Beautify Me !

On average, 20 percent of individuals in the United States suffer from hayfever. Hayfever is caused by an allergic reaction mainly to different forms of pollen and ragweed. Hayfever has different effects on every individual depending on how severely they suffer from allergies. Some individuals may experience slight discomfort whereas the pain can be practically unbearable for others. So how do you know if you have hayfever? The following is a list of categories to consider in order to determine whether or not you are suffering from hayfever:

When Does It Occur?

Hayfever is a seasonal reaction which often starts in early June and continues through to the middle of July. Whenever pollen and ragweed season begins (usually near the beginning of seasons) is when you are most likely to start experiencing the symptoms.

Symptoms

There are many symptoms which may indicate you are suffering from hayfever. The most common symptoms are listed in categories below:

1. Eyes – An individual suffering from hayfever will experience many difficulties with their eyes. Itchy, watery eyes are an indication of hayfever as well as swollen red eyes. The best way to prevent yourself from scratching your eyes is to use Visine or some other form of eye drops. These drops will also reduce the redness your eyes may be experiencing.

2. Nose – Sneezing, running and stuffy noses are usually a good indication that you may be experiencing hayfever. Sinus problems (especially a plugged nose) can potentially cause severe headaches. To treat these symptoms use any form of nasal spray to clear your nose as best as possible.

3. Breathing – If you have hayfever, you may find it difficult to breathe. You may also notice wheezing or tightness in you chest. These symptoms are often identified as the same symptoms of asthma. They can be treated with the same forms of treatment for asthma sufferers. Possibly a puffer.

Suffering from hayfever can make it difficult to work and function on a daily basis. Unfortunately, hayfever tends to strike at the most inappropriate times such as when exams are being held for college or university students. It can also greatly affect your appearance and performance at work. There are easy ways to treat hayfever; the most appropriate perhaps is to visit your doctor who will prescribe medication to help you cope with your symptoms.

Not only do temperatures and weather conditions change as the fall season approaches, but those annoying allergies you get every year, around this time, are likely to hit again. But don’t worry just yet, there are ways to fight the annoyance so you can be as allergy-free as possible this fall.

Sometimes it is hard to distinguish whether the symptoms you are experiencing are due to a cold or allergies. The clear difference between the two is colds usually tend to be short-lived whereas allergies can run for weeks or even months. The most common allergy is pollen (also called hay fever), which causes symptoms to flare-up due to the pollen grains floating through the air. Allergies tend to occur when the seasons change and you may notice your allergies approaching at almost the exact same time every year.

There are many things you can do to help ensure you do not get allergies this fall season, and here are some of the most effective prevention tips:

• Close Your Windows - keep your windows closed in both your house and your car especially at night. This will prevent pollen and mold spores from entering your house and into the air you breathe.

• Stay Indoors - staying indoors (with your windows shut) is probably the best way to ensure you don’t get allergies this season. Most of the pollen is found outdoors, so eliminate this allergic element as much as possible.

• Use Your Air Conditioner - Turning on your air conditioner provides relief by cleaning, cooling and drying the air in your home. Dehumidifiers or air filters will also help in these situations.

• Use Air Ionizers& HEPA Filters – These products remove particulates from the air you breathe.

• Protect Yourself - If it is necessary for you to go outside to do yard work (or for other reasons), protect yourself by wearing a mask or a cover-up of some sort to keep you from breathing in the “contaminated air”.

• Take Showers and Baths - If you are outdoors for extended periods of time, take either a shower or a bath when you return home. Showers and baths will wash away some of the pollen that is left on your body. Changing your clothes when you come in from being outside is also a good idea.

If none of these things work for you and you find yourself suffering from allergy symptoms anyway, there are treatments which can help. Nasal Sprays, oral antihistamines and decongestants are all great for allergy relief. For itchy and watery eyes there are many forms of eye drops like Visine which you can purchase at any drugstore.

Immunotherapy (an allergy shot) is also a great way to help with your allergies this season. Check with your doctor before using any medications or treatments since some can potentially cause harmful side effects.

Drugs For Treating Aids May Prevent People From Catching Aids



In one of the most promising developments in more than 20 years, scientists claim that drugs used to control HIV/AIDS in patients may also be effective in preventing the disease in the first place.

The drugs in question are tenofovir (Viread) and emtricitabine, or FTC (Emtriva), sold in combination as Truvada by Gilead Sciences Inc. Gilead is the California company best known for inventing Tamiflu.

Previous research has been aimed at finding a vaccine against HIV/AIDS, with the intention of conditioning the immune system against the disease. But these drugs work differently. They simply keep the virus from reproducing, and have already been used successfuly by health care workers to prevent them from being infected by the virus carried by patients.

This approach to fighting HIV/AIDS has been tempting researchers for many years, but has only recently become feasible as preventative drugs have been developed that are safe for non-infected persons to take. Previous drugs had unreasonable effects for uninfected persons.

That situation changed when Tenofovir came on the market in 2001. Tenofovir is powerful and safe, and it only has to be taken once a day. It also does not interact with other medicines or birth control pills, and manifests less drug resistance than other AIDS medications.

Monkey studies show exciting results

A major study by the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) in Atlanta, Georgia involved six macaques. The monkeys were given a combination of Tenofovir and FTC and then administered a deadly combination of monkey and human AIDS viruses. They were given the viruses in rectal doses to simulate contact between gay men.

Each was given 14 weekly exposures of the virus, and none of the monkeys became infected. In a control group which did not receive the drugs, all but one got the disease, normally after just two exposures.

The scientists then stopped giving the drugs to the test group to see if the prevention was only temporary. The results were equally impressive. None of the monkeys contracted the disease. “We’re now four months following the animals with no drug, no virus. They’re uninfected and healthy,” reported a CDC researcher.

Now other research teams are pushing to have this drug combination tested on humans. A $29 million CDC study of drug users in Botswana will now be switched to this new drug combination.

Another study of 400 heterosexual women in Ghana by the Family Health Initiative, and funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, is studying the effects of tenofovir alone.

But several other studies have failed to materialize because studies of this nature immediately raise suspicions that scientists are using local people as guinea pigs. The fear is that they will intentionally expose the test subjects to the virus.

The cost of tenofovir and Truvada also make testing difficult. In African countries condoms are now liberally donated by companies, aid groups, UN agencies, and western governments. While the drugs are relatively cheap, the cost remains an impediment.

Nevertheless researchers have been reinvigorated by the stunning results out of Atlanta, and new tests are going ahead in pockets of interest around the world.

In a significant shift in strategy in the fight against HIV/AIDS, the Centers for Disease Control recently recommended that tests for HIV be extended to all patients entering hospitals and clinics in the U.S. The CDC also recommended that doctors begin offering routine voluntary HIV tests to patients between 13 and 64.

It is estimated that of the more than 1 million people in the U.S. with HIV and AIDS, about 25% are unaware they have HIV. The new strategy is aimed at discovering these cases before HIV develops into AIDS. It is also hoped these measures will curb the spread of the disease since these 250,000 people are carriers who unknowingly infect others.

This marks a departure from the previously followed strategy of testing only people in high risk categories.

This policy change will also involve a shift away from the promotion of abstinence and condom use to prevent the spread of the disease, towards more emphasis being placed on testing for HIV status and early treatment.

According to a spokesperson for the CDC, what explains this change in policy is that drugs now exist that can prevent the development of AIDS from HIV. Early detection can therefore result in early treatment. In the past early detection did not necessarily mean much since there was very little that could be done for someone infected with HIV.

It is also hoped that early detection will result in less transmission of the disease. A recent CDC survey found that sexually-active adults altered their sexual behavior patterns after they were diagnosed with HIV. They were less likely to engage in unprotected sexual activity, in many cases opting for a condom or for not engaging in sex at all.

Drug companies and makers of oral tests stand to benefit significantly from this change of emphasis. It is expected that tests which are now administered at hospitals and clinics will soon be available over the counter. People interested in testing themselves will be able to do it at home. This should result in a significant increase in sales of HIV testing kits.

There should also be a rise in HIV treatment drugs as hundreds of thousands of people learn they have HIV and begin treatment with anti-HIV drugs. Currently anti-HIV drugs account for about $6-billion in sales in the U.S. That number should increase dramatically if the new testing procedures prove to be effective.

Some argue that as in so many areas within the health industry, efforts aimed at prevention will be replaced by promises of a quick cure brought to us compliments of the incredibly influential and increasingly invasive drug companies.

AIDS is an acronym for Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome it causes a destruction of the immune system. It is the most advanced stage of the HIV virus (HIV stands for Human Immunodeficiency Virus). AIDS is defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as the presence of a positive HIV antibody test and one or more of the illnesses known as opportunistic infections.

The HIV virus, type 1 or 2 is widely known to be the cause of AIDS. HIV breaks down and attacks your T cells so your body is unable to defend itself against different infections. The HIV virus also attacks your peripheral nervous system, this causes nerve and muscle pain, especially in the feet, legs, and hands.

HIV is spread through direct contact with semen or blood of an individual that is infected. This can be transferred in many ways the most common is unprotected sexual intercourse. Other means of infection are infected blood transfusions, mother to infant (at time of birth, or through breast milk), sharing needles with an infected person, and rarely a healthcare worker that gets pricked with an infected needle.

Often people who are infected with HIV have few symptoms and in some cases there are none. Other times, symptoms of HIV are confused with other illnesses such as the flu. This may be severe, with swollen glands in the neck and armpits, tiredness, fever and night sweats. This is where as much as 9 out of 10 of the infected individuals will develop AIDS. At this point the person may feel completely healthy and not even know that he/she has the virus. The next stage begins when the immune system starts to break down and the virus becomes more aggressive in damaging white cells. Several glands in the neck and armpits may swell and stay swollen for an extended period of time without any explanation. As this disease progresses boils or warts may spread over the body. They may also feel tremendously tired, night sweats, high fevers, chronic diarrhea, and they may lose a considerable amount of their body weight. Most cases have shown thrush as a symptom as well. At this point the person is in the final stages of HIV–AIDS. Severe chest infections with high fever are common and survival rate is above 70% but decrease with each recurrence.

A person is diagnosed with AIDS when he/she has one or more positive HIV screening and the presence of an AIDS defining condition. Some of the common conditions include but are not limited to: Meningitis, Encephalitis, Dementia, Pneumonia, Kaposi sarcoma, and Lymphoma. There is also a blood test called an Immune Profile that can be done. This test is used to measure the loss of immunity and help decide on the best treatment. There is a test that is rarely used due to its high cost, it is known as a Viral Load: This test detects the virus itself, and also measures the amount of HIV in the blood. It shows how quickly the HIV infection is likely to advance. A high viral load suggests that the person may progress rapidly to AIDS.

Although there is no cure for AIDS there are medical treatments that aide in prolonging, and maintaining the best quality of life possible. These include two nucleoside inhibitors, lamivudine and zidovudine. Actual treatment plans will vary with each patient, along with the physical aspect of this disease. The psychological side has to be addressed in order for a treatment plan to be effective.

The easiest way to escape contracting this disease is to avoid the risk factors that you are in control of. Such as: unprotected sex, not sharing a needle, and if you are in the healthcare field be sure to use all precautions necessary to avoid an accidental prick from a possible infected needle (remember that in this diseases early stages it is common for the person not to even know they are infected). Today AIDS is the fifth leading cause of death among all adults aged 25 to 44 in the United States. Among African-Americans in the 25 to 44 age group, AIDS is the leading cause of death for men and the second leading cause of death for women. Our society needs to become aware that by not protecting ourselves we are killing ourselves and that this has to stop.

There are many drugstore and alternative Internet products for treating hemorrhoids. Most of the products are not made to cure or eliminate hemorrhoids but to give you temporary relief of itching, pain, swelling or bleeding. I don’t recommend using any type of product that is not natural or that comes from a drugstore.

If the product contains petrochemicals, additives, coloring, dyes, or other chemicals, which enhance its appearance and feel, I would not use them. Most, if not all, of these chemicals will be absorbed into your body where your organs of elimination will have to deal with eliminating them.

All products whether drugs, drugstore medications, or natural formulations use chemicals, substances, oils, and herbs that have the following properties:

Anesthetics – suppresses pain and gives relief…any name with the suffix “caine” like tetracaine

Analgesics – suppresses and give pain relief – some of them are Anacin, Tylenol with Codeine, OxyContin, Darvocet, Ultracet

Vasoconstrictors – helps to narrow or constrict hemorrhoidal veins…any name with the suffix “rine” like phenylephrine

Lubricants – provide lubrication in the colon to relieve constipation – mineral oil, flax seed oil, castor, oil olive oil

Astringents – help to tighten tissue, which have been pushed out by hemorrhoid action – zinc oxide, witch hazel, calamine

Keratolytics – help to remove excess hemorrhoidal tissue. They are compounds of sulfur and salicylic acid
Many of the drugstore medications have anesthetics. They can aggravate and irritate the hemorrhoids you’re trying to eliminate. If you are using one of these drugstore medications, consider using a more natural remedy.

In 1975 Carl I. Flath, wrote a book called The Miracle Nutrient – How Dietary Fiber Can Save Your Life. In his book he talks about the effectiveness of drugstore suppositories,

“Suppositories quickly work their way up in the rectum beyond the location of most internal hemorrhoids, and so are of limited value in reducing local pain. As antiseptics they are essentially worthless, since the surface areas they are supposed to protect are under constant exposure to new bacteria….

Anesthetic agents do offer temporary relief from local irritations and pain… Neither the suppositories nor the ointments, however, do anything whatever to correct the basic cause of hemorrhoids—constipation.”

A lot of people don’t even know they have hemorrhoids. The rectum is not an area you can readily see. Some times you don’t know you have hemorrhoids until you see blood in the toilet water after a bowel movement, when you start to have pain or discomfort in the rectum, or when you feel extra tissue around the rectum.

So how do you develop hemorrhoids? For sure, constipation is not the only way you can get hemorrhoids. Here are some additional ways:

Alcoholism or drinking to many alcoholic drinks

Being pregnant and not eating enough fiber

Doing daily heavy lifting and holding your breath while you do it

Eating excessive processed foods, which are low in fiber and move slowly through your colon.

General body weakness, which will affect the colon function

Having a predisposition to constipation or inheriting a weakness in the colon and rectum area * Holding fecal matter too long in the rectum causing pressure to buildup in the rectum veins - postponing a bowel movement

Having a weak liver, which reduces the amount of bile released into the intestines. Bile helps to active peristaltic action.

Having inflammation in the rectum that causes you to have constipation

Irregular eating patterns

Lack of protein leading to weak tissues and slow healing of wounds

Not eating foods that keeps you constipation free such as fiber, vegetables, essential fatty acids, protein, water.

Not getting the right vitamins and minerals in your food.

Being overweight

Poor muscle tone in the anal area from lack of exercise

Pressure on rectum veins from cysts or tumor in the colon

Sitting in a chair at home, at work, in a car, or in a truck for long periods

Using laxatives to the point where your colon no longer works properly and you end up with constipation
As you can see there are many reasons that you can develop hemorrhoids. And most of them relate to the function of your colon. If you want hemorrhoid relief look at the list and see which condition or situation relates to you and try to make changes in these conditions. In addition to changes add new foods that will help your colon to work better.

There are a number of over the counter hemorrhoids treatment products available and proper advice from a doctor or pharmacist must be taken, when choosing which one is the most appropriate.

Before applying medication, the anal area needs to be gently washed by dabbing, (avoid wiping) with a moistened cleansing tissue. It’s advisable not to use colored or scented tissue.

Any of the over the counter hemorrhoids treatment which contains a vasoconstrictor must be avoided if you have any of the following conditions; hypertension, urinary difficulties, cardiovascular disease, diabetes or if you’ve been prescribed medication for depression. A vasoconstrictor may be in the form of phenylephrine HCI, ephedrine or epinephrine. Some people may be allergic or hypersensitive to products including local anesthetics. The ingredients may cause pain, irritation, swelling or redness. If this occurs, patients need to consult their doctor, or if protrusion, seeping or bleeding occurs.

Some products can be inserted intrarectally for the treatment of internal hemorrhoids, and some products can only be used externally. Astringents, vasoconstrictors and protectants are allowable for internal hemorrhoids.

Over the counter hemorrhoids treatment can be roughly divided into the following, and their major benefits being; astringents which decrease inflammation, give relief from burning and itching but not pain, protectants which decrease inflammation, vasoconstrictors which help to reduce irritation and itchiness, local anesthetics which help with pain, itching and burning, keratolytics which reduces itchiness and discomfort, antipruritics which act as counter irritants and hydrocortisone which helps with itching and swelling.

If you are unfortunate enough to be a sufferer, over the counter hemorrhoids treatment can at least bring relief fairly quickly, and lead to eliminating the problem.

If you are suffering from hemorrhoids chances are that you are not eating right. Of course, this is not always the case but it is at least worth looking into. For some people a simple diet change is all that they need in order to get their hemorrhoids corrected, and their life back to normal.

When searching for a hemorrhoid diet you may want to consult with your doctor. This is not a necessity by any means, but they may be able to give you a better idea of what would work best for you.

To start, you will want to eat plenty of food that is high in fiber. Things such as green vegetables, apples, and whole grains are a great place to start; not to mention the fact that they taste great as well. The bottom line is that fiber is the best way to fight constipation that can lead to hemorrhoids.

In addition to what you eat, make sure that you also take the time to drink properly as well. Anything that is clear, such as water, will do your body good. Also remember to stay away from drinks with caffeine such as cola or coffee.

By going on a diet that is specifically tailored to fight hemorrhoids will allow you to stay pain free without much trouble at all. Many people feel that this is hard to do, but the fact of the matter is that you do not have to go crazy. Simply add some fiber to your diet and cut out the caffeine and you will be fine.

There are four different grades of hemorrhoids that you can get. This is nothing more than a classification system set up by doctors so that they can properly diagnose which stage your hemorrhoids are in. This in turn allows them to make a proper decision on which treatment method is best for your situation.

First degree hemorrhoids are often classified as bleeding hemorrhoids. If you notice blood during bowel movements chances are that you may be suffering from this stage of hemorrhoids.

Second degree hemorrhoids are ones that may or may not bleed. In addition, they also protrude from the anal canal, but will not stay inflamed and will disappear on their own.

Third degree hemorrhoids are similar to second degree, but they will not disappear on their own. They need to be manually pushed back into the anal canal by a doctor.

Fourth degree hemorrhoids are ones that protrude from the anal canal and will not disappear on their own. In addition, they cannot be pushed back in manually either. In this case the doctor must come up with the best treatment option which is sometimes surgery.

It is possible to take a guess at what degree of hemorrhoids you are suffering from. But when push comes to shove you are going to need to visit a doctor to find out exactly what is going on. They will be able to run tests that show what degree hemorrhoids you are suffering from, and from there they will be able to put together a treatment plan for you.

If you are suffering from hemorrhoids you are definitely not alone. This is a problem that plagues people from all over. The good thing is that there is a lot of hemorrhoid information available, and treatment options are beginning to advance as well.

Hemorrhoids are also sometimes referred to as piles, and they are nothing more than small lumps of fiber, muscle, and blood vessels. As far as the location of hemorrhoids, they are always found just past the anus, in the anus canal.

The majority of people that seek out hemorrhoid information are the ones that are actually suffering. In most cases, hemorrhoids plague men and women that are in the 45 to 65 year old age; but with that being said they can show up in anybody regardless of age.

The good thing about hemorrhoids is that they are not as dangerous as you may think. Sure, they are quite painful if you have them, but unless they bleed on a consistent basis you do not have to worry about them having too much of a negative effect on your overall health.

Generally speaking hemorrhoids are caused by a bad diet as well as straining too hard during constipation. If you can avoid these two things, then you can avoid getting hemorrhoids. And this is what you want to do because treating them can be more difficult than simply avoiding them.

To find hemorrhoid information you can go to the doctor or simply head online. Either way you should be able to find plenty of information.

If you have hemorrhoids, one way that you can get rid of them is with hemorrhoid laser treatment. Even though this is not always necessary, especially for mild cases, it can still go a long way in helping some people out. If you think that this treatment may be able to help you out, the best thing to do is speak with your doctor. He or she will be able to tell you if your case is severe enough to need hemorrhoid laser treatment.

The process of hemorrhoid laser treatment is quite simple. A beam of light is used in order to cut the hemorrhoids away from the tissue. In turn this leaves you hemorrhoid free without having to undergo any sort of major surgery. In addition, with hemorrhoid laser treatment there is little to no bleeding because the laser also does an excellent job in cauterizing the area.

Since hemorrhoid laser treatment does not require any incisions, the recovery time is much quicker. This makes it easier for people to get back to both their normal life and their normal diet. After the procedures there are no stitches that need to be removed either.

Overall, hemorrhoid laser treatment may be right for you if you are suffering from this problem over and over again. Your doctor will be able to set you up with this treatment, and from there you should be back to normal in no time at all. Almost 100% of the people that undergo hemorrhoid laser treatment comment that they were happy with the end result.

Many people overlook using herbs for hemorrhoids, but this has been proven effective time and time again. This best part about using herbs for hemorrhoids is that you usually never have to leave home in order to do this. So using these herbs is more or less a home remedy if you have the means necessary to find the herbs.

Listed below are a few herbs for hemorrhoids that are most common. Not all of them will work for you, but they are at least worth a try.

1. Birch sap is great for hemorrhoids because it works as an astringent as well as an antibacterial solution. It has been known to have great healing power on problem areas of the skin.

2. Calendula is excellent for skin care because of its cell rejuvenation and anti-inflammatory properties. By using calendula your hemorrhoids will heal faster and not become inflamed as much as you have come to expect.

3. Centella is known to increase circulation while also healing problem areas such as hemorrhoids. It is particularly useful on helping damaged areas of the skin and surrounding tissue.

4. Chickweed can help to soothe and heal hemorrhoids as well as many other skin conditions. In addition it also helps to prevent tissue degeneration.

Overall, herbs for hemorrhoids can be great treatment options. The four herbs listed above are great for this problem, and are worth a try if you are suffering. If you look around, you should be able to find an herb that works for you in no time.

If you are in need of a home cure for hemorrhoids you are not alone. Thousands of people suffer from this problem, but do not want to go to the doctor for one reason or the next. If this sounds like you, the best thing to do is look into finding a home cure for hemorrhoids. The good thing about this is that over the years many people have come up with some home cures that work. Even though not every remedy will work for you, chances are that you may be able to find one that suits your needs.

Applying vitamin E directly to the hemorrhoids is a home remedy that people have been using for years. The way that you can do this is pretty easy. All you need to do is get a vitamin E capsule that is filled with liquid and break it in half. From there you can apply the liquid directly to the area. This will help your hemorrhoids heal quicker.

Another home cure for hemorrhoids that is easy to follow has to do with your diet. If you can keep your stool as soft as possible the chances of your hemorrhoids flaring up will decrease. To do this you should add fiber to your diet, or try to take supplements for this.

If you do not want to see a doctor about your hemorrhoids check out some home cures. This will allow you to get treatment for your problem without having to ever leave the comfort of your own home.

For some people, visiting the doctor is the easiest way to get rid of hemorrhoids. They can give them an idea as to what the problem is, and then tell them how to solve it. But if you are only suffering from a mild form of this, sometimes seeing the doctor is not as necessary as it may seem. In fact, there are many over the counter hemorrhoid treatments that you can rely on to help you out.

If you are searching for over the counter hemorrhoid treatments the best place to go is your local drug store or grocery store. By doing this you should be able to find at least a couple of treatments that can work for you. The most common over the counter hemorrhoid treatments consist of creams that you can apply to the area. These will help to soothe and heal your hemorrhoids.

In addition to creams, there are also hemorrhoid pads that you can buy. These are similar to creams, but the pads are pre-moistened with medicine. This allows you to easy apply to the problem area without too much mess or stress.

Choosing the over the counter hemorrhoid treatment option that is best for you can be difficult. If you are having a hard time making a decision, be sure that you do not do anything that is detrimental to your health. If you have any questions or concerns the best thing to do is hold off and speak with a doctor. But if you are comfortable moving forward, be sure to follow the directions on the packaging. This will point you in the right direction.

A high fiber diet obtained from raw fruits and vegetables is what you need to follow for eliminating and for preventing constipation and is what you need to prevent and cure hemorrhoids.

If you have not been eating a lot of fiber, you need to add fiber slowly to your diet especially if you add it by using bran. Increase your use of bran or other bran cereals over a couple of weeks.

If you add fiber to your diet with fruits and vegetables, you can add them freely without much problem. However, since your stomach will not be used to it, you may experience more gas for a week or two.

Here are some of the foods to start using:

Juices

Juices are good for hemorrhoids but especially dark berry juice mixed with equal parts of apple juice. The dark berry juices to use are:

1. Cherries, blackberries, blueberries

These berries contain “anthocyanins” and “proanthocyanidins” which reduce hemorrhoidal pain and swelling by toning and strengthening the hemorrhoidal veins. Drink at least one glass of this juice mixture each day.

2. Red and black currant berries

Currants are high in Vitamin C, rutin, and minerals. This makes their juice valuable in clearing hemorrhoids. They also have a small amount of the fatty acid GLA, which produce prostaglandin that control body pain. Drink 1-2 glasses a day of red or black currant berries.

Iron foods

Here are the foods that contain iron to help you build up your blood or to keep iron in reserve, if you ever need it.

* Chicken liver, steamed crab
* Kelp
* Prunes
* Dried apricots
* Sunflower seeds
* Pistachios
* Cashews, almonds, sesame seeds
* Baked potatoes
* Cooked Swiss chard
* Raisins
* Cooked broccoli
* Tuna
* Cantaloupe

Cantaloupes are one of the best foods you can eat. It has a good source of vitamins and minerals. It has a high beta-carotene level and has anti-clogging properties.

Ginger, garlic, and onion

Add these three herbs to your diet. Each one of these helps to break down fibrin. Fibrin is a natural substance that helps to repair breaks in tissue, organs, and arteries. However, there are times that your body may over react and deposited too much fibrin causing inflammation in the arteries and especially in the hemorrhoid area.

Oils

At every meal, use olive oil, flax seed oil, and apple cider vinegar in your salad. In your soups, use olive and flax seed oil or other food dishes where they is appropriate. Or at the end of each meal take your capsule of fish oil.

Fish oil is probably one of the most important oils to use daily. Go to my newsletter to read the article I wrote about this nutrient.

Use the following foods to help reduce hemorrhoidal bleeding:

* Alfalfa
* Dark green leafy vegetables
* Blackstrap molasses
* Flax seeds - are high in omega-3 oils, which reduce inflammation and pain. They are also high in fiber.
* Lima and butter beans are high in iron, which help to build more blood. If you have bleeding hemorrhoids, adding lima beans to your diet would be a good choice.

There you have it. Plenty of remedies that can give you temporary relief, reduce bleeding, reduce swelling, eliminate itching, and cure or prevent your hemorrhoids.

There is no local treatment to cure piles. The treatment of the basic cause, namely, chronic constipation, is the only way to get rid of the trouble. To begin with, the whole digestive tract must be given a complete rest for a few days and the intestines throughly cleansed. For this purpose, the patient should adopt an all-fruit diet for at least five days. He should have three meals a day of fresh juicy fruits such as grapes, apple, pear, peach, orange, pineapple and melon. For drinks, unsweetened lemon water or plain water either hot or cold may be taken.

In long-standing and stubborn cases, it will be advisable to have a short fast for four or five days before adopting an all-fruit diet. When on short fast, the patient may have the juice of an orange in a glass of warm water. An enema with lukewarm water should be taken daily in the morning while fasting. This will cleanse the bowels and give much needed rest to the rectal tissues.

After the all-fruit diet, the patient may adopt a diet of natural foods aimed at securing soft stools. The diet should be low in fat and should not contain more than 50 grams of fat. Foods which contain less fat are skimmed milk, buttermilk, curd and cottage cheese made from skimmed milk; all vegetables except cabbage, onions, dried beans and peas; cooked and dried cereals, fruits and fruit juices.

The ideal diet for the patient with piles should consist of fruits like papaya, musk melon, apple and pear; green vegetables, particularly spinach and radish, wheat, porridge, whole meal cereals and milk. Lentils and daals should be avoided, as they constipate the bowels. The patient should also abstain from meat, fish, eggs, cheese, white sugar, sweets, rice, all fried foods, all white flour products, tea and coffee. Dry fruits, such as figs and raisins and coconuts should form part of the diet.

The most important food remedy for piles is dry figs. Three or four figs should be soaked overnight in water after cleaning them thoroughly in hot water. They should be taken first thing in the morning along with the water in which they were soaked. They should also be taken in the evening in similar manner. This treatment should be continued for three or four weeks. The tiny seeds of the fruit possess an excellent quality of stimulating peristaltic movements of intestines. This facilitates easy evacuation of faeces and keeps the alimentary canal clean. The pressure on the anus having thus been relieved, the hemorrhoids also get contracted.

The mango seeds are valuable in bleeding piles. The seeds should be collected during the mango season, dried in the shade and powdered and kept stored for use as medicine. This powder should be given in doses of about one and a half gram to two grams with or without honey twice daily.

The patient should drink at least eight to ten glasses of water a day. He should avoid straining to pass stool.

HEMORRHOIDS HAVE A CONNECTION TO DIGESTIVE MALFUNCTION AND LIFESTYLE

By hemorrhoids the veins in or around the anus, or in the lower rectum are swollen and often also inflamed. Hemorrhoids inside the rectum are called internal hemorrhoids, and those in the anal area external ones. Studies have shown that 1 out of 3 persons below the age of 50 will suffer from hemorrhoids. 1 out of 2 persons over the age of 50 is affected by this condition.

THE SYMPTOMS OF HEMORRHOIDS

Hemorrhoids give these symptoms:

* Swollen veins in the anal area or inside the rectum.
* Itching.
* Tears in the swollen veins and bleeding from the tears.
* Coagulated blood in the veins making hard lumps.
* The hemorrhoids may lead to permanent lumps, scars or thickened area after the initial healing.

THE PROCESS THAT LEADS TO HEMORRHOIDS

Before hemorrhoids form, there is usually an increased pressure in the veins of the anal area, for example due to over-filled intestines, due to constipation and thereby straining to get hard stool out during toilet visits, or due to frequent diarrhoea.

The veins have valves preventing the blood from flowing backwards. The increased pressure makes the segment of a vain right after a valve to swell up like a balloon.

The blood in the swollen vein segment then coagulates, making a hard lump that clogs the vein, and the clogged vein segment then gets infected and inflamed.

The inflamed hemorrhoids may then tear, so that the content empties and the vein bleeds. After emptying its content, the vein heals, but may develop a residing scar.

Other times the content of the hemorrhoids is dissolved and the vein heals without rupturing, but also now a permanent thickened or hardened vein segment may form.

CAUSES OF HEMORRHOIDS

Since hemorrhoids are caused by conditions making increased pressure in the anal veins, like lazy colon, constipation or diarrhoea, the ultimate cause of hemorrhoids are factors causing these conditions. Such factors are:

* Lack of fibre in the daily diet.
* Drinking too less water.
* Consuming too less fat, or the opposite too much fat.
* Lack of daily physical exercise.

Cramping or prolonged tension in the anal sphincter and the muscles around the rectal opening seems to restrict the blood stream from the anal area back towards the heart, and thus also contribute to hemorrhoids. Nervous or psychological processes may cause tension in these muscles.

Hemorrhoids are a very common complication by pregnancy. The hormonal stimulation during pregnancy causes the vessels in the anal area to dilate. The weight of the foetus and the straining during childbirth will further cause a marked pressure increase in the already dilated vessels, with hemorrhoids as a consequence.

Heavy muscular work or heavy lifting can increase the pressure in the anal vessels and contribute to hemorrhoids. Conditions that weaken the tissue in the anal area may also contribute to development of hemorrhoids, for example inflammations, allergies or high age.

HOW CAN YOU CURE HEMORRHOIDS

Sometimes hemorrhoids require surgical or other medical intervention. However, in many cases you can do much yourself to prevent, alleviate or cure the condition. Since cancer or other serious conditions sometimes resemble hemorrhoids or cause hemorrhoids, newly detected hemorrhoids should always be medically investigated.

1. Lifestyle adjustments

Lifestyle measures to prevent or cure an inactive colon, an overfilled colon and constipation, will also help to prevent or cure hemorrhoids. Such measures are:

* A diet with enough fibre, containing whole corn cereals, whole corn bread, vegetables and fruit.

* Using natural oils in the food that gives the intestinal content a soft consistency, like olive oil, sunflower oil, rape oil and soy oil.

* Some daily exercise.

* Drinking enough water.

2. Agents to regulate the digestive function

You can use certain natural products to regulate your digestive functions and this will also help against hemorrhoids:

* Bran added to your diet has high fibre content, and will stimulate the intestines to contract better and pass its content more rapidly.

* Linen seeds will make the stool softer so that it is passed better through the intestines.

3. Topical balms or ointments

You can find topical balms on the market to apply onto the affected area. The balms contain ingredients that penetrate through the skin into the swollen blood vessels and anal muscles, or are transported through the tissue fluids upwards in the intestinal wall. Other ingredients remain on the affected area as a protecting and lubricating sheet. The effects of these ingredients are:

* Alleviating inflammation and itching.

* Stimulating tissue healing.

* Alleviating cramping in the rectal sphincter.

* Dissolving coagulated blood.

* Killing bacteria that cause infection in the affected area.

* Lubricating the rectal opening or the end part of the rectum to make the stool pass more easily.

4. Oral products to treat hemorrhoids

You can also find oral pills or capsules to help against hemorrhoids with the following effects:

* Giving the stool a greater volume so that the intestines manage better to get hold of it and work it through.

* Giving the stool a smoother consistency so that it passes more easily through the intestinal system and rectal opening.

* Alleviating cramping and irregular contractions in intestinal system.

* Stimulating the regular and effective contraction of the intestines.

* Alleviating inflammation and itching.

* Stimulating tissue healing.

5. Enemas

If there is a hard constipation aggravating the hemorrhoids, a small enema can help to empty the colon and the rectum, and also help to cure the hemorrhoids. However, big enemas can increase the intestinal pressure and aggravate the condition.

Hemorrhoids are abnormally swollen veins in the rectum and anus. When these veins are irritated, they cause surrounding membranes to swell, burn, itch, become painful, and even bleed.

Hemorrhoids bleed when the blood vessels rupture, such as from straining during a bowel movement. Because bleeding can be a sign of colon cancer or colon polyps, you should consult with your doctor whenever you have bleeding from the rectum, blood on your stools, or blood in the toilet after a bowel movement.

Hemorrhoids are a very common problem. Most men and women will get them as they get older. Trauma to the anus and any type of straining can make hemorrhoids worse.

Risk factors and causes in addition to constipation and straining with bowel movements include constant sitting, diarrhea, severe or chronic coughing, pregnancy and childbirth, or heavy lifting.

Conservative measures are successful in alleviating symptoms for most patients with hemorrhoidal disease:

Bleeding: Clinical trials have demonstrated that adding fiber to the diet through supplementation with psyllium or appropriate commercially available fiber preparations may significantly reduce bleeding episodes associated with hemorrhoidal disease. Psyllium as well as methylcellulose adds bulk to stools, making them softer and easier to pass.

Irritation and itching (pruritus): Irritation and pruritus associated with hemorrhoids may be treated by various measures including the following:

Warm sitz baths - During sitz baths, the rectal area is immersed in warm water for approximately 10 to 15 minutes two to three times daily. Sitz baths are available in most drugstores; in addition, portable bowls are commercially available that allow for their use in the workplace. The effectiveness of warm sitz baths may be due in part to relaxation of the internal anal sphincter.

Fiber supplementation may help to alleviate itching potentially related to fecal soilage, since their bulking effect may reduce leakage of rectal contents.

Application of various pain-relieving (analgesic) creams:

Creams and suppositories, particularly hydrocortisone, should not be used for longer than one week unless directed by your doctor, since they may result in certain side effects, such as skin rash and inflammation (contact dermatitis) with pain-relieving creams or skin wasting (atrophy) with steroid creams.

Patients who continue to have symptoms despite the conservative measures described above may be candidates for one of various techniques developed to treat symptomatic hemorrhoids. This can include rubber band ligation, sclerotherapy, cryotherapy, laser coagulation or surgery.

Hemorrhoids are one of the most widespread complaints of mankind. Almost all men and women suffer from hemorrhoids at some time in their lives. They can take place at any age, but the possibility of getting hemorrhoids increases drastically after age thirty.

According to a study, 50% of people older than 50 have experienced hemorrhoids at least once in their lives.

You can avoid hemorrhoids by following the following eight tips. However, you should remember that there is no guarantee they won’t develop at some stage.

1. Increase the fiber in your diet. Great sources of fiber are grains, cereals, legumes, lentils, nuts, seeds, fruits and vegetables. Be careful; add fiber to your diet slowly.

2. Avoid straining when defecating. You should also avoid long sessions sitting on the toilet. Forget about reading on the toilet.

3. Drink lots of water to keep the bowels loose. Increased water consumption helps to bulk up and soften stools, making them easier to pass.

4. Avoid long sitting, get up and move regularly. If your work requires you to sit or stand for a prolonged period, take regular stretching breaks that change your position. When relaxing, lie on your side while watching television or reading.

5. Exercise every day. It can be as simple as a walk around the block. Exercise for about thirty minutes on a daily basis.

6. Avoid constipation and diarrhea. Increase water consumption, add fiber to your diet, eat regular meals, exercise daily, do not ignore the urge to go to the bathroom and reduce stress.

7. Avoid sudden heavy lifting. The sudden increase of pressure on the blood vessels can cause the veins in the rectal area to stretch and swell.

8. Keep the anal area clean. Try to remember that the goal is not to wipe the anal area clean but rather, to wash it clean.

People with hemorrhoids have been stereotyped by the comics or comedians to be laughing stocks. That’s why fewer people with hemorrhoids tend to go to a doctor and have back irritations and pain sensations to be consulted by a specialist. Instead they just wait for the pain to subside and just worry about it some other time; especially if the pain becomes chronic. If you are really worried about having hemorrhoids, a careful lifestyle will help a lot. Here are some causes of hemorrhoids that you may have been practicing.

Pregnancy:

Being pregnant causes a woman to increase chances of having hemorrhoids. This is because the rectal veins will be pressured more because of the added weight in the uterus. For women who are already experiencing hemorrhoids, pregnancy can worsen the situation.

Women who are pregnant who do not experience hemorrhoids during pregnancy may still get hemorrhoids during the labor period. This is due to the long and arduous delivery. Another reason is the constipation that a woman experiences after childbirth. Because of the tenderness in the anus and perianal area, women will prolong the bowel movements.

Postponing Bowel Movements:

There are some people who are afraid to crap at other places because the toilet might be dirty. Another reason is that there is just no toilet nearby. So people will just try to force the crap back inside for a couple more hours. Doing this occasionally can do no harm, however if it becomes habitual it might lead to hemorrhoids.

When the crap stays longer in the fecal colon, it becomes harder and drier. This makes it tougher to pass. You will then need to force its way out. The rectal muscles that signal a person its time to crap may also become weaker. Just imagine the situation that you suddenly crap your pants because you didn’t feel anything.

Diseases:

There are lots of diseases that cause hemorrhoids. One disease that can seriously cause hemorrhoids is rectal cancer. This is because rectal cancer will make the person have “false” calls of nature. It will then cause the person to go the bathroom regularly and will strain longer.

People who abuse alcohol will make their livers larger. This will then create extra pressure on the rectal veins. Other diseases that may also cause hemorrhoids are irritable bowel syndrome and intestinal tumor. This disease causes constipation or interfere with normal elimination.

Asthma (Az-muh) is a chronic disease that affects your airways. The airways are the tubes that carry air in and out of your lungs. If you have asthma, the inside walls of your airways are inflamed (swollen). The inflammation (IN-fla-MAY-shun) makes the airways very sensitive, and they tend to react strongly to things that you are allergic to or find irritating. When the airways react, they get narrower, and less air flows through to your lung tissue. This causes symptoms like wheezing (a whistling sound when you breathe), coughing, chest tightness, and trouble breathing, especially at night and in the early morning.

Asthma cannot be cured, but most people with asthma can control it so that they have few and infrequent symptoms and can live active lives.

When your asthma symptoms become worse than usual, it is called an asthma episode or attack. During an asthma attack, muscles around the airways tighten up, making the airways narrower so less air flows through. Inflammation increases, and the airways become more swollen and even narrower. Cells in the airways may also make more mucus than usual. This extra mucus also narrows the airways. These changes make it harder to breathe.

Illustration showing anormal airway and an airway in a person with asthma.

Asthma attacks are not all the same—some are worse than others. In a severe asthma attack, the airways can close so much that not enough oxygen gets to vital organs. This condition is a medical emergency. People can die from severe asthma attacks.

So, if you have asthma, you should see your doctor regularly. You will need to learn what things cause your asthma symptoms and how to avoid them. Your doctor will also prescribe medicines to keep your asthma under control.

Taking care of your asthma is an important part of your life. Controlling it means working closely with your doctor to learn what to do, staying away from things that bother your airways, taking medicines as directed by your doctor, and monitoring your asthma so that you can respond quickly to signs of an attack. By controlling your asthma every day, you can prevent serious symptoms and take part in all activities.

If your asthma is not well controlled, you are likely to have symptoms that can make you miss school or work and keep you from doing things you enjoy. Asthma is one of the leading causes of children missing school.

Constipation, Hemorrhoids or Piles, and inactivity go hand in hand. If you have been constipated for quite a while, chances are you have hemorrhoids. If you are inactive because you just like sitting around or are confined to a bed or chair, then you will have constipation and hemorrhoids.

So if you want to get rid of hemorrhoids, you need to take 3 steps. These three steps can be done at the same time, especially if you have hemorrhoids that are itchy, painful, and are in need of attention.

First you need to do something about your hemorrhoids. There are many different natural remedies for reducing, relieving, and eliminating hemorrhoids. Since everyone is different in his or her chemical make-up and nutritional requirements, one remedy will not work for everyone.

Each of you has to find out what remedy works best for you. Use the remedy that feels right for you, the remedy where you have the ingredients, or that one based on the severity of your hemorrhoids.

Here’s one remedy you can try - Collinsonia Root Powder Collinsonia is a vegetable, known as “Stone Root” because of it hardness. It comes in powder and liquid. Stone Root is found in Canada and in Florida. It has been found quite helpful in aiding hemorrhoids.

Linda Clark in her book called, Linda Clark’s Handbook of natural remedies for common ailments, 1976, says this about collinsonia root. “I have heard people rave enthusiastically about the results of this remedy, which works quickly.” It’s benefits come from,

Supporting blood vessel contractions and flow

Reducing irritation and inflammation of veins

Providing a tonic effect on weaken veins, capillaries, and tissue

Improving digestion

Helping to keep mucus membranes healthy
Secondly, you need to do something about becoming regular and to eliminate mild or chronic constipation. To start with, do these simple changes in your diet.

Eat fruits as a snack between meals – oranges, apples, bananas, prunes, grapefruits, mangos, watermelon, grapes, cherries.

Stop eating bread, flour products, milk, sodas, back off on eating a lot of protein.

Eat a few serving of vegetables during the day – green lettuce, celery, carrots, and so on

Drink at least 2-3 glasses of water every day or drink more water than you normally do.
The third thing you need to do is add some exercise to your daily routine. It can be any thing as long it is something you like and you do it regularly – walking, swimming, or rebounding. Don’t over exercise; all you need is 10 – 20 minutes per day.

There you have it, the threes step to getting rid of hemorrhoids – a hemorrhoid natural remedy, a slight change in your diet, and 10 minutes of daily exercise that you like.

There are many drugstore and alternative Internet products for treating hemorrhoids. Most of the products are not made to cure or eliminate hemorrhoids but to give you temporary relief of itching, pain, swelling or bleeding. I don’t recommend using any type of product that is not natural or that comes from a drugstore.

If the product contains petrochemicals, additives, coloring, dyes, or other chemicals, which enhance its appearance and feel, I would not use them. Most, if not all, of these chemicals will be absorbed into your body where your organs of elimination will have to deal with eliminating them.

All products whether drugs, drugstore medications, or natural formulations use chemicals, substances, oils, and herbs that have the following properties:

Anesthetics – suppresses pain and gives relief…any name with the suffix “caine” like tetracaine

Analgesics – suppresses and give pain relief – some of them are Anacin, Tylenol with Codeine, OxyContin, Darvocet, Ultracet

Vasoconstrictors – helps to narrow or constrict hemorrhoidal veins…any name with the suffix “rine” like phenylephrine

Lubricants – provide lubrication in the colon to relieve constipation – mineral oil, flax seed oil, castor, oil olive oil

Astringents – help to tighten tissue, which have been pushed out by hemorrhoid action – zinc oxide, witch hazel, calamine

Keratolytics – help to remove excess hemorrhoidal tissue. They are compounds of sulfur and salicylic acid
Many of the drugstore medications have anesthetics. They can aggravate and irritate the hemorrhoids you’re trying to eliminate. If you are using one of these drugstore medications, consider using a more natural remedy.

In 1975 Carl I. Flath, wrote a book called The Miracle Nutrient – How Dietary Fiber Can Save Your Life. In his book he talks about the effectiveness of drugstore suppositories,

“Suppositories quickly work their way up in the rectum beyond the location of most internal hemorrhoids, and so are of limited value in reducing local pain. As antiseptics they are essentially worthless, since the surface areas they are supposed to protect are under constant exposure to new bacteria….

Anesthetic agents do offer temporary relief from local irritations and pain… Neither the suppositories nor the ointments, however, do anything whatever to correct the basic cause of hemorrhoids—constipation.”

A lot of people don’t even know they have hemorrhoids. The rectum is not an area you can readily see. Some times you don’t know you have hemorrhoids until you see blood in the toilet water after a bowel movement, when you start to have pain or discomfort in the rectum, or when you feel extra tissue around the rectum.

So how do you develop hemorrhoids? For sure, constipation is not the only way you can get hemorrhoids. Here are some additional ways:

Alcoholism or drinking to many alcoholic drinks

Being pregnant and not eating enough fiber

Doing daily heavy lifting and holding your breath while you do it

Eating excessive processed foods, which are low in fiber and move slowly through your colon.

General body weakness, which will affect the colon function

Having a predisposition to constipation or inheriting a weakness in the colon and rectum area * Holding fecal matter too long in the rectum causing pressure to buildup in the rectum veins - postponing a bowel movement

Having a weak liver, which reduces the amount of bile released into the intestines. Bile helps to active peristaltic action.

Having inflammation in the rectum that causes you to have constipation

Irregular eating patterns

Lack of protein leading to weak tissues and slow healing of wounds

Not eating foods that keeps you constipation free such as fiber, vegetables, essential fatty acids, protein, water.

Not getting the right vitamins and minerals in your food.

Being overweight

Poor muscle tone in the anal area from lack of exercise

Pressure on rectum veins from cysts or tumor in the colon

Sitting in a chair at home, at work, in a car, or in a truck for long periods

Using laxatives to the point where your colon no longer works properly and you end up with constipation
As you can see there are many reasons that you can develop hemorrhoids. And most of them relate to the function of your colon. If you want hemorrhoid relief look at the list and see which condition or situation relates to you and try to make changes in these conditions. In addition to changes add new foods that will help your colon to work better.

Six weeks ago I received an email from a customer, telling me how much he and his son have benefitted from my teachings - and how they'd "like to take me to lunch" when they came to Florida in late March.

At that point a red flag went up.

I put the red flag down a few seconds later, and I'll tell you why shortly, but before I do, you may wonder WHY the "red flag."

Well, the long and the short of it is that success or "fame" brings with it a lot of other things, and if you don't have your priorities in order, you can really get thrown you out of whack.

Sometime ago I realized that in order for me to function, I needed to withdraw from and not do many of the things that others would like me to do. Like take me to lunch; or speak to me by phone - or exchange emails ad infinitum. There's just no way I could keep up with the demand, so my solution was to stop doing all of it.

And so, it's no secret to many that I am a private person. Truth is I have to be to preserve my own health and well-being. I have to be in order to give my family the love and attention they deserve. In my life, after my health and my family, everything else comes in, at best, third.

This is why a "red flag" goes up when I hear the magic words, "take you to lunch."

Some situations, however, are DIFFERENT. And this one most certainly was.

The man writing me, Tobin Clark, was the father of an 18 year old boy, Corey, who was born with cerebral palsy.

About 15 months ago, after struggling in pain for years, Corey underwent bilateral hip replacement surgery (that's both at the same time - OUCH).

Being I knew something about this surgery, imagine my surprise when the father followed by saying, "And Corey has been following your Combat Conditioning program with great success."

What????????

THIS, I had to see.

So I contacted Tobin and told him that although he and Corey wanted to meet me - I was really more interested in metting THEM.

I said, "We may have time for lunch, but first I want to see what your son can do. Tell him to bring workout gear."

Tobin wrote back and said they would be glad to.

Last week I met them for a workout. When I walked through the double-doors to greet them, young Corey stood next to his father, looking at me, holding himself up with crutches.

I walked toward him, held my hand out and looked him in the eye. Corey took one hand off his crutches and shook my hand.

The three of us went into a workout area. I'm still wondering 'How can this guy do Combat Conditioning?'

When we stood next to the mat, Tobin told me that Corey was able to do handstand pushups and Hindu pushups and the bridge fairly well. Naturally though, he had trouble with the squats.

"Handstand pushups???" I thought. "Well, let me see how you do them."

Corey put down his crutches, slowly walked toward the wall and got down on the floor. His father stood between his legs, grabbed hold of his legs and in an instant, Corey was in the handstand position.

He started cranking out the reps while my wife took pictures. Both of us are looking at each other and saying, "Wow."

After Corey did about 12 reps without much effort, I told him "that's good enough."

I then worked with him on some exercises he could do in place of Hindu squats - giving him three variations of the wall chair as well as teaching him how to breathe deeply when he held each position.

Corey was amazed at the difference. I was even more amazed at his determination.

Then we went onto the mat and Corey showed me his gymnastic bridge. Unreal.

"When he started," said Tobin, "he couldn't get his head off the mat."

I gave Corey some pointers on improving the bridge, then we moved onto various styles of pushups and situps.

While he was doing the exercises I prescribed, Tobin said that Corey began my program last November. He said that Corey was lifting weights to get stronger, and as a result of getting his bench press up to 180 (Corey weighs 130), he hurt his lower back and his shoulder.

But once he started following Combat Conditioning, the pain went away and Corey got stronger. In fact, after six weeks Corey decided to test himself on the bench, to see how it felt. To his surprise, he benched 200; twenty pounds better than his previous best.

When he told the strength coaches, one said, "Whatever you're doing, keep doing it."

The other said, "There's just no way you went up 20 pounds on the bench just from doing pushups." No matter how much Corey insisted, the coach refused to believe it. Too bad for him.

Near the end of the session Tobin told me that occasionally someone at school gets the "wise" idea to pick on Corey.

"You're kidding me?" I said.

"No," said Corey. "Last month a kid pushed me from behind in the hallway and his friend, who was in front, tried to trip me."

"What happened?" I asked. "Did you get knocked to the floor?"

"No, I caught myself before that could happen," said Corey. "And I just starting whaling on the guys until my friend pulled me away."

"Wait a second? Your friend pulled you away? What exactly were you doing to whale on them?"

"I took my crutches and started whacking them in the shins. And when one leg reacts in pain I whack the other one. I just keep going until they're on the ground in agony."

I laughed uncontrollably. "Serves those s.o.b.'s right," I said.

After the workout I agreed to continue our conversation over lunch. I spent over an hour teaching Corey how all that has happened to him can be used to help others around the country who have had the same problem.

Last week I received an email from Corey. It reads as follows:

===================================

"Mr. Furey, Thanks for letting me meet with you and talking with you. What you have done for me I find hard to put in words. It has been a life change for me. I feel blessed by God to know that people like you are out there and are willing to help. Thanks for everything."

Corey Clark

===================================


I have written this story as inspiration for all of us, myself included.

I have also written it because it is the perfect situation to examine when you catch yourself making excuses about why you can't do it.

Can't do it????

I think Corey Clark would have something to say about that.

He truly is kicking butt and taking names.

One of the criticisms leveled at me in regard to Combat Conditioning and my other products is that I use "hype" to promote them. Strange notion, indeed.

Those who send me their testimonials don't feel like what they are sending me is "hype.: They know it is the truth - and they're living proof. I'll give you some more "proof" in a moment, but first ...

If you want to "stay motivated" and be inspired to better all your previous bests, then make me your online personal trainer. Along with my team of professionals, we will give you all the advice you need to get into the best shape of your life. For more information on this program go to mattfurey


Okay, onto a couple important emails:

Just yesterday I received an email from another satisfied customer, who had this to say:

Matt,
I just read the e-mail you sent out yesterday. 71-year old Don C.'s e-mail to you just delighted me.

I am 61. I ordered your Combat Conditioning book about a year ago. I had been going to the gym for several months with my son. While I was building up somewhat, I simply wasn't interested in "bulking up," or getting "ripped."

What attracted my attention to your ad among all the other "stuff" out there was your reference to "functional" strength. That clicked with me because that's what I wanted. My main interest is my health; I want to be healthy. I look around me and see so many people my age who are weak and sickly. It seems that their primary topic of conversation is which ache or pain is uppermost in their mind this week! Yech!

Long story short, I decided to simultaneously stop going to the gym and start Combat Conditioning in the comfort, convenience and privacy of my living room. I started with the Royal Court. Well, I started at it. I could only do about 8 hindu pushups. I couldn't make it to 20 squats. The bridge only lasted a few seconds with the top of my head on the mat.

This was AFTER several months of going to the gym at least three times a week!

I slowly increased the reps until I suddenly realized that I was spending nearly an hour a day at it. Now, I understand that an hour a day is nothing for you but my primary interest is my health as I enter my "golden" years, not competition. So, I modified my schedule.

Here's my schedule now:

Yesterday, I did 250 hindu squats touching my fingertips to the mat every five. Then, after a short rest, a bridge for 12 long, deep breaths taking two minutes or more. Then, I kick back with my feet nearly touching the floor above my head. Then, another bridge for 10 breaths and another kickover. It's during this second bridge that I can either touch my nose to the mat or get very close.

This morning, I did 50 hindu pushups. After a short rest, I stood near the wall, bent backwards to touch the wall at about waist level and touched my nose to the wall below that. Pushing off from the wall to straighten up, I then bent over forwards to touch the floor with my fingertips. The second set, I touched my second knuckles to the floor. The third time, I touched my fists to the floor. Then, back on the mat, I did six reverse pushups.

I alternate those two routines for six days and then take a day off. While it doesn't meet the standards needed for competition, it works for me. I look good and feel good. I'm wearing size 34 jeans again after having worn (and filled) 36's for a few years.

I am so grateful I found your program. I plan to continue it until the day comes that I simply cannot anymore. I am convinced that staying strong and healthy will enable me to fight off all kinds of debilitating illnesses for a far longer time.

Thank you for helping me be healthy!

Ed Hill, 61
Phoenix, AZ

M.F.: Ed, all I can say is I am proud as hell of you. You are a role model for all to follow. And I don't consider one word of what you wrote to be "hype." Fitness truth is better than fiction.

Now, before I close this message, another email from a reader who felt that I didn't answer a question he asked of me earlier in the week.

Here is his email to me:



Matt,

About the e-mail I copied and pasted below. You didn't answer his question about why you look so ripped. I've seen this as one complaint (of many) that you are all hype because "you couldn't possibly get so ripped doing only bodyweight exercises". I think it would serve you well to answer the question more specifically (and I would appreciate an answer too).

By the way, really enjoyed the e-mail from Don, the 70 year old who has bad knees and did 225 squats in a row. Makes me feel bad that I can barely do 50, and I'm 27 years old. To me, this is proof that your system works.

Nathan Ham



========================

Matt,
I just purchased "Combat Conditioning" book and videos and I'm pretty impressed. I've finished the book and just finished watching the videos so I'm ready to start. I've been lifting weights for several years and am looking at your program as a viable alternative. I do have one question so far, though. In the book you mention that combat conditioning will not cause a person's physique to look "ripped" like a bodybuilder, but in your picture on the website you look about as ripped as most of the drug-free bodybuilders I've seen. Can you explain this to me?

Thanks!
David Dann

========================



M.F.: David, I got the "ripped" look I had in the picture from following a dietary regime that I call the Furey Fat Loss Diet. I also got it from hill sprints and bodyweight calisthenics. Although I used to lift weights, I never got "ripped" from the practice. I always have gotten better results with bodyweight calisthenics.

And when you combine good diet with these exercises, it works even faster.

Now, for a moment, consider the gymnasts. Take a look at their bodies and how ripped they are.

Consider professional dancers. Consider those who compete in "diving." Consider those who box.

Almost without exception, these athletes do NOT lift weights. So why are THEY ripped?

It is diet and exercise. Simple as that.

But again, the point of Combat Conditioning is NOT getting "ripped." It is the acquiring of "functional strength, endurance and flexiblity."

Most importantly it is for the acquiring of robust health and vitality. To me, that's what it's all about. The "look" means nothing without health.

I started my athletic career as both swimmer and wrestler. Sort of an odd combination, don't you think?

At any rate, one of the things I began doing as a young boy, that I was never formally taught, was a very simple but powerful task that I, sorry to say, had to "relearn" later in life.

Here tis: Just before I went to sleep at night, I made a list of the exercises I was going to do the next day and how many I would do of each.

The next day, upon arising, I would glance at my list, then get to work. Oftentimes I began the day with a 2-3 mile run, followed by pushups, situps, pullups, dips, rope skipping - and so on.

After college I dropped the practice of making a list - opting instead to simply "remember" what to do.

Now, I'm not saying I "forgot" what to do when I didn't have a list. What I am saying is that "the list" represented specific goals I wanted to accomplish in my workout.

And when I referred to it - then made a little "check" mark next to each task I finished, I found that the practice built confidence, power and a feeling of momentum.

A couple years ago, during one of my frequent visits to my second home on China's Hainan Island, I went bowling with my brother-in-law. It was the first time I had picked up a bowling ball since 1997.

Anyway, the first day we just bowled - and as I'm not an avid bowler, and not very technical, I was happy to hit a 147 for my high of the day.

Then I got to thinking. The best score I had ever gotten in bowling was 154, and that was back in high school, when we went once a week for a six or eight-week period.

So I looked for and found a slip of paper on the desk, asked myself what score I would like to hit before leaving to come back to the states. My answer was 180. Considering I rarely bowl and have "caveman" technique, this was quite a stretch.

Nevertheless, I folded the paper and put it in my jacket.

Over the course of the next four days, my brother-in-law and I went bowling every day. And my scores were, pretty much, what they had been for 20+ years.

But then, on the last day of my trip, in the third game, I was on fire. Nearly every frame was a strike or a spare. The numbers were adding quickly and I sensed I would meet my goal.

After the final score was tallied by computer, I nearly fell over when I saw I hit 182. What a thrill. I pulled the slip of paper out and showed my brother-in-law. He looked at me, smiled and said, "You're lucky."

Although I smiled back and said, "Yes, I'm very lucky," I disagreed. It wasn't luck. It was mental preparation and the science of achieving predetermined goals.

I took the folded paper out of my jacket and put a check mark on it. Done.

In the interim, start making a list before your workout and watch how much you instantly improve.

When I was a kid and first heard talk around the neighborhood about "getting muscles" - one of the older boys said, "If you want to build muscle you do isometrics. If you want to tone muscle, you lift weights."

At the time I had no idea whether there was a shred of truth to this or not.

All I knew was that the big, huge, freak-show bodybuilders lifted weights and their muscles were big.

Meanwhile, you had guys like Charles Atlas, who championed isometric training, running around with titles like, "The World's Most Perfectly Developed Man" - and he didn't look at all like the freaks, nor were his muscles huge.

So whatever he was building, it wasn't as big as the monsters who were supposedly just "toning."

Then again, if you were to analyze the "sub-subculture" of body builders, you'd find the following:

1. Despite their big muscles, most bodybuilders are not very strong, have little endurance, and, especially during contest time, are very unhealthy. Charles Atlas, on the other hand, may not have been big, but he was well built, he was natural - and he was freaky strong. Atlas, incidentally, also did a lot of calisthenics as well as hand balancing, just like you do with Combat Conditioning.
2. Bodybuilders, for the most part, rely on drugs and supplements to gain their size (some are so vain they will even have implants put into their calves and pecs, making them look the part). Then they use "baby" weights at high repetitions to blow up the size of their pecs, arms, legs and lats - giving them what Karl Gotch called "counterfeit" muscles.

3. Bodybuilders, despite their talk about health, have bodies that are a collection of aches and pains. Moreover, their body quickly falls apart under any sort of REAL athletic activity. They are the first to get injured in a combat type of sport and yet - ironically, are the first to tell you that weights "help prevent injury."

So much for getting big muscles with weights. Or as my neighbor erroneously stated, "toning" muscles.

Now let's look at Isometrics. Yes, isometrics will build muscle. My neighbor was right about that. But the muscle you build with isometrics is not "freak" muscle. It is natural muscle. It is functional muscle - it is muscle that's good for "sumthun" other than, er ... posing.

Isometrics also program your muscles from the inside-out. You actually get in touch with your body in such a way that you can "command" your muscles, at a deep level, to do what you want - and they'll listen.

Isometrics also crank up your metabolism, helping you burn fat much faster than weights.

When isometrics are done in conjunction with Combat Conditioning, you can expect some major breakthroughs to take place, like Bob Lucarelli, who dropped 138 pounds and got into the best shape of his life.

“Common workout mistakes” has always been a very popular topic in fitness publications. But no matter how many times this subject is re-hashed, you almost always hear about the same half a dozen or so mistakes, including poor form, overtraining, going too heavy, not stretching, not warming up, yadda, yadda yadda. Ironically, you seldom hear about the biggest mistakes of all. I call these humongous bloopers “bonehead mistakes” because once you start to analyze and think about them, they’re really just common sense and they all seem so obvious… except of course to the person doing it… who is often quite oblivious until someone else points it out to them... then the light goes on and it's like... "Doh!"

Before I begin the countdown, (in no particular order), there’s one more gripe I have about the treatment this subject has been given in the past: Most of the attention has been put on the mistakes, but very little on the solutions. It’s all too easy to point fingers and say, “Don’t do that” and “Shame on you, dummy” but only 1% of your time should be spent on problems. 99% should be spent on solutions. So in that spirit, after I bring each mistake to your attention, I’ll give you a solution-oriented training tip to help you avoid boneheadedness and join the elite group who “kick butt” in the gym at every workout…

Bonehead workout mistake #1: "Winging it"

“Winging it” means having no written goals or plans, no training journal and no way of “keeping score.” It’s when you just show up at the gym day after day and do whatever strikes your fancy, whatever machine happens to be available, or whatever you’ve become habitually accustomed to doing. Winging it is when you don’t know where you are, where you’re going or how you’re going to get there - but you start your journey anyway – no compass, no roadmap. It’s been said that “Action without planning is the biggest cause of failure,” and I believe that statement is 100% accurate.

Kick butt workout tip #1: Develop a strategic plan

Successful people never “wing it,” they always have a plan. Strategic planning is a never ending process and includes: Assessment (where am I now?), goal setting (where do I want to go?), creating a plan or strategy (How will I get where I want to go?), executing the plan (what action steps must I take daily to reach my goal?), and measuring results (how will I know if I’m moving towards my goal and how will I know when I’ve reached it?). Boneheads “wing it.” Butt–kickers have a master plan and goals for every workout.
- - - - -

Bonehead workout mistake #2: Repeating the same workouts… without progressive overload

In one respect, repeating the same workouts is important – it’s called “continuity.” Continuity means that to experience an adaptive response (more muscle, more strength, less fat and all that other good stuff), you must a repeat a certain modality or exercise consistently over a long enough period of time to allow the adaptive response to occur and to reap the full benefits (rather than changing exercises at every workout). That type of repetition is good. The bonehead mistake is when you do the same exercises, same reps, same weight, same everything, week after week, without ever challenging yourself to do more than you’ve done before. If your muscles could talk they would say, “Yawn…. Did that, done that, been there… we’re just going to stay exactly the way we are… no need to get bigger or stronger today.”

Kick butt workout tip #2: Strive to beat your previous workouts

Muscle growth and strength increases occur when you place demands on your body above and beyond what it has experienced in the past. Your body responds to this progressive overload by getting stronger in order to handle this type of demand in the future. Your objective at almost every workout is to set goals to beat what you did during the previous one. If you can’t add more weight, it could be as simple as one more rep with the same weight or the same sets/reps/weight in less time. It could also mean one more minute of cardio, one level higher on a stairclimber, or half a percent steeper incline on the treadmill. Continuous and never-ending improvement is the name of the game.
- - - - -

Bonehead workout mistake #3: Starving yourself

A calorie deficit is the only way to lose body fat. However, the caloric deficit must be kept small. When calories are cut too much, or held too low for too long, your body thinks you are starving and sets into motion a series of metabolic and hormonal events, which ultimately result in muscle loss, slow metabolism and plateaus. Your body is like a power plant or furnace and when you don’t feed the fire, your metabolic flame dwindles to a flicker, producing less heat and less energy. That’s why not eating enough is one of the biggest mistakes of all.

Kick butt workout tip #3: Eat more, burn more

Did it ever occur to you that if you exercise more you can eat more and that this is a more effective fat loss strategy than eating less and exercising less? To lose body fat, you must create a calorie deficit. A deficit can be created by exercising more, eating less, or ideally, with a combination of both. The best combination of all is a small decrease in calories accompanied by a large increase in activity. Think about it: Decreasing calories slows your metabolism. Increasing calories increases your metabolism. Exercise increases your metabolism.

Therefore, eat more, exercise more = double increase in metabolism. Eat less, don’t exercise = double decrease in metabolism. This is the entire premise of my Burn The Fat Feed The Muscle System and that’s why the program is so powerful and has helped tens of thousands of people lose fat without depriving themselves. Yes, starving is for boneheads.
- - - - -

Bonehead workout mistake #4: Skipping scheduled workouts

A great body doesn’t happen overnight. Successful body transformation is the cumulative result of dozens or even hundreds of successful workouts. Each workout brings you one small step closer to your goal. Each workout missed takes you one small step backwards. Most people underestimate the cumulative effect of each small step. They figure that “It just doesn’t matter… it’s only one workout.” If you don’t think that one little workout matters, then think about the humble termite; they’re such itty bitty little creatures and they take such itty bitty little bites, yet when enough little bites are taken, an entire building can come crumbling down.

Kick butt workout tip #4: Be disciplined and consistent

Not only do you slip backwards physically when you skip even one scheduled workout, perhaps more devastating is the effect on your mind and character. Every time you successfully complete a scheduled workout, you build your discipline and self esteem. When your self esteem increases, it makes you feel good and that stimulates a positive self-reinforcing cycle of even more discipline, confidence and action. Everything you do helps or hurts. Every workout counts. Treat your word as law. When you say you’re going to work out... WORK OUT!

Bonehead workout mistake #5: Focusing on strengths, favorite exercises and favorite body parts, neglecting weaknesses

Most people have a favorite body part or exercise. But playing favorites in your training can lead to big problems. An unbalanced, asymmetrical physique is one of them, but having a great upper body with toothpick legs is the least of your worries. Strengthening and stretching some muscle groups but not others is a great way to cause poor posture, muscular imbalance, dysfunction, strains, pulls, tears or ruptures.

Kick butt workout tip #5: Train for functional balance and aesthetic balance

Non-boneheads train every muscle group for symmetrical, visually pleasing development. However, “balance” is more than cosmetic. Everyone – athletes, bodybuilders, and recreational exercisers – must also train for functional balance to prevent injury and maintain optimal function and range of movement in every joint and muscle group. Every plane of movement and angle of movement must be trained. Flexors must be balanced with extensors. Front to back movements must be balanced with rotational and side to side movements. Prime movers, antagonists and stabilizers must all be strengthened. Always stretch, strengthen and build to the point of total body balance.
- - - - -

Bonehead workout mistake #6: Using mostly machines and single joint/isolation exercises

So you joined the gym and you hit “the circuit”… you know, that section in the gym with all those fancy, chrome-plated, “technologically advanced” weight stack-pulley, hydraulic or computerized machines all lined up in neat rows… far, far away from the barbells and squat racks (which you never touch), and which is designed to give you an “easy, safe, injury-free, effective full-body workout.” The machines may be easy, but most machines aren’t as safe or effective as they’re made out to be.

Kick butt workout tip #6: Use mostly free weights and compound, multi joint exercises

For lower body, squat and lunge variations are tops. For upper body, barbell and dumbbell presses, chin ups and rows are king. These and similar “BIG” exercises stimulate more muscle fiber, stir up more fat burning and muscle building hormones, and have more carry-over to real world and sporting activities than machines. Although weight stack machines are safe with respect to the fact that you can’t drop a barbell on your head, they’re ultimately NOT as safe as free weights because they don’t develop the stabilizing muscles and functional strength that protect you from injury. A few machines and isolation exercises mixed into a balancedr program is fine, especially if you have bodybuilding goals, but focusing on compound and free weight exercises gives you far more bang for your buck than any machine ever created.
- - - - -

Bonehead workout mistake #7: No mental preparation

This mistake goes hand in hand with mistake number one (winging it). You see, preparation is more than setting goals, writing out plans, and scheduling workouts. Preparation is also mental, yet most people haven’t the slightest idea just how powerful the mind is or how to harness its power. Psychologists and “brain scientists” have proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that the subconscious mind cannot tell the difference between an experience that is real and one that is imagined. Failure to take advantage of this discovery is a mistake of enormous magnitude.

Kick butt workout tip #7: Use visualization and mental rehearsal daily

Arnold Schwarzenneger, Jack Nicklaus, Andre Agassi and countless other sports legends have written and spoken extensively about their regular use of mental imagery. Those who succeeded, but claimed not to use such techniques as “visualization” were surely using it unconsciously or in a non-formalized manner. I would suggest you consciously and deliberately use this technique in the following manner: Twice a day, once in the morning and once at night, get relaxed, close your eyes and form mental images of yourself having the body you’ve always wanted, completing perfect workouts with motivation and enthusiasm and reaching all your goals. These images will penetrate your subconscious mind and literally program your brain to activate your body for total success.
- - - - -

Bonehead workout mistake #8: Not eating immediately after training

Not eating anything after your workout (or waiting 2-3 hours to eat), because (a) you don’t feel like eating, (b) you don’t have anything to eat with you, (c) you heard that you get leaner if you don’t eat after your workout… is one of the most boneheaded things you can ever do!

Kick butt workout tip #8: Eat protein AND carbs (not just carbs) immediately after your workout

Much research has been done on the topic of post workout nutrition in recent years and the scientific literature is almost unanimous in its findings: At one time carbohydrates were emphasized after a workout. Other people insisted that protein is more important. The truth is, the optimal post workout meal includes quickly digesting protein and carbohydrates and is consumed immediately after training during the period known as the “post-workout window of opportunity.” Although the ideal amount and type of protein and carbs is still debated, the studies have shown that proper post workout nutrition increases protein synthesis, suppresses cortisol, replenishes glycogen, and enhances recovery.
- - - - -

Bonehead workout mistake #9: Comparing yourself to others

Always trying to one-up the next guy is bonehead behavior. Comparing yourself to others is a great way to lower your self esteem and stay perpetually frustrated, unhappy and dissatisfied!

Kick butt workout tip #9: Compare yourself to nobody but yourself

Legendary UCLA basketball coach John Wooden always advised his players, “Never try to be better than someone else; but never cease trying to be the best you can be. That is under your control. The other isn’t.” So why not focus on competing with yourself? Compare yourself to yourself. Improve yourself. Work on progress and forward movement. Become better than you used to be. Ultimately, competitive sports are most valuable to the degree you use them to better yourself, not to beat others.
- - - - -

Bonehead workout mistake #10: Making excuses

Many people, when they don’t get the result they want, or when things don’t go the way they expect, insist it’s not their fault. When they don’t lose any body fat, it’s their genetics or "The diet just doesn’t work!” When they fall off the wagon, it’s their friends and family’s fault – “They just don’t support me… they even tempt me with junk food and eat in front of me.” When they miss workouts, it’s their boss’s fault – “I just don’t have time with so much work being piled on me at the office.” No matter what the situation, the boneheads never even consider that the problem is staring right back at them in the mirror – someone or something outside of them is always responsible.

Kick butt workout tip #10: Accept total, 100% responsibility for all your results – good or bad

When you win, you don’t attribute it to luck or give someone else the credit for it. You proudly say, “I created it… I did it… that was me!” However, if you want to take the credit for your wins, you must also take credit for your losses and say, “Yep, I created it… I did it… that was me!” Boneheads want to take credit for their successes but not accept responsibility for their failures. Ultimately, that turns them into nothing but big losers. Winners and successful people became successful because they learned three magic words: I AM RESPONSIBLE. Once you claim responsibility for every result in your life – the good and the bad - the feeling of empowerment and liberation that comes over you is beyond description. For the first time in your life, you realize that YOU are in control. From that moment on – and not a second sooner – you become the creator of circumstance rather than a victim of it.

“Common workout mistakes” has always been a very popular topic in fitness publications. But no matter how many times this subject is re-hashed, you almost always hear about the same half a dozen or so mistakes, including poor form, overtraining, going too heavy, not stretching, not warming up, yadda, yadda yadda. Ironically, you seldom hear about the biggest mistakes of all. I call these humongous bloopers “bonehead mistakes” because once you start to analyze and think about them, they’re really just common sense and they all seem so obvious… except of course to the person doing it… who is often quite oblivious until someone else points it out to them... then the light goes on and it's like... "Doh!"

Before I begin the countdown, (in no particular order), there’s one more gripe I have about the treatment this subject has been given in the past: Most of the attention has been put on the mistakes, but very little on the solutions. It’s all too easy to point fingers and say, “Don’t do that” and “Shame on you, dummy” but only 1% of your time should be spent on problems. 99% should be spent on solutions. So in that spirit, after I bring each mistake to your attention, I’ll give you a solution-oriented training tip to help you avoid boneheadedness and join the elite group who “kick butt” in the gym at every workout…

Bonehead workout mistake #1: "Winging it"

“Winging it” means having no written goals or plans, no training journal and no way of “keeping score.” It’s when you just show up at the gym day after day and do whatever strikes your fancy, whatever machine happens to be available, or whatever you’ve become habitually accustomed to doing. Winging it is when you don’t know where you are, where you’re going or how you’re going to get there - but you start your journey anyway – no compass, no roadmap. It’s been said that “Action without planning is the biggest cause of failure,” and I believe that statement is 100% accurate.

Kick butt workout tip #1: Develop a strategic plan

Successful people never “wing it,” they always have a plan. Strategic planning is a never ending process and includes: Assessment (where am I now?), goal setting (where do I want to go?), creating a plan or strategy (How will I get where I want to go?), executing the plan (what action steps must I take daily to reach my goal?), and measuring results (how will I know if I’m moving towards my goal and how will I know when I’ve reached it?). Boneheads “wing it.” Butt–kickers have a master plan and goals for every workout.
- - - - -

Bonehead workout mistake #2: Repeating the same workouts… without progressive overload

In one respect, repeating the same workouts is important – it’s called “continuity.” Continuity means that to experience an adaptive response (more muscle, more strength, less fat and all that other good stuff), you must a repeat a certain modality or exercise consistently over a long enough period of time to allow the adaptive response to occur and to reap the full benefits (rather than changing exercises at every workout). That type of repetition is good. The bonehead mistake is when you do the same exercises, same reps, same weight, same everything, week after week, without ever challenging yourself to do more than you’ve done before. If your muscles could talk they would say, “Yawn…. Did that, done that, been there… we’re just going to stay exactly the way we are… no need to get bigger or stronger today.”

Kick butt workout tip #2: Strive to beat your previous workouts

Muscle growth and strength increases occur when you place demands on your body above and beyond what it has experienced in the past. Your body responds to this progressive overload by getting stronger in order to handle this type of demand in the future. Your objective at almost every workout is to set goals to beat what you did during the previous one. If you can’t add more weight, it could be as simple as one more rep with the same weight or the same sets/reps/weight in less time. It could also mean one more minute of cardio, one level higher on a stairclimber, or half a percent steeper incline on the treadmill. Continuous and never-ending improvement is the name of the game.
- - - - -

Bonehead workout mistake #3: Starving yourself

A calorie deficit is the only way to lose body fat. However, the caloric deficit must be kept small. When calories are cut too much, or held too low for too long, your body thinks you are starving and sets into motion a series of metabolic and hormonal events, which ultimately result in muscle loss, slow metabolism and plateaus. Your body is like a power plant or furnace and when you don’t feed the fire, your metabolic flame dwindles to a flicker, producing less heat and less energy. That’s why not eating enough is one of the biggest mistakes of all.

Kick butt workout tip #3: Eat more, burn more

Did it ever occur to you that if you exercise more you can eat more and that this is a more effective fat loss strategy than eating less and exercising less? To lose body fat, you must create a calorie deficit. A deficit can be created by exercising more, eating less, or ideally, with a combination of both. The best combination of all is a small decrease in calories accompanied by a large increase in activity. Think about it: Decreasing calories slows your metabolism. Increasing calories increases your metabolism. Exercise increases your metabolism.

Therefore, eat more, exercise more = double increase in metabolism. Eat less, don’t exercise = double decrease in metabolism. This is the entire premise of my Burn The Fat Feed The Muscle System and that’s why the program is so powerful and has helped tens of thousands of people lose fat without depriving themselves. Yes, starving is for boneheads.
- - - - -

Bonehead workout mistake #4: Skipping scheduled workouts

A great body doesn’t happen overnight. Successful body transformation is the cumulative result of dozens or even hundreds of successful workouts. Each workout brings you one small step closer to your goal. Each workout missed takes you one small step backwards. Most people underestimate the cumulative effect of each small step. They figure that “It just doesn’t matter… it’s only one workout.” If you don’t think that one little workout matters, then think about the humble termite; they’re such itty bitty little creatures and they take such itty bitty little bites, yet when enough little bites are taken, an entire building can come crumbling down.

Kick butt workout tip #4: Be disciplined and consistent

Not only do you slip backwards physically when you skip even one scheduled workout, perhaps more devastating is the effect on your mind and character. Every time you successfully complete a scheduled workout, you build your discipline and self esteem. When your self esteem increases, it makes you feel good and that stimulates a positive self-reinforcing cycle of even more discipline, confidence and action. Everything you do helps or hurts. Every workout counts. Treat your word as law. When you say you’re going to work out... WORK OUT!

Bonehead workout mistake #5: Focusing on strengths, favorite exercises and favorite body parts, neglecting weaknesses

Most people have a favorite body part or exercise. But playing favorites in your training can lead to big problems. An unbalanced, asymmetrical physique is one of them, but having a great upper body with toothpick legs is the least of your worries. Strengthening and stretching some muscle groups but not others is a great way to cause poor posture, muscular imbalance, dysfunction, strains, pulls, tears or ruptures.

Kick butt workout tip #5: Train for functional balance and aesthetic balance

Non-boneheads train every muscle group for symmetrical, visually pleasing development. However, “balance” is more than cosmetic. Everyone – athletes, bodybuilders, and recreational exercisers – must also train for functional balance to prevent injury and maintain optimal function and range of movement in every joint and muscle group. Every plane of movement and angle of movement must be trained. Flexors must be balanced with extensors. Front to back movements must be balanced with rotational and side to side movements. Prime movers, antagonists and stabilizers must all be strengthened. Always stretch, strengthen and build to the point of total body balance.
- - - - -

Bonehead workout mistake #6: Using mostly machines and single joint/isolation exercises

So you joined the gym and you hit “the circuit”… you know, that section in the gym with all those fancy, chrome-plated, “technologically advanced” weight stack-pulley, hydraulic or computerized machines all lined up in neat rows… far, far away from the barbells and squat racks (which you never touch), and which is designed to give you an “easy, safe, injury-free, effective full-body workout.” The machines may be easy, but most machines aren’t as safe or effective as they’re made out to be.

Kick butt workout tip #6: Use mostly free weights and compound, multi joint exercises

For lower body, squat and lunge variations are tops. For upper body, barbell and dumbbell presses, chin ups and rows are king. These and similar “BIG” exercises stimulate more muscle fiber, stir up more fat burning and muscle building hormones, and have more carry-over to real world and sporting activities than machines. Although weight stack machines are safe with respect to the fact that you can’t drop a barbell on your head, they’re ultimately NOT as safe as free weights because they don’t develop the stabilizing muscles and functional strength that protect you from injury. A few machines and isolation exercises mixed into a balancedr program is fine, especially if you have bodybuilding goals, but focusing on compound and free weight exercises gives you far more bang for your buck than any machine ever created.
- - - - -

Bonehead workout mistake #7: No mental preparation

This mistake goes hand in hand with mistake number one (winging it). You see, preparation is more than setting goals, writing out plans, and scheduling workouts. Preparation is also mental, yet most people haven’t the slightest idea just how powerful the mind is or how to harness its power. Psychologists and “brain scientists” have proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that the subconscious mind cannot tell the difference between an experience that is real and one that is imagined. Failure to take advantage of this discovery is a mistake of enormous magnitude.

Kick butt workout tip #7: Use visualization and mental rehearsal daily

Arnold Schwarzenneger, Jack Nicklaus, Andre Agassi and countless other sports legends have written and spoken extensively about their regular use of mental imagery. Those who succeeded, but claimed not to use such techniques as “visualization” were surely using it unconsciously or in a non-formalized manner. I would suggest you consciously and deliberately use this technique in the following manner: Twice a day, once in the morning and once at night, get relaxed, close your eyes and form mental images of yourself having the body you’ve always wanted, completing perfect workouts with motivation and enthusiasm and reaching all your goals. These images will penetrate your subconscious mind and literally program your brain to activate your body for total success.
- - - - -

Bonehead workout mistake #8: Not eating immediately after training

Not eating anything after your workout (or waiting 2-3 hours to eat), because (a) you don’t feel like eating, (b) you don’t have anything to eat with you, (c) you heard that you get leaner if you don’t eat after your workout… is one of the most boneheaded things you can ever do!

Kick butt workout tip #8: Eat protein AND carbs (not just carbs) immediately after your workout

Much research has been done on the topic of post workout nutrition in recent years and the scientific literature is almost unanimous in its findings: At one time carbohydrates were emphasized after a workout. Other people insisted that protein is more important. The truth is, the optimal post workout meal includes quickly digesting protein and carbohydrates and is consumed immediately after training during the period known as the “post-workout window of opportunity.” Although the ideal amount and type of protein and carbs is still debated, the studies have shown that proper post workout nutrition increases protein synthesis, suppresses cortisol, replenishes glycogen, and enhances recovery.
- - - - -

Bonehead workout mistake #9: Comparing yourself to others

Always trying to one-up the next guy is bonehead behavior. Comparing yourself to others is a great way to lower your self esteem and stay perpetually frustrated, unhappy and dissatisfied!

Kick butt workout tip #9: Compare yourself to nobody but yourself

Legendary UCLA basketball coach John Wooden always advised his players, “Never try to be better than someone else; but never cease trying to be the best you can be. That is under your control. The other isn’t.” So why not focus on competing with yourself? Compare yourself to yourself. Improve yourself. Work on progress and forward movement. Become better than you used to be. Ultimately, competitive sports are most valuable to the degree you use them to better yourself, not to beat others.
- - - - -

Bonehead workout mistake #10: Making excuses

Many people, when they don’t get the result they want, or when things don’t go the way they expect, insist it’s not their fault. When they don’t lose any body fat, it’s their genetics or "The diet just doesn’t work!” When they fall off the wagon, it’s their friends and family’s fault – “They just don’t support me… they even tempt me with junk food and eat in front of me.” When they miss workouts, it’s their boss’s fault – “I just don’t have time with so much work being piled on me at the office.” No matter what the situation, the boneheads never even consider that the problem is staring right back at them in the mirror – someone or something outside of them is always responsible.

Kick butt workout tip #10: Accept total, 100% responsibility for all your results – good or bad

When you win, you don’t attribute it to luck or give someone else the credit for it. You proudly say, “I created it… I did it… that was me!” However, if you want to take the credit for your wins, you must also take credit for your losses and say, “Yep, I created it… I did it… that was me!” Boneheads want to take credit for their successes but not accept responsibility for their failures. Ultimately, that turns them into nothing but big losers. Winners and successful people became successful because they learned three magic words: I AM RESPONSIBLE. Once you claim responsibility for every result in your life – the good and the bad - the feeling of empowerment and liberation that comes over you is beyond description. For the first time in your life, you realize that YOU are in control. From that moment on – and not a second sooner – you become the creator of circumstance rather than a victim of it.