Finding Balance

Archive for the ‘Health’ Category

If you or someone you love has ever been diagnosed with cancer, you know how frightening that can be.  There is an easy way to further cancer research. No matter what kind of car you have, car donations  are valuable in the fight against cancer and each vehicle is valuable to the program.

The donate car  program helps fund cancer research, education, advocacy and and also supports many services. Vehicles are sold and the proceeds are used throughout the community and nationally  to help cancer patients.

Vehicle donations are made to a non-profit organization so participants receive an IRS tax deduction by receiving a receipt showing that the car has been donated to the Cars Fighting Cancer program. Vehicles don’t have to be in running condition and will be towed at no expense to the owner if necessary. The web site is user friendly and answers any questions you might have about the program. Donations can be made in the memory of a loved on. You can also select a free gift ($30 Visa car or Apple iPod Shuffle) or decline a gift and have those funds used for additional help in fighting cancer. Log on today and start the process of donating your vehicle!!

Turn Your Calves into Bulls – Heavy Duty Leg Training

People who have been working out intensely for a long time often complain that they have one muscle group that just won’t keep up with the others. These body parts differ for everyone, but one common complaint from people serious about their physiques is calf development – or lack thereof. It seems like you can try just about any thing and every thing to make your calf muscles respond, but these lower leg muscles just don’t develop.

It’s frustrating to have all the pieces in place, except for one. If your quadriceps are large and in good shape, but you have pencil-thin calves, it can be embarrassing. Well, you can whip those calves into shape; it’s just going to take a little bit of creative work and determination. Here are a few exercises to help you get your calf muscles in shape.

• Standard Toe Raises. This is the classic calf exercise. You put weights on your shoulder, like you were going to do a squat, but you simply push up and raise your heels high, getting up onto the balls of your feet. The problem that many people have is they use weights that are too light for this exercise. Try using 50% or your squat max in the calf raise and see how many repetitions you can do. If you can do more than ten, take the weight up to 60%. Keep doing this until you get to a weight that only allows you to do four to six clean repetitions. Keep blasting away at that weight range until you can get up to 10 reps, and then add more weight.

• Triple-Box Jumps. This is a plyometric exercise that will leave your calf muscles screaming for mercy. Hop off of an 18 inch high box or bench into a full squat, then jump as high as you can. Don’t stop there though, for a full repetition, do three quick, explosive toe jumps, using only your calf muscles. Then climb back on the box and do it again. If you can get through this for five cycles, add two more toe jumps and start over again.

To get your calf muscles to grow, you have to try new things. Change weights used, repetitions done and exercise order every four to six weeks to keep these muscles confused and growing at a rapid pace.

Author: Jerry Nelson from Extreme Home Workout.com. Get the Shaun T Insanity workout, the best home workout put to DVD.

In these difficult economic times, it’s important to be protected with monthly payments your family can realistically make. If you’re looking for an affordable dental plan, then Ameriplan has just what you need. With access to over 30,000 dentists in the U.S., you’ll have no waiting period, no limit on services and receive up to 80% off on general  or cosmetic dentistry,  Orthodontics, oral surgery and all  dental specialists.

Ameriplan has agreements with a huge network of doctors, dentists, pharmacists and more that provide affordable coverage for families or individuals. Services with these providers are discounted to it’s members so they see instant savings. There is no “paying out of pocket” and waiting for reimbursement or filling out tons of paperwork. There are no age limits or denial of coverage due to pre-exisiting conditions.

Are you one of those people who have trouble falling asleep or staying asleep? Many new technologies are being introduced to try and reduce or eliminate this problem. Recently, there was a trade show in Las Vegas that introduced some of the advances.

A homeopathic mattress with essential oils like lavender, chamomile, rose and calendula (long popular in Europe) was shown at the trade show. These are natural relaxing scents and some have anti-bacterial properties. When you lie down on the mattress, some of the micro capsules break down releasing the fragrance.

Organic bedding can help people with allergies. Eco-friendly wool, cotton, solid wood and natural rubber latex are also available. Some beds are available with iPod docking stations.

Sleep tips from the National Sleep Foundation include:

*Use a supple, comforting mattress rather than one that’s too firm.

*Don’t sleep with animals. Let them have a bed nearby.

*Our biological clocks are influenced by light. Keep the bedroom dark.

*Sleep on the “cool” side rather than the “warm” side (body temperatures drop at night so a cool room is better.)

*Get rid of annoying noises . Using “white noise” is not a problem.

source: The Associated Press

The plastic bottle industry consumed 8.82 billion gallons of water in 2007 worth $11.7 billion. The United States market for bottled water is the largest in the world. Then information started to come out that plastic bottles were not biodegradable and used vast amounts of oil to produce.

In many plastic bottles the chemical bisphenol A or BPA  is leached from the bottles. It has been linked to cancer, neurological problems and reproductive disorders. Many switched to a reusable aluminium water bottles made by the Swiss company SIGG. Recently, the CEO of SIGG had to admit that prior to August 2008, the liners of the bottles did contain BPA.

The original SIGG liner inside has a shiny copper bronze finish. The new BPA free liners have a dull, yellow coating.

Source:The Detroit Press (News)

Losing weight, or more specifically, losing body-fat is the holy grail of fitness goals. Everybody wants to lose a few extra pounds and there are no ends to the methods that people will use to do it. Everything from fad diets to extreme workout routines are regularly touted as the best ways to lose body-fat. You don’t have to resign to a life of eating nothing but cabbage soup for 90 days or working out four hours a day if you want to up your weight loss results. In fact, you can take your weight loss to healthy new heights by taking a sneaky, mini-cardio session approach.

What Are Mini-Cardio Sessions?

When you think about cardio, your mind probably starts picturing long, torturous sessions on the treadmill or sacrificing all of your spare time jogging. With the mini-cardio approach you don’t have to spend long hours doing cardio work, you can just add a few short, high-intensity cardio sessions in your spare time to drastically increase your fat loss results. It’s easier than you think and you won’t have to spend a lot of extra time doing cardio.

How to Integrate Mini-Sessions into Your Routine

To start using mini-cardio sessions here is a good starter approach. Pick two days a week where you will wake up 30 minutes earlier than usual. I know that extra sack time is precious and no one wants to give any up, but to get increased weight loss you have to get serious. On these two days you are going to simply do 20 minutes of fairly intense cardio. You can choose the activity, but follow this plan:

• Spend five minutes warming up at 50% of your maximum exertion
• At minute six up the intensity to 60% for one minute
• At minute seven up the intensity to 70% for one minute
• Continue up to 90% for the next two rounds
• For the tenth minute drop down to your warm-up pace
• Repeat the cycle again
• Spend the last 5 minutes at your warm-up pace for a cool down

That’s all you have to do. You just spend 20 minutes of escalating intensity cardio. For two weeks do this on two separate mornings. On week three pick two, alternate evenings and do the same routine. You can do this with any kind of cardio exercise, from running to biking and get the same great, fat-burning effect. Do this for a month or two and you’ll see some great weight loss.

Article written by David Cross of Ultimate Fitness Gear, Getinsanity and start changing your body with an intense totally body workout.

Who Needs the Gym? You Can Get a Great Workout at Home – Here’s How

If you are ready to start taking your fitness goals seriously and get in shape, you might be thinking about joining a local gym or fitness center. These places can be a great help in your quest for improved fitness, but they can end up costing quite a bit. If you want to gain some muscle and lose some weight, without all that weight coming from your wallet, you can start a home fitness workout plan. You don’t need all the fancy equipment and personal instructors to get in shape; you just need a little bit of imagination and motivation to get started.

Body-Weight Exercises for Muscle Gains

You don’t have to use the latest, greatest chest building machine or throw up hundreds of pound on the bench to get some real gains in strength and muscle mass. In fact, you can get some awesome strength gains by simply doing some body-weight exercises. Add some push-ups, dips and pull-ups to your home workout routine and you’ll be getting all the benefits you would get from a gym, without paying a monthly fee. If you want to do some standard weight work too, you can pick up some cheap, used dumbbells from local garage sales or at sports resellers. You don’t need tons of weight to get stronger, just use some basic body-weight exercises and a few sets of dumbbell curls or presses.

Home Cardio Options

You’ll need a plan to get in some great cardio work for your workouts too. You don’t have to rely on a treadmill or stationery bike to get some quality aerobic work. Try getting out and running around your neighborhood or at a local park. There’s nothing like getting out and seeing some sights while you do your cardio to keep things interesting. If you don’t have a good area to run in your neighborhood, you can do some great cardio at home. Get a jump rope and start doing 3-minute rounds followed by a 1-minute rest. If you do that cycle 10 times, you’ll have done 40 minutes of hard-core cardio and will see some great fat loss as a result.

After a few months of doing a home workout routine based on these tips, people will start asking you about what gym you’ve been working out at. You can simply smile and tell them that you don’t really do the “gym thing.” You’ll be getting in great shape and saving money at the same time. What’s better than that combination?

Article written by Sandra Boyle of Ultimate Fitness Gear, your greatest source for the Shaun T Insanity Workout video online.

Most people have bad breath at sometime but some foods and drinks can be the cause of the problem. Dr. Harold Katz, author of “The Bad Breath Bible” talks about the subject in his book. We all know the onions and garlic contribute to bad breath. Cauliflower, cabbage and Brussels sprouts are also culprits. These vegetables have high concentrations of sulphur compounds. The sugar and dairy proteins in chocolate candy helps promote bad breath.

Many mouthwashes and toothpaste formulas are the same as they were 100 years ago. Many mouthwashes still contain a high concentration of alcohol which dries out the mouth. Some toothpastes contain sodium lauryl sulfate (the chemical term for soap).

To keep fresh breath, avoid sugar. Look for sugar-free products. Drink plenty of water and drink tea instead of coffee.

Source: The Flint Journal