What you do not know about exercising in the gym

I’ve seen many people make the mistake of going to the gym and starting to work out on all the machines. They seem very excited at first and run through everything. In less then two weeks I see them only doing the bicycle or the treadmill. In another two weeks I stop seeing them at all because they have given up – seen no results and just quit. Training like this is not only a waste of money but also a waste of time. Every respectable gym has trainers and nutritionist. All you need to do is let them know what you want to do with your body - Do you want to lose weight? Or perhaps you want to gain a few pounds? Do you want to make your muscles show more? These people will monitor your results and change your workout schedule according to what your body needs. You might not see why doing the machines in a specific order matters but they do and if you ask they will explain it to you. There is the right way and the wrong way to workout in the gym, hopefully you’ll choose the right one!

What you do not know about exercising in the gym

Clock Malfunction in Game 2 of the semifinal between the Pistons and Magic

The second game of the semifinals between the Detroit Pistons and Orlando Magic, that was played on the 5th of May, 2008, turned out to be a disaster. The score was 100-93 and the Pistons were the winners. Although the stop of the clock that happened unintentionally wasn’t going to change the end result of the game much, NBA President Joel Litvin had to make a statement. They found out that the clock stopped because of a technical malfunction in the Arena’s systems. In every game of the NBA Playoffs there is a “timekeeper” who makes sure the clocks run properly and, of course, he doesn’t favor either one of the teams. Since the human error factor was ruled out, this puts a black point in the Palace of Auburn performance. But can we really blame the Arena? No one is insured against technical problems. Bottom line is that the dispute is about a 3 point shot that team captain for the Pistons, Chauncey Billups, made. Billups made the shot in 5.7 seconds and if the clock had run properly he would’ve had only 5.1 seconds to complete it. The rules in such cases are set and we’ll just have to wait until the end of the month when the committee will come up with a decision.

Real Madrid wins the Primera Division for the 31st time

Even if they end up losing all remaining matches, which I doubt anyone would expect to happen, Real Madrid have guaranteed themselves the champions of the elite Spanish soccer tournament - the Primera Division. This was assured by their win over CA Osasuna Pamplona this Sunday (May 4, 2008) as a visitor with 1-2. The match was entertaining especially in the beginning of the second half when Fabio Cannavaro was shown the red card (after the second yellow). This, however, was not enough to stop the “whites”. There isn’t a better way for the defending champions to secure their cup yet again, then to have a great season and be able to relax in the last few matches. Their upcoming matches against FC Barcelona on the 7^th of May, 2008, Real Zaragoza on the 11^th and UD Levante Valencia on the 18^th have no say in deciding the new Spanish champion. The fight for the honorable 2nd and 3rd places is yet to be fought and hopefully many great goals will be scored.

We love Serena in Germany Open 2008

The US tennis star Serena Williams is one of the best players in the world. She has a significant influence on the game both with her fabulous style and technique. Unlike most of her fellow tennis players she actually looks like a woman. In her match today (6^th of May, 2008) we saw some amazing plays, aces, and her opponent Schiavone seemed to make quite a few unforced errors. The Italian player lost to Williams 2:6, 3:6. Serena won the match with 9 aces and unfortunately Francesca had 0 aces. Williams has won over 19 million dollars of prize money and to tell you the truth probably millions more from her sponsor Nike. Schiavone on the other hand has taken out of tennis the “modest” sum of over 3 million dollars. In the games that they have played against each other Schiavone has always won at least 4 sets in each match. The other scores for the matches in the 2^nd round are: Elena Dementieva (RUS) smashed Kateryna Bondarenko (UKR) with 6:1, 6:2. The other victory was that of Marion Bartoli (FRA) against Lucie Safarove (CZE) with the disappointing 6:0, 6:3.

Qatar Telecom German Open 2008

This tennis tournament takes place in the Steffi Graf Stadium in the German capital of Berlin. It is one of the few courts where there are tall trees behind the benches that provide some shade on one of the tennis courts. This makes the game difficult for the players in the shade because when the ball comes at fast speed from the light into the shade it is very difficult to see. The final will be on the 11^th of May, 2008. The Qatar Telecom German Open is named that because Qatar has a lot of money and Germany has a lot of experience in tennis and this makes for a mutually beneficial relationship. Here is the breakdown of the points and prize money which totals at $1,3 million. The winner receives a total of $196,900 and 430 ranking points. The finalist receives $100,000 and 300 ranking points. The semifinalists receive $51,000 and 195 ranking points.

CSKA Moscow has won its sixth Euro league Title

The Russian capital’s basketball team threatens to beat the score of the all-time record holders for this championship – Real Madrid. For the title CSKA Moskow played against Maccabi Tel Aviv and secured a win with 77-91. Before the break, the game seemed as if it can go either way with an almost equal score of 42:41 which is only one point advance for CSKA Moskow. After the game was renewed Maccabi’s players seemed rather warn-out on the court and they were not able to prevent their opponent from winning the championship. The Euroleague in Madrid 2008 is an anniversary championship, celebrating 50 years of great slams. The battle for third place was played between the teams of Montepaschi Siena and Tau Ceramica, where Siena barely won with 97-93. The champion CSKA Moskow is only sixth in the ranking system with 519 ranking points, and the leader of the ranking system is Maccabi Elite with 581 ranking points.

Snooker final brings excitement in the fourth session

As soon as The Roket and Ali had taken their seats for the fourth and final session of the 888.com World Snooker Championship, a crazy person from the audience jumped naked on the arena, circled a few times around the snooker table and hid under it. The security was very fast and soon everyone forgot about the accident. As expected Ronnie O’Sullivan won the championship with a score of 18 frames to 8. Ali was rather disappointed but in all honesty I don’t think anyone had put money on him. The Rocket and Ali are sparring partners and friends and out of the 8 (now 9) matches they have played against each other in official games Ronnie has won all of them. We wish Ali a better luck next time. It was nice to see Ronnie O’Sullivan the Third sit on the snooker table and pose with daddy O’Sullivan and his partner in life Jo Langley, as well as his daughters Taylor-Ann and Lilly. Ronnie and Jo met at a narcotics anonymous support group.

The patience to power up

Many of us think that being strong, healthy, and good looking are things that you are either born with or you aren’t. We watch our David Beckham score and we think “Wow he has got talent!” If you have been in a team or a sport’s activity for individuals, chances are that your coach has told you numerous of times “Winning is 10% talent and 90% hard work.” I’ll tell you the same. Being in good shape - strong and looking good is not something you are born with but something you should have the patience to achieve. So I want to encourage you sports fans not to give up your exercises. NO, you don’t have to kill yourself in the gym or on the field everyday. If you have patience and perseverance you will achieve your goal no matter if it is getting the first serve in (tennis), scoring a goal (soccer), losing weight (fitness & training), or any extreme or not sport that you are interested in. And remember - you need patience to power up!

The patience to power up

Exercise with water or Gatorade/Powerade ?

Yes, drinks such as Gatorade and Powerade have become very popular. They are present in high school sports games, professional sports games, and you can buy them in your gym. But are they what you need during and after your workout or should you stick with “the source of life” - water? I’ll tell you what they are, and you can make that decision for yourself. Energy drinks are especially made for athletes. Their main characteristic is to supply the body with sodium chloride, or salt, and water. When you workout you lose both salt and water thorough your sweat. Professional athletes are on very strict and controlled diets – they don’t eat whatever they like. But you and me – we eat what we feel like eating, and most of the time, especially if we eat in a fast food place we can exceed the daily amount of sodium intake. So, be wise when you chose to take a sip of water or of Gatorade. Think of your diet. If you have already eaten a lot of salt then go with water, if not then Gatorade is the more appropriate choice for you.

Exercise with water or Gatorade/Powerade ?

Congratulations to Nadal for his FOURTH Barcelona Title

The Spanish tennis player Rafael Nadal wins his fourth Barcelona Title in a row. This is Nadal’s second title this year, both of which he won on clay, and 25^th in his career. Nadal has won 103 of his last 104 matches on red courts which makes him the “Red Court Master”. In order to reach his fourth Barcelona Final, Nadal beat the German tennis player Gremelmayr 6:1, 6:0. The other player that reached the final was David Ferrer who won his battle against the Switzerland’s Stanislas Wawrinka 7:6, 6:3. The final match was won by Nadal with 6:1, 4:6, 6:1. Rafa received a check for $211 000 and 300 points. Ferrer’s prize was $111 000 and 210 points. The total amount of prize money was $1.38 million. Hopefully we will be seeing even more great plays form Spain’s 21 year-old tennis superstar, because he showed us that he has fully recovered from the bad start of season 2008.

Congratulations to Nadal for his FOURTH Barcelona Title