Competitive Cheerleading
Over the years, cheerleading has taken two primary forms: game-time cheerleading and competitive cheerleading. Game-time cheerleaders’ main goal is to entertain the crowd and lead them with team cheers, which should not be considered a sport. However, competitive cheerleading is more than a form of entertainment. It is really a competitive sport.
Competitive cheerleading includes lots of physical activity. The majority of the teams require a certain level of tumbling (翻腾运动) ability. It’s a very common thing for gymnasts, so it’s easy for them to go into competitive cheerleading. Usually these cheerleaders integrate lots of their gymnastics experience including their jumps, tumbling, and overall energy. They also perform lifts and throws.
Competitive cheerleading is also an activity that is governed by rules under which a winner can be declared. It is awarded points for technique, creativity and sharpness. Usually the more difficult the action is, the better the score is. That’s why cheerleaders are trying to experience great difficulty in their performance. Besides, there is also a strict rule of time. The whole performance has to be completed in less than three minutes and fifteen seconds, during which the cheerleaders are required to stay within a certain area. Any performance beyond the limit of time is invalid.
Another reason for the fact that competitive cheerleading is one of the hardest sports is that it has more reported injuries. According to some research, competitive cheerleading is the number one cause of serious sports injuries to women. Generally, these injuries affect all areas of the body, including wrists, shoulders, ankles, head, and neck.
There can be no doubt that competitive cheerleading is a sport with professional skills. It should be noted that it is a team sport and even the smallest mistake made by one teammate can bring the score of the entire team down. So without working together to achieve the goal, first place is out of reach.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Since the rise in popularity of MP3 players, working out has been done together with your personal music library. Whether it be running on the street on the treadmill or lifting weights in the gym, it seems every person is wearing a set of headphones when getting up.
We all feel that certain songs help us push that little bit harder but is there any science behind that? And if so, is there a particular type of music that helps you go that extra mile? It turns out, yes. While tiredness is physical during workout, a large part is also about how the brain sees this physical tiredness.
Listening to music while training takes the brain’s concentration away from the tired body. In a sense, it fights for the attention on the fact that the body is “working out”. This leads exercise to be viewed as less tough and makes working out more enjoyable.
The kind of music you listen to can depend on the type of workout you are doing. When running on a treadmill, most people choose a faster pace of 160 beats per minute (bpm).
It also depends on the intensity of the workout and your heartbeat. For example when training starts to get to average intense levels the sweet spot is around the 120-145 bpm mark. For reference, an analysis showed that out of 74000 popular songs produced between the1960s-1990s,120 bpm was the most common. So most songs will do the trick.
What is also worth mentioning is the psychological benefits of music on the individual. You should choose songs that have particular meanings and emotional connections with individuals because they can create encouragement and get people mentally prepared for the challenges This is very important when doing strong workouts or going for personal bests on the big lifts.
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Exercise is defined as any movement that makes your muscles work and requires your body to burn calories. There are many types of physical activity. Being active has been shown to have many health benefits, both physically and mentally.
Exercise plays a key role in building strong muscles and bones. This is because it helps release hormones that promote your muscles' ability to absorb amino acids (氨基酸). This helps them grow and reduces their breakdown. As people age, they tend to lose muscle mass and function, which can lead to an increased risk of injury. Practicing regular physical activity is essential to reducing muscle loss and maintaining strength as you age. Exercise not only helps build bone density when you're younger, but also helps prevent osteoporosis (骨质疏松症) later in life.
Exercise is good for your brain health and memory. To begin with, it increases your heart rate, which promotes the flow of blood and oxygen to your brain. It can also cause the production of hormones that enhance the growth of brain cells. Regular physical activity is especially important in older adults. Exercise has been shown to cause a part of the brain that's vital for memory and learning, to grow in size, which may help improve mental function in older adults. Lastly, exercise helps to reduce changes in the brain that can contribute to conditions like Alzheimer's disease.
Exercise can help with sleep quality. The energy loss that occurs during exercise encourages restorative (康复的) processes during sleep. Moreover, the increase in body temperature that occurs during exercise is thought to improve sleep quality by helping body temperature drop during sleep. Many studies on the effects of exercise on sleep have reached similar conclusions. One review of six studies found that participating in an exercise training program helped improve self-reported sleep quality.
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A walk around any park will bring you face to face with people doing exercises in early mornings. Nowadays the young and the old are caring more about their heath and are spending more time in gyms after work. Doing exercises benefits them in many ways.
The most obvious is the physical benefit. Sports make us fitter, quicker and stronger. Physical training is helpful to our health. Scientific studies have shown that regular exercise is a powerful tool against illness and aging. Indeed, many diseases are the results of lack of physical exercise.
The benefits do not end there. Sport is a character builder. While doing sports, we may feel exhausted, but it trains our willpower. To win a game we have to be determined. To go beyond others or ourselves, we have to push our limits and overcome all difficulties. We come to know that there is always room for improvement. Then, failures are also common in sport. We learn to adapt to new conditions, to judge our weaknesses and to gather strength from our defeats. The fast-moving nature of most sports also helps us to become quick-minded.
By joining in team sports, we learn to work with others. In sport fields, one person’s goal takes second place to a team goal. Every team member is working towards a common goal. To achieve it, cooperation is a must. Members must work as a team and achieve what they want most even if that means someone has to give up his or her interests for the team. For example, a cyclist may take the leading position for half of the game and then drop out so as to ensure the victory of their team.
Like art, sport is a good way to train ourselves psychologically as well as physically. So, why not do sports and experience the great effects of sport?
Although most games have winners and losers, the goal of sports is not to win every game. The real goals include getting exercise, having fun, and learning important social skills, like sportsmanship. Good sportsmanship is all about respect. Good sports (具有运动家品格的人)respect the other players on their team. They respect the players on opposing teams. They respect coaches, and they also respect the referees or other officials involved in their games. On the contrary, bad sportsmanship is all about disrespect. They yell at their teammates and they talk back to coaches or referees.
Kids usually learn sportsmanship-good and bad-from the adults in their lives. Players' parents and coaches set examples that kids tend to follow. If parents and coaches show disrespect to other fans, referees, or each other, kids will likely act the same way on the field.
Good sportsmanship can be shown in many ways. Some of them are very basic and easy to do, like shaking hands with other players before a game. Other examples may take a little more courage, such as acknowledging a great play made by the opposing team. Learning good sportsmanship is important because it helps you develop an attitude of graciousness (礼貌) and respect that will carry over into all the other areas of your life! If you're a good sport on the field, you'll also likely be a good sport in the classroom. Being a good sport in the classroom will eventually lead to being a good sport in the workplace.
So be a good sport in whatever you do! The example you set can be a powerful teaching tool for others. When others see you acting in a way that makes it clear that winning isn't the most important thing, you can move on to focusing on the important things, like having fun, getting exercise, and improving your skills.
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These days, football is one of the most popular sports in the world. Given that Neil Armstrong wanted to take a football to the Moon, we could even say that it is also the most popular sport out of this world! The history of the game goes back over two thousand years to Ancient China. It was then known as cuju(kick ball), a game using a ball of animal skins with hair inside. Goals were hung in the air. Football as we know it today started in Great Britain, where the game was given new rules.
That football is such a simple game to play is perhaps the basis of its popularity. It is also a game that is very cheap to play. You don't need expensive equipment; even the ball doesn't have to cost much money. All over the world you can see kids playing to their hearts 'content with a ball made of plastic bags; just like Pele did when he was a boy.
Another factor behind football's global popularity is the creativity and excitement on the field. It is fun enough to attract millions of people. You do not have to be a fan to recognize the skill of professional player-how they use their bodies to pass, score and defend can be amazing to see-or to feel the excitement of a game ending with a surprising twist.
What's more, football has become one of the best ways for people to communicate: it does not require words, but everyone understands it. It breaks down walls and brings people together on and off the field. Take, for example, the famous football game on Christmas Day 1914. World War I had broken out months before, but British and German soldiers put down their guns and played football together-one moment of peace to remember during years of conflict.
“Some people believe football is a matter of life and death, ...... “said Bill Shankly, the famous footballer and manager. “I can assure you it is much, much more important than that.” This might sound funny, but one only has to think about the Earth to realize that our planet is shaped like a football.
Many teenagers in high school today try out for sports because they think it will make them popular with their friends. But there are of course many other benefits to be gained from sports in school.
With home computers, video games, and TVs becoming more and more popular, it has become so much easier for teens to be by themselves rather than going out with friends. Teens used to go hanging out at the mall or drive around town, but now they just sit at home. While they may not find a new best friend when going out, they will learn how to interact with fellows, which they will find useful later in life. Therefore, getting teens into a sport gives them an opportunity to go out and socialize.
One of the biggest problems in our society today is obesity (肥胖), and it is not just a problem with adults. More and more teens are becoming overweight due to poor eating habits and a lack of exercise. Joining in a sport will help them go out and take some exercise without feeling pressured to lose weight or get in shape.
Sports also provides parents with a great way to bond with their children by showing up to support them at games and helping them with their practices. These days, it is becoming harder for parents to show love and support to teens. Through sports, they can not only spend time with their kids and talk to them, but also have a chance to chat with their friends and learn about who they are hanging out with.
Parents may think “but my kid isn’t good enough to make their school team”. Actually, there are plenty of other places besides schools to play sports. Just take a look around the area and it is certainly not hard to find many sporting activities suitable for teens to join in.
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Take care of your spine (脊柱)
The spine stands at the center of your health, providing your body with structure and support. It also contains your spinal cord, a massive collection of nerves conveying electric signals from the rest of your body to your brain. Since your spine is so central to health, it's important to look after it.
Maintain good posture (姿势)is one of the most important things you can do to keep you spine healthy. Proper posture means standing or sitting while keeping your spine straight, except for its natural curves. Posture comes into play even when you're asleep. Sleeping on you side puts less stress on your spine than most other positions. Staying still for too long----even if your posture is good---can be hard on your back. Especially if you look at a desk most of the day, it's important to get up and stretch periodically.
Exercise is also an important factor in the health of your spine. Stretches can help the muscles around your spine relax and allow bones to shift into better arrangement. Strength exercises like pushups can also help by strengthening the muscles around your spine. However, don't overdo the exercise, as repeated motions can strain the muscles around your spine.
Finally, your diet affects the health of your spine because many vitamins are necessary for bones and nerves. In particular, B vitamins and omega-3 fatty acids keep nerves healthy, so you may want to consider taking a supplement. Another important factor is vitamin D, which is essential for strong bones. Vitamin D can come from some foods, but it's also absorbed from sunlight, so it may help to do some of those back exercises outside.
Many of the actions necessary to keep your spine healthy are identical to those need to preserve your health in other ways. So protect our back, and the rest of body will benefit.
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