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Played by over 20 million people in more than 70 countries, netball is now one of the fastest growing sports in the U.S, having been introduced to core USA education curriculums.  It’s a fast paced, exciting team sport which has a lot in common with basketball, although there are seven players per team and the rules and equipment used differ slightly.

Netball is predominantly played by women and girls (it was originally known as ‘women’s basketball’) and as well as offering fitness benefits it is generally a very social sport and a great way to build confidence and meet new people while getting fit at the same time.

About the game

Two teams of seven players compete on a rectangular court. Each team has three attackers, three defenders and a center who is the ‘all-rounder’.  The aim is simply to score more goals than the opposing team. Only two players from each team (the goal shooter and the goal attack) can score goals by shooting the ball through a 10-feet high hoop – and unlike basketball, there is no backboard. Typically a game consists of four quarters of 15 minutes each, although sometimes games can be shorter.

Why to choose Massage therapy ?

As you are probably aware, going to the gym is obviously a great way to trim some of that excess weight or to add some extra muscle mass; and so it is no surprise why it is a popular place with our fellow man. However, what you may not be aware of is the unspoken code of conduct that exists in every gym. So I’ve created my own little list that will serve as your guide to behaving like gentleman in the gym.

Wipe Down Equipment after Use

You wouldn’t be too pleased if you came to use a piece of equipment only to find a nice little puddle of someone’s sweat on it, would you? So do unto others as you would have done to yourself, and wipe down all equipment after use.

It will take a few seconds out of your work-out and you won’t be building a bad reputation for yourself at the gym where you are a regular. Most gyms will provide towels and a form of disinfectant for users; so once you’ve finished on piece of equipment give  a quick wipe down – even if you can’t see any sweat marks!

Don’t Sound Like a Hippo in a Labour

The Oemega Moo Connection

So-called health nutritionists trying to prove that beef is one of the causes of heart diseases and getting people to eat fish instead because of the benefits of Omega-3 must have gotten a rude shock when new medical research has proven that the highly touted fish oil has no connection whatsoever with benefits for the heart.

According to a new study conducted and released in the Journal of the American Medical Association, there is no correlation or connection between taking fish oils rich in Omega-3 - whether taken with fish meat or in pills - and the prevention of heart attack, stroke, myocardial infarction, and other heart disease.

Of course, the connection between heart diseases and beef is just complete hogwash, especially if the beef comes from grass-fed cows.

It has been some time since beef - particularly juicy steaks - have come under attack by weight watchers and environmentalists. The attacks come from misconceptions that eating beef is connected to obesity and heart diseases while raising grass-fed cows will damage the environment because the cows will eat so much grass and not give grass enough time to grow back, stripping many pasture lands of greenery.

Let us start by answering all the above in a collective manner.

Based on actual agricultural medicine and medical association studies, grass-fed beef compared to grain-fed beef has a dramatic difference:

We all know it’s important to push ourselves when it comes to training, as regular sessions will build-up strong, lean muscle mass over time. Sometimes however, pushing yourself too hard during training can make you take one step forward, and two steps back. The reason for this, is that a lot of us forget about how important the recovery period after a workout is to really maintaining muscle growth.

Taking time to recover from intense exercise is vital

(photo credit: freedigitalphotos.net)

Taking time to recover from intense exercise is absolutely vital when it comes to your health, and building strong, healthy muscle. Whilst many assume that just physically resting after exercise is enough to help your muscles, there are in fact substantially more benefits to be had from taking specific muscle recovery supplements that include unique protein matrix and premium amino formulas.

Why do muscles need to repair?

Most health science sources advise that carbohydrates and protein are the two most important nutrients for  the muscle recovery, and new supplements to speed the process along are often featured in health headlines.

Long touted as an excellent way to reduce risk of heart attacks, stroke, myocardial infarction, and all-cause mortality, a new study published yesterday in The Journal of the American Medical Association found no correlation between taking fish oil pills rich in Omega-3 fatty acids and decreased chances of heart disease. It didn’t matter whether the fish oil was ingested from pills or actual fish in the diet, the researchers discovered—there simply wasn’t any evidence to link their intake with improved heart health.

Growing Popularity

For over a decade evidence has pointed at the possibility that consumption of omega-3 fatty acids which are composed of the acids known as EPA and DHA could help protect against heart illness, though the exact reason why was not clearly understood. This stemmed from observations that people whose diets were rich in fatty fish such as salmon, mackerel, and sardines were less prone to dying of heart disease, and a large study in 1989 found that those people who had already suffered from one heart attack were about 30% less likely to have a second heart attack if they added fatty fish to their diet.

For most of us who work 9-5 during the week, staying fit and healthy can not only be difficult but often downright inconvenient. I'm writing from personal experience here, I work in an office and sit in front of a computer screen for the majority of my time in the office (and out of it really). I started to notice that I wasn't being very healthy with what I was eating and doing during the working day. So I did some research and decided to share my results with other people so that they can work healthily as well.

Take a Break from Your Screen

Rest your eyes and your back by taking a short break from your computer screen every hour or so. We've all had those days when our eyes feel dry and we have a pounding headache; odds are that this is brought on b the constant strain being put on your eyes by the screen.

If you don't trust your own willpower you can download the free Eye Leo app for your computer, which basically freezes your screen for a few minutes after the selected time period has lapsed.

First there was fat. Then there were carbs. Now there’s sitting. It seems like no matter what we do these days -- what we eat, what we do, how we work -- we’re endangering our health. In fact, just staying too long (more than three hours) in one position is enough to shut down the electrical activity in your legs, stop burning calories, lower fat-fighting enzymes to near zero, drop HDL cholesterol production, increase your risk of diabetes, and shave two years off of your life.

But with so much work taking place behind a desk these days, how is the average office worker to stay fit?

Stand up

The moment by moment awareness of life is commonly referred to as mindfulness. Although it sounds so simple, practicing it daily is not that easy since human beings are easily caught up in self-talk and own thoughts that make it hard to notice life going by.

This tendency to rush through life is also reflected in eating habits. Most people eat one meal after another without being aware of what they are eating or how much they have consumed. Applying the art of being mindful simply means a return to paying real attention to life. It is amazing how people notice all sorts of good aspects of the food they have been eating once they really begin to pay attention.

What Does Mindful Eating Mean?

Mindful eating does not mean going on diet or giving up certain foods, rather it is about experiencing the food in a deeply intensive way such as the pleasure of eating it. You could be eating a hamburger or any other snack mindfully which means that you get to enjoy it more than if you were gobbling it down. On the other hand you can eat it halfway and decide you body had enough.

Despite the many bad effects of using steroids without a proper prescription, a lot of people still turn a blind eye to the dangers. Athletes aiming to perform better in their respective fields, body builders aspiring to sport a better built, or those who are just aiming for bigger muscles are still lured towards getting their share of this seemingly marvelous drug.

A survey of 500 users of anabolic androgenic steroidsconducted in 2006 by the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Harbor-UCLA Medical Center shows that 78% of the users were noncompetitive bodybuilders and non-athletes (Parkinson & Evans, 2006). This was further confirmed by the findings of an internet-based survey of about 2,000 male steroid users in the US. The study shows that the steroid use was not motivated by athletics (Cohen, et.al. 2007). It was also found that the typical steroids users are adults with an average age of 31.