The world’s elite athletes are always looking to give themselves an advantage over their opponents, regardless of the sport and the team/individual they are competing against. One crucial way of achieving that is to train hard, and compete even harder. Unfortunately for some athletes, however, all they do succumb to injury or get too tired to train. This means less training and less chance of competing at the highest levels, due to the stiff competition they are up against. What do some of the world’s leading athletes do to counteract this issue and how do they stay fit and healthy through their training and competitions?

Massage Therapy

Some athletes take to the table to ensure they get some quality time for muscle and mental relaxation. Massages encourage the muscles to breath and blood to recirculate. Training/competing hard means muscle tissues become extremely stiff and aren’t able to circulate blood as they would normally. However, a simple massage could be all it takes to get an athlete back in training sooner rather than later, which always gives them a competitive edge.

Nutritional Protein Shakes

There are many nutritional protein powders available on the market to athletes who are looking for quick muscle repair and the chance to get back to the gym quickly. There are many powders that can be mixed with fruit and veg to give athletes the nutritional value they seek, and the chance to repair their muscles at a quicker rate. Shakes come with different flavors and benefits to suit a variety of athletes, so it’s better to do your research before you go out and buy a big pot, as it’s generally quite expensive. Read the rest of this entry →

It is a great time to be a fitness-conscious person. Not only do you have more workouts to try and specific programs to help you achieve your goals, there are also more gyms and supporting facilities that you can visit to exercise. The growing fitness market means gyms and workout classes are also getting more affordable.

There are also gadgets and gear designed to help you work out better. Whether you want to keep track of your exercises or you want to increase the intensity of your workouts, picking up the right gadgets to support your exercise is the way to go. To help you get started, these fitness items are the ones you want to consider.

A Capable Fitness Tracker

Fitness trackers are perfect for keeping tabs on your exercise. The available trackers can help you monitor your progress while working out, which means you know exactly when you can start with every phase of the exercise program. Wearing a fitness tracker lets you gain more benefits from the workout itself.

There are some interesting options on the market too. The Fitbit Charge 3 is the perfect device if you are looking for a compact fitness tracker that still looks good when worn every day. The stylish design also means you can pair this fitness tracker with any workout outfit you like.

The Apple Watch 4 is also a great option. It may not be a device specifically for fitness tracking – and it only works with iOS devices – but you can still monitor key metrics while exercising. The added features that come with the Apple Watch 4 makes this smartwatch a great all-rounder. Read the rest of this entry →

Anyone who has ever played basketball has dreamed about leaping past and over a defender and performing a slamdunk in the best tradition of Horace Grant and Michael Jordan. Unfortunately, for most of us this seems like an impossibility. But your inability to do this likely has less to do with your technique than it does with your ability to perform a vertical leap. That’s the purpose of this article: to help you increase your vertical jump.

It’s important to keep in mind that improving your vertical leap means making better use of your leg muscles. So if you’re going to do this, your training needs to emphasize vertical movements, such as deadlifts, Olympic lifts and squats.

When combined with a solid understanding of basketball fundamentals, and increased vertical jump can give you a real advantage on the court. Keep the following in mind if you want to achieve maximum height when you leap for the slamdunk.

1. Get Rid of Those Knots in Your Legs

Muscle knots exist throughout your body and make your muscles weaker and shorter by stripping the length of muscle tissue. Slowly run a foam roller across your muscles, focusing on sensitive spots in order to release the knots there. You should work on the following areas of your legs, devoting roughly a minute to each leg.

Calf Muscles – Position the roller below your calf while resting the opposite foot flat on the floor. Alternatively, you could cross this leg over your shin in order to increase pressure. Then roll up from the ankle to the knee. Repeat with the opposite leg.

Quadriceps – Lie flat on your stomach and placed the roller underneath the front of the thigh. Then roll it up and down from the knee to the bottom of the hip. Then switch to the other leg and repeat.

IT Band – Lie on one side with the roller position close to your hip while resting the foot of the other leg. Then roll the roller up and down along the outer thigh. You can choose to enhance the pressure by positioning one lying on top of the other. Then repeat this process with the opposite leg.

2. Hip Flexor Stretch

If you’re going to successfully increase your vertical jump, it’s essential for you to be able to extend your legs much more quickly. One way you can practice doing this and enhance your ability is to do hip stretches. Doing a hip flex or stretch means you are pulling your knee up and loosening the muscles involved. This will help to ensure that your muscles won’t be tight and prevent you from increasing your vertical jump.

In the hip flexor stretch, place your back knee right below your hip and lunge forward, pushing with your pelvis unto you begin feeling the stretch at the point where your femur meets your pelvis. Hold this position for about 2 seconds and then release. You should repeat this 10 times for each leg. Read the rest of this entry →

We all know well the benefits and advantages of taking up a new sport. Not only does engaging in some kind of sport help keep your fitness in check, but it can also be a great way to ensure that you are socially healthy too. Actually, sports can be a particularly good way of ensuring that you are spending time with others, and this is something that is worth bearing in mind if you are wondering whether or not you should do so yourself. If you do want to get into a new sport, and you are not entirely sure where to begin, it might help to take a read of what’s below. In this article, we have put together some of the best advice on getting into a new sport, so that you can hopefully find it much easier to do so. As long as you have considered the following, you might find yourself getting started in a new sport before too long, and enjoying the numerous benefits that come along with that.

Deciding on Your Sport

Probably a good first step here is to make sure that you are aware of what sport you would most like to get into. There are so many sports out there which are played every day that you can’t even count them, so you know that you are not going to run out of ideas here. In fact, you might find that you have the opposite problem, and you actually struggle to narrow it down to a few sports you might like to try. Nonetheless, that is a good way of going about it, and it’s worth trying to find a way to bring your list of potential sports down to just one or two that seem worthwhile and interesting to you.

It can often be the case that a particular life situation means that you are going to lean more to one or two particular sports. For instance, it might be that your local neighborhood has a baseball team and not much else, in which case you might choose to go for that. Or you might be tall, and consider you have good chance in the world of basketball. But in general, assuming you have a number of sports to choose from, it should mostly be about what you genuinely think you would enjoy most of all. Read the rest of this entry →

When most people think of elbow injuries, they think of overuse injuries like tennis elbow or golfer’s elbow. Overuse injuries like these are common, but so are acute elbow injuries like an elbow hyperextension.

Many professional athletes have suffered from hyperextended elbows during their careers, including former Phoenix Suns center Kurt Thomas, former Florida Gators running back Jeff Demps, and current free agent wide receiver Malcolm Mitchell.

Whether you’re a budding professional athlete or someone who enjoys the occasional recreational game, it’s important to understand elbow hyperextension. It’s especially important if your sport of choice is basketball, football, or boxing.

Read on to learn about the most common causes of this injury, along with tips on how to prevent and treat it.

What is Elbow Hyperextension?

Elbow hyperextension is an injury that occurs when the elbow is bent backward and moves beyond its normal range of motion. When the elbow is beyond its normal range, people typically experience the following symptoms:

• A popping sound

• Immediate pain

• Pain when touching or moving the elbow

• Swelling at or around the elbow

• Redness at the elbow

• Joint stiffness

• Muscle spasms

• Loss of strength in the affected arm

• Loss of joint mobility

Sometimes, people with elbow hyperextensions also experience elbow dislocations. In severe cases, people with a hyperextended elbow may also experience elbow deformities or a reduction in circulation in the affected arm.

Some research also shows that repetitive hyperextension injuries can cause some pathological changes to the bones and soft tissues of the elbow joint. Read the rest of this entry →

Of all the injuries that can affect runners, ankle injuries are one of the most common. Even professional runners like Olympians Usain Bolt and Paula Radcliffe have dealt with ankle injuries that negatively affected their careers.

Whether you’re an Olympic hopeful or just someone who runs for fun, it’s crucial that you take steps to keep ankle injuries at bay. Not only can an injured ankle prevent you from running consistently, but it can also negatively affect your movement patterns and make other forms of exercise more difficult.

Read on to learn everything you need to know about preventing ankle injuries while running.

Common Ankle Injuries for Runners

The following ankle injuries are probably the most common ones that can affect runners:

Ankle Sprains

An ankle sprain occurs when the ligaments of the ankle are damaged or torn.

In runners, ankle sprains are often the result of a misstep when coming down from a curb, or from tripping over rocks or cracks in the road or sidewalk.

Often, sprains do not cause lasting damage, particularly if they’re mild and diagnosed early. They’re typically characterized by swelling and constant pain, even when you’re at rest.

Overuse Injuries

As their name suggests, overuse injuries are the result of overuse.

In runners, some common overuse injuries include posterior tibial tendonitis, which affects the back of the ankle, and peroneal tendonitis, which affects the inside of the ankle.

With overuse injuries, you’ll likely feel pain during activity, but not when you’re at rest.

Stress Fractures

Stress fractures are small cracks or severe bruising that affects the bone. Stress fractures can be brought on by an acute injury, like a fall, or by overuse. Runners are particularly prone to stress fractures in the ankles and the feet.

How to Prevent Ankle Injuries

In order to avoid these common ankle injuries, it’s important to take the precautionary measures. They’ll help you strengthen your ankles so that you’re more resilient. They can also correct improper movement patterns that increase your injury risk. Read the rest of this entry →