Is” fifty the  new forty”?  This is a statement I keep hearing and reading about in all those fitness magazines you see at the checkout counter of your local grocery store.  I never really paid much attention to this concept when I was in my early forties, but now that fifty is around the corner, I’m inclined to take a step back and dissect whether or not it’s possible to look and feel a decade younger.  Who ever coined the phrase” fifty is the new forty”, probably was either a plastic surgeon or a personal trainer.  Financially,  I wish I were a plastic surgeon, but being a personal trainer has other rewards that have nothing to do with money.  When a client comments that he or she hasn’t been able to fit in a certain pair of jeans or dress in years, and thanks to a lot of hard work now they can, that’s priceless!

So, what does this really mean when someone say’s that “fifty is the new forty”, or “sixty is the new fifty”?  Health wise I feel it means that maybe all the money that this country spends on the research and development of medicine, combined with all the fitness and health products available, we are giving ourselves the choices to look and feel younger than our age dictates.  I can honestly admit that the older I get, the more I try and do whatever I can, (except surgery), to look and feel younger. Now I know I’m not alone when it comes to wanting to look younger.

Women especially are more vain than men when it comes to their age and what they look like.  In fact, most women after they turn forty get insulted if you ask them how old they are.  Guys are wired differently.  If you ask a guy how old he might be, if he looks good for his age, I guarantee you he will practically brag about his age.  This is just how we can get carried away with our looks and how we carry ourselves the older we get.  You know the old saying, “beauty is skin deep”, I’m not sure people pay much attention to what’s inside a person versus the amount of bot-ox or collagen shot in their faces.

We live in an age when the amount of lotions and potions available to both men and women is staggering.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for feeling and looking younger.  If you ever walk into a Walgreens or CVS, check out the section where you can purchase skin-care products.  Twenty years ago your choices were Vasoline and Jergens, now I can spend an hour just trying to decide whether I need four or five blades for a smooth shave.  Next, because of the dangers of the suns rays and the fear of getting skin cancer, I use Neutrogena Men Age Fighter Face Moisturizer SPF 15 every morning.  I wear Neutrogena oil-free SPF 30 at the beach and water-resistant Dermatone with Z-Cote SPF 30 when I run or cycle.  If this sounds a bit excessive, remember what the nature of this article is about.  We all want to look younger than we actually are, because deep down we realize we’re starting to show our age whether it be on the basketball court, the gym, the beach, and even the bedroom.  Let’s face it, thanks to drugs like Viagra and Cialis, men in their sixties and seventies have the stamina of  a porn star!

Plastic surgeons are cleaning up on this notion of beating back father time.  Millions of men and women are heading to their local doctors to have a nip here and a tuck there.  Some of these procedures go terribly wrong and wound up making the patient look like someone out of a horror movie.  I’m a firm believer in everything in moderation, including cosmetic surgery.

Looking and feeling younger is something everyone should work on mainly because of the health benefits that come with eating right, exercising regularly, and wanting to live a longer life so we can enjoy our families and friends.  Stay healthy!

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Lat pull-downs may be the new Prozac. That’s because you can lift your spirits—literally—with regular visits to the weight room, according to a new Australian study.

Researchers recruited 28 obese individuals who were at high risk for diabetes and heart disease. After 10 weeks of chest presses, lateral pull-downs, and biceps curls, self-reported depression levels dropped 18 percent among those (more-ripped) study participants who completed the 3-day-a-week resistance training program. There was no change in depression levels measured in the control group.

How does working out with weights combat depression? Past studies have shown resistance training improves mood and self-esteem, regulates sleep, and reduces stress—all of which beat back the blues. And that goes for anyone, not just the obese.

The Australian study, however, was the first to look specifically at weight training’s impact on depression among obese people with diabetes and heart disease risk factors, such as high blood pressure and insulin resistance.

In obese people—who are already at high risk for diabetes and heart disease—depression increases the risk even further, University of Pennsylvania research shows. That’s because feeling low saps your motivation to exercise or improve your diet.

To energize your mood whether you’re in shape or obese, try to work out with weights at least 3 days a week, the Aussie study recommends.

Carve your shoulders by completing 10 reps of single-arm shoulder presses. This exercise overloads one side of your body with weight, forcing your to engage (and strengthen) your core. Barbell curls are another great total-body exercise.

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I was recently discussing with a colleague of mine about the ever increasing problem of obesity in this country, and how many children are overweight from lack of exercise and poor eating habits.  Today we live in a society that is driven by electronic devices that keep us sitting for longer periods of time.  Because of the computer age, our children are also suffering from inactivity and therefore are not burning the calories they used to twenty years ago.  When I was young, I was way more active than my kids are today.  I can remember riding my bicycle 2-3 miles to my friends house, play basketball for two hours, then ride 2-3 miles home.  I”m not sure my daughter knows how to ride a bike and she’s ten, but she can certainly navigate her way around a laptop, and nowadays that’s important.  What’s also important is that she eats healthy for her age and has very little chance of having a weight problem thanks to parents who make sure she makes good choices when it comes to nutrition.

That leads us to our discussion about making healthy choices when it comes to fast food.  I know this might seem like an oxymoron,” healthy fast food,” but believe or not there are good choices to make or let’s say safe choices to make when pulling up to the drive-thru.  If you have kids or even if you don’t, but eat on the road a lot, you’ve had to pull into fast food restaurant once or twice in you’re life.  Recently I was in NY and noticed the calories printed next to each item on the menu.  Holy cow, I couldn’t believe how many calories there were in some of the burgers, shakes, fries, coffees, and God forbid, doughnuts.  A dozen doughnuts from Dunkin’s had about 8000 calories.  Not to say you’re going to eat the whole dozen, but you get the point!  Instead of eating fatty, sugary doughnuts, try a plain bagel with light cream cheese.  Instead of getting the double latte mocha frappachino, order a medium coffee with skim milk and two Splendas. Not as yummy, but way easier on the hips and gut.

One of the healthier fast food chains out there is Chick-fil-A. I was there the other day and ordered their Chargrilled Chicken sandwich, only 400 calories, 3.5 grams of fat, 1120 mg of sodium.  Minus the huge sodium amount, which by the way is the big issue with all fast food chains, pretty good stuff.  Church’s Chicken on the other hand offers a six piece wing meal with fries that serve’s up 1155 calories, 50 grams of fat, and 3000 mg of sodium. With those numbers, you can feed a small village in Somalia for a week.

The biggest problem with eating fast food is not only the fat content, but all the sodium in each product. Unfortunetly, we can’t get away from the sodium, but we can order food with less fat.  If you drink plenty of water with your meal, that should help offset the sodium intake.  Speaking of burgers ( now I’m getting hungry), Wendy’s offers a great meal on the go. Order a Jr. Cheeseburger with a small Chili, and you’re looking at 490 calories, 18 grams of fat, and of course 1500 mg of sodium.  Portion control is so important when it comes to eating on the run.  Another smart choice when it comes to ordering burgers, is Burger King’s Whopper Jr.  If you order with no mayo (which adds 80 calories), you’re looking at 260 calories, 10 grams of fat, and only 460 mg of the salty stuff, not bad!

Any time you pull up to a fast food restaurant, immediately start thinking grilled chicken breast, salad, small hamburger (hold the mayo), and go for the bottled water and lay off the soda.  If there is one drink out there that you need to stay away from, it’s the sugary sodas.  Start reading labels. A 12 oz. can of Coke has 35 grams of sugar in it, enough for me to go into diabetic shock!

By far the healthiest place to eat on the run is Subway.  They have plenty of choices when it comes to nutritious food under 400 calories. I ate there today and had a 6 inch Roast Beef and Swiss on whole wheat, 360 calories, 9 grams of fat, 890 mg of sodium.  Let’s face it, most people eat fast food about 2-3 times a week.  If you can cut that number down to 1-2 times, you’ll start to see a difference in how you feel and your kids will be healthier in the end.  But if you have to eat out, be smart and start reading the calorie amount if offered.  Hopefully every fast food joint in every state will post the calorie amounts on their menus, so we all can make better choices.  Order wisely and stay healthy!

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This might be one of those articles that really help your workouts stay fresh and interesting.  Most of you who have been training for more than a few year,s know that  changing your workout routine is as important as the routine itself.  For example, if you have been working out  Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, take the weekends off and train the same body-parts each day,  you’ve probably hit a plateau. This means you’re not seeing any new results.  As crazy as this sounds, your muscles will eventually get used to the same exercises performed the same way for the same amount of reps. Repetitions should not be confused with repetitious.

Being a personal trainer means spending countless hours in the gym and constantly figuring out new ways to improve the workouts for my clients and keep them fresh and motivating. Having your finger on the pulse of the fitness industry is key to my clients seeing the results they pay their hard earned money to acheive.  For those of you who don’t use a personal trainer, here are some ” tricks of the trade” that might help freshen up your workouts and help get you back on track to seeing results.

The first big mistake I witness on a regular bases is training the same body-part on the same day week after week. If you find yourself working chest,tricep,s and shoulders every Monday, try starting the week by training your legs instead. If you’re like me and dread a leg workout, try adopting my philosophy of getting legs out of the way on Mondays, taking off on Tuesday, hitting back and biceps on Wednesday, skipping Thursday and ending the week on Friday with chest,tri’s, and shoulders.  I train abdominals after each workout and also do cardio for 30 minutes after abs.  Try this routine for a month or so then mix up the days you train and body-parts the following month.  I guarantee you’ll start to see better results.

Another way to mix things up at the gym is to try different excercises using different equipment. If you’ve always started your chest workout doing flat-bench presses, try an incline dumbbell fly to warm-up, and stretch those pectoral muscles. Instead of starting a back workout doing lat- pulldowns, don’t be afraid to get deadlifts out of the way first.  Deadlifts are one of the best exercises for strengthening your lower back and also building overall power.  I recently introduced lunges to one of my female clients who had never done them before. The next time I saw her she said she was sore for three days.  This is a perfect example of mixing up your workouts with different exercises done out of your normal sequence.

Tricking your muscles can also mean ditching the weights and going for a swim or a bike ride.  Too many of us get caught up working our different muscle groups and forget the most important muscle in our body, the heart.  I’ve been guilty of this myself.  After finding out that I had high blood pressure, I changed my thought process when it came to training.  Nowadays my workout routine is split 50-50 when it comes to lifting versus cardio.  This change has been very important in keeping my blood-pressure stable and also keeping my weight down.

Another great way to keep things interesting in the gym and keep your body guessing is by super-setting.  If you’re not familiar with this concept, here’s a good example; next time you’re working your chest by doing a bench-press, without resting in between sets, grab a set of dumbbells and perform a fly movement.  This super-set will activate those fast twitch muscles which don’t get enough attention by just performing slower repetitions. I also get my clients to work their abs in between each set no matter which body-part we’re working.  This is also an effective way to accomplish more of a workout in a shorter period of time.  No one says you have to be in the gym for hours.

Switching things up at the gym as far as your workouts go is vital to keeping your muscles guessing and avoiding tha same old boring training regiment.  Don’t be afraid to try different equipment or even try a spin-class to really ramp up your cardiovascular system.  I also recommend working out with a partner to create new and different methods of training.  My wife and I often train together and incoporate unique principals based on our past experiences at the gym.  You’d be surprised on how working out together at the gym makes for a better relationship at home ( and in the bedroom ).  So start mixing up your workouts and stay healthy!

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Finding out if your girlfriend or wife is cheating on you can be a little bit difficult, but its not impossiable. Men cheat for a variety of different reasons, such as opportunity, boredom, horniness, and excitement. Women on the other hand will cheat typically because they are looking for a more intimate, emotional connection that they are not getting from you. You do not have to Superman in the bedroom, but a women wants to feel the closeness and security of her man. Over the last decade female infidelity has increased by 50%, but keep in mind every cheater ends up giving away their signs of straying. If you see two or more of these red flags, you might have a cheater in your bed. Over 22% of adults in monogamous relationships have admited to cheating on their spouse at least once during the relationship.

“Not Happy Anymore” – When women lose interest in the relationship and they feel alone, you can suspect they are going to start to stray. See if you can hear the complaints in your relationship that she is disatisfied. This can be a very strong warning!

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Here’s another reason to soak up more of the sunshine vitamin: Not having enough D may put you at greater risk for muscle injury, according to research presented at the annual meeting of the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine (AOSSM) this past weekend. Researchers looked at New York Giants football players and found that those who suffered a muscle injury during the season had lower vitamin D levels at the start of pre-season than those who didn’t get hurt (19.9 ng/mL versus 24.7 ng/mL). A vitamin D level less than 20 ng/mL is considered deficient; levels between 21 and 30 ng/mL are still considered insufficient.

“People just think about bone health when talking about vitamin D, but it plays a myriad of roles,” says Scott Rodeo, MD, a co-author of the study. “It plays a role in bone growth, muscle function, and the immune system. There is the suggestion that low vitamin D levels could have a role to play in injury prevention, even for the average person.”

Problem is, most of us aren’t getting nearly the amount of vitamin D that we should. While vitamin D levels tend to rise during the summer and fall in the colder months due to changing sun exposure, 41% of men and 53% of women in the United States are vitamin D deficient. There aren’t many natural sources of vitamin D, although a few good sources include salmon, halibut, tuna, and fortified milks and cereals.

But protecting against muscle injury isn’t all that vitamin D may do. Here, four more compelling reasons to increase your levels of D.

Build Stronger Bones
Vitamin D deficiency is associated with low bone density and rickets (soft bones), and has been used in tandem with calcium to help stave off osteoporosis. In a 2011 study of adolescent twins, Australian researchers found that the sibling who took a calcium/vitamin D supplement had better bone density 6 months later than the one who received a placebo.

Help Lose Weight
University of Minnesota researchers found that dieters with higher levels of vitamin D dropped more pounds than those who had lower levels. People lost about half a pound more for every increase of 1 ng/mL.

Strengthen Your Immune System
Step aside, vitamin C. A study in the Archives of Internal Medicine found that people with the lowest levels of vitamin D (less than 10 ng/mL) were 36% more likely to catch a cold than those with levels greater than 30 ng/mL.

Improve Athletic Performance
A 2010 review published in Medicine and Science in Sports Exercise concluded that athletic performance rises as vitamin D levels rise, the effect peaking at about 50 ng/mL. Part of the reason: Vitamin D increases the both the size and number of fast-twitch muscle fibers.

Source: http://fitbie.msn.com/get-fit/prevent-muscle-injury-vitamin-d

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My first experience with joining a gym was back in 1980. Come to think of it, the gym I joined was actually a racquetball club that had a few universal machines tucked away in the corner. But back then, that was all I knew about fitness equipment, besides a set of barbells made of cement, covered in plastic.  Nowadays, when you walk into a fitness club, you might need a degree in mechanical engineering to figure out how a particular machine works. But let’s face it, no matter what style gym you join, whether it’s full of  guys (and gals) that look like they got lost at a GNC, or just your average folks looking to stay fit and live a longer and healthier life, gym etiquette should always be observed.

What do I mean by gym etiquette? Let’s go over a few do’s and dont’s at the gym. Being that I have been in and out of more than a dozen or so gyms in the last 30 years, I feel I can speak freely about this.  If you aren’t sure what the word etiquette means, in laymen’s terms, it means how to act in a certain environment or situation.  Manners would be another good word for etiquette.

Now that you’ve got the picture, here’s some common forms of using the proper etiquette at the gym.  These are in no specific order of severity, just the most common.  Not putting a towel down on the bench you are sweating all over and leaving your DNA is a classic. Trust me when I say this, clean off your sweat stains, it’s completely unsanitary.  Speaking of towels, don’t be afraid to wrap yourself in one after showering.  No one’s interested in seeing that particular muscle that that they’ve yet to make a machine for. This goes for the ladies also. My wife tells me stories of seeing way too much junk in the ladies locker room.  Next, don’t be afraid to unrack the barbells or machines when you’re done using them. I remember one time a guy was using the leg press machine and left twenty 45 lb. plates on it.  If I wanted a shoulder workout by removing all those plates I would’ve asked.  Please, re-rack your weights.  Here’s a classic, don’t drop or slam the weights. We all know you’re strong, but by letting the weights slam on each other also shows us you’re probably using poor form and can’t handle that much weight.  Everyone knows that gyms have an excessive amount of mirrors, so when you’re checking yourself out as you try for that last dumbbell curl, wipe the spit off the mirror that just flew from your mouth. If you look closely at these mirrors, that’s not sweat on them, but spit.  Most gyms do a good job at keeping the mirrors clean, don’t be afraid to join in.

This one is coming to you from the daycare. If you’re fortunate enough to have a daycare service at your gym, do the staff a favor, and stick to the rule and schedule. If the daycare should close at 8:00 pm, don’t show up with your child at 7:45 and not expect to get a reminder that the daycare closes in 15 minutes. Unless you’re going to do 15 minute abs ( which I’m sure you’re not ), the daycare is not there to be your personal babysitting service. Closed at 8, means just that.

I don’t know how many times I’ll ask someone if they are using a certain bench or machine before jumping in on their set. It’s the polite thing to do and you don’t like when it happens to you.  Grunting and groaning at the gym has been going on since the dawn of time, so I can’t say too many negative things about what decibel is appropriate. Just try and keep from sounding like you’re on your honeymoon.

What you wear to the gym also falls into using the proper etiquette.  Some fitness clubs have dress codes. I know this might sound extreme, but let’s face it, some people dress as if they are going to the beach.  I was recently at the gym and witnessed a girl wearing sandals while training her biceps. The guy on the bench next to her dropped his dumbbell and barely missed her foot, that would have left a mark.  Then there was the old guy doing leg presses with shorts on that were literally too short. You can imagine what was peeking out everytime he completed a rep, can you say raisins! Wearing the proper workout clothes should be an easy habit.

Remember, even though you are at the gym, doesn’t mean you should forget how to act like a responsible adult. The gym is a great place to meet new people and get in shape at the same time. Mind your manners and stay healthy!

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The best explanation of stress we’ve ever heard comes from Stanford neurobiologist Robert Sapolsky, Ph.D., the author of Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers.

“If you are a normal mammal,” he says, “stress is the 3 minutes of screaming terror on the savanna after which either it’s over with or you’re over with.”

If you’re a human mammal, however, stress comes from something more insidious than a toothy predator: anxiety triggered by the passive-aggressive boss, the 30-year mortgage, and the job of caring for children as well as the ill parent who believes General MacArthur wants him to lead a division into Pyongyang Province.

No wildebeest would understand these fears, but the perceived threats spark the same physiological survival responses that crocodile attacks do. Here’s where modern stress bites your body and how to fight back.

Stress Spot: Your Brain

Chronic secretion of the stress hormone cortisol can trigger memory loss, depression, and three-bourbon lunches.

The Fix: Don’t be so damned conscientious at work. A Canadian study of 2,737 employees found that when people thought their poor job performance could seriously impact their coworkers, company, or environment, their job stress increased. Workers who didn’t see their jobs as careers were less likely to report stress. The lesson: Take a day off. The company won’t go under if you’re AWOL for 9 hours.

(Note: This does not apply to air-traffic controllers.)

Stress Spot: Your Hair

Researchers at the University of Western Ontario may have found a new way to measure chronic stress: Pluck a few hairs. They took follicle samples from more than 100 men, half of whom were hospitalized for heart attacks, and found that hair cortisol was higher in the heart patients. Since hair grows about 1 centimeter a month, researchers used 3-centimeter samples as a record of stress levels over the previous 3 months. Scientists say the findings bolster the theory that chronic stress contributes to heart attack just as acute stress does.

The Fix: Earn a promotion. With power comes control, suggests research from the Columbia University business school. Study participants were designated as either leaders or subordinates, with the leaders given duties that granted them a sense of power. Meanwhile, half the people in both groups were asked to steal $100 and lie about it. Subordinates who had to lie showed physical stress reactions and high cortisol levels. But lying bosses displayed no such markers of stress, suggesting that even in stressful situations (forced to lie), people feel little or no anxiety if they have power and control.

Dealing with job stress? Tips to help you manage stressful situations with your difficult manager.

Stress Spot: Your Nervous System

When you’re stressed, hormones flood your body, helping you focus your attention, sharpening your vision, and preparing your muscles to take action.

The Fix: Tap the power. For short periods, facing adversity can energize you to handle challenges. Recently, University at Buffalo researchers monitoring 2,398 people found that those who’d experienced some adversity scored higher on measures of mental health and life satisfaction than those who’d seen either high levels of adversity or none at all. “In moderation, whatever doesn’t kill us may indeed make us stronger,” says study author Mark Seery, Ph.D.

Stress Spot: Your Muscles

Neck and back tension caused by mental stress, plus long days spent hunched over a computer keyboard, can trigger pain.

The Fix: Try the corner stretch. Stand facing the corner of a room. Raise your elbows to shoulder height, and place your forearms, elbows, and palms against each wall. Lean in to flex your chest and back muscles. Hold for 15 seconds, breathing deeply. Do this every 2 hours or whenever you feel tight.

Exercise helps reduce stress levels. Build a stronger upper back and improve your overall posture with this shoulder workout.

Stress Spot: Your Gut

Increased stomach acid from stress can churn your gut and loosen your bowels. Stress can even alter the way your body processes fat, causing you to store more of it in your abdomen.

The Fix: Twist yourself into a pretzel and laugh, laugh, laugh. “Laughter yoga” practitioners swear that combining yogic breathing and stretching techniques with forced laughter helps them cope better with life’s stresses. Studies have already demonstrated the ability of yoga to ease stress and lower blood pressure. And laughing appears to do the same. For example: Two reports presented at the 2009 American College of Sports Medicine’s annual meeting showed that people who watched comedies had more-pliable blood vessels and improved bloodflow for up to 24 hours after the chuckling commenced.

Stress Spot: Your DNA

Not only can stress make you flatulent, but it can screw with your DNA too. A 24-7 bath of stress hormones can cause telomeres to shorten. Telomeres are genetic structures that protect the ends of chromosomes; if they shorten too much, cells can no longer multiply.

The Fix: Meditate. A recent Harvard study found that the physiological response from meditation, tai chi, and breathing exercises can counteract cellular damage from stress.

Source: http://health.msn.com/mens-health/articlepage.aspx?cp-documentid=100272680

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We talk so much about workouts that we often forget how important nutrition is when it comes to getting in shape.  Being a personal trainer enables me to discuss dieting with my clients on a regular bases.  Most people understand the importance of a balanced diet, meaning the right amount of protein, carbohydrates, and fats.  The problem is often sticking to that diet for more than 2 weeks, which is about how long the average diet lasts.

I always recommended a diet that consisted of 40% protein, 40% cabs, and 20% fats. This breakdown in my opinion would work for most people who were looking to lose that stubborn 15-20 pounds.  I also have found that a lot of people think that eating healthy, nutritious food costs a fortune. If you’re like millions of other people, you probably are a member of a wholesale food retailer like Sam’s Club, Costco, B.J’s, or a Save-A-Lot.  These retail stores offer great deals on foods such as eggs, frozen chicken breasts, turkey, bread, fish, rice, and dairy products. All these foods I just mentioned are staples in a healthy diet.  Not only are these foods good for you, but in general, have always been fairly inexpensive.

Let’s face it, eggs, which if you talk to any athlete, are consumed on a daily bases. They should run you about $1.50 for a dozen of jumbos. The protein found in eggs has to be one of the purest forms of protein out there. I will often have a dozen hard-boiled eggs in the fridge at all times and if I had to make a choice of my last meal before execution, it would be steak and eggs!

Boneless, skinless chicken breasts are also at the top of the nutrition food chain. They are a low-fat protein (unlike red-meat) that if purchased correctly, are easy to make and go with any other food group. Make sure you check the sodium level on the chicken breast you buy. Often times packaged and frozen chicken breasts are smothered in salt for freshness. The less salt the better. Try boiling your chicken first if it has a high sodium count.

Turkey is another good source of protein that can be eaten on a regular bases, not just for Thanksgiving. Believe it or not, 35% of all turkey consumption happens over the holidays. Next time you are at a grocery store, check out the price of turkey per pound, usually about .99 cents.  The average turkey consists of 70% white meat, and 30% dark meat. You want to stick to the white meat because it is lower in fat.

If your anything like me, red meat has been in my diet since I was a child.  Growing up in the 70′s with parents who were raised on steak and potatoes, eating meat was a staple in my diet.  Beef is a good source of creatine,zinc,B-12, and saturated fat which sounds bad, but actually is crucial in the production of testosterone ( think cave-man ). I always buy a leaner cut of beef like a sirloin or even choose the lean ground beef ( 90% or less ). The butcher at your local supermarket can be your best friend when it comes to choosing the leanest cuts of beef.

Although fish is usually the more expensive protein, it should find its way into everyone’s diet.  Fish, especially salmon, offer huge amounts of omega -3 fatty acids DHA and EPA.  Tuna is also a great fish and loaded with protein. Again, fish is not the cheapest form of protein, so shop around and look for the best prices and quality.

As for buying inexpensive forms of carbohydrates, the standards are oatmeal,rice,whole grains, and a pinch of sweet potatoes. Buying rice and oatmeal in bulk is easy and inexpensive. These complex carbs offer the benefit of energy and muscle recuperation.

For  vegetables, buying the freshest and most colorful are your best bet. The local fruit and vegetable stand is where you can often find my wife and I on a Saturday morning, buying our favorite assortment of green, leafy veggies and the freshly picked berries and melons.

Remember, eating healthy doesn’t have to cost you a fortune, be tasteless,  or even eating organic. I’m not saying eating organic food is bad, quite the opposite. I’m saying that eating on a budget is possible if you know what and where to buy it. Keep it simple and stay healthy!

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Your probably wondering where I’m going with this article, so let’s get right to it. No, this isn’t going to be your usual blog about how to use your brain when it comes to eating right or which workout will give you the biggest muscles. It will be about one bigger muscle (if you’re lucky enough), the bulbocavernosus, better known as the muscle that helps your penis get erect.

Now that I have your attention, let’s discuss this important muscle, how it works, and what happens when it’s not used enough. I know most guys out there won’t admit that maybe they don’t have sex as much as they think they do, and guys that brag the most, get the least.

But believe it or not, the bulbocavernosus is a muscle you can actually train,especially if you suffer from premature ejaculation.  The way your penis muscle works goes like this.” When the muscle contracts, nerves send a signal up your spinal cord to supress arousal and keep you going longer,” says Darius Paduch, M.D.,PH.D, an associate professor of urology at Cornell University.

Locating this muscle is a little tricky.  Place your fingers behind your scrotum and squeeze like your trying to have a bowel movement. That muscle you feel tensing up is your bulbocavernosus. If there was some piece of equipment in the gym that could help make the penis muscle stronger, I’m sure there would be a quite a wait to use it. The good news is you can work this muscle while having sex or masturbating.  While masturbating, right before reaching orgasm, flex your bulbocavernosus.  After practicing this exercise a few times on your own, try the same routine during sex.  This practice won’t automatically make you a porn star, but should help you build up this muscle and help you last longer in the sack.

Let’s face it, we all have heard the statement, ”practice makes perfect,” well this holds true when it comes to ejaculating also.  The penis muscle will also grow the more you use it.  Like other muscles, the opposite effect will occur if you don’t engage in sex or masturbation on a regular basis.  This is called atrophy.  The same thing that happens to other muscles that don’t get used, they shrivel up!

There are plenty of products out there that will help you keep an erection and perform better in bed like Viagra and Cialis.  Thankfully, I don’t have this problem and honestly having an erection for up to four hours sounds painful.  If you find yourself having Erectile Dysfunction, don’t be embarrassed.  Make an appointment with a urologist and get straightened out ( no punn intended ).  If your suffering from pre-mature ejaculation, your not alone.  Almost 20 percent of all men experience this condition.  Men with this condition only last 20 to 80 seconds while the average guy makes it to a whopping 7 minutes.  Don’t be one of the 98 percent who don’t seek help.  These are conditions that can be treated and are often times related to our other head, the one on our shoulders that is.  Stay healthy!

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