14 fact about kissing.

You might think you know your way around a great kiss, but you probably don’t know these 14 awesome facts about kissing.
1. You transfer 80 million bacteria in 10 seconds

In just a ten second kiss, the bacteria cultures in your mouth drastically change. You transfer 80 million microbes between the two of you. While it may sound gross, there’s really no problem with transferring bacteria. In fact, your partner may have some microbes that will be helpful to your mouth’s community.

2. Kissing takes 146 muscles

If you think kissing is just about your lips and tongue, think again. Apparently kissing involves 146 muscles, 34 in your face, as well as 112 postural muscles.
3. Many cultures think it’s gross

In a study of 168 cultures, scientists discovered that only 77 (or 46%) actually kiss as a romantic gesture. In fact, many other cultures don’t understand the practice and think kissing is “gross.”
4. Kissing boosts your immune system

You may be swapping bacteria when you kiss but that can actually be a good thing, research shows that this can be the key to boosting immunity and fighting disease.
5. You spend 2 weeks of your life kissing

Scientists have discovered that the average person spends about 20,160 minutes kissing over the course of their life. That translates into roughly two weeks of kissing.
6. Kissing really does determine compatibility

Our bodies are biologically hardwired to recognize compatibility and many study say that the key to recognizing that is in the chemistry of a person’s saliva. In other words, by swapping saliva with someone else, you can discover if you are compatible with your partner.
7. Kissing is good for your teeth

Kissing won’t prevent you from needing to brush and floss, but studies show that due to the increased saliva flow, kissing can aid in preventing tooth decay.
8. Kissing makes you lose sleep and your appetite

Kissing increases the neurotransmitter, dopamine, which makes it hard for you to sleep and quells your appetite.

ReadBiggest health lie of our time: Stress is bad for you

9. Kissing burns calories

You burn about 2-5 calories for every minute kissing. While you still might need to do a few jumping jacks, a make-out session definitely beats spending time at the gym.
10. More kissing means a better relationship

One study discovered that couples who engage in more kissing are more satisfied in their relationships than those who kiss less. So, if you want to up your relationship satisfaction, up your smooching.
11. The longest kiss was over two days

The record for the longest kiss is held by Ekkachai Tiranarat and Laksana Tiranarat of Thailand who competed in an event to hold the title of longest kiss. Their kiss lasted over 58 hours, 35 minutes and 58 seconds.
12. Lips have over a million nerve endings

Did you realize that kissing feels so good because lips are so sensitive? With over a million nerve endings, your lips are one of the most sensitive parts of your body.
13. Kissing causes your eyes to close

Not only would it be creepy and uncomfortable to have your eyes open while you’re kissing, but due to a hormonal reaction, eyes dilate when kissing, which causes you to close your eyes.

14. Two thirds of people tilt their head to the right

If you’re at a loss of which way to go, never fear, most people instinctively tilt their heads to the right when going in for a kiss.

The 11 Most Powerful Militaries In The World

Asymmetrical wars in Afghanistan, Vietnam, and now in Syria demonstrate all too clearly that relatively small numbers of belligerents can carry out successful military operations against superior forces.

But still, firepower is extremely important. A country's projection of power relies in large part upon its military capabilities. Successfully being able to project and wield that power is a key diplomatic asset.

The website Global Firepower ranks the most powerful militaries in the world based on multiple factors, including available manpower, total labor force, and access to strategic assets. Nuclear capabilities are not included in the calculation.

Below are the 11 most powerful militaries in the world according to the 2014 rankings (click country names to see military assets data).

1. The United States

Stringer . / Reuters

The U.S. defense budget is $612 billion. Despite sequestration and other spending cuts, the United States spends more money on defense than the next ten highest spending countries combined.

America's biggest conventional military advantage is its fleet of 19 aircraft carriers, compared to 12 carriers operated by the rest of the world combined. These massive carriers allow the U.S. to set up forward operating bases anywhere and project power throughout the world.

The super power also has by far the most aircraft of any country, cutting-edge technology like the Navy's new rail gun, a large and well-trained human force — and that's not even counting the world's largest nuclear arsenal.

2. Russia

Maxim Shemetov/REUTERS

Two decades after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia's military is growing again. The Kremlin's military spending has increased by almost a third since 2008 and is expected to grow 44% more in the next three years. Today, the Russian defense budget stands at $76.6 billion.

Russia currently has 766,000 active frontline personnel with a reserve force of 2,485,000 personnel. These troops are backed up by 15,500 tanks, the largest tank force in the world. Russian soldiers generally receive relatively mediocre training, however, and their equipment, like that tank force, is aging.

3. China

Associated Press

China has embarked upon a relentless policy of massive military spending, with a 12.2% increase in spending over the past year. China's defense budget stands at $126 billion but could unofficially be higher, prompting concern across Asia as China attempts to project its power to settle border disputes with Japan and the Philippines. 

The size of the Chinese army is staggering, with 2,285,000 active frontline personnel with an additional 2,300,000 in the reserves. China also has a history of successfully stealing sensitive military technology, such as recently acquiring sensitive information about the new F-35.

4. India

Wikimedia Commons

India's defense spending is expected to rise as it pursues a modernization drive. Currently, it is estimated that India only spends $46 billion on its budget, and it is slated to become the fourth highest spender by 2020. It is already the world's largest importerof military goods. 

India has ballistic missiles with a range capable of hitting all of Pakistan or most of China. Indian military strategy has been dominated by its long-simmering conflict with Pakistan, although there have also been minor wars between China and India in the past.

5. The United Kingdom

Shamil Zhumatov/REUTERSBritish Army Corporal Birendra Limbu of the 2nd Battalion, The Royal Gurkha Rifles, shows his rifle to Afghan children as he secures an area near an Afghan National Police (ANP) checkpoint outside the town of Lashkar Gah in Helmand province, southern Afghanistan, July 13, 2011.

The U.K. is planning on reducing the size of its armed forces by 20% between 2010 and 2018, with smaller cuts to the Royal Navy and RAF. The defense budget stands at $54 billion.

Despite scaling back, the U.K. counts on being able to project its power around the world. The Royal Navy is planning on putting the HMS Queen Elizabeth, an aircraft carrier that has a flight deck measuring at 4.5 acres, into service in 2020. The Queen Elizabeth is planned to carry 40 F-35B joint strike fighters around the world. Thanks to superior training and equipment, Britain could still hold an advantage over emerging powers like China, according to a leading think tank.

6. France

Joe Penney / ReutersFrench soldiers stand on a street during a patrol ahead of Sunday's presidential election in Timbuktu, July 25, 2013.

France effectively froze its military spending in 2013 while cutting 10% of its defense jobs in an effort to save money for purchasing high-tech equipment. The country spends  $43 billion a year on defense, which is 1.9% of its GDP, below the spending targetset by NATO for member countries.

Despite a leveling off of its military budget, France is still highly capable of projecting force around the globe, with significant deployments  in the Central African Republic, Chad, Mali, Senegal and elsewhere around the world.

7. Germany

Fabian Bimmer/REUTERS

German military strength falls short of its economic strength on the world stage. Recently, Germany has started considering offering military supportto eastern European NATO members. It has also considered a more active international role militarily. Germany spends $45 billion on its military annually, making it the eighth largest spender in the world.

Following the aftermath of World War II, the German population generally became anti-war. The German military was originally limited to a defense force, but has become more accustomed to taking an active international role following the breakup of Yugoslavia. Germany only has 183,000 active frontline personnel with an additional 145,000 members in the reserves. Germany eliminated mandatory service in 2011 in an attempt to create a professional army.

8. Turkey

Umit Bektas/REUTERS

Turkish military spending is expected to rise 9.4% in 2014 over the 2013 budget. The ongoing conflict in Syria and possible clashes with the Kurdish separatist organization, the PKK, were key reasons for the spending increase. Turkey's defense budget stands at $18.2 billion.

The NATO member has contributed soldiers to various initiatives around the world. The Turkish military took part in operations in Afghanistan, as well as in peacekeeping operations in the Balkans. Turkey also maintains a large military force in Northern Cyprus.

9. South Korea

AP

South Korea has been increasing its defense spending due to both the increasing armament of Japan and China, and the constant threat from North Korea. South Korea spends $34 billion on defense.

South Korea has a relatively large military force for its small size. It has 640,000 active personnel with an additional 2,900,000 personnel in the reserves. South Korea also has 2,346 tanks and 1,393 aircraft. The South Korean military is generally well-trained and routinely takes part in military exercise with the United States. South Korea's air force is also the sixth largest in the world.

10. Japan

US Army

Japan increased its defense spending for the first time in 11 years in response to growing disputes with China. It has also started its first military expansion in over 40 years by placing a new military base on its outer islands. Japan spends $49.1 billion on defense, the sixth most in the world.

Japan's military is fairly well-equipped. It currently has 247,000 active personnel with an additional 57,900 in reserve. Japan also has 1,595 aircraft, the world's fifth largest air force, and 131 ships. Japan's military is limited by a peace clause in the constitution that makes it illegal for the country to have an offensive army.

11. Israel

AP

Israel spends significantly more than its neighbors proportionally for defense. In 2009, Israel spent 18.7% of its national budget on defense. Israel's defense budget stands at $15 billion.

A large percentage of the Israeli defense budget goes toward defense technology. One of the best examples of this is Israel's Iron Dome, a missile defense shield that can intercept rockets shot into Israel from the Palestinian territories. Israel aims to replace Iron Dome with a laser defense shield called Iron Beam.

Agbani Darego poses with former Miss World winners at UK event

Photos: Agbani Darego poses with former Miss World winners at UK event

Former Miss World, Agbani Darego, looked amazing in a lovely dress by Lanre Da Silva which she wore to the Variety International 2016 Humanitarian Award which was hosted by Julia Morley, President of the Miss World Organization. The event held in London today. Agbani and other former Miss World queens attended the event...

'He's happy at Madrid'- Cristiano Ronaldo's mum rules out 'emotional' return to Man utd

'He's happy at Madrid'- Cristiano Ronaldo's mum rules out 'emotional' return to Man utd

Cristiano Ronaldo's mum, Maria Dolores dos Santos Aveiro, has ruled out her son making an emotional return to Man U, the club where he came into limelight and won his first Balloon d'or. Cristiano has frequently spoken of his love and admiration for Man U and sometimes gave indications that he would one day return to the club where he spent 6 trophy laden years at.

But his mum's comments have now dampened Man U fan's hopes. Acording to The Independent, during the launch of her autobiography in Spain, she said a 'Cristiano is happy here, he would like to finish his career at Real Madrid' Ronaldo left Man U in 2009 for a reported £80m after spending 6 trophy laden years at the club.

Strength Training For Endurance Athletes

Weight training workouts provide big payoffs for endurance athletes

•  Gmail

Endurance athletes often spend the majority of their training time engaged in their particular sport. Runners run, cyclists cycle, swimmers swim. They’ll typically add some stretching or core work after  their main workout, and perhaps do a bit of cross-training in the off-season, but in general, they quickly become specialists in one sport. In fact, the principle of specificity is one of the fundamental tenants of a training routine that helps good athletes become great athletes.

Although spending time building endurance is the primary focus of endurance athletes, an ideal training program should also include a healthy dose of strength training. To maintain a high level of fitness, to avoid overuse injuries, and to keep up with the competition, endurance athletes need to add strength training to their routine.

Strength Training Reduces Injury Risk

​​Overuse Injuries

The most common injuries for endurance athletes include nagging chronic aches and pains that often end up as atendonitits due to excessive use of the same muscles in the same movement patterns for hours on end. To develop the smooth, fluid skills for running, swimming, skiing and cycling, certain movement patterns need to become so engrained in the body that they are automatic. Yet it is precisely this automatic movement patterns that can also lead to chronic issues, muscle imbalances, and soft tissue irritation and inflammation.

Sprains and Strains

Sprains and strains are another common type of injury for those who pound the pavement day after day. As with the overuse injuries, strains are more likely to occur as muscle patterns become so routine that the agonist and antagonist muscle groups no longer maintain a nice balance, but begin to get out of balance—one side becomes strong and tight and the opposing muscle group becomes weak and lax. This is often a set up for a pulled muscle or even an ankle sprain.

Reducing the risk of injury can occur with as little as 10-15 minutes of resistance exercise several days a week. Ideally, an endurance athlete will include 1-2 full weight training sessions per week, but even a few focused exercises each day can help improve muscle balance and reduce injuries. The main way resistance training does this is by building structural integrity of the bones, ligaments, tendons, and muscles. Choosing exercises that balance out the muscles and help maintaining overall body alignment goes a long way to avoiding long-term aches and pains.

Strength Training Increases Strength and Power

Another benefit of strength training is an increase in speed and power during endurance events.

When endurance athletes perform sport-specific strength training, they can build more muscle fibers as well as train the cardiovascular system to work more efficiently and even boost the lactate threshold.

The best way to get the most from strength training exercise is use heavy weights for fewer repetitions.  

Strength Exercises for Endurance Athletes
 

Compound Exercises

Compound exercises are great for all athletes because they combine movements in real-world patterns rather than isolating one or two muscle groups.  Compound exercises are those that include the basic movement patterns, such as bending down, pushing and pulling things, and picking things up. The exercises most commonly recommended include: deadlifts, squats, lunges, pull-ups, chin-ups, push ups, burpees, and weighted step-ups. These exercises target functional, real-world movements that we do everyday, and most likely use in sports.

Bodyweight Exercises

Bodyweight exercises generally provide an ideal workout that you can do anywhere. Most bodyweight moves are already compound in nature, so you get the benefits mentioned above. This type of routine can ensure you don’t skip your resistance training, and allows you to customize the time and intensity as you like. Try a basic bodyweight routine and build it up as you get more comfortable with the options.

The best bodyweight exercise that you can do anywhere include: wall sits, lunges, jump lunge, push ups, planks, side planks, v-sits, and lunges.

Glute Activation

Most people sit for many, many hours every day. Even if you have a daily exercise habit, odds are you are spending time sitting at work, at home or in the car. With extended periods of sitting, the glutes can become inactive and weak, while the hamstrings and hip flexors can be excessively tight and inflexible. A few basic glute activation exercises can correct some of these issues, and get your glutes firing properly before you launch into an endurance exercise routine.

Hip and Knee Exercises

Many knee injuries, aches and pains actually start with weak, poorly functioning hip. The abductors and adductors, in particular, are critical for providing integrity of the hip joint and proper functioning throughout the lower body. To do their job, they need to be exercised through an entire range of motion. Along with the quads and hamstrings, the hip flexors help keep the knee cap tracking properly and reduce the risk of developing knee pain, IT band pain or patellofemoral syndrome.

Strength training sessions for the endurance athlete don’t need to be extensive. Choose 5 exercises and do 8-10 reps of each for 2-3 sets. Use a fairly heavy resistance. You’ll know it’s too heavy if you can’t maintain proper form for all 8 reps. If you lift heavy, you only need to lift 1-2 times a week.

Strength Training Tips for Endurance Athletes
 

• Lift after your endurance training or on a non-training day. Because strength workouts are often high intensity efforts, you want to have enough energy to maintain good form and provide enough effort to make lifting effective. If you are fatigued, your strength workout will be marginally effective or possibly lead to injury
• If you haven’t been doing much (or any) strength training, start slowly and start with the basics until you build your foundation. Select as little as five minutes of strength exercises with about five exercises. Over a few weeks, increasing your intensity, or add more exercises to the routine that cover a variety of movement patterns.
• Bodyweight sessions can be low-to-moderate efforts that can be performed most days of the week after your endurance work. Add a cool down of core exercises: crunches, planks, and push ups as a go to routine any day of week.
• Use a foam roller regularly. While technically not a resistance exercise, using a foam roller regularly should be a part of any endurance athlete’s cool down routine.

The Bottom Line

Strength training is a good addition to almost every athlete’s training program, but endurance athletes have some very clear benefits of beginning a weight workout.

Exercises for Stronger Hips and Knees

Build hip and knee stability with a few basic exercises

Felix Hug/The Image Bank/Getty Images

By Elizabeth Quinn

Updated July 04, 2015

Do you do specific exercises for your hips and knees? Do you work your hip through the entire range of motion and engage theabductors and adductor muscles? If not, maybe you should.

The abductors and adductors are critical for providing integrity of the hip joint and create a strong, balanced link between the lower body and the torso. They also need to be exercised through an entire range of motion.

If you work these muscles only in one direction (forward and back) by walking, running or using common cardio machines then you are not building structural integrity of the hip, or the entire lower body.

These muscles, along with the quads and hamstrings, play an important role in allowing the patella (kneecap) to track properly as the knee joint bends. If the abductor and adductor muscles are not strong, flexible, and balanced, knee painsuch as patellofemoral syndrome, and injury is more likely.

Strong Muscles Support Joints

Strengthening and balancing the muscles that surround the knee can take the pressure off the joint and decrease the amount of total weight absorbed by the ligaments, meniscus and cartilage in the knee. Because the knee is a hinge joint and only moves in one direction, it's important to maintain both strength and stability.

The hip joint, on the other hand, is a ball and socket joint that works best when it has mobility as well as strength.

The hip is a much more complicated joint, and needs to be exercised in a variety of directions, including rotation, in order to increase overall stability. If the muscles that support the hip joint (quadriceps, hip flexors, glutes, hamstrings, and even thecore muscles) are strong and allow appropriate mobility, the amount of pressure and wear and tear on the hip joint, as well as the knee joint, decreases.

Proper Alignment Reduces Pain

The soft tissues of the body (muscles, tendons, ligaments, etc.) help maintain proper alignment of the bones during movement. If bones aren't properly aligned when they move through a range of motion, there can be a great deal of friction, a lack of stability, decreased mobility and compromised function. This can set an athlete up for a variety of injuries.

The best way to maintain biomechanicalintegrity during movement is with the proper balance of strength and flexibility around the joint. Muscles work in pairs (extensors and flexors) and maintaining the proper balance of strength in these muscle pairs can go a long way to prevent joint pain and injury.

Begin with a Functional Warm Up

Consider using the core workout as a warm up before strength training. This routine activates the core stabilizers as it warms up the larger muscles to prepare for more powerful strength training exercises. Also see:

• Glute Activation Routine
• Why Warm Up?

Exercises for Strong Hips and Knees

This list offers some great exercises that athletes from all sports can incorporate into their training routines to help keep the hips and knees properly aligned, strong, flexible and able to withstand the rigors of sports.

Beginner Exercises

1. Clam Exercise
   A basic glute medius strengthening move.
2. Bridge Exercise
   A hamstring and glute strengthener.
3. Plank Exercise
   This basic strengthening exercise can improve overall core biomechanics.

Intermediate Exercises

1. Side Plank
   This basic hip abductor strengthening exercise can improve alignment.
2. Lateral Mini Band Walking
   This simple exercise can improve thestrength of the glute medius, which helps pelvis and knee stability.
3. Single Leg Bridge
   A bit more advanced way to build stability.
4. Lunge with a Twist
   Adding a twist to the lunge improves core stability.
5. Weighted Step Ups
   This simple and effective exercise improves strength and power without excessive stress on the knees or hips.
6. Squat
   The basic full squat is the overall best lower body strengthening exercise. Just be sure to do it correctly.

Advanced Exercises

1. Walking Lunge
   Walking lunges, with or without weights, can improve strength and balance.
2. Lateral Plyometric Jumps
   Side-to-side moves to improve hip mobility and strength.
3. Weighted Adductor | Weighted AbductorExercises
   Deceptively difficult exercises for athletes.
4. One-Leg Squat and Reach
   This exercise builds strength and stability in both the lower body and core.
5. Overhead Lunge
   Increase the difficulty of the lunge and add core stability by holding weight overhead.
6. Plyometrics
   Plyometrics build explosive strength and help reduce the rick of knee ligament injuries when performed correctly.

Real Life Exercises for Hips and Knees

When it comes to preventing injury, usingcompound or "functional" exercises that use a variety of muscles and simulate real life movements are generally considered the ideal way for athletes to train. Such movements include exercises like squats, lunges and lateral movements. Exercises that isolate a specific muscle (such as a leg extension or biceps curl) do have a place in athletic training, but are often reserved to help isolate and rehab a muscle after an injury or to recover after a surgery. (Read More: Compound vs. Isolation Exercises)

Basic Knee and Hip Exercises

If you are starting from zero or getting over an injury, you can begin to build strength and stability in the hip and knee joints by going back to basics and using these simple exercise routines.

• Basic Knee Exercises
• Basic Hip Exercises

The 6 Best Butt Exercises for Athletes

Strengthen your glutes and add power to your sports performance

The butt muscles, specifically the gluteus maximus, medius and minimus, are some of the most important muscles for generating speed and power during many athletic movements. The gluteus maximus is the largest muscle in the body as well as one of the most powerful, and it plays a major role in running and jumping. For an athlete, a strong backside is essential for preventing injuries, maximizing acceleration and power, and improving overall sports performance.

Many people today, including both athletes and non-athletes, have poorly functioning glutes due to the excessive amount of time we all spend sitting. Extended periods of time spent in a seated position can harm your health in a variety of ways, including weakened, inactive glutes, tight hamstrings and tight hip flexors. During exercise, poorly functioning glutes can cause the hamstrings and the lower back muscles to become overused and more prone to injury. To avoid such pitfalls, it's helpful to actively engage and strengthen the butt muscles so they can do what they're meant to do.

Athletes in almost every sport can benefit from actively engaging and strengthening the glutes. But before diving into glute strengthening exercises, it's helpful to do a few glute activation exercises to essentially "wake up the glutes" and get your backside firing properly. Once activated, the glutes can more easily respond to a variety of targeted strengthening exercises, including the following.

Best Butt Exercises For Athletes

1

 Walking Lunges

 Dumbbell Walking Lunge. photo (C) Assembly / Getty Images

The walking lunge is another great glute strengthener that can be done with or without added weight. Once you have practiced the basic movement pattern, performing the walking lunge while holding holding dumbbells not only builds glute strength, but it also engages the quads, hamstrings, and core stabilizers while it improves hip flexibility.

Read more about how to do the Walking Lunge safely. More »

2

 Weighted Step Ups

 Weighted step up. image courtesy of Procegrabber

The weighted step up is a straight-forward exercise for targeting the glutes while minimizing the stress on the knee joint. By starting with a lower bench and little to no weight, you can slowly build up glute strength and power. By working each leg individually, you can avoid favoring one side as might happen during the full squat movement. As the step up becomes easier and you have more control of the movement, simply add height to the step and add weight.

You can use dumbbells, a barbell, or a weighted vest to increase the resistance of this exercise. The key to a good step up is to maintain control, and keep your knee tracking forward rather than caving inward.

Read more about the benefits and modifications to the Weight Step Up Exercise More »

3

 Single Leg Bridge Exercise

 Single Leg Bridge Exercise. Photo (c) Hamish Blair / Getty Images

Another excellent butt exercise that isolates each side while providing glute activation is the single leg bridge. If you are just getting started, you may want to use the standard bridge exercise until you build enough strength and stability to do a single leg bridge without compromising your form. You can tell if you aren't quite ready for the single leg bridge if you see your hips sinking to one side during the movement.

Read more about how to do the Single Leg Bridge Exercise safely. More »

4

 Hip Extension on Exercise Ball

 Hip Extension on Exercise Ball. (c) Carol Schiff/Getty Images

Doing a hip extension on exercise ball is deceptively challenging. It looks simple and straight-forward, but the stability required to master this move take a bit of practice. Performed properly, it targets glutes, hips and hamstrings while engaging a variety of smaller stabilizers through the hips, back and core. To decrease the difficulty when you first begin, roll forward farther to support more of the hips and pelvis. As you improve, you can increase the difficulty by rolling back a bit to increase the leg extension.

5

 Full Squats

 Barbell Squat Exercise. (c) Cameron Spencer/Getty Image

The full squat is the king of all power exercises. You can begin with no weight or a very small amount of weight in order to learn the correct movement patterns. Over time you can slowly add more resistance to the movement. The squat not only builds powerful glutes, but done properly it will improve hip and ankle mobility, often lacking in athletes.

Read more about how to safely do the Full Squat. More »

6

 Single Leg Squats

 One Leg Squat and Reach. Photo � E Quinn

Practicing a single leg squat, with or without the additional reach, is a good way to activate the glutes as you improve yourbalance and proprioception. By focusing on a smooth, controlled and steady motion throughout the movement, you will engage a variety of muscles from head to toe, while also increasing ankle strength and flexibility.