How To Get Your Muscle Back

How To Get Your Muscle Back
If you're like most people, you're ignoring 60 percent of
your muscle - and may even have lost it by now...

You may be lifting weights, doing bodyweight exercises,
running on the roads and trails or the treadmill, pedaling
your heart out, stepping endlessly on some cardio
machine… even if you’re doing all of this
training, you may still be missing out.

Truth is, after our teens or early twenties, most of us
quit doing high intensity sprinting and jumping. This is a
huge mistake. Here's why:

You see, there are actually 3 different types of muscle
fiber in your body. The first is slow-twitch or Type I and
it makes up about 40% of your total muscle tissue.

The other two types are both fast twitch fibers and
together make up about 60%. Type IIa is just called
fast-twitch. Type IIx is called super-fast.

Now here's the scoop. When you stop doing fast, explosive
type training, you lose fast twitch muscle fiber. If you
don't do any of this training, you are ignoring 60% of your
muscle tissue. Ouch.

Even if you do slow cardio, long distance running,
non-explosive strength training, etc. you're only
maintaining the other 40%. You're letting the other half
(+) simply waste away.

So, how can you avoid this atrophy?

Well, the good news is that you can stop the loss of muscle
tissue - and even gain it back. Yes, actually reverse the
muscle loss.

And the best way to do it is to run sprints (to develop
Type IIx muscle) and do explosive plyometric type movements
(to get back your Type IIa)

But, wait you say... aren't sprinters ignoring the
slow-twitch 40%? Well, it turns out that they’re
not. Studies show that sprinters generally have more
overall muscle (including slow twitch) and a much higher
percentage of super-fast twitch. Doesn't seem like their
training is creating fast twitch fibers at the expense of
slow twitch.

So, when you’re ready to get back to working your
fast fibers, increase your intensity gradually so you
don’t put yourself at risk for injury. But, if you
do it smart, you can boost your fast twitch muscle tissue
(and ultimately your total muscle tissue) no matter what
your age or what shape you’re currently in.

Remember too that more muscle tissue means a higher
metabolism... you'll be burning more calories and fat -
even when you're just sitting around.

Anyway, if you've been ignoring a large part of your muscle
by avoiding high intensity exercise, then I'm sure this
advice won't fall on deaf ears. Start getting your muscle
back NOW. Reverse the old-aging and the middle-aging
processes. Start sprinting and jumping right away.

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Tim Alan Kauppinen, or Coach K, has over 20 years
experience as an athlete and coach. He has developed
champion athletes across multiple sports through speed
training, strength improvement and conditioning. Coach K
is the author of the Uphill Fitness Training, and publishes
a FREE daily training email newsletter. Tim can be
contacted through his website at http://www.makesyoufast.com

Nephrogenic Systemic Fibrosis Symptoms

Nephrogenic Systemic Fibrosis Symptoms
Nephrogenic Systemic Fibrosis (NSF) is a rare but
potentially fatal degenerative disease of the skin and
internal organs. First identified in 1997, it occurs only
in a few patients -- those who have a serious kidney
disease and have undergone magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
or magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) tests. Many
scientists believe NSF is caused by exposure to gadolinium,
a chemical used as a dye in MRI/MRA tests. In fact, one
study showed that more than 95 percent of NSF patients had
been exposed to some type of gadolinium within three months
of contracting the disease. In response, the FDA has
already recommended that doctors avoid gadolinium, and
MRI/MRAs in general, in patients with kidney failure.
Researchers in the United States and Europe are working to
determine whether the substance should be banned altogether.

Scientists believe gadolinium may cause NSF because it
reacts badly to high levels of acid in the body. Because
patients with kidney failure aren't able to process
impurities out of their blood as well as healthy people,
they have a much higher level of acid in their bodies, a
condition known as acidosis. The brand names of
gadolinium-containing dyes that are approved for use in the
United States with MRIs include:

* Magnevist

* MultiHance

* Omniscan

* OptiMARK

* ProHance

Brand names of gadolinium-containing dyes used in other
countries include Dotarim, Gadovist, Primovist and Vasovist.

Painful, Debilitating Symptoms

NSF was originally called nephrogenic fibrosing dermopathy,
because its first and most obvious symptoms are lesions or
rough patches on the patient's skin. Over a period of days
to weeks, patients notice a swelling and tightening of the
skin, especially the skin on the arms, hands, legs and
feet. This is often symmetrical, meaning that a spot on the
patient's right arm will appear in a similar place on the
left arm. The skin develops lesions -- areas where it gets
redder or darker, which burn, itch or send sharp pains
through the area. On a microscopic level, scientists have
found that these lesions are caused by a buildup of too
much skin and connective tissue -- essentially, scar tissue.

Over time, the lesions harden and become "woody,"
resembling an orange peel. Eventually, this hardening makes
it impossible for patients to bend their fingers, elbows,
knees or other joints -- robbing patients of their ability
to walk, perform daily tasks or even care for themselves.
And the disease attacks other organs in the same way,
leading to a buildup of scar tissue that could eventually
stop internal organs from working as well, causing death.

* In addition to these symptoms, NSF patients have also
reported: Blister-like spots on the hands

* Muscle weakness

* Bone pain in the hips and ribs

* Yellow lesions on or near the eyes

* Sudden development of hypertension (high blood pressure)

Confounding Diagnoses

Because NSF is only found in patients who already have
kidney failure, its symptoms are often disguised by
existing symptoms of a serious disease. Indeed, some
scientists believe that NSF is underdiagnosed in kidney
patients. In addition, NSF is often found about two weeks
after the patient underwent a serious medical problem or a
surgery, such as failure of a transplanted kidney,
deep-vein thrombosis, angioplasty or another traumatic
event that affects the blood vessels and the heart.
Researchers are currently investigating whether these
traumas cause NSF or are some of its effects. Many of them
would be treated or diagnosed with MRI/MRA tests,
suggesting that the tests -- and their use of gadolinium --
could be the problem.

Crippling Effects

Even if it didn’t affect patients' independence, NSF
would be disabling because of its painful and disfiguring
effects on the skin. But because it also causes muscle
weakness, joint pain and physical inflexibility in patients
who already have serious kidney problems, NSF can be
literally crippling, putting some patients in a wheelchair
within weeks of diagnosis. In severe cases, patients may
need assistance just to move, care for themselves and
perform the daily tasks of living. For people who have
fought hard to live independent lives after renal failure,
this can be emotionally devastating as well. And NSF
presents a very real threat of death: directly, through
buildup of scar tissue on vital internal organs, or
indirectly, through falls and accidents caused by the
patient's loss of mobility. That’s just too high a
price to pay for a simple diagnostic test.

As of December 21, 2006, the U.S. Food and Drug
Administration knew of at least 215 cases of NSF worldwide.
Of these, all of the patients whose medical histories were
reviewed in detail had been exposed to gadolinium in an MRI
or MRA. In addition, tests have found gadolinium in the
skin lesions of people with NSF. While more research is
needed to confirm these findings, this very strong
correlation between gadolinium and NSF has already led to
lawsuits across the country. As researchers begin to
confirm the link between NSF and gadolinium, observers
expect many more.

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LegalView.com is your source for everything legal on the
web. Visit Legalview at http://www.legalview.com for access
to a complete legal database, including a free attorney
referral service. Using the service, visitors can use
resources to contact attorneys for a variety of legal
issues, such as a mesothelioma lawyer or auto accident
lawyer. Visitors can locate a NSF lawyer at
http://nsf-nephrogenic-systemic-fibrosis.legalview.com/ .

How To Start A Student Investment Club

How To Start A Student Investment Club
Investment clubs are a terrific way for kids to learn about
investments even at a young age. You can start a student
investment club for your own child or for your students if
you are a teacher. The student investment club can help
kids learn about money and teach them invaluable lessons
about making decisions.

Starting a student investment club begins with the desire
to invest. An adult should start and run the club and
provide structure and guidance along the way. Properly
used, however, the student investment club will be a good
learning experience for everyone.

1. Begin with a simple goal – to provide kids with
limited ability to search and select stocks to invest.
Ensure that younger kids have their parent’s
permission to participate. Come up with weekly or monthly
goals for investing.

2. Write rules and stick to them. Investment clubs need
rules and regulations and the student investment club is no
exception. This helps to establish order and ensure that
things are handled properly. Write the rules in plain
language that can be easily understood by the age group.

3. Limit the investments. Children have limited funds so
there should be low limits on the participation
requirements as well as limits to the amount the child can
invest. Get the buy-in of the parents before you begin.
Always consider the amount of money available to students
before you choose investments.

4. Make investments fun. The idea of investments can seem
somewhat a dreary subject. Spice it up by allowing kids to
invest in companies that they know or have heard about.
Think about popular toy or video game companies, food or
restaurant companies or clothing companies. Investing in a
stodgy company they never heard of and don’t know the
nature of business will make the club boring and kids will
lose interest quickly.

5. Encourage kids to use their own money. When appropriate
the students will learn better when they use their own
money. Whether it’s from their allowance or from a
part-time job, using their own money will force kids to be
more interested in the investments.

6. Invite guest speakers. Whenever possible try to add
interest by inviting guest speakers to meetings with the
students. Find members of the local community to speak
such as investment bankers, finance counselors or
accountants.

7. Divide students into smaller groups. If you have a
large group of students, it may be wise to have them form
smaller groups. Allow them to form a
“corporation” for investing and even let them
name their company. Have them choose a president and then
let them vote on investment choices.

8. Track investment performance. Teach students to use
charts or graphs to track their investments and keep
abreast with market trends in the newspaper or on the
internet. Determine a specific day in a week to review
investments with the students.

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Investment clubs have been growing tremendously in recent
years, including student investment clubs. Young children
are being encouraged to learn about investing at home and
in school. Learn more about joining or starting an
investment club at
http://www.aboutinvestmentclub.com/art-stu

Are Your Children Lacking Physical Activity ?

Are Your Children Lacking Physical Activity ?
These days, bicycles, roller blades, and seaside holidays
can no longer compete with television, DVDs, Playstation,
and computers when it comes to a child’s attention
span. Sadly, children are spending longer and longer,
sedentary in front of LCD screens, and less and less time
doing any form of physical activity. As a result, they are
weighing more and more and child obesity is now actually
something to be concerned about.

Prior to the digital age, children were forced to go out
and play, unknowingly engaging in physical activity and
oblivious to their body’s burning off of any unwanted
calories. Full of energy, kissed by the sun, and eager to
use their imagination, children played games of
make-believe for hours on end with their friends, loathe to
come in of an evening, to eat dinner with the family.

Compare that scenario to the lives of children today and
there is a stark difference. Children nowadays are
lethargic from excessive amounts of junk food eaten between
meals. They spend hours upon hours watching television, and
more often than not, eat their breakfast, lunch, or dinner
in front of it – along with the rest of the family at
various times that rarely coincide.

A child on a mission to achieve a certain level or score on
a Playstation can sit glued to the screen for hours on end,
hardly moving or speaking except to let out a cry of
anguish or victory depending on how their game is
progressing, their only source of physical activity being
to move a joystick and press buttons repeatedly.

Children nowadays avoid physical activity to such an extent
that they expect to be driven everywhere rather than walk
or to pick up the telephone rather than visit someone to
talk with them.

However the blame really shouldn’t be placed on the
children. It is the parents who are at fault, and to a
certain extent, society in general. Life is faster now and
in direct proportion the faster it gets, the less physical
activity children do.

Before, working mothers were in the minority, however,
nowadays most parents work – both mothers and fathers
- resulting in the need for a more convenient lifestyle.
Kids are sat down to watch a DVD in order to keep them
quiet whilst their puzzles, games, and books, remain tucked
carefully away in the cupboard.

The growing intensity of school curricula and lack of time
for sport within school hours has only added to this
problem, with nearly three-quarters of British teenagers
attending school doing less than two hours’ physical
activity a week!

Given that physical activity not only keeps obesity at bay
but generates a healthy and happy attitude, it’s
surprising that more schools have not tried to harness the
positive influence of physical activity within their
educational programme. Unfortunately, usually physical
activity takes a back seat to other subjects regarded as
more important.

Outside of schools, in public areas, many parks have been
vandalized so that their swings are broken, wooden seats
upturned, and obscene language painted on any open space.
So it’s no wonder that children no longer have the
urge to play there.

Luckily, some forms of physical activity still hold a
modicum of interest with the younger generation such as
swimming in the sea. The question is, is it enough to stop
obesity becoming more of a worry than ever before?

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Get in touch with the industry experts at
http://www.weightlossfatburnersecrets.com for more help.
Steve Magill has written several articles with regard to
the weightloss business. As a Fellow in the (FBAE) he is
considered an expert consultant when it comes to helping
people to lose weight.