Sports & Fitness: Performance Training, Rules & Recovery

Elite athletic performance and general fitness are sustained through structured hypertrophy strategies, sport-specific conditioning, and rigorous adherence to injury prevention protocols.

Male shot putter holding shot

Main Muscles Used During a Shot Put

The shot put is an athletic throwing event that involves putting, or pushing, a heavy metal ball with one hand as far as possible from a circle 7 feet in diameter. The shot put has been featured in every modern Olympic games since 1896.

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Athletic Male Runner Stretching

Stretches for Tight Gluteus Muscles

Your gluteus maximus, medius and minimus muscles -- glutes for short -- are essentially your butt. The largest and most powerful muscle group in your body, glutes are responsible for movements such as extending your hip to the rear when you sprint or climb stairs.

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Man doing push-ups outdoors

Will Pushups Make the Arms & Chest Bigger?

Pushups are the most common and popular bodyweight exercises for the upper body. Pushups work the pectoralis major muscles of your chest and the triceps brachii of your rear upper arm. In addition, pushups also work your anterior deltoids or front shoulder muscles.

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Middle Eastern man exercising with dumbbells

Is a Weighted Vest Bad for Your Back?

Weighted vests make exercises such as push ups, walking, jogging and playing sports more challenging. Vests can weigh as little 5 pounds or they can exceed 80 pounds. You can adjust most weighted vests by adding or removing metal ingots from the pockets.

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McKenzie Exercises for Back Pain

Many people spend long periods of time in a seated position. Being seated promotes a flexed spinal posture which, according to back expert and author Stuart McGill, can cause intervertebral discs to bulge outwards resulting in pain and inhibited spinal extension.

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Woman running

Do Weighted Vests Help When Running

A weighted vest is a device used by exercisers to make workouts more challenging. Weight vests are available in a variety of styles, but most are made of strong nylon, held in place with elastic Velcro straps and are weight-adjustable by adding or removing metal ingots.

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Relaxing Mature Woman

Why Are My Muscles Getting Smaller After Lifting Weights?

Muscle growth is facilitated by an anabolic or building-up process called hypertrophy. Hypertrophy places a greater-than-normal strain on your muscles, is affected by a number of factors and can only occur in favorable physiological conditions. If your muscles are getting smaller, they are atrophying.

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Push-Ups On Medicine Ball

Exercies to Strengthen the Stabilizers in the Shoulder

The scapula is the largest bone within the shoulder girdle and is normally held flat against your rib cage by your serratus anterior and rhomboid muscles. If theses muscles become stretched and/or weak, your scapula can lift -- a condition called winging.

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Happy boxer training in a gym

When Punching a Boxing Bag, What Muscles Are You Using?

Hitting a punch bag is a great workout -- not just for your arms but your whole body. Long “rounds” of three minutes will develop your anaerobic fitness and muscular endurance, while shorter “rounds” of higher intensity punching will develop power and strength.

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Superman

Exercises to Straighten My Lower Back

Spending long periods of time sitting at a desk or driving a car can cause your lower back to become rounded. Tight muscles, combined with weak abdominals, can make this rounded position become habitual, which places a significant strain on the ligaments and discs of the lower back.

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Male shot putter holding shot

Shotput Workouts

Shotput is an athletic field event where competitors take turns throwing a heavy metal ball from a 7-foot diameter circle using one arm. The shot is pushed -- called putting -- as opposed to thrown under or over arm.

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Weighted Back Pack Vs. Weighted Vest

Weighted vests and backpacks are used by sportsmen and recreational exercisers looking to add an extra element to their workouts and develop an even higher level of fitness and conditioning. To avoid developing lower limb or back injuries, slowly increase the load and intensity of your workouts.

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Cute female boxer training in a gym

How to Make a Homemade Punching Bag

A punching bag provides an effective workout for boxers and fitness enthusiasts alike. Hitting a punch bag will condition the muscles of your arms, shoulders, chest and core--your abdominal muscles, waist and lower back--as well as burn plenty of calories.

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Badminton rackets and birdie

Strength Training for Badminton

Badminton players need to possess a variety of fitness capabilities to be successful. Cardiovascular fitness, flexibility, agility, power and strength are all desirable traits that can be developed with regular training.

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Blonde woman stretching arms

How To Stop Slouching

Slouching describes a rounding of the upper or thoracic vertebrae that is often accompanied by a forward head carry and is commonly referred to as hyper kyphosis. Spending too much time sitting at a desk or driving a car can lead to developing a slouch, as can being tall and habitually bending forward.

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Young woman leaning back in chair, side view

How To Fix Slouching

A rounded upper back, sometimes called a slouch, is correctly called hyperkyphosis. Hyperkyphosis can be caused by a number of factors including tight chest muscles, weak upper back muscles, an imbalanced exercise program with too much emphasis on pecs development or spending too much time sitting at a desk or driving.

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