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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A combination of gymnastics, weightlifting, sprinting, and jumping, pole vaulting is one of the most technically demanding events in athletics. Pole vaulters must be fast, powerful, strong, agile, and brave to succeed in this challenging and sometimes dangerous sport.
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Boxing itself and training for boxing can get you in great shape -- boxers are among the fittest of all athletes. Success in boxing requires strength, muscular endurance, aerobic and anaerobic fitness, power, courage -- and plenty of heart.
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Javelin is a power throwing event. Although the javelin is quite light, javelin throwers must be strong, fast and athletic to be able to launch the javelin as far as possible. Throwing a javelin is a whole body movement that starts with a fast run-up and ends with the arm whipping through as fast as possible.
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It’s often easy to overlook the effect that exercise has on the skeletal system because the bones and other associated skeletal organs are very much out of sight and out of mind.
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Flexing your spine uses your rectus abdominus muscles at the front of your body and also stretches the erector spinea muscles of your back. Spinal flexion, in which you lean forward and round your back, can be active, such as when performing sit ups or crunches, or passive, as when leaning down to tie your shoe laces.
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One of the best ways to get the most out of a skiing trip is to arrive fit, healthy and ready to ski. Poor levels of fitness can mean that you ski less than you'd like to because you fatigue quickly. Being ski fit can may also reduce your risk of injury.
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Your shoulder girdle is made up of your clavicle and scapula bones, which connect together to form a ring that sits on top of your rib cage. There are four movements that your shoulder girdle can perform -- elevation, depression, protraction and depression.
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Knock knees describes a condition where your knees fall in towards the midline of your body rather than staying neutrally aligned. Knock knees can be caused by tight inner thigh muscles pulling your legs inwards, or weak outer thigh muscles allowing your knees to drop in.
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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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Throwing events are amongst the oldest in track and field athletics. Where competitors once threw rocks and spears, they now use the shot and javelin. Throwing events require great strength and throwers are usually the biggest athletes in any athletic competition.
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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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Circuit training involves moving through a series of exercises with little or no rest in between exercises.
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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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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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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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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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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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Keeping the muscles around your knee strong, specifically the quadriceps and hamstrings, maintains knee stability and long-term knee health. If your knee tracks incorrectly, it is more prone to wear and tear which could lead to osteoarthritis.
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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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