Monthly Archives: June 2016

At a certain point, it can be difficult to continue a pattern of exercising and working out solely for the purpose of fitness. Even knowing that it's "good for you" isn't enough when there isn't a clear goal in mind. Why not think about giving yourself a goal towards which you can strive? One of the best opportunities to challenge yourself in your fitness pursuits is a triathlon. This exciting competition combines running, cycling, and swimming, and puts your whole body to the test. A triathlon will test everything from your cardiovascular fitness to your endurance in this contest of wills.

Like the marathon challenges the runner, the triathlon challenges the amateur athlete like nothing else. So you want to participate in a triathlon ? now what? Now it's time to start your training. However, training for a triathlon is much more than just practising each event on its own. It's important for you to take steps to harmonize all of your workouts together. That way you're assured to feel prepared on the day of the competition. In this article, we'll look at the steps you should take to train up for participation in your first triathlon. Knowing how to tackle each facet is essential for blending a good workout schedule. This kind of race is a big trial to put your body through, but the satisfaction of coming out on the other side is well worth the effort.

First things first: get your training gear together!

Before you start training in earnest, it's important to make sure that you have all the equipment you'll need to train safely and comfortably. Most of the training items you'll need are basic, such as a bicycle, sturdy and well fitting shoes for running, plus a swimsuit and snug goggles. A water bottle is an essential tool to have as well

The bright lights, the roar of the crowd, the rapid squeaking of sneakers and the thud of the ball on a gleaming court ? there's no doubt that basketball is an incredibly exciting game. That's true whether it's a game in a professional NBA arena in front of tens of thousands or a match between friends in a neighbourhood park. The sport's global popularity is evident everywhere you look.

A recent estimate put the number of global players at nearly half a billion. Although members of over two hundred countries tune in to watch major NBA games, American basketball is not the only noteworthy incarnation of the sport. In fact, basketball has travelled a long way since its initial development. Now the second most popular sport the world over, the game is experiencing a growing popularity among European nations and the United Kingdom. When you think about sports in Europe, it's easy to jump straight to the athletic pursuits that enjoy massive popularity across the Continent ? football, cricket and rugby receive wide and well-publicized support from the public. However, basketball not only has long-standing roots in Europe, but the game?s popularity is undoubtedly on the rise in the area as well. Europe sends many players across the pond to play in American professional leagues, and an organised league sustains competitive seasons with teams developed on European soil. Twenty-four teams make up the Euroleague

With the hot days and bright sunshine of summer right around the corner, the kids will soon be out of school. It's, unfortunately, easy for all of us to fall into a lazy summer routine. Once the demands of school go away, like the need to be up early in the morning, keeping up your children's level of physical activity isn't always easy. After all, the comfort of the air-conditioned indoors is often preferable to sweating outside. Nonetheless, getting them out and about and playing with more than just screens is essential to developing a healthy mind and body. So what can you do?

The simplest solution is to put in some effort at making playing outside fun for your kids. Simply saying "Go play outside" isn't very motivating. Instead, why not get involved and have some fun too? Not only can you organise all kinds of fun and games for your children, but you can invite their friends along, too. Today we're going to take a look at some fun outdoor games and activities you can put together to get the kids playing and exercising. They'll have so much fun that they won't even realise they're getting their exercise. As a bonus, you can make them forget all about video games, too.

A Soccer Ball is all it Takes for Healthy Fun

First things first: there's no easier way to have fun outside than with a soccer ball and some open space. Whether it's just you and your children or a whole group of kids you can still have fun. Even small backyards often have enough room to chase the ball around and set up some makeshift goals. A nearby park, if available, is even better. There's no need to stick to formal rules; as long as you're encouraging everyone to run around and play fair, that's all that matters! Not only is this a straightforward and inexpensive way to get the kids exercising, but it's good for them, too. Not only does it promote physical fitness, but it

The summer Olympic games are right around the corner. Come the first week of August; we'll all be sitting around with friends and family watching the greatest athletes in the world compete against each other. And what better way to prepare for the Olympics than by exploring one of the most exciting sports in the games?competitive swimming. Swimming has been a part of the summer Olympic games since their inception in April of 1896. It is one of the most physically challenging sports to participate in, and one of the most exciting to watch as a spectator. Swimming boasts some of the most talented athletes who have ever lived, and it has evolved into a variety of competitions that have pushed these world-class swimmers to achieve new levels of performance. But before we can really appreciate swimming as the Olympic sport we recognize today, a brief look at swimming's history is necessary.

Swimming in the Paleolithic

Swimming appeared very early in our history and only gained popularity over time. Archaeologists have traced swimming's origins all the way back to the late stone age, some 10,000 years ago. Paintings discovered in 1933 in the appropriately named "Cave of Swimmers" in southeast Egypt appear to depict four people with their arms bent into a position that looks strikingly similar to the front crawl.

There is notable evidence that a wetter climate and greener geography in ancient Egypt would have made it an appropriate setting for swimming. As recently as 5,000 years ago, North Africa was covered with lakes and grasslands and populated by elephants and giraffes. This is probably why

Falling into a steady routine of regular physical activity and exercise takes some doing, but your body is a lot like an engine. Once you get it started and find your rhythm, it's not as hard to keep on going. Of course, it still takes some self-discipline and personal effort to stick to your schedule, but you have a routine. Whether you run before work or hit the gym after hours, it's a part of your daily schedule. So what happens when your regular schedule experiences the biggest possible interruption of them all a holiday Going away from home to spend some time unwinding is something we all crave, but it does raise questions about your workout routine. Will you make time on the road or at your hotel to exercise? Or should you just kick back and take a break from everything, working out included? These are tough questions. Unfortunately, there's no easy right or wrong answer; instead, there are good and bad sides to both perspectives. Below, we'll take a look at each of these viewpoints and break them down into their pros and cons. Which decision is right for you depends a great deal on your own situation. Therefore, it's important to consider every side of the situation and then decide how it should apply to you.

Viewpoint 1: You should take a break to relax while on holiday

You deserve a break, don't you? You work out hard all week long, in addition to everything else you must accomplish. It's tough to get out regularly and run, lift, or even hit the gym to use the equipment. Plus it can be hard to focus on exercise when you want to concentrate on enjoying yourself. While you shouldn't transition from being active to being completely sedentary on your holiday, it turns out that there are many advantages to altering your routine or even scaling back your workout. In other words, the potential exists for you to take a guilt-free "break" from exercise without sacrificing your fitness. How does that work?

Lacing up your running shoes, heading out the door, and pounding the pavement for your daily run is an amazing feeling. That's especially true when the weather out is kind. The right balance of humidity and a comfortable temperature can make for an ideal and truly enjoyable running experience. Wouldn't it be nice if the weather always cooperated? All runners know the frustrations that come from varying weather conditions. Of course, the changing of seasons each year presents its problems as you transition from one type of weather to another. On those days when it's hottest or pouring rain, it can be tough to motivate yourself out the door.

Whether you're training for a marathon or just running for your fitness, though, sticking to your schedule is important. That's why it can be very helpful to familiarise yourself with strategies for coping with all kinds of weather. Conditioning your body to endure long runs isn't just about improving cardiovascular and pulmonary fitness. It also involves preparing your body for the conditions you'll encounter on your run. Without the right strategies, not only can your runs be more demanding and far less pleasant, but it can even be dangerous. After all, no one wants to experience heat sickness. In this article, we will take a closer look at how you can better cope with all kinds of weather.

Beating the heat: strategies for running when it's hot out

When it comes to conditions that every runner dreads, heat is number one on many lists. It is also likely to be the element with which you will get the most experience when you are running. Depending on where you live, the heat may never actually leave all year round. Especially when the summer strikes, it's critical for you to have an excellent grasp of how to run in the heat. It may not always be comfortable, but it is doable. We all know hydration is important, and that plays a part ? but there are other aspects to consider as well.

First,

It's almost that time of year again, summer. The temperatures are climbing, the days are getting longer, and you're starting to hear people chatter about their vacation plans. It's hard not to get a little bit excited as the season starts to change from one to another. Along with the beautiful weather summer brings, everyone seems to flock to outdoor activities. With the cold of last year's winter finally a distant memory, there's no better time to get active and work on being fit than the summertime. Maybe you even still have a gym membership hanging around for the latest round of unfulfilled New Year's resolutions. On the other hand, who wants to be stuck indoors on the treadmill when the weather is nice? The reality of your summer workout regime can be much different. There's no reason to confine yourself to exercise machines. There is an incredible variety of physical activity you can engage in during the summer. In this article, we will take a look at some of that variety. You can get out and enjoy having "fun in the sun" while getting the workouts that you want, too. You might even be surprised to learn just how intense some of these activities are:

• Hiking
• Beach Running
• Swimming
• Volleyball
• Tennis
• Biking

Hiking: One of the Best Ways to Work Out Outdoors

No matter where you live, chances are good that you live within a reasonable proximity to a hiking trail. Sometimes parks with hiking paths are right around the corner; other times, a national park or mountain range close to home can be an option. Whichever you choose, getting out and hiking through nature is an incredible way to work out your muscles and test your endurance. Some hikes can test the willpower of even seasoned veterans!

Make sure you bring plenty of water to drink, keep an eye on the weather report, and know the trail that you intend to follow. With those

Being a coach for any sport can be fun and rewarding, you can assemble (or sometimes inherit!) a team, and with that team grow, face adversity, and experience success as their leader. You can have an incredible impact on the lives of your athletes, but it is challenging work. When you coach football in a youth league, the level of difficulty becomes even higher. You must serve as a positive role model for the kids, motivate them to succeed, and make the game and your practice sessions fun so as not to sour any potential young athletes to the prospect of continuing sport as they grow older. That last part is tricky, as you have to balance keeping your players focused and disciplined while making the sport engaging and allowing them to have fun. You also have to take into consideration the fact that for most kids, especially nowadays, winning can come secondary to having a good time. You certainly want to push them to do a good job, but they aren't going to have the same motivations as adult players. They're not even going to have the same motivation as college or high school players.

Teaching the game of soccer to kids is an entirely different task, and takes a particular personality and skills. You have to make sure you define success as making progress and improving skills. Otherwise, kids can become discouraged and quit, as they'll begin to see themselves as failures if it's always about having the best score (and they're consistently on the losing end of that equation). Unfortunately, not every coach is up to the challenge. There are those who fail to respect their kids, fail to appreciate the game, and put winning at such a high premium that they ruin the experience for many. There are others still who through incompetence and a naive "coaching is easy" attitude spoil the sport for youngsters by failing to introduce them to it properly.

For as long as humans have been organizing themselves into communities, sports have been a part of our lifestyle. From the ancient Aztec ball courts to modern basketball courts and football pitches, we love to gather together and participate in games that test our strength, speed, and skills. Sports aren't just for the spectator, though; they're an essential and excellent way to encourage physical fitness and teamwork. That is why you will often find a wide variety of sports in schools. Encouraging children to find a sport they like and stick with might not always yield an all-star player, but it will create opportunities for valuable life lessons. Community sports leagues are a great way to accomplish this, as well.

So which sports should you encourage your children to join? There are many from which to choose. Naturally, allowing your child's personal likes and dislikes to play a part in the choice is important. However, it's also a smart idea to consider the pros and cons of many different activities. How much physical activity is involved? Which sport is likely to help the most in building character, confidence, and cooperation abilities? More "solo" sports such as tennis and swimming are excellent for increasing physical activity, but for a well-balanced approach, consider something different. Sports like football, basketball, and rugby are good options, but for a fun all around experience, why not take a closer look at the sport of field hockey?

What is field hockey? How is it played?

First, it can be helpful to understand exactly what the sport is and how it's played to see its strong suits. If you have any familiarity with ice hockey, then much of this is likely to be familiar to you. If you're new to the entire concept, though, and you're curious about its suitability for both boys and girls, a quick rundown will be helpful. Here are the key