You can only build muscle tissue if you can generate progressively stronger muscular contractions, so this calls for an emphasis on finding ways to increase exercise intensity. This should not be confused with exercise duration as maximum training intensity will actually shorten the time needed to achieve maximal muscular growth.

In an earlier article I outlined the ways in which you can intensify your training. Here we’ll focus on the role that negative repetitions have to play in intensifying the training effect.

At the most basic level, human muscles have three types of strength:

1. Positive strength - the ability to raise a weight.

2. Static strength - the ability to hold a weight.

3. Negative strength - the ability to lower a weight.

Many bodybuilders concentrate primarily on their muscles’ positive and static strength but equal focus should be given to negative strength, or lowering the weight, if true muscle failure is to be achieved. You can emphasize this aspect of training by completing a set of negative reps after reaching positive failure.

Your health is affected not only by how much body fat you have, but also by where most of the fat is located on your body. Waist to hip ratio (WHR) analyzes the relationship between your waist and hip measurements to help you understand your body-type and current health status. Most people store their body fat in two distinct ways, often called “apple” and “pear” shapes.

These terms refer to where you carry excess body fat ? around your middle (apple) or around your hips and buttocks (pear). Carrying excess body fat around your middle increases health risks significantly more than carrying fat around your hips, thighs and other areas of your body.

To determine if you have a healthy WHR, first use a measuring tape to obtain the circumference of your waist, just above your belly button. Then measure the circumference of your hips at the widest part of your buttocks.

Vitamin C may be the most famous vitamin. Tens of thousands of British sailors were dying of the disease scurvy until they began taking limes and other citrus fruit along on voyages. The vitamin C in the citrus prevented the disease. Vitamin C also works as an anti-oxidant and supports the synthesis of collagen, which helps keep the skin healthy and youthful. A good way to get some daily vitamin C is to drink a glass of orange juice with breakfast.

Vitamin D is famous for saving children from the bone disease called rickets. This vitamin was so important to health it was added to milk. All milk products are now enriched with Vitamin D and the disease of rickets has been eradicated. This vitamin is important to maintain strong bones and joints.

Vitamin B became well known when it was discovered to stop the disease beriberi. Vitamin B actually includes a complex of the vitamins thiamine (B1), riboflavin (B2), niacin (B3), pyridoxine (B6), folic acid (B9), cyanocobalamin (B12) pantothetic acid, choline and biotin. B vitamins help the body to breakdown carbohydrates. Choline is thought to help with fat metabolism. Vegetarians may not get enough of the B vitamins since they don’t eat meat, and may want to take a multi-vitamin supplement.

Arthritis is an inflammation of the joints and is characterized by pain, stiffness, swelling, decreased range of movement and at a more serious stage deformity. Aromatherapy is a holistic approach to health and wellness by means of aromatic, plant derived scents. It is very much a traditonal method as well as a science that encompasses the intuitive and creative aspects of preparing special purpose blends.

Aromatherapy blends for the treatment of arthritis are usually made from pure essential oils, but also from hydrosols and — more recently — phytols. For application to the skin they have to be mixed with vegetable oil, a cream base or a carrier lotion. Essential Oils must always be used diluted when applied to the skin. A dilution of 3% essential oils in 97% base is generally regarded as very effective and safe.

Since the reasons for the occurance of arthritis are still not completely established, it is difficult to find a cure for the disease. Arthritis could be genetic, it could have to do with bone density loss, it could also be a type of infection caused by toxins released in the body. Even more likely it is a combination of several factors. It is — at this stage — only possible to treat the pain and symptoms caused by arthritis but not it’s underlying cause.

Rules of day to day no longer apply as you surrender to the hearts and minds of those closest. Conversation, food and wine are intoxicating. You can’t leave the table the conversation is too good. The holiday food keeps coming. I fall back into the silken warmth of family stories and recollections of past years.

I generally eat until I am sated but now? its quest for space, I must keep up, I can’t be that? "I don’t eat that wimp". I can’t spoil this mood and bring everyone down to reality! Somehow I manage to find space for that piece of dark nutty chocolate beckoning me to come home to my pallette, where it would receive all the comfort love and warmth I need to express in this state of holiday bliss. I have now surrendered?.. The conversation wonders back to a particular chocolate that sister in law is passionate about and as she unfolds its mysteries you must taste and discover. This is no time for excuses.

Feeling good. Eyes wonder out to the blanket of snow and everything feels safe and warm. The last place I would want to go is out into the cold (’reality’ I think). All is swell; until that transition day when you walk back into the doors of your own home?. if you can fit.

Your energy levels will depend on several factors, including genetics, nutrition, sleep habits, and emotional stress. Some of these you have no control over But there is one VERY important factor that you do have control over and that is your ability to take part in physical exercise.

Need a source of vast power and energy?

Look no further than your gym.

The link between physical fitness and energy is so strong, that doctors have lately been prescribing exercise as treatment for chronic fatigue, depression, seasonal affective disorder (SAD), and insomnia, for instance.

If sufferers of the most stubborn kind of fatigue can be energized with exercise, imagine what can do for those of us who experience ordinary, every-day fatigue.

* Feel Great At Mid-Afternoon *

Your brain thrives on oxygen. Blood transports oxygen to the brain, so the greater blood flow to the brain, the greater the oxygen supply the brain has. As you increase your heartbeat with a vigorous workout, more blood surges through the brain, more oxygen gets absorbed by your brain cells, and you feel more mentally alert and energetic.

THE RISK

No doubt you’ve heard of the increasingly popular "raw food" and "whole food" diets. Why are people so interested in eating raw food or whole food? One reason is that eating these types of food reduces the risk of acid accumulation in your body.

Raw and whole foods are usually digested more efficiently than cooked and refined foods. When we cook foods, we destroy the natural enzymes that are part of the food in its raw form. These enzymes were intended by nature to help us digest the food. When we consume food without these natural enzymes, our bodies either digest the food improperly or allow an excessive amount of nutrients to be absorbed into the bloodstream.

In both instances, the result is obesity. When too many nutrients are absorbed at once, the body converts the excess glucose into fat. Improperly digested food moves slowly through the digestive tract, where it becomes increasingly acidic. To protect its vital organs from this acidic waste, the body converts the acid into fat and stores it safely away from the organs.

If I Want to Lose Weight, What Can I Do With Leftovers?

Okay, tell me if you’ve ever done this: It’s Monday late afternoon. You decided yesterday that starting today you were going to 1) eat right, and 2) start to get regular exercise, and 3) give up all your bad habits. So, you’re picking things up around the house and starting to notice all the little bits and pieces of leftovers from the past weekend. You see the cookies here and small bits of candy there. Today in my house I noticed three individually wrapped, large shortbread cookies with icing (my favorites), several bags of candy that looks just like real rocks (in a decorative jar–it’s for show, really, it is) and the leftovers from the latest family gathering, which in this case is about five pounds of fruit salad — not bad in itself, but I can only eat so much fruit salad.

And Then There’s the Wine

Of course, I had to buy some wine at a tasting on Saturday (I always buy it, don’t know why I think those wine tasting’s are such a great deal — they always entice me to buy), and now there’s an open bottle waiting.

Hypnosis: It happens to everyone, young and old, in everyday life and on special occasions. It is a state of being fully absorbed and attentive to such a degree that occurrences in the outside world become less important. It feels good to be in hypnosis. It is a time of total and complete relaxation for the mind, body and spirit.

Can anyone be hypnotized is a commonly asked question. Prof. McDougall, one of America’s greatest psychologists, has shown by careful experiment at Harvard that 90% or more of perfectly normal healthy persons may be hypnotized. Does this mean that 90% of the world is weak-minded? NO. The very best of all subjects for hypnotism is one who can focus his thoughts as directed by the hypnotist.

It is common for people to fear hypnosis, usually because they know little about it or have been influenced by misleading portrayals in the media. Hypnotherapists help thousands of people each year.

Hypnosis can be a very powerful tool to change your habits, for example to help you give up smoking. But it is not a "magic cure" and is generally only effective if, deep down, you really want to give up smoking or whatever habit it is you want to change. If you do want to change for the better, then hypnosis may work well for you.

Do You Sometimes Eat Because You’re Afraid You’ll “Miss Out” on Something Wonderful Otherwise?

Have you ever finished a huge meal, Thanksgiving dinner for instance, and being so stuffed you couldn’t possibly eat another bite, when suddenly someone showed up with another dessert? Did you suddenly find just a bit of space to eat a little more? That’s eating out of fear; the fear of missing out, the fear of not being part of the group (everyone else is having some and you want your share too) and it has nothing to do with hunger.

This same thing can happen with any feeling — you may feel exhausted. You had a rough day at work, a traffic jam on the way home, a flat tire, and now you have a headache. You are bone tired and want to do nothing but sleep, when suddenly the phone rings. It’s a call saying, “You’ve just won a million dollars! Can you come right down to pick it up?,” and you’re rushing out the door with your coat half fastened, you’re so excited you can hardly wait.