MEN'S CURE

The biggest health threat for men isn’t heart disease or cancer. It’s the out-of-control stress reactions that cause or worsen those conditions in the first place. We talked to America’s coolest characters to learn how they cope. Steal their secrets and you’ll thrive in life’s pressure points—like they do.

Establish a Routine

The stressor: All eyes are on you at a critical moment in the game (or the presentation, or the ceremony).

Beat that stress: When you establish a routine, the difficult becomes routine. Chauncey Billups, a Detroit Pistons point guard, describes his formula for nailing two free throws to tie a game in the fourth quarter: “I know it’s a big shot, but I don’t even think about the moment. If I put more pressure on it, then it becomes a mental thing. I treat it the same as a free throw in the first quarter by doing the same routine every single time. I focus on the rim. I take four dribbles, spin the ball, and get up under it. My routine puts me into a calm state. It’s just me and the rim.”

Ask Yourself Questions

The stressor: You’ve seen your friends’ marriages, and worry that you’ll end up with the wrong person.

Beat that stress: Ask yourself a few essential questions. Are you attracted to her? Do you play well together? Is she unselfish? Does she treat people well and talk positively about past relationships? Does she recognize her family’s shortcomings and take corrective steps? Is she respectful of you? Does she share the soap in the shower? If you have a string of positive answers, you have a fun, responsible, thoughtful person at your side, says John Van Epp, Ph.D., a clinical counselor based in Medina, Ohio, and the author of How to Avoid Marrying a Jerk. That probably qualifies her as a keeper.

Call a Time Out

The stressor: Your boss is hassling you, and you’re about to explode.

Beat that stress: Call a time out. If you’re in the thick of battle, go wash your hands. Removing yourself provides the chance to think and not say the wrong thing. While you’re gone, let yourself be upset. “Anger and agitation tend to be short-lived when you let them play out internally,” says Melissa Blacker, a director of professional training at the Center for Mindfulness at the University of Massachusetts medical school. When you’re calm, go to your boss and say, “What can I do to help work this out?” He’s probably braced for a fight, so he’s bound to welcome the collaborative tone. At the very least, you’ve expressed yourself. Letting your anger fester increases the chance you’ll overreact.

Give Yourself Time to Grieve

The stressor: Your dad died and you don’t know what to do.

Beat that stress: For 2 days every week, schedule 10 minutes to grieve. Unless you plan, it’s too easy to dodge the sadness—especially in the first couple of months after the funeral. And taking control of the process prevents unresolved issues from lingering. Shoot for early evening, when anything kicked up won’t affect your sleep. Take a 5-minute walk to unwind, then pull out photos to bring the departed front and center. Now ask two questions: What have you lost? What’s the effect? You see what’s missing from your life, so you can shift to problem solving, says Michael McKee, Ph.D., a psychologist at the Cleveland Clinic. Now hit the gym. It’ll end the grieving session, and the endorphins will lift your mood. Overall, doing the two activities will model what you’re striving for—the knowledge that sad and happy can coexist.

Make a Grateful List

The stressor: Your to-do list at work reads like a phone book, except it’s less interesting.

Beat that stress: Add 10 more entries. Here’s how actor Craig Bierko, most recently of Boston Legal fame, keeps his lid from flipping. “First, I keep in mind that on-the-job stress is an indication that I’m doing well. I could certainly experience far less stress lying around all day watching Ellen reruns. Then I practice something called ‘the grateful flow.’ It’s far cheaper than Prozac. I list ten things for which I’m grateful. Remind yourself of the friend who’s always been there, the fact that you can afford your next meal. And include your job. Sure, it’s the reason you’re making the list in the first place. But where would you be without it?”

Focus on the Now

The stressor: Your team’s success (or failure) is hanging on your performance in the ultimate contest.

Beat that stress: Focus on the now as well as the later. Martin Brodeur, star goalie for the New Jersey Devils, uses these techniques when he faces game 7 in the playoffs: “When it becomes stressful, I overbreathe. That opens up everything and makes me aware of the situation I’m in. I also make sure my feet are together as much as possible and that they’re really under me. With my feet together, I’m compact. It’s less tiring, and I’m lighter on my skates. As for when I’m not on the ice? Before game 7 of the 2003 Stanley Cup finals I booked a vacation online. It took me out of the anxiety of facing a game 7.” (The Devils won that game, 3-0.)

Be Meticulous When You Prep

The stressor: You’re due at Grandma’s, the storm is roaring, and you need to pilot the clan safely.

Beat that stress: Be meticulous in your preflight prep. That’s what Rob Kinkade, a bush pilot, does before taking off for what he calls a “rodeo day” in the bucking bronco of Alaska’s airspace. “If I know it’ll be rough out there, I’ll meticulously check everything two or three times—the flight plans, my fuel, the wings. It gives me peace of mind. If I take care of the downside first, the upside will take care of itself. If it’s rough and I see people worrying, I’ll sing or make a joke or grab the stick with one hand and drink a soda with the other, to show that it’s not affecting me, even if it is. I’m lightening my mood, and it’s kind of contagious.”

Ask About Her Best Friend

The stressor: You’re an hour into the first date and it’s going nowhere.

Beat that stress: Ask her what she likes about her best friend. Relationships are sources of pride and endless fascination for women. By delving into her life, you’re trying to understand her, and everyone loves being understood. “It defuses a lot of the tension,” says Ann Demarais, Ph.D., a psychologist and coauthor of First Impressions: What You Don’t Know about How Others See You.

Take Your Kid on a Long Car Ride

The stressor: Your kid’s stressing but won’t tell you what it’s about.

Beat that stress: Take him on a long car ride. It’s private, and there’s little else to do but talk. Start out casually, and eventually bring up the struggles you faced at his age. He’ll either identify or tell you that it’s completely different now. Either way, the opening is there to gently find out which of three areas—school, friends, or family—isn’t working. “You’re getting new information and can take it to where the problem belongs,” says Irene Goldenberg, Ed.D., a family psychologist based in Los Angeles.

Go Into Training

The stressor: You have to make your case or lose the day.

Beat that stress: Before the straining, go into training. Steven D. Benjamin, a criminal-defense attorney in Richmond, Virginia, believes that discipline always carries the day. “Before the trial starts, everything in my life becomes more regimented. I don’t drink or go out, and I become more obsessive than usual about my workout. A trial is an endurance event, and training for it makes me much more alert. I also take care of my team members. I can’t see everything at trial. They’re my auxiliary hard drive, and they give me peace of mind.”

Play Video Games

The stressor: Your kid is really into playing a violent video game.

Beat that stress: Observe, or play it with him. Encroaching on his territory removes some of the rebellious fun, but you’ll also learn his perspective, says Jeff Bostic, M.D., a child and adolescent psychiatrist at Massachusetts General Hospital. Make no comments during the game, and at the end, say, “What did you enjoy most about it? That was a little weird for me to be gunning down all those cops.” You might find out that he clearly distinguishes fantasy from reality and that his bloody game is just a bloody game.

Own Up to a Mistake

The stressor: Your name is all over a mistake and you have to tell the boss.

Beat that stress: As soon as possible, go to the boss and own up, but immediately follow that with what you’ve learned and (the most important factor) how things will be different. It won’t guarantee a full pardon, but you won’t have to stew over the unknown. “You will have made a problem less bad, and that’s the goal of damage control,” says Eric Dezenhall, the author of Damage Control: Why Everything You Know about Crisis Management Is Wrong.

Soften the Blow

The stressor: You have to give some tough criticism to an employee.

Beat that stress: Deliver the bad with an ample dose of the good. Saying nothing when things are acceptable does not count, says Albert Bernstein, Ph.D., a psychologist and the author of Emotional Vampires. Keep track in your head. Your kind-to-unkind ratio has to be 4:1 to ensure that respect is built up and communication lines stay open. After that, structure the bad news like, “When you’re late, I feel like you’re not fully committed. Was that your intention?” You’re making your point, but by giving him the benefit of the doubt, you’re avoiding arguments that go quickly and resentfully to nowhere.

Focus on the Success in Failure

The stressor: Your kid’s soccer team is down 8-0 and your kid is the goalie.

Beat that stress: Focus on the success inherent in failure. Release tension by yelling encouraging stuff; you’re concentrating positive energy on other people and helping the little version of yourself dying in front of the net. In the car after the game, tell him how proud you were of his bravery/composure/intensity and that you weren’t disappointed in him. Share a quick story about how you once ate it. You want him to see that coming up short isn’t the ultimate indignity. “Those who don’t know how to fail are those who don’t take chances,” Dr. Bostic says.

Repeat Yourself

The stressor: It’s review time and you know that you deserve more money.

Beat that stress: Repeat yourself. You think your value is obvious. Your boss has other distractions, so go in armed with bullet points of your achievements. But don’t just say them once. “One plus one equals two, but so does four minus two,” says Gregg Clifton, the chief operating officer of Gaylord Sports Management. Find different ways to support the same point. Lead with, “I increased sales 12 percent.” Later, say, “About that 12 percent, it was 43 percent over the industry average—it was the best the department has ever seen—expenses didn’t rise at all.” Hammering it from different angles will register with the man signing your soon-to-be-larger check.

Confine Your Ex to Paper

The stressor: You want to start dating again, but you still can’t forget the ex.

Beat that stress: Confine her to paper. Make a list of all the things you’re going to miss. Making a hard copy creates new connections in your brain, and, with that, new ways to consider your situation, says Peter Pearson, Ph.D., codirector of the Couples Institute in Menlo Park, California. Look at the list and ask yourself if she has a monopoly on those qualities. If your answer is no, you can conceive of a future with someone else. You’ll have a kind of emotional replacement to-do list, and there’s nothing like a to-do list to turbocharge your psyche.

Go Over Critical Steps

The stressor: You need to handle all the details of a complex operation just so or disaster will ensue.

Beat that stress: In the moment before you begin, take a mental inventory of the critical steps to success. Here’s how Ali Rezai, M.D., a neurosurgeon at the Cleveland Clinic, preps for the first cut. “While I’m scrubbing my hands, I’m reviewing all the aspects of the case. That puts me into a highly focused state and cleans my mind of distractions. During surgery, I’m constantly reviewing the steps with the operating-room staff. It takes everyone onto the next page and into a rhythm. When I’m faced with an emergency, the calmer I am, the calmer everyone else becomes.”

Smile, Nod, and Ask Questions

The stressor: You’re meeting her family or friends for the first time.

Beat that stress: Channel Matt Lauer and be your charming, head-nodding, inquisitive best. Asking them questions takes the focus off you, and their judgment will be that you’re concerned with and interested in others. Drop in a well-placed, “I love how she always wants to learn something new,” to show that you understand and admire your new girlfriend—and to nail opening night, says the psychologist Ann Demarais. Bonus tip: When they ask you a question, focus on how it’s asked—bluntly or anecdotally—and respond the same way. Rick Brinkman, author of Dealing with People You Can’t Stand, says that matching question style and answer style gives you the best chance of being heard.

Don’t Try to Be Perfect

The stressor: Success is at hand, if you can just close the deal.

Beat that stress: Don’t try to be perfect. Just play your role and rely on others who are focused on the same goal. Joe Nathan, a Minnesota Twins reliever, has one of the most high-stress jobs in sports: closer. Here’s his mental process, leading up to the last three outs: “Around the seventh inning, I go through some visualization—seeing myself on the mound, making certain pitches. It puts me in a relaxed state and allows me to focus on something I need to do rather than watching somebody else. When I’m on the mound, I try not to overthink the situation. It’s about being aggressive, pounding the strike zone, and trusting my defense. It takes the heat off. I don’t have to be perfect, so I can relax and throw a better pitch.”

Source: Men’s Health

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Here are 10 tips for women to stay fit and healthy:

1.    Staying fit and healthy starts with a balanced diet. Know and monitor the right weight for your age. Consult your doctor to learn what food you should avoid and follow your eating discipline routines. If you are trying to lose some weight, foods with high calories should be omitted from your meals. Food with high fiber and low fat should be included a priority in your grocery list instead of red meat, sugars and fats.

2.    Drink plenty of water. Drinking at least eight glasses of water everyday. This cleanses the body from impurities. It is also advised for lactating women to increase water intake to keep the body hydrated.

3.    Take Vitamins and Supplements. Do not forget your Calcium supplement.  Sufficient Calcium intake is beneficial for women of all ages. This has been proven to prevent having cramps and Pre-Menstrual Period (PMS) Symptoms. It also prevents Osteoporosis especially for menopausal women. Vitamin E boosts strong immune system. Women who undergo menopausal period should take Vitamin E-400 as it stops night sweats and hot flashes. Also, Vitamin E is said to be best in avoiding wrinkles when aging.

4.    Quit smoking. If you are smoking, stop. It is also a big “NO” for pregnant women, as this will affect the health of the baby. Pregnant women who smoke may pass the harmful content of cigarettes to babies through the bloodstream. Recent studies have shown that women smokers are more prone to diseases than men smokers. Women who smoke have a high risk of getting breast cancer. Also limit your alcohol intake.

5.    Incorporate exercises in your daily routine. Take a walk after work, use stairs instead of elevator or play with your kids when you are at home. Home exercises are also effective especially when you do not have time to go to the gym and would like to lose some weight. Yoga and Pilates are only a few of the many effective exercises you can do at home. Exercises help in limiting the risk of cardiovascular diseases.

6.    Avoid stress. Many women are prone to too much stress. Stress has been known as cause to many sicknesses. As much as possible take time to relax. Read a good book, hang out with friends and engage into sports. Pamper yourself by going to parlors or you can do some shopping. And do not forget to get enough sleep to revive your energy.

7.    Use sunscreen to protect your skin from the harmful rays of the sun. Wear hats when under the sun to protect your skin. Too much sun is bad for your skin. The skin is prone to cancer when exposed to too much sunlight. It also speeds up the aging of skin cells, which causes wrinkles to women.

8.    Make sure to visit your dentist to keep that beautiful smile. Always have it cleaned to prevent cavities and bad breath.

9.    Visit your Gynecologist. Women who are eighteen and above should have their Physical Examination annually especially for the Pap Smear test. Women who are forty and up should have their mammograms and the Breast self-exam is encouraged once puberty has been reached and should be a habit as they mature

10.  Safe sex is strongly recommended. Use condoms to prevent sexually transmitted diseases.

Fitness is the essence of a man. Fitness is the ability of a person to do his normal everyday tasks with full alertness and vigor without worrying about fatigue afterward and with extra energy in reserve which can be useful when emergencies arise or during leisure and recreation. Overall fitness must be the primary goal every man must try to achieve. In fitness, no one is ever too young or too old for improvement.

One’s fitness can be improved by engaging in aerobic exercises and through strength training. There are three components of overall fitness that every man must focus on working out in order to be in healthy and  tip-top shape. These are cardiovascular work, strength training and of course, these should be coupled with a healthy diet.

Building Muscles

Staying strong by building muscles. Man’s fitness regimen should include a work out routine which aims to build the muscles. Aging causes a decrease in muscle mass of five to seven pounds (2-3.2 kgs) of muscle for every ten years in one’s adult life given that he lives an inactive lifestyle. Truly, the saying “use it or lose it” is very applicable to the muscles. Fortunately, there is a good solution to this. Loss of muscle mass can be replaced by engaging in strength training.

Cardiovascular Work Out

Improvement of Man’s fitness by cardiovascular work out. Flexibility exercises, strength training and cardiovascular work out surely help boost a man’s fitness and all these should be part of a man’s work out scheme. But of all these, cardiovascular work is the most necessary. Exercises under cardiovascular work conditions and develops the cardiovascular system and also works out large muscle groups.

So if a man does not have much time for working out, devoting whatever free time he might have to aerobic exercises would do him fine. He might have to pass out on developing those biceps but so long as cardiovascular work out exercises are done, then the blood pressure, heart and cholesterol levels will be fine to keep you staying happy and healthy.

The Essence of Nutrition to Man’s Fitness.

It is best as well as well recommended to eat whole and natural foods frequently than do it on large amounts in one to three sittings. Always keep variety in mind when doing the shopping. This will ensure that one is getting most if not all of the nutrients and minerals needed by the body to keep fit and healthy. Always keep the three important macronutreints in the diet; these are fats, carbohydrates and proteins. Prioritize proteins though over carbohydrates but never exclude any one of the three on some fad diet.

Some tips in keeping a man’s fitness level high, efficient and safe:

1.) Drink plenty of water all through out the day, especially when working out.

2.) Do exercises properly using the correct techniques, whether it’s weight lifting or aerobic exercises. Always read and understand, and follow of course, the instructions outlined by the personal trainer.

3.) Make sure the is always a spotter when lifting weights.

4.) Challenge the muscles, but make sure that it’s kept safe.

5.) Stretch, warm-up prior to working out and cool-down gradually after sessions.

6.) Check the equipment for safety before using them.

7.) It is better to do less than overdo the whole thing. Overtraining will exhaust enthusiasm and kill performance.

Weight loss prevents type 2 diabetes

Diabetes puts in jeopardy one’s life as well as how one leads his or her life because of the complications that result from having it.  Both types of diabetes, type one and type two are linked with being overweight.  To those who already have diabetes, regular exercise and losing weight could help in controlling your blood sugar levels as well as the medication you may be currently taking.  Increase your physical activity.  You could simply walk, jog or dance.  It helps get those blood streams moving as well as lose those unnecessary pounds.

Weight loss helps reduce your risk for cancer

Being overweight is linked with a number of kinds of cancer.  Specially for women, the common types of cancer that is associated with being overweight include cancer of the uterus, gallbladder, ovary, breast, and colon.  This is not meant to scare you, this is only to keep you informed.  Men are at risk too from developing cancer if they are overweight.  These include  cancer of the colon, prostate and rectum.  Extra weight, a diet high in fat and cholesterol should as much as possible be avoided.

Weight loss reduces sleep apnea

Or it could eliminate it all together.  Sleep apnea is a condition wherein one could temporarily stop breathing for a brief period and then would continue to snore heavily.  Sleep apnea could cause drowsiness or sleepiness during the day and – because of being overweight – could result in heart failure.  Shedding those excess pounds could help in eliminating this problem.

Weight loss reduces the pain of osteoarthritis

When one weighs heavily, the joints of  his or her knees, hips and lower back would have to exert double – if not triple – effort to carry him or her through out his / her waking, walking and moving life.  This could cause tension and stress on these joints.  Weight loss decreases the load these joints carry thus decreasing – if not eliminating – the pain of one who has osteoarthritis.