Building Back Muscle – 3 Mass Building Back Exercises

Most of the muscles located in the upper and lower back are actually part of your core muscle group. The core muscle group is naturally the most important muscle group for strength training hence the reason they are called the “core” muscle group.

If they weren't the most important muscle group they would probably be called something like the “supporting” or “secondary” muscle group. Anyway, your back muscles are incredibly intertwined with many of the other muscles on your body. For example, the back muscles allow you to stand upright and move your arms and shoulders.

Therefore, it's important that you develop a solid routine to develop your upper and lower back muscles. While by no means a glamorous muscle group, strong back muscles will naturally make you stronger in several of your other muscle groups and stabilize your core. 

Here are 4 muscle building back muscles that you absolutely must have in your back workout routine:

1.Dead Lift – This exercise targets your lats, erector spinae, gluts and traps. Interestingly, this exercise actually works nearly 70% of all the muscles in your body at one time. Needless to say, this is a fairly intense exercise. With this exercise you will need to place weight on a bench press bar directly in front of you. Then, with knees arches slightly back, you will raise the weight to about knee level and drop it back down. A word of caution: this exercise has the potential to cause very serious injury and you should never under in circumstances attempt to do more weight than you can handle.

2.Pull-Ups – This is a tried and true back exercise that is probably about as old as time itself. There are actually 2 types of pull-ups: long grip and short grip. When doing this exercise you can either place your hands shoulder length apart (long grip) or right alongside each other (short grip). A mix of both is essential for a great back workout. Pull-ups also work your shoulder and triceps muscles. 

3.Bent Over Rows – With this exercise you grasp the bar and flex your torso forward with both arms extended. The bar is then pulled up to your lower chest and back down again. 

For all three exercises you want to shoot for about 6 sets and about 6 reps per set. 

Because the spine is located in your back you must always exercise caution when doing heavy weight back exercises. This means wearing a weight belt at all times and never attempting to show off by lifting more weight than you can handle. 

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Want To Stop Suffering From Back Pain?

Back pain is one of the most common medical problems that
Americans tend to suffer from. The internet is one of the
first places that people come to try to find information on
how to treat back pain.

With today's technology and advanced medicine; you may be
wondering why is back pain such a huge issue? One of the
biggest factors and reasons that people seem to suffer from
this problem is because they do not know how to properly
take care of their body to prevent this issue.

Do you want to know what you can do to prevent or get rid of
your constant aching back pain? Well then, here are a few
useful tips to improve your mobility and avoid back pain.

1. Posture: The truth is that we do not take proper care of
our posture and therefore it tends to show when we begin
having back problems. If you are not watching how you sit or
stand then you can begin to experience back pain later on
in life.

2. Elderly: People tend to believe that as they age they are
expected to have back problems. The truth is that if you
give your body the right types of food and exercise then you
can avoid these types of issues as you become older.

3. Daily Diet: Our diet will always play a huge role in whether
we will begin to experience back pain or not. In fact if you
are currently overweight then most likely that may be one of
the reasons that you are having these issues.

4. Exercise: Exercise and diet are extremely vital for
helping our bodies and bone structure become strong and able
to do our everyday activities without having to worry about
being in pain.

Try this: When you walk, tuck in your stomach and push your
shoulders forward and your chest out. Also keep your chin up.
This is the correct posture when walking. Tough to maintain
isn't it? especially when you have been slouching all your life.

Taking care of your back should become one of your biggest
priorities; so that you can avoid future pain as you become
older.

Is losing your hearing worth the price?

This is an old problem, just in a new form.

In the 60s when we were all at the Avalon Ballroom or the Fillmore West it was those guys holding on for dear life to the man sized speakers and rockin' out to the Airplane or Country Joe that have paid a big price as far as hearing loss goes.

It is tough though to tell a teenager to keep the handy dandy little player on low to save hearing.

Turn it down: German doctors warn on MP3 players Tue Jan 20, 2009
BERLIN (AFP) – MP3 players are leading to more and more hearing problems in young people, with damage to the inner ear now registered in one in five 16 to 20-year-olds, German doctors warned on Tuesday.

Hearing problems usually associated with old age are now being noticed in people as young as 20, the German association of ear, nose and throat specialists (HNO) said.

Under European Union rules, the maximum volume for portable audio devices is 100 decibels, but the HNO warned this is too loud. In workplaces, employees are required to wear ear protectors when noise levels are 85 decibels, they said.

The association called on makers of the devices to behave more "responsibly" and clearly inform their customers of the health dangers of listening to music too loudly.

Copyright © 2009 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved

Down home cookin?

UPDATE: 24 January, 2009
Top chefs push Obama to improve food policy
--------------------------------------------------
Well, one chef has her job as administrations change, and that may be good because of how "Comerford cooks with the best organic and local produce available".

Of course now that Vilsack is in at AG, and he's one of Monsanto's henchmen, we hope there'll be some research at the Obama household.

Start here to learn how organic is the only form of sustainable agriculture, then move to the next square. This one tells you that all those Monsanto herbicides and pesticides create health problems for all, and even seep into the water table.

Turn the next corner to wonder how this health promoting organic food is going to be affordable in poor neighborhoods around the country.

And - not the least to be considered - understanding exactly how health care costs are saved when Big Pharma, Big Insurance and industrial medicine are driving the car, while very few know the first thing about food plans and nutrition, dietitians included.

And don't forget - we already know that when genetically modified into a Franken-food, potatoes promote cancer. I guess I forgot the military industrial complex needs us to keep creating patients for their Franken-medicine that Daschle will slip into the trough...

Time for CHANGE you say?

Who's cookin' in the White House?
Does it matter who serves as chef to the Obamas?
By Maria C. Hunt | Contributor to The Christian Science Monitor
from the January 21, 2009 edition

Amid the excitement leading up to Barack Obama's inauguration as the 44th US president, foodies had been dishing about who they thought might be the chef the Obamas would bring to the White House.

But that pot-stirring speculation ended earlier this month when Michelle Obama issued a statement saying that the Obamas would retain the current White House Executive Chef, Cristeta Comerford.

Ms. Comerford became the first woman and the first minority to hold the post when she was appointed by Laura Bush in 2005. She has worked in the White House kitchen since 1995, including serving as sous-chef under the previous executive chef, Walter Scheib III. She was born in the Philippines and worked in hotels in Austria and Washington, after receiving a degree in Food Technology from the University of the Philippines.

"Cristeta Comerford brings such incredible talent to the White House operation and came very highly regarded from the Bush family. Also the mom of a young daughter, I appreciate our shared perspective on the importance of healthy eating and healthy families," said Mrs. Obama in a statement issued by the transition team. "I look forward to working with her in the years to come."

Two chefs who were thought to be under consideration for the post were Art Smith, owner of the upscale Southern comfort food restaurant Table Fifty-Two in Chicago and the new Art and Soul in Washington, and Rick Bayless, who creates inventive regional Mexican cuisine at Topolobampo in Chicago.

Perhaps Comerford will ask Mr. Smith to share his recipe for the macaroni and cheese Michelle Obama likes so much or Mr. Bayless for tips on making his Sopa Azteca (tortilla soup) and guacamole, which are popular with the first couple.

The choice of a chief cook may seem frivolous compared to challenges such as reversing the recession, creating jobs, and extricating US troops from Iraq. But with pressing food-related issues such as obesity and the pollution created by conventional farming, an influential group of foodies including Gourmet Magazine editor Ruth Reichl had hoped that the Obamas and their chef would seize this opportunity to get the nation thinking about eating local, seasonal, and organic fare and sustainably raised meat and seafood.

"Probably the fastest way you could get people in America to change the way they eat is to have the president eating consciously and eating with not only his mouth but his mind," Ms. Reichl says. "Everybody is looking to the Obamas as an example in so many things and this could be really powerful."

People seem to be interested in what the new first family does: A small Iowa bakery found itself swamped with orders for its chocolate chunk cookies after word got out the Obama girls liked them.

Before the announcement to retain Comerford was made, Reichl dreamed of a "first chef" who could help be a culinary thought leader for the nation, issuing weekly menus detailing what the first family ate, offering tips on cooking with turnips or pole beans in season or ideas for creating meatless meals.

Reichl – along with influential Chef Alice Waters of Chez Panisse in Berkeley, Calif., and New York restaurateur Danny Meyer – had penned a letter to the Obamas offering to help head a committee to select a chef who would champion organic, sustainable, and seasonal cuisine.

Attempts to lobby for a change in chefs annoyed Mr. Scheib – the White House chef for 11 years before Comerford – who said all along that he thought the Obamas would retain her.

"She is an extremely high-level cuisinier, very flexible, and she knows how it works at the White House, which is how you work with the family and take the right attitude and strike the right pose," Mr. Scheib says. "The ... only thing important to the chef in the White House is serving the first family. If that means macaroni and cheese 10 days in a row, that's what you cook."

Scheib says that, just as he did, Comerford cooks with the best organic and local produce available.

The Bushes have praised Comerford's skills in creating American cuisine. An official press release on the White House website says that Comerford has collaborated with Chef John Ash and others showcasing American regional styles of cooking.

In the next four years, observers hope that Comerford's skill in creating organic and health-conscious fare that highlights American gastronomy will be put to greater use in diplomatic settings.

"I was shocked to see the paltry number of state dinners held over the past eight years in the White House," Mr. Meyer says. "It's clear to me the Bush White House had very little interest in gastronomy or the pleasure of the table or using the table as a way to bring people together."

Meyer, whose New York restaurant empire includes such institutions as Gramercy Tavern and Eleven Madison Park, says that he sees the Obamas as a cultured couple who, he hopes, will recognize the power and pleasure of conviviality and entertaining in the same way the Kennedys did.

"Food is one of the most potent ways I know to bring people together from different cultures," Meyer says. "And to make a statement for the rest of the country on how to enjoy food in a way that is both pleasurable and responsible."

Find this article at: http://www.csmonitor.com/2009/0121/p17s01-lifo.html

Drug Addiction : Prescription Drugs

When you hear people talking about drug addiction problems,
what do you think of immediately? It's probably cocaine,
alcohol, or maybe some other harmful drug.

These drugs kill a lot of people, but what about drugs that
were actually meant to help people? What about prescription
drugs?

Hospitals use prescription drugs all over the world for many
reasons. There are pain relief drugs, drugs for disorders of
the psyche, and many other applications.

Prescription drugs are designed to help the sick or injured,
but when they are abused, they are just as harmful and
addictive as any other type of drug.

One factor that adds to the addictive nature of prescription
drugs is that they are designed to help. This often creates
a psychological trap for people.

Everyone knows that cocaine and cigarettes kill people
everyday. But the pain medicine your family doctor gives you
for your back problems is far less intimidating, and thus it
is easier for people to fall into abusing them.

That also means it is more difficult for the person
suffering to get help. If their doctor gave them the drugs
it is hard for them to see that they have a problem.

It also makes it hard to see how dangerous they are. But
most deaths caused by prescription drug abuse happens the
first time the person abuses them. That means most people
only have to do it one time and they could die.

If you or one of your loved ones has a problem with prescription
drugs, seek help immediately.

Find help with
(http://www.prescription-drug-rehab.com/rx-addiction.html)
Prescription drug addiction treatment centers Seek
professionals at (http://www.prescription-drug-rehab.com)
Narconon Vista Bay

Shoulder Workouts With Dumbells – 3 Great Shoulder Exercises

Dumbbell weights are a bit different from other kinds of free weights and offer more of a workout to your supporting muscle groups. Dumbells offer more of a workout because they are able to focus more tension on your supporting muscle groups. This in turn causes the surrounding muscle groups to work harder than if you were working out with conventional free weights or nautilus machines. 

When surrounding muscle groups are exercised in addition to the main muscle you will achieve superior muscular development. However, dumbbell weights are not for everyone because not everyone's physiology allows them to work out very intensely. I, for example, am unable to perform several abdominal dumbbell exercises because of my physiology. Therefore it's very, very important to start with very low intensity dumbbell weights before going heavy otherwise you could risk very serious and painful injury.

If you think you are ready for some serious shoulder workouts with dumbells, here are 3 exercises to get you started:

1.Seated Shoulder Press – I am not exactly sure why, but this is actually one of my favorite weightlifting exercises. So here's how this works: Seat yourself at the end of a bench and place your dumbbells on your upper thighs (always your upper thighs with this exercise, not on the ground as you want to shorten the distance you need to lift these over your head). Grab each weight so that they are facing left to right not frontward to backward and lift them over your head simultaneously. Now slowly lower each one until it is about one inch away from your shoulder. Rinse and repeat.

2.Shoulder Flys – This is somewhat of a light weight exercise and it is rare that you will be able to do more than 40 pounds in each hand as your regular set, even if you are very strong. This means that if you have never done these before you should probably start off with less than 15 pounds in each hand. Here's how this works: Stand up right and hold 2 weights in front of your chest. Bend over at a 45 degree angle and lift each weight outward in a manner that resembles flying (hence the name “flys”) and then lower each weight to your waist. Rinse and repeat.

3.Shoulder Shrugs– If you are new to this you should only start off with about 40 pounds in each arm. Here's how this works: Stand upright holding each weight frontward to backward. Slowly lift each weight using your shoulders and without lifting your arms. In other words, lift each weight in a “shrug” like fashion. As you lift, make sure you lift in a rolling motion, not just straight up and down.

If your goal is to increase your shoulder muscle mass then you should pick a weight that allows you to do 4-6 shoulder reps for at least 5 sets. 

Shoulder Workouts With Dumbbells,shoulder workouts with dumbells,dumbbell workouts,dumbell

Energy Drinks Are Not Healthy

How can energy drinks be healthy? They are usually full of
artificial caffeine, HFCS (ref:
(http://www.westonaprice.org/modernfood/highfructose.html)
Double Danger of HFCS), Taurine and of course, to somehow
validate everything, synthetically produced vitamins. This
cocktail of chemicals will do more harm than good. It
already has.

More and more people that consume the traditional energy
drink regularly or even daily have already or are destined
to eventually suffer from stomach, kidney, liver or heart
problems. Not to mention the effects these chemical
cocktails can have on one's teeth (premature enamel
degradation) or skin (dehydration related blotching).

An entire new generation is coming into adulthood without
their parents' coffee routine, but with a morning, afternoon
or evening energy drink. Sometimes all three. Many spend
hours online gaming, instead of exercising, which
accentuates the problem with energy drinks, introducing type
2 diabetes and other sedentary diseases.

Why should we be concerned about this new variety of mental
stimulant? A cup or two of coffee every day has never caused
serious health effects. The big difference relates to where
the buzz comes from: natural coffee beans vs. laboratory
produced synthetic caffeine.

Just like with any other product found in nature, the
caffeine in the coffee beans comes with many by-products
which are not easily separated from the pure caffeine
elements. natural caffeine comes with fibers and other
organic substances which reduce the absorption of the
caffeine into the bloodstream.

In most energy drinks, the caffeine is synthetically
produced in a factory. This synthetic caffeine has one
advantage over natural caffeine: it is extremely potent.
All of the natural byproducts that come with natural caffeine
from coffee beans or Guarana are not present with laboratory
caffeine. It is also much cheaper to produce than natural
caffeine, another great thing, from the manufacturer's point
of view. Unfortunately, from a consumer's point of view, this
concentrated caffeine blast is absorbed into the bloodstream
almost as soon as it hits the stomach.

Natural products like the actual coffee from coffee beans,
Guarana seeds or tea leaves, are absorbed more gradually by
the body. They are also not as concentrated and therefore
less toxic than the chemical caffeine in most energy drinks.

Here are some advantages of natural caffeine (whether it be
in coffee, tea or Guarana). Firstly, the increased mental
alertness is longer. Instead of the instant high you get
from most energy drinks and then the subsequent downfall,
you get a sustained feeling of mental clarity for a few
hours and the effect eventually wears off more naturally and
gradually.

Secondly, continuous exposure to synthetic caffeine over
saturates our nervous system. If this excessive exposure
continues, our nerves go haywire. This is Mother Nature's
way of telling us to be careful. Our hands may quiver,
nervous habits develop; our body starts to show signs of
stress not different from those related to anxiety or
depression. Not recommended for anyone.

With guaranine or tea or natural coffee beans, our digestive
and circulatory system can easily eliminate the excess
quantities without unduly affecting the nervous system. But
even with natural stimulants, they must be used carefully
and not in excessive amounts. It is best to stick with one
cup per day; of coffee (not the grande which is really like
6 coffees) or one 12 oz can of a natural energy drink or
unsweetened cold tea.

Organic coffees don't contain any of the chemicals used in
large farming operations. (http://www.wholefoods.com) Whole
Foods Markets has a wide variety of these.

Some natural energy drinks that are recommended :
GURU Energy Drinks and Syzmo. They are both made with
natural caffeine from Guarana and/or coffee. What's good
about GURU is that it is entirely natural, has no
artificial sweeteners or vitamins. Sysmo is made from good
ingredients but is more costly, and is an acquired taste.

Both of these are available on the
respective companies' website and at
(http://www.wholefoods.com) Whole Foods Markets.

With regards to teas; cold, brewed teas will provide the
best combination of anti-oxidants and natural caffeine. A
good brand is ITOEN, from Japan. Itoen Teas seems to be
the purest, unsweetened product out there. The Zen taste
grows on you after a couple of bottles. Another cool brand is
the US based Honest Tea, but they recently sold out to Coke
and now it seems they're selling out to the sweeter American
taste buds.