For centuries, guys have known that nothing relieves stress like a good sweat. Sitting in a hot box with the toxins and pressure and tension just pouring out of you. The only downside is there's usually several other guys in that room, sweating their hair-covered asses off too. (I'll leave the visuals for that to you.)

The Far Infrared Sauna from Sunlight Saunas can deliver the relaxation you deserve - without you having to leave the house. Or sit in a room with sweaty naked strangers. Plus it's a swinging kind of status symbol - and a great excuse to get women to undress - that's a throwback to the 70's, during the North American rise of the hot tub. (Yeah, baby!)

Harnessing cutting-edge infrared technology, this indoor sauna radiates a dry heat that's a lot more comfortable than steam, and offers personal prestige and a wealth of health benefits, including: reduced joint pain, lower blood pressure, and a chance to burn 200 to 600 calories in 30 minutes by just sitting there, perspiring. The far infrared increases your body's core temp, resulting in a deeper, more detoxifying ...More

Would you have believed 300 flabby, overindulged actors could hold off an angry horde of invading Persians? Me either. So the producers of the movie "300" had a choice: whip their cast into fighting shape, or use inexperienced gym rats who looked the part, but couldn't talk and hold a shield at the same time.

With a huge Hollywood budget on the line, they wisely decided having to listen to their actors whine and moan their way through a grueling fitness regimen was easier than trying to teach a bunch of jacked-up meatheads to emote. And the program they chose was CrossFit.

Developed by a former gymnast as a way to create the "quintessential athlete" - equal parts gymnast, weightlifter and sprinter - CrossFit doesn't use fancy equipment, but rather your own body's resistance with exercises such as squats, running, pull ups, sit ups, etc. performed at high intensity. Really high intensity. A typical workout lasts only about 20 minutes, but looks something like this: Three rounds of 21, 15 and 9 repetitions of Dumbbell Bench Press, Weighted Sit Ups, Push Ups, Kettlebell Snatches and Push Presses, back to back, as quickly as you can complete them. And your goal each workout is to beat last session's time.

Over 400 gyms across the country offer CrossFit training classes, with one of them being Petranek Fitness in Santa Monica. (Club motto: "No One Ever Drowned in Their Own Sweat." And I did not make that up.) Owner Andy Petranek (pictured), is a former Marine ...More

It's been used as currency, vampire repellant, worshipped by ancient Egyptians, and as a flavor kicker in Mom's recipes. But garlic has also been used for centuries for health and medicinal purposes.

While some of the claims have yet to be proven by scientific studies, many people swear by garlic's healing powers. To get an idea of what this powerful little bulb can do for you, I spoke with Donna-Lee Smith, a registered dietician at Consuming Wellness outside of Toronto, Canada. And while I'd heard some of these benefits before, others were new. Donna-Lee also cautioned that while eating garlic is definitely healthy for you, many "benefits" could be caused by the placebo effect, and further study was needed.

But whether you believe the benefits are actual, or the result of the placebo effect, adding a little more garlic in your diet won't hurt you. Your breath maybe. But not you.

As an Antioxidant -
Allicin, one of the sulphur-containing compounds that give garlic its pungent odor, may be responsible for preventing cell damage by fighting free radicals. And garlic is also a good source of Vitamin C, a powerful antioxidant.

As a Blood Cleanser -
Some studies have shown that garlic helps keep blood platelets from sticking together (reducing the risk of blood clots), and that it may also help stimulate the production of nitric oxide in the lining of blood vessel walls. Which keeps them relaxed and prevents hardening. And a diet rich in garlic may also help deter plaque buildup in your arteries.

As a Blood Thinner -
Garlic is also a natural anticoagulant and prevents clotting.

To Lower Cholesterol -
Those pharmaceuticals that just got pulled from the shelves may not lower your cholesterol like they claimed, but eating garlic might. There are conflicting studies, but some have shown that eating garlic regularly can help lower your LDL, or "bad" cholesterol, while raising your HDL, or "good" cholesterol.
...More

The weekend can take a toll on your eyes. Smoky clubs. Lots of drinking. Late nights. By Sunday your eyes are looking redder than Carrot Top after a day on the beach. And you're dragging more ass than JLo. (I know, two bad celeb references.)

For years, club kids and college students in Japan and the UK have been using Rohto V (pronounced row tow vee), eye drops to lose the red, soothe tired, partied-out eyes, and get a caffeine-like jolt at the same time.

The drops come in three strengths, Cool, Ice (which also soothes itch, irritation and burning), and their newest one, Arctic, which administers the highest level of their signature menthol-like "cooling sensation" felt when the drops hit your eyes.

Yup. Menthol-like drops. For your eyes. Sounds insane, but actually doesn't sear your retina like you'd think. And it's that ingredient that gives the "jolt" users call eye-drenaline. ...More

Instead of shopping all day the Friday after Thanksgiving, head over to a Gold's Gym near you and work off those calories you packed on the day before.

Participating gyms will open their doors all day to anyone who wants to work off the mashed potatoes and stuffing. Some locations are planning to run the free workouts through the weekend. All you have to do is walk in and say you want your free workout, but as with anything, some restrictions may apply. (I'm pretty sure if you show up wheezing and dragging an oxygen tank behind you they may turn you away.) Who knows, you might end up liking it.

There's more than 500 locations nationwide. To find one near you go to www.goldsgym.com Now you can eat as much as you like. You're welcome.

Lipstick recently joined backpacks and Chinese-manufactured kid's toys on the growing list of Things That Contain Lead when a consumer rights group found that more than 60% of the popular brands of red lipstick tested had detectable levels of lead. One third had levels exceeding the FDA's limit for lead in candy.

The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, the group behind the testing, found that some less expensive brands it had tested, such as Revlon, had no detectable levels of lead, while the more expensive Dior Addict brand had higher levels than some other brands. (Guess which brand I'm having my girl switch to.)

On the other side, L'Oreal said in a statement that their lipstick is in full compliance with FDA regs, and Proctor & Gamble said the quantity of lead someone may be exposed to from lipstick "is hundreds of times less than the amount that she would get from eating, breathing and drinking water."

Not that I think any of you guys are wearing lipstick regularly (unless you're the lead singer in an alt rock band), but the girls you're kissing are. Which means you could be ingesting it along with them. And according to Dr. Mark Mitchell, president of the Connecticut Coalition for Environmental Justice, "Lead builds up in the body over time and lead-containing lipstick applied several times a day, every day, can add up to significant exposure levels. The latest studies show there is no safe level of lead exposure."

So let your ladies know. And be aware next time you go in for that kiss.

Now there's a medical excuse for going out drinking with the boys: "No baby, we're not going out to get drunk and party. I'm just making sure I don't die of toxic poisoning."

Doctors in Australia used an IV drip of vodka to save the life of a 24 year-old Italian tourist, when they ran out of the medicinal alcohol they usually use for treatment.

The man had ingested a large quantity of ethylene glycol, which is commonly found in antifreeze and can cause renal failure. (Not to mention a wicked hangover.) Doctors ran through all of the pharmaceutical-grade alcohol they had on hand and decided the next best way to get alcohol into his system was to feed him spirits through a naso gastric tube. (Does this mean we'll be seeing naso gastric tube bars opening all over LA?)

The patient was given the equivalent of three standard drinks an hour for three days while in intensive care. (No word on whether he was fed olives during treatment.) While doctors believe he drank the antifreeze in an attempt to harm himself (Really Doc Obvious? You don't think he was just trying to keep from freezing?), the patient made a full recovery.

From PsychologyToday.com comes this "shocking" report on collected research from five areas of men's sexual health. (I would say more "interesting" than shocking, but hype sells.) Here are some of the highlights. (You can read the full story here.)

In terms of guys having "sex on the brain", where the prevailing belief has been that men think about sex about every seven seconds, their research says it's not true. According to the Kinsey Report (Sexual Behavior in the Human Male), 43 percent of us only think about sex a few times a week or a few times a month, and 4 percent have it cross their minds less than once a month. (I believe the technical term for that is "Married Man".)

Sitcoms may be right. A sex-starved man married to a disinterested wife may not be a plot-line created just for cheap laughs. According to the article, "As it turns out, the instant a woman enters a secure relationship, her sex drive begins to plummet." (Especially if she's married to Jim Belushi.)

On how we "measure up": the Psychology Today report found that there is no clear or reliable figure for the average length of our "little buddy". However, the Journal of Urology puts the average at 5.08 inches, and the International Journal of Impotence Research puts it at 5.35 inches. (The only time you'd be better off choosing Impotence.)

And once we are having sex, how long do we "perform"? Their surveys showed that the average sex session lasts from three to ten minutes. That's with a partner. Without? According to the story, "the average hotel porn viewer watches for just 12 minutes." (Of course. I have an early meeting in the morning.)

Full story here.

Men's Health recently posted a piece on foods that are incredibly good for you, but not many guys eat them. Considering one is a weed called purslane, I'm not surprised.

What makes the article a must-read is not just telling us what we should be eating and what the health benefits are, but including a section on how to prepare and eat them. Which in most cases is easier than you think. (Purslane? Just add it to a salad. Even though it's a weed it has a mild, lemony taste.)

The top ten are: Beets, Cabbage, Guava, Swiss chard, Cinnamon, Purslane, Pomegranate juice, Goji berries, Dried plums, and Pumpkin seeds. And to see why they made the list and the best way to eat them, click here.

I'm a big weekend napper. About 20 minutes of afternoon recharging on the couch, and I'm good to go all night.

During the week I also have the urge to shut down for a few, but I've always been embarrassed about actually doing it. At one of my early jobs, the head of sales used to close his door and sleep for a half hour, and he was constantly ridiculed for being "lazy". Turns out he was probably more informed than the rest of us. And more alert.

Recent studies are showing that a short 20 minute "power nap" in the middle of the day can do more for you than a jolt of caffeine. And they keep you going until it's time to wind down for good and hit the sheets. Meaning you won't crash on the couch after the evening news, or more importantly, during happy hour.

If you are thinking of converting from Non Napper to Power Napper read this informative post on the 10 Benefits of Power Napping, and How to Do It from ririanproject.com. Besides giving you info on why, when and how to nap, it also lists the different types and lengths of naps so you can see which one is best for you, like the two-five minute Micro-nap or the 50-90 minute Lazy Man's Nap. As for me, I'm going to close my door for a 20 minute Original Power Nap.

www.ririanproject.com