Fun alternatives to regular exercise

You might think that you need to employ a combination of cardio and weight training in the gym, to be fit. But the tediousness of lifting weights and running on the same stretch of road can get tiresome really fast. Here is a list of great alternatives to help you gain that dream body without the monotony.

Kung Fu: If you have watched enough Jackie Chan or Bruce Lee movies, you will agree that Kung Fu stands as a perfect example of an alternative workout that also improves your self defence skills, along the way. Kung Fu believes in the basic principle of realigning the body with the inherent agility of the mind. A typical Kung Fu training would involve muscular stretching, resistance building, and strength training with the management of breath. It results in a holistic body, strong both inside and out.

Zumba: Zumba is the proverbial lovechild of aerobics and dance. With a combination of dance styles like salsa, mambo, merengue, cha-cha-cha, tango and hip-hop, and with core-building aerobic movements, zumba is a fun-filled way to lose weight and keep fit. Zumba is actually a party in the disguise of an exercise. It shapes the whole body, while you’re busy having fun, dancing. The low impact of zumba makes it safe and effective for all ages. It aids in better muscular strength, improved posture and movement, all while socialising to the beats of red-hot Latin music.

Pilates: Developed by Joseph Pilates, this workout technique is the most reputed exercise to build muscular strength by employing Contrology. The principle behind Contrology is to create muscular resistance, so that it can handle any physical situation. Pilates aims at building core strengths and the results show a rock-solid physique, replete with muscular strength and agility.

Yoga: With its roots in the Vedic Scriptures of Ancient India, yoga is the most indigenous form of alternative exercise. Practiced by yogis during the Puranictimes, these exercises rely on specific body postures to activate the core energy chakras and help energise the body from within. While building up strength and flexibility, it renders great agility to physical movements. It’s effects manifest themselves not only in muscular formation and physical strength, but also in keeping ailments away. Yoga is the unanimous exercise for all-round fitness.

Capoeira: If you’ve seen Vincent Cassel’s death-defying movements to evade heavy museum security in Ocean’s Twelve, you’ll be surprised to know that Capoeira is the newest emerging alternative workout session, that is taking the world by storm. With its roots in Brazilian martial arts, it is developed by combining Brazilian combat moves with dance. The martial art builds muscular agility, enhances physical balance and results in a rock-solid physique.

Kickboxing: Nothing matches up to the feeling of punching a heavy bag. Its relieving, it’s empowering and most importantly it is a great alternative to slogging at the gym. It strengthens your arms, shoulders and back muscles and paves your way to perfect health.

Gymnastics: If you’ve pinned gymnastics down as an uber feminine approach to working out, you will be surprised to know that it’s an extremely healthy alternative to regular workouts. It builds your strength and perpetuates your flexibility. Regular lessons in gymnastics are bound to keep you strong enough to battle all ailments in life.

Swimming: If lifting weights at the gym appears tedious, how about trying to swim your way to health? Studies have shown that swimming is twice as effective as cardio training sessions in the gym. Swimming involves a full body workout and spending half an hour swimming, will make you lose as much as 1000 calories every day.

Tai Chi: This oriental breath control mechanism is the answer to workout blues. This involves careful movement to controlled breath, making one aware of their movement. Not only does this make one agile but also physically fit in all respects.

Water Aerobics: Combining the techniques of swimming and aerobics, this emerging form of workout is a great alternative to regular workout techniques. This workout is a good testing mechanism for muscular tensile strength and also helps build up on it.




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Less "Iced Tea" please ......

Go for lemonade or water instead — drinking too much iced tea can up the risk of kidney stones

When the summer heat hits, consider reaching for freshly squeezed lemonade or water rather than iced tea, which experts say can lead to the formation of painful kidney stones.

Though in healthy bodies kidney stones — small crystals made up of minerals and salts found in the urine of kidneys or ureters — are expelled naturally from the body, stones can grow large enough to become lodged in the small tubes that drain urine from the kidney to the bladder.

One of the most common causes is dehydration. And summer heat coupled with the overconsumption of iced tea can increase the risk.

A lot of people choose to drink more iced tea, because it is low in calories and tastes better than water. However, in terms of kidney stones, they might be doing themselves a disservice.


Other foods that contain high amounts of oxalates and should be consumed in moderation for people at risk include spinach, chocolate, rhubarb and nuts, he added.

Though water is the best choice, freshly squeezed lemonade — not the powdered form — can also inhibit the growth of kidney stones given its high levels of citrates.

Exercises for a Flatter Stomach

Almost everyone would enjoy having a flatter stomach. This is why some people spend hours at the gym working out their abs. Your abdominal muscles are your core and having strong abs does more than just look good, a strong core makes every activity easier.  Try out these exercises that will help strengthen your core and flatten your stomach.

 

Cross Toe Touching

Cross toe touching is a fairly simple exercise that you can do to get a flatter. To begin, stand up straight with your legs spread apart. Now, raise your arms so that they are pointing straight out towards your sides. While keeping your stomach tight, take your left hand and touch it towards your right toe. Come back up and then switch: use your right hand to touch your left toe. This is considered one set and you should do it ten times.

Oblique Twist

In order to perform this exercise, you should be in a standing position while keeping your feet spread about shoulder width apart. Now, take your right knee and rotate to the right then return to your original position. Switch legs and do the same thing. The reason this exercise works is because you are keeping your abdominal muscles tight and working them out as you perform the twisting motion.

Scissor Kicks

Scissor kicks are one of the more popular abdominal exercises out there. It basically involves lying down on your back, placing your hands under your buttocks, and then lifting your legs off of the ground at a 45-degree angle. For this exercise, make sure that you are keeping your legs straight. And then scissor your legs up and down in an opposite motion while keep your stomach tight. For even better results, remove your hands from under your buttocks and simply place them on the floor.

Leg Circles

For leg circles, you’ll want to get into the same position as if you were doing scissor kicks. However, instead of scissoring your legs up and down, you’ll simply want to rotate them in a circular motion. Make sure that your circles are large and make sure that they are slow. Focusing on this will allow you to get a much better workout. Once you’re tired, drop your legs and take a break. Repeat this process five to ten times per session.

Side Dips

Side dips tend to focus on the sides of your stomach and will make them flatter. And the good part is that this exercise is relatively simple to perform. For this one you will need a weight, preferably a dumbbell. To start the exercise, hold the weight in your right hand and stand up straight with your feet spread apart at about shoulder’s length. While keeping your head straight and abdominal muscles tight, dip your upper body down and to the right. Come back up. That is considered one rep. You should be doing ten reps on both arms for maximum effect.

Hip Lifts

In order to do this exercise, you’ll need to start by lying down on your back. Be sure that your arms are placed by your side and that they are facing forward. Next, you’ll need to keep your knees straight while raising your legs to about a 90-degree angle. Now, tighten you abdominal muscles. As you do this, lift your hips up off of the ground by a few inches. Hold this position for a few seconds and then rest. Continue this process until you get tired.

Leg Raises

This is another powerful exercise that you can do to achieve a flatter stomach. Similar to the first exercise, you’ll want to begin by lying down on your back. Place your hands underneath you and then cross your legs so that they connect at a 45-degree angle above the ground. Once you raise them, you may feel some pressure on your back. This is normal. Hold this position for as long as you can and then rest.

Plank

Planking is a great example of an abdominal exercise. Not only will it help you get a flatter stomach, but it will also build your core muscles and make them stronger. To begin, get into a push-up position and only hold your body up by your elbows and toes. Keep your body as straight as possible. Now, tighten your abs and hold this position for at least thirty seconds. If your schedule permits it, try to do planks three to four times per day.

Chair Lift

To do this exercise, find a chair without arms and a straight back. Grab the sides of the chair while tightening your abs. Make sure that your hands are slightly further in front of your hips. Make sure that you are using your hands because they will help provide support as you pull your knees in towards your chest. Try to get your knees as high as you can. Hold this position and then slowly lower them back down. Repeat this process three to four times.

 

Do you know ...

Do you know ... making love actually has many hidden health benefits?

1. Sex eases headaches

Almost 50 percent of women report post-nooky migraine relief. It is believes that the release of morphine-like pain relief endorphins after sex aids to relieve or reduce migraine headaches.

2. Sex improves your immune system

Getting it on between the sheets may also help you fight off illness and disease. According to a study, people who have intercourse once or twice a week showed a 30 percent increase in the production of the antibody immunoglobulin A, IgA, your body's first line of defense against colds and flus -- compared to those who were abstinent or three or more times weekly.

There may not be a cure for the common cold, but sex may be able to keep you from catching a cold in the first place.

3. Sex reduces stress

People who have sex have lower blood pressure than those who abstain. It is believed that sexual activity creates a calming effect that lasts at least a week. Lovemaking is one form of what psychologists call 'social support'", and can provide a buffer against stress.

Even loving gestures such as a partner's hug can do wonders, too. It can lower blood pressure and heart rates in premenopausal women. Experts believe that pleasant physical touch releases oxytocin (a bonding chemical also known as the "cuddle" hormone) which decreases anxiety.


 

4. Sex keeps you fit

That's because sex uses every muscle group in the body and gives the heart and lungs an aerobic workout. Studies also show that sexual activity can contribute to overall fitness.

Your body burns about two hundred calories during a really passionate session, similar to running for fifteen minutes. And sexual activity increases testosterone production, which helps strengthen bones and muscles.

5. Sex reduces incontinence risk

Squeezing your pubococcygeus muscles -- the ones you use to stop the flow of urine -- during sex not only helps you achieve the big O, you'll also strengthen the area and help minimize the risk of incontinence later in life.

To tone your pelvic floor muscles, try doing Kegel exercises: Tighten the muscles of your pelvic floor as if you're trying to stop the flow of urine. Count to three, then release. Remember to keep breathing as you squeeze and relax.

The best 5 dishes of Dim Sum

Here is a list of the most essential items to pick at a dim sum meal. As long as we hit the Big Five, we know we're good......


Har gow 蝦餃
The shrimp dumpling, har gow, is arguably the king of dim sum. It is the dish against which a dim sum restaurant's worth is weighed.

Or it should be. These days, gimmicky new dim sum inventions distract the jaded diner. Why eat a har gow when you can have a lobster dumpling decked with gold foil and shaped like a swan?

But a classic is a classic and the har gow always makes it to the dim sum table even if its taken for granted.

The best kind should have a wrapper that has been folded at least seven times to demonstrate the dexterity of the chef. The wrapper should be translucent, showing the pink glow of shrimp inside it.

At the best tables, the filling is made with fresh, sweet shrimp mixed with finely chopped bamboo shoots for a crunchy dimension.

Dip in chili sauce if that's your thing and try to wait for everyone to have a piece before going for seconds.




Siu mai 燒賣
If har gow is the king, siu mai is the queen.

This is a crowd-pleasing dumpling, and one of the most versatile.

Tracing its roots to the Mongols, the siu mai is now interpreted in every Province in China.

But it's the Cantonese siu mai that is world famous, due to the global footprint of Cantonese diaspora as well as due to its deliciousness.

Essentially a meatball, the Cantonese siu mai is made with pork, roughly chopped to give it texture, topped with shrimp and roe of some sort, all cupped in a wheat wrapper. It should be small, about two-bites sized.

It is so popular that locals buy it from street stalls for a on-the-go snack. These street siu mai are skewered like kebabs and doused in soy sauce and chili oil. They are usually made from fish paste and taste different from restaurant siu mai.




Cha siu bao 叉燒包
There's the traditional cha siu bao made of white Chinese buns steamed in a bamboo basket.

It appeals to the sweet tooth that every Cantonese is born with and showcases the barbecue pork that Cantos are famous for.

It has modern variations. The baked cha siu bao has a yellowish bread casing and a sticky glaze, but with the same sweet barbecue pork filling.

If there was an official rulebook on dim sum eating, it would tell us to eat cha siu bao towards the end of the meal.

It's rather sweet, like dessert, and rather filling, so save it for after the dumplings.




Phoenix talons 鳳爪
Chicken feet really are an essential dim sum dish.

Euphemized as "phoenix talons," chicken feet have never gone out of style.

No family Sunday dim sum meal is complete without the sight of grandma carefully working her mouth muscles around a chicken foot, then lowering her head -- but not her chopsticks -- to spit out the miniscule bones.

Kids love it too as the chicken feet are usually smothered in a strong-flavored sauce of black bean paste and sugar.

And for out-of-towners new to Cantonese food, a basket of phoenix talons are a great conversation starter and a challenge to their sense of adventure.

Our favorite is the abalone sauce chicken feet. These are slow-cooked and never deep-fried beforehand, unlike the traditional kind.




Cheung fun 腸粉
These slippery morsels are made from thin sheets of steamed rice noodle. It is often served with meat or vegetables rolled up inside layers of rice sheets then doused in soy sauce.

But the most basic kind of cheung fun is served plain, with some peanut and hoisin sauce and a generous sprinkle of sesame seeds.

These pearl-white tubes taste very mildly of rice -- more like a memory of the rice that it once was.

But cheung fun are the perfect vehicle for sauce, and that is primarily the function of rice flavor, to serve as a canvas.

It's Chinese name can be roughly translated to "cloth peeling cheung fun." It is made by spreading rice slurry on cloth, steaming it until firm, then deftly peeling it away.

                       Emm....yummy !

Things must have in your "Beauty Cabinet"

Lemon Juice – Nail Whitener
Lemon juice acts as a nail whitener. Soaking hands in a bowl of lukewarm water with few drop of lemon juice helps in cleaning the nails. The lemon acts as an astringent and will strip away stains. Once your hands are dry, you’ll only need to put on a couple of coats of a clear topcoat.






Honey – Skin And Hair Conditioner
Honey acts as both skin and hair conditioner. You can keep it in squeezable bottles in your shower. The humectants properties of honey help in drawing moisture in the hairs. And it’s a sticky mess but rinses out quickly.






Vinegar – Shiny Hair Rinse
1 tablespoon in a cup of water will give you a great hair rinse that removes product buildup and makes your hair shaft smother, resulting in shinier hair. You can add a few drops of your favorite essential oil for a pleasant scent.
From your kitchen, you can enhance your beauty inside out, skin to nails. These are some of the products which are not only effective but also cost saving and make the skin more balanced and nourished. Is there any important top beauty products I forgot to mention? Leave a comment below and let others get to know about it.



Cucumber Or Potato – Face Mask and Eye Cream
Make a smooth pulp or paste of crushed cucumbers, and gently pat them all over your face and neck. This cucumber facial is absolutely fabulous for oily skin and also for clogged pores. To remove the dark circles under your eyes, you can apply cucumber or potato juice on the eyes with cotton balls. Or just take potato round and apply it on eyelids for 15-20 minutes. Then wipe out the residue and apply an eye cream. You can also apply cucumber or potato juice or mixture of lemon and tomato juice on the eyes with cotton balls. Application of used cold tea bag will soothe the eyes and cure dark circles of the eyes.



Coffee – Cellulite Reducer
Did you all know that models are using their morning coffee grounds to massage their cellulite areas? Yes, the main ingredient used in a costly cellulite cream is caffeine, so it makes a lot of sense. Try sitting on the edge of your bathtub, and rub the coffee grounds into those pesky areas and replace your other cellulite cream. You will see the difference after using it.

Salt and Sugar – Hand and Foot Exfoliator
Salt and sugar are too strong for the delicate skin on your face, but make an excellent scrub for hardworking hands and feet. Mix a little with some olive oil or honey and keep a jar handy for a quick treatment.






Avocado – Skin Mask
Avocado is a nourishing skin mask. Avocado products can be easily seen on any grocery store. Simply mashing an avocado and applying it directly on the face will give same nutrients and benefits plus enzymes. Also, there would be no harsh chemicals. You can also mix it with some olive oil or water for easy spreading.

Tomato Juice – Cures Dandruff
Applying tomato juice on the scalp cures dandruff. Tomato juice helps in maintaining the PH. It soothes dry and itchy scalp.








Olive Oil – Eye Make-Up Remover
Olive Oil is a natural eye make-up remover. Keep a small jar in your medicine cabinet. Dab a little onto a damp cotton ball and watch your eye makeup melt right off. It also moisturizes the delicate skin around your eyes and nourishes your lashes. And it doesn’t sting.






Eggs – Hair Mask
Eggs can be used as a good hair mask. Eggs are highly rich in protein and makes an excellent mask for damaged hair. Add a tablespoon of olive oil to an egg and whip up and spread it onto the damp hair, wrap it with a warm towel for 15 minutes and rinse it with shampoo. You will definitely get a beautiful and healthy hair.

TGIF

   TGIF.....Have a great weekend !