Washboard abdominals without ever moving a muscle
What is it?
Our fascination with rock-hard and chiselled abdominals goes right back to the ancient Greeks and their gods of Olympia who showed us what a cast iron stomach is all about.
Isometric abdominal training (IAT) involves a series of abdominal contractions performed in a static position and free from changes in joint angles. The muscles are activated and held at a constant length as opposed to being allowed to flex or extend. In other words, the abdominals are tensed and kept in the same position with the levels tensed and held constant.
Who should do it?
Put simply, anyone who wants rippling abdominals. Although IAT is especially useful for people with injuries that limit their range of movement and allows rehabilitation around damaged joints to occur. In addition, studies have shown that IAT can increase max strength by 20% in compound exercises such as; the clean, deadlift, and shoulder press. Increases in isometric abdominal strength will also benefit anyone who does rugby, football, combat sports and running.
How does it work?
Because muscle fibres are pulled from both ends of the contracting muscle, as opposed to just a section of the muscle, IAT involves higher-intensity muscle activation, which causes your body to recruit more muscle fibres per contraction than regular flexion or extension training. The response from your body is muscle growth and increased muscle efficiency – stronger abs
How do I do it?
For muscle growth to occur, you should aim to hold the position for about10 - 30 seconds. The focus must be on peak muscle contraction and then maintenance of this for the desired time period.
The exercises
Decline static holds
Side bridge
Plank
Lying leg holds
Isometric stomach flattener
Top exercise
Static push
This should be performed with a partner
1) Lie flat on the floor.
2) Raise your knees so they are directly above your hips.
3) Keep your heel above knee height.
4) Now your partner places their hands on your shins and pushes downwards for between 10-30 seconds.
5) You must contract your abs isometrically to resist your heels from dropping below knee height.
Tip: To reach peak contraction, boxing coaches will often throw medicine balls into the abdominals of their fighters, forcing them to contract hard.
Words by James King
Isometric abdominal training
16 stress-busters
Find your inner calm with these tips
1 Throw your head back
Now shout loudly. "Shout and screaming is a great way to let go of all that pent-up tension that causes stress," says Neil Shah, from The Stress Management Society www.stress.org.uk.
"Rather than risk being carted off to the asylum by shouting in the streets, let off some steam cheering on your local football team, or heading to a sports bar. The added social contact will help you unwind even quicker," he adds.
2 Take a tip from the ladies..
And take a nice, hot bubble bath. Ok, you might feel a bit stupid, but who's going to know? The warmth of the water will relax tense limbs and a nice, long soak will help clear your mind. And if you add a splash of Radox Sleep Easy Herbal Bath (£1.69 from chemists), which contains lavender, you'll relax even further.
3 Smile
Nat King Cole had it right when he sang: "Smile though your heart is aching."
"The brain cannot easily hold contrary emotional states simultaneously - so if you want to feel more smiley, then smile more," says Dr Phillip Hodson, a psychotherapist from The British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (www.bacp.co.uk).
"But if smiling is good, laughing is even better," says Andrea Sangster from the Stress Management Society (www.stress.org.uk). "A good belly laugh exercises your abdominal muscles and gets fresh air into your lungs. Think of it an internal workout."
4 Play with your balls
Stress balls that is. The act of squeezing a stress ball or a hand exerciser tenses the muscles in both your hand and your arm. Holding the ball for a second or two and then releasing it relaxes the muscle, causing the tension to leave your arm and hand, thereby relieving stress.
5 Have more sex
Scottish scientists have discovered yet another reason why you should be slipping under the sheets. According to their research, sex is an excellent way to relieve stress, with the benefits from one session keeping you stress-free for up to a week.
6 And... breathe...
Where would we be without breathing? Probably blue, gasping for air and convulsing in the corner truth be told; but breathing does more than just keep you alive. "When you're stressed you tend to take shallow breaths which doesn't get enough oxygen to your brain and body. However if you try deep breathing exercises, they help reduce your stress and relax," says Sangster.
Next time you are feeling stressed, try holding your breath and counting to five. Breathe out slowly through your mouth, and in again through your nose.
7 Walk away
Or try to distance yourself from what is making you stressed. Counting to 10 will help you to move away from the situation mentally as well as giving you 10 valuable seconds to re-think the screaming-fit you were about to unleash on your unsuspecting co-workers.
"Going for a short walk around the block is also a good way to physically distance yourself from a stressful situation," says Shah. Chirping birds, children laughing in the playground and nature in bloom will soon remind you of the good in the world and the act of walking will help release some of those fight-or-flight endorphins that stress has left careering around your body.
8 Be realistic
"Much of stress is self-induced from setting yourself ridiculously tight deadlines or by procrastinating," says Shah.
That work report will always take you twice as long as you had time-budgeted for once you factor in proof-reading, tea breaks, and the other ‘little things' like eating and sleeping.
Take one thing at a time. Learn to prioritise urgent tasks and allot yourself enough time to complete your tasks, therefore reducing stress before it even starts.
9 Leave your work at work
While we all want to appear the model employee, there is more chance of appearing so if you are not a sleep-deprived wreck, muttering in the corner.
Aim to create a calm atmosphere at home by leaving your work worries behind, and try not to bring home any extra work, even if that means having to get to the office a bit earlier the next morning.
10 Brush it off
"Paint your home calming colours such as soft blue," says Brewer. "Research shows that exposure to shades of blue can lower blood pressure, improve sleep and reduce pain perception. In contrast, exposure to red light has the opposite effect, raising blood pressure and feelings of stress as it triggers release of adrenalin."
11 Get organised
You got up late and now have five minutes to leave the house. One of your shoes is in a tangle of bedclothes, the other in the cupboard under the stairs, and your brief case is no-where to be seen. Sound like you?
Being organised will cut morning stress in half. Get into the habit of leaving your shoes, jacket and brief case by the front door and picking out what you want to wear the night before.
"Make a list of everything you need to remember in the morning and set your alarm five minutes earlier, even if this means you just spend those five minutes in bed contemplating the day ahead," says Brewer.
12 Break it down
When faced with mammoth tasks, avoid stress by breaking them down into smaller chunks. "It's far less stressful to aim to write three paragraphs before lunch than it is to complete a whole report by the end of the day," says Shah.
Make ‘To Do' lists and tick of your accomplishments. This will make you feel less stressed as you will see how much you have already achieved and make you realise that no task is insurmountable.
13 Eat Nemo
Australian researchers have discovered that eating oily fish such as salmon and sardines can help lower stress levels. This is because oily fish are jam-packed full of omega-3 fatty acids which help your nervous system to function properly and reduce the affects of hostility and aggression.
Most fish are also filled with stress-fighting vitamin B12 which plays a role in the production of serotonin; nature's Prozac.
14 Diet and exercise
Surprise, surprise! But the fact is; a healthy body is better equipped to dealing with, and fighting stress. "Exercise not only burns of the excess adrenaline cause by stress, but it will help release serotonin which will make you feel happier and calmer," says Shah.
Vitamin C is an excellent stress buster. According to Psychology Today (www.psychologytoday.com), people who have high levels of vitamin C not only get less stressed; they bounce back from stressful situations faster than people with low levels of vitamin C in their blood.
Words by Nicky Williams
Sexual stamina
Keep it up as long as you want to with these tips
Think big on your first night
The first time she sees your penis there should be no doubt in her mind about how much you want her. She needs to see that lust in the stiffness of your penis. “Seeing your penis in all its glory will make her feel desired,” says Lou Paget, a sex educator and author of The Big O (Random House).
So, if you think the first day is on its way – if she’s invited you to hers for the first time after quite few a dates for example – save yourself. Lay off the self-love for about two or three days beforehand to make your erection its biggest and strongest when you finally go for it. And, when it comes to taking off your boxers, flex your abs muscles as you do so – this forces blood into the head, making it swell momentarily.
Go easy on your anniversary
It’s all too easy to get carried away with the champagne when you’re romancing the missus or celebrating your birthday, for example. But, if you want to be explosive later on, you’d better hold back on flicking that bottle cork. Alcohol depresses testosterone levels and champagne speeds its absorption – that means you’re less likely to be able to keep it up later on.
Massage gets you back in the game
Once you’ve shot your load, you might think the game’s over, but you can reduce the time of your refractory period (that’s the period in between ejaculation and another erection). Ask your girlfriend to give you a massage. Not only does this keep her involved and stimulated by touching you, it relieves tension in your thrusting muscles, improving blood flow and encouraging a new erection.
Harness that morning glory
It’s your natural sleep cycle that creates a tent in your sheets as the dawn breaks – not sexual stimulation caused by dreaming about your workload. If your erection wakes you up, head for a shower. You’re now a woman’s dream – clean, fresh and ready for action. She’s also far more likely to give your penis some oral loving if she knows it’s fresh out of the wash. Enjoy.
Words by Men's Health "www.menshealth.co.uk"
Side-step cancer
Six steps to side-stepping cancer
Let it lingerie
As if the act itself of jumping on the good foot and doing the bad thing wasn’t reason enough, there is now a cast-iron argument for consistent conjugal rights. According to the Cancer Council of Victoria in Melbourne, men who ejaculate most between the ages of 20 and 50 are least likely to develop prostate cancer, that nether-region nasty being the largest threat to an adult male’s health. Guys who ‘cleaned the pipes’ more that five times a week were 33% less at risk of prostate tumours, so you’re going to have a few tricks up your sleeve if you’re planning on screwing cancer that often. A fancy box full of the finest frilliness should work for a while at least. After that you’re on your own.
Sweet and sauer
It’s as German as frankfurters, obsessive organisation and slapstick humour and it sounds like Helmut Kohl in a bad mood, yet a serving of sauerkraut with your dinner is just the thing to give cancer the zwie-fingered salute. A study by the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry into the health benefits of the pickled cabbage concluded that it is a stern cancer inhibitor. The fermentation of the cabbage produces a substance called isothiocyanate, a compound which has been found to prevent the growth and spread of cancer, particularly in the colon, lung and liver. The study found the ‘kraut to be stricter against the spread of the disease than raw or cooked cabbage, so if you’re serious about dodging the odds make sure you go Deutsch at dinner.
Get a head-break
Phones used to be phones; they rang, you picked up because you didn’t know who was calling, and then you put it down and walked away. These days, however, the wafer thin slice of wizardry is always with you, and men spend more time on their phones than ever. Unfortunately, too many minutes with your radiation magnet stuck to your face can damage more than your bank balance. The American Journal of Epidemiology found that those who used their phone several hours a day were more likely to develop cancers, with people talking more than average a worrying 50% more at risk of salivary gland tumours. Leaving the dangerous device on the side and picking up a piece of Bluetooth, Bakelite history will give your head a rest from the radiation and let you speak easy.
Blinds wide shut
Being stirred by the morning sun may seem unlikely at the murky end of the calendar, but artificial and natural light in the evening or morning can interrupt the production of melatonin, a hormone which regulates sleep patterns, protects our immune system and according to work at the University of Texas Department of Cellular and Structural Biology inhibits the growth of many types of cancer cells, especially prostate. Researchers found that even the meekest of light can stop the pineal gland from releasing melatonin into the blood, so blocking out the blinding shine will keep you sleeping soundly, feeling healthy and out of the shadow of the Big C.
Having a skin-full
Just because the beach bag has been long banished to the recesses of the loft doesn’t mean you shouldn’t dust off your summer skincare routine. According to Cancer Research UK, skin cancer is the most common form in the UK, with 72 000 cases reported last year. One third of that number were under 50, young adults between the ages of 15-34 were most likely to develop the disease and although women are at double the risk of melanoma, us men are more likely to die from it. A moisturiser with added SPF 15 protection will keep your skin, clean, fresh and blissfully free of burns and blisters whether you’re in enjoying the rays in St Tropez or the rain in St Helens.
Whey to go
Much like Hannibal from the A-Team, we love it when a plan comes together and, as it happens, your fitness and nutrition plan could already be giving cancer the heave-ho. According to recent research your post-workout portion of protein not only increases your muscles measurements like it’s supposed to, but it gets big on the not-so-big-C for good measure. The Arkansas Children’s Research Institute found that whey protein works to protect healthy cells while attacking cancerous ones. If you’re not shaking it up already, then a bespoke blend of protein powder will get you lifting more, shrugging off cancerous cells by selectively depleting them of glutathione and increasing levels of the tripeptide in the honest-to-goodness ones. Best not to light up one of Hannibal’s cigars to celebrate though.
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