Heartburn or GERD can Kill

Heartburn is a common annoyance. The busy lifestyle, quick meals, fatty or spicy foods all contribute to the occasional need of a chewable pain reliever. The acceptance of heartburn as an inconvenient, but natural, part of the daily grind can blind you to the warning that a severe heartburn symptom can bring.

Heartburn as a Disorder

Heartburn can be a symptom as well as a disorder. Simple heartburn or GERD can be controlled and dealt with. However, heartburn can signal the presence of a much more serious problem. If it’s heartburn, you will have a burning sensation in the chest usually after eating. There may be a spread of the burning to the throat, sometimes accompanied by a bad taste, difficulty in swallowing, belching, coughing, hoarseness and/or wheezing.

It can become worse by lying down or bending over or by eating. Relief can come from an antacid. While the more severe heartburn symptoms may be mistaken for a heart attack, simple heartburn is usually not made worse by exercise. If there is any concern that the pain may signal a heart attack, get help quickly.

Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Want a Muscle Building Program? 5 Things You Should Know First

By Mark Dale

Many people who've followed muscle building programs have failed to make good muscle gains because they've misunderstood what it takes to succeed. In order to stay motivated it's very important to see regular growth and to see the changes in the mirror.

The reason so many people fail is because they follow the wrong muscle building program, and by that I mean a program that is not suitable for their individual needs. The result of following the wrong program can be anything to poor muscle gains to actually losing muscle, or even getting a serious injury through overtraining.

I have read and reviewed many muscle building programs over the past 10 years, so if you are wondering what to look out for when choosing one then here are my top 5 things to look out for:

Training Time

Any workout routine that has you in the gym for hours at a time will not help you gain muscle mass. Longer in the gym does not equal bigger muscles! Your workout routines should last no more than 45 mins if you want to gain muscle size and strength.

Varying Your Workout Program

Keep your workout program varied and this will help to keep your muscles growing by stimulating them in different ways. Therefore re-structure your gym workouts every 8 - 12 weeks. If you don't change routines your body will become used to the same exercises and muscle growth will slow or even stop.

Rest is Part of Your Muscle Program

You need plenty of rest for your body to recover from your workouts and for your muscle growth. Muscles grow when you sleep, eat and rest and NOT when you train. The best muscle building programs will include rest days and will have you training the same muscle groups more than twice a week.

Make Sure You Do the Exercises Correctly

Exercise with proper form. It is very important that you don't just stack on the weights and throw them around! Proper form and execution of exercises is vital to your muscle building success and to prevent injury. Look out for muscle programs that show you how to perform exercises correctly.

How Important is the Diet?

Diet is the key to every bodybuilder's success. However any muscle building diet must be personalized to your body type and goals. The best muscle building programs will provide diet plans for every individual. This means diet plans will cover all calorie levels and include meals from 2000 - 6000 calories a day. The best meal plans I've come across even cater for vegetarians or those who need to avoid specific foods.

So that's 5 very simple but very important tips to get you on the right track to muscle building success. Make sure you find answer to all these points when you are looking at muscle building programs.

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