I Body Shapes how can I change my shape?I
I Male Grooming - The Basics I Cold Sores I Spots I Skin Cancer I
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Body Shapes
There are many different body types around, understanding your body shape will help you, when it comes to training and nutrition issues. It is a fact today that 6 out of 10 men are classified overweight and obesity has doubled in the last 18 years.Underneath all the padding we can put each body into one of three categories.
The three main types:
Ectomorphs - thin and wispy
Mesomorphs - athletic and muscular
Endomorphs - generously rounded or 'stout'
Your basic body type is generally outside of your control - it is more to do with DNA, and your childhood lifestyle than anything else. So if you are over reading this, you are what you are! The reason you may be reading thism is so that you can understand how to fine tune what you have.
Changing your body type
If you're looking to change the shape of your body the basic groundwork is the same.
Eat fresh, low fat and healthy food,
avoid large amounts of toxins such as alcohol and caffeine,
take regular exercise which should include elements of stamina (aerobic exercise), strength and flexibility training.
So you may want to change your shape?
Try adapting your training regime along the following lines:(don't forget if you need help, speak to one of our experts, click here
If you want to be ectomorphic (long and thin):
Do more aerobic exercise, swimming, running and biking and ensure you work at a steady state (70 per cent max heart rate). Avoid explosive activity.
Use exercises that allow full range of movement - swimming, pilates or yoga and take more time to fully stretch each muscle.
Concentrate on eating complex carbohydrates such as pasta and potatoes and drink plenty of tepid water.
If you want to be mesomorphic (athletic and muscular):
Work on short bursts of explosive, dynamic and intense aerobic activity near to maximum effort - short sprints, jumping and punching.
Do more weight-bearing exercise to build muscle. Use heavy weights, up to 90 per cent of your maximum capability and complete at least three sets of each exercise with no more than five to eight repetitions per set. Ideally isolate one muscle group at a time and work it until exhausted. Don't overdo it!
If you want to be endomorphic (rounded and stout):
Sit back and Relax!
It is important to remember that miracles aren't going to happen.
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Male Grooming
Having to many lates nights? Eating to many fast foods? Life too stressfull? This all takes its toll on your skin. Your skin will dry out, become flaky and cracked and looses its vitality. Mos people forget to drink enough water , this is crucial to the health of your skin, it needs it in abundance.. A least two litres a day is essential, especially in hot and humid weather. To remain healthy the skin also needs vitamin C and this is readily available from citrus fruits, fortified breakfast cereals, and fortified bread. Potatoes are also a good source of vitamin C too and since the vitamin C is found just below the skin having a baked potato means the vitamin C doesn't end up in the waste bin lost in the peelings.
Moisturise regularly too, using a cream that contains vitamin E and UV protection. Many men regularly have facials nowadays to help revitalise their skin.
Other Important factors:
Don't smoke
Make sure you have plenty of rest
Don't binge drink
Eat plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables
Drink at least eight glasses of water a day
Make time to exercise and relax
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Cold Sores
Zinc and vitamin C are essential to healthy skin, and helps to boost our immune system and keep it strong so that it can protect the body from infection.
What is responsible for cold sores?
Stress, infection, being overtired, cold winds, and hot weather can all be responsible for waking up a cold sore
It's possible to avoid cold sores by getting enough rest, eating plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables, not smoking, and keeping alcohol to a minimum. Be sure to also apply a UV protection lip-balm a few times each day to protect against the effects of cold winds and bright sunlight.
Tea-tree oil cream or aciclovir cream both have anti-viral properties and can help reduce cold sores!
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Spots
There is never a good time to have a spot. These are likely to occur if you've become run-down. How do you avoid them; Rest, Sleap, Don't Smoke, Don;t iverdue the drink and eat fresh fruit and vegtables.
There are many treatments available for reducing and eradicating spots such as tea-tree oil or Witch Stick. Don't forget to exfoliate this will reduce spots appearing.
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Skin Cancer
"just because it's not beach weather doesn't mean the sun's rays aren't powerful. In fact, wintry conditions can increase the effects of UV radiation"
Melanoma is the most serious form of skin cancer. However, if it is recognized and treated early, it is nearly 100 percent curable. But if it is not, the cancer can advance and spread to other parts of the body, where it becomes hard to treat and can be fatal. Everyone is at some risk for melanoma, but increased risk depends on several factors: sun exposure, number of moles on the skin, skin type, and family history (genetics).
Sun exposure
Both UVA and UVB rays are dangerous to the skin, and can induce skin cancer, including melanoma. Blistering sunburns in early childhood increase risk, but cumulative exposure also is a factor. People who live in locations that get more sunlight — like Florida, Hawaii, and Australia — get more skin cancer. Avoid using a tanning booth or tanning bed, since it increases your exposure to UV rays, increasing your risk of developing melanoma and other skin cancers.
Moles
There are two kinds of moles that a person can have: normal moles — the small brown blemishes, growths, or "beauty marks" that appear in the first few decades of life in almost everyone — and atypical moles, known as dysplastic nevi. Regardless of type, the more moles you have, the greater your risk for melanoma.
Skin Type
As with all skin cancers, people with fairer skin are at increased risk. You can read more about skin type and risk here.
Family History
About one in every ten patients diagnosed with the disease has a family member with a history of melanoma. If your mother, father, siblings, or children have had a melanoma, you are in a melanoma-prone family. Each person with a first-degree relative diagnosed with melanoma has a 50 percent greater chance of developing the disease than people who do not have a family history. If the cancer occurred in a grandmother, grandfather, aunt, uncle, niece or nephew, there is still an increase in risk, although it is not as great.
Personal History
Once you have had melanoma, you run an increased chance of recurrence. Also, people who have or had basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma are at increased risk for developing melanoma.
Weakened Immune System
Compromised immune systems as the result of chemotherapy, excessive sun exposure, and diseases such as HIV or lymphoma can increase your risk of melanoma.
If you are in any of these risk groups, you can protect yourself and your children by practising safe sun habits, remembering to examine yourself, watching for the warning signs and get a yearly examination by a dermatologist.
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