Body clock rhythm

If you have trouble trying to sleep, if you stay awake late into the night, and can't get up before noon, your body clock rhythm has been disturbed. These are because of a treatable condition known as delayed sleep phase syndrome:
AOL Health:

Since George was a high school freshman, he had experienced problems falling asleep before 3:00 a.m. He routinely looked forward to weekends, when he could sleep until noon. Getting up for school at 7:00 a.m. was a major challenge. He was chronically sleepy and often looked for an opportunity to snooze -- even in class.

George shared his concerns with his academic advisor. His advisor was the first person to suggest that he see a sleep specialist. George went online and found a directory of sleep centers accredited by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. He found one located near his campus. He went to his appointment feeling hopeful that something could be done to shift his internal body clock to a more conventional sleep-wake cycle.

George was excited to learn about circadian rhythms. He was more excited to learn that he had a treatable condition known as delayed sleep phase syndrome. The specialist explained that a part of George's brain known as the hypothalamus generated biorhythms, including the circadian rhythm responsible for the sleep-wake cycle. For unclear reasons, George's rhythm had been shifted during his teenage years. George was happy to learn that many other young men and women shared the same difficulty. He was ecstatic to learn that his delayed sleep phase syndrome could be treated.

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Dead lift and body strength

The dead lift weight training exercise is a true test of body strength, because the maximum weight your body can lift is during a dead lift. Even more than squats, which use the leg muscles (calves and thighs), while the dead lift uses all the muscles of the leg, including the hamstring, the muscles of the back, and the muscles of the buttocks. The dead lift is a good exercise to develop a strong and shapely posterior.

In a dead lift the weights are lifted off the ground by bending at the knees, pushing your butt out, and keeping the back aligned while rising to an upright position. Another way is to begin in a standing position, as shown in the photo, lowering the weights to just below the knees, and slowly returning to an upright position. The back has to be kept straight and only the knees are bent slightly. Apart from the posterior, the dead lift exercise is good workout for the hamstrings and lower back. However, if your lower back is weak and under stress from sitting in the same position for long hours, it is advisable to first develop it's strength and flexibility with Yoga, before attempting a dead lift with weights.

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Shapely posterior

Every girl wants a shapely posterior, to look good in shorts, jeans, bikinis, and workout clothing. The muscles that give shape to the bottom are the gluteus maximus, which forms the main cheeks of the posterior and can make it perky or droopy, and the smaller gluteus medius, on the sides which makes the hips curvy. The even smaller gluteus minimus is located beneath the gluteus medius. Bone structure and basic body type (apple, pear, hourglass) are inherited, but like the rest of our body, the muscles of the posterior can also be changed through exercise and diet.



Quadruped hip extensions, raising one leg to the ceiling while balanced on hands and the opposite knee, works out the gluteus medius muscle more than the gluteus maximus. It gives a secondary workout to the hamstring and lower back muscles. Another form of hip extensions are lunges but squats work out the gluteus maximus more than the other posterior muscles. All these exercises can be done with or without weights; remember that light dumbbells are effective for women if you choose to do them with weights.

The posterior muscles are also utilized in walking, running, climbing stairs, cycling, etc., as any exercise that uses the legs will also work out the posterior. Another reason to do such cardiovascular exercises is that they help to burn off the fat stored on the butt area, while strength exercises tone the muscles. In exercises for the back as well, the posterior plays a stabilizing and supportive role, as shown in the bottom right photo. Another back exercise that works out the butt is the "dead lift".



Exercise is the safest and healthiest way to get a shapely posterior, but it is also the slowest, and many women turn to the other alternative of buttock augmentation surgery for faster results. "I felt there had to be a safer way to showcase the backside besides risky and expensive surgery," says Susan Bloomstone, co-inventor of Booty Pop panties, which are padded to make your posterior shapely. Co-inventor Lisa Reisler says, "Originally, we thought it would be women from 25 to 35, then we realized it was the younger women's mothers who are around 45, and then their mothers. I think all women want that hourglass figure, even the grandmother who's losing her butt."

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Warm up before running

To prevent injuries during a strenuous exercise like running, it is recommended to warm up the muscles. Cathy Fieseler MD, a member of the board of directors of the American Medical Athletic Association and a veteran marathoner and long-distance runner, says the best way to warm up before running is to start slow. "Start off easy, do a mile or two. If you are sweating, your muscles are warmed up. Then you can pick up the pace. The biggest thing is to start out slow."

Although many athletics coaches recommend stretching before running, Cathy says: "There's no study that says a pre-run stretch reduces the risk of injury." A new study published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, by Jacob M. Wilson, PhD, assistant professor of exercise science and sport studies at the University of Tampa, seems to confirm that. The study found that stretching before running seems to reduce the performance of the athletes. "One of the reasons why stretching impairs performance is it probably causes muscle damage," Wilson says. But he also believes that stretching by itself (like in Yoga or Pilates) is an important exercise for flexibility: "Overall, I don't think it's worth it to stretch before a run. After a run, if someone is trying to work on flexibility, that's fine."

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Vegetable based diets healthier

According to a new study by Teresa T. Fung, ScD, of Simmons College in Boston, a low carbohydrate diet based on vegetables is better than those based on meat protein. The study actually covers a period of 20 years. In that time out of more than one hundred thousand health workers, those who were on a low carb-diet based on vegetables had a lower risk of death, particularly from heart-related diseases. Those who ate a low-carb diet based on meat protein had a 23% higher risk of death from any cause, a 14% increased risk of death from heart-disease, and 28% increased risk of cancer-related deaths. "Everything seems to be pointing toward the direction that plant-based diets are more beneficial in helping people live longer and healthier lives,” Fung said. "When we think, 'What am I going to have for dinner?' we think of meat first. Can we change that to, 'What is the vegetable?' first?"

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Brisk walking and mental health

Brisk walking is one of the easiest exercises to begin a fitness program with. Walking is a low-impact exercise which keeps bones strong, controls blood pressure, helps fight cancer, and keeps you in good physical health. But brisk walking is also great for mental health and is recommended for people suffering depression....it requires no great warm up or preparation to start walking, and that is useful for depressed people who have low motivation levels. You start walking at a slow pace and then build up gradually....the boost in blood circulation affects the brain and helps you feel better mentally. And since walking does not require high concentration levels unlike other exercises, it gives depressed people time to sort out their thoughts and improve mental health.

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Jessica Alba and Michelle Rodriguez

Stars of the new action flick Machete, Jessica Alba and Michelle Rodriguez. The girls kick ass in this gritty over-the-top revenge movie about the Mexican-American border, immigration, and drug wars. Curiously this is Jessica Alba's first role as a Latina:

"For me, I never wanted to reinforce any stereotypes about Latin women, and that was why I've shied away from Latin characters I've been offered. Most of them reinforced the stigmas. The women whom I grew up with are intelligent, strong women, and unless I read a woman being portrayed that way in a film, I didn't want to play it. There's enough people that will reinforce those stereotypes, and I didn't need to participate in that. This woman is just as fierce as the men, and so I'm proud to bring that to life and put that imagery in people's heads."



Left, Jessica Alba out jogging in New York's Central Park last month. Right, tough girl Michelle Rodriguez plays soccer despite an injury at MTV Tr3s's "Rock N' Gol" World Cup Kick-Off in California. Michelle told NY Mag: "But I got to work with Jessica Alba, who’s amazing. God, I couldn’t believe it because I thought we were from two totally different worlds. I didn’t think that we’d have anything in common. But she’s a really cool chick. I couldn’t believe it, man. Very, very strong."

Michelle Rodriguez will be joining the Sea Shepherd crew on its next voyage to stop whaling in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary. While on the ship Rodriguez says she will avoid eating meat: "I'm not (a vegetarian) but I will have to be because on the ship, it's a vegan ship - you can't be a hypocrite; you can't be sitting there trying to save animals and then killing them. That's just weird."

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