The Two Fitness Stalwarts
By Jeff Brendon
With the advent of a number of new home-use fitness equipment, the market is almost overflowing with brands that claim to work best for you. Products that claim to give you weight loss in just 10 days and free trials for just ‘getting an experience’ or to ‘get into the groove’ are often fake products or probable scams so don’t fall for them. Home-fitness equipment is the correct term, not home-gym and the Air Climber Fitness Stepper has currently become synonymous to the new-age home-fitness equipment. With the immense benefits that this equipment offers, it would not be wrong if we call it a revolution in the fitness world.
The innovator
The name behind the Air climber Fitness Stepper is Brenda Dygraf. She is a former American Aerobics Champion who has been into the fitness industry since years. She has designed and developed a number of fitness products but the Air Climber Fitness Stepper is one of her best-selling products. She has developed, designed and conceptualized the Air Climber and takes pride in promoting it through various mediums. She has designed the Air climber so as to give you easy home-based workouts at an affordable cost and with gym-like efficiency. She has taken into view a very important point: that of not causing you pain or strain during exercising and that is the reason she thought of the Air Power Technology.
The equipment
The Air Climber Fitness Stepper is a trendy piece of fitness equipment that is designed to give you gym-like workouts at home. Even the most cynical of people now agree that it does give you gym-like workouts, try it yourself if you don’t believe it. The Fitness stepper allows you to tone different muscle groups of your body and you can even increase the resistance levels and the intensity of your workouts can be increased-decreased when required. The Air Climber can help you tone your calf muscles, legs, thighs, buttocks, upper and lower back, midriff region, shoulders, arms, biceps, triceps and abs.
The components
The Air Climber comes with two pedals, under which, are inflatable bellows. So when you step on one pedal, the other bellow gets inflated by air and this process gets repeated every time you step on the pedals. The Stepper comes with a knob, located on the center of the platform, which allows you to set your resistance levels. The stepper also comes with two additional detachable cords that can be attached when you want to do upper body exercises. Also, you will get an instructional DVD, through which, you can learn about new exercises that you can do with the stepper. You also get a user guide in order to help you use the equipment in the right way.
The working
The Air Climber fitness stepper works on a unique technology known as the Air Power Technology (APT). This technology uses the power of air to power your workouts. The hydraulic system used in some conventional fitness equipment is replaced by the APT in the fitness stepper. So, when you step on a pedal, the bellow below that pedal compresses and the air stored in the bellow gets transferred to the other bellow, inflating it. Depending on the resistance level set by you, the pressure that you need to exert to compress a bellow increases/decreases.
How to Prevent Common Inner Ear Problems
By John Currie
Sadly, many inner ear problems cannot be successfully treated. For instance, presbycusis or Meniere’s disease cannot be cured but can only be addressed through alleviating techniques. Many cases of inner ear disorders can be prevented though.
1. Avoiding loud noise is the best way to avoid noise-induced hearing loss, whose number of cases has been rising in years. There is no denying that exposure to loud noise is, indeed, the reason why many people succumb to loss of hearing at some point in their lives. Damage to the delicate hair cells in the cochlea is the result of too much exposure to noise. The damage cannot be repaired-damaged hair cells don’t heal themselves. As a result, noise-induced hearing loss is incurable. Experts also believe that age-related hearing loss may also be due to cumulative noise exposure.
2. Stop using hydrogen peroxide to remove earwax or cure infection in the ears. Studies have shown that this compound can affect the function of the inner ear and may even damage it. Go to your doctor for proper treatment of earwax impaction or ear infection. Do not self medicate.
3. Learn that some medications can cause inner ear problems. These drugs are called ototoxic medications. NSAIDs, some chemotherapy drugs, loop diuretics, and some antibiotics have been classified as ototoxic. They cause gradual damage to the ears and may make one suffer from tinnitus and hearing loss in the long run. Report to your doctor any loss of hearing or perception of tinnitus after taking a medication. Excessive dependence on ototoxic drugs may cause permanent hearing damage according to doctors.
4. Go to your doctor if you notice changes in your hearing, if you think your hearing has become muffled, and if people complain that you are turning the television too loud for them. You might have developed mild hearing loss. If you work in noisy factories, have your hearing assessed every year.
5. Give your ears a rest! If you have spent several days staying in disco pubs or listening to loud music, you have to spend a good time being in a low noise environment. This allows your ears to recover from the strain of constant loud noise exposure.
6. Vertigo is a common symptom of vestibular disorders. If you frequently suffer from bouts of dizziness or vertigo, set an appointment with your doctor. Tinnitus is another common symptom of inner ear problems, such as hearing loss, so do not hesitate to go to an audiologist for hearing assessment. Many people with tinnitus have hearing loss, so opt for hearing assessment if you have tinnitus.
Depression And Grief And Bereavement
By Rose White Young
Bereavement is an inevitable part of life. Usually bereavement is associated with a loss of a loved one, may it be an immediate family member, a friend or even a colleague. The death of someone close to our heart brings sadness as well as pain. The severity of emotional pain, loneliness, or trauma of losing this person can lead to intense grief. Grief and bereavement are interrelated in such a way that both emotions can lead to depression.
The death of a loved one brings different emotions such as disbelief, anger, guilt, sadness, painful yearning with the deceased and unable to function physically and socially. These are the same emotions experienced by a person in grief. The degree of sadness and pain brought upon by this loss to an individual may vary depending on how close the relationship is with the deceased.
The period of grief often referred to as mourning usually lasts for at least six months to two years with varying degrees. However, it can often take longer.
As time goes by, the emotional trauma brought upon by this death of a loved one should lessen. It is true that time heals all wounds. There may be scars, but the pain is lesser.
There are cases wherein grief brought upon bereavement so intense may lead to depression. A person may grieve over a death of a loved one but not necessarily mean suffering depression. They can feel the sadness and anguish over the loss but can cope. Those persons at risk of depression often experience pensive sadness, no appetite resulting to weight loss, constant crying, sleep problems, lack of motivation and inability to function normally which includes going to work and refusal to make any social interaction. When the bereaved person remembers the happiness shared with the deceased, the sadness and longing may become more excruciatingly painful. A feeling of worthlessness sets in because of this loss, thus suicidal tendencies may come with the depression.
The best treatment possibly for a person suffering depression due to bereavement is having a support system. In this support system, immediate family members of the deceased should accept the fact that death is a part of life. It is not the end of everything. Each and everyone should have confidence that life goes on. Death of a loved one does not mean there is no chance for any happiness for those left behind. Cooperation of every member of the family is necessary to make a recovery from the loss. Mind is powerful enough to change a person’s life, thus positive thinking will be of great help in recovery from the bereavement.
But in reality it is so difficult to accept that time is a healer when you have just lost a loved one. I think it is unnecessary to tell someone who has just lost a loved one that time will heal all their problems. I think it is the last thing anyone wants to hear after a recent loss. Empathy for a person’s situation is far more beneficial. The best support you can give someone who has lost a loved one is offer support and listen to what they have to say. Do not try to fix their problem, after all it is unfix able because their loved one is lost forever to death.
I also think that acceptance of death comes to a person when they are ready and able and telling a person to accept their situation is cruel. I totally understand that grief and bereavement can cause depression and can be life threatening. For that reason it is always best to encourage the bereaved to talk to a medical professional if they are unable to talk to family and friends.