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We’ve raved about the benefits of kettlebells before on our blog…which is why we at elements living were extremely excited when we got a chance to review Kettlenetics, the new DVD workout program from kettlebell master Michelle Khai.

Kettlenetics is a 5-DVD set that comes with a unique 4-lb kettlebell (apparently the only one of it’s kind in the world), an instructional wall chart of moves, and several weight loss and healthy eating guides. 

The first DVD teaches you the basic moves, and then each DVD builds on that to include a full-body workout, a target toning workout, a cardio and two 15-minute workouts that focus on Strength & Stretching and CardioFit Ballet.

In addition to being an elements Advisory Board member, Michelle has extensive experience in kettlebell training and dance fitness and injury prevention, so we have a feeling the DVD is going to be fast and fun even before we get it in the machine. 

Michelle does a great job of clearly displaying the fluid motions and showing correct form. While the moves do take a little getting used to since you must do them in one non-stop motion, after a few tries we got the hang of it and were swinging right along with her. All of the workouts (even the demos in the kb elements DVD) got our heart rates up and had us sweating, but the Cardio Balanced workout especially kept us moving!

Touted as “The Most Effective Hand-Held Gym” and highly-recommend by us here at elements living, Kettlenetics is a totally new way to get in shape.  

Visit www.getkbells.com for more information.

Here at elements living, we love taking our work home with us…mostly because our work is creating a healthy, fit lifestyle! And if you’re like us, then you’re definitely taking your fitness outside of the gym, too. (No, we’re not talking about sweaty yoga mats!)

But how many times have you tripped over that rowing machine on your way to the bathroom? Do you even remember how to work that contraption you bought on QVC last month? Toss it.

For a home fitness machine that’s easy on the eyes and easily fits into your home or studio (not to mention also packs a fitness wallop), SoloStrength’s FUSE is the way to go.

Designed by award-winning industrial designer Paul Conder and consisting of a platform, support bar, and “Solo Comfort Grip Bar”, the FUSE breaks your fitness routine down to an almost Zen simplicity: by adjusting the grip bar and changing your exercise position, you can create a variety of movements that work almost every single muscle group.

Programs only take about 20 minutes and are suitable for novice to expert levels. In fact, the whole family can use the FUSE for an all-in-one system to strengthen and tone muscles.

As the company motto states: “One Life, One Body, One Bar. It’s all you need.” Does it get any simpler than that?

Find out more at www.SoloStrength.com . Enter elementsforwomen at Checkout for an exclusive $50.00 savings on shipping!

Summer’s the perfect time to finally capture that slim, svelte figure. After all, there’s great weather, there’s great beach activities to try out (volleyball, anyone?) and there’s always that  (loved and hated) bikini to get you motivated to lose weight. But when you need that extra push to shed those extra pounds you can always turn to….your computer?

According to recent medical studies, people (and women in particular) were more motivated to lose weight and get active when they received constant support through the convenience of online diet programs….making this the perfect time to try out the all-new, stylish BalanceD diet program.

BalanceD provides members with online 24/7 nutrition and weight loss support. The online portal provides  cool features like access to hundreds of delicious recipes, meal planners, workout tips, exercise examples, and even a Virtual Assistant to show you how to get started. Members are also able to write in to fitness and diet experts and receive a personal answer via email, and also share success stories and tips with other members. The custom diet, fitness tools and diet coaching are all available for a lifetime membership price of $99.

Sure, we might be a bit biased (elements launched this amazing diet program), but with this total approach to weight loss that includes diet, fitness, beauty and mind, who wouldn’t get excited about it?

BalanceD is available online at www.balanceyourelements.com and will also soon be available in elements clubs across the country.

We might already be at the mid-point of summer, but there’s still plenty of time to get the body you want. Are you ready to get BalanceD ?

Picture this: a recuperating loved one reclines on a bed, surrounded by sky-clogging helium balloons, wilting flowers and massive gift baskets that contain 90% overripe apples and pears and 10% candy, all sent to help them “feel better.”

We’ve always thought there was something wrong with this scene…and we’re glad someone else did, too. Introducing AntiOXinabox, the “healthy gift alternative”!

Founded by two cancer survivors who were tired of receiving gift baskets crammed with sugary, fatty treats, AntiOXinabox creates gift boxes filled with healthy, antioxidant-rich foods and spa products, which are shipped in recyclable, reusable boxes.

Gift boxes are stuffed full of goodies like Dark Chocolate Antioxidant-rich Cocoa mix, Tulip and Sweet Clover Dark Honey, Organic Acai Berry White Tea, dried berries and fruits, and an array of luxurious RejuvaHeal spa products. (Here at elements, we’ve got a major craving for the Dark Chocolate Covered Dried Cherries and Antioxidant Raspberry Rhubarb Spread!)

Items are also sold individually, and you can even send gift cards or create your own gift box combination for the perfect present.

Boxes start at $25, which is as much as you’d expect to pay for a halfway decent bouquet of flowers. And as if this isn’t reason enough to give them a try, AntiOXinabox also donates a portion of each sale to cancer research.

AntiOXinabox is a great gift idea for friends and family whether they’re sick or not. And maybe they’ll get the hint the next time you’re feeling under the weather (and no, a bad hair day is not enough to get you hospital time). 

Find out more at www.antioxinabox.com and receive an exclusive 10% discount by entering ELEMENTS at checkout. 

 

There’s never been a better time to become more environmentally conscious. Recycling, making our homes (and businesses!) more energy-efficient, and cutting down on waste are top priorities, and at elements we encourage people to follow a healthy, natural lifestyle that takes care of their bodies and the planet. (For great Earth Day tips, check out www.earthday.gov ).

But while you’re busy exchanging those incandescent light bulbs for energy-efficient compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) or carpooling to work, why not take some time to show your body a little love with an all-natural body scrub that won’t hurt your skin or the planet? This simple little body scrub recipe is a terrific pick-me-up and best of all, uses natural ingredients that you can find in any organic food store.

Natural Body Scrub Recipe

Ingredients:

½ cup of sweet almond, sunflower or jojoba oil

1 cup of sea salt or brown sugar

1 tablespoon honey

5 drops essential oil (rosemary, lavender or chamomile work great)

   1. Combine oil, sugar or salt, and honey in bowl.
   2. Slowly add essential oils and mix well.
   3. Apply to dry skin of body using gentle, but firm strokes.
   4. Rinse off with warm water and pat skin dry.

CAUTION: Do not use salt scrub if you have any cuts or shaving nicks on your body.

And for even more planet-friendly, natural skin, body and hair products, check out Burt’s Bees and Juice Beauty .

We know that cold weather has its pluses: adorable sweaters, snowboarding, getting cozy by the fire. But let’s get serious: for every brisk, sunny, blue-sky day, there’s about 20 lead-gray ones that make you want to crawl back under the covers and never come out.

 

Luckily, the good folks at Sunlight Saunas can bring the sunshine back into your life. Utilizing far infrared sauna technology, Sunlight Saunas creates beautiful home and commercial saunas from cedar and basswood to rejuvenate the body and detoxify the system. So what the heck is “far infrared sauna technology”? It uses heat generated by infrared rays to provide heat therapy that helps relieve everything from arthritis to muscle tension to stress (not to mention it feels pretty darn good, too!).

 

Although you can find Sunlight Saunas in high-end spas and health clubs across the country (including our very own elements Fitness Clubs), one of the coolest (er…or ‘hottest’?) company features is that they also sell solo, portable units which can be set up in your very own home! It’s just one more reason not to leave your house until May.

 

For more information about Sunlight Saunas, visit their website at www.sunlightsaunas.com.

We’ve all been there. You’ve got a meeting in 15 minutes. Or you’re waiting to pick Junior up from band practice. Or you skipped breakfast and now you’re paying for it. Your stomach is howling, you need something to sustain you, but you’ve got no time to actually get anything. That’s when you reach for the reliable energy bar. But with a million options out there, how do you know which won’t taste like you’re chewing on gravel?

We here at elements are partial to the Dr. Melina Protein Bar . After getting fed up with options that loaded on the calories, tasted horrible, or just didn’t satisfy, Dr. Melina Jampolis , a board-certified physician nutrition specialist, created a lip-smacking bar that only contains 180 calories and packs 14 grams of protein, 5 grams of fiber, vitamin D and calcium into each one. And did we mention tasty? Three flavors (Lemon Raspberry, Chocolate Peanut Butter and Cinnamon Almond) taste fabulous and contain no high-fructose corn syrup or trans fat.

They’re so good, you might want to think about stocking some at your desk or in the car. But be warned: these bars really do keep you going for a long time. As a friend told us an hour and a half after snacking on one, “I know I should be getting ready for dinner right now, but I don’t feel like it. Is that wrong?”

 

If it’s wrong, we don’t want to be right.

 

Find out more at www.drmelina.com.

We pride ourselves on having an open, relaxed atmosphere at elements-not just in our clubs, but also at our corporate offices, too. But sometimes women need to get something off their chests so embarrassing, so spectacular that there's no way they'd be able to tell someone and look them in the face again. Which is why we are totally enchanted with PostSecret.com, a website and book collection comprised of anonymous messages detailing the weird, wonderful and wistful messages and secrets of complete strangers.

It's simple: someone writes a secret on a handmade postcard, and then mails it to the PostSecret address. That's it. Secrets range from heartbreaking confessions ("By the time you get this, I will already have made a huge mistake."), to completely hilarious notes ("Philadelphia: I am tired of cheering for your sports teams!").

With more than 180,000 secrets recorded, new books being released, and tour dates being scheduled, PostSecret is one of the least-kept secrets on the Internet. But whether the secrets make you laugh or make you cry, we at elements applaud the chutzpah it takes to get it out there!

 

We were surprised to find out that two of our favorite, simple foods make one of the best all natural (and fresh!) facial masks… try it this weekend, you will love the results…

 

Heather Davis, talent coordinator of Wilhelmina Models, stopped by the elements™ South Beach offices on Friday. We are always impressed for her flawless-at-forty skin, and asked her for her secret. We were expecting her to recommend an expensive product line, but instead she surprised us with the recipe for an interesting concoction. We couldn’t wait to get home to try (considering both the ingredients were in the kitchen already!)

Take 1/2 avocado and mix together with 1/2 cup of honey. Use as any other 15-minute mud mask.

Talk about smooth skin! We all had amazing results with the mask. You are going to want to call your best friend as soon as you try it.

Not brave enough to go the avocado/honey route?
LUSH products are fresh handmade cosmetics sold worldwide.
Try “Baby Face” or “Gorgeous”!

As we aspire to appear more sophisticated and chic, we are always looking for a missing link that will make us appear “together.” 

 Philosophy is line of beauty products that just may help us bridge that gap.  They specialize in creatively named, beautifully designed products in skin care, bath and body, fragrance, hair care and makeup.

With delicious seasonal scents such as pumpkin pie and double rich coca body washes or sweet treats such as mimosa lip gloss or grapefruit bubble bath.  As well as charity sponsored washes supporting Women’s Cancer Research Fund, the Rainforest Foundation, and many others.  

They also have great gift packages appropriate to many different themes.  The bridal party shower gel set is the perfect gift for the bridal shower this wedding season.

Philosophy is a little pricey at $20 for 16 oz of body wash but you can’t beat the Philosophy experience.  Look for Philosophy products in upscale boutiques near you and plan on spending the afternoon trying to decide which scent to buy.  Or browse their website.

What to do with the day after smelling great with Philosophy?  How about some home decor shopping at two of our fave's ... Anthropologie and Pier 1.