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Balanced Nutrtion |
Posted:
10/23/2009 11:15 AM |
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Tips on making good choices for a healthy you.
By Sharon Barbano, M.Ed.
How many times have you heard this? "Eat a balanced diet!" Magazines, teachers, and parents have all told us to eat a variety of foods that supply the right amounts of essential nutrients and energy for good health and sports performance.
Sounds good in theory, but putting it into practice can be difficult for many. As long as you try to follow a balanced diet, you'll be better off than not attempting it at all. Remember, balance is a process, whether it's your career, family or diet.
Whether you're eating smaller meals several times a day or sticking to the daily triple, nutrition and fitness experts recommend using the USDA Food Guide Pyramid as your guide for a balanced, nutritious diet. Be sure to eat foods from each of the food groups daily. Eat a variety of foods in each group to ensure you get all the nutrients you need and keep a close watch on your calcium and iron intake.
Food Guide Pyramid:
Fats, oils, sweets – use sparingly: Candy, bon-bons, chocolate, mayonaise
Dairy group – 2-3 servings a day: Low-fat cheese, low-fat yogurt
Protein group – 2-3 servings a day: Mixed nuts, a small can of tuna, beans
Vegetable group – 3-5 servings a day: Carrots, tomatoes, cucumbers
Fruit group – 2-4 servings a day: A banana, an apple, an orange
Bread, cereal, rice & pasta group – 6-1 1 servings per day: Bagels, baked crackers, rice cakes
You Can Snack, Too
Be sure to enjoy light, low-fat snacks throughout the day to keep your energy and blood sugar level up. This is especially important if you work out later in the day or have a tendency to skip meals due to an overloaded schedule. The following snack guide can help you choose what to have and how often.
EVERY DAY: Bagels, Cut-up vegetables, Fat-free flavored rice cakes, Low-fat yogurt
SOMETIMES: Cheese, Crackers, Frozen yogurt, Graham crackers, Granola bars, Light popcorn, Nuts, Pretzels
SPECIAL OCCASION: Candy, Candy bars, Chocolate, Cookies, Ice cream, Potato chips
Drink Up
Water is the most important nutrient for an athlete. About 50-70 percent of you is water. Water keeps you cool in the summer and warm in the winter. It eliminates waste from the body and keeps your joints and internal organs lubricated. Eight 8-oz. glasses of water per day is the recommended minimum - more if you are very active.
If you play soccer for a couple of hours on a hot summer day, your internal reservoir may become dangerously low, causing dehydration and limiting your performance. If you wait until your thirst kicks in to start the quenching process, you're already too late. You've got to drink before, during, and after your workout. During prolonged aerobic exercise, drink four to six ounces of fluids (preferably water) every 15 minutes. Sports drinks can be used if your workout lasts longer than 90 minutes, since the sugar concentration lengthens the time it takes to empty from your stomach. For shorter workouts, stick with water.
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| Posted By:
R. Staton |
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Keeping Girls Active Through The Holidays |
Posted:
10/16/2009 8:42 AM |
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Keeping Girls Active During the Holidays
It’s time to get active! Fall into the season and spend some time with the girls in your life. With the holidays just around the corner GoGirlGo! is here to give you helpful tips on how to reach out to the girls in your community and keep them active and healthy.
By GoGirlGo! San Antonio
Published: October 23, 2008
GoGirlGo! has come up with several ways to get girls physically active, including taking a walk in the park, bicycling or just playing games like four square with friends and family. Most of all we give you tips on how to keep it FUN! Check out this article for more great ways to spend some time being active with your youth.
GoGirlGo! has found that the key to keeping girls active is making it FUN! This holiday season, make 60 minutes of exercise feel effortless by breaking it down into smaller segments. Every 20 minutes let them choose what to do for a five-minute break, such as social mingling, water breaks or some of their favorite activities like jumping rope, jumping on a trampoline, or coloring with chalk on the sidewalk. Give girls praise for their efforts!
Over the holiday break motivating young girls to stay healthy isn’t the only thing GoGirlGo! has in mind; we also want to educate girls on ways to stay physically fit. You can do this by helping these girls write down their goals during break. Let them know that being active will make them feel good about themselves, give them more energy and keep them flexible and strong. Provide a good example of this by modeling it yourself, or perhaps you could take girls to a women’s basketball game to inspire and educate them on how physical fitness can be a daily part of their lives.
Lastly GoGirlGo! would like to leave you with several activities to try this holiday with your girls. Mix it up; for younger girls you don’t always need a structured activity to keep them active. Many times you can give them one piece of equipment—a hula hoop, a jump rope, a broom—and ask them to come up with an imaginary game, and they’ll be running around in no time. Another idea for all age levels is playing “party games” like potato sack races, capture the flag, ultimate Frisbee, tag, hide and seek, hopscotch, jump ropes with rhythms and songs. Refer to www.gameskidsplay.net for more ideas on party games.
With cooler weather during the holiday season GoGirlGo! also suggests that you get out of the house and try something recreational with your girls. For instance play Frisbee-golf, take a hike in a nearby park, walk your dog or a neighbor’s, ride your bike, go Rollerblading, play catch, dance to some fun music or take a jog. If you still can’t figure out how to keep the girls in your community active, check out our calendar of events at http://www.womenssportsfoundation.org/GoGirlGo/San-Antonio/Events.aspx where you can find holiday camps among other activities.
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| Posted By:
R. Staton |
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Check Out This Website! |
Posted:
10/6/2009 9:28 AM |
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GoGirlWorld.org
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| Posted By:
R. Staton |
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The Secret To Core Training For Athletes |
Posted:
10/6/2009 9:26 AM |
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Do you want to jump higher, run faster or hit the ball further? Well listen up, I'm about to tell you the secret. Training the core muscles to hold you still rather than flex you forward, like in a crunch, is the key to total power.
The core muscles consist of the abdominals, low back and oblique muscles – basically the muscles between the pelvis and the ribs. They wrap around your body, providing support for your whole body.
The main job of the core is to act like a stiff board and to limit rotation of the pelvis. When your body moves, it needs a solid base from which to generate power. The core tightens and holds you still while the legs and arms move. For rotation sports, the rotation should come from the legs, not the pelvis, and also from the mid back area – just below the shoulder blades.
When you think of working your abdominals, the crunch is the typical exercise that comes to mind. While the crunch might be a good exercise for someone who is trying to achieve a “six-pack” look, it's not the best choice for an athlete. Athletes need to train their core in the manner that's specific to stronger movement and that acts as a stabilizer, not a flexor.
In sports and in life, the body is not fixed against something like the floor or a machine – so when training the core for sports, it's best to have the hips and back in the open air, supported only by the core muscles. The following core exercises do just that:
Planks - Hold the core in an isometric position and challenge the entire core. A plank is done in the push up position – hold that position for 4 – 6 deep breaths.
Standing Leg Circles - Circle your leg to the front, hips and upper body should not move. Add a resistance band around your legs for a greater challenge - the hips and shoulders stay squared to the front. Circle 8 times to clockwise, 8 times counterclockwise.
Standing Leg Lifts - Work the core from all directions. Keep your hips and upper body still while you lift your leg to the front, side and on a diagonal. Use quick, short lifts and only move your leg. Add a resistance band around your legs for a greater challenge. Perform 16 quick pulses to the front, side and diagonal.
Standing Arm Circles - With a hand held weight, challenge the core to stay still. Hold a dumbbell with two hands. Make a big circle to the front using the weight. Keep your middle tight and don't sway your hips. Circle 8 times clockwise, 8 times counterclockwise.
Working the core as a unit can be done everyday. You'll only need to spend 10 minutes each day for great looking abs. The secret is out. Spread the word.
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| Posted By:
R. Staton |
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