HER

Learn how to reduce the likelihood of being a crime target and how to fight back when necessary.You need to empower yourself to stay safe. Self-defense training is important, but you want to use defensive tactics as a last resort. Soft Targets vs. Hard Targets Targets are selected by stride, gait and posture. A soft target is more likely to attract predators. A hard target discourages predators. Size and shape do not matter. Confidence and awareness reduce your likelihood of being targeted. You can never rely on someone coming to your aid. Making yourself a hard target will deter predators. They want to gain compliance quickly before someone comes to your aid. Your visual and auditory senses catch threats. Wearing earbuds puts you at a disadvantage unless you’re in a catcall zone. If you use your earbuds for outdoor workouts, consider working out with a group of women or jogging with your dog. Fighting Back It’s important to fight back effectively. Most self-defense programs teach women how to fight like men. Men tend to trade licks; a punch to the face returns a punch to the face. Women need to fight like they’re women, using their stronger muscles on men’s softer areas. Sexual assaults involve a grab-and-removal from the area or being pushed to the ground. Listen as law enforcement expert Steve Kardian joins Dr. Pamela Peeke to share some tips on how to keep yourself safe from predators. Sponsor: Smarty Pants Vitamins

Live a longer, happier life with friends.Researchers are paying attention to the impact of friendships and social networks on general health. Harvard researchers found that strong social ties contribute to brain health. How is your network of friends? Is it just on social media? If so, it’s time to get some in-person friends. Friends support you. They push you to become better. They have your back. Making Friends is Hard It’s hard to find a perfect connection. Look for natural spark or similar interests and allow time for your connection to grow. Appreciate differences. Talk about your differences and honor them. You may take on some of your friend’s characteristics over time. Practice your friendship skills. Most importantly, you need someone who gets you. A good friend can live with your foibles and you can live with hers. Make a friend. Deepen a friendship. Listen as Dr. Sanda Neshin Bernstein and Dr. Wendy Satin Rapaport join Dr. Pamela Peeke to share their tips for a lifelong friendship. Sponsor: Smarty Pants Vitamins

It's time to make some workplace changes so you can be heard and advance in your career.Ladies, do you ever get interrupted by a man in the workplace? Men are stereotyped to take charge. Women are stereotyped to take care. This puts women at a disadvantage in many boardrooms.  Women leaders are judged as too hard or too soft; never just right. They’re viewed as competent or they are liked. Micro-aggression in the workplace can create a culture of exclusion for women. Women are often judged by their experience while men are judged by their potential. This doesn’t foster a healthy workplace. If you’re experiencing sexism in the workplace, you have to speak up. Speak louder if no one is listening. Sometimes calling attention to it can quash unintended behavior from others. Most guys don’t mean to be jerks. Networking is letting people know what you know in social gatherings. Being an outsider of the “boys’ club” can prevent networking. Men may not realize these activities are exclusionary and can be damaging. Speak up. Listen as Julie Nugent joins Dr. Pamela Peeke to share how to make changes in the workplace so you can be heard and climb the corporate ladder. Sponsor: Smarty Pants Vitamins

Do you have a passion you want to turn into a business?Women are launching businesses 1.5 times faster than men. You can dictate your future. Maybe you want to start or boost your own business... how should you begin? Heal Your Financial Pain Money is necessary for survival. Look at the places you’ve been hurt by money. What lessons can you take away from those painful experiences? You can land on your feet. Don’t let money make you feel beaten down. Encourage Greatness It can be tempting to be catty to other women who are trying to succeed. Lean into the nurturing side of femininity and encourage greatness. Connection equals currency. Make friends and start collaborating sooner rather than later. Invoking Fearlessness Confront your fears. Look at them for what they are. Come up with several plans that can get you past those fears. Listen as entrepreneur Sage Lavine joins Dr. Pamela Peeke to share some tips for starting your own business. Sponsor: Smarty Pants Vitamins

Be wealthy with happiness.When your self esteem is low, you don’t expect more. You don’t value yourself as much as you should. You get what you get and there’s no way to improve. Your choices follow your expectations. If you feel lowly, you expect nothing and settle for what comes your way. It’s time to get happy, increase your self value, and live a rich life. Listen as George Resch, also known as Tank Sinatra, joins Dr. Pamela Peeke to share how you can boost your happiness. Sponsor: Smarty Pants Vitamins

Get on your right path to fitness.You want to get fit and look fabulous. How do you get started? You must find the right starting point for where you are now. Not everyone begins at the same fitness level. Celebrate little victories every day. Work on winning with simpler goals before expecting to make large gains. Fitness hype can be confusing. Don’t let it set you back. There is basic information available on how to get started or move to the next level. You want to maintain normal ranges of motion. Get fit so you can tackle life’s daily demands. You can tackle body appearance goals after you can handle the movement and strength required to function in daily life. Six Tried & True Fitness Moves The Turkish Getup: Using a kettlebell, this exercise will help stabilize your shoulder muscles and develop your core muscles. It opens up tight hips and improves strength and balance. The Pushup: This handy standard works your core muscles and offers the strength and conditioning your body needs to become more defined. It’s a full-body exercise where you brace your entire body for stability. Form is important. Use your knees for support in the beginning until you have strength to straighten your legs. The Squat: Often referred to as the “king of all exercises,” this is an exercise that can be done anywhere, and offers increased fitness for your whole body. Hold a single dumbbell or kettle bell at chest level and brace your entire body. Descend slowly and keep the muscles engaged. Metabolic Circuits: This type of exercise will help you burn a lot of fat, but it’s also going to provide benefits to the heart. A metabolic circuit is going to include various exercises performed one after another, so you are working various muscle groups. You can do a four-minute circuit to finish up your workout, working in 20-second increments with 20-second breaks. The Inverted Row: This is a great exercise for working the muscles that you would pull with, including your biceps, back, and stabilizer muscles. This helps even out the work you are doing when you do pushups, which will provide more stabilization. Use a suspension strap.  Turtle Rolls: Everyone wants a good ab burn, but traditional exercises can cause pain and big problems for the spine. Try this fun variation with a partner. Balance on your rear and tuck your elbows to your knees. Your partner grabs your ankles, rocking you back and forth. Brace yourself as you roll to engage your muscles. Listen as Coach Sarah Walls joins Dr. Pamela Peeke to share how you can have fitness success. Sponsor: Smarty Pants Vitamins

Learn tips to have an easier life and be gracious with others.You get out of high school and college knowing what you learned from hitting the books. You didn’t learn how to rent an apartment or deal with real-life stuff. Adulting is all about tackling tasks related to adult living. All of these steps are optional and don’t define if you’re a good or bad person. The goal of adulting is to make life easier on you. Some Adulting Tips Cook for yourself. Save money and eat healthy. Buy toilet paper in bulk. You’ll always need it and it doesn’t perish. Act like you’ve been there before. In social situations, take a deep breath and act like you belong. You were on the same guest list as the other people at the party or in the workplace. Wipe up spills when they happen. It will never be easier to wipe it up than in that moment. Make your bed every day. It gives you a clean surface for laying out clothes. It also kicks your day off with intention. You don’t have to worry about ending the day in tangled sheets. Being gracious is a step above adulting. Gracious people genuinely care for other people. Graciousness is recognizing the humanity of others around you and being grateful. How to Be Gracious Learn to say “no.” We’re reluctant to turn down invitations because we focus on people pleasing. No need to labor over explanations. Don’t say “yes” when you don’t want to go. It’s better than flaking the day of the event. Don’t correct someone else’s behavior unless they ask for it or you’re raising a child. Focus on correcting your own behavior. If you’re with someone who is phone-focused, ask if your companion needs to take some time to just acknowledge what’s happening on the phone. Chronic phone use during social gatherings may prompt a conversation about rescheduling for a time of reduced phone traffic. Set the expectation that you won’t always be available immediately on your phone. You don’t have to have 70 conversations at once. Make your time with people meaningful. When faced with political difference, consider the humanity of the person in front of you. You don’t know what experiences that person has had. Just listen. Make the discussion about the ideas. If you reach an impasse, redirect the focus of your talks to more pleasant topics. Listen as Kelly Williams Brown joins Dr. Pamela Peeke to discuss how you can lead an easier life and be more mindful in your relationships. Sponsor: Smarty Pants Vitamins

Addiction affects the entire family. How can you handle a loved one's addiction?Addiction can be frightening to witness. It is a family disease, as it impacts the entire family. Author Lisa Hillman journaled her experience as her son battled addiction. It not only helped her process what she went through as a mother of an addict, but also gave insight for other families dealing with addiction. It’s tough trying to find help for your addicted love one while keeping it secret. No one is exempt from the blame, shame and guilt regarding the addiction. Your priority is to get help for your loved one. That takes a toll on you. You may need some comfort from a group therapy session. Check out groups like Al-Anon to find the right fit for you. Working through your own feelings will make you stronger for your addicted love one. Lisa's three tips for dealing with a family addiction: Educate yourself about addiction. Attend a family program or workshop. Visit an addiction center. Get informed. Don’t keep it to yourself. Share what’s going on with someone you can trust. Share it with someone at the workplace, since you spend so much time at work. Keep the focus on taking care of yourself. Do what you need to stay healthy. It’s easy to forget to eat and to miss out on sleep when you’re caught up in an addiction situation. It's unfair to the rest of the family. Work on what you can do and what you can change. Listen as Lisa Hillman joins Dr. Pamela Peeke to share her story and her son’s success beating addiction. Sponsor: Smarty Pants Vitamins

Are you showering correctly?It’s time to get down and dirty with the facts about showering. Any time you experience water exposure, you wash away the grime. But, good stuff like healthy bacteria and helpful oils get washed away as well. The longer you’re in contact with water, the greater the chance the good stuff gets washed off. Those with oily skin can take longer showers and baths. If you have dry skin, you should limit exposure to 5-10 minutes. Long, warm showers can make you sleepy. Your body temperature drops when you leave the shower, signaling to your brain to get ready for bed. Beware the early morning luxury showering. Turning down the temperature a bit can prevent post-wash sleepiness. You should shower as soon as possible after working out or sweating during outdoor activities. This can prevent breakouts and prickly heat. Exfoliate areas of friction and where you sweat the most. Wash off pollution from outdoor activities. Use the best cleanser for your skin type. Sensitive skin is best treated with liquid body wash, since bar soap can contain harsher cleansers. Jojoba, shea butter or coconut oil help replace skin lipids that get washed away. A creamy body wash is good for dry skin. Shower gel works well for people with oily skin. Get a product that is sulfate-free. When you've finished showering, pat yourself dry. Let your body cool before applying antiperspirant. It's best to apply it before bed. Washing with soap and water works best on the go. Antibacterial gel works in a pinch, but it’s best to just wash your hands regularly. Wet hands first, add soap, lather while singing “Happy Birthday” and rinse. Keep your cell phone and surfaces clean to prevent breakouts. Carry hand cream to avoid cracked skin. Listen as Dr. Jessica Wu joins Dr. Pamela Peeke to share how to shower correctly. Sponsor: Smarty Pants Vitamins

Hear the incredible story of a doctor giving her own kidney to the man she loves.Dr. Vanessa Grubbs was a primary care physician when she met her future husband. Through him, she learned more about kidney dialysis and how the transplant system worked. Six months into knowing Robert, she decided to give her boyfriend one of her kidneys. Transplant occurred three months later, which was four months before the wedding. She just knew it was the right thing to do. They just celebrated their 12th wedding anniversary. Caregiving Words of Wisdom It’s tough for the patient to ask for help. Most individuals were fiercely independent and have a hard time asking for help. Offer to help so the individual doesn’t feel burdensome. Go to medical appointments with your patient. Doctors can drop some heavy news, and it helps to have someone there to help with the processing. Take care of yourself so you have the stamina to care for others. Listen as Dr. Grubbs joins Dr. Pamela Peeke to share her story and provide tips for caregivers. Sponsor: Smarty Pants Vitamins