E.O.T.D.

Exercise of the day

Overhead press

We will also be reviewing the squat

2011 CrossFit Games

What are the 2011 Reebok CrossFit Games?

The CrossFit Games are the ultimate test of fitness, and the winners are crowned Fittest on Earth. It's a grueling multi-day competition in which the world's fittest athletes compete in a variety of workouts. What are the workouts? Each year they change, and the details of them are not announced until a couple days before the event. This means that all year long, the athletes are training for a competition whose format is almost completely a mystery.

The 2011 Reebok CrossFit Games

The 2011 Games will take place at the Home Depot Center in Los Angeles on July 29-31 with a $1million total purse. There are five main competitions: Men’s Individual, Women’s Individual, Affiliate Cup Teams, and Men’s Masters and Women’s Masters (each with four age divisions: 45-50, 50-55, 55-60, 60+). The Fittest Man and Woman on Earth will each receive $250,000 cash, provided by Reebok. There will also be many cash and material prizes for the other winners and top performers.

Qualifying for the 2011 Reebok CrossFit Games

All the athletes who compete in the Games must qualify first. The top few athletes from each of the 17 Regional Qualifiers are invited to the Games. The athletes competing in each of the Regional Qualifiers are the top 60 men and 60 women from the CrossFit Games Open, a six-week, worldwide competition. The top 30 teams in the Open from each region also compete in the Regional for the opportunity to qualify for the Games.

Get Ready for the CrossFit Games Open!

The 2011 season will start with the CrossFit Games Open on March 15th. The Open is a six-week-long competition open to anyone in the world. There will be one workout per week, and athletes must submit a validated performance, either by uploading a video of the workout or by performing it at a Registered Affiliate. Everyone will be ranked instantly with everyone else in their region and with everyone else in the world.

The new website will go live on March 7th, and will have all the rules, regulations, and registration options in full detail. The cost will be $10 in the US and Canada, $5 in the rest of the world. The Open will also screen the top athletes and teams for Regional Qualifiers, and Masters athletes directly for the Games. All aspiring Regional and Games competitors must register on the Open Website no later than March 20th at 17:00 PDT. Each week athletes from around the world will complete the same workout, and submit their validated times or video proof to the Open Website. The best athletes and teams will progress.

Next are the Regional Qualifiers. There will be 17 Regionals around the world, with 10 in the United States and 7 abroad. They will be held over four weekends between May 27th and June 19th. Each Regional will send approximately 3 athletes of each gender and 3 teams to the Games, depending on the region’s size. Full details will be released shortly.

School, Homework, Pump Iron

By KEVIN HELLIKER

Twelve-year-old Amanda Starr and her 10-year-old sister, Natalie, use medicine-ball exercises to build muscle. "I can do 15 military-style pushups," says Natalie, a San Diego fifth-grader, noting that six months ago she could do only seven.

The Starr sisters are part of a nascent muscle-strengthening craze among the nation's young. Strength training, once limited to high school football teams, has become a standard workout feature for participants in youth soccer, swimming, wrestling, basketball and baseball. And it is fast catching hold among kids who don't play organized sports at all.

The percentage of health clubs and community gyms offering youth fitness and strength-training programs is on the rise. Meanwhile, even as gym class fades as a school requirement, weight training as an elective is growing in popularity. At Walter Payton College Prep in Chicago, the student body recently persuaded administrators to open the school's weight room an hour before classes start each morning. "There are 20, 30, sometimes 40 kids in there lifting weights before school—girls and boys," says Arlene Bertoni-Mancine, Payton's physical education chief.

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Sandy Huffaker for The Wall Street Journal

Natalie Starr, in pink, and her sister, Amanda, practice strength training at home in San Diego with their mother.

The trend is heartening to public-health officials who once opposed strength training for kids but now recommend it as a way to control weight, improve motor skills, increase bone density, normalize blood sugar, lower cholesterol and build confidence. "In the past, PE teachers always emphasized aerobic programs that left bigger kids feeling like failures," says Stephen Ball, a University of Missouri exercise physiologist. "But the weight room is where those kids will develop a love of physical activity."

A large-scale embrace of youth strength-training faces a Catch 22, though. Even the most passionate advocates warn that children should engage in weight training only under expert supervision. But expertise is most common at gyms, health clubs and community centers, where strength-training equipment has often been off-limits to minors. Meanwhile, as more school districts have minimized or eliminated physical education, many school gyms have become the exclusive province of sports teams. "That's the real challenge—providing supervised opportunities for kids in the weight room," says Boyd Epley, director of coaching performance at the National Strength and Conditioning Association, in Colorado Springs, Colo.

Red Bull - BC One - The Movie 2010

Obesity in Children & Exercise

Overview

Too much fast food and too little physical play and exercise have contributed to an increase in the number of children who are overweight and obese. According to a 2008 article by Jerome Brand, Ph.D. and Larry Proctor, Ph.D., published by the American College of Sports Medicine, childhood obesity has tripled to more than 15 percent and has become a root disease for children in the United States. This means that other health issues develop because a child is obese.

Childhood-onset of Type-2 Diabetes

According to a 2009 article by Natalie Muth, M.D., published by the American Council on Exercise, obesity is the number one cause of insulin resistance, eventually leading to type-2 diabetes. The cells of the body do not respond to insulin as they normally would, which causes a rise in blood sugar. Dr. Muth reports that if a child is diagnosed with diabetes at age 10, boys will lose 18.7 years of life and girls will lose 19 years of life. There is a parallel increase in obesity, diabetes and metabolic syndrome.

BMI Calculator Barix Clinics has helped over 35,000 when diets have failed. BarixClinics.com/Fresh-Start

Think outside the box...

Nike: My better is better

CHILDREN: THE IMPORTANCE OF PROPER PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT

Today we bring back the topic of raising physically well-developed children. Majority of parents recognizes and understands that while everybody is born with a certain potential, whatever it is, it needs to be developed and worked on regularly. It takes attention, work and time to help your children develop the various essential skills.

Before developing the skills, however, children need to develop their bodies to provide adequate physical strength to support further development, where everything is in good balance – good strong arms, legs, feet, etc. The entire "system" needs to operate in unison, for it is only as strong as it's weakest link.

Good physical development does not happen on it's own. It requires a systematic approach and consistent work. Even the ones born with better genetic makeup than others, could benefit tremendously from proper guidance.

During these shoe-wearing-days, there is one more thing to do before even starting the work – take the shoes off! The proper development of feet is essential for the proper development of the entire body. It is important to allow your children (of all ages) to run around barefoot (shoeless) on a daily basis. This could be added to the daily routine at any point and at any age to start enjoying the benefits. The earlier you start, the better it is. The benefits of spending time barefoot greatly out-weigh the occasional accidents, bruises and cuts, which actually will help develop a better perception, as well.

Always remember, however, that "barefoot" does not equal "correct" movement. "Correct" needs to be taught by developing a better perception and "barefoot" helps us get there faster and on better terms.

Shoes are the necessary evil these days, so wearing the right shoes is extremely important. Unfortunately, 99% of modern shoes do not protect and help, they harm and disable human feet. Do a search online and you will find plenty of articles by various reputable professionals on this topic. The other rare 1% is very suitable and highly recommended for daily wear as well as for athletic training.

We will continue this topic in the following articles by helping you build an acceptable and effective regimen for your children. In conclusion of today's segment, we'd like to point out one very important aspect of working on proper physical development from an early age.

This is a real treat that comes as a bonus, but is actually a direct result of the approach developed and implemented by Dr. Romanov. It is his belief based on already existing results, that consistent work and correct actions create a possibility of not only developing solid basics, but also taking it a whole world further by eventually correcting genetically predetermined disadvantages.

Article by Dr. Nicholas Romanov
Composed by L. Romanov 

Exercise/ Movement of the week

The air squat

Lateral movement

Youth Fitness Program

The Youth Fitness Program will begin this week.

• Monday's at 4pm for ages 8 to 11
• Tuesday's at 4:30pm for ages 12 to 15
• Thursday's at 4:30pm for ages 5 to 7 (parental involvment is encourged, but not manditory)

Let the FUN begin!!!!

Ray

My wife Suzanne & son River

Exposing your child to fitness and sport may strike an interest later in life...


Think about it...


Ray

Physical Activity in Your Daily Life

At HomeIt's convenient, comfortable and safe to work out at home. It allows your children to see you being active, which sets a good example for them. You can combine exercise with other activities, such as watching TV.  If you buy exercise equipment, it's a one-time expense and other family members can use it.  It's easy to have short bouts of activity several times a day. Try these tips:

• Do housework yourself instead of hiring someone else to do it.    
• Work in the garden or mow the grass. Using a riding mower doesn't count!  Rake leaves, prune, dig and pick up trash.    
• Go out for a short walk before breakfast, after dinner or both!  Start with 5-10 minutes and work up to 30 minutes.    
• Walk or bike to the corner store instead of driving.    
• When walking, pick up the pace from leisurely to brisk. Choose a hilly route. When watching TV, sit up instead of lying on the sofa. Better yet, spend a few minutes pedaling on your stationary bicycle while watching TV. Throw away your video remote control. Instead of asking someone to bring you a drink, get up off the couch and get it yourself.    
• Stand up while talking on the telephone.    
• Walk the dog.
• Park farther away at the shopping mall and walk the extra distance.  Wear your walking shoes and sneak in an extra lap or two around the mall.
• Stretch to reach items in high places and squat or bend to look at items at floor level.    
• Keep exercise equipment repaired and use it!

At the OfficeMost of us have sedentary jobs. Work takes up a significant part of the day. What can you do to increase your physical activity during the work day? Why not...:

• Brainstorm project ideas with a co-worker while taking a walk.    
• Stand while talking on the telephone.    
• Walk down the hall to speak with someone rather than using the telephone.    
• Take the stairs instead of the elevator. Or get off a few floors early and take the stairs the rest of the way.    
• Walk while waiting for the plane at the airport.    
• Stay at hotels with fitness centers or swimming pools and use them while on business trips.    
• Take along a jump rope in your suitcase when you travel.  Jump and do calisthenics in your hotel room.    
• Participate in or start a recreation league at your company.    
• Form a sports team to raise money for charity events.    
• Join a fitness center or Y near your job. Work out before or after work to avoid rush-hour traffic, or drop by for a noon workout.    
• Schedule exercise time on your business calendar and treat it as any other important appointment.
• Get off the bus a few blocks early and walk the rest of the way to work or home.    
• Walk around your building for a break during the work day or during lunch.