Squat About Squats

Every exercise has tricks that will help you to perform the exercise better and get more out of it. The squat is no exception. Here are a few tricks you can use:

1. Wear boots or solid-soled shoes
Try wearing solid-heeled work boots when squatting. They allow the power from your legs to be transferred better than when wearing soft-heeled running shoes.
The reason is simple: you can lose power at the bottom when wearing shoes with thick, soft soles (such as running shoes) because the soles will squish in when you push yourself up.
If you don't have work boots, try squatting barefoot. You will not lose any power at the bottom that way. Going barefoot will also eliminate any heel elevation you may get from footwear. It will also force you to push with your heels. When you squat barefoot, set the racking collars a little lower to make up for the lack of soles. If neither is an option, use flat or thin-soled shoes. Basically, the less padding between your feet and the ground, the better.

2. Use a Manta Ray
A plastic molded device called the Manta Ray is an excellent tool for squatting. I use one regularly and highly recommend it. There is no pain from the bar when you use this device. A towel wrapped around the bar or a foam pad can also help ease the pain of the bar but be aware that these things can slip or roll.

3. Keep your elbows pointed down
Hold your hands on the bar fairly close in to your shoulders and keep your elbows pointed down the entire time.
If you hold the bar too wide, this will force your shoulders to rotate internally. Your elbows will start to point towards the back which will then cause the bar to rotate forward as you come down. This, in turn, will cause you to lean over excessively, increasing the pressure on the lower back.
Keeping your elbows pointed down activates your external rotator muscles, which will keep the bar from rolling forward.

4. Bend the knees first
Hold a tight lordotic (lower back) arch on descent. When you start the movement, the knees should bend first, followed closely by the trunk. Most people descend with glutes leading, followed by the knees. This emphasizes the back and glutes rather than the thighs. This is characterized by excessive leaning over.

5. Yanking the bar
If you feel you are about to get stuck at the bottom of a squat, try this trick:
- Yank down hard on the bar as though trying to snap it in half over your back.
- It may sound counterproductive but if you do this while you are straining against the bar, it will cause an emergency stretch reflex in your quads and give you an extra little kick out of the bottom.

- It is important to note that you must be moving upwards for this technique to work. The stretch reflex will not be activated if you are sinking down to the ground. Pulling down on the bar at this point will only make you drop faster.

INDIAN INDEPENDENCE

At stroke of midnight, on 15 August 1947, India became an independent nation. This was preceded by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru's famous speech titled Tryst with destiny.

At the stroke of the midnight hour, when the world sleeps, India will awake to life and freedom. A moment comes, which comes but rarely in history, when we step out from the old to the new, when an age ends, and when the soul of a nation, long suppressed, finds utterance..... We end today a period of ill fortune, and India discovers herself again.

If we are unable to quote our first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru's speech in verbatim, the gist of comprehending this speech can surely ignite a strong passion of patriotism. Not many of us, young Indians have ever bothered brushing up on our old, dusty pages on books of Indian history, for their lies a world so different from modern India soaked with unspoken figures of deaths of innumerable Indians who died for our sake in the hands of our oppressors so that we can lead the plush, comfortable lives of luxury that we are now living. However, not many of us even realize that our country , India, is the greatest model to world and the first country ever to win independence through non-violence under the able leadership of the charismatic leader of our time, Mahatma Gandhiji.

Our Indian history like our vibrant culture of so many diversities in terms of religion, culture and traditional values can be a large canvass to depict our origins which has provided accommodation to change like no other country in this world. No country in the world can boast of such a cultural amalgamation.

The Day of Indian Independence is a day of celebration for every Indian to commemorate our jubilant victory over the British who ruled our country for nearly three centuries. It is to this success that every Indian stands up, chin held up with pride and salutes one another Jai Hind to mark the Indian victory.

Good Night of Sleep

Today's hectic lifestyle doesn't allow many people to get the kind of sleep that leaves them refreshed and energetic for the stresses of everyday life. Worries, fear, chronic pain, illness and outside distractions play a part in keeping many eyes open and sleep elusive.

A good night's sleep helps rejuvenate body and mind. Most people require anywhere between seven to nine hours of sleep every night. Factors such as an improper diet, the lack of exercise, high stress levels and environmental toxins and pollutants leave many tossing and turning, hoping to drift off to the nether world of sweet dreams.

Keeping a Sleep Schedule
The body gets used to a schedule. Going to bed and waking up at the same time every day trains the body to expect sleep at certain times. The more the sleep schedule is adhered to, the easier and faster it becomes to fall asleep at the right hour. Staying up late during weekends may prove disruptive as the body may have to readjust to a regular sleep schedule the night before the work day.

The body adjusts to changes in the sleep schedule at a rate of an hour per day. This is important to remember when it comes to adjusting to sleep schedules while traveling long distances across several time zones.

The Effects of Smoking on Sleep
Nicotine is a stimulant. While many profess that smoking relaxes them, the effects of smoking on sleep is anything but relaxing. Nicotine goes to the sleep centers of the brain that helps you keep and stay awake.

Quitting the habit for good aids in better sleep besides the multiple benefits that quitting has on the body and mind.