Zenerex and how it changed me

I don't believe in miracles. There is no shortcut for
quality or a quick-fix for a golden-age problems like mine.
But as I saw the changing effects of Zenerex (or Zenerx,
the commercial name) I had to express my gratitude by
writing about it.

I am a white Caucasian 47 years old man living in Denver. I
never noticed irregularities in my sexual life. It didn't
go from 100% to 54% in one day, buy slid slowly over past
20 years perhaps. So there wasn't any "aha" effect. I
didn't wake up one morning and say "hell, I sucked last
night". No.

But what I noticed is a slight decline in passion between
me and my wife. Not overnight decline. But if I compare our
crazy nights 20-25 years ago, there is a HUGE difference!
Maybe I am a hopeless romantic trying to reverse the
changes of time. Maybe. Yet, shouldn't all the recent
technological progress, at least, prolongate our youth?
Otherwise, what is it good for?

I have thought long time about taking Viagra o similar
product to really please my wife again. I was always
ashamed of buying these and ordering them from internet
just seemed very insecure. So I lived with this insecurity
for the past 2-3 years. Was the decline in my sexual life
imminent? No youthful joy for this ol' man ever again?

Thanks God, one day my good friend Pit told me about
Zenerex (or Zenerx) and how it changed him from inside out.
He was never a very self-confident man. But, I must say,
his "walking tall" lately did get me wonder. So he gave me
this half-filled bottle of Zenerex and said "Try it. If you
don't see any difference after you finish these, consider
this bottle as a gift. Otherwise you'll pay my 6-moths'
supply". A bet, then? Yup, a bet I have lost. And, I must
say, I have gladly paid him for suggesting me Zenerex. Pit,
you changed my life.

Six months passed since then and I have changed completely.
I feel there are sparks again between me and my wife. And
she seems to smile more often! Our sexual life is as
exciting and pleasant as ever. We did really crazy things
lately that I am even ashamed to write about. And sex seems
to me more joyful as when I was a teenager. This is very
hard to describe, but I hope you get the picture!

David

----------------------------------------------------
David has a fan-website about ZenerX on http://zenerex.org/

The Power Of A Weight Loss Diary

The use of a food diary cannot be underestimated. It will
help you to become more conscious of your eating habits and
highlight any problem areas you have. You can list what you
have eaten and your motivations for it. You should also
outline any exercise you have taken, or not taken, and
again describe how you were feeling prior to, during and
after the activity. You can also use your diary to set out
a plan for the coming week. You just tell yourself that if
it's in the diary then it has to be done. In this way you
can break up, what may seem like, momentous goals into
small achievable tasks.

This type of diary builds the foundations on which you can
plan any necessary changes. These changes then act as a
guide for setting weight-loss, eating and exercise goals. A
food diary is a great way of tracking your progress. It
gives you the opportunity to look back over the course of
days, weeks and months to see how you have altered your
approach and reached your goals. This is extremely
motivating and reassuring. As you see how well you have
done you are spurred on to even greater action. Likewise,
when you see the times that you slipped-up and read your
comments about how you were feeling at the time you will
find yourself empowered to do something about because you
have full control.

A food diary gives you the opportunity to make a conscious
choice about your eating habits instead of going on
automatic around food. Writing down what you can eat and
can't eat and reviewing your goals for the day sets out a
clear plan and allows you to think twice before you act. A
daily and weekly diary, with goals and strategies, is an
approach used in business and by almost all high-achievers.
They use it because it works.

To begin with you will just right down everything you eat
and drink during the day. You will add your leisure
activities like walking, jogging or just watching
television. After you have performed the task, or even
during it, jot down the way you were feeling and why you
chose to do that activity (even if it's eating). This will
allow you to analyse your motivations.

Once you have a week's full of diary entries look back over
it. You will find definite patterns emerging. Look closely
at those patterns and use them to structure an eating and
exercise plan for the upcoming week. Write an entry each
day of what you will eat and what activity you will perform
to help shed those excess pounds. For example, if you find
that you are eating at certain times during the day because
you are bored then this is an excellent time to pen into
your diary an exercise activity or anything else that will
relieve the boredom! Diligence and persistence is required
to keep and follow your food diary but once you do the
rewards are tremendous. Many people do not realize just how
much they snack or eat due to reasons that have nothing to
do with hunger. Your diary will help you see and deal with
such times. It will also help you to formulate realistic
goals because you have to put the activities and food you
will eat down on paper. At the start you may overload your
diary with activities and realize you need to cut down or
you may find you have extra time on your hands that is
leading to boredom and eating.

Don't forget to mention how you are feeling. Our emotions
truly do rule our behaviour. The more honest you are with
yourself the more you will get out of this process. If you
find that you are eating from stress or emotional issues
then put it into your diary, as one of your activities,
that you need to find techniques and approaches to deal
with these emotions. For example you could check out
hypnosis and other mind programming techniques as they have
a very high success rate at dealing with such emotional
issues.

Keeping a diary can take some getting used to in the
beginning, and to many it may sound like a waste of time,
but it is a proven method for helping reach and maintain a
healthy weight and has been shown to help people reach
goals of all kinds.

----------------------------------------------------
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Well Rounded Strength Training Routine

So you've decided to strength train, but do you have a well
rounded strength training routine? There are many books and
programs out there that will dispense information, but the
bottom line is that you are very unique. Your goals, your
fitness level, your experience and your personal strengths
and weaknesses all make you unique.

The reason I bring this up is because unless you find a
program that talks directly to YOU, you will have a hard
time finding a routine that works for YOU. You'll need to
find well rounded strength training routines (many of them
in fact), and healthy meal suggestions.

A well rounded strength training routine should include 7
factors. If your routine is missing one of these 7 factors,
I strongly recommend find a new program. The 7 factors are:
reps, sets, rest, recovery, exercises, pace and change.
Some specific details are below.

Well Rounded Strength Training Routine Factor #1- Reps. How
many reps you need will depend on your goals. As a general
guideline you want to work anywhere between 8-12 reps for
adding lean muscle and toning up. Working at a rep range
above 15 is for endurance training. Rep ranges under 8 are
primarily used for adding muscle mass and higher gains in
strength.

Well Rounded Strength Training Routine Factor #2- Sets. I
like to stay between 3-5 sets for general health and
fitness. Sets higher than 5 should be supervised and part
of a program designed by a trainer specifically for you.
Sets under 3 are primarily for powerlifting and 1RM work.

Well Rounded Strength Training Routine Factor #3- Rest. In
between each set should be at least 1 minute of rest. This
allows your muscles to gather back strength for the next
set. The only time rest between sets may be skipped is
during a superset. This is where you work one muscle and
then immediately move to the next muscle and then back to
the first muscle. Even under this circumstance, the first
muscle is resting while you work the second muscle. So the
rest period still exists.

Well Rounded Strength Training Routine Factor #4- Recovery.
If you work your biceps today, they need to rest tomorrow.
You should allow 48 hours of recovery between working the
same muscle. This ensures proper rest. Gains in strength
occur during your recovery day.

Well Rounded Strength Training Routine Factor #5-
Exercises. You should do an exercise for each major muscle
group. If you are just beginning I like to recommend a full
body routine. You would choose an exercise for each muscle
group and complete the proper amount of reps and sets that
day.

You can split up your exercises and perform them on
different days. For example you can do upper body today and
lower body tomorrow. Work your larger muscles first (chest,
back, quads, etc) and then work the smaller muscles
(triceps, biceps, calves, etc).

Well Rounded Strength Training Routine Factor #6- Pace. A
good rule of thumb is to move through each exercise by
following the speed of your breathe. Exhale on the hard
parts and inhale on the easy parts. Or another unit of
measure is 2 seconds on the lift and 4 seconds on the
lowering.

Well Rounded Strength Training Routine Factor #7- Change.
You should change your strength training routine every 4-6
weeks. This will prevent your body from plateau'ing and
keep things fresh.

----------------------------------------------------
Lynn VanDyke is a master trainer and nutritionist focusing
on straight-forward fat loss workouts. Her wildly popular
ebook, Melt the Fat is available for immediate download.
Bonuses are being offered for a limited time only. Learn
more about Melt the Fat at http://www.melt-the-fat.com

The History of Acai Berry

The acai (ah-sigh-ee) berry has been around for thousands
of years and not until the 1990's was it introduced to the
western world. The acai berry was found to possess
tremendous health properties. The acai berry was first used
by the tribes of the Amazon jungle as a cure for various
ailments. It is estimated that the indigenous tribes people
routinely use up to 2,000 of the 3,000 known rainforest
fruits for medicinal purposes. The Amazon borders eight
different countries and has the world's largest river
basin. Not only does the Amazon supply one fifth of the
worlds freshwater, it has the highest diversity of birds
and freshwater fish. The Amazon is the largest rainforest
in the world where one third of all animal and plant
species live. The acai berry is just one of these fruits
that has been discovered in this vast region. The Shuar
tribes are one of these Amazonian tribes that have for
centuries, through tradition, kept the use of plants (acai
berry) for medicinal purposes.

Shuar medicine men or women are called uwishin
(oo-wee-sheen') a healer that works with medicinal plants,
somebody who knows all the secrets of the rainforests.
Uwishin, have a great deal of knowledge of medicinal plants
and their cures, they learn from others, and through
experiments from the plants themselves. One plant removes
snakes venom from the body. It is the work of the uwishin
to research and find solutions to illness.

The acai berry was discovered to have natural antioxidant
properties, as well as being a natural cholesterol
controller. When eaten it helps reduce the bad cholesterol
in our blood and increases the good cholesterol. The tribes
of the Amazon knew of these properties and found out that
it helped build the immune system, fight infection, protect
the heart, and control prostate enlargement (nature's
viagra). It was a great energy food for the tribes-people.
The acai berry, which is a palm fruit, was traditionally
pulped to make wine that was rich in minerals. The acai
berry was also discovered to fight schistosomosis, which is
transmitted by snails. Schistosomosis affecting more than
10 million Brazilians. The acaí berry is also used to
produce an antibiotic that helps to fight against
'Staphylococcus aureus,' a common infection contracted
mainly in hospitals. A berry so useful but only known to
the traditional tribes men and woman of the Amazon, a lost
secret.

The acaí berry comes from a palm that has a long thin trunk
up to 25m high with a group of branches at the top from
which hangs ribbon-like leaves. Acaí berries hang from
these branches in clusters that look like groups of
bluebottles. Traditionally the acai berries would be picked
by hand and the tribe's men would shimmy up the tree and
cut the branches from the top of the palm tree rich in acai
berries. Now that the acai berry has been discovered as a
highly sort after crop by the population of Brazil it is
mass produced, as it only has a 24 hour life span in which
the properties of the juice are still active. The acai
berries must be loaded into baskets and onto boats soon
after picking. To get it to the markets in Belem's they
would have to transport the acai berries over night.

Each acai palm tree produces round about 20 kg of fruit per
year and the wine produced by this fruit has become the
most important product in terms of finance after wood
forest products. Belem in Brazil now employs over 30,000
people on a daily basis to keep up with its enormous demand.

So we know where it comes from, what about it's recent
history? After being introduced into the western world it
was realised by the modern beach going Brazilian surfer as
a natural way to regain energy. The acai berry was pulped
and frozen to keep it fresh and became a natural additive
to the smoothies drunk along the beaches of Brazil. It was
known to help your prostate and was seen as a natural
viagra for the boys of the beach. It soon became a drink
for the trendy, for the sand and surf brigade.

The researches soon got hold of this magic acai berry and
realised that it would be of great importance in the
well-being and health of the western world, our diets are
often over filled with fat and fast food, acai is naturally
full with energy, it has a vibrant taste of berries with a
hint of chocolate, is rich in proteins, fibre, vitamin E,
minerals and essential Omega oils to reduce our bad
cholesterol caused by our western diets. The acai berries
fatty acid ratio resembles that of olive oil this is
thought to be a contributing factor to low incidence of
heart disease in Mediterranean populations. The acai berry
contains similar properties as red wine in controlling fats
in the blood and is a fair contributor to go up against the
wine diets of the Mediterranean people.

Known as the miracle fruit, acai berries also helps in
preventing cancer due to it's antioxidant properties that
are five times more potent than gingko biloba, a commonly
used herbal therapy product.

Acai berry juice has been introduced into other products
like bars and health snacks to be sold at gyms and health
spars. It's history is important as by studying the effects
that the berry has had on the tribesmen in the Amazon we
have discovered that it's traditional use as an energy
booster for hunting and good libido has lead to acai berry
juice to being a very commercially viable product.

It's most recent history is that it has been endorsed by
such talk show hosts as Oprah Winfrey and has been seen as
a feature on her show, a berry with star success. So lets
say good buy to guranum and hello to the magic acai berry.

----------------------------------------------------
Read the key health benefits of acai berry at
http://www.acai.vg/acai_benefits.html

Massage and Massage Therapy: The Old Complements the New

The modern day application of an age old therapy.

I am constantly being asked about the benefits of massage
therapy and in particular, I'm asked about its
effectiveness and relevance when compared to today's
cutting edge medical advances, given the fact that massage
therapy is well over five thousand years old.

In response, my answer as always is to consider the fact
that any therapy, cure, activity or hobby that can survive
for that length of time, must deliver at least some
benefits, otherwise it would go the way of every other
flash in the pan fad or phase.

As a massage practitioner and recipient, I need no
convincing whatsoever of the benefits of massage therapy,
so if I'm asked, I'm happy to defer my own opinion in
favour of that of a much higher authority on the subject,
which is that of the medical community itself.

Thanks to the advances in medicine and in medical research,
the five thousand year old massage therapy has now been
subjected to every modern test and scrutiny, and as many of
us expected, massage therapy has proven its value in
spectacular style.

Massage therapy stands shoulder to shoulder with some of
the most modern medical practices of our time, and as well
as being a stand alone therapy in its own right, massage
therapy complements beautifully, the modern advances in
medicine.

To anybody who practices massage therapy, this will come as
no surprise, and to be fair it's only right and proper that
any therapy linked to medicine, should be subjected to the
highest scrutiny. That aside, what amazes me most is the
fact that massage therapy is still considered either as
purely an aid to accepted medical practice or that it is
still the preserve of the affluent. It also amazes me that
massage therapy is only considered as a result of a life
changing event. Quite why something that is so beneficial
to health and wellbeing isn't an integral part of
everyone's life remains a mystery to me. Massage therapy
need not cost the earth and the most basic massage is free
and can be mastered by using the most incredible tools
known to man… your own hands!

Do me a favour and don't wait for an accident, an ailment
or a mid life crisis before you discover one of life's most
accessible, time proven and life enriching activities.

To your continued, outstanding health.

----------------------------------------------------
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massage yourself younger with the most comprehensive Home
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Knowing the Differences Between Fibromyalgia and Myofascial Pain

Differences Between Fibromyalgia and Myofascial Pain

Fibromyalgia and Myofascial Pain are syndromes that are
closely related but have a few differences that are worth
discussing. Knowing the two syndromes and their respective
symptoms can help aid in the healing process. Knowing the
differences between the two syndromes will also help you
know what to expect in the course of the syndrome and how
to best go about treating the symptoms.

Fibromyalgia is a syndrome that affects mostly women. It is
non-joint rheumatism that has widespread pain and fatigue
associated with it. Muscular aching and stiffness are
common symptoms of this condition as well as what are
termed trigger points. Trigger points in fibromyalgia are
located in the neck, back and extremities and are tender
when touched or pressed. Sleep disturbance is another main
symptom of Fibromyalgia and contributes to the fatigue that
accompanies this syndrome.

There are other symptoms of Fibromyalgia that include:

• irritable bowel syndrome, • back pain, headaches, •
pelvic pain, • muscle spasms • twitching and tingling • and
others.

Knowing these symptoms is important because there are ways
to relieve them.

Fibromyalgia affects everyone differently. Some people have
symptoms that come and go and are mild to moderate in
intensity, while others are so affected that they are
disabled by the condition. Although there is no known cure
for fibromyalgia, there are many natural treatments that
can help alleviate the symptoms.

Myofascial Pain Syndrome is defined by the presence of
trigger points located in the muscle with perceived pain
aggravated when pressed. A twitch response may be seen as
well. Like fibromyalgia, Myofascial Pain Syndrome is most
common in women. It is usually diagnosed between the ages
of 40 and 50.

Myofascial Pain Syndrome may also include other syndromes
such as tmj or temporomandibular joint syndrome, low back
pain, tension headaches, and others. It is a common cause
of musculoskeletal pain.

So what are the differences between fibromyalgia and
myofascial pain syndrome? In the pain arena, fibromyalgia
is involves many regions while myofascial pain is
localized. Fibromyalgia seems to come on gradually and may
worsen as time goes by, whereas myofascial pain can come on
suddenly or chronically. With fibromyalgia the trigger
points are more widespread and greater than 11, but
myofascial pain syndrome trigger points are localized.
Fibromyalgia is and can be a long lasting condition to the
point of disability and myofascial pain syndrome is
generally mild with temporary disability.

Knowing these differences will provide you with the tools
you need to make educated decisions in your treatment plan.
There are many ways to help you through your symptoms and
back on the road to optimal health. The old adage
"knowledge is power" certainly applies to your health.
Fibromyalgia and Myofascial Pain Syndrome sufferers can
lead healthy, happy, active lives.

----------------------------------------------------
Hailey Harris is an expert in dealing with Fibromyalgia
after suffering for more than 8 years with health problems.
She is now symptom free and living a pain free life. She
developed Ridfibromyalgia.com found at
http://www.ridfibromyalgia.com to help others learn to do
the same. To receive tons of info, tips, and healing
strategies for free visit
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How to Achieve Ripped and Cut Arms - Biceps and Triceps

There is nothing better than having big guns. Our arms the
most seen part of our body, and the one thing secret or
openly every weight lifter would like are those big,
ripped, biceps and triceps that fill out the sleeves to our
shirts. A nice horse shoe would look great as you flex
your triceps muscles. So, how do we get ripped huge arms?
Though most people want great looking arms, they lack the
understanding of how to train them effectively.

Three things are very important to understand in how to
build ripped huge arms. The first is that your biceps and
triceps are considered small muscle groups. The second is
the biceps are used in some facet in all pulling motions,
and third that triceps are taxed in all pressing or pushing
movements. It is important to understand how you are
stimulating your biceps and triceps before you even get to
isolated bicep and triceps exercises.

Because your biceps and triceps are a small muscle group
and used in all upper body movements they need less direct
isolation than people think. How many people have you seen
who complain about the size of their arms and are doing
endless bicep curls and triceps pressdowns.

One of the biggest pressing movements the bench press
engages the triceps throughout the entire movement. It is
the triceps that often fatigue before the chest muscles
ever give out. When you look at the weight and stimulus of
a bench press as compared to a triceps extension, you can
see overwhelming load stimulating your triceps with a bench
press.

Serious ripped arms comes from consistent intense effort in
big back and chest movements. Muscle mass is a total sum
gain and the bigger the weight and movement the bigger and
more ripped the entire body gets. You will get a more
ripped and defined triceps focusing on big chest movements
than ever doing tons of triceps isolation movements. The
best part is you will get a better chest as well.

Important for developing defined muscles is the fatigue
factor. Often by the time you get to isolation exercises
like curls and extensions, your biceps and triceps are
already fatigued and don't have very much force output. We
then by performing extra exercises on our smaller muscle
groups send our triceps and biceps into overtraining which
decreases performance of all strength training exercises.

Don't forget about your diet plan. If you are going to
train hard you need to refuel your body for recovery and
growth. That means eating carbohydrates as well. The #1
issue in most muscle development diets is too much protein
and not enough carbs. For most weight lifters it isn't
hard to get their protein shakes in. The problem lies with
the fact that your entire strength workout requires 100%
carbs for energy. If you don't have the complex
carbohydrates stored in your muscle cells you lack the
energy need to train at your max. You will always be
coming up short with your results.

One more thing about diet, taking an Arginine supplement or
Nitric Oxide supplement will support you in achieving
larger arms. L-arginine is converted in nitric oxide (NO,
NOX) in the body so many products use either Arginine or NO
interchangeably. There is some debate to whether NO gives
your muscles a pump look, which some swear by and others
don't see the instant difference. What isn't a debate that
Arginine is the amino acid that supports optimal oxygen
levels in your blood stream. More oxygen means more energy
for more intense workouts which leads to bigger arms, and
more oxygen means greater removal of harmful toxins that
destroy your muscle cells. Whether it gives you a pump or
not taking a nitric oxide booster will give your muscles
and workouts a needed kick.

----------------------------------------------------
About The Author: Charles Carter, BS in Exercise Science is
President of LIVE, llc of
http://shop.liveleantoday.com/department/xyience-10023.cfm
- visit the website for more information on weight loss,
core fitness programs, optimal diets, and online personal
trainer and dietician services. For more information on
products go to http://www.liveleanblog.com .

How the Power of Prevention Can Help Your Health Savings Account Grow

A majority of medical expenditures in this country pay for
treatment of chronic conditions that are mostly
preventable. Unfortunately, most people don't take their
health seriously until after they get sick. Simply by
eating well and exercising, you can avoid the medical
conditions and expenses that affect the majority of
Americans, allowing the money in your Health Savings
Account (HSA) to continue growing tax-free.

Only You Can Prevent Heart Disease, Cancer, Diabetes…

Most of us go through our lives stuck in our lifestyle
patterns, with no idea of the power we have to positively
influence our own health. And so by the time we're in our
40's most of us are on at least one regular medication. By
the time we're in our 60's over 85% of all Americans have
at least one degenerative disease. And by the time we are
in our 70's we're dead.

But in fact, a majority of the diseases people suffer from
as they age are almost totally preventable.

- Cancer: Researchers from the National Cancer Institute
believe that 80-95% of all cancer cases are due to
environmental and lifestyle causes, and are thus
preventable. Diet may be involved in at least half of all
cancers, and one third of all cancers are linked to obesity.

- Dementia: Mark Houston, M.D., Medical Director at
Hypertension and Vascular Biology Institute at Saint Thomas
Hospital and Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee,
estimates that 95% of all dementia is preventable with a
lifestyle approach.

- Heart disease: Numerous studies indicate that 90% - 99%
of all heart disease may be preventable.

- Diabetes: One of the nation's most renowned health
researchers, Harvard University's Walter Willet, has
estimated that 92% of type-2 diabetes is preventable.

How to Eat

Probably the very most important factor that can positively
affect the health of most people is changing the way they
eat. There are many, mostly conflicting theories about what
kind of diet is the healthiest. In my opinion, the only one
that really makes sense is to eat according to the way we
evolved to eat.

The idea of "Paleolithic Nutrition" was first published in
the New England Journal of Medicine in 1985 in an article
by Dr. S. Boyd Eaton. Since then it has been popularized by
Loren Cordain, Ph.D., in his book, The Paleo Diet, and
studied by nutritional scientists all over the world. The
premise is simple: Our genes determine our nutritional
needs.

For over 2.5 million years, humans evolved as
hunter-gatherers, and the selective pressures of their
lifestyle and diet determined the genes that we have today.
Our genetic make-up is exquisitely tuned to function best
on the foods that we evolved to eat.

A mere 500 generations ago the Agricultural Revolution
brought sudden and dramatic change to our diets, and the
changes are continuing to this day. But our genes haven't
managed to keep pace with the change.

Today approximately 2/3 of the foods we eat were those
never encountered by our hunter-gatherer ancestors. The
result is high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease,
cancer, and a host of other ills that we should not have to
suffer.

While most of us do not have access to large wild game and
wild-harvested organic produce, the more closely we can
mimic the foods that our ancestors ate the better health we
will have. So simply base your meals around a lot of fruits
and vegetables, along with some lean protein.

You could start by eating eggs and cantaloupe for
breakfast. Lunch could consist of a large salad with
grilled chicken. For dinner have some wild salmon,
asparagus, and salad. Finish off the meal with a big bowl
of fresh blueberries.

Exercise

Everyone knows that exercise is good for them, but who
wants to spend an hour jogging everyday. (Some people do,
but most don't have the time or desire to go out jogging
for an hour every day). What does work to give you the
maximum benefit for the least amount of time is exercise
with intensity.

So if it's okay with your doctor, go out and exercise like
you mean it. Run wind sprints, lift weights, and exert
yourself. And get it done in 30 minutes or less. Combined
with the right diet, this kind of exercise will get the
most results for the least effort. You will gain more
muscle and lose more fat than if you were going out for
long slow jogs, and you'll feel great!

There are of course other factors that affect your health,
including stress, sleep, clean air and water, and even
genetics. But there's nothing you can do that will have
more impact than eating a good diet and being active.

So be proactive, with both your money and your health.
Take advantage of the incredible tax and wealth-building
benefits of an HSA by funding it fully every year. And
take the right lifestyle measures to avoid the preventable
diseases that affect most people as they age. Then in your
retirement, you can enjoy the good health and accumulated
wealth that you so rightly deserve.

----------------------------------------------------
By Wiley Long - President, HSA for America
(http://www.health--savings--accounts.com ) - The nation's
leading independent health insurance firm specializing in
individual and family coverage that work with Health
Savings Accounts.

"Functional Strength": a matter for Bodybuilding

"Functional strength": There are those words again. They
rank right up there with "quality muscle" when it comes to
people in the fitness industry uttering meaningless jargon
that sounds profound on the surface. Of what part of my
weight lifting-built strength isn't functional? At the risk
of sounding like a macho jerk; if I wanted to, I could
probably slam my fist through the wall that's behind my
computer monitor. That's pretty functional.

I've again come across a fitness article in which the
author touts his fifteen minute bodyweight workout as being
somehow superior to the results obtainable with weight
workouts. He claims it will provide more "usable" or
"functional" fitness. The last time I checked, all levels
of fitness were functional and able to be used – as long as
the person in question has a fully functioning body. Lest
you be lured away from the best body-improving endeavor you
can engage (resistance training), take the morning
calisthenics advice with a grain of salt.

I anticipate a huge swing away from the current "core
training" and "functional strength" fitness fads in the
near future. Research is beginning to reveal how important
it is for us to build muscle mass and strength to improve
our health as we age. I'm sorry, but doing one-legged
bodyweight squats or balancing on a Swiss ball just isn't
going to cut it for building the kind of strength that
staves off the ravages of aging.

When I was twenty years old, I went through my first tour
of BUD/S (Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL) Training. I
entered that training with painfully skinny legs. Those
undersized underpinnings didn't produce much "functional
strength" at all when it was called upon to function on a
long swim. Our regular two mile ocean swims were done with
a stealthy side-stroke by propelling through the water with
swim fins. Kicking through miles of ocean water using fins
requires thigh strength – the kind of strength I was
woefully lacking. I swam so slowly that I caught
hypothermia which led to pneumonia from inhaling seawater.
That was after my swim buddy and I received extensive
punishment from the instructors for allowing too large a
gap to grow between us during the swim. I was an
embarrassingly slow swimmer.

Two years later, I went through a second tour of the
training (long story). This time, I was the second fastest
swimmer in the entire class. In fact, I was punished by the
instructors for getting too far ahead of my swim buddy.
What made the difference? How did I go from being one of
the slowest BUD/S swimmers in 1984 to one of the fastest in
1986?

Well, during the interim between my two tours of BUD/S, I'd
befriended a bodybuilder and began regularly going to the
gym with him. He was one of those rare workout people who
actually enjoyed building his lower body more than his
upper. Aside from doing squats, he really loved leg
extensions and we worked them hard.

Those heavily weighted leg extensions built strength in the
exact areas of my thighs that were used to propel me
through the water while kicking with fins. So effective
were those extensions that I went from underachieving in
ocean swims to being far above average in them. In other
words – weightlifting built 'functional strength'.

The next time someone tells you that moving from one
bodyweight exercise to another within fifteen minutes each
morning is superior to traditional bodybuilding workouts,
consider that they might try to sell you beachfront
property in Montana. If they cite the fact that their
workout is difficult as being evidence that it's effective,
consider one of my principles:

"A successful workout might be difficult, but that doesn't
mean any difficult workout is successful."

Most of all, if someone tells you their workout produces
more "functional strength" as compared with weight lifting
workouts, tell them you already have a fully functional
body – you're just looking to add more strength.

----------------------------------------------------
Scott Abbett is the author of HardBody Success: 28
Principles to Create Your Ultimate Body and Shape Your Mind
for Incredible Success. He is a certified fitness trainer
and a Master Practitioner and Trainer of NLP. To see his
personal transformation, visit http://
http://www.hardbodysuccess.com