Stall bars, aka Swedish bars, should be part of your strength training equipment. While they are used in gymnastics, you can also use them for strength training. As a matter of fact, stall bars can be effectively used for muscle development and increase flexibility in your body. Let’s know you can use them.

According to many gymnasts, stall bars is on the list of most powerful tools that have been invented so far. They are used mostly by fitness enthusiasts and gymnasts. Aside from this, they are also used for rehabilitation, pre-rehabilitation and mobility in order to prevent injuries, correct posture and enhance body alignment.

You can use the equipment at your local gym. You can also build your own if you want to.

The Use of Stall Bars for Strength

Straight Arm Strength

This exercise can help you improve the strength of your straight arm. To do this exercise, what you need to do is lean toward the bars supporting your weight with your arms.

At first, this exercise can be hard for you to do. You can use your legs for assistance. Over time, you should try to get support from your arms only.

With the passage of time, this training will give strength to your elbows, lats and shoulders.

Straight Arm Strength

By contrast, this training is more difficult. In this exercise, you support your body weight; however, your back is against the bars. You may find this progression difficult. If you do, make sure you use your leg for assistance.

With back support, you can make your tendons stronger, thus preparing your body for a harder training. However, this exercise can give you a lot of benefits even if you don’t do other exercises.

You may feel it uncomfortable to hold your position since your body will be in an odd position. Moreover, there is no support and you will need to put in a good deal of strength to maintain your position.

We suggest that you use different grips since the stimulus may be a bit different.

Human Flag Training

You can also use stall bars for human flag training. If you want, you may change the grip width since they are quite comfortable to hold.

It won’t be possible for you to do the human flag at first. You can use the progression described below.

In this progression, you learn how to support your body and develop the required strength. What happens is that you try to turn yourself sideways attempting to elevate your legs.

You should take a grip and hold it for a while. You may fail to do so at first. If you do, make sure you work on building your overall strength.

To cut a long story short, if you are going to use Swedish bars for strength training, we suggest that you follow the advice give in this article. This way you will be able to get the most out of your equipment while staying on the safe side throughout the process. Hope this helps.

For gymnastics and strength training, investing in high quality stall bars is a great idea. Do give them a go!

When it comes to hormones, testosterone is considered the king hormone. In males, testosterone is produced mainly in the testicles. In women, testosterone is produced in the ovaries although in much smaller amounts. Testosterone production in the body begins significantly increasing in the late teens and starts to decline after the age of 30. Testosterone is the primary sex hormone, and it has a huge effect on your muscle mass and bone density, body fat levels, mood and red blood cell production.

Low testosterone levels can cause a wide variety of symptoms including weight gain, low sex drive, low energy, depression and low self-esteem. While testosterone levels naturally decline as you age, there are multiple ways you can boost your testosterone levels to maintain optimal levels of this critical hormone.

Signs & Symptoms of Low-Testosterone:

(in Men)

• Little interest in sex (low libido)
• Unable to sustain or get an erection
• Unable to build muscle
• Depression
• Lethargy, weakness & overall low energy levels
• Inability to concentrate
• Low motivation
• Unexpected weight gain
• Hair loss
• Decreased strength during exercise
• Signs of gynecomastia, an abnormal increase in breast tissue size

(in Women)

• Fatigue
• Depression
• Declining muscle and bone mass
• Difficulty concentrating
• Weight gain
• Painful intercourse

If you’re experiencing at least 3 of the above symptoms on a consistent basis, meaning they’re present daily, and you’ve been experiencing them for more than a few weeks, go see your doctor for a testosterone level blood test, then adopt the following steps…How to Boost Your Natural Testosterone Levels:

• Reduce Your Stress Levels

In today’s fast paced, hurried society, reducing your stress levels can be easier said than done. We worry about our jobs and children and we stress over finances and relationships. Research has shown that being chronically stressed out increases your cortisol levels. Cortisol is a stress hormone that your body releases in small amounts during the day in response to different stimulus. However, chronically elevated cortisol levels can quickly cause your testosterone levels to plummet.

• Get Plenty of Sunshine (Vitamin D)

Vitamin D is known as the sunshine vitamin. Along with having numerous health benefits including helping with weight loss, it may also work as a natural testosterone booster according to a study done by German researchers. Ideally, you’ll want to get at lest 20 minutes of sun exposure per day to optimize your body’s Vitamin D levels.If you live in the far north in a climate without much regular direct sunshine and getting daily sun exposure is not realistic for you, I highly recommend that you supplement with a quality Vitamin D product.

• Supplement with Fenugreek

Fenugreek is a plant that’s been used in alternative and Chinese medicine to treat various health conditions. Fenugreek is a plant that grows in the forest with pods that contain small brown-golden fenugreek seeds. It’s commonly used as a spice and sometimes found in personal care products such as shampoo and soap.Fenugreek is a good source of several important nutrients, but its beneficial effects are used primarily for testosterone and libido boosting purposes. In one study, researchers provided 500 mg of fenugreek per day to 30 college-aged men. The men combined fenugreek with an 8-week weight lifting program and performed four training sessions per week, with half of them receiving the supplement.

When researchers compared the fenugreek supplement group to the non-supplement group, they noted a slight decline in testosterone in the non-supplement group and an increase in testosterone in the fenugreek group. The fenugreek supplement group also experienced a 2% reduction in body fat.

• Don’t Shy Away from Meat, Eggs and Butter

Meat, especially red meat, if it’s one of the leaner varieties such as sirloin, top round or London broil, is an excellent testosterone booster. This is because red meat is rich in cholesterol, and cholesterol is a direct precursor to testosterone in your body. As with any other food, it’s important to choose only the highest quality meat you can find at the grocery store, this means grass fed is a must and organic if possible.Regular or conventional beef does not have the same health benefits as grass fed beef due to the difference in feed between feed-lot cows and pasture or grass-fed cows. Just like lean red meat, eggs are an excellent source of saturated fat and cholesterol which help boost your natural testosterone levels.

About the Author…

Adi Crnalic is a top placing drug-free competitive bodybuilder, nutrition & fat loss expert and fitness author. Over the past several years, his information has been featured in multiple health & fitness publications including Fitness & Physique Magazine, The Fitness Expert Network, Muscle & Fitness and several others.

For more helpful and research based fitness, fat loss & muscle building tips, visit Adi’s blog: [http://www.thebodytransformationspecialist.com]

How much protein do I need each day to see results? How much protein is too much? And how many grams of protein can my body assimilate in each meal?

“The only way you’re going to build muscle is by eating enough complete protein every day. Just getting calories isn’t enough. If you don’t eat a high-protein meal within 60-90 minutes after training, you’re in essence wasting that time you spent taxing your muscles in the gym. Personally, I try to get at least 350-400 grams of protein per day in the off-season, at bodyweight of around 235 pounds.” – Jason Arntz, IFBB pro bodybuilder.

“One must stay with a high-protein, moderate-carbohydrate, low-fat diet. A good rule of thumb would be to get around 50% of your calories from protein, 40% from carbohydrate and 10% from fat. This will allow you to gain quality muscle while staying fairly lean.” – Chad Nicholls, a Professional Sports Nutritionist.

This is just a template; everyone’s genetic make-up and metabolism is different. You have to tailor these percentages to fit your specific needs. For example, if you put on fat easily, you may have to lower the carbohydrate intake; if you stay very lean, you may have to raise carbohydrate intake.

“The guidelines we generally use are 0.67-1 gram of protein per pound of body-weight per day. That amount doesn’t guarantee results; it guarantees that you’re meeting your protein requirement. The results are based on your genetics and your training programme.” – Kritin Reimers, Ph.D., R.D., is director of nutrition and health at Conagra Brands.

More than just how much protein, an important consideration is the quality of the protein in your foods. The higher-quality protein is found in animal sources like eggs, beef and milk. That recommendation above assumes two-thirds is from a high-quality protein. If you get a lot of your protein from breads and pastas, you’ll probably require more than 1 gram per pound each day.

To answer the second question, some believe that high-protein intake stresses the kidneys, makes the body lose calcium and dehydrates you. Let’s address each of those concerns. Frist, the kidney stress applies to people who have a history of kidney disease; for healthy people, it likely isn’t a problem. Second, increased protein intake does increase calcium excretion in urine, but the body adapts by increasing its absorption of calcium in your food. Third, there’s some obligatory urine loss, but most healthy athletes are going to drink enough fluids.

Keep in mind that focusing solely on one nutrient in a diet isn’t healthy. If you’re on an almost all-protein diet, you can bet you’re missing out on key nutrients. If you keep a balance between carbs, protein and fat, and don’t overeat as far as total calories go, your protein intake won’t be excessive.

To address the third question, I don’t buy the notion that your body can assimilate only so many protein grams per meal, whether it be 30 or whatever. That notion assumes it doesn’t matter if I weigh 300 pounds or 120 pounds, and it doesn’t matter if I just got up from watching TV. There’s no sacrifice basis for those limits.

What happens is this: your body has a pool of aminos it continually replenishes; as the proteins you take in are broken down, some will go to that pool while others may be used for energy. If you’re getting enough protein, the body will assimilate what it can and burn the rest for energy or store it as fat. Of course, not consuming all your protein in one shot makes sense; instead, split it up into 3-4 meals per day. This should happen normally unless you’re taking extreme measures not to do so.

There are millions hits on the internet search drive for Wellness – from mental to physical health, cardiac fitness, cancer, yoga, how to overcome certain ailments such as diabetes, hypertension, obesity, stoke, and tips on weight loss and how to grow taller, with many other ideas getting honorable mention. It takes quite a bit of research to find any one site that has so much to offer on all these fronts, let alone one that can combine all the needs for your innermost wellness – joy, bliss and beyond. For wellness’ sake you can stop looking out there, and take some time for yourself, a sort of one-stop-shop: Balanced Lifestyle Wikipedia.

Also, stay informed about genuine reviews of the trendy products like Lean Belly Breakthrough, Grow Taller 4 Idiots, bioptimizers masszymes and many more to nourish and transform your everyday self.

YOUR BODY after 65 Years of Age

Well if you have hit 65, you probably already have noticed changes in your body. It is almost inevitable that we will sag, wrinkle, creek and have skin issues.

HINT: Hairs may appear where and when you least expect them:

This is more of a male issue, but not totally. Out of nowhere 2-inch hairs stick out of your ears or eyebrows. Those hairs weren’t there yesterday, were they? It’s a mystery. So, pluck them out with tweezers, or cut them with little scissors, or get one of those little battery run hair trimmers that stick up into your nose or into your ears. But whatever you do, please trim them. It’s difficult to hold a conversation with someone when you are faced with a 2- or 3-inch hair protruding from someone’s nostril or eyebrow or nose.

HINT: Give permission to your spouse or someone close to give you the hair report:

It would be great if you had someone who could safely and nicely point out to you that you have an alien hair growing on your chin, or wherever. Try to find that person, and don’t be offended when they point it out.

HINT: Go to the Barber at least once a month if not more often:

Women are usually much better about grooming than men, especially when it comes to the hair on their head. Men do you realize how bad the back of your neck looks with all that curly grey hair on it? It is not sexy or appealing in any way. If you can’t get your spouse to give the back of your neck a quick shave once a week, it is going to start looking nasty soon.

HINT: Men really need to shave Daily:

Even if you are retired, unless you are a mountain man, or on an extended camping trip with your buddies, please shave daily. It is not attractive to see that stubble, and it will give you something to do each day. (It even makes your face more kissable.)

HINT: Brown spots, growths, and skin tags appear magically:

If you escape spots and growths and skin tags, then I hope you are grateful. Your Dermatologist will usually remove skin tags, or you can go to YOUTUBE and see different ways to do it at home. But if you get brown spots and crusty growths, common for people of some cultures, you will have to live with them or see a plastic surgeon. Some beauty products are available to bleach out some brown spots, but you could spend a king’s fortune on creams and potions to remove wrinkles and spots and not see much change. There are some products that have helped people with brown spots, but I would suggest seeing a cosmetologist for a consultation.
A good dermatologist is worth his/her weight in gold. Not only can they keep your skin cancer free, but they can offer advice about skin issues you may have, and the dermatologist may lead you to some helpful solutions. As we age, most of us could benefit by going to a dermatologist at least once a year, but I suggest twice.

HINT: We all wrinkle:

It is difficult looking into the mirror and seeing your mom’s or grandmother’s face looking back at you. Your wrinkles don’t have to define you. You could spend a great deal of money going through plastic surgery to have a youthful-looking face, but sadly most of us can see that you “had some work done.” If it makes you feel better about yourself, and you can afford it, then do it. If not, live with your wrinkles with class. You earned them, but don’t wear them as a badge of honor. Let people see your heart and your loving personality clearer than your wrinkles.

HINT: Get prepared for some sagging:

Most people can’t escape the sagging underarms, the sagging breasts, and rear-end that happens as we age. You can stay fit, and it may help you some, but a little pouch above the belt or below the belt also develops for most people. Weight changes may have some effect on sagging and pouches, but this is a very, very common phenomenon for people as they age no matter what their weight.

This article is taken from the new Kindle book on Amazon: ” Senior Moments: A Guide to Aging Safely and Gracefully” by Dr. Richard L. Travis

Fat pads slide down and settle along the jaw line, creating jowls, but precisely restoring the volume that’s been lost in these areas and it will balance uneven lines and contours, and help retain a natural appearance. A liquid facelift doesn’t need invasive surgery, as the injection treatment will improve the look and shape of the face and will fill in the fine lines and wrinkles.

The liquid is an injectable dermal filler which restores lost volume in the face and corrects facial symmetry, used along with Botox, which reduces lines and wrinkles, relaxes the facial muscles and reduces crows feet around the eyes. When combining both treatments, it will result in refreshing and rejuvenating the face.

This treatment is ideal for the following concerns:

• Skin that’s sagging or drooping
• Dark under eye area
• Hollows under the eyes
• Lost volume in the cheeks
• Jowls forming along the jaw line

The liquid facelift combines Botox and fillers, which gets injected using specialised treatment techniques, with strategically placed injections using ultra fine needles resulting in a refreshed younger-looking face.The treatment will correct facial symmetry and lift the facial features in a subtle way, from the forehead down to the jaw. The dermal filler will lift the brow, opening up the eye area and fill in the troughs beneath the eyes, whilst replenishing lost volume in the cheeks and lifting the cheekbones. The mouth also gets a lift at the corners and the lips can easily be enhanced by adding volume, and correcting the jowls will define the jaw line.

Non-surgical face lift benefits:

• No anaesthesia
• No bleeding
• No stitches or cuts
• No prolonged recovery period
• Affordability
• Procedure time around forty-five minutes

By undergoing a non-surgical liquid facelift, you can truly lift the entire face, eliminate wrinkles and give yourself a refreshed and more youthful facial appearance, with minimal down time and immediate results. The liquid facelift will give a gentle lift of various facial features and restore our natural facial contours, giving us a rested and rejuvenated look.

If you need help choosing a cosmetic procedure, we provide an extensive range of cosmetic procedures for the face and body: Botox, Vaser Lipo, Lip Augmentation, Dermal Fillers and many more treatments, to help create a younger, slimmer, more youthful looking you!

The Selston Cosmetic Clinic is located in Selston, Nottingham, where we offer a bespoke service with a personalised touch and deliver high client satisfaction. We have been involved in the cosmetic industry for over 10 years