Clothes and Shoes and Stretching

Now that we have a trainer, our next concern is to be equipped with the proper shoes and clothes, so our training experience can be maximized. If your trying to create a great body you need to start with clothes and shoes that will make you feel good as well as look good! {The reason behind that is if you look and feel good you will tend to be in a motivated state of mind, and in this state we build consistency, this is where results come from.}

What kind of clothes and shoes do I need you may ask? You could spend a few hundred dollars for designer workout gear and that would make you feel and look better, but all you need is some clean and comfortable clothes and shoes. Most discount stores sell designer replicas at a fraction of the cost. I recommend layering your clothes and as you warm up take a piece of clothing off. Keeping warm helps protect your joints, until you fully warm up, so you don''t get hurt. Now we have the proper equipment to get started.

Next I highly recommend incorporating a consistent stretching program, which will reduce injuries and produce greater results. I do 15 to 25 minutes per day as well as stretching in between exercises. The benefit of stretching is huge; it can make or break your training progress. As I describe training techniques each month I will go over the stretching to do for each body part. So you can achieve optimum results!!!

Here are some basic stretches you can start with to enhance your training and or walking program. Trunk Twists- Standing big and tall with good posture, feet shoulder distance apart, place your hands on your hips rotate your upper torso from right to left in a nice controlled manner. Repetitions of 15 to 30 per side will be enough. Side Stretches- also standing tall with good posture, feet shoulder distance apart, your arms hanging to your side, slowly with your head up bend from one side, then the other. This focus is on stretching the outer muscles of your abs which is the oblique {commonly referred to as love handles} Toe Touches- Standing tall with feet shoulder distance apart, arms hanging to your side, slowly, bend your torso touching your fingertips as close to your toes as you can get, without bouncing. This is a great stretch for your hamstrings and your lower back. I normally recommend finishing your stretching warm up with a series of push- ups and sit-ups. All movements are to be slow and controlled at all times. While doing these stretches stand with your knees slightly bent to alleviate the pressure off your lower back.

Remember that the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.

I believe that the key of everybody''s personal journey is to develop faith in yourself, your creator and the people around you. Also condition yourself to believe that there is always a way if you''re committed.

If you fail just keep changing your approach until you succeed!!! Remember to always be good to yourself and others.

Live Passionately
Warmest regards,
James Spicer

Contact James at www.walkablock.com/james', 117, 'Clothes and Shoes and Stretching, Build-Muscle, Build-Muscle articles, Build-Muscle information, about Build-Muscle, what is Build-Muscle, Muscle Building & Bodybuilding Information', 'Clothes and Shoes and Stretching plus articles and information on Build-Muscle

Naural Self-Defense Against Breast Cancer - Learning to Cope Successfully with Organochlorine Pollut

What are organochlorines?

Organochlorines are chemicals found in some herbicides and pesticides, in chlorine bleach and most chemical disinfectants, and many plastics, especially PVC (polyvinylchloride).

Organochlorines are implicated in causing and promoting breast cancer because they mutate genes and they cause breast cells to become more receptive to a cancer-promoting chemical called estradiol. Organochlorines weaken the immune system and lower your body''s resistance to bacteria and viruses. They also act as a negative type of estrogen in the body.

How do they enter our bodies?

Organochlorines enter our bodies through our drinking water, by eating foods grown with certain agricultural chemicals, and through the plastic linings on canned or microwaveable foods. They enter through our lungs by breathing in the fumes of chlorine bleach disinfectants and by body contact with chlorine bleached paper products such as tampons, toilet paper and paper cups.

How can we reduce our exposure?

Step One-Reduce Your Exposure

The first thing to do is to reduce your plastic consumption, especially of convenience foods. On plastic containers, there is typically a triangle with a number inside of it on the bottom of the container. You can recognize PVC or polyvinylchloride as the type of plastic that has a 3 in the center of the triangle.

As for paper products, use oxygen bleached or unbleached paper products. Companies who sell non-chlorine bleached paper products typically say so on the label and they do not necessarily market their products as "green" products.

Buy the non-chlorine bleach and more environmentally friendly household products. Simple vinegar and water can be used for many household chores. Eating only organically produced meat and dairy products will reduce the amount of organochlorines in your diet by 80%.

Step Two-Help Your Liver

With help, your liver can metabolize organochlorines. Flaxseeds and organic egg yolks contain lecithin, a chemical that speeds up the elimination of fat-soluble chemicals such as organochlorines by making them water-soluble.

Beans, lentils, red clover, soy products and chickweed contain chemicals called saponins. Saponins help to break down organochlorines, prevent cellular mutation and can stop the reproduction of cancer cells. These foods are strongly recommended for anybody who regularly consumes organochlorines.

Members of the cabbage family including broccoli, kale, turnips, radishes, cabbage, bok choy or cauliflower can help you metabolize organochlorines by increasing the production of non-cancerous by-products.

Step Three-Mother Nature''s Help

Woman-positive natural sources of estrogen can block entrance of organochlorines, estradiol and other cancer promoting estrogens when enough of them are in the blood stream. The reason behind this is that these positive hormones move quickly through our bodies whereas the cancer producing chemicals such as organochlorines move more slowly. If there are enough of these plant hormones in the blood stream, they can easily block organochlorines from attaching themselves to breast cells and from promoting cancer.

These plant hormones can be found in lentils, dried beans, tofu and fermented soy products such as tempeh and miso, parsnips, sweet potatoes, pomegranates, burdock roots, red clover, hops and ginseng. Regular intake of broccoli and cabbage is also helpful.

Post Transformation Tips

Making changes in favor of your survival and that of the environment often puts us in a period of re-adjustment, not only with the society we live in, but also with our family, friends and neighbors.

Several strategies we use to maintain positive social relations are Natural self-defense does not mean natural aggression, nor does it mean that it will cause you to develop a social disorder triggered by the existence of organochlorines. Foods and herbs that encourage natural self-defense make you lose the taste for products associated with organochlorines.

Allow self-defense foods to empower you to envision and work towards an organochlorine free future without any anger about the present situation. In other words, don''t let the forces that encourage personal and environmental negligence push your buttons.

Chose recycled plastic toys or second hand plastic toys over new ones for your children.

Send lunches in reusable containers.

Bring a bean or lentil salad to the next barbecue or potluck supper. Invite friends who use a lot of plastic and organochlorine products over to eat. Explain why you eat certain foods and what you have done to minimize your contribution to its proliferation. Relay the information in such a way that your guests feel comfortable and leave them to lose the taste for organochlorine products in their own way and time.

Use organic foods to show your body what a natural food is and have confidence that your body will use this knowledge to recognize what isn''t natural and respond appropriately to it. This is a goal that can be started even on a limited budget. The return of your natural body begins with one organic apple, especially a shared one!

Legal Disclaimer-The information contained in this article is for educational purposes only and is not intended to medically diagnose, treat or cure any disease. Consult a health care practitioner before beginning any health care program.

All contents are copyrighted in 2004 by Agoo Agii,inc. All rights reserved.

Written by Jennifer Rodriguez-Allen, B.Sc., Environmental Chemist and President of Agoo Agii, inc (http://www.agooagii.com/). This article can found in print form with Agoo Agii''s Aromatherapy Breast Self-Exam Kit. Gently encourage a loved one (or yourself) perform the Breast Self-Exam.', 115, 'Naural Self-Defense Against Breast Cancer - Learning to Cope Successfully with Organochlorine Pollut, Breast-Cancer, Breast-Cancer articles, Breast-Cancer information, about Breast-Cancer, what is Breast-Cancer, Breast Cancer Information', 'Naural Self-Defense Against Breast Cancer - Learning to Cope Successfully with Organochlorine Pollut plus articles and information on Breast-Cancer

They Dont Know Squat!

There seems to be much confusion amongst trainers and trainees as to whether squats should be performed all the way down or just half way. In most gyms today, a common instruction during squats, deadlifts, and lunges (as taught by many personal training organizations) is not to allow the knees to travel beyond the toes. Doing so will ultimately cause the destruction of your knees! I do not agree. There are certain instances where partial range of motion (ROM) is indicated, but for the most part, I teach people the full squat for the following reasons:

* It is the most primitive movement pattern known to man; our ancestors used to perform many daily functions (i.e. harvesting, gathering, hunting, cooking, eating, etc.) in a full squat position.

* Also, in case anyone hasn''t noticed, we spend 40 weeks in the fetal position (which is basically a full squat) prior to entering this world - do we come out with bad knees?

* We should strive to train in full ROM for each and every exercise. The squat is no exception.

* Every exercise produces stress around a joint - the body then adapts to this stress.

* Cocontraction of the quadriceps, hamstrings and gastrocnemius maintains integrity around the knee joint.

* Sheering and compressive forces do occur around the knee joint (as opposed to only sheering forces that occur in some open kinetic chain lower body exercises, such as the leg extension); however, the large contact area of the patella with the femoral groove (as knee flexion increases during the full squat) helps to dissipate compressive forces.

* Therefore, not only is the squat - as a closed chain exercise - considered a natural movement pattern with high functional carryover, but it is also a safe exercise if performed correctly (and that includes full ROM!)

* Drawer tests are performed at a knee angle of 90 degrees because there is a greater amount of laxity in the knee joint at that specific angle. So, does it make sense to only go down half way where you are most vulnerable especially when greater loads can be used (because you are much stronger in this partial ROM?)

* According to Ironman contributor, George Turner, the fulcrum moves to the knee joint in a parallel squat as opposed to the muscle belly of the quadriceps in a full squat.

* Think about it, if you constantly trained in a limited ROM, the likelihood of injury increases if one day you happen to squat beyond your trained ROM.

* Partial squats performed on a regular basis will decrease flexibility.

* There is a low incidence of lower back pain and knee injury in Aboriginal and Oriental societies which perform full squats on a regular basis.

* Even Olympic weight lifters who practice full squats have quite healthy knees compared to other athletes.

* Although you may find some research that indicates full squats as potentially harmful to the knees, only one study has ever proved this to be true. However, it was performed on a skeleton - the same results do not hold true with surrounding connective tissue. On the other hand, numerous studies show the benefits of full squats.

Unfortunately, many personal training certification courses are teaching half squats as a safe version suitable for all individuals and this has now become written in stone. God forbid that you deviate from this golden rule to do something that our bodies are meant to do! Read this carefully: squatting should be performed in a full ROM where the hamstrings make contact with the calves (so that no light can be seen passing through your legs at the bottom position.) It is okay for your knees to travel beyond the toes (just do not relax the knees in the bottom position.) In other words, keep the legs tight and try to stay as upright as possible throughout the exercise. So, next time some fitness instructor approaches you in the gym and advises not to go deep while squatting tell him/her that they don''t know squat!

John Paul Catanzaro is a certified kinesiologist and professional fitness and lifestyle consultant with a specialized honours Bachelor of Science degree in Kinesiology and Health Science. He owns and operates a private gym in Toronto, Ontario providing training and nutritional consulting services. For additional information, visit his website at www.BodyEssence.ca or call 416-292-4356.', 117, 'They Dont Know Squat!, Build-Muscle, Build-Muscle articles, Build-Muscle information, about Build-Muscle, what is Build-Muscle, Muscle Building & Bodybuilding Information', 'They Dont Know Squat! plus articles and information on Build-Muscle

Can You Reduce Your Risk of Breast Cancer?

We hear it all the time?lose weight for your health. Few people however, realize the extent to which this is critical to their physical well-being and ultimately their life expectancy.

In January 2003, the Journal of the American Medical Association featured a study finding that obesity appears to lessen life expectancy, especially among young adults. The researchers compared Body-Mass Index (BMI) to longevity and found a correlation between premature death and higher BMIs. For example, a 20-year-old white male, 5''10" weighing 288 pounds with a BMI of greater than 40 was estimated to lose 13 years of his life as a result of obesity.Jamie McManus, M.D., F.A.A.F.P. and author of "Your Personal Guide to Wellness" notes that while this study referenced extreme levels of obesity, there are still millions of overweight people in developed countries with a life expectancy rate that is three to five years less than their healthy-weight counterparts. She also estimates that there are 600,000 obesity related deaths each year in America.

Just how does obesity shorten our lifespan? The answer to this question is complex, yet there is a clear link between obesity and the development of cancer. An extensive study conducted by the American Cancer Institute involving 750,000 people showed that obesity significantly increased the risk of cancer developing in the following organs: breast, colon, ovaries, uterus, pancreas, kidneys and gallbladder.

Michael Thun, MD, vice-president of epidemiology and surveillance research for the American Cancer Society (ACS) says one reason obesity may raise cancer risk is because fat cells produce a form of estrogen called estradiol that promotes rapid division of cells, increasing chances of a random genetic error while cells are replicating, which can lead to cancer. In addition, fat centered around the abdomen may increase insulin and insulin-like growth factors in the blood, which may increase cancer risk.

"Women who are obese after menopause have a 50% higher relative risk of breast cancer," notes Thun, "and obese men have a 40% higher relative risk of colon cancer?. Gallbladder and endometrial cancer risks are five times higher for obese individuals".There is evidence that cancer rates in developed countries are increasing at 5 to 15 times faster than developing countries. A major contributor to this alarming reality has proven to be diet. In populations where the diet consists mostly of fresh fruit and vegetables and whole grains ? in contrast to the typical Western diet of fatty meats, refined flours, oils and sugars ? the risk of cancer is much lower.

The interaction of diet and the development of cancer is an active field of research and Dr David Heber, M.D., Ph.D. and author of "What Color is Your Diet", says "It appears that diet has its most significant effects after the cancer has already formed, acting to inhibit or stimulate the growth of that cancer". At the risk of oversimplifying a complex set of interactions, the typical Western diet that leads to obesity may actually act to stimulate the growth of cancer cells.It is never too late to improve your health through healthful eating and adopting a more health-giving lifestyle. Here are simple steps to follow which can make an immediate improvement to your health and vitality.

1. Check your Body Mass Index (BMI) to determine if weight has become health risk. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 60% of Americans are overweight, defined as having a BMI (a ratio of height to weight) over 25. Of those, nearly half (27%) qualify as obese, with a body mass index of 30 or more. In 1980, just 15% of Americans were considered obese. You can check your BMI at the website below.

2. Match your diet to your body''s requirements. If you eat and drink more calories than your body requires you will put on weight. Learn to control calories and portion sizes, make recipes leaner, and eat infrequently from fast food restaurants. Also learn how to snack with healthful choices.

3. Color your diet with a large variety of colorful, cancer-fighting fruit and vegetables. There are seven different color ranges of both fruit and vegetables and by choosing between 5 to 9 daily serves from a wide range of fruit and vegetables, we are extending our consumption of cancer (and other disease) fighting nutrients.

4. Eat lean protein with every meal. Protein provides a powerful signal to the brain providing a longer sense of fullness. The right source of protein is essential to controlling your hunger with fewer calories and necessary to maintain your lean muscle mass. Choices of protein should be flavored soy shakes with fruit; the white meat of chicken and turkey, seafood such as shrimps, prawns scallops and lobster and ocean fish or vegetarians may prefer soy based meat substitutes.

5. Rev up your metabolism with activity. If you want to enjoy a lifetime of well-being, exercise is a key ingredient. Colleen Doyle, MS, RD, director of nutrition and physical activity for the American Cancer Society (ACS), says adults should do something for 30 minutes each day that takes as much effort as a brisk walk. Children should be active for an hour each day. We are more likely to develop habits around things we enjoy, so seek activities which you enjoy doing. It is also helpful to build physical activity into your daily routine: use the stairs instead of the escalator or lift at work, park your car in the parking bay furthest from the super marketing and don''t use the remote control to change TV channels.

6. Get support to ensure you develop a healthful eating plan and reach your goal weight. Whilst a small percentage of people possess the discipline to lose weight, many obese people have developed strong thoughts and habits concerning the food they eat. In order to establish new habits, most people respond well to some form of consistent encouragement and coaching. A study, "Effects of Internet Behavioral Counseling on Weight Loss in Adults at Risk of Type 2 Diabetes" shows that participants who had the support of weight loss coaching lost more weight than those who didn''t. The study concluded that the support of a weight loss coach can significantly improve weight loss results.

Being overweight or obese has been identified next to smoking, as the most preventable major risk to developing cancer. Even small weight losses have been shown to have beneficial health effects. So it''s never to late to start and you can never be too young or too old to be concerned about your health and do something about achieving a more healthy weight.

(c) Copyright by Kim Beardsmore

Kim Beardsmore enjoys the flexibility of working from home. Are you interested in earning money from home? We''re looking for individuals who have basic phone and internet skills to join our team of work-at-home-ers. If you''re serious about earning money from home and are willing to work (this isn''t ''get rich quick''), then we''d like to help you grow a profitable business. We offer complete training, online and offline resources and a partnership for success. http://free2liv.com/?refid=EA-567883373', 115, 'Can You Reduce Your Risk of Breast Cancer?, Breast-Cancer, Breast-Cancer articles, Breast-Cancer information, about Breast-Cancer, what is Breast-Cancer, Breast Cancer Information', 'Can You Reduce Your Risk of Breast Cancer? plus articles and information on Breast-Cancer

Are You Making This Cardio Mistake?

Are you exercising for long periods of time to try to burn fat? If you''re like most people you probably are, but there is a better way. It''s called "high intensity interval training" (HIIT) and lately it has started to become pretty famous for its obvious health benefits.

--So What Exactly Are The Benefits?

1. Major Increase in Fat Loss. In a study done by Tremblay et al, two groups were assigned different training regimines. Group A performed the regular moderate intensity cardio (like jogging or bicycling) for 20 weeks and Group B performed a HIIT routine for 15 weeks. In the end the results of each group were recorded. Group B lost nine times more fat than Group A and in 5 weeks less (1)!

2. Increased Lactic Acid Threshold. Lactic acid is that burning sensation you feel when you work a muscle really hard. You''re lactic acid threshold is how fast your body can remove the lactic acid in your muscles. The higher the lactic acid threshold, the harder you can work your muscles before they get tired.

3. Increased peak power, or the maximum amount of energy available for a sustained period of time (2)(3)(4).

4. Increased VO2 peak or ability to utilize oxygen (2).

5. Shorter Workouts. I don''t know about you, but would you rather spend 30 minutes to an hour jogging along the road, or crank it up a notch and just spend 4-8 minutes performing sprints?

--So Why Does This Burn more Fat than just Jogging?

Although HIIT is much shorter than a normal "run for 30 minutes" workout, it burns more fat. To put it simply, after your HIIT training session is over with your metabolism explodes and tons of calories are being burned. So essentially with HIIT training, you burn most of the fat after your training session.

--So How Exactly Do I Perform This?

Simply put, HIIT is based around this concept: Go fast then go slow. Repeat. You can perform HIIT routines on pretty much any machine you want like a treadmill, elliptical machine, cycling machine, or apply it to almost any sport (swimming, cycling, running). Try to keep the bursts of speed at around 90%-100% of max effort.

Here is a sample HIIT routine:

Sprint 20 Seconds
Rest 10 Seconds
Repeat 4-8 Times

Or

Sprint 15 Seconds
Rest 5 Seconds
Repeat 4-6 Times

These are just samples, you can change it however you want (you could even use distance instead of time), but remember, HIIT is based around the concept of fast bursts of work. Also, to continually challenge yourself you should add to how many times you repeat the cycle. Say for instance day one you repeat the sprint/rest cycle 8 times, well the next time you should shoot for 9 times. Also remember the amount of time you sprint, rest, and the amount of times you repeat the cycle should depend upon your athletic ability.

If you havn''t trained at a high intensity since your high school gym days, take it slow at first. If you have to start at 80% intensity and perform less cycles that''s O.K. too. Everyone has to start somewhere. You may also want to check with your doctor before performing a routine like this as it is very physically demanding.

If you want some more tips on how to break through fitness plateaus, techniques to become more flexible, want to learn what and how to use "speed effort" and "dynamic weight" , get free book and product reviews check out www.freefitnesstips.info.

(1) Tremblay, A., J. Simoneau, and C. Bouchard. Impact of exercise intensity on body fatness and skeletal muscle metabolism. Metabolism. 43:814-818, 1994.

(2) Laursen PB, Blanchard MA, Jenkins DG. Acute high-intensity interval training improves Tvent and peak power output in highly trained males. Appl Physiol. 27:336-348, 2002.

(3) Truijens MJ, Toussaint HM, Dow J, Levine BD. Effect of high-intensity hypoxic training on sea-level swimming performances. J Appl Physiol. 94:733-743, 2003.

(4) Lindsay FH, Hawley JA, Myburgh KH, Schomer HH, Noakes TD, Dennis SC. Improve athletic performance in highly trained cyclists after interval training. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 28:1427-1434, 1996.

Nathan Latvaitis is an avid fitness researcher. He believes that through knowledge, anyone can achieve their goals. Nathan runs a website at FreeFitnessTips.info which offers a free 6 day course offering just that - knowledge.', 102, 'Are You Making This Cardio Mistake?, Aerobics-Cardio, Aerobics-Cardio articles, Aerobics-Cardio information, about Aerobics-Cardio, what is Aerobics-Cardio, Aerobics & Cardio Information', 'Are You Making This Cardio Mistake? plus articles and information on Aerobics-Cardio

Aerobic Cross Training for Weight Loss

Do you sometimes get bored with your aerobic exercise? Do You sometimes feel like you''re not getting the results you should from your aerobic exercise? If so, then aerobic cross-training is for you.

Aerobic cross-training refers to using two to three different types of aerobic exercise during an exercise session. For example, if you plan to exercise for 60 minutes, you might start with 20 minutes of walking or jogging, followed by 20 minutes of biking, and finish with 20 minutes of rowing.

Now, please don''t get the impression that you have to be in great shape to do this or that it has to be 60 minutes long. You can start with something as simple as a ten minute walk followed by ten minutes with an exercise video. This is cross-training too. You can gradually build up from there.

Here are some of the exercises you can use in your cross-training program; walking, jogging, biking, rowing, stair climbing, swimming, exercise videos, etc. Any combination of aerobic exercises will do. You simply go from one to the next with very little time between them.

Aerobic cross-training is beneficial to you in several ways:

1. It provides variety which eliminates the monotony often associated with doing the same exercise for a long period of time.

2. If your exercise sessions are less monotonous and more enjoyable, you are much more likely to exercise more often and for longer periods of time.

3. You are less prone to over-use injuries that sometimes occur from doing the same exercise movements over and over again.

4. You tone more muscles because you are using more muscles. For example, walking tones mostly the lower body muscles and rowing tones upper body muscles also. Even exercises like walking and biking that both tone lower body muscles, tone them at different angles and each tones some small muscles that the other doesn''t.

5. Aerobic conditioning is very specific to the muscles being worked. For example, you can walk ten miles a day and still be somewhat breathless after climbing stairs because you haven''t trained the muscles for that specific movement. Aerobic cross-training allows you to develop more comprehensive aerobic training.

6. Aerobic cross-training is effective for weight loss because your are toning and training the fat-burning systems of more of your muscles. It turns more of your muscles into 24-hour fat-burning machines! You are also more likely to exercise on a regular basis and for longer periods of time. this also promotes weight loss and fitness.

Author and exercise physiologist, Greg Landry, offers free weight loss and fitness success stories and targeted, highly affective weight loss programs for women, men, type 2 diabetics, and people with slow metabolisms and hypothyroidism. http://www.Landry.com', 102, 'Aerobic Cross Training for Weight Loss, Aerobics-Cardio, Aerobics-Cardio articles, Aerobics-Cardio information, about Aerobics-Cardio, what is Aerobics-Cardio, Aerobics & Cardio Information', 'Aerobic Cross Training for Weight Loss plus articles and information on Aerobics-Cardio