Bras Vs Bust Firming Exercises

According to a study that came out of France in 2013, bras don't actually alleviate back pain in women and don't do anything to prevent women's breasts from sagging. In fact, the study says that it actually makes back pain worse and the breasts to sag more.

Of course, anyone familiar with Bust Firming Exercises already know this. Marilyn Monroe knew this and she has been dead for almost 54 years.

While she was living however Marilyn Monroe did a number of daily exercises in order to stay in shape and keep her famous figure.

They included:

Push-ups - which act as bust firming exercise, increasing the strength of the pectoral muscles on the chest, which hold up the breasts and keep them from sagging.

Weightlifting, including Chest Flyes (below) which also work the pectoral muscles.

Jogging, for the legs and arms.

Archery, for the back muscles and arms.

Swimming, good as a full body workout.

Stretches (some of which look suspiciously like yoga).

And while she may have occasionally worn something that looked similar to a bra (due to society's convention against women appearing topless in public), she almost never is shown wearing a bra. Many of her iconic pieces of fashion went in quite the opposite direction. No bra at all.

And she certainly did not need to wear one either. Due to her regular exercises and specifically bust firming exercises, she had no need of wearing a bra which at the time conventional thinking was that women needed to wear bras in order to prevent back pain.

According to the 2013 French study, everything we've ever been told about supporting the upper back has it all wrong. Wearing a bra does nothing to decrease back pain, and the support offered by a brassiere actually encourages the breasts to sag. The study was a lengthy one too, starting in 1997 and ending in 2012, before being published in 2013. 15 years of women in the study group either wearing a bra or wearing no bra, and comparing which ones had back pain and which ones did not, and measuring how much sagging was really happening.

Led by Jean-Denis Rouillon, a sports scientist from the University of Besançon in eastern France, he found that "bras are a false necessity."

"Medically, physiologically, anatomically — breasts gain no benefit from being denied gravity. On the contrary, they get saggier with a bra," says Rouillon.

Rouillon spent a decade and a half measuring the changes in breasts of hundreds of women using a slide rule and caliper at the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire in Besançon. The participants were all between the ages of 18 and 35.

Of the braless women, the researchers concluded that "on average their nipples lifted on average seven millimeters in one year in relation to the shoulders." This meant that they effectively became "perkier" over time as their pectoral muscles became stronger from the added weight, as opposed to the extra strain going to the shoulders and back muscles instead.

According to one 28-year-old woman who took part in the study she hasn't worn a bra for two years now, and doesn’t expect to go back. "There are multiple benefits: I breathe more easily, I carry myself better, and I have less back pain," she says.

So less back pain, less shoulder pain, stronger pectoral muscles, better posture, stronger lungs. Lots of benefits. Learn more about Bust Firming Exercises.

Note, men who want larger pecs / chest muscles can also benefit from these exercises. eg. Arnold Schwarzenegger is a huge advocate of Chest Flyes, shown below, for its benefits of building huge pectorals on men.

Using Exercises to Keep Warm

Winter is coming.

Which for Toronto means we are usually in for 3-4 months of miserable cold weather. But it doesn't have to be miserable if you don't want it to be.

Winter should not be an excuse to not exercise either. After all, exercising keeps you warm.

We have all seen the crazy joggers out there in the harshest of weather, apparently unaffected by the extreme cold.

HOWEVER, jogging is not the purpose of this post. The purpose of this post is actually on the topic of KEEPING WARM for survival purposes - or at very least comfort levels. It has been my experience that the simple act of "rubbing your hands together" really only works for your hands, and if you want to stay warm and comfortable sometimes it is necessary to do more full body exercises.

For example one of the things that I sometimes do is I miscalculate how cold it is outside and I don't wear enough clothing. Thus I end up freezing my proverbial behind off, but I do have a trick to prevent it...

I do 100 jumping jacks. Takes about 2 minutes to do, but 100 jumping jacks later and I am cozy warm because my blood is now pumping energy from my fat stores and invigorating my body. Burning the fat off in such an aggressive manner warms the muscles, warms the blood, and ultimately warms the whole body.

Jumping jacks are not the only exercise you can use to keep warm however...

Five Ways to Keep Warm using Exercises

#1. Weightlifting

You don't need the ghetto weightlifting set like the guy below, any weights will do. Backpack, suitcase, whatever you have handy.

#2. Body Weight Exercises or Calisthenics

Pushups, chin-ups, wall push-ups, situps, it doesn't matter. Any old school body weight exercise will do. Even the simple act of climbing something, such as stairs, can keep your body warm. If you are athletic enough you could even do hand-stand push-ups.

The trick with some of these exercises, eg. chin-ups, is that you need something stable that isn't going to break under your body weight. Pick something big and stable.

The young woman on the right for example chose the underside of a bridge to exercise on, but the basic concept is there. Something large, heavy, durable, won't tip over / rock back and forth. It also shouldn't have sharp edges, spikes or anything dangerous like that in the vicinity.

The video below shows a young woman demonstrating a number of different body weight exercises outdoors.



#3. Yoga

You don't even need a mat to do winter yoga, the snow is your nice soft mat. But in the event you are surrounding by cold harsh ice, a blanket would also do. Helps if you are already familiar with yoga, but if you are not please read my posts on the topic or check out the thousands of free videos on YouTube.

#4. Squats or Squat Jumps

Squats are not hard. You just squat down part way, keep your back aligned straight up and down, and then stand back up again. Do 20 of those and your legs will be warmed up significantly.

For extra challenge, do the squats while carrying a weight (perhaps a backpack full of books), or try squat jumps - wherein you squat down and then stand up so fast that you jump into the air.

#5. Stretching and Scratching

Sometimes the simple act of stretching, touching your toes, flexing various muscles, can also warm you up. It doesn't take much, and it is far less obvious what you are doing if you have a crowd of people staring at you. If you are standing on a cold train platform with lots of people around, they may get weirded out by someone who suddenly decides to do 100 jumping jacks - but someone who is just stretching won't get a second glance.

The second part is this last tip is that you can also warm your skin by scratching it. Scratch your back, your arms, your chest, your legs - it might look you have a rash to a passerby, or it might look like you just have an itchy arm and that is no big deal.

If it truly is a survival situation then embarrassment isn't a factor any more.

Have a great winter and stay warm!

Kicking Exercises and Tips

Kicking Exercises are just what they sound like - fast paced kicks in an effort to build fast twitch muscle fibres in your legs. However done improperly they hold the potential to injure yourself.

I should also note that the primary purpose of these kicking exercises are for EXERCISE, not for self-defense or fighting. I will note the various uses of some kicks, but please remember the primary goal here is to promote kicking as a form of exercise.

With that in mind I am going to be teaching 3 different styles of kicks you can try at home. Shin Kicks, Side Kicks and Back Kicks.

#1.

Use a large open space that has no obstacles or walls nearby. Accidentally kicking a wall and hurting your foot would be counter-productive.

#2.

Next you should be doing some stretches. Because you are going to be doing an exercise that explores the limits of your flexibility I want people reading this to make an effort to stretch before you begin any workout that contains kicking.

Start by sitting on the ground and doing a variety of poses that explore the limits of your flexibility, similar to the poses mentioned in the How to do the Splits post.

#3.

Warm up your leg muscles by doing about 30 to 60 seconds worth of jumping jacks and another 30 to 60 seconds worth of squats (or jump squats if you want more of a challenge).

#4.

Don't worry about height when you kicking. Stand upright and start by doing low kicks in the air aimed at an imaginary target about 1 foot off the ground. This is known as a Shin Kick. It may not look like much, but aimed at someone's leg it would be difficult to block and successful contact means the other person will be in pain and possibly have difficulty walking.

When doing Shin Kicks your legs should be spread further apart with your leading foot pointed towards the imaginary target. Your kicking foot will be spaced further back and the foot should be angled off to the side for extra stability.

Every few minutes you should switch sides and practice kicking with the other foot. Try to focus on the quality of your form and accuracy, not your speed.

Shin Kicking can also be used for tripping an opponent, except instead of kicking the person with the toe or the base of the foot you are instead angling your foot in from the side in an effort to knock them down / make them lose their balance. This is demonstrated in the graphic below.

In a situation where you feel threatened, kicking someone in the shins and then running away is a fairly effective means of self-defense. The other person could be potentially prone if you tripped them, or they might simply be unable to run quickly due to the sudden pain. The pain would be temporary however, so if your plan is to run do so quickly.

#5.

This is not the impressive Side Kick you may have seen in the movies. You need to work up to that.

Instead your goal here is to kick sideways and hit something that is approximately at groin level. eg. An opponent's family jewels.

To do this kick you first need to be facing towards your target, your feet slightly spaced apart and your leading foot slightly off to the side for extra balance. During the kick you will first raise your knee up towards the target, and then in one motion you will kick outwards while rotating your body. Use your arms to maintain your balance (potentially you could use one arm to perform a simultaneous punch like in the image below, but your primary goal should be to maintain your balance).

Done properly a sidekick should be both accurate, fast and with minimal loss of balance. These three things are important because:

• You actually want to hit the target properly so it does more damage.
• Your kick should be fast enough that your opponent cannot catch and twist your foot, leaving you at a disadvantage.
• You don't want to lose your balance. If you fall the fight is practically over.

My tae kwon do instructor in South Korea taught that you never want to kick an opponent unless you either already have the advantage or if you can be absolutely certain of your success. He argued that kicking an opponent too aggressively and without a degree of caution was too risky, especially against any experienced opponent who knows how to counter such a kick and turn it against you.

For our purposes however side kicks still make for great exercise - both for muscle speed and strength, but also as a balance exercise.

#6.

The third and final kick I am going to teach today is the Back Kick.

Similar to the Side Kick, you start by raising your knee up in front of you and then kick backwards at an imaginary target at roughly groin level. Your primary goal during this kick is to learn how to maintain your balance, so note how your arms stay tucked close to your body and most of your balance is achieved not with your arms, but with your torso / core muscles.

7.

Don't over do it with any of the above kicking exercises. Focus on form and balance, not speed. There is no point hurting yourself by trying to kick superfast. Speed will come with practice.

After completing your kicking exercises for the day I also recommend doing a series of exercises such as:

Lunges
Sit Ups
Push Ups
Squats
Jump Squats
Jumping Jacks
Skip Rope or Skipping
Yoga
Etc

The goal here is to build up your leg muscles and also your core muscles (abs, lower back, etc). That way the next time you practice kicking exercises the muscles in question will be stronger and you will have better balance.

Happy Exercising!

10 Exercises to do with your Pets this Summer in Toronto

#1. Take your dog jogging!

#2. Take your dog to the beach - go swimming and play frisbee!

#3. Doggie Weightlifting - this is you lifting your dog up in an affectionate manner and rubbing their belly, then setting them back down, and repeat. You dog will think it is a game.

#4. Take your dog cycling in High Park.

#5. Join a Meetup Group for people who enjoy dog-related activities. Learn more by browsing the different meetup groups for Toronto dog owners.

#6. Competitive Dog Jogging. (Yes, that is a real thing.)

#7. Mountain Hiking with your Dog.

#8. Canoeing or Kayaking with your Dog. (Get your dog a special canine life jacket.)

#9. Dog and Owner Hurdles.

#10. Play a Classic Game of Fetch with your Dog. (Even more fun with water.)

BONUS

Dog Yoga in the Park

Back Posture and How to Eradicate Back Pain

Back pain can be really excruciatingly painful - and inhibit people from getting a good night's sleep, a necessity for them to maintain their health. Most people in North American will at some point have some form of back pain.

For some people in North America (33%) the back pain will be so severe it will cause chronic pain and conventional treatments will be useless to rid them of their pain.

There is however a solution: Posture exercises.

If you research the problem of chronic back pain in the USA and compare it to statistics in other regions of the world what you will discover is there are different regions in the world where back pain hardly exists. eg. One indigenous tribe in central India reported essentially none. Also, X-rays and studies of the discs in their spines showed little signs of degeneration as people aged. The entire tribe was apparently immune to back pain. This phenomenon is not limited to one tribe either, it can be found in many indigenous cultures where people are doing something special that many modern people are no longer doing.

So what are they doing differently?

Their posture when they are standing or sitting is the biggest difference. They stood in a manner that their spine made an elegant J-shape instead of a curved S-shaped spine like many Americans with back pain have.

In a J-shaped spine the back in straight and erect, and the buttocks curve outwards behind them. The S-shaped spine of people with chronic back pain causes them push their upper backs backwards into an unnatural position - often this is the result of trying to compensate for being overweight on the front and trying to compensate. This problem also goes hand-in-hand with having weak core muscles.

This J-shaped spine is not limited to specific cultures either, not historically at least. If you look at statues from Ancient Greece you will see they too had J-shaped spines.

In drawings from Leonardo da Vinci or a Gray's Anatomy book from 1901 you will see the spine isn't shaped like a sharp, curvy S. It's much flatter,and then at the bottom, it curves to stick the buttocks out. So the spine looks more like the letter J.

The J-shaped spine can be found in a lot of artwork dating back centuries. However in the 1900s something changed. People, especially in North America, started getting fatter, getting less exercise and developing poor posture. The combination of poor posture, lack of exercise and carrying too much weight puts a lot of stress on their spine - so much stress it causes pain so intense they cannot sleep properly.

Thus for people looking for a permanent fix to their back pain they need to think outside the box and start thinking POSTURE.

Five Stretching Exercises / Tips For Better Posture And Less Back Pain

Try these exercises while you're sitting at your desk, sitting at the dinner table or even just walking around.

#1. Do a shoulder roll

North Americans tend to scrunch their shoulders forward, so their arms are in front of their bodies. To fix that, gently pull your shoulders up, push them back and then let them drop - thus completing a shoulder roll. Now your arms should dangle by your side, with your thumbs pointing out. This creates the natural position for humans to hold their shoulders.

#2. Lengthen your spine

Being careful not to arch your back, take a deep breath in and grow tall. Then maintain that height as you exhale. Repeat: Breathe in, grow even taller and maintain that new height as you exhale. The exercises activates your core muscles and your spine goes into the more natural J-shape.

#3. Squeeze your glute muscles when you walk

In many indigenous cultures, people squeeze their gluteus medius (muscles near tailbone on your buttocks) muscles every time they take a step. It has a side benefit of creating a more shapely derrière as you are tightening the buttocks muscles every time you take a step - the muscle also keeps your buttocks more perky as you get older so you don't develop a saggy bottom.

#4. Don't put your chin up

Instead, add length to your neck by taking a lightweight object, like a bean bag or folded washcloth, and balance it on the top of your crown - or even just put both hands on top of your head. Next, try to push your head upwards against the object without tilting your chin upwards. The exercise lengthens the muscles on the back of your neck and allows your chin to angle down in a relaxed manner.

#5. Don't sit up straight!

Trying to sit up perfectly straight is just arching your back and deliberately making the S-shape you are not supposed to be doing. Instead do a shoulder roll to open up the chest and take a deep breath to stretch and lengthen the spine.

Thus a little bit of daily stretching and good posture will eradicate your chronic back pain. Happy stretching!

4 Bust Exercises for Women who want Perky Breasts

For women who want perkier breasts - or men who want large pecs, there are a variety of ways to work the pectoral muscles of the chest that are responsible for making a woman's breasts look perkier or to make a men's pecs larger.

#1. Push-ups

Try to do 5 sets of 10, 5 sets of 15 or 5 sets of 20 Push-ups every day.

• Kneel on the floor with your feet crossed at the ankles. Press your knees together and place your hands on the floor, slightly ahead of and further apart than your shoulders.
• Ensure that your knees, hips and shoulders are in straight angles.
• Slowly lower your upper body to floor and push back to the original position. If you cannot manage a full push-up, take it halfway down until your strength improves.

#2. Wall Push-ups, Incline Pushups or Decline Pushups

Wall and Incline push-ups are great for people who lack the upper body strength to do a normal push-up. Using wall push-ups and incline push-ups a person can work their way up to eventually doing normal push-ups. And for extra challenge try decline push-ups if you've already mastered normal push-ups.

#3. Chest Presses

This exercise needs weights or dumbbells. Do 5 sets of chest presses several times a week with 10, 15 or 20 repetitions per set.

• Lie on your back on the floor with your feet placed in front of your buttocks, knees bent.
• Lift the weights above you with the backs of your hands facing you. Your arms should be straight. Do not lock your elbows.
• Slowly bend your arms so that your elbows are at 90 degrees.
• Return to the starting position. Give a break of four seconds between repetitions.

#4. Dips

In addition to strengthening your chest muscles, dips also improve your posture when sitting or standing. Three sets of dips with 20 repetitions each done three times per week will work on your chest muscles and triceps.

• Stand with your back facing a chair, table or similar structure and place your feet as far apart as your hips. Place your palms on the back of the chair.
• Keep your back straight and close to the chair.
• Lower yourself until your arms and knees are bent at 90 degrees.
• Push back to the original position until your arms are straight, but not locked.

You can also do Dips with a partner if you have a wall handy.

A Handful of Nose Exercise Questions and Answers

It has been awhile since I have answered any nose exercise questions so here are a few I received recently. See my past posts on:

Nose Exercises Vs Rhinoplasty

Fixing a Crooked Nose using Nose Exercises

Do you actually need Nose Exercises?

Will Nose Exercises make your nose thinner?

His name has been omitted for privacy reasons.

Q

"Hello,

I was wondering if there was anything I can do for a crooked nose that doesn't involve surgery is it true that nose exercises can fix many of these concerns?"

A

Yes, as long as the damage doesn't include damage to the bone or cartilage. See the instructions on the website.

Q

"I have noticed that many of these exercises are making my nose wider is that supposed to be happen? Also will it make it too wide?"

A

"Yes, with the exception of the Nose Narrowing exercise, the other exercises build muscle and that will make a person's nose slightly thicker."

Q

"Are there any other negative side effects associated with doing such exercises? Why haven't doctors recommended them?"

A

They're exercises associated with facial expressions. People wrinkle their nose / etc all the time when they smile, frown, etc, so no, there is no risks associated with nose exercises.

Nose exercises just change the shape of a person's nose slowly over time, either to correct a crooked nose due to damaged muscle tissue or to change the shape of the nose by reshaping the muscle tissue under the skin. Your nose shape is dictated by muscle tissue, cartilage and the nose bone part of the skull where the skull meets the nose. By reshaping the muscle within the nose using exercises it can lengthen, shorten, narrow, or widen the nose - as well as fix problems wherein nose muscle tissue was damaged.

Nose exercises cannot change the shape of the nose bone however. A broken nose (nasal fractures are a common sports injury) can be realigned in most cases to prevent deformity as the broken nose bone will heal over time if it is in the correct position to restitch itself back together, which means nose exercises can be used during treatment and post treatment to keep the nose aligned. Depending on the severity of the broken nose, surgery is sometimes necessary in order to prevent deformity.

Plastic surgeons would never recommend nose exercises because their goal is to get people to buy rhinoplasty. In the case of a severe nasal fracture the patient doesn't have much choice however.
It would be like asking a doctor who does liposuction whether he approves of people just exercising to lose weight. The doctor's goal is to make money so they would likely respond with laughter and saying something like "Well yes, I suppose you could, but how has that been going for you? If exercise was working for you then why are you here? It is very difficult to lose weight exercising so if you can afford it why not just pay for the liposuction instead?"

The vast majority of people who have contacted me about nose exercises actually have very nice noses with a minor problem that doesn't require surgery and is easily fixed by doing nose exercises for several months. I have only encountered one person (who had a very large nose bone protruding from his skull which made his nose unusually large) who could not be helped because the size and shape of his nose was due to elongated shape of the nose bone.

A few people who have contacted me don't even need the exercises. Their worries appear to be more mental and the shape of their nose, in my opinion, is already ideal. They are worrying over nothing.
In your case the muscle tissue has become imbalanced on opposite sides of your nose. Basically the muscles on one side of your nose is bigger than the other side. The nose straightening exercise will build up muscle tissue on both sides, equalizing the muscles on both sides over time and straightening out your nose, and making your nose slightly thicker in the process. When you cease doing the exercises in the future your nose will lose the extra thickness after a month or so and go back to its normal size, but it will have straightened out long before then.

Rock Climbing, Waterfalls Exploring, Spelunking and More!

There are many great ways to exercise, but the following is several of my favourites. Some of these you can even do as family activities, but others are dangerous and children should not be doing them at all. Use your better judgment. Some of them are also very frugal and won't cost your wallet much.

#1. Rock Climbing

Now I don't mean going to a special "rock climbing gym". I have never done that, although I presume it is still fun to do that indoors with the safety of a harness and first aid kits nearby. You can still do that if you wish, but for myself I do Freehand Rock Climbing - no ropes, no safety harness, if I fall, I fall and hurt myself.

Rock Climbing Tips

Don't climb anything freehand unless you are absolutely confident you can climb it without falling.

Practice on trees. (Or in a rock climbing gym.)

Stick to small climbs first as you build up your strength and skill.

Always be certain of your footing or handholds before you go to the next foothold or handhold.

Remember to plan your route back down. Sometimes getting up is easier than climbing back down.

If you don't think you can do it, maybe it is time to crack out the harness and ropes. Safety first.

#2. Waterfalls Exploring

This is a bit like rock climbing, but the surfaces are going to be slippery. Often you need to climb over wet rocks that are slippery, but it is a lot of fun to work your way around and get behind a waterfalls - or even go swimming below it (warning - if there is signs that say "no swimming", that means this falls is powerful enough to have undertow that can drag you under and kill you. Only swim near the base of a waterfalls that is relatively weak).

The photo on the right is of Hogg's Falls in Ontario.

Waterfalls Exploring Tips

Wear super grippy boots that you don't mind getting wet.

Wear gloves, possibly even grippy fishing gloves.

Wear clothing you don't mind getting wet. Avoid white t-shirts unless you enjoy showing off.

Don't bother trying to climb the sides of the waterfalls. It is too slippery.

#3. Spelunking

Otherwise known as cave exploring or cave diving, spelunking is an amazing activity to get into if you love exploring geological formations, crevices and caverns.

Spelunking Tips

Good quality boots.

Gloves are handy too.

Flashlight or headlamp is very handy.

Try getting guided tours of caves (ones with stairs, safety bars, etc all in place) first so you know what to expect.

Take a spelunking safety course.

#4. Rocky Mountain Biking

Bouncing over rocks while cycling down a hill might not sound like your cup of tea, but to those who love it then it is certainly a possibility.

Start slow, stick to the easy cycling trails and work your way up. Also, buy a better bicycle that has higher quality shocks and sturdier tires. You don't want your equipment to fail if you go over a rock your bicycle simply could not handle.

#5. Natural Parkour / Freerunning

If you are familiar with parkour / freerunning, then you also know this activity normally occurs in an urban environment. But there is no reason why you could not do this in a more natural terrain - using rocks and trees as your obstacle course. All you are really doing is applying the same principles of parkour to a different landscape.

#6. Tree Climbing

And by this, I am referring to climbing trees using ropes, helmet and a harness. You could climb the bottom reaches of the tree freehand, but once you start to go high enough that you might run into a weak limb that could snap underfoot it is time to get the rope and harness out. The views from the top can be pretty spectacular.

#7. Underwater Spelunking

See #3 above, but add in scuba gear. You will need snorkeling lessons, scuba lessons, and eventually underwater spelunking lessons. This activity is both expensive and dangerous. Definitely not for children either.

#8. Extreme Rock Balancing

Normally rock balancing is an activity done by one person who just lifts up a rock and then balances another rock on top of it. Extreme Rock Balancing is done by a team of people using much larger rocks, ropes, chains, pulleys, ladders, the whole shebang.

You will need a group of friends (preferably friends who are also into rock balancing), and you will probably want one person to document the whole project using a video camera.

Muscles will only get you so far with this project. You will also need patience and perseverance. And friendships will be tried and tested if you get into an argument about how to best achieve the finished product.

You will also want your finished product to last. You won't want it falling down the first time a teenager comes along and gives it a push. Thus aim to your rocks large enough - and well balanced - so that it wouldn't fall down even during a small earthquake.

Some people might want to cheat and use a crane or tractor to move the rocks, but if men of old can build Stone Henge and the pyramids of Egypt, certainly a group of adults can balance some rocks without using machinery.

Unlike normal rock balancing you probably will not be balancing multiple rocks together. But one or two should be possible.

Best of all your end results will stay up for a long time and baffle future generations.

Will Nose Exercises make my nose thinner?

Q1

Hello. I found your e-mail on Google and I just decided to send a message because I think you may be able to help me. Well, the problem is that I have a wide nose and it makes me feel so insecure, it's the biggest problem in my face. I mean the size of the nose is okay but I do want a slimmer nose. Is that possible with nose exercises? What exercises should I do? Thanks!

- Nita

A

You need to do Nose Exercise #4. Nose Narrowing
' Want a more narrow nose? Lower your chin and mouth and narrow your nose in the process. This uses a different set of muscles inside your nose which will help tighten up and narrow the appearance of your nose.

Hold for 5 to 10 seconds. Repeat 30 times, twice per day, and observe the long term results as your nose becomes more narrow. '

Sincerely,
Charles Moffat
CardioTrek.ca



Q2

Hey again, I forgot to ask something. Will it make my nose wider? Someone said that it made her/his nose wider after doing the exercise (I read it on the net), and then another person said that it worked for her. I'm really afraid about that because mine is already quite wide and I don't want a wide nose.

- Nita

A2

Sounds like the person was doing a different exercise designed for fixing a crooked nose. It fixes crooked noses, but has a side effect of making a person's nose thicker.

The different exercises produce different results.

See ' Nose Exercise #1. Squinting the Nose

Basically all you do is smile and try to squish your nose upwards using the muscles within your nose. No hands required. This upward "squinting" of the nose will add more girth to muscles in the sides of the nose and, assuming you do it evenly, both sides of the nose will auto-correct themselves with time until they're both equally muscular.

Hold for 5 to 10 seconds. Repeat 20 to 30 times daily until your nose muscles straighten out. '

The narrowing exercise builds up specific muscles the narrow the nose, and over time the muscles used for other parts of your nose become weaker (and thinner). Over time is makes your nose more dependent on the muscles that narrow the nose. The other muscles become weaker and thinner due to lack of use.

You will never completely get rid of those muscles obviously, you use them regularly when laughing, making facial expressions - but the shape of your nose will change over time due to changing its dependence on specific muscles inside the nose.

It would be like if you only lifted things using ONLY your triceps and NEVER used your biceps. Over time your biceps would become weaker and thinner and the triceps would become thicker - nobody does that in real life because those arm muscles are used a lot for many things, but that is the general analogy for how it works.

Sincerely,
Charles Moffat
CardioTrek.ca


PERSONALIZED HELP

I am getting a lot of requests from people wanting personalized advice about their nose and what nose exercises they should do, how often they should do them, special circumstances,  etc. My advice is to follow the instructions listed above and on other posts I have made about nose exercises.

If you are contacting me asking me for personalized help - basically asking for my services in aiding you with your nose exercises, then I will need to charge you my personal training rate ($50 per hour) for my services.

I know this is not the answer many of you are looking for. I have already answered many of the frequently asked questions in the comments section of various nose exercise posts, and answered many emails from people asking for help with their nose exercises - but I am a busy person and the emails have reached a point where I need to start charging for this service because I cannot answer all of them.

Best of luck with your nose exercises!

Woodworking as an Exercise

It might sound strange but you can get in some good cardio exercise by doing woodworking.

The beauty of woodworking is that minus the cost of tools and wood, it is relatively inexpensive. You can make lots of things around the home that you need / will use, and you will burn lots of calories during the process of making them without really noticing that you are burning them - because woodworking is itself fun.

All the calorie burns listed below are for an individual who weighs 200 lbs, and a time of 1 hour.

Painting or Wallpapering - 186 calories burned.

Plumbing or Electrical Work - 228 calories burned.

General Carpentry - 286 calories burned.

General Painting - 319 calories burned.

Furniture Carpentry - 319 calories burned.

Scraping, Washing, Waxing Boat, Car, Etc - 319 calories burned.

Painting, Outside Home - 364 calories burned.

Construction, Outdoors Remodeling - 416 calories burned.

Building a Fence or Roofing - 455 calories burned.

Paving New Driveway - 455 calories burned.

Using Heavy Power Tools (Jackhammers, Chainsaws, Etc) - 455 calories burned.

Sawing Hardwood with a Hand Saw - 592 calories burned.

Pickaxe, Shovel, Etc - 637 calories burned.

Walking while carrying anything just over 100 lbs in weight - 683 calories burned.

And this is just a sample of the many cardio / weight lifting exercises a person can do while doing woodworking.

REMEMBER TO OBSERVE SAFETY PRECAUTIONS AND USE SAFETY EQUIPMENT TO PROTECT YOUR HANDS, EYES AND EARS. ESPECIALLY WHEN OPERATING HEAVY MACHINERY WHICH CAN CAUSE HEARING LOSS.

Exercising with your Kids

Who says you cannot exercise with your kids? Utter nonsense!

Above is "The Lilly Ann Workout", a video created by father and YouTube user Michael Stansbury to show off the workout he does regularly with his baby daughter.

It is undoubtedly the cutest workout video I have ever seen.

Exercises to Treat Male Pattern Baldness - Real or Hoax?

Q

"Hello!

I read with interest your posts about nose exercises and how you can change the shape of your nose. I was wondering if you have heard anything about exercises or massages or diet plans you can do to either prevent male pattern baldness or to regrow hair where you now have a bald spot?

Thanks!

JCL"

A

Hello JCL!

I am afraid that so-called hair growth exercises are a complete hoax.

Same goes with massages. Complete hoax designed to get people to buy anti-baldness cream or similar products.

Diet plans on the other hand can help you to grow hair faster - but only in places where you already have hair.

I will tell you something I heard years ago. Most men who worry about baldness are worried that they will be less attractive to women. And YET most women don't care about baldness, what they care about is men who take care of themselves. That means exercising regularly, being well-groomed, cleanliness, nice/clean clothes, taking care in their appearance - and presumably also cleaning their home regularly and taking care of their mental well-being.

The articles JCL was referring to are:

Nose Exercises Vs Rhinoplasty

Nose Exercises - Fixing a Crooked Nose

Nose Exercises - Do you actually need them or are you being paranoid about your nose?

Ice Storm Exercises in Toronto

Hello fellow Torontonians!

Wow that was quite the ice storm last night. Here is some exercise and safety tips for things for you to do today!!! Stay safe and don't drive today.

#1. Clear the ice off your car.

#2. Clear the ice off your driveway.

#3. Clear the broken ice covered branches off your lawn and streets near your home.

#4. Avoid downed power lines. Leave those to repair crews.

#5. Watch out for falling ice. Avoid walking under large trees that have lots of ice covered branches on them that are creaking under the weight.

#6. Walk to the local hardware store for supplies. Don't drive! The roads are too icy!

#7. Walk to the homes of elderly neighbours and see if they need anything. Be helpful!

#8. Clear the sidewalk of ice.

#9. Take the dog for a walk and take photos of the ice storm wreckage.

#10. Dress with lots of layers with warm gloves, hats and more!

Trampoline Workouts - Fun and Low Effort

When it comes to unusual workouts you can't get much weirder than trampoline exercises - or trampoline sports.

 These "death traps" however are not to be taken lightly. As the classic Simpsons episode demonstrates, trampolines can cause some serious injuries so my immediate recommendation is that you start small, use a space with lots of headroom (so you don't hit your head on the ceiling), and proceed slowly with a degree of caution until you get used to the trampoline.

These days you can get a mini exercise trampoline and this will make much more sense if you are getting purely to be part of your workout. (Note that I said "part of your workout". Using a trampoline should not be sole source of your exercise.)

Like any other fitness gadget you will need to learn how to use it properly and safely - and to its full potential, and thus realize also its limitations. You will want to use it barefoot or in socks, pad the area around the trampoline (in case you fall off), and never have food or water on the trampoline with you (it has the potential to make a mess, become a distraction and cause slippery accidents).

8 Super Fun Trampoline Exercises

#1. Start by doing a simple bouncing exercise on both feet for 2 minutes to warm up. This will be relatively relaxing and fun.

#2. Boxing - Upwards, forward and sides. Alternate punching upwards, to the side and forward. Do this for 2 minutes. Take a small break and stretch if you feel tired after this.

#3. Jumping Jacks - Do 50 if you are just starting. 100 if you've done this before.

#4. Snap Kicks - Be careful doing this. You will want to get your foot back down quickly so you need to kick quickly upwards and back down again. (Snap kicks is a basic martial arts move, but definitely fun to do.) Do 20 snap kicks total. Take your time in-between each kick.

#5. Bounce Side to Side for 2 minutes.

#6. Twist Jumps - Twist your hips from side to side while jumping for 2 minutes.

#7. Marching - Get your knees up high while doing this for 2 minutes.

#8. Cool down again by doing a basic bouncing exercise, going slower until you hop off after 2 minutes.

If you get bored of the workout above try making up your own exercises you can do on the trampoline. Experiment!

NOTES

Trampolines are a low impact workout, but it also tones the legs and core muscles because it involves so much jumping and balance.

The National Ballet School in Toronto even uses mini exercise trampolines for their ballet students.

If you suddenly feel dizzy slow down and get off the trampoline. Take a break and drink a small amount of water.

You may feel a significant energy boost after exercising on a trampoline - the reason is because the fun quality of the exercise boosts your adrenaline and other "fun" hormones in your body which make you feel energized.


Trampolines work well when combined with other exercises like jogging outside, doing yoga on a mat, and even weightlifting with free weights at home (not on the trampoline, that is dangerous).

Trampoline exercises don't really burn a lot of calories by themselves. Hence why they work well as a motivator, but not so good at burning fat. Use the trampoline to motivate yourself to exercise - like a reward for completing your morning jog.