The Wakeboard Tower: Outfitting Your Boat

If you are a water sports enthusiast, you and your family and friends frequently may enjoy a wide array of different activities including wakeboarding, wakeskating, sky skiing, tubing or water skiing. You may have invested a good deal of your disposable income into a boat. You may now be contemplating outfitting your board with a wakeboard tower. Consequently, you may be wondering what you should look for when it comes to making the purchase of a wakeboard tower.

In shopping for a wakeboard tower, there are some factors that you will want to keep on the top of your mind as you seek out the product that will best meet your needs over both the short term and well into the future. Because a wakeboard tower -- and other wakeboarding accessories such as a wakeboard tower mirror, wakeboard tower speakers and related products -- is a significant investment, you will want to make certain that you find equipment that will last you for the long haul.

In looking for a wakeboard tower, the following factors should be considered:

durability

As mentioned previously, because you will be putting down a decent amount of money to obtain a wakeboard tower, you will want a product that will last a long time. Therefore, you definitely will want to buy a durable product that is well constructed. In addition, you obviously will want safe wakeboarding equipment and gear. More durable equipment generally equates as safer equipment

cost

There is some variation when it comes to the cost associated with a wakeboard tower. By shopping around, you likely will be able to find a product that will best fit in with your overall budget. One plan of action that you might want to consider is the purchase of a universal wakeboard tower. With this type of tower, you will be able to move your equipment from boat to boat should you trade in your current watercraft for something different on down the road.

styling

While style might not be the most important factor when it comes to equipment such as a wakeboard tower, it should be included within the overall equation when you are in the market for this type of equipment. Towers do come in different styles. Generally speaking, there are different tower styles that blend in smartly with different boat and watercraft designs.

By keeping these factors in mind, you will be well on your way to identifying and purchasing the most appropriate wakeboard tower for your watercraft. In short, you will be well on your way to many enjoyable days out on the water.

paul Tamens is a wakeboarding nut, and spends all his free time thinking and coveting cool and fun wakeboarding produts and accessories. He teaches people more about Wakeboard Towers at www.wakeboardtowerinfo.com

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How To Prevent Slices In Your Swing

If you're a passionate golfer or an avid follower of the sport, you've probably heard players complain about their problem with their golf swing particularly their 'slicing' problem. It is probably the most prevalent swinging issue that all golfers regardless of golfing tenure, will have to go through.

The most common error of amateur golfers is that they prematurely open their shoulder on the downswing path. This causes the slice by the club hitting the ball with an open clubface.

And if the flight of your ball travels to the right inadvertently, this is what is normally called a 'push slice'. More often than not this occurs when the body outpaces the club head.

In order to prevent this, you can try hitting the ball standing on one leg during your practice sessions. The goal of this exercise is to help you maintain your balance and find your center of gravity. While standing on your left foot, for right-handed players, and then practice your swings. This maybe an awkward position at first, and it will take some time in getting used to. But once you get the hang of hit, it should greatly improve you balance and prevent the 'push slice' effect on your swing.

You can practice day in and day out and spend tremendous amounts time on the course or the driving range but if you're not in the right frame of mind, you probably will not get too far in the sport, much less see an improvement in your swing.

More than anything else, golf is a mental game. Although you are playing against other individuals, it is the course that ultimately offers the challenge. Unlike in other sports, your opponents will not block or deter your aim or your progress in anyway. However, the course itself will cause you to plan your strategy. It is the determining factor in how you take your shot and where you aim the ball.

This is the reason why Golfers often say that as a player you are up against the course and not the people on the tour.

Having said this, the right frame of mind is a crucial aspect in curing a slicing problem and improves your overall game.

For tips to cure a golf slice, visit http://www.curegolfslice.net

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Rotator Cuff: Exercises and Strategies to Prevent Injury

Have you ever experienced a dull ache or sharp pain in your shoulder or upper arm? Maybe you are unable to sleep on one side because your shoulder wakes you up at night. Perhaps, you have discomfort reaching behind your back to tuck in your shirt or grab your wallet. If so, you may be suffering from a rotator cuff injury.

Rotator cuff injuries, such as tendonitis, bursitis and tears plague several people in our population. The rotator cuff consists of four small muscles, which form a sleeve around the shoulder and allow us to raise our arm overhead effectively. These muscles, consisting of the supraspinatus, infraspinatus, teres minor and subscapularis, oppose the action of the deltoid and depress the head of the humerus (upper arm) during shoulder elevation to prevent impingement.

The most commonly injured muscle is the supraspinatus. It is responsible for initiating and aiding in elevation of the arm. If torn, the individual typically experiences persistent pain in the upper lateral arm and significant difficulty raising the arm without compensatory motion from the scapula (shrug sign). The hallmark signs of a tear are nocturnal pain, loss of strength, and inability to raise the arm overhead.

However, acute tendonitis may also present with similar signs and symptoms, as pain can inhibit motion and strength. Yet, symptoms associated with tendonitis normally respond to rest, ice, anti-inflammatory medication and therapeutic exercise.

Rotator cuff tears are most common in men age 65 and older. Tears and/or injury are typically related to degeneration, instability, bone spurs, trauma, overuse and diminished strength/flexibility related to the aging process. However, youth are also at risk for injury if they are involved in repetitive overhead sports, including swimming, volleyball, baseball, softball, tennis, gymnastics, etc.

Many people can function adequately with a torn rotator cuff provided they have a low to moderate pain level. The primary reason for performing rotator cuff surgery is to alleviate pain rather than to restore function. It is common for post surgical patients to lose some mobility/range of motion. Strength recovery is dictated by the size of tear, quality of the torn tissue at the time of surgery, time elapsed between injury and repair, and the surgeons ability to recreate the proper anatomical relationship.

It may take up to 18 months following surgery to completely recover, although most people return to normal activities of daily living in 3-6 months. On the contrary, tendonitis usually resolves within 4-6 weeks, depending on the management of the injury.

The key to avoiding rotator cuff injury is performing adequate conditioning prior to stressing it with vigorous activities. Many weekend warriors try to pick up the softball, baseball, football, etc. and begin throwing repetitively and forcefully without properly warming up. In addition, they are not likely to condition before the season like competitive athletes.

This often leads to excessive strain on the rotator cuff and swelling. The inevitable result is soreness, especially with overhead movement or reaching behind the back. The act of throwing is the most stressful motion on the shoulder. The rotator cuff is forced to decelerate the humerus during follow through at speeds up to 7000 degrees/second.

Without proper strength and conditioning, the shoulder easily becomes inflamed. Since the rotator cuff muscles are small, it is best to utilize lower resistance and higher repetitions to sufficiently strengthen them. Sample exercises include theraband or light dumbbell external and internal rotation exercises, which can be performed at various degrees of abduction.

Other common exercises include forward elevation to shoulder height in the plane of the scapula (scaption), press-ups, prone dumbbell horizontal abduction with external rotation, and diagonal arm patterns with bands, weights or medicine balls. In addition to cuff specific exercises, it is also important to strengthen the muscles around the shoulder blade. These exercises include wall push-ups with a plus (rounding shoulder blades), shrugs, rows and lower trapezius exercises.

Finally, it is important to note some precautions with general exercises routinely performed in health clubs. I recommend the following suggestions to prevent rotator cuff problems:

Avoid lat pull downs and military presses behind the head, as they place the shoulder in a poor biomechanical position encouraging impingement.

Do not lower the bar or dumbbells below parallel with incline/flat bench press for the aforementioned reason.

Refrain from using too much weight with lateral shoulder raises. This exercise increases the load on the shoulder to 90% of the body weight, so there is no need to use heavy weight. It is best to maintain an arc of movement slightly in front of the body with lateral raises to decrease stress on the rotator cuff, while avoiding elevation above 90 degrees.

Specific rotator cuff exercises can be incorporated into upper body workouts. Perform 2 sets of 15-25 repetitions for each exercise. These exercises should be done no more than three times per week to avoid overtraining.

Brian Schiff, PT, CSCS, is a respected author, physical therapist and fitness expert. For more information on his e-book on resolving rotator cuff pain, visit http://www.rotatorcufftraining.com. This article was originally published in Business First Columbus, Ohio in 2004.

Copyright 2004 Brian Schiff

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