I love this guy (Family Guy- Will Ferrell - video powered by Metacafe)

LOOL. Family Guy- Will Ferrell - video powered by Metacafe

Help Unbloack Mohamad's Den

Salam, One of my first blogs (Mohamad's Den) to stumple upon has been blocked in Bahrain. And there are 3 things everyone can do: 1- Spread the word about this and post something about it on your blog. 2- For those in Bahrain you can read Moahamed's Den at this mirror site. 3- Everyone can help by signing the Petition online. Some of the Blogs that are talking about Unblocking Mohamad's Den: Roba IWantMyMTV HAMSA SandMonkey GlobalVoicesOnline Peace

FATHERHOOD

Salam, Jad had a post about World's strongest father, and Loay reposted the whole article about this clip. I like that song alot, and living in Alabama they play this song on the Radio all the time. now I watched the clip and it made me weep like a girl, I do think I'm getting old. Lately I get emotional easy .. I think. I guess it is an age thingy, I'm getting close to hitting 40. My best friend just hit 40 and guess what he do? he bought a brand new motorcycle! It is midlife crises no matter what you people try and say. Enjoy the Clip.

The story is incredibly awesome! Truly awesome, inspiring, and uplifting. -L. Strongest Dad in the World Sports Illustrated By Rick Reilly I try to be a good father. Give my kids mulligans. Work nights to pay for their text messaging. Take them to swimsuit shoots. But compared with Dick Hoyt, I suck. This love story began in Winchester , Mass. , 43 years ago, when Rick was strangled by the umbilical cord during birth, leaving him brain-damaged and unable to control his limbs. “He’ll be a vegetable the rest of his life,” father, Dick, says doctors told him and his wife, Judy, when Rick was nine months old. “Put him in an institution.” But the Hoyts weren’t buying it. They noticed the way Rick’s eyes followed them around the room. When Rick was 11 they took him to the engineering department at Tufts University and asked if there was anything to help the boy communicate. “No way,” Dick says he was told. “There’s nothing going on in his brain.” “Tell him a joke,” Dick countered. They did. Rick laughed. Turns out a lot was going on in his brain. Rigged up with a computer that allowed him to control the cursor by touching a switch with the side of his head, Rick was finally able to communicate. First words? “Go Bruins!” And after a high school classmate was paralyzed in an accident and the school organized a charity run for him, Rick pecked out, “Dad, I want to do that.” Yeah, right. How was Dick, a self-described “porker” who never ran more than a mile at a time, going to push his son five miles? Still, he tried. “Then it was me who was handicapped,” Dick says. “I was sore for two weeks.” That day changed Rick’s life. ”Dad,” he typed, “when we were running, it felt like I wasn’t disabled anymore!” And that sentence changed Dick’s life. He became obsessed with giving Rick that feeling as often as he could. He got into such hard-belly shape that he and Rick were ready to try the 1979 Boston Marathon. “No way,” Dick was told by a race official. The Hoyts weren’t quite a single runner, and they weren’t quite a wheelchair competitor. For a few years Dick and Rick just joined the massive field and ran anyway, then they found a way to get into the race officially: In 1983 they ran another marathon so fast they made the qualifying time for Boston the following year. Then somebody said, ”Hey, Dick, why not a triathlon?” How’s a guy who never learned to swim and hadn’t ridden a bike since he was six going to haul his 110-pound kid through a triathlon? Still, Dick tried. Now they’ve done 212 triathlons, including four grueling 15-hour Ironmans in Hawaii . It must be a buzzkill to be a 25-year-old stud getting passed by an old guy towing a grown man in a dinghy, don’t you think? Eighty-five times he’s pushed his disabled son, Rick, 26.2 miles in marathons. Eight times he’s not only pushed him 26.2 miles in a wheelchair but also towed him 2.4 miles in a dinghy while swimming and pedaled him 112 miles in a seat on the handlebars—all in the same day. Dick’s also pulled him cross-country skiing, taken him on his back mountain climbing and once hauled him across the U.S. on a bike. Makes taking your son bowling look a little lame, right? Hey, Dick, why not see how you’d do on your own? ”No way,” he says. Dick does it purely for ”the awesome feeling” he gets seeing Rick with a cantaloupe smile as they run, swim and ride together. This year, at ages 65 and 43, Dick and Rick finished their 24th Boston Marathon, in 5,083rd place out of more than 20,000 starters. Their best time’? Two hours, 40 minutes in 1992—only 35 minutes off the world record, which, in case you don’t keep track of these things, happens to be held by a guy who was not pushing another man in a wheelchair at the time. “No question about it,” Rick types. “My dad is the Father of the Century.” And what has Rick done for his father? Not much – except save his life. And Dick got something else out of all this too. Two years ago he had a mild heart attack during a race. Doctors found that one of his arteries was 95% clogged. “If you hadn’t been in such great shape,” one doctor told him, “you probably would’ve died 15 years ago.” So, in a way, Dick and Rick saved each other’s life. Rick, who has his own apartment (he gets home care) and works in Boston , and Dick, retired from the military and living in Holland , Mass., always find ways to be together. They give speeches around the country and compete in some backbreaking race every weekend, including this Father’s Day. That night, Rick will buy his dad dinner, but the thing he really wants to give him is a gift he can never buy. “The thing I’d most like,” Rick types, “is that my dad would sit in the chair and I would push him once.”

And here is the story: Peace

Does a leader have a right to bypass democratic institutions to ensure his people are fed and secure?

Our Question: Posted at 10:21 AM ET, 10/25/2006 Does a leader have a right to bypass democratic institutions to ensure his people are fed and secure? - Panelist Daoud Kuttab Daoud Kuttab has posed the following question on the Washington Post website PostGlobal (blog.washingtonpost.com/postglobal): LEDE: Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas has said bread is more important than democracy, and he may be preparing to try to dissolve the Hamas-led Palestinian parliment. QUESTION: Does a leader have a right to bypass democratic institutions to ensure his people are fed and secure? We would love for your to weigh in. When you do, enter your name, location, and the email link of your blog in the name field and post a comment. Then notify us here and we'll feature your response on the PostGlobal page, and perhaps the mainpage as well if the piece can stand alone. Answer Here. Peace

"Habeeby"

LOL.

Eid Mubarak

Salam, Eid Mubarak for all, and I would like to take this time to ask forgiveness for anyone that I upset on this blog or their's.

Eid Mubarak

Meet another Palestinian Rapper

Salam, I found this song on MySpace it belongs to boikutt, You can check his songs along with others at Ramallah Underground. Here is my favorite song: Khaleni A3eesh. Peace

How to create a suicide bomber!

Thanks

Maz Jobrani

Salam,

Here is one of my favorite Middle eastern Comedians.

Maz Jobrani

His MYSPACE Maz on Craig Ferguson Add to My Profile More Videos

Nokteh

بيقولك واحد طفيلي محشش بيحكي لصاحبو..شو قصة الوالد من حد ما توفي بطلنا نشوفو

*Sigh*

Salam, My finals are tomorrow :-( I have a marketing project of 43 questions, power point presentation, HR group project, marketing group project and last but not least a 3 chapter Quantitative Analysis Exam. Why do I always wait till the last week to study I have no idea. I'm sitting at work looking at the passing cars and listening to THIS......

Welcome to Fascist America!

by Gene Callahan

My fellow Americans, it’s official now: We live in a fascist nation. Now, the term "fascist" has been thrown around over the last fifty years in a loose way that has drained it of much of its meaning. If someone wanted to cut 5% off of a leftist professor's favourite welfare programme, the professor would call his opponent a "fascist." I’m not using the word like that. I mean honest-to-goodness, old-fashioned, 1930s style fascism, featuring such old favourites as: -Secret prisons – they’re back! -Torture – we’re doing it. -Spying on all citizens. -Arrests and indefinite imprisonment without trial. -Rampant militarism. -Secret detention. -Enforced disappearance. -Denial and restriction of habeas corpus. -Prolonged incommunicado detention. -Unfair trial procedures. (This list was compiled partially based on the work of Amnesty International, available here.) An absolutely mind-numbing response to complaints that our traditional legal system is being torn apart is the question, "So, you want to protect the rights of terrorists?" Um, no, I want to protect the rights of non-terrorists who might be falsely accused of terrorism! That was sort of, you know, the whole idea of our legal system. I’m sure there was some neo-con around in the 1700s saying to Jefferson or Madison, "So, you want to protect the rights of murderers and robbers?" but luckily they ignored him. We’ve now gotten to the point where Nazi Germany was, say, in 1934. Remember, at that time, if you had told a typical German what his government would do over the next ten years, he would have looked at you as a madman. After all, his land had been civilized for over a thousand years. His was the nation of Albertus Magnus, Gutenberg, Goethe, Schiller, Beethoven, Bach, Kant, Hegel, Schelling, Fichte, Heisenberg, Reimann, Mann, Lessing, Herder, Handel, Dürer, Leibniz, Gauss, Helmholtz – he could have gone on, but you get the point. His nation could not possibly descend into barbarism! If you tried to tell him he was living in a police state, he would have pointed out that his government had used its vast new powers very judiciously, and only against a few trouble-makers. So far. It is interesting, in gauging the direction we are heading, to look at the proclamations of "respectable" opinion writers who support this administration. For instance, we have people at a "libertarian" think tank proclaiming that Moslems are not entitled to full civil rights in the US. (Perhaps we need to make them wear something special on their clothing like, say, a yellow star, so we know just who they are, hey?) But "conservatives" provide even more stunning examples of purely fascist reasoning. For example, conservative demagogue Ann Coulter has called for the editor of The NY Times to face the firing squad for his part in publicizing this administration's abuses of power. Let’s look at a recent column by Douglas MacKinnon at TownHall.com. MacKinnon considers all of those involved in revealing the sordid collection of secret programmes that have been launched by the Bush administration as "traitors" who have publicized these schemes "purely because they don’t like the policies of the new president." Well, he’s right in that "they don’t like the policies" that they consider unconstitutional violations of our rights. Far from "aiding the enemy," these revelations aided us, the American people, by letting us know what our government has in store for us. Consider what the point of classifying these programmes was in the first place, and who they were being kept secret from. The jihadists no doubt already knew about the secret prisons – their friends are in them! They surely knew that the war in Iraq has been helping their recruiting – it’s their recruiting! ("Praise be to Allah, Abdul, I read in The NY Times that it is the Iraq War that is sending us these thousands of new recruits – who knew?") They no doubt suspect they may be wiretapped – what they didn’t know was that all the rest of us are, as well. No, not one of these leaks helps terrorists, nor was one of them classified to stop terrorists from finding them out. We were the ones who weren’t supposed to find out about them. MacKinnon continues: "And if even one American lost his or her life because of a leak, then I would want that person to be executed for treason." So anyone who reveals our fascist government policies is a traitor who can be executed! This is obviously an attempt to intimidate the opposition so that our police state can be expanded without the annoying work stoppages caused by public outcry when the latest bit of construction is revealed. And just how does MacKinnon propose to show that some American lost his life because a journalist revealed that the US government tortures people across the globe, rather than, say, because the policies he supports have inspired a million new jihadists? Secret trial, perhaps? Or why even bother with trials for filthy traitors? Herr Goebbels – oops, I mean MacKinnon – writes, "Until we severely punish those who leak classified information, then the traitors among us will not only continue to flourish, but will grow more brazen with the secrets they reveal." Yes, what we ought to be able to do, you know, is simply seize anyone who even mentions our government’s "secret" prisons, and, without a trial, throw them in a secret prison! This is the logical conclusion of this fascist’s article, after all, since those who talk about the American Gulag are pretty much terrorists themselves. Folks, this is coming real soon, and, once it does, domestic opposition is pretty much over. One journalist – that will be about all it takes – will be seized as a "terrorist" and thrown in the Gulag. The government may release him, but then another will simply disappear in the night in Iraq or Afghanistan, and rumors will circulate that he is being kept in a cage somewhere and waterboarded. No journalist lacking heroic courage will any longer be willing to seriously protest government policy. America is full of decent people, who could never believe their own government could become fascist. So were Germany and Italy in the 1920s. But they became fascist anyway. They passed laws suspending civil liberties, but the government promised the frightened populace that those laws would only be used against targets like "Communist terrorists." And, a little bit at a time, the target kept getting bigger and bigger, slowly enough that the people who weren’t paying close attention never detected it. And, next thing you know, there were millions of people dead! So, it turns out, it would have been worth paying attention after all. October 4, 2006 Gene Callahan [send him mail], the author of Economics for Real People, is an adjunct scholar of the Ludwig von Mises Institute and a contributing columnist to LewRockwell.com.

His first novel, PUCK, has just been published. Copyright © 2006 Gene Callahan Gene Callahan/Stu Morgenstern Archives

MY NAME IS RACHEL CORRIE

I am pleased to announce the Off-Broadway premier of My Name is Rachel Corrie at the Minetta Lane Theater in Greenwich Village. As witnessed earlier this year through the swell of controversy surrounding the production, My Name is Rachel Corrie is a truly unprecedented theatrical event and a rare opportunity to experience Rachel’s personal courage through her own words. And for those of us who are committed to a just and peaceful resolution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, this play is a must see. Supporting truthful representations of the Palestinian reality in the US will open the door to more of these emerging projects…which will broaden the discussion and strengthen the “conventional wisdom” push for a lasting resolution. Please lend your voices of support by attending this limited run!

From the UK press:

"POWERFUL AND THOUGHT-PROVOKING THEATRE. Alan Rickman and Katharine Viner offer a fully rounded picture of this passionate, idealistic young woman." -Daily Telegraph

WINNER! BEST PLAY - BEST ACTRESS - BEST DIRECTOR - 2006 London Theatregoers' Choice Award

Sunday, October 15, 2006 - Sunday, November 19, 2006

Minetta Lane Theatre

18 Minetta Lane New York City, New York

(Yahoo! Maps, Google Maps)

Showtimes: Tuesday - Saturday at 8pm Sat & Sun at 3pm Sun at 7pm

Tickets: $45 - $65

http://www.ticketmaster.com/venue/24586/...

Synopsis: Taken from the words left behind in the diaries, letters and emails of American activist Rachel Corrie, MY NAME IS RACHEL CORRIE chronicles the human, social and political evolution in the life and controversial death of a young woman. The play traces the life of Rachel Corrie From her early days in Washington State, through her experiences as an activist seeking to learn more about the community within Gaza. Performed by Megan Dodds, MY NAME IS RACHEL CORRIE has been developed by Alan Rickman and Katharine Viner, in collaboration with Royal Court Theatre's International Department and produced with the kind permission of Rachel Corries's Family.

Peace

Anime Movies

Anime Movies

Umrah in Ramadan

Salam, I would like to share this blog with you, its a Kuwaiti Blogger (Hilaliya)trip to Umrah. The photos are breathtaking. Enjoy. Peace

"Heroes" Scifi Channel

Salam, One of my most favorite channels is Scifi Channel, I like to watch BATTLESTAR GALACTICA , but I also like the new show Heroes. Anyone watching these shows? Heroes "The epic drama Heroes chronicles the lives of ordinary people who discover they possess extraordinary abilities. As a total eclipse casts it shadow across the globe, viewers follow a genetics professor (Sendhil Ramamurthy, Blind Guy Driving) in India whose father's disappearance leads him to uncover a secret theory -- there are people with super powers living among us. A young dreamer (Milo Ventimiglia, The Bedford Diaries) tries to convince his politician brother (Adrian Pasdar, Judging Amy) that he can fly. A high school cheerleader (Hayden Panettiere, Ice Princess) learns that she is totally indestructible. A Las Vegas stripper (Ali Larter, Final Destination), struggling to make ends meet to support her young son (Noah Gray-Cabey, My Wife & Kids), uncovers that her mirror image has a secret. A prison inmate (Leonard Roberts, Buffy the Vampire Slayer) mysteriously finds himself waking up outside of his cell. A gifted artist (Santiago Cabrera, Empire), whose drug addiction is destroying his life and the relationship with his girlfriend (Tawny Cypress, Third Watch), can paint the future. A down-on-his-luck beat cop (Greg Grunberg, Alias) can hear people's thoughts, including the secrets of a captured terrorist. In Japan, a young man (Masi Oka, Scrubs) develops a way to stop time through sheer will power. Their ultimate destiny is nothing less than saving the world." (NBC's official description for the series.) This NBC series is executive produced by creator/writer Tim Kring (Crossing Jordan), Dennis Hammer (Crossing Jordan) and David Semel (House), who also directed the pilot. Heroes Gets Full Pickup NBC has given a full-season order for its hit superhero series Heroes, the network announced. Heroes is averaging a 5.7 rating among adults aged 18-49 and 13.5 million viewers overall, making it the number-one new series this fall in adults 18-49, tied with ABC's Brothers & Sisters, NBC said. "Heroes has delivered exceptional ratings since its premiere, and we're even more impressed with the quality of the upcoming episodes," Kevin Reilly, president, NBC Entertainment, said in a statement. "We have complete confidence in creator-executive producer Tim Kring. The best is yet to come over the course of a full season with this newest drama sensation." Heroes airs Mondays at 9 p.m. ET/PT. NBC is owned by NBC Universal, which also owns SCIFI.COM.

THINGS YOU NEVER KNEW YOUR CELLPHONE COULD DO.

Salam, I got this email and I heard of trick #3 before but not sure if it is true or not, can someone try it and let us know? Thanks!

There are a few things that can be done in times of grave emergencies. Your mobile phone can actually be a life saver or an emergency tool for survival. Check out the things that you can do with it: 1. How to disable a STOLEN mobile phone? To check your Mobile phone's serial number, key in the following digits on your phone: * # 0 6 # A 15 digit code will appear on the screen. This number is unique to your handset. Write it down and keep it somewhere safe. If your phone gets stolen, you can phone your service provider and give them this code. They will then be able to block your handset so even if the thief changes the SIM card, your phone will be totally useless. You probably won't get your phone back, but at least you know that whoever stole it can't use/sell it either. If everybody does this, there would be no point in people stealing mobile phones. 2. The Emergency Number worldwide for **Mobile** is 112.* If you find yourself out of coverage area of your mobile network and there is an emergency, dial 112 and the mobile will search any existing network to establish the emergency number for you, and interestingly this number 112 can be dialed even if the keypad is locked. **Try it out.** 3. Have you locked your keys in the car? Does you car have remote keys? If you lock your keys in the car and the spare keys are at home, call someone at home on their cell phone from your cell phone. Hold your cell phone about a foot from your car door and have the person at your home press the unlock button, holding it near the mobile phone on their end. Your car will unlock. Saves someone from having to drive your keys to you. Distance is no object. You could be hundreds of miles away, and if you can reach someone who has the other "remote" for your car, you can unlock the doors (or the trunk). 4. Hidden Battery power: Imagine your cell battery is very low , you are expecting an important call and you don't have a charger. Nokia instruments come with a reserve battery. To activate, press the keys *3370# Your cell will restart with this reserve and the instrument will show a 50% increase in battery. This reserve will get charged when you charge your cell next time.

Mushrooms in my frontyard !

Loosing weight

Salam, I have gathered a few bad habits through the years. It took me a while but elhamdelah I got rid of them one by one. For the past couple of years I have gained few pounds, I'm 5'11 and 235lbs. I have huge belly and although I was OK with it before but now it's time for it to follow the rest of the bad habits. I have been researching most of the diets for a while now. There is no miracle fix! And I can't follow one strict diet, so I have decided on a plan, I'm going to diet and exercise. My Diet Plan: -Because I work from 10-8 I usually eat my big meal after 8 p.m. No MORE! I'm gonna stop eating after 7 P.M (After Ramadan inshalah). -No more leaving home without breakfast. -Drink a Gallon of water a day. -Fast food meals are limited to Sundays only. -No more candy bars. -No more Soda. -We are cutting down on sugar. -We are cutting down on Pita Bread. (One a day only). ____________________________________________________ Exercise: I already signed for a 6 months (and paid in full) Boxing Exercise. I spoke with a private trainer and he suggested boxing exercise. After looking into it I decided to go ahead and start tomorrow. Here is a description of this exercise (I won't be boxing anyone, just the Bag).

A knockout workout: boxing offers a unique, all-body cardio and strength-training workout. Here's how you can do it at home Personal Trainer - Men's Fitness, August, 2002 by Roy M. Wallack Whether it's dressed up as box-aerobics, cardiobox, slug-mania or one of a dozen other names, the sport of boxing has become a heavyweight in the fitness world. You can now find boxing classes, or some offshoot, in 21 percent of all U.S. health clubs, according to the American Council on Exercise. And that figure is rising. To discover what all the fuss is about, I went mano-a-mano with 100-bags for one week and learned what so many others before me have already discovered: Boxing delivers a peerless total-body workout--which you don't need to attend a class to get. BRINGING IT ALL BACK HOME Boxing alone? At home? It's not as silly as it seems. No sparring partner is needed, and the equipment requirements are elementary: a bag, gloves, jump rope, timer and music. And you'll get a workout that doesn't miss a spot: a 1,000-calorie-an-hour cardio bomb on par with running, and a superb all-body tuner that builds shoulders and forearms and works legs, hips, abs, upper back, triceps, biceps and lats. (Want to blast your delts? Try holding 14-ounce gloves at chin level for two rounds.) Moreover, a boxing-based workout offers you an opportunity to develop real-life skills during a cardio session, to learn the sweet science that many men think they should know, something that buoys their sense of their own manhood. For others (okay, for me), it's a chance to unleash their inner Ali, to trash-talk the hapless heavy bag with jabs like "You dumb gorilla!" or the Sonny Liston-inspired "I'll beat you so bad, you'll need a shoehorn to put your hat on!" In fact, as home workouts go, I'd say that boxing might just be The Greatest. THE RULE OF THREE First, find an instructor with genuine boxing experience and take a couple of days to learn the basics--jab, straight right, hook, footwork, etc.--either through private lessons or a small class (as low as $15 a session). Barring that, see the "Technique" sidebar (page 108) for a quick primer on boxing basics; sooner or later, though, you'll want to invest in a lesson to see how you're progressing and to stay motivated. Next, clear a space in your apartment, basement or garage (under a strong rafter) for a heavy bag and other gear itemized in the "Equipment" sidebar (below). And be sure to follow a good boxing-workout regimen, such as the one outlined here (opposite page). I took my lessons from former professional welterweight fighter Steve Petramale, owner of Shadow Boxing, a hard-core Hollywood boxing studio with its own roped ring. Petramale is a purist who cringes at the term box-aerobics; he teaches "boxing class." And he does everything by the book--the way pro boxers do. Petramale stresses the importance of the number three. Three-minute rounds on the heavy bag, to simulate a boxing match. Three rounds of hitting the bag, which, Petramale says, is "as much punishment as you can take without compromising form." Plus, everything you do, from shadowboxing to jumping rope, from sit-ups to stretching, do for three minutes. For the last 30 seconds of each three-minute period, you'll want to increase your intensity, just as fighters do in the last rounds of a close fight. (This focus on time requires a timer--anything from a $5 egg timer to a $150 programmable alarm bell featuring a 30-second warning buzzer, adjustable rest periods and multicolored flashing lights.) In between each three-minute burst, there's one minute of rest. Real rest. "You don't see a boxer jogging in place during rounds, do you?" says Petramale, not waiting for an answer. "He's sitting in his corner, resting, getting a drink, because he wants to be at his best when he goes back out. And how can he do that when he's out of breath?" Granted, most people don't go to a cardiobox class to rest; some instructors have their students sprint and do push-ups during breaks from flailing at the bag. And I do mean flailing; the emphasis appears to be on speed--in other words, quantity, not quality. It's a grueling cardio workout, but it may as well be Spinning. Remember: The objective here is to get a workout and hone your newfound boxing skills. If you must jog as you rest, take it easy. The workout schedule (page 111) sticks to the "three minutes on, one off' rule, and gives you a choice of a short (31-minute) or long (48-minute) version. All ab work or push-ups are done after a round of boxing; done earlier, they'll tighten muscles and compromise form, says Petramale. If you're superfit and desire a longer workout, just add more jump-roping at the start and more push-ups at the end. One more thing: Don't worry if you initially float like driftwood and sting like a gnat. According to Petramale, if you take a lesson and follow up two or three times, the butterfly and the bee will emerge within two weeks. BASIC TECHNIQUE To maximize your time on the bag, learn the fundamentals. 1 CLASSIC BOXING STANCE Stand almost sideways to your imaginary foe (or bag), feet more than shoulder-width apart. If you're right-handed, put your left foot forward and right foot back If you're left-handed, reverse your positioning. Line up your front foot, hip and shoulders, with your weight equally distributed on the balls of each foot and your knees slightly flexed. You should feel balanced and able to move easily, as if dancing: 2 HAND/ARM POSITION Keep your hands up in front of your mouth and chin, with the lead hand about six to eight inches ahead of the rear. Tucking the elbows in protects your ribs and recruits your hips into your punches for more power. The rear elbow should rest near your ribs. How will you know you're doing it right? When you can, use your lead-hand knuckles as a "sight." 3 THE PUNCHES Properly thrown punches snap straight out from the chin, then retract straight back. This provides maximum power and minimizes the time your fist leaves your chin unguarded. If you're throwing quality punches, the bag should not sway wildly when hit. "If you snap the punch," says Petramale, "you fee[ a solid thud and see the bag shudder." 3a Jab: Fire your fist out on a straight line like a bullet, twisting your thumb inward at full extension. Don't shift your body balance forward or move either foot forward; doing so restricts power. 3b Rear straight/ cross: Starting with your rear fist almost touching your chin, and your elbow tucked into your ribs, explode your arm straight out. Trying to keep your back leg straight, pivot on the ball of your foot and rotate your hip as far forward as possible. The punch will be longer, stronger, faster. 3c Lead hook: Your fist starts in the same place as with a normal jab. But instead of keeping your elbow angled down, pivot it outward so your forearm is parallel to the ground. Then snap your hip so that your upper body twists and your punch slams sideways into an imaginary cheekbone. SHADOWBOXING Don't dismiss this old-school training method. If your technique is off when you perform in front of a mirror--where you can watch yourself--it won't be correct when you're on the heavy bag or in the ring. "Shadowboxing is like watching a videotape of yourself and self-correcting," says former boxer Steve Petramale. "It's a great way to study and improve your form." In your boxer's stance, practice moving in all directions: forward, back and side-to-side. Next, incorporate some jabs with your steps, Throw your jab as you step forward with your lead leg. Shadowbox in slow motion to isolate troublesome combinations. HOME-BOXING EQUIPMENT For a good home-boxing workout, you need the right stuff. Try our recommendations: 1. Everlast 14-ounce leather training gloves with Velcro wrist closure ($50) 2. TKO wrist wraps ($6) 3. Egg timer ($10) 4. Leather jump rope ($12) 5. Century Wave Master 100-pound heavy bag ($100) THE SCHEDULE SHORT PROGRAM--ACTIVITY & DURATION * Jump rope, 3 minutes * Rest/jog in place, 1 minute * Jumping jacks/squats/stretch, 3 minutes: 20 seconds each, then rotate (See below for stretching exercises.) * Rest/jog in place, 1 minute * Shadow boxing, 3 minutes (See sidebar, opposite page.) Alternate 90 seconds each: 1) Be your own trainer. Watch yourself in the mirror to correct stance, hand position, punching mechanics, footwork. 2) Stick and move around an imaginary opponent. Don't punch hard; you can't knock out the air. * Rest/jog in place, 1 minute * Boxing: Round 1--heavy bag, 3 minutes One minute: Work on individual jab, hook and uppercut. Next two minutes: Throw combinations. Every 30 seconds: Throw flurry of punches for five seconds. (It's difficult if done right.) * Rest/jog in place, 1 minute * Boxing: Round 2--heavy bag, 3 minutes Pick up the pace. All combinations: double jab; triple jab; 1-2 (left, right); 1-2-3 (left-right, left hook to chin). * Rest/jog in place, 1 minute * Boxing: Round 3--heavy bag, 3 minutes All combinations; vary placement. Example: jab to chin, right to body; jab to body, right to chin; right to body; jab to chin, hook to chin; 1-2-3 jab to chin, right to body, hook to chin. * Rest/jog in place, 1 minute * Jump rope, 3 minutes * Rest/jog in place, 1 minute * Shadowboxing, 3 minutes. Cool down. Work the jab. * Rest/jog in place, 1 minute * Short program end: stretching, 3 minutes Shoulder/lat stretch: Put arm across chest, then push it toward the center with opposite hand on elbow. Triceps stretch: Put hand over shoulder and push elbow down with opposite hand. Hamstring stretch: Bend at waist; touch floor with palms. LONG PROGRAM (add these additional minutes to lengthen the program) * Abs/push-ups, 3 minutes Alternate the two. Use the following three abdominal exercises. 1. Crunch: With knees bent 90 degrees and feet flat, curl your sternum toward your pelvis.. 2. Bicycle: Bring opposite elbow to knee. (Petramale: "If you do 50, you're a bad dude.") 3. Jackknife: Raise hands from chest to straight-legged, airborne feet. Push-ups: Alternate hand width each set. Do each set to failure. * Rest/jog in place, 1 minute * Jump rope, 3 minutes * Rest/jog in place, 1 minute * Run in place fast, 3 minutes (Lift knees up high. Run hard.) * Rest/jog in place, 1 minute * Stretch, 3 minutes (See above.) * End: Go home! Oh, yeah. You are home. Peace