Sports Supplements – Safe And Legal

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Are sports supplements a safe and legal way to maximize sports and fitness performance?

Athletes who participate in competitive events at the professional, college, and even the high school level are always looking for a performance edge that will allow them to perform at their peak potential.

The same is true of ordinary individuals who enjoy participating in competitive sports or athletic events like tennis, racquetball, pick-up basketball games, company baseball leagues, or charitable walks and runs.

Participating in sports can be highly competitive, and there is always a desire to be just a little bit better.

Even those involved in other non-competitive physical exercise or fitness activities like bodybuilding, aerobic exercise, or rock-climbing are interested in maximizing and enhancing their performance. In solo exercise like these they are competing with the person they were yesterday, seeking to progress a little farther every day on the way to their personal goals.

Many athletes try to find supplements, techniques, or special equipment that helps them perform at their maximum. These are sometimes called “ergogenic aids”. The term ergogenic means to enhance athletic performance by improving energy efficiency, production, or control during exercise.

Nutrition ergogenic aids include such things as vitamin and mineral supplements, extra protein, electrolytes, carbohydrates, creatine, fish oil, bee pollen, flax oil, and glucosamine/chondroitin.

According to many experts nutrition plays a key part in athletic performance. It is the position of Dietitians of Canada, the American Dietetic Association, and the American College of Sports Medicine that physical activity, athletic performance, and recovery from exercise are enhanced by optimal nutrition. They suggest that an appropriate selection of food and fluids, timing of intake, and supplement choices be made for optimal health and exercise performance.

In a departure from statements made in the past, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) now concurs that nutritional supplements can boost athletic performance. In the IOC Concensus Statement on Sports Nutrition 2010 issued on October 27, 2010, the organization concedes that some supplements may enhance performance for some athletes. In the past, the IOC had warned athletes against using nutritional supplements.

In a review of studies of prevalence, patterns, and explanations for vitamin-mineral supplement use among athletes by S.J. Marquart of the Division of Nutritional Sciences, Cornell University, data showed that an average of 46% of athletes use supplements. Usage varies by the sport and professional athletes use supplements more than college or high school athletes.

Vitamin-and-mineral supplements may be especially important for athletes who restrict energy intake, eliminate one or more food groups from their diet, practice severe weight-loss diets, or consume high-carbohydrate diets with low micronutrient density.

People taking supplements, especially athletes, should be aware of the possible risks involved in taking supplements. These include health and doping test risks.

Choose your supplement company wisely when taking a dietary supplement. As many are aware, several supplements have been banned by professional sports organizations (MLB, NCAA, NFL, etc.).

Look for supplements that are not on the prohibited banned lists of major athletic associations and world-wide anti-doping agencies and do not contain banned ingredients. Prohibited Banned Substances are listed by the IOC (International Olympic Committee), USADA (U.S. Anti-Doping Agency), NFL, and NCAA to name a few.

Supplement companies with a sound quality control program, GMPs (Good Manufacturing Practices), and products certified by reputable supplement industry review groups like NSF make quality products.

In addition, look for companies that have implemented Good Clinical Practices (cGCP) guidelines for documenting both product effectiveness and safety for general use.

Never take a particular supplement just because someone you know is using it. Using rational criteria such as the above to choose safe and legal sports nutrition supplements is the best procedure. You will ultimately be the one reaping the benefits or suffering the health and legal consequences of your supplement choices.

If you decide to use sports supplements to raise your performance to the next level, don’t use the “scatter gun” approach by beginning your program immediately taking 4 or 5 different nutritional supplements. If you are having success, you won’t know which of the supplements you’re taking are responsible for your progress.

Start taking one supplement at a time for a period of time and evaluate whether it’s delivering the results you’re looking for. Then add additional supplements in the same manner.

In conclusion, an appropriate selection of nutritional sports supplements can be beneficial for optimal sports and exercise performance. Selection of the proper supplements must include an evaluation of their safety and legality.

Picking a good sports fundraiser

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When you’ve got a group of kids that are passionate about the sport they are playing, you can’t really ask for anything more than that. They get completely involved in learning how to play the sport while all the while trying to get better at it. As a coach or a volunteer for their team, you want to make sure that they have all of the appropriate equipment and uniforms that they deserve. One of the best ways to be able to pay for these items is through the use of sports fundraising. Sports fundraising can be done a number of different ways but it all comes down to the financial goals that you have and the personalities of the kids on your team.

When choosing good sports fundraising you will want to assess how much money you need to raise. If you are playing a sport like football, hockey, or lacrosse that includes a lot of equipment, pads and gear then you might need to pick sports fundraising that is a little bit larger in scale and yields higher returns. If your kids are playing soccer or basketball and only really need to worry about jerseys and shin guards, then you can pick sports fundraising that is a little bit less intense. If you are looking for a quick sports fundraising idea then you might try out doing a car wash.

A car wash is great sports fundraising idea because there really isn’t a lot of planning that needs to be done. In order to do a car wash for sports fundraising then all you really need is some water, soap, scrub brushes, towels, glass cleaner, and maybe some paper towels. If you are proactive about your sports fundraising then you might want to see what connections you have with local businesses to see if they will donate any of those items. This makes it literally free to start up and quick to do.

Another thing that you will want to decide when doing sports fundraising like a car wash is where to have it. You want the sports fundraising to be in a good public location where a lot of people are going to see you and decide whether or not to get their car washed at a moment’s notice. If you have any friends in local businesses that would be willing to have it in their parking lot then you’re sports fundraising is more likely to be a success. Networking and using your connections is crucial in sports fundraising.

Last of all, you want to make sure that people know about the sports fundraising car wash. Make sure the kids create huge signs to hold up on the side of the road to let people know what you are up to. Give them ideas of things to say or do to attract attention to the sports fundraising. When you do get people to come in, show the kids what to do in order to make the car look spotless so that the people helping out with the sports fundraising don’t feel ripped off.

Remember that this is just one of many sports fundraising ideas and that as you do your research you can find something to fit any team.

Sports Fundraising

What You Should Know About Skullcandy Sport Headphones

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Sports headphones are those are those earpieces designed for sports activities such as jogging, cycling, skiing, snowboarding and other events such as exercising in the gym. Due to the intense body movements during such activities, the headphones have a special design to protect them from damage and to protect they user from any injury. Therefore, if you are involved in a sports activity while you are still listening to music, its good to make sure you use headphones that stay attached to your head. Secondly, the cabling should be sturdy enough to withstand rough conditions involved with most sporting activity. SkullCandy has developed a number of sports headphones with innovative methods of ensuring the headphones stay attached to the users head. When buying SkullCandy sports headphones its you will obviously need to consider the sound quality. For those who are more audiophile, in-ear sound isolating headphones could be the best choice. These offer excellent sound quality, lock sweat out by sealing the ear canal and remain inside the ear because they are secured by the over ear loops.

A word of caution however, for those who intend to use SkullCandy sound isolating headphones, they might be dangerous for sporting activity that requires awareness of what is happening around. Some of the activities, which you cannot use SkullCandy sound isolating headphones include cycling, skating or snowboarding. If your interests lie in these activities its advisable to get other models of the SkullCandy sports headphones. SkullCandy sport headphones are created with style and performance in mind to fit perfectly in an action sport lifestyle.

The SkullCandy Company was started back in 2003 and offers different headphone ranges including the SkullCandy sport headphones. SkullCandy sport headphones fall in the over-ear category of headphones. Just as the name implies, SkullCandy sport headphones are meant for people who love a sporty lifestyle. This means they are designed with a multitude of colors that will grab peoples attention making you stand out from other headphone wearers. This makes them fit perfectly for each individual style from the skater to the punk. Do not be fooled that SkullCandy sport headphones are all about exterior looks. They are capable of producing high quality sound with great bass levels that does not loose clarity even in high volumes.

Sports headphones usually vary in prices. For instance, you can find sports headphones with as little as $15 while there are also other sports headphones that will cost you over $100. This usually depends on the sound quality, the manufacturer and the store you are buying from. SkullCandy sports headphones have a middle price range averaging around $25 depending on the store you are buying from. Although the price is relatively low, the sound quality is comparable to some of the most expensive headphones in the market. Unlike other headphones, SkullCandy sport headphones are provided with their own carry bag, which makes them convenient when traveling with light luggage. Some of SkullCandy sports headphones such as the SkullCandy icon-chrome design are also provided with a set of interchangeable caps at no extra cost. Therefore when looking for sports headphones, its better to buy from SkullCandy.

Upcoming Sports Stars of India

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India never had a rich sporting history in comparison to other countries. If we take Olympics as a benchmark, India has always struggled to find a place in the top of the medals tally. Besides a few selected sports such as hockey and cricket, India has not made a major mark on any other sporting event if we look back at the history of Indian sports. The problem always is related to the development of good sporting infrastructure in the country and the perceptions of the people towards sports as a career launcher.

However, things have started moving ahead for the good if we look back at the past few years of performances by Indian sports stars. Government of India Sports Ministry has started making huge investments into the development of other sports in India. Many sports bodies have been set up to look after different sports in India. These bodies function in coordination with the government in ensuring that best of the facilities are provided to Indian athletes and sports stars.

These recent developments have started producing excellent results for Indian sports. We have witnessed a flurry of individual accomplishments in other important Indian sports. Major international sporting events have witnessed emergence of Indian sporting icons. 2008 Summer Olympics at Beijing saw some amazing achievements from India. Abhinav Bindra, India’s ace shooter did India proud by winning the first individual gold medal. Boxer Vijendar Kumar did India proud by winning the Bronze in Men’s Middleweight category competition. In the same Olympics Sushil Kumar, the Indian wrestler earned a bronze in the Men’s Freestyle 66 kg wrestling contest. These are just few of the recent examples where Indian sports stars have excelled and made a mark for themselves and brought glory to India. Indian sports will always find a mention of the cricketing great Sachin Tendulkar who has made the country proud and is considered as the best cricketer in the world to have ever played the game of cricket. Sania Mirza, the golden girl from the game of tennis has also surprised many by being the only Indian to have defeated three top 10 ranked female tennis stars in her illustrious tennis career. Vishwanathan Anand the maestro of Chess, is another famous Indian sports icon who has been a world champion on more than one occasion. Pankaj Advani, the reigning world billiards champion is another name that comes to mind when we talk about the rapid transformation of Indian sports. These sporting icons of India have brought name and fame to India by their many achievements and have proved time and time again that they are nothing short of best when it comes to sports.

Scenarios Which Sports Medicine Physicians Should Look Into

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People who are into sports are prone to injuries because of the risks involved in the sports that they play. Due to this sports medicine Milwaukee based specialist are being hired not only to take a look at their current injury but also to prevent further injuries from happening to them. Here are a few scenarios that they should take a closer look into.

Concussion Management

Having a concussion is a common condition that athletes have and it may affect their ability to still play the sports that they love and their life even after they are done playing the sports they love for good. Although a concussion could be life threatening, its symptoms are not readily seen that is why those who are in the field of sports medicine Milwaukee should keep a close eye on their patients. In addition to this, further studies about the concussion are made so that it would be easier to manage it.

Anterior Cruciate Ligament

All the people who are playing sports could have this kind of injury, which needs surgical procedure to be corrected. Most people who are about to undergo surgery are afraid of it because of how invasive it is. Due to this, those who are responsible for sports medicine Milwaukee are doing their best to find a way to make the solution less invasive than it is. They are also looking into more anatomic techniques so that they could successfully remedy the solution in such a way that it mimics the original movement and structure of the anatomic body.

Playing Environment

The location where athletes do their sports plays an important part in determining the risks involved in the sport that they are into. There are sports wherein it could be played in soft surfaces such as a playing field but there are also indoor areas made of cement, or even tiles. Up to now, researches about how to improve the different playing environments are still conducted to make sure that the environment is safer for the athletes to play.

Injury Prevention

With the great number of injuries that could affect the athletes, it is important to know some of the ways on how injury could be prevented. Included in the preventive measures are the exercises that need to be done by the athletes before they start playing. Stretching is one of the exercises that is recommended to be done because it prepares the muscles so that it would not be shocked when it is used during the sport.

Recovery Process

Unlike other people, the athletes who are injured and cant play the sport that they love could be highly affected not only in a physical way but also in an emotional and social way. Some of them have a hard time accepting the fact that they need to take a break from the sport that they love because they need to recover from their injuries. Nowadays, the different doctors in the sports medicine can easily determine if their patients are fully recovered through the use of different medical equipment such as x-rays and ultrasound.