Madonna’s Got Moves: Fitness Expert Learns From Queen of Pop

There’s a reason why celebrity fitness DVDs sell so well; we all want to look like the skinny and gorgeous stars we see on TV. But how do you know if a celeb DVD is going to do anything for your wellbeing? To find out, Ryan Barnhart, MS, PES, a certified Performance Enhancement and Injury Prevention Specialist through the National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM), reviewed Addicted to Sweat (ATS), the new workout from Madonna and her trainer Nicole Winhoffer of Hard Candy Fitness, to see what wellness benefits might be in store. According to Barnhart, he learned four major lessons from the queen of pop:

 

1. Don’t judge a DVD by it’s title: Barnhart details, ‘Tearing open the packaging that the four-DVD set came in, the first thing I noticed were the titles of the individual DVDs. ATS’ subtitles are Get Wet; Slippery When Wet; Wet, Wet, Wild; and Dripping Wet…A little skeptical, I popped in Get Wet and got to work. I never thought that the Electric Slide could be so difficult or make me sweat this much unless I was at wedding reception. The first DVD introduces the ATS Dance system. You get a warm-up plus tutorials for each dance as well as a cool down. We did the Step Together, Cha Cha, the aforementioned Electric Slide, and another Bonus Performance.’

 

2. Bath towels can aid your workout: ‘The second DVD in the set, Slippery When Wet, introduces the towel workout to the ATS system,’ Barnhart recalls. ‘You basically use two bath towels to create resistance to your workout. As a guy who prides himself on resistance workouts, I was sceptical at first. How are bath towels going to provide me with a strong workout? About halfway through the workout I had a definitive answer. The moves are challenging, and it requires your muscular system to work differently than a normal weight-resistance workout. It’s definitely a great way to build upper body, lower body, and core strength without getting into weighted resistance. I can see how appealing this can be for the female demographic, and since I strongly recommend resistance training for females to change their body composition and boost their metabolism, this gets my seal of approval.’

 

3. Dancing sexy helps you feel sexy: The third DVD got Barnhart dancing in a way he never had before. ‘With moves like the Drop It Low, this dance-specific workout definitely puts some confidence for me the next time I’m hitting the club,’ he says. ‘In all seriousness, Wet, Wet, Wild was a pretty good core and cardiovascular workout. While not my first choice of a workout, I definitely can see why this DVD set is an effective workout that can be done in your living room. It also is a big confidence booster, not only working you in shape, but in the bedroom too!’

 

4. Grab a chair: Barnhart asserts, ‘The last DVD in the ATS set is Dripping Wet, and it is in my opinion both the most challenging and the most gentleman’s club-like Madonna video-esque workout. Incorporating the use of a folding chair, for me it was the hardest of the four workouts in the system. Another very intense core and muscular workout, it requires more balance and finesse than I care to admit that I lack. Regardless of my lack of sexy chair dancing skills, this workout was intense and definitely required the use of muscle groups I didn’t know could work that way!’

 

So would he recommend it? Barnhart comments, ‘Overall, I would say that the ATS system is a challenging, fun, and intense workout that can help you get in shape and build confidence in all facets of your everyday life.’

Categories: barnhart, bath towels, dripping wet, dvd set, electric slide, Fitness DVD, Madonna, nbsp, Review, wet wet, wet wild, Workout

Save Britain’s Bees: Government Launches Urgent Review

The crisis facing bees and other pollinators in the UK has caused the government to launch an “urgent” review of the country’s environmental wellness, and pledge to introduce a national pollinator strategy. Lord Rupert de Mauley, minister at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), noted, ‘As we all recognise, pollinators play a vital role in the security of our food supply and the quality of our natural environment. In safeguarding their future, we can secure our own.’

In April, UK ministers opposed the European Union’s suspension of the use of three neonicotinoid pesticides linked to serious harm bees, albeit with the plan going ahead anyway. Friends of the Earth’s executive director Andy Atkins commented, ‘We’re delighted that enormous pressure for a bee action plan from scientists, businesses and the public has stung the government into action. The minister’s plan of action must be in place when bees emerge from hibernation next spring: we can’t afford to gamble any longer with our food, countryside and economy.’

According to Lynne Dicks, an expert on wild pollinators at the University of Cambridge, ‘All pollinators, not just bees but also many flies, butterflies, moths, wasps and beetles, rely on flowers, but the number of flowers in the countryside declined calamitously in the 20th century: we lost 97% of our flower-rich meadows between 1930 and 1984…Through enhancing the yield of many high value crops, pollination is worth between £430m and £510m to the UK economy, but amazingly, pollination doesn’t seem to be considered as an important agricultural input.’ She added, ‘At the moment, it is almost impossible for us to know whether actions to help bees and flies are having an effect, because we have no long-term monitoring.’

As it stands, we have lost nearly all of the UK’s wild honey bees, and some species of bumblebee have been lost altogether. De Mauley said, ‘We know there are gaps in the evidence. That is why I am launching an urgent and comprehensive review of current policy, evidence and civil society action on pollinators to identify what needs to be done to integrate and step up our approach. This urgent review will form the basis of a national pollinator strategy, which will bring together all the pollinator-friendly initiatives already underway and provide an umbrella for new action.’

Categories: bees, Pollination, Review

Drugs can’t Help With Preventing Dementia

A new review of previously published research has found that mental exercises — including computer-based programs for training and one-on-one cognitive instruction in memory and reasoning — can help you to ward off dementia when you get older. This will come as very good news to the increasing number of people who are suffering with dementia and similar diseases.

 

The findings, which have been based on a review of 32 separately published studies on the topic involving some 25,000 people, also revealed that there is very little evidence that drugs, herbal products, or vitamin supplements can do anything to help prevent or put off age-related cognitive decline.

 

The review provides a lot of evidence for how to help doctors and their patients address what strategies might prevent cognitive decline in the future. The researchers were encouraged to consider easily accessible tools such as crossword puzzles and Sudoku that have not been seriously studied as of yet.

 

Mild cognitive impairment, which can include an erosion of memory, judgment, and decision-making skills, is known to affect around 10-25 per cent of people who are aged over age 70, the researchers noted. The annual rate of decline into issues with dementia or dementia-like symptoms, such as Alzheimer’s disease, is about 10 per cent.

 

The new analysis has managed to find no strong evidence that any cognitive impairment is affected by drug or chemicals such as cholinesterase inhibitors that were developed to improve the effectiveness of acetylcholine, which is a ‘chemical messenger’ that can assist memory, thought, and judgment.

 

In addition, the previous studies revealed to only offer very slight evidence that herbal supplements such as gingko, vitamins, or fatty acids such as vitamin B6 or omega-3 fatty acids can improve your cognitive functions.

Drugs can’t Help With Preventing Dementia

Categories: Dementia, Review, Supplements

Would You Try the Cure Arthritis Naturally Programme?

The Cure Arthritis Naturally Programme claims to permanently cure your arthritis within 21 days. This is certainly a powerful declaration to make, but understandably you might want more information before you invest your hopes for a better wellbeing, not to mention your money, in such an extravagant claim. Therefore, the company has developed a Cure Arthritis Naturally Review in order to help you to decide whether or not investing your money is the right step to take. According to the company, the Review gives you more information and description about the product, as well as features and customer reviews, so that you might see how the Cure Arthritis Naturally Programme could benefit your wellness.

The Review details that there is substantial clinical and experimental evidence (though no specific studies are given) which suggests that ‘the inflammatory aspect of many forms of arthritis and other diseases related to inflammation of the joints can be treated effectively by using certain alternative treatments.’ The Review also notes that several clinical trials (again, none cited in particular) have shown many natural solutions effectively treat arthritis in ways similar to conventional anti-inflammatory drugs, which are also safer. However, the Review does not state whether any of these alleged studies have shown how the Cure Arthritis Naturally Programme stacks up.

According to the company, Cure Arthritis Naturally is a comprehensive self-help programme that doesn’t involve drugs or their unwelcome side effects. The programme has been designed to help millions of patients who suffer from chronic arthritis pain to heal, rather than to just medicate their symptoms. To achieve this, the Cure Arthritis Naturally guide takes a holistic approach, incorporating medicinal herbs, nutritional supplements, exercise, diet, and chiropractic care.

The programme comes in the form of an eBook, which has a 100% money back guarantee if you’re not satisfied. As the Review argues, ‘Thoroughly researched and clearly presented, Cure Arthritis Naturally guides readers through the labyrinth of recent medical studies related to the effects and treatment of this disease. In addition, it discusses the exclusion of alternative therapies from most insurance coverage and provides advice on the action consumers can take to address this.’

Would You Try the Cure Arthritis Naturally Programme?

Categories: Arthritis, arthritis naturally, cure, cure arthritis, naturally, naturally programme, Programme, Review, the Cure Arthritis Naturally Programme

Unregulated Anti-Wrinkle Industry a Risk to Health

The anti-wrinkle injection industry in the UK has come under fire from public health experts. Dermal fillers or Botox are used in 90% of all injected cosmetic surgery procedures in the UK but medical chiefs are concerned that the industry is unregulated, potentially putting lives at risk.

A review of cosmetic procedures in the UK has revealed that there are more than 190 different “fillers” available across the EU. That is in sharp contrast to the United States where there are just 14 available for use in an industry that is strictly regulated by federal authorities.

Professor Sir Bruce Keogh, the NHS medical director, chaired the independent review, which recommended that fillers should become prescription only in the UK immediately. Sir Bruce wants tighter controls on the use of substances such as Botox, which is supposed to be prescription only but can be purchased online.

The review revealed that fillers, which are injected beneath the skin to remove wrinkles and to plump up the skin, are completely unregulated in the UK with the injections often being administered by people with only the most basic of training.

Dermal fillers have become an incredibly common and affordable method of non-surgical cosmetic surgery, popularised by reality television shows where participants are regularly shown having fillers.

The review wants all non-medical practitioners who administer dermal fillers to undergo formal training and be part of a general register once qualified.

The Sir Bruce-led review was ordered after the revelations of the PIP scandal when breast implants made of low-grade silicone were found to have been used in breast enhancement surgery, contrary to EU regulations.

Unregulated Anti-Wrinkle Industry a Risk to Health

Categories: anti-wrinkle, bruce, cosmetic, cosmetic surgery, Dermal Fillers, fillers, industry, regulation, Review, sir bruce

Bodyweight Burn program is a complete diet and exercise system that works together to build lean muscle and burn fat. The plan is perfect for anyone looking for an effective way to lose weight that doesn’t require a lot of exercise time. Ryan Murdoch and Adan Steer have a training and diet plan, called Bodyweight Burn System. This plan is ideal to those who want to lose weight and do not have the time to make it to the gym. The plan, body-weight only workouts, offers people a chance to lose 21 pounds of fat in just 12 weeks’ time, all while doing just 21-minutes a day. One of the Bodyweight Burn workouts follows an 8:12 protocol or 8 seconds of maximum intensity followed by 12 seconds of rest. Therefore, even though the total workout time is only 21 minutes, you really push yourself a lot in that time. There are also workouts dedicated to muscle building (called metabolic-muscle) and less intensive ones for muscle recovery (called cardioflow). They all are designed, however, to get the most out of you in a short period of time. No gym equipment is necessary. An exercise mat is highly recommended as it will be more comfortable for doing some of the floor exercises on. Additionally, you will need to have an exercise or resistance band for the arm and back exercises. While the workouts are quick, they are very powerful. The majority consists of high intensity interval style training with very little rest periods (called afterburner workouts). If you’re not familiar with doing intervals, you will most certainly be after this program. Interval training consists of doing certain exercises at a very high intensity, followed by a period of rest or recovery. Along with the workouts, there are also strategically paired “diet days” that are meant for maximizing fat loss. There are 5 specific days: Low Carb, Moderate Carb, Good Carb, Back Load, and 24 Hour Fast. For low and moderate carb days, you will have three meals a day and two small snacks. The portions are visually based, so there’s no need to count calories, but the meal size will probably be less than you are used to. You are allowed to eat lots of vegetables, though. For good carb days, you are allowed to eat a little bit more, but are advised not to fill yourself and to stay away from refined carbs. Back load days are days when you will consume your carbohydrates late in the day, after you have had your workout. There are no portion controls on these days, but again, you are advised not to stuff yourself. The 24 hour fast days will be the most difficult days to power through, especially if you have never fasted before. If you want to follow the diet strictly, you will not be able to eat anything for 24 hours, except water and other non-caloric beverages. Reviewing the Bodyweight Burn System: Is it right for you?

Bodyweight Burn program is a complete diet and exercise system that works together to build lean muscle and burn fat. The plan is perfect for anyone looking for an effective way to lose weight that doesn’t require a lot of exercise time.

 

Ryan Murdoch and Adan Steer have a training and diet plan, called Bodyweight Burn System.  This plan is ideal to those who want to lose weight and do not have the time to make it to the gym.

The plan, body-weight only workouts, offers people a chance to lose 21 pounds of fat in just 12 weeks’ time, all while doing just 21-minutes a day.  One of the Bodyweight Burn workouts follows an 8:12 protocol or 8 seconds of maximum intensity followed by 12 seconds of rest. Therefore, even though the total workout time is only 21 minutes, you really push yourself a lot in that time.

There are also workouts dedicated to muscle building (called metabolic-muscle) and less intensive ones for muscle recovery (called cardioflow). They all are designed, however, to get the most out of you in a short period of time.

No gym equipment is necessary.  An exercise mat is highly recommended as it will be more comfortable for doing some of the floor exercises on. Additionally, you will need to have an exercise or resistance band for the arm and back exercises.

While the workouts are quick, they are very powerful. The majority consists of high intensity interval style training with very little rest periods (called afterburner workouts).

If you’re not familiar with doing intervals, you will most certainly be after this program. Interval training consists of doing certain exercises at a very high intensity, followed by a period of rest or recovery.

Along with the workouts, there are also strategically paired “diet days” that are meant for maximizing fat loss. There are 5 specific days: Low Carb, Moderate Carb, Good Carb, Back Load, and 24 Hour Fast.

For low and moderate carb days, you will have three meals a day and two small snacks. The portions are visually based, so there’s no need to count calories, but the meal size will probably be less than you are used to. You are allowed to eat lots of vegetables, though.

For good carb days, you are allowed to eat a little bit more, but are advised not to fill yourself and to stay away from refined carbs.

Back load days are days when you will consume your carbohydrates late in the day, after you have had your workout. There are no portion controls on these days, but again, you are advised not to stuff yourself.

The 24 hour fast days will be the most difficult days to power through, especially if you have never fasted before. If you want to follow the diet strictly, you will not be able to eat anything for 24 hours, except water and other non-caloric beverages.

Reviewing the Bodyweight Burn System: Is it right for you?

Categories: Advice, Review, Workout