No doubt about it: The desire for a flatter abdomen is as American as (calorie-laden) apple pie. If you’ve resolved to have better abs this summer, please remember these basic truths:
1. Spot-reducing is a myth. You can’t lose flab primarily from your abs just because you’re doing extra crunches. You lose fat pretty evenly throughout your body, over the course of time.
2. Fat trumps tone. Even if you work hard to tone your ab muscles, you won’t be able to see them if they’re covered by a layer of fat.
3. A well-rounded approach works. Your chances for success are best if you attack the problem from several angles: (1) eat fewer calories, (2) burn more calories by doing cardio workouts, (3) increase your metabolism through strength training (the more muscle mass you have overall, the more calories you’ll burn), and (4) do crunches or other ab exercises as part of your strength-training routine.
4. Appreciate your personal best. Too many of us hope for the perfect abs of a magazine cover model. By taking a well-rounded approach, you can get abs that will make a big difference in your appearance – and your self-confidence.
To strengthen and tone your upper arms, you need to work both your triceps (3 muscles in the back of the upper arm) and your biceps (2 muscles in the front of the upper arm).
TRICEPS
Primary movement: Elbow extension
Good free-weight exercise: Triceps kickbacks
Good machine exercise: Triceps push-downs
Use outside the gym: Punching; pushing a heavy object
Are you taking your pre-exercise warm-ups too lightly? If you don’t begin to sweat, the answer could be yes.
A warm-up is a low-intensity cardiovascular exercise performed for 5 to 10 minutes until perspiration begins. Brisk walking, jogging, cycling are just a few examples of warm-ups.
It’s important to note that strength-training workouts – and not just cardiovascular exercise – should be preceded by a warm-up. If you exercise working muscles that are not adequately warmed up, you could be increasing your risk of injury.
Via TMZ – We’ve just learned Michael Jackson has died. He was 50.
Michael suffered a cardiac arrest earlier this afternoon at his Holmby Hills home and paramedics were unable to revive him. We’re told when paramedics arrived Jackson had no pulse and they never got a pulse back.
A source tells us Jackson was dead when paramedics arrived.
LaToya ran in the hospital sobbing, after Jackson was pronounced dead.
Michael is survived by three children: Michael Joseph Jackson, Jr., Paris Michael Katherine Jackson and Prince “Blanket” Michael Jackson II.
Jackson had 13 number one hits during his solo career.
Your body gives you specific physical cues when it needs food. For instance, you might typically feel lightheaded when you’re hungry, whereas someone else might get irritable or get a churning sensation in the stomach. In general, real hunger tends to carry a sense of urgency; your body has to have something – almost anything – right away.
A craving, on the other hand, is more of a desire for a specific food. If you’re telling yourself, “I’ll feel better if I eat a chocolate bar,” you’re probably experiencing a craving. People who eat a healthful, well-balanced diet tend to have fewer cravings.
An hour of moderate activity daily maintains healthy weight and decreases risk of heart disease
From a time-management standpoint alone, an hour a day may seem unrealistic for many of us. If you take a closer look at the report, however, you’ll see that the institute takes a broad view of “moderately intense activity”: gardening, light housekeeping, walking the dogand using stairs instead of elevators all contribute to an active lifestyle.
In terms of more straightforward exercise, you can meet the hour-a-day guideline by walking at 4-5 miles per hour for a total of 60 minutes daily or engaging in higher-intensity exercise, such as jogging, for 20 to 30 minutes 4 to 7 days a week.
There are pros and cons to using your gym’s abdominal crunch machines. They can be a nice change of pace from floor crunches; they also enable you to increase the weight as you become stronger. Depending on their design, however, some crunch machines make it easier for you to rely (unintentionally) on other muscle groups – such as your hips or legs – rather than working the abs themselves as much as possible.
Here are some pointers for getting the most from your time on the crunch machine:
Move slowly both during the bend and the return to your upright position.
Keep your neck in a neutral position; do not bend it backward or forward.
Don’t perform the crunch primarily by pushing down on the arm pad. Instead, concentrate on doing the crunch by contracting your abs.
She made history as the fattest ever mother of triplets, weighing in at 40 stone.
But far from ensuring her babies don’t go the same way she did, Leanne Salt is happy to admit feeding them junk food, including fish and chips and McDonald’s meals.
Yesterday the 24-year-old – still dangerously overweight at 30 stone – told of her approach to motherhood which doctors say is certain to leave them facing health problems.
They were six months old when they had their first McDonald’s,’ she said. ‘They had chicken nuggets and chips and loved it.
‘They like fish and chips too, but I take the batter off the fish, so I guess that’s healthy.’ (more…)
Do Not Lock Your Joints When Lifting Weights When strength training with weights, it’s important not to lock your joints (knees, elbows, etc.) during the exercises.
Locking the joints when you’re lifting weight can put enormous strain on them and lead to injury. Another safety tip: Whenever you’re lifting weights in a standing position, always keep your knees slightly bent. This can help reduce stress on the lower back.
Avoid Elbow Injuries by Strengthening Your Wrists Two common sports injuries; tennis elbow and golfer’s elbow, can actually be caused by weak wrist muscles.
If these sports are on your spring agenda, it might serve you well to start strengthening your wrists now. Here’s one wrist-strengthening exercise that can be done with a light- to moderate-weight dumbbell: Sit on a bench or chair.
Lean slightly forward. Holding a dumbbell, rest your forearm along the top of your thigh. (Your elbow should be bent.) Position your forearm so the dumbbell extends past your knee. (more…)
Aplying ice to a sports injury is an excellent way to help reduce swelling and decrease pain. However, it is possible to overdo ice therapy. Too much direct contact with skin can actually cause frostbite, which can harm not only the skin surface but also the muscles and nerves beneath the skin.
Follow these basic guidelines for safe and effective ice therapy:
Use a store-bought gel pack or make your own pack with ice in a zipper-lock plastic bag.
Don’t put the ice pack directly on the skin. Instead, place a wet washcloth or towel between the pack and your skin.
In general, you can keep the ice pack on an injury for 20 to 30 minutes each hour.
For injuries on bonier areas – elbows, knees, ankles – you may want to apply ice for shorter amounts of time. These areas could be more prone to frostbite, since they have less fat for insulation.
There are a number of ways to determine whether you’re working out at an intensity level that’s good for you.
You can check your heart rate. You can use the “talking test” (being able to converse while exercising). Or, even easier, you can assess your exercise intensity on a scale of 1 to 10.
When you use this method – known as the rate of perceived exertion, or RPE – you evaluate your activity level continuously throughout your workout, using a scale like this one:
1-2: weak exertion
3: moderate
4-6: increasingly strong
7-9: very strong, vigorous
10: maximal; extremely strong
The RPE method can help ensure that you are exercising at a comfortable level. For most people, the recommended RPE range is between 3 and 5.
Vegetables are Everywhere
plying ice to a 
