Archive for April, 2009

How to look fashionable whilst enjoying outdoor sports

There are many different kinds of sporting events that take place outside. These outdoor sports events are attended by many people and looking good in what you wear can be just as enjoyable as winning the game you’re playing. Whether you engage in a particular outdoor sport or you simply want to look fashionably sporty, there are some good looking choices on the market today.

Some of the more popular outdoor sports include hiking, rock climbing, trail running, surfing, skiing, fly fishing and camping. The list of various types of sports clothing for these enjoyable events is a lengthy one at the least. Wetsuits, board shorts and swimwear for men and women are designed from hot colors and spectacular fashion creations that allow you to catch the attention of the crowd with excellent sportsmanship and great looking clothing.

When you’re climbing the rocks, whether it’s a rock wall or an actual mountain side, you can find many ways to look good in shells, insulation, trekking shorts, trekking shirts and climbing jackets. Durable sports clothing is necessary to ensure you’re wearing the right clothing for the sport. Choosing clothing that looks good as well shows people your flare for fashion as well as your sensitive to being dressed appropriate.

Choosing good looking outdoor sports clothing also ensures your safety as you enjoy the sport. Did you know that you can also dress in good looking clothing that’s environmentally friendly? Many people are interesting in finding ways to preserve the planet. Some manufacturers of many of the best looking designs in outdoor sports clothing are answering the call for environmentally friendly clothing by making their garments from recycled fabrics such as recycled fleece, merino wool and hemp. These manufacturers are also donating some of their proceeds to organizations that work to preserve the earth.

The Internet is one of the best places to start your search for clothing that you can choose to create a fashion statement that is appropriate for the sport you’re about to engage in. With so many websites that have their outdoor sports clothing available for viewing in 360 degree pictures, you can see the various designs in vivid color and detail before you order.

Wearing the proper clothing for the outdoor sports event you are participating provides you with the best way to engage in the sport safely. The wrong type of clothes can pose a safety hazard that may result in an injury to yourself or others. Thanks to the many fashionable designs on the market today, you can wear the proper clothing and look stylish at the same time.

Whether you’re getting ready to head down the ski slopes of Aspen, plan to surf the waters in Hawaii, or some other sporting event, you need to wear the right clothing. Take the time to research the various manufacturers for good looking sporting clothing. You’ll most likely be delighted to find that you can find clothing and shoes to coordinate a complete outfit and come out a winner in the sport and with how you look.

The Art of Rebounding a Basketball Without Letting the Ball "slip" Through Your Fingers

You cannot become a championship caliber team or player without dominating the backboard! The team that controls the backboard during a basketball game would most likely win. Why? More basketball rebounds leads to more possessions, and more possessions lead to more second-chance scoring opportunities. And, the team with the most second-chance scoring opportunities will win.

 How important is rebounding? Every player on a team should learn how to rebound effectively, regardless of your position on the team. The reasoning behind this is that, every player should form the habit of attempting to grab the rebound after either an offensive or defensive shot has been made. Each player should always assume that the shot will be missed. With that being said, a team should have five solid rebounders on the basketball court at all times during a game.

 What are the traits of a great basketball rebounder? Although your size and height as a basketball player could give you an advantage when attempting to rebound a basketball, they’re not the primary determining factors to becoming a great rebounder. For example, Dennis “the worm” Rodman was one of the most prolific rebounders in the NBA (National Basketball Association), despite the fact that he was an average height of 6-7″ as a professional basketball player and barely weighed 210 lbs. Although he was not a great scorer, his uncanny yet masterful ability to successfully grab rebounds (both on offense and defense) helped his teams win several NBA titles and earned him two consecutive defensive player of the year awards, which is an incredible accomplishment. What Dennis Rodman and other great rebounders knew is that, one of the main keys to effective rebounding is Positioning–not your height or size.

 Floor Positioning

 A great rebounder always establishes an excellent floor position when attempting to grab a rebound. An excellent floor position means that you fight for the inside position by being closer to the basketball hoop than your opponent, regardless of whether you are trying to grab an offensive or defensive rebound.

 Grabbing the Rebound

 Once you have established an inside position, the most effective way to grab a rebound is by leaping straight up in the air with great explosiveness and power using both feet, keeping your legs spread apart and butt pointing outward, and grabbing the basketball with both hands. Bring the basketball in front of you after you grab it instead of keeping it over your head.

 This keeps your opponent away from you, and prevents him from grabbing the basketball or smacking it out of your hands as you are coming back down after you have grabbed the rebound.

 Catch all rebounds instead of batting the basketball into the air or out of bounds. This would allow you and your team to maintain possession of the basketball.

Protecting the basketball after a Rebound

 All your effort to grab the rebound and regain possession of the basketball would be in vain if you do not protect the basketball on your way down. Remember, after you grab a rebound, you will usually be surrounded by opponents that are standing by ready and eager to steal the basketball from you. Be alert and vigilante!

 As you land after grabbing a rebound, bring the basketball in under your chin (Chinning the basketball) with your elbows out and with a hand on each side of the basketball gripping it tightly. Do not swing your elbows wildly in order to keep your opponent(s) away from you, because doing so might lead to a foul violation.

 Pivot away from an opponent that might be trying to steal the basketball away from you. Do not put the basketball on the floor immediately after going up for a rebound, especially if you are surrounded by your opponents.

 Keep your head up after grabbing the rebound so that you can easily scan the entire basketball court to see if you can find an open teammate who might be positioned to lead a fast break for an easy score.

 There you have it…Becoming an awesome rebounder is as simple as (1) Establishing great inside position; (2) Grabbing the rebound; and, (3) Protecting the basketball after you grab the rebound. With constant practise, there is no reason why you cannot become a top, if not the best, rebounder for your basketball team. In addition to mastering the mechanics of grabbing a rebound as illustrated above, equally as important is developing a mindset or attitude that you will attempt to grab every rebound during a basketball game. Remember, it is not the “size” of the rebounder that matters; rather, it is his burning desire to go after every rebound.

 Visit http://www.basketball-drills-and-tips.com to find more information on this topic, and to download a FREE copy of our Basketball E-Book ($29 Value) titled, “The Fundamentals of Basketball: A beginner’s guide for coaches and players.”

Bodybuilding And The Olympics: An Ongoing Controversy

The debate on whether bodybuilding should be an Olympic sport has been raging for years amongst the bodybuilding community and those interested in the Olympics. Ardent fans argue that weightlifting has been an Olympic sport for years, so why not bodybuilding? To diehard fans, bodybuilding and the Olympics seems to be a perfect fit, and questions like “Why is bodybuilding not already an Olympic sport?” are routinely aired.

Perhaps the more telling questions to ask are “Should bodybuilding be an Olympic sport?”, and “Would making bodybuilding an Olympic sport help the Olympics?”

Bodybuilding And The Olympics: Why It Is Not Already An Olympic Sport

The current Olympic program consists of 35 sports, 53 disciplines and more than 400 events, ranging from archery through to weightlifting and wrestling. The bodybuilding fan base, competitors, and sponsors are all ready and willing to take the step to Olympic level. The stumbling block is the International Olympic Committee and the OPC, who state simply that according to their criteria, bodybuilding is not a sport and there has no place in the Olympics.

This stand begs the question, “what determines a sport in the first place?”. A simple definition by the Australian Sports Foundation says that sport is “a human activity capable of achieving a result requiring physical exertion and/or physical skill, which, by its nature and organization, is competitive and is generally accepted as being a sport.”

Arguably, bodybuilding fits within this definition, and one would think this should be enough for the IOC. However, the primary problem the IOC has with allowing bodybuilding into the Olympics concerns drug abuse. They claim that the widespread use of performance enhancing drugs by bodybuilders would prevent bodybuilding from complying with Olympic drug policies. There are harsh and vigilant doping rules for Olympic competitors, which would certainly exclude many professional bodybuilders.

However, the natural bodybuilding fraternity does not use performance enhancing drugs. The Olympics could uphold their drug policies, allowing only natural bodybuilders to compete at the Olympics. This also aligns with the tradition of the Olympics being a competition for sporting amateurs, not professionals.

Another reason stated by the IOC for excluding bodybuilding from the Olympics was that the judging in competitive bodybuilding was far too subjective for an Olympic judge to critique. Given the controversy surrounding the subjective judging of sports such as ice skating, diving, and gymnastics this argument hardly seems to hold water. In fact, bodybuilding would seem to be a perfect fit!

How Bodybuilding Could Help The Olympics

As competitive bodybuilding has never been a mainstream sport, including it as an Olympic Sport would allow the sport to be better known and recognized. It would also make the sport more accessible, allowing people to learn more about bodybuilding, and possibly participate themselves.

Bodybuilding would also help the Olympics by widening the scope of sports on display. By showcasing bodybuilding, the Olympics would be encouraging people of all ages to eat good food, work out, become fit, and look after their health. These are important messages in a world where so many people are overweight.

A look back into history reveals that the Olympics were first introduced by the Greeks, who idolized and revered well toned, aesthetic bodies with healthy strong physiques.

Bodybuilding And The Olympics: The Main Argument Against

Besides the drug doping issue, perhaps the most prominent argument against including bodybuilding in the Olympics is the subjectivity of judges and the fact that there is often no clear winner. Even though other Olympic sports like ice skating are also in this category, the majority of Olympic sporting events feature clear winners, either by time, distance, height or lifting weight. No one can argue that judging mistakes have been made when a competitor clearly wins an event.

Although the jury is still out on bodybuilding and Olympics, it seems for the time being at least, that the Olympic Committee has no intention of including bodybuilding as an Olympic sport. Despite the fact that the bodybuilding fraternity is ready and willing to take the step to Olympic level, it looks like they will be waiting for some time yet.