Better Sports Performance Is Five Factors Away

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With regards to sporting performance there are several factors that are considered important. How important each factor is depends largely on the type of activity or the sport being performed. For example, agility might be crucial to a sprinter while muscular endurance is not. Similarly this might be true within a sport as well, for example coordination would be crucial to an NFL quarterback while power might be more important to a blocker, even though they both play the same sport. In addition to physical size and biologically inherent factors, the following are some of the most important factors that can determine performance in sport.

Power

Power, or the development of force in a short amount of time is considered to be one of the more important factors in sports performance. This is true mainly because so many sports are built that way, they require the application of large amounts of force over a short amount of time. Power (also known as speed strength), although similar to strength actually needs to be trained slightly differently. The focus when training for power is the rapid development of force, not just the development of force.

Speed

In many sports, speed is the defining characteristic of high performance levels. As the level of competition progresses, many of the same skills are used however it is the speed of execution that leaves many people behind. The ability to move forward, backward, laterally, stop or start allows an athlete to set-up in a good position to execute a skill (hitting a tennis ball for example) or provides a raw advantage, like the ability to run faster and therefore break away in basketball.

Strength

The ability to produce high levels of force, known as strength is one of the most fundamental performance skills common in athletes. While some athletes and sports may require this more for a variety of different reasons, it is generally accepted that high strength levels are needed to achieve high sporting performance. Not much more to say on this really, just that strength training in one form or another should be a foundation of your training program.

Coordination

Coordination is critical to success in many sports, specifically sports that require athletes to use an implement such as a bat, club, stick or ball to play. Coordination is quite a complex topic, and incorporates how well a person, or their joints handle the application or force and movement with respect to time. Sounds complex right? That's because it is. Coordination is difficult to measure but is crucial in sports the require hand-eye interactions like baseball or tennis. It is also specific and trainable though, and someone who is considered uncoordinated in soccer can be very coordinated in tennis.

Agility

Agility is kind of a hybrid of speed, coordination and power. Agility in general refers to the ability to quickly and accurately stop, start and change direction. There is also some evidence that agility using an implement can also be different to agility without it, so it might be worth training this factor with the implement your use in hand such as lacrosse stick or tennis racket.

So there you have it, five of the most important factors to reaching high sporting performance. The relative importance of each is dependent on the sport itself and there are several other factors that are arguably equally as important, although they will be discussed in a later article.

Alexi has studied and worked in the health and fitness industry for over 10 years. You can visit his latest site on Harbinger gloves where you can read more about weight lifting gloves for men.

Finding the Best Lacrosse Sticks at Clearance Prices

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What do you look for when searching for the right Lacrosse stick for your individual needs? You have many options but the selections on the market don't make it easy. There are literally hundreds to choose and the most tough ting is to decide what's right for you can be a challenge.

Are you a beginner or a seasoned player? This will help determine what's best for you. If this is something you plan to do for a long time, you might want to talk to other experienced players and find out which brand they like best. Don't just listen to one player as many players have individual standards and look for a particular style to use. The main thing we are searching for here is a bargain. Where can you find the best bargains? You can find lacrosse stick for as much as $150 and as low as just over twenty dollars. You can also purchase just the stick or just the head and find that you like to mix it up a bit.

You will want to do a search for different styles, brands and outlets that sell Lacrosse equipment. This can be done online as well as going to your local sporting goods stores and asking questions to the experienced sales professionals about the brands they carry. Being diligent in your search will pay off in the long run and you can find the perfect Lacrosse stick that will work for you at the best possible price.

If you are just a beginner and deciding if this is what you want to do, you might want to stick to the lowest price you can find and not waste your money if it's something you may not stay with, but also keep in mind, if your experience isn't the best, it could have something to do with the choice of sticks you made. Ask to try other player's sticks and see if you can notice a difference in each one. Your decision can depend on the way the equipment works for you.

Even if you are budget conscience, there is no reason to have to settle for the low end Lacrosse equipment. Many top of the line sporting goods manufacturers produce quality equipment at affordable prices, and if you are diligent in your search efforts, you can find clearance sales where you can find the best products at the lowest prices anytime.

Get to know more on cheap lacrosse stick.

Water and Athletes

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Water is one of the most important nutrients an athlete can consume. Almost 60% of total body weight is water. It helps to maintain body temperature, improve digestion, and helps with circulation and excretion of wastes. Sweating is how the body regulates its temperature. If an athlete doesn't drink enough water, they aren't able to sweat adequately and their body temperature will rise. This can negatively impact their physical performance and cause dehydration. Even a very small amount of dehydration can impact their athletic performance. And thirst is not an indicator of dehydration. It can happen before an athlete even becomes thirsty.

The body will pull water from its reserves when it's deprived of fluids to maintain a safe body temperature. If the body is chronically low on water, a variety of hormonal changes can occur. Caffeine, alcohol and diuretics can all drain the body of water, and extra water should be taken to avoid an imbalance.

The small intestine can absorb water at a rate of 8-10 ounces about every 20 minutes. Drinking cold water is better because it will enter the small intestine faster. Take small sips before, during, and after your workout. Make sure not to drink large amounts all at once. Space it out.

The only way for an athlete to prevent dehydration is to make sure they are properly hydrated before, during, and after training. Customize your water intake to the sport you will be training in. Make sure you have water readily available during training and make sure you drink enough water before and after training. Know what your sweat rate is. It can be different for different people. Know how much fluid you will need to replace. A good rule of thumb is to drink about 20 ounces of water for every pound of weight lost because of sweating.

If you think that water is just too plain and boring, then try a good sports drink with your favorite flavor. The most important thing is to make sure you replace fluids and avoid dehydration. If you have to have the flavoring to make sure you drink more water, then whatever works for you is best to ensure you don't suffer dehydration.

If you have signs of dehydration, like weakness, headache, thirst, dizziness or chills, not only is your athletic performance going to suffer, but you are putting yourself in danger of a heat related problem. It's better to avoid that in the first place by making sure you are drinking enough water to stave it off in the first place.

Julie Austin is the inventor of swiggies, the wrist water bottle, for kids and adults. They were a NASDAQ product of the year semi finalist and are sold around the world. http://www.swiggies.com/

Sponsoring a Marathon With Promotional Products

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Try to wrap your head around this figure $170 million. That's how much money the Chicago Marathon produces in a single year. With 45,000 entrants a year and an uncountable amount of spectators, one thing is for sure: The Chicago Marathon sure draws a crowd, and with that crowd comes consumer dollars. Over 245 endorsed marathons are run across the U.S. every year and companies see the potential for marketing their products to both the runners participating in the marathons and the people in the crowds that come to cheer them on.

Large events such as marathons give businesses the opportunity to play a participatory role in the exciting environment of a race event. While some companies can advertise during televised races, others prefer to be on the ground and in the mix of things for the chance to promote their products. Whether these are marathon products or unique promotional products targeting a wide variety of consumers, companies find a way to promote their product on and around the runners. Sponsored contestants are splashed with logos that will remind consumers of constant branding before, during, and after the marathon event.

Many sponsors are in fact promoting marathon products or other products for runners and hope to receive enhanced exposure by good finish times, wins, and television airplay of the race. Marathons are often sponsored by a large company and non-professional runners will be allowed to wear a singlet, shorts, or race number that displays the sponsoring company's logo on the contestant. Anything is fair game: from banners on over passes, to signs placed at the finish line, to paintings on the pavement, marketers have done it all when it comes to promoting at marathons. Even on the sidelines companies can be found with unique promotional products. A great way for companies to engage their potential customers is to grab their attention.

Whether they are a fitness or exercise related company or not, marketers often choose to display marathon related products. One example is unique water bottles. Unique promotional products open the door to discussion among sellers and potential buyers in the crowd. The combination of unique promotional and marathon related products is very effective at events such as marathons, as these products can be seen in use on runners. Promoting a company during marathons is big business and there are plenty of opportunities to do so. Whether a big company or a small family business, using unique promotional products at marathons and other running events is sure to attract your future customers.

Julie Austin is the inventor of swiggies, the wrist water bottle, for kids and adults. They were a NASDAQ product of the year semi finalist and are sold around the world, both in the retail market and the promotional products market. http://www.swiggies.com/

A Remote Control War Gets a New Lease of Life - With an RC Jet

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Coming from a poor background, and not having an especially well-paying job there is a particular mindset that I have to struggle to get out of.

I'm talking of the 'That's cool, but I couldn't afford it' mindset. I've had this attitude for years - for example I used to get dragged around National Trust manor houses and gardens as a kid. Instead of looking at the old buildings or marvelling at a tree like everyone else I used to vividly imagine an enormous RC battle going on.

To be fair, my scenes probably would have cost the best part of a million dollars to do - I'm talking metal battleships complete with ball bearing cannons, helicopters with bottle-rockets, aircraft carrier ships in the lake, tanks on the ground and all kinds of remote control weaponry and layouts. It turns out National Trust gardens would be amazing locations for an RC war.

It's now over a decade later, I no longer dream of remote control wars (although that could just be because I no longer voluntarily go to old buildings for a day out) and I have a job. Which means I have a little money.

It's amazing how long it's taken me to figure out that I'm a big boy now, and if I want to spend my money on an RC jet and fly it around - I'm allowed to. It's absolutely fine. Nobody's going to shout at me if I break it straight away either!

You've no doubt guessed that I've gone and bought an RC Jet - a 55mm EDF A4 Skyhawk Jet in military grey no less. It took me ages to build and put the stickers on though, mainly because I kept messing about and was being overcareful.

I took it out down the road to a massive field that has around 4 football pitches on it, fired her up and let her loose! Her engine screamed, she flew from my friends hand... straight into the ground.

OK. Bad start.

Fix it up and try again!

This time I took off from a tarmac strip and she flew beautifully! I'd bought myself a copy of the ClearView RC Sim and spent a couple of hours getting to grips with flying on that - so I was ready.

It's an enormous amount of fun flying these things! It's a constant attention grabbing activity - you can't just let her rip and then go make a cup of tea. You're flying the model 100% of the time constantly making tiny adjustments (and occasionally big, disaster-averting ones).

Going back to my first point, what I mean by all this is that it's ridiculous how long it took me to do this. I've dreamed of flying these machines for years, and yet even when I could afford to buy several a month if I wanted to it still took me ages. I guess sometimes we need to give ourselves permission to do what we want to do. To fulfil old dreams.

Now in my case I haven't fully appeased my younger self's dreams - after all I'm not landing this A4 Skyhawk on a remote control Aircraft Carrier in the middle of a lake... at least not yet. But I do own my own remote control jet, which actually flies! Not only that but it's an absolute joy to control and a great challenge, and it means I get outside more. Fulfilling your dreams is good for you, period.

Want to get your dreams off to a flying start?

The best beginner RC Jet Aircraft are now available at incredibly cheap prices.

Why incredible?

Because the performance of these things is extreme! We're talking top speeds of over 90mph, fully aerobatically capable fighter jets! Nothing compares to these for a good day out, and once you've got a taste of piloting you'll be having more fun than ever before. Let yourself permission to enjoy yourself today.

RC Jets - RCJetShop.co.uk is a leading provider of the best performance, most rugged and versatile remote control jets in the UK, at the cheapest possible price.

Jean-Marc Nowak - A Symbol of Courage and Determination

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Jean-Marc Nowak, an amazingly courageous mountaineer and expedition leader, has bagged the credit of climbing the summit of Everest on May 21, 2011 alone with his Sherpa Cho Oyu, Nuru. Being an employee at the Principality of Monaco Hall, he was the first person to plant the flag of Monaco Hall on the peak of Mount Everest, the approximate height of which is estimated as 8850m.

He is an honored personality in the International Adventure Sports Festival in Vallauris in Southern France. Being one of the main characters, Jean-Marc Nowak was nominated for the film "A la conquête de l'Everest" - a movie that reveals how seven amateurs planned to challenge the impossible and finally reached to the top of the world even though they did not have sufficient experience and had physical disabilities. This movie was shot by the members of the expedition during spring 2007.

A person living in the extreme altitudes, Jean-Marc Nowak climbed the 'seven summits', the seven highest peaks on all seven continents: Kilimanjaro (Africa), McKinley (North America), Aconcagua (South America), Elbrus (in the border between Asia and Europe), Vinson (Antarctica), Pyramid of Carsternsz (Oceania) and finally Mount Everest (Asia).

As you imagine, climbing seven summits is not an ordinary activity for any alpinist - and only a brave heart with a strong determination to achieve the impossible can achieve those performances.

The most daring, the highest and the hardest of all is the Mount Everest and Jean-Marc tried to reach on 2007 and 2011, while the initial ascent (2007) was a failure as his team had to come back after reaching 150m, but on 2011 he topped the success alone with his own will-power and self-determination to achieve the impossible.

The triumph he made on 2011 is definitely noteworthy, because over one hundred and fifty climbers had to turn around due to extreme weather condition. In fact, there were many teams with Sherpa but they also had to return due to inadequate experience and poor leadership quality. So you can easily visualize how difficult it was to succeed. But Jean-Marc Nowak never learned to be beaten - he is the person who makes his own way and that's what he did and crowned the success of being one of the greatest climbers of all time.

Not only ascents that highlight his personality, but also his contribution to various humanitarian activities earned him a great respect. Jean-Marc Nowak is involved in various charitable events organized by the Principality of Monaco Hall.

While interviewed by me on the secret of his unswerving success formula, like any brave and insightful individual he shared that the source of his success relies on the positive energy and he confirmed that this is the positive attitude that he always carries before leaving for any expedition.

It can be important to learn the way he used to manage and cope up with all the difficulties on the extreme points at the high altitudes. In fact, with all adverse weather conditions, full of high winds and storms, it is his power of positive attitude that helps him to stay calm and to face the difficulties bravely. Being able to visualize the worst and loading with positive energy to battle against adverse condition is what makes Jean-Marc Nowak so much successful.

I am pleased to introduce such an incredible personality who has always been living on the edge. With his all activities and achievements throughout his life Jean-Marc Nowak has taught us that nothing is impossible in life.

Antoinette Champclos, Author and Founder of http://achievetheimpossibleblog.com/

To Help You Get The Best For Your Field, Select Tools That Might Make A Difference

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You will have a large amount of work ahead of you if you've been charged with the task of organizing the pieces required to build an athletic field in your neighborhood park or school, with the many things you must to truly do it justice and make a significant impact on your visitors, providing them a safe, comfortable locale to play, and view events, at any time in the year.

As well as having a big impact on your last design, there are a few places to begin, and many aspects that are all equally important, but once you have a blueprint of the space, and an idea of what you're looking to carry out, then you'll be well on your way to providing your group with the best that you could compile, working with a number of manufacturers, suppliers, and contractors throughout the country.

Depending on what you're looking to accomplish, you may make room for more events, like each field for baseball, basketball, football, track and field, and even swimming, or make extra room to serve spectators with a variety of seating options. Including sizeable grandstands seating for highly anticipated home games where you might expect to draw large crowds, or any of a range of smaller seating arrangements, with everything from handicap ramps and seating, to personal folding seats similar to the ones you expect in major league stadiums, you can decide from a number of different ways to seat the spectators for your specific activities.

Although some of these choices can be far above your price range, there is always a way to make due, and you could even opt to join portable stadium bleachers that will make it easy to go from one event to another with ease, being certain that there is plenty of seating for everybody, and making a better, more fun experience for the spectators, in addition to the participants.

You could be sure to have a thriving place for fun and recreation that will get a great deal of use over the years, and keep people concerned with its upkeep, and you may do all of this by simply beginning on the right foot and showing them that you care enough to give them the best, and you could be pleasantly surprised by the attention you get back, but there's also much more that'll have to go into the organization of a park or sports facility, so keep the central aspects of accessibility and functionality in mind.

ParknPool's goal is to provide unparalleled integrity and competence throughout the entire purchasing and installation process. Our mission is simple, but powerful - to create happy clients. Our unique "Power Promise" ensures that we accomplish this. We promise that we will provide you with consistently high-quality commercial furnishings like grandstands seating and portable stadium bleachers. We will identify your needs and match them with relevant products. We will create realistic expectations - and then we will exceed them!

Winter Sports Safety - Wearing The Right Protective Gear

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Lots of people, both adults and children like playing outside in Summer, be it cycling on mountain bikes, or playing football in the park, and when doing so you have little to worry about other than it raining, or getting sun burnt or someone getting a grazed knee. Indeed the weather in Summer is fairly easy to predict in the main.

Obviously you also need to wear the right protective equipment for whatever activity that you are doing, be that a helmet for cycling in, or elbow and knee-pads for skateboarding. Whilst you do have to worry about the weather getting sun burnt on a hot day, or wet if it rains, are not in general classed as life threatening.

However when it comes to doing Winter sports then you have to take a lot more things into consideration. First things first, many Winter sports involve snow and ice both of which are slippy and hence present their own unique dangers. Indeed not a Winter goes by without someone we know falling and injuring themselves on the ice just when trying to get around.

Icy is slippy and very hard, so falling on it is going to hurt any which way you look at it. So if you are going to go out doing any form of Winter sport such as sledging, skating or skiing always make sure that you have the right equipment, be it a sturdy pair of boots for going sledging in, or a pair of sharp ice skates for skating in, and if you are going skiing then wear a helmet.

Both sledging, skiing and skating all involve moving potentially very fast over snow or ice, and as such they are inherently risky to do and thus you should always not just use the right equipment but also take care to look at the environment that you will be carrying out the sport in. An example of this is sledging - The hill you may have chosen to go sledging on maybe nice and steep, but if it has a stone wall at the bottom of it or lots of trees in the field, or even a frozen lake or pond at the bottom of it, then you should consider using a different hill to go sledging down. A good days sledging is not one spent in your hospitals accident and emergency department!

Winter sports can be fast and exhilarating, just make sure you do them safely.

You can find a large selection of low cost Sledges at Splash and Relax for your seasonal fun this year! Splash and Relax also supply a range of Wholesale Sledges at trade prices.

Can Somebody Really Master a Sport?

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If you've watched sports for any length of time, you've probably already seen sports masters or at least seen glimpses of sports mastery.

Have you ever seen a pro basketball player put the team on his back and carry them to the championship? Have you ever seen an Olympic sprinter get off to a bad start and still come back and win the race? How about a major league pitcher that pitches a no-hitter in consecutive games?

If you turn on the TV you can see that evidence of sports mastery and the highest levels of athletic achievement are still present today. Many athletes show signs of greatness, no matter how short lived. The difference is that a master of a sport can consistently perform at that high level and will not only show signs of greatness, but will be great.

When we think of mastery, most people automatically think martial arts or some other field of interest like arts or crafts but rarely do people ever think of mastering a sport. And sad to say, many so-called experts will even tell their own athletes that they can't master their sports. What a coach or trainer to have, huh? I would be remiss if I didn't point out the obvious nature of following someone's advice that says you can't do something. If your are taught that you can't master something what's to make you think you can win a championship or at all for that matter. It may be a good idea to stop listening to negative ideas about your potential, especially if coming from someone who supposedly is there to help.

Even in team sports, each individual can become a master at his/her own position and the entire team could implement a team sports mastery concept.

We've all witnessed teams in many different sports that were over matched athletically or otherwise and still ended up winning the game or event because they played better "together". What we're really saying is the synergy of the team was the key, not only the physical or the mental aspects. This synergy is also part of sports mastery. All that is needed for you to become a master of your sport is you, a proven system for mastery of your sport and a qualified sports mastery artisan to guide you along the process.

So, the question is not whether a sport can be mastered, but rather "Can YOU master your sport"?

J.Scott Warner is the foremost authority on sports mastery and has been teaching sports mastery principles to top professional athletes and coaches for over 10 years. If you are ready to dominate your sport and win multiple championships, find out more at Sports Mastery

What to keep in mind when you purchase a playground for a school or a park

When children hear the Bell for recess, the air is filled with voices young, energetic, the dart instead of their favorite hideout value. All of the playground is where a child can run as a wild horse through gangways of planks, race to the bottom of the slide and climb smaller scales for excellent physical training, which their bodies growing needs. In adulthood, a playing field is fair to exercise machines, but for young people, it can be modified in a den of thieves, a pirate ship or a fort for cowboys, allowing the children to let their imaginations run free. Of course, adults buying all need to use their imagination to find a suitable site instead of the equipment and the surface right to support the weight of a set, as well as children himself. For the purchase of any set of playgrounds, planning is necessary, and individuals must have an appropriate location and place the equipment on soils.

Soil

Park, your school or your home may be the best place for a playground of decent size, but the soil, on which it will be placed may not be so adapted. Some soils is too weak to handle a playground, and a large part of the ground is perhaps not capable of siphoning water and prevent sinking the whole. No matter where you are located, all outdoor games area will have wet rain or sprinkler system and if the soil is terrible drainage, over time, the game will sink into the ground, and you will complete spend more money to solve the problem. For experts who inspect grounds Park and school, they often look at the ground to see how strong it is and how level the ground is because most of the supervisors, the ground may appear level, but when measured, the soil is actually off the coast by one or two degrees that may have large dilemmas. A parcel of land must be level to avoid any drainage problem which may occur, which can also cause the playing field have ruined over time.

Vegetation

Sometimes, playgrounds are placed away from trees and bushes and right under the Sun, but there is a particular cause for doing so. Yes, a tree can provide shade for the little ones to play on a game, but roots can present dilemmas because the soil must be level for sets of games be anywhere near a tree. The second question put land near trees is the leaves and fruits that may launch a tree; for example, a tree of counsel can give a long shadow, but the fruit rot if left on the ground too long, and it will attract flies.

Objective of ParknPool is to provide unprecedented integrity and competence throughout the whole process of purchasing and installation. Our mission is simple, but powerful - to create happy customers. Our unique "promise to" ensure that we do this. We promise that we will provide you with commercial furniture of high quality as outdoor games and games. We will identify your needs and their correspondence with the products concerned. We create realistic expectations - and then, we exceed the!

Beginner Triathlete - 5 Training Tips for Your Triathlon

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Are you ready to compete in your very first triathlon? Are you confused about where to begin your training?

If you are a beginner triathlete, you have come to the right place. This article will provide you with information, tips, and strategies on how to start your first race.

The language is simple and easy to understand, with no fancy terms that only a serious triathlete would understand. There is not an extensive guide that you have to follow. This article is simply to provide you with a starting point to make sure that you are at a level of fitness to compete successfully.

Keep it Simple

First of all, as a beginner triathlete it is most important to remember that this should be fun. That being said, do not go overboard with your training. You will simply need to make sure that you have a basic level of fitness for each of the triathlon events, swimming, running, and biking.

For your first race you do not need to follow some extensive training plan. There is no need to exhaust yourself as your first race should be more about understanding what a triathlon entails and less about competing.

Honestly, it is not really about the amount of time that you spend training, but rather about how your training time is utilized. Here are a few tips to get you started.

Tip 1: Picking a Race

The first thing that you need to do is pick a race. As a beginner triathlete, a sprint race is typically the best option. This is a shorter race that offers a great step into the world of triathlons. A typical sprint triathlon involves a swimming competition of anywhere from 0.25 miles up to 0.62 miles, biking from 5 to 18 miles, and running from 1 to 4 miles.

Tip 2: Equipment Choices

If you are a beginner triathlete, there is no need to invest in fancy equipment for your first race. The fancy stuff can come later, for now stick to the basics.

For swimming you will need to have some goggles and a swim cap. If the race consists of an open water swim, you may need to have a wetsuit.

For the bicycling portion of the race you will need to have a bike, of course. Any bike that is in decent condition is good enough for your first race. You will be required to wear a helmet as well. You may want to have cycling shorts, repair equipment, such as spare tires, and a water bottle on hand as well.

For the run you will need to have a good pair of running shoes. They should fit well and be comfortable to wear. Your clothes for the run should be breathable and comfortable to wear. You should have a hat to wear as well. The hat should be made of mesh to allow for breathe-ability.

Tip 3: Swimming

The swim is typically the most challenging portion of the triathlon for the beginner triathlete. If you are a relatively new swimmer, it is a good idea to consult a local swim coach for advice. You may want to sign up for some type of swim lesson as part of your training. Swimming is a technical sport and any improvement in your technique can help you to shave minutes off your swim time, which can result in more energy for the rest of your race.

Tip 4: Bicycling

The bicycling portion is the second part of the race and most individuals, beginners included, find biking to be the easiest portion of the race. When you start training for the bicycling portion of the race, you will want to make sure to start slowly and build up your endurance. A good goal is to start with short distances and build up to the length of the bicycle portion of the race plus 10% longer.

The bicycle portion offers you a chance to rehydrate your body during the race. It is important to make sure that you practice biking on all types of surfaces with the bike you will be using for the race.

Tip 5: End of the Race

The run is the last part of the race and can be difficult. The reason is that you are already tired from the first two portions of the race. When training for your triathlon run, you need to make sure that you improve your time and distance running, but you will also need to make sure to train to run when your legs are tired.

You will have just finished the cycling portion of the race when you begin your run. This means that your legs will be tired. While focusing on distance needs to be your first priority, you will need to remember that building up your stamina is important as well.

As a beginner triathlete, the most important advice I can give you is have fun. Do not push yourself to hard. Remember, this is your first race and the focus should just be on completing it. There will be plenty more races to improve on.

If you are truly ready to begin your training as a triathlete, download a free copy of "The 7 Biggest Mistakes Triathletes Make," now.

Ironman Triathlete and Endurance Swimmer Carolyn Elliott has been a competitive athlete since 1972. She is also a nurse with an extensive background in nutrition. Tips which took her years to discover and finesse is freely shared so that you can get a jump start on your training and competition. She provides triathletes of all level her expertise on the sport.

Yukon 1000 - The Longest Canoe and Kayak Race

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"Do you really want to do this?"

That's what it says on the official website of the Yukon 1000 Canoe and Kayak Race. And it's a very appropriate question for those who are even just remotely interested in this extraordinary race, also known as the longest canoe and kayak race in the world so far. Imagine yourself paddling 1,000 miles in the Yukon River for seven to eight continuous days. Not only is the Yukon River a really long river, but it is also a wide one, earning it the fourth spot as North America's largest river by flow volume average. That's a lot of river to paddle in.

More about the Yukon 1000

The Yukon 1000 was first organized by Peter Coates, former organizer and competitor of the Yukon River Quest, which is a 460-mile canoe and kayak race from Whitehorse down to Dawson City. The Yukon 1000 is obviously a longer and tougher race. It starts from Whitehorse and ends at the Alaska Pipeline Bridge on Dalton Highway.

The race is open to voyageur canoes, tandem canoes or kayaks, and pairs of solo kayaks and solo canoes. Solo boats are required to travel together and camp together at night. Racers are also required to carry a Spot device which is a GPS receiver and satellite messenger so they can check in from time to time and also send an alarm in case they need to be rescued. Racers are also required to make a stop for at least six hours every night.

Difficulties and challenges in the Yukon 1000

As mentioned, the Yukon River is one of the greatest rivers in North America. The fact that Yukon means "great river" already says something and racing in this river is definitely not easy. Peter Coates, the organizer, is very frank and honest about the difficulty of the race because he wants to make sure the participants know exactly what they are up against.

Racers of the Yukon 1000 have to be ready to face the big water by themselves or with their teams. Paddling for several hours in big open water can have its demands on a person's physical and mental state. Racers also have to be prepared to face obstacles such as poorly mapped channels, fallen trees in the river, and stretches of whitewater. And of course the racers have to watch out for the forest wildlife, meaning the black and grizzly bears that live in the country surrounding the river.

Like many races, on water or otherwise, the Yukon 1000 is really about physical and mental endurance and personal triumph. The victory is in the sense of achievement when the race is completed. Coates just says that after the race you just send in your time, congratulate yourself, get your gear and head on home.

Here's a link to a video about the Yukon 1000: http://youtu.be/zhZi0ccrlBE

About The Author:

Todd Kuslikis is the founder of Extreme-Exercises.com.

He specializes in helping people build muscle fast using unique home-based body weight workouts. To download his FREE Complete Body Weight Training Program, visit this link: Body Weight Training Program.

RC Flying Simulators

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The thrill of flight is one that has fascinated man since the dawn of time. Some of you may have dreamed about becoming a pilot when you were a child and perhaps some of you went on to enroll in a flight or aviation school and fulfilled that dream. For others, circumstances in your life may have taken you in a different direction and the dream was placed on the metaphorical "shelf". But that doesn't mean you cannot live and feel the excitement and thrill of flying. Enter the world of RC airplanes and helicopters! Granted, being able to fly an RC airplane or helicopter does not mean you are ready to fly a REAL airplane or helicopter. However, it CAN be just as much fun!

Now you might be asking yourself, "what in the world do RC airplanes and helicopters have in common with REAL airplanes and helicopters?!" The answer: Flight Simulators! Airplane and helicopter simulators are computer programs which are designed to simulate real life flying as closely as possible. Advances in both software technology and computer processing power have now created numerous flight simulators with features enabling you to choose your aircraft, landscape, and wind conditions. Now this doesn't meant that you have to go out and drop big money on the most powerful, most expensive computer out there but a fast computer, a good video card and a large monitor will go a long way to giving you the ultimate digital flying experience. Many simulators allow you to update and import different aircraft models as well as customizing and creating your own flight scenery and recording your individual flights. Tutorials and skill tests are also included as part the software packages. When shopping for an RC flight simulator choose one that will be realistic to actual flying, have the same model as the one you own (or one very similar to it), and allows you to use a regular radio transmitter. Many people will use their flight simulator to evaluate others models of airplanes and helicopters before they buy them.

Training yourself with RC flight simulators is a more practical and less costly approach to learning to fly airplanes and helicopters. In the world of RC airplanes and helicopters, CRASHES WILL HAPPEN. Crashes can be costly, time consuming, and discouraging. Whether you're a beginner who's learning to fly, or an expert who wants to try out a new move, a good flight simulator can save you money. If your simulator prevents even one crash it has already paid for itself, as the cost of replacing the aircraft can be well more than the cost of the flight simulator. Don't risk hurting your aircraft by learning to fly it on your PC first. RC airplane flight simulators feature either airplane models only, or both airplanes and helicopters. Simulators can save you money in other ways as well. With a simulator there is no fuel to buy, batteries to charge, or fields to drive to. Bad weather outside? No problem! With a flight simulator you can stay indoors and still work on your flying skills.

Flight simulators are typically used as a learning tool to practice flying RC aircraft but they can also simply be a fun and relaxing program to play with on your computer. So before you go out there and buy RC aircraft and spend a ton of money replacing it time and time again due to multiple crashes, study up and train yourself in the principles of flight. This preparation can lead to a long and enjoyable experience in flying planes. Flight simulators let everyone enjoy RC helicopters and planes without crashing them first!

Darrell O'Hare can provide additional information about remote control airplanes, helicopters, trucks and cars. The world of radio controlled toys has something for everyone. You can add flight simulators to your learning and flying dreams with http://www.rcplaneshanger.com/

When You're Presenting Large Public Events, You've Got To Set Up Comfortable Seating For All

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Spectator seating is always welcome when it is provided at locations where the public is invited to enjoy sporting events or other kinds of activities. If you're going to go to a baseball game, it's always nice to have good, comfortable seating that is supplied for those who like to watch the games.

Another sort of sports venue that often requires seating is the soccer field, because the number of fans of that sport is ever increasing in this country. College campuses usually have a need for seating at any number of different athletic competitions, from football, lacrosse and hockey, to track and field events.

Oftentimes, school districts will need to provide seating for particular student events and activities, and the seating can be used indoors, in a gym maybe, or outdoors. Another kind of spectator event requiring seating arrangements often on a large scale are NASCAR tracks, which typically must accommodate thousands of spectators.

One other kind of public event that often draws large, enthusiastic audiences, and requires a significant amount of seating to accommodate spectators is a rodeo. When chairs are chosen for spaces where many people gather, it's a good idea to choose materials that can handle a lot of use and are easy to clean.

You can seat the greatest number of people using space as efficiently as possible while shelling out less than you would on other solutions by simply installing bleachers. If you've got a limited amount of floor space to seat spectators, you'll want to place plank seats in your venue because they make the most efficient use of space.

Clean and maintain these sorts of seats with the most minimal of equipment, and you'll find that they stay practically spotless with a hosing down and some sweeping. You'd often find that arena seating was made from good old fashioned timber in days gone by, but now lightweight metals and molded plastic are more often exploited.

Although steel might seem to be the most solid and lasting of materials available, you might learn that plastic seating is more cost-effective and also easier to maintain. Paint your plastic seats if you opt to cover them in your school's colors, but you don't have to coat them to shield them from the harsh elements that corrode certain materials.

The elements will not cause plastic or aluminum seats to rust or corrode, so there's no obligation to give them a new coat of sealant at the launch of each new season. You might also explore portable bleachers, which offer a flexible solution for multi-use facilities that may be required to change floor plans periodically.

Plan ahead for your arena and find the product that works best for you.

ParknPool's goal is to provide unparalleled integrity and competence throughout the entire purchasing and installation process. Our mission is simple, but powerful - to create happy clients. Our unique "Power Promise" ensures that we accomplish this. We promise that we will provide you with consistently high-quality commercial furnishings like bleachers and portable bleachers. We will identify your needs and match them with relevant products. We will create realistic expectations - and then we will exceed them!

Parent Perspective Exercise to Improve Parent Behavior in Youth Sports

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Great Ideas of Places to Start Metal Detecting - Treasure Hunting in Your Own Back Yard

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After you've purchased your metal detector and become familiar with how it works, you are ready to start finding the loot! Now comes the question, "Where should I go?" You probably already have some areas in mind where to start hunting. Here are some ideas you may not have thought about. Think of places where people long ago would congregate, then check out those places for the old coins and relics.

Church Yards: Remember the quality coins and relics will most likely be found in older areas. Consider places that have been around since the turn of the 20th century or longer. Churches are more than likely to be some of the oldest buildings in any city or town. When a town was just forming, after the people started to settle, churches were one of the first buildings to be built and would be the focal place where everyone would meet. Many old churches still stand and are great places to hunt.
Gazebos: Some parks have old gazebos and bandstands where long ago people would gather for hours of entertainment. You may find some old coins there.
Stadiums: Beneath old stadium bleachers are a great source also. Old public stadiums as well as old school stadiums that have been around a long time. Crowds of people sat on the bleachers to watch their favorite sport and some would lose money that would fall under the bleachers.
Amusement Parks: There is a small amusement park I went to go as a child. It is no longer in service, but it is a great place to take my metal detector.
City Square: The city square is where most small towns have a courthouse. These are most always very old buildings that have had lots of traffic. Check in the grassy areas between sidewalks. These are good areas where coins get dropped.
Schools: Check old schools in your area. The older the better. There is usually a cornerstone or something stating what year a school is built.

There is a host of other locations to take your metal detector. My suggestions should give you lots of ideas and areas to think about where you live. The list is as long as your imagination. Think about it, coins will be found where people exchanged money. Old coins and relics can be found in areas where people gathered many years ago. Think of grandma and grandpa or great grandma and great grandpa...even great-great grandma and great-great grandpa. Where did they go to see neighbors, be entertained, gather and congregate? Go there and take your metal detector.

As always, remember to get permission before you hunt. In most cases you shouldn't run into any problems. If hunting on someone's private property, always offer to return any of the residents lost jewelry that you may come across.

Find Your Treasure!

Candy and her husband, Rick offer a variety of products and accessories for metal detecting.

We promise we will work hard to form and maintain a long, happy connection with you, our customer for detecting gold and metal.. Our objective is to make your shopping experience as simple, informative and cool as possible.

We resolve to combine honesty and value in all our communications with outstanding service before, during, and after the sale.

Your comfort, security and confidence are our utmost concern.

How to Abalone Dive, Spearfish, or Learn to Snorkel for Fun - An In Depth Article Not To Miss!

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Diving for abalone is a sport enjoyed by many on the north coast of California. Using scuba tanks or any other underwater breathing apparatus is not allowed and you must get them by diving while holding your breath. Not to say that you can't go out at very low tides and "rock pick" them without entering the water, but this article is about diving for them, which is the primary method of taking them.

First of all, an abalone is a huge snail that lives on the rocks in the shallows of the ocean. Although there are several types, the one sought after here in northern California is a Red Abalone. This abalone must be 7 inches across the shell at any point in order to be "legal" under California law and rarely grows to over 11 inches in its life. The typical one taken by the sport diver is usually between 7 and 9 inches. By law, every diver must carry their own measuring device while diving which are wide "U shaped" tools with an inside width of 7 inches. The abalone are firmly attached to the rocks by their "foot" and are pried off with a flat bar, which also must meet certain criteria legally to avoid damage to undersized abalone and those that are unable to be pried off. It must not be sharp or not wide enough so the abalone are not cut with it. Every diver should read and familiarize themselves with the regulations each year for taking abalone, as regulations change from time to time and violations of them usually result in fines of at least $1500 and can result in jail time and the confiscation of your diving equipment due to the protected status of these creatures. For instance, every abalone taken must be logged properly both on a tag and on the report card immediately upon exiting the ocean, without exception. At this time, you may possess only three abalone at one time, no matter if they are in your freezer at home or in your dive bag at the ocean, and you may take only 24 in any one year. You may not obtain another diver's abalone and hand them to him or her when in the ocean or "trade up" for larger ones after you have removed a legal one from the rocks. Again, other regulations apply so it is important that you read the regulations prior to diving.

The water on the north coast of California is cold. You will need a full wet suit, including a hood, gloves, and booties. The other gear that you will need will be a mask, snorkel, fins, weight belt, abalone bar, abalone gage, and something to keep your abalone in as they must be kept separate from other divers'. I highly recommend that each diver have and use a "dive tube" to keep their abalone in as this also doubles as an indispensable safety device, if needed. Sea sickness, cramps, exhaustion, and injuries do occur and such a floatation device can save your life. It also can offer a place to float and rest or just to float and shoot the breeze with your friends and enjoy the views. The dive tube also has the added feature of having shoulder straps so it can be used as a backpack for your gear when hiking to and from the ocean. The bag is basically a canvas covering with a zipper that encloses the inner tube of a car. It has rings attached to it so you can tie things to it such as your measuring device, fish bags if you are a spear fisher as well, and clips to hold your spear gun when not in use. I highly recommend using a separate bag for your fish or sea urchins as the sharp fins and quills will puncture your tube and they are not cheap.

The wet suit is neoprene which is a foam type material and the wet suits come in various thicknesses. This material is very buoyant and the weight belt's purpose is to offset this buoyancy so that you can submerge. Without this weight, diving is virtually impossible. Each weight belt has a quick release buckle on it so that the diver can, if needed and as a last resort, shed this belt and float with ease. Once you lose or shed your belt, either someone else dives down to get it or your dive is over! Shedding your weight belt also causes you to lose some of your maneuverability as your lower body and legs want to float instead of stay underwater to give you "traction" in the water. The amount of weight that each diver uses is critical to that diver's ease of diving. Too much weight and you tend to sink and the ascent is more difficult, and too little causes you to have to struggle to reach the bottom. A happy medium is needed and this medium varies with each diver depending on their wetsuit's thickness and their body mass and height. A more portly person may need a little more weight and a thin person a little less given the same height, but a taller person may need more as they have more suit to counterweight.

There is a simple method that should be used by the diver to ascertain the proper amount of weight to be used. The diver should dawn all gear to be dove with and enter the water somewhere calm and close to shore where he can freely float. A dock in a harbor or a launching ramp are good spots for this and make sure it is in the salt water that you plan to dive in, not fresh water as the buoyancy is much different. Start with about 20 pounds of weight on your belt and use a couple pounds more if you are taller or more robust than the next guy or girl. Float still while you are straight up and down with your hands to your side and your feet still. The water level should such that your dive mask is half under the water and half above so you can look either under or over the water. Adjust the weight to your belt until you reach this equilibrium we call "neutral Buoyancy". Once you do this, remember this weight as it may very well stick with you your entire dive career and you will want to know this if you lose your belt or rent equipment.

It is important that you recognize your snorkel as your best friend. This breathing apparatus allows you to keep your head in the water and float easily and let you view under the water with your mask while still breathing normally. Your head is very heavy - 15 to 20 pounds- and if you insist on not using your snorkel and holding it up out of the water so you can breathe through your mouth and nose normally, you will be kicking your rear end off in order to do so. Practice with a mask and snorkel in a pool or river or even in the hot tub so you get used to it. Every dive it fills with water to your mouth where it is stopped by you shoving your tongue into the hole, preventing it from entering your mouth. Then when you come up to the surface, you remove your tongue and blow quick and hard to "clear" it of water so you can again use it. Much of the time this one hard blow gets 90% of the water out of it and a huge mistake that new divers make is to assume that all of it is out and they take a huge gasp for that needed air and intake that last 10 percent and choke on it. It is important that you breathe softly and get a nice refreshing breath of air so that you suck the air over the water that remains in the snorkel's bottom and then clear it once again to rid of that last 10% of water. This seems like quite a task, but it begins to become habit with experience as does much of proper free diving technique, which then allows the diver a degree of comfort that transcends him or her from the novice to the experienced diver. I can't stress enough how much practicing with your snorkel will improve your abalone diving, spear fishing, or snorkeling experience.

Diving on the north coast of California isn't like the clear ocean waters of Florida, Texas, Mexico, or Hawaii. The water here is not only cold, but usually quite rough and almost always murky where the visibility underwater is only 5 to 15 feet. Although the abalone is found from the mean low tide level of the ocean to depths of 50 feet or more, diving in waters that are shallow can be both dangerous and exhausting. The ocean's waves come in and out with great force and sweep the diver where ever it decides to, which can include putting his or her head up against a rock! Even if you do find an abalone, trying to stay in one place long enough to get it off the rock can be nearly impossible and requires that you kick like a maniac and hold on for dear life. Diving in over 15 feet of water eliminates most of these issues as the waves are just swells that gently take you up and down on the surface and have nearly no effect once you are submerged. When you go down and find an abalone, you are in still water where you can relax and concentrate. The novice diver tends to see the shallow water as easier and safer, but once they relax enough to give the deeper seas a try, they soon learn that their oxygen and strength lasts much longer and that the deeper ocean is a much easier diving experience.

Part of diving deeper involves the essential function of what is known as "clearing your ears". Learning how to clear your ears when diving is an absolute must in order for you to prevent breaking or damaging your ear drum. Perhaps you or someone you know that has tried diving to the bottom of a deep pool or tried to scuba dive has experienced severe pain in their ears. This is because water weighs a lot. Pick up a five gallon bucket of it if you don't believe me! The weight of all the air in earth's atmosphere at sea level is 14.7 pounds per square inch. There is less of it in the high mountains and it weighs less there so your ears "pop" to let your ear drums adjust for that difference when you head up or come down from them. Water, as you know, is much heavier than air. Matter of fact, when you go down 33 feet, that water weighs 14.7 pounds that is pushing in on your ear drums along with the other 14.7 pounds that the air already was pushing on them. Your ear drums stretch under this weight and this is the cause of the pain. Luckily, your body has little channels that go from your throat to behind your ear drum that are there to either let air out if the pressure on the outside is less like in the mountains, or push air in if there is more pressure on the outside such as when the weight of the water is pushing in as you dive. Part of diving, without exception, involves you controlling the pressure on your ear drum. By holding your nose, or pushing up on your mask, you can force air into your inner ear to equalize the pressure from the water's weight as you dive down. Typically, the air will escape on its own as you ascend but at times you may want to move your jaw some if you do feel pressure as you come up. Every time you feel pain on your ear drum, you are doing damage that can cause scar tissue which will affect your hearing. Furthermore, inside your ear are your organ of balance and your organ of hearing which are sensitive to cold water and breaking an ear drum, along with the possible infection, can really cause problems when you are diving. There are stories of scuba divers that have drown due to the disorientation caused by the trauma to the organ of balance and shock of the cold water caused by the ear drum breaking. Allergies, colds, and some medical issues can all cause an inability to clear your ears and you should not dive at all if this is the case. When you do dive, clear your ears several times on the dive, perhaps every 5 or 6 feet, and stop descending if you feel pressure that you cannot relieve by clearing. Here again, a little practice in the pool is not a bad idea.

The ocean water here, as I said, is murky. Many times you are diving to the bottom that you cannot see until you are well on your way from the surface. This is not the way for novice divers to learn to dive. It is important that the novice diver begin on calmer days with good visibility so that the ocean's floor, and even the abalone in some cases, are visible from the surface. This allows the novice to become familiar with the ocean's bottom and how the abalone and fish live upon so there is no huge surprise when diving in poorer visibility. After all, the beginner free diver already has the "getting used to the gear" issue going on and adding another challenge to them is not desirable. Bad experiences due to the beginning diver being taken along to learn how to snorkel or abalone dive when the ocean conditions are poor is probably the main reason that the beginners give up diving before they can become proficient and relaxed enough to enjoy themselves and take up the sport as a hobby they love. And usually this is the fault of the friend that takes them along who should know better.

When you make a dive for abalone, or any dive whether you are spearing fish or just snorkeling for fun, rest a minute on the surface while floating still so your body can build up oxygen in its cells and you are relaxed. After all, what's the hurry! Then, turn your body downward smoothly and lift your entire leg straight into the air so that it's substantial weight will propel you downward until your fin enters the water and you can further propel yourself with it as you kick. With this motion you will be surprised to see that you have already descended about 10 feet with one kick. Many people that are just learning how to dive will try to swim down by kicking sideways to the surface or thrashing their fins in the air, which don't accomplish much besides using your oxygen. This smooth entry will truly help with your diving abilities and success. Once under water, relax. You are only a few bath tub's depths deep when you think about it! Kick smooth and think about the abalone on the bottom and how you plan to look on the undersides of the rocks where the big ones hang out or maybe about that huge ling cod or other bottom fish that you plan to show off at the dive shop or camp ground. Look at the colors of the corals and the other sea life that you pass and make it a point to enjoy the experience instead of rushing. Pay attention to your surrounding as you are going down and coming up for safety, but also for the opportunity to view the ocean creatures in their habitat. Keep your eye out for lost dive gear that some unfortunate diver lost that you can salvage. Catch a nice rock crab, sea urchins, or scallops to enhance that seafood meal for you and the gang later. Mostly, what I am saying is relax, as this is the key to learning to dive for abalone.

When you do spot and abalone, you will have your pry bar in your hand and attached to your wrist with a rubber noose that frees easily if it were to become entangled. You will "sneak" up on the abalone by not swirling the water around it or touching it as they will clamp their shell tightly to the rocks and you may not even be able to slip your bar under the shell at that point. Slide your bar quickly between the abalone and the rock as far as you can and pry it off. Grab it and you are done, but many times I will pull a couple or even my whole limit of three off of one rock or in the same area as they are big and I am biting at the bit to break out my spear gun and start fishing for that record fish or octopus! Swim up and measure the ab with your gage that hangs off of your dive tube while floating and breathing through your snorkel and looking through your mask. Then throw that lunker in your tube! Make sure that you always try to only pry legal abalone off as this process can damage their bodies and they are almost then certain to die. Try not to get too excited and to remember that everything looks bigger than it is when seen through the mask. If you do take one that is too small to be legal, take care and replace it firmly on the rock that you got it from if you can as this is the law, but at least put it somewhere safe as the fish and other creatures will swarm the poor thing immediately and you won't be able to get it later when it grows up. These are a fragile creature and we all should have the respect for them to make every effort to protect and preserve them for our children.

Most of the time I grab my abalone and start spear fishing. I will often bring abalone guts or squid and put them within sight of the surface in several places in a couple hundred yard area and swim back and forth between them waiting for a fish to appear as they are mostly hidden in the kelp beds, sea weed, or rocks. I typically will shoot ling cod, kelp greenling, Cabazon, china cod, black or blue rock fish, and perch. Once in a while I will get an octopus, which out here are Giant Pacific Octopus that can grow over 25 feet and can drown you if you are not careful. We also have a large eel called a Wolf eel, which is our version of the moray eel, and there are a lot of rock crab and Dungeness if the bottom is sandy. I love to dive warm clear water and I also love to dive with tanks but they are bulky and your dive time is limited due to breathing compressed air. Free diving (holding one' breath) is my favorite way to spear fish and enjoy the ocean. Now, with these lessons and instruction by the old man of the sea (me) perhaps you can join me in enjoying the great seas of our planet. Before I let you go though, I want to include the top 10 safety rules below so you can be safe at all times when you are diving and snorkeling.

10 Best Safety Tips For Free Divers and Spear Fishers

1. Go with a Buddy. Matter of fact, the more buddies, the safer you are, and stay close

2. Bring a Dive Tube or other floatation device- Dropping your weight belt is a last resort.

3. Check your gear before diving - fin straps, mask straps, hook up and test your regulator

4. Do not dive if you are tired, ill, or hung over, or impaired from medication or drugs

5. Do not underestimate the ocean's conditions - It can always get rougher quick

6. Do not enter the water where it is too rough and can slam you against the rocks

7. Pay attention when you are descending and ascending, watch for snags and traps

8. Return to the shore if you become tired, cramped, or seasick

9. Swim sideways to rip tides - they will let you loose soon and you can get in elsewhere

10. Pay attention to the ocean's incoming waves when you're are exiting or entering the ocean

Now, go out and enjoy yourselves!

This article was writtenby Garry Cooper of Chico California, who is the prisident/CEO of http://www.fishnfools.com/ and http://firstupseo.com/. He is a graduate of CSU Chico School of Business and began his diving career by training with the Navy Seals while in the Marine Corp Special Forces in 1971 while in the Philipine Islands and is still and avid diver, hunter, and outdoorsman today.

Skiing In Winter - Hard Work But More Of A Thrill

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AppId is over the quota

Whilst you can go skiing on a dry slope at any time of year, it does not give the same thrill as skiing on real snow, and often the runs are all too short before you have to catch the lift backup again. Although it is now possible to ski indoors on real snow in a snow dome in certain parts of the country, but snow domes are expensive to build and run and hence this can prove to be an expensive way of going skiing!

Some dry ski slopes even offer sledging sessions where you can take your children sledging as well.

However skiing really is a pursuit that like sledging is best carried out in Winter on real snow and ice. As when it comes to going skiing or sledging then nothing beats doing it on real snow.

Real skis can be used in the United Kingdom in Winter, but it can be hard work carrying heavy skis uphill, and walking in solid heavy boots, and for most people it is simply too tiring to do regardless of the thrill of skiing downhill. Also they are not easy to use on the flat. However there is an alternative in Winter and that is cross country skis. Indeed cross country skiing can only really be experienced on real snow (Although you can get ones with rollers on to use in Summer), and a pair of cross country skis can help you get around in snowy conditions that are impassible in a car, enabling you to not only get to the shops or go to see friends but also to keep fit as well.

Their main advantage is that you need no ski lift to use them, so they can be used anywhere at any time in Winter.

Also unlike normal skis they are very lightweight and do not require the wearing of heavy ski boots to use them. Instead you use lightweight boots that clip into them. This combined with the lightweight of the cross country skis means that they are a great form of transport in Winter as they can be easily removed when needs be. Indeed cross country skis are used in alpine resorts abroad in much the same way that we use mountain bikes to get around.

Once you have purchased a pair of cross country skis they will last for years and can prove a godsend to getting around in Winter as well as keeping you fit.

You can find a large selection of low cost Sledges at Splash and Relax for your seasonal fun this year! Splash and Relax also supply a range of Wholesale Sledges at trade prices.

How to Jump Higher: 3 Ways To Improve Vertical Leap

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AppId is over the quota

7 Reasons to Stand Up Paddle As Often As Possible

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I'm a huge fan of Stand Up Paddling. It is my favorite form of exercise and play. You can find me out on the water several days a week all year 'round. Lucky me! There are many good reasons why this popular sport is my favorite and is always increasing in popularity:

1) First and foremost Stand Up Paddling (SUP) is fun and easy. I believe that nearly any able-bodied person at any age can participate in this sport. I recently took my 73-year-old mom out. She did great and had a blast. Did she get a little wet the first time out? Well yes, BUT she had fun, got some good exercise and only fell in once...

2) SUP is great exercise. What makes it great? It involves most major muscle groups in your body and many minor ones. You can paddle harder for a good cardio workout or you can take it easy and it will still be a nice muscular workout. Either way, the exercise is resistance-based and very low impact.

3) Stand up paddling works your core as well as your arms, legs and back. As mentioned previously it is a resistance-based form of movement. As you paddle, your core and your legs resist the movement of your board to keep you from toppling over. Gentle, yet effective.

4) SUP improves your balance. If you already have great balance this sport will be that much easier for you. If you don't have good balance, you can still do this sport and with time your balance will improve. Most stand up paddle boards are large and stable. My board is 12 feet long and 31 inches wide. No problem! The act of standing on the board, paddling and having your body use many tiny and large muscular movements to keep you centered and upright through flat water, as well as small waves and large ones, will help improve your balance over time.

5) Paddling can be meditative. Gliding along on tranquil water can take you into a meditative space where you are completely in the moment. Or it can be a quiet time for reflective thought.

6) Or it can be social! Paddling with a group of friends (or strangers) is a fun social activity. It is easy to paddle and chat.

7) Enjoy nature. Last but not least on my list is something that drew me out on to the water the most and a large part of what keeps me there. There are so many opportunities to enjoy nature from your stand up paddle board. Whether you are on a lake, river, ocean or bay, nature abounds. From the beautiful natural scenery around you to the variety of aquatic birds and animals you see.

On the water there is always a large variety of aquatic birds. From the osprey (sea hawk) or the eagle to the common seagull. I love to watch flocks of pelicans glide and dive and watch the migratory birds that pass through our area in the winter. Of these, my favorite are the puffins who overwinter in my area from Canada and Alaska.

Many creatures are also swimming under my board. There are always schools of fish, but I also often encounter rays, sea lions, seals and dolphins. Just last week I paddled with a pod of dolphins for at least 15 minutes who were perfectly accepting of my presence. They traveled next to me and upside down under my board, looking up at me. It was wonderful!

The height you have looking down from a stand up paddle board (as opposed to a kayak, canoe or prone paddle board for instance) allows much greater viewing of the creatures in and on the water.

There are many more reasons to stand up paddle but let this small list entice you to begin to find your own reasons. Enjoy!

Click on the links below to learn more about fitness and natural, holistic health, including Aura Exploration Patches and a free "how to" guide for EFT.

http://wellspringsandiego.com/ or http://naturalhealththerapies.org/

Kristine Clemenger, a Holistic Health Practitioner in San Diego, California since 1999, is the author of many articles on holistic health, fitness and nutrition. She is also a Stand Up Paddle and nature enthusiast!

Getting Yourself Diving Ready

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Before you dive head on into the water, you have to first prepare how to go about with it. Since you will be immersing yourself into a totally different environment, you have to make the right preparation to make sure that you enjoy it the best and safest way possible.

The first thing that you have to look for is a good diving instructor. This is very important because you cannot get all the essentials just by reading alone. There needs to be a hands-on training in addition to other additional instruction that a diving instructor will give you. For instance they can give you which sites are best for beginners and which ones are appropriate for seasoned divers.

The next thing that you have to do is to do some research on the specific diving site that you are interested in. Check to see whether the area can give you an interesting and is the weather generally good for diving. These can make you ensure that you can have the most out of a dive, because you will be shelling out some bucks for it so you might as well choose a good site. An interesting site should have a rich wildlife or attractions. Good weather also allows safe waters and better visibility while diving.

After choosing the diving site, you now move on to looking for the right gear for you. In choosing the perfect diving gear, you can do some research by going on the net, asking your instructor or read some reviews about the various brands available. Having the right and complete set of gear will make your dive fun and safe.

Among those that you have to look for is a wetsuit, scuba fins, weight belt, a Buoyancy Compensator Device (BCD), mask, snorkel, regulator, scuba tanks, a knife or shears. After you have your equipment ready, you now have some basic training first. And remember that when you dive and are still new at it, always have a reliable diving buddy with you. In addition to this you must know ahead of time any communication signs and signals that you will be using underwater.

The next thing that you will be deciding on is how you are going to go into the water. Are you getting to your dive site by walking from the beach, or are you diving in through a boat. This way you will also know the formations which you can find in the water and how you are going to avoid damaging them. If you are walking, you should avoid stepping on corals.

You must also know how to perform basic life support should any emergency arise during the dive. You should also have an emergency plan to make sure that immediate medical help will be available. For instance what you would do when someone goes missing, what to do when someone is injured, or the nearest hospital.

Always have a dive plan because this will give you more structure with your activities and you can ensure your safety better. You should also remember to take your scuba lesson first especially if you are a newbie. With these simple instructions you are well on your way to getting yourself diving ready.

Are you looking for the best site that can help you enjoy your diving experience? You can visit Scubatrek.net, a Singapore online store that caters all your scuba diving gear needs and information. We have a wide range of accessories which also includes trekking gears!

Beer Pong - The Survival Guide

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With the advent of beer drinking games, college frat houses in the 1950s turned the humble ping pong game into competitive beer pong. Using paddles and a ball to hit into predefined beer cups set for target. The objective of the game, simply hit the ball into the cup of the opposition and make them drink the contents, commonly beer.

As with many games, evolution took over, with the origins some where in the 1980's we see the now derived Beer Pong, or Beirut. The paddles have been replaced with a more practical variant to now allow throwing of the beer pong ball 40mm ping pong ball. The game has grown in stature and has made it to the World stage. Held annually in Las Vegas the World Series of Beer Pong draws fierce competition for teams from the USA and abroad, as teams do battle for the ultimate glory in this fast growing sport. The prize, a sizable pay check awarded to the winners.

Beer Pong is a highly competitive and a very fun game, full of thrills and spills as teams compete to out perform with accurate throws to put the opponent's cups out of game play. The Beer drinking version would require the opposition to drink the contents of the cups if a ball lands in them.

The survival Guide.

Rule number 1:

Know the Rules. House rules can vary between party to party and state to state. Be sure to have an established rule base in order to minimise any necessary frustrations or fights. Most tournaments have well established rules so learn them and the variants.

Rule number 2:

Know your limits; be sure not to go over board with the drinking, as you need to keep a steady head whilst competing. You will not only save face during the game but in the morning you will feel a lot better if you have kept a cool head and not become over committed to drinking rather then winning. Drink responsibly.

Rule number 3:

Practice makes perfect as they say. The game situation can be a lot different to practice so really attempt to practice in a game like situation. Get your self a good distraction team and really apply practice under pressure. You don't need to drink to be under game situation, practice throwing and defence. You will soon develop trick shot awesomeness.

Rule number 4:

Do not underestimate the power of distractions. Keep focused or better still come up with killer distractions of your own that will truly establish yourself as the legend in distraction.

Rule number 5:

If you are playing in tournaments be sure to practice on official tournament dimension tables, that's 8ft long x 2ft wide. No good practicing on the kitchen table, when you need to be practicing on the real deal. You need to be getting the bounce right also.

If the budget is tight, get your self a cheap tournament dimension table. You will be surprised how extremely affordable and portable the latest tables are. Take the aluminium variety as an example they are built for storage and easy transport and fold down into a 2x2foot briefcase size. The portable beer pong tables are awesome for tailgating too. Note you can go all out and fully customise your new table also.

Rule number 6:

Bounce shots count for 2 so use the bounce strategically and if you suck at the bounce shot don't even bother.

Rule number 7:

If you are serious about beer pong invest in the book dedicated to the game.

Rule number 8:

Know the risks of germs and stuff. After all you could be drinking from someone else's cup or the ball is contaminated with nasties. Consider using water as the filler for the game play cups, and just poor beer into your own cup for drinking. It is a safe and effective way to overcome any health concerns and keeping with the spirit of the beer pong challenge - beer drinking.

Rule number 9:

Rules were made to be broken.

Looking to find out more about beer pong, the beer pong book and where to buy the most kick ass beer pong tables and gear, then feel free to venture over to your newest Beer Pong Store. http://megabeerpong.com/

Having Fun In Winter With Winter Sports

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Whilst Summer sports can be great fun, then you should not forget that some sports are only fun in Winter, as they revolve around snow and ice!

Whilst it is possible to go ice skating on an indoor rink at any time of year, nothing beats the thrill of skating outside on ice. Indeed one only has to look around major city centres in Winter to see how popular that skating outdoors has become.

Whilst most Winter sports will involve some form of expense, in most cases once you have bought the equipment you need then you need not spend any more money to take part in it, and this applies to both cross country skiing, snow shoeing and sledging. Whereas with ice skating you will need to pay to go on a rink, or with downhill skiing you will need to buy a lift pass each time.

However some of the best Winter fun is the most simplest to enjoy, and costs next to nothing to do.

Indeed the opportunities to have free fun in Winter are numerous provided that it has snowed enough.

Firstly with snow comes the urge for adults and children alike to engage in snowball fights, whilst these are often ad hoc, if you have a large group of adults and children then the humble snowball fight can be taken one step further and you can divide yourself up into two teams.

Then get each team to build a snow fort to defend and attack. You can build a snow fort by rolling small snowballs along the ground until they are very large ones. Or you could buy the latest invention for sale online, which is a plastic snow fort builder, which is a rectangular box with a handle on it. This can then be filled up with snow and used to make large snow bricks to form a wall to hide behind from snowballs. Or you could use the plastic snow fort builders to build up an igloo instead.

For the very lazy people out there you can now even buy plastic snowball makers, which can make one to three snowballs at a time. Whilst these sound lazy to use, they do enable you to make snowballs very fast indeed, which can be essential if you are determined for your team to win the snowball fight!

Then after your snowball fight then why not round off the day with some sledging fun as well, before going home for the day.

You can find a large selection of low cost Sledges at Splash and Relax for your seasonal fun this year! Splash and Relax also supply a range of Wholesale Sledges at trade prices.

Do I Need a Water Microfilter or Purifier?

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A water microfilter is a device used by many hikers, long-term backpackers, international travelers, and campers to safely and conveniently purify water from natural sources. These water microfilters purify the water by passing it through a small filter to remove sediment, chemicals, and microorganisms, leaving you with clean and safe water to drink. In this article, I'll run through the basics of water microfilters and help you determine if you need a water filter.

A water microfilter has three main parts: an input hose, the main body, and an output hose or attachment. The input hose is placed in the source (rushing river, calm stream, lake, puddle, etc.); it typically has a prefilter attached to it to prevent large pieces of sediment or biomass from entering the body of the filter.

When you pump with the handle, water is forced through the input hose and into the body of the water microfilter. In the body, there is a glass-fiber or ceramic filter, with pore sizes of about 0.2 to 0.4 microns in diameter. These microscopic pores prevent bacteria (such as E. coli) and protozoa (such as Giardia) from contaminating your water supply and making you sick.

Once it passes through a ceramic or glass filter, it usually passes through an activated charcoal filter to remove chemicals that may be in the source. This has the added benefit of taking out foul odors and tastes, leaving you with clean, great tasting water. Finally, the water passes through the output hose or attachment into your water bottle or reservoir.

If you are thinking of going hiking or traveling without a water filter or purifier, you might want to think twice. Even the swiftest moving water can have microorganisms in the water. So while it may taste fine, it could leave you with a nasty bout of sickness. Further, a water source may be contaminated one day and safe the next; this is because animal waste is one of the leading causes of contamination and it is impossible to know what happened upstream.

If you drink contaminated water, you may get sick for a day or a week. This is because some microorganisms found in the water attack the small intestine - this will leave you having constant diarrhea to flush it out (not a pretty picture). You will lose nutrients and become dehydrated quickly, which could be a life threatening situation if you are hiking or traveling alone.

So before you ask "do I need a water filter?", you should ask yourself "can I afford to get sick?" A water microfilter is an excellent investment for hikers, campers, and travelers and highly recommended.

Water Microfilters is a site that reviews water purifiers for hiking, backpacking, camping, and travel. We encourage you to visit for more information and water microfilter reviews.

Six Tips for Improving Your Speed Training Program

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Coaches are constantly asking me what can be done to make their in-house speed training program more effective. After talking with hundreds of coaches and looking at what is happening all over the country, I have come up with six keys to increasing the effectiveness of any speed training program.

1. Educate the athletes. If your athletes don't have an understanding of why they are doing a speed training drill, there is a good chance they are thinking of it as torture or punishment. It is up to you to explain the purpose of a drill so the athletes fully understand how it impacts performance. Typically, this will motivate an athlete to work harder because they will understand how their hard work will pay off in the game. It also helps you, the coach, choose drills that will actually benefit the athletes.

I can't tell you how often I see coaches lining up cones, ladders and boxes and call it a speed training program, but the movements used in the drills have absolutely nothing to do with the movements used in the sport. If you have to explain how it will help the athlete, you are more likely to choose appropriate drills.

2 Focus on mechanics. Allowing your athletes to do speed training drills with faulty movement patterns is like a golf pro watching his student hit ball after ball with terrible flaws in his swing, and never providing any corrective feedback. Athletes sport practice skills and play games all the time, but they are rarely taught how to move properly. they are just expected to know how. Purpose, if a kid has never been shown how to do something, how can you expect him/her to do it correctly?

It is up to you to teach your athletes some of the most basic movement concepts in sports - running, cutting, shuffling, pivoting, jumping, etc. Begin by teaching them like they have never performed these movements in their lives. In my writing and seminars, I refer to this as Movement Training, and by implementing Movement Training concepts into your speed training program your athletes will always end up farther ahead.

3 Quality not quantity. Too often, speed training workouts turn into conditioning sessions. Remember, the goal is improving speed and agility, not aerobic fitness. Keep the work periods short and the rest periods long so the athletes can give 100% effort on each drill. You are trying to teach the nervous system how to work more efficiently, so the athletes need to be fresh. If the rest periods are too short, the work periods too long, or the athletes are simply fatigued from previous work, mechanics will disintegrate and the same old faulty movement patterns will ultimately be reinforced.

For optimal speed development results, keep the work periods to 2-10 seconds and the rest periods as long as 20-60 seconds or even longer if the intensity is extremely high. Explain that you will be giving long rest periods so the drills can be done with maximum intensity, and stick to your word.

4 Sport specificity. As long as you are trying to teach your athletes to move more efficiently, it makes sense to practice movements that will actually be used in a game. Sprinting and cutting are used in just about every sport, but don't forget about the very specific skills your athletes need to perform on the field or court. These movements include shuffling, stopping, pivoting, faking, spinning, cross-over running, backpedaling, etc.

As much as possible, include these movements into your speed training program. Baseball and softball players should practice starting sprints like they are stealing a base. Volleyball players should incorporate lunging, approach steps and jumps into their drills. Football receivers should practice their routes. Quarterbacks should incorporate drop steps and linemen should start drills from 2-, 3-, or 4-point starting positions. Use your imagination to create drills that mimic competition.

Ladder drills and plyometrics are great general training methods, but if you don 't make your athletes practice their most important movements you should never wonder why they don' t perform them well in a game.

5 Consistency. As I stated earlier, speed training programs are meant to train the nervous system. The best way to make this happen is to consistently practice sport specific skills so the nervous system learns the optimum movement patterns. 5-20 minutes, 2-3 days per week is all it takes.

You can make this happen by adding two short drills to your warm-up routine, or including one or two sport-specific drills into the beginning of each strength training session. This does not mean strength movements that "looks" the sport movements - I'm talking about actually doing a couple of sprints or agility drills before each workout. As long as technique is emphasized, this brief, consist of practice will add up and allow your athletes to perform these skills perfectly on the field or court without any thought.

6 Long-term development. Another major problem I see in a lot of speed training programs is implementing them just a few weeks before the season, hoping for a miracle. Starting these drills 2-3 weeks before your first game is simply too late for major benefits to be seen.

You will certainly see benefits from doing speed drills during your pre-season, but working the drills into your year-round speed training program will elicit maximum results. Pre-season training should focus on technical/tactical skills and conditioning. Too often, though, I see coaches conditioning the athletes during the off-season. This is a waste of time and energy. If you have contact with your athletes during the off-season, work on strength, movement training and technical skill development for the greatest long-term results.

If you can teach your freshmen how to move, and include a few minutes of practice before every strength training session, imagine what a difference that will make by the time they are juniors and seniors. It's never too early to teach kids how to move. Don 't wait until it's too late.

Introduce changes gradually, and continually attempt to make improvements. Speed and agility training will have a positive impact on any team, and incorporating these six keys will help you run the most effective speed training program possible.

Jim Kielbaso is the author of Ultimate Speed & Agility, a popular speed coach in Detroit, MI and a co-founder of http://www.ultimatestrengthandconditioning.com/. You can follow him at http://jimkielbaso.com/

Can Shoes Help Increase Vertical Jump?

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We hear stories from time-to-time about the crazed crowds at the stores trying to get their hands on a certain pair of athletic shoes. Does a certain pair of shoes really give the wearer some kind of special advantage over anyone else when it comes to sports? The answer is yes and no. Certain things about a shoe can help individuals increase their power and explosion when they are trying to increase their vertical jump, but there is no magic shoe that will make someone play better.

The first thing that is important about a shoe is the fit. You shouldn't purchase a shoe that is too big for your foot. Your foot should not be able to slide from side-to-side within the shoe. You should only have a small amount of space in the toe of the shoe for your toes to wiggle. When you are in the process of jumping, you exert a lot of force against the ground to power upward. If your shoes do not fit properly, some of the force that you exert on the ground is lost in the movement of the foot within the shoe.

The laces of a shoe are very important as well. It is fashionable these days to wear athletic shoes with the laces untied and loose. Once again, you will be losing some of the energy that you are exerting against the ground to the movement of your foot within the shoe. Tightening the laces will prevent that movement from occurring and will help you to achieve your best upward explosion when jumping.

Another characteristic to look for in a shoe is a carbon fiber shank in the sole. The purpose of the carbon fiber shank is to make the shoe stiffer in the sole. This stiffness gives an athlete a firmer platform to push against during their activities. A more cushioned sole will absorb some of the force that is placed against it and cause the athlete to lose some of the power that is exerted on the ground. If you are unable to find a shoe with this shank, try to select a shoe that seems stiffer.

Finally, the weight of the shoe can affect an increase in vertical jump. A lighter feeling shoe gives the athlete less to carry in their upward movement, but it also can have a psychological effect. The wearer can feel like they can jump higher because their feet feel lighter and many times this mentality can cause them to actually jump higher.

What I learned is that the proper shoe should be basically an extension of your foot. It should offer protection and support and not weigh you down. Take some time to consider some of these points the next time you need to purchase a pair of athletic shoes.

My name is Terri and I am a volleyball player. One of the things that I learned during a program I was taking to increase my vertical jump was the importance of the proper shoe. The things that I learned can be applied to shoes for any sport.

Learn more about how you should select the proper shoes here: http://www.squidoo.com/how-can-your-shoes-increase-vertical-jump

The program I used to increase my vertical: http://www.increaseyourverticalexplosion.info/

Y Is For Youth Sports: 5 Reasons Kids Should Play Sports

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Please join me for a fun series. My mission, and I've chosen to accept it, is to write a post based on each letter of the alphabet. The English major inside of me is very excited about this project...and my inner nerd is even more fired up! Keep checking back as I tackle the intangibles of sport...from A to Z.

My purpose for writing here is to connect with other coaches who are as nerdy about coaching as I am. Those folks who can't get enough about leadership and team building and all sorts of intangibles. Which seemingly puts the topic of "youth sports" squarely outside of the perimeters of what I'm supposed to be talking about here. I've talked in many different ways about the wonderfulness of sport and the fact that I believe in the power of athletics to cultivate greatness. Kids receive intangibles from sports as well. They may be different intangibles than high school or collegiate athletes, but they're intangibles all the same.

5 reasons I think sports are great for kids

Social network. Sports are a great way to make friends. Kids find other people their age who are interested in some of the same things they are...they get a sense of belonging. Perhaps the young person who feels uncomfortable asserting themselves or being aggressive in a classroom environment will step out of their shell on the court or field.

Healthy habits. At the youngest levels, kids learn that drinking water is good for them, orange slices give them good energy, and that exercise is a good thing. Beyond that, they learn that relying on others for their own success is the hallmark of "team".

Develop discipline. Having worked with elementary aged students, I know that it can sometimes resemble herding cats...cats that are all hopped up on caffeine. Sport teaches kids the importance of being on time, sticking with what you start, working hard when you'd rather be somewhere else, and that you're accountable to others.

Manage emotions. I've known folks who coach middle schoolers and they have to teach young people how to control their emotions so that they're actions can stay under control. Talk about a lesson that will last a lifetime! Those who coach that age group understand how to teach teamwork (and how to squash the fight between basketball players who think the ball isn't being passed enough), conflict management (it's not okay to blame your teammate for the team's loss), and team roles (everyone can't be a starter).

Personal success. Sport is a way for our children to stand on their own two feet and have their own accomplishments. They're no longer so-and-so's daughter/son/sister/brother...but a person of their own right. Athletics is the place where they can say, "I did it!"

Most athletes aren't going to play sports in college...and even fewer will get scholarships to do it. Hopefully these are five solid reasons for you to get the kids in your life involved with athletics.

Dawn Redd is the Head Volleyball Coach at Beloit College. Come visit Coach Dawn's community of coaching nerds and team leaders over at her blog, http://www.coachdawnwrites.com/, where she teaches how to become an excellent coach, motivate individuals, and build successful teams.

Her book, Coach Dawn's Guide To Motivating Female Athletes, is available for purchase on her website.