Knee Arthritis|Knock Knees|Virtual Knee Surgery

You should decrease your weight by proper diet routine. Remember that having a light weight is easy to perform exercises. You can hardly do it if you are big and perform slowly. Nevertheless, you will surpass this if you really work hard. Another workout to lessen your weight is power pushup. It is simple and portable alternative to expensive weight drill. You should also build some base strength. Jumping is challenging activity that you need to work out just to improve your muscles. In order to achieve this, you should try exercises that can definitely increase your jumping ability.

Try to do squat jumps. You need to squat as low as you can. Make sure that you maintain your balance and focus on your concentration. Next, jump as high as you can from that squatting position. Your arms should begin low and swing when you jump. Imagine also that you are trying to grab a basketball or catching a bird in the air. This is a good help to focus and may be a sort of inspiration. Another work out is running or "jogging" which is helpful for strengthening your legs as well as decreasing weight.

Improve your flexibility by jumping over a hurdle. It helps you in order to swing your first leg wherever you want it and you can maximize the height of your jump. If you are not flexible, you probably don't have balance. This may serve as your hindrance in improving your jumping skill. You should be in position. The right position before starting jumping can lead you to the highest jump. Be careful that your knees don't point inwards in knock knee position. It must be over the second toe. Always have your arms at your side.

Try also the dead lift. Dead lifts are good for strengthening exercise for the glutes and hamstring. It also develops body power by traps and upper back. The split squat is a kind of work out that is basically a single leg squat and the other is elevated behind you. Glute ham raise. Find a partner to hold your feet down while you place your knees on the floor. Then starting from the top, try to bend your back and keep your chest out and slowly exhale. This is a kind of direct hamstring exercises.

When discussing self-defense for beginners and those new to the realm of self-protection, I'm often asked...

"If I just want to get out of there and need to shut this guy down fast, what are the best areas of his body to hit?"

I love questions like this, because it tells me that the person asking it is thinking "strategically" rather than simply mechanically. If you ask questions, not related as much to "what" it is that you can do but, "how," "where," "when," and "why"...

...it tells me that you're thinking about results, effectiveness, and efficiency...

...all signs of a true martial arts master or self-defense expert.

As I see it, there are seven body targets that are perfect for the beginnner to focus on if they're looking to be able to drop an assailant quickly and effectively. As a quick side-bar, let me also say that there are many ways of attacking each target and selecting the best one in an attack situation will take more than just knowing it's there.

That being said, here are the 'Dirty 7':

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  1. Nose - Nothing stops an assailant, or anyone else for that matter, like a quick shot to the nose - in ANY direction! Even a light shot instantly brings tears to the eyes and disorientation. And... NO! It's not generally considered a killing shot by 'real' experts!
  
  


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  2. Eyes - Human beings are generally sight-oriented creatures. And, our bodies are hard-wired to protect our eyes from even the slightest danger. Even the mere threat of attacking your opponent's eyes will have him changing his tactics as a minimum, and running for the hills as a best-case scenario!
  
  


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  3. Jaw/Tip of Chin - A well-placed palm-strike to the tip of the chin, or even a thumb-tip driven up under the jaw-line will send an attacker realing in pain or knock him out cold!
  
  


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  4. Throat - Just as with the eyes, our bodies are wired to protect the most vulnerable areas. The windpipe, arteries, and veins that pack the neck and throat area are all life-sustaining systems. And... they are exposed to the world and without their own defenses! A firm grab or sharp blow to any of these systems can shut an attacker down - permanently!
  
  


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  5. Sternum/Solar Plexus - The bottom tip of the sternum, or breat bone, is called the xyphoid process (pronounced "zie-foid"). It's a small, triangular shaped, boney protrusion that actually has some flex to it. It points at the top of the abdominal cavity which, itself, is sensitive. These defensive "alarm" triggers are there to warn the body of attacks to the heart, lungs, and other organs NOT protected by the ribs in this region. Even a light punch or kick to this area can leave the assailant breathless - or worse.
  
  


• 
  6. Groin - Do I really need to describe the effects of a grab, punch, or kick here? Didn't think so. However, it would be a good idea to get the notion that this is only effective against men, right out of your head!
  
  And finally...
  
  


• 
  7. Knees - That's right... the knees. Everyone seems to think the knees are only weapons and yet, size-for-size, they're one of the weakest joints in the human body. In fact, it only takes about 65 lbs of pressure to pop an adult knee joint. And I don't care if we're talking about mine, or Arnold Shwartzenagger's!
  
  Well, there you have it. A quick list of the best targets for quickly ending a self-defense attack. Now... all you have to do is learn "how," "when," "where," to attack.

Everyone knows that the object of the game of golf is to knock
the ball into the holes dotted around the course. Before you can
do that however you have to get the ball within striking distance
of those holes and in order to do that you have to perform
several basic actions.

The first is to get the ball off on it's journey by giving it a
whack off the tee i.e. THE DRIVE!

If we exclude for the moment such factors as choice of club,
wind, rain, fog etc; how far your ball flies from the tee and
whether it lands plumb in the middle of the fairway or with the
birds in that clump of bushes way over to the side depends to a
great extent on one skill - your drive technique. The success of
your drive from the tee will depend on a combination of factors:
the way you address the ball i.e. the way you prepare to hit the
ball with the club, your swing and the follow-through. Get these
working and you stand a good chance of finishing the round before
nightfall.

Please note that all the following instructions apply to right
handed players. If you are a 'corkie' just reverse the
directions.

So, let's look first at THE STANCE

The most sublime swing ever seen on a golf course is not going to
be much use to you if you're pointing in the wrong direction in
the first place! So, when taking up your stance check your
alignment with the target hole. Stand before the ball so that
the hole you're aiming for is at 90 degrees to the left of the
way you're facing.

Stand nice and firmly with your feet about shoulder width apart.
Your left foot should point slightly to the left and your right
foot should be pointing straight in front. Keep your back
straight with your upper body inclined slightly forward from the
hips and your bottom pushed out a little. Your knees should be
slightly 'flexed' i.e. bent.

O.K. Check your grip and address the ball by placing the club
just behind the ball and almost touching it and make sure the
clubface is square to the 'ball to target' line. Then set your
shoulders, hips and feet parallel with the clubface and your
alignment will be correct. When you turn your head to look at
the target you should only just be aware of your left shoulder in
the very bottom corner of your vision.. Incorrect alignment is
responsible for probably half of the 'pulls' and 'slices' seen on
the golf course, so practice it! Choose a target and imagine a
line between that and your ball. Now, hold a club across your
shoulders and chest (parallel to the ground) and, keeping it on
the same, line lower it to the ground. If your alignment is
correct the club should still be parallel with the target to ball
line.

Ball Position

To keep your swing the same for all the 'lofted' clubs in your
bag, it will be necessary to adjust your position in relation to
the ball for each different club. For the driver, woods and long
clubs you should position yourself with the ball approximately opposite your
left heel. Going through the clubs, as they get shorter, your
body gets gradually closer to the ball and the ball moves
backwards in relation to your body until, for the shortest clubs
it is in the centre of your stance.

As with all articles in this series, what I am giving you here
are the basics. Once you have mastered these there is plenty of
scope for trying variations to find what works best for you.
But, master the basics first!

Lester Mann has written numerous articles with tips to help you
improve your basic golf skills. Others can be seen at
[http://www.MasterGolfBasics.com].

Being dumped by your boyfriend is not a nice feeling, because you get confronted with the idea that you are not good enough for someone. Sometimes this can even become the driving force to wanting him back, not because you really want to be with him.

So the first thing is to ask yourself why you want him back. Do you really want to be with him again, with all his irritating traits? We all have them.

It is possible that you want him back because he has suddenly become unavailable to you, and we want what we cannot have. Or maybe you want him back because your ego took a great knock when he announced he does not want to be with you anymore. Be honest with yourself and your feelings, and be sure that the only driving force to you fighting for this relationship is because you love him and you want to be with him.

If you truly love him and want him back, you now need to zoom into the relationship. What problems did you have in the relationship that would push him to end things with you? Did he give you any reasons why he was ending the relationship?

Access your behavior when you were with him. Did you hurt him in any way? Maybe you were unfaithful to him at some point or you did something that seriously disappointed him. if you did something that he did not agree with, apologize for hurting and disappointing him. Make it clear that you want a second chance with him, without nagging or harassing him.

Limit contact with him. Constantly calling him will translate to harassment to him, and you will definitely end up with the wrong result. This will be challenging for you, because you are missing him, and you are tempted to remind him how you feel about him, but it is the wrong move.

Also, act like you have your life together, even though you are feeling crappy about the situation. Keep busy and focus on other things besides your boyfriend. When you are not in his face, he will wonder what you are busy with, and might be curious enough to call you up.

If you are going to use jealousy to get him back by dating other men, be sure to be prepared for the consequences. This method could work, but then again it could backfire on you and you could lose him for good.

Whatever you do, do not mope around waiting for him. Go on with your life, get involved in activities that will get your self esteem up, and have fun. Let him see that you have a life without him, and when you are having fun, people that you were both close to will be telling him stuff about you and how much fun you are having. When he realizes what he is missing, he might consider getting back with you.

While there are literally tons of intricate routines specifically for "MMA Fighters" out these days, many of them trying to mimic the sport specific movements and components of the actual event, few are actually written by people who around real fights on a daily basis or who have actually trained and fought themselves. Strength training and conditioning are meant to increase an athletes GENERAL capacities, and any training outside of that realm is just plain nonsense.

As an MMA fighter, your objectives are to pracitce your sport and its components - boxing,muay thai,brazilian jiu jitsu,wrestling, judo, etc and to get really, really good at them. That alone will leave very little in the way of recovery time to do much else, therefore when doing our strength and conditioning work, your number one goal is to MAXIMIZE your time. Get strong, train various energy systems, and watch it translate on the mat or in the ring. If you do this WHILE concurrently practicing your sport, you will see vast improvements and be on your way to dominating your opponents.

But before we do anything, its important to understand what your needs really are as a fighter when it comes to strength and conditioning. Too many athletes are focused on the WRONG things and wonder why they are always tired, run down, and generally not seeing their hardwork in the weight room translate into the gym.

1) You need to be "generally" strong all over your entire body. While improving your squat or deadlift can certainly help you, all too often I see athletes focus all of their attention on just getting bigger numbers in the weight room and it hurts their performance BIG TIME.

2) You need to be able to handle your own bodyweight. I'm talking various push up variations (from the standard push up done CORRECTLY to more advanced variations, to handstand push ups, to recline rows, to being able knock out a ton of PULL UPS!

3) You need to train the body as one unit, and not as a bunch of separate bodyparts. Upper - Lower splits are fine, but for most MMA athletes I like to see them using total body sessions.

4) Get in and get out! If you are training striking and grappling for a total of 2-3 hours every day, then there is no need to be spending hours in the weight room! 30-40 minutes tops, and in some cases, as little as 15 minutes will be PLENTY to get in a great session.

For this program, you are going to NEED just 2 pieces of equipment, but if you have access to more then feel free to substitute anything else in. First, I recommend making a sandbag anywhere from 50-70% of your own bodyweight. If you already have a lot of experience in the weight room, lean towards 60-70%, if you're new to all of this, go with a bag around 40-50% of your weight. Next, all you'll need is a pull up bar. Just these 2 things alone, along with your own bodyweight, is plenty to keep you improving for a long time. This is just a 2 day program, leaving plenty of time to get better at punching people and wrapping them up like a python on the ground.

day 1:

warm up: 3 sets done in a circuit
push ups x 10
squats x 15
sprawls x 10
reverse lunges x 10 (5 each side)
mountain climbers x 10 (5 each side

a1) sandbag clean and press 4x3-5
***clean the bag to the "rack" position on your shoulders and power it overhead. lower to the ground and repeat.

a2) mixed grip pull ups 4 x reps (stop 1-2 short of failure)
***use a different grip each set (overhand, underhand, towel, wide, close, etc)

b1) advanced push up variation (divebomber push ups, incline push ups, etc) 3x reps
***pick one TOUGH push up variation and stop 1-2 reps short of failure

b2) bent over sandbag rows 3x6-10
***just like a regular barbell row, maintain a flat back and explosively row into your abdomen.

c) sandbag bear hug squats x 20 total reps (try to do so in as few sets as possible)
***bear hug your sandbag and sit back just like a regular squat. Be sure to squat deep and maintain a flat back. Don't let that chest cave!

day 2:
warm up: 3 sets done in a circuit
robot push ups (from plank position to push up position back to plank ) x 10
squats x 15
sprawls x 10
lateral lunges x 10 (5 each side)
groiners (bringing feet to outside of hands) x 10 (5 each side)

a1) sandbag shouldering 4x4-8 (2-4 each side)
*** rip the sandbag from the floor to one shoulder. lower to ground and repeat for other side.

a2) handstand push ups 4x reps
*** Kick your feet up onto a wall and use your arms to lower your self to the ground and back up. If you cant do a full handstand push up, just hold the static position for time.

a3) mixed grip pull ups 4 x reps
***like on day 1, try to use a different grip on each set. don't get comfortable!

b1) sandbag bear hug reverse lunges 2x8-10 (4-5 each side)
*** bear hug the bag and perform reverse lunges in alternating fashion.

b2) sandbag bear hug goodmornings 2x8-10
***just like a regular goodmorning or romanian deadlift, bear hug the bag and push your butt back keeping your knees slightly bent and weight on your heels.

c) Carry for distance.
***Bear hug your sandbag and carry that sucker for distance. Try and cover at least 200'.

I've Been Told my Feet Pronate, What Does Pronate Mean?

If you pronate it means you turn or rotate your foot inward when weight is applied. The heel bone angles and the arch tends to collapse, often causing a 'knock-kneed' position. To pronate is a normal motion of the foot that allows the foot to absorb shock as it hits the ground. However, when you pronate too much, the complete force of your weight is not properly distributed. When the arch collapses too much, it reaches its end point and no longer works to absorb impact.

Overpronation also places the joints, ligaments, tendons, muscles, and other soft tissues around the foot and ankle in a compromised position. This creates a mechanical problem with your walking cycle and alters alignment at the feet, knees, hips, and back. It can cause pain and problems in any of these areas.

What Harm Can Overpronation Do?

If you pronate too much while walking or standing, you are at risk for developing several conditions. These may include: foot pain, knee pain, shin splints, Achilles tendonitis, plantar fasciitis, heel spurs, back pain, and many others. People who pronate too much are often said to have flat feet and often experience overuse injuries such as stress fractures and tendonitis.

How Do I Know If I Pronate Too Much?

One sign that shows you may over-pronate is your shoe wear. Take a look at the inside of the shoe to see if there is more wear here than on the outside.

If you pronate too much your heel bone will appear angled with the inside of your ankle moving in over the inside of the heel. If you view your feet from the side, you can check to see if there is space between the arch and the floor or if the arch lays flat when you are standing. If it does lay flat, you have flattened arches and probably pronate too much. You will also see this with a wet footprint...your print should show a space for the arch. If it doesn't you probably over-pronate.

What Can I Do To Help If I Over-Pronate?

Often your doctor will prescribe orthotic insoles to help with your condition. Orthotic insoles work to correct abnormal foot motion and alignment. They are designed to prevent you from pronating too much. Foot orthotics designed for overpronation have a good arch support and usually tip your foot away from the pronated position. They are also firm enough that they do not collapse under your weight when you stand on them.

One of the most important decisions you can make is which footwear you choose. When choosing a shoe, make sure you choose one with very good support and a strong heel counter. This will help control the motion of your feet and help any orthotic insoles you may be using to do their job better.

Foot muscle strengthening exercises may also be helpful. A physiotherapist or physical therapist would be the best person to help you with these exercises.

If you pronate, but are not experiencing any symptoms, you may want to use over the counter orthotic insoles to control your pronation. Most over the counter foot orthotics are too soft to control movement and will allow pronation to occur, but there are some that are firm enough to help stop you from pronating. They may be very beneficial in preventing future problems caused by overpronation.

Arthritis, a much dreaded word, especially as you get older. The term arthritis is a general name for several specific diseases that all result in degeneration of the joints can can cause stiff aching sensations. Osteoarthritis is by far the most common form of arthritis and it is characterized by the progressive wearing-away of the cartilage within the knee joint. The severe pain that accompanies osteoarthritis can seriously hamper the movement of the sufferer. If you have been diagnosed with osteoarthritis one of the best things you can do for your knees is to wear a knee brace for arthritis.

The Structure of the Knee

The knee is essentially a joint where the ends of the two leg bones meet. The structure of the knee is such that it allows the knee to flex naturally without much resistance or any pain. This is due to two pieces of cartilage found within the knee joint that lie at the exact point where the two leg bones meet each other. These two pieces of cartilage allow the knee to flex smoothly and prevents the ends of the bones from grinding against each other.

How Arthritis Affects the Knee

The most common problem that patients suffering from arthritis face is that the cartilage in their knees gets progressively worn away. In the absence of cartilage, the bones in the knee begin grinding against each other causing a pain that is often simply unbearable. Sometimes, simply flexing the knee becomes extremely painful when you have this condition. Patients with advanced arthritis find it impossible to put any weight on their knees.

How a Knee Brace for Arthritis Can Help

Given that the knees have to bear almost the full weight of the body, there is a typically a great deal of pressure causing wear and tear within the knee joints. If some of this pressure can be relieved degeneration of the knee cartilage could be staved off or slowed down.

A knee brace for arthritis serves to help provide this additional support. A knee brace wraps snugly around the knee and helps take some body weight off the knee joints, thus reducing the pressure exerted on them.

For patients who are just developing arthritis, a knee brace can help prevent permanent damage to the knee whereas for patients who are in the advanced stages of arthritis, a knee brace for arthritis can be useful in helping you to maintain proper alignment. Many times one side of your cartilage is more worn away than the other side of your knee, and a knee brace will help to keep your knee in alignment as a result. This can help individuals who were previously rendered bedridden to regain at least a modicum of mobility.

Wearing A Knee Brace On A Regular Basis

Even if you do not have arthritis, you would be doing your knees a huge favor by wearing knee braces for arthritis on a regular basis. The cartilage of the knee is prone to wear and tear even during simple everyday activities such as walking and more so when indulging in high impact sports that involve a lot of jogging, running or jumping. If you are going to engage in one of these activities you should consider supporting your knees by wearing knee braces.

A good environment for you ferret is both safe and stimulating. Ferrets are intensely curious creatures, and as such, they have a propensity to get themselves into danger, and the zeal to explore everything. These curious critters knock over drinking glasses to taste what is inside. Funny fuzzies escape over and under barriers to explore the other side. Mettlesome mustelids dance joyfully around your feet, unconcerned about the giants around them. The key to a successful ferret environment is to nurture their curiosity while simultaneously protecting them from it, and that requires safety, supervision, playtime, and toys.

Supervision

Supervision is important. I am a firm believer in caging my ferrets when I am asleep or not at home. Their cage is large and has multiple levels. I change their bedding once a week (or more if merited). I clean their litter boxes daily, keep food in their bowls, and change their water daily (and twice in the summer). Ferrets can only get into so much danger whilst in their cage. (Sometimes you hear reports of strange accidents in the cage. They are less common than unattended ferrets outside of their cage.) So, supervise your ferrets.

Safety

Now supervising your ferrets is fine, but they are fast, so keep boundaries in place. I like Plexiglas because the ferrets cannot scale it. Before your ferrets roam in their play area, get down on your hands and knees and look for holes into which ferrets can slip. My ferrets discovered that if my dishwasher door is open, there's a hole underneath the dishwasher lid that allows them to get into the cabinetry. Ferrets can get into tiny openings. My husband jokes that they are two-dimensional. Make sure every place the ferrets can get to is safe. Keep glasses out of their reach, and remember some fearless ferrets jump. Don't have any reclining sofas or chairs where the ferrets can get to them. Recliners kill ferrets. Make sure your ferrets can't get into your cupboards; I'm fond of magnetic locks. Check all your window screens to make sure they are not damages. Make sure their play area doesn't have a door opening to the outside, or be very careful about the door if it does.

Playtime

The next step to a good environment is to play with your ferret. Ferrets need to be stimulated. They need to play. Put a large towel on the floor. Let the ferrets get on it and slide them around the floor. Tease your ferrets with a toy feather, like a cat's feather on a string. Chase your ferret and let them chase you. Play tug with them and a dog's tug rope. Let the ferrets chase a remote control toy. (Be careful with this. My ferrets destroy the toy if they catch it.) Dance with your ferrets when they dance. Let them crawl through the covers on your bed, making tunnels for them and blocking off tunnels. Train your ferret to do tricks while providing treats as rewards for success. Play and training are good ways to keep your little guys' brains active.

Toys

Since you aren't going to be playing with the ferrets 100% of the time they aren't cages, make sure your ferrets have fun things to do without you too. Put fun things for them in their cages and outside of their cage. Build or buy them tubes to crawl through, or use the crinkly tunnels made for cats. Make them mazes. Give them balls to roll. Make puzzles for them. (Put a favorite toy in a container and let them figure out how to get the toy.) How do I get it? Build them a rice box to dig in. (Be careful when building a digging box. Don't use a dusty material that could stick in their lungs.) Put treats in their digging box so they can dig for treasure. Let them "steal" some soft, small toys so they can "stash" them.

Size means nothing in the martial arts. It doesn't matter how small or tall your are: everyone is capable of strength, speed, skill and most importantly, the ability to defend themselves. But some people think that even if a small person was to win a fight, it would take a long, strenuous effort. With these tips, you smaller martial artists can prove larger people are no better:

1. Don't hesitate. Small people are often self conscious about their size and are reluctant to act for fear of failing. Go straight in to strike or execute some other technique with all your effort, strength and speed.

2. Use your mobility and lower center of gravity as an advantage. Get under their kicks and knock them off balance, weave in and out of range. Distance and position, as I mentioned in an another article, is what can make an invincible fighter. Keep moving; judge distance (Note: because a smaller fighter might have less of a reach, close quarters combat should be something he/she strives for skill in. If you can stay close but out of their attacks, do--but be wary of grabs and takedowns)

3. Don't go to the ground. Weight, unless you are proficient in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu or other ground fighting arts, is something that will be working against you if a bigger opponent takes you to the ground. If you are mounted and are being beaten, there is no way to win the fight without the proper knowledge. This especially goes for self defense situations.

4. Fight dirty. Go for the eyes, groin, neck, knees--but ONLY in a self defense situation. Someone fighting you who is bigger is already exploiting an unfair advantage, so you must use all of yours in order to defend yourself. That means cheap-shots.

5. Modify techniques to use for your advantage. Don't make them higher, but change them slightly or use a technique differently in order to compensate for lack of size. Many Karatemen, who were often barely five feet tall, developed their Karate to use their small size as an advantage.

6. Use your opponent's weight against them. This is obvious, but many people do not know how to do this correctly. Learn to yield and then snap back, like bamboo. Or to blend with the energy and then suddenly redirect it. Picking up techniques from Taiji Quan (Tai Chi Chuan) and Aikido will help tremendously here.

7. TRAIN, TRAIN, TRAIN. Practice constantly. Workout out every day to make your self stronger and faster and tougher. Improve your skill, and practice will both larger and similar sized opponents. In order to get ahead of the big guys, we have to work hard!

Never feel inferior because of your size. You CAN defend yourself against larger people, and you don't need brute strength. Technique, if correctly practiced, will always prevail against an opponent. So go train and get better!

"My Yellow Page ad just isn't bringing in the calls I need!" I've worked with Yellow Pages advertising (in one form or another) for 30 years and of all the complaints I've heard about this unique medium, this is by far the curse most often thrown at them. It's no surprise. Flip through your directory and you'll see why. Same dusty ads... telling the same tired story... to the same undefined audience (everyone). Of course prospects aren't responding - these ads speak to NO ONE powerfully!

Blame "the message" dear friends, not the messenger! When every ad speaks the same tired phrases to the same "generalized buyer," prospects have no reason to choose one ad over another, and your competitors are just as likely to be chosen and called as you are. Poor ad response is the inevitable result. But not to worry! Learn to speak to the prospects needs and fears and you'll bring competitors to their knees, while plumping up your wallet for the next 365 days.

Want to speak to the prospect? Well, who are you trying to persuade? Exactly who do you want to call you? I know, I know... you want as many calls as possible, so your answer is "everyone in town". The problem is, Yellow Page ads that try to persuade EVERY reader wind up motivating very few. People are looking for someone "special" who genuinely cares about solving their specific problem... someone they can truly trust. Speaking specifically about these needs as a specialist will allow you to connect powerfully with your target audience and create these warm, fuzzy feelings - carving a unique place in the market for your business.

Here's an example. Let's say your baseball obsession has left you with a painful arm injury and your doctor tells you that chiropractic care may help ease your pain. Soon, you're flipping through the chiropractor heading in your Yellow Page directory. Your eyes quickly glaze over as you're bombarded with a boatload of ads that look and say basically the same thing... "Are You In Pain?" Uh no, I'm browsing here because I have a thing for chiropractors! Don't waste precious space telling your prospects what they already know!

Odds are there isn't a single message that makes a personal, emotional connection with YOUR specific problem. But what if you came across an ad with the following? (Headline) "Quick, Gentle Relief For Your Sports Injury..." (Subhead) "From the Chiropractor Professional Athletes Rely On." The body copy goes on to explain how this chiropractor has earned a glowing reputation with the local sports teams AND it even includes a few of their testimonials. The ad's large, unexpected graphic (a batter smashing a ball into space) reinforces the ad's headline and conveys the benefit of calling this doctor (regained mobility). So, are you going to call one of the many chiropractors that promise pain relief for "everything under the sun" (including migraines, ear infections and scoliosis) or are you going to place your trust in a sports injury specialist who you perceive to be a sports nut, just like you?

The more tightly focused your ad is, the greater response you can expect to achieve. It's far better to persuade 10% of the audience 100% of the way, than 100% of audience only 10%. Speak only to the people you most want to attract and they WILL answer you. You'll differentiate your business from all the rest in a powerful way and basically eliminate the competition!

Speaking of being different. What kind of graphics are you using in your Yellow Page ad? Does your "unexpected" image grab the reader's eye and set you apart from the rest in a meaningful way? Or are you running the same yawn-inducing, expected images everyone else is using? The image you choose should leap off the page, reinforce your headline concept (benefit) and highlight the "solution" to the prospects problem, NOT the problem itself.

It sounds obvious, but you'd be surprised how many chiropractic Yellow Page ads depict sad, aching individuals clutching their backs in agony! What are these doctors thinking? Probably the same thing personal injury attorneys are thinking when they place horrific car wreck photos in their ads. Or plumbers who show a panic-stricken homeowner standing in knee-high toilet water!

The image you choose for your Yellow Page ad must be positive and make your prospects feel comfortable (and safe) about calling you. There are exceptions of course, but unless you're a Yellow Page direct response ad design expert, steer clear of any images that could carry negative connotations. Show prospects an image that reinforces the reason to call you (the solution to their problem) and they WILL be much more likely to notice your ad, read it entirely, and call you!

How about the overall visual impact of your Yellow Page ad? Does your ad stand head and shoulders above all the clutter and "invite" readers in? If not, you're wasting money. Learning the secrets of effective ad design will make your ad leap off the page and draw readers into the meaty content they'll need, in order to make an informed decision. Successful Yellow Page ads usually contain 4-5 main elements. They are: a powerful headline (and possibly a sub-head), emotion-based body copy, a striking visual and a compelling call-to-action. The way in which these key elements are presented and interact with one another will largely determine your success or failure in the Yellow Pages. So hold on... Yellow Page ad design primer straight ahead...

Your primary objective in the Yellow Pages is to get noticed amidst a slew of competitors. After all, they won't ever read your content if they don't even notice your ad. Don't worry, it's not that difficult.

• Run your headline BIG and bold at the very top of your ad.


• Use a large, unique, unexpected graphic that grabs the eye and reinforces your main headline concept.


• Keep your body copy fairly small (9 to 11 point) to conserve space for your large, eye-grabbing graphic and headline.


• Watch your white space! Empty space in your ad is just as critical as the content because it makes your message stand out that much more. Ample white space also makes the layout easier to navigate, giving it an uncluttered and inviting presentation.

As you lay out the main elements of your Yellow Page ad, try to create a logical visual "eye flow" that directs the reader's eye from the "point of entry" (your main headline) at the very top, to the body copy in the middle and then gently deposits them at the call to action, which should appear at the bottom of the ad. Make note that the visual point of entry can also be your unique graphic image. Whatever your eye-grabber is, just make sure it helps identify your target audience, commands attention, conveys the solution and makes the reader want to continue reading.

These are just a few suggestions to help make your phones buzz big time. There are dozens more on the way, so stay tuned! Contrary to what most Yellow Page marketers claim, there really are no "secrets" to successful Yellow Pages advertising design. High-performance Yellow Page ads contain a few key elements that are put together using established, time-proven strategies. Incorporate them into your very next Yellow Page ad campaign and you will reap stellar results. If you could use a few pointers along the way, please don't hesitate to let me know.

My wife Wendy and I have been hiking in the Grand Canyon for a little under 25 years. We have stepped off both Rims hundreds of times and as of the writing this article (Fall 2011) have just under (40) Rim2Rims2Rims - several of them both ways, non-stop. We live at the South Rim in the Grand Canyon Village and hike or backpack into the Canyon 3-4 times a week. We are not Park Rangers, but do consider ourselves experts when hiking into the Grand Canyon. Quite often we see folks making mistakes, one mistake is usually okay, 2 or 3 combined mistakes can easily become a disaster. However, in this extreme environment even one mistake is enough to be fatal.

According to recent Grand Canyon National Park statistics posted in the Backcountry Office. 86% of the fatalities in the Grand Canyon are male, 47% are between the ages of 40-59. 38% of the fatalities happen on Bright Angel Trail in which 49% are heat caused and 42% are a cardiac event. These are folks that should know better, but fail to recognize warning signs well enough in advance to correct the problem.

HYDRATION
The byline is " Hydrate or Die!!". If you are hiking more than a half mile down the trail, you should have a liter of water with you. If you are planning to travel more than one and a half miles, you should be utilizing a hydration bladder. A trip to Indian Gardens on the Bright Angel Trail (4.5 miles one way) or Skeleton Point on the South Kaibab Trail (3 miles one way), even during the winter, you should have at least three liters of water available each way...double that during the warmer months. You should be sipping water all the time, do not wait until you're thirsty to drink. That is why a hydration bladder is highly recommended.

On a daily basis during the summer at least half the hikers we see on the trail are not carrying enough water. We see folks literally skipping down BA Trail with a half liter water bottle in their hand without a care in the world. A couple hours later we see them attempting to go back up the trail in very rough shape. This is why the GCNP utilizes PSAR - Preventative Search and Rescue Rangers, usually strategically stationed along the main trails. They will stop you and turn you around if you are not carrying enough water during the warmer months.

OUTERWEAR
The Grand Canyon offers perhaps the best people watching in the world....better than any Wal-Mart. The costumes that folks adorn themselves with for an outdoor hiking experience is simply amazing!! I have watched people hiking downhill dressed all in black with a black hat when it is 130 degrees in the sun at the Colorado River. They seem more concerned about making a fashion statement than their own personal well being.

During the summer, you should only be hiking in the cooler hours of the morning. You should be wearing some type of light nylon shorts that are breathable, a short sleeve COTTON tee-shirt in a light color, white is preferred. You should have on a lightweight hat in a light color. A bandana is highly recommended. You do not want to wear a wick dry nylon top, you will boil in it. You need to wear a cotton top so that the sweat will flow freely into the shirt and assist your body in the cooling process. During the winter, you need to be wearing layers that will easily peel off. The cooler times of the year is when you want to be wearing a wick dry top, with an extra fleece or wick dry outerlayer. Nylon pants that convert to shorts are an added bonus. Again, a bandana is highly recommended.

POLE LENGTH
This is one of my pet peeves and I stop several folks on the trail heading downhill every time I hike off the Rim. When traveling downhill, your pole length needs to be shorter. Quite a few folks on the trail actually have their wrist higher than their elbows - ouch!! (This will give you a serious case of tennis elbow.) I prefer to keep my pole(s) a couple inches below my elbow. This allows the hiker to reach down and take the pressure off of your knees by distributing weight onto the pole(s). I also only use one pole going downhill, on maintained trails such as the Kaibab or Bright Angel, this is not such a big deal. However on non-maintained trails such as Hermits, Grandview or Tanner it is best to use one pole. The reasoning is that you will be switching that pole from one hand to the other almost constantly as you reach, pull and grab with your free hand.

PHYSICAL ABILITY
I recently completed another Rim2Rim2Rim with 20 of my friends of all different levels of ability. My one friend from Indiana had never done any extreme hiking before. He trained for two years and did a fantastic job completing the hike in 19 hours. Two years of training might seem like going a bit over the top for one hike, but he has already booked for next year and having completed the circuit once already, he will no doubt knock off a couple hours on his time.

If you are going to hike more than a couple miles into the Canyon I strongly recommend that you begin training 4-6 weeks in advance. I recommend hiking 5 miles a day every other day and gradually working up to the steepest possible incline. If you must work out in a gym, forgo the elliptical trainer for a stair stepper. Remember going downhill is optional, going uphill is mandatory.

ACCLIMATIZATION
The South Rim averages around 7000' and the North Rim averages around 8000'. Unless you live in the mountains above 5000' you are going to have issues with altitude. The best way to combat altitude issues is to acclimatize properly. I have done extensive mountaineering in the Andes above 20,000'. We always figure after 3 days you're 70% acclimatized and after 10 days you're 100% acclimatized. So, I would recommend spending at least two nights sleeping at higher altitude prior to doing any serious hiking in the Canyon.

In addition, there are a few tips that are well known in mountaineering circles. First off, due to the higher elevation and the dryer conditions you need to double the intake of water. Energy drinks and Goo packets are okay, but nothing beats drinking large amounts of good old fashioned water. Another really good tip is to exhale through pursed lips. This tends to create more oxygen in the bloodstream which will make your uphill battle easier. Finally, if the going is really tough, you can always utilize a "rest step". A rest step is only used when going up steep terrain. You are just simply locking your uphill knee in place for a fraction of a second once you complete the uphill step. This will allow all of your weight to balance on your skeletal system rather than being in constant motion. If you have ever watched a Sherpa going up a large Himalayan peak you will see that they have perfected this technique. Sherpa's rest their way to the summit.

MENTAL ATTITUDE
My wife Wendy considers this to be the top priority other than water. Hiking in the Grand Canyon can be a long and arduous undertaking. Quite often hikers are struggling uphill for hours and tend to lose focus. When they lose focus their pace fluctuates wildly...they speed up and slow down, resting at every switchback. You need to pick a pace in which you're comfortable, no matter how slow and maintain a constant speed. This is much better for you than constantly taking a break.

Mountaineers have something called "summit fever". This is when you're focusing on attaining the summit and are able to block out some of the pain from going up steep inclines for hours on end. It's similar to a "second wind" that marathon runners look forward too. In the Grand Canyon especially, you want to finish strong. If you're lackadaisical and lose focus, the Canyon will eat you up and you will be shattered resting at every switchback.

Keeping a strong mental attitude works hand in hand with your abilities. If you overestimate your ability, it will be difficult to maintain the proper mental attitude. If you're comfortable with your progress and can maintain a steady focused pace you will breeze up the Canyon wall and before you know it will be standing on one of the Rims.

Remember - It's just a walk in the Park!!

United States of America is the financial hub of the world operating with capitalistic approach driven by the Laissez-faire principle. Being a member and a dominant force in WTO and NAFTA, it propelled the world markets to be more open, more integrated and more accessible to drive global competition. America connected the global business to business partners with rich infrastructure and a world class SCM for importing and exporting of goods for the benefit of consumers.

With consumers at the center of attraction and housing market at boom trade flourished across all sectors pushing the Dow Jones to highest ever of 14,111 points in October 1st, 2007. Innovation peaked and capital markets confidence increased tremendously during this period and corporations started to relax the rules of trade in the absence of regulations to book record quarterly profits. Each and every country, small and big, powerful and powerless, social and economic looked up to USA for direction, opportunity and leadership in trade.

Asia witnessed some of the biggest booms in history lead by China and India. Europe stock index rose as well due to global competition. Early part of 21st century witnessed unprecedented growth in the domestic housing market of United States where the prices of the houses that were bought in 2002, 2003 increased a record 50% by 2006. As per the data released by Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight, the HPI (House Pricing Index) increased by 12% each year 2004, 2005 and 2006 and started to decline starting 2007 ("OFHEO", 2006). When everything was looking rosy and green, greediness took over the corporate America sending the domestic economy to a free-fall and creating global crises.

As corporations got greedy they started lending money to people who were less than qualified to own homes. While they might have increased the customer base, the number of clients and gained in the short run, the long run yielded troubled results. Many dedicated and good citizens lost their homes and life long savings as they became prey to unethical marketers and salesmen forcing them to declare bankruptcy as the payments after ARM increased beyond what they could pay for. There were schemes designed to pay just the interest and no principle for few years to get more people to buy the real-estate. In some instances people bought more than one home out of greediness so they can make money out of price increase. Land and homes which were traditionally treated as assets were treated as liquidity items and people started investing along the lines of day trading.

As they declared bankruptcy, they lost everything including their nest egg too. Corporations on the other side started to report record losses in later part of 2008 due to increased foreclosures. Each and every foreclosure started to impact the corporate finances and with house prices dropping corporations had to sell the foreclosed homes for way less worth only to book losses. These losses were in the billions and as companies couldn't sustain the losses they started to go either bankrupt or knock the doors of government for help to stay afloat. This was all a scheme of predatory lending or Sub Prime mortgage caused by unethical and socially irresponsible corporate executives with greed as their core business model.

Corporations in United States of America along with legislative council appear to be following the mantra of socializing the losses and privatizing the profits. Never in the history of America has the government considered stepping into market economy to use tax payers' money to bail out private sector of a large magnitude. The much failed policies of corporations seem to be getting a second chance to charter new course. While the congress debates on how to effectively use the tax payer's money to help the struggling companies, no one ever seems to ask what the social responsibility of these organizations is when they are profitable, rich and blooming?

The greediness of the corporations to hoard money under any circumstances got the economy to its knees leaving the responsible citizens to suffer. The CEOs always seem to make the big bucks in millions irrespective of the results posted by the company. Though it's nice to see a responsive government that is reacting to the market and trying to avoid a financial crisis of great depression in nature, the questions still remains to the extent the government should involve in the capitalistic market and how it can be accountable to make sure tax payers money is recovered with interest.

The ethical and social responsibility of the corporations towards their shareholders, community and country has faded away when they got involved with predatory lending. Tricking the innocent citizens to deeper problems by luring them to short term gains for long term losses for their bonuses is a sickening and unethical business practice. Clearly these corporations did not have any true governance embedded into the culture. These unethical business practices that started with the housing market has now sneaked to the financial sector, banking sector, automobile sector and may even to services sector creating a big uncontrollable ripple effect.

Corporations need to understand that their role is much larger than they realize in the in the world of economy. It is the responsibility of these corporations' executives to lay down a road map for their share holders to create innovative products in a cost efficient manner while enriching the infrastructure and careers of their employees. They share greater responsibility to their communities than they realize and they need to look after those communities and not vice versa.

While the CEOs are called upon to the capitol for hearings on why they should be bailed out, there should be separate meetings from House of Representatives on what regulations to be enforced to avoid these situations from occurring again. Only way to put a tab on unethical practices is by regulating the ethical principles of public sector. While some critics might argue that it is not the responsibility of the government to monitor ethical responsibility element of what private and public corporations do, then the same argument holds true for bailing them out as well. There is no middle ground, either government gets fully involved or steps aside for organizations to navigate their future.

Every company, every state, every school and every church that is in trouble is now looking for the government for financial assistance to bail them out. United States of America is in the verge of becoming a socialist country. While bail out may be a temporary solution, the government needs to look harder for permanent solutions so that the corrupt CEOs are put on the hook through regulations. Corporations on the other hand need should learn to be better "corporate citizens"

(Cutter Consortium and USAID, 2002, p. 6).

Saving gas has been a topic that's been foremost on everyones mind as of late. I remember when I was a youngster, I used to work at a gas station and was shocked when the price reached $.20 a gallon. "Saving gas" meant not going out Thursday night to run up and down the drags because you are saving your gas for Friday night when everybody else would be there. Now days $.20 wouldn't even get you TO the gas station let alone do anything to that little needle in your dashboard should you try to put it in your tank. We're actually happy when the price of gas remains below $3.50 a gallon! Saving gas is what this article is about- different ways of saving gas and some alternative fuels that may one day replace the gas we use to get from here to there.

The best way to save gas is probably one of the easiest ways as well. It doesn't cost a thing, except possibly a little time and you would really be surprised at just how much gas it can save. It's called "going slower"! A lot of people have an issue with this and I have to admit I did for a long time as well, not thinking that going slower would make any difference, but I've been converted and so can you. Here's my experience with this method of saving gas.

Like most people my age, I'm a speed freak. I loved to find out what kind of speed I could get out of the car on the freeway. Between my home and work its approximately 22 miles and I often challenged myself to see how long, or more precisely, how little time it would take to get to work. Of course, always staying within the speed limit (wink wink). I have a Ford Windstar van as I have certain medical conditions that disallow me from driving or riding in the small boxy cars they sell nowadays. Not that I would want to - even with the 50 miles per gallon that they get. In kind of a big guy being 6'4" tall and 280 pounds... I simply don't like sitting with my knees in my ears!

Anyway I decided to try an experiment. I've always wondered what those double lines by the number 55 on my speedometer meant so what I did was this: I found the "shortest route" to work (according to MapQuest) and started driving it every day at the maximum speed of 55 mph. Now this shorter route is approximately the same number of miles as it is taking the freeway to work but WOW! Did I notice the difference! My 15 gallon tank in the WindStar was more than half full after a normal week of driving. After the second week the tank would usually be empty and I would have to refill it, but I still had more than a quarter of the tank left in my van! I did some quick refill recalculations and found out that I'm only using two thirds the amount of fuel that I would on the freeway. Now I know what those double my lines mean! Put the needle at the double lines and instead of getting 32 miles per gallon you get 45 miles per gallon! It may take me a couple of more minutes to get to work, maybe a little more stop and go, but I saved a lot of money on gas and that's the whole point isn't it?

Another way they've found to save gas without your even knowing it, is to put additives in your gasoline to water it down a bit. One of the most popular ones is grain alcohol, something that I use to seek out as a kid to drink, not put in my car. They say it burns cleaner and I have to admit that it has to be better than the lead that they used to put in the gas because of its anti-knock qualities. Besides, with today's supercomputers that they have in cars, knocking has become a thing of the past (I always use the doorbell anyway).

There are other alternative fuels that can be gotten and used in your car listed among these are propane once again pure alcohol, fuel cells, and even water, yes water!

On the next page of find details on some of these different alternative fueling methods but here's a short list of some of the methods that I've looked into so for:

FUEL CELL-generates electricity with standard water. Zero emission which makes it a very attractive source of energy however there are some major drawbacks with this particular system including the cost, size, weight and so on...

GRAIN ALCOHOL-another great way to power your car! However it does take some major modifications to the engine. But it has zero emissions very low emissions and most of the exhaust is water vapor. One of the things I like most about this fuel is I find mixes great with orange juice on ice!

PROPANE-this is actually been around awhile and some companies still use it to power their trucks around town. The highly explosive nature of the gas under pressure and the fact that you have to carry so much of it are only two of the major disadvantages with the type of fuel.

HYDROGEN-the idea of hydrogen cars is been around for quite some time as well but it's even more explosive than propane and harder to carry around! More on the next page.

And last but not least (and also my favorite)

WATER-you heard me right, WATER! This is the same water you drink. All you have to do is fill up your tank with it and drive away! One of the major advances in the recent decade, this gives of propulsion from an almost unlimited resource and automatically replenishes itself as well! The ideal fuel! More on this on my next page.

Just remember the one thing that you can do now to help everybody save fuel saved gas save our environment and basically save our planet...

DRIVE SLOWER-look for that little double line on your speedometer and make the needle point at it as often as you can. It worked for me and I'm sure it will work for you.

Give it a shot! What we got to lose?

Medical lift chairs, also called recliner lift chairs, are very helpful for seniors and those with mobility challenges. But there is a certain way they should be used and set up for the maximum benefit. Here is how to use a medical lift chair and set it up the right way.

Medical lift chairs are a great tool and piece of furniture for anyone that has trouble getting in and out of chairs. They are designed to make it very easier for a person getting into a chair and help the person get up out of the chair when they want to stand up.

These are big, heavy chairs, a lot like a traditional recliner. They come in a variety of sizes to accommodate people of different sizes. When bring this piece of furniture into the home you want to make sure you have enough space. It is important to keep in mind that the chair will be tipping and reclining, so make sure the chair is at a minimum 2 feet from any walls or surrounding furniture. Depending on the version, some fop the chairs will recline 180 degrees, so you want to make sure it is on a space that you won't knock anything over.

As well, you want to make sure there are no area rugs in front of the chair. The person getting into this chair will have mobility challenges to begin with and a lose rug will present a slip and fall hazard.

After placing the chair in the appropriate space, it will need to be plugged into the wall. Also, make sure it is securely attached at the back of the chair. Most lift chairs have power systems that include a battery backup. That is very helpful so the chair still operates in the event of a black out. Make sure this battery back up is functioning and is turned on.

On many recliner lift chairs the remote that controls the reclining feature will require batteries. If that is the case make sure you put in the proper batteries.

When preparing to sit in the chair, make sure the chair is fully raised first. That way all you have to do is back into it and sit slightly. Sitting should take very little bending of the knees.

Once you are positioned in the hair press the button on the remote control to adjust the recline position. You will be able to stop at any position that is comfortable. A 2 position chair will recline anywhere up to 90 degrees. A 3 position chair will recline anywhere up to 180 degrees. The infinite chair will have a separate button to adjust the foot rest.

You want to make sure you always keep the hand controller within reach so you can quickly make an adjustment when desired.

When you want to get out of the lift chair, once again press the button on the controller and tilt the chair forward. Let the chair do the work. You should be able to step right out of the chair very easily.

As the knee approaches the position where it is going to lock the femur rotates inwards, a movement which is only small but vital to the normal function of the knee, indicating its great complexity beyond a simple hinge. The minor movements which occur internally in the joint are restricted in the knee and it cannot manage to lose any of these small motions without functional loss as a consequence. Accessory movements are the name given to these limited gliding and sliding movements which normally occur during activity but which can't be done on their own.

The knee is subject to conflicting demands for both mobility and stability, needing to perform as a strong and predictable support and also to function to provide mobility very quickly. In the example of gait the knee has at one point to stabilise the body under its whole weight and next release the stability and move forward as a mobile segment. Walking then consists of a cycle of the knees locking to bear weight and then unlocking with predictable regularity, allowing a person to walk rapidly and make considerable progress without falling. As a knee gives early problems this may involve the loss of accessory movements.

The knee is very powerful but also capable of very fine movements in response to changes such as uneven ground. It has the power to allow us to squat down and stand up again without missing a beat. Side to side accessory movement in the knee is limited to a small range but this may help with adapting to an uneven surface, with a gapping of the inside of the knee joint the larger of the two movements due to the natural outward angulation of the lower limb and the weaker ligamentous support.

The first article about the knee covered the idea that the knee moves backwards and forwards and tends to stick in that plane, so if an abnormal stress such as to the side is added this changes the balance in the joint. The kneecap and the main knee compartments can experience wear changes if the knee suffers from bow-leg or knock knee. The knee is divided into two compartments, the medial and the lateral side, both with their own meniscus, ligament, femoral and tibial condyles. The stresses which are transmitted across the compartments vary with changes in the sideways angle of the knee.

The development of an amount of bow leg at the knee changes the quadriceps pull so the kneecap is pulled to the inside, pushing it more forcefully against the inner edge of the groove it sits in, which can result in a painful condition. Along with this there are increased loads on the lateral compartment and this can hasten degenerative changes on that side. Normal knee joints naturally have some knock knee but if this amount is increased then the outside of the kneecap is likely to suffer from impingement pain.

Patellar problems can also occur if the knee does not typically extend fully, as the knee remains slightly flexed and the quadriceps has to maintain knee stability, pushing the patella strongly against the femoral groove. These increased forces can be a cause of patello-femoral pain which is a very common complaint. If the knee has some abnormal lateral alignment then a small wedge under one side of the heel can realign the foot and shin bone from below and thereby make a very small but important change to the stresses through the knee.

The patella can also give problems in response to abnormal changes in other joints. As we get older our foot arches can become less strong and so less pronounced, sometimes leading towards a degree of flat foot. As the feet rotate inwards on weight bearing the whole foot and shin move inwards to some extent, introducing an amount of knock knee effect at the knee. This can cause the kneecap to glide more outwards along the groove than normal and lead to patello-femoral pain. An effective treatment can be to wear orthotics in the shoes, which can combine restoration of the foot arches with the necessary level of medial wedging of the heel.

Many posture problems exist that people pick up over the years and may not even realize they have. These could lead to pain, especially back pain, and as far as height is concerned, can make us not only physically shorter, but appear shorter as well. Some of the most common posture problems are looked at below.

1. Walking posture - This is an easy one to get into bad habits with, probably the one which is the hardest to break, and also the one which is discussed the least of the three major ones, the other two of which are looked at next. It's often assumed that proper sitting posture and to a lesser extent, sleeping posture, can be taught, while walking is just something we naturally do, and cannot be changed or critiqued. Poor walking posture is quite common for this reason.

Getting to a point where you're consistently walking with better posture can be difficult and could take weeks of conscious work. Keeping the back stiff and upright, the shoulders forced back, and the head held high are methods that need to be used to break such habits. Eventually, the new habits should take root and become second nature.

2. Sitting Posture - As more and more people pull up seats in front of a computer, both for work and pleasure, the problem of poor sitting posture has grown. The chair, keyboard, and monitor and should all be set to positions that will force the user to sit up straight. LCD monitors are useful for enforcing this, as they must be viewed at a consistent angle to be fully viewed. If set properly, any bad sitting habits should immediately make it more difficult to view all of the screen, forcing the user to get back into a better position.

3. Sleeping Posture - Also very common, and since you're naturally not aware of what you're doing or how you're sleeping, many people assume there's no issue. As a rule, sleeping on one's back is the best for maintaining a good sleeping position, and doing so with a limited amount of head support in the form of pillows is also advisable. Those who sleep on their sides should use a pillow between their legs, which can prevent curling up and twisting the back into awkward positions.

4. Bow Legs and Knock Knees - Fairly common conditions that can be bad for posture, and may also cause self esteem issues, especially in young kids. These conditions can be broken with special insoles or footwear that offset the imbalanced weight distribution that is causing the issue.

5. Scoliosis - The most serious of the conditions mentioned, and one which will almost certainly require help in one way or another from a medical professional. Scoliosis causes severe curvature of the spine, resulting in major height loss and other ailments. Surgery may be required in advanced cases of this ailment.

By improving posture, one can see a gradual improvement in their height, as well as giving the appearance to others of being more professional. Breaking old habits can be difficult, but once accomplished, will make it that much harder to go back to the old habits.

If you have been training any length of time, chances are you have run into one of them like a brick wall-things are going well and then blam! Of course, what I am referring to is the dreaded training plateau. Some people get really disgusted when their gains come to a screeching halt-heck some people even quit training all together. If you are anything like me, stopping training is not an option, but I would not mind my gains picking up again.

So what to do? Simple! Break out a shock routine and blast your body back into gaining mode again. Shock training is not hard or complex; it just requires you to get a little crazy, not so much that you get hurt, but just a little crazy.

SHOCK ROUTINE EXAMPLES

Pick your favorite shoulder exercise (for me it is overhead dumbbell standing presses) take enough weight where you can get a good solid ten reps with it and then do one hundred reps with it. Yes, one hundred, it does not matter if it takes you ten sets, twenty, thirty, or more, just keep pounding out the reps until you get to one hundred. Sure your delts will be hurting the next day-but this kind of hurt is good-chances are you just shocked your body into new growth. Next up is a full body shock routine, if you normally do full body workouts you can skip this, take your full training split and instead of hitting your body in say three days, do all the work in one day. Sure you will have to set aside a longer period to train, like maybe a Saturday, however, full body routines are great, because due to the sheer amount of work you are doing they elicit a greater hormonal response from the body than normal.

Please be careful with the above though, if you feel the need to knock a few sets off of what you normally do per exercise, go for it. After all the idea behind shock training, is to shock your body into new growth, not shock it into an injury. The final example I will give you is one that I consider the hardest and should only be attempted by experienced lifters. You are only going to be doing only three exercises, back squats, dead lifts (or almost stiff legged dead lifts-please leave some bend in you knees to prevent hurting your lower back) and stiff arm barbell pull overs.

The catch is you are going to be doing each for twenty reps and all are to be done back to back with no rest in between. If the barbell pull overs hurt your shoulders try doing them with dumbbells and if that does not work, try doing one set of twenty reps of dumbbell over head presses. By the end of this shock workout-which really will not take very long-your whole body will be spent and you should be totally done.

CONCLUSION

As I stated above shock workouts are meant to shock your body out of a training plateau and are not meant to be used at every work out. Also, please remember the goal is to do something so out-of-the-ordinary that your body is not used to it, however, not so much that you get hurt, so please use common sense on these. Lastly-especially after the last shock training example-please remember to take in some good post workout nutrition like some whey protein isolate and a good quality waxy maize product.

GOOD TRAINING!

Professor of Sport at the University of Bedfordshire and Author of the official "London 2012 Training Guide: Athletics - Track Events", John Brewer, tells us "the human body is designed to run". That said, there are no excuses for any of us not to give running a go when it comes to improving our fitness. A wobbly belly or knock knees or a wheezy chest need not be a barrier and training sensibly can have a significant effect on your fitness no matter what level you start from.

Brewer also says that "not everyone is capable of breaking world records, but the human body responds and adapts to the challenges of training regardless of genes". He offers the following tips to help you start your running and get you off on the right track.

1 - Have A Target To Aim For

Think about your goals, both short and long term and make them attainable and realistic. This might be anything from running steadily for 5 minutes without stopping, to improving your personal best over a distance, to competing in your first race. Once you hit your first short term target you'll feel motivated to set yourself increasingly challenging goals.

2 - Keep A Diary

It's important for beginners not to do too much too soon. The best way to avoid overdoing it in the first few weeks is to keep a training log. Plan out each week's training schedule, and then record not only what type of training you did but also what you ate, how you slept and how your recovery went after each session. After a while you'll be able to look back at how much you've improved and use the data that you have to improve further.

3 - Join A Local Running Club

Everyone has to start somewhere, and even the fast runners in clubs did not start that way but trained to improve their performance. Most clubs are keen to welcome new members and are happy to offer advice and encouragement. Not everyone in a running club is an elite athlete, lots simply like the camaraderie of training with like-minded people as they keep fit instead of going it alone.

4 - Take On Proper Fuel

It's not advisable to eat in the two hours prior to a race, so giving your body chance to digest the food. You should avoid fats and protein, which take a long time to digest and try to make that pre-run meal full of carbohydrates instead. Your body turns the calories consumed from bread, pasta and rice into glycogen which powers the muscles. Following your race, try to snack on some cereal within 30 to 60 minutes of finishing.

If you can follow John Brewer's advice you'll find yourself never looking back.

A friend of minewent on a bicycle ride with me, and after about an hour started to experience severe knee pain. After checking her lower extremity I found she had "knock knees". The clinical term for "knock knees" is Genu Valgum. The opposite would be "bowlegged" or Genu Varum. Since Genu Varum isn't normally associated with pain or problems, we'll concentrate on my friend with Genu Valgum. However, both of these conditions are the resultant of the Q-angle.
 
The Q-angle is determined in the frontal plane by drawing a line from the anterior superior spine of the ilium to the middle of the patella, and a second line from the middle of the patella down to the tibial tuberosity. A normal Q-angle for quadriceps femoris function is usually 10 -14 degrees for males and 15 -17 degrees for females.
 
 Anyway, back to my friend... 
 
When assessing the lower extremity you have to "get out of the box" sort of speak, says Ruben Salinas PT, OCS. Ruben is the clinical director of the Fortansce and Associates Physical Therapy clinic in Arcadia, CA. "Don't just focus where the pain lies look at the whole picture. Remember, the lower extremity is a closed chain, especially in cycling."
 
Normally associated with Genu Valgum you'll find pronation or flat feet, tight gastrocnemius and in some cases trochanteric bursitis.
 
Let's look at one at a time:
At the ankle, the body will try and compensate for the valgus stress at the knee (tensile forces on the medial side of the knee; compressive forces on the lateral side) by pronating. In gait you have to dorsiflex one ankle in order to swing through with the other leg.
 
If your clients gastroc is tight, they won't be able to dorsiflex, which will cause the foot to cave in. This will indeed affect the knee and then the hip. To lengthen the gastroc, have your client stretch. Be careful to insure their foot doesn't cave in while stretching. If needed, support the inside of their foot with a wooden block so their foot won't pronate.
 
For the tibialis posterior (which is an inverter and crosses the ankle) have your client perform "windshield wipers." By strengthening the inverters, (see diagram) you'll cause the foot to supinate which is the opposite of pronation.
 
Here's how:
Lie a light weight on a towel. With their feet flat on the floor have the person slide the weighted towel inwards towards their other foot. There are other ways of helping the foot out, but that's a whole other article.
 
My friend wasn't complaining about her feet though, the pain was on the lateral or outside part of her knee.
 
So let's examine the knee:
Because of the excessive Q-angle there will be more compressive forces on the lateral side and more tensile or distraction forces on the medial side of the knee. So how do you fix that?
 
"This is topic a large grey area in the physical therapy world," says Ruben Salinas. He is an expert on knees. VMO weakness or the inability to fire has been suggested as the culprit for patella - femoral dysfunction. The experts still can't agree. It's definitely worth trying though. To increase VMO activity, try quad sets in all directions or have your client put a small ball or rolled up towel between their legs when the perform leg extensions. Have them squeeze tightly or adduct at the top of the extension.

Another method Ruben suggests is Bio-feedback. Have the client put their hands on both the Vastus lateralis and Vastus Medialis, then have them contract their leg. Through their fingers they should be able to feel which side contracts first. Try and get them to "fire" the inside (vastus medialis) first. It would be nice if you had some surface EMG's, but hey, we're just trainers!
 
At the hip, you'll often find weak external rotators. It's almost as if the head of the femur has rolled forward and inward. When this happens, the greater trochanter starts to smash up against a bursa which eventually could lead to bursitis.
 
The external rotators of your hip are the key here. Concentrate on the gluteus maxims and not the gluteus medius. Remember, the medius is an internal rotator. Don't forget the deep external rotators either. By performing external rotation with a cable or tubing attached around the ankle, you will strengthen the piriformis, superior and inferior gemellus, obturator externus and internus as well as the quadratus femoris. This will help stabilize the hip so that smashing of bone against bone doesn't occur.
 
Be aware, some clients may have an aversion. This is the angle of the femoral neck in the frontal plane. (see diagram). Anteversion will turn the toe turn inwards, increase mechanical advantage of the gluteus maxims as an external rotator, increase the Q-angle and cause more pronation at the foot. Anteversion is structural, so you can't repair that without a scalpel and a chain saw.
 
In conclusion, I hope you can see that in the case of the lower extremity you must take a holistic approach. Ask a lot of questions. How did they get this way? Is the condition acute or chronic? Is it congenital? Is it structural or muscular? Examine their gait. 
 
If there is pain when performing these exercises, refer them out and get a medical release.
 
I hope this will help you and your clients, and I sincerely hope you'll assess their posture before you load anyone with a weight.
 
By the way, after a little RICE, (rest, ice, compression, elevation) my friend was able to walk again. Now she just needs one of you to train her.

Fear of the podium is very common for most public speakers. Sunday School teachers, even the preacher, experience fear when they speak to their audience. Nobody wants to have their knees knocking every time you get up to tell a story, a joke, or give a serious documentary.

Some folks tell us that podium anxiety is only temporary for the newbie. I'm not so sure about that as many old timers seem very nervous on their feet too. Usually, a new audience causes some anxiety for the speaker, always wondering how they'll react to our story. Can we expect courtesy from these guys? Will they be kind to the speaker or try to challenge various theories? Public speaking has some risk for those who deal with serious topics and the super intellectuals. Many aspiring business executives miss an excellent opportunity to grow and advance in their career by refusing to speak in a group meeting.

Public speaking can be nerve rattling, cause us to get confused and break out in a sweat. Even a blank stare can haunt us at the podium. Some speakers experience eyes burning and watering before they begin. Fear of being embarrassed or made fun of can surface as another fear with a particular audience. Practice is very important to all speakers who aspire to excel in the industry and be recognized as an industry expert and professional.

Before jumping off the deep end, it's best to begin your training with small groups familiar with you and your subject matter. Usually familiar faces will be comforting to the speaker. Later you can expand to other less familiar groups who invite you to speak to them. Networking in your industry is a primary key to your future business growth and success.

It's helpful to recognize that all audiences want you to succeed. Most executives have been in your shoes when called on to speak with a group so they are aware of your anxiety as the speaker. One huge step in overcoming fear and concern is to look at your audience. Watch for a head or two expressing agreement with your comments early on which will be reassuring that you've connected with at least some folks in the audience.

Remember, any goof ups are soon forgotten. Your audience is not there to catch you in an error or to see you make a serious error in comment or judgment. As a public speaker it's your challenge to bring quality ideas, new information to your audience. You'll miss the hot button with some in the audience but that's an OK. Not everyone is equipped with the same education, exposure to the issue, or there may be a distraction from other sources you're not aware of from the podium.

Everyone one of us needs feedback from our audiences. Maybe some of your friends have been to hear you speak previously or they're with you now.... ask them for feedback. Did they get what they came for? Why did they come? Was your speech on target as they understood the purpose? Ask and ye shall receive is reality. Most of us are reluctant to be critical of fellow workers in the vineyard.

If you make mistakes and falter, you can always correct yourself with a familiar audience. Also, your goof ups will be among friends who care about your success as a speaker. However, mingling with your audience prior to facing them from the podium will ease your fears.

Hopefully, you took the time before the meeting to seek out some folks personally, talk with them about their business or life in general. Call their name and recognize their expertise when you can. People like to feel important and you can be the one to bring a big smile when acknowledging someone in the audience who has shared a few personal minutes with you.

Familiar faces or a familiar subject will ease your fears. Make sure when you start out as a public speaker that everything is not all new to you. Pick old faces or an old topic you can talk about with your eyes closed or recite the message without notes. Don't try to be a hero with the newest and latest.

Try to connect with your audience as quickly as possible. Tell a funny story with a good punch line. Be sure to practice telling it or you may fall flat which is not a good thing. Don't talk over folks head using big words you don't understand either. Talk at about the 8th grade level or sometimes 5th grade is better. Mainly it's all about being prepared as wide and deep as possible. No winging a speech off the cuff or you'll flounder around and hear hissing from the audience.

Public speaking can be fun as well as rewarding in many different ways. Ty Boyd, a member of the National Speakers Bureau, has an excellent training institute for aspiring speakers located in Charlotte, NC. Hundreds of trainees have gone on to head corporations and excel in life and business with the confidence gained from attending Ty Boyd's classes. Been there done that many years ago.