Working: Remedial Kneading

Feeling stressed? Give yourself a hand. A study at the University of Miami School of Medicine found that a brief massage at work does wonders for reducing stress and boosting to performance. Before and after several 15-minute massages, workers were tested for speed and accuracy at completing math problems, and their stress levels were measured. It turned out that following the massage, workers stress levels were lower, they were more alert and they were able to complete the math problems faster and with few errors. Soliciting coworkers to rub your back probably isn’t good idea in this age of sexual-harassment litigation, so give yourself a five-minute massage in your chair. Vigorously knead your scalp, neck, shoulders and arms with your fingertips. Anything that relieves tension and improves blood flow will help, says tiffany M. Field, Ph.D., director of the school’s Touch Research Institute.-Beth Bischott

Backfield in Motion

You need strong butt muscles for explosive leg strength in sports such as basketball and skiing. And, of course, you’ve got those new jeans you want to fill out. But most exercises that strengthen the gluteal muscles, such as weighted squats and lunges, also put a lot of strain on the lower back.

Here’s an alternative, a relatively unknown exercise called the single-leg pelvic lift. Admittedly, it looks a little strange, but this applying extra tension to your back. To do it, lie on your back on an exercise mat. Rest your arms at your sides and bend your knees at a 90-degree angle. Your hands and feet should be flat on the floor. Then lift your left foot and rest the ankle comfortably on your right lower back, squeezing your butt muscles are you go, until your rear is about 6 to 8 inches off the floor. Don’t raise your heel—that’s cheating. Hold the top position for a few seconds, then slowly lower yourself. Do 12 to 15 repetitions, then repeat the exercise with your right ankle resting on your left knee. Do two sets of the entire routine. If you already suffer from lower-back pain, you may first it easier to do this exercise with both feet on the floor.

Reference: Ben Bischoff

Gut Feelings?

Here are 7 home cures for your indigestion

Against your better judgment, you ate five of Mom’s famous cabbage rolls, and there’s not an antacid in the house. Search the cupboard: Here are some old folk remedies for battling indigestion that may work for you, even if doctors don’t know why.

► Apple cider vinegar. Mix one teaspoon in a glass of water and drink. It may seem counterproductive, but some people really do benefit from the extra acidification.

► Papaya. There’s no good scientific proof that papaya extract actually helps aid digestion, so the U.S. Food and Drug Administration no longer allows papaya products to make that claim on labels. You can still find papaya-enzyme tablets in health-food stores, however, and many people swear by them. An enzyme in papaya, called papain, breaks down proteins and may mimic two digestive enzymes in the stomach: pepsin and trypsin.

► Activated charcoal. These tablets, available in drugstores, are an all-purpose antidote used in hospital emergency rooms for most types of poisoning. Folks have used them for years to alleviate all sorts of gastric ills. They work by rounding up gases in the stomach.

► Cardamon seed. Many fragrant spices, such as fennel, coriander, cardamom and ginger, have a long history as digestive aids. They contain ingredients that may stop nausea, soothe intestinal spasms and relieve gas buildup.

► Baking soda. Mix a teaspoon of sodium bicarbonate in a glass of water and drink. It’ll make you burp and ease your bloating. Sodium bicarbonate relieves stomach gas and neutralizes acid, which is why it’s found in a number of antacids. Since it’s high in sodium however, doctors suggest you use it only occasionally.

► Honey. The use of honey to remedy stomach problems dates back to Ancient Egypt. Homey has some interesting antibacterial properties. In fact, researchers in New Zealand found that a certain type of honey kills the bacteria that causes ulcers and gastritis.

► Kelp tablets. Take a few with water. kelp and other seaweeds contain substances that help form gels that bind up stomach acid and ease indigestion, explains Arthur Jacknowitz, Pharm.D., chairmain of the department of clinical pharmacy at West Virginia University School of Pharmacy in Morgantown. Seaweed is high in sodium, Jacknowitz cautions, so it shouldn’t be taken by men on salt-restricted diets.

Reference: Jeff Stevenson

Beat the Clock

Perform this workout 2 or 3 days a week. Do two or three of eight to 10 repetitions, starting with 75 percent of your one-rep maximum. If you can do more than 12 reps. You’re not lifting enough weight. If your form worsens before 10 reps, use a lighter weight. The tempo for all of these is 2 seconds up, 4 seconds down.

► Dumbbell lunge: You’ll put less strain on your knees if you take large steps and make sure your front knee is lined up directly over (not past) your toes.

► Cable fly: Bend forward slightly from the hips and keep your shoulders pressed down and back.

► Seated leg curl: Don’t allow your back to lift off the pad.

► Bent-over row: Tighten your abs, bend at the hips, and keep your back flat.

► Reverse curl: Don’t bring your forearm beyond perpendicular to the floor.

► Sit up on a sit up board: Hook your feet under the ankle pads. Bend your knees slightly and do a full sit up through the entire range of motion. Of do Swiss-ball crunches.

Reference: T.S . . . You can visit menshealth.com

Can You Tell How Strong Are You?

When exercise experts look at strength, they look beyond the bench press and squat, which measure only absolute strength—the amount of force you can exert. But a bench-pressing behemoth with an injured shoulder is not strong. The essence of strength is being able to use the right muscle at the right time with the right amount of force to accomplish your goal, says Mike Clark, president of the National Academy of Sports Medicine.

His definition of a strong man: a guy who can perform any exercise or daily task without pain or injury. This starts with understanding that your muscular system comprises two systems, one for movement and one for stabilization. The movement system produces force by using big muscles like you pecs and lats. The stabilizing system controls your joints and utilizes smaller muscles like your lower trapezius, our posterior deltoids, and the muscles of the rotator cuff.

Most injuries occurs because the stabilization system is not strong and the movement system is overly dominant. You need to build both equally to avoid injury and perform better.

Alternate strength and stabilization exercise to enhance your endurance. For instance, do Swiss-ball pushups immediately after you bench-press; perform a squat followed immediately by a single-leg squat. If your stabilizing muscles are obviously weak—your shoulders are rounded, for instance—then begin your workouts with stabilizing exercises.

Aim to improve posture, flexibility, and power as well. You can follow strength exercise with power moves such as the medicine-ball chest pass, plyometric pushups, and jump squat. Incorporate core and flexibility moves to round out your routine.

Reference: Men’s Health . . . You can visit menshealth.com

Jump like a Champ

Did you know that 10 minutes of jumping rope can provide you the same calorie burn as 30 minutes of running. Plus, when you get good, you’ll look like a prizefighter.

Rope jumping uses all our muscles and joints, say Buddy Lee, a jump-rope trainer and member of two U.S. Olympic wrestling teams. It also requires some skill and practice. Here’s some advice from lee (go to buddyleejumpropes.com for more).

Balance: Your weight is on the balls of your feet, you knees slightly bent. Don’t jump more than an inch. Keep your body upright, eyes front, and elbows close, and make small circles with your wrists.

The Jump: it’s just a slight push, but it comes from the ankles, calves, knees and hips. Push through the floor with the balls of your feet and pint your toes downward as you lift off.

The Landing: Land softly by spreading the impact through your ankle, knees, and hips. Contact with the ground should be as brief as possible, your heels never touching the ground. Don’t double bounce. That’s too easy.

The Alternate Step: Jump with one foot. On the second turn of the rope, switch feet. Continue alternating feet (as if jogging in place) at a slow pace until you establish a comfortable rhythm. Lift your knees forward without kicking backward, which can cause your foot to catch on the rope.

A Program: with the basic bounce or alternate step, start with 10 sets of 10 jumps. Increase the number of jumps by 10 per set until you reach 100 jumps nonstop. Gradually work toward 5 to 10 minutes of continuous jumping.

Reference: Men’s Health . . . You can visit menshealth.com

Burn Fat Faster

Next time you race off to the gym, use these secrets for maximum effect.

There’s a Rube Goldberg Aspect to cardiovascular-exercise machines. It’s not all the levers and belts and pedals, but the effort-to-reward ratio. Sometimes it seems we expend a lot of time, energy, and goofy-looking movement for too small a payoff. For all the hours we’ve spent on these gizmos, our pants should be looser. But maybe (as we’ve heard a few times in our lives) we’re doing it all wrong. Cardio machines are tremendous fat burners—when used correctly. And because you can work very hard in a very short time, they can make a lunchtime workout an exercise in efficiency or make a prework morning session not only possible but effective as well.

We asked the experts what they see people doing wrong on the leading machines and found out how we can squeeze more out of our time on them. Follow their suggestions and you’ll burn more fat than the sweat-spraying cardio crazies with the blurry legs and burning lungs… and still have time to a smoothie afterwards.

Reference: David Schipper . . . You can visit menshealth.com