Summer’s fun has faded and now it’s time to crank up the heat, grab a cozy throw, wrap your cold hands around a cup of hot tea and perhaps curl up with a good book.
Well, that would be nice in a parallel universe. The thing is, you have to jump up early, make sure the family has a healthy breakfast, and get everyone out the door in one piece. And… you’re faced with frigid weather conditions.
The last thing you need to worry about is the oh-so-dreadful sniffles, which then turn into a sore throat, accompanied by a nasty cough and fever, which inevitably represents lost wages you were counting on. Let’s not even talk about the growing pile of dirty laundry you can‘t bring yourself to do.
So, how do you stay sniffle-free? What can you do to increase your chances of breezing through the winter healthy and strong, immune to the sea of sickness surrounding you?
I’ve decided to share what works for my family. Following are seven ways to keep your body’s defenses on the up and up. These tips will help keep you on your feet performing all the duties beckoning to you.
1. Take probiotics. Available at your local health food store, this supplement boosts your immune system’s defenses. Swallow a capsule or two each morning before you head out the door. It’s a simple and quick way to help fight the flu by preventing it.
2. Add a teaspoon of organic apple cider vinegar to a glass of water, 1-3 times a day. The vinegar kills the bacteria that can make you sick. It also has been known to give one an overall feeling of increased energy and well-being.
3. Eat garlic. A natural antibiotic, this often-avoided food has medicinal value that will not only keep the vampires away, but the doctor, too. The body doesn’t become immune to garlic as it would a prescription antibiotic, therefore you can reap the positive benefits continually.
4. Take a good multivitamin. Provide your body with all the ammunition you can to combat the germs it will come into contact with. In our polluted environment, we need all the help we can get.
5. Make healthy food choices. Fuel your body with balanced nutrition so it will be strong and function properly. The more nutrition you consume, the stronger your immune system will be. Treat your body well and it will do the same for you.
6. Wash your hands! Germs are on the rampage these days and cleanliness is vital to your health. You never know what illness lurks on doorknobs or shopping carts. Keep a big bottle of hand sanitizer in your car as well as a small one in your purse or pocket.
7. Rest. Get to sleep early and stay well rested. Enough sleep cannot only enhance your immune system, but give you that extra ‘pep in your step’ you need to make it through the day.
These seven suggestions should carry you through winter’s cold and flu season sniffle-free.
Huwebes, Nobyembre 3, 2011
How to Get Ripped – The Secret They Don't Want You to Know
There’s a big secret that supplement companies and publishers in the fitness industry don’t want you to know. No it’s not a miracle supplement or formula for getting strong, and nor is it a great training programme that’s guaranteed to get you in great shape at once. There are no silver bullets when it comes to exercise and that’s part of the secret. To put it succinctly, the big secret regarding fitness, health and staying in shape in general is that it’s easy. That might sound like a bit of a sweeping statement or an over-generalisation, but 99% of the time it’s also completely accurate.
So what is meant by the term ‘easy’? That is to say that right now, with the information you know and the items in your fridge, you could easily start getting into shape. If you didn’t read another word on fitness or bodybuilding and never bought a supplement then whoever you are you could still have a six pack in a year’s time. Bodybuilding and fitness is so easy that you already know practically everything you need to know to have a basic and modestly impressive level of achievement not long from now.
Let’s look at the facts; what we know about staying in shape. First of all we know that repetitive motions in while experiencing resistance – holding a weight for example while performing curls – will cause our muscles to grow. Similarly we can achieve the same affect by using our own bodyweight as the resistance, performing press ups or pull ups. This works by tearing the fibres in the muscle which grow back thicker, but that’s not really important. In order to start gaining muscle we simply need to start doing these resistance movements.
At the same time we can feel when these repetitions are working as it should hurt. Basically while we might be looking for a way to gain strength without feeling the burn, we know deep down that the main way to build up our strength is by causing that burn purposefully. You then wait until that pain has gone away over the course of the week or a couple of days (depending on the intensity) to start working out that muscle group again.
We also know that we should eat a lot of protein in order to convert that hard work into muscle. This works by supplying our body with the amino acids it will use to rebuild the muscle fibres and make them thicker, but again – that’s not important. Finally we know about weight loss, and we know that all it takes is continuous aerobic/cardiovascular exercise such as running or swimming performed for an adequate amount of time which will cause our bodies to ‘burn’ fat. This coupled with a lower intake of calories will mean that we have a ‘calorie deficit’ so that more is going out than going in; and we will therefore lose weight.
It’s not rocket science and it’s something that we’re all familiar with. Sure there are additional pieces of information that can help improve our progress. For example when weightlifting it’s greatly beneficial to use a system of sets and repetitions with rests in between. However even this isn’t crucial in order to at least get started. Meanwhile a protein shake will help you grow muscle a lot more rapidly, but again you can achieve the same thing with a little more time without using one.
And yet it’s not uncommon to find people who have no weightlifting experience trying out new and fandangled training programmes that involve crazy splits between workouts and unusual movements. They think that this will ‘cure’ their bad shape and so they start out following it to the letter and get disheartened after a week. Worse are those people who decide they’re going to wait to start training until they’ve ‘learned everything’ or until they’ve found a good programme. Other people make other excuses like they can’t afford a protein shake, or they don’t have a gym membership. And so they wait until they do, and then blame the gym for their failure. Other people claim they don’t have time, and yet somehow find time to read up on reams of information regarding exercising – that’s the time they could have spent actually working out.
Theory is find to a point, but not in the place of action, especially when working out which is completely dependent on you actually doing what you need to. The sad fact is that most people who make excuses or research without making any gains are actually just stalling. They don’t really want to put in the hard work involved in getting into shape and so they look for an easy route, or put off the start of their programme by reading up on every minute detail of the biology behind the gym. This then of course results in them getting nowhere and with only themselves to blame.
So you want to start getting into shape? Great! Then stop reading now and start lifting things, anything, until it hurts. Then do this five times a week for the next year. That’s what it takes, that’s all it takes. Stop deluding yourself or blaming outside factors and just get to work.
So what is meant by the term ‘easy’? That is to say that right now, with the information you know and the items in your fridge, you could easily start getting into shape. If you didn’t read another word on fitness or bodybuilding and never bought a supplement then whoever you are you could still have a six pack in a year’s time. Bodybuilding and fitness is so easy that you already know practically everything you need to know to have a basic and modestly impressive level of achievement not long from now.
Let’s look at the facts; what we know about staying in shape. First of all we know that repetitive motions in while experiencing resistance – holding a weight for example while performing curls – will cause our muscles to grow. Similarly we can achieve the same affect by using our own bodyweight as the resistance, performing press ups or pull ups. This works by tearing the fibres in the muscle which grow back thicker, but that’s not really important. In order to start gaining muscle we simply need to start doing these resistance movements.
At the same time we can feel when these repetitions are working as it should hurt. Basically while we might be looking for a way to gain strength without feeling the burn, we know deep down that the main way to build up our strength is by causing that burn purposefully. You then wait until that pain has gone away over the course of the week or a couple of days (depending on the intensity) to start working out that muscle group again.
We also know that we should eat a lot of protein in order to convert that hard work into muscle. This works by supplying our body with the amino acids it will use to rebuild the muscle fibres and make them thicker, but again – that’s not important. Finally we know about weight loss, and we know that all it takes is continuous aerobic/cardiovascular exercise such as running or swimming performed for an adequate amount of time which will cause our bodies to ‘burn’ fat. This coupled with a lower intake of calories will mean that we have a ‘calorie deficit’ so that more is going out than going in; and we will therefore lose weight.
It’s not rocket science and it’s something that we’re all familiar with. Sure there are additional pieces of information that can help improve our progress. For example when weightlifting it’s greatly beneficial to use a system of sets and repetitions with rests in between. However even this isn’t crucial in order to at least get started. Meanwhile a protein shake will help you grow muscle a lot more rapidly, but again you can achieve the same thing with a little more time without using one.
And yet it’s not uncommon to find people who have no weightlifting experience trying out new and fandangled training programmes that involve crazy splits between workouts and unusual movements. They think that this will ‘cure’ their bad shape and so they start out following it to the letter and get disheartened after a week. Worse are those people who decide they’re going to wait to start training until they’ve ‘learned everything’ or until they’ve found a good programme. Other people make other excuses like they can’t afford a protein shake, or they don’t have a gym membership. And so they wait until they do, and then blame the gym for their failure. Other people claim they don’t have time, and yet somehow find time to read up on reams of information regarding exercising – that’s the time they could have spent actually working out.
Theory is find to a point, but not in the place of action, especially when working out which is completely dependent on you actually doing what you need to. The sad fact is that most people who make excuses or research without making any gains are actually just stalling. They don’t really want to put in the hard work involved in getting into shape and so they look for an easy route, or put off the start of their programme by reading up on every minute detail of the biology behind the gym. This then of course results in them getting nowhere and with only themselves to blame.
So you want to start getting into shape? Great! Then stop reading now and start lifting things, anything, until it hurts. Then do this five times a week for the next year. That’s what it takes, that’s all it takes. Stop deluding yourself or blaming outside factors and just get to work.
Anniversary Ideas: How to Make up for a Missed Anniversary
You wonder why she’s glaring at you over breakfast and notice the way she slams the door as she leaves without a goodbye kiss. It’s not until an hour later that you glance at the calendar and get a sickening feeling in your stomach. It’s your anniversary… and you’ve forgotten all about it. Don’t worry, here you’ll find some great anniversary ideas!
What to do as soon as you remember
Don’t panic and ring her up to wish her a happy anniversary, thus admitting you’d forgotten about it to begin with. Instead, send her a coy text message or email along the lines of ‘I hope you’ve kept tonight free.’ Don’t make mention of the day or any specific plans (easy, as you don’t have any); this will pique her interest.
What to do in the next 1-3 hours
Make plans and make them good. It doesn’t have to be an expensive dinner, though that can go a long way. It should be something that she will enjoy; seeing a play she’s wanted to see for awhile, going on a boat on the river – anything you know she’d love and you’d usually do anything to get out of. Ring around until you have a reservation somewhere.
Then…
Call her or send her a text or email to tell her you’ll pick her up at 7 or 8 or whenever. Also give her an idea of what to wear, i.e; if it calls for her to break out her little black dress or not.
Lunchtime
Go Shopping. If you’re at work this is what lunch breaks are made for and if you only have an hour then you’ll have to do it fast. Steer clear of flowers and chocolate. Jewellery and perfume can be great if you get them right but choose the wrong scent or a piece she doesn’t like and it’ll look like a token gift. Again, it doesn’t have to be expensive; just make it something she’ll like and that shows you know her well.
Before you pick her up
If you have the money then spring for a taxi to take you out. It’ll add a date-feel to the whole evening and that way you can both drink without having to worry about how to get the car home. When you see her dressed up to go out tell her she looks amazing. Be sincere.
And the final tip…
Don’t forget your anniversary again. Program a reminder into your computer or your mobile phone or anything that will send you an alert a week in advance next time. It’ll be that much easier.
What to do as soon as you remember
Don’t panic and ring her up to wish her a happy anniversary, thus admitting you’d forgotten about it to begin with. Instead, send her a coy text message or email along the lines of ‘I hope you’ve kept tonight free.’ Don’t make mention of the day or any specific plans (easy, as you don’t have any); this will pique her interest.
What to do in the next 1-3 hours
Make plans and make them good. It doesn’t have to be an expensive dinner, though that can go a long way. It should be something that she will enjoy; seeing a play she’s wanted to see for awhile, going on a boat on the river – anything you know she’d love and you’d usually do anything to get out of. Ring around until you have a reservation somewhere.
Then…
Call her or send her a text or email to tell her you’ll pick her up at 7 or 8 or whenever. Also give her an idea of what to wear, i.e; if it calls for her to break out her little black dress or not.
Lunchtime
Go Shopping. If you’re at work this is what lunch breaks are made for and if you only have an hour then you’ll have to do it fast. Steer clear of flowers and chocolate. Jewellery and perfume can be great if you get them right but choose the wrong scent or a piece she doesn’t like and it’ll look like a token gift. Again, it doesn’t have to be expensive; just make it something she’ll like and that shows you know her well.
Before you pick her up
If you have the money then spring for a taxi to take you out. It’ll add a date-feel to the whole evening and that way you can both drink without having to worry about how to get the car home. When you see her dressed up to go out tell her she looks amazing. Be sincere.
And the final tip…
Don’t forget your anniversary again. Program a reminder into your computer or your mobile phone or anything that will send you an alert a week in advance next time. It’ll be that much easier.
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