Showing 181 - 190 of 323 results

How can I strengthen my abs?

For as long as I can remember, I've been using my back muscles when I did sit-ups. In fact, I distinctly remember the first time we did them in second grade. After a few reps, it was already so painful that I was having trouble breathing properly. Being eight years old, however, I didn't realize this was a warning sign and assumed it was normal.

Flash forward ten years, and I have almost no strength in my abdominal muscles. I've tried to teach myself to do curl-ups properly, but no matter how hard I try, I can't even lift my head without using my back muscles. Exercise balls are no help either. Even when I concentrate on using my abs to keep myself steady, my back is still doing 95% of the work.

So, in short, I have two questions: Am I at risk for having damaged my back from years of abuse, and how can I work on strength training my abs now?

Topics:

Nutrition and Physical Activity

Can clothes protect my skin from the sun?

As the summer is soon to arrive, I was wondering what type of clothing should I wear to protect myself from the sun? Also, what color works best, light or black? I seem to be getting conflicting answers on the Internet. I am a fair skinned male. Thanks for your help!

Topics:

General Health

Why do my bowel movements change when I get my period?

1) I've suffered weird digestive things when I have my period. The way I have heard it explained in my MCAT class is that the same hormone that causes the smooth muscle of the uterus to contract unfortunately works on all of our digestive organs as well, particularly the large intestine. So that's how I've come to grips with the apparent confusion of the digestive processes during my period.

2) Does a person's menstrual cycle regulate her bowels in any way? I have had some problems. The week before I get my period, I have loose bowels and the week afterwards I am quite constipated. Is this normal? Is there anything I can do?

Topics:

General Health Sexual and Reproductive Health

Are there preservatives in saline soltion safe?

As an avid contact wearer, I use saline solution to rinse my contacts daily before each use. Recently, a friend told me that many commercial saline solutions contain preservatives, which could affect the overall health of my eye. Is this something I should be concerned about? The saline I use has always felt comfortable so I never thought it could pose a problem.

Topics:

General Health

Why do I feel unrested when I dream?

I go through phases where, when I sleep, I don't have any dreams (that I remember, at least). I sleep well and I wake up rested. Every few months I go through a week or two when I have nights full of incredibly vivid dreams and I wake up remembering at least five or six of them. Because of all these vivid dreams, I wake up feeling far less rested than I do when I don’t dream at all. Is there a particular reason for this? Does dreaming more at night mean your sleep is less restful?

Topics:

General Health

How can I prevent and relieve neck pain?

When I worry/stress out, I find the muscles on one side of my neck (usually the right side) begin to tighten up to the point of acute pain. On occasion, the pain reaches from the back of my ear, down my neck (the most painful point), through my shoulder, down the arm, and in extreme cases to the tips of my fingers. Two questions:

1. How do I stop this?
2. How do I relieve the pain when it occurs?

I'm currently suffering from one of these neck aches, and can't turn my head, so I'd really appreciate your response.

Topics:

Mental and Emotional Health General Health

How can I exercise with bowlegs?

I have bowlegs. It is quite frustrating because I cannot do exercises that isolate and tone the thighs (lunges, squats, etc). When I do squats, my pressure/force comes from the calves and the knees, but not the thighs. Reason being is that the legs are not properly aligned, and pressure/force cannot go up to the thighs. It even hurts when I do squats because they involve bending the (crooked) knees. Are there any alternative thigh exercises?

Topics:

Nutrition and Physical Activity

Do you have suggestions for an effective, short-term weight loss and toning plan?

I am 18 years old and I am determined to lose a few pounds and tone my body by the end of May. I just began running and I'm starting off by running a mile and hope to work up to a four-mile run four or five days a week. My diet is generally a bowl of cereal in the morning, and a turkey or ham sandwich with some type of fruit and a bottle of water. Dinner is something different every day, but usually healthy. I also have been doing an ab workout for about seven minutes after I run. Is what I'm doing effective? What are your suggestions?

Topics:

Nutrition and Physical Activity
Showing 181 - 190 of 323 results

Can't find your question?

  1. Search through Go Ask Alice! to see if your question has already been answered. 
  2. If your health and well-being question isn’t already on the site, submit it via the form below.