love for Lancer Skincare below.
The Holiday Gift Guide
SHOP THE HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE
The Method Travel Set ($125) // The Method: Body ($145) // Intensive Night Cream ($155) // Volume Enhancing Lip Serum ($40)
Dr. Lancer Devotee: Lionel Richie
Skincare is a family affair for Nicole, Sofia and Lionel Richie. For a glow that lasts all night long (sorry, couldn’t help ourselves), hitmaker Lionel Richie relies our new Youth Serum. This proprietary, groundbreaking product gives him all the anti-aging benefits of retinol without the irritation, so he doesn’t have to think twice about his skin when he’s on the road. Craving a little Lionel in your life? Check out this awesome remix of his 1982 classic All Night Long.
Shhh! The Scoop on Our Black Friday & Cyber Monday Deals
To thank all of our amazing devotees for their support as we relaunched Lancer Skincare this year, we’re giving you the head’s up on our Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals a little early.
Now is the time to stock up on your skincare, because starting Thanksgiving Day and going through the end of the day on Black Friday, we’re giving everyone who spends $200 or more a free full-size Eye Contour Lifting Cream (a $95 value). Enter code BLACKFRIDAY at checkout.
Beginning Sunday, Nov. 30, and going through the end of the day on Cyber Monday (a.k.a Dec. 1), we’re treating everyone who spends $250 or more to a full-size Intensive Night Treatment (a $155 value) along with free shipping and 2 complimentary samples. Enter code CYBERMONDAY at checkout.
Sign up for our mailing list and follow us on social to be sure you’re always in the know about special deals. Happy Thanksgiving!
Get social with us!
Facebook // Instagram // Twitter
Lancer on Your Lips
This is the time of year when temps dip and lips start misbehaving – peeling, flaking, feeling coarse, dry and deflated. Luckily our newly launched Lancer Volume Enhancing Lip Serum is here to make all this lip misery disappear while plumping them to new levels of pillowy softness.
This advanced lip treatment dramatically plumps lips, diminishes fine lines, and defines lip contours for a lush, youthful appearance. Clinical studies of the serum’s active ingredients show:
- 40% increase in lip volume
- 29% decrease in the depth of surface folds of lips
- 60% increase in lip hydration
The Volume Enhancing Lip Serum works by delivering immediately visible benefits while also increasing collagen production over time to create voluptuous, well-defined, full-looking lips. In addition, the serum’s deeply hydrating formula conditions, moisturizes and protects to keeps lips soft, firm and supple.
The best part? You get all the results of this refreshing, deeply nourishing formula without the irritation or dryness caused by other cosmetic lip enhancers. Lips are soothed, smoothed, hydrated and beautifully defined and enhanced.
Bring on the mistletoe.
Dr. Lancer Devotee: Haifa Wehbe
Lebanese singer and model Haifa Wehbe is one of the biggest stars of the Arab World. One look at her Instagram account, and you’ll notice her legions of adoring fans. The former Miss Lebanon has released four studio albums and been named one of People Magazine‘s 50 most beautiful. To keep her skin in pop star shape, Haifa depends on our 3-step Method and visits to our Beverly Hills headquarters when she’s in Los Angeles. And when she’s off circling the globe? We’ve got the perfect solution for that too.
The Real Scoop on Frown Line Fixes
That moment when you notice a new expression line forming on your face is one of the most frustrating things about getting older. You may still feel (and act!) like an energetic 20 year-old, but your face is letting you down, giving away your actual age with every passing hour. What’s more, there are so many products and treatments out there that promise a quick fix, it’s hard to sort the wheat from the chaff. So we took the guesswork out of frown line fixes. Here’s the real scoop on what works, what doesn’t, and what you don’t want to overdo.
1. Patches such as Frownies or Furless. Although these ‘miracle patches’ may be tempting, there is absolutely no evidence they make a difference over time. You are much better off investing in high quality pillowcases and learning to sleep on your back to keep your face from getting creased at night. (Over time, those creases can become frown lines.)
2. Botox and Dysport. A popular option for freezing up the facial muscles to stop the formation of expression lines, neurotoxins are highly effective for preventing deep lines and wrinkles, but need to be administered every few months to keep results looking fresh. There is also a risk of “loss of expression” if the doctor administering the injectable is too heavy handed. If you decide to explore neurotoxins further, make sure you trust your doctor and take a light approach.
3. Juvederm and Restylane. Another popular option for deep expression lines, fillers do just what the name implies – fill in deep lines, wrinkles and facial folds. Fillers like Juvaderm are great for deep lines that are already prevalent, but won’t prevent further development of wrinkles. Again, these should be administered by a light-handed professional.
4. Dermatude. One of the newest and most innovative machines in our office, Dermatude is quickly becoming a favorite option for patients looking to reverse expression lines without the follow up appointments or risk of expression loss. The machine pairs micro rolling with radio frequency, triggering the body’s own healing action in the deep layers of the skin, boosting collagen and elastin production and nearly erasing expression lines. This treatment is especially popular with men.
5. Youth Serum. The newest addition to the Lancer Skincare collection, our Younger: Pure Youth Serum is an amazing blend of vitamin A esters and biomimetic retinol compounds that actually speed up the skin’s cellular cycle without the irritation that accompanies the use of traditional retinol. Youth Serum is a smart addition to your regimen if you’re looking to prevent expression lines or correct existing ones.
6. Facial Massage. Facial massage has long been the secret weapon for makeup artists and facialists, giving their clients an immediately lifted and beautifully contoured face. The gentle stroking can relax facial muscles and connective tissue, thereby softening expression lines, in addition to aiding lymphatic drainage which depuffs the skin. We love to use our Microcurrent Power Boost as a massage tool, which not only softens expression lines and lifts the skin, but also neutralizes free radicals.