Stiff Muscles
What's the big deal? Poor flexibility in your upper back can predispose you to lower-back pain and injury. If you sit at a desk for long hours without moving, or if you're doing a lot of lifting to build your chest muscles but not stretching them out and not strengthening your upper back, your shoulders and neck will hunch forward, notes trainer Bill Hartman, P.T., C.S.C.S. This will limit your upper-back mobility, causing you to overuse your lower back and leading to pain and discomfort.
Stay limber with a pec stretch. Stand in a doorway with your right forearm and palm resting fully on the jamb, and your arm bent 90 degrees. Now lean into the doorway and away from your arm until you feel the stretch. Hold for 30 seconds, and repeat with your left arm. Follow this with your favorite barbell row, dumbbell row, or cable row for 2 to 3 sets of 10 to 12 reps to balance your pushes. Try these 10 ways to beat back pain for good.
Check again in: 2 weeks
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Lousy Memory
What's the big deal? Can't recall where you just placed your socks? You're probably stressed out. The stress hormone cortisol temporarily short-circuits memory.
Check your memory—and improve it—with an "N-back" exercise in the morning. Pick a word, such as "economy," while you're watching the morning news. Every time someone says the word, come up with the word that person said two (or five) words before it. "This exercise can evaluate how much you can deal with mentally at one time, and then boost it," says Bridgid Finn, Ph.D., a research scientist at the Memory Lab at Washington University in St. Louis. Then consider going for a run. Cardiovascular exercise shunts extra oxygen to your brain, boosting your mental acuity in general. In fact, a recent Duke University review of studies found that cardio work improves attention, brain-processing speed, and memory. It'll help bust that stress, too.
Check again in: 1 week