Number 10
Reaching crunch on ball
Instructions: Sit on a Swiss ball with your feet shoulder-width apart on the floor. Lean back, so that your back is almost parallel to the floor. Straighten your arms and point them toward the ceiling. Contract your abs, as you would for a crunch, while you reach for the ceiling with your fingertips. Hold the contracted position for three seconds. Slowly lower yourself back to the starting position. Do 10 reps.
Number 9
Twist and crunch
Instructions: Place a mat on the floor and lie down on your back, with your hands by your ears and your legs perpendicular to the floor. Twist your hips slightly by contracting your left oblique muscles; hold that position. Using your abs, bring your right elbow across your body to the outside of your left knee. Slowly return to the starting position. Repeat the movement on your right side. Do 10 reps.
Number 8
Russian twist
Instructions: Sit on a decline bench, with your legs firmly under the pads. Lean back slightly, so that your thighs and torso form a 90° angle. Extend your arms in front of you, so that they form a 90° with your torso, and clasp your hands together. Keeping your back straight, your chest out and your arms straight, make a semi-circle with your arms. With your abs flexed, move as far as you can from right to left and left to right, and do the motion as quickly as you can without sacrificing proper form or range of motion. Work your way up to 60 seconds of continuous movement.
Number 7
Hip raise/leg raise
Instructions: Lie down on a flat bench with your legs up and perpendicular to the bench (hold the bench behind your head for stability). Lift your hips slightly off the bench by contracting your lower abs, hold for three seconds, and lower your hips. Keep your back flat on the bench, your legs straight and lower your legs until they almost form a straight line with the rest of your body. Hold for a count of three and bring them back to the starting position. Do 10 reps.
Number 6
Woodchop
Instructions: Add some weight (try 25 pounds) to a multipurpose pulley machine and grasp the handle attachment at shoulder height with your left hand. Square yourself to the machine and take a few steps to the right (away from the machine) until there is sufficient tension. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, bring your right arm across your body, and clasp your hands together while holding the handle. Keeping your arms straight and at shoulder-height, use your abs to bring your arms across your body, as though you were making a woodchopping motion. Bring them back to the starting position. Do 10 reps on each side for the excellent core workout.
Number 5
Jackknife
Instructions: Place a mat on the floor, lie down on your back and extend your arms above your head. Simultaneously lift your arms and legs toward the ceiling, until your fingertips touch your toes (if you can). Slowly return to the starting position. Do 10 reps.
Number 4
Windshield wipers
Instructions: Place a mat on the floor and lie on on your back with your arms in the "T" position for stability. Lift your legs so that they are perpendicular to the floor and rotate your hips, keeping them in contact with the floor, so that your legs move from left to right, in a "windshield wiper" motion. Make sure to move in a slow and controlled manner. Do 10 reps.
Number 3
Reverse crunch
Instructions: Lie down on a bench with your knees bent and your upper legs at a 90° angle with your torso; grab the bench above your head for stability. Use your ab muscles to pull your knees toward your chest until they reach your elbows. Hold the crunch position for three seconds and return to the starting position. Do 10 reps.
Number 2
Side crunch on ball
Instructions: Firmly place your right hip on a Swiss ball and lean into the ball; ensure that your torso is off the ball. Support yourself by pressing the soles of your feet against the bottom of a wall. Place your hands by your ears, and contract your left oblique muscles, lifting your torso up as far as you can. Hold for three seconds and release. Do 10 reps and repeat on the opposite side.
Number 1
Front plank on ball
Instructions: Rest your elbows on a flat bench and the balls of your feet on an exercise ball. Contract your abs so that your body is parallel to the floor and there is no dip in your lower back. Hold the plank position for 60 seconds.
A new Gallup poll shows that 67% of Americans feel now is a "good time" to buy a house -- similar to the 72% of April 2010 and the 71% of April 2009. The findings, from a Gallup poll conducted Jan. 7-9, 2011, suggest Americans are holding on to perceptions of a buyer's market despite the challenges of securing financing and observers' concerns about the potential for a housing "double-dip."
Overall, there is good reason for most Americans to think now is a good time to buy a house. Interest rates remain near historic lows. Home prices are down sharply, providing many incredible buys. There is a huge supply of unsold homes and more to come as home foreclosures hit record highs -- suggesting that the bargains could get even better as the year unfolds.
It should be noted that today's perceptions that now is a good time to buy a house are based on significantly different housing market conditions than prevailed in 2003-2005. During that prior period, the timing was good to buy a home because 70% of Americans thought home prices were going higher, the housing finance system made financing relatively easy, and one could routinely sell one's current home at a good profit.
In retrospect, the sharp decline in housing price expectations from 2007 to 2008 may have been a good indication that many Americans saw the now-infamous housing bubble forming in their local markets before many observers recognized it on the national scene. In this regard, Americans' subdued expectations on whether local-market housing prices will increase this year might indicate that housing still has a way to go before it recovers.
A Broken Housing Finance Market Provides Careful Buying Opportunities
Today, the housing finance system is broken and works in favor of cash buyers and buyers with perfect credit. The collapse and government takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac created a government-run housing finance system dominated by these two fully federalized agencies, together with the FHA/VA. The current housing market is thus effectively limited to potential buyers who can meet the loan qualifications of these housing finance entities or who have enough money to buy without a loan. Further, even qualified buyers are often limited by the need to find a buyer who can meet the same conditions to purchase their current home. As a result, although many feel this is a good time to buy, relatively few can take advantage of the situation.
However, this new Gallup poll also suggests that even Americans who can take advantage of current housing conditions to buy a home at a great price should be careful. One doesn't need to believe national housing prices will fall another 20% or anticipate another sharp housing decline -- a so-called housing double-dip -- to feel it necessary to exercise caution when buying in today's housing market. One in four Americans say they expect home prices in their communities to decline in 2011. And in a separate question, Gallup finds an even greater 42% who are worried that their own house will lose value -- another troubling sign for potential buyers and for the housing outlook overall.
Given these uncertainties, potential home buyers might want to avoid thinking about a home purchase right now as an investment. Because both the U.S. housing finance system and, most likely, the structure of the housing market are likely to change significantly during the years ahead, it may at best be a "good time" for Americans to buy a home as a place to live.
Everyone knows staying in shape is hard, but if you apply these five tips, you might survive this holiday weekend without tipping the scales.
Taking the time to do what is necessary to stay fit can be a serious pain, especially on your day off. But if you apply these five tips for staying in shape during this Labor Day weekend, you may find that the rest of your week, and possibly year, will go a lot smoother.
- Work out over the weekend.
This bit of advice is probably the most likely to be ignored, and the last thing anyone wants to do on a holiday weekend. But one of the biggest complaints people have about working out is finding the time. A three-day weekend is a perfect opportunity to catch up, or work ahead on exercise, as it offers a day off between work outs if you work out every other day (as you should). Having to exercise after working all day is something that almost no one wants to do, so use this precious time to crank out a little cardio now, so you don’t have to do it during the week.
- Don’t go crazy with the food.
There is something about holidays, even ones that are devoid of any association with food or indulgence, that make people want to eat truckloads of fatty foods. A study conducted by health psychology researchers Raymond C. Baker and Daniel S. Kirschenbaum found that when they monitored the weight fluctuations of 36 women and six men, the subjects gained 500 percent more weight over the holidays I’m not saying don’t eat; just don’t eat enough to become 500 percent fatter.
Many studies, including one conducted by the University of California in 2007, link weight gain to stress. So it logically follows that the less stressed you are, the easier it’s going to be to avoid overeating. Getting ahead on your work before the weekend arrives means you won’t have to suffer the crunch of the four-day work week that will inevitably follow the holiday. This will also help to keep your mind off of work so you can enjoy yourself.
- Take it easy on the sauce.
It’s no secret that most people do their drinking on the weekends. And the longer the weekend is, the more drinking that’s likely to occur. Alcoholic beverages can have pretty high calorie counts depending on what you’re drinking. A single 12-ounce bottle of most beers will run you 100 calories and one shot of distilled liquor can hover around the same. And no one ever stops with only one shot or bottle of beer. Pick out one day during the weekend to go nuts, but lay off after that. You can still get plastered (if that's what you're into) and you’ll likely drink significantly less than if you drank moderately every day of the weekend.
If you are just beginning a weight loss regime, no matter what time of year it is, it’s important to remember that there’s no such thing as fast results. With perseverance, the weight will come off, if indeed that is what you’re trying to accomplish. But don’t starve yourself or completely deprive yourself of things you enjoy or you will fail. In fact, if you have already been on a weight loss program for a while, the Labor Day weekend might just be the perfect time to give yourself a break and cheat a little.
At the end of the day, nobody needs a six-pack. But even if you aren’t dieting, watching what you eat over the holidays will help you keep from gaining a lot of weight in the long run. Be happy, be healthy and enjoy your holiday weekend.
