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The
two most popular muscle groups that men are inclined to train
in the gym are the biceps (arms) and the pectorals (chest). It
isn't a coincidence that both happen to be muscle groups that
are visible to you when you stand in front of a mirror. There
they are in front of your body for you to flaunt and feel good
about. The problem is in their pursuit of a big broad chest and
well-defined arms, many men forget about what lies behind-their
backs. The back muscles form one of the largest muscle groups
in the body and it's a well-developed back that can give you the
true tapered V-shaped look. The back muscle group is a complex
set of muscles covering the back of the upper body-from the lats
(sides) to the trapezius, deltoids, and rhomboids (behind the
neck, shoulders and middle and upper back). While there are a
bunch of exercises that you could do to target each part of the
back, there are a few old-fashioned moves that I have found to
be the best for overall development of the back. Again, these
are traditional exercises favoured by bodybuilders. Don't turn
up your nose because they are the experts in this field. True,
you may not want the huge beefy look that most pro bodybuilders
have but then there's nothing wrong in learning from their technique.
The first of these is the simple wide-grip
pull-up, where you grab a chin-up bar and pull yourself up. This
uses only your bodyweight and is a common warm-up exercise to
perform before you exercise your back. The second exercise is
the one I'd like to highlight. This is the Bent-over Barbell Row.
To do the bent-over barbell row, stand with your knees slightly
bent and your torso inclined at the hips. Now hold a weighted
barbell at roughly shoulder width with both your hands (with a
grip where your palms face away from you). Now lift the barbell
until it is close to your chest or stomach (lifting toward your
chest would work your upper lats; lifting towards your stomach
would work your lower lats). Then lower it to the starting position.
That's one repetition. Do 10 for a set and then repeat for three
sets. You have to be careful and keep your back straight throughout
the movement and not rounded or else you could risk injury.
This is probably the best exercise to get
a strong, thick and well-developed back but it is also one where
proper form is of critical importance, particularly as you increase
the weight. One good variation of the bent-over barbell row is
to do drop sets-where you begin with a weight that you can comfortably
lift for 10 reps and then keep stripping the weight down in subsequent
sets without resting between them.
-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 WORK HEALTHIER
Several
issues can affect your health at the workplace. You can avoid
serious health-related problems by following some prudent advice.
Save your eyes. Even if your eyes
are healthy, your job can put extra strain on them. Says Dr Meenakshi
Jain, Consultant, Max Hospital, Noida: "Sit a comfortable
distance away from the computer screen. Your eyes should be about
level with the top of the screen. Adjust the monitor controls
until the brightness of the screen feels comfortable."
Chuck that butt. Smoking raises the
risk of lung and other cancers, and also leads to a hardening
of arteries, restricting the blood flow to the heart.
Food for thought. "Eat more green
fruit and vegetables. Don't skip meals; eat a small breakfast,"
says Dr Jain. Curb your craving for sweets and fast food. Drink
12-14 glasses of water for the normal working of the body.
Get a good chair. Static posture can
add large amounts of pressure to the back muscles and spinal discs.
Says Dr Jain: "An ergonomic office chair will lead to less
stiffness and better blood circulation. Proper lumbar support
is necessary for prevention of muscle and nervous system problems."
Start by adjusting your backrest angle and the seat pan placing
the torso and the upper legs at 90 degrees to each other. It is
also necessary to adjust the chair to the proportions of the individual's
body.
Insomnia and shift work. Disruption
of sleep is a huge problem for people who work in shifts and results
in putting your body clock out of sync. "Using alcohol or
medicines as sedatives aggravates the problem. Ensure that you
get good quality natural sleep," says Dr Jain.
Exercise your brain. You must exercise
your brain so that you are mentally sharp and alert. You can strengthen
your brain so that it performs better. Reading, gaming and brainteasers
can give your brain great mental exercise.
-Manu Kaushik
PRINTED
CIRCUIT
Cellphone
Shootout
Three cellphones you won't want to make calls
on.
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| Haridwar,
Ghantaghar |
SonyEriccson K790i
Camera Resolution: 3.2 Megapixels
Price: Rs 18,895
The first SonyEricsson phone I really liked
in years, the Cybershot K790i has a fantastic camera and wears
the 'Cybershot' brand with pride. There is almost no lag between
clicking the shutter and the camera resolving the image-definitely
superior to the other two devices. Editing photo settings are
very straightforward and the inbuilt PhotoDJ software is really
quite capable. As a phone, it does have a slightly awkward form
factor but its operations are a breeze. But what really scores
for the K790i is its sub-20k price point.
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| New plane,
new look |
Nokia N73
Camera Resolution: 3.2 Megapixels
Price: Rs 27,849
The N73 has Nokia's fantastic user interface
and an extremely sleek body-and it has a very good camera. Image
quality on the N73 in good light is extremely sharp, but in poor
light the camera does take some time to focus, and there is significant
lag time. However, that said, the device's photo options are very
easily organised and you can play about with them very easily.
The large and bright 320x240 pixel screen (in photo mode) is great.
It is also a great phone with long battery life. But the device
is pricey!
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| Delhi, Metro |
Samsung SGH D900 'Ultra'
Camera Resolution: 3.0 Megapixels
Price: Rs 22,500
Do you really care how the pictures are on
this phone? The D900 is the sexiest phone I have used in a long
time thanks to its brilliant form factor; you are, therefore,
willing to forgive its foibles-like the fact that changing image
settings is not terribly easy because there are no hot keys. But,
that said, image quality is very good, and there are several interesting
options, including different focussing options. However, the D900
has the worst shutter lag of all three devices but there are some
really interesting image editing options. But, really the D900
is a cool handset which also has a really nice camera.
-Kushan Mitra
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