How A Cardio Heart Rate Monitor Helps You

A cardio heart rate monitor adds zest to your fitness program! Reap lifetime benefits by monitoring your heart health easily, knowing the optimal cardio zones for your fitness training, and gaining valuable heart smart knowledge about your body’s aerobic fitness.

Why Have a Cardio Heart Rate Monitor?

I recently finished a 12-week team fitness and weight loss program at my local gym, where I learned many valuable things about fitness training and how it relates to heart health and efficient workouts. I experienced first-hand the necessity of being able to watch your heart rate with an exercise heart rate monitor, while doing various speed and incline intervals on the treadmill to have a more effective workout. A cardio heart rate monitor can tell you your heart rate, cardio training zone, calories burned and give you valuable heart smart knowledge about your body’s fitness.

Know Your Cardio Zones

After completing this fitness program, I learned that it is absolutely necessary to know what heart rate training zone you are working in to improve your workout efficiency — to get the most benefit in the least amount of time. A heart rate monitor helps you know what cardio zone (Zones 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5) you are working in. During class, we spent most of our time working between Zone 2: the "temperate zone," Zone 3: the "aerobic zone," and some time in Zone 4: the "threshold zone." Zone 2 is commonly known as the fat burning zone, where you are exercising comfortably and body fat begins moving out of your cells. Zone 3, typically referred to as the sweat zone, involves exercising at 70%-80% of your mazimum heart rate, burning a combination of fat and carbohydrates and increasing your aerobic capacity.

Beginning to intermediate workouts include work in Zone 2 & 3 for people training to improve their aerobic fitness. Zone 4 is a tougher place to work out, where you go above your "Anaerobic Threshold (AT)." (Your AT is the level of exercise your body can sustain utilizing both fat and carbohydrates as fuel). Finally, Zone 5: the "high zone," uses the highest pecentage of heart beats and calories burned as you become more advanced and get in top physical condition. I could always count on my heart rate monitor to tell me which zone I was in and for how long, including my heart rates and recovery times. After a period of time, I got to know how my body’s heart rate responded while working between these zones, and up to AT and back down.

Know Your Heart Rate - Hands Free

In addition, a heart rate monitor can tell you your heart rate while your hands remain free of the treadmill. While we walked or ran the treadmill, the trainer called out something like "OK, now three minutes to the top of Zone 3," or "Two minutes recovery time to the bottom of Zone 2," as we lifted 5 to 8 pound weights, or stretched rubber bands in various routines. It’s convenient and easy to look at your heart rate monitor while you are in the middle of these routines using your arms and hands for upper body fitness. Our trainer continually stressed to a few in the class that did not yet have heart rate monitors, that the treadmill heart monitor could not be counted on to be accurate. This is especially so while a person is lifting weights at various inclines and speeds while walking or running.

Watch Your Calories Burn!

I enjoyed watching my cardio heart rate monitor tell me the number of calories I was burning while working out, as well as up to about three hours afterward. At the beginning of each treadmill workout, I’d punch my heart rate monitor to the calorie display and hit "Start." By watching this display continually during my workout, it helped me to know how my body’s heart rate coincided with the number of calories burned. (The calories will naturally burn more slowly in the beginning of your workout). As we warmed up and worked into Zone 3, then up to AT — it was interesting to watch the number of calories burn so much faster! What was even more fun — was seeing the number of calories burned at the end of the workout session.

More Efficient Workouts = More Benefits

No matter where you are on your road to lifetime fitness, by working out efficiently you will increase your benefits in a shorter period of time. You can expect to have more energy, feel stronger, and have less stress while learning to use a program tailored to your exercise fitness goals and heart health needs. If you are more fit but looking for improvements, you can still expect to enjoy working out, burn fat more efficiently and train smarter, not harder. Even if you’re a serious athlete or marathon runner, you will continually increase your heart monitoring knowledge, and be able to create a precision fitness training program. In my own experience, I decreased my body fat percentage by 5% and decreased my resting pulse rate and recovery times. I learned how my body’s heart rate responded while working between the zones, up to AT and back down. I gained valuable knowledge so I am continually able to increase my fat burning and aerobic capacities, and go to the next level of improvement.

Summary - Work Out Smarter!

Once you get a heart rate monitor, you’ll be hooked! You’ll no longer be content to not be able to know your heart rate, training zones or calories burned. You’ll realize that by knowing your heart rate, you’ll get the very most from your body’s fitness capacities and your time spent pursuing your lifetime fitness goals. Today, it’s all about working smarter, not harder! A heart rate monitor will help you to work out the smart way! You’ll gain valuable knowledge about your personal fitness, which helps you reach your fitness goals easier, and faster. Just remember - be consistent, and don’t give up!

www.BestCardioMonitors.com

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Blood Pressure Monitors

Blood pressure is one of the vital signs of health and hence very often you see the doctors recommending healthy lifestyles and diets in order to maintain normal blood pressure. Maintaining a normal blood pressure level means reducing the risks of further ailments, chronic diseases and related complications. Blood pressure can be measured or monitored using several devices. This article aims to help you get all the information you need about blood pressure monitors.

Basics Concepts Related to Blood Pressure

Before we get to know about the blood pressure monitors or methods to measure blood pressure, it is important to get our basics right. So, first let us go over some basic concepts related to blood pressure. The pressure or force exerted by the blood on the blood vessel walls is defined as blood pressure, however medically blood pressure counts generally refer to the arterial pressure, which is essentially the blood pressure in the arteries that take the blood away from the heart. Generally blood pressure is measured in two different entities namely the systolic and the diastolic pressure. Arterial blood pressure is measured during the cardiac cycle, which includes the beginning phase and the resting phase. The systolic pressure is the highest or the peak pressure present in the beginning of the cardiac cycle whereas diastolic pressure is the lowest pressure, which is during the resting phase of the cardiac cycle.

Normal Range Blood Pressure

So often we hear people suffering from cases of high blood pressure or even low blood pressure, this means that people who suffer from high/low blood pressure have a blood pressure value, which largely deviates from the standard normal blood pressure range. Generally a systolic blood pressure in the range of 115- 120, and a diastolic blood pressure in the range of 75-80 is considered to be normal. There are three main types of blood pressure ranges, which serve as benchmarks for us to analyze our blood pressure values these are as follows:

• Pre-Hypertension: Blood Pressure Range ~ Systolic (120-139) and Diastolic (80-89)
• Stage One Hypertension: Blood Pressure Range ~ Systolic (140- 159) and Diastolic( 90-99)
• Stage Two Hypertension: Blood Pressure Range ~ Systolic( 160 or higher) and diastolic (100 or higher)

It is often the high blood pressure which we come across more frequently as a blood pressure problem however low blood pressure is also a matter of concern. In case your blood pressure drops down too acutely and you observe symptoms like dizziness, fatigue, depression, nausea, blurred vision, difficulty in concentration and fainting, then you should know it is time to seek medical help.

Blood Pressure Monitors

There are two main types of blood pressure monitors, which are manual blood pressure monitors, and digital blood pressure monitors.

Manual Blood Pressure Monitors: Manual blood pressure monitors often have a stethoscope and an inflatable arm cuff, which are connected by rubber tube to a gauge, which is used to record the blood pressure. In order to use this manual blood pressure monitor, one has to manually inflate the arm cuff. Not only that the measurement is also recorded manually with the stethoscope, wherein a person needs to listen to the benchmark arterial blood sounds and count the heart rate. The manual blood pressure monitors are no doubt cheaper than the digital ones, but can only be used by a person who is trained in using the stethoscope to measure blood pressure. However in case you want to familiarize yourself with this technique, you can request an appropriate person like your doctor or may be a nurse to guide you through the process.

Digital Blood Pressure Monitors: Digital blood pressure monitors, are easy to handle and just use an arm cuff and a gauge to record the blood pressure. These devices are generally easy to use since recording the blood pressure can be done by just the click of a button. The first advantage of a digital blood pressure monitor is the fact that the arm cuff is automatically inflated and the second advantage is the fact that the device automatically calculates heart rate and measures your blood pressure. After you have taken the reading, the arm cuffs deflate automatically as well. The devices that measure the blood pressure from the finger or the wrist are usually not recommended.

Monitoring Blood Pressure on Your Own

Today a large number of people have their personal blood pressure monitor at home that gives them the advantage of checking their blood pressure regularly at their own convenience. However, before you start monitoring your blood pressure at home, make sure you get an accurate device and familiarize yourself with the working of the device. Most often these devices come with an information booklet, which is a simple guide for you to accustom yourself with the right techniques of measuring blood pressure. In case you are not confident about using the blood pressure monitor even after reading the booklet, it is better to get a demo from a doctor or the place where you got the machine.

It is important to get the blood pressure monitoring device from an authentic dealer or a reliable fitness equipment shop. While recording blood pressure, you need to make sure that you are using the proper sized cuff. In case of children and adults with smaller or larger than average size arms - look for special sized arm cuffs, which will help you, take an accurate reading. Keep a simple chart, which includes the normal blood pressure range, and make additional columns to record your blood pressure regularly. Monitoring the blood pressure at home also allows you to keep a tab of your progress in case you are under specific treatment for blood pressure problems. Even if you are not suffering from blood pressure problems you can check your blood pressure levels regularly to make sure your normal blood pressure levels are maintained. In addition to this, having a blood pressure monitor at home always reduces the time and money spent in going down to the hospital to get your blood pressure checked.

If this topic interests you, you might want to read about Diet tips for Blood Pressure

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GPS Tracking Watches General Information

More accurate than any previous system known to man, GPS (Global Positioning System) are used as navigational tools to determine specific location data. GPS tracking watches, use twenty-seven satellites and a broad network of computers to calculate the user’s latitude and longitude to within a few meters.

With wearing a GPS tracking watch, its simple to track your location, speed, direction and distance to your destination and many more functions. You can save and chart trips, retrace your steps back to your starting point, program routes in advance, and save the coordinates of interesting locations. Even in conditions of low visibility, you’ll know how to reach your destination, and know right where you are. A lot of models also include a Barometer, Compass, Altimeter, and advanced memory functions.

A barometer is an instrument that measures atmospheric pressure, or air pressure. With a barometer you can forecast upcoming weather, low-pressure weather systems tend to bring cloudy skies and precipitation, and high-pressure systems usually come with very few clouds or precipitation. When the barometric pressure drops, its time to be watching for more clouds and maybe bad weather. So, a GPS tracking watch that can read barometric pressure is a convenient and useful way of staying informed of upcoming weather conditions monitored right on your wrist.

Of course, a digital compass is an extremely useful function to have in a watch. Whether you’re navigating through an unfamiliar city, hiking through the backcountry, or sailing on the ocean. There are slight differences in compass functionality from GPS tracking watch to GPS tracking watch, but most models feature:
- Bearing in degrees
- North-south arrow
- Bearing tracking
- Declination adjustment
- Rotating bezel
- Resolution of 1 degree

An altimeter GPS tracking watches is a wrist top instrument that allows the wearer to determine their current elevation. Of course, that’s not all - combined with memory, an altimeter watch can keep track of your total and cumulative vertical ascents and descents, as well as the number of runs (for skiing or snowboarding, for example). In some watches, the altimeter can be used to estimate your vertical speed, or sound an alarm when you reach a set altitude.

The altimeters used in GPS tracking watches base their measurements on air pressure - in a nutshell, the lower your altitude is, the more air there is above you is, and the heavier it is. So when you move uphill, the air pressure sensor in the watch detects the decreasing air pressure, and automatically converts the pressure drop into a reading of your increasing altitude. Of course, it is not easy to get perfectly accurate measurements of altitude, because there many factors that can cause air pressure to fluctuate.

This is why many altimeter watches feature "temperature compensation," and why the altimeter must to be calibrated regularly (by simply entering the current barometric pressure or setting to a known altitude).

An altimeter is an important and useful piece of gear for many outdoor activities, including running, biking, and hiking, skiing, or snowboarding. Pilots of small planes often wear an altimeter watch as a back up in case of instrument failure - although be aware that an altimeter of this type cannot be used successfully in a pressurized plane.

There are also various models that have built in heart rate monitors and other built-in functions.

Heart monitors are one of the few pieces of equipment more important in fitness training. Serious cyclists, runners, and other athletes know that you can only determine how effective your training regimen is by keeping track of the relationship between your workout and your heart rate. There is not a more convenient way to do this than a heart GPS tracking watch with a built in heart rate monitor. Some GPS tracking watches use a chest strap to monitor your heart rate, and send data wirelessly to the watch. One model allows you to program the GPS tracking watch with your upper and lower heart rate limits and alerts you if your heart rate goes outside the programmed ranges. It also monitors how your heart rate changes with altitude, and keeps tracks of your highest, lowest, and average heart rate while you’re training. GPS tracking watches also allow you to upload your data to your PC where you can use the included software to analyze, compare, and save your own personal stats.

If you would like to learn more about GPS tracking watches or to purchase please visit us at http://www.GPS-Tracking-Watches.net/. We look forward to hearing from you.

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5 Quick & Easy Tips to Get Your Body Ready for Summer!

Here are some quick tips that will help you get off to a quick start this summer!

1. Work on your fitness at least 3 days per week: Most important, build muscle strength, even modestly … resistance training (weights, bands, machines, calisthenics, pushups, sit ups, pull ups) will help shift your metabolism into a fat-burning mode. Resistance training is the most efficient form of exercise for weight control, which affects all aspects of health and aging (heart, diabetes, hip-knee arthritis, cancer).

If your goal is fat-loss, then low intensity cardiovascular exercise(70% of your maximum heart rate) should be incorporated into your schedule. While you’re doing your cardio exercise, if you can hold a normal conversation, then you’re burning fat. If you can’t talk, that means you’re going at such a high intensity that you can only burn sugar. Burning sugar isn’t bad. The thing is that humans are not plants, which means that we don’t store whole bunch of glucose or glycogen. We tend to run out of sugar rather quickly. If you stay at a high intensity level of cardiovascular exercise, once you run out of sugar you start eating away at your own muscle. That’s called "gluconeogenesis," or the new formation of glucose by breaking down muscle tissue.

We highly suggest you purchase, if you don’t already have one, a simple heart rate monitor that you can wear during exercise so you always stay in your peak fat-burning range. The highest quality heart rate monitors on the market that we can recommend are the Polar heart rate monitors. For more information about Polar heart rate monitors, contact our office Toll-Free at 866-71WORKS.

2. ALWAYS eat breakfast. If you want to maximize your fitness results or fat-loss efforts, you must eat breakfast. Even if you don’t exercise at all - breakfast remains the most important meal of the day. Your breakfast should contain complete proteins and complex carbohydrates (if you’re trying to lose weight, you should eat the bulk of your complex carbohydrates at breakfast and lunch and only have vegetable carbohydrates at dinner). A great breakfast is oatmeal (not the pre-packaged, pre-sweetened kind) with some Proto Whey protein powder mixed in.

3. Include fish at least twice a week into your meal plan, and more if possible. Choose cold-water fatty fish such as salmon, which are higher in omega-3s and vitamin D. To find some of the freshest and best seafood that can be delivered right to your door, check out Vital Choice your premier source for Alaskan Salmon, other pure, wild seafood, and fine natural, organic, and kosher foods.

Martha Stewart has a great (easy) recipe for poached salmon that she eats for breakfast most everyday with a piece of toast: Fill a saucepan wide enough to hold salmon with 2 1/2 inches cold water. Stir in 1/4 cup lemon juice, the celery, parsley, and 2 teaspoons salt. Bring to a boil; reduce heat. Add salmon, skin side down. Cover, and simmer until salmon is just cooked through, 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer salmon to a plate, and let cool 20 minutes. Discard poaching liquid. Flake salmon into large pieces. A great way to start the day!

4. Eat fat to lose fat - in moderation! Healthy fats are necessary to your body for many reasons: regulating hormonal production, improving immune function, lowering total cholesterol, lubricating joints, and providing the basics for healthy hair, nails and skin. However, you must be aware of the difference between healthy "good" fats, and dangerous "bad" fats. Good fats are monounsaturated fats such as olive, peanut and canola oil, avocados, all natural peanut butter and nuts, and omega-3 fats like salmon and mackerel. Bad fats are saturated fats, partially hydrogenated fats, and trans fats. The bottom line is that your body needs good fats - and will react if you attempt to abstain from them - and absolutely does not need bad fats. Check out the two links above for more information on omega-3 fats and trans fats.

5. Drink plenty of fresh, clean water. Yes, I know that you’ve heard this over and over again. But there’s a reason for that - it’s TRUE! The recommended amount is approximately eight glasses, or 64 ounces, of water every day. When you are exercising, you need to drink even more. Over 75% of your body is water (even bone is more than 20% water). When you don’t drink enough water, you dehydrate your body, your blood doesn’t flow properly and your digestive system doesn’t operate smoothly (among other problems). Even a small deficit of water can radically affect how your body performs. Drink up!

2007 Lucho Crisalle, R.D., Exercise & Nutrition Works, Inc.
WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR E-ZINE OR WEB SITE? You can, as long as you include this blurb with it: "Lucho Crisalle, R.D., internationally recognized expert in the field of nutrition and supplements is the creator of the What Works! E-Zine (full of articles, recipes, tips and discounts). Click HERE to learn more and get your copy of our FREE SPECIAL REPORT "The Truth About FAT LOSS And The Way To A Leaner You - REVEALED!"

By Lucho Crisalle, RD Published: 5/28/2007

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Endoscopy

An endoscopy is a procedure that is conducted to examine the interiors of the body with the help of an endoscope.

An endoscopy is a diagnostic test that is used for looking into the interiors of the body with the help of an endoscope, which is a flexible, long tube with a light and camera in it. It can either been looked through or the images displayed on a TV monitor.

Why is an Endoscopy Performed?

An endoscopy is usually performed for examining the following: the esophagus, or the gullet; stomach; the duodenum; and the colon. The examination is done to find out the causes of symptoms like difficulty in swallowing, nausea, vomiting, pain in the abdomen, abnormal bleeding, and so on. It can be a more accurate method of investigating tumors or ulcers, and it can also be used for performing biopsies or cytology in order to determine whether they are cancerous or benign.

It can also be used for the treatment of various conditions such as objects that may have been swallowed, in order to remove non-cancerous growths like polyps, or to widen narrowed areas, or the bleeding caused by lining tears or ulcers, all of which can be done via instruments that can be inserted inside through the channels in the endoscope.

What is Involved in the Endoscopy Procedure?

First of all you will be told not to drink or eat for about eight hours prior to the endoscopy procedure, to ensure that your stomach and duodenum contain no food. This procedure can be undertaken as an outpatient, and usually the doctor will give you the choice of either opting for a sedative, in order to be drowsy during the procedure, or be awake during it.

In case you choose to be awake during the procedure, a spray will be used to benumb the posterior part of the throat, thus making it easier to ingest the tube of the endoscope. And in case you choose to have the sedative, an injection will be given prior to the test, which will make you drowsy. This will however mean that you will be unable to drive on that day, hence it is advisable to take somebody along who can accompany you home after the procedure.

Next, you will be asked to lie down on your left side, and the endoscope will be inserted inside through the mouth to reach the esophagus, stomach, and duodenum. This procedure does not affect your breathing. In fact, generally patients hardly feel any discomfort at all during the procedure, while those who opt for the sedative sleep throughout the whole process and generally do not remember anything afterwards.

Once the procedure is completed, you will require rest for some time. Usually, you will be discharged from the hospital the same day.

What are the Risks Involved in an Endoscopy Procedure?

As long as a specialized physician, who has been trained in it, performs the endoscopy it is a safe procedure. Complications, if they do occur, are rare. Some of the complications associated with endoscopy are: a reaction to the sedative or any medication that may have been used; bleeding occurring in the area of the removal of a polyp or biopsy; complications arising from preexistent liver, lung or heart disease; or the perforation of any internal part of the body, which requires surgical intervention to have it repaired.

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Blood Test

Blood test, one of very useful testing tool, is carried out on a small sample of blood, which is taken from a vein in your arm using a fine needle and a small syringe…

Blood tests are a very useful testing tool. Blood is a sticky red fluid with a salty taste, and is slightly alkaline in reaction. It is made up of liquid portion which is called as plasma and remaining portion is solid which is called as the blood cells.

The purpose of blood clotting is to plug down and set free an enzyme which reacts with other clotting substances in the blood. The result is a jelly like mass composed of a network of threads around the blood cells. The clot soon reduces its size and serum comes away from it. This serum is used in chemical tests and in the test to find out how the immune system fights diseases.

Blood samples are taken by doctors, seen through a microscope and find out the infectious diseases.

How Blood Test Carried Out?
Blood test is carried out on a small sample of blood, which is taken from a vein in your arm using a fine needle and a small syringe. Although some people dislike needles, the blood test causes minimal discomfort. The sample is then sent to a specialist laboratory, and the results are available within a few days.

Blood will be drawn either at this first visit for routine blood analysis or at a later visit for the Alpha-fetoprotein test. A nurse will take your blood by inserting a needle into a vein on the inside bends of your elbow.

To take finger prick blood test, the nurse initially take a ball of cotton dipped with spirit, cleans with the cotton and will prick the tip of the finger and then squeeze the finger to draw a drop of blood. This blood is placed on a glass slide for laboratory analysis.

If the blood is taken from an artery, it is usually taken from the wrist where there is an artery that is close to the skin. Sometimes artery will not be visible to take blood. It takes little trouble; lastly the artery can be visible. After taking blood from the artery it is necessary to keep a cotton ball on the place where the
injection was made for few minutes to stop bleeding.

How The Blood Is Examined By Doctors?
Blood is made up of liquid plasma and solids the blood cells. Plasma is a pale yellow fluid consisting of water ninety percent, salts including sodium chloride 0.9 percent, proteins including albumen which make the blood sticky, nutrients such as glucose, fats, amino acids and vitamins, waste products such as urea and carbondioxide, antibodies and antitoxins for resistance to disease germs, hormones produced by the endocrine glands, substances for blood clotting and for preventing clotting of blood. Plasma is very important for the life of the tissue cells, conveying to them water and nourishment, and carrying away their waste products. There are three main types of blood cells: red blood cells, white blood cells and blood platelets. To get the information of these cells, blood samples are taken. These tests are listed below:

Red blood cells are the most numerous. They are formed in the bone marrow and wear out in about three months, so need replacing. They are very tiny discs with no nucleus, and are filled with hemoglobin which is made from iron and protein. Hemoglobin gives the blood its red color. The normal amount of hemoglobin is 14.5 to 15 grams of blood. Lack of iron to make hemoglobin is a common cause of anemia.

Doctors add some stains to the blood smear to test the blood for parasites in the case of sleeping sickness or for malaria. In case if blood poisoned the doctor take test whether any bad bacteria is present.

White blood cells help to fight infection and therefore, are an important part of the immune system. The risk of developing an infection is due to low white blood cell count increases. There are several kinds of white blood cells; Neutrophils are important white cells that help fight infections caused by bacteria and yeasts. Others, called lymphocytes, carry the immunologic memory to protect against viral and other infections, especially those for which people receive vaccinations.

Blood Platelets are produced in the bone marrow and help in the clotting of blood during injury. Platelets are very smaller than red and white blood cells. The risk of bleeding and bruising is due to low platelet count increases.

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Fitness Made Fun - 7 Exercise Gadgets & Equipment Technology Breakthroughs

There’s a fitness revolution underway. Technologically advanced exercise gadgets and equipment innovations are transforming not only how we exercise, but how we stay motivated to exercise. The Wii Fit, at the forefront of this movement, has gained massive media attention. But there are many other new gadgets and exercise equipment advances that will keep you fired up about fitness.

Hear How You Run
Two of the most recognizable and successful brands in America, Nike and Apple have collaborated to develop a cutting edge fitness innovation.

The Nike + iPod Sport Kit monitors your running experience by transmitting data through a wireless connection between your Nike shoe and your iPod nano.

The microchip tracks speed, distance, time, and calories burned while real-time spoken feedback announces milestones throughout your workout .

The PowerSongs option integrates your favorite iTunes selections.

- Futuristic Factor: *****
- Fun Factor: ****
- Fitness Factor: ****

How does it work? See the Apple FAQ.

Virtual Reality Enhanced Cycling Systems

Although The Expresso Upright Stationary Bike is designed for commercial fitness clubs (you can’t afford it), the cool factor merits a mention.

This futuristic system engages not just the muscles but also the mind by fusing exertainment with web-based personalization. Imagine playing a visually stunning video game, but instead of planted on the sofa with a game pad, you’re actually riding a top-of-the-line recumbent or upright stationary bike.

The handlebars move for realistic steering as you pedal and compete on an interactive course, creating the immersive illusion of being on the open road.

The web based high-res screen delivers personalized, real time fitness information. You can set goals, track progress and log data online, taking your workout places it’s never been.

- Futuristic Factor: *****
- Fun Factor: *****
- Fitness Factor: *****

Check out the Expresso demonstration video.

A Personal Trainer in Your Pocket

Easily bored by your exercise routine? Get personalized guidance form Hollywood fitness trainers on your iPod or MP3 player. ITRAIN Personal Trainer downloadable programs include customized audio routines for running, walking, cycling, rowing, climbing, sculpting, stretching, swimming, boxing, pilates and yoga.

Celebrity endorsements include Courtney Cox, Sarah Silverman and Olympic Gold medal swimmer Natalie Coughlin.

If you’re apathetic about your current exercise routine, iTRAIN’s ever-changing menu of workouts will keep things new and fresh.

- Futuristic Factor: ***
- Fun Factor: ****
- Fitness Factor: *****

Transform Exercise Into "Gamercise"

Some fitness-themed games can only keep your attention for a short time before becoming boring and routine. What sets this system apart is the ability to plug in to any of your favorite games or systems.

Gamercize interacts with your Xbox360, PSP3 or Wii, letting you play normally while exercising - but when you pause the game pauses with you.

Adjust the exercise level to maximize enjoyment of the game and provide the greatest fitness benefit. The system records your statistics and you’ll be amazed at how much workout time you’ve logged when the game is over.

The Gamercize system is available as a cycle or stepper, the best choices to leave your hands free to operate the controller.

- Futuristic Factor: ***
- Fun Factor: *****
- Fitness Factor: *****

Monitor Body Fat with a Bioelectrical Impedance Algorithm

The Omron Body Fat Monitor and Scale uses full body sensing technology to accurately measure weight, body fat, visceral fat, skeletal muscle and resting metabolism. Knowing you’re losing actual body fat, not just water weight will keep you motivated, and the additional indicators help determine your ideal exercise levels and calorie intake.

How does it work? Bioelectrical Impedance (BI) is an accurate and safe method of screening body fat. Muscles, blood vessels and bones have a high water content that conducts electricity easily. Body fat has little electric conductivity.

The monitor transmits a harmless electrical current (you won’t feel it) through your entire body. It then calculates the amount of fat tissue using a formula that factors in electric resistance, height, weight, age and gender.

- Futuristic Factor: *****
- Fun Factor: ***
- Fitness Factor: ****

Track Cardio & Weight Lifting Progress on Your Wrist

For the gadget loving exercise enthusiast the Polar F55 Heart Rate Monitor for Fitness and Weight Lifting takes fitness monitoring to a new level. This multi-purpose device tracks three essential components of good health - cardiovascular, strength training & relaxation.

1. Cardiovascular: Wireless ECG Heart Rate Monitor
2. Strength Training: Body Workout Program (Counts sets, reps and recommends weight.)
3. Relaxation: OwnRelax Program (Checks the body’s state of relaxation and helps you "listen" to your body.)

The Polar F55 prescribes the best total body program for your fitness level, and all training data can be uploaded and tracked on the Polar Personal Trainer website.

After 3 weeks of following the initial exercise program the unit will ask you to re-test your fitness level and then recalculate the next three-week program. This ongoing cycle of monitoring and testing is a great motivator.

- Futuristic Factor: *****
- Fun Factor: ***
- Fitness Factor: *****

Globally Position Your Workout

Take your ride to the next level with the Garmin Edge 305HR+ GPS Navigator. With this Bicycle Computer, Heart Rate Monitor and Cadence Sensoron board you’ll always know where you’re going and how far you’ve gone.

The easy-to-install and highly sensitive device measures pedaling cadence, heart rate, speed, distance, time, calories burned, altitude, climb and descent.

The "Virtual Partner" makes your training more fun by matching you against a virtual competitor. The training timer auto pauses when you drop below a specified speed and resumes when you speed up again. Auto Lap automatically triggers a lap every time you pass a specified location or travel a preset distance.

From competitive road racing to mountain biking, the cyclist-friendly, lightweight Edge will keep you engaged on the path to achieving your personal best.

- Futuristic Factor: *****
- Fun Factor: ****
- Fitness Factor: ****

Have you tried out any of these new fitness gadgets or machines? Have a favorite? Don’t agree with our choices or know of some others? Let us know what you think at this website.

Stephen Hans Erickson is an exercise enthusiast and fitness writer with an expertise in the newest equipment and product trends. Check out some of his other reviews and opinions at this website.

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A Kiss Is Just A Kiss

A clinical study has discovered that a passionate kiss may stir the loins and make the heart melt, but it does not compare to the sensation of chocolate melting on the tongue.

You must remember this. A kiss is just a kiss. Yeah, no big deal. Now if you really want a kick-ass sensory experience, just allow a thick glob of dark chocolate melt slowly on your tongue. O mama!

A clinical study has discovered that a passionate kiss may stir the loins and make the heart melt, but it does not compare to the sensation of chocolate melting on the tongue.

Former ‘Baywatch’ babe Pamela Anderson recently said chocolate was better than sex; and she was right on the mark. Young volunteers had their hearts and heads hooked up to electrodes and then asked to taste pieces of dark chocolate, before kissing their partners. They discovered that chocolate provides a buzz lasting up to four times as long as that obtained from smooching.

Neurophysiologist David Lewis, who led the study, said "These results really surprised and intrigued us. While we fully expected chocolate - especially dark chocolate - to increase heart rates due to the fact it contains some highly stimulating substances, both the length of the increase together with the powerful effects it had on the mind were something none of us had anticipated."

The volunteers, all in their 20s, took part in the experiment, in an area designed to look like a place of work to create the impression of an office romance. Each had electrodes attached to their scalps and wore heart monitors as they popped a piece of dark chocolate and allowed it to melt on their tongues

The young lovers then had to kiss each other in the same way they normally would; while researchers in white coats "studied their monitors". As part of the controlled experiment, measurements of heart and brain activity were also taken when there was no external stimulation of the senses.

The study revealed that, at the point chocolate melts in the mouth, all regions of the brain receive a boost far more intense and longer lasting than the excitement produced by kissing. The chocolate also made the heart beat faster. For some of the 12 volunteers, the number of beats per minute more than doubled from a resting rate of 60 to as much as 140.

The study concluded that chocolate beats kissing hands down when it comes to providing a long-lasting body and brain buzz. Don’t you just love science?

DAILY MAIL

By Firoze Hirjikaka Published: 4/18/2007

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Barium Enema

Barium enema is a medical procedure used to identify a problem within the large intestine. It is basically a lower gastrointestinal series, where the human colon is x-rayed as the special enema fills the colon.

Barium enema involves the use of barium sulfate to fill the colon via the rectum, for an effective x-ray of the large intestine. This medical procedure may be applied either at a hospital or in a clinic of any Department of Radiology. The procedure is carried out after a preliminary x-ray is taken. Then, a lubricated enema tube is inserted into the patient’s rectum, to fill the organ. The barium content is viewed on the x-ray as the contrast medium and is allowed into the colon. Sometimes, a small balloon is inflated at the tip of the tube to help keep maintain the barium within.

The doctor then monitors the flow of the barium on a fluoroscope screen, which is pretty much like a regular TV monitor. Many a times, air is puffed into the colon to provide better images. This procedure is also refered to as the double-contrast colon examination. The patient is asked to lie in different positions for different views and sometimes the table is designed to tip at different angles for the desired examination. In the case the doctor or health care provider suspects a bowel perforation, then instead of barium, a water soluble contrast medium is used.

The procedure invloved in barium enema requires a complete cleaning of the large intestine for accurate pictures, prior to the application. The patient is advised to maintain a clear liquid diet prior to the application and take a laxative. The doctor may even advise warm water enemas prior to the barium sulfate application. Barium enemas are usually used to check, identify and diagnose inflammatory bowel diseases like Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, polyps and IBS or irritable bowel syndrome. However, in the removal of polyps, since there is a chance of them being cancerous, colonoscopy is used.

Barium enemas are also used to diagnose diverticulosis or the formation of small, inflamed pouches on the colon wall and many a times, treat and cure intussusception. The procedure can also help to detect an inflamed appendix, which shows up as a twisted loop. The medical procedure may also be performed to identify intestinal obstruction, annular pancreas, CMV gastroenteritis and even Hirschsprung disease. It is important to know that there is a low exposure to radiation via this diagnosis, but the X-rays are monitored and regulated.

The aim of the exposure is simply to produce an image that helps diagnosis. Today, ultra sound examinations and CT scans are conducted for the initial evaluation. Colonoscopies for effective and routine colon screening, especially in the case of senior citzens and patients with a history of colon cancer. Nevertheless, barium enema is advised after a colonoscopy for a second, detailed evaluation. This diagnostic test enables the doctor to see the contour of the colon’s lining and detect any out-pockets, ulcers, fistula or other inflammatory changes. Primarily, barium enema is used to evaluate a wide range of large intestine health conditions.

Although the barium enema is actually a way of diagnosing intestinal disease, now doctors are using the test and evaluation as a screening tool in the case of people who are possible victims of colorectal cancer. Barium enema is also used treat an intestinal condition via the intussusception resolving pressure effect when barium is put into the colon. The telescoping effect causes the colon to fold in on itself and is usually observed in infants. A modified barium enema test is also conducted, called the ‘double-contrast barium enema’, to view the mucous membrane in the colon better.

The fluoroscope plays a major role in such minute viewing of the internal structure. The whole procedure manipulates the position of the person and the amount of barium and air, separately or in combination, that is introduced for proper diagnosis. Barium enema is a preliminary and routine diagnostic tool. This medical procedure is also the most effective in identifying and eliminating or establishing the presence of any large intestinal disease.

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Burn Those Extra Holiday Calories Off with a Treadmill Workout

The holidays are a time to overindulge. If you want to burn off those extra calories, a treadmill is the answer. Learn the best techniques for treadmill exercising.

It’s that time of year to overindulge. Christmas Eve I am invited over to friends for a sumptuous dinner. Christmas day we are going to an historic hotel in Pinehurst, NC, where they serve their famous thick pork chops, oozing with gravy. The day after Christmas, also known as Boxing Day in Britain, I’m going to a neighbor where they are serving prime rib, pork loin and Yorkshire pudding. Needless to say, I am going to gain a few pounds.

The best way to burn that unwanted fat is on a treadmill. Treadmills are one of the most efficient means of burning calories. That is due to the fact you exercise one of your bodies largest muscle groups, your leg muscles. So, here are some recommendations on how to get the most out of your treadmill workout, and get yourself back down to your pre-holiday weight:

Why a Treadmill Effectively Burns Excess Calories!

What makes a treadmill so effective in burning calories is the ability to vary the incline and speed. It is the alternation between a heart-pounding pace and a cool down period, which allows you to get the most out of your exercising.

Treadmills are equipped with a variety of programs. I prefer the hill climbing or interval programs. In most cases, the intensity of the workout is controlled through the incline. You go through periods of steep incline and relative flat incline.

Studies have shown that this form of exercising will burn more calories than going at a steady pace over a period of time. So often, I see people at the health club just cruising along on the treadmill. Most are walking and never breaking a sweat. I firmly believe when you break a sweat, you are getting results. When I work out on a treadmill the sweat pours out of me.

Make use of the incline feature, either through the existing programs or manually. Push yourself a bit harder each time.

A few words of caution, if you have been inactive, check with your doctor as to your acceptable level of exercising. If you are a bit out of shape, start slow and build your endurance up. Set benchmarks, which is easy to do with a treadmill, and always attempt to exceed them.

For a more exact workout, use a treadmill with heart rate control. Unfortunately, most treadmills in the clubs only have heart rate monitors on the handgrips. However, you can purchase treadmills with wireless heart rate control. The treadmill is controlled by the level of your heart rate. By determining your acceptable heart rate range, you can optimize your workout and burn the most calories in the least amount of time.

So go ahead and indulge, just plan on some extra time on the treadmill, and you will be back to your pre-holiday weight.

Fred Waters worked in the treadmill industry for a number of years and is author of the Treadmill Ratings and Reviews site. Check out the latest reviews on over 100 of the most popular treadmills, and get important buying tips from the Treadmill Buyer’s Guide.

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