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Got five minutes?

Got five minutes?

Now there’s no excuse for saying you haven’t got time to exercise. These simple moves mean you can wage war on your wobbly bits in 5 minutes flat. Do all six, and you’ve added half an hour of movement and vitality to your day.

1.Strengthen your coreStick a note saying “Cinch in my centre” on your computer monitor, fridge, or car dashboard. Every time you see it, pull in your stomach muscles, drawing your navel back as if to glue it to your spine.

2.Beat batwings

Sit on a chair with your hands on the arm-rests. Lift yourself up by straightening your arms, and then lower yourself by bending them. Don’t put any weight on your feet – just use them for balance. Repeat 10 times.

3.Whittle that waist

Lie on your back, knees bent, and palms touching your head. Tighten your tummy muscles, and then raise your head and shoulders until your shoulder blades lift off the floor. Return to the starting position. Repeat 10 times.

4.Get a better bottom

Lie on your back, knees bent, and hands by your sides. Tighten your abdominal and bottom muscles, tilt your pelvis upward, and lift your hips off the floor slightly; hold for a count of 5. Repeat 10 times.

5.Stretch your spine

Stand with feet together, and arms above your head. Inhale then exhale, slowly bending forward and allowing your body to drop towards the floor from the waist. Don’t lock your knees, they should stay soft.

6.Downsize your thighs

Stand with feet apart. Bend your knees and push your bottom out, as though you were about to sit; hold your arms out for balance, and keep your back straight. Hold for a count of 5, then straighten. Repeat 10 times.

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Fit in fitness this Christmas

Photos by Getty Images

This month we asked sports medicine expert Dr George Janko, McKinnon Sports Medicine for his team’s top lifestyle and fitness tips for surviving this silly season.

  • Increase that training – whatever it may be. Let’s up the ante! Push harder, faster, stronger, and longer! Do something each day even if only a brisk walk. Remember getting a bit of a sweat up is the thing.

  • Get enough sleep. Australians are sleep deprived and during the silly season, more so then ever. So sleep your way to the top and make it a pact to get an extra hour sleep a night whenever you can fit it in.

  • Watch what you eat and try to get back to your normal weight before all the grog and food to come. Remember less fat, fewer takeaways (except for salads without mayo), and when you eat out ask for sauces on the side (usually that will mean fewer kilojoules).

  • A bottle of white, a bottle of red, maybe a bottle of rose instead. For those who don’t remember this Billy Joel song remember that while alcohol has some anti-oxidant qualities, too much is not too good. Try to have at least three alcohol free days and keep the other days for up to four standard drinks per day only for men and two standard drinks for women.

  • Get a massage to take time out for yourself. We all get a bit tired before the Christmas break arrives and a massage is a great way to revive your energy.

  • Look after you biomechanics. A new pair of runners might be a great X-mas present. Now is the time to drop some hints. Remember the most important thing about runners is the “last”. This is the way the sole is attached to the upper. The shoe should not twist or bend in the mid foot. It should only bend in the toe region.

  • Remember that life is a team sport. Make time for all those important people in your life. It is they who give your life meaning.

  • Lastly, remember those New Year resolutions could start now! Give yourself a head start – why wait to the 1st of January?Tell us what you think about these Christmas fitness tips …

Tell us what you think about these Christmas fitness tips …

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Bindi, the Jungle Girl: Camels

Bindi with a camel

This month, Bindi shows off her favourite camel.

Pick up a copy of the October issue of The Australian Women’s Weekly to read more about camels and see below for information on how to ask Bindi your most pressing wildlife questions.

What has three stomachs, one hump or two and can survive for 20 days without water? A camel, writes Bindi Irwin.

My favourite part of a camel is its hump. At Australia Zoo, on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast, we have Teela, our dromedary or one-humped camel. She’s a darling. Dromedary camels are found in the deserts of Australia, the Middle East and Africa, but Australia is the only country where wild herds still roam – we have about 80,000 to 200,000 of them in Australia. These gorgeous animals are useful to our country. They play a role in our tourism industry and are exported to help improve breeding overseas. Camels have been helping us since they were brought here in 1840. Our first explorers relied on them to explore the desert. Camels also helped deliver goods to the outback, where cars or horses couldn’t go. The famous Ghan train, which goes from Adelaide to Darwin, is named after the Afghan camel trains that provided this important service.

Camels are the perfect desert animal – their big, leathery feet prevent them from sinking into the sand and they can close their nostrils to keep out the sand. The camel’s hump stores fat, which gives them energy and water when food is scarce.

Camels in the wild eat whatever is available, such as grasses, shrubs and trees, and because they mostly feed on the move and have broad, soft feet, they have minimal impact on our native vegetation, even in drought conditions.

If you come to Australia Zoo, Teela may greet you with a big smooch. She has fun on our zoo promotional days: on Mother’s Day, she’s part of our Kiss the Critter competition and on Valentine’s Day, she enjoys the Animal Magnetism contest.

Here are five interesting facts you may not have known about camels.

  • A dehydrated camel can drink 200 litres in 10 minutes. That’s 20 litres in 1 minute.

  • Teela never gets dehydrated, but enjoys the treats visitors give her at Australia Zoo.

  • When camels are distressed or angry, they spit. This is actually vomit. Teela has never done this. We make sure she’s always happy and contented.

  • Camels have three stomachs and 60 metres of intestines. This enables them to extract the most nutrients from it. Teela loves eating fig branches and passionfruit.

  • Camels store water in their red blood cells.They can swell up to as much as 240 per cent of their normal size to absorb lots of water.Got a question for Bindi? Post it to Ask Bindi, The Australian Women’s Weekly, GPO Box 4178, Sydney, NSW 2001 or email [email protected].Bindi’s new television show, Bindi: The Jungle Girl, can be seen on ABC TV on Wednesdays at 4.05pm.

Got a question for Bindi? Post it to Ask Bindi, The Australian Women’s Weekly, GPO Box 4178, Sydney, NSW 2001 or email [email protected].

Bindi’s new television show, Bindi: The Jungle Girl, can be seen on ABC TV on Wednesdays at 4.05pm.

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Jason: Drugs, Kylie and my crazy life

Jason Donovan’s tell-all book

Woman’s Day brings you an exclusive extract of Jason Donovan’s no-holds-barred, yet to be released book, Between The Lines.

In this 5-page special, Jason reveals the explosive truth about him and Kylie Minogue, his affair with Erica Baxter, and how his kids Jemma and Zac saved him from drugs.

Read it in this week’s Woman’s Day (on-sale September 24)

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In the mag – October 1, 2007

On-Sale Monday September 24, 2007

Brad’s obsession with Jen

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have had a huge row over the actor’s obsession with his ex-wife Jennifer Aniston. In this week’s issue, it’s not hard to see why, as we reveal exclusive pictures of Jen’s hot new curves!

True Life — “My kids were frozen for 17 years”

After an agonising struggle to conceive, Sally and Andrew Woods defied the odds.

Friends and family tell Britney: Get help

The tragic star’s family prepare an intervention to save her from herself and protect her children.

Interview: Naomi Watts — “Love, babies and my best mate Nic”

As she prepares to turn 39 this week, Naomi Watts is counting her blessings. She is head over heels in love with the men in her life — two-month-old Alexander Pete and her fiancé Liev Schreiber, 39. Now, as she’s set to star in the action/thriller Eastern Promises, the UK-born Aussie actress reveals how she almost gave up on her life’s dream and how best pal Nicole Kidman kept it alive for her.

  • Exclusive! Jason Donovan’s tell-all book

  • Woman’s Day brings you an exclusive extract of Jason Donovan’s no-holds-barred, yet to be released book, Between The Lines. In this 5-page special, Jason reveals the explosive truth about him and Kylie Minogue, his affair with Erica Baxter, and how his kids Jemma and Zac saved him from drugs.

  • Exclusive! Rock throw victim Nicole Miller — “My miracle survival”

  • It’s probably a blessing Nicole doesn’t recall the moment a jagged-edged rock, hurled from the side of a New South Wales south coast overpass, exploded through the rear passenger window of the car she was travelling in. In this exclusive interview, Nicole talks to Woman’s Day about the horrifying moment that changed her life for ever.

  • Interview: Alyce Platt — “I got married twice in a year”

  • As Sale Of The Century‘s hostess with the mostest, Alyce Platt was the “It” girl of TV’s quiz-show world. In this interview, the star opens up about screen sex with Daniel Macpherson, her two marriages to the same man, and becoming stepmother to her own goddaughter.

  • Footy Finals Food

  • AFL or NRL? No matter what your code, one thing unites us all at football finals time … food!

  • Emmys 2006 — All the frocks and parties gossip

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Naomi: Love, babies and my best mate Nic

As she prepares to turn 39 this week, Naomi Watts is counting her blessings. She is head over heels in love with the men in her life — two-month-old Alexander Pete and fiancé Liev Schreiber, 39 — and for the first time, she has the freedom to relax and enjoy the moment.

“I could just spend hours gazing at him,” Naomi says of Alexander. “[Motherhood] is such a powerful thing. Life has changed dramatically. It’s all about the baby.”

Now, as she’s set to star in the action/thriller Eastern Promises, the UK-born Aussie actress reveals how she almost gave up on her life’s dream and how best pal Nicole Kidman kept it alive for her.

Eastern Promises is a very emotional movie. Did you feel worn down by it, given your life is so busy at the moment?

No, I actually felt the opposite. I felt refreshed in a weird sort of way. A couple of years later, I think I’m still recovering from doing King Kong. [Laughs.] That film was so physically draining. I mean, it was eight months of 14-hour days filled with jumping, running, being punched, pushed and pulled. So, this film was a luxury. I mean, the emotional aspect is exhausting, but we had time to do it right.

So, are you in love these days?

[Laughs.] I’m very happy.

Will you be having time off to be with Alexander?

I believe I’ve put so much into my work for such a long time that I’ve earned some time off. I feel so sated that I won’t be needing to rush back to it so quickly. The notion of exploring other things is too exciting for me at this point.

You’re best friends with Nicole Kidman. Did her success prepare you for fame?

In a way, because I’ve known Nicole from before her success, and I’ve known her all through it. I’ve experienced it with her. When you’re a friend, you watch and you learn. But, it’s not something you sit down and ask for advice or pointers about.

Was there jealousy when Nicole’s career took off?

Not at all. There was nothing but sheer happiness seeing her getting to do what she really wanted to do. Every time either of us got a great role, we would celebrate and wish each other the best of luck. I was never jealous. And Nic would often go out of her way to make sure I didn’t lose hope or any momentum in pursuing my acting dreams. Her success was such an inspiration to me. It gave me that extra push to keep pushing ahead…

For the full interview see this week’s Woman’s Day (on-sale September 24)

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Brad’s obsession with Jen

Angelina bans Brad from talking to Jennifer after a blazing argument.

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have had an explosive row over the actor’s obsession with his ex-wife Jennifer Aniston, amid mounting anxiety over Ange not yet conceiving another child.

The pair — who have been arguing for some time over Angelina’s plummeting weight — suffered the worst fight of their two-year relationship after Ange caught Brad admiring pictures of a healthy and happy-looking Jen enjoying a beach holiday in Hawaii.

“Angelina walked in and saw him ogling pictures of Jennifer looking great in a bikini,” confirms a source. “She hit the roof — it was the last thing she needed to see after all she has been through recently.

“They had a screaming row and Brad was horrified — he’s never seen her lose it like that…”

For the full story, see this week’s Woman’s Day (on-sale September 24)

Your say: Who is better for Brad — Ange or Jen? Leave your comments below…

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Friends and family tell Britney: Get help

The tragic star’s family prepare an intervention to save her from herself and protect her children.

Britney Spears’ parents are planning an emergency intervention in a bid to force the troubled star into “long-term care” after a judge accused her of drug and alcohol abuse, and ordered her to submit to random blood tests if she wants to keep her two young sons.

Lynne and Jamie Spears — who are estranged — are desperate to convince Brit she needs to go back to rehab and seek more treatment for her emotional problems and alleged substance abuse.

Agreeing to put aside their differences to help their daughter, they have rallied together everyone who has been a major part of their daughter’s life over the past two years — including her ex-husband Kevin Federline — to stage a “super intervention”…

For the full story see this week’s Woman’s Day (on-sale September 24)

Your say: Will rehab help Britney? Leave your comments below…

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My kids were frozen for 17 years

After an agonising struggle to conceive, Sally and Andrew Woods defied the odds.

Sally Woods kissed her husband goodbye and hugged him tightly. Taking a deep breath, she watched as he climbed into the family car, clutching a flask. In just a few hours, the container would be full of hope.

Andrew, 40, was embarking on a six-hour round trip to pick up a sperm sample he had frozen 17 years earlier. By this time, the sample was one of the oldest in storage. As she waved Andrew off, Sally hoped it was capable of fulfilling their family dream.

Just two weeks before meeting Sally in a pub 17 years ago, Andrew, then 23, found out he had testicular cancer. Instead of enjoying dinner dates and movies, Sally and Andrew spent the first few weeks of their romance making huge decisions about their future.

“We knew Andrew’s rounds of chemotherapy would make him infertile,” Sally explains. “It was weird thinking about children so soon, but even then we knew we wanted to be together.”

So Andrew, a banker, had his sperm frozen in the hope that one day he’d be able to be a dad…

For the full story, see this week’s Woman’s Day (on-sale September 24)

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Fake a tan for autumn

SunSense Self Tanning System Pre-Tan Moisture (200g), $9.50

St. Tropez Whipped Bronze Mousse (120ml), $39.95

Sally Hansen Airbrush Legs in Tan Glow (75g), $27.25

L’Oréal Paris Sublime Bronze Self-Tanning Tinted Gel (150ml), $21.45

MOR Tahitian Bronze Glow (200ml), $36.95

Get more beauty tips at Your Beauty Spot

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