Are Hoodia Gordonii Diet Pills The Best Diet Pills?

by: Zane Quincy Johnson

You've undoubtedly heard about Hoodia Gordonii, or seen it somewhere. Maybe on TV or the internet. Maybe you've even noticed it in other diet pills.

Have you ever wondered what Hoodia is all about?

Let's explore a few things about Hoodia.Hoodia Gordonii (or Hoodia Gordoni as it's sometimes referred to) comes from the Hoodia Gordonii plant. It's also sometimes referred to as the hoodia cactus plant. It grows in the South African Kalahari desert.

It's been used for, literally, for hundreds of years as an appetite suppressant by the San tribe of South Africa.It was eaten by the San tribe during famine to avoid excessive thirst and hunger. They would also eat it on journeys where there would be very little food available to avoid becoming too hungry or thirsty.

It has since been discovered that hoodia pills work by the presence of the P57 molecule. The P57 molecule 'tricks' the brain into thinking you're full. With a natural feeling of fullness, your desire to eat is lessened, and your daily caloric intake is reduced.

A few reasons why the hoodia pill should be considered in a weight loss program:

- For those who eat from an emotional need, Hoodia Gordonii is a great answerWhen taking Hoodia, because of the feeling of fullness it provides, most people say they do not have a desire for food. Some have even reported they don't think about food or eating.

For these people, weight gain can be more from eating because of boredom, or even emotional needs, instead of actually being hungry. If you feel full and satisfied, it's easier to both make healthier food choices, and eat less.This will certainly contribute to overall vitality and health.

- The higher quality hoodia pills contain natural ingredients. Actually, the highest qualify pills contain pure hoodia, without any binders, fillers, caffeine, or chemicals.Why take caffeine and chemical laden diet pills to lose weight? These are probably causing harmful effects to your body. A great benefit of Hoodia Gordonii is that it's natural and safe.

- With the Hoodia pill, you lose weight without being hungry, and without any feeling of being deprived.A study of obese patients in Great Britain, where half the volunteers were given hoodia pills, and the other half were given a placebo.

The only activities the volunteers were allowed were to eat, watch television, and read.After two weeks, those taking the hoodia pills had a reduced caloric intake of 1,000 calories daily. These individuals lost weight, even though there was ample food available, without being hungry, or feeling deprived.

It has been reported that people have lost up to four pounds in a week, eighty four pounds in five months, even 100 pounds in six months, taking pure Hoodia Gordonii.

If you'd like to lose weight, without dieting, Hoodia pills can help you. Because Hoodia is not a manufactured chemical, but rather a natural cactus plant, there's little likelihood of side effects.

Interestingly, Hoodia is classified as a food, not a drug, by the government of South Africa!

Studies of Hoodia by scientists for about the last decade have not discovered any negative side effects. Considering that the San Bushmen have been eating Hoodia for hundreds of years, without ill effects, then it's easy to see why Hoodia is a preferred alternative to chemical and caffeine laden diet pills.

These benefits certainly point out why Hoodia is superior to manufactured diet pills, but there are a few things that should be kept in mind.

Be aware that there are inferior brands of Hoodia being sold. Why? It requires two to five years for the hoodia plant to mature. It is also a protected species. Because of this, the demand for hoodia is outstripping the supply. This has led some manufacturers to sell inferior forms of hoodia pills - with insufficient amounts of hoodia gordonii and/or with fillers and binders. These forms don't provide the appetite suppressing properties of pure Hoodia.

If you're looking to buy Hoodia, always look for a Certificate of Analysis. Check the seller's website. This is the real proof that the Hoodia you're buying is 100% pure Hoodia.

Also, you want to look for the C.I.T.E.S. certificate. This is one of the most important documents, because a A genuine C.I.T.E.S. certificate is proof that you are purchasing authentic Hoodia Gordonii.

And - avoid products with binders and fillers in them. Buy Hoodia that's 100% pure.

Last, but certainly not least: Consult your physiciam before beginning a Hoodia regimen. If by any chance a medical situation is present, then Hoodia will not provide the benefits you're looking for. Don't waste your time and money. See your physician first.

Even though Hoodia Gordonii provides excellent results, eventually, you will most likely want to stop taking it. Consider changing your diet to one including fruits and vegetables, lean meats, and whole grains. Doing this before you stop taking the hoodia pills will help greatly to maintain the weight loss you'veachieved.

Best Wishes on your weight loss journey!

Diabetes: What You Should Know (Will Save You)

by: Tom Yancy Cove


Diabetes is a silent disease. If it goes undetected, it can become a life threatening disease. People have been known to have their legs amputated due to diabetes. Why is this so? It is simply due to the fact that people are not able to identify the possible diabetic symptoms. Just try asking some people about diabetes and you will be surprised with the answer.

I know because my aunt was one such casualty of diabetes. You see, she was diabetic but did not know about it. Not realizing that she was diabetic, she continued eating whatever she liked. There was no diet because of her ignorance. When she developed a sore in her right leg, not knowing that a diabetic had to take additional care where wounds or injuries are concerned, she ignored it as she thought it would heal itself. After all it was just a small sore. It did not go away, and instead, the sore in her leg became a bigger wound. It was later that she decided to visit a doctor. However, it was too late as the wound developed into gangrene. She had to have her leg amputated. Though this happened in the late 1970's, today in the 21st century, people are still as ignorant of diabetes as in the 1970s.

In most developed countries as well as in the third world countries, access to medical doctors are easier than in the 1970s. So there is no excuse whatsoever to be ignorant about this life-threatening disease. Also, there is always the library that a person can turn to for information on diabetes. If you are still unable to obtain the correct information on diabetes, then turn to the Internet to seek for more information. There are a number of websites on diabetes, ranging from diet to controlling diabetes. There is absolutely no excuse not to be well informed about diabetes.

You may ask why am I so concerned about diabetes? Let's put it this way, ought not we be concerned about a silent killer? There has been a lot of publicity on other diseases such as cancer. But there is not much publicity on diabetes. Yes, I did say that there are a number of ways to obtain information on diabetes, but the publicity to make people more aware of diabetes is sadly insufficient. I believed that there should be more publicity to reach out to a larger crowd of people to educate them on the dangers of diabetes.

The problem with diabetes is that living in this modern world, we are bombarded with advertisement on the different types of food and beverages made available to us. As we consumed these processed food and beverages, guess what happened next? Our body system starts to react to the food and beverages. In processed food and beverages, manufacturers being concerned with the bottom line, will continue to add more refined sugar and salt to make the food and beverages tastier. Imagine, when someone kept on consuming all these stuff, especially if it is full of sugar! What will happen next? Our body will start to fail us. It would not be able to make use of the excess sugar and these will just be in our blood. I'm not talking only about the refined sugar. Almost at fault are food items such as refined rice and potatoes that will make our blood sugar rise faster and if not taken care of, will possibly result in diabetes.

The previous paragraph talks about food and beverage laden with sugar and refined carbohydrates. But there is another aspect to this. As we progressed as a modern society, we have lesser time for exercise. Of course, there will be some amongst us who are disciplined to continue with their exercise routine. This is not so for the majority of us. What will happen? Simply this, with the consumption of all those refined food and beverages, coupled with a lack of exercise, we will see more and more people suffering from diabetes. What makes it scary is that most will not be aware that diabetes is within striking distance of them.

So what is it that we, as individuals can do about it? I will list out a couple of steps here. In future, more will be outlined. Firstly, we need to find out our own genetic history. Trace back to your parents and grandparents. Check whether any of them had histories of diabetes. If no, then the chance of getting diabetes is reduced. I say only reduced because there is no guarantee that diabetes will not strike at a later stage. For those of you who are able to trace back your family history and discover that one of your parents or grandparents had diabetes, your chance of getting diabetes is increased. However, this is not the end of the world. There are many ways and means to avoid or delay the onset of diabetes. For more information on diabetes, you may wish to visit my website at http://www.inforichweb.com.

Benefits of A Good Night’s Sleep

by: James Pendergraft

Sleep is a luxury for busy people, but everybody loves sleep. Sleep contributes to the overall health and well-being of an individual. It rejuvenates the body, mind, and spirit. There are many benefits of eight hours of sleep each night. Body tissues are repaired at the cellular level, and this helps to reduce stress, pollution, and infection. Sleep also helps us learn new skills. Research done by the Harvard Medical School students concluded that REM sleep is essential for learning new things. Waking up from a good night’s sleep normally puts you in a good mood and your mind is cleared from negative thoughts so you can think and study well when you have adequate sleep.

The Advantages of Getting Enough Sleep

Here are other ways in which a good night’s sleep can help you.

1) A good sleep keeps your heart healthy and strong and lowers high levels of stress ad inflammation in your body which leads to chronic diseases such as heart disease, strokes, diabetes, arthritis, hypertension, and cancer.

2) Sleep lowers stress hormone levels in the body. This will help the body fight aging and promote regeneration of the cells and organs.

3) Sleep also improves memory and cognitive function. When you sleep, your memory and organization skills are maintained properly. When you lack sleep, your memory function will suffer greatly. A study done in Germany found that people who obtained a good night’s sleep and full rest were three times likely to perform well on cognitive tasks, creativity, and problem solving skills than those who lack sleep.

4) Sleep can also control body weight because it can regulate the hormones that affect you appetite. A person that has proper sleep has a lower body mass index than those who sleep less. The appetite regulating hormone leptin decreases with lack of sleep and this signals fullness when we eat, while the hormone ghrelin that stimulates hunger increases when we lack sleep.

5) Sleep helps reduce disease risks. With just eight hours of sleep each night, the levels of the hormones melatonin and cortisol stay at a healthy range. Cortisol helps in preventing cell damage that can lead to cancer. With the help of cortisol, the immune system helps fight off potential infections.

These advantages are just a few of the many benefits that we can get as long as we have a good night’s sleep. It is crucial that we get enough sleep because if we don’t, we pay a price both physically and mentally. People around us are also affected when we lack sleep. We get emotional, short tempered and aggressive. Our reactions are slower and the chances of becoming involved in an accident increases. We all need to make the best effort to sleep appropriate.

Phobias And Anxiety Attacks

by: Ian Spencer

Phobias are often considered as an integral part of anxiety disorders as they represent intense and illogical fears about things, places or specific situations. These fears often trigger serious anxiety attacks, which if left unattended might escalate into serious health problems. Unfortunately, the most common “treatment" people rely upon for phobias is avoidance. People understand their fear is unfounded, but cannot help themselves. Phobias are classified in five major categories:

1. Fear of animals - this includes fear of spiders, dogs, snakes, lizards, cockroaches and the like.

2. Fear of natural environment - this particular type of phobia covers fear of heights, fear of rain, fear of lightning, fear of sea, and so on

3. Fear of injections and blood - this covers all medical procedures and sight of blood and injury

4. Fear of particular situations and places - this phobia includes fear of closed spaces, darkness, elevators, tunnels, crowds, and the like

5. Fear of being out of control - this category covers things that leave the person helpless such as illness, accidents, vomiting, and so on.

A very thin line differentiates phobias from any type of anxiety disorder. You need to be able to see and understand this difference so you would know when and how to get help. Here are a few points that would help you identify the difference:

1. Difference between panic disorder and phobia - When you suffer from panic disorder, you would fear the onset of the anxiety attack that is generated when you are facing certain situations - such as flying, crowds, and the like. When you suffer from phobias, you would imagine yourself as a victim of such situations. For example, you fear flying because you see your airplane crashing, or you fear heights because you see yourself falling and so on.

2. Difference between post traumatic stress disorder and phobia - When you suffer from PTSD you would relive the trauma that inspires your fear. With phobias, the fear is generated by your imagination; you would imagine the worst type scenario and see yourself so vividly in it that it would trigger an anxiety attack.

3. Difference between social anxiety disorder and phobia - People suffering from SAD fear the possibility of embarrassing themselves by their own behavior in front of a crowd or audience; those suffering from phobias are scared of the situation itself as they imagine themselves being crushed or in mortal danger when surrounded by crowds.

If you suspect that you suffer from any type of phobia, it is very important that you seek medical help, as this can become a very powerful trigger for anxiety and panic attack when left unattended.

The Best Age Spots Treatment - No Pain, Just Younger-Looking and Healthy Skin

by: Marcia Kruger

Just imagine if the best age spots treatment doesn't hurt. No acids, freezing, lasers or skin sanding but a proven effective skin care cream.

People in the Western world consider a tan beautiful and sexy. However, if you're thinking those are reasons to get one...think again. Here's why, too much sun exposure comes with consequences. The sun's UV rays are dangerous and can cause premature wrinkling, awful age spots and even skin cancers.

You could go cold turkey and practice prevention as a best age spots treatment. You'll have to stay out of the sun, use a good sun block and cover up though. But, if it's too late for preventative measures, you'll be looking for a way to get rid of the unsightly age spots.

First, you can opt for a not so skin healthy procedure. Take a look at some common treatments available for removing age spots:

• Bleaching -- a very common procedure. But, one main ingredient used is a chemical called hydroquinone which can cause irritation, redness and may not even be effective on your skin type.

• Skin Sanding -- also called dermabrasion. Used to: minimize the appearance of fine wrinkles, scars and sun damage. The procedure requires the careful scraping away of the top layers of the skin.

• Chemical Peels -- vary depending on the concentration of the acid used. Performed at a doctor's office, a peel will firm up skin and fade age spots. You'll need them on an ongoing basis and you won't notice an improvement for a few months.

• Freezing -- also called cryotherapy. The procedure involves using liquid nitrogen, or another freezing agent, and apply it to the age spots destroying the extra pigment.

• Laser -- they can produce amazing results, however, it's the most expensive put of the options.

Or, the skin healthy way which includes nourishing, rejuvenating and boosting your own body's collagen and elastin. The best age spots treatment is the natural whitening cream skin care product. A procedure that does not inflict pain!

Here's the secret, natural ingredients proven to work. Their names, Extrapone Nutgrass Root and Functional Keratin.

These ingredients are amazing, because they can enhance the overall health of your skin and make you look younger. Extrapone nutgrass root is a natural substance native to India. An ingredient shown to dramatically reduce melanin. And, in studies has shown it's able to reduce the melanin up to 40%.

Another awesome ingredient is the functional keratin. Say goodbye to the signs of aging, because functional keratin boosts your body's own regrowth of collagen and elastin. A safe substance that promotes firmness and elasticity, fewer wrinkles, and more youthful, healthier looking skin!

This is the easiest, safest and best age spots treatment plan for removing unwanted skin lesions.

Visit my website today where I cover more of the incredible natural ingredients that most people aren't aware of but can give you a huge edge in looking younger.

Using Essential Oils

by: Kathryn Caywood

Many people find that they are always suffering from a sore back or from sore joints. Others find that they simply cannot get the relief they need from the day-to-day stress that they are dealing with. A break is needed and a sort of restart. But how can a person achieve such a thing? The best thing to do is to take advantage of someone from nature that was designed to be able to give you all of the benefits you need and desire the most. When you use essential oils, you are able to maintain a healthy body and a healthy mind.

The essential oils are concentrated oils that are derived from various plants. The seeds, leaves, flowers, and other parts of the plants are generally used in the making of the essential oils. There an extremely long list of various oils out there that can be used for a person's general well being. The exact essential oils that you would want to use would depend based on the exact problem or situation that you are trying to deal with. If you are having problems with sore muscles then you will want a particular kind of essential oil. If you are dealing with depression or anxiety, then there is a particular kind of essential oil that is perfect for that.

With all of the various uses for the oils, it is hard to imagine that you will be stuck with not being able to find something that will suit your personal needs. Just make sure that you are taking your time when selecting the oils to use to make sure that you are getting the best ones for you. With so many out there, it can be a little confusing. But this is why there are professionals out there to help you. Talk with someone who has great knowledge of essential oils. Stay away from the drug store oils as they are cheap and there will not be anyone there that will be able to assist you.

Instead, check out a reputable company that can assist you will not only the purchasing of your oils, but with any questions you have during and after your purchase. When you work with professionals that truly understand essential oils and everything that they can and cannot do for a person, you are going to see the most benefits. It is important to make sure that you truly understand all of the various ways that you can put some essential oils to work for you. The company you purchase your oils from should have a lot of detailed information for you to read through and their site should be easy to navigate. This is extremely important to make sure that you are getting the service that you deserve.

Once you have seen all of the wonders and magic that comes from the essential oils, make sure that you are advising your friends and family on what they too can do to change their lives. Everyone deserves to be free from physical and mental pain and frustration and essential oils can surely help.

Aromatherapy Oils and Their Uses

by: Kathryn Caywood

Aromatherapy is the use of essential oils from various kinds of plants to heal the body, relieve physical pain, and to stable a person's mood. The essential oils that are used are concentrated extracts from the different parts of the plant. The concentrated oil can come from the roots, the bark, the leaves, seeds, and even the flowers. Aromatherapy using these oils can be applied through a massage, facial, bath, or complete body treatment. But there is not just one oil used in an aromatherapy massage.

A massage therapist will typically use about five oils combined into a mixture. The different oils that are used will depend on what the person seeking the treatment is looking to achieve from the massage. Someone who is struggling with sore muscles will probably be given an oil mixture that contains eucalyptus and peppermint. Someone else who simply wants a relaxing massage may get bergamot or lavender in the oil mix. When someone comes in for an aromatherapy massage, what he or she is trying to achieve or get relief from will be discussed. It is then that the various oils placed into the mix will be decided upon.

Even though some people may not fully know the benefits that come from aromatherapy uses, they will once they give it one chance. It takes just a few moments with the oils to see and feel a difference. And aromatherapy oils are not to be confused with perfumes. Perfumes contain chemicals where aromatherapy oils are natural oils from plants. This is not to say though that all of the various oils are non-toxin. There are a lot of them that are not for human consumption but there are a couple that can be as they have some dietary benefits to them.

The best thing to do is to not use any in your foods unless you have been clearly instructed to do so by a professional. It is also important to make sure that you are purchasing only high quality aromatherapy oils. If you are purchasing weak oils then you are not going to get all of the benefits that you want. You will also find that you are wasting your money so make sure that the oils you get are not watered down.

When you are looking for a place to buy your oils from, make sure that it is a company that focuses on the types of products that you need. These are the companies that know what they are doing and will be able to assist you with any questions should any come up. The oils from the drug stores or the department stores are the oils that you want to avoid. They are cheap and if you have questions, there is not going to be anyone there suitable to answer your concerns. In order to make sure that you are not wasting your time or money, make sure that you are doing business with a company that you can trust such as a company that takes their line of work seriously.

Scientific Wrestling: A New Dawn for an Old Styleh

by: Jake Shannon

The Golden Age of Professional Wrestling is often thought of as the era of Frank Gotch, however the golden age, in terms of "technical" wrestling, occurred thereafter.

During the early 20th Century, namely the period of the teens to the late 20's, many of the best professionals began to excel with the use of their legs on the mat. These shooters were able to use their legs like another set of arms and were experts at controlling the legs and arms of their opponents. These talented grapplers were commonly called "leg" wrestlers and leg wrestling became part of the trade of the old time catch-as-catch-can masters. Famous names among them included Joe Stecher, Earl Caddock, "Tigerman" John Pesek, George Tragos, Ad Santel, and Clarence Eklund.

These men coupled brutal submissions (double wristlocks, neck cranks, and toeholds) with an ability to twist their opponents into pretzels. Not surprisingly, it was during this era when the term "stretch him out" came into existence. The foundational ride employed by the old time leg wrestler was the crossbody ride (commonly called the "single leg grapevine"). It was from here that they maneuvered their opponents into all sorts of positions that the human body was not meant to go.

They used the guillotine (abdominal stretch), banana split, crossfaces and reverse crossfaces off the crossbody ride, inside toeholds, the top scissor with a crossface (commonly called the "back mount"). They were also adept at scissoring the arms with their legs and using various nelson holds and double arm stretches to bring their opponents to the point where they felt as though their muscles were actually ripping apart.

Arguably the greatest among the old time leg wrestlers, pound for pound, was Clarence Eklund. Known as wrestling's Octopus, Eklund emerged as one of the most technical grapplers at the end of wrestling's shooting days. Barnstorming all over the United States, Eklund developed his leg wrestling style onto a plane all it's own. Sports writer Bill Sopris had this to say about the Octopus, "(Ek had) a knack to use the grapevine and hinder progress of an opponent with his legs&his forte was his legs&with this uncanny power, he was able to break leverages and wear down a man, finally beating him with a half-body scissor and bar arm."

Eklund weighed in at 175 lbs. and claimed the world light-heavyweight title from 1916 on. He solidified his claim at the age of 42 by defeating the best light-heavyweight wrestlers in the world to claim the undisputed world title in an Australian tournament in 1928. Among those he defeated were Clete Kauffman, the infamous Ad Santel, and Ted Thye. The story of Eklund's dominance of Ad Santel in their tournament shoot match has become the stuff of legend and solidified Eklund's claim that no man in the world could match him at 175lbs.

I spoke with with Dick Cardinal, one of the last old time shooters and a master of hook wresting, about Eklund. Dick had known Ted Thye (one of Eklund's opponents in the 1928 tournament). Thye commented to Dick that Eklund's performance against Santel was pure wrestling mastery. Thye's words about the event, according to Dick, were awe inspiring in and of themselves& Eklund dominated his foe in every phase of the game.

Another story that has become legendary is Eklund's visit several years after retirement to a workout in Oklahoma with the NCAA national wrestling championship team (Oklahoma A & M) for that year. The coach had invited Eklund down to review the team's progress.

Eklund walked around nodding appropriately when he saw something he liked. After awhile the Coach asked him if he'd like to have a workout. "Sure" Eklund said, "Line them up". The coach was astonished at this for he had only been suggesting a workout for Eklund with one of his lighter wrestlers; after all Eklund was in mid-40's and had been retired for years. Nevertheless he did as Eklund asked.

In the space of 15 minutes, 45 year old Clarence Eklund pinned every member of the national championship team, from the lightest to the heaviest. The heavyweight last the longest taking Eklund around 2 minutes to pin. Now, imagine a wrestler walking in today and pinning every member of the Oklahoma State wrestling team, or Iowa, or Minnesota, and you'll begin to get an idea of the technical mastery of wrestling's Octopus. Eklund was the king of scientific wrestling.

I had long feared that the technical style of the old time leg wrestlers had been forgotten over the years, since professional shooting really died out in the pro ranks after the late 20's. Then I stumbled across something that almost made me weep with joy. I came across an instructional video tape set called "LEGAL PAIN" by one of the greatest wrestlers of all time - Wade Schalles.

The leg riding/pinning style of Wade Schalles is the closest thing I have ever seen to the style of the Old Time Leg Wrestlers. Wade is a 4 time NCAA champion, and has pinned more World and National champions than any man in history. I have seen very few current amateur wrestlers who have the technical efficiency of the old time shooters, but Schalles takes leg riding, cradling, and pinning to a new level.

It is in the Schalles style of wrestling where you can see a bridge between the Old and the New. When I watch Wade's material it is very easy for me to visualize what men like Eklund, John Pesek, and Earl Caddock must have looked like on the mat. Everything is there: leverage, fulcrum, speed, technique, and most of all AGGRESSION.

If you were to add toeholds, neck cranks, and double wristlocks to the material that Wade presents and master it thoroughly, you would be a very dangerous person in a very short time, & that is no joke. I give this material 5 stars, but I would like to give it 10 (it is that good). It is, quite simply, the best leg riding and pinning material I have every seen.

For more on Clarence Eklund, see Wyoming's Wrestling Rancher: Life and History Of Clarence Eklund Champion Wrestler

For more on Wade Schalles, see below:

Jake Shannon is the author and creator of scientific wrestling. Have a look now at: http://www.scientificwrestling.com

Scientific Wrestling: Strength Training for the Eons

by: Jake Shannon

I was first introduced to the traditional Indian gada (aka the mace) by my friend Karl Gotch a few years ago. As gracefully as Karl swung it, I was equally clumsy. I nearly knocked myself unconscious with it the first time I swung it. It was the toughest and most awkward exercise implement I had ever held. It was then and there that I challenged to master this bad boy.

This killer training implement was preferred by legendary wrestlers for centuries, from the Pehlwans of India to 'God of Wrestling' Karl Gotch. Historically, the mace has had both strong spiritual and combative connotations in folklore. Robert L. O'Connell, on page 119 of his book Ride of the Second Horseman: The Birth and Death of War points to the mace as the first weapon made specifically for use against other human beings (as opposed to a modified hunting weapon). In the Hindu religion, the mace of Vishnu is named "Kaumodaki" and represents the elemental force from which all other powers (both physical and mental) are derived.

Anyone that owns a genuine Macebell will find it fitting that mace-work is associated with the Indian god of strength, Hanuman. Hanuman is traditionally depicted in the form of monkey brandishing a mace, and this Mace is generally understood to symbolize bravery. Hanuman serves to remind the faithful that there is limitless power within each individual. In folklore, Hanuman focused all his energy into the worship of Lord Rama. This devotion freed him from all physical fatigue.

The mace is recognized as the main tool of the Pehlwans (the Hindu wrestlers of India). Competition trophies (symbolizing significant achievement) are made in the shape of gold and silver maces.

I have recently taken it upon myself to re-introduce mace-work to the West (with the wonderful help of Torque Athletic) with the development of the Macebell.

This brutal kettlebell/indian club hybrid actually originated in ancient Persia where they were known as "Meels". These "Meels" were utilized by the Pahlavan (ancient Persian grapplers and strongmen) to increase their strength, endurance, and health. The lighter version generally weighed in the range of ten to fifteen pounds and were used in high rep sets to build stamina while the heavier class weighed from anywhere between twenty-five to sixty pounds and were used to build great strength.

According to longtime Pahlavani researcher Farzad Nekoogar, Meels first made their way to India as late as the thirteenth century by Persian grapplers fleeing the Mongols. Indian mace swinging is derivative of ancient war club practice. Nearly every depiction of the gods and goddesses in Hindu religious art finds the deity brandishing a war mace of some kind.

Probably the most famous and feared embodiment of the Mace Swinging athlete was a man known as The Lion of the Punjab, "The Great Gama" Baksh. He was born into a famous family of grapplers from the northwestern part of India.

To give you the scope of his commanding physical presence, Gama had thirty inch thighs and a fifty-six inch chest. At only six years old, Gama's father died and this event, in many ways, drove him to excel in grappling. Gama's first feat of physicality came at a national physical culture competition held sometime around 1888. Despite the fact that Gama was a mere ten years old, permission was granted for him to compete when the powers that be learned that he was the son of the great wrestler Aziz Baksh.

As Joseph Alter, Ph.D. tells the story of Gama's abilities (see his article entitled GAMA THE WORLD CHAMPION: WRESTLING AND PHYSICAL CULTURE IN COLONIAL INDIA in the October 1995 edition of the journal Iron Game History for more);

"the main contest in the competition was to see who could do the highest number of repetitions of free squats called "bethaks". Indian wrestlers regularly do hundreds if not thousands every day, and even at ten years old Gama's daily routine included five hundred. Over four hundred wrestlers from around the country had gathered for the contest. after a number of hours had passed, only fifteen wrestlers were left exercising. At this point Jaswant Singh ended the contest saying that the ten year old boy was clearly the winner in such a field of stalwart national champions. Later, upon being asked how many (bethaks) he had done, Gama replied that he could not remember, but probably several thousand. In any event he was bed-ridden for a week.

1928: World Champion wrestler Stanislaus Zybysco with Gama before their match. Despite being 50 years old and outweighed by 50 lbs, Gama prevailed decidedly in an amazing 42 seconds.

Starting at the age of ten, Gama's daily exercise routine included not only five hundred bethaks, but five hundred dands (jack-knifing push-ups) as well. He is said to have regularly done three thousand bethaks and fifteen hundred dands and run one mile every day with a 120 pound stone ring around his neck.

In 1908, two years before he went to London to compete for the world championship belt, Gama's regimen was increased to five thousand bethaks and three thousand dands. Every morning he would also work out by wrestling with forty compatriot wrestlers in the royal court. Added to this, he began weight-lifting with a one hundred pound grind stone and a santola (wooden bar-bell made from a tree trunk).

His phenomenal diet and regimen of exercise was meant to develop a kind of pervasive subtle energy rather than just the kinetic power of particular muscle groups. Even at the age of fifty, Gama was still doing 6000 bethaks and 4000 dands every day, and wrestling with eighty compatriots in the royal court."

Clearly Gama's regimen encompassed much more than just the Mace but nonetheless they were a big part of every Indian wrestler's training.

During the nineteenth century, while stationed in India, the British army, utilized Indian-club exercises as part of its own military PT (physical training) regimen. In 1861, an American fitness enthusiast and businessman by the name of Sim D. Kehoe observed the art of Indian-club swinging while visiting England. Soon thereafter he began to produce and sell clubs on the American market in 1862.

Indian Clubs were used in the Olympic Games in 1904 in St. Louis under the auspices of "Rhythmic Gymnastics" and remained an Olympic sport until 1932. These days it seems like everything old is new again and certainly mace swinging should be no exception.

Today there is a resurgence of interest in Indian Clubs among modern physical culturists, especially combat athletes. The non-linear motions work the shoulder girdle and core like nothing else. The grip also benefits from mace-work. If you are interested in changing up your routine and challenging yourself with the Macebell, it is a brutal strength training implement that will earn your respect.

Scientific Wrestling: What's Your Attitude

by: Jake Shannon

What is attitude?

Your attitude, when speaking of English Pugilism, is the posture you adopt when coming in to box. It is made up of your stance and guard. It's how you held yourself. Pugilism doesn't have a real "fighting stance" per say.

How you stood was more personal. It was based on a combination of things like your height, weight, reach, type of fighter, etc. While there were some that were more popular and commonly used, like the one used by Richard Humphries, there was at one time as many different attitudes as there were boxers.

Many top boxers were actually known by their attitude. Daniel Mendoza, considered to be the "Father of Scientific Boxing", was known for the refinements he added to the art, in particular his attitude. Let me explain first what exactly stance and guard are. Your stance is how you position your lower body, from the waist down. Your guard is how you position your body from the waist up. It's a little more then just your hands and feet. Let's start by looking at your stance.

Stance: First let's discuss the oldest question concerning stance, left foot forward or right foot forward. Strong side or weak side forward. Well here's what I have to say, it shouldn't matter which foot is forward. You want to be comfortable with both. Learn how to fight and strike effectively from both sides.

In fact, there are certain techniques which require this, such as switch step punching. Not to mention some attitudes have opposite hand and foot forward, meaning that if your left foot is forward you right hand is in the lead. So whatever stance you adopt, you want to be comfortable on both sides.

Now with that being said, let's move on. There are three basic stances; slim profile, medium profile, and square profile. This refers more to your hips then feet. Modern sport boxing uses an extremely slim profile. Pankration uses a square stance, meaning the hips are almost facing straight forward.

Next is height. Your can stand in a high, almost standing straight up manner, a semi-crouch, or a deep crouch. The taller you stand, the slimmer your profile usually is. Adversely, the deeper the crouch, the more square your stance.

What you want is to always have a secure base. Your balance is very important. You want to keep proper distance between your feet for the height you stand at. If you are in a high, slim stance, you want your feet to be about shoulder's width apart. In a deep crouch, you want them about one and a half the width of your shoulders.

Guard:

Now onto your guard. Some guards are dependent upon your stance. meaning that it is only good to adopt certain guards with certain stances. Not all the guards are this way. Some can be used with more then one stance.

Your guard is dependent upon the type of fighter you are. Arms held extended out is preferred by defensive fighters who like distance. Arms held tight in are used by those who like to close in for inside fighting and clinch fighting.

The main thing about your guard is that your guard should be defensive while still allowing for effective striking. What you want to do is hold your arms in such a position that they cover as many of your weak and vulnerable spots as possible, while still being able to reach and hit your opponent. While some of these will appear to you to be odd and not good for fighting, once you see how to strike in Pugilism plus what you just read, they will make more sense.

Attitude:

Modern High and Tight:

This attitude is popular today with Olympic boxing and now in MMA. It is a slim, high profiled stance. The guard is high up and tight in protecting the jaw.

Pankration/Pygmachia:

This is an ancient attitude from the Greek sports of Pankration and Pygmachia. The stance is a high, almost semi-crouch with a square profile. The Guard has the arms held extended to keep distance. This protects from the clinch and wrestling, while allowing for powerful forward kicking.

Philadelphia:

This is an attitude made popular with fighters from Philadelphia around the turn of the 20th century. It is a slim semi-crouch stance. The guard is held in tight to protect the jaw and body.

Shield:

This is an attitude developed by the author. It is a semi-crouch, with a slim profile. The guard is held tight in to protect the jaw and body. The rear hand is held across the solar plexus, ready to strike.

Dempsey:

This is the attitude used by the Heavyweight Champ, Jack Dempsey. This is a medium profile with a semi-crouch. The guard is held in front of the face. The rear hand is held about three inches in front of the chin. The lead hand about four inches in front of the rear hand.

Mendoza:

The attitude used by the "Father of Scientific Boxing", Daniel Mendoza. It is a semi-to deep-crouch, with a square profile. The guard is held extended in front of the chin. This promotes having two equal leads instead of one rear.

Humphries:

Attitude used by English Heavyweight Champ, Richard Humphries. It is a high, medium profile. The guard is held extended out, one hand in front of the chin, the other over the solar plexus.

Figg:

Attitude used by the "Father of Boxing", James Figg, in a portrait. A high, slim profiled stance. The hands are held extended in front of the body.

Carpentier:

Attitude used by French Heavyweight Champ, Georges Carpentier. It is what he called his "Adaptable" guard. It is a medium profile, with a high stance. The hands are held extended in front of the body. From here Carpentier could change his attitude to adapt to his opponent.

Carpentier's Crouch:

This attitude was used by Carpentier when he came in for inside fighting. It is a squared, deep-crouch. The guard is held in tight to protect the head, and to counter with tight hooks.

Remember, this is just a short list of different attitudes used throughout history. I teach these, plus others, to my students. I have them get a feel for each one. Find what works best for them. Everyone is different. What works for some, may not work for you. Personally, I take the advice of Georges Carpentier. Be adaptable. I like to change attitudes according to what my opponent does.

Once you have learned to properly generate power, throw a proper punch, and the basic strikes, try cycling through the different attitudes. Either shadow box or strike the bag, or both. Get a feel for each one. Are you comfortable? Can you get a solid strike from there? Are you able to move around easily? If you aren't comfortable, you won't fight well.

Is Sleep Really Necessary?

by: Sandra Prior

What if I offered you the chance to extend your life by 10 years? I'm talking about extra time throughout your life, starting now. This offer affords you a whopping 25 percent more time to excel at your job, bond with the people you love, indulge in your dreams or just chill.

Is that something that might interest you? If it's not, stop reading and go to bed. You see, sweet slumber is the dead zone from which you'll reclaim that valuable time. I'd been adding items to my to-do list at a much faster rate than I was checking them off when I heard about the Uberman sleep cycle. This extreme form of polyphasic sleeping involves 20-minute naps every four hours. (A monophasic sleep pattern would be your typical eight-hour block of sleep every 24 hours.)

Some converts to Uberman claim that after an adjustment period, usually lasting anywhere from a week to three weeks, they feel no less alert than they would have if they'd been clocking eight hours a night. Leonardo da Vinci is said to have followed a sleep pattern akin to Uberman. Maybe that's what allowed him sufficient time to design prototypical versions of the helicopter, hang-glider, parachute and submarine, and paint the Mono Lisa and Last Supper. In fact, geniuses and military leaders throughout history have been linked with polyphasic and unconventional sleeping habits - Napoleon, Thomas Edison and Winston Churchill, to name a few. Who knows how different our world would be today if these men had bunked down at sunset?

I wasn't looking to invade Prussia, but I thought I could at least use some extra time to renew my driver's license and figure out my taxes. I was encouraged in this pursuit by Dr Claudio Stampi, the editor of Why We Nap: Evolution, Chronobiology, and Functions of Polyphasic and Ultrashort Sleep. In the early Eighties, Stampi began researching polyphasic sleep after he noticed his fellow long-distance sailboat-racing comrades adopting a polyphasic sleep pattern with minimal impairment. Since then, the elusive Stampi has been dodging interviewers (like me) and seeking ways to reduce sleep. I asked Dr Christopher Winter, a board-certified sleep-medicine specialist if he considered any of this to be a good idea.

He didn't. ‘All kinds of things could happen to individuals who are sleep deprived,’ he told me. ‘Changes in blood pressure, heart rate, hormones, glucose metabolism, temperature regulation and appetite can be seen quite quickly.’ And to boot, Winter says, certain theories even tack death onto that laundry list of results: ‘The sleepless individual is probably cold [due to increased energy expenditure], so hypothermia could be an eventual cause of death. So could catabolism - that is, an increased metabolic rate and protein breakdown - and susceptibility to disease from a weakened immune system.’

I kept on calling experts until I found one who would at least offer some measure of support for this plan. Dr Sara Mednick, author of Take a Nap Change Your Life, stopped far short of a rubber stamp, but she at least found an analogy that gave comfort. ‘As infants we were all vociferous proponents of polyphasic sleep,’ she noted, ‘and in late adulthood we're prone to more frequent napping. It leads me to think that the only reason we don't check out for refreshing 20-minute naps in the 60 years in-between is because we've learnt not to.’ It was a lesson I would try to unlearn.

I'm a pretty good candidate for an unconventional sleep schedule. I live alone, I have flexible work hours and I'm in good health. I also had a ton of television to catch up on. So I scheduled any appointments or meetings around my naps (at 2am, 6am, 10am, 2pm, 6pm and 10pm). I beefed up my DVD contract and bought a ‘learn Spanish’ CD-ROM, along with sheet music to Eddie Van Halen's most blistering guitar solos. In my suddenly overflowing spare time, I would become a culture-vulture Uberman in the flesh.

The first night, I crawled into bed at my usual time and left it 20 minutes later without having slept at all. So I kicked things off with a 2.30am screening of Raging Bull. The movie's final 20 minutes were accompanied by birdsong. I took a dawn stroll around the neighborhood (a first while sober) and returned to my apartment just in time for my 6am Ubernap. I dropped off quickly, though the buzz of my alarm just 20 minutes later drove murderous urges throughout my exhausted body. But relief was only a bath, a breakfast and two Sopranos episodes away.

Scientific data on the Uberman cycle is in scant supply, which makes it open season for the sleep docs to criticize it. ‘Getting a total of two hours of sleep per 24 on a chronic basis would seem to me to be impossible,’ says Winter. ‘My guess is that the anecdotal reports fail to include sleeping in which the individual is not aware he slept, or periods during which he slept beyond his 20- to 30-minute window.’

I didn't let that bug me, though, because I was also in touch with Puredoxyk, a prolific polyphasic blogger who began writing about her experiences with Uberman in 2000. She'd adhered to the cycle for six months until a job change knocked her off. Via email, she suggested that fiddly guitar solos, a second language and all things concentration-heavy were a little ambitious for my initial adaptation period.

‘You also need tasks where you don't have to be functioning at a high level,’ she wrote. Her suggestions: cleaning my apartment or darning socks. By all accounts, the initial adaptation period is by far the most arduous and critical time of the Uberman cycle. My body seemed to be yelling ‘What the f-ck?’ at me. A feeling of slight nausea was ever present. But this background hum of queasy fatigue was lightened by fleeting moments of euphoria. Nap proponent Mednick was happy to point out that ‘a broken clock is correct at least once a day. Your natural circadian cycles will still be pushing for you to be awake and alert at specific times, so you are just hitting a good high cycle at that point, regardless of what you do the rest of the time. The contrast to how bad you felt makes feeling good even better."

By the fourth day, I was cursing myself for signing on to the project. It was about this time that I began to get ulcers in my mouth, the beginnings of a cold and an outbreak of pimples. Meanwhile, my circle of friends agreed that I was edgy and irritable, and looked like death.

I was certainly in no state to write the Great American Novel or learn Spanish. I joylessly stared off into space for hours on end. As Winter theorizes, I might have been sleeping during those floaty periods without even realizing it. ‘When you think you are awake, you are probably having numerous microsleeps that you are consciously unaware of,’ he says. ‘The mind can be painfully unaware of sleep. Which is why self-reporting can be frankly incorrect.’

So maybe you shouldn't trust me on this one, but in the third week of Uberman, I swear I achieved a level of alertness and physical wellbeing that was not that much different from the good old monophasic days. It was at this critical juncture, I hoped, that I could really start reaping the benefits of this madness.

I referred back to the list of tasks I'd promised myself I'd tackle once I emerged from the ‘pain and suffering’ phase of Uberman. But sleeplessness robs me of the last five to 10 percent of my mental acuity, which is where I find the motivation to actually accomplish things. So instead of pushing my new agenda, I watched lots and lots of television and was frequently mistaken for a junkie in my local park. I doubt Da Vinci faced that problem.

Though I'd begun to retrieve my faculties, I found it very difficult to keep track of what day it was, and after abandoning my circadian routine, I was never sure when to shower, change clothes or brush my teeth. I did, however, establish a pattern whereby I ate a meal or snack immediately after a nap. On the six-meals-a-day plan, I was eating about 30 percent more food, but by the end of the third week, I discovered that I'd lost three kilograms, or about five percent of my body weight.

This was no surprise to Winter. ‘Rats deprived of sleep dramatically increased their eating despite losing weight before they died, in about 11 to 22 days,’ he said. ‘It is thought that much of the rats' weight loss came via increased activity to maintain body temperature.’

Week four saw the return of my ulcers and cold. This physical downturn coincided with my realization that on the Uberman plan, I had more time than I knew what to do with. Working for myself on my own schedule meant that I was able to commit to a month of Uberman, and ironically, it was the reason I had little use for those extra six hours a day. The white flag (in the form of an unused pillowcase) was about to go up. I'm no Uberman, it turns out.

Not even the French have enjoyed surrender as much as I did at 5pm on my final day. I relished brushing my teeth, turning off my phone and donning the sleep mask I'd kept from a long-haul flight. So amazing was the feeling of my body hitting the mattress that I couldn't stop myself from laughing. Within 30 seconds it seemed, I was out. I awoke at 8.30 the following morning with more than 15 hours of sweet slumber behind me. My close friends could see that I had thrown in the towel before I even announced it. ‘Thank God for that,’ said one friend as he saw me striding purposefully towards him. ‘You looked like shit for a month.’

Would I follow Uberman again? Absolutely not. Science aside, I know in my weary bones how critical sleep is. That's one lesson I take from the experience. I also learnt that my favorite Spanish word is siesta - but as a sleep supplement, not a substitute.