10. Wait 30 minutes after a meal before you go swimming.
Wrong (sort of). You could eat a meal in the pool without danger. The real issue is the intensity of your postmeal activity. Digestion and exercise both need your blood. Digestion wins out, and that can make performance suffer. So dive in just hold off on the synchronized swimming.
11. I'm not driving you to school if you miss the service.
Yeah, right. This was an empty threat, so no consequences were faced and no responsibility accepted, says John D. Gartner, PhD, a clinical assistant professor of psychiatry at Johns Hopkins University medical school. You're left with the sense that you can screw up and someone will bail you out in the end, which is also known as the Internet Business Plan.
12. Be tough: walk it off.
Wrong. Rest and make sure the pain goes away. Once it does, get back in the game and show them tough. If it doesn't, get some treatment, says Bill Roberts, MD, a sports-medicine physician in White Bear Lake, Minnesota in the US.
13. Nobody likes a wise-ass.
Wrong. Two words: Jay Leno
14. Don't swallow gum, it'll stay in your stomach forever.
Wrong. Your stomach juices dissolve Juicy Fruit. So it's safe. But so is the bottom of the table.
15. Your nose is bleeding. Tilt your head back to make it stop.
Wrong. You'll swallow blood, which is just slightly less unpleasant than white prune juice. Instead, pinch the tip of your nose, which is where the vessels are. And sit up straight.
16. Sit up straight.
Right. Keeping your head erect and shoulders back takes the strain off your upper and middle back muscles and the pressure off your spine. Keep your hips at 90 degrees, arms supported, and back against the back of the chair; and maintain a slight curve in your lower back. Every 20-30 minutes, take a walk to stay loose, says Dr. Roberts.
17. Stand up straight.
Right. No different from sitting up straight. But don't be rigid, keep moving. In a crowded bar, for instance, put a foot on the lowest rung of a stool and alternate feet occasionally. You'll change the resting length of the muscles and get the blood flowing, says Dr. Evans.
18. Eat your spinach so you'll be strong like Popeye.
Wrong. Cartoons are reliable sources on such scientific issues as gravity and shotgun blasts, but come on, low-protein spinach does not build sailorlike muscles. Eat it with a piece of chicken that would be "Chicken Florentine" on the menu and lift some weights before challenging the local Bluto to arm wrestle.
» Guy Wisdom archive
Men's Health Philippines - June 2005 Issue
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Go ahead, sit close to the TV. But don't let Brownie handle the remote. (He'll hit the paws button.)
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