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Sausage, Pea, and Lentil Stew
This Polish kielbasa recipe proves that sausage can be dressed up for a savory dinner with silverware and napkins.
5 Tips for Designing Small Spaces
Decorating a small room poses unique challenges for every designer. Check out these five easy tips for mIn a long living room, break down the space by creating three separate seating areas with pieces of furniture that are small in scale. Also, use mirrors at each end to reflect light throughout the whole room.
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The Telle Curl
Here's the secret for bigger muscles: Challenge them in a new way. This exercise is a variation of the barbell biceps curl. "You alter your body angle to increase stress on your arms throughout the motion," says Bill Hartman, C.S.C.S., co-owner of Indianapolis Fitness and Sports Training.
The benefit
You're always stronger at the top of a curl than at the bottom, so this exercise shifts your body to increase tension at your weak point. By building on this soft spot, Hartman says, you'll potentially work your arms more and build bigger biceps.
How to do it
Hold a barbell with an underhand grip, your hands shoulder-width apart, and let the barbell rest against your thighs.
Keeping your elbows close to your body, curl the bar up to shoulder level. Pause briefly and contract your arm muscles.
Without changing the angle of your elbows, bend forward at the hips until your forearms are parallel to the ground.
Keeping your forearms parallel to the ground, slowly straighten your body to a standing position. Your arms should remain at about the halfway point of the curling motion. Lower the weight and repeat. Perform three sets of eight to 10 repetitions each.
Our expert's tips
The benefit
You're always stronger at the top of a curl than at the bottom, so this exercise shifts your body to increase tension at your weak point. By building on this soft spot, Hartman says, you'll potentially work your arms more and build bigger biceps.
How to do it
Hold a barbell with an underhand grip, your hands shoulder-width apart, and let the barbell rest against your thighs.
Keeping your elbows close to your body, curl the bar up to shoulder level. Pause briefly and contract your arm muscles.
Without changing the angle of your elbows, bend forward at the hips until your forearms are parallel to the ground.
Keeping your forearms parallel to the ground, slowly straighten your body to a standing position. Your arms should remain at about the halfway point of the curling motion. Lower the weight and repeat. Perform three sets of eight to 10 repetitions each.
Our expert's tips
Three Steps to Strength and Stamina
1. Boxer's Punch + Dumbbell Squat
With a 5-pound dumbbell in each hand, throw 32 punches, alternating lefts and rights. Then let your arms hang loosely at your sides and place your feet slightly wider than hip-width apart. Bend at the hips and knees to lower your body until your thighs are parallel to the floor, and then press back up. Complete 16 squats. Repeat the sequence once.
2. Push-Up + Prone Row
Push-up: Place two six-sided dumbbells on the floor and grip them while you do a full push-up. (Lower in two seconds, push up in one.)
Prone row: In the up position of the push-up (still holding onto the dumbbells), bring your right-hand weight up to your armpit and squeeze your shoulder blade back. Lower the weight and repeat the move with your left arm. (Take one second to raise the weight and two seconds to lower it.)
3. Jump Squat + Curl
Jump squat: Assume a squat position as you hold dumbbells at your sides, your feet slightly wider than hip-width apart. Press through your heels to explode up quickly. Then land softly on the balls of your feet and sink back onto your heels.
Curl: After landing, let the dumbbells hang at your sides. Without moving your upper arms, curl the weights up. (Take one second to raise them and two seconds to lower.)
Provided by Men's Health
Fast Track to Flex Appeal
"Man's got to know his limitations." Spend enough time in the gym and you gain an acute appreciation of what Clint Eastwood meant with that immortal line. Eventually, we all run up against the limitations of whatever workout system we're using. Some help make us bigger, some help make us stronger, some help make us leaner, but none seems to do all three at once.
While I agree that it's often more efficient to pursue one goal at a time, the workout system I created for my new book, Huge in a Hurry, allows you to multitask. You'll build size and strength, thanks to the intense challenge to all your muscle fibers from the high-speed reps. And you'll get leaner, thanks to the maximum-effort sets. Try it for four weeks, and you'll see that your limitations aren't really all that limiting.
While I agree that it's often more efficient to pursue one goal at a time, the workout system I created for my new book, Huge in a Hurry, allows you to multitask. You'll build size and strength, thanks to the intense challenge to all your muscle fibers from the high-speed reps. And you'll get leaner, thanks to the maximum-effort sets. Try it for four weeks, and you'll see that your limitations aren't really all that limiting.
men's fitness today
In these days of bogus infomercials, fat-burning concoctions, and fitness contraptions that promise incredible abs, there's something reassuring about a workout with a medicine ball. The heft of a vintage medicine ball makes us want to put on gray sweats and start heaving it around with the fellas, grunting contentedly. On the other hand, you can take the vintage thing too far. Leather is out; vinyl is in. Medicine balls now have easier-to-grab surfaces, and they come in What are you waiting for?
Here's a leave-me-alone, in-a-hurry, 21st-century set of exercises that uses the weight of a medicine ball to blast your belly from top to bottom, and your obliques on the sides—those all-important muscles you use when doing twisting, turning moves in sports. The workout was designed by Jacqueline Wagner, C.S.C.S., a strength coach in New York City. The added weight of the medicine ball will give you a more intense workout than you'll get with conventional crunches.
Use a ball that's light enough so you can do one set of each exercise without straining or arching your back. A good weight for ab workouts is a 4-kilogram medicine ball (just shy of 9 pounds). Start with one circuit and build up to three sets of the circuit. Use a slow, controlled movement for the Double Crunch and Reverse Crunch.many sizes and weights. (They still need a new name, though. Medicine?!)
Here's a leave-me-alone, in-a-hurry, 21st-century set of exercises that uses the weight of a medicine ball to blast your belly from top to bottom, and your obliques on the sides—those all-important muscles you use when doing twisting, turning moves in sports. The workout was designed by Jacqueline Wagner, C.S.C.S., a strength coach in New York City. The added weight of the medicine ball will give you a more intense workout than you'll get with conventional crunches.
Use a ball that's light enough so you can do one set of each exercise without straining or arching your back. A good weight for ab workouts is a 4-kilogram medicine ball (just shy of 9 pounds). Start with one circuit and build up to three sets of the circuit. Use a slow, controlled movement for the Double Crunch and Reverse Crunch.many sizes and weights. (They still need a new name, though. Medicine?!)
CEOs Say: Staying Fit With No Time For Fitness
In your early days as chief executive officer, you had all the energy in the world. The fast pace of the life exhilarated you. You occasionally had to strain to do everything you could, but you pushed through. Now you're starting to feel fatigued. Just that pushing through gets harder and harder.
The fatigue that you may think is the product of nonstop overwork and not getting younger is really all about your health. Jim Loehr calls it the human energy crisis.
Loehr is a co-founder of the Human Performance Institute, in Orlando, Fla. His company helps executives get and stay healthy through its Corporate Athlete program. Loehr estimates that 40% of CEOs are technically obese. (The technical definition of obesity is having a body mass index of more than 30; body mass index is the ratio of your weight in kilograms to the square of your height in meters.) In Mississippi, the heaviest state in America, obesity among the adult population is 32.5%. CEOs are seriously overweight.
The fatigue that you may think is the product of nonstop overwork and not getting younger is really all about your health. Jim Loehr calls it the human energy crisis.
Loehr is a co-founder of the Human Performance Institute, in Orlando, Fla. His company helps executives get and stay healthy through its Corporate Athlete program. Loehr estimates that 40% of CEOs are technically obese. (The technical definition of obesity is having a body mass index of more than 30; body mass index is the ratio of your weight in kilograms to the square of your height in meters.) In Mississippi, the heaviest state in America, obesity among the adult population is 32.5%. CEOs are seriously overweight.
Turn Your Walk Into a Run
We know you love walking—and we do too! It's one of the best ways to stay healthy and keep your waistline in check. But when you're short on time (and who isn't?) or stuck on a plateau, running is another do-anywhere, no-equipment-required alternative that ramps up weight loss. Adding even a few minutes into your walks can build stronger bones and cut your exercise time nearly in half: Minute for minute, running burns about twice as many calories as walking.
But if you think you're too old or too out of shape or that running will damage your knees (research shows it won't), don't take it from us. Take it from the 46-to 67-year-old women who tested our walk-to-run program: They saw pounds disappear as soon as the first week, and by 8 weeks, they had shaved up to 20 inches off their butts, thighs, waistlines, hips, and arms and dropped nearly three sizes—all without dieting! In fact, even those who didn't lose much weight erased as many as 5 inches of belly fat.
Our eight-week plan is specifically designed to be safe for would-be runners over 40. You'll gradually increase your running time, allowing your body to adjust without aches or strain, and perform targeted toning exercises and stretches to protect against injuries. And don't be surprised if you become a convert—adults in one study who tried jogging reported enjoying their workouts 30 percent more than when they walked, possibly because running stimulates more good-mood hormones in the brain, say researchers.
The experts: Danny Dreyer, the author of Chi Running who specializes in teaching beginners how to run pain free, created the walk/run plan. Vonda Wright, M.D., an orthopedic surgeon and author of Fitness After 40, designed the strength/stretching workout.
Workout at a glance:
What you need: Running shoes. While it's fine to walk in running shoes, it's not safe to run in walking ones since they're designed to absorb less impact.
Three days a week: Do run/walk intervals and Run Strong stretches (B moves only)
Three alternate days: Do 30 to 60 minutes of any low-impact cardio (such as walking, biking, or swimming), plus the Run Strong toning moves and stretches (A and B moves).
Customize your workout: Don't want to run full-time? Stop at whatever week feels good to you. To step it up after week eight, add five minutes a week until you reach 60 minutes.
Injury-proof your run: Good form and technique reduce strain and help your body absorb shock for a pain-free workout. Focus on one tip below each time you run.
Protect your posture: Keep shoulders back and down, chest lifted, abs tight. Lean entire body slightly forward from ankles (don't bend at the waist), allowing gravity to gently pull you forward.
Keep eyes on the horizon: Look out ahead, rather than at the ground. Keeping your gaze up makes walking and running easier.
Relax your hands: Clenching your fists can send tension up your wrists and arms; loosen up by pretending to cup something fragile, like a potato chip or butterfly.
Make smooth transitions: In the final seconds of each walking interval, pick up your pace so when you switch to running, it feels easier than if you tried to walk any faster.
Land mid-foot: Unlike walking, striking the ground with your heel when you run puts on the brakes. Aim to come down with the middle of your foot landing under you, then roll through smoothly.
Shorten your stride: Protect knees and absorb shock better by maintaining a short stride and keeping a slight bend in your knee as you land.
Pick your feet up: Instead of pushing into the ground, which can fatigue muscles, focus on keeping legs relaxed and lifting feet up.
Run Strong and Slim Down Faster
Strengthening and stretching your hips, butt, and abs can help you speed up, burn more fat, and stave off injuries. Do two sets of 10 to 15 reps of each toning move (A) per side, three times a week. Hold stretches (B) for 30 seconds per side. Do stretches alone after run/walk workouts.
1A One-Legged Squat
Tones thighs and improves knee function
Balance on left leg, right foot lifted a few inches off ground in front, arms outstretched. Keeping back straight, slowly bend right knee to sit back 2 to 3 inches. Press into left heel to stand.
1B Hamstring Stretch
Plant left heel on ground in front of you, leg straight, toes up. With weight on right leg, hing forward from hips, and sit back to stretch back of left leg.
2A Lift And Press
Tones hips and butt for strength and speed
Stand 3 to 4 feet away from a tree or wall. Keeping legs straight, lean forward and place palms on tree at chest height. (If you don't feel your calves stretch, walk feet back a few inches and press heels down.) Pull right knee toward chest, then press leg behind you, pushing back and up through right heel and squeezing glutes.
2B Calf Stretch
Place right foot closer to tree, right knee bent, left leg back and straight. Press hips forward until you feel a stretch in back of lower left leg.
3A Hip Dip
Tones abs and butt and improves pelvis alignment
Stand with right foot on a step, left one off, hips level. Stick right hip out to side, lowering left hip, leg, and foot a few inches; squeeze abs and butt to draw back up to level.
3B Side Stretch
Stand on level ground, cross left leg in front of right, both feet flat, hands on hips. Reach right arm overhead, and bend body to left, pushing hips slightly to right to feel a stretch along right side of your body.
4A Plank
Tones core muscles to ensure good posture
Lie facedown on a mat, upper body propped on forearms with elbows directly beneath shoulders and toes tucked. Lift hips so body forms a straight line and you're balancing on forearms and toes. Hold for 30 seconds. Do twice.
4B Back Stretch
From plank position, lower knees to ground, untuck toes, and sit back on heels with arms reaching forward to stretch your torso, arms, and back.
5A Side Leg Lift
Tones outer thighs and butt to protect knees
Lie on right side, top leg extended with foot flexed, bottom one bent behind you for balance. Bend right elbow and support head with hand. Squeeze left glute and outer thigh to raise left leg 1 to 2 feet. Pause; slowly lower to start.
5B Thigh Stretch
Lying on right side with legs stacked, bend left leg and grasp shin or forefoot with hand. Keeping left knee over right one, gently pull foot toward butt until you feel a stretch in the front of left thigh.
Stay Motivated: Calculate your calorie burn, keep track of your workouts, and more at prevent
The 5-Second Muscle Test
A crucial but often overlooked aspect of weight training is the pace at which you lift. Bill Hartman, C.S.C.S., uses this simple test to spot weaknesses and help men increase the amount of weight they can hoist. Take the test as you perform a squat or bench press.
The Test
Do a typical warmup. Estimate a weight you can lift only once, and lift 60 percent of that for five reps. Then lift 70 percent (three reps), and 80 percent (one rep). Now do your one-rep max, noting the time it takes to lower and raise the weight.
The Test
Do a typical warmup. Estimate a weight you can lift only once, and lift 60 percent of that for five reps. Then lift 70 percent (three reps), and 80 percent (one rep). Now do your one-rep max, noting the time it takes to lower and raise the weight.
The Couch Potato Workout
Every hour-long TV show has about six commercial breaks that last 3 minutes each, so you can get a decent total body workout while you watch—no gym necessary.
This workout is great for beginners, but it's also good for exercisers of every level, since extra bouts of activity throughout the day help to keep your metabolism revved, says Prevention's fitness advisor Wayne L. Westcott, Ph.D., of Quincy, Mass.
This workout is great for beginners, but it's also good for exercisers of every level, since extra bouts of activity throughout the day help to keep your metabolism revved, says Prevention's fitness advisor Wayne L. Westcott, Ph.D., of Quincy, Mass.
Track Runs Into Controversy
Into an increasingly confusing sports world in which fans judge ballplayers based on whether they are known steroid users or not, comes the strange story of South African runner Caster Semenya. Australian newspapers reported that gender testing on the 18-year-old shows that she has both male and female sexual characteristics. The allegations about the women’s 800-meter champion sparked outrage from South Africa’s sports minister, who reacted to the media frenzy using the term “third world war.” Even the ex-wife of former President Nelson Mandela, Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, opined by telling South Africa’s Star newspaper, “The poor innocent child is a victim of all this, and it is not of her making. I do not understand how any sane person can blame this child for a biological problem which is not of her making."
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Poisoning Deaths on the Rise
If you're a woman between 45 and 64 years of age, you'll be shocked to hear this stat. Between 1999 and 2005, the rate of poisoning deaths rose by 230 percent for this demographic. Poisoning?
Look to the medicine cabinet for answers. Dr. Susan P. Baker, the co-author of a recent study released by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health's Center for Injury Research and Policy indicates the increase in poisoning is primarily due to the abuse of prescription drugs. Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that prescription drugs have taken the lead in fatal drug overdoses, leaving illegal drugs in second place.
While most individuals take prescriptions for the purpose intended, approximately 20 percent of Americans say they've taken prescribed drugs for nonmedical reasons. Many take meds that weren't prescribed for them, but instead came from well-intended friends or family.
Look to the medicine cabinet for answers. Dr. Susan P. Baker, the co-author of a recent study released by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health's Center for Injury Research and Policy indicates the increase in poisoning is primarily due to the abuse of prescription drugs. Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that prescription drugs have taken the lead in fatal drug overdoses, leaving illegal drugs in second place.
While most individuals take prescriptions for the purpose intended, approximately 20 percent of Americans say they've taken prescribed drugs for nonmedical reasons. Many take meds that weren't prescribed for them, but instead came from well-intended friends or family.
the daily dose
An active brain is a good brain, so solve those crosswords and wrestle with puzzles, play video games, buy brain-training software and practice, practice, practice.
What does all the activity accomplish? A study shows that girls who played Tetris increased their brain matter and started thinking more efficiently. Maybe soon, someone at the Oscars will thank his brain-training coach, and sales of that gear will soar. But there is no way that solving Word Jumbles will help you win the Pulitzer Prize, right?
The British Broadcasting Corporation wants to know, and you are invited to participate in a year-long experiment to answer the question: Does Brain Training Work?
“Brain Test Britain” uses games and quizzes that are skewed toward British-coloured trivia. But I watch BBCA, and I look forward to the day that William is king and surely, there must be some British blood in my ancestry, which makes me close to qualified, so I signed up.
Participants agree to train their brains for 10 minutes a day, three times a week for six weeks. And, if they choose, practice to their hearts’ delight. New enlistees play three games to establish a benchmark, then complete those tests after six weeks, three months, six months and a year. Testees can drop out at any time.
What does all the activity accomplish? A study shows that girls who played Tetris increased their brain matter and started thinking more efficiently. Maybe soon, someone at the Oscars will thank his brain-training coach, and sales of that gear will soar. But there is no way that solving Word Jumbles will help you win the Pulitzer Prize, right?
The British Broadcasting Corporation wants to know, and you are invited to participate in a year-long experiment to answer the question: Does Brain Training Work?
“Brain Test Britain” uses games and quizzes that are skewed toward British-coloured trivia. But I watch BBCA, and I look forward to the day that William is king and surely, there must be some British blood in my ancestry, which makes me close to qualified, so I signed up.
Participants agree to train their brains for 10 minutes a day, three times a week for six weeks. And, if they choose, practice to their hearts’ delight. New enlistees play three games to establish a benchmark, then complete those tests after six weeks, three months, six months and a year. Testees can drop out at any time.
Bring on the Brunch!
What meal do we look forward to on the weekends? Brunch, of course! It's the perfect melding of tasty breakfast dishes and savory afternoon treats. Gather your friends and invite the family over. It's brunch time
Timeless Home Accessories
Great indoors or outdoors, this chair is a refreshing twist on the 250-year-old Louis XVI version, a court of Versailles staple that had a huge impact on furniture design. The backstory: French designer Starck, the man behind boutique hotels like the Delano, in Miami Beach, joined forces with Italian furniture manufacturer Kartell in 2002 to create this beauty, which is made by injecting molten plastic into a mold (so it has no seams). It resides in the Philadelphia Museum of Art's permanent collection.
Chicken and Mushrooms with Brown Rice
Ingredients
U.S.
Metric
Conversion chart
2 tablespoon(s) olive oil
1 1/4 pound(s) skinless, boneless chicken thighs
1 package(s) (10-ounce) sliced cremini mushrooms
2 medium stalks celery, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon(s) chopped fresh thyme leaves
1 can(s) (14- to 14 1/2-ounce) chicken broth
1 cup(s) instant brown rice
1/2 cup(s) dry white wine
1/4 teaspoon(s) salt
1/4 teaspoon(s) coarsely ground black pepper
8 baby summer squash, halved and steamed
U.S.
Metric
Conversion chart
2 tablespoon(s) olive oil
1 1/4 pound(s) skinless, boneless chicken thighs
1 package(s) (10-ounce) sliced cremini mushrooms
2 medium stalks celery, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon(s) chopped fresh thyme leaves
1 can(s) (14- to 14 1/2-ounce) chicken broth
1 cup(s) instant brown rice
1/2 cup(s) dry white wine
1/4 teaspoon(s) salt
1/4 teaspoon(s) coarsely ground black pepper
8 baby summer squash, halved and steamed
Blast Your Body
Just because beach days are dwindling doesn't mean your workout has to. These four total-body cardio blasts, designed by Kristin McGee (private trainer to LeAnn Rimes), burn fat and tone muscle head-to-toe. Do the moves in order with no break. That's one circuit.
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