17 Ways To Age-Proof Your Brain

By Amanda Gardner

What’s good for your body is good for your brain. That means eating a balanced diet with lots of fruits and veggies and not much sugar, saturated fat or alcohol, as well as getting enough exercise and sleeping about eight hours a night. But evidence is accumulating that a whole host of other activities can help keep our brains young even as we advance in chronological age. There is no one magic activity that you need to take on, but trying a handful of the following will help.

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17 Ways to Age-Proof Your Brain originally appeared on Health.com

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HRC Marks Black History Month

February is Black History Month, a time that brings to mind the legendary members of the LGBT community who’ve helped push our movement forward.
HRC.org

www.hrc.org/blog/entry/hrc-marks-black-history-month?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed

Debunking The Myth of Black Homophobia

Charles Pulliam-Moore

www.towleroad.com/2015/02/debunking-the-myth-of-black-homophobia.html

These Sexy NFL Studs Make Us Wanna Go Deep

Superbowl Sunday is officially upon us. Time to break out the beer and gourmet nachos and prepare get serious when Katy Perry belts it out during the halftime show. After Queen Madonna in 2012, Beyonce in 2013, and Bruno Mars in 2014, Ms. Perry has big shoes to fill. Is she up for the challenge? We’ll see.

Then, of course, there’s the football game. (Oh yeah, that.) This year’s main event will be a standoff between the New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks. We don’t know nothin’ about either team but that’s what Instagram is for. To help get you get in spirit, we’ve done a roundup of some of the hottest NFL stars today. We included a lot of players who never made it to the Super Bowl because in our eyes, well, they appeal to our eyes. In fact, only one made it this year, QT Tom Brady (he plays for the patriots.)

Of course, with so much talent and so much sexiness, our list of faves is constantly changing. Please suggest your own in comments.

Scroll down to see NFL heartthrobs…

Colin Kaepernick

The San Francisco 49er’s quarterback captured our attention (and our hearts) when he posed completely naked for ESPN’s Body Issue in 2013 and we haven’t looked away since.

Arron Rodgers

The Green Bay Packers’ quarterback, no stranger to gay rumors, reminds us of sexy love child of Jake Gyllenhaal Colin Farrell.

Victor Cruz

How can you not find the New York Giants’ wide receiver cute? He’s got those dreamy eyes, that adorable gap between his front teeth, and he’s always smiling. (And let’s not forget that he knows how to rock a sombrero.)

Drew Brees

Okay, okay. So he may not be conventionally attractive, but the New Orleans Saints’ quarterback is a great family man and a real class act and he boasts a huge fan following, so we’re including him on our list.

Tom Brady

The 6’4, 225-pound All-American New England Patriots’ quarterback knows just how to get our man juices flowing as demonstrated by this shot from his GQ photo spread. Plus, people say he can throw.

Eli Manning

There’s something kind of adorkable about 34-year-old Eli Manning. And we’re not the only ones who feel this way. There’s an entire Tumblr page called Eli Manning is Sexy dedicated exclusively to celebrating the New York Giants’ quarterback.

Reggie Bush

The 6’0, 203-pound Detroit Lions’ running back is so darn cute we almost forgive him for dating Kim Kardashian.

Kenny Vacarro

Last, but certainly not least, is Kenny Vacarro. Between his hot, tatted up body, boyish face, and mad playing skills on the field, the 23-year-old New Orleans Saints’ safety is the perfect recipe for delicious.

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PHOTOS: Thirteen Football Studs To Look Out For On Super Bowl Sunday

Graham Gremore

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Shape Up! Here’s How To Do The Perfect Pushup

Push and pull. In life, we are constantly going through these two motions. As far as fitness is concerned, the same rules apply. Today, we are deconstructing the pushup in order to achieve perfect form.

For perfect pushup form, there are three steps.  We start with a basic plank. Hold yourself in plank position, on your forearms and toes. Your elbows are aligned directly underneath your shoulders, and your hips are held and maintained at the same height as your head. Engage your glutes, thighs and  stomach. The trick is, work to hold these three parts “ON” as you breathe for three rounds of 60 seconds. Your muscles will want to flip “OFF” with each exhale. Maintain engagement throughout your inhales and exhales.

Step two to achieving perfect pushup form is mastering the “row.” Grab a resistance band and hook it around anything stable enough to withstand you pulling on it, finding equal tension in each side of the band. Facing toward your point of attachment, set your feet at shoulder width and begin with your elbows extended.  Execute the “row”/pull motion by drawing your elbows back as far as you can (at belly button height) while simultaneously activating the muscles in your back and core. Make sure you’re not overcompensating with your biceps or deltoids here… so if it means slowing down the tempo of your rows in order to achieve true activation of the muscles in your back, then do it. 

Step three to achieving perfect form is doing the pushup itself. We start with a perfect knee pushup – hands aligned directly underneath the shoulders, creating a “diamond” shape with your hands by very slightly turning out the fingers. Your hips are tucked forward and your core is engaged. Inhale as you lower your hips and chest to the floor while keeping your elbows close to the side of your body. Exhale and push all the way back to straight elbows. If this version is too easy, do the same thing on your feet instead of your knees. 

The trick is to not forget the components of steps one and two. In step one we focused on core stability, in step two we focused on back strength. These two elements are vital for a proper pushup, so here’s your cue – as you inhale and lower down into your pushup, work to engage your core and back. Then as your exhale, you will push through your palms and back to the top. By engaging your back and core strength into your downward pushup, you will spare your deltoids from burning out prematurely, and will be able develop increased total body strength. 

So the next time you drop and give 20, remember that the “pull” is just as important as the “push” in achieving the perfect pushup.

The Phoenix Effect, a metabolic bootcamp that gets you in shape fast, is offered exclusively at Mansion Fitness, 7914 Santa Monica Blvd., West Hollywood.

Jeremy Kinser

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