How Fitness Affects Performance

How Fitness Affects Performance

There are many things that come to mind when we think about the value of exercise, but we mostly think about how it can benefit us on a physical level. This isn’t necessarily a good thing, as it implies that we are less worried about our health and more worried about whether we look good come summer time.

Thus, we thought it would be an important exercise to take not of what exercise can do for your body and lifestyle, which is why we’re going to take a look at all of the benefits that come with great levels of fitness, from an attractive physical appearance to improved mental performance.

Practice Makes Perfect

Let’s start with the more obvious benefit of employing a decent fitness routine and something most people are after – a great physique. This is something that comes with exercising regularly.

An added benefit, and possibly even more of an obvious factor, is that the more you exercise the better your physical performance will get. When you start to feel yourself getting fitter, you will notice just how much easier it is to go for that run, swim or cycle. After all, practice does make perfect at slotscanada.net.

A Fit You Is a Healthy You

Your health will also improve when you employ a fitness routine that you stick to, including important factors like lowered blood pressure and a healthier, better working heart.

You’d be surprised just how much going for a run regularly or even playing a game of football with friends could improve your overall health. Exercise has been known for helping with those that battle with sleep deprivation or even a bad back.

One thing you must take into consideration, however, is that it cannot simply end at improving your fitness, you will need to make sure that you take on a healthy balanced diet that further improves your performance in fitness and health.

Mentally Sound

Another way in which fitness can affect performance is on a mental scale, with many studies proving that it does a great job helping with concentration, whether you’re doing some work  or you’re playing Canada slots online.

What’s more, improved fitness can also help with sometimes crippling ailments, such as anxiety. In fact, a few studies have found that aerobic forms of exercise can actually reduce the anxiety that we experience on a daily basis as well as anxiety sensitivity, which means that exercise could essentially could help us be a little less reactive to physiological changes that come with high pressure situations.

Exercising boosts your mood, increases energy levels and could be the answer to your mental health problems, but it could also improve your performance in the workplace quite drastically. There are a few things that you can expect when you implement a fitness routine:

  • Your concentration will improve
  • You will notice your memory is a lot sharper
  • You will be able to learn a lot faster
  • You will noticed a prolonged mental stamina
  • Your creativity levels will improve
  • Your stress levels will decrease

To sum it all up, if you thought you couldn’t benefit a great deal from exercising more, you thought wrong.

Top 3 Fitness Tests for Athletes – Know the Facts

Top 3 Fitness Tests for Athletes – Know the Facts

So, you’ve joined the impressive world of athlete training, or maybe you’d simply like to know more about the strong group of people that left you in the dust in high school track.

Either way, you’ve arrived at the right place because I’ve put together something of a guide to understanding athletes and the fitness testing that they have to go through in order to qualify for their chosen sport.

A Quick Introduction to Fitness Tests

Before we get started, I should just point out that I wasn’t one of the ones left in the dust as I mentioned before – I was the one trying to fake a sick note so that I didn’t have to run at all.

The point is, whether you consider yourself an athlete or not, you can benefit a great deal by coming to understand athleticism and the testing procedures they go through – especially considering the fact that it could give you some extra insight, after all stamina is applied in every game.

Testing, Testing 1, 2, 3

Fitness tests come in a number of shapes and sizes, some of which are specifically designed for certain athletes and others that are appropriate for any and all athletes, such as the more commonly known anthropometric tests that include height, skinfolds and body mass.

It all depends on athletic discipline, but these tests are essentially designed to be able to determine the athlete’s cardiovascular fitness. If you’re looking for the most accurate tests, then you should be looking for the more structured ones, which are ultimately fitness tests that involve CD recordings with timed intervals and specific directions. Let’s take a look at a couple of examples.

1. 20m Multistage Fitness Test

Commonly known as the beep test, or in my case the bain of my high school existence, the 20m multistage fitness test is (to my disbelief) the easiest one that involves the use of a CD with recorded intervals.

20m Multistage Fitness Test -Fitness Tests for Athletes

You start at one end of the 20m stretch and have to cross it with every beep you hear. Athletes must cross before they hear the next beep and it gets tougher as you go, with the intervals between each beep getting shorter and shorter. They are then scored on the level they reach before the end of the test.

2. The Yo-Yo Intermittent Fitness Test

The yo-yo intermittent fitness test is a bit tougher, takes place over a 25m stretch that is divided into a 5m section and then a 20m section.

The Yo-Yo Intermittent Fitness Test - Fitness Tests for Athletes

This time, the athlete is expected to run the 20m stretch according to the beats, but when they get back to the starting line they must then walk or jog the 5m in 10s and return to the starting line before the next beep.

Again, the time between beeps will shorten, however, this time they are given a warning and removed after the second time they fail. They are scored on the number of metres they run.

3. The JAM Intermittent Fitness Test

The hardest of the 3, this test involves a triangular circuit with each side labelled either walk, run or jog. Athletes follow accordingly, but every 2 minutes or so they have to replace the run side with a 12m sprint.

JAM Intermittent Fitness Test - Fitness Tests for Athletes

The whole circuit must be completed before each beep and they are removed as soon as they fail. The participant will then be scored on the time it took to complete the circuit.

Nutrition Tips - healthy habits - sports nutrition

5 Expert Nutrition Tips for Athletes

If you’re doing more than 90 minutes of exercise on a regular basis, especially if you’re doing high intensity or endurance exercises, you will need to be aware of what you’re putting into your body to get the most out of it.

If you’re training for strength or weight-less you will need to be especially careful of your daily calorie intake and eat a diet that will help you perform at your best and help you recover quickly. Here are 5 expert tips for getting the most out of your diet.

Carbohydrates Are Your Friend

Nutritional experts have known for many years that carbohydrates are the athlete’s main source of fuel, as the body breaks carbohydrates down into glucose – a form of sugar – and stores it in your muscles as glycogen.

When you exercise and burn calories, your body takes the stored glycogen and turns it into energy, which is what allows you to keep going even if you haven’t just eaten a carb heavy meal. However, it’s important to remember that if you’re exercising for less than 90 minutes you will have enough stored glycogen, so be careful not to overindulge.

Get Enough Protein, But Not Too Much

While protein doesn’t offer much in the way of energy to an athlete, your body does need it to maintain and replenish muscle. The average person requires 1.2-1.4 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight per day, which is approximately 90 grams of protein for a 70 kg person.

Contrary to popular belief, the best source of protein is real food so stick to lean meats, eggs, fish, poultry, nuts, beans, or milk as opposed to protein supplements.

Take It Easy on Fats

The best type of fat is the unsaturated kind found in nuts, avocados, olives, vegetable oils, and fatty fish like salmon or tuna.

The internet has brought us many amazing things: with everything from online shopping and social media to online betting and recipes, no one can say that they don’t know how to cook healthy and delicious meals anymore.

There are plenty of ways to cook with less fat and cutting down your daily fat intake by just a few teaspoons make a huge difference. Remember – it all adds up!

Drink Fluids Early and Often

Heavy exercise, especially during hot weather, can quickly leave you dehydrated which will hurt your performance, and in the worst cases can even threaten your life. All high intensity athletes should drink fluids early and often.

In other words, don’t wait until you feel thirsty as by the time you’re parched you may already be facing dehydration. It’s important to drink fluids before, during, and after a workout because your body expels fluids during exercise through sweating.

It’s also a good idea to drink chilled fluids as they are more easily by the body absorbed as opposed to room temperature water.

Replace Lost Electrolytes

Electrolytes help to convey nerve signals throughout your body, and both fluids and electrolytes are lost when you start sweating.

As such it’s a good idea to reach for a sports drink post exercise, as these contain the right amounts of both sugar and salt which mimics natural electrolytes in the body.

If you’re losing a lot of fluids while you exercise, it’s a good idea to mix equal parts water and sports drink to maintain the correct balance of hydration to electrolytes.

All About New Zealand’s Wellington Cup Carnival

The Wellington Cup dates back to the late 1800’ and to this day it remains one of the most highly anticipated events on the New Zealand racing calendar. The Wellington Jockey Club, otherwise known as the Wellington Racing Club, organized the first ever Wellington Cup race in 1867 and it’s only grown from strength to strength ever since.

Up until 1974, the Wallaceville Estate Wellington Cup Day race was run over a variety of distances, including two mile stretches from 1874-1889 and again from 1942-1973. One and a half mile stretches were run from 1890-1941, 3200 metre runs from 1974 to 2008 and now, most recently 2400 metre racing has seen the downgrade of the Wallaceville Estate Wellington Cup Day race event.

The event had lost its Group 1 status due to the horses not meeting certain criteria. The Wellington Racing Club thus made a decision to reduce the races distance to 2400 metres in order to attract stronger competition and rebuild the Wallaceville Estate Wellington Cup Day race to its former glory.

A Prestigious Race Day

The Wallaceville Estate Wellington Cup Day race is the most prestigious horseracing event on the New Zealand racing calendar. Punters from around Australasia and the globe can take part in the action with a mouth-watering selection of wagering activities running throughout the Carnival.

The Wellington Cup carnival is held over three consecutive Saturdays and attracts a he amount of attention. Young and old flock to the course and all sorts of entertainments are laid on.

Increase in Winnings

Shortly after the Wallaceville Estate Wellington Cup Day race was downgraded a group, the organizers had announced a notable NZ $50.000 increase in total prize money. This increases the Wallaceville Estate Wellington Cup Day race wings to a whopping NZ $250.000.

Opening Day

The opening of the Wallaceville Estate Wellington Cup Day propels the Carnival into a sea of premium class racing programs.

The opening day sees three group races ad sets the scene for the days to come, culminating in what’s now known as Super Saturday.

The Wallaceville Estate Wellington Cup Day Super Saturday swings into gear on the following Saturday after the opening. This is the prized day of the carnival and showcases top elite Stayers and Sprinters.   The NZ $250.000 Group 1 J&N Berkett Telegraph is run over 1200 meters and is New Zealand’s richest open sprint.

Closing Day

Closing day for the Wallaceville Estate Wellington Cup Day carnival is set for the following Saturday, after Super Satruday. The closing day is more focused around fun lifestyle and entertainment events with top-notch eclectic fashion and food stalls pitches around Trentham.

The closing day plays host to top notch racing programs to end the event including the Group 1 Harcourt’s Thorndon Mile, which is a premier 1600 metre race, and the Group 3 Wellfield Desert Gold Stakes for three year old fillies.

All in all, its easy to see why the Wellington Cup Carnival attracts so much attention and why it captivates not only New Zealanders, but punters from across the globe. Make sure you brush up on your betting knowledge at your nearest horse racing tips NZ site today, and get ready for one of the biggest horse racing events in New Zealand today.

Is The Home Field Advantage A Myth?

Interestingly enough, studies have shown that although players certainly enjoy playing at home stadiums and the crowd support, it does very little to improve team performance. Some players claim that due to the intense concentration during matches, many times they will not even be aware of the crowd.

This seems to be supported by statistics as well, as there is very little to no correlation between team performance and home field advantage when looking at raw data in terms of win loss outcomes.

Familiarity of the stadium would also appear to have a slight bearing on the performance of teams, but not necessarily in the way that you might be thinking. It has been shown that in some cases the old adage of familiarity breeding complacency has as line of truth to it.

Conversely, a visiting team might find that the sights and sounds of something different help them to focus more clearly on the objective: to win the match or game.

The Supporters

Spectators at an event will tell you that their team performs better when they are being supported by them in the stadium. This appears to be anecdotal as well, with no significant scientific findings being able to support these claims.

While this is not an absolute statement, it does give certain credence to the notion that the size of the stadium can definitely have an impact on this notion. In a massive international stadium the sounds of the crowd are acoustically drowned out into a sort of beehive sound. This makes any personal messages coming from the spectators a non issue.

The Officials

Unfortunately, no matter how impartial our officials strive to be, there will always be a human element to their decision making, at least this is what the science is telling us. In a test group they found that referee’s were more likely to award penalties to the home team in a tense situation. More shockingly is that the exact same infringements are often denied to the visiting teams.

While the stats are still relatively small in number due to the tiny amount of resources and research that have been allocated to such pursuits, it still makes the mind boggle as to how such a time tested institution such as refereeing can be so vulnerable to the individual that is making the call.

This is not however to say that this is the case with all officials, but rather that the small swathe of the cross section that was used was telling a compelling story.

The Future

So, where do we stand on the home ground advantage issue? It really is an emotive topic and it has a tendency to polarize all parties involved, from punters on NZ betting sites, to players to spectators. Luckily we live in an age of advanced technologies such as instant replay, aerial drones, player sensors and referee cameras that there has never been a smaller margin for error in the human referee department.

Who knows? Perhaps one day we will find that the human element might be almost removed entirely from the field of sports, with decision making and match officials being plugged into a sporting neural network of artificially intelligent referees?

We can only wait to find out!

Everything You Need to Know About Tabtouch Perth Cup Day

The TABtouch Perth Cup day is part of Perth’s exciting summer sporting events. This takes place on New Year’s Eve, and contributes to the fun filled festivities of that day. The next Tabtouch Perth Cup Day takes place on 31 December 2016, and promises to live up to and even surpass the excitement of all the previous editions of this festival.

The Perth Cup is Western Australia’s premier thoroughbred racing event, and is the main feature of the prestigious Perth Summer Racing Carnival. The running of the Perth Cup attracts a huge crowd of about 35,000 spectators and punters every year.

Important Horse Races

There is an action-packed afternoon of great horse racing, featuring the Group Two TABtouch Perth Cup with prize money of 500,000 dollars, and also the Group 3 La Trice Classic. The Perth Cup is a Perth Racing Group 2 Thoroughbred horse race which is run under quality handicap conditions over a distance of 2400 metres. This takes place at the famous Ascot race course in Perth, Australia in January each year, usually on New Year’s Eve. The sponsor, as from December 2016 is TABtouch.

Ascot Racecourse

Ascot is a suburb of Perth, the capital city of Western Australia. The suburb covers a narrow strip of land along the southern bank of the Swan River, and is about ten kilometres from the central business district. The suburb was named after the Ascot Racecourse, one of the major horse racing tracks in Australia, which is located with the boundaries of the suburb. The race track is managed by the Western Australian Turf Club, who run two riverside racecourses, the Ascot and Belmont Park. Perth Racing has headquarters directly opposite the racecourse, and has a proud history of thoroughbred racing for over 160 years.

Ascot racecourse is regarded as the Grand Old Lady of Australian racecourses. The two kilometre race track has a modern well drained turf surface, and a three hundred metre inclining straight which is regarded by experts as notoriously difficult, and the most severe test of stayers in Australia.

Huge Attendance Figures

The TABtouch Perth Cup day is the most well attended horse race in Western Australia, and the 2016 event formed part of New Year’s Eve festivities. The Perth Cup returned to being held on New Year’s Eve in 2013, after missing the previous year’s race.

Many people regard horseracing as much more than a hobby or an exciting sporting event to watch on television. Thousands of people in Australia and any other country of the world like to place wagers on the horses through a range of quality horse racing betting sites and feel it increases the thrill if you have a financial stake in the outcome. Now every punter in the country can place a wager on every race in the country, and enjoy that excitement.

The big horse races are very important sporting events in each country they are held, and certainly the people of Perth enjoy to the full the TABtouch Perth Cup day, and all the social activities that go with it.

Should You Always Back Your Own Team?

Should you always back your own team is a question that is often asked in the sporting fraternity along with why one should back them. Backing your own team has its positives and negatives.

You will hear many punters in Australia say that you should never bet on your own teams, the reason for this is that the punters get emotionally invested and it becomes tough to place a bet. There are many pros and cons to consider when choosing to back your own team and deciding to place a wager on them.

The Pros

The punter in Australia will know their own team better than any other team in the leagues, whether it be rugby, soccer or even cricket. The more you know about a team, the better your chances will be to make the correct decision on who to bet on.

This also makes researching more interesting as it involves your own team and who they will be up against on the seasonal schedules. Having the home team knowledge creates a great advantage as many of the punters will know what injuries the players have and what current form they might be in.

Knowing some of the smallest changes to a team can certainly give the punter a slight advantage, this especially counts when it’s a team in the smaller leagues in Australia, and the information takes longer to hit the press than the bigger leagues.

Knowing the coaches and their strategies is also a great advantage to the punter, as their patterns might become slightly more predictable during the season or even against usual opponents. All this information makes it easier for the punter to place a bet with a number of Australian betting sites with more confidence on their own team.

The Cons

Punters who root for their own team and get too emotionally invested should probably avoid betting on them. Without question, it is never as much fun putting yourself in a situation where you have to cheer against your own team. If you are not objective when betting on your own team, you could make some bad bankroll decisions by bringing in emotions such as betting bigger on your own team, or even doubling up for the next match as you think you know they will do better.

Knowing one team better than the other can also count against the punter as not enough homework might be done on the other teams of opposition. Without that equality the punter can make some bad decisions and really hurt their bank roll. There are so many new players and strategies in any particular sport in Australia that only knowing one team could be truly damaging to the punters pocket.

Conclusion

If the Australian punter is able to separate the emotional from the betting side of the sport, then it is advisable to go ahead and back your team. as the knowledge and history which you have gathered on your team will usually make it easier for the punter to make a well informed decision. However, it is vitally important to also do the required homework on opposing teams as only knowing your team will not be beneficial.

Should the punter be too emotionally involved and not be able to separate pride over cleverness it is highly advisable to rather not back your own team as it could be detrimental, but instead place wagers on other sports teams in which they can stay neutral.

Women Playing Football New Zealand

An Overview of Woman’s Football In New Zealand

Woman’s football is a very popular sport in NZ with many different leagues across New Zealand that are played all throughout the year. The national team, nicknamed the Football Ferns, represent New Zealand in international events across the world in many events.

These are the best woman football players in New Zealand that have been chosen to represent their country at the highest level.

Football is known to be a great participation sport for any young children or teenagers who are looking for a great team sport to promote confidence, team work and even fitness.

Football Explained

Association football, or soccer, is the world’s most popular team sport, as it is played in most countries around the world. The Football Ferns have made a big impression on the world stage by qualifying for major events around the globe such as the World cup and Commonwealth Games and by doing so climbing the world rankings

Football is contested between two teams of 11 players on each team, each team has a goal keeper who is the only player allowed to use their hands on the ball during play. Players attempt to work together to kick or head the spherical ball into the opposing team’s goal area.

The team with the most goals after the 90 minutes allotted game time wins. The 90 minute game time is split into two halves as each team will swop sides after the first 45 minute half.

Wagering on football is massively popular in New Zealand as there are many different aspects of the game you can bet on. Making a wager may consist of an outright win bet, either for an individual match or a series against an international team, or a more personal clinical bet such as a score line, for example NZ will win by 4 goals to AUS 2.

women's football online betting in New Zealand

Rankings Explained

World rankings and national rankings play a vital role when teams enter a tournament. These rankings will determine where the team will be seeded against the other teams in the tournament.

Once the seeding is available a draw is done by the tournament directors to determine which teams will play each other in the tournament. Ranking points are accumulated during the course of the year through tournaments that were played either locally or internationally.

Bookies in New Zealand use the world rankings and seeding of any particular team to calculate the betting odds of that team’s possibility of winning either a match or the tournaments. Placing a bet on woman’s football in New Zealand can be done on most online sports betting NZ sites.

Leagues in New Zealand

New Zealand has many different football leagues for Womans football in NZ, in which the performance of a select few players will make them eligible for national selection. These Leagues are widely followed by avid sports fans around NZ supporting their home teams as well as placing wagers on favourite players and winning teams.

Betting on any one of these teams involves research of history and rankings, league performances over the years and also current players and the form they are in. Woman’s football in NZ is growing at a phenomenal rate due to these leagues and in turn strengthening the betting markets around New Zealand.

Unusual sports to bet on

Unusual Sports To Bet On In Australia

Australians love to bet on sports. Rugby, cricket and soccer are just a few of the well known ones, but what about unusual sports to bet on? There are a number of weird and wonderful sports which are far out of the main stream markets which can provide a whole barrel of laughs and excitement for Australian punters who wish to bet on something a bit out of the ordinary.

Cockroach Racing

Cockroach racing is, believe it or not, a sport in Australia which even has a grand championship. Trainers train their roaches for a number of months in order to get them up to racing trim for the big race which is held on Australia day in Brisbane. Little race tracks are set up with a number of events which include the sprint, the steeple chase and main event held at the Story Bridge Hotel called the Gold Cup. The Gold Cup is so popular in fact, that spectators and punters actually travel from all over the country to watch the races and place a wager on their favourite roach.

Roaches have suitable names such as Soft Cocky, Cocky Balboa, Cocky Dundee, Drain Lover, and Priscila-Queen of the Drains, and excel in their own particular event. Betting on these races is hosted by a number of online sites for those who cannot make race day, as well as, of course, at the actual races themselves. The Gold Cup is fondly known as the greatest gathering of thoroughbred cockroaches in the world.

Sumo Wrestling

The ancient Japanese art of Sumo wrestling involves very large men rolling around a ring wearing very small underwear. Although it may not look like it, Sumo wrestling is a very professional sport, with top athletes earning in excess of $30 000 a month. Fights are held often and provide Australian punters with a healthy betting market which includes a number of different kinds of bets. These are hosted by a few online betting sites, although you may have to look around to find them.

Chess

Chess is considered a sport, although there isn’t much physical activity. Known as one of the most mentally taxing games on the planet, chess enjoys a huge cult following which involves players, groupies and even a musical written about it. Professional chess matches are held around the world with the World Chess Championships being the pinnacle. Chess has a large gambling and betting culture which began in Europe centuries ago, and is now available to the Australian betting market thanks to the advent of online betting.

Poker

Poker in itself is a game which involves betting and hopefully wining. Known as one of the few card games which involve skill as well as chance, Poker also has a large cult following and a number of worldwide tournaments. Australian punters can place bets on poker games, which is essentially betting on betting. Live Poker has become a spectator sport thanks to a number of sporting TV channels, and is now even live streamed on a number of betting sites.

End Of the World

Although not strictly a sport, the end of the world is an event which can be bet on via a select few online sports betting sites. The odds currently stand at 5000/1, which means that if the apocalypse does happen you could make some serious money. Where you would spend it however is a very good question.

rugby stadium online sports betting australia

Details about the NRL Betting for Punters

The National Rugby League (NRL) is the premier league of professional rugby clubs in Australasia.  It is run by the Australasian Rugby League Commission.  The NRL is considered the top-level domestic rugby league club competition.  It is made up of clubs that come from the Sydney Club Rugby League Competition, which has been around since 1908.  The NRL has 16 teams, 15 from Australia and 1 from New Zealand.

The matches are played from March to October and take place in Australia and New Zealand.  The season ends with the NRL Grand Final, the most important and popular sporting event in Australia.  The winners of the NRL will play against the winners of the European Super League in the World Club Challenge, which is a pre-season match.

Betting on the NRL

The most popular way of betting on the NRL is placing bets online.  Australia has a range of sportsbooks offering bets on the NRL as well as up to date information that will be helpful when placing these bets.  Being prepared is the key to placing bets on the NRL and using betting strategies can be the difference between winning and losing a bet.

Start Small

A good strategy when betting on the NRL is to place bets on a small number of matches to start out.  There are many changes that occur from season to season and teams that were ranked high last season may be ranked lower this season.  By starting small punters can watch the progress of the season and enjoy some smaller wins until they feel comfortable enough to start betting on more games.  Placing too man bets in the beginning when the teams are still settling in could result in losses and it is always difficult to catch up from a big loss.

australia rugby ball online sports betting

Listen to the Experts

A great strategy to use when making bets on the NRL is to use what the experts say.  Social media is a great way to stay ahead with information about the NRL and these feeds will always offer breaking news.  There are also a host of sports betting sites offering detailed information for a quality experience of betting. Punters can also subscribe to a NRL tips feed where experts give advice on betting.  The internet makes it easy to find experts, the ones that are well-respected and give good sound advice as opposed to those who do not.  Getting the right information on NRL matches and players can be an important factor when placing a bet.

Use Previous Bets

A serious NRL punter will record all of their previous bets and this is a good way to improve the odds.  Punters can make use of their previous bets, whether they won or lost, to place current bets.  By looking at the successes and failures of previous match ups punters can make use of this information to prepare more accurate bets.  The odds will improve as punters are placing bets that are determined by the results of previous bets.

Punters betting on the NRL should also be knowledgeable about the different kinds of bets.  By understanding each bet, how they work and the odds for each one, will be a great help when placing a bet.  Choosing a reliable sportsbook with competitive odds is another important factor when placing a NRL bet.