Fashion and beauty- health and fitness

How to Follow a Make Your Own Rules Diet

noreply@blogger.com (Sudheer kumar) — Mon, 14 Jun 2021 11:54:00 +0000

When trying to lose weight, many people expect to follow an eating plan with plenty of rules. Even if you choose a weight loss program that allows you to eat whatever you want it's still likely that you'll have to follow guidelines and restrictions. But wouldn't it be better if you could set your own limits?

You can reach a healthy weight without following someone else's program. A make-your-own-rules program might be more appealing and more effective. When you set it up yourself, you might be more motivated to stick to the plan long enough to reach and maintain your goal weight.

Why Diets Have Rules

Rules provide structure. When we choose to lose weight we usually want to do so with as little stress and effort as possible. With structure, the weight loss process is often easier because we don't have to do the hard work of developing a plan. Rules tell us what to eat, when to eat, and how much to eat.

Typical diet rules include:

.Eat three meals and two small snacks each day
.Never skip breakfast
.Avoid eating after dinner1
.Eat x number of calories per day
.Keep carbohydrate intake under x percent
.Don't eat white starches: white rice, white bread, or white pasta
.Don't eat foods with ingredients that you can't pronounce

Many of these diet rules have a basis in smart nutritional science. For example, many people who are trying to lose weight do better when they eat every few hours.2 By eating three meals and two small snacks every day, they keep their blood sugar steady and avoid severe hunger that can lead to binge eating.

Similarly, large observational studies have shown that those who eat breakfast are able to lose weight more effectively and keep the weight off. But just because a particular guideline works for one person doesn't mean that it will work for another. And sometimes, diet rules cause more harm than good.

In fact, many people are ditching the idea of "dieting" completely and instead, developing their own long-term approach to sustainable nutritious eating, based on their own needs and lifestyle. That way, they don't go "on" a diet or "off" a diet, but simply develop an eating program that is satisfying, healthy, and maintainable.

Why Diet Rules Backfire

While some appreciate structure, others feel that rules are too restrictive. If the feeling of restriction causes stress, a person may be inclined to eat more.3 According to researchers at Harvard Health, stress can push people towards overeating.

Stressed people are more likely to choose foods that are higher in fat and calories.

Weight loss coaches often see this phenomenon in their clients. Aruni Nan Futuronsky is a mindfulness coach and one of three presenters who teaches the Kripalu Approach to Diet at Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health. She says that rules can make us feel as if we are being disciplined:

"Rules, in general, trigger the right/wrong response in so many of us. When there is an external to do, often we push back against it. In my experience, so many of us are more successful when we can reframe the idea of 'rules,' rethink the concept of 'discipline,' and create a system for ourselves that operates from the inside out."

Aruni coaches her students to develop their own rules. In doing so, she uses the image of a river that flows swiftly between riverbanks. The banks provide structure to guide the proper flow of water. As students in the program establish their own riverbanks, they create a system to help their bodies function with vigor and efficiency.

"I like to consider the idea of creating riverbanks; establishing some bottom-line behaviors and practices, such as 'no food after dinner,' or 'no caffeine until the weekend,'" says Arunj Nan Futuronsky, who teaches the Kripalu Approach to Diet.

"Within those riverbanks, we can practice, gather data, assess, tweak, adjust, and recommit."

She adds, however, that the process of establishing riverbanks should be a thoughtful and kind process. "Behavior change is about gathering data without judgment, committing to the fluidity and the non-judgmental nature of change."

Set Your Own Rules

If you don't respond well to diet rules set by others, then create your own. The process may take more time than signing up for a program on a website, but you may be more invested in a personalized program that is developed by you.

Tara Stiles is the author of the Make Your Own Rules Diet book and the Make Your Own Rules Cookbook. She says that when you feel you, you can't help but become your own best caregiver:

"Diets belong to someone else, not to you. Begin with your own feeling. Experiment. Try things. See what works for you, and make your own food rules. And expect things to change."

She suggests that calorie counting is one rule that you might want to ditch.4 "We’re told to count calories, but for most of us, this is a good one to let go. This is true in part because all calories are not created equal." She suggests that you eat real whole foods as much as you can, including plenty of things that grow in the earth. "Focus on how you feel and respond to that."

Suggestions

As you develop your own program, ask yourself key questions to guide your learning process:

When do I need more energy during the day? Instead of dining at predetermined meal times, eat wholesome foods when your body needs extra fuel. For example, if you exercise after work, fuel up with a healthy lunch and a small pre-workout snack. If you usually have a busy, hectic morning, be sure to give your body a nutritious, filling breakfast. Design an eating schedule that works for you.
Do my emotions guide my eating? Do you eat more often around certain people? Are you more likely to eat when you feel nervous? Do you eat to calm an anxious mind? If so, investigate ways to relieve stress without food. A practice of journaling or meditation works for some people.5 Others seek the care of a behavioral health professional who is skilled in discussing eating issues.
How much food do I need to feel satisfied? Learn to practice mindful eating. At Kripalu, students are encouraged to participate in a practice called silent breakfast. During this time, diners focus on the taste of their meal, the mouthfeel of food, and the pleasure of eating without distraction. When you slow down to truly enjoy your food you are likely to stop before you are full, eat less, and feel more satisfied.

When do I eat for reasons other than hunger? Keep a food journal and take notes about how you feel when you choose to eat. Do you eat in the afternoon because you are bored? Do you snack late in the morning out of habit? Cut out unnecessary calories where you can.
How do I feel after consuming different types of food? When you fill-up with leafy greens, fiber-rich fruits and vegetables, healthy fats, and lean protein does your body feel better? How does it feel when you choose processed foods or meals from fast-food restaurants?

As you become more aware of your eating practices, you'll develop questions of your own. Then as you gather data, start to build your riverbanks to guide a healthy weight loss eating practice.

A Word From Verywell

Energy balance matters when it comes to reaching and maintaining a healthy weight. If you want to lose weight, you need to create a calorie deficit.6 But there are different ways to reach that goal.

It's important to find a personalized plan that works best in your life. Different techniques such as journaling, mindful eating, and listening to hunger cues may be helpful in your weight loss journey. Even if you choose a commercial diet plan or an online weight loss program, you can customize it to meet your needs. The more you own it, the more likely you are to stay invested, stay motivated, and reach your goal.

noreply@blogger.com (Sudheer kumar) — Mon, 14 Jun 2021 11:33:00 +0000

Most Popular Types of Yoga Explained

noreply@blogger.com (Sudheer kumar) — Mon, 14 Jun 2021 05:10:00 +0000

One of the biggest hurdles to starting yoga is figuring out what style of yoga you want to try. It's often confusing for beginners because the class names and options are so broad. While almost all styles use the same physical postures, each has a particular emphasis. This cheat sheet highlights the differences so you can determine which type is most appealing to you.

Of course, the best way to start doing yoga is to take a class for beginners.

If your local studio doesn't indicate which classes are geared toward newbies, ask in advance which class is going to offer basic instruction appropriate for someone new. If you're seeking out online videos, search specifically for beginner-level classes—almost all online yoga video platforms let you search by ability-level.

Just keep in mind, if you don't like your first yoga class, that doesn't mean that you and yoga aren't meant to be. Because there are so many different styles of yoga and so many different instructors with their own approaches to teaching, it may take a few attempts before you find the right fit.

Given the many benefits of a regular yoga practice, if you don't like yoga initially, commit to trying several different classes before you write it off completely.

Beginner-Friendly Options

Aside from classes designated as "beginner yoga," generally speaking, classes labeled as "hatha" are slower-moving, thoughtful practices that focus on basic, beginner-friendly poses.2 Of course, it's important to recognize that the term "hatha" is actually a generic designation for any form of yoga focused on movement. In America, almost every yoga class is, technically, hatha, so make sure you ask the instructor what you can expect before your first class.

Vinyasa classes are incredibly popular, but they tend to be faster-moving, which can be confusing for beginners who are unfamiliar with basic poses. If you want to try a vinyasa class, seek out a beginner-level version.

Finally, Iyengar yoga is a form of yoga heavily focused on proper alignment. This is great for people who have injuries or who want to spend extra time getting each pose exactly right. You can expect a lot of instruction, which is great for beginners.

Remember, any style of yoga can be perfectly suitable for beginners as long as it's designated a "beginner" class, so if your local studio offers yin or Forrest yoga, feel free to give it a try. Just be sure to let your instructor know that you're new to the practice. By giving him the heads up, he'll know to keep an eye on you and to offer more detailed instructions as needed.

Different Styles Explained

You can try to identify your yoga type or figure out what your yoga personality is to see which of the following styles is best for you. There are many to choose from, but don't let that intimidate you. Try a beginner-friendly class before branching out (if you want to).

Hatha

Hatha is a very general term that encompasses any of the physical styles of yoga. In contemporary yoga lingo, hatha has come to mean a slow-paced and gentle way of practicing. Hatha classes are often a good place to begin a yoga practice because they provides an introduction to the basic yoga poses in a low-key setting.

Vinyasa Flow

Like hatha, vinyasa is a general term used to describe many different types of classes. Vinyasa tends to be a more vigorous style of yoga incorporating series of poses called sun salutations, in which each movement is matched to the breath.

A vinyasa class typically starts with a number of sun salutations to warm up the body for more intense stretching done at the end of class. Vinyasa is also called flow, in reference to the continuous movement from one posture to the next.

Anusara

Founded in 1997 by John Friend, Anusara combines a strong emphasis on physical alignment with a positive philosophy based on a belief in the intrinsic goodness of all beings. Classes are usually light-hearted and accessible, often with a focus on heart opening.

Unfortunately, Friend is no longer associated with Anusara due to his personal indiscretions. Anusara is now a teacher-led yoga school and Friend has started a new yoga style called Sridaiva (see below).

Ashtanga

Ashtanga is a fast-paced, intense, flowing style of yoga founded by Pattabhi Jois in the 1960s. A set series of poses is performed, always in the same order. This practice is very physically demanding because of the constant movement from one pose to the next and the emphasis on daily practice.

It was one of the first yoga styles embraced by a large number of western students and had been very influential in the evolution of yoga in the past 30 years.

Baptiste Power Vinyasa

Baron Baptiste is a power yoga innovator who studied many different styles of yoga, martial arts, and meditation before coming up with his own unique yoga method, Baptiste Power Vinyasa.

His style is based on 5 Pillars: vinyasa, ujjayi pranayama, heat, uddiyana bandha, and drishti. Classes, which are conducted in a heated room, are typically strong and sweaty.

Bikram/Hot Yoga

Hot yoga was pioneered by Bikram Choudhury, whose name became synonymous with yoga classes taught in a room heated to 95 to 104 degrees. The heat facilitates the loosening of tight muscles and profuse sweating, which is thought to be cleansing. The Bikram method is a set series of 26 poses, but not all hot classes make use of this series.

CorePower Yoga

CorePower Yoga is a chain of hot yoga studios founded in Denver in 2002. The brand is rapidly expanding throughout the United States. Expect consistent instruction in an upscale gym-like setting. A membership is good at any of their studios nationwide.

Iyengar

Based on the teachings of the yoga master B.K.S Iyengar, this style of practice is all about bringing the body into its best possible alignment, often using props such as yoga blankets, blocks, and straps to assist students in mastering proper form.

Iyengar practices usually emphasize holding poses over longer periods of time instead of moving quickly from one pose to the next (as in a flow class). Iyengar has been very important in the development of modern yoga asana.

Jivamukti

This style of yoga emerged in the 1980s from one of New York City’s best-known yoga studios. Jivamukti founders David Life and Sharon Gannon were influenced by the rigor of Ashtanga yoga in combination with chanting, meditation, and spiritual teachings. They have trained many teachers who have brought this style of yoga to studios and gyms, predominantly in the U.S. and Europe.

Jivamukti classes are physically intense and often include an inspirational theme selected by the teacher.

Forrest

Headquartered in Santa Monica, California, Forrest Yoga is the method taught by Ana Forrest. The performance of vigorous asana sequences is intended to strengthen and purify the body and release pent-up emotions and pain to encourage healing of physical and emotional wounds. Expect an intense workout with an emphasis on abdominal strengthening, inversions, and deep breathing.

Kripalu

Kripalu is both a yoga style and a retreat center in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. Kripalu is a yoga practice with a compassionate approach and emphasis on meditation, physical healing, and spiritual transformation that overflows into daily life. It also focuses on looking inward and moving at your own pace, making it a good practice for people with limited mobility due to age, weight, illness, or injury.

Kundalini

The emphasis in Kundalini is on the breath in conjunction with physical movement, with the purpose of freeing energy in the lower body and allowing it to move upwards through all the chakras.

All asana practices make use of controlling the breath, but in Kundalini the exploration of the effects of the breath (also called prana, meaning energy) on the postures is essential. Kundalini exercises are also called kriyas.

Integral

Integral is a gentle hatha style of yoga based on the ideas and principals of Sri Swami Satchidananda, who sought to give followers guidelines on how to improve their lives. In an attempt to integrate mind, body, and spirit, classes also include pranayama, chanting, and meditation.

Moksha/Modo

Moksha hot yoga was founded in Canada in 2004. In 2013, they changed the name of their affiliated U.S. studios to Modo Yoga. Both styles are based on a series of 45 poses done in a heated room. The studios are expected to adhere to environmentally conscious building and cleaning standards and to foster a sense of community for their students.

Power Yoga

In the mid-1990s, several prominent teachers who were well-trained in traditional yoga were looking for ways to make flow yoga accessible to more people. The resulting classes came to be known by the umbrella term of power yoga.

Power yoga was initially influenced by the intensity of Ashtanga but allowed for variation in the sequencing of poses at the discretion of the teacher. Contemporary power yoga classes are essentially vigorous vinyasa flow.

Restorative

Restorative yoga makes use of props to support the body as it relaxes into poses over the course of several minutes. The idea is to stay in each pose long enough to encourage passive stretching. Seated forward bends, gentle supine backbends, and twists are examples of the type of poses that can be adapted to be restorative with the addition of props like blankets and bolsters.

Sivananda

The first Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Center was founded in 1959 by Swami Vishnu-devananda, a disciple of Swami Sivananda. There are now close to 80 locations worldwide, including several ashrams. Sivananda yoga is based on five principles, including the practices of asana, pranayama, and meditation. The mastery of twelve carefully selected poses is at the core of this practice.

Sridaiva/Bowspring

After leaving Anusara Yoga (see above) in 2012, John Friend started Sridaiva with Colorado studio owner Desi Springer. This style introduces a new alignment system, which they call the bowspring. It's pretty different from other types of yoga in that the knees stay bent in many poses and the pelvis is always tipping forward to maintain the spinal curves. Proponents say they find a new source of strength and power from this alignment.

Viniyoga

Viniyoga is the term used by T.K.V. Desikachar to describe the methodology that his father, revered teacher T. Krishnamacharya, developed late in his life. It is based on an individualized approach to each student, creating a practice that suits his or her unique stage of life and state of health. Even in group classes, Viniyoga is adapted to fit each person's particular needs.

Yin Yoga

Yin Yoga is a practice developed by teacher Paul Grilley to stretch the body's connective tissue, particularly around the joints. In order to do this, specific poses are held over the course of several minutes. Grilley intended this practice to prepare the body to be able to sit in long meditation sessions and to act as a counterpoint to movement-oriented vigorous yang styles of yoga.

How to Get Started With Yoga

noreply@blogger.com (Sudheer kumar) — Mon, 14 Jun 2021 04:55:00 +0000

Yoga is a popular practice throughout the world that combines breathing, movement, and meditation. Imported to the United States from India over a century ago, yoga has long been praised for its physical and spiritual benefits.

Research shows yoga can help manage stress,1 ease depression and anxiety,2 improve mood, and enhance the quality of sleep.4 In addition, yoga has been shown to increase flexibility, improve balance and coordination, reduce pain, and increase strength.

Taking your first yoga class may seem overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be intimidating if you know what to expect. A typical yoga class is 45 minutes to 90 minutes. Depending on the teacher and style, it often begins with a centering focused on the breath, moves onto poses known as asanas for the bulk of the class, and sometimes ends with meditation as a cool down.

Yoga Basics

The best way to learn yoga is by doing it, but if you're nervous about attending a class, don't shy away from doing a little studying before you attend. Consider the following.

Types of Yoga

Classes come in a variety of yoga styles, so it is a good idea to read the class descriptions at your local yoga studios to find a class that is right for you. Common types include:

Hatha yoga classes tend to be good for beginners because they're slower-moving.
Vinyasa, Ashtanga, and power yoga classes can be more challenging, depending on the level of instruction.
Iyengar has a strong focus on proper alignment, and often uses props to help students perfect their form.
Hot yoga is yoga practiced in a hot environment—many studios reach 104 degrees F. Many people enjoy doing yoga in the heat, but people who are sensitive to heat or have certain medical conditions may find hot yoga uncomfortable.
Kundalini yoga is the term for "a spiritual energy or life force located at the base of the spine." In Kundalini yoga, practitioners use breathing exercises, physical postures, chanting and meditation to unlock this energy. It has been known to support healing addictions.

According to research published in the Journal of Complementary and Alternative Medicine, Kundalini yoga techniques can be helpful for managing the obsessive-compulsive disorder, phobias, addiction and substance abuse disorders, major depressive disorders, dyslexia, grief, insomnia, and other sleep disorders.

Breathing

Yoga places a strong focus on breathing, which research shows can really pay off when it comes to your health.

"Yoga is about the breath," says Jenay Rose, a 500-hour Registered Yoga Teacher, online fitness coach, and social media influencer. "The hardest part is showing up, so if you can just master breathing, you're practicing.”

According to a 2014 study published in Medical Science Monitor Basic Research, a single, 25-minute guided protocol of alternate nostril yoga breathing significantly decreased blood pressure and breathing rate in hypertensive and healthy volunteers.

Poses

Depending on the studio and instructor, pose names might be referenced in Sanskrit or English, or a combination thereof. This can be confusing the first few times you attend class.

Review some of the most common poses to familiarize yourself with the English and Sanskrit names, as well as their basic form.

Favorites like child's pose (balasana) and downward facing dog (adho mukha svanasana) are incorporated into just about every yoga class. Other common poses and sequences include the warrior poses and sun salutations.

Supplies

Most studios encourage students to bring their own yoga mats to class, but if you don't have a mat of your own, they're often available to rent for a small fee. Check with your local studio to see what their protocol is. Otherwise, you're unlikely to need much of anything.

Studios and gyms typically provide all the equipment and props you'll need, including bolsters, blocks, and blankets.

If you plan to try yoga at home, you may want to buy a few basics or find substitutes around your house before you start. For instance, you can use a belt or scarf in place of a yoga strap and throw pillows or a sturdy hard-cover book for yoga blocks.

What To Wear

Choose comfortable, stretchy pants or shorts and a close-fitting top that won't fly up over your head every time you perform an inversion.

You won't need special shoes because yoga is done barefoot. You can also wear a pair of yoga socks with grips on the bottom to keep your feet from sliding around on your mat.

Class Settings

Yoga studios are traditionally where aspiring students go to learn the practice. But they're not the only available option for instruction. , and There are pros and cons to each option.

Gyms: These days almost all large gyms offer yoga classes. If you already have a gym membership, you can often access classes at no additional cost. Many of these instructors are highly-qualified, although you might also get some new instructors looking to build their experience and skills.
Yoga studios: Often home to highly-qualified instructors who focus primarily on yoga, most studios also offer a wide range of classes staggered throughout the day. However, yoga studios tend to be more expensive, and for some people, they can feel more intimidating.
At home: with the availability of smartphones and streaming video services, you can access online classes from just about anywhere. Online classes or DVDs are an excellent and affordable option for those who don't have access to in-person instruction, or those who want to ease into the practice before attending a class.

While there's nothing wrong with starting an at-home practice, this type of instruction lacks personalized feedback, so it's hard for beginners to know if they're getting poses exactly right. Whenever possible, it's best to attend at least a few classes with a qualified instructor before deciding to go it alone.

Class Etiquette

Yoga etiquette, for the most part, is fairly self-explanatory—respect the teacher, respect your fellow students, and respect yourself and the practice.

Little things, like showing up on time, turning your phone's ringer off before class, and staying in class through the end of the final relaxation, make a big difference.

Basic Class Structure

Most yoga classes follow a similar script, although the details change based on the type of yoga you're doing and the level of instruction. From the moment you step foot in the studio to the end of your first class, this is what you can expect.

Check in at the reception desk. Show up a little early so you have time to get set up and find your space. Also, if it's your first time, you may have to fill out paperwork before participating.
Enter the studio and find your space. Take your shoes off before you enter. Lay your mat down so it's facing the same direction as the other students' mats. Ask the instructor if you'll need any additional props for the class. Tell the instructor if it's your first time.
Sit quietly on your mat until the class starts. This is wonderful opportunity to slow down from your day, deepen your breath and tune inwards before class starts.
Follow the class flow. Classes typically start with basic breathing exercises and slower, more methodical poses to help you get warm. Some instructors may lead you in a series of "oms," chants, or guided meditation before starting physical poses. Classes then build in speed and intensity, before gradually slowing back down again and doing deeper stretches. Many classes wrap up with seated, then lying poses, finishing with savasana, or "corpse pose," an important relaxation period where your body takes in everything it's learned before you transition back to everyday life.
Classes often end with more deep breathing. Since yoga is about the breath as much as the physical practice, these final breathing exercises are a helpful reminder to stay focused on the breath as you go throughout the rest of your day. Don't be caught off guard if your instructor leads you in a chant. You don't have to participate if you don't feel comfortable.
Ask questions after class. Most instructors stick around to answer any questions you might have. This is a great time to get more information on specific poses or to simply develop a relationship with your instructor.

After class wraps up, take some time to think about the experience. Assess what you liked or didn't like, and think about whether the speed and instruction were appropriate for your ability level. Armed with this information, you can decide whether to continue attending the same class in the future or to switch it up and try something different.

Setting Limits

Yoga is a very personal practice. What's safe and effective for one person may not be safe or effective for another. While most yoga poses are completely safe, it's important to listen to your body and set your own limits as you go.

For instance, if you have low back issues, you may need to ask your teacher for modifications to basic poses like the standing forward fold or plow pose. And if you're starting a home-based yoga practice, it's particularly important to brush up on poses that are riskiest for beginners so you don't try something you're not ready for.

Just because poses like handstand and crow are popular to show off on Instagram, that doesn't mean you're ready to try them. Many yoga poses require substantial strength and balance that takes time to develop. Start by developing a basic practice and give yourself time to work up from there.

If you struggle through longer practices, don't be embarrassed. Many new yogis are surprised by how challenging yoga can be.

Take breaks in child's pose whenever you need to, and if you'd like, practice beginner yoga poses designed to help build strength when you have a few minutes on your own. Before you know it, you'll be able to make it through a whole class like a champ.

Common Myths

There are a lot of myths surrounding the practice of yoga. But that's just it—they're myths, not reality. Believe it or not, yoga isn't just for those identifying as female. You don't have to be flexible to do yoga.

Yoga isn't a religion. Yoga isn't "too hard" or "too easy." Yoga isn't just for vegetarian hippies. Yoga is for everyone at every level, and yoga can fit into every lifestyle.

If you're open to trying the practice, you just might discover how inclusive and uplifting yoga can be.

10 Benefits of Yoga

noreply@blogger.com (Sudheer kumar) — Mon, 14 Jun 2021 03:32:00 +0000

Improves Flexibility

Moving your body and stretching in new ways will help you become more flexible, bringing a greater range of motion to tight areas. Over time, you can expect to gain flexibility in your hamstrings, back, shoulders, and hips.

A 2016 study published in the International Journal of Yoga evaluated the effects of a yoga practice on male college athletes. Over the course of the 10-week study, researchers observed significant gains in flexibility and balance in the group that practiced yoga compared to the group that did not. The study authors concluded that a yoga practice can potentially enhance athletic performance and increase flexibility in athletes.

As you get older, your flexibility usually decreases, especially if you spend a lot of time sitting, which leads to pain and immobility. Yoga can help reverse this process. A study conducted in China in 2015 found that 12 weeks of Hatha yoga improved flexibility in adults with a median age of 50. The practice also increased cardiorespiratory and muscular endurance as well as physical strength.

Poses to Try:

Reclined Big Toe Pose (Supta Pandangusthasana) provides a stretch for the hamstrings and calves and can be modified by using a yoga strap to gradually increase flexibility.
Eye of the Needle Pose (also called Reclined Pigeon Pose) increases flexibility and range of motion in the hips and provides a gentle stretch for the iliotibial (IT) band and piriformis.
Eagle Pose (Garudasana) is a balancing posture that increases flexibility in the shoulders while also working the legs, glutes, and adductors.

Builds Strength

Many yoga poses require you to bear your body weight in new and often challenging ways, including balancing on one leg or supporting yourself with your arms. Holding these poses over the course of several breaths helps build muscular strength and endurance.

As a byproduct of getting stronger, you can expect to see increased muscle tone.1 Yoga helps shape long, lean muscles in your legs, arms, back, and abdomen.

Poses to Try:

Downward-Facing Dog (Adho Mukha Svanasana) strengthens and stretches the hamstrings, calves, and ankles while building upper body strength in the shoulders, hands, and wrists.
Tree Pose (Vrksasana) strengthens and stretches the legs and core while testing your balance. The muscles and ligaments in the standing foot are strengthened as well.
Chair Pose (Utkatasana) strengthens the lower body and abdominal muscles while providing a stretch for the upper back.
Plank Pose is a common exercise used in various styles of fitness that targets the upper body and core while strengthening the hands and wrists and the muscles in the back body (posterior chain).

Improves Balance

Balance training is important at any age. Athletes find it can make them more powerful2 and those who are active find that it can boost their workouts and level of fitness. Balance training improves posture and functionality to help you move more efficiently through everyday life.

Exercises that strengthen and stabilize the core can promote agility and prevent accidents from stumbling or falling.

Improved balance is one of the most important benefits of yoga, especially as you get older. Poses that require you to stand on one leg, and, for more advanced practitioners, turn you upsidedown in an inversion, can be a great way to build the core strength to hold you upright.

Poses to Try

Chair Pose (Utkatasana): As you simultaneously reach your seat back and arms forward overhead, core engagement is crucial for stability in this pose.
Half-Moon Pose (Ardha Chandrasana) tests your balance while strengthening your core. This move also strengthens the ankles and thighs and stretches the hamstrings.
Warrior Poses (Virabhadrasana I, II, and III; Humble Warrior and Devotional Warrior) test your balance as you step forward and back from one pose to another. Try these moves as part of a Warrior series for a full sequence of yoga postures.

Supports Joint Health

The movements necessary for yoga are low-impact, allowing you to use your joints without injuring them. Yoga also helps strengthen the muscles around the joints, lessening their load. People with arthritis often see a marked improvement in their pain and mobility with regular gentle yoga practice.7

Poses to Try:

Bridge Pose (Setu Bandha Sarvangasana) mobilizes the spinal column and promotes hip stability.
Mountain Pose (Tadasana) supports the ankles and knees while improving posture.
Child's Pose (Balasana) mobilizes the spine and increases the range of motion in the knee and ankle joints
Crescent Lunge (Anjaneyasana) mobilizes the spine and hips and stabilizes the knee joints.

Eases and Prevents Back Pain

Increased flexibility and strength can help prevent the causes of some types of back pain. Many people who have back pain spend a lot of time sitting at a computer or driving a car, which causes tightness throughout the body and spinal compression. Yoga counteracts these conditions, as studies show that the practice can help to ease common symptoms of back pain.

Poses to Try

Cat-Cow Poses (Chakravakasana): Both Cat and Cow poses stretch and strengthen the spinal column as it moves through flexion and extension, which can help reduce compression in the lower back region.
Seated Spinal Twist (also called Half Lord of the Fishes Pose or Ardha Matsyendrasana) involves spinal rotation to support mobility in the spinal column, particularly in the neck (cervical spine).
Cobra Pose (Bhujangasana) increases the mobility of the spine by moving it through spinal extension.

Teaches Better Breathing

Most of us take shallow breaths and don't give much thought to how we breathe. Yoga breathing exercises, called pranayama, focus our attention on breathing and teach us how to take deeper breaths, which benefits the entire body.

Breathwork in yoga can have physical and mental benefits both on and off the mat. Certain types of pranayama such as Skull Shining Breath (Kapalabhati Pranayama) can also help clear the nasal passages (helpful for people with allergies), and Ujjayi Breath can help calm the nervous system.

Poses to Try

Three-Part Breath (Dirga Pranayama) is a calming and grounding practice that uses the breath to focus your attention on the present moment and tune into the sensations of your body.
Equal Breath (Sama Vritti Pranayama) promotes calm and focus by counting 4–6 breaths in for each inhale followed by 4–6 breaths out for each exhale to hold your attention.
Cooling Breath (Sitali Pranayama) uses long, slow, deep breathing to calm and cool the body by sipping in air through a rolled tongue or pursed lips.

Fosters Mental Calmness

Yoga asana practice is intensely physical. Concentrating on what your body is doing has the effect of bringing calmness to your mind. Yoga also introduces you to meditation techniques, such as how to focus on your breath and disengage from your thoughts.

The mental benefits of yoga are well-supported by scientific research. For instance, research published in 2018 in the International Journal of Preventative Medicine found that 12 weeks of Hatha yoga significantly reduced stress, anxiety, and depression in the 52 women who participated in the study.

In addition, a growing body of evidence shows the benefits of a yoga practice for people with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). A 2014 study determined that yoga can help traumatized individuals tolerate any physical and sensory experiences that were associated with fear and helplessness. The researchers determined that yoga helped increase emotional awareness, which was associated with their ability to manage their symptoms.

Poses to Try

Triangle Pose (Utthita Trikonasana) stretches the hamstrings, groins, and hips while strengthening the legs. The opening of the chest and shoulders can invite a sense of calm as you test your balance and stability and maintain your focus.
Pigeon Pose (Eka Pada Rajakapotasana) provides a deep opener for the hips while the nervous system is soothed as you fold forward.
Corpse Pose (Savasana) is known as the "final resting pose" that culminates a yoga practice. It is deeply relaxing and requires no physical effort. It is a pose for absorbing the physical practice while allowing the mind to relax and engage in meditation.

These skills can prove to be very valuable in intense situations off the mat, like childbirth, a bout of insomnia, or when having an anxiety attack.

Reduces Stress

Physical activity is good for relieving stress, and this is particularly true of yoga. Because of the concentration required, your daily troubles, both large and small, can seem to melt away during the time you are on the mat. This provides a much-needed break from your stressors, as well as helping to put your problems into perspective.

The emphasis yoga places on being in the present moment can also help as you learn not to dwell on past events or anticipate the future. You will leave a yoga class feeling less stressed than when you started since yoga reduces cortisol levels.

Poses to Try

Standing Forward Bend (Uttanasana) places the head below the heart to soothe the nervous system. You'll also feel an intense stretch in your hamstrings and calves. It's a good idea to bend your knees to avoid rounding your spine so you can get the most out of the forward fold.
Thunderbolt Pose (Vajrasana) is a relaxing meditation pose that can be practiced with a blanket under the knees and shins for additional support. You can also sit on a yoga block placed between your ankles to avoid straining your knees.
Legs Up the Wall Pose (Viparita Karani) is a calming restorative pose that can be supported with additional props such as a folded yoga blanket placed under your back. You can stay in a shape like this for a longer duration compared to other yoga poses to reap the stress-busting benefits.

Increases Self-Confidence

Doing yoga improves your mind-body connection, giving you a better awareness of your own body.15 During yoga, you learn to make small, subtle movements to improve your alignment, putting you in better touch with your physical body. You also learn to accept your body as it is without judgment. Over time, this leads to feeling more comfortable in your own body, boosting your self-confidence.

Poses to Try

Downward Dog Split (Eka Pada Adho Mukha Svanasana) strengthens the arms and core and increases focus.
Side Plank (Vasisthasana) strengthens the arms, back, and core muscles. There are several different variations to try as you build strength and confidence to hold yourself in this powerful pose.
Lizard Pose (Utthan Pristhasana) stretches the hips, groins, and hamstrings while improving mental focus.
Crow Pose (Bakasana) is an arm balance that targets the abdominals and back muscles and strengthens the arms and wrists. Strength and focus are required to confidently perform the pose without falling.

Boosts Heart Health

Heart disease is the leading cause of death worldwide and research shows that yoga can potentially help to prevent it.

Yoga is good for your heart because it increases circulation and blood flow. For instance, a 2015 study found that a year of yoga improved cardiovascular risk factors like obesity and high blood pressure among older adults with metabolic syndrome. The study authors concluded that yoga can be a complementary treatment to managing this condition.

Poses to Try

Cobbler’s Pose (Baddha Konasana) provides a gentle stretch for the hips and groin muscles and encourages deep breathing.
Garland Pose (also known as a Squat or Malasana) opens the hips to promote circulation and stretches the quadriceps while also strengthening the feet and ankles.
Extended Side Angle Pose (Utthita Parsvokanasana) is a chest-opening pose that targets the legs, hips, hamstrings, and glutes.
Happy Baby Pose (Ananda Balasana) is a playful hip-opening posture that stretches the hips, inner thighs, and groins, and encourages deep breathing and relaxation to promote blood flow.

Improves Sleep

Many people who practice yoga report that it helps them to sleep better and a large body of scientific evidence supports this claim. In fact, a review of 49 studies involving more than 4,500 participants determined that mind-body practices like meditation or yoga can be beneficial to those with insomnia and other sleep disorders.

Additionally, a 2020 review of 19 studies involving more than 1,800 women determined that those who practiced yoga had fewer sleep disturbances than those who did not. The researchers noted that the more yoga the subjects practiced, the more benefits they experienced.

Poses to Try

Happy Baby Pose (Ananda Balasana) can promote relaxation, soothe the nervous system, and quiet the mind.
Legs Up the Wall Pose (Viparita Karani) is a great pose to do just before bed for several minutes of deep belly breathing.
Reclined Goddess Pose (Supta Baddha Konasana) is a hip-opener that promotes deep relaxation by supporting yourself with additional props such as a bolster for additional comfort.

WHAT TO WEAR TO A JOB INTERVIEW [ EXAMPLES FOR WOMEN & MEN]

noreply@blogger.com (Sudheer kumar) — Thu, 10 Jun 2021 03:11:00 +0000

A Simple Rule Of Thumb For Deciding What To Wear To An Interview

I work at Microsoft on the advertising side of things. Every year we host an annual Awards event in Seattle to recognize our best clients.

This past year, our marketing team sent out an email stating that the dress code for the event was “cocktail casual.”

Nobody had any idea what that meant (even the marketing team).

I mean, Cocktail Attire alone is confusing enough on both sides of the gender spectrum.

Do men need to wear a jacket and tie? Or jacket but no tie? If you're a woman wearing a dress, what length is right? Etc.

Then you add in the word “casual” on top of that and everyone's head exploded!

The whole office spent the next month debating the rules of “cocktail casual” attire and, when the big event rolled around, people were wearing all different sorts of outfits.

My point? When it comes to picking the right attire for a big event, it can be easy to overanalyze.

The good news is that, when it comes to job interview attire, we can follow one simple rule to make sure we never show up out of place:

You'd much rather be wearing a suit into an office full of hoodies and jean shorts than show up wearing a t-shirt in an office full of buffed leather shoes and pant suits.

If you do end up being “too formal,” it's super easy to play off. You can use it as a conversation starter to help you lighten the mood and break the ice with your interviewer.

In the next section, we're going to talk through a few strategies you can leverage to help you figure out the company's culture around their dress code so you can make sure you have the perfect outfit.

3 Strategies For Figuring Out How People Dress For Their Jobs

Now you know you need to be dressed at least one notch above the people you're interviewing with, but where does that fall on the scale of flip flops to fancy formal?

In my experience, company/interview attire can be broken down into three buckets (these are just high level overviews of each, we'll provide specific examples for both genders in a bit).

The Three Tiers of Interview Attire (Examples For Women & Men)

Smart Casual: This dress style is fun and light while still being professional. Choices should be neutral and fit well, but don't need to be overly formal.

While people at the company maybe dressed more casually, this is the bare minimum for any interview.

Business Casual: We're not breaking out the full suit here, but we are definitely on the more formal side compared to Smart Casual.

For guys this usually means a sport coat, slacks, and leather shoes. For women, this is a neutral blouse (with a blazer or sweater if needed), tailored dress pants, and fancy flats or pumps.

This is the most common style for interview attire.

Business Formal: This is your traditional, conservative business look. Think bankers, lawyers, consultants, etc. We're talking full suit and dress shoes for both genders. That said, just because it's formal doesn't mean it can't show a bit of your personality!

Again, these examples are just high level overviews to help you quantify the different levels of interview dress code. We'll dive deeper into specific examples/do's and don't for men and women in just a bit.

Many times it's hard to figure out exactly what current employees are wearing to help you set your barometer. I want to share a few strategies to help you determine exactly what you should to wear to your interview:

Strategy #1: Ask Your Recruiter Or Someone Who Works At The Company

If you've made it to the interview stage, you're probably in touch with someone at the company who is handling logistics. That could be an external recruiter, in-house HR, or a hiring manager. Regardless, definitely feel free to ask them what you should wear to your interview – it's a totally normal question that they should be happy to answer.

Here's a quick email template you can use:

Email Template: How To Ask About Interview Attire

Hi [Name],

I am very excited to come in and meet the team on [Interview Date]. I did have one quick question for you — what should I plan to wear to the interview? I want to make sure I'm showing up the right way and I always feel like it's better to ask than assume.

Thank you so much for the help.

Best,

[Your Name]

If they give you a vague answer like, “oh whatever you wear to work is fine,” you can always follow up and ask them to be more specific or you can reach out to another person who works at the company and see what they think.

If hoodies and sneakers are cool at your office but their dress code is a bit more formal, things can get awkward. Making sure the expectations are set early is the best way to go here!

Strategy #2: Look Through The Company's Social Media Accounts

In today's world, almost every company is highly active on social media where they're sharing product releases, major events, and their company culture.

This usually means plenty of pictures of employees at work that you can use as a reference point. For example, Teachable – a startup that helps people create online courses – posted a picture of their team out to lunch and mentioned they were hiring:

Looks like most of the team is in casual/smart casual clothes, which gives you a great reference point for what to wear if you were interviewing with them.

Strategy #3: Search For Company Profiles Online

Many companies are leveraging their offices to nab headlines at awesome publications and get more eyeballs on their brand.

For example, if you Google “Inside LinkedIn's Offices” you get a list of 10+ articles from various outlets that all offer you a sneak peak into the company's office.

Those articles typically have a photoshoot taken during a regular workday, which means you get unsuspecting employees giving us a glimpse into their everyday wardrobes.

From that photo, it looks like smart casual is the attire of choice which means you might want to opt for business casual (one notch up) if you were interviewing at LinkedIn.

Looks like everyone there is business casual at a minimum, but most people are rocking business formal (I see a lot of suit jackets and sport coats).

You're going to want to break out the suit for that interview.

Additionally, places like The Muse are doing company profiles where they show up at an office, take a bunch of pictures, and actually interview current employees about what it's like to work there.

The goal is to give job seekers a better sense of the company and its culture, but we can also use it to see what people are wearing to work every day. Check out this image from Proof, an eComm-focused startup:

Looks pretty casual to me! I'd probably be going in some sort of smart casual dress code to that interview.

The bottom line? Finding creative ways to get some eyeballs inside your interviewer's office is a great way to see how people show up to work every day.

With your goal of being one notch higher on our three-tiered scale of dress code, that will give you a great idea of what to wear to your interview.

6+ Examples Of What To Wear To Your Job Interview For Women

Hey ladies! Lily here. I'm subbing in to give my two cents.

“I have nothing to wear.”

How many times have we all said that – especially before a big event like an interview? For must of us, I bet it's way too many times to count.

My goal is to simplify things for you. Interviews are stressful enough. We shouldn't be freaking out over our outfits, while also wondering how to craft a charming and sophisticated answer to “so, tell me about yourself.”

My interview attire philosophy can be boiled down to two basic principles:

1Comfort. No matter how formal or casual the dress code is, you need to be comfortable. When you're comfortable with how you look and feel, you exude confidence and you can focus on what really matters that day. So let's avoid anything overly warm, tight (breathing is important), itchy, etc.

1
2No one should notice your outfit. I know I just contradicted what my husband said about first impressions, but hear me out. If your clothes and accessories are really loud (even if they're cute), your interviewer will be distracted. If your outfit doesn't fit right, or if it looks sloppy, you will draw negative attention to yourself. Stick to neutral, well fitting clothes in order to keep the focus on you and all the amazing qualities you bring to the table. Channel your inner Meghan Markle for interviews and leave your Lady Gaga inspired outfits for the weekends.

#1. Smart Casual Interview Outfit Examples For Women

Smart Casual is a pretty ambiguous style, so it can be tough to know how to draw the line between too casual or too formal. I really liked this quote from Trend Spotter that helps differentiate between Smart Casual and Business Casual:

“Due to its polished yet relaxed aesthetic, smart casual attire is often confused with business casual dress code. While many outfits can fall into both categories, there are differences between the two. For instance, business casual tends to require a more conservative style of dress while smart casual can be more fashion-forward.”

Overall, Smart Casual is great because it lets you show off some of your personality during the interview. Just make sure to err on the side of professional. If you're wondering if something is too informal, then it probably is. Let's run through some outfit ideas to help you look perfectly smart and casual:

Women's Outfit Example #1

Top: Button down. You definitely don't have to tuck it in all the way for Smart Casual. I'm a big fan of the French Tuck, which was recently popularized by the fabulous Tan France on Queer Eye.

Bottom: Chinos (navy, olive, khaki). I love ankle cropped pants here, since they give a more relaxed look.

Shoes: Ballet flats. If your outfit is neutral, you can safely wear shoes with a color or mild pattern. But if you already have some patterns going on in your top, opt for more simple shoes.

Accessories: Less is more. Stud earrings (if you wear earrings) with a simple necklace or bracelet / watch.

How easy was that? I bet you could put something like this together without having to buy anything new. Now let's try a slightly different variation of Smart Casual.

Women's Outfit Example #2

Top: Blouse (swap for a sweater if it's freezing!)

Bottom: Black jeans (make sure to stay away from blue jeans)

Shoes: Booties with a low heel

Accessories: Again, keep it simple. Go for small earrings with a basic gold or silver necklace.

With Smart Casual, aim to express yourself, but stick to simple and conservative clothes. You should look relaxed, yet polished. If you could wear this outfit to work in the morning, the interview in the afternoon, and then to a dinner with your parents, you know you hit the jackpot.

#2. Business Casual Interview Outfit Examples For Women

Business Casual is a super popular interview style. It's typically a safe bet too. This look strikes an even balance between casual and corporate, so you can walk into most offices and feel like you fit in.

Your Business Casual outfits should be elevated from your Smart Casual look. You definitely still have room to show your personality here, but there are some staples you should stick to in order to make sure you nail this dress code.

A tailored blazer is the easiest way to class this look up. It doesn't have to be a formal suit blazer – there are tons of other options out there that look a bit more stylish. My other tip for Business Casual is to avoid denim all together (obviously no blue jeans, but I wouldn't do black either).

Women's Outfit Example #1

Top: Tailored blazer + blouse (I'd go for a traditional tuck-in as opposed to a French Tuck)

Bottom: Navy chinos or cropped dress pants

Shoes: Neutral loafers or flats

Accessories: Minimal. Wear your trusty watch and stud earrings.

If your blazer is black or blue, you can opt for a blouse with a soft pattern. And if you have to go out and buy that blazer, there are tons of reasonably priced options out there that are super cute. I grabbed one from H&M for an interview a few months ago and I style it with my weekend looks all the time now!

Women's Outfit Example #2

Top / Bottom: Simple knee length black dress + black tights

Shoes: Flats or booties with a low heel

Accessories: Throw on a simple necklace and basic earrings

With Business Casual, your main goal should be to keep things professional and relaxed. And don't be afraid to show some personality! Just balance any patterns or color with neutrals and you will be good to go.

#3. Business Formal Interview Outfit Examples For Women

This is admittedly my least favorite category. Let's be honest – it takes a lot more effort and it's not as easy to stick to my comfort rule in formal attire. But it's possible. I promise!

Thanks to evolving fashion trends, women have much better Business Formal options than we used to. The suits today look feminine and dare I say…trendy? Ok, trendy may be stretching it a bit, but at least you can wear a suit without engulfing yourself in shoulder pads and excess fabric.

For anyone who doesn't wear pants, Business Formal can extend to pencil skirts or dresses + a blazer. And if you don't want to purchase these formal (and sometimes pricey) clothing items, Rent the Runway is a great option. You can rent a Business Formal outfit instead of buying expensive clothes that will probably sit in the back of your closet for eternity after your two hour interview.

Women's Outfit Example #1

Top: Blazer + white button down

Bottom: Cropped dress pants that match the blazer

Shoes: Tailored flats (black shoes are your safest bet)

Accessories: Opt for simple gold or silver pieces. Earrings and a watch will do.

This is a pretty standard formal interview outfit. You can't go wrong with basic black and white. Also, don't be afraid to wear flats! Especially if heels kill your feet. There are plenty of flats out there that look nice enough to pair with Business Formal attire.

Women's Outfit Example #2

Top: Blazer + blouse

Bottom: Dress pants (slight flare or boot cut) that match the blazer

Shoes: Black pumps (for my ladies who love heels)

Accessories: You know the drill – pick a few pieces and keep it simple!

I know most of us wouldn't typically throw on a suit if we didn't have to, but that doesn't mean you should sacrifice the comfort rule. You can look formal and still be comfortable. Make sure your dress pants fit you well (length, waist, etc.) and if you typically wear feminine clothes, then find a feminine suit. They're out there!

6+ Examples Of What To Wear To Your Job Interview For Men

Alright guys, it's our turn!

My goal is to make this as simple and painless as possible. The good news for us is that our choices are pretty cut and dried. We can start with a couple of immediate go-to's, a strong foundation, and then you can improvise and style right off of that.

We'll start with the most diverse and casual outfit in our arsenal:

#1. Smart Casual Interview Outfit Examples For Men

Oxford's dictionary defines Smart Casual as, “neat, conventional, yet relatively informal in style.”

Fasion site Mr Porter defines it as, “pretty much anything smarter than a tracksuit, but less formal than a suit.”

I like to think of it as something you'd wear on a first date with someone who's slightly out of your league. You definitely want to look sharp, but you also don't want to look like you tried too hard.

Your best bet is going to be a neutral button down, chinos, and shoes that are nicer than sneakers. While most non-interview Smart Casual outfits will include jeans, I would not recommend wearing jeans to your interview. Better safe than sorry. Let's look at a few examples:

Men's Outfit Example #1

Top: White button down, steamed and wrinkle free

Belt: Always, and it should match your shoes (light shoes + light belt, dark shoes + dark belt)

Bottom: Khaki chinos

Shoes: Clark's desert boots or casual leather oxford

Accessories: Watches are always a great add here

Men's Outfit Example #2

Top: Gingham button down, matching sweater/jumper

Belt: Always, and it should match your shoes (light shoes + light belt, dark shoes + dark belt)

Bottom: Navy chinos

Shoes: Leather lace up oxfords

Accessories: None needed, but again, a watch is a great add and don't forget to tuck in that button down if you're wearing a sweater

When it comes to smart casual, the best mantra is “when in doubt, toss it out.” In other words, play it safe and conservative. If you're doubtful about whether or not you should wear something, don't wear it.

If you dress like the handsome guy in the picture above, you'll be good to go (feel free to swap out the shirt and pants for other neutral color combinations).

#2. Business Casual Interview Outfit Examples For Men

Business Casual has some more structure for us guys. The rules are a bit more defined and easy to follow – we're taking the same principles from our Smart Casual look and dressing them up a bit.

For example, instead of a free form button down you're going to want a shirt with a bit more structure. Instead of distressed chinos you may want to opt for clean, tailored chinos or slacks.

While you don't need to break out the suit jacket just yet, Business Casual typically calls for some sort of sport coat or blazer (but you definitely don't need a tie). Let's check out some examples:

Men's Outfit Example #1

Top: Ironed white button down

Jacket: Gray unstructured sport coat

Belt: Always, and make sure it matches the tone of your shoes

Bottom: Navy slacks

Shoes: Polished leather loafers or oxfords

Accessories: Watches are great, you can also add a pocket square to your sport coat if you want to spice things up. No tie needed at this point.

Men's Outfit Example #2

Top: Ironed white and blue checked dress shirt

Jacket: Gray cardigan

Belt: Always, make sure the belt matches the tone of your shoes

Bottom: Ironed Navy dress chinos

Shoes: Polished, dark leather dress shoes

Accessories: Watches are great, you can also add a pocket square to your sport coat if you want to spice things up. No tie needed at this point.

Business Casual is pretty easy to pull off. If you just think about leveling up your smart casual look and adding a jacket, you'll be all set — or you can just match our guy in the picture above to make things super simple!

#3. Business Formal Interview Outfit Examples For Men

Our most formal option and the easiest to prepare for. You're going full matching suit and tie for this one!

The biggest thing to watch out for here is matching the suit and shoes. The suit's already going to match, but you don't want to ruin the whole thing with a goofy color choice for your shoes. Just because they're fancy doesn't mean they work with the outfit. Business Insider has an awesome guide to help you match suits and shoes.

When you're suiting up, your best option for showing off some personality is with your tie. Be careful though, it's easy to go a little crazy. You still want to keep things on the professional / conservative side, but don't be afraid to go beyond basic black or blue if you feel compelled.

Men's Outfit Example #1

Top: Pressed white dress shirt

Jacket: Suit jacket

Belt: None

Bottom: Suit pants that match your jacket

Shoes: Polished formal dress shoes

Accessories: Tie is a must here, watches are great, and a pocket square is always a nice touch if it's your thing

Black and blue suits are a super common and traditional move. They look awesome and are definitely a safe play. If you want to spice things up, you can switch up the suit color to something that's not quite as common like a charcoal or gray.

Just don't go Miami Vice on us with the white, khaki, or seersucker. You may think I'm dumbing it down a bit too much — I wish I wasn't, I've seen it.

Men's Outfit Example #2

Top: Pressed white dress shirt

Jacket: Light gray suit jacket

Belt: None

Bottom: Light gray suit pants that match the jacket

Shoes: Brown or black formal dress shoes

Accessories: Tie and watch

Business Formal is the safest move you've got. You're never going to be under dressed if you roll with this and it's a great move if you're not sure what to expect. I've never heard of anyone not being hired for being over dressed, but I've heard plenty of stories about the reverse. Plus, everyone looks awesome in a full suit and tie!

5 Pre-Interview Tips To Make Sure Your Style Is Bulletproof On The Big Day

Awesome, now you know what you're going to be wearing on the big day! But interview preparation doesn't end there.

One of the best things you can do to maximize your chances of success is cover all of your bases and plan for the worst. These tactics will help you make it happen:

Tip #1: Do Your Laundry 72 Hours Before Interview Day

Part of nailing that first impression is how your clothes look when you show up.

You could be wearing a full suit, but if it has stains on it or it's wrinkled like it's been sitting on the floor of your closet for weeks, that kind of defeats the whole purpose.

We want to make sure our outfit is clean and crispy. The best way to do that is making sure to do the laundry or get the dry cleaning done at least 48-72 hours before your interview!

Tip #2: Prepare Your Interview Attire The Night Before

You never want to be stuck in a situation where you're preparing your outfit (or scrambling to prepare anything) the day of your interview.

When interview day rolls around, everything should be ready to go and planned out. The only time you should spend is focusing in on your game plan for the big day.

One of the things that helped me save some mental bandwidth was laying out my interview outfit (or outfits) the night before. I'd make sure it was ready, stain-and-wrinkle free, and hanging up before I went to bed. That way it was ready to pack the moment I woke up.

I don't recommend packing your interview outfit the night before. We want to avoid bunching and wrinkles so the less time spend in a bag, the better!

Tip #3: Pack A Backup Interview Outfit (If You Can)

If you have the option to pack a backup interview outfit, do it!

You never know what can happen between now and the moment you need to suit up. A giant rainstorm could pop up out of nowhere, a bird could decide to go number 2 right as you're leaving the office, or John in Accounting might spill that homemade marinara all over you.

If you're able to drop a spare outfit in the trunk of your car or somehow squeeze it into your backpack, it's absolutely worth it for the peace of mind.

Tip #4: Don't Skimp For The Video Interview

You may be tempted to skip a few steps because Skype is never crystal clear right? That stain from last week's meatball sub won't make it into the frame, right?

Wrong.

You want to treat your video interviews the same way you'd treat an in person. One, because you'll feel better if you give it the same weight.

Two, because you never know how your video is going to be viewed. Some companies have some very large screens they may be projecting your video on. A dot on your shirt in real life might be a 3 inch crater on am 80″ flat screen. Better safe than sorry here!

What to Wear on a First Date: { 7 Outfit Formulas }

noreply@blogger.com (Sudheer kumar) — Mon, 07 Jun 2021 19:39:00 +0000

Date Outfit Idea #1: After-Work Special

The Formula: Shirtdress + Fun Shoes

Why It Works: If you have a date planned during the workweek and you know you won't have time to change in between, opt for a classic shirtdress and spice things up with a bright, edgy shoe. It's super comfortable and easy to style. Feels too stuffy? Undo a button. Feels too casual? Throw on a blazer. Sometimes I even wear this one on a weekend date if I want something easy yet put-together.

Date Outfit Idea #2: Classic Chameleon

HONEY AND SILK

The Formula: A Dressy Blouse + Relaxed Jeans + Midi Heels

Why It Works: If you live in your jeans but want to dress them up a little, opt for a wrap top or something in a more formal material like silk or velvet. Then add a shoe with a low heel to strike the balance between comfort and elegance. I call this one the chameleon because it's elegant yet laid-back, and you won't have to worry about being under- or overdressed. It's my go-to look when I'm feeling unsure in any way. Plus, there are countless iterations since all you need to do to make it new again is swap out the blouse. 

Date Outfit Idea #3: Oh, This Old Thing?

The Formula: A Printed Skirt + T-Shirt + Flats

Why It Works: Just sassy enough to turn heads, this outfit formula hits the sweet spot between cavalier and thoughtful. It's perfect for anyone who fancies themselves a skirt person but also appreciates casual and comfortable clothing. I always go for a fun printed skirt (sometimes mini, sometimes midi depending on how modest I'm feeling) with a simple T-shirt half-tucked in, and then slip on some Mary Janes or ballet flats. Basically, just try to channel Alexa Chung.

Date Outfit Idea #4: Groove Town

The Formula: Going-Out Top + High-Waisted Denim + Low Heels

Why It Works: This is my personal favorite date outfit formula because it combines optimal, easy comfort with flirty, fun pieces. The hero here is the going-out top. Whether you opt for something flowy or form-fitting, off the shoulder or strapless, sequined, or ruffly, make sure you pick a going-out top that pumps you up and makes you want to have some fun. For me, that means my green silk bandana scarf with an attached rhinestone halter neck, but for you, it might mean an understated cami. It's basically like wearing a pump-up song, so ask yourself: Are you in a "Bodak Yellow" kind of mood or are you feeling a little more Lana Del Rey? Then channel that into your top selection.

Date Outfit Idea #5: Sporty Romance

The Formula: Flowy Midi Dress + Sneakers

Why It Works: Super easy to throw on, a lightweight midi dress is the perfect thing to wear when you're out of ideas and craving comfort without compromising style. In fact, this outfit formula seems to garner the most compliments even though it takes the least amount of effort. Sometimes I opt for sneakers if I know I'll be walking a lot and want to be quick on my feet (and also helps to funk things up a little if I feel like the dress is too "sweet"), but other days and moods call for strappy sandals. Plus, it easily transitions from day to night.

Date Outfit Idea #6: Endless Summer

The Formula: Silk Cami + Jean Shorts or Skirt + Slides

Why It Works: If it's too warm for pants but you like the laid-back feel of denim, opt for a jean skirt or shorts depending on which ones speak more to your style. A silk cami will introduce a sleeker, sophisticated aesthetic and a pair of mules with a low heel will also dress things up. Breathable, light, and chic, it's a great summer outfit for pretty much any activity.

Date Outfit #7: Too Much Isn't Enough

The Formula: A Bold Blouse + Skirt + Sneakers

Why It Works: Opt for a fun, printed blouse and matching mini skirt with sneakers. I'm definitely not an understated dresser, and I used to think I had to tone myself down so as to not "come on too strong." Then I realized that if my date thinks my style is too over the top or distracting or weird—especially if they know I feel great in it—they are most definitely not for me. Moral of the story: Wear whatever you want to wear.

9 Ways to Deal with Emotional Pain

noreply@blogger.com (Sudheer kumar) — Sat, 05 Jun 2021 20:45:00 +0000

You find yourself suffering emotionally and looking for anything to help ease the emotional pain. What can you do? Perhaps you could turn to alcohol to numb the pain. Or you might use food to cope and over time start binging.

You might decide to buy something new to distract yourself.

Shopping, food, and alcohol aren’t a problem on their own in moderation, but when any of them become your primary coping strategy it can lead to more stress than relief.

What are some better options to cope with emotional pain?

1. Find a New Hobby

Pick up a new hobby, something that you’ve always wanted to try or maybe something that you already know you love but haven’t made the time for. Love to read books? Borrow a book from the local library or purchase one on your tablet and start reading!

Do you enjoy looking at other people’s scrapbooks? Start one of your own! Create a vision board and paste images of everything that speaks to you. Use this to help you identify your interests and passions.

2. Move Your Body

While suffering from emotional pain you may not even want to get out of bed. Unfortunately, this can contribute to greater heaviness and depression.

Instead, go for a short walk around the block. Stand up and stretch. Do a short beginner yoga video online (doyogawithme.com is one to try). Dance to uplifting music in your living room.

Any type of physical movement can help you release the pain from your body. It feels counter-intuitive, you don’t have the energy to move, so how can moving help? Yet, moving when you’re feeling down can give you energy and lift your spirits. It can also help mobilize your nervous system giving you energy.

3. Don’t Ruminate

Don’t torture yourself by fixating on what caused the pain you’re suffering from. What has happened has already been done and cannot be undone.

Going over it again and again in your mind will only make things worse for you.

If you need to, ask yourself, what can you do now? What control do you have over the situation?

Watch out for shaming and blaming yourself as well.

If nothing can be done, your only and best choice is to simply to accept what is and allow yourself to feel what you feel.

It can be helpful to process your feelings with a friend, therapist or even write them out in a journal. When you access your feelings it can help you shut off your mind.

4. Stop Telling the Story

You may think that you’re no longer worrying about what caused the pain, but as soon as there is an open ear willing to listen, you find yourself retelling the story.

At first this can help, but at some point you have to stop telling the story as you’re just opening up the wound again.

Rather, focus on where you are now. What have you overcome? What resources have you used to get past the emotional pain?

Rather than venting, sink deeper into your most primary feelings about the situation and allow yourself to really experience them. Sometimes, we get caught up in our secondary emotions around pain such as anger or anxiety, while blocking our most primary and important feelings, such as hurt or sadness.

Sometimes, while counter-intuitive, you can experience relief when allowing your most primary and painful emotions to express themselves. This is the emotion regulation strategy of name it to tame it.

Simply acknowledging and verbalizing what we feel can allow the feeling to dissipate (this is heavily backed by research. It works!)

5. Start Keeping a Journal

Did something good happen to you today? Write it in your journal along with a comment about how you’ll overcome this.

Something like, “I feel like I will have trouble trusting again. However, I know that one person out of the millions that surround me every day caused this. There will be others worthy of my trust. This one person wasn’t deserving of my trust, anyway.”

6. Cry

Have you been fighting back the tears? Don’t. Let them go.

Crying has health benefits such as releasing toxins from your body and relieving stress.

Meanwhile, bottling up such emotions can only poison your body and mind.

Actually, this is true. When we suppress or block our emotions, our body uses physical strategies such as constricting muscles, altering breathing and so forth. These behaviors over time can lead to physical symptoms with digestion, chronic pain or immune related issues.

If you find it difficult to cry, try watching a movie that has similar themes to the pain you’re in.

7. Open Yourself to Others, Let Them In

Does it hurt you to see your loved ones suffering? The same goes for your loved ones when they see you suffering.

Don’t lock yourself up in your room and avoid others. Let them in, it benefits both them and you. Humans are social creatures, isolating yourself ends up exacerbating your pain.

Connection is the antidote.

8. Make a List of What You’re Thankful For

Write down everything that is good and positive. Are you thankful for your loving mother? Your supportive father? Even something like having a roof over your head counts. Write it all down and reflect upon it.

Practicing gratitude can give you perspective. The point is not to disregard negative emotions. It’s important to allow yourself to feel and experience those as well. Rather, the point is to also recognize the good. Sometimes, we can get caught up focusing on what’s “wrong” and lose sight of all the “what’s right.”

A nice individual or family ritual to keep a gratitude jar. At the end of the day each person writes one thing they’re grateful for a slip of paper and places it into the jar. At the end of the month/year you can open and read them together or whenever you need to remember the good things.

9. Name it to Tame It

When. you are struggling with emotional pain, take a moment to simply NAME what you are feeling.

Research shows that naming our feelings can relax the intensity of what we are experiencing. Thus, name it to tame it.

For help with identifying your feelings, use our feelings chart. To take it to the next step, use your feelings to identify what you need most.

noreply@blogger.com (Sudheer kumar) — Sat, 05 Jun 2021 20:11:00 +0000

15 Useful Tips To Overcome Your Fear Of Public Speaking

noreply@blogger.com (Sudheer kumar) — Fri, 04 Jun 2021 20:08:00 +0000

The fear of public speaking is very real. However, there are techniques to help you overcome your fears. There are even ways to help harness your energy in a positive way.

Keep reading if you want to learn how.

1) Get Organized

When you organize all of your thoughts and materials it helps you to become much more relaxed and calm. When you have clear, organized thoughts it can greatly reduce your speaking anxiety because you can better focus on the one thing at hand, giving a great speech.

2) Practice And Prepare Extensively

Nothing takes the place of practicing and preparing for your speech. Write out a script of your key points, but don’t read from the script word for word. Prepare for your speech so well that you could answer any possible question thrown at you.

3) Eliminate Fear Of Rejection

“What if my audience hates my speech? What if they boo me off stage?” Try to eliminate all of your fears of rejection. The audience is there to listen to you for a reason.

4) Focus On Patterns

When you speak try to get into a rhythm or a flow. Keep your sentences short and to the point and repeat key points. A short pause in between points can add anticipation to what you are going to say next.

5) Watch Yourself In The Mirror

Practice your speech in front of the mirror as if you were speaking directly to someone. If you really want to learn how to improve public speaking skills then…

Pay attention to:

Your facial expressions
Your gestures
Your body movements
How welcoming you appear

When you have gentle expressions and a calm demeanor when you speak, you will be more welcoming to your audience.

6) Record Yourself And Learn Your Voice

Record your speech on your phone or video camera. Record yourself giving the talk from beginning to end. Then listen to it or watch it, and make notes on how you could make it better. Some people do not like listening to the sound of their voice on tape, so it is important that you get used to your own voice and speaking style.

7) Work On Your Breathing

When you focus on your breathing your voice will have more resonance and you will relax. Breathe calmly and focus on getting into a rhythm. Although this is a public speaking exercise, breath-work will help reduce stress and improve clarity in all areas of life.

8) Practice Some More . . .

When someone asks me how he can build effective communication skills and improve his public speaking, I quote to him the words of Elbert Hubbard, who said, “The only way to learn to speak is to speak and speak, and speak and speak, and speak and speak and speak.”

9) Give Your Speech To Another Person

There are plenty of people you can practice on. Be sure to tell the person to be completely honest with you in their critique.

Examples of people you can practice on:

A significant other
Your friends
Your parents
Your dog

Speaking directly to another person will help relax you and give you experience with getting feedback from someone. If they have questions about your speech, it is likely that members of an audience will have the same questions.

10) Public Speaking Classes

Find a great coach or mentor. There are many groups that you can join to learn the art of public speaking. A group such as Toastmasters is non-profit and helps people get over their fears by having them practice speaking on subjects over and over.

11) Lightly Exercise Before Speaking

Exercising lightly before a presentation can get your blood circulating and send oxygen to your brain. Take a walk before a speech or do a few knee bends.

This little trick is one of my favorite speaking tips. You’ll be amazed by what a little blood flow can do.

12) PowerPoint Can Be Really Great, Or Really Bad

Sometimes, having a powerpoint can be your best friend. It can help you if you lose your train of thought, keep your audience engaged, and give people a good place to grab notes and main points from.

13) Even Warren Buffett Had Public Speaking Anxiety At First

Buffett got over his fears by teaching investing principles to people twice his age. He forced himself to talk to people. He practiced these skills over and over again. Fast forward to today and people hang on his every word. In fact, Warren Buffett quotes have become some of the most famous and sought after bites of investing wisdom in the world.

14) Sip Water That’s Warm Or Room Temperature

Sometimes squeezing some lemon into your water helps as well. It helps lubricate your throat. Try to avoid sugary beverages before speaking. These can dry out your mouth and make it harder to talk.

15) Read Eloquence In Public Speaking By Dr. Kenneth McFarland

McFarland, who passed away in 1985, is also known as the “Dean of American Public Speakers,” and in his book, he didn’t talk about methodology or technique at all.

His central message, which influenced me very strongly when I began speaking publicly, was that the key to eloquence is the emotional component that the speaker brings to the subject.

To put it another way, the starting point of being an excellent speaker is for you to really care about your subject.

5 Overlooked Training Tips for Glorious Glutes

noreply@blogger.com (Sudheer kumar) — Thu, 03 Jun 2021 21:03:00 +0000

1. Pay Attention to Your Feet

If you do not maintain an arch in your foot, you will find your glutes fire sub-optimally.

Some will say this problem is “glute amnesia.” I like to refer to it as “lazy feet.” If you don’t maintain an arch when you’re working on otherwise great glute building exercises like deadlifts or squats, you fully activate the glute max.

Your gluteus maximus is the biggest, most powerful butt muscle you’ve got back there, and certainly one you want “turned on” during any exercise.

TIP: In bare feet, find all four corners of the floor with your feet. While maintaining the arch you’ve created, try to pull the floor apart in your squat pattern, emphasizing the base of the big toe.

2. Stretch and Activate Your Hip Flexors Before Training

When you sit or wear heels all day, the hips can end up very rotated in response to the stress. In turn, the hip flexors get very tight and weak. Many of the best butt-building exercises, like squats and deadlifts, require a certain amount of hip flexor strength for you to successfully pull your hips into flexion. So a good deep hip flexor stretch, followed by some kind of challenge is ideal..

TIP: Try a half-kneeling hip flexor stretch and follow it up with a quick hurdle hold exercise.

Another easy way to activate your glutes before training is to include glute bridges as part of your warm-up. Right after the hurdle hold, stay laying on the floor and do a single-leg glute bridge, holding each at the top for 15 seconds. Two reps on each side and you should have your glutes firing.

3. Train Half-Kneeling Positions

If you’ve got chronically tight hamstrings, you cannot touch your toes, or your lower back is tight after runs, the posture of your hips could be off.

Half-kneeling positions help correct this issue in the long run, but they also require you to squeeze your glutes in order to stay balanced. You can row, press, chop, and push— all with one knee down.

TIP: Try this half-kneeling lift exercise:

These half-kneeling lifts and chops you can replace in your programming for a few weeks in place of the same ab exercises you’ve been doing for months. This trains your core in a new (and probably more effective way) which will further support your posture and glute activation.

4. Maintain Good Posture All Day (Including During Your Lifts)

“Good posture” is very relative and very individual. It reflects strengths, weaknesses, fatigue, stress, and confidence level, so the best posture cue is really just to create as much space between your joints as possible.

When you do so, your joints are in the most optimal positions for you to be successful at whatever exercise you’re doing. Within the context of our hips and glute training, we want to make sure our lower back isn’t excessively arched, so our posture should focus on posteriorly tilting the pelvis. This

TIP: While standing with feet hip-width apart, make sure your tailbone is pointing down towards to the floor and grind your heels into the floor as you elongate through the crown of your head. Apply this to all of your resisted movements.

5. Balance Your Strengths

If posture reflects strengths and weaknesses, you can positively affect it by getting your muscles into better balance and, for most people, that means training the posterior line a bit more (calves, hamstrings, glutes, back—all of these muscles are connected along the posterior chain). They usually need a little more attention than their anterior counterparts to keep the body in balance.

TIP: Add more Romanian Deadlifts to target the hamstrings, even if you already have regular concentric deadlifts in your program.

6. Don’t Forget The Side Glutes

There are actually three glutes muscles. In addition to the glute max, there are two smaller glutes, the gluteus medius and gluteus minimus, that reside on the side of our hips just below the pelvis. The glute med lays on top of the glute min, and they perform the same main functions: hip abduction (bringing your leg out to the side), and hip internal rotation (rotating your femur inward). Activating these muscles will support your overall posture in addition to.

A great way to activate these muscles is to do a mini resistance band walk as part of your warm-up. Grab a mini band and take 10-20 steps, while bracing your core, in each direction. Here’s a video with all you need to know about performing band walks in the most effective manner.

How to Build a Sexy Female Body { 6 Tips }

noreply@blogger.com (Sudheer kumar) — Thu, 03 Jun 2021 20:46:00 +0000

1) Ditch the Lame Warm-Up

In most cases, your warm-up should bear a fair similarity to your actual training. Given that we’ve pretty much established that slow-paced workouts—be they cardio or strength training—are essentially useless, why would you think to warm up that way?

And yet, more often than not, you see women getting ready for fast-paced, intense workouts warming up with a lame 10-minute walk on the treadmill, or an even lamer series of stretches. Both are time wasted that could be spent getting you to your goals.

Instead, it is much more effective to warm up much in the same fashion you’ll workout: fast. I always have my clients warm up with full-body exercises and dynamic bodyweight circuits.

Skipping rope and performing calisthenic exercises like jumping jacks work the entire body, and prepare you neurologically for the workout to come. This will allow you to get more out of each exercise, as your body will be primed to perform as a unit—this is especially true if you do a lot of full body movements in your training.

In addition to that, dynamic warm-ups also get your heart rate up over a shorter period of time, and allow you to burn more calories and get into the groove faster.

All of which is to say that whether your goal is to drop some fat or tone up your muscles, there is literally nothing that a lame slow-go workout can do for you that can’t be more effectively achieved with a fast one.

2) Don’t Be Afraid to Lift Heavy

Given that I maintain that men and women should train differently for differing goals, it stands to reason that I assert there should be certain aspects of training that carry over when goals are similar. One goal that men and women have in common is that we all want a firm, toned, sexy look. One of the best ways to get that look, for men or women, is with heavy weight.

How heavy and how often will depend on the goal. I train a lot of women who focus purely on gaining strength and almost always train using close to their maximal weight.

I’ve also got a number of athletes who use one heavy lift in every training session.

For my clients focused on fat loss, neither of those are necessary; however, I insist that all my female clients spend at least two days per month dedicated purely to heavy lifting (75% or more of 1RM), regardless of their goal. Not only is it great for fat loss, but lifting heavy will help you look better once you’ve lost the fat.

You see, training in a way that utilizes heavy loads is the fastest and most efficient way to increase both neurogenic and myogenic muscle tone; that is, it’s the best way to give you a firm, toned look—even when you’re just standing there.

I’m fairly certain my general readership is beyond the whole “I don’t want to get bulky—won’t lifting heavy make me bigger?” dilemma. It pains me to even have to bring it up. But, chances are we’ve got some newbz reading, and for their sake, I like to cover my bases and be thorough, so I’ll just lay it all out.

Gaining muscle is a result of a few factors: training methods, dietary considerations, and–as alluded to above–hormonal environment.

In terms of diet, it is exceedingly difficult—not to mention unlikely—to gain significant muscle mass without purposefully eating a Caloric excess. This is why athletes and bodybuilders eat more than their daily energy needs: so that excess will be used for the building of lean body mass.

Regarding hormones, women will always have a harder time putting on mass than men because of certain sex hormones; mainly testosterone. As a woman, your testosterone levels are generally too low to make getting “too big” a concern in a short period of time (although in certain situations, some muscle groups can grow faster than others; more on that below).

So, if you do notice yourself putting on more muscle than you’d like, just lower your caloric intake, and tone down the training volume a bit.

Speaking of training, that brings us back to my main point. Heavy lifting requires low reps; if you don’t do a greater number of sets, the total workout volume drops dramatically, and you are left without much stimulus for muscle gain.

And THAT is exactly what we want: to keep the weight and volume in the right balance to allow us to reap the benefits of heavy training without putting on mass.

To that end, I recommend that women spend at least two days per month doing some heavy training. To get you started, here’s a heavy full-body circuit:

3 sets of 5 reps for each of the following:

dumbbell squat
dumbbell push press
Inverted row (add weight if necessary–or do pull-ups! Modifying pull-ups also works.)
Alternating reverse lunges
Plank (hold for as long as possible)

To determine the correct weight, just pick a weight you can lift roughly 5-6 times. If you can get all 3 sets for 5 reps, increase the weight next workout.

Again, I said at least two days per month. This is the minimum. Speaking generally, I have my female clients train heavy at least once per week; further, there are a lot of women who train almost exclusively with near maximal weights (3-5 reps). So, again: don’t be afraid to lift heavy

3) Sit Down And Sprint?

Over the past several years, we’ve tried to break people of the notion that if they want to lose stomach fat, they need to do stomach exercises. Now, we’ve got a pretty well-established belief in the fitness industry that you can’t “spot” reduce fat.

So if you are trying to reduce the size of your thighs and hips, your fat loss will come from all over and you just have to let your body determine how much visible reduction occurs.

What if that assessment is only partially true? I contend it very well might be.

A few years back, I attended a seminar led by Dr. John Berardi, who is an expert in the field of sports nutrition. He is also a world-renowned trainer who works with some of the most elite athletes around. During the seminar, Berardi made a remark about some Olympic athletes he was training; he had an interesting finding regarding fat loss.

As it turned out, when he had these athletes (all women) do their high-intensity sprint workouts on a stationary bicycle, there was a “disproportionately high” amount of fat loss in the lower body. JB and I discussed this, and although he had a lot of data to back this up, no studies had been done. Instead, we just had an interesting factoid.

That was about 8 years ago, and in that time I have had a lot of opportunities to work stationary bike sprints into a good number of my programs; generally for women who found that losing lower body fat was a hardship. And you know what? IT WORKS.

But why? What makes the stationary bike so special?

To be honest, I have no freakin’ clue. None at all…at least, none that I can base on anything but broscience and black magic. I will say, however, that it seems to me that doing timed sprints that you get more efficient and can perform with more resistance over time…seems A LOT like a “cardio version” of my type of density-based training, which as we all know has been very effective for dropping lower body fat (mainly, because it helps with hormonal optimization).

All I know is, it works—although I should point out that from what I’ve seen, there is some danger of losing some muscle mass on the leg alongside the fat. For most, this is an acceptable risk, and for the rest, an unexpected benefit.

After all, I’ve had the preponderance of my female clients say, “I have too much fat in my lower body.” I have never had one say, “Gee, Roman, I wish I had a lot more muscle in my legs, and I don’t want to do anything that runs this risk of compromising my lower body development, even if it’ll help me lose a lot of fat on my thighs.”

It just doesn’t happen. Huge legs is not something women typically ask me for when they want to sculpt their version of a sexy body.

Again, I don’t have a study to back me up on the exact way it works, but I have 8 years of my own experience with clients to back up the fact that it DOES work. If you are struggling with this area of your body and you have access to the equipment, you MUST give this a try.

4) Less is More. Or is it More is Less? Or Maybe More IN Less. Oh Whatever, Just Go Faster

As I’ve touched on so far, there are a lot of factors we can make alterations to in order to meet the goal of sculpting a sexy female body.

Variables such as training frequency, set and rep schemes, and the aforementioned volume and load (weight) are the most commonly manipulated facets of training. However, one of the variables you don’t hear much about also lends itself to making some of the best progress.

I’m talking about training density. With regard to training, density can be described as the amount of work you do in a given time period. Density is actually one of the easiest variables to manipulate for progress: simply do more in less time.

Doing more work in less time has a number of incredible benefits: increasing the rate of fat loss, aerobic and anaerobic training, and an increase in work capacity. Over time, increasing density will make you stronger, leaner, fitter, and MORE capable of performing. That has carryover to nearly every other type of training and will have implications for accelerated progress down the line.

One of the simplest ways to increase density is to shorten your rest periods. If you normally rest 45 seconds between sets, try cutting it down to 35 or less. Over the course of a 45-minute workout, that adds up and you’ll notice you are feeling a completely different stimulus.

Of course, my favorite way to manipulate density is to structure your sets for TIME rather than REPS. If you are going to squat, rather than just do 15 reps, perform squats for 30 seconds and see how many reps you get. On your next set, try to beat your previous number of reps; maintain good form, but try to in increase speed. Of course, eventually, you’ll max out, and can improve by either increasing the time or the weight.

These methods are great fat loss, but because of the increased work capacity, often also help to increase neurogenic and myogenic muscle tone: so, increasing your workout density can increase your body density.

You’ll get leaner, firmer, and sexier—faster.

5) Focus on your Assets

Well, we made it this far without me getting too graphic. Ooops. Look, I’m a butt guy, I like butts. That’s my thing. I like it when a girl has a nice, well-formed, athletic booty. I’m not sure if that’s me objectifying women, or just being honest (or both).

Either way, this is an article intended to help women build sexy bodies, and to me, nothing is sexier than a good backside. Don’t agree? Well, write your own article then. This is my show, so I say we’re talking about butts.

Or training them, at least.

You already know two of the best exercises for your glutes: the squat and the lunge. Here is a quick way to make them more effective (at least for your butt)

When it comes to squatting for your booty, go wide.

Wide stance squats with your toes pointed out place a greater emphasis on the glutes; make sure to focus on flexing and squeezing as you perform the movement. I’m not going to bother writing a joke here—it’s too easy.

For lunges, go back, not forward. While I don’t want to encourage too much favoritism or fuel the fires that scare women away from training, it must be said that there are certain exercises that put TOO much emphasis on some muscles. For women who want shapely legs and a nice butt without building up lots of quad muscle, it’s often a good idea to use reverse lunges in place of forward lunges.

Forward lunges place a lot more emphasis on the section of the quadriceps at the base of the knee—most specifically the vastus medialus—especially eccentric emphasis. Think about it: when you lunge forward, your lead leg has to “catch” your entire body weight and stop/absorb your momentum, and the muscles around the knee will do the majority of the work.

Conversely, when you lunge backward, your glutes get a lot more work (on both the moving and non-moving leg) and the section of the quads that run up and down the length of the femur (rectus femoris) get a bit more work.

Overall, you’ll develop strong, shapely legs without having to “worry” too much about over developing the quads. Of course, I should mention that most of the time this is majoring in minutia, but there are those who do put on muscle in the thighs a bit more easily so this is relevant to some. (On a side note, those people would do well with the cycle sprints mentioned above.)

6) Be a Venus

When it comes to being physically attractive to the opposite sex, it’s important to understand that certain body dimensions are visually important, from an evolutionary perspective. In fact, these things are so indelibly burned into the collective consciousness of our species that our definition of what makes a “good body” are heavily influenced by them.

Our progenitors subconsciously credited desirable traits like maternity, productivity, and fertility to corresponding physical attributes. Certain physical traits are what we call mating qualifiers, which means that from an evolutionary perspective, these traits are attractive to members of the opposite sex because of what they imply.

Just as a man with broad shoulders instantly projects an image of strength in our subconscious, a woman with a narrow waist and shapely hips makes us (specifically men) more attracted to that woman because she is built in a way that implies fertility. Evolutionarily, it’s a part of a sexy female body.

The cool thing about this is that even though our perception of what is sexy changes as a society, because of the way these qualifiers work in terms of attraction is based on unchanging ratios, they are still relevant.

For example, by today’s standards, Marilyn Monroe might be considered on the “heavy” side—but we still see her appeal—and can find comparable beauty in modern female celebrities. She’d still be considered among the most beautiful women even though what beauty is, changes within each culture.

The reason for that is the golden ratio, which in this case is going to refer to hip-to-shoulder comparisons and hip-to-waist comparisons. With women, we want the athletic shoulders to taper into a small waist and then bloom out into sexy hips. This is something called the Venus Factor.

Just as Marilyn was “perfect” at 36-24-36, our current standard of more lithe sexuality a number like 34.5-23-34.5 would be more attractive. The commonality behind those numbers is the ratio of the waist to the hip and shoulders.

There’s obviously a lot more to it, but that’s a good primer. If you truly want to have a sexy female body—in the truly evolutionary and procreative sense of the word—train in a way that helps you develop a body that falls within those ratios.

This means spending more time focusing on building strong, sexy shoulders using exercises like the push press and lateral raise, as well as worrying less about making your butt smaller and focusing on the strength-building, multi-joint movements that will improve its shape.

noreply@blogger.com (Sudheer kumar) — Thu, 03 Jun 2021 20:15:00 +0000

noreply@blogger.com (Sudheer kumar) — Thu, 03 Jun 2021 20:03:00 +0000

noreply@blogger.com (Sudheer kumar) — Thu, 03 Jun 2021 19:58:00 +0000

8 Habits of Fit Girls You Need to Try

noreply@blogger.com (Sudheer kumar) — Tue, 01 Jun 2021 21:11:00 +0000

1. Working out is priority

This is the number one habit that all fit girls have in common.

They have a workout schedule and certain times and days that they schedule into their routine for workouts.

Fit girls make it a priority to stick to this schedule and don’t just skip workouts.

While it may seem impossible to start working out 4-5 days a week, once you start it will become a habit that you adopt and it will get easier and easier as time goes on.

2. High intensity interval training

The secret to staying lean and in shape for many fit girls is that they schedule a few days a week for high intensity interval training.

I know that when I do high intensity interval training I see fast results.

It might seem intimidating at first but high intensity interval training is actually not that hard and alot of fun.

This is an easy habit to adopt and you will see results quick.

3. Don’t rest more than 3 days

Fit girls make it a priority to workout at least 4 – 5 days per week. This means that they don’t rest for more than 3 days. While resting is important to give your muscles and body a chance to recover, you don’t want to rest too much. Its a great idea do stretching or yoga on your rest days.

This helps to keep your muscles stretched out and you will be less sore.

4. Always keep healthy snacks on hand

When you are hungry for a snack its so easy to reach for the closest or quickest thing to get. Fit girls understand this so they are always prepared with healthy snack options.

This helps them to always have something healthy on hand so that they are not tempted to eat something bad out of connivence.

5. Use weights

When you see girls that are fit and in great shape, chances are that they have the habit of lifting weights.

While cardio and HILT will help you to stay lean, you need some weights in your workout routine to help you to build muscle.

Building muscle helps your body to increase your metabolism, burn more fat and gives you more definition.

Fit girls know this and aren’t afraid of weights.

If your new to using weights just start small with very light weights and work you way up.

Every little bit with help you to gain more muscle.

6. Eat healthy

Fit girls understand that all the time spend working out won’t make a difference if they are not eating healthy.

They have learned about what foods are healthy and make it a habit to have these food on hand and to prep their meals.

Even if you don’t want to prep your meals quite yet, just start by researching healthy food options and trying to incorporate more healthy food such as vegetables and proteins into your diet. Sometimes its easier to start with small changes.

7. Watch what they drink

Girls that are fit know that you don’t want to drink your calories. One of the worst things for your body when you are trying to stay fit is alcohol.

Also, you should try and drink less sugary drinks as well.

Try to eliminate sodas and replace them with water.

You will often see fit girls carrying water with them.

This is because they know how important it is to drink water to stay fit.

Try to start making it a goal to drink more water everyday.

8. Set fitness goals

If you have no specific goals it is hard to stay motivated.

Fit girls know that to stay fit they have to set fitness goals and stick to them.

They make it a goal to workout 4 days a week or to eat certain foods, or try to go down a certain amount of pants size.

If you want to reach your fitness goals then you should first set some goals and figure out what you can do to move toward these goals each day.

How to Look More Beautiful Naturally

noreply@blogger.com (Sudheer kumar) — Tue, 01 Jun 2021 20:49:00 +0000

1. Moisturize

Women that are naturally beautiful know how important it is to moisturize their skin.

You will want to find a great moisturizer and make sure that you apply it at least once a day.

Make it your new habit that after you get out of the shower you apply your moisturizer. You will keep your skin soft and pretty.

2. Pluck your eyebrows

If you want to make sure you are looking naturally beautiful then you will want to pluck your eyebrows often.

Make sure you get a good set of tweezers keep them cleaned up and looking great. Having your eyebrows perfect can make your whole face look great.

3. Get your beauty sleep

You might be temped to stay up late, but you don’t want to get into that bad habit.

Girls that look beautiful naturally know how important it is to get their sleep.

They don’t call it beauty rest for nothing! I know that when I am not getting much sleep I start looking tired and get dark circles.

If you have never tried a sleeping mask for your eyes, I suggest getting one.

Once I thought they were just for looks, and then I tried one and they are amazing.

They block out all the light so that you just get better sleep.

4. Drink more water

Drinking more water can have amazing health benefits and will make your skin look great.

By drinking enough water you are helping to flush the toxins out of your body and keep your skin hydrated.

This can help your skin look great, help with acne, and it will just make you feel good.

I carry a water bottle with me everywhere to make drinking more water easy.

5. Work out for your skin

Girls that look pretty naturally are in the habit of working out. The benefits of working out are not just to lose weight.

But this is a great reason to work out too!

Working out can actually help you to keep your skin looking better by increasing your circulation.

6. Exfoliate

Some women forget to exfoliate their skin. Exfoliating your skin helps to remove dead skin cells and promote the production of more.

When you exfoliate you will make your skin look fresh and healthy. It can help unclog pores and make your skin have a smoother appearance.

7. Give yourself a face massage

Girls who know how to look more beautiful naturally understand the importance of a face massage.

It can reduce the appearance of fine lines, increase circulation, and make your skin appear more radiant.

Plus it feels amazing! You can You can look up how to give yourself a face massage or you can purchase a jade roller.

They also have ice rollers that you put in the freezer and then give yourself a cold massage.

I have not personally tried these but they are on my beauty list of things I would love to get. I have heard some amazing things about them.

8. Keep hair healthy

When your hair is healthy then you are just going to have an overall more beautiful look. So try and cut back on the heat tools and get a great conditioner for your hair.

I big lesson that I have learned is that when I don’t always dye or bleach my hair it starts to look so much prettier and healthy.

Let it grow out natural for awhile you just might be surprised at how pretty it looks.

9. Don’t forget your smile

Girls that smile look beautiful! You want to make sure that you are keeping your smile looking nice and white.

Make sure that you are brushing your teeth with a good tooth brush at least 2 times a day. Use whitening toothpaste.

If the whitening toothpaste isn’t enough to get your pearly whites looking nice and bright then you should try some crest white strips.

I swear by these. They work just as great as the stuff that the dentist gives you.

When you have a nice bright white smile you are just going to look more beautiful.

10. Eat Healthy

Looking pretty is not just about whats on the outside.

Girls that have that natural pretty glow know how important it is to make sure that they are eating healthy.

Make sure you eat lots of fruits and vegetables and cut back on processed foods and sugar.

11. Stick to a skincare routine

Keeping your face looking great is a must if you want to look pretty.

You should find a skin care routine that you love and stick to it.

It doesn’t work to just wash your face once in awhile. You need to make it a habit of applying all your skin care products daily.

12. Get a silk pillow case

This is a must for girls that look beautiful! Invest in a silk pillow case to sleep on every night. Silk pillow cases are better for your skin and hair.

Since you are sleeping for about 8 hours a night you want to make sure your skin and hair is laying on something as gentle as possible.

After I heard about this tip I went out and bought a silk pillow case and I am in love with it.

So give it a try you might love it too!

13. Always were sunscreen

Don’t forget to wear your sunscreen. Girls that look naturally beautiful apply sunscreen everyday. Sun damage can cause skin cancer and early aging.

You want your skin to be beautiful for a long time, so start protecting it today.

10 Must-Have Beauty Products for women

noreply@blogger.com (Sudheer kumar) — Tue, 01 Jun 2021 19:56:00 +0000

1. A Maybelline concealer featuring a sponge-tip applicator to cover up dark spots with total ease. Really, the sponge does most of the work for you — you just have to dab, dab, dab, and you're done.

Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Eraser Dark Circles Treatment Multi-Use Concealer, Light, 0.2 Fl Oz.

2. An anti-pollution and bronzing serum that creates a stunning bronze tint while also protecting your skin from nasty pollutants. All you have to do is mix with sunscreen, moisturizer, or serum, and your face will have a fresh, beautiful glow.

TruSkin Vitamin C Serum for Face, Topical Facial Serum with Hyaluronic Acid & Vitamin E, 1 fl oz

3. An all-natural de-frizzing smoothie cream for thick and curly hair that'll reduce breakage and hydrate so your curls can live their best life.

SheaMoisture Smoothie Curl Enhancing Cream for Thick, Curly Hair Coconut and Hibiscus Sulfate Free and Paraben Free 12 oz

4. A deep conditioning mask that'll revive dry hair with its Argan oil, collagen, B vitamin, and rosehip oil formula. It's like a hydrating drink of water but for your head.

Briogeo Don’t Despair, Repair! Deep Conditioning Hair Mask for Dry, Damaged or Color Treated Hair - Repairs Straight, Wavy and Curly Hair, 8 Ounces

5.An Amazonian clay foundation (with SPF 15!) for balancing complexion and creating a flawless matte finish that won't cake or crease.

Tarte Amazonian Clay 12-Hour Full Coverage Foundation SPF 15, Light Medium Sand

6. A cult-favorite mascara that'll add volume and length to your lashes with a few flicks of the wrist, making those minimal makeup days even easier.

Vivienne Sabó Paris - Classic French Mascara Cabaret Premiere, Cruelty Free, Black, Made in the EU

7. A super creamy concealer that comes in 30 shades so you can find the perfect one to complement your skin. It provides medium-to-full coverage and will keep you looking wide awake all day long.

NYX PROFESSIONAL MAKEUP HD Photogenic Concealer Wand - Beige (Medium With Neutral Undertones)

8. A clay mask sworn by more than 3,700 Sephora customers (really, it has that many positive reviews!) to help with stubborn acne and clogged pores.

Aztec Secret – Indian Healing Clay 1 lb – Deep Pore Cleansing Facial & Body Mask – The Original 100% Natural Calcium Bentonite Clay – New Version 2

9. A Glossier Milky Jelly cleanser you can use on dry skin as a makeup remover, or on wet skin as a hydrating face wash. Either way, sorry to your other skincare products that'll never see the light of day after you bring this baby home.

InstaNatural Facial Cleanser - Vitamin C Face Wash - Breakout & Blemish & Wrinkle Reducing, Exfoliating Gel - Clear Pores on Oily, Dry & Sensitive Skin with Organic & Natural Ingredients - 6.7 oz

10. A simple and classic curling wand guaranteed to give you some dreamy beachy waves. The ceramic barrel emits negative ions to keep frizziness at bay and curls shiny and bouncy. It's what they deserve!

Remington Pro 1"-1.5" Pearl Ceramic Conical Curling Wand, Digital Controls + 10 Heat Settings, Black/Pink, CI9538

The Best Digital Cameras for 2021

noreply@blogger.com (Sudheer kumar) — Sun, 30 May 2021 20:31:00 +0000

Fujifilm X-T4 Mirrorless Digital Camera XF16-80mm Lens Kit - Black

Putting Stability in Your Hands: A huge part of creating great photos or videos is making sure you are in the right place at the right time – and that often means making handheld images to get to the heart of the action. X-T4’s state-of-the-art, five-axis In-Body Image Stabilization (IBIS) provides up to 6.5 stops of image stabilization to make sure that, even in the midst of all the excitement, your images remain steady and sharp. Combine this with the new four-axis Digital Image Stabilizer, and you have lots of room to maneuver.
Performance You Can Rely On: For any serious image maker, having a tool that can be relied upon to perform flawlessly whenever it is required is extremely important. For this reason, X-T4 features a newly developed mechanical shutter that is the fastest and most robust in the history of the X Series. Not only can it make images at 15 frames per second, but it is also rated for 300,000 actuations2. When you combine this with it’s larger capacity battery that is capable of up to 600 frames per charge2, X-T4 has the power and the durability to give you the peace of mind that you’ll never miss the perfect opportunity.
Find the Best Angle for Your Story: When chasing the perfect image, versatility is key, so the last thing you want is to be hampered by awkward angles. The 1.62 million pixel vari-angle touchscreen LCD featured on X-T4 can be adjusted to make it visible from a wide range of positions. This not only gives you a high-quality monitor to frame with, but also provides quick and simple controls when you need them most. On the flip side, there are times when you need to minimize the light and distractions that a screen can create. That’s why X-T4’s LCD has been designed to easily fold away so it is completely hidden from view, leaving the updated 3.69 million pixel/100fps electronic viewfinder to help you focus on the moment at hand.
When Your Story Needs Movement: The modern image maker is blurring the lines between photography and videography, and X-T4 has been designed to celebrate this new generation of hybrid creativity. With the simple flick of a switch, movie mode is activated, meaning X-T4 is capable of recording both professional-level DCI 4K/60p and Full HD/240p super slow-motion video. It is also possible to record F-Log footage in 10-bit color, straight to the card. What’s more, the innovative AF-C subject tracking works in low-light conditions down to -6EV and the camera’s use of a new, high capacity battery lets you push your creative limits.
Powerful Image Manipulation Made Easy: For over 85 years, Fujifilm has produced photographic films that have been used by some of the world’s best-known moviemakers to create some of the world’s most successful movies. This legendary reputation in color science is celebrated with their hugely popular selection of Film Simulations, which digitize some of the industry’s most iconic films and puts them right at your fingertips. X-T4 introduces ETERNA Bleach Bypass, the newest addition to this much-loved collection of film simulation modes available in the X Series product line, which creates a beautiful de-saturated, high-contrast look that any image-maker will find irresistible.
Video capture resolution: 2160p

Price:

$2,199.00

2: Sony a7 III ILCE7M3/B Full-Frame Mirrorless Interchangeable-Lens Camera with 3-Inch LCD, Black

Brand	Sony
Model Name	Sony a7 III
Form Factor	Mirrorless
Shooting Modes	Continuous Hi+ AF-S
Color	Black

About this item

Advanced 24.2MP BSI full frame Image Sensor w/ 1.8X readout speed
15 stop dynamic range, 14 bit uncompressed RAW, ISO 50 to 204,800. Compatible with Sony E mount lenses. Can be connected via Bluetooth with smartphones featuring (as of the date of release)- Android (Android 5.0 or later, Bluetooth 4.0 or later), iOS (Bluetooth 4.0 or later)
Up to 10fps silent or mechanical shutter with AE/AF tracking. Battery life (Still Images): Approx. 610 shots (Viewfinder) / approx. 710 shots (LCD monitor), battery life (Movie, continuous recording): Approx. 200 min (Viewfinder) / Approx. 210 min (LCD monitor)
693 phase detection / 425 contrast AF points w/ 93 percent image coverage. Focus sensor: Exmor R CMOS sensor
In the box: Rechargeable battery (NP FZ100), AC adapter (AC UUD12), shoulder strap, body cap, Accessory shoe cap, Eyepiece cup, Micro USB cable. Metering type: 1200 zone evaluative metering

Price:

$1,998.00

3: Sony a7R III Mirrorless Camera: 42.4MP Full Frame High Resolution Interchangeable Lens Digital Camera with Front End LSI Image Processor, 4K HDR Video and 3" LCD Screen - ILCE7RM3/B Body, Black

Brand	Sony
Model Name	Sony a7R III
Form Factor	Mirrorless
Shooting Modes	Continuous Hi+ AF-S
Color	Black

About this item

INCREDIBLE DETAIL: Shoot high speed subjects at up to 10fps with continuous, accurate AF/AE tracking
OPTIMAL LIGHT: A back illuminated Exmor R CMOS sensor with gapless on chip lens collects more light. Operating Temperature: 32 to 104 degrees Fahrenheit / 0 to 40 degrees Celsius
FASTER IMAGE PROCESSING: An updated BIONZ X processing engine boosts processing speeds up to 1.8x
STUNNING HD VIDEO: Sony Alpha 7R 3 mirror less cameras record clear 4K video for editing and viewing.Bluetooth Standard Ver. 4.1 (2.4GHz band).Image quality modes:RAW, RAW & JPEG, JPEG Extra fine, JPEG Fine, JPEG Standard
BUNDLE INCLUDES: Power cord, charger, cable protector, shoulder strap, body/shoe caps, eyepiece cup. Metering Type:1200 zone evaluative metering
Firmware updates available for the product.

List Price:	$2,799.99
Price:	$2,298.00

4: Fujifilm X-T30 Mirrorless Digital Camera, Silver

Brand	Fujifilm
Model Name	X-T30
Form Factor	Compact
Color	Silver
Continuous Shooting Speed	30 fps

About this item

26.1M Back-illuminated “X Trans CMOS 4” sensor
Compact & lightweight body (approx. 383g)
Updated AF-Algorithm & improved face and eye tracking
High resolution digital sound recording
4K/30P, FHD/120p

Price:

$992.71

5: Sony Alpha a6400 Mirrorless Digital Camera Body

Brand	Sony
Form Factor	Mirrorless
Optical Sensor Size	APS-C
Compatible Mountings	Sony E
Continuous Shooting Speed	11 fps

About this item

KIT INCLUDES: Sony Alpha a6400 Mirrorless Digital Camera Body Only | AC Adapter | Rechargeable Battery NP-FW50 | Shoulder Strap | Body Cap | Accessory Shoe Cap | Eyepiece Cup | Micro USB Cable | Camera Case | 32GB SD Card | Corel PC Photo & Video Editing Software Download Card | ProOptic Cleaning Kit | Card Reader
KEY FEATURES: 24.2 Megapixels APS-C type, Exmor CMOS Sensor | High-speed BIONZ X Image Processing Engine | Fast 0.02 sec AF, 425 Phase-detection AF Points | Enhanced Fast Hybrid AF for Movies | Continuous Shooting at 11fps | XGA OLED Tru-Finder (2,359k dots) (EVF) | 4K Movie Recording | S-Gamut/S-Log Shooting | Silent shooting up to 8fps | One-touch Remote/One-touch Sharing | ISO 100-32000 | Real-time Eye AF, Real-time Tracking | Advanced 4D Focus | Wi-Fi, NFC & Bluetooth Enabled
WARRANTY: Sony Authorized Reseller. Includes a Sony 1 Year USA Warranty

Price:

$898.00

10 Helpful Fashion Photography Tips

noreply@blogger.com (Sudheer kumar) — Sun, 30 May 2021 19:40:00 +0000

In the digital era, fashion photography is more popular than it has ever been before. There is high demand from businesses and websites alike for high-quality fashion images, so this is an excellent industry to get into if you have the opportunity. Fashion photographers not only need to be able to handle any technical situation that might arise on a shoot, but they also need to understand industry expectations and be able to manage others — at the very least, you’ll be working with a model. You also need to choose the location of your photoshoot carefully — something Peerspace can help with. If you want to improve your practice, here are 10 helpful fashion photography tips to get you started.

1. Build a good work environment

Before even considering the technical elements of a fashion shoot, you should go into your prep with creating an ideal work environment in mind. You’ll be working with, at minimum, a model. Maybe you have makeup artists and assistants as well. As the photographer, you’ll be running the show, so it’s important to create an environment where everyone has what they need and is happy to work. That means making sure people can take breaks to rest and get water or food.

It’s also important to understand that the people you’re working with are professionals just like you. If you’re building your portfolio and come to an arrangement for a free shoot, that’s one thing, but if you’re getting paid for your work, then you need to pay others for their work, too. This is our most important fashion photography tip.

2. Be specific with posing instruction

Specific instructions are especially important no matter who you’re working with. As the photographer, you’re the chief architect of the creative vision of the shoot. That means you need to know what you want and how to communicate that to others. When shooting, it’s easy to be vague with instructions, and this can work if you have an experienced model and a broad expectation for the shoot. Otherwise, you must be specific about what poses you’re looking for, and be ready to give detailed instructions to your model. Nobody can read your mind.

3. Shoot where you are comfortable

Most fashion work takes place in the studio, but if you don’t have access to one or aren’t experienced working in a studio, you may want to shoot in a more familiar environment. For most, that means blending fashion with street photography. You’ll still be working with some external lighting, but if you’re already accustomed to working in natural light, shooting fashion will feel more familiar to you. You don’t have to have a studio to do great fashion work — the most important thing is to shoot where you’ll make your best work.

4. Master the technical elements

Know everything you can about the technical elements of your shoot. If you’re shooting in a studio, then this means dialing in your lights and camera settings to get a perfect exposure with every frame. If you’re shooting on the street, that means you should be aware when and how to use fill flash and portable lighting. When you’re comfortable with your lights and equipment, you’ll spend a lot less time checking your shots and more time making them.

5. Focus on the model, not the fashion

This may sound counterintuitive, but fashion photography is as much about story as it is about clothing. The clothing will speak for itself, especially with a well-directed model. But, in order for people to connect with the images, you’ll need to emphasize the human element. This means always keeping your attention on your model’s face and body, the message they’re conveying, and how their presentation of the clothing changes the tone of your images. Some of your best work may even be from those in-between moments, changing from one pose to another or being distracted by an off-camera event. Take advantage of these opportunities.

6. Choose the right lens

Generally speaking, longer focal lengths result in a more flattering image for portraiture. However, space constructions might make using a longer focal length difficult, especially when you also need to show off outfits. Best practice here is to shoot on the longest focal length your space allows for, but be prepared to move to a wider angle if necessary. Be sure to have a variety of lenses available. While zooms are versatile and quick, you’ll get better bokeh if you shoot with primes, so keep this in mind when assembling your kit.

7. Work with a team

While you certainly can successfully shoot fashion portraits with just a model, the entire process is much smoother with a team, giving you better results. Having a stylist or makeup artist to prep the model and do touch-ups throughout the day helps keep looks consistent over a long period of time. And having an assistant or two to manage light positions and help with gear keeps you focused on getting the shot. Hiring a team isn’t always viable, but if you can afford the investment, it will pay off. If you’re just getting into fashion photography, performing these services for a more experienced photographer is also a good way to soak up some knowledge.

8. Work the scene

This is true for any photography, but it’s especially beneficial in fashion work. Don’t stop shooting when you think you’ve got the shot — keep going, and you may be surprised to learn there was a better shot waiting. In the era of digital, there’s little reason to be conservative with shooting (except that it means more culling during the editing process). Don’t underestimate this fashion photography tip — shooting after you think you got your shot is essential for making good work.

9. Give credit to your talent

You’ve taken some killer shots and are ready to share them on social media. It’s always good to promote your work, but don’t forget that your fashion shoot was a team effort. If nothing else, you at least had a model. When you’re sharing your work, it’s important to be sure to credit everyone involved in the process. Not only does this help promote your talented partners, but it also shows that you value their contribution to the project. Photographers who are notorious for not crediting their models often find, unsurprisingly, that models stop working with them.

10. Break the rules

This fashion photography tip may seem contradictory, but it’s important to know when to break the rules. There are plenty of rules when it comes to poses and lighting, and it’s important to know all of them and be able to get expected shots. However, when you start to break those rules, you might find your creativity pays off. Get your safe shots, but don’t be afraid to experiment. Unless you’re just really crunched for time, there’s no reason not to try new setups or techniques.

Okinawa Flat Belly Tonic

noreply@blogger.com (Sudheer kumar) — Sat, 29 May 2021 20:38:00 +0000

Okinawa Flat Belly Tonic is coined as a science-based breakthrough in terms of being a healthy weight loss and digestion supplement that uses a potent dose of plant-based herbal extracts, probiotics, polyphenols, vitamins, and minerals to target belly fat. The actual Okinawa Flat Belly Tonic powder says its natural ingredients contain 3 Billion CFU and is formulated to promote healthy weight management and digestion while boosting energy and vitality.

The creator of Okinawa Flat Belly Tonic, Mike Banner, was inspired by the Japanese island of Okinawa. He purportedly visited Okinawa and “had a nutrient-dense, powerful fat-demolishing drink that led to improved healthcare for him inside out.” Now, with Okinawa Flat Belly Tonic, he wants to share that formula with the world.

The makers of Okinawa Flat Belly Tonic describe the supplement as a simple and effective weight loss solution. By taking the formula daily, you can allegedly lose weight without significant diet or exercise. In fact, the creators of the formula claim you can continue eating your favorite foods, avoid counting calories, and avoid strenuous exercises – all while losing weight. There are also Flat Belly Tonic testimonials that allude to how users are using the Okinawa drink powder recipe as a means to support healthy blood sugar and blood pressure levels too.

Obviously, you should be skeptical any time a nutritional supplement claims to lead to significant weight loss with little effort or diet required. And asking whether or not the Okinawa Flat Belly Tonic scam possibly is real is what really makes this interesting as to if this is a fake weight loss supplement or one with legit merit. Let’s take a closer look at how Okinawa Flat Belly Tonic works.

How Does Okinawa Flat Belly Tonic Work?

Right from the start as the introduction alluded to, it is almost unjust to think of the Flat Belly Tonic as superfood supplement powder. In fact, the Okinawa Flat Belly Tonic should almost be thought of as a full fledged weight loss program and fat burning system as a whole. But for now, let's focus on the main star of the Okinawa Flat Belly Tonic system in the drink recipe as it is the one all of the five guides mentioned above and shown here are centered upon.

Okinawa Flat Belly Tonic is the catalyst to the entire program and comes in the form of a powdered formula. You mix one scoop (2,800mg of formula per scoop) with water, milk, almond milk, a shake, or the beverage of your choice, then drink it daily to get a flat belly.

The shake is powered by four main ingredient blends, including a vitamin and mineral blend, a polyphenolblend, a metabolic boosting blend, and a digestive support blend.

Overall, the formula contains crucial vitamins and minerals (like B vitamins and selenium), ingredients for digestion (like probiotics and prebiotics), plant-based antioxidants (like beet, apple, and papaya), and metabolism boosters (like ginger and turmeric).

The makers of Okinawa Flat Belly Tonic claim they selected these ingredients strategically. These ingredients don’t just support digestion, metabolism, and antioxidants in your body: they also affect hormones. Most individuals looking to lose weight and burn belly fat are starting to acknowledge how hormonal imbalances disrupt the entire ecosystem that involves metabolism and weight management.

Okinawa Flat Belly Tonic is based on the idea that people become overweight when their C-reactive protein, also known as CRP, interferes with the normal function of mitochondria. This switches off the hormone responsible for metabolic activity in the body. That crucial hormone is called adiponectin. When CRP interferes with adiponectin, it leads to an accumulation of fat throughout the body.

This triggers a chain reaction and feedback loop: when you accumulate more fat, your CRP levels rise. Your rising CRP levels interfere with adiponectin, causing further weight gain. With that in mind, Okinawa Flat Belly Tonic promises to halt the cycle by activating adiponectin, balancing CRP and helping you lose weight.

Ultimately, that means you can expect significant weight loss results within just 4 weeks of taking the Flat Belly Tonic supplement. All things laid out in front of us and the facts reveal the Okinawa drink powder recipe is one of the best supplements to use for burning fat, boosting metabolism and enhancing energy levels naturally. Why? Look no further than the powerful Okinawa Flat Belly Tonic ingredients to see what is in store for this natural superfood powder drink mix.

Okinawa Flat Belly Tonic Ingredients

Vitamins and Minerals Blend: Okinawa Flat Belly Tonic contains a range of vitamins and minerals at 100% of your Daily Value (DV). Each scoop of Okinawa Flat Belly Tonic contains 100% DV of thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, vitamin B6, folate, vitamin B12, biotin, pantothenic acid, and selenium. There’s also 167% DV of chromium. These vitamins and minerals are crucial for overall health and wellness and multiple bodily functions.

Polyphenol Blend: Okinawa Flat Belly Tonic contains a range of polyphenol-rich plant and fruit extracts. Most of each scoop (2,150mg of 2,800mg total) consists of a polyphenol blend. Key ingredients in that blend include cherry, carrot, papaya, green mango, mulberry fruit, apple, beet root, cranberry, acai, and dozens of other fruit extracts. In all, the 25-ingredient antioxidant-rich polyphenol blend in Flat Belly Tonic weight loss drink powder is one of the best out there given it is organically sourced.

Metabolic Boosting Blend: Okinawa Flat Belly Tonic contains 465mg of a metabolic boosting blend, which includes shilajit extract, ginger root, cinnamon bark extract, green tea extract, and turmeric, among other ingredients. By now, everyone knows of the health condition commonly referred to as metabolic slowdown, which is basically the slowed metabolic rate related to aging. The idea behind the Okinawa Flat Belly Tonic metabolic boosting blend is to activate a process known as metabolic regeneration.

Digestive Support Blend: Okinawa Flat Belly Tonic contains 100mg of a digestive support blend. Like a digestion supplement, this blend contains a prebiotic (inulin) mixed with probiotics (like Bacillus infantis and Bifidobacterium longum). Probiotics are beneficial gut bacteria that help your body absorb nutrients from food, while prebiotics feed and fuel these probiotic bacteria. The body's ability to assimilate, utilize and ultimately digest is a major function of healthy weight management. As the saying goes, out with the old, in with the new, and if the body can not properly eliminate the metabolic waste after extracting the nutrients from the foods consumed, this causes massive congestion in the intestines and colon. The Okinawa Flat Belly Tonic ingredients in the digestive support blend aim to tip the scales back in your favor.

Click Here to Buy Okinawa Flat Belly Tonic for the Lowest Price Online with Massive Discounts Today!

9 Tips For Looking Fashionable On a Budget

noreply@blogger.com (Sudheer kumar) — Sat, 29 May 2021 19:12:00 +0000

1. What type of fashion do you REALLY want?

If you had a $100 a month to spend on clothes, are you the person who would want 10 ten dollar tops from Target or would you want one lovely sweater from Neiman Marcus?

Either way works, but I find that most people really want the nice top that is more expensive, but instead buy the inexpensive clothes because they see them while shopping and throw them into the cart.

Or if you are like me, you find something you really love but don’t buy it because it is too pricey and then end up buying more things that you like less. In my perfect scenario, I’d resist the impulse cheap buys and make a plan to buy the nicer things when I’m out.

Think on it a minute and decide if all was a perfect world, how would I dress?

2. Review what you have

People tend to accumulate and accumulate and hold on to things that are never or rarely used. Take some time and face your closet. First, see the big picture.

Do you have a ton of blue things, but no red?
What about having 100 t-shirts but no date-worthy clothes?
What about shoes?
Are they all sandals?
Tennis shoes?
Do you have pants you never wear because they need ironing?

You’ve already decided how you want your wardrobe to look, so start going through and finding what fits your vision and what doesn’t.

I took an afternoon and tried everything on. If I didn’t like it, I put it in a pile. I got rid of things I kept needing to lose a few pounds for and tossed items I’d had in my closet for years but never wore. This gave me a good idea of what I had and what I liked.

3. Sell, trade or toss

If you have nice things you don’t wear or use, consider selling them.

I’ve auctioned off a few purses on Ebay. I’ve sold workout clothes I never liked in my local Facebook neighborhood sale group. The purses made me a pretty penny. The workout clothes did not make nearly as much, but I had more money in my pocket afterward. I sent a few dresses to a friend and donated the rest.

Now that you’ve cleaned house and made a few bucks you can see what you are missing!

4. Shop the classics

Write down the fashion items that would make up your dream wardrobe. A small closet full of quality clothes that actually fit make you look so much better than a huge closet full of cheap, old, ill-fitting items ever will.

Need help on what you want to buy? Stick to classic items and embellish with the trends.

For example, for a woman, a classic might be a beautiful black dress, and the trend would be an infinity scarf and statement earrings.

For a guy, a great fitting pair of pants and a no-wrinkle shirt matched with a vest or a bow tie embellishment.

The classic look depends on your style. I mostly prefer to think of the classics as items that you wear all the time. Items that can last a thousand washings. Items that really pull a lot of your wardrobe together. Items like a pair of Dr Martens boots that you could wear in any weather and in any season. It’s a bit pricey but you can always look out for a Dr Martens sale or try your luck at a local thrift shop.

For me, high quality, dark skinny jeans is a classic. I can dress it up for a night out or down for chilling with friends. Another classic for me is brown leather knee boots that I’ve worn all over the world, rain or shine. The jeans and the boots were a bit pricey, but they’ve lasted for years, and I love them.

What are your classics?

The best way to be fashionable on less money is actually to buy fewer things. Scale down and focus on what you really love.

20 tops that can go with 10 pants and 5 shorts and 2 skirts will give you** 340 outfits**.

That might never happen, but reaching for fewer things you love that can go together will make your choices explode. Looking at colors that coordinate among your wardrobe also expands it.

5. Fashionable on a budget?

Ah, the worst part of living, having to have a limit on how much you spend.

Set a spending goal per month that you can live with.

Is it $100 a month, $50 or $500? Get that much cash from the bank and keep it on you.

Want more money for clothes and accessories? Consider if you need all the cable channels you buy or eating out less in favor of something cheap and quick at home.

6. Shop online sparingly

Consider trying to shop in the stores versus online. Online can have some great deals. For people who know their sizes, it might work out most of the time. But by the time you pay shipping, realize something doesn’t fit and then pay to have the items returned, I find that online shopping might not be as inexpensive as you think.

Online shopping for accessories, like purses, scarves, or brands that you know fit because you’ve worn them before would be your best bet.

Look for free shipping and the option to return to your local store.

7. Go out and shop!

Get your list and start shopping it. If you need basic items like a white top or black tank, hit up the Targets, Kohls, and other mid-priced stores. If you want specialty items, shop big sales and always make sure to check the clearance rack.

Many of my fashionable friends regularly shop stores that are kind of hit or miss, the TJMaxx or Ross type of stores, but since they check often, they find great things.

I don’t like to shop nearly as much. When I go out, I try Macy’s on sale days, Neiman Marcus Last Call, and Saks off 5th for items I can wear a long time and will last.

Check out a few thrift stores near you. You never know if you will love thrift shopping until you try it.

8. Take a buddy and your cash

If you are the person who is tempted to overspend or go off your list, take a shopping buddy with you to hold you accountable – try not to take a friend who will do the opposite.

Take your cash with you and leave your credit cards at home.

9. Your true value

Finally, realize that your true value does not come from your amazing new jeans or that awesome necklace. I grew up in the country, and no one had very nice clothing. No one cared so much because no one had too much.

When I went to college, I was blown away by what people were wearing and worked hard to change my wardrobe. But the person inside doesn’t change with the clothes.

Clothes will not make you a different person.

If clothing is eating away at your budget consider why:

5 Most attractive dress for women.

noreply@blogger.com (Sudheer kumar) — Fri, 28 May 2021 09:22:00 +0000

Ekouaer Womens Nightgown Sleeveless Long Nightshirt Sexy Full Slip Night Dress Summer Plus Size Sleepshirt Chemise

Material: Cotton and Spandex for style A; Rayon and Spandex for style B&C.Please refer to the size information in the image to ensure you the utmost satisfaction possible
Imported
SOFT and COMFORTABLE NIGHTGOWN: Ekouaer sleepwear is made of soft fabric, which is sooo comfortable to sleep and lounging. And you don’t worry about anything when you wear it around the house, safe and convenient.
LONG NIGHTDRESS: The length of nightwear is below the knee, it covers whats need to be covered, no worries about bending over; Features high low hem, the front of sleeveless nightgown is length to knee, it's convenient for you to walk around the house.
SEXY WOMENS NIGHTGOWN: The nightgown for women is designed with spaghetti straps and V-Neck, which flatters a woman's shape, it lets you sexy and attractive, full slip nightgown is also elegant and flattering, it’s your best choice:)
LOOSE FIT SLEEPSHIRT: The gown is comfortable and fits well for you, loose design makes the nightie still fit well even you’re a little thinner or fatter. Ekouaer night gown lets you real relax at home.
PREFERED GIFT: This nightgown is great choice to be a gift for your wife, mom, daughter or friends, we promise the quality of nightgown, welcome to contact us if it has any problems, we will try our best to make you satisfied.

QIXING Women's Summer Cold Shoulder Tunic Top Swing T-Shirt Loose Dress with Pockets

95% Rayon, 5% Spandex
US Size:Small(US4-6),Medium(US 8-10),Large(US 12-14),X-Large(US 16-18)
Model in size S.Model information(Height:175cm,Weight:135IbBust:86cm, Waist:61cm,Hips:90cm)
Feature: Round neck, Cold Shoulder,Swing hem,tank top dress,Loose fit,tunic top dress,long Tshirt,swing dress,casual wear,Round Neck Cold Shoulder Ruffle Sleeve A-Line Dress
Material:95% Rayon,5% Spandex.

KORSIS Women's Summer Casual T Shirt Dresses Short Sleeve Swing Dress Pockets

95% Rayon, 5% Spandex
Made in USA or Imported
Pull On closure
Hand Wash Only
This simple random floral print go to dress is 95% Rayon and 5% Spandex. Price is fair, the fabric is very soft and stretchy, which makes it light and ideal for summer weather but heavy enough as to where you don’t neec to worry about it flying up or getting stuck somewhere.Hand wash and they dry quickly with little or no ironing neede. No shrinkage.
The casual dress is above the knees and long enough that you wouldn't need to wear leggings with it if you didn't want too.It's a Swing style dress so it would fit comfortably over large hips. The pockets are a nice addition,it's loose enough but not too baggy.
Wear this dress to a casual evening out for drinks with friends, doing your hair&make up,to a graduation party, and to beach walking,etc. They’re comfy enough to wear around the house and appropriate for office work.You can dress it up very easily with any combination of jewelry,sandals, heels,flip flops or even sneakers.

US SIZE:xs S(US 4-6),M(US 8-10),L(US 12-14),XL(US 16-18),2XL（20-22）3XL(24-).Many solid color and floral dresses available for you to choose. Add to your wishlist, we will update new colors every single week.

GRECERELLE Women's Casual Loose Pocket Long Dress Short Sleeve Split Maxi Dresses

95% Rayon, 5% Spandex
Material: 95% Rayon , 5% Spandex.Stretchy,soft and comfy.
Short sleeve,V neck and Backless, Long dress,Pocket,Maxi dress, loose fit.
Simple casual style, fit for everyday dressing, wear at home, travel, you can match with your pumps, heels, boot
Please refer to the size measurement below before ordering
US SIZE:X-Small=(US 2-4),Small=(US 6-8),Medium=(US 10-12),Large=(US 14-16),X-Large=(US 18-20),XX-Large=(US 22).Model's Measurement: Height: 176cm/5'9" Bust: 88cm/35" Waist: 59cm/23" Hip: 89cm/35" Wear: Small

Marycrafts Women's Work Office Business Square Neck Sheath Midi Dress

63% Rayon, 32% Nylon, 5% Spandex
Imported
Zipper closure
This Vintage Wiggle Midi women dress is perfect for evening, party,casual, work, business,church,office,meeting
Length: ~ 45" (114.3 cm)
Regular fit, long sleeves, waist decoration, midi length, boat neck, back zipper. Dry wash preferred, machine washable
The model is 1m72 wearing size 6. Please choose your correct size according to your body measurements, not according to your actual clothing size as different manufaturers build different size charts.

The Lost Book of Remedies

noreply@blogger.com (Sudheer kumar) — Fri, 28 May 2021 08:08:00 +0000

Lost Book of Remedies helps to improve the health condition with the natural traditional health cure. It offers several benefits for health and it can replace the modern medical kit as reported in its site. The program might help you to treat the ailments from root and gives better results. Since the treatment is natural there is no side effects as reported. As per the author, it works in short span and also contains remedies for severe disease like cancer and tumor. It is completely natural and you can find ingredients like Angry Bear Paw, Red Beak Powder, Berries of the Hawthorn tree and many others. Also, the official site also specifies that the incredible program will teach you the methodology of growing the herbs in your home. It may treat cut, wounds and pain naturally as reported.

Also, the author claims that the program may support you with protection against hepatitis A, B and C and fight infections. You might learn how to prevent growth of disease and flush the toxins from your body.

What are sections in The Lost Book of Remedies?

With reference to the official webpage of the program, there are 3 major sections included in the program.

Prepare Remedies: You’ll learn how to prepare remedy to treat your problem.i

Healthy Tips: It consists of tips to protect you from health crisis like asthma, common cold, wheezing and more.

List of species: Here you’ll find a list of beneficial species to detoxify your body and prevent viral infections.ii

How the Lost Book of Remedies program is beneficial?

As per the official website, there are a wide range of benefits of this eBook is mentioned. We have projected some of them to you below:

This program helps you to unlock the nature’s magical power.
Might treat your health condition with herbs and plant extracts.
It supports your overall lifestyle as mentioned in the site.
You shall grow the remedial plants at home and save money spent for purchase.
It may optimize your health and improve it.
Helps to support blood sugar, pressure and arthritis.
It might help in preventing bleeding, inflammation and cognitive disabilities.
As per the official site, the remedies are 100% natural, tested and medically proven.
It can be easily accessible in smart device from wherever you are.
There are no side effects reported so far as per the official website.
It helps to flush out the harmful free radicals and detoxify your body.
There is money back guarantee to support your investment according to the creator’s site.

Drawbacks:

The program is found only in its official website through online for purchase and not in any stores or offline.

Additional Bonus:

The author of this incredible program offers a special bonus that is for free of cost to enhance your health protection as per the official site.

Every Disaster medicine guidebook: it has informational tips to protect your health.

The Lost Book of Remedies review!

Have you not still found a right solution to treat your ailments? Then this program The Lost Book of Remedies might be the best solution with natural cure of herbs and plantsiii. You may not stick on to the method of prescription, modern capsules and other costlier treatments of slow or no use. As per the official website the author claims that there are no side effects reported so far and he offers a money back policy that makes your investment risk-free. So, we would suggest that you can make a try to get the natural cure or claim your money back if unsatisfied. The author makes you risk-free in purchasing the program.

Get the The Lost Book of Remedies Now!! Claim Your 100% Refund Guarantee for 60 Days

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noreply@blogger.com (Sudheer kumar) — Fri, 28 May 2021 07:52:00 +0000