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Let
me begin with a warning. This is going to be yet another instalment
of Treadmill that is targeted at those who're obsessed with toning
up their middle. As I've reported here in the past, the most common
refrain from readers is about toning their abdominal muscles and
losing flab around the waist. By now, regular readers of this
column would have realised that abdominal exercises alone cannot
shed fat around your belly because targeting fat in an isolated
part of the body through exercises doesn't work. What works best
is a combination of cardio-vascular exercises to burn fat and
resistance training to build muscle. And, of course, a sensible
diet. Treadmill regularly describes exercises for sculpting your
abs. Here are two more.
Plank or Bridge. The first one may seem simpler
than it is. This one's a good one to build your six-pack as well
as strengthen your inner core muscles. It's called the plank or
the bridge. Lie face down on an exercise mat resting your forearms
on the floor with palms flat. Now push yourself off the floor
balancing your body on your toes and elbows. Try to keep your
back flat so that your body forms a straight line through head
to heels. See illustration 1. Contract your abdominal muscles
and take care to ensure that your backside doesn't stick up. Hold
this position for as long as you can, say, 20-30 seconds. Then
lower your body and repeat the exercise. Try to target holding
the position for 60 seconds. You should do 5 to 6 repetitions
of this exercise.
Bicycle Crunches. This one builds your obliques
or sides of the waist. Lie on your back on the floor or an exercise
mat and interlace your fingers behind your head. Lift your knees
up towards your chest and your shoulders off the ground without
straining your neck. First stretch your left leg out to a 45 degree
angle while turning your upper body to the right, i.e. in the
opposite direction, and your left elbow towards the right knee.
Check illustration 2 for help. Then switch the movement by extending
your right leg and moving the right elbow toward the left knee.
Alternate between the two movements (it mimics pedaling a bicycle)
for 14-18 repetitions.
While abs workouts like these will certainly
strengthen your mid-section, remember that exercising your abs
alone doesn't ensure a toned mid-section. You need cardio sessions,
a good and healthy diet as well as strength training for the entire
body in order to lose flab around the middle.
-Muscles
Mani
write to musclesmani@intoday.com
Caveat: The physical exercises described
in Treadmill are no recommendations. Readers should exercise caution
and consult a physician before attempting to follow any of these.
SIX
STEPS TO STAYING YOUNG
You
have it in your power to retain the health, beauty, and vitality
of youth well past fifty or sixty and beyond. All of us grow older,
but how we age is a matter of choice. The trick, it appears, is
to start preparing now, not through the use of even more potent
medicines, but through simple solutions that include stress management,
exercise, and dietary changes.
Food for healthy ageing. Says Dr Sunita
Saigal, Senior Consultant, Rockland Hospital, New Delhi: "Fruits
and vegetables contain essential vitamins. Consume at least 500-750
grams per day. Savour some nuts everyday as they are a great source
of energy. Water is essential for hydration of the skin, muscles,
and all organs in the body. Drink 10-12 glasses of water in addition
to other liquids and watery foods."
Exercise regularly. The ageing process
cannot be reversed, but many people can maintain physical endurance,
strength and flexibility with moderate, regular exercise. Spend
15 minutes each morning and evening to tone up your body muscles.
The improvements may be gradual and not noticed straight away.
Smokers beware. Smoking ages the skin
prematurely and leads to the formation of more wrinkles. It destroys
the ability of the skin to renew itself effectively. Recent research
has found that smoking a pack of cigarettes every day for 40 years
corresponds to 7.4 years of ageing.
Antioxidants and inflammation. Environmental
pollutants such as smog, dust and radiation can react within the
body to cause production of free radicals. Excessive levels of
free radicals in body tissues can be detrimental to health. Says
Dr Saigal: "Antioxidant nutrients and enzymes are considered
the first line of defense against damage from free radicals."
Stay slim. Says Dr Saigal: "Being
overweight makes a person biologically older than a slim one of
the same birth age. Obesity shortens your healthy life span."
Meditation as a stress-buster. Meditation
is recommended for everyone, especially those of us with hectic,
stressful lifestyles. Meditation may cut back the flow of stress
hormones. And if your mind stays young, your body will follow.
-Manu Kaushik
PRINTED
CIRCUIT
Xbox Xcitement
In which Kushan
Mitra gets down and dirty with the latest console in the
market.
 X
would have to be my favourite
letter of the alphabet. I wear size... actually, never mind the
specifics, but it does have more than one X before the L. I have
to admit this after the weekend just past: the Xbox 360 rocks.
That last admission will set the tone for the rest of this review
and not because I want Microsoft to send me more games to test
on the machine (although that wouldn't be a bad thing), but because
the console is really, really good.
It is.
The last console I owned was a Sega Dreamcast.
I must be among the few non-PS2 owners to have spent more time
on the console than some actual owners (what are friends for,
after all?). A significant part of my not so significant life
until now has been spent playing Soul Calibur 2, Tekken 4, and
various iterations of Need For Speed on that machine. Only, over
the past few years, ps2 games have become slightly boring, and
limited by the hardware. Even Xbox (the first one) was a better
machine, although it couldn't boast much by way of game titles,
not unless you were a First Person Shoooter (FPS) fan and worshipped
Halo.
 I've
never been a fps guy; nor am I a RTS (Real Time Strategy) one.
I look for instant gratification from gaming, and prefer arcade
style fighting games, racing games, or games based on other sports.
Thankfully, along with the console, Microsoft sent a few games,
two of which, Tecmo's Dead or Alive 4 and ea Sports' FIFA World
Cup 2006, I played and played and played.
The first thing you appreciate about Xbox
360 is its wireless controller, even though that meant I went
through Rs 500 worth of AA batteries in a week (I eventually bought
a rechargeable battery pack); the freedom from wires feels wonderful
. Then, when you start playing you notice the graphics: FIFA 2006
is immensely superior on the Xbox 360, not just graphically, but
even in terms of artificial intelligence.
The game that I played most, though, was
doa4, which is the premier arcade fighting title on this console
currently. DOA, even on the earlier Xbox was a graphically intense
game, and this version doesn't disappoint. The game has always
had some of the best body physics of any fighting title (especially
the female characters; the game has a 'Mature' rating), and now
the characters seem even more supple and the actual fighting,
more brutal. Still, both games give you this feeling that they
aren't still taking advantage of the console's tremendous processing
power.
 Microsoft
will launch Xbox360 in India around November. The price of the
basic bundle will be Rs 19,990. The premium bundle will cost Rs
23,990 and will have a 13 gb harddrive preinstalled (honestly
don't even go for the basic model, the storage is worth its price).
Game pricing has not yet been finalised but will not be very cheap;
expect to pay around Rs 1,000 a game minimum. The company is also
looking at establishing Xbox live in the country. This service
allows gamers to hook up their console to a broadband connection
(128 kbps minimum) and play against anyone, anywhere. The online
service will also have a certain fee attached to it, but the catch
is that if the online service catches you playing a pirated version
of the game, well you get chucked out of the service. Ouch!
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