On the surface it’s pretty safe to say that high heels have killer looks accompanied by killer medical issues. The first part of that statement is true, however the health issues regarding pumps are rooted more in myth than fact. Research has shown high heels are not the body killers that many think they are.To the contrary the 3 major medical myths sur-rounding pumps are being questioned and for good reason—because with a little scrutiny they have been proven false.Myth 1 Heels lead to back problems. This may be true for women who are predis-posed to back problems but not so for women without a history of back ailments who wear heels in moderation.Myth 2 Heels cause back stiffness. Stiffness is the result of poor posture. Wearing high heels actually improves posture by balanc-ing body weight.Myth 3 Heels cause muscle strain. Overstressing muscles comes from being in the same heels everyday. Wearing heels with differ-ent heights will remedy the overstressing and build stronger leg and pelvic muscles.The fact is, high heels—when worn in modera-tion—can improve posture and build muscle in key areas valued by women. Pelvic muscles get a workout because the foot is forced into a certain angle by the shape of the shoe. Women rely on the pelvic muscles for many things, including better sexual performance. The idea that this performance might be improved by wearing high heels is certainly an added benefit to an already sexy looking shoe.

Running shoe technology has come a long way and so has the marketing campaigns at selling stuff we really don’t need. Is the design of the foot so inept that it needs man-made technol-ogy to succeed in its primary function—human propulsion?The state-of-the-art (expensive, too) running shoe offers gel cushioning, arch stability, and motion control options. Niceties for better per-formance, Really? What about all those Kenyan runners who can’t afford an expensive pair of shoes until they make their country’s running team?Gel cushioning is over hyped. When the foot strikes the ground it is searching for a firm, stable surface to land on. The reason for the gel sole is because so many people run incorrectly landing on their heels and not on the balls of their feet.Arch stability, a major selling point in the shoe industry is a crutch for a society with weak arches. The human arch is made to be strong and supportive. Modern man has atrophied the arch by encasing it in shoes with way too much arch support, preventing the real arch from doing its job.Motion stability is for people with flat feet, a shoe with an enhanced arch can make for better pronation. Pronation is the natural movement of the foot when running, landing on the outer edge and rolling towards the large toe as it pushes off. Only consider this option if your foot looks like Donald Duck’s.The bottom line here, is to buy a moderately-priced running shoe, one that has the best fit for your foot. Run with good form and proper foot strikes to move you forward.

We need to talk is probably the most dreaded phrase known to men. This introduction is the tip of a huge metaphorical iceberg large enough to destroy an ocean liner the size of Titanic. The iceberg as you may have already guessed represents an issue or issues that a woman has with a man. On the other hand, most men tend to remain silent regarding problems they have with women, unloading their issues only when cornered by the phrase, “we need to talk,” and thus, an argument begins.Arguments are a part of the relationship package and the absence of arguing indicates a serious breakdown in communication. However, this type of communication should have a set of rules that must be followed to avoid hurtfulness. Before the rules are laid out lets examine why people argue.Arguments occur because the significant needs of one person comes into conflict with the significant needs of the other person.Arguments occur because significant anxieties or concerns by one partner are not communicated effectively to the other partner, or rather, are communicated in a way that the other partner’s own anxieties or concerns are heightened.At the heart of a major disagreement is usually something of importance, the problem is that poor communication hinders the important aspects from being heard. Once the gloves come off both partners stop listening and start getting defensive because they are being attacked, just as they are doing some attacking.The trick is to stop vocalizing the various feel-ings, resentments and past grievances and shift to a non-judgemental listening mode. This is

A common problem with couples is growing apart which then leads to, we never seem do anything together, eventually culminating in a flatline relationship. The cure is to rediscover the common interests that formed the initial bond in the first place.Finding things to do as a couple has never been easier. Plan a date night with your mate by surfing the internet together once a week. It has been said that 85% of pleasure is the anticipation beforehand.

Relationship Makes or BreaksMust do…Honesty is the best policy. Lying ultimately will lead to a not so happy end-ing. With Facebook, Twitter, and Google, a click here and there reveals plenty of personal history.Open up like an onion. Use a layering approach to gradually open up to a person. Overwhelming someone with a life story destroys the excitement of the getting to know you better phase. Allow your potential partner to only peel back one layer of your life story at a time.Be confident in conversation. Confidence should not be confused with ar-rogance. Share a personal tale of success but then back off and let the other person take the stage to share a tale of their own.Look for red flags. Take off the rose colored glasses and pay atten-tion to your little voice when it says this sounds to good to be true. Trust your life experiences to avoid learning a lesson again.Realistic expectations, please. Just look in the mirror and truly size up the per-son looking back at you. Perfection is possessed by no man or woman so avoid hypercritical critiques of someone’s features and consider an individual’s personality as well as their physical attributes.Don’t do… Don’t post a misleading photo. A popular way to meet new people is an internet dating site. The most obvious pitfall is false ad-vertising by a person regarding their image. It is very tempting to use a less than accurate picture of oneself in this age of home digital enhance-ments. Eventually a face to face meeting is the natural progression, so play fair with a current non-Photoshopped image.Apologies are a huge turn off. Don’t be sorry for not having the shiny Mercedes or the big mansion. Attracting materialistic people is better left to the pros in Hollywood. Stay away from overhauls. A change of color on a wall doesn’t alter the molecular structure of the wall. Likewise, if there is a special someone who loves country music and you cringe at the sound of it, the best thing to do is stay true to your style. Trying new things can be fun, but a self induced makeover or brain-washing most likely will lead to resentment later.

very hard, and sometimes will take the interven-tion of a trained therapist to help you learn how to do this quickly, before anger creates irreparable scars.

Weightless WorkoutsBy Steve Miljat

Some folks are born gym rats who gleefully attend a health club on a regular basis. But that is not the norm, as most people would rather visit their dentist than workout with a personal trainer. Getting in shape doesn’t require a gym with instructors—and the truth is, expensive exercise equipment isn’t even necessary!Basic training exercises used by the military to get raw recruits fit for combat are primarily body weight routines such as pushups and chin-ups, combined with endurance training like running. If the U.S. armed forces, which likes to spend billions of dollars on the latest and greatest gizmos, believes in good old fashion’ calisthenics then so should you. Only 20–40 minutes a day, 3 three days a week, can transform a sluggish metabolism into a calorie burning machine in approxi-mately 3 months.Let’s say Monday, Wednesday, and Friday are the days you choose to exercise. Then Tuesday, Thursday, Sat-urday and Sunday are off days. Consistency is very im-portant to get results, especially during the first month as you establish your exercise routine. Persistence will be rewarded as your body changes become evident to everyone.Minimal lag time between sets is what really makes this system fly. A 30–60 second rest period between sets is optimal for fat burning. Keeping a highly elevated heart rate during anaerobic exercise recruits fat cells (stored energy) for the needed energy to perform the task. A good barometer for doing this routine correctly is sweat. Raising the body temperature indicates that calories are being used to fuel the muscles being employed.Weightless exercise makes a lot of sense, less risk of injury, they can be done with a partner or group, and no gym!Combine one upper body exercise with one lower body exercise and one core exercise. Change out exercises and don’t quit on a challenging ex-ercise.Upper Body Pushups, Incline Pushups, Decline PushupsLower Body Body Squats, Forward Lunges,

Complete a set and then rest 30 seconds between each set.Day One: do workout A and then rest on Day Two. Day Three: do workout B and then rest on Day Four.

Day Five: do workout C and then rest on Days Six and Seven.

WORKOUTA

BODY SQUATS 4 sets, 8 –12 repetitions

INCLINE PUSHUPS 5 sets, 15–20 Repetitions

PLANKS 3 sets, hold for 45 seconds

WORKOUTB

FORWARD LUNGES 3 sets per leg 8–12 repetitions

PUSHUPS 5 sets, 15–20 Repetitions

KNEE RAISES 3 sets per leg 8–12 repetitions

WORKOUTC

REAR LUNGES 5 sets, 15–20 Repetitions

DECLINE PUSHUPS 5 sets, 15–20 Repetitions

SHADOW BOXING 10 minutes

Fish Oil UpdateNot All Omegas Are Created EqualThe health benefits of fish oil include the ability to aid in the treatment of heart diseases, high cholesterol, depression, diabetes, arthritis, Alzheimer’s disease, cancer and macular degen-eration. It also helps in weight loss, pregnancy, fertility and skin care.Buying a bottle of fish oil for the first time can be overwhelming in the marketplace. So here are the important things to search out to receive the health benefits from this fix all supplement.Make sure the bottle has PURE on it, otherwise the oil may be contaminated with mercury and a bevy of other harmful toxic compounds.Buy quick-release 1000 mg soft gel capsules. Consum-ing 3000 mg a day is recommended. Take one capsule before eating a meal but skip it if you are having a meal of wild caught fish. Finally, look for a manufacturer that adds Vitamin E to their oil. Fish oil with the addition of Vitamin E keeps your pills fresh and free radical free.

Energy BoostLooking for an effective caffeine boost without chugging down diet colas or cups of coffee? Here’s your answer, 5-hour Energy. A two-ounce bottle really delivers that needed boost to get you over the hump at work or as a pre workout kick in the ass. With 5-hour Energy, you don’t crash, as you do from popular energy drinks. An added bonus are the amino acids, B vitamins and no sugar.

Organic foods are higher in antioxidants and other nutrients because organic farmers nourish the soil more so than conventional farmers. Also no persistent pesticides are used. These harmful pesticides are designed to kill living organisms and accumulate in our cells. No synthetic growth and breeding hormones are given to animals, reducing human exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals.NUTRITION AND HEALTHDrinking milk from organically raised cows not only tastes better than conventional milk, it has signifi-cantly higher levels of Vitamin E, Omega 3, beta carotene and other antioxidants. Eating organic foods promotes healthy cell division, establishing a groundwork for a healthy endocrine, immune system and other metabolic development. The reason is the elimination of 180 pesticides from the organic farm.USDA ORGANIC SEALHere are the requirements to place a USDA Organic label on a product: Prohibit the use of irradiation, sewage sludge, or genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in organic production.Prohibit the use of antibiotics and synthetic hormones in organic meat and poultry.

Only 100% organic feed for organic livestock.

Body art has become a very common practice for individuals who wish to express themselves in a creative fashion. Before you begin searching for design inspiration, it is more important to find the right body art establishment to get the job done correctly and of course, safely.Not all body shops are created equal. Noting the reputation and professionalism of the shop and its employees is great starting point. Sometimes, the individual talents of certain technicians set the tone for the shop as a whole. Obviously, word of mouth from peers is the most credible

source of information. When doing online research about any body shop, take each

review with a grain of salt. Smart busi-nesses will utilize online review sites to maximize their online presence, and misguided consumers fall prey to these bandwagon campaigns.Every reputable establishment will

offer potential clients easy access to their licenses, testimonials, and other

credentials that will help them feel more at ease before the needle hits the skin. Each state offers different body art licensing programs so that each body shop has verification of credentials to show to their customers. Before any state’s Department of Health will grant a body art technician license, the applicant must demon-strate proof of experience that can range from a minimum of 200 to 2000 hours of supervised work. They must also provide proof of training in the prevention of disease, infection control, and antiseptic techniques.

Once your research results in a list of possibili-ties, it’s time to pay each shop a personal visit. Although a book can never be judged by its cover, a qualified business will appear well main-tained, orderly, and clean. The staff should exude professionalism. Take a look at their portfolio to see if their work on past clients looks acceptable to your taste. If the shop’s credentials, techni-cians, and reputation exceed your standards, then it’s time to work with your chosen body shop to let your body do the talking!

It’s notoriously difficult to get two people to agree on certain things especially if they see their partner as an adversary. The goal is to talk in a non-blaming way and that includes not blaming oneself. That’s why the blame game is absolutely counter productive to restoring a harmonious relationship. Your bruised feelings are bothering you creating anxiety and tension within the relationship, so how does one show the offending party the picture you see without starting a hurtful non-constructive argument.Learning how to fight fairly probably seems like a defeatist game plan to many but the contrary

is true. Having set rules and guidelines will help keep the discussion on point, preventing an escalation of emotions.Address issues sooner than latter, let your part-ner know something is bothering you.Don’t assume your partner premeditated the offense against you.Write out what you plan to say, this will aid in using diplomacy.Present only the issue at hand and don’t dredge up old problems.Talk in a calm non-accusing tone, staying on point, avoiding repetitive ranting.Refrain from saying defensive, insensitive, and other descriptive adjectives.Don’t interrupt your partner when he or she is making a point.

Make one point at a time—rapid fire bullet pointing is like using a verbal machine gun.Listen to what is being said with empathy.The saying rules are made to be broken can-not be applied to a set of rules formed with trust. Forging out these rules are necessary for staying on track before the communication begins toward resolving differences. Be truthful about the concerns, careful deconstruction is a prerequisite when laying a new foundation for a relationship worth fighting for.

KRISTINA SAMS