10 Minute Burpee Challenge

Zuzana issues a burpee challenge: how many burpees can you do in ten minutes? However, these are not your father's burpees.

Coffee May Reduce Prostate Cancer Risk

Coffee seems to be like marijuana: they keep finding more and more health benefits. A new study suggests that coffee may reduce the risk of prostate cancer.

Men who have a love affair with coffee, but feel guilty about overindulging in it, may have cause to celebrate today. A recent study conducted by the Harvard School of Public Health, found that men who consumed the most coffee had the lowest risk of developing prostate cancer, particularly the most fatal forms of the illness: ABC News reports. Experts say more research is needed to confirm the findings, however.

Prostate cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer and the second cause of cancer mortality in men in the United States. The investigation will be of interest to many, as in the US one out of every six men is affected by this disease in their lifetime. Read more

To Switch On Your "Youth Gene," Avoid Carbs

Joseph Mercola reveals the eating mistakes that age us.

... Interestingly enough, while sugar, and fructose in particular, acts as a toxin in and of itself, and as such drive multiple disease processes in your body, excess grain carbohydrates, which are broken down into glucose, has been found to detrimentally affect your genetic expression and contribute to accelerated aging that way! Read more

Viagra Could Double Risk of Hearing Loss

Viagra could double the risk of hearing loss, doctors say. Is an erection worth becoming hard of hearing? There's a safer way to improve your erections though it isn't as easy as popping a pill.

A new US study suggests men who take Pfizer's Viagra (sildenafil) or similar drugs for erectile dysfunction may double their chances of hearing impairment, bolstering a Food and Drug Administration warning from 2007 about this side effect.

High doses of Viagra have been shown to damage hearing in mice, but until now only a few anecdotal cases had been described in humans. Read more

Are You a Sheeple?

Are you a sheeple? Take the quiz and grade yourself, says Mike Adams.

Have you herd about the Sheeple Quiz? Although most NaturalNews readers will easily beat it, it's a fun quiz to find out how smart (or gullible) your friends really are. So let 'em take the Sheeple Quiz! And then you'll know whether they're independent thinkers or just zombie-minded sheeple like the rest of the flock.

Here's the quiz. Choose "A" or "B" as the answer for each question, then check your score below.

The Sheeple Quiz


#1) The purpose of the mainstream media is to:

A) Keep you informed.
B) Feed you misinformation while keeping you distracted from the real issues our world is facing. Read more

Washington's Diet Can Make You Fat and Sick

Steven Malanga covers the perils of following the federal government's dietary guidelines. Following the government’s nutritional advice can make you fat and sick.

... Under Farley and Mayor Michael Bloomberg, New York’s health department has been notoriously aggressive in pursuing such “lifestyle-oriented” campaigns (see the sidebar below). But America’s public-health officials have long been eager to issue nutrition advice ungrounded in science, and nowhere has this practice been more troubling than in the federal government’s dietary guidelines, first issued by a congressional committee in 1977 and updated every five years since 1980 by the United States Department of Agriculture. Controversial from the outset for sweeping aside conflicting research, the guidelines have come under increasing attack for being ineffective or even harmful, possibly contributing to a national obesity problem. Unabashed, public-health advocates have pushed ahead with contested new recommendations, leading some of our foremost medical experts to ask whether government should get out of the business of telling Americans what to eat—or, at the very least, adhere to higher standards of evidence. Read more

Peaked, stuck, leveled out in progress & muscle gains?

Have you been working out for several months or longer, and now feel like your muscle gains and/or progress has landed on a plateau somewhere?

Yeah, I'm talking about the feeling of being stuck, peaked, leveled out or whatever you want to call it...

A lot of people encounter this "peaking out" dilemma, and it is actually perfectly normal. Unfortunately, when some people get stuck in progress while trying to build muscle or achieve certain physical fitness goals, they often lose interest or just throw their hands up and quit working out altogether.

...But before I say anything else about this subject, maybe you need to ask yourself, "what are my goals?" Maybe you're fine with your current level of fitness and would like to spend more time on other things, perhaps even go out and have some fun - ha!

Anyway, many times when a person experiences these "plateau effects" and seem to be stuck in progress, they either need to take some time off, change their routine or completely alter the type of exercises they have been performing. For example, several years ago, I felt that I was tired of lifting the same ol' weights, doing the same boring bench presses and exercises, and was having to drag myself into the workout room because it got to where I dreaded lifting all that heavy weight. So, I decided to buy a Power Tower and started to build muscle without weights (pull-ups, dips, etc.). When I needed extra resistance, I would simply use a weighted vest. Now, after using the Power Tower for a few years, I'm about ready to start lifting heavy weights again and now I wished that I wouldn't have sold my damn weight bench to begin with! Ha-ha! But that's just an example, as changing the routines and exercises often temporarily rescues people from the "muscle building plateau" status.

Taking a break can also be great... Don't worry about losing muscle mass during your transitory hiatus; plus, if you've been working out for a few years, try to remember the points that were being made in the post "the mystery of muscle memory," as this should help you rest assured that your body will have no problem gaining what little muscle you may have lost during your period of inactivity.

When you do feel "leveled out" or whatever, this may also be a good time to become more quick & flexible with the muscle you already have. Being bulky isn't everything; in fact, many folks find that it slows them down and actually hurts their overall level of physical fitness. However, not everybody has the same goals, but I'm just saying that it might be a good idea to get out there and utilize you muscles in more natural movements as opposed to basic lifting, curling, pressing, etc. You know, things like shadow boxing, martial arts, various types of stretches, manual labor that replaces automatic gadgets (like chopping down trees with an axe instead of using a chain saw, using a push mower instead of a riding mower), and so on...
Speaking of boxing and martial arts, you may also be interested in my "picking out the right heavy bag / speed bag stand" entry, in addition to the "body opponent heavy bag" post.

Personally, I think some people may just need a little additional motivation. For example, when I used to feel stuck or in a rut, I'd just look at some motivational posters for my workout room, and alter the way my weight room looked by buying bikini posters, pictures of barely clad women, etc. Yep, throw in some nice visuals along with some motivational music, and you may be well on your way to new physical fitness goals that will free yourself from that "peaked" feeling you're suffering from.

---End of Post "Peaked, stuck, leveled out in progress & muscle gains?"