Which Witch is Which? Part III: I-N

When it comes to joint pain, arthritis is undeniably one of the biggest culprits, but we should not let that cloud our judgment. Yes, arthritis can cause severe elbow joint pain, but surprisingly enough, this is less frequent than what many people believe.

One common cause of elbow pain is a condition known as tennis elbow, and no, it does not only affect tennis players. Approximately 50% of people who participate regularly in a racquet sport will get tennis elbow at some point, but even so, the vast majority of cases involve people who do not play any type of racquet sport. Anyone with a job that is demanding on their forearm muscles is particularly at risk. Plumbers, electricians, painters, and even butchers are prime candidates.

Conventional treatment usually involves physiotherapy and pain relief medication, and sufferers are instructed to avoid using their elbow or elbows excessively. In more severe cases, patients may receive corticosteroid injections which are administered into the immediate area. Having said all that, many people are reluctant to have these injections, and many also can not afford to pay for physiotherapy. Instead, they tend to opt for natural remedies such as fish oil supplements and supplements containing New Zealand Green Lipped Mussel extract.

Nerve entrapment is another very common cause of elbow pain, but fortunately it is relatively easy to determine whether or not this is the cause of your elbow pain. In most cases of nerve entrapment, a person will also experience a tingling sensation in their little finger and their ring finger. If there is enough pressure being applied to the nerve which is trapped, the tingling can be replaced with near total numbness.

Nerve entrapment is usually self-correcting. In other words, with enough rest, the pain should eventually go away, although there are cases where surgical intervention is required so that the ulnar nerve can be repositioned.

Bone tumors can also cause a significant amount of pain in one's elbow, but in truth, this is actually very rare. As with bone tumors, septic arthritis is yet another disease which can certainly cause severe elbow joint pain, but it too is very uncommon. Additionally, it is more often than not easily treated with antibiotics, although surgery may be necessary in very severe cases.

While joint pain is often caused by medical conditions such as some of those I have discussed above, it can also quite often be caused by nothing more than a nutrient deficiency. Joints are generally high maintenance body parts, and as such, they are dependent on a healthy diet. If you know your diet is not providing you with all the vitamins and minerals your body needs, you really should try to make a few changes, or alternatively, you should consider supplementing your diet.

8 Exercises to Create an Athletic Physique

More and more people are becoming tired of the "Bodybuilder" look. Let's cut to the chase. Most people want to look good to attract the opposite sex. It's really that simple. What kind of body does that? The answer is in multiple magazines, on tons of websites as well as in many playing arenas. The "Athletic Body" is the answer!

If you compare the bodies of today to that of the late 80's and 90's that are "attractive or desirable", you will see that men are Athletic/Natural Muscle and women are curvy with good muscle tone. Gone are the days of the no-neck, roid-raging, waddling bodybuilder and the stick figure no-ass having bleach blondes with crazy crimped bangs. We have entered the hot athletic body era.

How do you develop the Athletic Body that the opposite sex wants to see on you? There are of course many ways. Let me be clear and mention I do NOT want to discount the importance of Traditional Weight Training. There are many benefits to weight training. However, for now I want to focus strictly on the Athletic Look. An athlete can do what? They can perform! In order to perform they must be able to use their body as a vehicle to respond to their every whim. Would you agree?

So doesn't it make sense that in order to get your body to respond to your athletic desires (as is the necessity of the athlete), you should do workouts which incorporate body movements? Remember that "form follows function." In other words, if you force your body to perform a function the form that is necessary for that function will follow. You are probably asking, "What are these functions that will create the form we want?" The answer is bodyweight exercises, and derivations of them.

Yeah I know! I love the weights and talk a lot about them; but, we can't deny the results from good ol' pull-ups, push-ups, and lunges, et cetera. You must perform these types of exercises to tie all the weight training together to create the ultimate athletic physique. Do you perform these exercises already or are some too difficult or boring?

If you find them too difficult or boring I have a couple ideas to help you out with that. Finding a way to make the exercises easier or more exciting can help you get to where you are able to push past that plateau. A great way to accomplish this is to add assistance, thus reducing your effective bodyweight in a given bodyweight exercise. If you already do many of these exercises with full bodyweight and find them too easy, I have a couple ideas to take them to a completely different level. This is accomplished by performing variations that spice up these basic exercises and stimulate the kind of results your workouts may currently be lacking. A great way to add structure and variation simultaneously to your workout plan is my using the right equipment for your body movement exercise.

At this point you're probably wondering, "how is using this piece of equipment going to enhance body movement exercises?" The best way to describe this is to take the simple exercises, explain what they will do to help you reach your maximum athletic appearance development and give variations for each. Without any further ado the exercises for the ultimate athletic physique and their variations depending upon fitness level or fatigue.

Upper Body

Pull-Ups / Chin-Ups

Look at most athletes from behind and you will see an awesome V-taper. That is the result of a great set of Lats. What is one of the top ways to develop Lats? What else, but none other than Pull-ups and Chin-Ups! The problem is that many people can only do a few reps, if any. That is not enough to elicit the kind of changes needed to create the Athletic Physique. How do we overcome this? You can opt to use an assisted-pull up with the help of a plate-loading machine that will provide a counterbalance on your body weight, which allows you to work with less than our full bodyweight. The result is more reps and more results.

Now if you are already extremely strong, you can actually do 15 or more good reps! So now what? How about you try using ONE ARM! Most people can't do TRUE single arm pull-ups (not the grab the other wrist kind, but true single arm pull-ups). With the assisted pull-up you can add some weight to counterbalance your own body weight and do single arm work. This is the perfect twist to a basic exercise to push your body to the next level.

Oh and let's not forget that pull-ups and chin-ups are perfect for developing the biceps and rear delts, when done right!

Push-Ups

What can I say about push-ups? They are a staple for chest and triceps development. By placing your hands at a higher level you decrease the difficulty. By planting the feet higher you increase the difficulty. You can try single arm push-ups as well. If you want to mix the two ideas, you can come up with some serious chest development. An example would be to plant the hands at an elevated level and use only one arm. This reduces the load on that arm via the angle you are at and allows more reps. The result is a variation sure to challenge your body to adapt.

Dips

Many would consider dips one of the best exercises for triceps, lower chest and front shoulder development. If you are having trouble knocking out 10 reps then assisted dips are the key to getting past that plateau and getting the results you are looking for. If you easing knock out 20 reps then a drop set is an idea to take it to the next level. "A drop set on a bodyweight exercise?" That's what I said! By adding weight to the counter-lever on the Dip-Assist on successive sets one after the other you are essentially doing a "drop-set." As you know, drop sets are highly effective.

Lower Body

Squats / Lunges

Developing the total Athletic Physique means getting those legs going too! Often neglected by many TALKERS, always done by DOERS! Do you talk or do you do? If you are a doer and looking to get the balanced physique, it's hard to beat squats and lunges. If you have difficulty performing squats or are coming off of an injury, assisted squats may be the perfect option. This allows you to work with less than your body weight to build up the necessary strength.

If you already do tons of squats this is a great way to work until failure and then hit additional reps with assistance to push to a new tier. Another way to use the machine to take this exercise to a new level is to be able to perform Single Leg Squat with the assistance. I don't care how good of shape you are in. Single leg squats are very challenging. This apparatus gives you the chance to do massive numbers of reps with single leg for the extreme athlete for incredible changes in the Athletic Physique.

Lunges are another good exercise for the legs. To enhance the lunge or build up to it you can do Single Leg Press Downs on the Assistance Pad. Whether you are trying to build strength to lunge or push to a new level all you have to do is adjust the amount of resistance you add.

Abs and Lower Back

Crunches and Hanging Leg Raises

It doesn't get much simpler than crunches to work the abs. Lie down on the floor and crunch away. Let's say you want to take it to a new level. On a pull-up bar or using a plate-assisted machine, you can perform knee raises. This is a simple exercise. Just grab on to the bar and lift your knees being sure to tilt the pelvis for maximum abdominal engagement. If you find this easy you can keep the legs straight throughout the movement and do traditional Leg Raises. Whichever you choose, you are sure to hit the abs and lower back.

Get Ready For the Joys of Being a Grandparent

Any way you look at it, being a grandparent is an experience that you will never understand until it happens to you. I have heard it compared to the feeling you have the first time you fall in love and to seeing your first child. Grandparents tell me that it just isn't the same. Being a grandparent is God's way of rewarding parents for not strangling his or her children when they are young. Being a grandparent is a parent's revenge on his or her child for late night telephone calls to pull them out of ditches or drive them home because they've been drinking. Being a grandparent and grandparenting can't really be described. A friend told me once that you don't know what unconditional love really is until you become a grandparent. A grandparent looks at this new little life for the first time and it's like God has just handed him or her a piece of his/her heart. The child of your child brings to a grandparent a feeling that can never be duplicated and a bond that can never be broken.

Before you become a grandparent, you can't imagine what it is going to be like. You might think that your friends who have grand children are a little crazy because they seem to think that grandchildren are the most wonderful things in the world. So, what do you do when you find out you are going to be a grandparent?

First of all, as soon as you find out you are going to be a grandparent prepare for your life to change. Next, find out what your resources are. Did you know that there is actually a Grandparents magazine? Online it is called Grandparenting.com. Be thinking about all the things you will be able to teach this little being. You will be surprised at how much they can absorb from the very first day they are a part of the family.

Remember that you are the GRANDPARENT and not the parent. Therefore, you do not have to worry about discipline. The "fill 'em with sugar and then send 'em on home" can be your motto. I would also suggest the motto "discipline as a last resort".

There are laws you need to commit to memory. A deck of cards do not always number 52; you can just as well play with 49. Never, under any circumstance, win a game at the expense of your grandchild. Grandchildren ALWAYS win (even when they don't). There will come a day when your grandchild will become too heavy for you to pick up. Grandparents know everything; you will find this out during your grandchild's first dispute with his/her parents. Get a local cell phone number with unlimited minutes so your grandchild can call and talk to you at anytime.

You should also remember that "the look" that used to knock your child to his knees does not work on grandchildren. They won't even see it.

If you are not going to be living close to your grandchild you will need to be able to create and keep the bond between you. One way is to get a free website online and post messages and photos to your grandchild for you. We have already talked about the unlimited minutes on your cell phone. Visit your grandchild as often as possible and spend as much time with him or her as possible. Send your grandchild mail each week. It doesn't have to be costly; children love getting mail. Little packages addressed only to him or her will be a special treat but a post card of your town will still be special and find a place on the refrigerator.

Always have a special treat for your grandchild when you visit. There should be something special that you always do together. Going to a movie, having a sleep over, or going to see Santa or to the haunted house can be your own ritual that continues till adulthood.

Diets and Vitamins - Why Essential Vitamins Are Important

There may be 15 essential vitamins needed daily for a balanced diet. Knowing what these are can improve our physical and mental lives. The vitamins I will talk about in this article are basic for children. How these vitamins work and which ones you don't want too much of is something I will brief you on.

Vitamins are essential for good health. Some vitamins are known by letters and some by their chemical names and some by both. The body cannot manufacture most vitamins and rely on your balanced diet and/or supplemental consumption.

There are warnings on all vitamins/mineral supplements of accidental overdose. "Accidental overdose of iron-containing products is a leading cause of fatal poisoning in children under 6 years old." "In case of accidental overdose, call a doctor or poison control center immediately."

Children supplements contain Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin D, Vitamin E, Thiamin, Riboflavin, Niacin, Vitamin B6, Folic Acid( Vitamin B12), Biotin, Vitamin B5, Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, and Zinc. Amount per serving are equal to 100% of their needs except in Vitamin A, Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, and Zinc.

Vitamin A is important for the immune system, infections of the kidney, bladder, lungs, and the mucous membrane (the lining around inner parts of our body to keep them moist), protects us against cancer and heart disease, helps skin repair itself, development of bones, and most common night blindness. The reason most multi-vitamins don't have a full days supply is our bodies convert some food we eat into Vitamin A. Beta-carotene is found in green and yellow plants. Plants we eat or eat the fruit of are carrots, cantaloupe, spinach, broccoli, mango, oranges, peaches, garlic, and sweet potatoes, just to name a few. Excessive amount can lead to liver failure. A deficient amount can cause night blindness and dry, itchy skin.

Vitamin C is also known as ascorbic acid. Vitamin C is found in oranges, lemons, and potatoes. It is needed for the maintenance of the ligaments, tendons, and other supportive tissues. Some of these supportive tissues are blood vessels and muscles. Consumption of a healthy diet is best because too little can cause fatigue, swollen gums, nose bleeds, weakness, and scurry. Consumption of too much Vitamin C may cause Kidney stones. Vitamin C is for the immune function, to help keep the body healthy. Vitamin C helps the body absorb iron from food.

Vitamin D increases the absorption of calcium and phosphorus, which leads to stronger bones and teeth. Our bodies can get what we need from the sun's UV rays with just 10-15 minutes twice a week without sunscreen but it is not recommended due to the possibility of skin cancer. Vitamin D deficiency is called rickets which is an abnormal development of the bones. The most common forms of rickets is knock-knees.

Vitamin E is made in or bodies in our intestine by bacteria. It helps with proper clotting of the blood. Vitamin E acts as an antioxidant, helping to maintain a healthy heart. Foods like wheat germ, eggs and roasted nuts in a healthy diet are best.

Should I Use Wedge Blocking In Youth Football?

Wedge Blocking is what the Single Wing offense is famous for. This may appear like the most irregular form of blocking you will experience, but once you witness it in action, you will turn into a believer. You need to realize that it will appear different to instruct and most likely appear helter-skelter at first. It will take outstanding patience and assurance as you instruct this method to the group.

It will be a slow advancement, but as soon as it has been taught the right way, it will be a crushing artillery in your arsenal. Waste no time teaching this system and start teaching this as early as day one. Your team needs to understand how important the wedge series is to the team. You will be capable of gaining a large amount of yards, and even those vital short yardage downs.

This actually is not difficult to show, but make sure that it is taught right. All lineman have to press into the lineman adjacent to him and form an solid area, wedge or upside down V.

The goal is on the snap of the ball, all blockers need to move together and step straight forward and towards the inside together. If you are using zero line splits, it will be simple to seal shoulders with the player adjacent to them. The key is that all linemen move forward together in harmony. Once your line is as close together as they can get, they now need to move together as one. The group cannot allow any defender to break into the wedge. After the wedge is in place, the squad must practice staying together as one, while moving at equal speed. The purpose of the wedge to remain as one and keeping defenders out for as long as conceivable.

The best way to introduce the wedge is for a coach to stand with a dummy over the right side guard and make the players step, seal, and complete the wedge. After this action is perfected, then have the group move as one and try to knock the coach back down the field. Every player needs to step together, as one as they remain in the wedge. I define perfection as being able to execute the play, or in this case the drill for 10 perfect repetitions.

Opponents will attempt many different techniques to try and break up your wedge. One of the more popular techniques is to dive down at your lineman's knees. The best way to counter this move is to use high knees and step on their backs. Defenders will stop diving at your knees almost instantly when you start stepping on them. Another great counter move is to run one of the wedge fake plays. Fake plays can be extremely effective because the whole defense will be "selling out" in an attempt to stop the wedge. The speedy pass routes or delayed reverses work great. Both the Double Wing and Single Wing have complete wedge series. The wedge can be a wonderful series of plays at all age groups.

Tips To Improve Your Bowling Game

In the process of learning how to bowl, people often overlook key elements such as arm swing, lower body leverage and other things that you would think that wouldn't be needed when it comes to the game of bowling. Leaving any of the tips that I listed below out of your game at the lanes will hinder you from bowling at your maximum potential. It's not hard at all, just applying a few of the tips at a time will change your game drastically. So apply each, one step at a time and you'll get the full effect when you step on the lanes next time.

I am going to give you some tips that you can use to improve your game drastically, go ahead and give them a try.

Tip 1 - Keep that arm swing loose

Remember first and foremost, keep your grip relaxed in the ball. To avoid the muscled arm swing don't squeeze your fingers or thumb. To avoid this it's best to head down to a pro shop and get a ball fitted and drilled correctly so you can have a relaxed thumb. Like I said, you don't want to have to squeeze the ball because your thumb doesn't fit.

Tip 2 - Use your lower body leverage It is absolutely necessary that you bend your knees in bowling. Make sure to bend your knee to get lower to the lane on the last step.

Tip 3 - Finish close to the foul line

The closer you are to the foul line the less energy you will have to use. When you're all the way up to the foul line, you'll want to have the ball a short distance over the foul line, which will result in the ball making contact with the lane further down and it'll preserve energy so you can knock down all the pins. The further you are from the foul line the more energy you will have to use.

Tip 4 - Relax your thumb and come through with the ball

If you over lift, or turn the ball during the release it will cause muscling or misdirection of your arm swing. So remember relax your thumb and release the ball with the free arm swing, finish close to the foul line and make sure you have good lower body leverage.

Tip 5 - Bowling is all in the mind!

Visualize the lanes in your mind, define your good shots and do them until they're near perfection.

Tip 6 - The drop off method

Instead of pushing the ball away, hold the ball up at the shoulder level then take a small step but do not move the ball just let it drop down into the swing on the second step.

Tip 7 - Come up with your own style

Whatever you think helps you make your game better and gets you high scores, then by all means use it. Apply the techniques that work for you.

Tip 8 - Watch how the pros do it

Turn to ESPN and watch the PBA games. Study the styles and techniques of the pros and use them.

Hip Pain Relief

You want hip pain relief?

It's like this.

Have you every had to have the wheels of your car re-aligned. What you may have noticed is the tread on one side is worn more than the tread on the other.

Rotating the tyres might stave off the inevitable for a while, particularly if you notice it early enough.

However rotating the tyres is pretty much like re-arranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. It's not going to work for long and you'll just wear out another tyre quicker than normal.

Obviously you need a wheel alignment and you need to balance the wheels.

Lao Tzu said something to the effect that a big problem could have been solved easily when it was a small problem.

As with your tyres, so with your hips.

The sooner you can get them realigned the better.

The problem with hip dysfunction is that it creeps up on you without you noticing it. You feel a bit of a niggle and think it's transitory, it will go away.

It doesn't and it gradually gets worse. You finally get to the point where you have to do something about it. You rub some cr癡me into it. You go to the physio for a rub down, some palpation, the hot pad, vibration and the electric shock treatment. Problem is your hip pain is not caused by a lack of rub down, palpation, heat treatment, vibration or an electric shock t. It's caused by misalignment of your pelvis which in turn is caused by weak and tight muscles somewhere in your lower body.

But first, diagnose the cause of the problem - what's weak, what's tight and what's out of alignment.

For starters, if you can get a couple of digital scales (and you can pick them up for about $20 these days) and stand on them you may find that you're lop-sided. You're carrying more weight on one side of your body than the other.

A diagnostic posture I'd recommend is the sit-up-straight exercise - designed to let you know whether one buttock muscle is tighter than the other. If it is your body will be twisted putting more pressure on one hip than the other.

You may also find that one hamstring is tighter then the other. Again this will cause the pelvis to twist, putting more pressure on one hip than the other.

You may find that your hip flexor muscles and your quadriceps muscles are weak.

You may find that your legs are out of alignment. Maybe you find it difficult to get your knees together when your ankles are together; or you're knock-kneed.

Take a look at your feet, if they're not straight and about 10cms apart (4 inches) when standing, you can bet the misalignment goes right up to your knees and hips.

In a nutshell, when all this is happening for years on end, sooner or later the misalignment will become so bad you'll experience hip pain. The ends of the bones start to grind on each other. Then you get bone inflammation - arthritis.

If you have an X-ray the radiologist will be able to see the arthritis. They'll say that it is the arthritis that is causing your pain, pretty much useless information because you know that. What you want to know is what's caused the arthritis and what you can do about it.

Certainly your hip is not going to get better in a surgery or a pharmacy. Junk medicine - that is, taking drugs to mask the pain will only see the hip deteriorate further -but without you noticing it. It's just a vapid way to deal with musculo-skeletal dysfunction. It achieves nothing. It just puts off the inevitable.

Give it a few years and you'll need a hip replacement. I wouldn't wish that on anyone.

So, based on what I've already explained, the task ahead is to get your body back into better alignment.

The good news is that if you want hip pain relief, start doing the right exercises. You could make a big difference to your alignment and take pressure off the hip that is hurting.

The aim is to restore poor function to good.

There's quite a few exercises you'll need to do, some general and some specific. I recommend you start doing them while you're watching TV. Plus you can't go past a good strength training program in the gym. Spending $700 on a gym membership is going to save you thousands and thousands of dollars in hospital fees and four week of agony spent staring at the ceiling.

In the meantime stay tuned, highly tuned and remember, it's easier to solve small problems than big problems.

John Miller

How to Stop Your Dog From Jumping Fast

Dog jumping on family members, small children or house guests is one of the most common, annoying and dangerous problems for dog owners. This may be related to feeling of insecurity or simply aggressiveness. Dogs learn jumping faster than any other dog obedience command. We involuntarily teach them, when they are a young puppy, dog owners or other people always invite them up and pays attention and affection. Everyone goes like 'come here puppy, cute puppy' and praise them when they jump up so dog learns jumping naturally. That is the biggest reason why dog jumping up is a very common problem and big problem that 90% of dog owners are having.

Most of the time puppies get confused by commands of people around them. When your puppy jumps up, make sure to use the 'off' command because using 'down' makes your dog confuse it with the 'lay down' command.Never touch your dog or puppy, pet or praise when your dog is jumping up on you or other people. Never get into an eye contact when using the following methods to prevent jumping up.

They have to learn that the greeting has to be calm with all paws on the ground. In order to be effective with any jumping program, you have to make sure everybody comes to contact with your dog is being consistent with the same training method you choose for your dog or puppy. Using different obedience commands may confuse your dog easily. Make sure to have a no jump policy at your home. This applies to all family members and visitors.

Holding Paws

When your dog jumps up on you, simply hold the paws and hang on to them. Not crush or squeeze the paws. Most of the dogs are sensitive of their paws touched and they are not used to it. Do not let it go fast. Hold the paws until it starts to struggle and wants back the paws. That point you can use the command 'off'. When your dog is off, praise your dog or puppy and give a dog treat or another reward.

Using Coins

Puppies cannot handle weird sounds. Put six to seven coins in a bottle, when your dog jumps up, shake this bottle of coins. Your dog associates this weird sound with jumping. After using this method repeatedly, you will see that your dog does not want to jump anymore because does not want to hear that weird noise. This is a very simple method and can be used effectively to any breed type without the need of touch.

Simply Using Your Knees

Another obedience training technique is using your knees. When your dog jumps up, just bend your knees and give the 'off' command, it will try to jump couple times and just leave it because your dog did not see any attention from you. We are not trying to send them on the other side of the room, it is just a little pop to knock them off the balance and get them off. Dogs are jumping to get attention on them. This method is very useful for small breed types.

Avoiding The Attention

Your pet is trying to get your attention. Turning your back for couple minutes when you get into house not paying attention or not having an eye contact, makes them understand and gets off easily. You can also hold your shoulders and look up on the ceiling. This will make them relaxed and calm.

It might be hard in the beginning because we are social and we get excited to see our pets, too. But it is worth to teach your dog how to act properly when someone comes over to your house. There might be a lot of cases in the future that you wish you thought this before. Training your dog is time consuming but being consistent and patient are the keys for fast and consistent results.

Miami Heat: Not a Good Investment

5/2. Those are the current Vegas Line odds on the Miami Heat to win the NBA Championship. That is a pretty stiff number for a team that hasn't made the Finals in the franchise's 17-year history. What I am curious about, however, is the kind of line I can get on a Miami implosion? I think 7/1, and I'm buying.

"Dallas, you're crazy!!!" ? I can see my inbox filling now.

But seriously, just hear me out.

I recognize all of the obvious facts. Shaq is still there. Wade is a top 10, if not top five guard. The Heat had the best record in the East at 59-23 just last season. Hell, they had the second best home record in the NBA at 35-6. I know these things. Stan Van Gundy has done a fabulous job. He's 101-63 in just two seasons with the club. He had a winning record without Shaq. I agree. And Pat Riley can build a winner. He has rearranged the roster. How can this not work?

Well, I'm glad you asked.

Before I begin my argument, I have to preface it with this: The Heat will be in the playoffs. That is a given. They could even make it as the No. 1 seed, who knows? All I am saying is that I wouldn't be surprised to see them out before the Conference Finals. I don't think they will be hoisting the Larry O'Brien Trophy.

If you are planning on laying at 5/2 odds, please listen. First of all, the Heat roster is worse this year than last. And second, the East is vastly improved over last year. These are the two main reasons why I will be abstaining from those odds.

The Heat have definitely taken a step back this offseason. They will not be as good as last year. Most of the starting five remains the same: Shaq, Wade, and Udonis Haslem. It's the point guard and small forward positions that have had to face the turnover. At the point, Damon Jones and Keyon Dooling are OUT, while Jason Williams and Gary Payton are IN. What this means is that Miami got colder and older. Damon Jones was the spark plug of this offense. He provided high energy and was a clutch performer - a very nice combo. His 225 three pointers was good for second in the NBA (Kyle Korver and Quinten Richardson each had 226) and most of those treys came in crunch times for the Heat. Keyon Dooling logged sixteen minutes per game off the bench, while playing in 74 games last season. He was unsigned and is now battling Jameer Nelson for a starting job in Orlando.

The additions of Williams and Payton, on paper, look fantastic ... until you delve a little deeper. J-Will, aka "White Chocolate", is a year older than Jones, but years behind him in discipline. Williams had 32 more turnovers than Jones last season, while playing in 11 fewer games. He is (usually) too busy playing street-ball in his attempt to be on SportsCenter than he is concerned with making the safe, open pass. And Gary Payton is over-the-hill, at best. After 16 seasons, he is no longer performing anywhere near the caliber of a nine-time All-Star. He averaged fewer than 12 points per game last year, for the first time since 1991 (his second year in the league), and his diminished skills are now a defensive liability, where as it used to be his strength. Do not be surprised if he is passed on the depth charts by the natural two-guard, Andre Emmett, and then becomes a distraction.

I am not as critical on the turnover at small forward, but I do not like the looks of things. Eddie Jones and Rasual Butler were team guys. They understood and accepted their roles. Eddie was a natural shooting guard, who took his lumps against bigger men playing the three. He used his natural ability and speed to work around his bigger opponents. He was yet another clutch performer for Miami, hitting 142 threes last season while averaging 13 points per game.

I do not view Butler as a key loss. He was a young guy coming into his own, but is more than replaceable. Antoine Walker and James Posey may be better natural fits to fill the small forward position, but there are injury questions surrounding both of these men. Walker, who is only 29, has bad knees. He had to have his deal re-worked and most likely will not be physically able to fulfill his obligation. His relegation to the sixth man is not something I foresee him enjoying too much. He is a very selfish player who either can be clutch or a major distraction. Shaq should help keep him in line, but there simply will not be enough shots to go around for him to be a factor.

James Posey is a walking trip to the injured list. His hip, shoulder, and foot problems have cut into his minutes each season since 2001. He is better on defense than Walker, or Jones for that matter, but is only good for 10 points per game and is not known for being much of a shooter.

Overall, the Heat lost their top five three-point shooters from last year, leaving Dwayne Wade's 13 three-pointers-made as tops returning. Adding Williams and Walker can lighten that burden, but not enough to fill the 400-plus missing threes. I do not buy into team chemistry as a reason for success and failure. If you have good players, they find a way to win. But I have my doubts here. Payton, Williams and Walker all have their histories. With Shaq's advancing age, fewer minutes and increased days off, this team could be in for a rude awakening this season. And that doesn't even take into consideration the bigger, better East.

(BONUS INFO) Would have been a second point, but I was already at 1000 words.

* If you cant join 'em, beat 'em. Damon Jones was not welcomed back to Miami, so he took his game to Cleveland. He, along with Larry Hughes and Donyell Marshall, teamed up with LeBron, Z, and Drew Gooden to form one of the most talented groups in the Eastern Conference. At 28-1 odds, the Cavaliers will be a much better play to win their division, and would be my bet to go from the East.

* Detroit lost nothing over the off-season, aside from Larry Brown, and at last check, he didn't make one basket last season. Aside from being another year older, the Pistons have the same nucleus of players back, and 10-1 is still a better investment than the Heat.

* A full season of Kidd, Vince Carter and Richard Jefferson suddenly make the Nets a serious competitor in the East. Kidd wants to win and Vince loves the spotlight. If RJ can get back to pre-injury form, the Nets will be back in contention. At 33-1, it isn't a play I would make, but they can compete with the rest of the East.

* Lastly, the Indiana Pacers are back on track. Assuming another fight doesn't break out, Jermaine O'Neal, Ron Artest, Stephen Jackson and company match-up well with the Heat. A perennial playoff team with 8-1 odds is a team that could very easily knock off "The Big Aristotle."

Questions or comments? E-mail dallas@docsports.com.

The views expressed in this article are not necessarily the views of Doc's NBA picks subscription service.

Improving High School Defense Suggestions

Conditioning: Quick step crossing

Reaction is as skill that players need to develop through conditioning and drills. This drill will help players quickly change directions on the field. Start out by placing the player on any crossing lined area on the field, anything like a small for square area. Once a players positions themselves in one of the corners they will proceed to jump from one corner of the area to other in either a patterned function or randomly. Coaches should encourage one foot jumping to increase further strength and reactions on the field.

Constant motion drill to increase ball handling skills

This drill is used to increase player's ball handling skills on the field. Players will move the football from one hand to another hand around differing parts of their body. The drill starts by having players hold the football above their head and start to pass it around their head, moving to the chest, under the arms, around the waist, knees, and completing with passing it through the legs.

In this drill the coaches responsibility is to observe the smoothness of the drill, and to also shout commands of body positions to move the ball around, and also to reverse the direction of the football. This change of motion will keep players from falling asleep, and ensure that you are developing handling skills and not just muscle memory.

At the very end of the drill the players will do several simple drops. The player will drop the ball and quickly pick it up again. They also should rotate which hand they are using to pick it up so that you can increase ball handling with both.

Protecting the football as you run

You can't run with the football until you have learned some basic ball security measures. There is nothing worse than almost getting a first down or even a touchdown and fumbling the ball, for this reason there is a great need for ball security. Basic ball security can be broken down into four steps. The claw position is the first point, meaning that you grab the football clawing at the point of the football with your fingers. The second point is making sure that your forearm is wrapped tightly on the outer rim of the football. Third point is to have the ball held tight against the bicep to prevent defenders from punching up through from behind. Fourth, pull the football up and tight against your ribcage closing the gap on the football from all four sides. Run a couple of drills were the ball carrier runs through a pack of defenders to practice. By reducing the risk of a fumble you will increase the offensive strength in effectively driving across the field and scoring touchdowns.

Practice can help turnovers

The faster your defense is at getting the ball back into the offensive's hands the more likely you are to win a game. Win your games by training your defense to use a strong tackle that strips the ball from the opponent. Practice dislodging the football on the field in pairs of players. The defender will practice stripping the ball by bringing his hands up quickly with a clenched fist to grab the opponent and as he does so to aim to knock out the football. Practice these movements slowly to start muscle memory and to correct bad habits.

Discounting Fees - How Low Will You Go?

How Low Will You Go?

In today's marketplace, most speakers are willing to negotiate their fees. Some drastically! Speakers who used to hold firm now waver.

It's almost always a mistake. Whether it's for a non profit organization or not, you are not a human charity. When an organization said to a colleague of mine "You understand we're a non profit organization", she replied, "Yes. And you understand I am not."

Some organizations persuade a speaker to knock down their fee to almost nothing and when the speaker is finally on hands and knees, say "Great. We'll send you out a request for proposal and we'll let you know at the end of the month." Well, now we know who's in the driver's seat and it's not you!

How has it come to this? What on earth has happened to this industry?

Speakers love to speak and that makes them vulnerable both to scams promising pie in the sky and also to unpaid or low paid gigs with the tantalizing prospect of possible future gigs. "But we'll get you in front of 500 executives who could hire you." Really? Forgive my scepticism. Occasionally, it's legit. Mostly, it isn't.

It's a meeting planners' job to organize a convention on as tight a budget as possible. It's your job to be aware of the lasting value you bring to your clients and what you bring to the table. It's also your job to stick to your fee.

The time to say yes is when you're just beginning to build your client list. The time to say no is when you have a solid client list and testimonials.

As Dr. Charles Petty so memorably said "I'm a speaker, not a beggar." Stick to your fee. You hurt your reputation and the whole speaking industry when you don't. This market will soon turn around. Organizations will soon understand that when they want the best, they'll have to book ahead and pay at least 50% in advance to hold the date. You do get what you pay for!

In the meantime, bump up your marketing package and preserve your branding and look for bookings in industries and countries that are doing well.

I'd love your feedback on this - have you found a creative way to handle the issue?

Have you caved in and regretted it? Have you said no and regretted it? What have you learned from the process?

My Teenager Wants To Drive

Isn’t it amazing how fast our children grow up right before our eyes and yet sometimes we don’t even notice?

The early grade years seem to rush by all too quickly, and suddenly your little angel is transformed into a teenager. We all hope as parents that the time and patience that we have invested in our children while they were young, trying to guide them through life, hasn’t all suddenly gone out the window as soon as puberty walked through the door.

Teenagers have their own pressures to deal with and it sometimes feels like Moms and Dads just don’t have a clue about what they are going through.

For example the trend that seems to be going around at the moment with a lot of young people is, it’s cool to wear your pants down around the back of your knees and nearly trip over when you walk. Hey! I don’t knock it. I used to think it was cool to walk around in those bell bottom trousers, so who am I to talk. We as parents sometimes think that we are prepared to handle just about any situation that our teenagers are going to face. Besides, we were teenagers once. Right?

So are we as parents prepared for that question when it eventually comes?

Mom, Dad, can you teach me how to drive?

I have to say here folks. I have seen a lot of Moms and Dads driving and let me tell you. I would question whether Mom and Dad should teach son / daughter how to drive at all. So, here is a question to all of you parents who have managed to stay with me this far. Are you ready to teach your teenager to drive? Now lets be honest here. Do you think that you are a good driver? Do you think that you set a good example for your teenager, or anyone for that matter when you are behind the wheel?

The reason is that if Mom or Dad’s driving habits aren’t the best. What then do you expect to teach your teenager? If you are going to teach someone how to drive, the first thing that I would recommend you do, is sign up for a defensive driving course if you haven’t completed one for a while.

I recommend this because anyone can be a good driver, but bad habits have a way of creeping up on us and sticking. You don’t even realize it. So for the sake of your teenagers introduction to driving, why not give them the best possible start by tweaking your own driving habits.
There are a couple of good courses here that will help you on your way. See if you can find one that suits you and your timetable. [http://www.driving-defensive.com/defensivedriving.html]

Remember that completing one of these courses not only helps your son / daughter. It also helps Mom and Dad to identify any areas of driving that need addressing. It’s a win win situation. Now, back to teaching your teenager. This is going to take a lot of planning for you to be able to teach them effectively and safely. Here is a tip. Teach them one driving skill at a time whenever you have a lesson. It may be reversing, parking. You may want to teach them moving off skills. I have written some guidelines called defensive driving for parents which will help you organize lesson plans. Read this section carefully. It will help.

[http://www.driving-defensive.com/DefensiveDrivingforParents.html]

When teaching someone to drive, be prepared to nurture and guide them, and be patient. Don’t expect miracles and you won’t be disappointed. Teaching someone how to drive takes special skills. Have a look at the following questions and decide. Can I indeed teach my teenager how to drive? You will know the answer to that question after you answer these.

Am I a good example of how I want my teenager to drive?

Do I want my teenager to have the best possible driving tuition?

Can I stay calm when they don’t pick things up as quickly as I would like.

Am I the type of person who gets anxious when other people are driving?

Do I have the ability to guide my son / daughter through a potentially dangerous situation on the road using my voice?

Do I have the time that it takes to nurture and guide them?

Can I plan, the lessons as set out in the defensive driving for parents section?

Will I yell and lose my temper?

After reading and answering these questions, you should have no doubt whatsoever as to what you should now do when your teenager asks: Mom, Dad, can you teach me how to drive today? You and you alone know what the answer will be to that question.

Defensive driving saves lives, that’s a well known fact. Let’s use that knowledge and allow our teenagers the benefit of learning these new techniques and teach them how to drive to survive.

Happy Motoring

Timoti Petera

Stop My Divorce and Save My Marriage

Stop my divorce! If you are going through a difficult time in your marriage and you still have some hope, it's never too late, plead to God- "stop my divorce," and He shall make a way. The Lord declares "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. - Matthew 7:7

If there is something God disapproves of, it's divorce. He despises the word Divorce. For many of you who made a covenant before God and received His blessing over your marriage then you really have some thinking to do before breaking off your marriage.

Have you gotten on your knees and asked God restore your marriage? Have you asked God to change the areas in you that are affecting the marriage? Have you seek professional Christian counseling? Have you thoroughly thought about ending your marriage?

If you answered No to at least two of the questions above then start to find someone to help you, "stop my divorce!"

Begin to seek God and beg him for a revival in your relationship with God and then your marriage. Commence to communicate with your spouse, that you really want to save your marriage. Express to your spouse that you have been praying over your marriage and waiting on God. This will allow your spouse to see that you're depending on God and not making decisions based on emotions only.

God wants us to solely depend on him. He wants us to count on him no matter what. When times are tough it becomes difficult to trust God and seek him. The devil finds this opportunity to destroy and devour what already belongs to God. When times are tough begin to seek God with all your heart, He wants a relationship with you. God is our true counselor; he heals the broken hearted and binds up their wounds. - Psalm 147:3

In order to love and truly forgive we have to allow God to work in our life. Make him the Lord of your life, build a relationship with him and He shall direct your paths. You will truly learn to love and forgive through Christ Jesus. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believe in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. -John 3:16 Receive God's love and you shall learn to love spouse as He loves us.

If you truly surrender to God today he will make a way- to save you marriage. Declare- stop my divorce in the name of Jesus and it shall be!

Training Female Athletes - The Keys To Designing a Successful Conditioning Program

It is time that we, (the educators, teachers, parents and coaches) of female athletes all understand and accept the fact that female athletes are different from male athletes and these differences require a female athlete to train differently from boys/men. Female athletes are different in stature, muscle strength and have joint issues different from their male counterparts. This does not make female athletes weaker mentally or physically in any way. In fact, a female athlete's unique anatomy and biological makeup makes them more conducive and more successful than boys/men in certain sports and activities.

It is also time to get away from the practice of female athletes using the men's conditioning programs and protocols. Girls/women deserve more time and attention given to their conditioning programs and we all must work to erase the myths, stereotypes, social pressures and negative attitudes associated with the practice of strength training. Coaches of female athletes may need to educate themselves on how to design a strength and conditioning program for their female athletes and stress the importance of continuing a program over a period of weeks, months and years. Studies have shown that women do not adhere to a strength training program as much in comparison to men.

When I talk about strength and conditioning, I am not recommending that an athlete join a health club, spend a lot of money, train on exercise machines or buy big and bulky pieces of equipment for their basement. It is important to point out that female athletes can train at home or in a comfortable environment with a minimal amount of equipment and space. Using an airball, dumbbells, tubing bands or just your body weight, can be effective training aids in delivering a great workout for an athlete with little or no dent to the pocket book.

Listed below are the keys to developing a proper strength and conditioning program for female athletes. This is what the female athlete should be doing!

1. As a young girl just starting out in sports or physical activities, training should focus on sport movement, sport strength and sport balance. In other words learn how to move efficiently within your sport. Work on basic movement skills and the fundamental skills in your sport. Learn how to stop and start, cut, twist or turn. Girls need to learn to move more like tennis players. Tennis players stay forward on the balls of the feet, taking lots of little steps. They stay in an athletic stance, ready to move, pivoting on the front of the foot, with the knees bent. It is also important to keep the knees over the toes. Emphasize lateral and rotational movement patterns. Perform agility drills to teach change of direction while staying low in an athletic stance with knees flexed. Strength training must be sport specific, whole-body and multi-joint. The hip, the foot, the trunk and the shoulders all control the knee. Start with body weight exercises before adding external resistance and balance training needs to be incorporated into the conditioning program. Keep training fun. This is like a training for training period.

2. At a young age, girls should learn how to jump and land to prevent injuries, in particular anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) knee injuries. It is extremely important to have controlled, quality landings and soft landings from a jump, land like a feather, not wobbly knees or hard, loud landings. Land on the balls of the feet with knees flexed and ankles bent to absorb the force. It is important for coaches to teach and monitor how a girl handles a jump.

3. At a young age, girls should learn how to run properly. Coaches should teach the proper form, biomechanics and foot strike technique. This will contribute to a smooth, efficient motion and help prevent injuries in particular overuse injuries to the knee, hip, back, foot and ankle.

4. Stress the importance of wearing the proper shoes when strength training and in practices and games. Women are more flat-footed and knock-kneed so it is critical their shoes or insoles address these issues.

5. It would be ideal for a girl/woman to start a strength and conditioning program at least before junior high if they plan to compete and be successful at the high school or college level in their sport. The training should be year round with the proper amount of rest periods incorporated into the yearly training cycle. High school female athletes most definitely should be strength training year round.

6. A strength training and conditioning program should focus on exercises that strengthen the knee joint to help prevent ACL injuries. The quadriceps, especially the vastus medialis and more importantly, the hamstrings, which is normally much weaker in strength in comparison to the quadriceps in women. Also strengthen the abductors and adductors.

7. Focus on core strength. This does not mean training for appearance by getting a six pack. What I mean is training the chest, abdominals and upper and lower back and hip areas. These are problem areas for many female athletes. Train the core from a standing position, this is more functional and more sport specific. If you are ever pressed for time and can only do a few exercises, do core work.

8. If the sport requires a good deal of throwing motions, train the rotator cuff muscles in the shoulder joint. Also work the upper back muscles, the rhomboids, which help stabilize the scapula and takes stress off the shoulder joint and musculature.

9. Train in a functional manner. Most of the exercises in the training program should be closed chain, (standing, feet on the floor) which incorporates balance, coordination, agility and proprioception into each movement. Get off the machines and move freely with multi-joint and multi-planar exercises.

10. Stress proper nutrition and hydration at a young age. We are seeing osteoporosis in individuals at younger and younger ages each year. I highly recommend that female athletes and their parents meet with a Nutritionist/Dietician to ensure that the female athlete is getting the proper nutrition on a daily basis in relation to her activity level. It is safe to say that all female athletes could benefit from a daily multi-vitamin.

11. When a female athlete is maturing (12-13 years of age), training emphasis should shift from training for athleticism as a youth, to training to enhance locomotion, level changes, push pull movements and rotation. If an athlete has a strength training history and has developed a good strength and flexibility base, the athlete can then incorporate more advanced forms of training into their program. For example, more advanced plyometric training, training for speed, power and explosiveness and power training with the Olympic lifts. This is a training to compete period.

Athletes, please consult your physician before starting any new exercise program.

Self Defense Techniques Fight Dirty and Live

Gouging, biting and headbutting are illegal in the ring, but they're perfectly acceptable in a street situation. True self defense technique are to brutal for any sort of sporting application. Unlike tournament fighting there are no agreements on the street as to what so called dirty techniques can or can not be used when one person attacks another. The attacker is not going to ask you if you are going to fight fair.

When you are attacked on the streets you may find you are fighting for your life and you must use whatever so called dirty techniques you can to survive. Many people who practice the martial arts think that the kicks, punches and throws they learn is all they will need to prevail in a street confrontation. When an attacker has a arm around your throat and is threatening you with a knife and the fighting techniques that you learned in the dojo are useless and will not get you out of the situation what will you do?

Use a chomping bite to the wrist and a smashing headbutt to their nose could be the answer for your release. Once you are free you can turn and quickly poke him in the the eyes and make your escape, this is survival of the smartest.

Yeah I know that having to resort to eye gouging, and other dirty fighting techniques are looked upon as not fair, but there is nothing fair about being attacked and your life put at risk by a punk who is out to rob you, or even worse, take your life to prove something to his gang members. The facts are when you are attacked and you must defend yourself, it is all about you or him, what I mean is someone is walking away from the confrontation and the other may be on their way to the hospital or worse the morgue.

The self defense techniques that you learned in a self defense class are good for using in the class and tournaments where there are rules. The techniques are controlled and the so called dirty techniques are not used because for them to work someone needs to get hurt. The facts are most good techniques used for self defense on the street are illegal to use in tournament sparring. The problem is that these "dirty" techniques can not be practice because they need to be pulled to avoid injury to the student and the full effectiveness of the technique is lost.

Because of the emphasis on clean techniques that can be used safely in sparring, many students and instructors totally overlook or ignore some of the best street defense techniques known to man. You need to train and be aware of how to use hair pulling, gouging, biting and headbutting techniques, because any one of these techniques could make the different between you walking away from an attack or you being carried away on a stretcher.

Many martial artist trains exclusively for one on one sparring in a controlled environment with rules and regulations, but fighting for your life is not a game. You must be prepared to use what ever it takes to disable or even kill an attacker in order to save your life, or the life of a loved one.

Hair pulling or grabbing is often referred to as Chancery in Western martial arts and boxing and is illegal in both sports. Hair pulling techniques can prove most valuable in a self defense situation. Yanking on an attackers hair can be quite painful and can help you gain release from a headlock, a rear restraint like a bear hug, or escape from a prone position when a attacker is straddling you as you lay on the ground.

You can use the hair grab as a way to hold an assailant head still as you get ready to deliver a blow to the head such as a palm smash, punch, headbutt, elbow smash or an eye jab. Grabbing the hair works will in the dark when it is difficult to judge the distance for a strike to the head. By grabbing his hair, you can steady his head and be able to judge the location of his jaw or temple quite accurately without having to see it.

If you are behind your attacker you can take him down by grabbing a handful of hair and jerking back as you kick the back of his knees. You can use the hair grab to pull your attacker over furniture, into a plate glass window or a brick wall, as well as holding his head for a headbutt or a rising knee smash to the face. If he has a beard with any length to it grab it and pull, where the hair goes the body follows like down a flight of stairs or into a ditch and so on.

The bone along the top ridge of the skull is extremely strong and makes a good weapon for headbutting by using the front or the back of the head to strike with. Some Asian and Western fighting arts have included the use of headbutting in their fighting styles, but the technique is seldom used during sparring matches. Old Chinese and Korean masters could drive nails into boards with their foreheads. The English even went as far as creating a system called knutting based on headbutting techniques.

Headbutting is an excellent close in weapon to use during grappling attempts or front or rear bear hugs. Headbutting works well when one is on the ground being straddled or during the act of rape. Just grab his hair and jerk his head down into your forehead repeatedly, striking his nose, jaw, temple and eye sockets. Avoid striking his mouth, if you can, to keep from getting cut by his teeth, although a strong headbutt to the mouth will split open his lips and knock out his teeth.

There is no need to strengthen your forehead by headbutting trees and concrete blocks, your head it is plenty strong enough and all you will do is get a headache. However you can practice thrusting your forehead into bean bags, or sandbags, hung from the ceiling to help you in your control and accuracy of your head thrust.

You should practice thrusting at the bean bag in a furry of 3,4,or 5 thrusts in rapid succession concentrating on focus and follow through. If you practice your head thrusts, when it comes time to use it, you won't feel the strikes as much and you will be able to control your strikes better.

When it comes to biting we humans are not endowed with the teeth that would make our teeth formidable weapons, never the less biting can be used to divert an attacker's attention, inflict severe pain, or help gain release from a specific hold. When you are attacked from the rear and your attacker puts his hand over or near your mouth you should be able to maneuver the upper or lower jaw enough to be able to get a good bite on the attacker's pinky or index finger. Chomping down hard on a finger or wrist could be enough of a distraction to allow you to break free, so you can escape

Biting can help you to disarm your attacker when you are attacked from the rear and they have a weapon to your throat. By pulling down on the hand that hold the weapon to your throat just a few inches you can bite down on his wrist hard enough to cause him to drop the blade and release his hold of you.

If you find yourself on the ground being raped wait for the first opening and sink your teeth into the attackers throat, testicles, tongue, or grab an ear and bite it off. It is not pretty but if you know that when he is finished taking his pleasure there is more hurt and pain coming what do you have to lose?

Another so called dirty technique is gouging of the eyes and it can result in watering of the eyes resulting in difficulty seeing or even in permanent blindness. Gouging is done with the thumbs placed over the eyes, using one or both thumbs, and is useful against someone choking you from the front, or when they start pushing you. To gouge the eyes grab the head with both hands fingers wrapping around to the back off the head, palms over or slight above the ears and the thumbs placed over the eyes and apply pressure to the eyeball squeezing the eyes back into the eye socket.

You can also grab the head as mentioned above and stick both thumbs in to the mouth on both sides of the lips between the teeth and the cheek and pull the cheeks back towards the ears ripping the attackers cheeks. You can practice on bean bags, sandbags or even get creative and use lumps of clay shaped into a simulation of a face with eyes and have at it.

Contrary to popular belief dirty fighting just does not come natural to most people. We are subconsciously socialized to believe fighting should be "fair" even though we intellectually realize there aren't any rules for the street criminal.

There is an old maxim that states; You will fight as you have been trained to fight. If this is true, then it becomes imperative for the martial artists to include "dirty" techniques in their training. The facts are your attacker will use every trick in the book and he will probably assume that you are the type of victim who won't resort to using ruthless methods.

Whether you end up in the emergency room or morgue instead of him may very well depend upon your willingness to practice and use the types of effective and dirty techniques covered in this article and other articles

On the street the only people who talk about dirty techniques are the victims. Think about it! Remember when it comes down to it, sometimes, the only thing standing between you and survival are your street smarts.

Tips On... Fighting Saltwater Game Fish A Beginners Guide

The following guidance assumes you are fairly new to big game saltwater fishing and are out fishing on a charter boat. This type of information is given to all guests aboard our game boats if they are not experienced anglers. Occasionally we have to remind experienced anglers as well !

Lets assume you are out doing some general trolling for wahoo, mahi mahi or tuna on 30lb class IGFA tackle. The deckie has set a pattern of 4 lures behind the boat and one of the reels starts to scream....

1. Pick up the rod.

Sounds simple but sometimes the rod seems to be jammed in the rod holder. Don't try to yank or force it out. It's wedged because of the pressure the fish is exerting on the rod tip. Grasp the rod fore-grip in front of the reel and pull it slightly backwards (away from the fish). You will find that the rod then easily comes out of the rod holder.

2. Assume the position.

Unless you are fighting a fish from a game chair, hold the rod with the reel uppermost, your left hand well up the fore-grip and the butt of the rod resting low down on your hip. This leaves your right hand free to wind the reel handle. Hold the rod at about 45 degrees. The higher up the rod your left hand is, the more leverage you can apply. It's important that you feel comfortable. Some fights can last hours though 10-20 minutes is the norm so you had better be comfy. It is usual at this point for the deckie to put a butt pad on you. No, its not a comfy cushion for you to sit on - its a plastic cushioned pad that hangs from your waist, rests on your thighs and has a slot where you rest the butt of the rod. This will stop the rod butt digging into you and causing bruising and spread the load over your thighs during a prolonged fight. With the end of the rod sitting in the butt pad and your left hand holding the fore-grip you should feel stable and comfortable. You are on a boat, its moving around so step up to the side of the boat or better still the corner, bend your knees slightly and wedge your knees slightly under the cockpit combing - the padded edge. This is a good stable position even on a pitching and rolling boat.

3. Keep The Rod Tip Bent.

Its that simple. The greatest cause of fish being lost is the line not being tight between the rod tip and the fish. If the line is not tight, the hook is not being held in place and the fish will likely spit the lure out. If the rod tip is bent at all times, then pressure is being applied to the fish at all times. This also means that the fish doesn't get a free rest and you will wear him out more quickly and get him to the boat sooner. If the fish swims towards you, wind wind wind to keep that line tight and the rod tip bent.

The rod also acts as a shock absorber. Any jerks from sudden movements by the fish are absorbed by the rod tip. If you point the rod straight at the fish, it's not doing anything and sudden jerks are transmitted straight to you and the reel. (Trust me - it will end in tears)

4. Slow Down - Its Not A Race !

Most (wait - scrub that) ALL novice anglers when confronted with a screaming reel panic and franticly wind like crazy. You are wasting your time and energy. If the reel is screaming it means that it is paying out line and will continue to do so whether you try to wind or not. Wait for the fish to end its run for cover. Then you can think about winding.

5. Lift Up and Wind Down

Good quality game fishing reels have a sophisticated drag system. A reasonable analogy would be the clutch in a manual car. Adjusting the lever drag on a game reel is like depressing the car's clutch pedal. All the way out and the engine is engaged, (reel drag engaged), all the way in and the engine is free wheeling (Reel is in Free-spool).

This means that an angler can set the lever drag somewhere in the middle. The reel will then pay out line (clutch will slip) when the line is pulled with sufficient force. To put it simply, you can set the drag to pay out line if the fish pulls harder than a set amount.

It is normal for the drag to be set at between one quarter and one third the breaking strain of the line. In theory it is therefore impossible for the fish to snap the line. If the fish pulls really hard, instead of the line snapping, the reel just lets line out.

When the fish ends its run, the reel will go quiet and the pressure on the rod tip will ease up a little. Now is the time to win some of that line back.

Raise the rod tip, start to wind the reel and whilst winding, slowly lower the rod tip. Don't raise the rod tip so high that it's over your head and don't lower it so low that the rod is pointing at the fish.

Lift up and wind down. Try to keep your movements as smooth as possible and keep that rod tip bent at all times.

6. Tag & Release or Boating a fish

Different fish react in different ways when near the boat. Yellowfin tuna for example go into a circular pattern underneath the hull. The most important thing here is to not let the line touch any part of the boat. If it does, it will probably break. The skipper will manoeuvre the vessel as best he can to keep the line and fish away from the props and rudders but it's also your job not to let the line touch the side of the boat. Feel free to move about the cockpit. Change sides if the fish swims in the other direction. Don't plant yourself in one spot and stay there. Listen up for instructions from the crew and move to anywhere where it's just you and the fish with no boat in between.

Usually the boat will be slowly moving forwards. You are trying to work the fish up alongside the boat so that the fish can then be tagged or gaffed. Moving the boat forwards maintains a flow of water over the fish and its gills. This keeps the fish much happier than if you stopped and the fish is therefore less stressed and less likely to do something unexpected. It is always a good idea to do this if you intend on tagging and releasing the fish.

7. And Lastly...

Everybody looses fish, even the real pro's. Don't knock yourself down. Learn from mistakes and it won't happen again. Every trip out there I learn something new. Don't be shy in asking questions.

Gamefishing is a sport and like all sports, you need to practice...

Just make sure you have fun practicing....

Just One Of These Electromagnetic Pulse Bombs (EMP) Could Mess Up Your Day!

Imagine with me that during one night in the not too distant future the unimaginable happens, a flash of light lit the sky and you wake up to see what has gone wrong. You check yourself all over and don't have any adverse affects, but you notice quickly that lights don't turn on, so you check your phone and it's out too. How about the cell phone? Nope, doesn't work and neither does your TV. You try your car radio, but it is dead and your car, strangely doesn't even start! Now panic is starting to flood your mind! You flush your toilet, but no new water runs in! You talk to your neighbors, but no-one seems to know what has happened! What now?

An electromagnetic pulse or EMP bomb was exploded but nobody knows it! Pandemonium breaks out!

This kind of attack is in itself non-lethal to humans but highly destructive to all electronic equipment. Transistors and circuit boards have been fried! Ranging from low level attacks that could disable equipment over a half to three mile radius to ones that could knock out all electronic systems and even the electricity grid over the whole country, this weapon provides both element of surprise and devastation. Even though these weapons may not yield any direct harm to humans, consider the possibility that all airplanes lose control and power instantly! Cars would stop working, traffic signals not even blinking, TVs black, hospitals would go dark, water delivery systems stop, trains stop or crash, farms stop producing, and everything relying on electricity and unprotected would instantly die. The nation would be totally brought to its knees and life would instantly revert to horse and buggy days. Communication systems down and circuitry fried, individuals would be totally cut off from each other and survival would depend upon a person's ability to re-establish life without elements we depend on today. Can you imagine the effect of such a bomb attack on the psychology of a people who have lived their whole lives without considering their dependence on the electric grid, the natural gas and water systems that operate in their home. Just think of every household appliance and how dependent you are on it. No coffee pot, no dishwasher, no clothes washer or dryer, no vacuum or even an electric toothbrush. Few of us even store candles!

Interestingly, old technologies, such as vacuum tube devices, stand a better chance to survive such a pulse. Storage batteries would not be affected. Flashlights might still work and allow for you to send flashing light Morse code over line of sight during night hours.

If you are a ham radio operator or just a radio buff, you might consider constructing a "Faraday Case!" It is a large case made of 翹" steel and lined with a copper grid. It should be grounded with large wire to a cold water line. This case should store a small 12 volt transceiver, a Morse code key, and solar cells capable of keeping your 12 Volt car battery charged. Your dipole antenna should survive, but store extra wire and coax just in case. All this could easily be contained in a small retired refrigerator. Although this idea has not been tested, we believe an old refrigerator with an extra lining of steel and copper screening inside and all grounded would serve perfectly and be large enough and cheap enough to do the job.

After the EMP bomb, assemble your rig then go on the air and check to see how extensive the damage is. Who knows, you might be the only connection to the world remaining in your area. Your lifeline may prove to be crucial to the survival of your family and that of your community. Like the Boy Scouts say, "Be Prepared!"

Antler Arthritis

Antler arthritis causes discomfort, soreness, and aches in one's joints. Antler refers to the horns on a deer that is out of order or distorted. Likewise, when antler arthritis is experienced, the joints of the body make deformity and joint distention.

Like some other forms of arthritis, this has the similar origins and causes. It may also be caused by weight, age, illness, bone injuries, infections and lot more. The causes stated may either honestly bring regarding the arthritis or just give to the degeneration of a damage that leaked out.

The signs of this form are also the same as the other forms. It comprises swelling of the joint, stiffness of the knee, agonizing pain, the feeling that the joint will separate the bones, and tenderness of joint. But, the most important effect of antler arthritis is the abnormality of the joints. The classic examples are bow legs and knock knees.

When the signs and symptoms stated are seen, the individual experiencing must directly consult a health care professional or a doctor. It is ideal to think that one has arthritis at its premature stage rather than to experience the painful effects after it turns into worst. The agonizing pain is just one thing, when the state becomes worst, it may direct to surgery and the consumption of expensive medicines.

Other clients take so plenty of medicines in their desperate hope to ease the pain, swelling and discomfort caused. The most known medicine utilized in case of arthritis is a painkiller.

Thinner Thighs Tips and Tricks

Have you ever wished you could have thinner thighs? If so, you might not be surprised to learn, you are not alone. Most women, if asked, will say their thighs are a part of their body they wish they could change! Given this information one must wonder why all exercises and weight loss products don't target this key area! If you're curious how to target this key area and how to get skinny thighs then you've come to the right place!

The great thing about targeting your thighs in any diet or exercise program is this part of the body has one of the largest muscle groups. Doing exercises focusing on the large muscle group in the thigh will not only help you to tone your thighs, but will also help you to burn lots of extra calories when you're not working out. The reason being, the thighs are one of the larger muscle groups and the more muscle one has, the more calories one tends to burn naturally. This means you will burn more calories all day long, throughout your entire body, even when you're not working out! Unlike targeting your stomach muscles, which only hit the relatively small group of abdominal muscles, doing a targeted leg and thigh work out will enable you to burn more calories than if you were to focus on the small group of abdominal muscles. In order to build a great, targeted, thigh workout regimen, you must include squats, lunges, jumping jacks and leg extensions.

Squats can be done either with or without weights. This is a great exercise you can do anywhere at just about any time. To do a set of squats you simply stand up straight and then bend your knees, lowering your butt down until your thigh is just about straight and then stand back up. One thing I've done in my daily routine is add in a few sets of squats throughout the day. While I'm in the office I make sure to do at least one set of ten squats every time I fill up my coffee or water cup. It only takes a minute or two per set, but you can really see, and feel, the difference after only a couple days!

Lunges are another great exercise to do without any need for weights. To do a set of lunges you simply stand straight then take one foot and step forward. With that foot ahead you keep bending your knee until your back knee is nearly to the ground (but don't let it touch!), then, go back to standing straight. Repeat with the other foot going forward and that is one full lunge. Doing a few sets of ten lunges per day will really show you how to get slimmer thighs quickly. This exercise is also going to burn calories and help you lose fat better than most other exercises!

Of course, you can do jumping jacks without weights, but I've found I don't like doing them anywhere that is at all public as you can look quite silly. Jumping jacks will also make you quite a bit sweatier than the other exercises I've mentioned. Because of this fact, jumping jacks are not so ideal for the office. The fact jumping jacks make you sweat, however, shows just how great they are at burning calories. I have started doing 25 jumping jacks each morning before breakfast. Not only is It is a great way to help wake me up and get me moving for the day, but it also jump starts the muscles into burning calories throughout the entire day! Whenever I'm asked how to get thinner, jumping jacks are my first exercise of choice. They really use every group of muscles in your body and burn calories fast! As you know, burning calories will melt fat everywhere and definitely give you thinner thighs.

Leg extensions are a very focused and fantastic exercise for your thighs. The only down side is you really need to have a weight machine to do them properly and get the full effect. If you have access to a gym then I highly recommend you include this key exercise in your routine. The concept is quite simple. First, just use whatever weight you are comfortable with on the machine. Second, sit down and place one leg in at a time. Next, you then extend your leg out until its straight. That's it! Do this ten times and then switch legs. If you want to work out the back of your leg as well, you can do a 'reverse leg extension' which is just what it sounds like. Sit on the machine facing down and then pull your leg (with the weights) upwards. As with regular leg extensions, complete ten reps and then switch legs.

As mentioned in this article, you will need to only concentrate on these three major exercises in order to attain thinner thighs. Now that you know what you need to do, here is the honey pot of information explaining the easy way to incorporate these exercises into your daily routines. Most, if not all, of us work for a living, so take a few minutes out of your work day and do something good for yourself. When you refill your beverage, try to complete 10 lunges and/or squats. Each time you go to the bathroom complete 25 jumping jack or 10 squats. So, if you drink a lot of water, (as you're supposed to) or coffee, think about how many sets of exercises you can complete just by filling your cup and then emptying your bladder! It's a no brainer. Before meetings, try to squeeze in 10 lunges or squats. The blood rush of doing the exercises may just help you stay awake and alert for another boring staff meeting. Before you go to lunch, you can certainly knock out 10 squats without a problem. Honestly, the jumping jacks I do only in the rest room. I know can get away with lunges and squats in the office, but I am not sure how my boss would react to jumping jacks, so I like I said, save those for the bathroom. Also, I don't want everyone seeing everything jiggle! So you see, since these exercises do not have to be done all at the same time, nor do they need the aid of any type of machine (no need for a gym membership and another hefty bill), you should be able to fit them into your work day. Also, these ideas for how to get skinny thighs will work at home as well. As you get better at these exercises, and they no longer pose as much of a challenge, you can think about adding some ankle weights. They are very inconspicuous and easy to hide.

If you take the time and learn to work these exercises into your daily routine, and really stick with them, you'll have thinner thighs in no time. Just remember, any time you are starting some new exercises you should always consult with a doctor to ensure you are healthy enough to do each exercise. Once you have the 'all clear' make sure you do the exercises at least 4-6 times per week to see the best results!

穢2011

Warning - Do Not Take Your Knees For Granted! - Help Knock Out Pain With a Knee Sleeve

Do you need a little extra knee support? - Then read on...

A knee brace sleeve offers a comfortable alternative to someone who needs a little extra support for their injured knees but does not want to invest in a more deluxe brace.

Injuries can be caused due to several different reasons and can afflict anyone irrespective of age, gender or occupation. No matter what the cause, the one common characteristic of all knee problems is the excruciating pain that is often present and most sufferers will often be advised to wear a knee brace to help manage this pain.

When is an Elastic Knee Sleeve Preferable over a More Deluxe Knee Brace?

Case Study #1- Tony had some small knee pain issues from arthritis that were on his mind. He did not think he had a major knee instability problem, but he did like the idea of a little extra support to help remind him not to make certain painful movements. Tony uses his elastic knee sleeve and his knee pain has diminished while his knee support has increased.

Case Study #2- Rebecca saw her physician last week, and he told her that she did not have any major knee problems. He recommended time and rest to help her deal with her knee issues. She agreed, but also incorporated the use of a simple knee sleeve into her daily activities, including jogging. The little extra support really gave her a mental boost as it reminded her not to do certain painful movements. She also like the fact that she could move very easily in it and it helped to keep her knee warm.

Using the Knee Brace Sleeve as a Preventative Measure

If you have problems with your knees but they are not serious enough to warrant a deluxe knee brace, then you should consider wearing a knee sleeve as a preemptive measure. A sleeve can be worn without hampering your movement in any way at all. This is a great way to help protect yourself from any potential knee injuries.

An Inside Look at the Knee Brace Sleeve

Called a sleeve because of the way it is slipped onto the leg and over the knee, this ingenious device is constructed of lightweight materials such as neoprene or drytex and fits snugly around the knee without any additional bulk. Knee brace sleeves come in an assortment of sizes and designs to suit different needs. As opposed to more deluxe knee braces, which are worn to provide more firm support to the knee, an elastic sleeve is worn to provide gentle compression and a little extra support to the area around the knee.