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The
best exercises are the ones no one will tell you about. no matter
how fat the gym fees you fork out are or how swank the weight-room
is or how buffed your trainer looks, there are some moves you'll
likely never learn at your gym. Yet these are the basic building
blocks for your body, many of them a staple part of most bodybuilders'
regimes. Did I say bodybuilders? Yes, and before you snort back
that you only want a gym-toned body and not bulging PECs and LATs
that get in the way of walking normally, let me ask you this:
if you want to improve your golf swing (even though you hit the
course only on the weekends) would you take a tip or two from
Mr Woods? Or would you say, "Nah! He's a pro; I don't want
to be a pro"?
Trust you get the drift. The best workout
tips come from bodybuilders because they are the pros in the business.
You needn't press a tonne on the bench or shoot yourself silly
with steroids like many of them but when it comes to tips and
techniques, whether you like it or not, they're the gods.
So let's cut to the chase and give you two
exercises that no one in your gym does. Do these and you'll see
how effective they are. The first one's the Arnold Dumb-bell Shoulder
Press. It targets two muscle groups-the front and sides of your
shoulders, the deltoids, as well as your triceps. And that's why
it's a compound exercise. Hold two dumb-bells, one in each hand,
with your palms facing you. Start with them on either side of
your collarbone. Now press them vertically upward simultaneously
while you rotate them so that at the top of the movement, your
palms are facing outward. Now lower them slowly while rotating
them back so that at the starting point your palms again face
you. That's one repetition. Now, why are they called Arnold presses?
Yes, you guessed right. The California governor invented them
back when he was bulking up on Muscle Beach! In fact, Schwarzenegger
used to do these standing. For starters, I'd suggest you sit,
use moderate to light weights and don't arch your back-keep it
straight.
The second one is the Double-handed Dumb-bell
Pullover. The main muscle effected here is the chest but it also
benefits your LATs, shoulders and triceps. Rest your upper back
on a bench that is perpendicular to your back. Your feet should
be flat on the floor. Begin by holding a dumb-bell with both hands
above your chest, your elbows slightly bent. Take a deep breath
while lowering the dumb-bell back as you stretch your arms as
far back behind your head as you can go. You will feel the stretch
in your chest muscles and LATs. Now slowly bring your arms (holding
the dumb-bell) back to the starting position while breathing out.
That's one rep. Want a V-shaped torso? Add this move to your repertoire.
And, oh, sorry, I don't know who invented this one.
-Muscles
Mani
write to musclesmani@intoday.com
Caveat: The physical exercises described
in Treadmill are not recommendations. Readers should exercise
caution and consult a physician before attempting to follow any
of these.
SIX
STEPS TO STAY ACTIVE THIS WINTER
Don't
hang up your sneakers simply because winter is around the corner.
There are lots of ways to stay healthy in spite of the falling
temperature.
Stay well hydrated: Says Dr Puja Tewari,
Consultant, Fortis Hospital, Noida: "Drink eight-to-10 glasses
of water, fruit juices, milk, tea and coffee every day. This will
flush out all toxins and help you to ward off the cold."
Healthy food choices: Eat well-balanced meals.
Include fish in your diet at least once a week. Fish provides
the body with Omega oils that boost the immune system. "Eat
lots of fibre and cut back on snacks and fried food," says
Dr Tewari.
Apply sunscreen: Although we associate the
drinking of lots of water and the application of sunscreen lotions
with summer, we should do these in winter as well, as harsh, dry
winds damage sensitive face tissues.
Avoid stress: Winter stress often raises
blood sugar levels. Taking slow, deep breaths will help you shed
the stress. Watch your alcohol consumption and sleep well. A good
night's sleep helps replenish the body.
Ward off winter weight gain: Says Dr Tewari:
"Winter can mean an extra five-to-10 pounds for many. Stay
active by exercising regularly." This will cut the risk of
heart attacks and high blood pressure.
Test! Don't guess: Changes in the atmospheric
temperature can lead to changes in blood glucose levels. If you
are diabetic, test often and talk to your doctor about adjusting
your treatment routine accordingly to keep your diabetes levels
under control.
-Manu Kaushik
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CIRCUIT
DishTV Vs Tata Sky: How
They Stack Up
DishTV
and Tata Sky, the two private sector Direct-To-Home (DTH) satellite
broadcasters, have both launched their services. Which of the
two is better? Before answering that, I'll give a short rundown
of DTH. Basically, when you subscribe to the service you get a
small dish, lots of thick wire and a set-top box which connects
to your TV not through the regular RF cord (like cable), but through
an audio/video-in cord like the three-way coloured wire you use
to connect your DVD to your TV.
How to install DTH: You call up the
toll-free numbers for each service (1800-1803474 for DishTV and
1901-4256633 for Tata Sky from MTNL/BSNL lines) and you will be
genuinely surprised at how effective the customer service agents
are. The installation itself does not take very long at all, as
long as you have free access to your roof.
There, now that that's out of the way, here's
the head to head comparison between the two services.
 DishTV
PRICING: DishTV
costs Rs 3,190 and you get 75 channels free for three months,
usually the ones I don't watch. If you want all the premium channels,
which include the Sports channels and stuff like Discovery Travel&Living
or vh1, it will cost you Rs 350 a month. As of now, DishTV also
has more channels; it carries the Star bouquet (which isn't free),
and some other exclusive channels (including Manchester United
TV and Chelsea TV). There are several methods you can use to settle
your bill in both post-paid and pre-paid options. Honestly, I
haven't tried that out as yet, so I don't know how easy or difficult
it is.
REMOTE: The DishTV remote is incredibly
geeky and allows you to play around with more settings, but does
not have an easy user-interface. Unlike regular TV, you can't
key in channel numbers on DTH systems because channels wear obscenely
huge numbers. Aaj Tak, for instance, was channel 900. I'm sure
that if I'm left alone with the DishTV remote for a month, I'll
have it worked out backwards, and so will several of you, but
for now, it must be said that it is not intuitive.
PAY-PER-VIEW: DishTV offers Pay-Per-View
movies over the weekend, I could watch Cinderella Man, ad-free,
for Rs 50 (debited from my pre-paid amount).
NUMBER OF TVS: The DishTV system can
support only two set-top boxes per dish.
 Tata
Sky
PRICING: Tata Sky costs Rs 3,999 to
install and currently offers only one package for Rs 200 a month
(it only recently started offering Zee). Only after January will
Tata-Sky announce a tiered package pricing. Tata Sky will primarily
use a pre-paid billing system similar to mobile phone wherein
you will buy top-up cards for the service. And like in the case
of the former, I can't comment on it as I haven't tried it out
yet.
REMOTE: Despite the higher price,
I was strangely attracted to Tata Sky. As I explained earlier,
channel numbers on DTH systems are large. History Channel on Tata
Sky was channel 557 or something. The infinitely easier-to-use
remote easily knocks the socks off the one from its rival.
PAY-PER-VIEW: Tata Sky's "Showcase"
Pay-Per-View is still a project in the works.
NUMBER OF TVS: Tata Sky's system can
support four set-top boxes.
CONCLUSION: DishTV is the better service
in terms of its service offering. However, Tata Sky is far easier
to use. It can, however, be said confidently that both services
are eons ahead of your regular cable-wallah. Say no to cable,
I say!
-Kushan Mitra
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