Category: Men’s Health and Wellness (Page 33 of 46)

      Stretch for Muscle

      February 21, 2009 /

      Are you typically a hardgainer or have you hit a plateau in the gym? Maybe stretching your muscles more is your answer to making gains again in the gym.

      MensFitness.com lays out six ways to stretch for more muscle:

      Chest. Grab a pair of dumbbells that you can perform 12-15 reps with on a dumbbell bench press, and get into the bottom position of the exercise (your hands near the outside of your chest).

      Back. Hang from a chinup bar in the bottom position of a pullup, palms facing away from you.
      Biceps. Set an incline bench to a 45-60-degree angle and sit on it with a dumbbell in each hand. Allow your arms to hang.

      Triceps. Hold the end of a towel with one hand and grab the other end behind your back. Pull down with the hand behind your back so that your opposite elbow points upward and that arm’s triceps is stretched. You should look like you’re in position to do a one-arm overhead triceps extension.

      Quads. Rest one foot on a bench set to a low incline, and bend the opposite knee so that you go into a split squat position. You should feel the stretch in your rear thigh and that leg’s hip.

      Hamstrings. Rest one heel on a bench, step, or other surface that’s three or four feet off the floor. Bend forward and try to kiss your knee.

      Click here to read the entire article.

      Arms, Bodybuilding, Chest, Exercise, General training, Legs, Men's Health and Wellness, Weight training, Xternal Fitness, Xternal Furci

      Ways to dress up oatmeal

      February 18, 2009 /

      OatmealIf you research the benefits of oatmeal, you?ll find that its health benefits range from lowering your blood cholesterol to helping you reduce the risk of heart disease when you combine it with a low-fat diet. Simply put, oatmeal is one of the healthiest carbohydrates that you can consume regardless of whether you?re trying to bulk up or drop weight.

      But anyone who eats oatmeal on a daily basis (and I?m not talking about the crap you find that?s already pre-loaded with preservatives and sugars) knows that it can be boring as hell. The taste can be bland and therefore you could wind up punting it out of your diet and replacing it with an unhealthy cereal.

      Raisins seem to be the go-to when oatmeal is involved, but there are alternatives. Personally, I like to eat steel cut oatmeal, which already has a nuttier taste than regular rolled oats. (Although fair warning ? steel cut oatmeal takes longer to cook.) With my steel cut oatmeal, I also like to mix in a serving of all natural peanut butter for a good dose of protein and fat, as well as a sprinkling of cinnamon for taste. I?ve also seen some people mix cinnamon and Splenda together for even more taste, but I state away from sweeteners as much as I can because they can be a trigger for migraines.

      If the peanut butter and cinnamon aren?t enough for you, mix in a scoop of your favorite protein powder. It may sound strange but trust me ? depending on what flavor protein powder you use it can be very tasty. I?ve also heard people mixing in applesauce to help improve the taste of oatmeal, but for those that want to add size, going with a serving of peanut butter and/or protein is more beneficial. I’ve been known to cut up a banana and mix in it, as well.

      Cholesterol, Diets, Food preparation, Foods products, Men's Health and Wellness, Nutrition, Xternal Fitness, Xternal Furci

      Meditation for beginners

      February 17, 2009 /

      Men?s Fitness.com outlines three ways to meditate, which can help elevate stress and make you feel more positive throughout the day.

      Our world’s a pretty crazy place lately. Instead of letting all the negativity and frustration of daily life get you down, experts say, you should set aside time to reflect. But daydreaming while you fast-forward through commercials doesn’t count. We’re talking quality reflection ? the kind you get from meditation.

      You don’t have to sit cross-legged in a mass of pillows, either. “Even if you’re just looking for a little boost in your mood, meditation can help you do it,” says Bruce Frantzis, author of The Chi Revolution: Harness the Healing Power of Your Life Force. His suggestions on how to get started:

      FOCUS ON YOUR BREATHING
      Try to physically center yourself, taking long, slow, deep breaths and inhaling as much air as you can. “Breathe deep from your belly,” says Frantzis, “and relax your nerves while you do it.”

      RELEASE TIGHT MUSCLES
      Concentrate on how your body
      is feeling, and wherever you sense tightness, try to alleviate it. “Relaxing your belly will automatically relax your brain,” he says. This is when those pesky daily stresses start to disappear, and your perspective will naturally start to change.

      THINK POSITIVELY
      According to Frantzis, there are things that make people feel alive and things that make people feel dead. A “dead” example is any form of anxiety, while emotions like “love” and “hope” make you feel alive.

      Click here to read the entire article.

      Magazine Hype, Men's Health and Wellness, Xternal Fitness, Xternal Furci

      Ways to breakthrough plateaus in the gym

      February 11, 2009 /

      Men?s Fitness.com provides ways of overcoming workout plateaus in the gym.

      Q: What’s the best way to overcome a workout plateau?

      A: Increase the weight you’re lifting by small increments of a couple pounds or less, rather than a full five to 10. You could also drop out of your rep range a little. For instance, if you’re supposed to be benching for 5 reps and you find yourself stuck at 225 pounds, try to do 230 for 3 or 4 reps in your next workout. It will be deviating from your program, but it still provides a new stimulus to your muscles.

      One way to increase the weight by smaller increments is to use Plate Mates, which are little plates that magnetically attach to larger plates and dumbbells. They come in numerous small increments (we recommend the 1 pounders) and can be purchased at fwonline.com for $20 a pair.

      Read the rest of the article, here.

      Exercise, Men's Health and Wellness, Sports Health and Fitness, Weight training, Xternal Fitness, Xternal Furci

      Men who drink have better sex!

      February 5, 2009 /

      Rather than damaging a man?s sexual performance, a good, stiff drink actually improves a man?s sexual prowess in the bedroom. Australian researchers found that men who drink report as many as 30 percent fewer problems than those who didn?t drink at all.

      Dr. Kew-Kim Chew, of Western Australia?s Keogh Institute for Medical Research told London?s Sunday Telegraph that men who drank within safe, moderate guidelines seemed to have the best erectile function. In Chew?s study of 1,580 Australian men, even binge drinkers functioned better sexually than those who never drank.

      ?We found that, compared to those who have never touched alcohol, many people do benefit from some alcohol, including some people who drink outside the guidelines,? Chew said.

      The study found that low risk drinkers – those who consumed up to twenty drinks a week spread over five days – had the fewest sexual problems. Those who drank on weekends only and those who were binge drinkers suffered lower rates of erectile dysfunction than those who drank only one day a week or drank none at all. Men who performed the poorest were heavy drinkers who had stopped drinking and those who smoked or had heart disease.

      Newsmax.com HealthAlert Feb.3,2009

      Men's Health and Wellness, Sexual Health

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