Pro-Athletes Stay Motivated And At Peak Performance By Using An Exercise Journal

Most of us enjoy watching professional athletes, at the peak of their performance, participate in their sports. There is such a wide variety of professional sports to choose from, ranging from football, soccer, basketball, baseball, track and field, swimming, biking, and every weekend you can enjoy watching athletes play on television or at the stadium or arena. Some of the most amazing athletes, in terms of overall fitness, are triathletes. Practicing a sport that demands a high degree of skill in running, swimming and cycling requires the ultimate in physical fitness. This can only come about with regular training, and to keep track of it all, no matter what the sport, professional athletes often rely on an exercise journal to help them meet their fitness and sports goals.

A professional athlete, as well as any weekend warrior who wants to enter a sports competition of some type, will need to plan a workout schedule so that they peak at their top performance on the day of the competition. This requires a carefully thought-out regime of cardio workouts, strength training, and stretches, along with strategic rest periods interspersed so that the athlete arrives at the day of the event perfectly trained but not overtrained or undertrained. Exercise logs are how they keep track of all the details of their workouts each day. They include information such as the type of workout, the duration and the intensity. This not only keeps them on track to meeting their overreaching goals, but it also helps to motivate them because they can see in writing every day that they are making progress, which is encouraging.

Athletes also find it imperative to not only follow a workout schedule but also to use a calorie calculator to make sure they are getting an appropriate number of calories, and the correct percentages of protein, carbohydrates and fats. For instance, for muscles to repair properly after a workout, they require adequate amounts of protein. If pro athletes participate in a sport that focuses on strength training, such as weight lifting, it is imperative that they receive adequate protein in their diet in order for their muscles to repair and become stronger. Athletes might do all of the correct exercises, but if their diet is lacking in any vital component they will not reap the benefits of all their hard work. They find that keeping an accurate food diary is an essential aid to helping them reach their peak performance.

Both exercise journals and calorie counters are much quicker and easier to use when they are online. Professional athletes rely on them to organize and record their workouts, as well as the food they consume, in order to meet their fitness goals at the correct deadlines.

Susan Slobac is a nutritionist and dietitian who offers free workout plans and fitness advice to aspiring athletes. Susan's articles detail the best weight loss programs for natural weight loss involving a combination of tracking an individuals activity through exercise logs and calorie counting.

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Theory of the Kleshas: a Yogic Understanding of Human Suffering (and Liberation!)

One of the foundational texts of the yoga Tradition is Patanjalis yoga Sutras. It is here (among other places) that the Yogic understanding of the origins of human suffering (and Liberation) is offered in the form of what is know as the Theory of the Kleshas.

According to Patanjali, human suffering has its origin in Avidya (the first Klesa), the ignorance that arises when the soul in its descent into matter forgets its divine origin. This forgetting gives rise to the second Klesa, Asmita, or the identification of the soul with its vehicles (the various bodies, including the most dense, or physical, that we inhabit in our journey through manifestation). This false identification operates through the mechanism of the third and fourth Klesas, Raga and Dvesa, desire and fear. And it is here that we see the basic mechanism through which our bodyminds (our thoughts, words, & actions) operate dualistically . . . for desire/fear (Raga/Dvesa) is simply the most basic of the polarities, or sets of opposites, which define the terrain of human existence in its conditioned state. The fifth Klesa is Abhinivesha, or the desire (of the body/vehicle or ego) for its life, i.e. the desire to perpetuate, and fear of losing, its (illusory) existence. This fifth Klesa defines the basic obstacle to reversing this process (the necessary first step for entering the path to Liberation), namely the attachment we have to the life of the structure created by the various polarities, whose dissolution we experience as death.

So what, then, is the solution? How does one reverse this process, dissolve the polarities, re-member ones Svarupa, or True Nature and in the process activate a True Form, i.e. a set of vehicles enlivened by Virtues/Deities/geometries that grow out of and are nourished by the uninterrupted remembrance of their divine origin (by the radiant Core of our Being, whose yogic metaphor is the Shushumna Nadi)? Now Patanjali, of course, has an answer (which he lays out in the remainder of The yoga Sutras ~ check it out!), as do countless other Saints, Sages and Teachers from various wisdom traditions.

The solution Ive chosen to work with, in my own practice, is a distillation of sorts, from the wellspring of these Eastern traditions, of a set of techniques designed specifically for the Western mind, based solidly in an understanding that it is in the resolution of opposites that one finds the key to beginning this journey homeward. These polarity processing techniques (a basic technique as well as variations on it designed specifically to address issues at the level of the physical and emotional bodies) were given by spirit to Leslie Temple-Thurston, and are described in her book The Marriage Of spirit. (Please see my previous post describing this method!) Within the realm of yoga asana, Richard Freeman is someone whose teaching method/philosophy is based at least in part upon a resolution of opposites: a practice which looks to marry opposing physical/energetic movements/patterns within the context of specific asanas and in so doing guide awareness continually back into the Shushumna Nadi, and from there allow asanas in their True Forms to express.

Elizabeth Reninger holds Masters degrees in Sociology & Chinese medicine, is a published poet, and has been exploring yoga ~ in its Taoist, Buddhist & Hindu forms ~ for more than twenty years. Her teachers include Richard Freeman and Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche. For more yoga-related essays, and poetry, please visit her website: http://www.writingup.com/blog/elizabeth_reninger

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Anti-Aging Through Livestyle Changes

There are several lifestyle changes that take ten years off your face.

1) Eat a diet rich in Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin B and E. Those nutrients improve the skin. Get a diet mostly of high fiber foods, lots of fruits and vegetables, whole grain foods, and low fat. Foods high in Vitamin A are carrots, cantaloupes, winter squash, sweet potatoes, sweet red peppers, apricots, and mangoes help replenish the skin cells, keeping the skin supple and prevents dryness. Vitamin C improves the blood supply to the skin and aids in forming the protein collagen, which gives the skin a smooth youthful appearance. Foods rich in Vitamin C are citrus fruits and juices, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, snow peas, watermelon, honeydew melon, broccoli, and tomatoes. Nutrients found in Vitamin B complex and Vitamin E help the aging process by preventing scaling and cracking of the skin and protecting skin cells from abnormal oxidation. Get these nutrients from Vitamin B complex rich foods such as peas, potatoes, fish, organ meats, fruits, nuts, whole-grain products, beef, oysters, mushrooms, poultry, cheese, and tuna. Food sources of Vitamin E include dried beans, vegetable oils, butter, and green leafy vegetables. One does not to go through the expense of cosmetic surgery but can achieve an inexpensive means of modifying your diet to make you look ten years more youthful in the face.

2) Maintain a healthy weight. Too thin or too fat causes health problems. Too heavy people are at risk for high blood pressure. avoid crash dieting as it does not help your health. Try to lose weight moderately.

3) Exercise for total fitness. light exercise protects your body against disease and tones muscles. You don't have to pant to be effective. 30 to 40 minutes of exercise per day, such as dancing, stretching, t'ai chi or jogging keep the body looking youthful.

4) Keep away from over exposure from the sun, which makes the skin took old before it's time, full of wrinkles.

5) Kick the habits! Smoking has lots of health risks to the body. Alcohol and drug abuse, age the body and risk the health as well.

6) RELAX!! Some people are always on the go, full of worry and tension. They respond to daily problems by tensing muscles. This causes muscle fatigue, but this may result in loss of muscle tone and general deterioration in outward appearance. Consider someone who has the weight of the world on their shoulders. They generally look 5 to 10 years older due to worry and stress. Learn how to relax in the face of today's anxiety, tension and stress. That is a big factor in slowing the aging process. There are numerous ways to facilitate relaxation: getting a massage, listening to music, going in hot tubs, meditation, exercise, yoga or t'ai chi. One of the most popular and successful techniques is tensing and relaxing individual muscle groups. This can be done sitting in chairs or laying on the ground. Start with your feet, tensing and relaxing your toes for 10 seconds at a time. Then proceed upward to your calf muscles, thigh muscles, shoulder and neck muscles. Finish up with your facial muscles. After a few days of progressive muscle relaxation, you will begin to recognize any areas that were tense and begin to relax them. It is good to manage stress in your life, so it does not affect your emotional health. Relaxation CD is good to used to fill the sound waves with the type of music that deeply relaxes you. An aromatic neck pillow is especially good to relax you is it is warmed up, good at taking the stresses out of of the muscles.

The web-site http://www.rejuvenatingsolutions.com is loaded with Relaxation products yoga exercise videos, and tai chi exercise videos.

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Free Golf Tips Online

At some stage all golf players will need a little assistance with the way they play the game and this includes the likes of tiger woods. In fact it does not matter just how good a player they are they will all find a good tip helpful at some stage in their game. However some people need to use these tips more than others. But in this article we are going to look at ways of how a person can find free golf tips online.

Today there are lots of sites which have been set up by both experts and professionals who are trying to help other golf players improve their game. These sites offer all kinds of tips and advice relating to all aspects of the game from how to improve your swing and drive and they ways in which you make sure that you putt the ball in to the hole correctly.

As well as providing players with ways to improve their game they look at all aspects relating to how to choose the right equipment and what sort of equipment each person should be using.

plus today you can even download free golf training videos which will show you the wrong and right ways of playing a particular shot.

The reason why such tips are becoming so popular with many golfers today is simply because they can not afford to pay for lessons with a golf pro at the game where they play. However the great thing about using these online tips is that many players can not only look at the various videos or read what has been offered and then practice them in the comfort of their own backyard or home.

However if you are offered any kind of free golf tips by those you play with then it is best that you avoid using these at any cost. Unfortunately although the tip that they offering you has worked for them it may not work for you and could in fact cause problems with your game in the future. also you could well end up picking up on their bad habits which will not help to improve your game in anyway at all.

The advantages that you gain from using any kind of free golf tips online that you find is that these have been specifically designed for all players rather than for one specific player. Which also means that it provides you with a way to alter the tip that is provided that it not only suits the way you play the game but will also help you to make improvements in it?

So if you are looking for a way in which you want to improve your game of golf and which is not going to cost you much if anything at all then it may be wise to take a look at the various free golf tips online that are available.

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