Jessica Simpson, 28, is both a pop singer and actress. She has achieved seven Top 40 hits, and has three gold and two multi-platinum RIAA-certified albums. The highlight of her acting career could possibly be her role as the sexy Daisy Duke in the 2005 film version of The Dukes of Hazzard. She also appeared on the film’s soundtrack, releasing “These Boots Are Made for Walkin’”, a cover of the 1966 Nancy Sinatra hit. The song’s video featured Simpson as Daisy Duke flirting and singing in a bar and then washing her car in a sexy pink string bikini. In some countries the video was banned for its overtly sexual content!

Jessica Simpson’s Workouts

Jessica has employed the celebrity fitness instructor Mike Alexander to formulate her personal fitness plan, and to motivate her and ensure that she stays on track. He also ensures that she sticks to he diet, by overlooking her meals.

Jessica’s workouts generally consist of one hour of weights and half an hour of aerobic work. The main exercises were lunges and squats, which help to tone and strengthen the thighs and buttocks. She only used light weights for these exercises, as she was training for muscular endurance rather than bulk. This was to ensure that her legs remained sexy and shapely without becoming bulking and too athletic looking. The lunges and squats also has the advantage of building extra muscle on her bum (glutes) to provide a curvier backside. Many people think that a sexy bum must have lots of fat, but this is simply not true. A woman’s bum should be muscular too, to help keep a good shape. Her fitness instructor explained that “Jessica wanted more of a bump for her rear end instead of a flat butt.”

Jessica Simpson’s Dukes of Hazzard workout:

• Treadmill - running for eight minutes at 6.5mph to warm the legs up for intensive leg work
• Bodyweight squats: A few sets of 2–25 squats, followed by dumbbell rows while in squat position
• Reverse Lunges: 2 - 3 sets per leg of 12 lunges
• Squat Jumps - plyometric set of squats with a dynamic jump up afterwards.
• Bicep Curls while standing in a Lunge position - 18 reps. This is supersetted with;
• Lateral Raises from a Lunge Position (switch leg position) 1 set of 18 reps. This superset is done for 3 sets
• Dumbbell Triceps Extension (laying on back): 2 - 3 sets of 20 reps
• Treadmill - running for eight minutes at 6.5mph
• Incline Crunches: 20 reps
• Prone Kneeling Leg Extensions: 2-3 sets per leg x 18 reps per set
• Treadmill: 7 minutes of gentle jogging to cool down
• Forward Lunges: 2 - 3 sets of 20 reps
• Travelling (walking) Lunges: These are just lunges but instead of staying in place you walk across the room. If this is too easy, try doing it holding a pair of dumbbells at your side.

Jessica Simpson’s Diet

She has stuck to a strict junk free diet to ensure that she stays in great shape and keeps her skin looking young and healthy. She eats mostly grilled chicken, seared fish, broccoli and asparagus. She avoids bread and drinks iced tea without sugar. She also does not eat desserts, even those which are given to her free of charge by friendly restuarant owners! This is very similar to the zone and med diets.

There is no miracle cure for back pain, nor will back pain ever be cured by medical means alone, but positive thinking and having some tools to help in managing the pain can help immensely in conjunction with back care services and products available.

The focus for Back Care Awareness Week in 2008 is staying positive and, in short, believing that “You can do it” and get through your back pain. Louise Levy is an inspiration to all back pain sufferers out there. With a background steeped in dance and drama, Louise Levy has always been passionate about performing on stage. But it’s a cautious return to the stage for Louise, 44, after a 10-year gap spent battling severe back pain.

Louise helps other people manage their pain, depression and anxiety in her profession as a Clinical Hypnotherapist. She is also a volunteer with the national charity BackCare, giving callers to its helpline information about the support available to them.

To encourage organisations or individuals to take part in ‘Back Care : Believe You can do it’. BackCare have produced an awareness week information pack. This contains a range of self-help materials put into the real life contexts of work, home and leisure. Individuals will be able to use the awareness week packs to help themselves, or for presentations, customer events, and even local exhibitions. To order your pack go to www.backcare.org.uk .

For further details about the awareness week, to offer your support to BackCare, by becoming a member, or make a donation, contact BackCare directly on 0208 977 5474. You can contact the BackCare helpline on 0845 1302704.

Tips for Managing Back Pain

1. Take regular physical activity. Regular physical activity is very important in keeping your back, and the rest of your body, fit and healthy. Choose an activity or exercise you enjoy doing.
2. Mind your posture. Avoid long periods of being in one position, move around regularly and stretch and exercise your back muscles regularly. Check out the Alexander technique for help with posture.
3. Pace yourself and set achievable goals. Back pain often comes and goes and you may experience flare ups and periods of relatively little pain. You may find that you can extend the periods of less pain by pacing yourself and setting realistic goals. Don’t try to do everything you have to do when you feel well, but spread your workload over a longer period.
4. Stay Active. When you experience back pain it is very important to stay active. Prolonged, bed rest \s often courtier-productive in managing tijck pain
5. Get comfortable when working. Adjust your work environment, ie; is your computer screen at the right height? Do you have to do (too) much reaching?
6. Shopping Using a high trolley reduces the need to bend too much. Try carrying your shopping in two smaller bags instead of one big one or go twice to the shop instead of buying everything in one go.
7. Back packs When carrying a load, consider using aback pack worn on both shoulders. This avoids any discomfort from carrying loads a-symmetrically.
8. Take regular driving breaks when having to drive long distances and use a firm seat that .gives good support; use an extra lumbar support if needed. An even better option may be to take the train which • allows you move around regularly instead of being in one position for a long time.
9. Relaxation Learn relaxation techniques or find activities that you find enjoyable and relaxing.
10. Finding treatments There are many different treatments available to help you with your back pain. Contact healthcare providers via BackCare’s database of professional members on www.backpain.org

Find out more about back pain help in your area, plus information for scoliosis sufferers and places to learn Alexander technique.

What is Breast Cancer Awareness Month?

Each year breast cancer awareness charities make an extra effort to promote breast health. Evelyn Lauder initiated Breast Cancer Awareness Month (BCAM) in 1993 with the aim of increasing awareness, and also to raise funds to help research the condition and also provide support for sufferers.

Today, all the major UK cancer charities continue to champion the cause every October, employing the pink ribbon which is now a global symbol of breast cancer awareness. For more information on breast cancer awareness month, visit http://www.breastcancercare.org.uk

How to Check for Breast Cancer

Breast self-examination (BSE) is an easy but slightly unreliable method for finding possible breast cancer. The purpose is to identify changes in breast structure, especially lumps.

Self examination can only help to detect some forms of breast cancer, and there is no guarantee that it will always successfully detect cancerous growth. It is recommended that women over the age of 40 include a mammography in their general medical check up every 1-2 years.

How to check your breasts for signs of cancer

1. Stand upright with your upper body exposed in front of a mirror.
2. Start with your hands on your hips while just looking for signs of dimpling, swelling, soreness, or rednes.
3. Repeat this visual examination with your arms raised above your head.
4. While still standing, palpate (i.e. examine by touch) your breasts with your fingers, feeling for lumps. Try to use a larger area of your fingers rather than prodding. Feel both for the area just beneath the skin and for the tissue deeper within.
5. Go over the entire breast while examining. One method is to divide the breast into quadrants and palpate each quadrant carefully. Also examine the “axillary tail” of each breast that extends toward the axilla (armpit).
6. Repeat palpation while lying down.
7. Check the nipples and the area just beneath them. Gently squeeze each nipple to check for any discharge.

The Seven P’s method

Another method of self examination is known as the Seven P’s of BSE. It is similar to the above method, chose whichever you fell most comfortable with.

1. Position: Inspect your breasts visually and palpate in the mirror with arms at various positions. Then perform the examination lying down, first with a pillow under one shoulder, then with a pillow under the other shoulder, and finally lying flat.
2. Perimeter: Examine the entire breast, including the nipple, the axillary tail that extends into the armpit, and nearby lymph nodes.
3. Palpation: Palpate with the pads of the fingers, without lifting the fingers as they move across the breast.
4. Pressure: First palpate with light pressure, then palpate with moderate pressure, and finally palpate with firm pressure.
5. Pattern: There are several examination patterns, and each woman should use the one which is most comfortable for her. The vertical strip pattern involves moving the fingers up and down over the breast. The pie-wedge pattern starts at the nipple and moves outward. The circular pattern involves moving the fingers in concentric circles from the nipple outward. Don’t forget to palpate into the axilla.
6. Practice: Practice the breast self-exam and become familiar with the feel of the breast tissue, so you can recognize changes. A health care practitioner can provide feedback on your method.
7. Plan: Know what to do if you suspect a change in your breast tissue. Know your family history of breast cancer. Have mammography done as often as your health care provider recommends.

For pre-menopausal women, BSE is best done at the same stage of their period every month to minimize changes due to the menstrual cycle. The recommended time is just after the end of the last period when the breasts are least likely to be swollen and tender. Older, menopausal women should do BSE once a month, perhaps on the first or last day of every month.

Limitations

About eight in ten lumps discovered by BSE are harmless. Nevertheless, any abnormality thus detected should immediately be reported to a doctor. Though most breast cancers are detected by women, BSE should be combined with an annual examination by a doctor for better chances of detection. Women can easily miss a breast lump that an expert can find. For the same reasons it is better to learn BSE from an expert.

BSE is not a replacement for more trustworthy techniques like mammography or an examination using MRI.

Find more information on breast cancer screening and breast cancer charities.

One of the rising stars of baseball is Evan Longoria. He was selected by the Tampa Bay Rays with the third overall pick in the 2006 Major League Baseball Draft. Longoria, called the “best pure hitter” among college players in the 2006 draft class by Baseball America, was given a $3 million signing bonus. Longoria is now a Major League Baseball third baseman for the Tampa Bay Rays. Formerly, Longoria was a star infielder for the Long Beach State college baseball team, the 2005 Cape Cod League MVP, and the 2006 Big West Co-Player of the Year. He made his major league debut for the Rays in 2008 and was named to the American League team for the 2008 MLB All Star Game.

Longoria hit his first career home run on April 14, 2008, against the New York Yankees at Tropicana Field. He had his first career two-homer game on May 24, 2008, and drove in six runs as the Rays defeated the Baltimore Orioles 11-4. Both of the homers came off the Orioles’ Steve Trachsel, a Long Beach State alumnus. On July 19, 2008, Longoria hit his first career grand slam off Toronto’s Roy Halladay in the fifth inning as part of a 6-4 winning effort.

On July 10, Longoria won the 2008 All-Star game AL Final Fan vote over outfielder Jermaine Dye of the Chicago White Sox, outfielder Jose Guillen of the Kansas City Royals, first baseman Jason Giambi of the New York Yankees, and second baseman Brian Roberts of the Baltimore Orioles. Longoria went 1-4 in the game and hit a game-tying ground-rule double in the bottom of the eighth inning. On August 11, Longoria was placed on the disabled list with a fractured wrist

On September 18, 2008, Longoria had his first three home-run game against the Minnesota Twins at Tropicana Field. On September 20, 2008, Longoria caught the game-ending out, from Joe Mauer in foul territory as the Rays clinched their first playoff spot in team history.

In 2008, the Rays signed Longoria to a six-year, $17.5 million contract with options for 2014, 2015 and 2016. The first six years of the contract cover his arbitration years, with three more years added by team options. If the team exercises its one-year option for 2014, and then its two-year option for the 2015 and 2016 seasons, the deal could be worth up to $44 million.^[3]

Longoria has used I’m Broken by Pantera and currently is using Down and Out by Tantric as his at-bat music.

On October 2, 2008, in his first postseason game, Longoria’s first two at-bats resulted in home runs. (source: Wikipedia)

How to train for baseball

Strength training is extremely important in baseball, because a variety of muscle groups are used to play. Each position requires slightly different motions; for instance, a pitcher uses his arm more than a catcher, who uses his legs for squatting at home plate. Baseball training is broken up into four different parts of the year, and each includes a slightly different workout focus.

Early Pre-Season Baseball Training (January-February)

The early pre-season is used for more general workouts, such as running. These workouts will gradually shift into more intense workouts - the key here is to not start off too intensely, because that will add stress and strain to rested muscles, increasing the chance for injury. You want to get your body back in shape after the off-season before you start pushing it too hard. You want to start building your foundational strength, which basically your overall strength. The core muscles are most important to a baseball player; they facilitate movements such as turning, jumping, and twisting. Body weight exercises are great when used in a circuit because they lower the risk of injury by depending only on body weight.

Late Pre-Season Baseball Training (March-April)

Late pre-season is where your workouts should get more intense. You should be working on developing your maximum strength, or basically the amount of strength in one repetition. This is where a lot of baseball players go wrong - they try too hard to bench press a lot of weight and wind up with an injury. The goal is to peak with your explosiveness and power during in-season. Medicine ball exercises are great for late pre-season, and there are a variety of exercises you can do with a medicine ball. The medicine ball will help build explosiveness, which leads to more power.

In-Season Baseball Training (May-September)

In-season is all about maintenance. You’ve already worked hard, developed your explosiveness and power, and now you just want to maintain everything that was gained during pre-season. There should be no strenuous or intense exercise performed, because, again, pushing yourself too hard can lead to injuries. This is also the time to focus on balancing out your muscles. Most baseball players only hit from one side and throw from one side, which means that the other side is not getting as much of a workout. Having unevenness among muscles can also lead to injury - definitely something to prevent.

Off-Season Baseball Training (October-December)

Off-season is the time to take a break from your workout and let your muscles rest. A 3-4 week break is good - too much longer and you risk losing a lot of the muscle that you gained. Towards the end of the off-season, you should start focusing on your foundational strength, and that will guide you back into the early pre-season.

Baseball strength training is all about preventing and avoiding injury by doing a workout that includes a variety of options - weight training, body weight exercises, and medicine ball exercises. Certain exercises should be avoided; for example, you should never press with heavy weights, as it adds too much stress on your shoulders. Rotator cuff injuries can be prevented by using 3-5 pound weights instead of larger weights.

This article was written by Michael Greeves, CEO and founder of Hyperstrike, wanted to develop an affordable fitness for individuals and athletes that could be customized to their personal abilities and goals, and be delivered to any one, any where, any time. Learn more about HyperStrike workout programs.

Stats from Wikipedia:

The fourth and final stage of our weight loss program is maintenance. Once you are at this stage, you can give yourself a big pat on the back, as you have achieved your ideal weight. All that is required at this stage is to keep working out at a rate to maintain your physical fitness, and maintain a healthy, well balanced diet, to ensure that you give your body the best chance possible at fighting disease and infection, while at the same time repairing muscle tissue and maintain healthy joints and bones.

Ideally your BMI is in the 18.5-24.9 range (assuming that your are not very muscular). You should look and feel better than you have ever felt before. You should be active, alert, and enjoy active pastimes, playing with your children are participating in local sports or fitness activities. Always remember what a fantastic achievement it is to get to your ideal healthy weight.

Healthy Weight Maintenance Rule 1: Stick to your healthy eating plan. Keep fat and sugar intake low, stay away from junk foods and convenience food. Learn to enjoy treats moderately (once a week is a treat, once a day in an addiction!). Ensure that your meals keep you satisfied, and that you do not feel hungry. Always start the day with a healthy breakfast.

Healthy Weight Maintenance Rule 2: Keep active. Maintaining your fitness levels is the minimum requirement. ideally you should aim to improve on your fitness. Enjoying your fitness activities is a must. Whether you are running, hillwalking, climbing, playing football, learning a martial art or becoming the next body building champion, make sure that you are enjoying yourself while you exercise. This is the Motley Way.

Healthy Weight Maintenance Rule 2: Do Not Punish Yourself. Remember that everyone has bad days, everyone has set backs. You may fall ill, get injured, or have a life changing event which stops your exercise for a while. If this happens try to pick yourself up to fight again. This is your health, your life. You have only one life so do your best, and never give up. Be proud of yourself, you are wonderful!

Read all four stages:

Four Stages To Healthy Weight Loss - Stage 1 - Preparation

Four Stages To Healthy Weight Loss - Stage 2 - Action!

Four Stages To Healthy Weight Loss - Stage 3 - Intensive Diet and Exercise

Four Stages To Healthy Weight Loss - Stage 4 - Maintain Your Weight

Stage 3 of our weight loss plan involves intensifying both exercise and diet. By exercise, we simply mean that it is time to up the work rate a little. The basic rule of any exercise session is that at the end you should be sweaty, and at times during the exercise you should be both out of breath. If you are either losing your breath of sweating, then you are not working hard enough.

Healthy Weight Loss Rule 1: Be Independent of Other People

Being independent is also essential for a weight loss program. It is important to be independent from other people, independent from fitness equipment and gimmicks, and independent from diet rules. Although having a gym partner can help motivate you, they can also hold you back. If you gym partner is not in the mood for the gym, this does not mean that you can have a night off too. This leads to the slippery slope of failure! Ensure that you are happy running alone, going to the gym alone, or going to you local aerobics / martial arts club alone. If you do not rely on others, they cannot let you down!

Healthy Weight Loss Rule 2: Be Independent of Fitness Equipment

People often complain that they go to their local gym, and it is so busy that they could not get to use the equipment that they wanted, when they wanted, so skipped a workout. It is important to remember that gyms can get very busy, especially just after Christmas, in the New Year, and that you may not be able to use the machines that you want. At times like this, it is vital to have a back up plan. This is wear bodyweight exercises come into their own.

Although bodyweight exercises and circuit training is a great option for those that cannot afford a gym, and have no equipment at home, there is no reason why you cannot do bodyweight exercises in the gym. There are no rules that say push ups, sit-ups, star jumps, squats and burpies are only allowed in the aerobics class. If you go to the gym and the machines are all busy, then find some space and do some circuit training exercises. Go through a few circuits of push-ups, sit-ups, squats, star jumps and burpies, then stretch, and you will have already done a good workout, while others are waiting.

If you are not a member of a gym, and have no classes in your area, then home workouts are going to be your main fitness activity. So learn a few different routines, design a few for yourself, and stick to the plans. Keep a training diary and never skip a training session.

Healthy Weight Loss Rule 3: Intensive Workouts

Remember - always exercise intense enough to become both sweaty and out of breath during exercise. High intensity interval training is the key to weight loss. Building more quality intensive routines into your week is far more important than training twice a day and running yourself into the ground. Government guidelines say that to maintain a healthy weight we should exercise 5 times per week, to the point that our heart rate is raised significantly. However, three good quality sessions will also do this well. Building more weight bearing exercise (resistance training) into your weekly schedule is a must. Whether it be bodyweight exercises or using resistance machines / free weights, you should aim to do some weight training each week.

Healthy Weight Loss Rule 4: Eat A Well Balanced Diet

For diet, intensity is all about getting the most out of every meal. Each meal should be well balanced to ensure that you receive adequate proteins, fats and carbs, and also a good range of nutrients and vitamins is essential. Eating bland meals, with high calorific value but low on nutrients, will make it harder to lose weight. Maintaining a good diet is essential to ensure that you rebuild and repair muscle after exercise, and to ensure that your cardiovascular system is in good working order.

Intense exercise with poor diet can lead to over training, and weakened immune system. Generally healthy food is good enough to refuel and rebuild your body. Taking supplements is recommended when you are working out very intensively, either just a multivitamin, or if you are doing a lot of weight training, then a protein supplement also.

Always ensure that you fuel your body an hour before an intensive exercise session, with a healthy balanced meal of carbs and proteins. Then within half an hour of finishing your workout, eat again, this time with a higher protein meal / drink. Research has shown that taking a protein drink within 30 minutes of exercise increases muscle growth and rate of repair. If you leave it much longer, you will not gain the same benefits, and risk just storing the energy as fat.

Healthy Weight Loss Rule 5: Eat More Superfoods

Certain food groups are better equipped to help you build a stronger body than others. These foods contain higher than average amounts of nutrients, vitamins and minerals, and often some specific foods have properties that are unique to them in their way of boosting our immune systems and generally improving diet.

Berries: Dark berries are best, such as blue berries, strawberries and boysenberries. These berries contain huge quantities of antioxidants that help to protect the body from the damaging effects of free radicals.

Salmon: Salmon is a fantastic fish. It is a good source of protein, contains vitamins A and D, plus important minerals such as selenium and zinc. Salmon is also an oily fish, meaning that it is high in omega-fats, which are essential for keeping a healthy heart and cardiovascular system. They are also good for brain function.

Leafy green vegetables: Possibly the most underated superfood, and often ignored by westerners. Vegetables such as broccoli (recently reported to reduce diabetes damage and strengthen lungs) and spinach are packed with vitamins, and are also a great source of fibre.

Oranges: Oranges are not only a good source of vitamin C, but also contain a soluble fibre called pectin which helps to lower cholesteral levels.

Pineapples: Pineapples are also packed with vitamin C, which supports a healthy immune system, and also provide a good source of potassium which helps to maintain healthy cell, nerve and muscle function.

Healthy Weight Loss Rule 6: Reduce Stress and Compliment Yourself

Leaning to deal with your emotions, and improving your self esteem, can actually help you to lose weight. Being stressed or angry causes a chemical response in the body, whereby the stress hormone cortisol is released. Cortisol has been shown to contribute to weight gain. Also, low self esteem often results in people giving up too early, or even convincing themselves that they have not succeeded, when in fact they have. Learn to love yourself as you are, to better improve yourself!

Healthy Weight Loss Rule 7: Focus on Your Achievements

By focusing on achievements rather than failures, you will stay focussed. Changing your mindset is not easy, but it is possible. It is part of becoming a stronger person, both mentally and physically. Everyone has bad days, but in life so long as the good days outweigh the bad days, then improvements can be made. Stay focussed, keep working hard, and be proud of yourself.

Read all four stages:

Four Stages To Healthy Weight Loss - Stage 1 - Preparation

Four Stages To Healthy Weight Loss - Stage 2 - Action!

Four Stages To Healthy Weight Loss - Stage 3 - Intensive Diet and Exercise

Four Stages To Healthy Weight Loss - Stage 4 - Maintain Your Weight