9 MYTHS ABOUT FEMALE SELF DEFENCE

Myth #6 Women who survive are fearless.
The first effect in any violent situation is emotion, and the most common one is fear. When a man steps in front of you holding a knife, your adrenaline starts pumping and your heart beats faster. These are reactions that can't be avoided—nor should they be. It's the fight-or-flight survival instinct that allows you to focus on beating your enemy or getting the hell out of there.

 

Many people fear they will freeze up or act irrationally. When you know how to respond, you'll still feel a certain amount of fear that you could be hurt, or that you're about to cause harm to another human being, but that will be tempered with confidence.

 

Myth #7 Focus on blocking his attacks.
Many self-protection classes teach you to react to an attacker's actions. This defensive thinking can make you hesitate ("What is he going to do to me?"), lose focus (waiting to get hurt makes most people freeze), and ultimately be one step behind the attacker. In a threatening situation, don't worry about what he's doing; make him worry about what you're doing.

 

Myth #8 Try to back away from your attacker.
In life-threatening conflict, if you're not injuring someone, you're getting injured. Backing up or attempting to counter his "technique" with another technique (as is typically taught in self-defense classes) only gets you in more trouble: Your body is a lot better at going forward than it is at going backward; for every two feet you move backward, he can move forward three feet.

 

Myth #9 Hit as often and as quickly as possible.
Punching and kicking are akin to slapping an attacker around. If you're in danger, you need to throw all your weight into a single target, or "strike." Imagine you're facing a giant predator and you have a big sack full of rocks. Throw a single rock and "ouch!" is the only reaction you're likely to get. But swing the entire sack at him, hitting him in the head, and he'll be out cold. That's the difference between punching and striking.

Ward off Alzheimer's by keeping your body & brain in shape

By Kimberly Garrison, Daily News Personal Fitness Columnist

 

A NEW STUDY has delivered compelling evidence that diet, exercise and other prescription-free interventions are the best way to ward off Alzheimer's disease.

 

Alzheimer's is perhaps the most dreadful of modern diseases: It steals your mind, your personality and your very soul. And once you have it, there is no turning back.

 

On a personal note, I have seen firsthand the slow, devastating effects of this awful disease on a loved one, as well as the family members.

 

So, my ears really perked up when I heard about the groundbreaking study that was presented at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference. It demonstrated that after only two years, individuals at risk for the disease who made dramatic lifestyle changes showed significant improvements.

 

According to the Finnish Geriatric Intervention Study to Prevent Cognitive Impairment and Disability study, lifestyle behaviors like exercise, a healthy diet and friendships staved off the cognitive declines that are common to Alzheimer's.

The two-year randomized study assessed more than 1,200 individuals at risk for Alzheimer's. While the control group received typical medical advice, the lifestyle makeover participants received extensive dietary, exercise, cognitive and social training, as well as training in management of metabolic and vascular risks.

The results of the lifestyle participants was nothing less than stunning and delivered benefits that no technology or medication to date can trump.

Here are some of the simple, though clearly impactful treatments:

* Nutritional counseling sessions with a focus on consuming more fruits, vegetables and fish.

* Initially, emphasis on weight training one to two times a week and cardiovascular training two to four times a week. Ultimately, participants were encouraged to continue with strength training and ramp up cardiovascular training to five to six days per week.

* Throughout the study, various cognitive training exercises were also provided to participants.

So, since there is no medical treatment to cure Alzheimer's once it occurs, prevention is our only hope. Lucky for us, prevention may be as near as the kitchen, the gym and woven into our personal relationships.

 

CAN TOO MUCH CARDIO MAKE YOU FAT?

Culled from fitness bloggers

 

So, everyone who reads my blog knows that I love to exercise. I suppose you could say I am a little addicted. I can’t live without it. But that isn’t such a bad thing right? What’s wrong with keeping yourself active and healthy? However, I was surprised to find that too much exercise can actually be a bad thing for those of us who exercise for weight loss. That’s because too much exercise can actually cause our bodies to store fat rather than burn it.

 

 

A recent study showed that too much cardiovascular exercise at too high an intensity can cause the body to become depleted and worn down and this can actually slow the body’s metabolism as we go into survival mode. This means that our bodies will try to hold on to our fat stores rather than burn them. In such situations its not uncommon to actually lose muscle and preserve fat. Not what we want!

 

So how can we ensure that we are exercsiing in a way that will ensure we burn fat not muscle?

 

1. Firstlly make sure that you enjoy exercise. Keep the workouts at a level that ensures you still enjoy what you’re doing. If you work so hard that you begin to totally dread every new workout and feel drained, chances are you are doing too much. It doesn’t have to be pure agony for you to derive benefit.

 

2. Make sure that you add resistance training to your workout regime at least twice a week. Too much cardio and not enough resistance can cause your body to stop burning fat effectively. This can be in the form or weights or just by using body weight exercises. Using our muscles and building them ensures that we don’t lose muscle.

 

3. Try to reduce cardio if you are pushing yourself too much. 2-3 cardio workouts a week of 30-45 minutes at moderate to high intensity is sufficient for most people.

 

4. Try using intervals as a way of breaking up your workouts. You can speed up your metabolism and burn fat whilst spending less time exercising. Replace long runs on the treadmill with short 15 minute interval circuits to help boost your metabolism.

 

5. Ensure that you get plenty of sleep. This helps your body to repair and recover from the day’s stresses and strains. Look at ways to reduce your stress if you have trouble sleeping.

 

6. Eat a healthy balanced diet and don’t cut out food groups or starve yourself. Sensible eating and portion control ensure that you eat a balanced diet that will give you all the energy your body needs.

FROM VAMPIRE TO DEMIGOD: KELLAN LUTZ'S HERCULEAN TRANSFORMATION

 

"I [have] always loved Hercules, He-Man, Tarzan—all those epic, classic heroes. Now that I get to bring Hercules to life, my spirit is on fire".

Demigod!!

 

He may be best known for his role as Emmett Cullen in the "Twilight Saga" film series, but Kellan Lutz has moved past the vampire gig and stepped into the shoes of a demigod. Given his love for heroes, Lutz seems like a natural choice to play the son of Zeus.

 

Lutz only had two weeks to prepare for filming and precious little equipment, "I didn't have a lot of time, so I had to multitask and work multiple muscles at once."  He focused less on mass and more on athletics and aesthetics, using cardio, resistance training, and creativity to build a body worthy of his character.

 

 

 

"When I'm working out, I try to make it competitive," he says. "I make up challenges. I need it to be a game."The treadmill circuit below is an example of how Lutz used limited equipment to great effect.

 

Treadmill Circuit: 3 Rounds, raising incline and speed every two minutes

Running, Treadmill 2 minutes    

Dips (Using Treadmill) 20 reps

 

Upper-Body Circuit: 3 Rounds

 

  Side Lateral Raise (Shown w/ Dumbbells) 20 reps

Decline Push-Up 20 reps

Machine Incline Chest Press (20 reps)

Decline Push-Up (20 reps)

Machine Bench Press (20 reps)

Decline Push-Up (20 reps)

 

Not only is the circuit challenging, but it's fun and fast-paced, which helps Lutz enjoy the workload. "At the end of the day, I don't want my time in the gym to be a workout," Lutz says. "I want to have a good time. I don't want to be watching the clock the whole time; I want to look up and think, "Oh my God, I've been here for two hours."