Cycling regularly is great for lower body strength, but leaves a lot to be desired for the upper body muscle groups. And this can be a major liability - both for roadies who need that extra edge in road competitions and for mountain bikers who need this upper body strength to lift, jump, or just plain muscle heavier bikes over rough terrain and obstacles.

A reasonable approach is to focus on building strength (not bulk) in the winter and then backing off to just maintain it during the peak ...

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Here is a very effective strength training program for cyclists. The program is based on multi joint exercises with free weights, which indicate that this program is not for beginners. If you are not familiar with lifting free weights, consider training the same exercises in a machine. Ask a fitness instructor in your training gym.

When using this strength program:

• Warm up before lifting
• Never train to failure
• Use as heavy weights as possible (still no failure training)
• Be expl...

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Lines on the external surface of the abdominal skin, which come out during and after pregnancy are generally known as stretch marks. In the terminology of medicine these lines are indicated under the name of Striae. Because of the gain of sudden weight, the dermis layer begins to overstretch and exceeds its level of elasticity. So these lines start to appear on the skin as soon as the level of elasticity exceeds. Various other conditions which can cause striae are puberty, heavy workout and o...

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In January 2005, the U.S. government released a new set of dietary guidelines essentially telling us that as Americans get bigger, so does the length of time we need to be physically active.

While it's a little more involved than that, the guidelines from the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Health and Human Services indicate that at least 30 minutes of daily physical activity is required to reduce the risk of chronic diseases in adulthood. And for some, that's only the beginn...

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If you think cinnamon is simply something to sprinkle on your cookies or cappuccino, think again. The popular spice, once considered more precious than gold, has medicinal value that is making even pharmaceutical companies take notice.

Cinnamon, it turns out, has long been used to cure everything from athlete’s foot to indigestion. Early civilizations recognized its ability to stop bacterial growth. The Egyptians used it in embalming. During the Middle Ages, it was mixed with cloves and war...
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The provision of iron supplements to pregnant women is one of the most widely practiced public health measures, yet surprisingly little is known about the benefits of supplemental iron for the mother or her offspring during fetal or postnatal life. The purpose of this article is to examine published information on the effects of anemia and iron deficiency on pregnancy outcome and to identify current gaps in the information.

A high proportion of women in both industrialized ...