Flappy Bird creator Dong Nguyen to launch Swing Copters game soo

After releasing an Amazon Fire TV exclusive Flappy Birds Family, Dong Nguyen is coming with a new game for smartphone users. Dubbed as Swing Copters, the game will be launched tomorrow i.e. August 21 for free in Google Play (and Apple Appstore).
According to a report in Touch Arcade, the Swing Copters is similar to Flappy Bird in principle but instead of going to your right, you will be going up (or at latest trying to) in the new game. Nguyan has confirmed the release on his official Twitter account.
Unlike Flappy Bird, Swing Copters will be coming with an in-app purchase of $0.99 for removing the advertisements from the game, however the ads are unobtrusive and should not be an issue for most users.
While we wait for the release of the game, check out gameplay video from Touch Arcade below.

Samsung Galaxy Note 3 Neo getting Android 4.4 update in India

Months after rolling out the KitKat update for the Korean version of Galaxy Note 3 Neo smartphone, Samsung has released the update for Indian consumers. The update is now available over-the-air as well as via Kies application.
495 MB in size, the update includes the usual KitKat goodies like performance enhancements, cloud-print support, UI improvements, updated Hangouts app, improved downloads app and more. The update will also come with Samsung-specific customisations like lock-screen improvements, new launcher settings, improved stability and more.
Among other details, the update carries build number KOT49H.N750XXUCNG6 and the exact Android version number is Android 4.4.2.
To manually check for the update, go to Settings > About Phone > Software update on your Galaxy Note 3 Neo. If you have already updated your smartphone, do let us know about the experience in comments.

Verizon HTC One Max receiving Sense 6

Good news for you Verizon HTC One Max owners – your phone is being updated to the latest version of HTC’s third-party firmware. That’s right, Sense 6.0 is headed your way through a 613.5MB update that brings your device up to software version 3.09.605.2, includes a revamped BlinkFeed experience, several updated core apps, new font and color customizations and a handful of important bug and security fixes that should improve the performance of your device.
You can go ahead and see if your device is ready for the update by heading to Settings -> About -> Software Updates. If you don’t see it just yet, don’t worry, it’s on its way

Nabi’s Big Tabs are computer-sized, kid-friendly Android tablets

Nabi has been making portable tablets for kids for a while now, but if you were looking for something larger than about 7″, you’ve been out of luck–until now. The Big Tab HD is a new line of tablets from Fuhu that are both at least 20 inches. There are two models available: the $450 20-inch version with a HD+ display, and a $550 two foot version with a Full HD display. The purpose of these tablets is to educate and entertain children and give the opportunity for interactive learning, all while under the parental control settings native to the Android-based Blue Morpho interface.
In case you’re planning on carting around this monster tablet for fun on the go, think again. The device weighs in at 13 lbs and is almost an inch thick. However, it gets worse. The enormous screen is meant to run off of a 1,650 mAh battery, which will leave you searching frantically for an outlet about as soon as you turn it on.
But it’s not all bad news. The large screen allows for collaborative work amongst family members, 16 GB of storage will be enough to house all the apps from the curated App Zone, and an NVIDIA Tegra 4 chipset to power all of your fun

1Password update brings new features and pricing changes

A new update to 1Password, the universal, cross-platform storage for all of your account passwords, is being pushed out today. There’s some good stuff and some bad stuff. The good news is that there are new features, but the bad news is that 1Password is switching to a “freemium” style pricing model, which means the app is free to download, but certain features will cost to enable. That means you can pick and choose the features you’d like to download instead of paying a fixed price for all of the features.
In addition to the above changes, 17 new languages have been added in, vaults can be created right through the mobile application (no more desktop version required), and much more. Download links past the break.

Facebook Adds Training Wheels for the Humor-Impaired

Facebook wants to make sure you get the joke, so it's now labeling some posts as "satire." The tags are "almost something out of the Onion itself," said Charles King, principal analyst with Pund-IT. It brings up the question of how Facebook will control itself. If you're going to label stories from the Onion as satire, why not take a closer look at Fox News or CNN or any other site?"

Facebook has begun labeling some of the satirical news articles that appear in users' news feeds with a tag designed to prevent readers from mistaking the content for genuine news.

Originally discovered by Ars Technica, the social network's "[Satire]" tag is apparently part of an experiment that's been under way for a month or so.
"We are running a small test which shows the text '[Satire]' in front of links to satirical articles in the related articles unit in News Feed," Facebook said in a statement provided by company representative Eva Grzesik to TechNewsWorld. "This is because we received feedback that people wanted a clearer way to distinguish satirical articles from others in these units."
The tag originally was observed in the "related articles" box associated with stories from the Onion, but the rules for its application don't seem to be entirely clear. Original posts on friends' feeds don't appear to warrant the tag, nor do the Onion's own official Facebook page or articles from Clickhole, the Onion's new sibling site, Ars Technica reported.
Facebook declined to provide further details.

'Like Moths to a Flame'

"Folks that mistakenly read and forward satire are embarrassed in front of their friends, and some of those embarrassed people have been folks in power that had no sense of humor," Rob Enderle, principal analyst with Enderle Group, told TechNewsWorld.
"I expect one or two may have given Facebook a 'fix it or else' call, and this is in response to that," he said.
A prime example is the Onion's article purportedly declaring North Korean supreme leader Kim Jong-un the "sexiest man alive" for 2012, Enderle noted.
That "embarrassed so many in North Korea," he said.
North Korea, in fact, "seems to attract these things like moths to a flame," Enderle added, pointing to an example from earlier this year purporting that North Korea had landed the first man on the Sun.
"Facebook is recognizing that when it comes to retaliation, some of these guys can be a bit draconian," he concluded. The company is "rightly concerned that if they embarrass the wrong person, the response could physically dangerous to Zuckerberg. They are moving, albeit poorly, to mitigate that risk."

'Complicit in Reporting Rumor'

The very idea that Facebook would do something like this is "almost something out of the Onion itself," Charles King, principal analyst with Pund-IT, told TechNewsWorld.
It's not uncommon for sites such as Literally Unbelievable to chronicle occasions on which Facebook users have taken Onion articles at face value, King pointed out.
At the same time, it's been shown that a considerable number of younger consumers identify The Daily Show as a primary news source, he added.
"That's clearly focused on satire and humor, though with a more realistic edge that what the Onion is doing," he said.
Then, too, there's the degree to which many mainstream news sources have become "complicit in reporting rumor as if it were fact," King added.

'The Equivalent of Training Wheels'

"It's an interesting issue, because it brings up the question of how Facebook will control itself," he explained. "If you're going to label stories from the Onion as satire, why not take a closer look at Fox News or CNN or any other site?
"I swear, on a weekly basis I see pieces being reported as honest news-gathering that seem more like editorial opinion pieces to me," he said.

Mobile App Attacks: No Malware, No Problem

Attackers increasingly are exploiting the trust users place in brand names and companies they do business with in order to commit fraud without the need to install any malware code. Users have gotten accustomed to accepting excessive permission requests from the apps they download. Typically, they don't have a choice in the matter -- if they want the app, they have to agree to the permissions.

Traditional attack methods, like those used with the recent mobile online banking Trojan Svpeng, involve the installation of malware on the device to steal information and commit fraud.

However, new techniques are emerging that would enable an attacker to compromise a device and steal private information from the owner -- for example, the typical copycat app on a third-party app store. It looks official. It has a corporate logo on it and perhaps a link to the genuine news feed from that corporation.
Once downloaded, it prompts the user to accept a long list of permissions -- for accessing the phone's camera, recording audio, accessing the device's contact list, and a long list of other functions -- many of which offer at least potential access to confidential data.
Of course, there are legitimate reasons a given app might need those permissions to operate -- but they permit access to the same data that malware also would like to get at.

Therein lies the problem. Unfortunately, anyone can download JPGs from a corporate website and wrap them around their own app in order to make it look official. Attackers increasingly are exploiting the trust users place in brand names and companies they do business with in order to commit fraud without the need to install any malware code.
For instance, applications with a billing interface easily can be used to steal financial information without employing malware, and without triggering any antivirus warning.
Meanwhile, users have gotten accustomed to accepting excessive permission requests from the apps they download, since novice software developers often find standard lists of permissions and install them in their code without trimming them.
Part of the problem is the lack of best practices related to types of permissions that are appropriate for different classes of apps. Typically, users don't have a choice in the matter -- if they want the app, they have to agree to the permissions.
This excessive permissions problem is widespread, as indicated by recent security research on popular Android apps. (Most problem apps are in the Android environment, which is the most popular operating system for mobile devices.)
Sixty-eight percent of Android apps examined by security researchers required that the user grant permission to send SMS messages, according to Zscaler research. Of that 68 percent, 28 percent also were able to access SMS, putting them in a position to spy on mobile authentication methods.
Thirty-six percent required that the users grant the app permission to access the device's GPS data, leaving their location unsecure. Forty-six percent of the apps required permission to access the device's phone state.
Ten percent required permission to access the address book, which would put them in position to hijack. Four percent required permission to check the calendar, which would give them insight into upcoming events in the individual's life or where the person might be at a given date and time.

Playing Defense

For corporate users, exposure of data could lead to violations of various privacy requirements, such as the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS), or even federal statutes, such as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), or the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act.
Meanwhile, out-and-out malware like the recently discovered Svpeng Trojan continues to proliferate and grow more insidious over time. This latest variant locks up the phone completely and demands a US$200 ransom to unlock it, although unlocking without a system erase appears unlikely. It has data-stealing code that may have been included for future use.
Again, there is nothing to stop someone from downloading selected JPGs, creating an official-looking app, and embedding a Trojan in it. The liability of the hoaxed corporation is undefined, but the damage to its reputation and goodwill is easily imagined.
Fortunately, there is a way for corporations to fight the problem, and prevent dangerous apps -- or blatant malware -- from circulating in their names. As it turns out, most such apps are acquired at third-party app stores, which number close to 90.
Some of these online stores are tightly policed and minimize the presence of malware or noncompliant apps. Others are marginally policed or even open to all comers, and anything is likely to be found there.
Services are available that can scan third-party app stores for apps that make inappropriate, unauthorized, or illegal use of corporate brands, as well as look for the presence of malicious or dangerous code by decompiling and analyzing suspicious apps.
There is a pressing need for such services -- 21 percent of financial services firms, which are the most exposed to mobile malware, never scan online app stores, Osterman Research found. On the other hand, 18 percent scan daily. Another 29 percent scan less than quarterly, while 4 percent do it quarterly, 7 percent do it monthly, and 21 percent do it weekly.

The Connected Car, Part 3: No Shortcuts to Security

For consumers, the connected car is all about extending the mobile connectivity lifestyle. For the auto industry, it's all about monetization. For automobile manufacturers, it's all about safety, security and brand protection. "It all comes down to enabling the communications from that vehicle to a given termination point ... that is completely locked down," said Airbiquity's David Jumpa.

The connected car is becoming a reality, but the gadget-filled roadways it travels will be paved with several options for in-car technologies. These choices pose challenges for carmakers. Whichever technology wins the race, one of the biggest concerns for OEMs is their electronic security.
The Linux Foundation wants an open source platform in the pole position. The nonprofit consortium already has a fully functional Linux distribution, called "Automotive Grade Linux," or AGL. It is a customizable, open source automotive software stack with Linux at its core.
Google has its own plan for connecting cars to mobile devices and the Internet. Google's Android Auto is a dashboard navigation and entertainment system powered by an Android smartphone. It is very similar in concept to competing designs from Apple and Microsoft.
Carmakers and application developers are vying for the driver's seat to cash in on the prize money. More user information will be plugged into and fed out of the connected car than consumers now amass from mobile device activities. Carmakers and app developers want a sizable chunk of the profits the data derby will generate.
To handle this traffic jam of data, car manufacturers are testing technologies like Broadcom's Automotive Ethernet and The Car Connectivity Consortium (CCC)'s MirrorLink among others. Similarly, QNX Software Systems has a foot or two in some vehicles with its QNX Car Platform for Infotainment.
Securing the connected car will involve much more effort than locking the doors and parking in a garage. Data thieves will target the goodies that travel with passengers. The connectivity will go beyond infotainment apps provided by Microsoft, Google or Apple. It will combine cloud-based services that enhance automotive safety and driving convenience with a broad range of supplemental services.
"Security is one area where solutions are needed. There will be great potential for stealing credentials and user information stored in apps," said Jim Smith, vice president of marketing at Ixia.

Insecure Data Highways

One of the big challenges the auto industry faces is figuring out how to identify the real threats to the systems in their connected cars. That same challenge extends to the OEMs' websites, according to Smith. Then how do you build an infrastructure hardened enough to protect all of the data?
"I think you are going to have to see the auto industry testing for unknown vulnerabilities and security," he told LinuxInsider.
Security is a major worry for both carmakers and connectivity providers, said Lonnie Schilling, CEO of BirdStep Technology.
How well the security risks are addressed depends on how the in-car connectivity is wired. The wireless method to reach the cloud is another factor.
"This is an embryonic industry. Systems can lock down a car's connectivity -- but how well or when it does this depends on the model the OEM chooses to install in the car," Schilling told LinuxInsider.

Restricted Access

Opportunities for hacking in-car connections are ample, so security concerns are valid, said David Jumpa, chief revenue officer of Airbiquity.
Carmakers already are careful about who gets the data, he noted.
"OEMs do not allow direct access to the vehicle connection bus for all of the embedded systems. They rely on a wrapper. The API commands are limited to only certain functions," Jumpa told LinuxInsider.
However, that protective nature is a factor that OEMs may not be able to maintain with the connected car's broader reach, he pointed out. Smartphone integration brings a new element to connected car breaches.
For example, Apple and Google want the OEMs to sit back and just let the smartphones handle entertainment and app delivery within the vehicles. Some of that pressure comes from consumers.
"Nobody just wants plain AM/FM radio service," said Jumpa.

A Reach Too Far

Just how far the connected cars reach could be the basis of security solutions. The important issues depend on whose perspective you address, Schilling said.
For consumers, it's all about extending the mobile connectivity lifestyle. For the auto industry, it is all about monetization. For automobile manufacturers, it is all about safety and security, in terms of protecting their brands.
"It all comes down to enabling the communications from that vehicle to a given termination point, such as a cloud provider, that is completely locked down -- that can be made highly secure. It all depends on the security services used. We can lock down the connected car the way we do for our military customers," said BirdStep Technology's Schilling.

The Linux Legacy

The Linux Foundation's AGL solution will grow in stages to become a full-service car connectivity platform. Phase one is a complete infotainment system. Later phases will include the embedded space and telematic services.
"The auto manufacturers can take all of that and then modify it and add their own features. Then they will harden it by fixing bugs and addressing security issues," Dan Cauchy, general manager of automotive for the Linux Foundation, told LinuxInsider.
Security concerns are obviously valid, but Cauchy thinks they are a little bit overblown in terms of what actually can occur with connected car technology.
"Yes, systems can be hacked -- but in terms of hackability, Linux is one of the most solid operating systems out there," he said.

A Fragmented Field

Consumer demands also can be a contributing factor to securing the connected car. One of several consumer-driven trends is the additional appeal that the applications and other connected services create for the consumer, noted Jeff Kavanaugh, VP and managing partner for the manufacturing and high-tech consulting units at Infosys.
"You have a situation where people do not care what they have under the hood. All that matters is how the car becomes their new living room," he told LinuxInsider.
The connected car mentality is not about one favored technology. It is about a series of them, added Kavanaugh.
For example, telematics is the signal carrier working in conjunction with all the ancillary parts of the various service systems. So no one technology is involved.
The technology includes the cloud. There is no one holy grail -- no "one platform fits all." It is the combination of networks that delivers a better experience at an acceptable cost, Kavanaugh said.

Everybody Fits In

Two parts of the technology matter. Security measures have to fit both of them. The head unit is the in-dashboard unit that handles the hardware and software. The other part is the handset.
"It is not as simple as selecting one operating system over another for your desktop. You need a heterogeneous solution. You also have to factor in future-proofing. The challenge is avoiding a situation where somebody comes along in a few years with a phenomenal innovation, but you can not take advantage of it because of your platform," Kavanaugh said.
With that in mind, Linux could be the perfect connected car operating system for connectivity. User device interoperability is part of why AGL exists, suggested the Linux Foundation's Cauchy.
"Having a single open source platform for everyone to use will prevent fragmentation. This is Linux technology.
So, if you want Car Play or Android Link or Mirror Link to connect to your phone, those are all software stacks. They run on Linux and can be ported to AGL. That will be up to the car manufacturer," he said.

Security Concerns

Carmakers have to provide an all-inclusive mobile device connectivity platform. Carmakers then have to ensure that all of the in-car system networks are isolated from hackers. In addition, carmakers have to ensure that the connected car's wireless connectivity is secure for both infotainment and in-app communications.
"We are starting to hear from Tier-1 providers that the issues are too complicated. The Tier 1s and Tier 2s are starting to say that their head units can not handle both services. From our perspective, we really do not care which technology provider ends up owning the space. Our goal is to help OEMs manage the space they select to support," said Airbiquity's Jumpa.
Another critical factor in securing devices is the interconnectivity factor. Outside of the vehicle, it is easier to ensure interoperability. Inside the car adds complicating factors.

Moving Targets

"One of the challenges now that we see in the industry is the competing device and OS developers, like Apple and Google, trying to make the vehicle an extension of the mobile phone," said Schilling.
That is going to cause a problem, mainly for consumers, he predicted, but it may have an indirect consequence for the automobile makers as well. The more mobile device platforms consumers have, the more intricate securing them and their data through the connected car will be.
"Everybody today is looking at the vehicle as the end device. The reality, though, is that the vehicle is a moving network. It has a number of IP hosts and networks. In the next two or three years, we are going to be talking about the need for mobile routers in the vehicle to manage all of these things, as opposed to treating it as one single end device," Schilling added.

Target Rich Data

Both consumer devices and the car's user data need to be secured, but that requires cooperation among all of the industries.
"We need to continue [working] on all of the regulatory issues involved. Much of the technology has to be embedded in the vehicles. We have to organize the Big Data involved in all of the follow-up," cautioned Schilling.
Being able to analyze what is happening with the vehicle and to the vehicle and in the vehicle is going to become critically important. Other factors involve issues around tethered and untethered, and embedded and unembedded hardware.

Google Straps On Jetpac to Take Search to New Heights

Google has acquired Jetpac, according to a statement that appeared Friday on the Jetpac website.

Jetpac is the creator of a handful of apps, including City Guides, which analyzes Instagram photos and then automatically creates guides based on the collected data.
That information translates into a lot of options for users. They can find bars that attract a younger crowd, the most scenic hiking trails, or the hippest coffee shops, for example.
Jetpac has covered some 6,000 cities around the world using this approach. It analyzes "every pixel of the world's Instagram photos to give you the real picture of fun places," its website proclaims. "We can spot hipster mustaches, lipstick and the biggest smiles."

City Guides and Jetpac's other apps will be removed from the iTunes App Store by September 2014. Jetpac's staffers will reportedly join Google's Knowledge team, which focuses on real time search.

Your Life, Digitally

Google has not said what it will do with Jetpac's technology or talent. In the big picture, almost any tech acquisition is a viable one for Google, considering its very broad approach to market.
"Google is interested in leveraging the digital infrastructure of everyday life, and this fits into that strategy," Rich Hanley, associate professor and director of the graduate journalism program at Quinnipiac University, told TechNewsWorld.

     

However, close scrutiny of the intelligence Jetpac has built around its photo analytics and aggregation tools leads to a number of interesting ideas about what Google might have in mind. Jetpac's real-time local object recognition could, be applied in Google Glass or Goggles, for example. It also could be used to enhance Google's image search.
Google could use Jetpac's foothold in the travel industry to push further into that space, much to the industry's chagrin. Earlier moves by Google to develop greater creds in travel were met with dismay and resistance.
When Google announced in 2010 that it would pay US$700 million to acquire ITA Software, the travel industry formed a group to block the sale. That effort ultimately failed when the Department of Justice approved the acquisition the following year.
Jetpac's quirky list of best places to visit for this and that also fits well with Google's search and mapping prowess.

Another Acqui-hire

More than likely, though, Google's acquisition of Jetpac is about the talent.
"The Jetpac acquisition by Google is apparently one of these "acqui-hire" events," said Vlad Zachary, director of omni-channel at Upshot Commerce.
"There is no immediate business play, and the plan to shut down the app by mid-September shows that the Jetpac team and perhaps some of the Jetpac algorithms for analyzing visual data are the real targets here. We can speculate that Google is coming out with a similar service, but that's all it is -- just a speculation," he told TechNewsWorld.
The one bit of speculation that has been circulating and that makes sense, Zachary said, is the idea that Jetpac will be integrated with Google Maps.
Google Maps has outgrown the standard definition of "location app" and is used more for navigation, he observed. "Increasingly, they offer value-added search, which includes local landmarks, small businesses, and yes -- pictures."
For instance, if you were in the Boston area and typed "concerts" into the Google Maps search field, you would get a list of attractions that included all types of venues -- from pubs to the Gillette Stadium, Zacharay pointed out.
Then, if you tapped on the entry for Gillette, you would find reviews, distance from current location, user pictures, and tons of other information.

The 30-Minute Workout Routine

The 30–Minute Fitness Blitz

Think you don't have time to work out? You do. It's the intensity of your workout that's key. A short–burst, high–intensity workout boosts your metabolism and tones muscles. Get moving with this 30–minute "quickie" routine that includes cardio and resistance training.

If you're new to exercise, a man over 45 or woman over 55, or have a health problem, check with your doctor before starting a fitness program.

Beginner Squats: For Thighs

If you're new at this, get started with a beginner version of squats using an exercise ball. Stand against a wall with the ball at your lower back, feet hip–width apart and out in front. Keeping your body upright, slowly lower your body by bending at the hips and knees, dropping glutes toward the floor; slowly move back to the starting position. Your knees should remain over your heels. Perform 10 challenging repetitions.

Squats: For Thighs

Once you're ready, try squats without an exercise ball. For good form: Keep your feet shoulder-width apart and your back straight. Bend your knees and lower your rear as if you were sitting down, keeping your knees over your ankles. To target more muscle groups in less time, add an overhead press at the same time. With a dumbbell in each hand, rise from the squat position and push weights overhead, palms out. Perform 10 repetitions.

Forward Lunge: For Thighs

Standing with feet hip–width apart, take a big step forward with one leg, then lower your body toward the floor, front knee aligned with ankle, back knee pointing to the floor. Return to the starting position, and repeat by stepping forward with the other leg. For more challenge, hold a free weight in both hands and complete the lunge with a rotation in the torso, twisting the body toward the forward leg. Perform 10 repetitions on each side.

Romanian Deadlift: For Hamstrings

To perform a deadlift holding a bar or free weights, stand up straight with feet hip–width apart. Bend at your hips, moving the hips backward as you lower your upper body parallel to the floor. Keep the legs straight without locking the knees, and keep the back level and the spine in neutral. Lower the weight to just below your knees, then slowly return to the starting position. Perform 10 repetitions.

The Bridge: For Glutes

The bridge works the glutes (butt), hamstrings, and core. Lying on your back with knees bent and feet hip-width apart, peel your spine off the floor, starting at the tailbone, forming a diagonal line from knees down to shoulders. Slowly return to the starting position. For an extra challenge: Target your triceps by holding light weights, lifting your arms toward the ceiling as you raise your hips. Bend your elbows to lower the weights towards the floor. Perform 10 repetitions.

Push-Ups: For Chest and Core

Let's move to the upper body. Push-ups strengthen the chest, shoulders, triceps, and core muscles. Starting on all fours, place hands a bit wider than your shoulders. Place toes on the floor, creating a smooth line from shoulders to feet. Keeping core muscles engaged, lower and lift your body by bending and straightening your elbows. Too hard? Place knees on the floor instead of toes. To boost the workout, add an exercise ball under the hips, knees, or feet. Perform 10 repetitions.

Chest Press: For the Chest

Instead of push-ups you can try the chest press with weights. Lie face-up on a bench, with knees bent or feet on the floor, spine relaxed. Press a bar or dumbbells from your chest toward the ceiling. Extend your arms but don’t lock the elbows, and move slowly in both directions, keeping shoulder blades on the bench. For an extra challenge, do the chest press with your head and upper back on an exercise ball. Perform 10 repetitions.

Bent-Over Row: For Back and Biceps

The bent-over row works all the major muscles of the upper back as well as the biceps. Begin the exercise in a bent-over position with your back flat, one knee and one hand on the same side of the body braced on a bench. Hold a free weight in the other hand with arm extended. Lift the weight toward the hip until the upper arm is just beyond horizontal, see right. Then slowly lower weight to the starting position. Perform 10 repetitions.

Shoulder Press: For Shoulders

A shoulder press works the shoulder muscles and can be performed standing or seated. For extra back support, use a bench with a back rest. Begin with elbows bent and weights at shoulders. Slowly reach toward the ceiling, keeping the elbows under the hands and the shoulders away from the ears; slowly lower back to the starting position. Perform 10 repetitions.

Cable Pull Down: For Upper Back

For the last upper body exercise, do the cable pull down, which works the upper back. Using a cable machine, sitting straight with a neutral spine, grasp the bar with arms extended. Slowly pull the bar down past the face and toward the chest. Only go as far as you can without leaning back, and control the weight on the way back up. Perform 10 repetitions.

Bicycle Crunch: For Core & Abdominals

Lying on your back on the floor, fold knees toward the chest and curl the upper body off the floor. With hands behind head, slowly rotate upper body to the right while drawing the right knee in and reaching the left leg out. Then rotate left and pull the left knee in and extend right leg out. Focus on bringing the shoulder toward the hip (rather than the elbow to the knee), and keep the opposite shoulder off the floor. 

Side Plank: For Core or Abdominals

For another abdominal alternative, lie on your side with a bent elbow directly under your shoulder, and use your torso muscles to lift the body up into a side plank. Then lift the hips higher, then back to the plank, then lower. Do as many as you can with proper form, then repeat on the other side.

Have You Completed 20 Minutes?

Before moving on to the cardio portion of the workout, be sure you've completed 20 minutes of resistance training. If you have, now's a good time for a water break to keep your body well-hydrated. If you haven't, go back and start the circuit over again until you reach the 20 minute goal.

Cardiovascular Training

Vary the intensity during your cardio workout. Use intense intervals, taking about a minute to get from moderate speed to intense. Whether you're on the stair-stepper, the elliptical trainer, or the treadmill, do:

• 30 seconds of the highest speed you can tolerate, then 30 seconds of normal speed.
• Then 30 seconds of the stiffest resistance you can handle, then 30 seconds of normal.

Keep moving back and forth between speed and resistance until you've completed 10 minutes.

Frequency of Workout

Perform this 30-minute workout routine every other day, or do it two days in a row if that better suits your schedule. These are not hardcore bodybuilding-style routines where the high degree of muscular overload requires full rest to recover. For a healthy body, work out regularly and eat a healthy diet.

7 Most Effective Exercises

No. 1: Walking

Why it's a winner: You can walk anywhere, anytime. Use a treadmill or hit the streets. All you need is a good pair of shoes.

How to: If you're just starting to walk for fitness, begin with five to 10 minutes at a time. Add a few minutes to each walk until you get to at least 30 minutes per walk. Then, quicken your pace or add hills. 

No. 2: Interval Training

Why it's a winner: Interval training boosts your fitness levels and burns more calories to help you lose weight. The basic idea is to vary the intensity within your workout, instead of going at a steady pace.

How to: Whether you walk, run, dance, or do another cardio exercise, push up the pace for a minute or two. Then back off for 2 to 4 minutes. Exactly how long your interval should last depends on the length of your workout and how much recovery time you need. A trainer can fine-tune the pacing.. Repeat the intervals throughout your workout.

No. 3: Squats

Why it's a winner: Squats work several muscle groups -- your quadriceps ("quads"), hamstrings, and gluteals ("glutes") -- at the same time.

How to: Keep your feet shoulder-width apart and your back straight. Bend your knees and lower your rear as if you were sitting down in a chair. Keep your knees right over your ankles.  Add dumbbells once you can do at least 12 reps with good form.

Squats Done Right

Practice with a real chair to master this move. First, sit all the way down in the chair and stand back up. Next, barely touch the chair's seat before standing back up. Work up to doing the squats without a chair, keeping the same form.

No. 4: Lunges

Why it's a winner: Like squats, lunges work all the major muscles of your lower body. They can also improve your balance.

How to: Take a big step forward, keeping your back straight. Bend your front knee to about 90 degrees. Keep weight on your back toes and drop the back knee toward the floor. Don't let the back knee touch the floor. 

Lunges: Extra Challenge

Try stepping not just forward, but also back and out to each side, with each lunge. Add dumbbells to lunges once your form is down pat.

No. 5: Push-Ups

Why it's a winner: Push-ups strengthen your chest, shoulders, triceps, and core muscles.

How to: Facing down, place your hands slightly wider than shoulder-width apart. Place your toes on the floor. If that's too hard, start with your knees on the floor. Your body should make a straight line from shoulders to knees or feet. Keep your rear-end muscles and abs engaged. Bend your elbows to lower down until you almost touch the floor. Lift back up by pushing through your elbows, Keep your torso in a straight line throughout the move.

Push-Ups: Too Hard? Too Easy?

If you're new to push-ups you can start doing them by leaning into a kitchen counter. As you get stronger, go lower, using a desk or chair. Then you can move onto the floor, starting with your knees bent. For a challenge, put your feet on a stair, bench, or couch while keeping good form.

Crunches -- Method A

Start by lying on your back with your feet flat on the floor and your head resting in your palms. Press your lower back down. Contract your abdominal muscles (abs) and in one smooth move, raise your head, then your neck, shoulders, and upper back off the floor. Tuck in your chin slightly. Lower back down and repeat.

Crunches -- Method B

You can also do crunches with your feet off the floor and knees bent. This technique may keep you from arching your back. It also uses your hip flexors (muscles on your upper thighs below your hip bones).

Mastering Crunches

Keep your neck in line with your spine. Tuck in your chin so it doesn't stick out. Breathe normally. To keep chest and shoulders open, keep your elbows out of your line of vision.

No. 7: Bent-Over Row

Why it's a winner: You work all the major muscles of your upper back, as well as your biceps.

How to: Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, bend your knees, and bend forward at the hips. Engage your abs without hunching your back. Hold weights beneath your shoulders, keeping your hands shoulder-width apart. Bend your elbows and lift both hands toward the sides of your body. Pause, then slowly lower your hands to the starting position. Can perform with a bar or dumbbells

Mastering Bent-Over Rows

First, do this move without weights so you learn the right motions. If you have trouble doing bent-over rows while standing up, support your weight by sitting on an incline bench, facing backward

5 Calorie-Burning Treadmill Workouts

Bored with the treadmill? Not seeing the results you want? It's time to supercharge your treadmill time.

Treadmill workouts can be some of the most efficient, challenging, calorie-burning routines around.

The key is intervals. With intervals, instead of trudging along at a steady pace, you'll mix up your speed and add floor exercises into your routine. 

Here are five treadmill workouts designed by Cindy Wasilewski, fitness manager at The Lodge at Woodloch, a Pennsylvania spa, and Jeff Baird, owner of Chaos Conditioning in Atlanta. You'll get a great workout in 20, 30, or 60 minutes.

Keep an eye on your heart rate to make sure you're getting the most out of your workout but not pushing too hard. First, calculate your maximum heart rate, which is 220 minus your age. If you're a beginner, shoot for 50% to 65% of your maximum heart rate; 60% to 75% if intermediate level; and 70% to 85% for experienced exercisers. Adjust the following workouts as necessary to keep your heart rate in these ranges.

Besides a treadmill, you'll need hand weights and a stability ball for the floor exercises. As always, check with your doctor before you start a new exercise program.

60-Minute Treadmill Workouts

If you've got an hour, here are two treadmill workouts to try. Wasilewski, who designed both workouts, calls the first one the "No Excuses" routine because it delivers maximum results for the time investment. The second workout is an interval trek, designed to boost cardiovascular endurance.

The “perceived exertion rate” in these workouts is a scale of 0-10 used to measure the intensity of exercise. For example, 0 (nothing at all) is how you feel when at rest, while 10 (very, very heavy) is how you feel after extremely strenuous exercise.

No-Excuses Routine

Start on the treadmill:

Time	Speed/ Intensity	Incline	Perceived Exertion
5 min.	3.5 mph - warm-up	1%	Level 2-3
1 min.	4.5 - speed walk/run	6%	Level 6
2 min.	3.5 - walk/slow jog	4%	Level 4
1 min.	4.5 - speed walk/run	6%	Level 6-7
2 min.	3.5 - walk/slow jog	4%	Level 4
1 min.	4.5 - speed walk/run	6%	Level 7
2 min.	3.5 - walk/slow jog	4%	Level 4
1 min.	Slowly take it down to stop.	1%	Level 2-3

Move to the floor:

• Do one set of 30 overhead shoulder presses with dumbbells while alternating squats.
• Do one set of 30 bicep curls with dumbbells while alternating lunges.

Return to the treadmill:

Time	Speed/Intensity	Incline	Perceived Exertion
1 min.	3.5 mph - walk/slow jog	4%	Level 4
1 min.	4.5 - speed walk/run	6%	Level 6-7
1 min.	3.5 - walk/slow jog	4%	Level 4
1 min.	4.5 - speed walk/run	6%	Level 7
1 min.	3.5 - walk/slow jog	4%	Level 4