5 Conditioning Exercises For Football

Many football fans like to play football for their own local teams but they also like to train in the same manner as professional footballers so that they can gain the same benefits that the professionals get. The first thing you need to do is to go and get your football kit on so if you're a Liverpool fan, go and get your Liverpool shirt or Liverpool kit on and then we can start looking at how to get your conditioning training begun.

Running

Running seems to be every ones least favourite aspect of football training however it is the most important one than needs to be addressed rigorously. A footballer on average over a game will run approximately 12 kilometre which converts to about six miles. This means that you should be able to run six mile at a reasonable pace a few times a week without stopping. Getting up to this level is not always easy so maybe have a break every two miles by walking for a few minutes for the first few weeks of training.

Press-ups on a training ball

Completing reps of press-ups on a training ball is a great way to get you core strength up and also to get your upper body conditioning much stronger. It is a good idea to do this so that you are strong when you are on the ball but also so that you can tackle much more effectively.

Yoga

Yoga is used by many football professionals so that they can increase their flexibility, agility and core strength. This is absolutely fundamental to improving strength and agility at the same time making it a great training method for dribbling speed and also for getting past other players.

100 meter sprinting

Many town and cities in the UK have outdoor running tracks and this is a great place to get your 100 meter running into high intensity sprinting. You need to be trying to do the 100 meters ten times minimum and then you should really keep going until you can't do anymore. Y pushing yourself in this manner you will be much faster on the football pitch and you will be much more explosive when you get the ball.

Water Jogging

This exercise requires the use of a swimming pool and involves you running in the shallow end as fast as you can against the resistance of the water. This will build up fitness, strength and conditioning to your whole body. Running against the water resistance mimics how your body feels towards the last 20 minutes of a football match and this will help you get used to working through it.

Jonathan works for J21Media, an online search engine company that is working with Soccerbox who specialise in retailing official football shirt and football kit such as the soccerbox.com/liverpoolshop Liverpool kit and the soccerbox.com/liverpoolshop Liverpool shirt and many other first rate Premiership and League clubs.

The Foundation of Martial Arts - Yoga

At first glance, Martial Arts and Yoga seem like opposing forces and philosophies, but these two health maintenance systems have more in common than meets the eye. For a moment, consider the similarities between Tai Chi and Hatha Yoga. Within the warm up, you notice very similar movement, philosophy, and principles.

Why does "climb the mountain" stance look so much like Warrior I posture? Is it coincidence, luck, or a common link? Why does Kundalini have movements that resemble punching, kicking, and martial arts foot work? Are Kung Fu forms an extension of Vinyasa? Each has been referred to as meditation in motion.

The place of origin, for most Asian martial arts, is agreed to be the Shaolin Temple. Apparently, the monks at the Shaolin temple had become very proficient at meditation, but had not developed a health maintenance system to sufficiently train their bodies.

In the sixth century A.D., Bhoddidharma, a visiting Buddhist monk, from India, began to teach the monks at the Shaolin temple, a form of physical health maintenance, which is believed to be Yoga. It is also said that Boddidharma was a member of the Warrior caste. Therefore, he should also have had working knowledge of Kalarippayat; an indigenous Indian Martial art.

Boddidharma is said to have reached a level of meditation that was very advanced. The body can be trained to a point, but the mind should also be trained as well. This is a cornerstone to all martial arts training. How often have we heard about the three conflicts of mind, body, and spirit?

This is why each martial arts school should encourage a Yoga class. The healing aspect of Yoga is very beneficial to all martial artists - regardless of their style. Some karate and kung fu centers have incorporated Yoga as part of the class schedule. The reason was to attract mothers, who were hanging around the waiting area, to pick up their kids.

While there is a demand for Yoga classes among women, some martial artists, both male and female, will join in to feel the healing benefits, meditate, increase flexibility, and much more. The fact is, much like martial arts, there are many styles of Yoga.

Some are very physical and demand a lot of endurance. So, there is no end to the possibilities of where the need for Yoga can fit within a karate or kung fu studio. After all these years, it looks like Yoga and martial arts will be together again.

Paul Jerard, E-RYT 500, has written many books on the subject of Yoga. He is a co-owner and the Director of yoga-teacher-training.org/index.html Yoga Teacher Training at: Aura Wellness Center, in Attleboro, MA. He has been a certified Master Yoga Teacher since 1995. To receive Free Yoga videos, Podcasts, e-Books, reports, and articles about Yoga, please visit: yoga-teacher-training.org/index.html yoga-teacher-training.org/index.html

8 Exercise Myths Busted

Below are some old, but stubborn exercise myths. Bust them for yourself, then share them with a friend.

Myth 1: I can target my fat loss.

Fact: Cardio exercise burns fat, and it burns fat all over. You may not initially lose fat from the places you want to, but you will experience fat loss if you do cardio exercise combined with eating fewer calories than you burn off. You can not will yourself to lose fat from a particular body part. Nor can you exercise one body part and experience fat loss from only that part. Runners do not have defined, slim legs with large, flabby arms just because they run on their legs. They burn fat from all over as they run. Their leg muscles develop, but the fat burning is all over. Strength training can enhance the appearance of specific muscles and lets you continue to burn calories after you are done lifting, but it does not reduce the fat lying over those muscles.

Myth 2: I can do crunches to spot reduce my belly fat.

Fact: Doing crunches firms abdominal muscles, but does not reduce the layer of fat over them. You can have wonderful abdominal muscles hidden by a layer of belly fat. Cardio will reduce the fat so you can see your muscles firmed by crunches. The same principal is true for inner thigh exercises; they tone the muscles but do not reduce just that inner thigh fat deposit.

Myth 3: I am on my feet all day so I really don't need to exercise.

Fact: Rarely do our jobs provide balanced, sustained exercise. As a hospital nurse I was often on my feet for 12 hours straight, but I never broke a sweat and never got my heart rate up. I was usually standing, or moving around, but definitely not exercising; I was not working my muscles, heart, and lungs. Being busy is not the same as exercising. Shopping is another activity that counts as being on your feet but not as exercise. Even construction workers need to think about rounding out their exercise. They may do a lot of heavy lifting and carrying, but they may not be working all muscle groups equally, or doing sustained cardio. They may use their quadriceps and biceps a lot, but still need to focus on their hamstrings, triceps, back muscles, and cardio outside of work. (Granted they might need to do less than people who live at a desk.)

Myth 4: The longer I work out the more calories I burn.

Fact: Not necessarily. A long stroll may not burn many calories. Current research shows that you can burn more calories by adding bursts of higher intensity exercise. So instead of walking at a moderate pace for a longer time, try bumping up your intensity for a minute several times throughout your walk. You can walk less time overall with a greater calorie burn just by adding in bursts of intense walking. Intensity bursts can be used with any form of cardio.

Myth 5: If I don't break a sweat I haven't done anything worthwhile.

Fact: People sweat at different points during their activity; some people sweat easily and some people do not. There are exercises where you can work your muscles and not sweat. Sometimes you can do pilates, stretching, yoga, balance work, slow walking without sweating. (The slow walking here might be to lower your triglycerides, or move arthritic joints.)

Myth 6: If I can't exercise for at least an hour I'm not getting any benefits.

Fact: You might not be building your endurance by exercising in small chunks but you can reap heart health and calorie burning benefits by exercising for 10 minutes 3 times a day. You can burn a significant number of calories and build muscle in 10 minute segments (think jump roping, boxing, climbing stairs, and boot camp). You can definitely condition your muscles and add to your calorie expenditure in repeated small time chunks. Maybe not blocking off an hour for exercise is an excuse to do none!

Myth 7: There is no better exercise than running.

Running is a wonderful exercise for many reasons; you build endurance, it burns many calories, it builds bone strength, it is portable... But running as your only form of cardio can set you up for overuse injuries by repeatedly taxing the same leg muscles in the same manner. It also does nothing for building strength in the upper body. Consider cross training; run some days and do a different sport for cardio on alternate days. Swimming or rowing are good pairings for running as they use a completely different set of muscles. Remember to do strength training and stretching with your running.

Myth 8: Lifting weights will make women bulky.

Fact: Lifting weights does not make women bulky. Women do not have enough testosterone to bulk up and even men have to work at gaining bulk. Doing strength training can build strength and muscle mass without bulk. Muscle takes up less space than fat, looks better, and is more metabolically active (burns more calories just to maintain it). Strength training can give you a sleek, toned look without bulk.

Laura Crooks is an RN, speaker, and certified wellness coach who helps busy women create solutions so they can decrease their stress, make time to exercise, and create a pleasant balance between their professional-personal-family time. Through You Bloom Wellness she offers both group and individual coaching, presentations, classes, and wellness programs. For more information and to subscribe to a free e-zine, Ideas for Healthy Living, please visit youbloomwellness.com youbloomwellness.com.

Invest in a Body, Mind and Spirit Connection to Build Success in Business and at Home

In these times of economic challenge, people often wonder about how to effectively invest their financial resources.

Yet, people often overlook the value of investing in their body, mind and spirit integration as a way of building prosperity.

When we nourish and integrate these three integral parts of self, body, mind and spirit, it magnifies our ability to align ourselves with God's blessings and abundance.

These three strategies can help you invest in yourself each hour of the day.

Body

Integrate the gentle movements of Chinese yoga every hour for five minutes and you will find that your energy levels are higher, stress is lower, and that aches and pains diminish significantly.

Feed your body nourishing whole foods with plenty of whole grains, fruits, vegetables and lean meats.

Invest in regular bodywork, acupressure, chiropractic adjustments to keep your body fine tuned.?? People often ask me how I keep my body so fit and tone at the age of forty-six. In addition to Chinese yoga and tai chi, I go for maintenance bodywork sessions at least once a month.

Mind

Chinese yoga and tai chi create a process of moving meditation that helps you to focus your mind and develop clarity.

We know the importance of? a positive mind-set to success. All it takes is an investment of five to ten minutes, several times a day, with mindfulness training (breathing deeply while focusing on positive affirmations and self-talk)? to help condition our brains to a state of alpha waves, the state associated with deep peace, clarity and bliss.

When we engage in this positive? self-talk regularly, self-esteem improves, clarity around our goals and what we wish to achieve improves, and our ability to manifest prosperity increases.

Spirit

When we move our bodies through the postures of Chinese yoga and tai chi with an understanding that each movement is a prayer connecting us to the Lord's divinity, then our spirits grow and we experience a true integration of our human forms with our spiritual forms.

This weekend in Austin, Texas, the city will celebrate Free Day of Yoga with over 200 free classes city-wide. Come and experience Chinese yoga taught in an integrative and prayerful way on Sept. 6th, 2010 Labor Day.?

I will offer sitting qi gong movements meditations for detoxification at 8 am and at 1 pm. It is wonderful opportunity to invest in your body, mind and spirit and learn new tools to integrate all aspects of yourself for success.

Join us for Free Day of Yoga, four free classes offered at my Austin office. Details at:
aikihealing.com/wordpress/free-day-of-yoga aikihealing.com/wordpress/free-day-of-yoga/

Kay Hutchinson is a practitioner of Chinese medicine, energetic life coach and teacher of qi gong movement. She is the founder of Aiki Healing, a private practice in Austin, Texas, and the publisher of "Health Prosperity" a blog dedicated to empowering people to manifest optimum health and wellness.

Post your health questions free on our Health Prosperity Blog.
aikihealing.com aikihealing.com

Why Does Yoga Relieve Stress?

Yoga is a great stress reliever and some people are not aware of this. It includes methods to reduce anxiety such as exercise, listening to music that will calm you, practicing meditation, breathing exercises, and in some cases guided imagery, and stretching. So how does yoga relieve stress?

When you do yoga, you are actually moving the body in different positions while you focus on your breathing. This allows your body to relax more and you also feel energized all at one time which is a rare thing to do. This method helps the body in many ways as it helps oxygenated blood to travel through the body and circulates oxygen to all of your body's cells. The mind is quiet and muscles are relaxed. Yoga is considered to be intentional also if you are doing it to help reduce tension from your body.

These benefits can be noticed with little effort and requires a mere 15 or 20 minutes daily. This can over time give you some great results. Yoga is a natural way to relieve stress for many who choose it and can help you deal with stress better in the future. Keep in mind though that it isn't an immediate solution and may take time.

For those who may be wondering why and how does yoga relieve stress, there are many ways. Yoga helps relive muscle and body aches over time as it can help stretch muscles and releases built up stress in the neck, shoulders and chest. Even by doing simple chest or shoulder circles can help relieve stress. This can benefit you in a short time frame if done daily.

By using Yoga to help train your mind to relieve stress, you can learn to better handle stressful situations better. There are many benefits to Yoga but again understand that you won't notice anything immediately.

Peter Hill is a writer and researcher on products that promote holosyncreview.blogspot.com/2007/08/holosync-review-experience-of-holosync.html yoga relieve stress. Save time and money by getting a FREE in depth review of HoloSync and many others including discounts and best prices at Peter's blog: holosyncreview.blogspot.com holosyncreview.blogspot.com

A Gym Floor Mat For Yoga

A gym floor mat made of rubber is an inexpensive way to introduce yourself to yoga. There's a common mistake with people who want to start working out at home that they need to go on a buying spree for gym equipment. Not so. That's exactly how many of those tele-infomercial machines for home gyms end up as expensive clothes drying racks standing off in the corner.

The best rubber floor mat you'll need for yoga is no larger than the top of your desk. There are two types of gym mats that should be mentioned: the thick and black kind that you use under home gyms, cardio equipment and weight racks; and the personal rubber gym mat that you see with yoga.

The yoga floor mat is designed to be lightly textured, and slightly tacky. Some mats are made of vinyl sponge foam but the best are made of natural rubber.

Yoga is one of the best gym exercises you can do on floors, available to every age and fitness level. It's flowing movements will stretch and lengthen muscle fibers causing the muscles in the back, legs, chest and arms, to become stronger and streamlined. In comparison, lifting heavy weight training can cause muscles to tighten, making them stressed and congested with lactic acid, and increases the load on your joints. Yoga, done on rubber or non-slip surface floor mats, will keep the body moving so the muscles stay warm and lubricated.

Any floor exercise that can be done on mats is all the fitness regime you'll need. Yoga is just one example, but then many floor exercises actually resemble yoga, and daily practice will better flexibility and strength over time. Even if you are practicing only the physical aspects of yoga, you will reap healthy benefits and leave each session feeling invigorated, having washed away stress and tension. So try out a yoga mat ($20 - $60), rent or buy a tape, and see how inexpensive, and fun, it is to start your own home fitness gym.

About the Author:

Terry Grant writes about selecting the homegymadviser.com best home gyms at HomeGymAdviser.com. Visit the site for homegymadviser.com/home-gym-reviews.html home gym reviews of popular brands that include Bowflex, Weider and Star Trac.

Copyright 2009 HomeGymAdviser.com

Yoga Teacher Training: The Value of the Sage in Yoga

We live in a time when the masses have to be impressed by the extremes. When people think of Yoga, they often think of circus tricks, pretzel bodies, and gymnastic feats. Feats of physical prowess are a wonderful thing, but you do not need a Yoga teacher's instruction, or a sage's advice, to perform them.

When I was visiting a colleague's Yoga studio, a young woman signed up for a free introductory Yoga class, and a free Tai Chi class. Before the Yoga class started, she was walking on her hands, touching her heels to the back of her head, and doing full splits in every possible direction. She also put on the same performance before her Tai Chi class.

Needless to say, she did not sign up for either class. About Yoga: She claimed that one Yoga class was all she needed. She had "been there and done that." She was bored by Yogic philosophy, Pranayama, and meditation. She had "mastered" everything about Yoga in one beginner class.

My Grandfather used to say, "You can't reason with a horse's tail." So, there was no point in reasoning with someone, who already has all of the answers to life's many mysteries. In my life, my Grandfather was to be the first of many sage's for me to learn from. He did not know much about Yoga, but he knew a great deal about common sense, philosophy, and how to apply them to every day life.

The value of a sage cannot be under estimated. Unfortunately, the news shows us that wisdom and common sense have been taking a "vacation" for awhile. In Yoga, a sage does not need a light show, fireworks, smoke, explosions, or special effects to capture the imagination of his or her Yoga students.

In Yoga, we look to the sages of the past, and present, through the written or spoken word. The sage is a Yoga teacher who can capture your imagination and guide students without any special effects. Maharishi Patanjali might be the first sage that comes to your mind - when thinking about the Yoga sages of the past.

So, where do you find a sage? Please remember that a sage is usually a mentor of spiritual and philosophical subjects, who is a source of profound and innovative wisdom.

This does not mean he or she has to be a Yoga teacher, but this is someone you can constantly learn from. If you need a notebook to keep up with all of the wisdom you hear from your mentor, then you have found a genuine sage.

The true sage has been where we desire to go and is capable of teaching all of us.

© Copyright 2007 - Paul Jerard / Aura Publications

Paul Jerard, E-RYT 500, is a co-owner and the director of Yoga teacher training at: Aura Wellness Center, in Attleboro, MA. riyoga.com riyoga.com He has been a certified Master Yoga teacher since 1995. To receive a Free e-Book: "Yoga in Practice," and a Free Yoga Newsletter, please visit: yoga-teacher-training.org/index.html yoga-teacher-training.org/index.html