During Women’s Health Week, starting on Mother’s Day, celebrate yourself, your mom, your sister, your aunt, your friends, colleagues, and loved ones by reminding them about the five step checklist for better health.

National Women’s Health Week is coordinated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services with the purpose of promoting and empowering women to make their health a priority. Women often act as caregivers for their families, putting their personal needs and well-being on the backburner. Whether the checklist helps to remind you about your yearly mammogram or encourages you to eat an extra serving of vegetables, take this week to reevaluate and go through the five steps to lower your disease risk and improve your overall health.

Step 1: Visit your health care professional. Depending on your age and family history, you may need to receive yearly checkups or go for preventative screenings. Check out this interactive screening chart, which goes through bone, breast, diabetes, heart and reproductive health, specific to age. 

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Photo courtesy of Kim Nicholais at Nicholais Photography

Last month, New York Health & Racquet Club President and CEO Kim Manocherian visited the New York City Armory and celebrated the Armory’s Apply Yourself program.

The Apply Yourself program is comprised of a number of New York City students who compete in track and field and receive academic support, financial and educational counseling, and ongoing encouragement to help those students gain admission to college.

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Photo courtesy of Andrea Nguyen

Celiac disease is no joke. About 1% of the population has celiac disease and some experts believe that up to 10% of people have gluten sensitivity. Celiac disease is an autoimmune disease in which one cannot digest gluten, a waxy protein, found in wheat, barley, rye and possibly oats. An easy acronym to remember is: “W-BRO.”

While celiac disease can’t be cured, its symptoms can be controlled through a gluten-free diet. If one does not completely avoid gluten, the autoimmune response damages the small intestine, which slowly loses the ability to absorb the nutrients in food and can cause long-term malnutrition and other complications. Some symptoms include stomach discomfort or pain, bloating, pale, foul-smelling stools, unintentional weight loss and fatigue.

If you don’t have celiac disease, wheat is not inherently bad for you. However many people have adopted a gluten-free diet, swearing it helps with weight loss. Many products made with wheat can be low in nutrition or just plain bad for you. Eliminating them from your diet may indeed result in weight loss. But rather than restricting your diet so severely, make healthier choices. Opt for whole grains and limit your cookie and pastry intake. 

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Join us on Tuesday, May 7 at New York Health & Racquet Club’s 23rd Street location - at the southeast corner of Sixth Avenue - which will host an open house from 6-8pm.

You and a guest will enjoy healthy treats from Terri’s Juice Bar and David’s Tea and a sampling of the special services available for New York Health & Racquet Club members:

• Professional advice from NYHRC nutritionist Alanna Cabrero
• Personal training assessments
• Group fitness class demonstrations of Fluidity, Urban Rebounding and Kangoo
• 10-minute chair massages
• A raffle with prizes

See you on Tuesday night!

Since the effects of Superstorm Sandy devastated the tri-state area in late October, New York Health & Racquet Club’s facilities team has been working around the clock to restore the areas that were affected at our Whitehall Street location.

The women’s and men’s shower areas and steam rooms reopened on Thursday, May 2 and appeared better than before. Recreating a classic New York feel, the new showers and steam room area exude sophistication and timelessness. These areas will include luxurious materials which will elevate the NYHRC experience for our members.

On Thursday, NYHRC celebrated the opening of the showers and steam room, completing “Phase 1” of the Whitehall Street reconstruction. Flavors Cafe provided breakfast, lunch and after-work snacks for NYHRC members and staff. It was a refreshing way for members to eat good food and gain needed refreshment after a workout.

With Phase 1 of the Whitehall Street reconstruction now completed, work will begin on rebuilding the entire pool area at Whitehall Street. We anticipate that pool area will be even better than it already was and will make our Whitehall Street location one of the best gyms in Manhattan.

Visit our Whitehall Street location soon and experience it for yourself!

Photo by Ezra Wolfe

I recently found this little booklet called Wellness Made Easy: 365 Tips for Better Health (one tip for each day of the year!). And even though I will not list all of them, I thought these 10 tips/facts were interesting and if anything a great conversation starter around the water cooler or enjoying a New York minute.  

Tip 1: Weigh your bagel… I’m looking at you New Yorkers! An average bagel is around 5.6 ounces. Every ounce has about 80 calories, so if you do the math, the total is kind of scary. The scariest part is that it doesn’t even include any toppings. So, imagine a bagel already about 450 calories plus bacon, egg, and cheese. Ouch!  

Tip 2: When baking, use applesauce or prune/banana/pumpkin puree instead of butter, margarine or oil to cut down on the fat. Use equal parts. 

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It’s 70 degrees and sunny in New York City. It’s the first day of May. Spring is officially here and summer isn’t that far away!

That means trips to the beach, training for that first triathlon or getting ready for a hike in the mountains.

You can prepare for all of these outdoor activities at New York Health & Racquet Clubs. Swim in our saltwater pools, climb our bouldering wall at Cooper Square or use any of our more traditional cardio and weight training equipment at our 10 locations.

Request more information online and someone from our team will respond to you shortly.