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Do Bats Make the Batter in Little League

June 23, 2011 By Leave a Comment
A Little League baseball player squares around...

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Once upon a time bats were bats and little league players were just glad to have their own bats to take to the games.  But technology has changed all that.  Equipment costs for little league players has skyrocketed.  One of the reasons for this is the cost of bats.  Aluminum bats can run anywhere from $30 to over $250.

Parents often feel pressured to buy the most expensive bat available thinking that if they don’t their child will be disadvantaged.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  Use the following guidelines to choose a bat that will work well for your child and fit into your budget.

First, when it comes to the maximum amount of money to spend on a bat, let your child’s skill level determine the amount.  It makes no sense to spend hundreds of dollars on a bat for a T-ball player, but it might make sense for a top hitter in the Pony League.

Second, choose the heaviest bat that your child can swing well: the heavier the bat, the more powerful the hit.

Third, choose the bat length for children under 5 feet tall by their age.

  • Ages 5 to 7 bat length should be  24” to 26”
  • Ages 8 to 9 bat length should be  26” to 28”
  • Ages 10 to 12 bat length should be 28” to 30”
  • Ages 13 to 14 bat length should be 31” to 32”
  • Ages 15 to 16 bat length should be 32” to 33”

For children over 5 feet tall, the bat length should be between 33” and 34”.

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Getting Back On a Bike

June 13, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Mountain Bike equipped for bicycle touring

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Maybe it’s been a year, or a decade, or longer, but more and more adults are hitting the streets and trails on bicycles.  Whether you intend to just cruise around the neighborhood, hit the trails, commute to work, or ride in a long-distance competition, you need the right bike to get the job done.  Your childhood bike, even if tuned up, might not get the job done.  Here are some things to take into consideration when making that evaluation.

Is it the right size?

Stand over the bike and if you have a clearance of between 1” and 2” you are good to go.  If however, the clearance is larger or smaller, you’ll need to get a different bike.

What’s your surface?

Before you climb back on to your childhood bike, you need to be clear about what surfaces you’ll be riding on.  Will it be pavement, hilly, flat, gravel, dirt, or trail?  Be realistic.  Yes, in certain circumstances you might well be riding you bike on all of these surfaces, but where will you be doing most of your riding?

Bike Styles

Bicycles come in a wide variety of styles, too many to list here.  But if you are just getting into biking again, three to consider are:

  • Mountain bikes are smaller in height with a heavier frame and are good for dirt and gravel.
  • Road bikes are taller and are good for commuting and long-distance rides
  • Recreational (also known as comfort bikes) good for the neighborhood and bike trails.

Your local bicycle shop is the best place to get advice.  If you have questions or concerns, don’t hesitate to give them a call.

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Choosing a Personal Trainer

June 4, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Personal trainers abound.  You’ll find them at your gym, in the yellow pages, on Craig’s list, and on Facebook.   So how do you choose?  Do you just choose the first one that comes along or the one the gym assigns to you? Or do you find the best trainer to meet your personal training goals.  Choosing the correct personal trainer will get you to your goal faster and will save you money in the long run.

Define your goals

Hiring a trainer before you define your goals is a lot like hiring a tour guide before you decide on a destination. Your goals might be to lose weight, gain strength, or train for a marathon.  Think about your goals and write them down.

Define your time and money

How much time do you have to devote to training? Ideally would you like to train every day, three days a week, or once a week.  What is your training budget?  How much do you have to spend?

Interviewing the trainer

You would not hire a babysitter for your children or a housekeeper to maintain you home without interviewing them.  You can’t afford to do less for the care and maintenance of your body.  Here are some interview questions to get you started:

  • Are you certified and can I see a copy of your certification?
  • How many years of experience do you have?
  • What is your training technique and how will it help me reach my goals?
  • Are you CPR and first aid certified?
  • What is your pricing and cancellation policy?

 

Choosing the correct trainer is as important as the exercise itself.

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Tips to Buy Used Sport Equipment

May 15, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Playing sports is very important to lead a healthy life and to relax from the daily stress. Starting a sport team always require few basic equipment without which the sport may become tougher to play. This does not mean that one has to spend so much to buy new equipment as there are so many ways to buy used sport equipment. Here are few ways to look for used sport equipment.

SCHEINFELD, GERMANY - FEBRUARY 23: Employee E... 

Image by Getty Images via @daylife

First basic step is to look around in the sports shop to find out the required equipment for the game. One should find the price of the new equipment so that they can compare the price with the use one to get best deals. Also, most of the sports shop even offers equipment on lease. This requires extensive search so that one could best deals on equipment.

There are many websites online that sells used sports equipment. These websites often specifies price, quality, and condition of the equipment so that one can get good idea on what the equipment will look like. Also, most of the websites post pictures of the equipment for clear idea. Other than this, another good place to look for used equipment is Craigslist and classified ads. Before buying anything, a person should try it at least once so that they could feel comfortable about it.

Another great place to look is the sports club where one can find an array of many used equipment. In these places, one can not only purchase equipment, but also can get some assistance on the equipment.

 

 

 

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How to Become a Personal Trainer

May 11, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Compare the number of people who pay gym membership fees to the number of people who actually make trips to the gym, and you’ll see that there’s a huge discrepancy. Many people don’t take advantage of their gym membership for a variety of reasons: some are too busy, some are not motivated, some feel intimidated and some feel that it’s not worth their time or energy.

One thing that can make it easier to go to the gym and get the most out of it is having a personal trainer. Personal trainers are in demand not only at gyms and fitness centers but also as parts of various sporting organizations at all levels. If you feel you would make a good personal trainer, it would be worth pursuing the proper education and training; consider the opportunities available online, like earning a Bachelor degree at earnmydegree.com.

If you think you would enjoy a career as a personal trainer, the following steps can get you started:

Evaluate your Skills

Are you a good motivator? Do you communicate well? How familiar are you with the intricacies of exercise and nutrition? Do you live a healthy lifestyle and enjoy teaching others? These skills are critical in personal training.

Consider Employment Options

Think about what environment you would like to work in and research what certifications they require. Remember, not only can you work at a gym, but you can also pursue opportunities with team sports or even go into business for yourself. Explore all your options.

Get Educated

If you’re serious about personal training, you will need to get the education necessary to set yourself apart from the competition

 

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Creating Workout Goals

May 2, 2011 By Leave a Comment

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Why are you working out? This is one of the most important questions that you can ask yourself as you look to set a workout goal. Having a set goal gives you something to strive towards and look forward to. It also holds you accountable with the activities that you are using to workout. Don’t begin a workout regime just to lose interest a few days or weeks down the road. Set a specific goal.

Your goal doesn’t have to be anything technical or complicated. The more traditional route would be a certain amount of weight loss that you would like to achieve or a specific athletic shape that you want your body to conform to. While those are great, you can also make smaller, more reachable goals along the way to keep you motivated. For example, your overall weight loss goal may be to lose twenty pounds, but your first sign of achievement will be when you fit into those Dereon pants that you saw in the store the other day.

Make your workout goals fun and something that you look forward to. No one wants to drag themselves to the gym everyday for something that they don’t see as obtainable. And don’t be afraid to reward yourself when a goal is reached. When you can fit into those pants, go buy them! This positive feedback will help keep you motivated and give you a real sense of accomplishment. Once you reach a goal you can come up with a new one to look forward to and remember, maintaining can be a goal that you continue to work towards.

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You Don’t Need Equipment to Work Out

March 29, 2011 By Leave a Comment

You can use almost anything that you can find around the house for strength training. Anything that has the desired amount of weight will do for building muscles for any sport that you play. The only reason why we spend money on the equipment for strength training is because we are programmed to do so. When we took P.E. in school our gyms had training equipment to help train our bodies for a healthy life and for sports.

You don’t need all that equipment if you know how the machines help you train a specific body part. What the machines offer are a safe, easy way of working out to help you improve your body for a sport. If you know how to be safe with household objects then you can be safe using them for strength training. There is a story about a body builder that used nothing but paint cans to gain his physical impressiveness. He would roll his wrists and do curls with his paint cans every day and achieved a better physique than other body builders. He did his own routine with what he had available to him and you can do the same thing too.

You can also build your body by just using your body weight as the resistance to your muscles. People still do push-ups and pull-ups to work out their upper body and squats to work out their lower body. You don’t need the aid of machines to build your body and make it stronger. If your excuse for working out is that you don’t have the right equipment then you don’t want to work out.

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More Water Equals a Better Performance

March 16, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Water is an athlete’s best friend and if you are out there sweating it out you need to put a lot more back in. It is not enough for your body to have the same amount of water that you sweat to be put back in. You need more water in your body after a practice or game then when you started. Water helps the body with all functions and can even help you from breaking down at a critical moment.

Treat water like you are not getting enough of it, because the truth is you aren’t. Taking in more water than you sweat will allow the body to use it to repair all the damage that you have done in a practice or a game. Water aids you with everything that you do in a sport from breathing to throwing a ball. It is a necessary part of your routine to ingest as much water as you can get. Don’t drink water to fast, but try to take it in little bit at a time as much as you can.

If you don’t have enough water in your blood then your blood will start to thicken up and it will make the heart work harder than it has to. You will slow down, because your muscles are not getting oxygen quick enough to keep up with your physical activity. You will start to feel drained and like you have no energy left in your body. Drink water if you are playing hard and if you want to see the benefits of playing hard drink more water than you think you need.

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Eating Right Can Boost Training

March 8, 2011 By Leave a Comment

When want to be the best in a sport it’s imperative that you give your muscles the best nutrition possible. When you put higher quality foods in your body you will feel how easy it is to train. You may think that your muscles just want protein because a high protein diet can help them bulk up, but it does not support all of your muscular functions. Your muscles need vitamins and minerals to do their job to their fullest potential as well.

Your body needs the nutrients from fruits and veggies to help repair torn muscles and make way for new muscle growth. Nutrients also help fuel the muscles to perform tasks like lifting and running by aiding in cellular functions. The better your cells operate in your muscles the more energy you can get from them when you are giving it your all in a sport. It is not enough to ingest protein to get the best muscle performance. You will see better results in your training and in your game if you eat the right kind of things.

To be the best you should eat everything in sight when you walk into a grocery store. That means you need to provide your body with all kinds of nutrients to make it work better for you. Don’t eat everything in the same amounts, but educate yourself on what your body needs to promote more energy output from your muscles. Be selective in what you put into your body, but put as much as you can into as well.

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Train the Heart for Better Muscle Performance

March 4, 2011 By Leave a Comment

When you are training for any sport it is not enough to simply add bulk to your frame. You need to focus on all aspects of human conditioning to excel at any sport that you play. Bulking up will improve you strength, but all that added muscle cannot play the sport for you. You must find a balance in your training routine to bring out the best athlete that you know that resides within you.

While you strength train you must also train you endurance, because without some stamina your strength is good for nothing in sports. To train your endurance the best thing that you can do is run. Running builds all parts of the body and all of your bodily functions so they will last longer under stress. Running is the key to getting the most out of your strength, because it helps the heart the most. The heart is the most important muscle in your body and anything that you can do to make it stronger will improve your whole body. Improving the heart will give you better circulation throughout your whole body.

Circulation in the body is important to any athlete because it is the way our muscles breathe. The better your circulation the better your muscles can get oxygen and nutrients for movement. Better circulation means that your muscles will be able to get rid of the waste that they produce when they are active. A healthier heart gives better circulation and helps all muscles do their job better for the sport that you want to excel at.

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