Time To Plank Your Abs

Most women avoid taking up bodybuilding for they don't want to look like Arnold Schwarzenegger. Women Fitness brings you all the information on how by observing the habits, training, and eating pattern of a bodybuilder you can work wonders for yourself and jump-start your weight loss program. The key to any successful diet and exercise program is to burn off the fat while maintaining muscle and density-mass, which is a constant challenge for bodybuilders on diets.


Time to Plank Up your Abs

Performing solo crunches for building abs is like doing bench press, with no back or shoulder work. You stand a major chance of losing out on some fundamental strength gains, leading to an imbalanced and underdeveloped physique.


How to do Plank?

To start, come onto your hands and knees in table position. Make sure your arms are right under your shoulders and your fingers are pointing straight ahead. Now, walk your feet backwards in the formation, plank (high push up position). Make sure your  torso, hips and legs all in one line. Don’t let your hips drop or lift too high. Press your hands into the floor and lift up into your shoulders. Draw in your bellybutton towards your spine and stretch through your heels. Work up to holding for a slow count of 10. This exercise is good for your arms and upper body as well as your abs!

Master the basic front plank before moving on to more advanced variations, because it teaches the foundational cues that make all planking movements effective. Done consistently and correctly, it will confer strength benefits that improve your big lifts and general athleticism. On the other hand, poor formation can end up aggravating low back problems.


Note: If your upper body is challenged in this exercise, you can make it easier by coming onto your knees until you build the strength to perform it with your legs extended off the ground. Do not to shrug the shoulders toward your ears. If you do it right, your body should form a straight line from your head to your ankles.

Plank with a Variation

Plank with one leg off the ground
Start by coming onto your hands and knees in table position. Make sure your arms are right under your shoulders and your fingers are pointing straight ahead. Now walk your feet backwards into plank (high push up position). You want your torso, hips and legs all in one line- don’t let your hips drop or lift too high. Press your hands into the floor and lift up into your shoulders. Take your bellybutton towards your spine and stretch through your heels. Now lift your right leg off the ground so it is parallel to the floor. Hold for a slow count of 5 and then release your right foot to the floor. Repeat the exercise on your left side.

Body Saw
For the body saw, set up in a plank position but place your feet on a stability ball or in a suspension trainer. If you don't have those, you could try furniture sliding pads, or even just a pair of paper plates. Once you're in position, slowly begin moving your body forward and backward using your forearms. The movement will become much more difficult the farther your elbows are from the center of your body.

Plank with one leg

Start by coming onto your hands and knees in table position. Make sure your arms are right under your shoulders and your fingers are pointing straight ahead. Now walk your feet backwards into plank (high push up position). You want your torso, hips and legs all in one line- don’t let your hips drop or lift too high. Press your hands into the floor and lift up into your shoulders. Take your bellybutton towards your spine and stretch through your heels. Now extend your right leg directly out in front of you. Keep your hips level. Hold for a slow count of 5 and then release your right foot to the floor. Repeat the exercise on your left side.




Flying Plank
Start by coming onto your hands and knees in table position. Make sure your arms are right under your shoulders and your fingers are pointing straight ahead. Now walk your feet backwards into plank (high push up position). You want your torso, hips and legs all in one line- don’t let your hips drop or lift too high. Press your hands into the floor and lift up into your shoulders. Take your bellybutton towards your spine and stretch through your heels. Now lift your right leg off the ground so it is parallel to the floor and at the same time extend your left arm directly out in front of you. Keep your hips level. Hold for a slow count of 5 and then release your right foot to the floor and left hand to the floor. Repeat the exercise on you’re the other side with your left leg and right arm.


Side Plank Flip
From a plank position. Shift onto the outside edge of your left foot, and stack your right foot on top of the left. Now swing your right hand onto your right hip, turn your torso to the right as you do, and support the weight of your body on the outer left foot and left hand. Make sure that the supporting hand isn't directly below its shoulder; position the hand slightly in front of its shoulder, so the supporting arm is angled a bit relative to the floor. Straighten the arm by firming the triceps muscle, and press the base of the index finger firmly against the floor. Firm the scapulas and sacrum against the back torso. Strengthen the thighs, and press through the heels toward the floor. Align your entire body into one long diagonal line from the heels to the crown. If you'd like you can stretch the top arm toward the ceiling, parallel to the line of the shoulders. Keep the head in a neutral position, or turn it to gaze up at the top hand. Stay in this position for 15 to 30 seconds. Come down and relax.

These plank exercises allow for a greater ab-challenge, and can be done at home with a stability ball, foam roller and dumbbells.

Charlie Hunnam would had been the perfect Christian Grey!

I am so disappointed that Charlie Hunnam isn't staring in 50 shades of grey :(

Check Out This Body!

Mmmm So Fine

Hey, Miley, Suzanne Somers is having lots of sex

Earlier this week, Miley Cyrus said on "Today" that she's heard people over 40 "don't have sex anymore." Leave it to Suzanne Somers, 67, to correct the 20-year-old singer. The former "Three's Company" star told the ladies of "The Talk" that she and her husband of 36 years, Alan Hamel, 77, actually have sex "a couple times a day." Listen to your elders, Miley. And in case the pop star needs more proof that 40-and-up can also get down, here are a few other celebs who are sexy in their 60s.

"Show Miley What Sex and Sexiness Looks Like At Age 67 Suzanne & Do It With Class"

Charlie Hunnam Will Not Be portraying Christian Grey in the up coming 50 Shades of Grey Movie :(

Charlie Hunnam, the 33-year-old star of "Sons of Anarchy," will not play the role of Christian Grey in the upcoming "Fifty Shades of Grey" film, Universal Pictures said Saturday.

"The filmmakers of 'Fifty Shades of Grey' and Charlie Hunnam have agreed to find another male lead given Hunnam's immersive TV schedule which is not allowing him time to adequately prepare for the role of Christian Grey," Universal said in a statement.

Hunnam was due to play the male lead in the film, set to debut August 1, 2014. He said he agreed to do the film because of "tangible chemistry" with co-star Dakota Johnson.
 He's out as Christian Grey

The film is based on E.L. James' erotic novel about an inexperienced college student named Anastasia Steele, played by Johnson, who gets an education at the hands of billionaire Grey.

The movie is being directed by Sam Taylor-Johnson.

Who do you want to replace Charlie Hunnam as Christian Grey?

FDA Removing Arsenic from Chicken

Years after studies showed arsenic in our food, nearly all uses of arsenic in U.S. agriculture are coming to an end.

In the second high-profile move on arsenic in the food supply in recent months, the Food and Drug Administration has announced it will remove three arsenic-containing drug types used to treat food animals, most notably chickens. Altogether, the three drugs were used in 101 formulations as feed additives.

The move follows its study of arsenic in rice, which found: there is arsenic in rice, but not at levels that should concern most consumers, according to the FDA.

This latest move on arsenic in the food supply will result in an almost total elimination of arsenic from animal feed. The manufacturers of the three drugs indicated to the FDA that they wanted the approvals withdrawn after receiving questions about arsenic in the food supply from the FDA, prompted by the Center for Food Safety's 2009 petition to remove arsenic from animal feed. They had already "largely removed" them from the market after studies showed arsenic in the food supply, according to Center for Food Safety, but this FDA decision formalized the decision.

Arsenic has been used in feed in the U.S. since the 1940s to induce faster weight gain on less feed, and create the perceived appearance of a healthy color in meat from chickens, turkeys and hogs. Arsenic was found at detectable levels in samples of meat purchased in grocery stores.

The remains one drug outside of this FDA action, now used in approximately 3% of cases, that still contains arsenic. The Center for Food Safety argues that the arsenic is directly toxic to animals and humans, and can be transformed into a form that is cancer-causing inside chickens, in manure-treated soil and in humans.

“The withdrawal of these harmful feed additives is a major victory for consumers and the health of our food system. It is unfortunate that legal pressure from outside groups was necessary to spur action by FDA, yet in the end, we are pleased that FDA listened to our scientific objections and is now working to rid arsenic from our meat supply,” said Paige Tomaselli, senior attorney with Center for Food Safety.

Consumers who choose organic chicken should have avoided much of the fuss. If any arsenic is found in organic chicken, it's likely because arsenic is present in the soils where those chicken are raised--not because the chickens were fed it, as was common on U.S. conventional chicken farms.

One drug containing arsenic, used to treat a potentially fatal disease in farmed turkeys, is still on the market.

How to Make 10 Natural Beauty Products

Make your own beauty products to keep harmful chemicals off of your skin. Homemade creams, soaps and other products can be just as luxurious and fragrant as their commercial counterparts but you can avoid artificial chemicals – and the headache of dealing with all that packaging waste.

Although beauty products don't have to list their ingredients, they often contain pthalates, formaldehyde, parabens and other chemicals that have been shown to harm animals in lab tests, and which are being phased out in Europe in favor of less toxic alternatives. Prenatal exposure to pthalates, for example, has been linked to liver and kidney damage and effects on baby boys' reproductive organs, and the chemical has been implicated in male obesity. The CDC found the potentially harmful sunscreen ingredient oxybenzone in 97% of Americans tested.

Plus, you don't want any nasty stuff getting into our fragile waterways, do you? That's what happens when cosmetics and personal care products are washed down the drain. Frogs and aquatic life are highly susceptible to damage from even minute contamination.

Why not get beautiful in less risky ways? Remember that many of these recipes can be put into reusable containers — which can also be decorated and given as unique, homemade gifts.

Mayonnaise-Baby Oil Dry Skin Treatment
Makes 1 application

2 tablespoons real mayonnaise
1 teaspoon baby oil

> Combine both ingredients.
> Smooth onto face, neck, rough elbows and knees or anywhere else you feel might benefit from it.
> Leave for 20 minutes.
> Rinse off thoroughly with tepid water.

Honey-Avocado Invigorating and Revitalizing Hair Treatment
Makes 1 application

1 medium avocado — peeled and stoned
2 tablespoons honey

> Mash together the ingredients in a small bowl.
> Massage into hair.
> Leave for 20-30 minutes.
> Wash hair as usual.

Tightening/Toning Lemon Egg White Mask
Makes 1 application

Juice from 1/2 a lemon (strained)
1 egg white

> Beat together the egg white and lemon juice for 3 minutes.
> Apply directly to your face, avoiding the eyes.
> Leave on for 30 minutes.
> Rinse off with warm water.

Vegetable Oil Nail Strengthener
Makes 20-30 applications

2 tsp castor oil
2 tsp salt
1 tsp wheat germ oil

> Pour all ingredients into a sealable bottle.
> Before each use shake well.
> Rub a small amount of the mixture onto your nails.
> Leave on for 3-5 minutes.
> Wipe off with a cotton pad.

Honey-Cocoa Butter Lip Balm
Makes 100 applications

2 tbls. olive oil
1/2 tsp. honey
3/4 tsp. beeswax — grated
1/2 tsp. pure cocoa butter
Flavored oil of your choice (like peppermint or vanilla)
1 vitamin E capsule

> In a small saucepan, heat oil, honey, wax and butter over a low heat until just melted.
> Remove from heat and allow to cool for 2-3 minutes.
> Stir in flavoring and contents of vitamin E capsule.
> Pour into containers of your choice.

The Ultimate Sea Salt Body Scrub
Makes multiple applications

1 cup course sea salt
1/2 cup baby oil

> Stir the ingredients together in a bowl and put into a screw top jar.
> Leave for 24 hours.
> Stir the mixture and apply to any areas of the body you wish to exfoliate.
> Massage into the skin for a few minutes then shower off.
> Pat your skin dry.

Revitalizing Face Mask with Egg White, Cucumber and Avocado
Makes 1 application

1/2 cup chopped cucumber
1/2 cup chopped avocado
1 egg white
2 tsp. powdered milk

Combine all of the ingredients in a blender until they form a smooth paste.
Apply the mask to your face and neck using circular upward movements.
Leave the mask on for 30 minutes, or until dry.
Rinse your face and neck with warm water and finish with a cold water rinse.
This mask will keep up to 30 minutes in the refrigerator if you need to prepare it slightly in advance.

Brown Sugar Hand Softener
Makes 1 treatment

1/4 cup course brown sugar
Baby oil to make into a paste

> Mix together.
> Using a hand washing motion apply the mixture to the hands.
> Continue the washing motion for a minute then rinse off with warm water and pat dry.

Peach and Egg White Firming Spa Mask
Makes 1 application

1 ripe peach — peeled and stoned
1 egg white

> Whip peach and egg white together in a blender till smooth.
> Gently pat mixture over face.
> Leave on for 30 minutes.
> Rinse off with cool water.

End-of-Day Foot Spa
Good for one home pedicure.

1/2 cup Epsom salts
Essential oils of your choice

> Fill either a foot bath or your bath tub to ankle height with warm water.
> Dissolve 1/2 cup Epsom salts in the warm water and add the essential oil of your choice (lavender, rosewood, patchouli and sandalwood are relaxing oils, while lemongrass and eucalyptus are uplifting)
> Soak for 10-15 minutes. Pat dry and moisturize.

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD LOOK BEAUTIFUL EVEN ON A BUDGET..

♥ ENJOY LADIES ♥ 

SPEAKING OF THE LITTLE BLACK DRESS

HOW COOL IS THIS? 

WHAT THIEF WOULD THINK TO LOOK AMONG 

A WOMAN'S DRESSES TO FIND HER JEWELRY?