Ab Workouts - My Progress

Do Digestive Enzymes Work?

2011-10-04T21:12:00.000-05:00

Exploring how do digestive enzymes work should be a primary issue of anyone who is concerned about his or her general well-being. Even though you are naturally blessed with a healthy digestive system, knowing the role of digestion enzymes will enable you to maintain it or prevent its deterioration.

Do these enzymes work in the first place? In more ways than one, if truth be told! Such enzymes are the force needed to digest food without putting a lot of stress on the digestive system. Without enzymes, digestion cannot be full or complete, and without enzymes, the body unnecessarily uses more energy when that energy could have been conserved for more important things. Have you noticed that you feel so tired that you fall asleep after eating a heavy meal? Without enzymes for digestion your body has to use up more energy than necessary.

Indirectly, these enzymes can prevent problems in the colon. They say that a problematic or clogged colon can cause premature death. Digestive enzymes can keep this from happening by making sure all the foods you take in are fully digested, so no undigested food gets into the colon. Do your stools emit a foul smell? It's because most of it is undigested food. Foul-smelling stools are not a good sign that your digestive system is working properly.

Digestion enzymes can regulate bowel movement, too. It improves metabolism and hastens the release of broken down food out of the body. The enzymes also help with weight problems, in this case. So if you are heavy and you want to get rid of the excess pounds, liposuction may not be the solution. Try dealing with your digestion problem first; if you lose weight in the process then there isn't going to be any need for you to go under the knife to shape your body.

Such are the benefits of having sufficient enzymes that would have any one take the necessary measures to increase their stock of these essential enzymes. Naturally increasing your enzymes is possible by eating your food slowly (this stimulates production of saliva) and by eating raw vegetables.

Eating your food slowly can be quite a challenge during these times, however. Have you ever thought when was the last time you actually sat down for a proper meal? Most likely it's always rush hour for you that you end up downing the entire chunk of food with a glass of milk or water. Without enough enzymes to break the food down into smaller pieces, most of the undigested food would end up in the colon. Eating raw vegetables can be a controversial issue, too, because finding organically grown vegetables can be difficult as well. Unless you are buying vegetables from a certified organic store, most of the stuff that you see have been injected with chemicals.

Well, how you choose to increase your digestive enzymes is all up to you. The important thing is you do it now that you know and understand how do digestive enzymes work.

And now, let me share with you the best digestive enzymes supplement I found which is from New Zealand.

Go to this website: http://bestdigestiveenzymesupplement.com to read more about it and how it can help you.

Article Source:http://EzineArticles.com/?expert

Dealing With Fatigue Problems

2011-10-03T21:12:00.000-05:00

While modern medicine has made it possible for people to live longer than ever before, staying healthy and fit is up to every individual to do. Fatigue problems are one of the most common problems that people have, regardless of their age. Even though many people learn to live with fatigue problems, the fact is that they should never be ignored and that people should always do their best to get rid of fatigue problems. After all, a life cannot be enjoyed if you always have aches and pains which prevent you from being relaxed and happy. There are many different things you can do in order to be relaxed and not be tired all the time, and here will be explained some of the best ways of doing this.

How to Deal with Fatigue Problems?

There are many good ways of , and here is a list of some of them which have proven to be very helpful for many people:

- Alcohol and cigarettes are two of the most important causes of fatigue problems. People who have stopped drinking and quit smoking can testify that they felt more relaxed and more energetic than ever before. Instead of drinking and smoking, you should try to find an activity that will ease your mind and body in a healthier way.

- Limiting caffeine intake to two drinks per day is a great way of leading a healthy and fatigue-free lifestyle. These drinks include coffee, tea, sodas and energy drinks.

- Eating sensibly and limiting your sugar intake is also a good way of getting rid of fatigue problems. Healthy foods like vegetables and fruits should replace not only unhealthy snacks, but also the aforementioned cigarettes and alcohol drinks.

- Exercising reduces stress levels, which helps with fatigue issues. Therefore, the more you exercise, the less tired you will be, even though it might sound like a complete paradox. Stress can cause a lot of tiredness and unwillingness to do anything, so getting rid of stress is the best way of being healthy, relaxed and in a great mood.

The goal of every human being should be to live as long as they can, and as best as they can. Fatigue problems often prevent people from achieving this goal, which does not mean that these problems cannot be dealt with. In fact, if people chose to follow the advice given to them on the subject, they could completely avoid being tired all the time.

Nemanja Boskov is an ambitious writer working on Freelancer.
If you would like anything written for you, contact Nemanja Boskov at nemanjaboskov at gmail dot com

Article Source:http://EzineArticles.com/?expert

Lack of Sleep, Weight Gain and Teen Obsession With Celebrity

2011-10-02T21:12:00.000-05:00

How Lack of Sleep Affects Weight Gain in Teens

Moving towards adolescence is always a confusing and challenging time for children, and then when weight gain is thrown into the mix, their daily lives can become even more difficult to manage.

Peer pressure, school demands, and puberty, are just a few of the stress related factors they come up against. And there's the endless succession of gossipy half-truths adolescents share amongst themselves on a daily basis, and then the incredible influence fashion magazines and the TV media play in their lives when they start exploring who they are and how they'd like to present themselves to the world.

Weight Gain & Teenage Obsession with Celebrity

We all know that staying abreast of the latest trends in today's so called 'pop' culture means staying slim. Although weight maintenance means eating a healthy diet, getting plenty of exercise and a good night's sleep, the pressure on many teens to lose (sometimes excessive amounts of) weight so they can fit into the latest fashions and look like celebrities in magazines, often means radical diets.

Yes, wanting to be (like) someone else (famous actor, singer, comedian, or any one of the numerous celebrities in the spotlight today) is becoming an accepted part of a teenager's life.

The Digital Technology Factor & Hi-Caffeine Drink Craze

Is your budding teenager experiencing abnormal levels of anxiety and stress due to their obsession with owning the latest piece of digital technology to hit the market? Is your daughter/son constantly on their iPhone with friends all hours of the night and not getting the sleep they need? Is your teenage son/daughter drinking hi-caffeine soft drinks to kick start their day (like adults drink coffee), or drinking hi-caffeine soda while playing computer games late at night?

Teenagers Prone to Weight Gain

Lucky are those who are blessed with a speedy metabolism and an active lifestyle; these are the teens who burn fats faster and are able to deal with weight issues effortlessly. But for the teens who are prone to weight gain it's a different story. Trying to keep up with their 'lucky' peers is usually where their weight problems escalate and become more traumatic.

Along with an unhealthy lifestyle, if you think a teenager's lack of sleep doesn't contribute to their weight gain, think again. Yes, genes, food intake, and lack of exercise may be the main reasons why so many young children and budding teenagers continue to gain weight - but the one thing continually overlooked is, the fact that every day, more and more clinical studies show that lack of sleep is an important factor not being taken seriously when it comes to teenage weight gain and obesity.

Finding Answers to The Teenage Lack of Sleep Dilemma?

With the onslaught of digital technology today, along with the continuous bombardment of disturbing social issues in the media (that once only adults were exposed to) the young are finding it harder and harder to just be themselves - so if you're finding your teenage child showing signs of stress and anxiety and you think it may be due to lack of sleep, for more detailed information and answers that could solve their lack of sleep problem, please, check out Yan Muckle's SLEEPTRACKS program...

Article Source:http://EzineArticles.com/?expert

Recognizing the Tapeworm Symptoms

2011-10-01T21:12:00.000-05:00

Tape worms are considered to be one of the most dangerous worms which are parasitic in nature and can cause lethal damage to their host. When tape worms are present in one's body, they do not show signs of their presence during the early stage of their being present in one's body. The sad part about being affected by these worms is that by the time a person realises that he is being affected by tapeworms and can see tapeworm symptoms, the worms have already cause enough damage within his body.

The tape worms, when present in their host's body, are known to gradually and steadily suck out all the nutrients from one's body, eventually making the host extremely weak and feeble. Usually growing children may show tapeworm symptoms by looking extremely weak; and it is high possible that parents and teachers are able to observe a sudden drop in their school performance. Those of you seem to be noticing such symptoms in your children should certainly consult a doctor and explain these tapeworm symptoms to the doctor so that he can further validate the presence of this parasite in your child.

While in some cases tapeworm symptoms would be visible by observing sudden digestive problems and also different kinds of stomach diseases, more often than not people tend to get severe Diarrhoea when their bodies are being attacked by tapeworms. While diarrhoea will reduce the essential level of water in the body, the continuous suction of the vital nutrients would completely deplete the body of energy and strength. Since the host is not able to retain any nutrients in the body, his haemoglobin level crashes. The result of all these inter-related diseases also causes one to have a sudden drastic drop in the level of immunity.

The worst tapeworm symptoms can be seen when the host is so depleted of nutrients and energy that he begins to lose appetite and is unable to regenerate the required vital nutrients for his body. At this stage one can easily observe a lack of appetite and resultingly see the physical impact in the host. While these are some of the common tapeworm symptoms, one may even observe people who may be having seizures due to the presence of tapeworms because these deadly parasites can even compress the nerves of the brain if they happen to reach the brain and begin residing there.

The best way to avoid any contact with these parasites is to make sure we wash all our vegetables and fruits before we eat and that we never allow our children to play in the soil where these worms are known to continuously reproduce.

This article will help you with the knowledge of the causes of worms in your pets. hookwormsindogs.net

Article Source:http://EzineArticles.com/?expert

Are Digestive Enzymes Safe?

2011-09-30T21:12:00.000-05:00

You've probably heard about the need for digestion supplementation, but are digestive enzymes safe for everybody? Well, enzymes for digestion are supposed to help with digestion exactly, so if the body needs them to perform its tasks, they have to be safe. Safe though they are you cannot have too much, and especially not too little of any particular digestive enzyme.

Well, lipase, an enzyme needed to break down and metabolize fat, is important, but too much lipase can be indicative of pancreatitis or the presence of stomach tumors that cause the pancreas to enlarge and cause the production of more lipase enzymes than normal. Individuals with higher levels of lipase than normal may present with symptoms associated with pancreatitis or diabetes, and these include chest pain, nausea and vomiting, sweating, and high sugar levels. On the other hand, too little of this fat-metabolizing enzyme will lead to discomforts after eating a high-fat meal. Lipase deficiency can cause abdominal pain, make the liver swell, and turn one yellowish.

Another important enzyme is amylase. Amylase is needed in the metabolism of carbohydrates. A great number of people are on a high-carb diet, and so they will need to monitor their amylase levels, especially if they are already in their mid-40s with signs of slow metabolism. They need to make sure that they do not go below the level that is required for this food group's complete digestion. A deficiency in amylase may result to mood swings, depression, PMS, hot flashes, inflammation, skin rashes, allergic reactions, body aches, and low blood sugar. Also just as important as these two enzymes is protease. Protease ensures the complete digestion of proteins. Not enough of this enzyme can cause constipation and fungal infections.

Deficiencies from these enzymes can be corrected by maintaining a healthy diet that includes mostly of raw foods (raw vegetables, in particular, have very high levels of digestive enzymes), vitamins and minerals (whether you get them from whole foods or in the form of supplement, it does not matter), a probiotic drink (this contains millions of good bacteria that aid in digestion), and a high quality enzyme supplement.

When choosing a digestive supplement, however, it is necessary to choose one that has the correct blend of enzymes that you need. If you are high on lipase already, then for obvious reasons, choose a product that does not have lipase, but which contains the other enzymes that are essential to you. This, of course, also goes to say that when your body requires just one specific enzyme you are not going to need a digestive enzyme blend but just one enzyme supplement in particular. Needless to say the availability of digestive supplements must not eliminate the need to embark on a healthy diet and a healthy lifestyle.

The answer to the question, then, are digestive enzymes safe, can be a yes or a no, depending on the levels of the digestive enzymes in your body.

And now, let me share with you the best digestive enzymes supplement I found which is from New Zealand.

Go to this website: http://bestdigestiveenzymesupplement.com to read more about it and how it can help you.

Article Source:http://EzineArticles.com/?expert

The Benefits of Digestive Enzymes That You Should Be Aware Of

2011-09-29T21:12:00.000-05:00

If you aren't taking digestive enzyme supplements yet, it is probably because you have very little (or none at all) idea of the benefits of digestive enzymes. The things that are usually taught in school are about vitamins and minerals. You've learned so much about the different kinds of vitamins, how and where to outsource them, and how your body can make the most of them. But you might not have known one very important thing, that is that these vitamins and minerals you have come to know as essential to good health, need enzymes to power them up. Without enzymes, these vitamins and minerals would have very little value.

The digestive system also needs enzymes for it to function properly. To thoroughly digest food, the digestive system requires sufficient digestive enzymes. Complete digestion of foods is one of the most important benefits of digestive enzymes, and one that appears to hold the key to good health. It's like this - when the food is not thoroughly digested, the undigested food, along with the toxins it comes with, stays in your body. Not only does this add to your weight problems, it also burdens your digestive system unnecessarily. Your pancreas has to double the work it normally does to try to get rid of the extra burden, and overworking your pancreas will have serious consequences on your blood sugar levels and general well being. Indigestion makes you feel heavy and uncomfortable. It can cause diarrhea, too, or constipation. Eventually, the undigested food clogs the colon, and there is going to be a new wave of problems for you to deal with.

Digestive enzymes can be found richly in papaya, pineapple, raw (organic) honey, and goat's milk. Raw vegetables contain a number of enzymes, too. Papaya, specifically, has Papain, an enzyme that is necessary to break down protein. Its leaves have plenty of enzymes, too, and can, with the flesh, be turned into a delicious juice drink. Eating papaya with a high-protein meal is highly recommended. Pineapple, meanwhile has Bromelain, an enzyme that, like Papain, helps in the digestion of proteins. If you are having chicken and meat for lunch, eating fresh pineapples for dessert reduces the impact of these foods on your tummy. Raw, organic honey has enzymes needed for carbohydrate digestion, while goat's milk has lipase, an enzyme needed to metabolize fat. It is very important that you eat these foods in their raw state, however, if you want to make the most of them. Cooking them in any way destroys the enzymes and renders them useless.

Another way you can increase your digestive enzymes is through digestive enzyme supplements. Yes, there are lots of these now available for public consumption. However, you need to choose carefully as many do not contain enzymes in the recommended strength. You must look for a high quality supplement, preferably one from an established company, and you also have to make sure that the strength of each enzyme present is properly indicated.

Don't these benefits of digestive enzymes sound convincing enough for you to shop for a digestive enzyme supplement?

And now, let me share with you the best digestive enzymes supplement I found which is from New Zealand.

Go to this website: http://bestdigestiveenzymesupplement.com to read more about it and how it can help you.

Article Source:http://EzineArticles.com/?expert

Fitness Bootcamp - Tips To Find The Right One For You

2011-09-28T21:12:00.000-05:00

ByKerris Samson

If you are looking to lose weight then attending a fitness bootcamp should be seriously considered. But with so many of these programs now to choose from it can prove challenging determining just which one is right for you. In this article we offer a few tips on how to choose the best fitness bootcamp for you in order that you will get the most from the workouts you perform.

Tip 1 - You Need To Find The Right Trainer

One thing that you should know before you begin your search and which will make a huge amount of difference to what you achieve is that you need to find the right kind of trainer. As you would expect not all fitness trainers are created equal. A local fitness instructor who has discovered that they can make quite a bit of money from teaching these types of classes will have started most of these types of programs. They will buy some materials to market their business and to create a workout program and then just start running the classes.

The problem with this kind of approach is that, as they haven't actually taken into consideration the needs of those participating in their classes. So even if you invest a great deal of time and money into such classes you won't have much to show for it in the future. Make sure that you actually choose a program where the instructors have undergone the necessary training and obtained the necessary certificates.

Tip 2 - You Need To Find The Right Workout

Again you need to understand that the workouts provided at various fitness boot camps do differ quite a bit. In order to find the right workout for you make sure that you find an instructor who has some experience in offering these types of classes and has been doing them for some time. It is also worthwhile checking to see if they are affiliated to any particular fitness bootcamp organization. It is a sure way of knowing that the workouts you will undertake have been well planned and are designed to ensure that your particular needs are being met. This will then ensure that the results you desire are going to be much easier to achieve.

Tip 3 - Make Sure That You Get Variety In Your Workouts

One of the biggest problems faced by anyone trying to get in shape is if the workouts are repetitive they become bored. As a result of this actually remaining motivated and focused on what they want to do in order to get in shape becomes a great deal more difficult. Don't only look to see if the programs on offer provide you with a variety of different exercises to do, but also allow you to do the programs at times to suit you. Although having the same instructor may seem like a good idea also find a fitness bootcamp where you get instruction from several different trainers. These programs do tend to cost more but of course you are getting what you pay for.

Would you like the opportunity to learn more about the advantages and disadvantages of getting involved in a Fitness Bootcamp then click on the link provided. Plus you will find more about how you can benefit from attending such sessions when it comes to wanting to lose weight or just get into shape.

Article Source:http://EzineArticles.com/?expert

Tricks to Get Your Kids to Drink More Water

2011-09-27T21:12:00.000-05:00

Ok, so maybe my definition of "drinking water" is a little more loosely defined, but I promise that you will be right along with me by the end of this post. I am sure that most people agree that drinking water and keeping hydrated is quite important if you want your body to continue to function at an optimal level. Keeping hydrated is dually important for kids as well.

The fall season does not officially begin until September 23, so there is still a big chunk of summer left. Let this also serve as a reminder that it is also important to keep hydrated in the cooler months as well. Here are tips to keep your kids hydrated long after the lazy days of summer.

Be Consistent

Consistently offer your kids water at various times of day. Offering just plain, unadulterated water to your kids at different times of day will not only liken the chances that your child(ren) will partake, but will demonstrate to your kids that you think drinking water is very important. What is important to you will likely become important to them.

Be an Example

"Do as I say not as I do", really does not work for the long haul. If you want your kids to build healthy hydration habits that will last long after they have grown up and left your home then, you need to be an example. Opting for water instead of sodas, sugary drinks and other beverages will not only set a great example, it is a "drink to your health".

Offer Personalization

Giving your kids choices and options are a great to get them to drink more water. Offer them a choice of a special cup or mug in which they can drink their "sky juice". You may also give them the option of ice or no ice, chilled or room temperature variety. Does your little one have a favorite fruit? Offer pieces of fruit in the water for a naturally flavored variety. Citrus fruits, pineapples and cucumbers are great options! You didn't think that this was just for the spa did you? As another alternative, try offering juice that is diluted with water. Half of those fruit beverages are way too sweet anyway. Thirty to fifty percent dilution will do the trick.

Eat It

Maybe Weird Al Yankovic knew what he was talking about? It is a myth that water has to be poured to be counted into your 6-8 glasses. Offer kids a choice of fruits and veggies with high water content. Cucumbers, oranges, lemons, watermelons, peaches, apples, tomatoes, and grapes are very "water loving". Don't forget to offer personalization here too. Kids can help you choose and even "juice" their favorite fruits and veggies for a healthy treat.

Lisa is a true learner of life. Although much of her learning came from the scientific arena, she garners her lifestyle management lessons from any setting.

This self proclaimed "Domestic Life Stylist" is passionate about matters concerning the home and takes a multi-faceted approach to the topic from a modern mom's perspective.

For more information on cooking, travel, entertaining, budgeting, family health and overall home management tips go to http://thedomesticlifestylist.blogspot.com.

To learn Lisa's 21 practical and proven ways to save money visit
http://thedomesticlifestylist.blogspot.com

Article Source:http://EzineArticles.com/?expert

Human Growth Hormone Information

2011-09-26T21:12:00.000-05:00

Growth hormone is a protein hormone and is essentially a tissue building hormone which is produced and secreted by the anterior portion of the pituitary gland.

Growth hormone is an extremely important piece of the body's endocrine system and is produced throughout our life, peaking through adolescence and progressively declining with age. It is secreted in six to twelve pulses each day with the largest pulse released around one hour after the onset of sleep. Levels of growth hormone in the blood are regulated by two hormones produced in the hypothalamus called growth hormone releasing hormone and growth hormone inhibiting hormone. The most powerful stimulus for the secretion of growth hormone is sleep.

Growth hormone (GH) has a variety of roles that it plays within the body, the most widely known role is its function in skeletal and muscle growth. In adolescents GH actively stimulates the growth plates in the long bones of the arms and legs. Although most cells in the body have GH receptors, most growth promoting effects are mediated indirectly by insulin-like growth factors produced in the liver and secreted in response to GH, because of this the liver is the main target organ of GH.

GH also plays an important role in metabolism as it stimulates stored fats to break down into free fatty acids, and also suppresses fatty tissues from accumulating more lipids. It also acts in the opposite function of insulin and decreases the rate of glucose uptake and metabolism, and in the liver it encourages glycogen breakdown and release of glucose to the blood.

GH also increases calcium retention and strengthens and increases the mineralization of bone.

Excess secretion has a very visible impact on the body; this impact is different according to the age of onset and is mainly caused by a tumour growing in the pituitary gland. In young children or adolescents this results in a very rare condition known as Gigantism.

A famous case of gigantism was Robert Wadlow who holds the world record for being the tallest man. Robert Wadlow was born in 1918 weighing a normal eight pounds but, by the time he was eight years old he was six feet, two inches tall, and by the time he died at the age of 22, he had reached eight feet, eleven inches in height.

In older people, an excess of growth hormone levels causes a condition known as Acromegaly, which causes thickening of the jaw, fingers and toes. Other problems that can accompany this condition include enlarged organs, joint problems, insulin resistance and reduced sexual functioning.

Under secretion (hyposecretion) also has a distinct impact on the body. In children this results in a condition known as pituitary dwarfism, which results in relatively normal body proportions, but a short height. In adults the effects are much less noticeable and can include deficiencies in strength, energy, and bone mass as well as an increased risk of cardiovascular disease.

Under secretion of growth hormone may be caused by mutations of specific genes, malformations in the hypothalamus and/or pituitary gland and also damage to the pituitary gland from injury, surgery or disease.

Physical exercise is the most powerful stimulus (apart from sleep) for secretion of GH.

The exercise-induced growth hormone response is well recognised, and although the exact mechanisms remain unclear, a number of implicating factors have been acknowledged by researchers, including stimulation by catecholamines, neural stimulation, and lactate and nitric oxide levels.

Several studies that I have looked at suggest that GH levels after exercise are largely determined by the length of time, intensity and type of exercise undertaken.

These studies have suggested that training above the lactate threshold for a minimum of 10 minutes appears to elicit the greatest stimulus to the secretion of GH.

Researchers acknowledge that more studies need to be undertaken in this area in order to develop a better understanding of growth hormone response to exercise and the need to be able to define the ideal method of provoking the maximum response as a way to curb the growing practice of growth hormone doping in the sports industry by giving potential abusers a safer alternative.

Ash - Rush Fitness NZ

NZ Sports Event Finder

Article Source:http://EzineArticles.com/?expert

Natural Childbirth Alternatives Include Hypnobirthing Are Effective

2011-09-25T21:12:00.000-05:00

Since the beginning of mankind a woman has given birth in a natural setting, without the use of drugs or any other medical intervention techniques meant to ease the pain and discomfort while "having a baby". This was mainly because there were no appropriate medicines available for the midwife who was usually in attendance. There was also a fear of doing harm to the baby. Once hospitalization became popular and modern medications became available, along with testing which showed them safe (more or less) for the unborn child, a large majority of pregnant women chose drugs to help them get through the often painful process of delivery. Recently there has been a resurgence in the popularity of midwifery and when assisted by a trained and well qualified midwife childbirth need not be something to fear nor be a painful procedure.

Natural childbirth offers alternative methods for comfort

More recently there was a movement toward more natural birthing, and women appreciated the choices available to them. Among the more popular methods of birthing in a natural way are hydrotherapy, breathing exercises, water birth, use of a birthing ball, hypnosis, hot and cold therapy with compresses, and acupressure. Each of these pain management styles or techniques can be taught while attending natural child birthing classes. What may work well for one woman may not be as helpful for another however and most of it involves some form of mental training such as mindfulness (thinking in the moment or devoting one's entire concentration onto one specific task as with delivery of the baby). Women can talk themselves out of much of their pain by practicing one of the techniques and rehearsing with a birthing partner (husband or midwife).

Hypnosis becomes popular alternative now known as hypnobirthing

Hypnosis has become a popular method of natural child birth and women who have their first child using this method find they have no fear and little pain (if any at all). The practice of hypnobirthing is now considered a proven effective method of going through the labour process without fear. Many women who are pregnant for the first time and fearful, or have had a bad experience in the past, now feel that having that baby with assistance from hypnobirthing is the only way to go. All women may not find the process entirely pain free but will definitely experience less pain and because they are more relaxed, the labour and delivery will be far quicker, thus easier on both mother and child. And hypnobirthing can be incorporated into other natural birthing methods such as changing position or even standing and climbing stairs to induce her labour.

Faster birth often means less medical procedure intervention

When the labour and birthing process happens smoothly and efficiently there is far less probability that medical intervention will be required. Such procedures as an episiotomy (cutting the perineum to prevent tearing) or instrumental assistance to deliver or even a C-section can be prevented through the total relaxation of the mother without the use of drugs. Any time drugs are given to the mother before her child is delivered and the cord cut, there is an opportunity for those medications to enter the baby's blood stream and potentially cause harm.

HypnoBirthing is a technique that has worked for thousands of couples preparing for the birth of a new baby, whether first time parents or not. Plan a Hypno birth for your next child now.

Article Source:http://EzineArticles.com/?expert

12 Tips to Help Women Sleep Better

2011-09-24T21:12:00.000-05:00

Women have a tendency to put everything first. With all the responsibilities one of the first things we tend to put off is sleep. We try to squeeze just one more thing in before we go to bed. The problem is that we do not get enough sleep and then have troubles getting everything done the next day. With a little planning and a few small changes in habits sleep can be back as a time to renew and refresh both body and mind. These 12 small changes will help.

• Go to bed at the same time every night. Your body is designed to follow a specific order known as a circadian rhythm so it expects to go to sleep around the same time each day.

• Try to keep the clutter out of your bedroom. Your house may have a little clutter but your bedroom should be a place of rest if you have clutter it can keep your mind active thinking about all the things you need to do.

• Get a little sunlight in the morning. Your brain reacts to the sunlight and tells you it is time to be awake. This helps to set your internal clock so it will be easier to get to sleep at night

• Reduce your exposure to light at least 20 minutes before sleep. Your brain needs the cue that says it is night time and time to go to sleep.

• Avoid the use of electronics before bed. They give off a lot more light than you realize and will stimulate your brain saying it is not dark out and not time to go to bed

• If you do choose to nap in the afternoon make it short. A nap for an adult should be no more than 20 minutes. This allows your brain to reboot and for you to feel refreshed without keeping you awake at night.

• Get some exercise during the day. This will allow your body to expend energy that will allow you to sleep better at night

• Listen to your body. Everyone needs to get a certain amount of sleep most women it is 7-8 hours a night. Listen to your body and then plan your bedtime to make sure you get that much sleep.

• Change your pillows on a regular basis. Many people do not think about changing their pillow but if you think about it they are used every night and eventually they will not support you the way they once did. You should change them every 6 months to 1 year depending on the style.

• If you have hot flashes try putting a cool damp washcloth on the back of your neck. It will help to end the hot flash and allow you to go to sleep.

• If you have leg cramps during the night especially if you are pregnant you might want to try compression stockings to help reduce the ache. It appears that the pressure helps to reduce the signals the nerves give out helping to reduce the problem.

• Talk to your doctor if you have sleep issues. There are many health issues that can disrupt your sleep and are under diagnosed in women like acid reflux, incontinence, sleep apnea and teeth grinding. These can be treated but only if you talk to your doctor about them.

Sleep is such an important part of your day and can improve your memory, health and well being. Do not think that it is unproductive time but giving yourself what your body requires.

Sleep is as important to health as healthy eating and exercise only easier. Well sometimes it is not easier. When you have sleep issues it affects every aspects of your life; learning, relationships, energy and overall health. Sometimes it takes a sleep coach to help you sort though what you need to change to achieve a good night sleep every night. If you would like a 15 minute evaluation of your sleep routine or wish to sign up for out quarterly newsletter at http://www.bettersleepcoach.com or write Amy Korn-Reavis at bettersleepcoach

Men's Hair Removal - New or No?

2011-09-23T21:12:00.000-05:00

ByTamera L Robinson

Yesterday I had a male client say something I've heard time and again. "I suppose you don't get many men, getting waxed huh?" I told him the vast majority of my clients are men. His response, "Well it's not very manly". A this point, I was thinking, it depends on where, and how much hair is removed, more so, popular, public opinion of the day.

This got me to thinking. I mean, I hear this ALL the time. There is this mistaken perception, that men's hair removal is new. I would bet men have been removing hair longer than women, and certainly so in Europe. We know in Europe, many women keep their body hair, and it's thought to be sexy. We also know that waxing in it's modern form is said to be imported from Europe.

So, let's take a look at early Greek statues. The detail is amazing. Oh, and did you notice that the only hair, is perfectly coiffed, in both the head/face, and pubic regions? The rest of the body, has no hair. It was considered to be more flattering, to have the hair removed.

Okay then, let's say it's a new thing here in the U.S. We'll look at the physical fitness industry... oh... say... Bert Goodrich. The first Mr. America in 1938. I'm pretty sure, nobody walked up to him, and told him, he wasn't manly. You can tell, he has very little body hair. One can assume, with a certain level of confidence, his hair has been intentionally removed, for appearance. Not a feminine appearance either!

In the late 1980's to early 1990's, I was involved in body building. During that period of time, there were a number of chemical hair removers available over the counter, with which I was familiar. I'm sure there were other methods, of which I'm not familiar. The point is... It was a given, that body hair would be removed, to enhance the visibility of the muscle, for better judging. The attire was also kept to a minimum, again, so muscle could be more clearly seen for judging.

Today; MEN, may mock men who wax, or otherwise remove body hair to be more appealing, but I assure you, women do not. Look at any sex symbol today, he's waxed! Take a look at an image of David Beckham. Notice the hair at the belly button, yet, none on the chest... waxed! I must say, even the iconic manly man, Harrison Ford, got his chest waxed for Global Warming (Ford on deforestation - "Every bit of rain forest that gets ripped out over there, really hurts us over here.") in 2008.

Coming into the homestretch of this thought train... Honestly; I don't know if any of these folks use wax to remove hair. I can't even say for sure they have hair removed. Maybe every hottie on film, in ads, or in pics, comes from a long line of hairless humans. Who knows!? Regardless; today, men having hair removed is considered sexy. Does it really matter how they did it?

The important thing is... New or no, men's waxing, is here to stay. Don't be intimidated by other men, who are insecure in their manhood, and feel the need to demean others. If you, or your partner, think it could be sexy; DUDE, spice it up! Get it waxed! Whatever IT is.

Tamera L Robinson, Owner - Waxing Etc
Licensed Esthetician WA#89996
Expert Men's and Women's Full Body Waxing.
Specializing in Brazilian Bikini Waxing in Vancouver WA
http://waxingetc.com

Article Source:http://EzineArticles.com/?expert

Can Pepcid AC Cure Your Asian Flush Syndrome?

2011-09-22T21:12:00.000-05:00

ByM Yamamoto

Life can really suck if you have Asian glow. I know because I have it. Like any physical condition that basically has no cure, you have to learn to live with it until a cure or treatment can be discovered.

Asian flush or "Asian glow" as it is sometimes referred to, is a genetic condition that affects approximately 50% of people of Asian descent. It is essentially a disorder where the sufferer cannot break down alcohol like a normal person. As a result, symptoms will develop such as red facial flushing, swelling, headache, rapid heartbeat, nausea and itching.

So like I said, there is no cure for this condition. There is no magic pill that will make all these symptoms go away. You won't be able to find something in the drug store specifically for Asian glow. I think if the pharmaceutical companies did have a cure for this condition, it would make a lot of money. Unfortunately, nothing official has come out yet. Not that there isn't methods to help treat some of the symptoms. There is. We'll go over that right now.

Does Pepcid AC Help with Asian Glow?

Over the counter drugs called H2 blockers are commonly used among many young sufferers, based on some internet searches. The street names for these drugs are Pepcid AC or Zantac. They are typically associated with antacids. The main reason why they work for Asian glow sufferers is because they relieve gastric acid in the stomach. It will counteract the effect of Alcohol consumption, which creates gastric acid. This usually slows down the effect alcohol has on the sufferer's body, thus reducing the symptoms. So yes, it does help somewhat in relieving the symptoms, especially red flushing to the face (red face). It should be noted that before you take any pharmaceutical drugs, even if is over the counter, you should consult with your doctor first.

My Personal Opinion.

I have tried taking Pepcid AC and it does relieve some of my symptoms. Before I took Pepcid AC, I would take a few drinks and my face would be the color of a fresh ripe tomato, ready to be picked. After taking Pepcid AC, I noticed that my face was a little blush and I experienced some hot flushes around my neck area but nothing more severe than that. It's possible my condition may not be as strong as other sufferers.

The most important thing I feel in controlling Asian flush is to stop it from happening. If that means drinking less or consuming drinks with less alcoholic content, so be it. Sometimes, you just have to learn to compromise if you want to stay healthy. Sufferers of Asian flush will experience varying degrees of symptoms. Taking Pepcid AC or Zantac might help some people but it might have no effect on others.

Want to learn more about Pepcid and Asian glow on my website.

Article Source:http://EzineArticles.com/?expert

Thailand: Leading Asia In The Medical Tourism Market

2011-09-21T21:12:00.000-05:00

ByJaipal Singh Deshwal

Crossing borders for specialized and cost-effective medical treatments and procedures is fast catching up as a trend. More than a trend, it's a great necessity that makes it possible for patients to gain their health back without having to break the bank. Pushing other nations down the list, Thailand has been steadily stepping up the ladder to become one of the top medical tourism centers in the world. The number of patients visiting Thailand has been increasing by each year since the year 2000. Apart from the low-cost of medical treatment in this country, there are several other factors like high quality treatments and great tourism infrastructure that ensure that Thailand keeps dominating this growing market. Patients from around the world book cheap flights to Thailand to avail the exception health care benefits offered by its health care systems.

Thailand boasts of having close to 400 hospitals and health centers that treats thousands of international patients each year. Home to the first Asian hospital to receive JCI accreditation and ISO 9001 certification, this country has more than 14 hospitals today that are JCI-accredited. It's the private hospitals that rule the roost in the country and attracts a major portion of the best trained surgeons and doctors by paying them about 70% more than the public hospitals. Some of the leading private sector hospitals in the country include Bangkok Hospital Group, Bumrungrad International Hospital and Samitivej Hospitals. These world class hospitals mostly cater to foreign patients as native people find them to be too expensive. However, the medical cost of treatments in the country is very cost effective for patients from the western world as the similar treatments are available in their native countries at exorbitant prices.

Thailand offers a comprehensive list of medical treatments and surgeries for both international patients and the locals, including cosmetic surgeries, dental procedures, medical check-up programs, cardiac procedures orthopedic surgery, infertility treatment, bariatric surgery and ophthalmology and eye surgery. A comparison chart of the cost of these treatments and surgeries in Thailand and United States reiterates the reasons behind growing popularity of Thailand as one of the top medical tourism destination. Take heart bypass surgery as example. While this procedure is available in United States for $130,000, one just needs to shell out $11,000 for the same treatment in Thailand. The price difference is huge and even patients who can't afford the same in their own country can lead a healthy life after undergoing the surgery in Thailand. It's no surprise that cheap flights to Thailand are forever in high demand, be it any season of the year!

Low cost of medical treatments, high quality health care services and world class tourism infrastructure ensures that demand for cheap flights to Thailand keeps soaring with each year. Make Thailand your preferred medical tourism destination and reap the benefits!

Article Source:http://EzineArticles.com/?expert

4 Common Causes of Vitamin D Deficiency

2011-09-20T21:12:00.000-05:00

ByWilliam Doe

Lack of Vitamin D is said to affect over 80 percent of United States population in one form or another. Once you know some of the causes of Vitamin D deficiency, you will see why. The purpose of this article is to educate you so you will know what to look out for in the event you or someone you know should suffer from this.

The most common causes in most people who are affected usually come from plain and simple not getting enough Vitamin D in their daily lives, whether it be in dietary or supplemental form. Not getting enough exposure to the sun is another. And more often than one may think, sometimes the kidneys just won't convert Vitamin D into the active form that our bodies need.

1. Diet lacking in Vitamin D: When it comes to our basic daily diets, it is darn near impossible to receive the Recommended Daily Allowance that is called for and that is one of the main causes of Vitamin D deficiency. The only foods we tend to consume that have any significant amount are beef liver, fish oil, fish which is wild caught and oily, and egg yolks. Not exactly daily staples in the daily nutrition regimen of most people.

2. Not enough exposure to sunlight: I know there are those who rant and rave about avoiding the sun and what it can do your skin. However, avoiding or not getting enough of it is yet another of the causes. Vitamin D3 is created by our skin when exposed to the ultraviolet rays of the sun.

Now the amount of exposure needed and what the impact is varies by individual. Factors could include skin color, body fat percentage, the time of year. So, while overexposure to the sun is not a good thing, a certain amount is necessary and not getting enough constitutes one of the causes of Vitamin D deficiency. So, a person basically needs to find and strike a healthy balance between the two.

3. Kidneys Aging: Well-functioning kidneys are necessary to convert Vitamin D into the body's active form. And it does not matter what form the Vitamin D is received in, be it supplemental in nature, in dietary form, or by sunlight. However, as we age our kidneys become less capable of fulfilling this task, making this one of the causes of Vitamin D deficiency.

4. Lack of supplements: This is definitely high on the list of causes. Since sufficient amounts of Vitamin D are so hard to come by from our daily diets, and with people being leery about overexposure to the sun, the importance of supplements in battling this deficiency is greatly magnified.

There are plenty of Vitamin D and D3 supplements to choose from to combat the causes of Vitamin D deficiency. It may take a little experimentation to find the right one, but when you consider the importance of getting enough Vitamin D, it is well worth it.

To learn more about Vitamin D deficiency, visit Causes of Vitamin D Deficiency

Article Source:http://EzineArticles.com/?expert

Urgent Medical Care Is Required for Sprains and Strains

2011-09-19T21:12:00.000-05:00

ByPatricia Susan

When you have a medical emergency, such as a sprain, broken bone or strained muscle, the pain can be unbearable. This emergency requires immediate medical help. Waiting for a physician to see you in a hospital emergency room can take hours and the pain can be excruciating. Sitting in a crowded waiting room causes pain, stress and can waste precious time in the healing process. However, there are alternatives in medical care that can shorten and even remove that waiting time. It is a good idea to research facilities in your area that can provide professional services, experienced doctors and thorough services to meet your needs. The key in an emergency is to respond quickly and not to wait around for hours while your condition worsens. You can never predict when you will need urgent medical care in your life. However, with a little research and preparation, you will at least know where to go if something does occur. You want to avoid pain from broken bones, flu symptoms, allergic reactions and muscle spasms.

Let's have a look at some of the basics that any individual suffering from a sprain or strain should understand prior getting the medical care. These are two different medical conditions. An injury to a ligament due to tearing or stretching is known as a sprain and an injury to a muscle or tendon is known as a strain. In your body there are muscles, ligaments and tendons; all of these together hold joints together and allow an individual to move. Two bones are held together with the help of a ligament and it is with the help of tendons that muscles are connected to bones. This is how movement occurs. In any age group, these conditions can occur to an individual either from falling, lifting, twisting, or sports, exercise, or car accidents.

During sprains and strains, the sufferer goes through pain, bruising, swelling, muscle spasm, inflammation or cramping. In case of severe sprains or strains, ligament, tendon or muscle can be even ripped off and in such times, urgent medical care is required. Initially, you can start by resting the affected area and then you can put ice or compression like an ACE bandage over it. In case of swelling, it is important to maintain the area in an elevated position. Sometimes, severe sprains and strains can result in fractures and may also need corrective surgery. For this, it is important that your doctor give you a complete set of urgent X-rays.

If surgery is not required, then your doctor may wrap the injured area with an ACE bandage. He may also apply a splint or cast so that your joint can be kept stable for healing. Usually anti-inflammatory medications and muscle relaxants can also be quite helpful in such conditions. Your physician or specialist can also let you know if an MRI is required.

In a nut shell, the best medical care centre for a sprain or strain is the one without a long waiting period so that you can minimize the time you are in pain and make sure your injury gets the immediate care it needs.

Urgent care in NYC Manhattan. Walk-in doctor services with no waiting. Adult medical care and urgent care manhattan. Our pediatricians nyc doctors offer expertise and excellent service.

Article Source:http://EzineArticles.com/?expert

Summertime and Water

2011-09-18T21:12:00.000-05:00

Water is a natural necessity. It is essential to consume enough water, but it is also important to be wary of water, because if water is life, it can also constrain life and sometimes take it back.

We are water. Our body contains an inland sea. Before our birth, we go through a phase (water) as we swim in amniotic fluid. A two months fetus is composed of over 95 percent water. As an infant, water represents 75 percent of our total weight and at adulthood, it still represents 65 percent of our total weight. From top to bottom we are waterlogged: Our blood and our brains contain more than 80 percent water, 75 percent our muscles and our skeleton nearly 40 percent.

DEHYDRATION

We lose an average of two liters of water daily through perspiration, respiration and the elimination exerted by our kidneys. Much more during hot weather during summer or during a sustained physical exercise. If we lose the equivalent of 2 percent of our water, we feel the need to drink. At 10 percent, our skin shrinks and we are victims of hallucinations. At 15 percent dehydration, we are in danger of dying... Dehydration is also the source of many evils among which inflammation, thickening of the blood, compaction discs and kidney problems and much more. Dehydration is insidious. The sensation of thirst occurs late, when the water losses are already large. Therefore drink regularly during the day, even if we do not feel thirsty. At least one and a half liters of low mineral content water, and more than double that amount during hot weather or during a heat wave.

SWIMMER'S OTITIS

The ear wax (cerumen) that builds up naturally in the ears is very useful. It protects the ear canal from moisture and contains a beneficial bacteria for the ear. It's that bacteria which protects the ears from external otitis which is the most current, usually called (swimming pool otitis) or (swimmer's otitis) because it is more often diagnosed in children who swim often. Itching inside the ear, clear liquid that flows out, ear pain when moving the head or when the earlobe is pulled and difficulty hearing are all symptoms that characterize swimmer's otitis. It develops when the inside of the ears remains wet. The skin in the ear canal dry's out and small cracks are formed. Bacteria and fungi infiltrate tissues and infect the ear. The infection usually cure itself within one or two days. If there is pain in the external ear or if there is a purulent discharge, it is best to consult a doctor. Antibiotic drops if required will be prescribed to promote faster healing. To prevent swimmer's otitis, do not remove the wax from your ears, remove only the wax which is apparent with a washcloth only. After bathing, make sure to dry your ears correctly. While swimming, you can also wear earplugs.

DROWNING

Drowning can happen anywhere at anytime. It only takes water: lakes, rivers, ponds, pools, spas, wading pools or bathtubs. It can occur in very little water, very quickly and very often without a sound. In many cases, only a few centimeters of water is sufficient. An adult should supervise at all times, all children who are in the water or near water, and they should never be left alone in a pool, a spa, or close to a lake, a pound or a river, even for a brief moment. When the face is submerged, not breathing is voluntarily chosen, then comes the critical time when breathing again becomes imperative and with it follows an involuntary inspiration accompanied by a massive intake of water in the lungs. Lack of oxygen to the brain causes a loss of consciousness and in less than 4 minutes, the heart stops beating. The few first minutes are critical. The intervention must be quick. If you find yourself in the presence of drowned person, stay calm. Remove the person from the water. Call quick help by calling 9-1-1. Lie the person on the a hard floor or surface. Lay the person down on the side, the leg facing the ground stretched, while the other bent forward. The arm on the ground should be extended forward, the other bent forward. Tilt the person's head slightly backward so he or she can breathe and make sure nothing is obstructing the airway. Check the breathing and pulse (on the arteries in the neck). If not breathing, give artificial respiration practice mouth to mouth respiration while pinching the person nose and blowing into his mouth at a rate equivalent to 12 to 15 breaths per minute. The volume of each insufflation must allow a victim's chest to rise. If there is no pulse, couple heart massages with your artificial respiration. Locate the area where your suppose to massage, the sternum, the area where the ribs meet at the center of the chest. Place on this area the heel of one of your hand. Perform 15 compressions to 2 mouth to mouth artificial respiration; alternating, until the pulse reappears. Then continue with the same procedure until helps arrives.

Rodolphe Cote is a free lance design draftsman who also wrote many internet articles about various subjects including an article about the 17 year emergence of cicadas an insect that most people do not know much about. He is now doing internet marketing. His website is Rudys Health Products

Article Source:http://EzineArticles.com/?expert

What Is Medical Billing And Coding?

2011-09-17T21:12:00.000-05:00

ByAbbot Euphemia Campbell

What is medical billing and coding is a question that arises foremost in the minds of those who are keen to take up a career in this industry. Medical billing is typically the process through which doctors and hospitals get their payments from any health insurance company. This process may include resolution of any disputes that may arise regarding claims which have either been rejected or delayed. Medical billing and coding is actually a series of complicated procedures which requires skilled professionals and a substantial amount of time in order to be executed properly.

The bigger hospitals typically have a separate department to deal with medical billing and coding. Through this department, claims are submitted to various insurance companies for a response. In cases, where no action is taken by these companies, the individuals in question may approach the insurance giver. It is therefore crucial to any healthcare company. The nature of the whole process will depend on the kind of insurance because companies have varying policies based on diverse requirements. Medical coding is indeed a challenging task and often companies may have to outsource this job because they do not have the necessary staff for it.

Medical Billing and Coding As a Career Option:

Those who are skilled in performing this work can make a living out of it. A visit to a doctor's chamber is followed by various tests performed as part of treatment and these medical records are essential for it to be accurate. There are electronic medical billing devices which can extract information from these medical records and assign codes automatically. This bill is then checked manually by a staff member.

Once codes are assigned, the bill is submitted to the insurance giver. This information is reviewed to see if the treatment offered is relevant to the diagnosis and whether the tests done are medically justifiable. Once the bill is approved, the payments are made to the doctor electronically. When rejected, a notice of denial is sent to him. Whatever the result, the patient is informed through an EOB (Explanation of Benefits) letter. Medical coding is complicated and errors in data entry are quite common. This means that claims may have to be submitted many times before they are approved.

What Does A Medical Billing And Coding Specialist Do?

Get A Toxin-Free Body With Infrared Home Sauna

2011-09-16T21:12:00.000-05:00

BySamuel Rutter

How many of us face sluggish mornings where we simply strike the snooze button multiple times, delaying the start of our day? Sound familiar? Toxins can disturb normal activities in our daily life. They can make us feel low, depressed, tired and unmotivated. Saunas have long enjoyed a reputation for being a simple and effective way of relaxing the body while ridding it of all those nasty toxins.

Over time, our bodies naturally have harmful toxins that develop inside our digestive tract. Many of these harmful toxins are passed through our bodies as either liquid or solid waste. However, a few of these harmful toxins cannot easily be removed by the body itself and remain behind. In order to eliminate them, we need a far-infrared therapy.

Using a far-infrared therapy

Using a far infrared sauna is an effortless way to detoxify your system. The surrounding air does not get as hot as in a conventional sauna allowing you to sit more comfortably and for longer periods of time. An intense sweat is produced, up to three times as profuse as in conventional saunas allowing the elimination of toxins such as heavy metals. Improved blood flow supplies oxygen to all the tissues of the body promoting healing and regeneration.

Frequent users of home Infrared saunas report improvements in their overall health such as stronger immune systems and healthier looking skin as well as relief from joint pain and stiffness, muscular aches and spasms, arthritis and blood pressure problems.Now you can also used it in many health and healing facilities for a range of health problems such as menopause, cancer pain, ulcers, fibromyalgia, weight loss, Skin care and insomnia.

Far Infrared Sauna - The best one to buy

Depending on your brand choice, you can either have a worry-free, lifetime health partner, or a problem-causing machine which could eventually end up as nothing but a piece of huge garbage. So, what is one of the most important factors you have to consider when you make a purchase decision? You have to consider the reliability of the company. Any claim about their products, service, or warranty and guarantee would not make much sense if their reliability is questionable. There are a plethora of kits that have not been proven to do anything. Before buying any of the kit, you must educate yourself on the features and benefits of each of the home infrared saunas.

Finding good and affordable Infrared Saunas is not hard when you know where to look for them. If you are considering to buy Infrared Sauna, review the Infrared Home Sauna and Infrared Sauna Health Benefits available on our http://pure-infrared-saunas.com to find out more.

Article Source:http://EzineArticles.com/?expert

Chiropractic Manipulation Compares With Surgery As an Effective Sciatica Treatment

2011-09-15T21:12:00.000-05:00

ByBrad Woodle

Sciatica refers to pain or dysfunction involving the sciatic nerve in the lower back and legs. Symptoms may include tingling or a burning sensation, weakness, numbness, and pain. The symptoms begin in the lower back and commonly travel down the back of the thighs, calf muscles, and even into the feet. People usually experience sciatica symptoms down one side but can experience it bilaterally. Symptoms are secondary and caused by other primary conditions such as a herniated disk in the lower back that is pressing on the sciatic nerve.

Sciatica pain is often caused by a temporary inflammation or overuse of the low back, which irritates the nerve. In these instances, pain will usually subside on its own as long as you take care of your back. Your doctor or chiropractor may recommend an over the counter anti-inflammatory, ice for the first 48 hours then heat, and gentle activity for a few weeks until the symptoms subside. Chiropractors recommend avoiding extremes-no bed rest and no heavy lifting.

Chronic sciatica is pain or dysfunction that lasts more than six months. Most often, chronic sciatica is due to a herniated or bulging disk in the lower back due to overuse or an injury. Other causes of sciatica may include tumors, Piriformis syndrome, or a trauma to the pelvis. If you experience fever, redness or swelling of the back, problems urinating, or severe pain, call your health care provider immediately.

When chronic sciatica is a result of a non-life threatening condition such as a herniated disk, doctors recommend the most conservative treatment first. Surgery can be effective but there are risks and higher costs associated with surgery as opposed to more conservative treatments such as injections, physical therapy, and chiropractic care.

A recent study on the effectiveness of chiropractic care for sciatica showed that chiropractic spinal manipulations were equally as effective as surgery (microdiskectomy) in treating sciatica. The study in "Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics" reported "sixty percent of patients with sciatica who had failed other medical management benefited from spinal manipulation to the same degree as if they underwent surgical intervention."1 Further, surgery for sciatica can cost up to $25,000 and involves the risks associated with invasive surgery. When compared to the average 21 chiropractic sessions at $100 ($2,100) to treat sciatica, this is a savings of $22,900.2

The researchers concluded that spinal manipulations performed by a chiropractor proved to be an effective and cost efficient treatment for sciatica. Patients with sciatica due to a herniated disk should consider treatment by a chiropractor before surgery. Chiropractic manipulations have proven to successfully relieve sciatica without the need for surgery in many instances. For patients that do need to proceed with surgery, the study found that patients who delayed surgical treatment and tried chiropractic care first experienced no negative effects.

Chiropractors are whole body practitioners and work within the body's natural healing abilities. If treated by a chiropractor for sciatica or a herniated disk, your rehabilitation may include any combination of physiotherapy treatments including spinal manipulations, heat and ice therapy, electric stimulation, ultrasound, massage, and rehabilitative exercises.

References
1. McMorland G, Suter E, Casha S, du Plessis SJ, Hurlbert RJ. Manipulation or microdiskectomy for sciatica? A prospective randomized clinical study. J Manipulative Physiol Ther. 2010 Oct;33(8):576-84.
2. Spinal Manipulation Proves Equally Beneficial as Surgery in Sciatica Treatment. Foundation for Chiropractic Progress. Press Release May 10, 2011. http://www.yes2chiropractic.com

Learn more about Chiropractor in Kansas City and Kansas City Chiropractic.

Article Source:http://EzineArticles.com/?expert

Bactrack S80 Review: Might This Breath Analyzer Satisfy Your Own Specifications?

2011-09-14T21:12:00.000-05:00

ByAlberto Pouchard

There is certainly little question that the actual Bactrack S80 is a really good breathalyzer. A lot of individuals who have bought this product and have written positive buyer reviews can't be completely wrong with regards to this particular product. Nevertheless, is it the right breathalyzer to suit your needs? Read the following review and discover it for yourself.

The Bactrack S80 examined here refers to the actual Bactrack Select S80 Breathalyzer Pro Release. This particular breathalyzer makes use of an enhanced fuel-cell sensor which, unlike cheaper breathalyzers employing semiconductor-based sensing technologies, helps ensure that one receives rather precise readings. This really is a professional breath analyzer which speedily measures bloodstream alcohol content, also called BAC, and it is the ideal choice for law enforcement, medical practices, hospital wards, businesses, and even for private use, any time that a reliable measurement is necessary.

The Bactrack S80 has been subjected to testing by the DOT/NHTSA and fulfills their prerequisites for a breath alcohol testing instrument. The S80 is in addition FDA 510(k) approved for personal usage.

What follows are only some significant characteristics of the actual Bactrack S80: It contains a crystal clear 4 digit LCD display, offering quick, accurate readings, not to mention testing results are displayed in extended accuracy formatting; one press button operation - the operator only needs to push power and start screening in just a few seconds; the device's mouthpieces are individually wrapped for safer storage prior to first use; it delivers improved linear accuracy together with extended battery life; for ongoing temperature checking, the gadget features user-adjustable warning levels, as well as an interior pump system for breathing capture.

This product features a simple one-button functioning that permits a person to begin screening in just 10 seconds, having a refresh time of 10 to 20 seconds between tests. Giving accurate four-digit outcomes using a well lit LCD display, the S80 is ideal for detecting trace amounts of alcohol, a key characteristic in zero-tolerance locations such as treatment facilities as well as alcohol-free residences.

This cell-phone sized breath analyzer will fit very easily in pockets, purses, or glove compartments, and it is compact as well as practical enough for any individual to carry anyplace they travel.

As stated earlier, the Xtend Sensor Technological innovation supplies the S80 with greater precision in comparison with semiconductor-based breath analyzers, which are subject to disturbances from acetone, a substance often found in folks who suffer from diabetes or perhaps who are actually on low-calorie diets. The Xtend Sensor Technological innovation additionally helps ensure precise measurements at high quantities of blood-alcohol concentration. This particular device additionally utilizes temperature-checking, user-adjustable warning ranges and also an enclosed miniature air pump to exactly collect breath samples, which helps with improved degrees of precision.

The S80's container includes the subsequent items: The Bactrack S80 Pro breath analyzer, a hard shell carry bag, 6 mouthpieces, two AA electric batteries, in addition to an user manual.

In the event that you would like to make use of this particular device in your private capacity, it is a really good idea to make it readily available to your guests over for parties, barbecues, and so on, mainly because it really would be the conscientious thing to do to make sure that nobody leaves your home unaware that they happen to be over the legalised blood-alcohol limit. The very same applies to going with your friends to a bar, diner or even a sports event. The good thing is that you are able to trust the readings on this particular device, and wouldn't send a person driving a car home drunk, while imagining they're actually still fine.

Click the links to find out some more about the Bactrack S80 on this breath analyzer website.

Article Source:http://EzineArticles.com/?expert

Invisalign Vs Braces - Why Invisalign Is The Perfect Choice For Adult Orthodontic Patients

2011-09-13T21:12:00.000-05:00

ByIsabella Wilkes

Invisalign braces are perfect for adult wearers looking for a solution that integrates easily into their everyday lives. Whereas traditional metal braces are fine for teenagers or those for whom the aesthetic aspects of braces are not so important, for many adults metal braces are simply not practical.

Clear braces such as Invisalign, however, resolve many of the issues with metal braces. Firstly, as they are manufactured from a transparent medical plastic which is moulded perfectly to the shape of the wearer's teeth they are virtually undetectable once they are in the patient's mouth. This means that there is little to no social embarrassment with wearing them, a patient can continue with their everyday life, wearing them to work and for leisure without anybody being any the wiser.

The second great advantage that Invisalign have over other forms of orthodontics is that they are fully removable. This is something that many adults really appreciate. The patient removes the braces for eating, drinking anything other than water, and for any important social occasions. This means that social events such as weddings, a first date or an important work presentation can be done braces free.

One of the most appealing things about Invisalign is that unlike traditional metal braces Invisalign are pain free. Whilst the wearer may experience some minor pressure on their teeth as they are moved, there is no pain or rubbing as experienced with other forms of orthodontics. There are two primary reasons for this. Firstly, there are no sharp edges. Invisalign are formed by moulding the patients teeth and then creating an aligner from this mould. The plastic that is used is smooth, with no rough edges, which means that the tongue and cheeks have no sharp edges to rub against. Secondly, if the patients does experience roughness or chafing from any Invisalign surface it can be gently rubbed with a nail file until the surface becomes smooth.This lack of discomfort is exceptionally appealing to adult patients who are not prepared to put up with using waxes or other methods to prevent pain and discomfort.

When Invisalign were first released they were really only suitable for minor orthodontic issues. This has subsequently changed as the product and techniques have improved so that almost any orthodontic issue that doesn't include surgery can now be resolved using Invisalign. This flexibility, and the other advantages outlined above, mean that Invisalign are perfectly suited for use by adult patients.

Isabella Wilkes is an Invisalign expert who writes internationally on matters relating to health. Please click the following links for an Invisalign Guide including Invisalign pictures and for Invisalign before and after pictures.

Article Source:http://EzineArticles.com/?expert

How Can Stress Always Cause Cold Sores?

2011-09-12T21:12:00.000-05:00

ByDenny Bodoh

The cause of all cold sores is the herpes simplex virus. This verifiable truth is quite well accepted. If you get sores, you must not be flustered about it. Nearly everybody has herpes virus hiding in his or her nervous system.

In this brief report, you can see how these terrible sores operate and what the true condition is that causes cold sores.

Even more significantly, you can learn the best way to get them out of the rest of your life fast. You will not require prescripts or costly salves and remedies. There is simply no reason for anyone to suffer these outbreaks any longer, as you will see. (Of all cold sore remedies, this could be the best.)

Nearly 90% of all individuals live with the herpes simplex virus within their bodies. It was as real 2000 years in the past as we are seeing today. This virus is acutely infectious and resilient. Once it creates a colony in your body, it is with you forever.

About 65% of these individuals endure outbreaks, even if only sporadically. The other infected people do not. Either the other people have a natural born protection or they have built up a bodily environment that keeps this virus latent.

Usually, this virus should be holed up in the nerve cells at the base of a facial nerve fiber. It is not causing any problem at this point.

Should this virus energize, it travels to the skin surface along a nerve fiber. Its purpose is to generate new viruses. It drills into the tissue cells in that location, requires those captive cells to construct fresh clones of itself. Then the controlling virus destroys the cells to free the new virus particles.

This immense tissue devastation results in a very obvious sore.

As is true with any virus, this virus will do damage only when it becomes active. We have proven that various triggers will set the stage for herpes virus to exit from suspension.

Stress is said to be the primary instrument that might encourage the arousal of the herpes virus. This stress could be fear, anxiety, flu, sunburn, dental work or just getting a cold at a ball game. Keep in mind that all stressful situations, whether mental or physical, will affect you physically in some particular way.

However, what causes cold sores is not stress exactly.

Stress brings about changes in our cells and tissues. Those variances then invite the herpes virus to activate. You will find it impossible to completely stay away from stressful situations, but you may neutralize its effect on your physical being.

The pH of your body differs from approximately 6.5 (lightly acidic) to 7.35 (a little alkaline). At around 7.37 alkalinity, healthy oxygen bathes your entire body. Your oxygen measurements dramatically start to drop as you slide toward the acid range (under 7).

A stressful situation, through various physical reactions, produces a cut in oxygen and a drop in your alkaline level. This virus prospers in less oxygen, acidic bodies. When your body shifts to the acid side, it clears the way for herpes action and most other illnesses.

That is really What Causes Cold Sores.

As you know, stress is an integral part of living. You should not need to stop living life to the fullest. What you must do is buffer the acidifying stress effect on your immune system. You can do this quite easily by raising your pH and oxygen balances.

Foods plentiful in iron, like liver, turkey and spinach raise the oxygen retaining levels of your blood cells. Produce with high amounts of calcium, like asparagus and dark green leaf lettuce, aid in keeping your alkaline measurements good.

Calcium is the number one alkalizer for the body.

Fruits can be a source of additional oxygen. The antioxidants these delicious foods deliver maintain the high oxygen levels helping your health. Apples are popular for this purpose. Fruits contain many C and B nutrients. They can protect you against the negative effects of stress.

On the other side, various foods can bring about an acid pH and decline in oxygen saturation. This includes processed sugar, grains such as oats, pork, carbonated beverages, and alcohol.

Keeping your pH alkaline should avert herpes attacks. Numerous health professionals swear that we will avoid most illnesses, including cancer, by keeping a constant alkalinity.

It certainly would be wise for you to explore the alkaline pH relationship to your health. It absolutely could be the base of your Cold Sore Treatment plan. The majority of better nutritional outlets likely can provide additional information and product outfits for saving time and money for you.

The herpes virus infects nearly every person. Stress lives with every one of us. We are unable to eliminate these two realities. However, you could buffer the acid souring eventuality of stress, which actually is what causes cold sores.

Discover more about What Causes Cold Sores at Denny Bodoh's excellent web site. Just revised, you will find answers to most of your concerns. You will also uncover many tested FREE cold sore treatment strategies that will surely put a smile on your face again. Visit with us now at - http://www.3DayColdSoreCure.com

Article Source:http://EzineArticles.com/?expert

Dandruff Home Remedy

2011-09-11T21:12:00.000-05:00

ByJohn H Lambert

What is Dandruff?

The skin is continually regenerating itself and as this happens the old skin is pushed away from the scalp. This is normal and happens to everybody, everyday and the flakes are too small to be noticeable. Dandruff occurs when this process is caused to be sped up. This results on more flakes of skin which often clump together to form the larger visible flakes of dandruff.

What causes Dandruff?

There are number of factors that can on their own or in combination cause a person to suffer dandruff. The following are the main causes of dandruff.

Dry skin: The most common cause of dandruff is simply dry skin. Dry skin can be caused by the cold air of winter and the dry warmed air inside heated buildings. The flakes dandruff from dry skin are usually smaller and less noticeable. If this is the cause of dandruff, other areas of the body often show signs of dryness such as legs, arms.

Seborrheic Dermatitis: This is also a common cause of dandruff and severe dandruff. It is recognised by red patchy, greasy skin and large white of yellow flakes. As with dry skin seborrheic dermititis can affect other parts of the body. Any part of the body with a large amount of oil glands such as the nose, chest, crotch and armpits can be affected.

Psoriasis: This shows the same symptoms as seborrheic dermatitis but has silver flakes. Psoriasis is more likely to affect the knees and elbows but it will be a cause of dandruff if it covers the scalp.

Eczema: Eczema can affect any part of the body, the scalp included. If this happens, dandruff will likely be a symptom.

Contact Dermatitis: Contact dermatitis is caused by the scalps sensitivity to hair styling products, hair dyes and some shampoos. It causes an itchy scaly scalp and ultimately leads to dandruff. People may think that dirty hair causes dandruff but shampooing too often can also cause a person to develop dandruff.

Malassezia: This is a fungus that is normally present on the scalp and causes to ill effects. A dandruff problem may occur if the fungus growth is out of control. It feeds on the oil from the hair follicles and irritates the skin and more skin grows than is normal. The flakes of dandruff produced are large as the skin clumps together binded by the oil. The symptoms are very similar to seborrheic dermatitis.

Not shampooing enough: Allowing oil and skin flakes to build up on your scalp can cause dandruff.

Around 2-5% of the population suffer from dandruff at any one time, but experts say most people will suffer at some stage of their lives. Millions of dollars are spent each year on over the counter shampoos and medicines to help cure dandruff. There is an alternative to these products. Using a can save money and be a natural chemical free cure for dandruff.

There are many different cures around and everybody is sure to find something that works for them. Some of the more popular cures are listed below:

1. Tea Tree oil
2. White Vinegar
3. Olive oil
4. Baby oil
5. Lemon/Lime juice
6. Thyme
7. Fenugreek seeds
8. Aloe vera
9. Baking soda
10. Asprin
11. Beet juice
12. Milk of magnesia
13. Listerine
14. Vics Vapor rub

The last two may be a bit out of left field but people will try anything to get rid of their embarrassing dandruff. If it worked for them they are more than willing to share their cure with the rest of the dandruff sufferers.

A is a much better option than using chemicals on your skin to fight against dandruff and as you can see the ingredients are easily available if you do not have them at home already.

As a long time dandruff sufferer I am well aware how this condition can damage your self confidence and be very embarrassing.

I discovered there was a whole world full of natural home made remedies for dandruff and was finally able to get rid of my troublesome flaky scalp

You can read more detailed information on these cures at my website.

Article Source:http://EzineArticles.com/?expert

Cushing's Syndrome: Abnormal Levels of Cortisol

2011-09-10T21:12:00.000-05:00

Cushing's syndrome is a disorder caused by elevated levels of cortisol in blood and the normal level of cortisol may rise either by the intake of glucocorticoid drugs or by tumors that result in excessive secretion of cortisol or adrenocorticotrophic hormone (ACTH). Truly speaking Cushing's disease is the result of a tumor in the pituitary gland that causes excessive secretion of ACTH which in turn elevates the level of cortisol. About 70% of the patients suffering from this disease get affected due to the tumors and rest 30% suffer from the disease because of the intake of glucocorticod drugs. The pathology of the disease was first studied in detail by Harvey Cushing in 1932. The syndrome is also known as Itsenko-Cushing syndrome or hypercorticism. This syndrome is not only confined to humans only but has also been identified in domestic dogs, horses and rarely in cats. The syndrome should not be confused with a clinical condition identified as Cushing's triad where the intracranial pressure increases enormously. The disease is known to affect the individuals of the age group 20-50. According to a report about 10-15 million individuals suffer from Cushing's syndrome every year.

Individuals suffering from Cushing's syndrome may develop moon-like faces, facial plethora, supraclavicular fat pads, buffalo hump, truncal obesity and purple striae. They often complain of proximal muscle weakness, easy bruising, weight gain, hirsutism and growth retardation in children. Hypertension, osteopenia, diabetes mellitus and impairment of the immune system are other common symptoms. Excessive intake of exogenous glucocorticoids is also responsible for this syndrome. Exogenous steroids results in suppression of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis. An individual with suppressed hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis may not be able to increase steroid production appropriately during a medical illness or stress so requires exogenous doses of steroids to avoid adrenal crisis.

The most frequently observed symptoms of Cushing's syndrome include rapid weight gain particularly of the trunk and face with sparing of the limbs. A very common sign is the development of fat pads around the collar bone, on the back of the neck and a round face also known as moon face. Other symptoms include excessive sweating or hyperhidrosis, dilation of capillaries (telangiectasia), thinning of skin and other mucous membranes, purple or red striae on the trunk, buttocks, arms, legs or breasts, proximal muscle weakness, hirsutism, baldness or brittle hairs. The rare symptoms include hypercalcemia that causes skin necrosis. Excessive secretion of cortisol also affects other endocrine systems and causes insomnia, inhibited aromatase, reduced libido, impotence, amenorrhea and infertility due to elevations in androgens. Patients also suffer from psychological disturbances that may range from euphoria to psychosis. Depression and anxiety are other common symptoms. The most striking and remarkable skin changes include facial acne, susceptibility to superficial dermatophyte and malassezia infections and characteristic purplish striae on abdomen.

Other noticeable symptoms include polyuria, persistent hypertension and insulin resistance that cause hyperglycemia and diabetes mellitus. Insulin resistance is accompanied by skin changes like acanthosis nigricans in axilla and around the neck as well as skin tangs in axilla. If left untreated Cushing's syndrome results in the development of heart disease and chances of death increase. Excessive secretion of ACTH causes hyper-pigmentation. Hyper-pigmentation is the due to the activity of Melanocyte Stimulating Hormone (MSH) which is produced as a byproduct from ACTH synthesis. This hormone is formed from Pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC). Cortisol also participates in the exhibition of activity of the mineralocorticoids in high concentrations and causing hypertension and hyperkalemia. Gastrointestinal disturbances, infections and impaired wound healing are the other symptoms of this syndrome. Osteoporosis is also a symptom associated with Cushing's syndrome. Bone loss also occurs and bones of lower back, hip and shoulders also start paining. Cortisol level can also increase due to intake of estrogen in the contraceptive pills that contain a blend of estrogen and progesterone. Estrogen is responsible for the increase of cortisol-binding globulin that is responsible for the elevated level of cortisol.

When body tissues are exposed to elevated levels of cortisol for prolonged period of time then Cushing's syndrome occurs. Many individuals suffer from this syndrome as they consume exogenous glucocorticoid hormones namely prednisone for asthma, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus and other inflammatory diseases. Rest of the individuals develops this syndrome due to overproduction of cortisol by the body. A chain of events generally occur inside the body that finally results in the formation of cortisol. Hypothalamus is a very important part of brain which is about the size of a sugar cube sends corticotrophin releasing hormone (CRH) to the pituitary gland. This CRH stimulates pituitary gland which in turn releases the adrenocorticotrophic hormone (ACTH) that finally acts on the adrenal glands. Adrenal glands are small glands located just above the kidneys and when they are stimulated by the action of ACTH they release cortisol in the bloodstream. Cortisol has a number of important functions to perform inside the body. It maintains blood pressure and cardiovascular function, reduces immune system's inflammatory response and regulates the metabolism of proteins, carbohydrates and fats.

Cortisol also helps the body to respond to stress. For this reason, women in last 3 months of pregnancy and the highly trained athletes normally have high levels of cortisol. People suffering from depression, alcoholism, malnutrition and panic disorders also have elevated levels of this hormone. When the level of this hormone is adequate in blood then, the hypothalamus and pituitary release less CRH and ACTH. This confirms that cortisol released by the adrenal glands is precisely balanced to meet body's requirements. However, if something wrong happens either with adrenal glands, hypothalamus or pituitary glands then this balance may experience fluctuations. Pituitary adenomas are responsible for most of the cases of Cushing's syndrome. These adenomas are benign, non-cancerous, tumors of pituitary glands that result in excessive secretion of ACTH. Most patients have a single adenoma. This type of Cushing's syndrome is five times more frequent in women as compared to that in men. Some benign or malignant tumors that arise outside the pituitary gland can also produce ACTH and this condition is identified as ectopic ACTH syndrome. Lung tumors are associated with 50% of such cases and men are affected three times more than women. The most common forms of ACTH-producing tumors are oat cell, small cell lung cancer or carcinoid tumors and they account for 25% of lung cancer cases. Other types of tumors that also result in the production of ACTH are pancreatic islet cell tumors, medullary carcinomas of thyroid and thymomas.

Sometimes abnormalities may also take place in the adrenal glands and Cushing's syndrome may occur. This condition generally crops up in the individuals of 40 years of age. Most of these cases involve non-cancerous tumors of adrenal tissues known as adrenal adenomas that are responsible for excessive secretion of cortisol in the bloodstream. Adrenal cancers rarely result in the development of Cushing's syndrome. Cancer cells result in excessive secretion of cortisol and adrenal androgens. Most of the cases of this syndrome are not inherited at all. In very rare cases of Cushing's syndrome individuals have inherited tendency of developing tumors of one or more endocrine glands. In Primary Pigmented Micronodular Adrenal Disease children or young individuals develop small cortisol-producing tumors of the adrenal glands. In Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia Type I (MEN I) hormone secreting tumors of parathyroid glands, pancreas and pituitary occur. Cushing's syndrome in MEN I may occur due to pituitary, ectopic or adrenal tumors.

Pituitary gland is located just beneath the hypothalamus and both these essential structures are finally present in the brain. The paraventricular nucleus (PVN) of hypothalamus is responsible for the production of corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) which in turn stimulates the pituitary gland to release adrenocorticotropin (ACTH). ACTH travels via blood and reaches the adrenal glands which get activated and release cortisol. The zona fasciculata of the cortex of the adrenal gland respond to ACTH and finally release cortisol. Elevated levels of cortisol exhibit a negative feedback on the pituitary which finally decreases the secretion of ACTH. Adenoma in the cortex of the adrenal glands is also responsible for the excessive secretion of cortisol which is one of the causes responsible for Cushing's syndrome. Adenoma causes the cortisol level to become very high and the levels of ACTH are also very low. This syndrome only refers to hypercortisolism where the ACTH levels become very high along with elevated levels of cortisol in the blood. The levels of ACTH are very high because a tumor in the pituitary gland makes it unresponsive to the negative feedback against the elevated levels of cortisol. This disease was the first autoimmune disease discovered in humans.

Diagnosis of Cushing's syndrome is based on the patient's medical history, physical examination and laboratory tests. Tumors of the adrenal and pituitary gland can be detected by using X-rays. These tests can help a medical expert to identify if the blood cortisol levels are high and why this is so. The 24-hour urinary level free cortisol level test is the most appropriate diagnostic test. In this test as the name indicates urine of the patient is collected after an interval of 24 hours and then levels of cortisol are checked. If the amount of cortisol is higher than 50-100 micrograms within an interval of 24 hour then the individual is at the risk of suffering from this syndrome. The level of cortisol may vary depending upon the techniques utilized. Once Cushing's syndrome is diagnosed other tests are required to locate the exact regions that are associated with the abnormality that results in excessive cortisol production. These tests are based on the choice of the endocrinologist. Dexamethasone suppression test is another test that can be performed. This test helps to distinguish patients with excessive production of ACTH due to pituitary adenomas from those with ectopic-ACTH producing tumors. Here the patients are given a synthetic glucocorticoid known as dexamethasone orally for every 6 hours for 4 days. For the first two days the dose of this compound are kept low while it is increased to higher ones on the last two days. 24-hour urine samples are also collected before the administration of this compound.

Cortisol and other glucocorticoids signal the pituitary gland for lowering the secretion of ACTH in blood so the normal response after taking dexamethasone is a drop in blood and urine of cortisol levels. Different responses of cortisol to dexamethasone are noticed depending upon the cause of Cushing's syndrome either by pituitary adenoma or ectopic ACTH-producing tumor. The dexamethasone suppression test can give false results for the patients suffering from depression, high estrogen levels, alcohol abuse, stress and acute illness. Drugs namely phenytoin and phenobarbital may also give false results in response to this compound. So the physicians advise the patients to stop the usage of these drugs one week before undergoing dexamethasone suppression test. CRH stimulation test helps to distinguish between patients with pituitary adenomas or those with ectopic ACTH-producing tumor and cortisol-secreting adrenal tumors. Patients are given injections of cortiocotropin releasing hormone which in turn is responsible for the secretion of ACTH from the pituitary glands in blood. Patients with pituitary adenomas generally experience very high levels of ACTH and cortisol in blood. This response is generally rarely seen in the patients with ectopic ACTH syndrome and never in patients with cortisol-secreting adrenal tumors.

Direct visualization of endocrine glands or radiologic imaging helps in the identification of shape and size of pituitary and adrenal glands. These techniques help to detect if any tumor is present. The most common techniques used are computerized tomography scan and magnetic resonance imaging. Computerized tomography actually produces a series of X-ray images that imparts a cross-sectional image of any part of body. Magnetic resonance imaging also generates images of body parts but no ionizing radiation is used. The imaging techniques are generally used for the detection of tumor once Cushing's syndrome is finally diagnosed. These techniques are not used for the diagnosis of Cushing's syndrome. Petrosal sinus sampling is another test that is not always used but can be used for the separation of pituitary from the ectopic causes of Cushing's syndrome. Petrosal sinuses are actually the veins that drain blood to the pituitary glands so blood samples are taken from them by the introduction of catheters by using local anesthesia and mild sedation. X-rays are often used for the detection of the correct position of the catheters. To improve the diagnostic accuracy injections of CRH are often given. The levels of ACTH in the petrosal sinuses are measured and then they are compared with the ACTH levels in a forearm vein. Higher levels of ACTH in the petrosal sinuses than in the forearm vein is indicative of the presence of pituitary adenoma and if the levels are similar then ectopic ACTH-syndrome is present.

Some individuals have elevated cortisol levels but do not show progressive effects of Cushing's syndrome like muscle weakness, fractures and thinning of skin. These individuals may be suffering from pseudo-Cushing's syndrome which was originally described in people who were depressed or alcohol addict. These individuals do not show long term effects shown by individuals with Cushing's syndrome so they do not require direct treatment of the endocrine glands. Generally dexamethasone-CRH test is performed to distinguish patients of pseudo-Cushing's syndrome from those with Cushing's syndrome. This test combines dexamethasone suppression and CRH stimulation tests. Elevated levels of cortisol suggest the presence of this disease. Some individuals may have substantially high levels of cortisol but they do not show effects of this syndrome. The high cortisol levels may be compensating for body's resistance for cortisol effects. This rare syndrome of cortisol resistance is a genetic state that results in hypertension and chronic androgen excess. Sometimes other conditions may be associated with this disease like the polycystic ovarian syndrome that causes menstrual disturbances, weight gain from adolescence, excessive hair growth and sometimes diabetes. Generally weight gain, high blood pressure, abnormal levels of cholesterol and triglycerides are associated with resistance to insulin action and diabetes often described as Metabolic Syndrome X. Patients with this disorder generally do not have elevated levels of cortisol.

The common treatments available for Cushing's syndrome include surgery, radiation, chemotherapy or use of cortisol-inhibiting drugs. A number of therapies are available to treat the ACTH-secreting adenomas of Cushing's syndrome. The most commonly used treatment is the surgical removal of the tumor known as transsphenoidal adenomectomy. In this process the surgeon approaches the pituitary gland either through the nostril or through an opening made below the upper lip. Very fine instruments and special kind of microscope required for this purpose. As this surgery is very complicated so the patients are advised to consult the specialized centers only. The success rate of the surgery is 80% if carried out by an experienced surgeon. If surgery fails or only temporary cure is achieved then it can be repeated in order to obtain good results. After the successful pituitary surgery the elevated levels of ACTH drop two times lower as compared to the normal level. This is a natural but temporary drop in the level of ACTH and the patients are given synthetic form of cortisol. This replacement therapy can be stopped in most of the patients within an interval of one year.

Patients who fail to give promising results to transsphenoidal adenomectomy or candidates who are not suitable candidates for surgery, radiotherapy is a promising treatment. Radiation to the pituitary gland is generally given at an interval of 6 weeks. The chances of success range from 50-80% in both adults and children. A combination of radiotherapy and a drug known as mitotane helps in faster recovery. Mitotane suppresses cortisol production and thereby brings a decline in the plasma and urine hormone levels. Mitotane has shown 30-40% better results in the patients with Cushing's syndrome. To cure the overproduction of cortiol due to ectopic ACTH syndrome, it is always beneficial to remove all the cancerous tissue that produces ACTH. Surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, immunotherapy or a combination of these therapies can help in removal of cancerous tissue. The ACTH-secreting tumors may be very small or widespread at the time of diagnosis so mititane is a promising drug that can be administered for better results. In some cases if the pituitary surgery is not successful then surgical removal of the adrenal glands may replace the drug therapy. Surgery is the only treatment available for the benign and cancerous tumors of adrenal glands. Primary Pigmented Micronodular Adrenal Disease and the familial Carney's complex require surgical removal of adrenal glands.

Iatrogenic Cushing's syndrome is the most common form of Cushing's syndrome which is generally caused by treatment with corticosteroids. The incidence of the pituitary tumors may be relatively high but only a minute fraction of them are active and result in excessive hormone secretion. Adults with this disease may show symptoms like extreme weight gain, excessive hair growth in women, high blood pressure and skin problems. Additional symptoms may include muscle and bone weakness, osteoporosis, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, sleep disturbances, moodiness, irritability and depression followed by amenorrhea in women, decreased fertility in men, baldness and hypercholesterolemia. Most of the cases of Cushing's syndrome are due to the action of exogenous glucocorticoids. About 13 cases per million individuals are diagnosed every year that are due to the endogenous reasons. Of these 70% of cases are due to ACTH-producing tumor, 15% due to ectopic-ACTH and 15% due to primary adrenal tumor.

Mortality and morbidity associated with Cushing's syndrome are primarily due to the effects caused by excessive levels of glucocorticoids. A very large pituitary tumor may cause panhypopituitarism and visual loss. Rare adrenocortical adenomas are also associated with a survival rate of only 5 years. Excess glucocorticoids also cause perforated viscera and increased susceptibility to fungal infections. Other additional problems that crop up due to excessive glucocorticoids include hypertension, obesity, osteoporosis, fractures, impaired immune function, impaired woun healing, glucose intolerance and psychosis. The female-to-male ratio of Cushing's syndrome is 5:1 which may be either due to pituitary or adrenal tumor. Ectopic ACTH production is more frequent in men than women due to increased incidence of lung tumors in them. The peak period of occurrence of Cushing's syndrome due to adrenal or pituitary adenoma is 25-40 years. Ectopic production due to lung cancer may occur in later phase of life. For keeping a regular check on Cushing's syndrome patients should be educated about adrenal crisis. Instruction for the intake f specific drug for treatment should be given.

Navodita Maurice

Article Source:http://EzineArticles.com/?expert

Top 5 Sports to Take Up for Fitness

2011-09-09T21:12:00.000-05:00

ByGlenn Tucker

A lot of people take up sports to get into shape. Indeed, someone may feel that they are not getting enough exercise and will want to get fit to improve their health and their body. Playing sport allows muscles to relax and gets your body fit. The key improvements of fitness that sports provide are cardiovascular and strength. Cardiovascular involves the improvement of stamina and improves lung capacity. Strength comes from the muscles shaping patterns during heavy movement. Both are evident in many sports that help with fitness and below are five top sports that you can take up to make you more fit:

Running is a good sport to take up for fitness. Many health clubs have running clubs you can join - they not only give you an incentive to keep it up but also to start you off slowly and as you get more and more into it to get faster. Others enter marathons and fun runs. Running helps build up stamina and your cardiovascular system, as well as being good for your heart. This is because as you run your heart muscle becomes stronger and strengthens your metabolism in general. As you run you are losing weight and burning off calories. Running is taken up by a lot of people who take morning jogs, do marathons and join running clubs.

Cycling is also good for fitness. Many people, for example, cycle to and from work and many feel this actually gets them in the right health and frame of mind to start the working day well. Cycling helps burn off the calories and keep stamina up, you can even cycle with groups of people specifically for fitness purposes and many people do this, usually on summer weekends. Cycling is also good for a lower body workout, with good pressure on arm and leg muscles working at a fast pace. The intense endurance required is a good way of getting in shape.

Swimming is another key sport to help you keep fit. Many people have different swimming abilities and increasing your proficiency swimming will give you confidence and can help your muscles and develop your fitness. It is also one of the main sports which helps children get fit as many schools have their own swimming pools. Many health clubs and leisure centres also offer swimming classes to children. The good thing about swimming is that the buoyancy of your body means less stress is placed on your body. It can also be a relaxing sport and health clubs, for example, provide large swimming pools for this purpose. Swimming is good for cardiovascular health as you learn more and the more you feel you can swim at long distances.

Weightlifting is considered a sport, indeed an Olympic sport. Weightlifting is a popular fitness method in gyms. Evidently it brings changes to the body, but there are health benefits other than just bulking up. Weightlifting can improve blood flow to the heart, preventing rising heart rates. It is, however, not good to overdo it but is great for making your body stronger and your heart muscles stronger as well.

Badminton is a good sport for fitness and is a very popular sport at health clubs. It will be difficult not to find a fitness centre that does not provide badminton as a sport as part of their fitness programme. It strengthens arm muscles, back and the abdomen. Cardiovascular muscles and arm strength is also improved. Moving around for shots also helps with stamina.

These five top sports for fitness are good for the body and heart. Running, cycling and swimming can all make up triathlons and many combine these to increase their fitness further. It is always good to get involved with several sports as they help get your fitness up and generally improve your health. Gyms and health clubs encourage sports like these, but they can also be undertaken on your own initiative.

Glenn Tucker
Esporta Health Club and Gym

About the Author
Esporta health club and gym - Whether you are looking to get fit and lose weight in the gym, relax and unwind with your family, treat yourself to a Spa Day or meet and socialise with like-minded people then Esporta have the facilities to match.

Article Source:http://EzineArticles.com/?expert

Health - The Most Precious Thing For Us

2011-09-08T21:12:00.000-05:00

ByStephen Stoica

World Health Organization issued a formal definition of health, it is thus formulated: "Health is that state of complete well physically, mentally and socially and is not only absence of disease or infirmity." Health is so much more than the absence of disease, physical abnormality and has a much broader sense, multidimensional, on several levels: physically,mentally and socially. It is therefore of a higher concept, a wide horizon, which can not be separated from the social environment, the socio-economic conditions in which people live and work.

Only society where everything is dedicated to human welfare can provide optimal conditions for the protection and health promotion.
Health should be conceived as an important factor in determining the complex concept that you call "quality of life."

On the biological health is based on a balance of all body functions, body fluid and chemical composition of human body tissue. This wonderful balance is constantly maintained and controlled by a complex mechanism in entering many factors: chemical, physical, mental, social.
In a beautiful speech, a great endocrinologist revealed for harmony in a healthy body: "Health is the harmony of functions, as beauty is the harmony of body shapes, as is the harmony of true goodness and true wisdom is ethical feelings intellectual harmony."

We must admit however that between health and sickness, the border is sometimes difficult to determine, among them there are transition states or limit (borderline) that can turn imperceptibly in a state of disease.

A concern of modern medicine, preventive, early detection is precisely through the most sensitive methods, these states of transition, of morbid states in their biochemical status before reaching the clinical disease.
On the bio-medical, made extraordinary progress in recent decades have allowed a more thorough exploitation of health. Investigation now has more options and more precise fine, which exceeds the common appreciation of our senses, to discover as early abnormal, health deviations. Thus, introduction of new techniques, non-invasive, have made the human body to become today's increasingly transparent and accessible exploration morphological finest, with detection of the smallest changes in anatomy: computed tomography, ultrasound, scintigraphy, magnetic resonance etc..

Another interesting thing that I have found on the internet, is the significance of our planets that we all know...

SUN: vital principle, health, social, authority, humor, father, if everything is favorable to improve birth horoscope.

Month: sensitivity, responsiveness, imagination, reverie, the female principle, the crowd, cash money, popularity, secret, mom, month

Oximeter Deal With Google and Motorola Mobility

2011-09-07T21:12:00.000-05:00

ByJackson Roger

The corporate world today compared to ten or fifteen years ago is completely different. Companies today ha billions of dollars on hand and are on the buying prowl. Today's companies shoot to buy out their competitor, rather than to compete or even merge. This trend has been apparent over the past few years, when government bailouts due to the recession aided companies to downsize and decrease their spending while being financially aided by the tax dollars of Americans. Many people both within the government and outside have spoken out against corporate America about this issue, even President Obama has summoned many CEO's to the White House to ask them to put the extra money back into the economy. Google is not sitting out on the spending spree for companies. They have been very active to make offers for various firms. Their motives range from acquiring a new market or just to pick up more patents that will help them in new technologies.

Google recently accounted that they will be acquiring Motorola Mobility for 12.5 billion dollars. Google's Android open source software is one the best most widely used mobile software currently on the market. The addition of Motorola Mobility now gives them the extra edge to go after Apple and its iPhone. Now that Google will own Motorola Mobility, they will own all of its upcoming projects as well.

One such project that is in the works, involved an oximeter. An oximeter, also known as a pulse oximeter, is a medical device used to measure the blood oxygen saturation and pulse rate of an individual. An oximeter has been around for many years now, but mostly in use in clinical settings. Now new technology has allowed for the oximeter to be both compact and portable.

Motorola was secretly working on an application built on the Android platform which integrated a pulse oximeter to their cellular phones. This application allowed for readings from an oximeter to be stored on the cellular phone, and also be sent via email to any account. This allows the individual to track his or her own vital signs, or send the information to a medical professional for evaluation. This application also was geared towards athletics as well. Many trainers have shown a great interest to be able to track their athlete's parameters. As Google takes over Motorola Mobility, this technology along with others in the chain will belong to Google and its developers.

For high quality, low-cost oximeter models, visit us at http://www.PulseOximetersPlus.com.

Article Source:http://EzineArticles.com/?expert

Male Hormone Restoration

2011-09-06T21:12:00.000-05:00

Men's health is the focus of this article. What is men's health you may be wondering? It refers to health issues specific to human male anatomy. It is a fact that men need to restore their testosterone levels after their 40s because this very important hormone begins to decrease slowly as you advance in age. By the time you hit 80 years, your testosterone levels will be about half of what it was when you were a strapping 20 year old youth.

When your testosterone levels are low, you are unable to function optimally sexually and this results in anxiety and stress, especially, if you are married. Testosterone also plays an important role in maintaining youthful neurological structure, alleviation of depression, and inducing fat loss in those who can't reduce body weight regardless of diet and exercise. Low testosterone is also associated with metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

Male hormone replacement to youthful ranges in middle-aged and obese men may result in an increase in insulin sensitivity and a reduction in total cholesterol, fat mass, diabetes, and the metabolic syndrome. also plays a vital role in improving erectile function and sexual functional capacity in human males with heart weakness.

What are the Factors that Affect Testosterone Levels in Men?

• Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) is a hormone produced from cholesterol. DHEA can yield either estrogens or testosterone via a two step enzymatic conversions. The level of DHEA does play a critical role in determining the levels of testosterone and estrogen in your blood. In aging men, DHEA alone can't sufficiently induce male hormone replacement.

• Aromatase is one of the most important factors that affect testosterone levels in men. Aromatase is an enzyme that converts testosterone to estrogen thus developing the hormone levels.

• Obesity can reduce testosterone levels as well even in very young men below the age of 40.

• You liver removes excess estrogen and sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG) from the bloodstream. If your liver isn't functioning optimally then the result will be less testosterone and more estrogen leading to hormonal imbalance.

Male Hormone Replacement Therapy:

A growing number of men are taking testosterone to check the gradual decline of this important hormone. The hormone is not taken as a pill because it can affect your liver. Testosterone is known to be toxic to the liver.

For safety reasons you do need a physician's prescription before you can embark on an effective testosterone replacement therapy. An experienced physician will most likely prescribe bioidentical testosterone creams which you can buy from a local compounding pharmacy.

Other physicians may choose to prescribe prepackaged, hormonal patches and gels that have been approved by the FDA. Bioidentical testosterone increase free male hormone in the blood. Prepackaged testosterone gels are extremely expensive as compared to compounded versions.

The hormone is readily absorbed through the skin and all you have to do is rub it in. Spread it daily on the upper arms, shoulders and abdomen particularly after a sweet morning shower. For more information on male hormone replacement you may want to visit his website now.

Thanks for you visit.

Steve Wanjie is a blogger, Expert Internet Marketer and article writer.

Website: http://www.boost-your-low-testosterone.com/testosterone-booster.html

Article Source:http://EzineArticles.com/?expert

The New Trends in Fitness and Sports

2011-09-05T21:12:00.000-05:00

In the world of fitness and sports, things change quite rapidly. There are different fitness crazes and new sporting opportunities seem to be invented each year. Each year the fitness community comes up with new workouts, workout clothing, new performance shoes and other items that are sure to entice new customers into getting healthy and fit. Some of the newest trends in fitness & sports will be discussed in this article.

New Trends in Fitness

One cannot think about the world of fitness without thinking about exercise. One of the newest trends in the fitness world is working out at home. Many of us used to belong to local gyms, however, with the hard economic downturn that began in 2010 and continues through 2011, many people are re-thinking their fitness options. More people appear to be working out with exercise tapes or gaming systems and others have found a love for walking. This year, the trend is to focus on reducing more of our stress, which can be very hard in these tough times. However, limiting our stress and finding ways to work through these moments will add years to our lives and enhance our fitness levels. In addition, with the newest technology on some of our cell phones, it is possible to maintain an active level of participation in various online fitness groups.

New Trends in Sports

There are some definitive newer trends in the world of sports, and some of them are rather unconventional. The world of competitive Frisbee playing has grown quite a bit, as has the participation in table tennis. Lacrosse is thought to be the fastest growing sport overall since the year 2000. Many of these sports are new to the United States and people like things that are new. New ways to participate in sports appeal to many individuals. Fitness and sports go hand in hand; it is hard to be an active participant if you are not focusing on your own personal fitness level.

Common to Both

Still popular in both fitness and sports is nutrition. Eating healthy involves learning how to plan your meals, and know what each food can do and how it will affect your own body. When people are active in fitness and sports, they usually add the healthier way of eating to this, to complete the entire picture. When you do this, you will begin to feel better and look better, as well. The way of eating healthy is not really new to any of us, but there are new ways to stay with a healthy eating plan and learning what works for you is the important thing.

Learning more about the current trends in fitness and sports can help each one of us stay connected to the world around us and find some activity that we can enjoy. For more details please visit MyReviewsNow.Net

Article Source:http://EzineArticles.com/?expert

What Is The Best Way To Lose Belly Fat

2011-09-04T21:12:00.000-05:00

ByMamun Abdullah

At times, we may not need to actually lose weight from all over the body, but rather you would have identified a few problem areas that you would see to need some action. Many would indeed be in the search for , because it is one of those areas that you would see to ruin a good outfit, or call for undue attention where it is not needed. However, this is not a fight that has already been lost, because if you are properly search for the correct answer, you would find it, as there are many people who have been successful in this front, and they are willing to give advice so as to tell people the right way to achieve the goal, and help them to be able to walk around with the high self-esteem that would come with having the right abs.

As you look into different ways, you have got to realize that this would not be an easy thing to do, and if you are looking to be successful, you would need to be consistent in that particular program that you would be doing. When analyzing and seeing answers and examples and you decide to take it up, you would have to compromise on a lot, as you would have to do more exercises and come up with some healthy eating habits, and this is by no means easy.

Experts who have looked into this matter of have seen exercise to be one thing that you cannot ignore. It would help in burning up the extra fat in your body, and the fat in the abdominal area would also be reduced as a result of this effort. Things such as aerobics, swimming, jogging, walking and cycling would suffice, if you do at least one of them for thirty minute sessions for either three or four times in a week. Even though we are focused on getting the effective and practical way, you would find that these exercises would help your body in a general sense.

In coming up with answers for , you cannot leave out diet, as when you eat right in combination with regular exercise, and you would have the tight tummy in no time. You would have to cut out junk food out of your diet, and also put a cap on the amount of starch you take. Now that you know the best way, get with the program.

Article Source:http://EzineArticles.com/?expert

What Is Paretos Principle And How Does It Affect My Health And Fitness?

2011-09-03T21:12:00.000-05:00

Pareto was an Italian economist who's observations on the business culture of his home country of Italy went on to inspire Joseph Juran to name a concept/Theory after him. This concept of thinking and looking at the world was widely adopted by business folk and most recently by Internet marketing wizards. However I believe there's something in Paretos principle that if applied to your health, fitness and nutrition, could be the missing key in our quest for health and fitness.

Back in 1906 Pareto observed that 80% of Italy's land was owned by 20% of the population, intrigued Pareto went on to observe that 80% of the peas in his garden at home came from 20% of his pea pods. Pareto did some more research and discovered that it was not just Italy who had an uneven wealth distribution, this was the same in every country he looked at. As the years passed and Pareto died more and more examples of the 80% - 20% rule came to light and it became a very power full tool to use in many walks of life especially business. Common variants of the 80-20 rule include:

-80% of your income will come through 20% of your clientele
-80% of complaints come from 20% of your clients
-80% of your profits will come from 20% of the time you spend on your business
-80% of new leads will come through 20% of your marketing

How can we apply this to our quest to lose weight and get in the best shape of our lives? Easy... 20% of the time you can eat and drink what you like, enjoy life, socialize and relax. 80% of the time eat foods that will enable you to rest, recover and repair and help you live a longer happier life.

At the beginning of a training program with a client an experienced personal trainer will lay out Paretos law as probably the most essential component of the training. Very few people can be dialed in and focused 100% of the time. Paretos principle allows clients to reach their goals and look great without overly denying themselves the food they crave. Clients often get sick and tired of a diet and end up bingeing on junk food resulting in reduced self esteem and an increase in sugar and calories.

Try out the 80/20 rule and watch the results for yourself. Just make sure you keep it 80/20 and don't start to veer towards 50/50!

Ben Winter is a Bristol Personal Trainer with a reputation for getting results time after time, from weight loss to nutrition. Personal Training in Bristol at a private studio, you can contact him at http://www.benwinterpt.com

Article Source:http://EzineArticles.com/?expert

Diet and Exercise - Still the Best Way to Get a Fast Six Pack

2011-09-02T21:12:00.000-05:00

ByBenjamin Luke

The truth is that everyone already has a six pack. The main problem is that it is covered by layers of fat so it is usually not visible. In order to have a visible six pack, you need to lose excess weight. The best way to get a fast six pack is to follow a good diet and exercise program.

Diet

Diet is definitely the most important part of any weight loss program. To lose weight and get rid of the fat covering the abdominal muscles, you need to create a daily calorie deficit of around 300-500 calories. To put it differently, 300 calories is the equivalent of a large cup of specialty coffee, a large slice of pizza or a cup of ice cream.

One of the secrets Hollywood stars use to get a fast six pack is to eat five or more small meals per day. This increases the metabolism and helps control food cravings by keeping you full all the time. Avoid high fat, processed and high calorie foods. Include fruits and vegetables because these foods are high in fiber which makes you feel full longer. Also, include lean protein in every meal because it helps keep you full and considerably increases metabolism. Drink at least 8 glasses of water a day since it also helps control hunger and raises metabolism.

Exercise

Doing hundreds of repetitions of abdominal exercises is worthless if the abdominal muscles are covered by a layer of fat. To get a fast six pack, combine weight training with cardiovascular exercise. Weight training is proven to raise the metabolism up to two days after the session. On the other hand, cardiovascular exercise burns a high amount of calories in a small amount of time.

Weight training workouts should be done at least two times a week. For fastest weight loss, circuit training is the best form of weight training. It combines weight training with cardiovascular exercise for the best of both worlds. Circuit training is done by performing weight training exercises for different body parts one after another with little or no rest in between. Abdominal exercises can be included in the circuit or done separately before or after the circuit training workout.

Cardiovascular exercise should be done at least three times a week. It can be alternated to days when you are doing weight training. It can also be done after a weight training session if possible. A cardiovascular workout should be at least 25 minutes per session. Make sure that your heart rate significantly increases in order to experience optimum results.

Getting a visible six pack quickly involves diet and exercise, cliché right? But sometimes, people tend to ignore the simplest rule. Stop looking for shortcuts! Ignore the sweet promises of slimming products being peddled on ads all over the internet and television; instead calibrate these rules to target your goal.

Looking For More Tips & Advice To Get A Fast Six Pack?
For advice and information that absolutely anyone can follow (it's really not that hard!) - professional tips and tricks on how to trim that stubborn tummy fat and get a fast six pack take a look at the six pack abs blog: http://GetAFastSixPack.com

Article Source:http://EzineArticles.com/?expert

What You See Within Is What You Will Achieve

2011-09-01T21:12:00.000-05:00

"The thing always happens that you really believe in; and the belief in a thing makes it happen."

- Frank Loyd Wright

In self-help literature, it is normally said that "What the mind can see, can be achieved." Thus, all one needs to do is to have an image of something attainable and little else is necessary to make the results come about. This is most often true in social interactions, but does require some modification when it comes to fitness.

Imaging is one of the most powerful motivators in human behavior. Not much is known about it academically, but those who practice it regularly attest to its power. When it comes to fitness, it is the difference between staying at it, or giving up before results are ever possible.

The typical phenomenon is always with us: we start out with the best of intentions, but quit within three months. The prototype is the start of the year at the health club with us quitting by the middle of March. This is a common phenomenon, which will occur this coming January as well as in 2013. Why does this happen?

There are numerous reasons, to be sure. But, one of the biggest may be the image of how we will look after one or two months. Many of us refuse to even admit that we have on image like this, as it seems impossible to make such a prediction. Nevertheless, it can be argued that those of us who refuse, still actually do have one buried deep within. This unacknowledged image determines the outcome of all of our attempts to stay at a regular fitness routine.

Few, if any, have great expectations when it comes to working out, diet and supplementation. Most of us have tried this in the past, failing in under three months. Some have incurred injuries, or even gotten less in shape as a result of trying. That may not seem possible until we remember that escalated metabolisms can create increased hunger. This is especially so if the diet was not significantly altered or augmented by wise supplementation. In short, we really could have worked hard at fitness, only to have become worse off as a result That experience can cause a negative image to form.

Too, some of us have never tried getting into a fitness lifestyle. We have not had the benefit of being out for a sport in high school or of being on something like the rowing team in college. Consequently, we have no idea of what diet, supplementation and exercise can do other than by way of what we have seen in advertising. That makes our psyches fertile ground for images implanted by the media.

The former group (the lion's share of most of us) have images of ourselves one or two months from now looking exactly the same as we do today. Some of us even have the fantasy of being injured from overdoing it. Granted, these things may be so deeply buried that they are not felt as being part of us. We may say that we have forgotten them. But a little quiet time with a determination to surface these images can be revealing. Generally, the results do not auger well for staying with a new routine.

Those of us who have never had bad experiences may seem to be better off initially. But where did the idea to start a fitness lifestyle come from?. The answer generally is the inspiration of a fitness guru such as Jillian Michaels, or, for the men, a body builder in one of the latest muscle publications. If so, when searching internally for an image of how we will look in one or two months from now, we may immediately see a mental picture of either of these individuals. How wonderful it would be if that could be. However, that will not happen.

Fitness takes time. Jillian Michaels and the male body builder both invested long, hard years getting to the places they currently are at. Neither got that way overnight, and neither would ever say they did If asked in private. The media may make them out to be overnight successes in hopes of selling a product they endorse; but a frank conversation with either or both would reveal the truth. Therefore, imagining us like them in a short period of time is absurd.

In a similar way, the image that the rest of us carry is not realistic either. It is most likely us unchanged by anything. But we, who have failed before,really may not do so again. One or two months of work this time if done wisely, will make a difference in how we look. That means the thirty day image which we carry around in our psyches can and should be adjusted to be a belt size or a dress size less. That is realistic; and that is what we should be seeing during those quiet times alone.

When this happens, we find ourselves contemplating realistic mental imagery--internal pictures of us that we can believe. Focusing on these can and will get us to the point of actually becoming what we imagine. Then we can adjust again for the next thirty days, etc.

Achieving our long term goals requires continual attention to the short term images we carry in our minds.Continually conjuring up new realistic ones is what keeps us doing the things that really will eventually work. That is what ultimate fitness success is all about.

For further thought on mental imaging order my e-book "Think and Grow Fit."

Obese 48 years ago; state champion power lifter 1978; in better shape today at 62 than when on swim team in high school.

http://blog.foreverfitness.info (subscribe for weekly fitness updates)

Author of "Think and Grow Fit" the no hype guide to getting fit and staying that way forever.

http://www.foreverfitness.info (6.00 ebook or 15.95 softcover from publisher I_Universe, Amazon or Barnes and Noble)

YouTube - mcfitnessguru19

Article Source:http://EzineArticles.com/?expert

Exercise And Fitness

2011-08-31T21:12:00.000-05:00

ByIsaac S Tallie

One of the keys to living a healthy life is exercise. Walking or early mornings running increases brainwave activity. Pollution in the air around 5:00 am is low therefore you will receive a cleaner source of oxygen in the morning then in the afternoon. Some people believe that you have to train 5 to 7days a week to stay in shape and technically that's not true.

You can train 1 or 2 day(s) out of the week, go for walks, take care of chores or job duties, and all that stuff is a weeks worth of exercise. Now, that may not get you prepared for the olympics, but you will feel healthier in your heart and mind. There has been times I used multiple techniques to stay in shape without training more than twice a week. For example, say if you went on a one or two mile run on Monday, you don't have to train again until that following Monday. Training one day a week lets your body know your not lazy. Instead of allowing one or two days of rest and let your body, mind, and heart circulation build in a short period of time before your next workout. You will have six days to let your muscles build from a one day a week workout.

A friend asked me a couple of years back, around winter 2009, he said, "Isaac you still run?", and I said to him "once a month during the winter" (approximately), He started laughing at me, saying, "that's all, just once a month that ain't much". So I began to explain to him in the winter my training consists of cardio indoors once a week, running once a month, and weight training 1 to 4 days a month, which is a total of 5 or 6 days spread out throughout a month. Once I explained he then complimented me on my training technique. Trying these training tips mentioned in this article will keep your mind, and body in good physical conditioning.

Please take time off from exercise when your body feels tired, a week or two now and then doesn't hurt. If you use these techniques I've explained to you throughout the year, and spring and summer comes around you will already have a head start to fit into your swimsuit with curves if your a woman, or to show off your physical conditioning for the gentlemen. Remember to exercise smart, eat right, and power up for an healthy life.

http://www.becomephysicallyfit.com/

Article Source:http://EzineArticles.com/?expert

How To Increase Weight Easily

2011-08-30T21:12:00.000-05:00

If you are one of those who are perpetually thin throughout your life, you must be wondering why is it that there are so many people who can get fat easily while it is so difficult for you to do so. On one hand you are desperately trying to gain weight while on the other hand, there are so many people who want to lose it..

Of course you do understand that in order to gain weight healthily, you need to consume more good calories than what your body uses up for energy and at the same time take up weight lifting to put on muscle weight. However, that will mean a lot of effort on your part and yet the progress will be slow. You want to put on weight as quickly and as easily as possible. Whether the methods are healthy or not is not on the uppermost part of your mind.

So with that being the case, here are some easy ways in which you can gain weight by increasing your body fat. I do not advocate this approach as the methods can be rather unhealthy.

Sleep Deprivation - By depriving yourself of sleep, you are increasing the stress on your body forcing your body to produce more fat storing hormones such as cortisol. Furthermore, the longer you keep awake, the more time you will have to eat more foods such as late night suppers.

Important Questions When Buying Incontinence Products

2011-08-29T21:12:00.000-05:00

ByAlice Merry

Incontinence products have now become essential for managing the uncontrollable out flow of liquid from bowels or urinary glands. There are found to be high number of people suffering from this problem who get their confidence shattered in a throng. Incontinence if ignored can be a hazardous and perilous threat to the health of a person suffering from it.

Fortunately, in order to manage these problems there are effective incontinence products that can be of a great assistance in maintaining health and dignity and enable the patient to lead life with comfort.

However, it is crucial to know what factors shall be taken high note of when buying incontinence products. Since a thorough research will likely find you the most suitable incontinence products fitting to your exact needs requirements.

Here are a few questions to ask when you are buying incontinence products:
There are different sizes and variety of incontinence products today available. Therefore there is no need to be worried that every person has to fit himself in a particular size. So prior to your purchase of product the first question you shall confirm is what size is the person you are buying for?

Another important question to be asked when making your purchase of incontinence product is what gender you are basically buying the product for? Makers of it have understood that the need of women and men varies when selecting such sort of products. Thus, to best meet the requirements of patient it crucial to identify the gender of a person you are buying for.

People have different life styles and are engrossed in several activities. Therefore, when you are buying your product, make sure it matches to the life style of person since this will keep the patient at an ease and will assist to carry himself without much hassles. Thus, the question this time that shall be asked is what lifestyle does the person pursue you are buying for?

The next question needs to be asked: how absorbent the product is? Since people suffering from incontinence may require different level of absorbency at different times. This means that a senior with incontinence, at times may need a heavier absorbency of product at night than in a day time. However, the right combination can be found by a trial and error Activity.

It is important to ask aforementioned question to buy incontinence products because your vigilant purchase will help you to maintain your lifestyle smoothly.

Looking for high quality, reliable and affordable incontinence products or medical supplies? Look no further! Our top quality products are simply perfect for everyone.

Article Source:http://EzineArticles.com/?expert

Ab Muscles

2011-08-28T21:12:00.000-05:00

Strong abdominals can turn an average athlete into an all-star; they provide support for throwing motions, stability and balance for jumping/lunging movements, and stamina for endurance sports. And ab perform an invaluable function in everyday life; they support the spine and allow us to bend. Combine conditioned with regular stretching for the hamstrings and lower back, and you’ll have a strong, healthy spine and excellent posture. An amazing $80 billion is spent every year on medical care for the treatment of problems associated with low back pain. So even if you never want to wear a midriff-baring top, there are plenty of sensible reasons for you to take care of your ab.

The abdominal region is composed of four muscles groups: the rectus abdominis, the external and internal obliques, and the transverse abdominis. The chart below explains each muscle’s location and function. Knowing these simple facts about your anatomy will help you with visualization during your ab workout so you get the most out of each exercise.

Muscle: Rectus abdominis
Location: The rectus abdominis runs the length of the torso from the pubic bone to mid-chest.
Function: Used for flexion: pulls the torso toward the hips and vice versa; responsible for tilt of pelvis.
Sports: Good for sports requiring running, jumping, and lifting.

Muscle: External oblique
Location: The external oblique runs diagonally to the rectus abdominis; it forms a V when viewed from the front.
Function: Aids in twisting at the waist: left external is active when you twist to the right (and vice versa).
Sports: Improves performance in golf, boxing, tennis, baseball, and any other sport that require trunk rotation.

Muscle: Internal oblique
Location: The internal oblique lies underneath the external oblique and runs diagonally in the opposite direction.
Function: Aids in twisting the torso: left internal is active when you twist to the left, aiding the right external oblique (and vice versa).
Sports: Like the external obliques, good for sports that require rotation: skiing, paddling, rowing, etc.

Muscle: Transverse abdominis
Location: The transverse abdominis runs horizontally across the abdominal wall and underneath the obliques; this is the muscle you use to “suck in your stomach.”
Function: Primarily responsible for helping the lungs breathe: pulls the abdominal wall inward to force air exhalation.
Sports: Enhances performance in sports that require short, powerful bursts: football, karate, soccer, hockey, shot put.

Workout Tips

2011-08-27T21:12:00.000-05:00

For the most effective workout, work the lower section of the rectus abdominis first, then the obliques, then the upper part of the rectus abdominis.

When lifting your upper torso for a crunch, always keep your chin pointing up to the ceiling, rather than looking toward your knees.

Really support your head and neck with your hands without pulling on your neck.

Exhale on the contraction and inhale as your relax the muscles.

Always contract the ab by pulling the belly button toward the spine before beginning any lifting motion.

When doing crunches, if you feel a lot of tension in your neck, take a break until the muscles of the neck and shoulder relax. That tension is produced when you try to lift with your upper body instead of your ab. It’s important that you take a break, relax, and contract the ab by pulling your belly button toward your spine.

Rather than trying to flatten your back to the floor, focus instead on pulling your belly button in as tightly as you can. It’s not important how high you lift, but how deeply you contract the abdominals.

Last Modified : January 7th, 2008 --

Ab Workout #1

2011-08-26T21:12:00.000-05:00

You may not think abs have much to do with strength, but they do. Abs are the counter-balance for your back. If you have weak abs, your back strength is bound to be hampered. Ab strength indirectly affects almost every muscle group in your body and remember, that well developed abs make you look good. Keep them strong.
Start this workout as always, by stretching.

After stretching, start with standing trunk twists. I recommend that you keep a broom handle or other stick behind the head while doing this exercise (rest you arms on the stick).

Do 3 sets of 50-75 reps. Each rep is a full rotation from left to right.

Following the truck twists, start with crunches. You are going to do three sets of as many reps as you can do. Make sure you push yourself, but use proper form. Do not rush through the reps, work them slowly.

After crunches, you are going to move on to ab-wheel rollers. If your gym does not have an ab wheel, they can be purchased at a sporting goods store for $10.00-$20.00. Use the wheel that looks like a lawnmower wheel with a bar stuck through it. You don’t have to spend a lot of money for this piece of equipment.

With the ab wheel, do 3 sets of 50-75 reps.

Following the ab wheel, do side stretchers. With side stretchers, you take a dumbbell in one hand and lean in the opposite direction. When you pick your dumbbell for this exercise, make sure that the weight is heavy enough that you feel it, but not too heavy. Do three sets of 25-50 side stretchers (make sure you work each side for the set).

The final exercise is going to be regular sit-ups. Do three sets of as many reps as you can. Good luck.

Last Modified : January 24th, 2008 --

Basic Stretching Exercises

2011-08-25T21:12:00.000-05:00

Stretching is needed at the beginning of exercise to prepare the muscle for the exercise it is about to take part in. These stretches will help prevent damage to the muscle, and help with your suppleness. Stretching after the workout helps straighten the muscle fibres, helps clear out any build up of by products from exercise and also makes you feel good.

The stretching program is as just as important as the exercise workout itself. These stretches are to be done before and after your workout,or even when you wake up and go to bed. Hold each stretch for around 10 seconds breathing freely. Ensure that you do not bounce the stretch, keep the limbs nice and still. Relax into the stretch until you feel a mild tension on the muscle,there should be no pain.

Reach - Ensure you keep your knees slightly bent to protect your lower back. Reach your hand up in to the air.

Triceps - Knees bent, gently pull arm down center of back. Feel the stretch on the back of your arm.

Upper Back - Knees bent, hands clasped, gently push hands away from body.

Lats - Feel the stretch as you gently pull the arm over.

Hip - Keep knees slightly bent.

Quadriceps - Keep the supporting knee slightly bent.If too hard,lie down on tummy and do the same.

Calfs - Keep both feet facing forwards, keeping feet still gently move forward.

Adductors - Sit on the floor, gently push your knees to the floor, no bouncing.

Glutes - Lie on back, gently pull knee towards you with other leg lying over pulled one.

Hamstrings - Pull the leg back gently, if leg starts to shake relax off a bit, keep leg still.

Last Modified : February 3rd, 2008 --

Ab Workout #2

2011-08-24T21:12:00.000-05:00

Try this workout the next time you work abs.

Start with truck twists. Do three sets of 20 reps.

Next, move over to the lat pulldown station for pull-down crunches (with the rope device). Do 3 sets of 20-30 reps.

After pull-down crunches, move over to the mat for regular crunches. Do three sets of as many reps as you can.

Next, move over to the leg lift station and do three sets of 25 reps.

After leg lifts, do side stretchers with dumbbells. Do three sets (per side), 25-30 reps per set.

Finish off the workout with regular sit-ups doing 3 sets of as many reps as you can.

Lower Rectus Abdominis

2011-08-23T21:12:00.000-05:00

Listed below are exercises that focus on the muscle.

Reverse Crunch

Beginner: Lie on your back with knees pulled into your chest. Hands are behind your head and belly button is pulled in tightly. Exhale and contract your lower abs so that your hips and buns lift off the floor. Inhale as you slowly lower to the starting position.

Intermediate: Lie on your back with legs extended up toward the ceiling, keeping legs pulled toward your head to remove pressure from the lower back. Hands are behind your head and belly button is pulled in tightly. Exhale and contract you lower abs so that your hips and buns lift off the floor — think of stamping your feet on the ceiling. Inhale as you slowly lower to the starting position.

Make It Harder: Lift and lower for counts of 2, 3, or 4.

Helpful Hints: Don’t rock your legs. Use your abs to lift and let your legs come along for the ride. The movement should be small and controlled.

Cycling

Beginner: Lie on your back with your hands under your buns to give you a slight pelvic tilt. Lift your legs so they’re pointing toward the ceiling and hold them close to your body to remove pressure from your back. Slowly pull your right knee toward your chest, using the lower abs to pull. Then extend the right leg and pull in the left knee. Keep alternating, using a pushing-pulling motion with the abs.

Intermediate: Lie on your back with your hands under your buns to give you a slight pelvic tilt. Extend your legs parallel to the floor and lift them about 1 foot off the floor. Slowly pull your right knee toward your chest, using the lower abs to pull. Then extend the right leg and pull in the left knee. Keep alternating, using a pushing-pulling motion with the abs.

Make It Harder: Cycle are variable speeds: quickly for 4 counts, then very slowly for 4 counts.

Helpful Hints: If you feel pressure in your lower back, point your legs more toward the ceiling. To make this exercise more difficult, try holding your head and shoulders off the floor as you cycle.

Seated Raises

Beginner: Sit on the edge of a bench or chair with your legs extended in front of you, your heels just touching the floor. Hold onto the sides of the chair or bench as an anchor. Contract your abs, exhale, and pull your knees in toward your chest. Inhale as you slowly lower to starting position, barely touching the floor with your heels.

Intermediate: Sit on the edge of a bench or chair with your legs extended in front of you, your heels just touching the floor. Hold onto the sides of the chair or bench as an anchor. Contract your abs, exhale, and keeping your legs extended, lift them up until their parallel to the floor. Inhale as you slowly lower to starting position, barely touching the floor with your heels.

Make It Harder: Raise and lower for variable counts: up 2, down 2 … up for 3, down for 1 … up for 1, down for 3 … raise and lower slowly on a count of 4.

Helpful Hints: Control the lowering motion and fight against gravity. Be sure to keep upper body upright; try not to lean back as you lift.

Last Modified : March 11th, 2008 --

Essential Nutrients

2011-08-22T21:12:00.000-05:00

These are the six that your body needs on a daily basis.

WaterCarbohydratesProteinsFatsVitaminsMinerals

Water

Water is the most essential nutrient the body needs. Your body is around forty to sixty percent of water. Forty to sixty percent of your body weight is water. Muscle composition is approximately 70% water. It is vital that while you exercise you continually drink water to ensure that your body does not dehydrate. If you feel thirsty it will take around 20 minutes for the liquid to be utilized by the body. Obviously the amount of water you need depends on your body weight, height and any activity you take part in but on average you need around three and a half pints of water a day. This may seem a lot but a lot of water will come from your food such as fruits which contain 75 to 90 percent of water.

Carbohydrates

Carbohydrates are usually referred to as sugars or starches. Complicated carbohydrates are the carbohydrates that we keep hearing about that we should improve our food intake of. These carbohydrates are found in such foods such as potatoes, bananas, pasta, bread, cereals etc. Carbohydrates are converted into sugars by the body. Carbohydrates come in two forms:

Simple Sugars

Simple sugars are sugars like processed sugar and sugar from fruits. This kind of sugar is used almost immediately during exercise. Just eating these sugars would not give you endless amounts of instant energy because as your sugar level in your blood increased, more insulin would be released to grab the sugar and dispose of it because there is too much. All this insulin grabs all the sugar and more as well so eventually you would have even less energy than you started with. This is why when you eat a chocolate bar you feel great for about 15 minutes, your body will then loose energy and become slightly fatigued.

Complex Sugars

This kind of sugar is taken from foods like potatoes, bread, pasta, rice, vegetables and fruits. The difference between these sugars and simple sugars are that the sugars are released at a slower level so you do not get this insulin rush. As the sugar is released a lot slower it also lasts a lot longer because it takes the sugar a lot longer to be broken down. It should be obvious to you that these complex sugars or carbohydrates as they are better known are a 100 times better for you than the simple sugars. We need to be looking at around 55 percent of our daily intake of complex sugars.

Protein

Protein is composed of amino acids, which help to build muscle mass. Cells in the body are being replaced all the time every day 365 days a year, so we need to give the body the tools to complete the task of keeping our bodys fit and healthy. Protein is found in such foods such as chicken (white meat), egg white, beans, skimmed milk etc. The bigger and leaner your muscles are the higher your basal matabolic rate is. Your basal metabolic rate is the amount of calories the body uses just to live for the day, so even doing such things as sitting watching television your body will be burning more calories which means burning away more body fat. We need about 70 to 80 grams of protein daily in our diet.If you eat too much protein the excess will also be stored as body fat, you should be looking at 20 percent of your daily calorific intake to be of protein.

Fat

Fat is another term for lipid. Too much fat in your diet can lead to obesity, heart disease, heart attacks, and strokes. Fat does have its uses though, the body needs some fat to process vitamins and minerals and to insulate its inner systems. Fat is also used by the body to provide energy to the body during exercise. Cheese, nuts, cooking oil etc are high in fat content. There are more than one kind of fat, here are the three:

Saturated Fat

Saturated fat is the worst fat for the body. Saturated fat causes the arteries to clog which in turn can cause strokes, heart attacks and coronary heart disease.

Polyunsaturated Fat

Polyunsaturated fat has fewer fatty acid molecules than saturated fat, so is a lot better for you than saturated fat. A type of polyunsaturated fat is Omega 3, this is found only in fish oils, this fat helps with the developments of the nervous system and a host of other bodily functions.

Mono Unsaturated Fat

Mono unsaturated fat has even fewer fatty acid molecules than polyunsaturated fat, and for this reason is the best of all three fats. You should have a higher intake of mono unsaturated fat than the other two fats.

Vitamins and Minerals

Vitamins are needed in small amounts to help the body with chemical reactions within its cells and are organic. Vitamins come in two forms, they are fat soluble and water soluble. Fat Soluble Vitamins (A, D, E, K) are stored in the fat tissue and can build up high levels of toxins in the body if they are not utilized. Water Soluble Vitamins (B, C) are excreted by the body if your daily amount of intake is too great.

Minerals are inorganic substances in other words they are man made and they regulate processes within the body. Minerals are put into different structures within the body to create enzymes, hormones, skeletal bones, skeletal tissues, teeth and fluids.

Last Modified : April 1st, 2008 --

Oblique Exercises

2011-08-21T21:12:00.000-05:00

The exercises below will strengthen your oblique muscles.

Side Lift

Beginner: Lie on your left side with legs together and knees bent. Place your left arm comfortably in front of you and place your right hand behind your ear, elbow bent. Exhale and use your obliques to lift your right knee while simultaneously lifting your upper torso to meet it. Inhale and slowly lower to the starting position. Do all reps and switch sides.

Intermediate: Lie on your left side with legs together and legs extended. Place your left arm comfortably in front of you and place your right hand behind your ear, elbow bent. Exhale and use your obliques to lift both legs toward the ceiling while simultaneously lifting your upper torso. Inhale and slowly lower to the starting position. Do all reps and switch sides.

Make It Harder: Raise and lower for variable counts: up 2, down 2 … up for 3, down for 1 … up for 1, down for 3.

Helpful Hints: Keep abs tight throughout to control the lowering phase. Try not to allow your legs to touch the floor when you return to the starting position.

Leg Overs

Beginner: Lie flat on your back with your arms extended at from the shoulders, perpendicular to your body. Bring your bent knees in toward your chest and hold them with thighs perpendicular to the floor, calves parallel to the floor. Inhale and use your obliques to lower your legs to the left side, keeping knees bent. Exhale, pulling your knees back to the center and lowering them to the right side. Be sure to keep both shoulder blades flat on the floor throughout the movement.

Intermediate: Lie flat on your back with your arms extended out from the shoulders, perpendicular to your body. Extend your legs straight up to the ceiling. Inhale and use your oblique to lower your legs to the left side until they barely touch the floor. Exhale, pulling your legs back to the center and lowering them to the right side. Be sure to keep both shoulder blades flat on the floor throughout the movement.

Make It Harder: Raise and lower for variable counts: up 2, down 2 … up for 3, down for 1 … up for 1, down for 3.

Helpful Hints: As you lower your legs to the side, allow your hips to roll with the movement. The extended-leg version of this exercise is very advanced; only proceed to a long-legged position after working through varying degrees of extension first.

Side Crunches

Beginner: Lie on your left side with legs bent perpendicular to your body. Place your left arm comfortably in front of you and put your right hand behind your ear. Using a slow crunching motion, exhale and lift your rib cage toward your hip. Inhale and slowly lower almost to the floor.

Intermediate: Lie on your left side with legs bent perpendicular to your body. Place your left arm comfortably in front of you and put your right hand behind your ear. Using a slow crunching motion, exhale and lift your rib cage toward your hip. Inhale and slowly lower almost to the floor.

Make It Harder: Raise and lower for variable counts: up 2, down 2 … up for 3, down for 1 … up for 1, down for 3.

Helpful Hints: Lift entire torso off the floor, not just your elbow and head. Focus on using the obliques to list your toros, and be sure to get the bottom shoulder off the floor during the lifting phase.

Personal First Aid

2011-08-20T21:12:00.000-05:00

This article will cover the basic things you need to know if you have an injury while exercising.

The most common problems with exercise are fainting and dizziness, pulled muscle and dehydration.

Fainting and Dizziness

This condition is caused by lack of water and salt to the body. This only usually happens to people who are not used to exercise or work a lot harder than they usually do and the body is not prepared for it. If you are working out in a hotter place than normal you have to make sure you take plenty of water as you will lose more liquid while working out. Dizziness will occur before the fainting so if you feel dizzy then stop exercising straight away as if you are on your own you cannot help yourself if you faint.

Symptoms and Signs:

Feeling of exhaustion but may feel restless May have a headache and feel tired May feel dizzy and nauseated Stomach cramps may be felt Skin will feel cold and clammy, face will be pale Shallow and fast breathingPulse will be rapid and weak

Treatment:

Stop exercising immediately Try and get to a cooler place Sip water Lie down with your feet slightly above your head If you feel you might become unconscious then lie in the recovery position (on your side with your tummy to the floor) If sweating profusely, have cramp or vomiting add half a tea spoon of salt to each pint of water

Pulled Muscles

This problem can occur if you have not warmed up or stretched out properly. If your demand on the muscles is too great the muscle fibre can be slightly torn given a very tight and probably pain full feeling in the muscle.

Symptoms and Signs:

Muscle feels tight or hurts as exercise is doneMuscle feels tight hurts after exercise has finishedBurning sensation from muscle

Treatment:

Stop exercising immediatelyIce pack the muscle with the a towel in between the ice pack and a the skin Compress the muscle with a bandage (not too tight) Elevate the limb

It is very important for you to rest the limb until the injury has healed completely. The advice 2, 3 and 4 is to prevent the swelling of the muscle. As the muscle repairs, slowly and gently start to work it with some good stretches. A good diet with adequate protein is needed.

Dehydration

This condition is caused by lack of water to the body. This does not only happen to people who are new to exercise, some people who exercise all their lives can become dehydrated if they do not take in enough water. If you are working out in a hotter place than normal you have to make sure you take plenty of water as you will lose more liquid while working out.

Symptoms and Signs:

Feeling of thirstMay have a headache and feel tired May feel dizzy and nauseated Skin will feel cold and clammy, face will be pale Shallow and fast breathing Pulse will be rapid and weak

Treatment:

Stop exercising immediatelyTry and get to a cooler placeSit down on the floorSip water and keep drinking it until you feel betterIf you feel you might become unconscious then lie in the recovery position (on your side with your tummy to the floor)DO NOT carry on exercising when you feel better

These are only a few of the problems that can occur during first aid, but as said earlier they are the most common. Now you know the problems that can happen you can make sure they do not happen to you.

Last Modified : June 11th, 2008 --

Upper Ab Exercises

2011-08-19T21:12:00.000-05:00

Working the muscles at a variety of speeds ensures that you have strength throughout your whole range of motion, and helps overload the muscles, thus making you work harder and producing more rapid gains in strength.

Basic Crunch

Beginner: Lie on your back with your knees bent, feet shoulder width apart on the floor, hands behind your head. Pull your belly button to your spine and slowly squeeze your abs as your head and shoulders come up off the floor. Lift straight toward the ceiling, chin pointing up. Slowly lower to the floor and repeat.

Intermediate: Lie on your back with your knees bent and pulled in toward your chest, feet hanging close to your buns. Pull your belly button to your spine and slowly squeeze your abs as your head and shoulders come up off the floor. Lift straight toward the ceiling, chin pointing up. Slowly lower to the floor and repeat.

Make It Harder: Rather than placing hands behind your head, extend your arms as if you’re diving into a swimming pool, keeping forearms close to your ears. Focus on relaxing the shoulders to keep tension out of your neck. Also, try varying the speed of your lifting and lowering motion.

Helpful Hints: Try not to lower completely to the floor at the bottom of the movement. Try to clear your shoulder blades from the floor; be sure you’re not just lifting your head. Really focus on pulling your belly button down toward your spine.

Frog Legs

Beginner: Lie on your back with the soles of your feet together, letting your knees fall open to the sides. Place your hands behind your head to support your neck. Pull your belly button to your spine and slowly squeeze your abs as your head and shoulders come up off the floor. Lift straight toward the ceiling, chin pointing up. Slowly lower to the floor and repeat.

Intermediate: Lie on your back with your knees bent and pulled in toward your chest. Cross your ankles and let your knees fall open to the sides. Place your hands behind your head to support your neck. Pull your belly button to your spine and slowly squeeze your abs as your head and shoulders come up off the floor. Lift straight toward the ceiling, chin pointing up. Slowly lower to the floor and repeat.

Make It Harder: Extend your arms as if you’re diving, keeping forearms close to your ears. Focus on relaxing the shoulders to keep tension out of your neck. Also, try varying the speed of your lifting and lowering motion.

Helpful Hints: This exercise works the upper part of the rectus abdominis and into the lower segment. Be sure to really pull your belly button in tightly to protect your back and don’t lower all the way to the floor at the bottom.

Demi-Crunch

Beginner: Lie on your back with your knees bent, feet shoulder width apart on the floor, hands behind your head. Pull your belly button to your spine and lift shoulders and head off the floor, just a few inches. You should feel a contraction in the abdominals. Now lift straight toward the ceiling, chin pointing up and slowly return to your starting position - do not go all the way to the floor.

Intermediate: Lie on your back with your knees bent and pulled in toward your chest, feet hanging close to your buns. Pull your belly button to your spine and lift shoulders and head off the floor, just a few inches. You should feel a contraction in the abdominals. Now lift straight toward the ceiling, chin pointing up and slowly return to your starting position - do not go all the way to the floor.

Make It Harder: Lie on your back with your knees bent and walk your feet away from your buns until your legs are almost fully extended - be sure to keep a slight bend in the knee. If you feel any pain in your lower back, bring your feet in closer to your buns. This leg position gets the lower abs, too.

Helpful Hints: Be sure to really pull your belly button in tightly to protect your back and don’t lower all the way to the floor at the bottom.

Eat Right for the Best Workout

2011-08-18T21:12:00.000-05:00

The 12 rules of eating right.

Get enough fiber
The experts say we should be consuming at least 25 grams of fiber per day. Go for whole grain breads, beans, fruit, and veggies.

Drink 2-3 glasses of skim or low-fat milk every day
Not only does it provide much-needed calcium, it’s got a perfect proportion of carbohydrate and protein calories to keep you feeling energetic.

Water
Cool, refreshing, blissfully calorie-and fat-free, a glass of water is one of the best pick-me-ups around. Drinking lots helps prevent water retention, keeps your skin glowing, sustains your energy, and keeps all your functions functioning.

Protein is your body’s building block
Make sure you get some at each meal - and go for the low-fat kinds: chicken and turkey breast, fish, lean beef, egg whites, and beans.

It really is smart food, so eat fish once a week
Versatile and loaded with heart-healthy Omega-3 oil and protein, fish is a great way to satisfy your daily protein requirement.

Rev your engine with complex carbs
The right kinds of carbohydrates will keep you feeling energized all day. What’s the right kind? The kind loaded with fiber: fruits, veggies, whole grain starches, beans.

Eat a carrot everyday
Loaded with beta carotene, carrots also have fiber, take a long time to eat, and taste delicious.

Eat for energy by thinking about what the foods you eat can do for you
Think about what they contain, rather than what they don’t. For example, fat free cookies are all about what’s not in there. But strawberries have vitamin C, whole wheat bagels serve up energizing carbs, peanut butter is a protein powerhouse, cottage cheese has a one-two punch of calcium and protein…

Eat your cruciferous veggies
Leafy dark green and brightly colored veggies contain antioxidants that can help you ward off villains from the common cold to cancer.

Take a bite of an apple (or pear, grapefruit, pineapple)
Fruit is loaded with vitamins, minerals, and fiber. Pass on the trendy juice shakes and smoothies that are loaded with empty sugar calories and sink your teeth into the real thing. With an average of only 60 calories per serving, fruit is a low-calorie, energy-packed food.

Don’t fight all fat
Your body needs fat to function - and fat is a highly-concentrated source of energy, so don’t cut all of it out of your diet. Just eliminate the bad, yucky, saturated kind. Research has shown that olive oil and canola oil have very health side effects. Stay away from the sat-fat found in highly-marbleized meat, butter, tropical oils, and some margarines - but don’t be afraid to drizzle a little olive oil on your salad.

Remember: there’s no bad food
Just about everything can be part of a healthy diet - as long as you concentrate on low-fat foods, fruits, and vegetables most of the time. By removing the taboos from foods, you free yourself to make healthful choices willingly– and think of food as healthy fuel instead of an enemy you need to fight.

Basic Ab Exercises

2011-08-17T21:12:00.000-05:00

Make sure the lower back stays well supported. Relax for a moment between exercises. Allow enough time for a good stretch/cool-down period when you are done.

Basic Crunch
Lay down on the floor, knees bent, hands resting on your thighs, feet and lower back pressing into the ground. Squeeze the abdominals as you lift your upper body toward your knees. Lower. Your hands will naturally move up and down your leg. Exhale up, inhale down. Repeat 20 times.

Reverse Crunch
Press the hands into the floor at your side. Raise your legs so that they are perpendicular to the ground. Now, lift your buttocks an inch or two off of the floor, keeping shoulders to the floor. Lower slowly, concentrating on the lower ab region. Repeat 15 times.

Cross
Lay on your back, knees bent. Use your hands to support the head, thumbs right behind your ears. Keeping your right shoulder on the ground, twist the left side of your body up and over, pointing your left shoulder toward your right knee. Lower. Repeat 15 times each side.

Crunch with Alternate Twist
Same position, knees bent, hands supporting the head. Crunch up; twist your body to the right; twist your body to the left; and crunch forward again. Release, but do not lower your head all the way to the ground. Repeat this series of fluid movements 10 times.

Last Modified : December 31st, 2008 --

Combination Exercises

2011-08-16T21:12:00.000-05:00

Combination: Obliques Crunch

Beginner: Lie on your back with your knees bent, feet shoulder width apart on floor. Pull your belly button to your spine. Place your left hand on your right thigh; put your right hand behind your head for support. Contract your tummy and slide your hand up your leg to the outside of your right knee, exhaling on the lift. Slowly slide down to the starting position. Finish a set on one side, then switch to the other side.

Intermediate: Lie on your back with your knees bent and pulled in toward your chest, keeping your feet close to your buns. Place your right hand behind your head and your left arm on the floor by your side. Pull your belly button in and lift toward your left knee. Exhale as you lift. Slowly return to the starting position. Finish a set on one side, then switch to the other side.

Make it harder: Extend your legs toward the ceiling, rather than keeping them bent. Even harder? Reach for your toes with your fingertips as you lift.

Helpful Hints: Rotate the shoulders toward the opposite knee, NOT the elbow. Keep elbows relaxed back and chest “open.” Think of lifting on a diagonal toward the knee, feeling the bottom of your rib cage and your hipbone squeezing toward each other.

Combination: Full Crunch (This exercise combines the basic and reverse crunch)

Beginner: Lie on your back with your knees pulled in toward your chest, feet hanging close to your buns. Place your hands behind your head. Pull your belly button in tightly then contract the lower abs so that your hips and buns lift off the floor while you lift your shoulders from the floor using the upper abs. Exhale as you lift.

Intermediate: Lie on your back with your legs extended toward the ceiling. Place your hands behind your head. Pull your belly button in tightly then contract the lower abs so that your hips and buns lift off the floor while you lift your shoulders from the floor using the upper abs. Exhale as you lift.

Make it harder: Extend arms into diving position overhead.

Helpful Hints: If you feel any strain in your lower back, pull your legs closer to your chest. The closer your legs are to parallel to the floor, the harder the exercise is for your back.

Combination: Negative Crunch

Beginner: Sit on the floor with your legs bent, feet flat. Extend your arms out in front of you at shoulder height. Pull your tummy in tight and slowly lower your back toward the floor, rounding your back as you go. Only go about halfway to the floor. Then exhale, contract your abs, and return to starting position.

Intermediate: To make this more challenging, walk your feet further away from your body.

Make it harder: Change the rhythm of your movement: lower for 2 and contract for 2 … lower for 3 and contract for 1 … lower for 1 and contract for 3.

Helpful Hints: Keep the small of your back rounded and only go as far as you can without losing your abdominal contraction. When returning to sitting position, don’t go too high. You should feel tension in your abs throughout this movement.

Last Modified : May 2nd, 2009 --

Improve Your Life With Healthy Sleep Habits

2011-08-12T13:23:00.000-05:00

Stumble thisPosted by Jessica Oxford on Tuesday, April 7th 2009 7
Apr

Having trouble falling asleep is a very common problem for a lot of us. At some stage around 20% of people will experience either too little sleep or poor quality of sleep. The following is a collection of tips and advice to assist you in improving your sleeping habits.

Force yourself to wake every day at the same time so that you are more productive, structured, and habitual.

Go to bed when your are tired. It should only take you around 5-10 minutes to fall asleep, any longer and you’re wasting your time. You don’t always need the same amount of sleep every night, listen to your body and mind. Forcing yourself to get up at the same time every day should make your more tired at night and regulate the time you fall asleep anyway.

100 Free Motivational Fitness Quotes

2011-08-11T13:23:00.000-05:00

I stumbled across this early in the new year and I have meant to post about it for a while now. Eartha from Trying Fitness has developed a list of 100 Motivational/Inspirational Quotes focused around fitness.

You may have already checked this out earlier in the year but I think it’s worth going over again and having a second look. You might have missed a great quote that will inspire you to push that little harder to get a flat stomach or lose those few extra pounds. It might also be a good idea to go and pick out and some new quotes to help you achieve your fitness goals as we enter into the second quarter of 2009.

The download link is below or you can click on the cover picture to view/download the e-book. Happy quoting!

100 Motivational Quotes (PDF)

Popularity: 83%

5 Food Rules For Improving Your Health

2011-08-10T13:23:00.000-05:00

Stumble thisPosted by Jessica Oxford on Thursday, May 28th 2009 28
May

If you want to make an immediate impact on your health and lifestyle for the better then follow these 5 rules on eating food to improve your overall wellbeing. The following list works through 5 simple steps to help you improve your eating habits. If you follow these rules you should start feeling healthier, decrease your body fat percentage, start to work towards a flat stomach and perhaps even improve your ability to fall and stay asleep throughout the night.

Eat REAL Food!

An easy way to dramatically improve your health is to eat real food! By this I mean eating food in it’s natural state. This means eating food as close as possible to the way nature intended it to be. Consume less processed grains, go for rolled oats over instant, brown rice over white and defiantly no white bread. Try switching to a sourdough or whole grain bread. Actually eat fruit instead of purchasing products that contain “real fruit”. Finally it also means preparing more of your own food at home instead of buying factory produced processed packaged meals.

Following the same line of thought you want to eat foods that contain no or minimal amounts of flavorings, preservatives and colorings. When you do your shopping make sure you actually check the labels and go for products where you recognize all the ingredients. Avoid items that are made up of powders, flavorings and numbers!

Eat Local Produce

Try and source your food from locally grown suppliers. Almost all cities and suburbs have a local farmers market somewhere. Find it and support your local manufactures and farmers. Buying your fruit, vegetables and meats from the supermarket is a great convenience but it comes at the cost of truly fresh and seasonal eating.

Eat More Fruit and Vegetables

Think Yourself To A Flat Stomach

2011-08-09T13:23:00.000-05:00

Stumble thisPosted by Jessica Oxford on Thursday, June 18th 2009 18
Jun

In order to lose weight and achieve a flat stomach it basically comes down to eating less and moving more. Almost everyone knows this. So why isn’t everyone walking around with the body of Angelina Jolie or Brad Pitt? Perhaps a lot of it has to do with internal baggage that we are carrying around in our subconsciousness? In order to get over this you then have to reset your mind and focus your thoughts on the positive, set yourself weight loss/flat stomach goals and keep these visualized in your mind.

The first step to thinking yourself to a flat stomach is making the decision that you want to change and that you really want to reap the rewards of making that change. This also applies to general weight loss and almost any other goal you want to achieve in your life. You have to be prepared to do anything and everything to achieve your goals. The second part is then believing in your mind that you can change and that it is possible. This is the part that often involves overcoming the internal obstacles that we have placed in our minds.

A lot of us spend our time thinking about the negatives in our lives. This can often be made worse by the negative articles and pictures we see in the media and the friends and family we surround ourselves with. The negativity in our lives can become a self fulfilling prophecy. Ultimately preventing you from losing weight and gaining control of your life.

These negative emotions and feelings surrounding us and infesting our thoughts mean that we often resort to food for the wrong reasons. We eat because we are bored, tired, sad, lonely and angry and we don’t think of the consequences of eating, only the short term feeling of fulfillment that food may bring. It’s only after we eat the food that we feel guilty and create more negativity. Stop and think! No matter how much emotional eating you participate in it’s not going to fix anything and you will never feel better long term from it!

You need to break the negative cycle and replace your negative thoughts with positives one. You also need to stop and think before you put food into your mouth. Ask yourself if this food is providing me with energy (the purpose of food) or am I eating for other reasons?

Creating a new positive mindset around food and weight loss means developing a whole new relationship with food, our mind and our bodies. Perhaps the most powerful thing to keep in the front of your mind and on the tip of your tongue is that we always have the power to choose. You can have that chocolate if you want but do you need to have it?

Popularity: 82%

10 Minute Flat Stomach Workout

2011-08-08T13:23:00.000-05:00

Stumble thisPosted by Jessica Oxford on Monday, June 29th 2009 29
Jun

With constant challenges, clever workouts and healthy eating you can easily get a flat stomach. Here is a quick I have devised for when you are short of time. Alternatively you could add this 10 minute session to your normal workouts as a great warm up or cool down exercise.

Exercise 1: Squats
While standing extend your arms out, parallel to the ground while flexing your triceps. Then, initiate a squat from your hips by sitting back and down keeping the weight on your heels as opposed to the balls of your feet. Squat down to a position where your thighs are approximately parallel to the ground, then return up to the starting position. Complete 10 to 20 reps.

Check out this article for a full description on the squat.

Exercise 2: Plank Push-Ups
Begin in a push up position but with your elbows on the ground and resting on your forearms. Your elbows should be bent at a 90 degree angle. Push off the ground with one arm and then the next. Squeeze your abs as you push up. You should be lifting yourself up to a fully extended push up position. Lower back down to the starting position and repeat, this time leading with the opposite arm. Aim to not let your back sag down towards the ground. Complete 10 to 20 reps.

Exercise 3: Walking Lunges
Start with your feet at shoulder width apart. While maintaining a straight line, stride forward with your right leg and land with your left toes just touching the ground, your left heel should be raised. Once your right foot lands, allow your left knee to fall down to the ground. Push back up with your right leg and then repeat on the other side. You should try form a consistent rhythm, just stopping the lunge and pushing back up before your knee hits the ground. Complete 20 repetitions.

Exercise 4: Bent Over Rows
For this exercise you need a barbell, workout bag or you could use dumbbells. Use a medium weight on the bar and grip the bar a little wider than a shoulder width apart. Stand up straight, pull your shoulder blades down, keep your head straight and contract your abdominals. Slowly bend forward, keeping your back straight and pushing your hips out, stop when your chest is almost parallel with the floor. Pull the bar into your chest keeping your elbows out to the sides. Exhale as you lift, inhale as you lower the bar down. Gently return to a standing position. Complete 2 sets of 12 reps.

Exercise 5: The Sprinter

The sprinter is very similar to the bicycle crunch except that the hands are not behind the head, rather positioned in a sprinting motion and you sit up higher with the sprinter.

Lie down on your back, making sure your back is firmly against the floor. Lie down flat but keep your heels hovering about 6 inches off the ground. Crunch up and bring your left arm up with the elbow bent to resemble a sprinters motion. At the top of the crunch bring your right knee into your chest. Repeat for the other side of the body and do 20 reps.

Popularity: 100%

2 Flat Stomach Secrets For Women

2011-08-07T13:23:00.000-05:00

Stumble thisPosted by Jessica Oxford on Tuesday, June 30th 2009 30
Jun

article by Holly Rigsby, CPT from www.FitYummyMummy.com

Have you tried everything under the sun to get a flat stomach, only to come up disappointed? Have you fallen prey to all the gimmicks, fad diets and shameless infomercials promising you that elusive flat stomach that you desire?

Well fret no more, I’m going to let you in on the two

Free Fitness Ebook: So You’ve Decided To Get In Shape (Again)

2011-08-06T13:23:00.000-05:00

Stumble thisFree Fitness Ebook: So You’ve Decided To Get In Shape (Again)Posted by Jessica Oxford on Tuesday, July 21st 2009 21
Jul

Craig Harper is an author and motivational speaker from Melbourne, Australia. He believes that anyone can create amazing change and incredible results in any area of their life in a relatively short period of time, if they are prepared to get a little uncomfortable, see old things in a new way, and open their mind and their heart to a different way of thinking and being.

Avoiding The Seasonal Weight Gain

2011-08-05T13:23:00.001-05:00

Stumble thisPosted by Jessica Oxford on Thursday, July 23rd 2009 23
Jul

While looking at the geographical location of my visitors I would say that most of The Flat Stomach Blog readers are currently enjoying some warmer weather. However as we hit the summer months it occurred to me that there is a whole other side of the equator who are getting ready to snug up for winter. Countries such as Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Argentina and Brazil are either in, or about to be in the middle of winter.

One of the problems with winter approaching is that our bodies are more covered up and we sometimes lose the motivation that we have to stay in shape over those warmer months. For some, winter can become an excuse to stay inside, skip the gym and eat heavier foods. Our bodies are no longer as much on display each day and we may use this as an excuse to overeat and under exercise.

Stop Compulsive Overeating And Get A Flat Stomach

2011-08-05T13:20:00.001-05:00

Stumble thisPosted by Jessica Oxford on Tuesday, July 28th 2009 28
Jul

Compulsive overeating can happen for a variety of different reasons and I’m sure most of us can admit that at one time or another we have all overindulged in food. Eating a little too much dessert around the holidays or on your birthday is a one off and usually includes time well spent with family and friends. This overeating is fine as long as it’s a one off and you are sticking to a workout routine. Problems occur when the overeating becomes compulsive and happens out of boredom, constant overindulgence, inability to recognize the feelings of hunger and fullness or simply eating food for the sake of it because “it was there”. This is a sure-fire way to put on weight and ruin a flat stomach.

The Best 3 Ab Exercises that AREN'T Your "USED" Abdominal Exercises

2011-07-17T18:49:00.000-05:00

A unique ab workout that doesn't contain your typical boring stomach exercises - no crunches or situps here!

by Mike Geary - Certified Nutrition Specialist, Certified Personal Trainer
Author of best-seller: The Truth about Six Pack Abs

Instead of the typical ab routines that we see so often with crunches, situps, leg lifts, etc... I like to give my readers better options for metabolism-boosting high intensity workouts that work their entire body while also working their abs... thus building rock hard abs & core, but also creating a much better fat-burning workout than a typical ab workout.

I'm going to show you an example today of one of my favorite "ab workouts" that doesn't include any direct "ab exercises" at all. This is actually a full body workout that works your abs pretty hard indirectly, and stimulates a good metabolism boost! It's in a tri-set format (similar to a super-set but alternating between 3 exercises).

Here goes:

1a. Renegade Dumbbell Rows
1b. Front Squats with Barbell
1c. Mountain Climbers on Floor

A good rep scheme to use with this could be 3-4 sets of 8 reps for each exercise, or more sets for less reps, such as 5 sets of 5 reps of each exercise. Mountain climbers can be done for a time interval (such as 30 seconds) instead of "reps".

Exercise Pics & Descriptions:

Renegade dumbbell rows are done starting in a pushup position with the hands on 2 dumbbells. You then row one dumbbell up while stabilizing your body with the other arm. Bring the dumbbell back to the ground and alternate the rowing arm while stabilizing with the opposite arm. This stabilizing effect during the rows creates incredible work for your entire midsection core area. Trust me... you'll feel it in the abs!

Renegade Rows shown above

Front squats are done similar to back squats, however with the barbell in front of your body on the front of your shoulders instead of resting on the upper back as in back squats. You stabilize the barbell on your shoulders by crossing your arms and pushing your fists into the bar against your shoulders while keeping your elbows out in front of the body.

This takes a little practice at first, so you will want to seek a professional trainer at your gym to help you with the form. Front squats require extreme stabilization strength from the abs due to the barbell weight being shifted to the front of the body instead of the back. Even though this is mostly a leg exercise, you'll feel this one in the abs big time!

Front squats shown above

Mountain climbers are done by starting in a pushup position and then shuffling your feet in and out so that your knees are moving in under your chest and then back out to starting position. It sort of resembles climbing a mountain but flat on the floor. If you want an advanced version, you can also shuffle your hands 8-10 inches forward and backward in addition to the leg movements. This really makes it a full body exercise and MUCH more difficult than standard mountain climbers.

Mountain Climbers shown above

After finishing each exercise, rest about 30 seconds before starting the next exercise. Rest about 1-2 minutes after completing each "tri-set" before repeating.

This will give you one of the best ab workouts you've ever had without even doing any direct ab exercises.... and with a LOT more fat-burning metabolic effect compared to standard ab exercises... You'll see what I mean after you try it!

Do You Need Really Cardio Vascular Workouts?

2011-07-16T18:44:00.000-05:00

Are cardio workouts or weight training more effective for losing fat...

by Mike Geary, Certified Nutrition Specialist, Certified Personal Trainer

In this article, I have an intriguing discussion about cardio workouts, which will hopefully get you thinking differently, and trying new things.

You may know I've been called the anti-cardio guy before, but this week I'm back posing the question to you... Do you really need cardio training to get lean and in great shape? By the way, you'll see in a minute that I'm not really "anti-cardio", just "anti traditional cardio".

Most fitness buffs, weekend warriors, or anyone trying to get in shape or lose body fat, consider it a fact that they need "cardio" exercise to accomplish these goals. They would never even question it.

However, I'm not only questioning it, I'm going to refute it! In fact, you may be surprised to know that some of the leanest and meanest people I know (men and women), NEVER do any type of normal or traditional cardio. And I've spent over 15 years working out in various gyms, and hanging out with athletes of all sorts, so I've seen it all.

I will say that there can be a place for low-moderate level cardio for really overweight or deconditioned people, but even in those cases, there can be more effective methods.

But what exactly is "cardio"?

Most people would consider cardio to be pumping away mindlessly on a treadmill, riding a stationary bike, or coasting on an elliptical machine, while watching the TV screen at their state of the art gym. This is what I call "traditional cardio". Hmmm, no wonder the majority of people get bored with their workouts and give up after a couple months without seeing results.

But if you look closer, "cardio" exercise can be considered any type of exercise or activity that strengthens the cardiovascular system. I'm not going to get into anything technical like increasing your VO2 max or anything like that. To keep it simple, if it gets your heart pumpin, and gets you huffin and puffin, it's cardio. I don't care if you're holding dumbbells or a barbell and everyone calls it a weight training exercise...it's still conditioning your heart.

Let's take a look at a couple examples. Take a barbell (or dumbbell, or kettlebell) clean & press for example, which involves lifting a barbell from the floor up to shoulders, then push pressing overhead. And listen up ladies, because even though this is usually seen as a manly exercise, it doesn't matter if you're not lifting 250 lbs; if 45 lbs is challenging to you, then you will still benefit just as much.

At first glance, most people think of the barbell C&P only as a weight training exercise or strength exercise. However, I challenge you to do a hard set of around 10-15 reps on the C&P. If you used a challenging enough weight, what you'll find is that your heart rate is probably up to about 80-90% of your recommended max, and you are huffing and puffing like you just ran a 100-meter sprint (which by the way, sprinting kicks the crap out of jogging any day if you want the easiest way to lose the flab).

Try the same thing for a set of 20 reps of one-arm snatches or swings with each arm with a kettlebell or dumbbell, and tell me your legs aren't burning, heart racing, and you're gasping for breath. How about trying 5 minutes straight of bodyweight squats, lunges, and pushups with very little rest. Again, notice your heart pounding, sweat pouring off of you, and chest heaving for breaths!

Try and tell me you're not conditioning your heart with this style of training! Conventional thinking says that these are weight training or strength training exercises. However, they are fullfilling your cardio workout needs as well (saving you time!).

Not only do you save time, but you strengthen and condition almost every muscle in your entire body with these full body exercises if you do them with enough intensity...something that can't be said for that boring stationary bike ride or treadmill jaunt while reading or watching TV.

Techniques You MUST Know if You Want to Have an Opportunity To Get a Flat Abs with 6-Pack

2011-07-15T18:40:00.004-05:00

by Mike Geary, author - The Truth about Six Pack Abs, interviewed by Craig Ballantyne - CSCS, Men's Health Magazine Training Advisor

Below is an interview that I did with world-famous trainer and Men's Health Magazine Training Advisor, Craig Ballantyne as he grilled me on the top secrets for fat loss and six pack abs. Check it out...

CB: Mike, give us a brief background about yourself

MG: Sure Craig. Well, I'm currently a Certified Nutrition Specialist and a Certified Personal Trainer. I've been dedicated to improving my knowledge of fitness, both training techniques and nutrition aspects, for over 15 years now, and I never stop trying to learn more each and every day. I've also been a contributing writer for Muscle & Fitness Hers Magazine, and I'm the author of the popular internationally-selling book, "The Truth about Six Pack Abs" which has had hundreds of thousands of readers in over 150 countries currently.

I just love helping people with this area of their lives, as not only does it improve their outward appearance and confidence, but more importantly, improves how they feel and their internal health, helping them to live longer and healthier lives. It's something I'm very passionate about.

CB: Okay, so where does the average man or woman go wrong when it comes to training abs?

MG: Ok, most people are probably going to be surprised with this answer. In their quest for 'six pack abs', the biggest mistake I see people making is wasting WAY too much of their time training their abs directly... pumping away with all kinds of different abs-specific exercises.

I'm sure you know what I'm referring to. The person is trying so hard to get those abs to show, that they're spending almost all of their time in the gym with hundreds of reps of various crunches, leg raises, twisting exercises, etc. Meanwhile, all of that wasted time directly training the abs could have been better spent on a properly designed full body workout program that would elicit a much better metabolic response and increase the fat-burning hormone levels in their body as well.

After all, losing the stomach fat that is covering the abs is the MOST important aspect for most people to finally be able to make their abs visible. Unfortunately, pumping away with hundreds of crunches and leg raises does NOT cause much of a metabolic or fat burning hormonal response. This is the main focus of my Truth about Six Pack Abs book... full body training programs and proper nutrition to strip off that stubborn belly fat and reveal the six pack that's hiding underneath!

Of course it wouldn't be an abs book if I didn't focus on ab development too, but I make sure firstly that the most important concepts for lasting body fat reduction are understood.

CB: Do you see any gender differences in mistakes they make? And more importantly, do you see any gender differences in the response to various types of ab training?

MG: To be honest, I don't really see any need for men or women to train differently. Bottom line... the best exercises are the best exercises regardless of gender.

However, in regards to mistakes I see between genders... Yes, I tend to see women more often are deathly afraid to use weight training with anything but really light weights. That is a shame, because THE most effective way to gain control over your body fat for life, is to maximize your lean muscle that your body carries, as well as working that muscle hard through intense resistance exercise regularly.

It's important for women to realize that regular strength training using heavier resistance will NOT "bulk them up" (as long as caloric intake is controlled), but rather is one of the key secrets for losing body fat and staying lean year-round. As a matter of fact, some of the leanest females that I've trained over the years are the ones that aren't afraid to work hard with the weights.

I also notice that most women (and a lot of guys too) spend way too much time with slow cardio exercise. This is simply not necessary, and the way I combine high intensity resistance training into full body routines provides enough of a "cardio" workout in itself usually. We'll get back to this in a minute though.

CB: What about ol' school sit-ups? Do you use these? Are they good, bad, or does it "depend"?

MG: Sit-ups are a controversial topic. I don't think they're good or bad per se, but rather "in between". I didn't include them in my program. I simply don't feel they are necessary, and I think there are much more effective abs exercises to focus on. Personally, I almost never do sit-ups except occasionally for a little variety every now and then.

CB: Give us a weekly sample ab training program. How many days per week? What are a couple of the best exercises you'd pick? How many sets? Reps? Rest?

MG: Well, first I'd like to point out that the full body movements that make up the majority of my programs indirectly work the abs and the entire "core" area to a fairly decent extent. However, I do include abs-specific exercises into the routines generally about twice per week. The "abs-specific" portion of the workouts generally only take about 5 minutes at most with very little rest between exercises.

Once people are past the beginning phase of gaining some initial ab strength, I try to get them away from the exercises that are too easy, where someone can do 50 or 100 reps, as is frequently common with standard crunches. Instead, I like to focus on higher resistance exercises that actually stimulate the muscle fibers to a much greater degree. One example of a higher resistance abs exercise is hanging leg raises with a proper "pelvic curl up".

It's funny but usually someone that has been wasting so much time with hundreds of reps of crunches can usually only do a few solid reps when they first attempt some of these higher resistance exercises. We also make sure not to neglect some rotational movements, as well as some work for the deeper muscles like the transversus abdominis.

CB: What do you use for burning fat, intervals or slow cardio? Or both? Any gender differences here? Or differences between fitness levels (beginner vs. advanced)?

MG: In most cases, my answer is definitely intervals... or as I like to call it "variable intensity training". In general, I think slow steady pace cardio is a waste of time, especially if the goal is lasting fat loss.

I think people need to get away from this thinking about "fat burning zones" and calories burned during the actual workout, and look at the bigger picture of what you're doing in your workout to stimulate the greatest metabolic response in your body... and the best metabolic and hormonal response is achieved through variable intensity training and strength training, not slow steady-pace cardio.

Now I will say that if someone is really deconditioned and can't handle higher intensity exercise routines just yet, this still doesn't mean that they can't simply use lower intensity routines, but still use it in a "variable intensity" fashion, by alternating between higher and lower exertion levels throughout the workout.

CB: And finally Mike, 1 or 2 of your top secret nutrition tips for carving out those abs. Open your vault of info!

MG: Well Craig, I think you'd agree that there has never been a more confusing time regarding proper nutrition for consumers. Every so called "expert" out there seems to disagree and contradict each other on what's the best way to eat for fat loss and overall good health.

One of the most important messages I try to teach my readers in this world of heavy confusion is that your diet doesn't need to conform to any of the fad diets... you don't need to go "low carb" or "low fat", or high or low anything for that matter to be successful in losing enough body fat to get lean enough to be able to see your abs. I like to try to simplify things for my readers. I think that balance is the key to success along with eating a diet that is made up of nutrient dense foods in their natural state (as unprocessed as possible).

In general, it is the heavy processing of foods that makes it wreak havoc inside our bodies. Most foods in their natural unprocessed state are inherently good for us. Of course there are always exceptions... a salad of poison ivy leaves is "natural and unprocessed" but certainly would not be good for us!

I'll leave your readers with a couple of the most important aspects of nutrition that help to get you lean for life...

1. Get enough quality protein in the daily diet - not only does it have a higher thermic effect than carbs and fat (so you burn more calories digesting it), but it also creates satiety so your hunger is satisfied longer. Plus it's a building block for maintaining and building lean muscle... And remember that the amount of lean muscle you carry is one of the main factors for controlling your metabolism.

2. Think fiber! When it comes to carbs, make sure that almost all of your carbohydrate intake is from higher fiber sources like vegetables, fruits, and high fiber unrefined grains. Try to avoid refined sugars and refined grains as that is one of the main reasons so many people struggle with body fat. I personally don't eat many grains as I prefer to get most of my carbs from veggies and fruits, but I do use sprouted grain breads fairly regularly too.

I generally recommend looking for carbohydrate sources that have at least 2-3 grams of fiber per each 10 grams of total carbs. Remember that fiber helps fill you up and also slows down the glycemic response of the foods you eat, all beneficial for getting lean.

3. Don't be afraid to eat fat! Many people try to go way too low on their fat intake and this can negatively affect hormone levels in your body as well as causing more cravings. Try to eat enough healthy fats daily.

Good sources are all nuts and seeds, nut butters, avocados, olive oil, organic meats and eggs, coconuts and virgin coconut oil. On that note, saturated fats from tropical oils are VERY misunderstood, even by many nutritionists and other health professionals. Yes they are composed highly of saturated fats, but are actually beneficial (but that's way beyond the scope of this article).

4. Avoid the two worst things in our food supply at ALL COSTS:

artificial trans fats from margarines, shortening, and hydrogenated oils that are in most processed foods and deep fried foods
high fructose corn syrup, which is in almost all sweetened products on the market

Again, if you avoid processed foods, it becomes easy to avoid these two worst offenders in our food supply.

I always contend that once you get a handle on these 4 main points of your diet detailed above, the rest starts to take care of itself as you gain control over your appetite, blood sugar levels, hormone levels, etc. It all falls into place, and you eventually gain total control over how lean you want to get.

CB: Thanks Mike!

Over Fat in Abdomen is Ugly but Also Very Dangerous For Your Health - It's More Than a Beauty Problem!

2011-07-14T18:12:00.006-05:00

The difference between subcutaneous fat and the more deadly "visceral fat"

by Mike Geary, Certified Nutrition Specialist, Certified Personal Trainer
author of best-selling program: The Truth about Six-Pack Abs

Although this picture depicts an extremely overweight man, this article applies to dangerous types of fat inside the bodies of both men and women... and this discussion also applies even if you only have a slight amount of excess stomach fat.

Did you know that the vast majority of people in this day and age have excess abdominal fat? It's true -- as much as 70% of the population in some "westernized" countries such as the US and Australia are now considered either overweight or obese. The first thing that most people think of is that their extra abdominal fat is simply ugly, is covering up their abs from being visible, and makes them self conscious about showing off their body.

However, what most people don't realize is that excess abdominal fat in particular, is not only ugly, but is also a dangerous risk factor to your health. Scientific research has clearly determined that although it is unhealthy in general to have excess body fat throughout your body, it is also particularly dangerous to have excess abdominal fat.

There are two types of fat that you have in your abdominal area. The first type that covers up your abs from being visible is called subcutaneous fat and lies directly beneath the skin and on top of the abdominal muscles.

The second type of fat that you have in your abdominal area is called visceral fat, and that lies deeper in the abdomen beneath your muscle and surrounding your organs. Visceral fat also plays a role in giving certain men that "beer belly" appearance where their abdomen protrudes excessively but at the same time, also feels sort of hard if you push on it.

Both subcutaneous fat and visceral fat in the abdominal area are serious health risk factors, but science has shown thathaving excessive visceral fat is even more dangerous than subcutaneous fat. Both types of fat greatly increase your risk of developing heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, stroke, sleep apnea, various forms of cancer, and other degenerative diseases.

Excess stomach fat has also been associated in studies with higher levels of C-reactive protein (CRP), an indicator of inflammation within the body that can lead to heart disease and other health issues.

Part of the reason visceral fat is particularly dangerous is that studies show that it releases more inflammatory molecules into your system on a consistent basis.

One of the major reasons that some people accumulate more visceral fat than others can be from a high carbohydrate diet that leads to insulin resistance over time (years of bombarding your system with too much sugars and starches for your body to properly handle the constant excess blood sugar) ... and studies show that high fructose intake particularly from high-fructose corn syrup can be a major contributor to excess visceral fat.

If you care about the quality of your life and your loved ones, reducing your abdominal fat (including reducing visceral fat) should be one of your TOP priorities! There's just no way around it. Besides, a side effect of finally getting rid of all of that excessive abdominal fat is that your stomach will flatten out, and if you lose enough stomach fat, you will be able to visibly see those attractive six pack abs that everyone wants.

So what gets rid of extra abdominal fat, including visceral fat?

Is there actually a REAL solution beyond all of the gimmicks and hype that you see in ads and on commercials for "miracle" fat loss products?

The first thing you must understand is that there is absolutely NO quick fix solution. There are no pills or supplements of any sort that will help you lose your abdominal fat faster. Also, none of the gimmicky ab rockers, rollers, or ab belts will help get rid of abdominal fat either. You can't spot reduce your stomach fat by using any of these worthless contraptions. It simply doesn't work that way.

The only solution to consistently lose your abdominal fat and keep it off for good is to combine a sound nutritious diet full of unprocessed natural foods with a properly designed strategic exercise program that stimulates the necessary hormonal and metabolic response within your body. Both your food intake as well as your training program are important if you are to get this right.

I've actually even seen a particular study that divided thousands of participants into a diet-only group and an exercise & diet combined group. While both groups in this study made good progress, the diet-only group lost significantly LESS abdominal fat than the diet & exercise combined group.

Now the important thing to realize is that just any old exercise program will not necessarily do the trick. The majority of people that attempt getting into a good exercise routine are NOT working out effectively enough to really stimulate the loss of stubborn abdominal fat. I see this every day at the gym.

Most people will do your typical boring ineffective cardio routines, throw in a little outdated body-part style weight training, and pump away with some crunches and side bends, and think that they are doing something useful for reducing their abdominal fat. Then they become frustrated after weeks or months of no results and wonder where they went wrong.

Well, the good news is that I've spent over a decade researching this topic, analyzing the science, and applying it "in the trenches" with myself as well as thousands of my clients from all over the world to see what works to really stimulate abdominal fat loss.

From my research, two of the most important aspects to getting rid of visceral fat are:

1. The use of high intensity forms of exercise and full-body resistance training. Low intensity cardio exercise simply isn't as effective for removing visceral fat in particular. High intensity exercise such as interval training or full-body weight training are very effective at helping to improve your body's ability to manage glucose and increases insulin sensitivity, a crucial step in removing visceral fat. These types of high intensity exercise routines are also very effective at increasing your fat-burning hormones and creating a hormonal environment conducive to burning off abdominal fat, including visceral fat.

2. In addition, it's vitally important to get blood sugar under control to help restore insulin sensitivity through the right nutrition. This means greatly reducing sugars and refined starches in your diet (including fully eliminating any use of harmful high fructose corn syrup!), and focusing more of your diet on healthy fats (such as avocados, nuts, seeds, coconut fat, olive oil, free-range eggs, fatty fish and fish oils, etc), as well as increasing protein and fiber intake. The standard diet recommended by the government, which contains an unnaturally high grain intake is NOT conducive to controlling blood sugar and reducing visceral fat!

Reducing grain-based foods in your diet and getting more of your carbs from veggies and high fiber fruits such as berries can go a long way to helping to solve this problem.

Dietetic recipe

2010-03-07T20:23:00.001-06:00

I've just found this new dietetic recipe:

100 ml. Grape juice

1 cap. Xoconostle juice

1 table spoon Olive Oil

In 1 week you must feel better digestion and less fat.

Tae bo Progress

2010-03-07T18:12:00.002-06:00

Today was a very good day, I get to do everything in the class.

I'm also trying a very good program I bought from the internet.

3 Random Fitness Tips - involving watermelon, onions, and crazy workouts

2010-03-07T16:05:00.005-06:00

3 Random Fitness Tips

involving watermelon, onions, and crazy workouts

I just had some random workout and nutrition tips for you on my mind today, so here they are:

1. Onions = Amazing Superfood... Eat onions daily if possible.

Not only do I love onions, but I recently read a longevity study that surveyed a large amount of people who had lived over 100 years of age. One of the common threads they noticed from the survey of these amazing people that lived to ages exceeding 100 was that they ate a lot of onions.

Kind of weird huh... but not a surprise to me. In fact, onions are definitely an important super-food as they contain unique organosulphur compounds and potent antioxidants that are rare in other foods.

I've also read dozens of studies that correlated onions with pretty impressive reductions in cancer risk.

I like to add onions to almost any meals I can think of... slices on sandwiches, added to salads, in my morning eggs, in veggie mixtures with lunch or dinner, and more.

2. Mix up your workouts with "5-minute bodyweight exercise challenges"

This is a unique way to add some variety to your workouts and maybe even get a friend in a little competition with you.

You can throw one of these in at the end of a workout as a high intensity finish, or even just do at home on non-gym days.

Basically, all you do is choose 1 specific bodyweight exercise such as bodyweight squats, pushups, lunges, etc and try to do as many reps of that exercise as you can in exactly 5 minutes (timed). I've also used 1-arm dbell swings for these 5 min drills and they work great.

This works best by trying to do 20 or 30 reps at a time and then taking short breathers of about 10 seconds before continuing on your next round of reps.

We've even made this a little competition between a couple people at my gym in the past where we all line up and get timed for 5 minutes and see who can do the most squats or pushups or whatever it may be in that 5 minute time period.

From what I've seen, if you can do 100 or more pushups in 5 minutes, or 200 or more bodyweight squats in 5 minutes, those are pretty impressive numbers. I think my record was somewhere around 225 bw squats in 5 minutes.

3. Example of the Glycemic Index (GI) being useless

In several of my newsletters in the past, I've given examples of how choosing your foods based on the glycemic index can be misleading and useless in many cases.

Case in point...

Watermelon has one of the highest measured GI's of all foods (much higher than even cake and ice cream). However, a normal serving of cake and ice cream may give you a whopping 700 or 800 calories, whereas a typical serving of watermelon may give you 50 or 60 calories max!

Trust me... watermelon isn't making anyone fat!

The lesson... GI is almost useless when you're not considering "Glycemic Load", which also factors in the quantity of carbohydrates ingested in a typical serving.

Try this excellent Abs builder system to consolidate your diet:

Truth About Abs

Achieving Results

2010-03-03T17:59:00.002-06:00

Finally after 2 months of tae bo, I can see some results, it has been a lot of effort.

Tae-bo is a very good excersise, it has changed my life.

Anyone else has some results with tae bo to share?

This week so far

2010-02-09T11:28:00.002-06:00

Very hard week, a lot of work at my job and I had almost no time to excersise.

The good thing is that my diet is giving me very good results.

last 2 weeks

2010-02-03T12:04:00.002-06:00

Hi, this last two weeks have been very productive.

First: I'm 6 pounds less so I'm very happy.

Second: I won a price at my gym because I was the "biggest looser"

Third: My jeans look better on me.

The Tae Bo combined with the diet is doing magic.

Week 2

2010-01-25T22:31:00.002-06:00

This week was very good, Now I've lost 2 more pounds.

My diet and the excercise is working well, now I have to keep going, I don't want to recover the weight I lost, It's easier to gain it than to lose it.

I'm happy with the results.

Days 5 and 6

2010-01-18T08:59:00.002-06:00

Yesterday was sunday and I took it off, but today I had a normal trading session, remember I told you I need 20 pounds less, well I'm 0.5 pounds less today.

I know it's a long way but It's a good start.

Day 4

2010-01-16T11:33:00.002-06:00

Today is a very nice day, it's a little bit cold but it's ok to excercise, I feel better than yesterday.

The instructor said that Tae Bo is a very hard exercise, but my progress is amazing, It's a good thing to be recognized.

I found a natural remedy for a lot of diseases I'll post it later.

Day 3

2010-01-15T10:18:00.002-06:00

Today I felt very tired at the class, my body was very hard but the instructor said it's normal, your body has to prepare itself.

Anyone else is taking any tae bo or any fitness classes? I'd be very happy to know about someone else's experience.

Second Day

2010-01-14T11:23:00.001-06:00

I feel like my body is getting stronger, I know It's only the second day but I feel great, I need 20 lbs. less, let's see how long it takes me to reach that.

Tae bo History

2010-01-13T20:18:00.001-06:00

Tae Bo History

Blanks developed the routine in 1976 by combining dance with elements from his martial arts and boxing training to form a workout regimen. During the 1990s, a series of videos were mass-marketed to the public; by 1999 an estimated 1 billion sets of videos had been sold on the back of a frequently aired television infomercial. As a result, Tae Bo became somewhat of a pop culture phenomenon in the late 1990s. Gyms began offering kickboxing-based fitness classes similar to Tae Bo. Since Blanks had taken out a trademark on the name they were not allowed to use the term Tae Bo without paying a licensing fee. Tae Bo videos and DVDs continue to rank among the top sellers in the fitness genre and derivative classes are still offered at many gyms.

Tae Bo classes are taught worldwide. Tae Bo includes many of the same punches and kicks as karate, but is not intended for fighting—it was not meant for any combat or self-defenseapplications. There are no throws, grappling moves, or ground fighting techniques in Tae Bo. Its only intent is to increase fitness through movement. Tae Bo also includes aerobic exercisesintended to strengthen all muscles of the body with basic choreography.

The high-intensity workout is intended to increase cardiovascular fitness, strength, muscular endurance and flexibility.

Tae bo Description

2010-01-13T20:16:00.001-06:00

Tae Bo Description

Tae Bo is an aerobic exercise routine that became popular in the 1990s. It was developed by taekwondo practitioner Billy Blanks and was one of the first "cardio-boxing" programs to enjoy commercial success. Such programs use the motions of martial arts at a rapid pace designed to promote fitness. The name Tae Bo is a portmanteau of tae kwon do and boxing.

My first day

2010-01-13T19:49:00.000-06:00

Hi today is my first day in a Tae bo Fitness center, it was a little bit hard but I understand it will be like this the first weeks.