Content Maker Network Blog

Just about everyone looks forward to retirement as a time to relax and enjoy life. Often, though, we get too consumed by daily responsibilities to fully relish the leisure time we’ve worked so hard to gain. That’s where a move to assisted living can make quite a difference.

Although Massachusetts assisted living communities tend to be very well-regulated and of unusually good quality, there are certainly major differences among them. People who are familiar with many communities tend to prefer those that that stand out by placing far more emphasis on helping to keep residents active, busy, and involved than most other facilities do. This philosophy can often be manifested by a very warm, personal feeling that comes across readily to prospective residents who stop to talk with current residents, and ask their feelings about living at New Horizons. Indeed, one of the most important considerations for anyone considering assisted living is to speakk directly to existing residents of any particular facility.

Most seniors considering such a move to assisted living are very concerned about maintaining their dignity and independence. Their ages typically range from about 65 to 100, with an average in the low to mid 80s. Moving to a fine residential environment with quality accommodations, good neighbors, and a strong program can often be a major benefit to seniors who have previously lived by themselves. Indeed, they very often “come alive again once they no longer have to concern themselves with the burdens of living alone.

One of the most common sources of confusion for those looking into retiremetn living is the challenge of correctly understanding the difference between independent retirement living and assisted living. The former is typically a living arrangement in residential apartments where elders share common space, but are able to maintain their independence with little or no assistance. Better facilities typically provide three meals daily for all residents, plus utilities, some transportation, housekeeping, etc., as well as standby assistance, if needed, and a wide variety of social activities. In Massachusetts, communities often blend independent living and assisted living options into one facility.

Similar to independent living, assisted living is a housing option for older adults who need some assistance with activities of daily living such as dressing, eating, bathing, ambulating or toileting, but who do not require 24-hour nursing care. They are still able to live independently with some assistance, but that assistance is generally necessary on a daily basis. In many ways, assisted living might be seen as “independent living with an added bonus!”

MA senior assisted-living communities and retirement residences for aged citizens are among the very best. Many folks profoundly seek and appreciate the opportunity to enjoy their “golden years” in a very caring assisted living place convenient to Boston, Worcester, Southboro, Hudson, Northborough, Westboro, Framingham and Fitchburg, Marlborough, and Woburn, MA. Other nearby communities well-populated with quality assisted living options include Sudbury, Wayland, Wellesley, Waltham, Weston and the other towns along MA Route 128. Often, the majority of seniors looking into these communities prefer the many benefits of a large community, with the intimacy of a small assisted-living home where everyone knows your name.

Assisted living facilities should not be confused with a nursing home, but rather a Massachusetts retirement community with many activities. Most such communities are non-sectarian Boston-area senior communities that might offer frequent religious services on-campus and easy access to others. Some include at least weekly Protestant and Jewish services on-site and daily Catholic Mass. Enjoying metro-west elderly care assisted-living with elegant gourmet dining, at low, affordable rates can truly make a difference in the lives of seniors.

A wealth of information regarding the wide selection of Massachusetts assisted living communities is available on the Internet.

Rob Nigro has been a consultant in the Massachusetts independent and assisted living industry for 12 years. He currently serves as executive director of the not-for-profit New Horizons seniors community in Woburn, Mass. In addition to this non-profit facility, Nigro is affiliated with the much larger not-for-profit Metrowest assisted living community called New Horizons at Marlborough in Marlborough, Mass.

A mistake many leaders make is the self imposed responsibility to have all the answers. This is just not true. It is okay to admit to not having all the answers. Good leaders are willing to show their imperfections. Surround yourself with a solid executive team and you don’t need all the answers. No one expects perfection, just leadership. Being President doesn’t grant you supreme knowledge.

The Ego Factor

Stagnant growth, lost market share and panic response management are more likely to occur if strategic growth objectives are Ego driven vs. Profit driven which often leads to putting personal needs ahead of business needs. This is a common symptom of the lack of leadership in the organization. Leadership is quite different then management.
Steve Kaufman in his DREF interview, NAW’s leadership series (2003), stated that he did not invent the phrase “Servant Leadership” but he leans heavily toward that methodology.

The academics tell us a leaders role is to serve those people that report to him. He or She is not a dictator but their ultimate role is to serve, to allow those people to achieve their goals. It’s a style that starts by asking; What do you want to accomplish rather than telling them what you want to accomplish.” I would say that the servant leadership model is the one that I like to talk about. I like to talk about the most effective leaders being those that have volunteer followers not those-that have draftees. And if your team could vote for a leader rather than be assigned a leader, would they still vote for you. Steve Kaufman, CEO Arrow Electronics

Servant-leadership encourages collaboration, trust, foresight, listening, and the ethical use of power and empowerment. Warren Bennis, leadership scholar believes American corporations are over managed and underled. Great leaders get exceptional efforts from their employees. Effective leaders must have vision. A visionary leader has a clear sense for the future with the ability to turn their vision into results. This could not be accomplished if they let their ego get in the way. Communication is key to the process used to inspire others to act.

A servant leader makes a conscious choice to lead by being a servant first. He or she is sharply different from the person who is leader first, perhaps because of the need to assuage an unusual power drive or to acquire material possessions. The leader-first and the servant-first are two extreme types. Between these two extremes is where you find the most effective leaders. Your style is determined by you, your environment and the specific situation you face. But, if you stay in the grid between these two extremes, your effectiveness as a leader will be obvious.

Good managers get employees to respect them, effective leaders get employees to not only respect them but more importantly they get them to respect themselves.

http://www.ceostrategist.com Dr. Rick Johnson (rick@ceostrategist.com) is the founder of CEO Strategist LLC. an experienced based firm specializing in leadership and the creation of competitive advantage in wholesale distribution. CEO Strategist LLC. works in an advisory capacity with distributor executives in board representation, executive coaching, team coaching and education and training to make the changes necessary to create or maintain competitive advantage. You can contact them by calling 352-750-0868, or visit http://www.ceostrategist.com for more information. CEO Strategist – experts in Strategic Leadership in Wholesale Distribution. Sign up for Rick’s monthly news letter – “The Howl” email rick@ceostrategist.com.

Cheating on the Internet has become very popular lately. Ranging from getting in contact with new people to cyber-sex, there are different ways to cheat online.

However, a group of software devoted to spy on computers can help you to easily find if your partner is having an affair or cyber-affair.

You need basic computing knowledge to get into these tools and although this article won’t get into such details, you can easily find basic information everywhere, even within the user manuals of the products described.

The Tools

According to your particular conditions and the location and access of your partner’s computer, you will have to decide which software is more appropriate to you.

If you have access to the computer, life is much easier. By access I mean that the computer does not have password and you can freely use it.

In case the computer is password protected, you can always ask your spouse to let you type an email or browse a shop and then you can deploy the spying software.

When you want to know your partner’s computer activity, you can install one of the several activity recording software available and get a detailed description of the PC activity all the time, including screen image capture, keywords typed, files opened, files printed, mails sent, chat conversations and everything else done in the computer.

It is important to mention that this kind of software is specially developed to work stealthy in the system, so the user will not detect it.

All the information collected, can be saved into files in the same computer to browse them later or they can also be sent to you remotely via email. I recommend using an email address which your partner does not know is yours, just in case.

If you think this is too much and you do not need all that information about your partner’s computer activity, you can install only key logging software, which will record only every key stroke made on the computer.

Notice that this won’t record any text typed in other computers. Therefore, when chatting, only the text typed in the computer where the software is installed will be recorded.

If you do not have access to the computer.

Some of the programs described above will let you make a remote installation by mailing the installer to the target computer.

For example, you could have not clear and calm access to your husband’s office computer. Then, you can mail him the installer and it will deploy itself stealthy, so the receiver won’t notice that spy software is being installed on his computer and in the same way described above, the information collected in the computer will be mailed to you.

Other way to deal with computers that you can’t access is by monitoring the network traffic. For example, let say that you have a home network and you or your kids have one computer and your husband has another computer in the house. In such case, you can use a messenger sniffer or a network monitor to catch all the activity in the network, without even touching your partner’s computer. This is very cool.

Free tricks

If you do not want to invest in spying software yet, there are a few tricks you can use.

MSN Messenger and some other chat software, have a recording feature, which you can trigger to record all the conversations performed with that messenger.

Also, to find out if your partner is visiting couple-matching sites, you can get into the browser cache and read which sites have been cached lately or which sites have installed cookies on the computer. Most matching sites will leave traces.

Not savvy users usually don’t know that even when they clean the browser history, the cookies and some files remain in the browser cache folder and in the cookies folder.

Online investigation

When you want to go further and find out who is in contact with your spouse, you can make an online investigation of that person to get details about him or her.

There are hundreds of sites which affordably can give you amazing information about anyone.

Cell phones

Most of the time, when someone is cheating, cell phone contact is a must.

Cell phones are great for cheating because they have direct contact without the risk of getting tracked by wives, partners or even secretaries.

However, you can find a service which reverses any cell phone number to address and name.

Before hiring a PI and spend thousands of dollars, you can start your own investigation with these tools and find useful information which can save your relationship if used properly.

Dr. Laurent Mikhail is a communication professional who has helped several
couples
to understand each other after a cheating problem. You can find further information
about cheating in the site http://www.catch-cheating.com

Healthcare professionals term an enlarged prostate gland benign prostate hyperplasia, or BPH. In layman’s terms this actually means that the prostate, a gland which wraps around the urethra and lies just beneath the bladder, becomes bigger this can impair and stop urination. As some males mature, their prostate gland grows and as a result may engender different ailments such as problems passing urine, weak urinary flow, and also urinary retention. Frequent nighttime urination and infections of the urinary pathway can additionally be result from prostatic swelling. Enlarged Prostate Gland – Mainstream Solutions: An enlarged prostate is supposed to be a common problem of males over 60. It is suggested that males over the age of fifty undergo examination by their physicians on a yearly basis, regardless of the presentation of any symptoms, to help maintain better prostatic wellness. Seek medical intervention at once if blood is observed in the urine or you are unable to micturate.

Surgery or medicines are common interventions for prostatic enlargement. Unfortunately, impotence and incontinence can be observed after a surgical procedure. An alpha blocker and drugs to shrink the prostate gland may also be given to improve prostatic function, however, medicines frequently result in negative side effects what alternatives are available?

Suffering From an Enlarged Prostate Gland? Natures’s Way to Achieve Improve Prostate Gland Health: — To promote better prostate health and reduce the common problems associated with prostate gland enlargement, some holistic therapies can help in the management of the symptoms. African pygeum cuts inflammation, bringing ease from any symptoms. A derivative of the fruit of an African evergreen plant, African pygeum has been employed extensively by the Europeans for a number of years as a alternative treatment to promote better prostate health. Dietetic factors such as a reduction in fat intake may also help, as well as increasing exercise, the pressure in the prostate can be alleviated through ejaculating more often, and trying to keep to a minimum periods of prolonged sitting. Use of over the counter antihistamines and decongestants can exacerbate any symptoms of a swollen prostate, so take them with caution. Additional recommendations include to quit any drinking close to retiring for the night to cut down urination at night, and cutting down alcohol and caffeine intake can also prove useful. There are plenty of additional holistic remedies taken for better prostatic function — these include the herb saw palmetto, starflower oil, the chemical element selenium, and lycopene, a compound extracted from tomatoes. Before starting whichever alternative therapy check with a healthcare professional.

Be sure to review this very good webpage for enlarged prostate clues!

Natural gas grills are all the craze in outdoor cooking, and it isn’t surprising why. Read on to find out it is and what benefits you can get from it to decide if it is right for you.

The advantages of using a natural gas grill

Natural gas grills are extremely convenient to use. Because it is fueled by your own home’s natural gas line, it always has a constant supply of gas so you never need to refill. And because there is no refilling, there are no bulky tanks (unlike propane-based gas grills).

Natural gas grills are also very easy to use. Most models come with instant on/off switches – just wait a minute or two for your grill to be ready. It is also very easy to control temperature using a natural gas grill, so there is almost never any need to worry about burning your steak or whatever food you are grilling. Your barbeques always come out precisely cooked and perfect.

Cost is not a problem either. Experts say that operating a natural gas grill costs only about 1/3 of what using normal propane gas grills would cost you. If you use a natural gas grill for 60 hours in a year, for example, you only spend around $26. That’s $87 less than what you would spend if you used propane.

The first thing to consider when buying a natural gas grill is its size. Is it big enough so that you can work comfortably? The average gas grill has about 400 square inches of grilling area, which is already decent to work on. Buy bigger if you expect to use your grill for bigger parties.

Also make sure that the natural gas grill you are buying is stable. It should never wobble. Experts likewise suggest that you purchase natural gas grills made of stainless steel. They generally last longer and are more aesthetically pleasant.

Many of us have family members, friends or acquiantences who are suffering, or have suffered, through cancer and most of those people have been treated with chemotherapy.

One of the most common effects of chemotherapy, besides loss of energy, wanting to sleep all the time and the loss of imunity, is hair loss. Between people the hair loss will vary from thinning of the hair to a complete loss of hair.

Complete hair loss means from all part of the body including pubic hair. While it is difficult to see yourself without hair, you should know that the hair will reappear over a period of a few days or not happen for weeks into the therapy

Not every cancer drug used in chemotherapy will cause hair loss. Make sure you talk with your doctor about new chemotherapy drugs that may not cause you to lose your hair.

When the hair comes back, it can come back different then what the patient is used to. A friend of mine had perfectly straight hair, then went through chemo and when her hair eventually came back it looked as though see had a perm.

If you are about to go through chemotherapy you should plan to manage hair loss during treatment. You may not experience total hair loss, but being prepared for hair loss will allow you more peace if it occurs.

Before you start going through chemo, start being kind to your hair. If you are bleaching, coloring, or perming your hair, STOP!, can make it weaker. Avoid hair dryers and curling irons. The heat will contribute to the loss of your. You may want to consider cutting your hair. Short hair looks thicker than long hair and it won’t be so easily noticed. It might make it easier on you and your emotions if your hair is short before it starts falling out.

If and when you do start to lose your hair make sure that you protect what hair you have by using a satin pillowcase, using a softer brush, and washing your hair only when it is necessary. When you do shampoo, use a gentle shampoo without chemicals or detergents that can dry out your scalp.

I’ve heard of some poeple that even have shaved their head instead of allowing the hair to fall out in clumps. Patients report that shaving their head eases the irritation and itching that accompanies gradual hair loss from chemotherapy. It may also look better than hair that is patchy and sparse during therapy.

If you have lost your hair you have the choice to use wigs, scarves, hats, turbans, or hairpieces. A wig may sound like a terrible idea, but a friend of mine wore a wig and it looked so good I just assumed that they never lost their hair when they went through chemo.

The National Cancer Institute advises cancer patients if they are going to buy a wig for use during chemotherapy, to have it fitted and made before the therapy starts. The wig matches more closely to their original hair color and texture.

Why does hair loss occur when a patient has chemotherapy?

The drugs used for cancer treatment are designed to attack fast growing cancer cells. They also attack other cells in your bodies and including the hair follicles and roots. This means that hair loss may not be limited to the scalp. People also may lose hair from their arms, legs, underarms, and pubic area. The eyebrows and eyelashes may also be affected.

There isn’t a treatment yet to prevent hair loss during and after chemotherapy. It’s best to plan, there is a chance you won’t lose your hair, but if you have planned and prepared for the loss, everything will be ready if you need it. Patients have tried placing ice packs on the scalp to slow blood circulation and maybe prevent hair loss. Most find it is cold and uncomfortable and not worth the risk of cancer recurring in the scalp area. However, for those who have been willing to try it, seems to work for 50 percent of people.

Hair loss will continue for as much as a month after your last chemotherapy treatment. It may fall out by the hands full, or gradually. Specialists tell us that a person has to lose more than 50 percent of their hair before people will start noticing. Hair growth after chemotherapy is about a quarter inch of hair each month. It could also come in gray until pigment cells start working again and give your hair its natural color.

Hair growth treatments won’t prevent hair loss but it will speed up the growth process of new hair. Using this drug may slow down the rate of hair loss, but that depends on each individual.

Research shows that up to two thirds of women experience hair loss at some stage in their life and this can often be a very stressful time for women and is an integral part of their self image.

The most common causes of hair loss in women is not related to inherited genes but usually associated with other factors such as pregnancy, stress, chemotherapy, certain diets, thyroid hormone deficiency, some drugs or infections. Unlike men the hair loss in this case is usually temporary and healthy re-growth can occur over time.

Unlike men, women rarely go bald but may experience significant thinning and reduction of the hair shaft diameter around the forehead and crown of the scalp as they age.

If you are one of the millions of women who suffer from hair loss the most important factor is to understand why you are losing your hair before you seek out a remedy or solution.

Causes of hair loss:

1. Genetics: The most common cause of hair loss is rooted in your genes also known as androgenetic alopecia, hereditary hair loss can begin any time after puberty, but usually sets in before the age of forty and may accelerate around the time you reach menopause.

2. Pregnancy: A large amount of oestrogen is produced during pregnancy causing the hair follicles to go into their growth phase. Once the birth is over the hormonal balance is restored and the opposite happens with the hair follicles going into a hair loss phase.

3. Alopecia areata: The reasons for this are relatively unknown but research has shown that the cause is thought to be an auto immune disorder where the body mistakenly attacks the hair follicles. What follows is an inflammation of the follicles and surrounding hair structures. This causes the hair follicles to retreat into the deeper layers of skin shutting off an important nutrient supply, the follicles starve and the hair starts shedding followed by a dormant period.

4. Stress: Another common reason for hair loss in women is stress as known as Telogen Effluvium. What happens is that the growing healthy hairs enter the resting (telogen) phase of hair growth. The hairs matrix appears to stop dividing causing the hair to begin falling out. Women in their 40’s to 60’s will be affected by this kind of hair loss.

5. Drugs or Supplements: The most common drug treatment that causes hair loss is Chemotherapy. This kind of medication attacks the hair cells of the matrix causing 90% hair loss from the scalp. Prescription drugs are also known to thin hair out. These can be Blood thinners, high blood pressure and cholesterol drugs. Some dieting supplements can also be causes of hair loss.

6. Hair pulling: Also known as trichotillomania. Unlike other types or hair loss this is not a medical but more a psychological disorder. There are literally millions of people around the worlds that suffer from this condition. These are mostly adult women that suffer from low self esteem, anxiety, depression or are dissatisfied with their bodies. This condition can be treated with counselling.

Grant Marwick is a freelance writer and owner of http://www.no-gray-hair.com that provides solutions and advice on the treatment of gray hair and Female Hair loss

Yes indeed, that’s all you’ve got, 30 seconds to make your website visitors decide to stick around…The internet has changed how we think about the customer, the product and the competition. I’m going to take you on a journey through these new ideas and show you what has changed and how you now can approach your marketing.

You have to put yourself in the customer’s shoes and talk directly to her about how she benefits from your products. She wants product information and lots of it, but in due time. No more hard sell focused on the product. And the word competition is useful only to identify the people we need to observe and emulate, but no longer are we out to destroy them, we’re out to partner with them. Confused? Good! That means there’s learning on the way!

We’re going to concentrate on your homepage, because you don’t have long to capture your customer’s interest. She has 3 main questions and you have thirty seconds at most to lure her to continue reading, clicking and finally clicking for the sale.

First you need to do your homework. You need to know who your customer is in terms of demographics, needs, desires, and dreams.

Now think about how she behaves on the internet. If she’s like me, she has a huge list of things she has done and would like to do. Today she may be paying bills, looking for a new bank, planning a vacation, researching cold remedies, looking for recipes, researching books to take out of the library, reading the news and looking for a home business she can do in her spare time. All in one day. How much of her time is she willing to give you to convince her you’re worth reading…worth bookmarking…that your opportunity or your product is The One for her? Not much…30 seconds…

Now you need to identify your competition. Where may your imaginary customer already be buying the products you offer? Where else may she be considering a home business opportunity? Why is she looking or buying there? What does she like about that site? What do you or your product have to offer that is missing there?

By now you’re starting to identify your advantage, your edge, that relates to what this customer needs and wants. Staying focused on your customer, turn your edge into a sentence or sentences starting with “You”, directed at how the customer will feel or be.

We’ve already dealt with the customer’s first question, “So what? What’s in it for me?” Now the second and third: “Why should I trust you or take a risk on your product?” and, “What do I do next?”

So, with your customer (not YOU, not the PRODUCT) in your mind’s eye, you have 30 seconds to grab her interest or her curiosity enough to make her want to read more, click and get more info, or click and buy.

Remember that old song that went something like this?: “If you wanna be happy for the rest of your life, Better make a pretty woman your wife. Or for my personal point of view, Get an ugly girl to marry you.”

Then if I remember correctly, the singer goes on to explain the circumstances that made him an expert in this area.

What’s in it for the listener? All the right buttons were pushed: happiness forever, marriage, advice from an expert, and curiosity about the rest of the song. Maybe he could have thrown in some financial security and a home, but pretty much all the bases were covered.

So hit your customer with what pretty much everyone wants: happiness, security, health, family, freedom…whatever fits. But don’t just talk about happiness and security, talk about feeling happy and secure. It may seem like semantics, but it’s really a huge difference.

You’ve nailed your customer’s needs and emotions, so now just write copy that flows from needs and dreams to information to the click that will sell or sign her up. If you lead her to a product information page, lead her to the final click. If it’s testimonials, or all about you, lead her to the click. When she’s ready to leave, ask her to complete a survey, sign up for a newsletter, sign a guestbook, and offer her a free ebook as a way of thanks for stopping by.

And if this ebook was written by your competition, now you’re starting to see how “drown the opponent” has been replaced by what some call “fusion marketing”: in essence, partnerships for a win-win situation. His ebook gets out there, with his branded links inside; you benefit from his expertise and reputation and the ability to give your visitors a quality gift.

This relationship continues with reciprocal linking, contests with prizes, testimonials, co-authoring ebooks or co-writing a course or seminar, and any number of other collaborative possibilities, only limited by your imagination.

And, as you can see, you don’t have to be a novelist; we’re talking about writing for 30 seconds of reading for starters, then a bit more. Welcome to the New Paradigms of Marketing, compliments of the Internet.

Glenn Beach is a poet, writer and home business entrepreneur in Nova Scotia, Canada. Free newsletter, more articles, and business start-up info at: http://www.work-at-home-business-opportunity-canada.com

The foundation of fitness for a mom is her abdominal area. To moms a flat stomach is wonderful; a strong abdominal core is critical. The cool thing is, you can get both at the same time with side planks.

Side planks are great for toning, without enlarging, the obliques on the side of your abdomen. Strong oblique muscles also add powerful stability to your back. Asthetically, side planks can sculpt your stomach in ways crunches or sit-ups just can’t do. The nice thing about side planks is they can be done in little time and you don’t need any equipment.

Before we get on to how to do them, I just want to add a little incentive…

A Mom with Poor Abdominal Strength is an Accident Waiting To Happen
Let’s face it, as your child grows the physical demand placed on your body increases. You start out holding a 8 lb. newborn in your arms, but that quickly changes into holding a 25 lb. toddler who twists and turns quickly.

You may be required to sweep your toddler up with your right arm while holding another child in the left. You may have to carry a 40 lb. child who is unhappy and doing whatever it takes to squirm from your grasp. If your body is incapable of handling these tough physical demands it will let you know, because back pain and fatigue will start compounding. Is your body prepared to handle the stress being placed on it?

A Side Plank A Day Keeps Back Pain Away
Planks, build functionally strong, stabilizing abdominal muscles that allow you to bend, twist and reach with less chance of injury. Beginning an abdominal strengthening program now will prepare you for when your infant becomes a toddler and for those times your toddler becomes antsy and unruly.

Planks can not only give you back your pre-pregnancy abs, but they will prepare your body to deal with being a mom of a toddler! So let’s get to the exercise itself.

How to Side Plank:

1) Begin by lying on your left side. Bend your left elbow and place the forearm on the floor directly under your shoulder. Your weight should be supported on the forearm and the left hip. Your right arm should be resting along the right side of your body with the hand resting on the right thigh.

2) Rise up so your body weight is resting on your left forearm and the edge of your left foot. Wear shoes that have a good edge on the sole to avoid slippage once you’re in place. If you find this to be too difficult, start by placing your weight between your forearm and knee. After a few weeks, you’ll be able to move to the more difficult position in which you are supporting your body between your forearm and your foot rather than your knee.

3) Lift your body up as high as you can and contract your abdominal muscles by bringing navel to spine. Attempt to form a straight line from your armpit along the side of your ribs to your hip, and down to your ankle just above your left foot. Hold this position for 5 to 10 seconds to start with. You can increase to 20 seconds over several weeks, but your goal should be to eventually build up to at least 60 seconds for each slow contraction.

4) Slowly lower your body back to the floor, then immediately rise as high as you can and hold it again. Repeat on the right side. Start with two sets of 10 repetitions on each side.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Helpful Hints:

- Don’t hold your breath. This increases abdominal pressure which feels easier, but prevents you from getting the full benefits of the movement. Take a breath and exhale as you are lifting into the bridge.

- Avoid twisting or turning your trunk. This might cause a side strain and slow your progress.

- Stop if you feel back pain Everyone has their own rate of progression. If you feel pain in your back, stop. Try again on the next workout and you’ll find your back will start getting stronger. If back pain continues, stop and consult a fitness professional.

Finish with a stretch

After doing your planks, lie on your back, relax, bend your knees with feet on the floor and tilt them from side to side. Do this a few times to lengthen your back and abdominal muscles.

Strong, flexible abdominal muscles are a moms best friend. Start developing yours today with side planks!

Curt Conrad, CSCS, is Founder and President of StrollerFit Inc. an international product and franchise company that helps parents exercise with their babies. He is author of The StrollerFit ExerBook. His companies have helped thousands of clients enjoy better life through better fitness. http://www.strollerfit.com

Common household gadgets such as TVs and baby monitors are having a drastic effect on the performance of the UK WiFi performance – that’s the finding of an Ofcom-commissioned report published by specialist consultancy Mass.

Making sure it’s overseeing efficient use of radio spectrum, including the unlicensed 2.4GHz band currently used by WiFi, Ofcom asked Mass to investigate how efficient the band is and whether or not it’s the victim of interference. Although most WiFi users commonly blame nearby networks for a sluggish connection, Mass found common household gadgets such as TVs had the most significant effect on poor WiFi performance:

“Our measurements and experiments suggest that the WiFi networks are capable of carrying much more traffic than they actually do. However, interference between different types of devices is commonplace, leading to loss of service quality for many users.”

In total Mass found between 10 and 15 per cent of users experience problems when using WiFi access to the mobile internet. Some areas were found to be more susceptible to service problems than others. Generally, inner city areas were found to provide poorer WiFi services due to heavy spectrum congestion, although other locations such as railway stations didn’t fair well either. Most interesting was the discovery that high density WiFi networks increases the probability of WiFi users experiencing interference and network degradation effects.