Strengthening and Back Pain Exercises

By: Peter F. Ullrich, Jr., MD

Just like reinforced steel can bear more weight than sheet aluminum, a strong, well-conditioned back can withstand more stress, and protect the spine better, than a back that has not been conditioned through exercise. Conditioning through flexibility and strengthening exercises not only helps the back avoid injury, or minimize the severity of injury if the spine is traumatized, it also can help relieve the pain of many back conditions.

Many exercises can help strengthen the spinal column and the supporting muscles, ligaments and tendons. Most of these exercises focus not only on the back, but also the abdominal (stomach) muscles and gluteus (buttocks) and hip muscles. Taken together, these strong ‘core’ muscles can provide back pain relief because they provide strong support for the spine, keeping it in alignment and facilitating movements that extend or twist the spine.

Two of the most well-known strengthening exercises are: Mckenzie exercises and Dynamic Lumbar Stabilization.These back exercises are generally first learned by working with a physical therapist who can demonstrate the exercises and correct a patient’s form to ensure strengthening and/or back pain relief is achieved. Although McKenzie exercises and dynamic lumbar stabilization exercises tend to be used for specific conditions, when appropriate the two forms of physical therapy exercise may also be combined.

McKenzie exercises

These back exercises are named after a physical therapist in New Zealand who found that extending the spine through exercise could reduce pain generated from a compromised disc space. Theoretically, extension exercises may also help reduce the herniation of the disc itself and reduce pressure on a nerve root. There is a wide range of McKenzie exercises, some of which are done standing up while others are performed lying down. All of them use core muscle contraction and, usually, arm motions to stabilize the trunk and extend the spine.

For patients who are suffering from leg pain due to a disc herniation (a radiculopathy), extending the spine with McKenzie back exercises may also help reduce the leg pain by "centralizing" the pain (moving the pain from the leg to the back). For most patients, back pain is usually more tolerable than leg pain, and if a patient is able to centralize the pain, they may be able to continue with non-surgical treatment (such as exercise) and avoid a surgical discectomy.

When the pain is acute, the exercises should be done frequently (every one to two hours). To be effective, patients should try to avoid flexing the spine (bending forward) during exercising as this undercuts the strengthening motion.

McKenzie exercises may also be helpful for those individuals who have back pain due to degenerative disc disease. While sitting or flexing forward can accentuate low back pain for patients with degenerative disc disease, extending the spine can serve to relieve the pressure on the disc. Note that the opposite is true in elderly patients who have facet osteoarthritis and/or lumbar stenosis (extending the spine jams the facet joints on the back and increases pressure across the joints, so these patients will typically feel better sitting, and have more pain with extension).

Dynamic lumbar stabilization exercises

With this back exercise technique, the physical therapist first tries to find the patient’s "neutral" spine, or the position that allows the patient to feel most comfortable. The back muscles are then exercised to teach the spine how to stay in this position. This back exercise technique relies on proprioception, or the awareness of where one’s joints are positioned. Performed on an ongoing basis, these back exercises provide pain relief and help keep the back strong and well positioned.

These lumbar stabilization exercises may also be done in conjunction with McKenzie exercises. The McKenzie exercises serve to reduce back pain, and the stabilization exercises help strengthen the back. Stabilization exercises can be rather rigorous and therefore may not be well tolerated by all patients. It may be advisable for elderly patients or patients in significant pain to use other less strenuous means of physical therapy and back exercise to strengthen the back.

The above two exercise programs are commonly prescribed to treat low back pain and leg pain, but many other forms of exercise can also provide pain relief and help with rehabilitation. The important aspect is that the exercise includes controlled, progressive strengthening exercises. Alternative forms of strengthening exercise that can be gentle on the back include Pilates, yoga and tai chi. There are several forms of these disciplines, and they are best learned working with a certified trainer or practitioner.

via spinehealth

Getting a Good Workout with Low Impact Exercise

Low impact exercise is often used in conjunction with the words gentle, easy or light and is often recommended for people who don't want a high intensity workout. But what if you want to work hard, but don't want all the jumping around? Can low impact exercise help you burn calories and lose weight as well as high impact moves? Absolutely.

High Impact Exercise Isn't for Everyone

If you're trying to lose weight, you know that getting into the middle-high range of your target heart rate zone (about 65% to 85% of max heart rate) is important for burning calories. You also probably know that it's easier to get your heart rate up when you're jumping around. But, for some people, high impact exercise just isn't an option. Some reasons you may have to avoid high impact are:

• Pregnancy
• Injuries in the joints, bones or connective tissue
• Chronic problems like arthritis, osteoporisis or stress fractures
• Being a beginning exerciser
• Being very overweight
• An aversion to high impact exercise

While it's important to have some type of impact in your workouts for healthy bones, you don't necessarily have to jump around to get an intense workout. Many low impact exercises (which is when one foot is always in contact with the ground) can get your heart rate into your target heart rate zone...the catch is, you may have to work a little harder.

Making the Most of Low Impact Exercise

If you've ever added any running into your walking workouts or tried some jump roping for the first time in years, you probably noticed how high your heart rate can shoot up as soon as you add higher impact. But, if you can't or don't want to do high impact exercises, there are some alternatives. The following are just a few of the most popular low impact activities along with some tricks for getting the most our of your workouts.

Walking

Walking is by far the most popular low impact exercise, but in order to get your heart rate up there are some things you may need to do.

• Walk faster. One mistake we often make is walking too slowly to get the heart rate up. Wendy, About's Walking Guide, offers a great tutorial for How to Walk Faster. Picking up the pace can help you up the intensity of your workouts.
• Try interval training. By adding short bursts of speed or an occasional steep hill to your walking workouts, you can increase the intensity of your workouts as well as your calorie-burn. Try one of these Hill Workouts on the Treadmill or one of the Beginner Interval Workouts to get started.
• Use your arms. Make sure you're not holding onto the treadmill and, when you're outside, swing your arms to keep the intensity up. Holding weights as you walk is a no-no (it can cause injury), but consider using walking poles as an alternative.
• Mix things up. If walking is your sole source of cardio, cross-train with other activities to keep your body challenged. Walking is something we do every day and, therefore, we're very good at it. Learning something you're not as adept at can be a great boost to your endurance and fat loss.

Walking the Stairs

Walking up stairs, whether they're real stairs or the revolving staircase at the gym, can be an incredibly intense workout and a great way to get your heart rate up. If you're a beginner, try adding a few minutes of stairclimbing to your usual workout or hop on the stepmill at the gym for a quick five minutes towards the end of your workout. You'll find you don't have to go very fast to get your heart rate up.

Hiking

Hiking can be another tough low impact activity, especially if you're hiking up an incline. The changing terrain requires a lot of work from the lower body and walking up a mountain involves the large muscles of the glutes, hips and thighs - exactly what you want for an intense cardio workout. Add a backpack and you're burning even more calories.

Step Aerobics

Step aerobics can be a great alternative if you like choreographed exercise but can't handle the pounding of hi/lo aerobics. Because you're stepping onto an elevated platform, you can typically get your heart rate up without doing any jumping. Using the arms can add more intensity the the workout as well. Cathe Friedrich is just one video instructor who offers low impact workouts for the more advanced exerciser such as Low Impact Circuit, Low Impact Step and Low Max Step. You can also try group fitness classes or other more advanced videos that may include high impact and modify the workout to keep it low.

Other Alternatives

You can also choose other activities that have no impact, but still offer high intensity workouts like cycling, swimming, cross-country skiing, the Versaclimber or rowing. Any of these activities can be intense if you work hard, but you may also want to cross-train with impact activities to keep your body challenged in different ways.

Adding Intensity to Your Workouts

The key to making low impact exercise work is to work a little harder by involving your entire body in what you're doing. Try some of these ideas for making your workouts more intense:

• Add upper body movements. Upper body moves can contribute to your overall intensity so think of swinging your arms when you walk, raising the arms overhead during step or other types of aerobics or choosing machines at the gym with upper body options like a cross-country ski machine or elliptical trainer.
• Go Faster. Picking up the pace, whether you're walking, cycling or ellipticalling (did I make that up?), is another way to make your workouts a little tougher.
• Use big movements. Another way to add intensity is to use big, exaggerated movements. For example, if you were marching in place, you could make the move harder by bringing the knees up high and circling the arms overhead.
• Involve the lower body. Most cardio activities do involve the lower body, but you can add intensity without impact by doing things like squats or lunges to really get the legs involved. Add walking lunges or side steps with squats to your usual walking workout to increase intensity.

If you're looking for a low impact workout check out this Low Impact Cardio Blast Workout. This workout involves a circuit of intense, low impact moves that will get your heart going without any jumping.

Check out some of low impact cardio and strength training equipment at www.myfitnessspot.com.

Via about.com:health

5 Quick Tips to Help Prevent Back Pain

Back pain … we all get it sometimes. But there are things you can do to prevent it from happening too often or from becoming too serious. Here's 5 important ways to prevent back pain:

#1 - Get up and get moving
The most important thing you can do to keep your spine healthy, and the rest of your body, is to exercise. The best way to start is to think of an activity that you enjoy, and do it!! Your goal should be to exercise at least 30 minutes each day (or on most days of the week). Whatever activity you choose, make sure it gets you breathing a little harder than usual. This is good for your circulation. Also, include some strength training to keep muscles healthy and strong. Some examples are walking, jogging, biking, swimming, even gardening can be considered exercise if done vigorously!

#2 - See your doctor
Regular checkups with your doctor are really important, no matter what your age. Make a plan to see your physician at least once a year to make sure all your systems are working smoothly. If you are experiencing back pain, and can't seem to find any relief, it's definitely time to see your doctor. Today there are many treatment options available so you don't have to live with back pain.

#3 - Lose weight
It's estimated that over half of all Americans are overweight. It's important to know that obesity contributes to the development of heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, cancer, and back pain. While the spine is designed to carry and distribute the body's weight, excessive weight can strain the spine. Eventually, the spine will begin to wear out.

Give your spine a break by shedding those unwanted and unnecessary pounds. Don't know how to start? Talk to your doctor. He or she can help you find a weight loss and exercise plan that best suits your needs.

#4 - Good posture
You may think that slouching when sitting or standing is relaxing your muscles. But actually, it makes your muscles work harder. Good posture, which involves standing and sitting in a balanced and neutral position, is the best way to avoid straining your spine.

#5 - Rest easy and properly
Sleep is an essential nutrient for our bodies and where we sleep can make all the difference. If you are having trouble sleeping or find that you wake in the morning more tired than when you went to bed, you may need to take a good look at where and how you sleep. A good mattress allows you to maintain the same natural spinal alignment that you have when standing. When your body is allowed to rest in its natural position, muscles are relaxed and sleep is more refreshing.

While you may not be able to avoid some occasional back pain, keeping your back healthy will go a long way to keeping you in good shape!

Mark R. McLaughlin, MD
Neurosurgeon
Princeton Brain and Spine
Langhorne, PA

via spineuniverse.com

Equipment You NEED To Start Your Home Gym

The Four Absolutely CRITICAL Pieces Of Training Equipment You NEED To Start Your Home Gym With

By Nick Nilsson

When you're putting together your first home gym, it's easy to get caught up in the promises of fancy
multi-station machines and infomercial products. But before you do, save your money and have a
close look at these four critical items that you SHOULD start your home gym with!

So you've got some space set aside in your home for a gym. You're ready to take the plunge and get some equipment so you can train without having to wait for equipment, listen to music you can't stand or wipe other people's sweat off machines.

But where do you start? What equipment should you get in order to maximize what you can do in the space you have available? Should you get a multi-station machine? Maybe a Bowflex? What's all this talk about being able to do more than 50 "club quality exercises?"

Right now, put that all out of your head. The equipment you need in order to maximize your space is simple and VERY basic and it will allow you to do literally HUNDREDS of exercises!

And the best part is, you can get it CHEAP if you know the right sources...

Essential Home Gym Equipment #1 - Adjustable Dumbells

If I could only have one single type of equipment in my home gym, it would be a good set of adjustable-weight dumbells. You can do a HUGE variety of exercises for every single bodypart with just a simple pair of dumbells.

Getting adjustable dumbells means you can very easily change the weight you're working with while still not using up a whole lot of space in your home gym. If you have pre-made dumbells, you have to set aside space (or get a good dumbell rack) for rows of individual dumbells.

If you've GOT the space (and the money!), pre-made dumbells are certainly more convenient to use. But if you're tight on room, lining up your dumbells may not be an option. And, of course, the pre-made dumbells are going to be a lot more expensive to get a decent range of weight for.

When it comes to adjustable dumbells, you've got several options. By far, the most convenient are the Powerblock style of dumbells (Bowflex and Nautilus also have products like this).

With this style, all you have to do is basically flip a switch to set your weight on the dumbell. The whole thing is interlocking - they fit into the space of just two dumbells and give you a good range of weights to work with.

The other main options are the "make it yourself" free weight dumbells. With these, you've basically got weight plates and posts. With a good selection of weight plates, you can make a great range of weights.

This style of dumbell will be a good deal cheaper than the Powerblock style but, on the downside, it does take more time to put the dumbells together and the weight posts sticking out can be a bit awkward. But overall, for the money, this style is still a very good investment, especially if you're looking to make some heavy dumbells. Heavy Powerblock dumbells can be quite expensive (they have expansion sets that go up to 130 lbs) but even then, are still a substantial savings over the equivalent amount of pre-made dumbells.

Essential Home Gym Equipment #2 - Adjustable Incline/Flat/Decline Bench

Once you've got the dumbells, the next thing to get for your home gym is a solid bench. Ideally, you want a bench that is easily adjustable to incline, flat and decline settings. The more versatile it is, the more use you'll get out of it and the more exercises you'll be able to do with it.

And when I say solid, I mean SOLID. Don't skimp on this piece of equipment. You don't want a bench folding up under you when you're in the middle of a hard set (or EVER for that matter!).

The adjustable bench will open up a wide range of exercises for you to do with your dumbells.

On a side note, you might wonder why I place a bench in front of a barbell set in order of "must-have." To be honest, it's a toss-up. Ideally, it would be best to get all four of these pieces of equipment that I'm going to talk about in this article at the same time! You would do just fine getting the barbell set before the bench as well.

Essential Home Gym Equipment #3 - 300 lb Olympic Barbell Set

So you've got your dumbells and a bench. Now it's time to get your barbell set. The nice thing with barbell sets is that at most sporting goods stores you can get a decent set for a good price brand new.

When you're getting a barbell set, I HIGHLY recommend going for the Olympic bar set (the 7 foot long bar). The thinner bar (known as a Standard bar) has a much smaller capacity and will start to bend if you load it with more than 200 pounds or so. The thicker bar will be easier to grip as well.

Once you've got the basic barbell set, you can very easily get more weight plates as you need them.

*** One VERY IMPORTANT thing to note about free weight...if you can, ALWAYS get it at a local place. If you buy it online, shipping charges will just about DOUBLE the price of your order (they charge for shipping by the pound).

Essential Home Gym Equipment #4 - The Power Rack

You've got resistance (the dumbells and barbell)...you've got apparatus (the adjustable bench)...now you need a "framework" to REALLY maximize the number of exercises you can do.

When you have a rack, it opens up not only a much wider range of exercises, it also dramatically increases the safety and potential productiveness of your training.

Because here's the bottom line with training at home by yourself...if you don't have a power rack/safety cage, it is NOT in your best interests to do barbell bench press or heavy barbell squatting. If you get stuck under a bench press bar with no help around, you're in big trouble!

If you have to bail out on a heavy squat with no power rack to catch the bar, you have to release the bar, let it roll down your back and try and get out of the way as it crashes to the floor. And as fun as THAT sounds, it's no picnic (especially if your home gym isn't on a concrete floor)!

To be honest, I even recommend people who train at commercial gyms to do their barbell bench pressing in the power rack. It's an exercise that has the potential to injure you pretty seriously if you get stuck under it with no help around! Training it in the rack is much safer AND allows you to really push yourself without fear of getting stuck under the bar, which is INVALUABLE when you really want maximum results.

Even a VERY small home gym has space for a rack. My first home gym was in a 10 x 10 room and it worked like a charm! The barbell can be stored on the rack itself, the bench fits right inside the rack when not in use. Many racks also come with weight posts to hold your plates right on the sides of the rack itself, which saves even more space.

Here's another great feature about some racks...the possibility of adding a weight-stack pulley to it. I got this with my rack and it was a GREAT investment. It opens up not only all the potential exercises you can do with pulleys but also exercises you can do that combine pulleys with the rack!

Honorable Mention of Essential Home Gym Equipment - The Swiss Ball

While the Swiss Ball (also known as an "exercise ball") isn't listed as an essential here, I also highly recommend grabbing one of these. They're inexpensive and they allow for a great variety of exercises to be performed, especially in combination with dumbells.

Be sure to look for a ball that is good quality - burst resistant is a feature you definitely want. If a ball gets punctured (especially while you're on it!), you don't want it exploding underneath you and you falling to the ground. This is not good when it's just you on the ball...MUCH more so if you're using weight while you're on the ball! If the ball gets punctured, it should just slowly let out the air, giving you time to get off the ball.

WHERE TO GET THIS TRAINING EQUIPMENT:

When it comes to free weight, such as barbells and dumbells, your best is to stay local. As I mentioned above, shipping prices will KILL you if you order free weight online or by mail order. You can scout out garage sales for people getting rid of their stuff, or head directly to the sporting goods store.

Sports Authority (if you're in the U.S.) generally has good prices on barbells, weight plates and dumbells.

If you're interested in getting a set of PowerBlock dumbells, you can read more about them here:

http://www.fitstep.com/goto/powerblock.htm

When it comes to the bench and power racks, there are a lot of different options in terms of brands. Personally, my bench and rack are Body Solid, which I'm quite happy with. They're good quality and were very reasonably priced. Other good brands include Yukon, Nautilus, BodyCraft, and Ivanko.

As far as where to get racks and benches, online is generally your best bet, whether it be retail or getting them used through fitness classified ads. EBay is another excellent option.

Some online retailers that I've had good success with in terms of overall price and shipping are:

Fitness Blowout
http://www.fitnessblowout.com

MuscleMag NE Pennsylvania
http://www.musclemagnepa.com

Bottom line...search around and compare prices. Feel free to find a good price and shop it around to other places to see if they'll beat it!

CONCLUSION:

If you have the space for it, setting up a home gym is TOTALLY worth doing IF you're the type of person who can self-motivate. Some people don't have the space or simply need the atmosphere of a gym to really make progress - nothing wrong with that!

Your home gym doesn't need to be (and shouldn't be!) complicated. Just a few basic pieces of equipment are all you need to do a tremendous variety of exercises and get great results.

The best bodies aren't built with fancy machines or with "club quality exercises." The best bodies are built with hard work and gold-standard exercises like squats, bench press, deadlifts, barbell rows, etc., all of which can be done with the four pieces of "must-have" equipment that I've mentioned here: dumbells, barbells, benches and racks!

------------------

Nick Nilsson is Vice-President of the online personal training company BetterU, Inc. He has a degree in Physical Education and Psychology and has been inventing new training techniques for more than 16 years. Nick is the author of a number of bodybuilding eBooks including "Metabolic Surge - Rapid Fat Loss," "The Best Exercises You've Never Heard Of," "Gluteus to the Maximus - Build a Bigger Butt NOW!" and "The Best Abdominal Exercises You've Never Heard Of" all available at (http://hop.clickbank.net/?max10acct/betteru). He can be contacted at betteru@fitstep.com.

Using HIGH Reps To Build Muscle

Using HIGH Reps To Build Muscle? Three Ways To Do It That Will Shatter ANY Muscle Growth Plateau!

By Nick Nilsson

Normally, when you think "muscle," you probably think "low reps"...but I've got
three ways to use HIGH reps to slap the muscle on you FAST.

When I say "muscle building," I'm sure the first thing that jumps into your head is NOT high-rep training!

In fact, when trying to build muscle, most trainers will actively stay FAR away from anything resembling high reps (and when I say high reps, I mean anything more than 13 to 15 reps per set).

Here's the thing...that can actually be a HUGE mistake!

Just like heavy weights and low reps, the higher rep ranges can be a VERY valuable and even ESSENTIAL tool in your muscle-building arsenal.

I've got three high-rep training techniques I want to share with you right now. And I'm going to explain EXACTLY why each one is critical to your muscle-building success.

1. Very Light Weight, Very High Reps

Yep, I know this sounds absolutely CRAZY. How can light weight and very high reps do ANYTHING for building muscle? Here's a hint…it's not about resistance…it's about physiology.

In order for a muscle to grow, first you've got to stimulate growth by overloading it with resistance - no argument there. But AFTER you've stimulated the growth, you've got to supply NUTRIENTS to the muscle cells to help them rebuild.

What if your blood supply is poor to the trained muscle? Got a muscle group that doesn't pump up very easily? It's probably one of your hardest muscle groups to develop. Poor circulation means fewer nutrients get to that muscle for recovery and rebuilding, leading to reduced growth.

THAT is where light weight and very high reps come into play. You see, VERY high reps have the effect of increasing capillarization in muscle tissue (simply defined, capillaries are the tiny blood vessels where blood cells release their nutrients to the rest of the cells in the body).

Bottom line, you do a set of 100 reps and your body responds by increasing capillary density in the targeted muscle, which SETS THE STAGE for future muscle growth.

The high reps sets don't directly CAUSE muscle growth (the resistance isn't high enough), they just improve blood circulation to the target muscle so when you DO train heavy and for lower reps, your target muscle gets more nutrients and can grow and recover more easily.

Want to put this tip to work?

Pick a "hard to pump" muscle and at the start of EVERY workout you do for that bodypart (e.g. every time you train biceps), do a single set of 100 reps with a VERY light weight. Basically, pick an exercise and just CRANK out the reps. Do this EVERY time you train that bodypart and you soon will start to notice a difference in how easily that muscle pumps up and how well it grows.

2. Moderate-Weight, High-Rep Training

This sure sounds like an oxymoron. After all, how can you use moderate weights when you're performing high reps!

As a matter of fact, you CAN. In fact, it's one of THE best training techniques you can use for building muscle FAST. It's a technique even elite powerlifters (who normally train with VERY low reps) use to increase muscle mass.

There are definitely certain exercises that lend themselves more to heavy-weight, high-rep training. Squats, for example, are the best example for this technique (you may be familiar with the popular "20-Rep Squat" program),

This moderate-weight, high-rep training has many of the same circulation benefits of the VERY high rep training but with the advantage of increased resistance, which will help directly stimulate muscle growth in addition to helping improve circulation.

Using myself as an example, I used squats with this technique and worked up to performing a set of 40 reps with 315 lbs (believe me, THAT was fun…). I've also managed a set of 25 reps with 225 lbs and a set of 70 reps with 135 lbs on the bench press.

This technique can be used with any exercise, really. You'll find some exercises work better for it than others but basically, you're taking a weight that is a bit lighter than your normal working weights and you're just focusing on cranking out the reps.

Like the previous technique, I find this is best done at the beginning of a workout when you're still fresh. You'll be able to get more reps out of the exercise that way. Some trainers like to use it as a back-off set (powerlifters generally use it this way), doing the high-reps with moderate weight after finishing with the heavier stuff.

So next time you're about to do squats, put a moderate weight on the bar and just see how many reps you can crank out! Forget about what you're going to do on the rest of your sets - just get as MANY as you can. Your legs will be hit with a whole new muscle-building stimulus!

3. High-Rep Partial Training

This final tip brings us into an interesting area. High-rep partial training actually allows you to do high-rep training with HEAVY weight! In fact, you will be AMAZED at how much weight you can use with this style of training.

We're going to be getting the benefits not only of the increased circulation that I mentioned with light-weight, high-rep training, but we're also going to get the substantial muscle-building benefits of using HEAVY weights at the same time.

Another benefit…because you're using heavier-than-normal weights, you're going to be working your connective tissue very effectively as well. And, because you're using high-reps, you're going to be forcing a LOT of blood into that connective tissue, which is notorious for its normally poor blood supply. This helps immensely with strengthening and healing.

High-rep partial training is fairly straightforward to perform. It's best done in a power rack, where it's easy to adjust the range of motion. For example, using bench press, you can set the safety rails to a few inches below the lockout position.

Working in only that top range of motion (which is the strongest segment of the range of motion) means you can use a LOT more weight than you normally could for the full-range exercise.

So you set up the bench, set up the rails and add some weight. Now you just perform as many partial reps as you can! To give you an idea of weight and reps, I've done sets of 50+ reps with 315 lbs on high-rep lockout partial bench press.

High-rep partial training can be done at any point in your workout, as an addition to your "normal" training (1 or 2 sets) or as the complete bodypart workout on its own.

The Final Word

Overall, I'm a big fan of high-rep training for building muscle, when PROPERLY used. These three techniques are VERY effective for not only setting the stage for muscle growth but actually building the muscle itself!

If you're interested in a program that makes use of ALL of these techniques, definitely check out my latest book "Muscle Explosion! 28 Days To Maximum Mass."

I make use of each one of these techniques during various phases of the program. When it comes to building muscle FAST, I've not found a program that works better:

http://hop.clickbank.net/?max10acct/betteru&l=700

Check out this great feedback I've received from one of the users of the "Muscle Explosion" program:

---

"I finished the last workout of 'Muscle Explosion' yesterday. I've gained close
to ten pounds during the month of workouts. Not bad at 45 years old! I
had the feeling this was going to be a tough system, and I was more than a
little afraid of the five-days-in-a-row of heavy deadlifts. But I stuck with the plan,
endured the feelings of physical shock during the workouts, and the soreness
afterward.

Nick, you're really on to something here. I don't think I could personally continue
at this intensity week after week, but what a fantastic growth spurt method.

I love the way you're 'pushing the envelope' and refining and advancing the art
and science of natural bodybuilding. You don't just rehash the great ideas,
you turbo-charge them!

- Tim Lauber

---

Here's that link again:

http://hop.clickbank.net/?max10acct/betteru&l=700

------------------

Nick Nilsson is Vice-President of the online personal training company BetterU, Inc. He has a degree in Physical Education and Psychology and has been inventing new training techniques for more than 17 years. Nick is the author of a number of bodybuilding eBooks including "Metabolic Surge - Rapid Fat Loss," "The Best Exercises You've Never Heard Of," "Gluteus to the Maximus - Build a Bigger Butt NOW!" and "The Best Abdominal Exercises You've Never Heard Of" all available at (http://hop.clickbank.net/?max10acct/betteru). He can be contacted at betteru@fitstep.com.

Why Your Glutes Are Small, Flat and Shapeless…

Why Your Glutes Are Small, Flat and Shapeless…It Could Be All In How You STAND!

By Nick Nilsson

Body position and posture has a HUGE impact on how you look. Get the inside scoop on how
something as simple as how you stand could be why your
glutes are small and flat (and your back hurts!).

If you're one of the MANY men and women who want larger, firmer, rounder glutes but haven't had much luck in building them, THIS is the article for you.

I know it's popular to say "it's not your fault" about almost anything these days...but in this case, it actually COULD be your fault...and you don't even know it!

You see, something as simple as your everyday posture could be responsible for the tough time you're having building up those glutes of your dreams.

Let's set genetics aside for a moment - while it's true that genetics CAN and DO play a big part in how your body develops, blaming a small, flat butt completely on genetics then just giving up is just not an option I'm going to let you get away with... :)

First, a little functional anatomy - we need to know and understand HOW the glutes work. Relax - nothing too technical here - just a little info so you'll be able to take these concepts and put them to work for you right NOW.

Everybody knows WHERE the glutes are, so I won't get into that. If you don't, you're sitting on them right now...heck, they're following you everywhere you go!

The glutes are among the biggest muscles in the body because their main function is movement (technically, it's to extend the hip backwards) and movement is VERY important. This backwards extension of the hip is what moves you forward with every step you take. It's what moves your body up when you take a step up on a stair. It's ALSO what helps keep your body upright and stabilized while standing.

So how can your posture and how you STAND possibly impact this big muscle and how it works and grows?

Well, I'll tell you!

First, you'll need to do an easy visual test on yourself in the mirror. This is going to help determine if your posture is causing your glutes to shrink up and not respond well to training.

Go to a long mirror and stand beside it so that your side is towards it (you're not facing it right now). Don't look in the mirror yet. Now stand like you're waiting for a bus or you're in line at the movies - "normally." Make sure you're standing on both feet with your weight evenly distributed (not on one foot or the other). Relax and don't try and do anything differently than you do in everyday life (if you try and fix yourself now, you'll mess up the test).

NOW keeping that exact same body position, turn JUST YOUR HEAD and look in the mirror. We're going to look at where your hips are in relation to where your shoulders are.

Ideally, you want your hips to be in a direct up-and-down line with your shoulders so you're standing up straight.

But what we'll often see (especially in the cases of those who have trouble building their glutes and feeling them working when training glute exercises) is that the hips are FORWARD of the shoulders and the butt is kind of "tucked" under the hips.

So instead of a vertical line like this: |

The body forms a forward angle kind of like this: <

When the hips shift forward like this, the glutes are taken almost completely out of the postural chain - they become relaxed and little work is required of them.

The immediate problem with THIS is that the glutes then get weaker and smaller. But the REAL problem (and the one that affects your glute-building) is the STRUCTURAL change that takes place in your body in the long term.

Over the course of YEARS of this "hips-forward" posture, your body will strengthen OTHER muscles and tendons to take over the loads and functions that the glutes were supposed to be in charge of. It can also lead to back pain and overstretching of the abdominals, which makes your stomach LOOK bigger than it actually is!

Don't have a mirror? Another good way to test yourself on this without a mirror is this: stand up right where you are and stand up straight with posture like you're a soldier standing guard. If this feels EXTREMELY weird to you and it's an effort to hold that position for more than a few moments, chances are your body has undergone the structural changes I talked about.

Eventually, these structural changes in your body will carry over to walking and exercising! Your body will not properly recruit the glute muscles when it comes time to do squatting and lunging movements even if it LOOKS like you're doing them correctly.

The thighs will tend to take over the movement to compensate for the reduction in glute function. The body, quite simply, isn't USED to using the glutes anymore and has a hard time activating them.

This means even when you do direct exercises to work the glutes, your body is unable to properly USE the glutes to perform the exercises!

And when you walk, instead of using the glutes to actively PUSH yourself forward with each step, you'll have a short stride and a more "shuffling" gait (this happens because your leg isn't coming back far enough behind you).

You're using your hip flexors (the muscles on the front of your hips) to bring your leg forward with each step but you're using GRAVITY and momentum (in a way, you're almost falling forward with each step) to keep moving, NOT pushing with your glutes!

SO HOW DO WE FIX IT?

Well, the first BIG step is to be mindful of your posture and how you stand. It's going to be strange at first - you're going to forget yourself and have to constantly be your own "posture police" to keep yourself straight and upright. You might have even to recruit friends and family members to "keep you honest" and remind you when your hips start drifting forward.

We're basically going to be looking to reverse YEARS of "glute-reducing" posture here, so it's something that will take time. The upside is, you will most likely start feeling more confident and looking better almost immediately when you make the effort to stand up straight!

The extra work your glutes are going to get simply by doing what they're supposed to should start helping you increase glute size and firmness rapidly as well.

Abdominal exercises can also help here, by tightening up abs that have gotten overstretched from this "hips-forward" posture. Keeping your abs tight and "in" will help you keep your hips back and in the right position.

Finally, when you're walking, you should focus on actively PUSHING yourself forward with the glutes with each step you take. You'll end up taking longer strides and getting places sooner, which is not a bad thing either.

Bottom line (no pun intended!), we have to RETRAIN your body to use the glutes properly. Now I know it's not a quick fix but it IS an effective fix and can be done with relatively little effort.

Because once your body starts learning how to use the glutes again, you'll have a MUCH easier time developing the glutes that you're looking for!

Changing how you stand won't give you a bigger butt overnight but it WILL set the stage so that the work you ARE doing to improve your glutes will be more effective!

---

GLUTEUS TO THE MAXIMUS -
BUILD A BIGGER BUTT NOW!

After all this talk about glute training, you better believe I've got a BIG TIME solution for you for increasing your glute size with powerful exercises and training programs! "Gluteus to the Maximus" is a book I wrote that is TOTALLY targeted to building larger, firmer, rounder glutes...it's not about tightening and "toning" (though you CAN adjust the programs to focus on tightening up the glutes). I'll walk you through EVERYTHING you need to know to build your glutes fast...nutrition, training, stretching, you name it. AND it's packed with programs you can do at the gym OR in the privacy of your own home (little to no equipment required!).

If you want to build a bigger butt, this book is a MUST HAVE. Check it out here:

--> http://hop.clickbank.net/?max10acct/betteru&l=200

------------------

Nick Nilsson is Vice-President of the online personal training company BetterU, Inc. He has a degree in Physical Education and Psychology and has been inventing new training techniques for more than 17 years. Nick is the author of a number of bodybuilding eBooks including "Muscle Explosion! 28 Days To Maximum Mass", "Metabolic Surge - Rapid Fat Loss," "The Best Exercises You've Never Heard Of," "Gluteus to the Maximus - Build a Bigger Butt NOW!" and "The Best Abdominal Exercises You've Never Heard Of" all available at (http://hop.clickbank.net/?max10acct/betteru). He can be contacted at betteru@fitstep.com.

Bodybuilding Muscles - Beginners Bodybuilding, Training and Getting Fit

Because of the progress I have made recently, I feel I am now in a position to give a little advice on training. You can see I have used it and got results.

Before you start any form of training, you need to ensure you are medically fit. I would advise you get checked out by a physician. You then need to ask yourself a few questions.

• Why do I really want to do this?
• What are the rewards going to be for me?

I have seen and done it myself - I have started training with no actual purpose in mind. This is when you try everybody's methods. I mean everybody's. You will never get the result you really want this way. This is a bit like having a road map in front of you and you are not sure where you want to go - so you start trying all the different roads hoping to end up somewhere that would be good for you.

With question 1 - why do I really want to do this - what do you want ? You need to take time out to think about this.

• Do you want to get stronger? If you do, how strong ? Do you want to enter strong man competitions ? Do you want to be a power lifter and enter competitions?
• Do you want to body build to enter competitions? How far do you want to go in the competitions ?
• Do you want to get fit ?
• Do you want to look good for yourself ?
• Do you want to be attractive to others ?
• Do you want to go into the gym and physical fitness industry ?
• Are you training to overcome injuries ?
• Are you wanting to prolong your life ?

There are many more questions you can ask yourself. I can assure you, you need to do this before you start or you will probably waste time, money and even train wrongly and cause injuries to yourself.

Once you have an idea of what you want to do, you then have to answer question 2 - what are the rewards for you ?

• Are you going to like yourself if you change ?
• Will others like you ?
• Will you be happy with your life now, and in years to come ?

This is goal-setting in a simple form. Nobody ever arrives at a destination if they do not know what direction to take. They most certainly will not be happy if they do not know why they are going there.

A very important thing you need to bear in mind which will influence your decision, is your genetic make-up. Although we are all made of the same stuff, we are all different. You need to be realistic and use common sense. I know many people in the industry will promise you the world to get you to follow their plan, but I can assure you, if you do not have the right ingredients, you can forget it. You can train all you want and you will always be disappointed with the result. You will then try to get what you want by taking various types of chemicals. This is not what it is all about. Let me give you an example - we will only look like Arnold Schwarzenegger if we do his training plan, eat the way he did, have similar genes, visualise like he did, and so on and so on. In other words, we will have to try to become him. We will never be happy because we will have lost our own identity. We are all special, all unique, and must be ourselves.

Taking all this into account, you can make a long term decision. I do not have all the answers or training methods. For example, I only have a vague idea of the type of training you would need to do to be a power lifter or strongman. I would not know all the food and supplements you need to take so there is only so far I will be able to take you.

I can show you a common sense approach to most of what you might want. I will be able to help you get into shape and look good and feel fit. The beauty of goals is you can always change your direction once you have a good foundation, and that is what I will be able to give you. The first part will take 90 to 120 days. After this you can be in a position to go into almost anything. A good muscular frame is a great starting point. Nothing is more satisfying than to be able to see the changes on a weekly basis and have others comment on how good you are looking.

I want to include women here. Women can train up to this point exactly the same as men, and I can assure you you will not become muscle bound. Men will build a lot faster and women will become fit, lean, and look great.

Once you have a platform, this is a fantastic position to launch yourself to a new life and new goals. It is my suggestion that you set a long term goal of why you are training and a 90-120 day goal to get into great shape.

Get it into your mind that training is something you will do for the rest of your life. DO NOT fall into the trap that I did - stop training and get out of shape - as it is hard work to get it back. Once you are fit and lean, it is very easy to maintain what you have, and it takes almost no time at all. It took me a long time to get as out of shape as I was. I also had to eat mountains of food to get there.

This is it - decision time. What do you want to do ? Remain a slug ? or get yourself some pride and some conditioning. There are no excuses and there never will be a right time to do this. All you have is right now. Make the leap and never look back.Click Here! to learn more about building muscle.

Via Building Muscles.org.uk

BY THE NUMBERS

The following article was written by Tina Peng in Newsweek. It brings up some great points on the state and effects of obesity in America today. It's a good article.

Five Financial Costs of American Obesity

We know that being overweight isn't good for our health, but carrying extra weight costs more, too.

Last month, researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health came out with another report, in what has been a parade of dire warnings about obesity in the United States. In a study published in the July issue of Obesity, they concluded that unless our eating habits or exercise habits change, 86 percent of the American population will be overweight or obese by 2030. More than a third of American adults—over 72 million people—were obese in 2005 and 2006, according to the Centers for Disease Control. The obese are more susceptible to an array of health problems, such as hypertension, type 2 diabetes, heart disease and stroke. Widespread obesity also means that today's children may even have a shorter life expectancy than their parents.

But poor health isn't the only way Americans pay for all that extra weight, there's also a hefty financial price attached. Here are the top five costs associated with obesity:

1. Lower wages: Stanford University researchers found that obese men and women earn, on average, $3.41 per hour less than their peers. Over the course of a year, that means $7,093 in lost income. The income gap is smaller when obese workers are young, but it widens over time. The difference may be partly attributable to healthcare costs: Employers tend to pay obese workers less when they're footing the bill for their insurance, researchers said, speculating that it could be an unconscious reaction on the part of the employer to having to pay higher premiums for a more obese workforce.

2. Fewer work hours: On average, obese workers tend to lose a week of work a year due to ailments related to their weight, according to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. A firm of 1,000 employees loses $285,000 a year due to obese—not overweight—employees, about 30 percent of which is attributable to increased absenteeism, according to Eric A. Finkelstein and Laurie Zuckerman's "The Fattening of America."

3. Higher medical costs: Overweight males incur medical costs that are $170 more annually than their leaner co-workers, while overweight females incur costs $495 higher than their counterparts, Finkelstein and Zuckerman write. They also note that hospitals have to pay more to treat the obese—oversized wheelchairs can cost about $2,500, eight times the cost of an ordinary wheelchair, and operating tables that are strong enough to support the severely obese can top $30,000.

4. Extra air travel costs: Budget airlines such as Southwest require obese people or people who may take up more than one seat to buy an adequate number of seats on the flight. And heavier passengers burn more fuel: In the 1990s, Americans' average weight increased by 10 pounds, which meant that airlines spent $275 million on an additional 350 million gallons of fuel to support that extra weight, according to a 2004 Centers for Disease Control report.

5. More gasoline: Obviously, more weight burns more gasoline in cars, too. A 2006 study published in the journal The Engineering Economist found that Americans pumped 938 million more gallons of fuel a year than they did in 1960 because of their heftier frames. That adds up to roughly $3.55 billion in increased annual gas expenditures nationwide.


Via Newsweek Web Exclusive

Posted by Gettin' Fit at 4:26 AM

My Alli Experience

So, I started taking Alli diet pills. I'm not going to lie, I was very skeptical. I had done a great deal of research and read and listened to the horror stories associated with Alli. It took me a good week before I was brave enough to try it. I was terrified of the side effects. About a week ago I buckled down and started taking the pills. Let me tell you how it went.
First, Alli recommends that you start a low fat diet a few days prior to taking the pills. I was already on a "low-fat diet", having switched to skim milk about a year ago. I try to avoid fatty foods, but by no means do I dedicate a substantial amount of time to it. When I started taking the pills there was really no reaction on day 1.
Day 2 was pretty much the same. There was really no noticeable side effects from taking it. I have to say that for the first week the only thing that I noticed was weight loss. Now, I have to tell you that on day 1 I was motivated and walked four miles. After that, I didn't exercise at all. I lost three pounds last week without working really hard for it. So the bottom line is I went from 252 pounds to 249 pounds in one week, didn't really exercise, and didn't really change my diet. I felt better than I have in a long time. Fat can really bring you down.
Now what I have to say is that after such progress it's easy to start taking things for granted. Saturday we had pizza night. Pizza has a very high fat content. After taking Alli for one week my body wasn't absorbing as much fat as it used to, so needless to say, there was a reaction. Pizza is my weakness, and I ate more than I should have. I will say that it's important to watch what you eat and stay away from fatty foods. Moderation is the key. I walked around and felt bloated for most of Saturday evening and part of Sunday, but now I'm back on track. We'll see what happens this week.

Buying Alli

As of my last post I had started a low-fat, low calorie diet and was going out to buy Alli. Today I made the purchase. I bought the Alli Starter Set for $42.00. The general price that was quoted in most of the articles that I've read was between $50.00 and $70.00. For the most part I find that this is true on the store shelves, but shopping around online you can get a better deal and never leave the comfort of your own home. If your interested in trying this product you can purchase it by checking out low-impact-fitness.com. I found it here for as low as $31.00. This came in handy as I had to start dieting prior to Alli anyway. You can also find a variety of low impact home gyms and elliptical machines at Low Impact Fitness.

I've just opened the Alli Starter Set box and this is what was inside:
1. A package of pamphlets and booklets
a. Read Me First (an instructional guide for the use of Alli)
b. Hi (welcome to the Alli Weight Loss Program)
c. Quick Facts Cards (A small key chain card set with suggestions on the following topics:
i. Avoid
ii. Best Choices
iii. Limit Fats
iv. Alli Dosage
v. Portions
vi. Snacks
vii.Shopping
viii. Cooking

d. Companion Guide (suggestions on how to integrate Alli and your daily lifestyle changes in order to boost weightloss.
e. Healthy Eating Guide ( includes daily menu variations)
f. Calorie and Fat Counter (Lists common foods' calories and fat content)
g. A daily journal for recording your meals.

2. A 90 count bottle of Alli Diet Pills
3. A carrying case for your daily dosage of Alli.

The overall message in the content of this product is that you have to use Alli as directed, and that it is a product meant to enhance your weight loss, not to be the sole cause of it. With this in mind, I'll start taking the pills on Saturday. Between now and then I'll read the enclosed literature and get to know a little more about the Alli Weight Loss Program.

Taking the Alli Challenge

Well, this is it! I'm taking the Alli challenge. I've finally made up my mind to take the Alli Diet Pill in order to assist in losing weight. Of course, the key to my endeavor is diet and exercise. I've read allot of research on Alli and listened to many satisfied and dissatisfied users. A friend of mine had been on the Alli diet for about a month before he left for Australia on an exchange program. He was very satisfied with the diet He was looking to lose some weight without exercising a great deal. So this is what he did. He stopped exercising all together. He followed the directions for recommended use as indicated by the Alli Weight Loss Plan. This is to say that three days before he started taking his Alli diet pills he started a low-fat diet. He told me that according to the Alli Weight Loss Plan you can't have any more than 19 grams of fat at any one meal. This is because the Alli Diet Pill is a fat blocker. It prevents a percentage of fat from being absorbed by your intestines. Given that the fat is not absorbed it must be excreted and that's why you must be careful about your fat consumption. In his experience 19 grams of fat or less per meal didn't produce any notable change in bodily functions. The directions are very specific and he made sure to ensure that I knew this. By going on a low fat diet three days before taking Alli you ensure that all of the excess fat is out of your system. He said that if you were to go eat a Fast Food meal and take Alli the following day you would certainly be unpleasantly surprised.
The dissatisfied users, for the most part, all complain about exactly that; the diarrhea associated with taking Alli. In one instance the weight loss candidate was very happy taking the pill for three days until he had eaten at McDonalds. He was then disappointed with the results and advised others not to take the pills. I think that the bottom line is that Alli, as with all medications, needs to be taken according to its directions. If not, the side effects will follow.
So, given all of this information and research that I put into this thing I have come to this conclusion. First, I need to lose weight. I'm 36 years old, 250 pounds, and suffer with degenerative disk disease. My lower back pain prevents me from doing a great deal of exercise, although I can participate in some low impact upper body and cardio vascular training.
Second, today I start my low fat diet in preparation to start the Alli Weight Loss Diet. I have to recognize that Alli Diet Pills are a dietary supplement, not a diet in itself. The low fat diet and regular exercise program are going to provide the weight loss. The Alli is going to help to speed the weight loss along. I have great hope that this is going to work, and I'm finally going to start losing weight in a manner that I can keep it off. Third, I will purchase the Alli Starter Pack tomorrow so that I can read the instructions for myself.
In a final note; my friend reported 3-6 pound of weight loss per week without doing any exercise. I am sure that this will work. I'll keep posting my progress. Maybe it could work for you as well.

Why should I use an elliptical trainer?

You probably have seen a machine with two long handles at the cardio section. Some people call this machine as Elliptical Exercise Machine or Elliptical Bike. Some call it Cross-Trainer. So, what exactly are Elliptical Trainer or the so called Cross-Trainer?

It is an exercise equipment that combine the movements of the stair climber, treadmill, and the exercise bike into one. It combines the movements and benefits of hiking, cross country skiing, and biking. With elliptical exercise equipment, your legs travel in an elongated circular motion. It is as if you are standing on a cross country ski machine but instead of your feet moving back and forth, the machine forces them to move around in an oval pattern (hence elliptical).

Here are the major benefits of elliptical exercise machines:

1. The most important aspect of using an elliptical trainer is the reduction of impact. It provides the similar type of workout as jogging but without the wear and tear on your joints. Because of your weight, jogging actually places a great deal of stress on the back and joints. If you have ever jogged a lot and without a good pair of jogging shoes, jogging can be hard on your knees, ankles, shins, and back. With elliptical bike, because your limbs remain in continuous contact with the machine, its operation limits the impact to your joints. That’s why most fitness experts recommend the elliptical trainer to people who have a hard time exercising because of physical ailments such as bad joints and arthritis.
2. Depending on the intensity, you may burn more calories with the elliptical trainer compared with the treadmill or the exercise bike. The actual workout feels like a brisk walk even though you are exerting as much effort as a good run. Elliptical trainers burn the between 8 and 12 calories per minute. Not too bad.

   

3. If you choose an elliptical trainer with dual action handle bars, you can actually get a true cross training workout that uses your whole body, including your upper body. But, for me, I prefer not to hold the bar because I tend to move slower. Without holding the bar, I feel that my abs will actually work slightly harder in stabilizing my body.
4. For those who want to work out your lower legs, the elliptical trainer uses all of the muscles of the lower leg. Therefore, you will strengthen and build your lower legs.
5. Another great thing about the elliptical trainer is that you can move at a comfortable speed while allowing for the occasional burst of high intensities.
6. Safe to use. When you stop, the machine stops. The amount of resistance on an elliptical trainer will determine how much effort it will take for you to keep your feet moving. The speed will be determined by your own movement.

   

7. For those who is looking for a home gym cardio equipment, consider this machine. Elliptical machine uses very little electricity and is economical to operate. Because of lesser impact, there is less wear and tear of the machine, making the maintenance quite low compared with treadmill.

For those who are overweight or who has chronic knee problem, I highly recommend cross trainer. It does less harm to your knees and I am sure you will like it.I have been using this machine since two years ago and I have no complaint about it so far. Once you use one, you will be hooked. The machine at my fitness club actually has a LCD screen showing few cable TV programs (ESPN, MTV and Star Movie). I never like doing cardio, but now, you know why I like this machine so much.

Via munfitnessblog.com

Check out the elliptical machines and health assessment tools available at My Fitness Spot. www.low-impact-fitness.com

5 tips on staying fit

1. Vary your exercise routine - Keep things interesting by doing different types of exercises. Strength train with free weights, smith machines, body weight, isometrics. This is made easy by usinhg the convenient home gyms offered by total gym. Wear weighted vests. Vary cardio by running outside in the park, beach, mountains, use the elliptical, treadmill, recumbent bike, jump rope. I think strength/weight training is the most important part of any exercise routine and should be done at a minimum of 3 days per week. More is better, but at least 3 days.

2. Cultivate the internal with mind/body exercise - Do yoga (I prefer vinyasa) and/or tai chi along with chi gung. This not only stretches your muscles and strengthens your bones, joints and sinews, it also allows you to mentally just relax and let go. This is the "Yang" to weight trainings "Yin".

3. Eat well - Never ever "diet". I rather use the term "nutrition plan" than "diet plan". Eat good foods and stay away from the processed junk (white rice, white noodles, sugar, fast food, fried food). Eat plenty of green veggies (broccoli, spinich) and whole grain breads. Have an occasional glass of really good cabernet wine. Drink plenty of water.

4. Have at least one hobby - Find something that you just flat out enjoy and could do for hours and hours. Something that you can spend hours in a bookstore reading about. I have two hobbies: Martial Arts and Macro Photography. Teaching and practicing martial arts is my greatest joy. Trying to take that "perfect" macro photo (the hunt) is a great joy as well.

5. Love - Have someone/something in your life that you love (and loves you back). A wife, husband, kids, dog. Anyone/anything that brings you love. Everyone needs this.

via City-Data