Month: July 2019

We’ve all been there—standing in front of the mirror in our favorite dress, upset that the arm holes are tight and our arm flab is well, hanging out. The only instant remedy is a cardigan strategically placed over our shoulders. And we won’t even talk about the fact that that same flab loves to blow in the wind anytime we wave goodbye.

Alas, bat wings, arm flab—whatever you want to call it—can be annoying and make you self-conscious every time you put on a tank top, bathing suit or favorite sleeveless dress. And while it’s not possible to spot reduce fat, you can tone certain trouble spots for a sleeker look. Add these exercises—targeting your shoulders, chest, triceps, biceps and forearms—to your workout to firm jiggly arms.

It is also very important to watch your diet and how you are fueling your body. Remember, garbage in, garbage out!

How to Get Started

When doing any type of workout, it’s important to use proper form to prevent injury. You can check out online with certified fitness trainers, or visit a trainer at your local gym to get started.

Most of these flab-fighting exercises include using dumbbells—so which weight should you choose? A lot depends on your fitness level and your individual goals.

It may take a bit of trial and error to find the right combo for you. Keep in mind that for the exercises involving dumbbells, you’ll want to choose a weight that allows you to perform eight to twelve repetitions, two to four times each. You can always begin with a lighter weight and move up to a heavier one. Perform these exercises at least two times per week on nonconsecutive days. Allow at least two days of rest between workouts.

Now, it’s time to get started!

Pushups

All you need for this basic move is a floor surface that’s comfortable enough to push against and kneel on, if you’re doing a modified version.

Muscles worked: pectorals (chest), anterior deltoids (shoulders), triceps

How to: Get into a plank position with your legs extended straight back and feet together. Place your hands directly under your shoulders, your fingers facing forward, your arms straight. Slowly bend your elbows and lower your body toward the floor, being sure to keep your back, ribcage, butt and thighs tightened. Keep your elbows tightly hugged to the sides of your body as much as possible. Once you’ve lowered down so that your chest or chin have touched the floor, press on your hands and arms and straighten your elbows to come up. The downward and upward movement completes one push-up. If that’s too difficult, you can do the push-up with your knees bent on the ground.

Do 8 to 12 repetitions, two to four times each, then work your way up to more when you’re ready.

Triceps Dips

Another equipment-free, do-anywhere move is the triceps dip. All you need is a stable bench, chair, or couch.

Muscles worked: triceps

How to: Start by sitting on a bench or stable chair with your palms on the edge—your hands should be on either side of your hips and your fingers hanging over the edge. Put your feet together and extend your legs directly out in front of you or keep them bent. Move your butt off the bench, then bend your arms at the elbows and lower your hips toward the ground (you don’t need to reach the ground). Push yourself back up using your hands instead of your legs, to complete one full move.

Do 8 to 12 repetitions, two to four times each.

Overhead Presses

Overhead presses can be done standing or seated. You’ll need a set of dumbbells for this one.

Muscles worked: deltoids (shoulders), biceps, triceps, abs

How-to: Hold a dumbbell in each hand and lift them to shoulder height (shown). With your palms facing forward, press the dumbbells overhead so that your elbows are straight. Then slowly bend your elbows and lower the dumbbells to the starting position.

Do 8 to 12 repetitions, two to four times each.

Tricep Extensions

This isolation move is super effective for toning the backs of your arms.

Muscles worked: triceps, forearms, latissimus dorsi (upper arm and lower back)

How to: Stand with one foot a couple of feet in front of the other in a split-stance position. Hold a dumbbell of equal weight in each hand, or hold one heavier dumbbell with both hands. Start with elbows bent and the dumbbells held behind your head (shown). Slowly press the dumbbells overhead so that your arms are straight; keep them as close to your ears as possible. Bend your elbows again, lowering the dumbbells to the starting position. If done correctly, you should especially feel this in the backs of your arms.    

Do 8 to 12 repetitions, two to four times each.

Triceps Kickbacks

Triceps kickbacks can be done at the gym or at home. Just grab a dumbbell and you’re ready to go.

Muscles worked: rear deltoid (shoulder), triceps, abs

How to: Hold a dumbbell in your right hand while propping your left knee on an exercise bench with your right foot on the floor; place your left hand on the bench. Slightly bend forward and pull your shoulder blades down and back. Bend your elbow, bringing your right upper arm parallel to your torso. Slowly straighten your arm behind you, lifting it as high as you comfortably can. Bend your elbow again to return to the starting position. To work the targeted muscles, your upper arm must remain stationary as you perform this move. If you don’t have a bench, do the move while standing in the split-stance position, with one foot a couple of feet in front of the other. Slightly bend forward, keeping your back straight. Switch sides after you’ve completed one set. Do 8 to 12 repetitions on each side, two to four times each.

There are certain things that you can do on the toilet, such as responding to your messages, reading something you have planned to read earlier, and things you should never do, such as sitting too long and flushing paper towels. You didn’t know about that?

Here is a list of 6 things you are probably doing the wrong way on the toilet.

Sitting Too Long

Sitting on the toilet for a long time, checking a magazine or scrolling up and down on your smartphone is very common among people. Time spent on the toilet seems to be your only chance to be alone, and uninterrupted. However, what you probably don’t know is that sitting too long in that position negatively affects the veins of the body. More specifically, sitting in that position for a long time puts more stress on your lower body veins and causes them to swell.

This swelling may lead to hemorrhoids, which are swollen veins in your lower rectum. Hemorrhoids usually heal within a week, yet, they can be itchy, uncomfortable, or even painful.

If you notice any red spots in your paper towel, then talk to your doctor.

Pushing Too Hard

You probably have done this many times. When you suffer from constipation, the only way to get the stool out seems to push too hard. Yet, this is one of the things you should never do on the toilet.

Pushing too hard puts pressure on your lower rectum veins and puts you at a higher risk of hemorrhoids. Additionally, it can cause anal fissures, which result in severe pain and bleeding.

To reduce or avoid constipation, you can do physical work, increase your fiber intake, and encourage your body to produce acid digestion.

Include more vegetables and fruits in your diet in order to up your fiber intake.

Ignoring Your Stinky Pee

Having a stinky pee can be normal if the last food you ate was rich in garlic, onions, or asparagus. The process of breaking down the compounds of these foods results in that stinky pee smell.

According to one study, foods like asparagus make your pee smell because they act as diuretics. They contain high amounts of asparagine to clean your body from all the extra sodium and fluids and prevent any severe urine infection.

Many medications and vitamins may be responsible for changing your pee odor as well.

Yet, if the odor of your urine is too strong, then this may be the result of a urinary tract infection (UTI), diabetes, or liver disease.

You’re Big on Bleach

You probably have already tried to clean your toilet bowl using bleach. It has been proven that this product cleans more deeply and disinfects your toilet. However, using it in high concentrations, or mixed with other products, can have many side effects on your health.

When you use bleach mixed with ammonia, chemical reactions occur, and chloramine is produced. This latter is a toxic gas that causes wheezing, coughing, watery eyes, and nausea.

Moreover, when used in high concentrations, these gases can lead to chest pain, pneumonia, and severe wheezing.

Using bleach with other bowl toilet cleaning products, or even plain vinegar would cause the same side effects and conditions. The combination of these chemicals can lead to burning and itchy eyes and breathing problems.

Vagina Douching

It is important to know that we all have bacteria in our bodies. These are the microorganisms that help your body function properly. For instance, gut bacteria help with digestion. In addition to gut bacteria, you have bacteria in your genital system.

The vagina has bad and good bacteria, and the balance between the two is what maintains an acidic environment to protect your vagina from genital infections.

When you perform a vaginal douche using water or other chemical fluids to clean it, you don’t only eliminate the odors, but the bacteria as well.

According to the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology, you should not perform any vagina douching. The healthy bacteria in your vagina can prevent any infection and removing them would cause serious complications.

You Toss in Wet Wipes

If you are getting rid of your wet wipes by flushing them down the toilet, then you are absolutely doing it the wrong way.

Wet wipes are your toilet’s nightmare. Flushing your wet wipes down the toilet will end up clogging your drain.

You may think that your wet wipes or paper towel can break down in water, but experiments done by Consumer Reports revealed that these wipes don’t break down in water even after 10 minutes. Moreover, according to statistics, 90% of wipes are not flushable. Repeated flushing of paper towels or wet wipes can cause the plumber to pay you a visit to unclog your drain!

Did you know when it started in 1919, the comic strip Popeye was called Thimble Theatre and there was no muscle-bound, spinach-eating sailor in sight? Quick-witted Castor Oyl and his sister, Olive Oyl, were the main characters who made the comic go week after week.

Funny thing about that—although we doubt creator E.C. Segar realized it—both castor and olive oil are natural remedies for constipation! That’s something more than 35 million U.S. adults suffer from on an (ir)regular basis.

What is Constipation?

Well, even if you go once a day, if your stools are hard to pass and dry, that’s a sign. And if you have trouble eliminating more than a couple times a week—that signals your bowels are moving slowly.

To get things going, try taking one tablespoon of olive oil on an empty stomach in the morning. The healthy fat helps soften intestine walls, making things slide along more easily, and it keeps stools softer by helping them retain more water. If that doesn’t work, with your doc’s guidance, try castor oil. It’s a stimulant laxative that’s tougher on the gut than olive oil. It works by increasing intestinal contractions and can only be used for a couple of days. Overuse damages intestinal muscles and can cause vitamin deficiencies! Then, for sustained regularity, up your fiber intake: Eat 2 to 3 servings of 100 percent whole grains and 5-9 servings of fruits and veggies daily. Like Popeye, you’ll be able to say; “I’m strong to the finich … ‘cause I eat my spinach!”

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Due to the sweltering summer heat and constant exposure to the sun, you may suffer from many health issues. Follow these health care tips to protect yourself from these common summer problems and enjoy your vacation to the fullest.

Heat Stroke

Also known as sun stroke, heat stroke is a common summer phenomenon that results in a high body temperature. This occurs when the body absorbs the heat so much that the body temperature reaches 40 C°. Usually, a heat stroke is accompanied by nausea, vomiting, and headaches.

If a person displays these symptoms, chances are they suffer from a heat stroke. In this event, take them to a cool place, remove excess clothing, and try to cool them down by spraying cold water or putting them in a cold water tub.

To keep heat strokes at bay, wear light and loose clothes to allow air circulation. Also, drink plenty of water and fluids to keep your body hydrated. Plums, coriander, mint leaves, and aloe vera juice can also help. Plus, you’ll reap the aloe vera juice benefits for skin.

Dehydration

When your body loses more water than it receives, dehydration occurs. Just like heat strokes, dehydration is a common health issue, especially in summer time. Due to the high sweating and frequent urination, your body tends to lose more water without you realizing!

The most common sign of dehydration is excessive thirst. Yet, you may present with headaches, vomiting, dehydrated skin and constant tiredness. In some severe cases, seizures and diarrhea could occur.

To guard yourself against dehydration, drink sufficient amounts of water. Aim for 2 liters a day. You can increase your water intake with onion juice, butter milk and coconut water.

Sunburns

Sunburns are those red, swollen patches of skin. The high exposure to ultraviolet rays emitted by the sun is the main culprit behind this skin issue. Contingent upon the duration of exposure, sunburns range from mild to severe.

Sunburns should not be undermined, as they can contribute to skin cancer. More often than not, they are marked by severely reddened and swollen skin and pain in the affected region. Fever, chills, feeling queasy, and vomiting are the common symptoms associated with a sunburn.

The best solution to prevent sunburns is to wear high protection sunscreens to safeguard the skin against the harmful UV rays. Apply 15 to 30 before exposure to the sun and reapply every 2 hours.

Prickly Heat Rash

Prickly heat rash is a type of skin rash that appears when your sweat glands are clogged and sweat cannot reach the surface of your skin. This condition is common in people who sweat excessively, and in children whose sweat glands are not fully developed.

This skin rash causes itchiness and pain and disrupts the body’s heat regulation mechanisms. Besides, it causes a constant feeling of tiredness.
To avoid prickly heat rash, it is preferable to avoid high sweating. So, stay clear of any hot, closed, and humid areas. Also, avoid rigorous physical exercise and shower more often. Don’t forget to apply talcum powder, and wear loose, cotton clothes.

Foot Infections

Many people develop foot fungus in summertime. Generally, it occurs due to the excessive sweat and bacteria accumulation in the feet, especially near toenails.

Foot fungus is not only unsightly, but may also cause several infections, if left untreated. What’s even staggering about foot fungus is that it affects one toenail at a time. Hence, it is highly contagious and should be treated during the early stages.

To prevent foot infections, make sure your feet are properly aired, especially if you spend long periods of time outside. Always clean your toes and change socks often during summer. Use a shoe sanitizer to kill the bacteria and germs.

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