The Hindu Business Line : Watch your back!

Free-weight rows with barbells are more effective in that they build mass. Rowing on the machine adds width to your laterals. I'd suggest machine-rows as the last exercise to your back-session while keeping free-weight barbell rows as the main workout. This combination would give you an impressive back.

Are ulcers hereditary? What should I do to avoid getting ulcers?

R. Kudoor

Yes, genes can predispose one to ulcers. Take steps to control your stomach's acid secretions. If you drink alcohol, limit your intake to one small peg. Or better still, go on the wagon. Stop smoking. Don't drink more than three cups of tea or coffee per day, and mix it liberally with milk. Avoid painkillers. However, if a toothache or headache is unbearable, take the painkiller on a full stomach and wash it down with milk.

Have fixed mealtimes. Eat moderately. Avoid large meals. Don't keep your stomach empty for long hours. Pace your activities. Haste and anxiety are not for you. Cultivate an even, serene temperament. Forget, forgive, speak out, deal with things, do not procrastinate and stop aiming for perfection. Lead as balanced a life as you can.

Drink at least one-and-a-half litres of water per day. Water dilutes the gastric acids and prevents them from burning the insides and creating ulcers. Enjoy your work, enjoy your life. As a doctor said: Decide you won't sweat over small stuff. Decide everything is small stuff.

Walk, cycle or do any cardiovascular exercise for 30 minutes. It's a stress-buster and strengthens your coping mechanism. Finally, eat food that soothes and does not give you acidity. There's no specific diet for preventing ulcers. Just go by your gut feel.

I am 37 years old. I have an embarrassing problem. My doctor calls it `urinary incontinence.' It suddenly started a month ago. I can't relax in the office or on outings. I try not to laugh or cough as I can feel it spurt. Are there any exercises to improve my condition?

B.U.A

Urinary incontinence is reversible. Do these two Kegel exercises every day:

Seated on a chair, tighten your anus as if you're trying to hold back a bowel movement. Hold the tightness for 30 seconds then release. Do this about 100 times a day. This strengthens the back section of your pelvic muscles.

Every time you urinate, tighten as if you want to stop the flow. Then let go. This strengthens the front section of the pelvic muscles.

To feel secure in the office and on outings, use ultra-thin pads. Generally, avoid diuretics like coffee, colas, alcohol, grapefruit juice. Avoid constipation by eating a high fibre diet of fresh fruits and raw vegetables. When you feel a cough coming up, squeeze the sphincter in anticipation. To feel good, exercise regularly and eat low-fat food. Above all, do not curb your laughter.

I have unpleasant dreams every night. Often I wake up feeling tired. Sometimes I feel bruised as if I've received a beating. Is this the beginning of insanity? Please tell me what I can do.

Vishal Kanodia

No, it is certainly not the beginning of insanity. The mind is like an amateur recordist that indiscriminately records every thought, happening, experience, mood, success, achievement. In sleep, it plays back everything in a distorted, haphazard manner. There is nothing to worry about. Just make sincere efforts to get a good night's sleep. Have a bath, drink warm milk before going to bed. Put on soft, soothing, instrumental music. Darken the room. Lie comfortably on your back. Imagine that your body is as loose as that of a rag doll. Close your eyes, raise your eyebrows a few times until your forehead relaxes. Concentrate on your breath. Feel the air going into your nostrils, then rushing out and fanning your upper lip. Breathe slower and slower until you fall asleep. The breath is the mind's tranquilliser.

As you do this, you'll find you dream less and sleep better. Until, one night, you won't dream at all. It is important to pursue this technique for several nights. I also recommend that before bedtime instead of viewing disturbing TV shows, gaze into an aquarium, watch the fish dart around, swim, glide, turn, meet, cross, chase, ignore, soar, dive. The silence of the still water and the continuous movement of the fish reach out and make the brain feel soporific and drowsy. Soon your eyelids will droop. Just flow with this drowsiness. Sleep, sleep, zzzz!

The writer is co-author of the book `Fitness for Life'.