fitbottomedgirls.com » Magazines

How I Would Change Magazines (If I Could)

Jenn — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 10:00:27 +0000

So many fitness magazines...so many messages. Credit: Listener42

This entire week, we’re featuring select posts and articles by some of the best-of-the-best writers and bloggers across the World Wide Web as part of FBG’s second-annual Guest Bloggers’ Week. Click here to see all of the great guest posts that inspire, make us think and crack us the heck up!

Hey there! Hi there! Ho there! It’s so nice to meet all of you on the fabulous Fit Bottomed Girls site—I am a big fan of them myself. The name of my blog is “Brooklyn Fit Chick,” which you can find here, but feel free to call me Margo. How do you do?

One of my favorite things to write about on BFC (which focuses on fitness and health with a fun dose of pop culture thrown in) are the plentiful magazines that wind up in my mailbox each month. How many do I get each month? Well, take a look at the picture below that shows how many came in after I went away on a three-day vacation.

Anyhoo, I do love magazine so, but after reading, reviewing and recapping so many of them since I started my blog, I am eager to speak my mind on a few things that bug the living daylights out of me. So let’s get to it, shall we?

Today I am giving you (drum roll, please) “How I would change magazines today (if I could!).”

3 Things That Magazines Need to Stop Doing

1. Stop the “Bathing Suit Bodies” issues. Seriously, do the editors of OK!, Life & Style, The Star and National Enquirer think their audience is filled with fat-hating snobs who look like supermodels on the beach? Why do they continually show pictures of celebrities in varying types of bathing suits and point out their flaws? It’s revolting and unkind. The truth is—except for the people who smoke cigars and/or blast their boom boxes—all of us belong on the beach and can wear anything we want whilst enjoying the sun and sand. Stop being “body-shaming” creeps, tabloids!

2. Stop reporting about celebrities “Getting their bodies back after babies.” You can set your watch by it. About three to four months after a celebrity gives birth, they will land on the cover of a major magazine wearing a bikini with the caption “How She Got Her Body Back!” Nowadays famous females are expected to get back into their old body size (or even smaller!) in record time or will face the wrath of the tabloids. Can we all please give these women a little bit of a break here and let them enjoy all aspects of new motherhood without accentuating the change it may or may not have on their bodies permanently? Sheesh!

3. Stop pretending nubile actresses have those hot bodies in spite of a diet of beer and greasy fast food! This is more for the men’s magazines, but isn’t it so strange how those size-zero starlets posing in their skimpiest underwear on the cover all seem to possess the metabolism of a humming bird? I mean every single one of them. If you read GQ, Esquire or Maxim each month (like I do), you would be under the impression that Scarlett, Mila and Cameron can chug a beer in one hand and take down a Fat Burger with the other without a second thought about calories or fat content. The fact is—most of those lovely ladies of the big and small screen work very, very hard to be camera (and underwear) ready at all times. They watch what they eat, work out early and often, and cannot wait until they can take on more character-oriented roles and have just a little more fun. Sorry to burst your bubble, fellas!

That’s all I have for you this time. Hit me up and let me know what you love and loathe about the magazines you see out there. And thanks for taking the time to listen to my rant. I feel so much better—how about you? —Margo Donohue

Margo Donohue (AKA Brooklyn Fit Chick) is a health and fitness blogger, group fitness instructor, NASM-certified personal trainer and all-around “fitness freak.” She blogs several times per week on topics dealing with health and wellness, media coverage of health news, DVD reviews and fitness happenings around her beloved New York City. In her downtime she enjoys flipping through a stack of magazines on her couch with Bravo TV in the background. Her dream is to be a guest on Watch What Happens Live.

FitLit: Health vs. Women’s Health

Jenn — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 10:00:00 +0000

We haven’t done one of these puppies in a long time, so brace yourself. It’s time for our head-to-head magazine ruuummmbbbllle! Today we have Health dueling it out with Women’s Health for the title of best health-related July/August issue! Almost a year ago, Health won Erin’s vote for top healthy lifestyle mag, and today that crown will be tested. For this literary fight, three cover promises from each mag will be tested. Now let’s get it on! In the, er, boxing way that is…

Health, July/August 2009
180 pages of healthy stuff

Cover Promise 1: Star Trek’s Jennifer Morrison
Okay, so this wasn’t really a promise, but I totally judge magazines on whether or not they really interviewed the celeb and didn’t get just a boring, typical “I work out and eat right” story. This Q&A wasn’t like that, thankfully, although it is really short. Jennifer is pretty candid in it and even gives one tip I’ve never heard for getting over a bad day—watching an old subtitled French film! She says it calms her and makes her brain engaged in something other than the negativity. I’ll have to try that.

Cover Promise 2: #1 Flat Belly Secret
This one actually surprised me! I was expecting standing crunches or wood chops or something, but instead, I got a hula hoop workout. And a creative one at that. I’m not sure if it’s enough to make me go out and buy a hula hoop, but if you have one at home, go ahead and flip to page 45, and give that dusty thing some use!

Cover Promise 3: Your Happiest Summer!
Happy summer? Count me in! This article was a guide to “tweaking your everyday routine for free and easy summer living.” And, it’s full of good tips that you haven’t already read a million times. With fun suggestions like giving your Spanx and heels the summer off and a better-for-you sangria recipe, I really did feel lighter after reading this piece. Oh, and there’s a walk/strength workout that just uses just your body weight. Bonus!

In Sum: This more mature-in-feel mag isn’t boring, and with its sane approach to healthy living, it totally makes you feel better about yourself, a rarity in the women’s mag world!

Women’s Health, July/August 2009
158 pages of women’s healthy stuff

Cover Promise 1: Mandy Moore
I like Mandy Moore. She’s never shown her bits to the paparazzi, she’s low-key, and she looks like a healthy little lady. And after reading this article, it’s apparent that she’s all those things, and not quite as goody-goody as we think she is (the article divulges that she has a tattoo of a baby sperm on her foot). This piece is more about her recent marriage to rocker Ryan Adams than fitness, but you do get a little on her balanced lifestyle of hiking, Pilates and acupuncture.

Cover Promise 2: Hot Body Secrets!
It cracks me up when they put exclamation points on article titles. I mean the whole mag is practically screaming at you with its different fonts and colors, and the exclamation point seems a bit redundant, doesn’t it? Anywhoey, this quick feature (it’s just four pages and two of those are pretty pics) is less about what exercises you do and more about how to stay motivated. It cites a bunch of fascinating research including how to find your intrinsic reason for working out and how to keep it going strong (hint: have workout buddies).

Cover Promise 3: Ditch the Gym
I work out from home at least a few times a week, so this title grabbed my interest like a clearance sign at the Nike store. And this workout for on the go or at home (with no equipment!) is awesome. In a fun, fold-out format, this 9-exercise workout is made up of super-sets, where you do two exercises back-to-back for one total set. The moves are great for the whole body, but especially the core with planks, side planks, T push-ups and side lunges. It’s so good that I wish we had come up with it for BusinessBalance.com!

In Sum: This isn’t just a fitness or health magazine. With articles on sex, fashion and career, it’s a well-rounded pub. I wish there was more fitness and nutrition, but the articles they do have are darn good, and the tone is young and fresh.

The FBG Verdict: While both mags have good stuff, if you’re looking for more fitness than anything else, go for Health. If okay with a mix of Cosmo and Shape, hit up Women’s Health. Additionally, those under the age of 25 will probably like Women’s Health more, while those over 25 years of age will most likely enjoy Health more.

Happy reading! —Jenn

FitLit: Oxygen vs. Women’s Health

Erin — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 12:00:00 +0000

Our first FBG magazine face-off included some of the fluffier women’s fitness magazines available. This time around, we decided to go a little more hard-core, with Oxygen and Women’s Health magazines. These magazines have little or no emphasis on beauty, style and fashion, and focus much more on serious exercise and healthy eating. So how do these “serious” magazines stack up? Read on, lovers, read on.

Oxygen, November 2008
154 pages of buff bods

Cover promise 1: 5 Moves to a New Body
This cover story promises that five moves will get you results in just four weeks. The moves are all fairly basic—squats combined with overhead presses, lunges combined with medicine ball twists—but I’m a sucker for hybrid moves that work more than one muscle group at once. While these types of moves can take more coordination, the illustrations show each step of the multi-step moves, making it easy to figure out. This would be a great workout to pull out and take with you to the gym or to follow along at home.

Cover promise 2: Get Sexy, Tight & Lean at Any Age
This informative article gives recommendations for each decade of life from your 20s through the 50s and beyond. It stresses the importance of strength training early, and reminds you about building strong bones because your 20s are the last decade to build bone (yikes!). For the 30s, the article discussed balancing busy schedules, which often include children, and making healthy lifestyle choices even when it’s difficult. Stretching and strength training through the later decades can help with maintaining flexibility and fight muscle loss. This is a cool article that reminds you that the fitness and health journey is lifelong.

Cover promise 3: 60 Seconds to Dream Abs
Oh, if it were only that easy. But we know it’s not. Each move of the ab workout in this article lasts 60 seconds, but with four moves, that equals four minutes of ab exercises. So while the moves do look effective, alas, getting those flat abs takes more than a minute. Can’t pull one over on this mathematician.

In sum: Oxygen emphasizes clean eating and training like an athlete. It’s got some great workouts and tips, but it’s definitely geared toward the very serious exerciser and clean eater, or those who may compete in fitness competitions. The many supplement ads were a turnoff, as was a comment (or two, actually) by the publisher. In his letter to the reader, he says that even the occasional sugary treat or alcoholic beverage “will destroy your efforts at maintaining a lean, fit physique.” Hmm. We’re not about that kind of mentality in FBG land.

Women’s Health, October 2008
164 pages of female power

Cover promise 1: Success Without Stress
This article details how stress can impact your health and your eating habits. It also includes ways to send stress to the curb, and even has a workout plan to help you get through a stressful week. I’m taking notes on this one.

Cover promise 2: 15 Fat-Burning Power Foods
This one took me a while to find on the inside of the mag, as it was actually a decade-by-decade nutrition plan. As Oxygen did, it emphasized milk to strengthen the bones in your 20s, along with beef to build muscle to prevent sports injuries and fish to help with joint problems in your 30s. Sweet potatoes guard your skin from cancer, and greens help with eye health. No matter what decade you’re in, this article tells you which food helps combat different body drawbacks.

Cover promise 3: Slim Without the Gym!
This pull-out at-home fitness guide has a 20-minute combo yoga/strength workout you can do with minimal time and equipment. A Bosu ball and weights keep it interesting, but it’s a workout that could be modified if needed. So … I guess you don’t need the gym if you own a Bosu ball.

In sum: Women’s Health takes a more overall approach to its discussion of women’s lifestyles. With health, sex and relationship, nutrition, and fitness information, it focuses on a whole-self approach to health.

Verdict: If you’re a hard-core athlete, or want to be inspired by them, Oxygen might be the fitness-centric mag for you. If you’re looking for a more overall approach to a healthy and fit lifestyle, and even some beauty and style, Women’s Health is worth a read. —Erin

Click here for more FitLit from the Fit Bottomed Girls.

FitLit: Magazine Face-off

Erin — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 12:00:00 +0000

I love magazines. It’s no surprise that I work for a magazine (I promise you haven’t heard of it), nor that I subscribe to so many that I have no chance of keeping up with them. With all of the magazines available, the Fit Bottomed Girls decided to buy three July issues of popular fitness mags—Fitness, Self and Shape. Here’s the FBG take on them.

Fitness
104 pages of fitness-y fun (Note, the below cover is June)

Cover promise 1: Banish cellulite in 15 minutes a day
This 15-minute lower body workout shows you three different moves for beginner, intermediate and advanced exercisers. I’m not really sure how exactly the three moves take 15 minutes, leading me to wonder if you’re supposed to do all the moves on the page, starting with the easiest? Maybe you’re supposed to do three sets? It didn’t say, leading to my confusion.

Cover promise 2: Get fit for $30
This article showed how much money five women spent to get in shape. One woman lost 33 pounds after spending $30 on two videos; another spend $4,600 on personal trainers and gym to lose 10 pounds—proving that you don’t need to spend a lot to lose a lot.

Cover promise 3: The fastest way to sculpt
I’ve heard great things about kettlebells, but have yet to try them. This 37-minute kettlebell workout gives you a circuit of six moves to complete four or five times. The bonus is that it can be done using 10- to 15-pound dumbbells, so this is one I’ll be tearing out and trying later.

In sum: While Fitness gives some beauty coverage, the main focus here is fitness, nutrition and health. With several quick tear-out workouts, you can easily take new moves with you to the gym. The salad recipes on page 97 look yummy, too.

Self
162 pages selfish reading

Cover promise 1: Fight cellulite!
Also helping women battle the cellulite, this article is a more realistic take on the dimples on your rear. Because cellulite is caused by the connective tissue, not fat, this article discusses creams, massage and dermatologist recommendations for beating the bumps on your bum.

Cover promise 2: The hidden risk of your healthiest habit

A good article about injuries that can occur when you do yoga. This article reminds you to listen to your body and not to push it beyond what it’s capable of—and that goes for all fitness activities.

Cover promise 3: Rev up your metabolism
This workout gives “multitasking moves” to help you build strength. Some extreme close-ups in the page layout made it a bit hard to get a feel for the moves, but the model was really buff, instead of stick skinny, which was a bonus.

In sum: Self feels like more of an overall lifestyle mag than Fitness, but it still packs plenty of fitness punch. With pull-out workouts, it can also help you spice up your routine. Also included were tips on eating right while traveling, tips I can use for an upcoming trip. And with Anne Hathaway on the cover, you get your celebrity fix from an accessible actress.

Shape
216 pages to help you get in shape (Note, the below cover is February)

Cover promise 1: 3 minutes to flat abs
An anchored reverse lift ab move that promises to whittle your rectus abdominus and obliques. Big cover promise, short article. It must be one effective move.

Cover promise 2: Julianne Hough’s Dancing with the Stars workout
This DWTS profile on JH shows eight exercises she incorporates in her life in addition to her dance moves. These tear-out moves promise to tone and strengthen in just 15 minutes.

Cover promise 3: Easy, guilt-free pasta dishes
These pasta dishes look colorful, delicious, and hey—they’re pasta! I’ll be trying the shells with sundried tomatoes and arugula, but I might balk at the two dishes calling for uncooked buckwheat noodles and rainbow fusilli. I’ll leave those for master chef Jenn—nothing intimidates her in the kitchen.

In sum: A review of all the best snacks gives good recommendations on healthy snacks. Another article shows how to use a Smith machine to tone your hips—a useful article as such gym machines freak me out. The mag also includes three before and after weight-loss stories—the FBGs are suckers for success stories.

Verdict: With overlapping topics—heart health, doctor visits, healthy eats—all magazines are great for new workout tips, healthy recipes and general health info. For more beauty, go with Self; for some added fashion, Shape’s your mag; for quick fitness, well, Fitness is it. —Erin

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Photos grabbed from http://www.photobucket.com/.