Appropriate Eating Habits Before Competitions

Food - Photo: Wikimedia

As athletes work to prepare for competitions and tournaments, it is very important that nutritional needs be met.  This includes both in eating habits, what is consumed, and when it is eaten.  The old saying that you should not eat before swimming is a very real concern for athletes regardless of which sport they are involved in.  

In order to allow the body to fully convert the good foods that you are eating into energy, it needs time.  The amount of time it needs varies depending on the exact foods that you are eating but the process is certainly not instant.  In order to achieve the best results, it is ideal if you break up your eating habits before competitions and try to limit the amount of food that you are eating right before engaging in sports.  For example, if you are going to be running track at 10a.m. you should not eat anything after 9:30a.m.  unless it is an emergency.  This allows your stomach time to start converting the food you consumed into energy.

While it is necessary to drink liquids during a work out it is also essential to know what foods are safe before a workout.  In order to ensure that your athletic experience goes as smoothly as possible, you should always consult your sports medicine doctor for specifics based upon your body type, athletic activity and any other variables that are specific to you.  In the meantime, there are some general guidelines that are acceptable to use and can assist in helping you ensure that you are ready to go.

Before you exercise, you should look at eating about 4 hours before your exercise.  This means a real meal with components from all of the food groups.  This does not mean simply snacking on an energy bar or even an apple.  Instead, it should be a complete meal, this may require you to adjust your workout schedule to better coordinate with your eating habits, or if your schedule handles it better adjust our eating habits around your workout schedule.  Either way, it is important to eat a full meal 4 hours before your work out.

Once you are finished eating it is a good idea to eat a snack or even an energy drink that is loaded with carbohydrates.  This gives your body an extra burst.  It is best to look into this high carbohydrate snack about 2 hours before your workout.  Remember, worrying about the calories you are consuming is not as important as ensuring that you are giving your body the fuel that it needs to function.  In addition, about one hour before your workout looking into a sports drink is a really good idea.  Following this schedule should have your body well stocked with plenty of energy to handle the rigors of your workout.

In the time immediately before a workout or even a competition of any type, it is best to stick to small foods that are healthy and offer high amounts of carbohydrates.  Examples include fruits, fruit juice, vegetable juices, and even sports drinks are all healthy choices that keep your energy levels full.  They are also light enough that they will not cause any problems with your stomach while you are engaged in your athletic activity.

In addition to eating the healthy foods, sports medicine doctors also recommend consuming something sugary approximately 45 minutes before any highly strenuous activities.  This includes candy bars, energy bars, and even some soft drinks.  Keeping your energy levels up is not always a simple task but if you focus more on your energy levels and less on the calorie intake that you are consuming your body will appreciate it once you are moving and using the stores of energy.  

Remember, limiting the amount of sugar that you consume is best since it only gives you energy for the initial start to the activity.  The carbohydrates that you consumed before will provide you with the long-term energy that you need to be successful.  With some careful planning, it is possible to work with your sports medicine doctor and coach and decide exactly what your best eating routine is to keep you in top-notch shape.

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Types of Stun Guns

Stun Gun - Photo: Flickr

There are many types of stun guns on the market today. Which one you choose depends on what you feel comfortable with and which one best suits you.

Standard stun guns are fairly simple. They are about the size of a flashlight and work on a single 9-volt battery. This type of stun gun gets its electric supply from the battery and it is distributed to the various electrical components. The standard type of stun gun has small electrodes at the end where the current is released.

Cattle prods are similar to stun guns. They use an electrical current that works off the two electrodes on the end. But the cattle prod serves a different function.

A cattle prod only causes pain, the charge not meant to disrupt the nervous system but to get the person or the animal moving. The main difference is in voltage. The voltage in a cattle prod is lower, only meaning to shock instead of stun.

Another variation is the taser gun. It still basically works the same way, but instead, the electrodes are not permanently joined to the housing. They are positioned at the end of conductive wires.

Pulling the trigger releases the electrode, shooting at a distance into the target, the wires still attached to the housing. The electrodes have small barbs, which grip on an attackers clothes. The current travels down the wire and into the attacker, stunning him the same way. The main advantage to this is that the attacker can be kept at a distance, anywhere from 15-20 feet.

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How to Look Up

Vitebsk amateur astronomical observatory (MPC COD B42) - Photo: Wikimedia

The beauty of astronomy is that anybody can do it.  From the tiniest baby to the most advanced astrophysicist, there is something for anyone who wants to enjoy astronomy.  In fact, it is a science that is so accessible that virtually anybody can do it virtually anywhere they are.  All they have to know how to do is to look up.

It really is amazing when you think about it that just by looking up on any given night, you could see virtually hundreds of thousands of stars, star systems, planets, moons, asteroids, comets and maybe an even an occasional space shuttle might wander by.  It is even more breathtaking when you realize that the sky you are looking up at is for all intents and purposes the exact same sky that our ancestor's hundreds and thousands of years ago enjoyed when they just looked up.

There is something timeless about the cosmos.  The fact that the planets and the moon and the stars beyond them have been there for ages does something to our sense of our place in the universe.  In fact, many of the stars we “see” with our naked eye are actually light that came from that star hundreds of thousands of years ago.  That light is just now reaching the earth.  So in a very real way, looking up is like time travel.

Everybody knows how to look up.  Children first discover the amazing light show on display for free every clear night by just looking up.  You can probably remember that very first time you noticed that explosion of stars above you when you were a child.  Now it is time to foster that same love of astronomy in your own children.  You have to teach them how to look up.

While anyone can look up and fall in love with the stars at any time, the fun of astronomy is learning how to become more and more skilled and equipped in star gazing that you see and understand more and more each time you look up.  Here are some steps you can take to make the moments you can devote to your hobby of astronomy much more enjoyable.

* Get out of town.  The furthermost you can get from the lights of the city, the more you will see in the night sky.

* Know what you are looking at.  It is great fun to start learning the constellations, how to navigate the night sky and find the planets and the famous stars.  There are websites and books galore to guide you.

* Get some history.  Learning the background to the great discoveries in astronomy will make your moments stargazing more meaningful.  It is one of the oldest sciences on earth to find out the greats of history who have looked at these stars before you.

* Get a geek.  Astronomy clubs are lively places full of knowledgeable amateurs who love to share their knowledge with you.  For the price of a coke and snacks, they will go stargazing with you and overwhelm you with trivia and great knowledge.

* Know when to look.  Not only knowing the weather will make sure your star gazing is rewarding but if you learn when the big meteor showers and other big astronomy events will happen will make the excitement of astronomy come alive for you.

And when all is said and done, get equipped.  Your quest for newer and better telescopes will be a lifelong one.  Let yourself get addicted to astronomy and the experience will enrich every aspect of life.  It will be an addiction you never want to break.

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9 Ways To Feed Your Soul By Simply WALKING

We live in a culture that honors Type A, driven behaviors. That includes exercise and for many people, it’s taken away the joy out of simply walking. Instead of seeing walking as something you must do to get in shape, see it as a gift of being alive and let yourself fully enjoy the experience.

1) Walk with a deep awareness of how it feels to move your body.

2) Experience the act of walking as if you've never, ever done it before.

3) Be aware. Be present at the moment. Really feel your body as you're moving.

4) Pay attention to how your feet feel with each rolling step on the earth.

5) Notice the strength and power of your muscles.

6) Feel yourself moving in space.

7) Observe the wind on your skin and the temperature of the air.

8) Have a beauty feast while you're out. Notice the light coming through the leaves. See the flowers with fresh eyes.

9) Take a fresh look at the world as you move through it. Assume nothing. Experience the wonder of life as if you've never seen anything before. Watch the people as if you'd never seen a human before.

Let walking become a cherished and enriching part of your life. Turn it into something wonderful that you look forward to with both body and soul.

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The Collectors who Collect Classic Toy Trains

A toy train (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

It has been said that collecting classic toy trains in the world's greatest hobby. Many of today's collectors received their first toy train set when they were young, often as a Christmas or birthday present. Collectors claim that the toy train set gave them an opportunity to imagine a whole new world, one that revolved around a steaming locomotive. When they become adults, the collectors of classic toy trains claim that working on their model's layout is a way to relieve stress and escape from the pressures of day to day life.

Toy train collectors are an interesting a varied group of individuals. Some of them spend the better part of life, looking for the perfect train set creating model after model, thrilling in seeing the miniature world take shape.  This type of collector pours over catalogs, agonizes at toy train auctions, and continually shops at eBay stores that sell toy trains. Others never touch a model train set, they prefer to read books on the construction and collecting of toy trains, they might even attend the toy train shows and auctions This type of collector is happy to sit back and dream about someday building a toy train model. Some collectors spend hours fiddling with the scenery, touching up the paint and designing structures, this collector thinks of their classic toy train model as an art form. Another type of classic toy train collector is fascinated by the mechanical aspect of the toy train, they spend all their time working on the mechanics of their model that they never even bother to add scenery. The thing all these collectors shares is a genuine love of classic toy trains.

Very few collectors start out designing a large layout. The average size of the collector's classic toy train layout is 4X8 feet. This starter layout is typically an HO gauge. They add some scenery and a few buildings as they go, gradually expanding on the layout. Most classic toy train collectors will say that no layout, large or small, is ever complete.

The layout of toy trains and their railroad tracks consists of scenery and landscaping. The structures are commonly made out of plastic or bits of wood. The mountains are made out of painted pieces of plaster or foam, while the rivers are created by plastic resin.

Classic toy rain collectors who are also fans of gardening can combine their hobbies with a garden railroad. A garden railroad is a toy train that runs on a railroad that is routed through your garden. A railway garden is a garden that is planted with miniature plants and landscaped to accommodate a garden railroad. People who design a garden railroad enjoy facing the same types of challenges in landscape and topography that the railroad companies face when they build new rail lines. Most railway gardens are designed with roadbed. A roadbed is a material, most often a ballast created out of rock dust and crushed rocks, that supports the track and allows for drainage. Some people who lack the time, patience, or ability to garden have been able to enjoy a garden railroad by incorporating it directly into their landscaping. Fans of garden railroads say it is a great way for the entire family to bond. Some ambitious railway garden designers have created water features in their gardens that include ornamental fish and live plants.

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2006 Ford Taurus: Swan Song

Ford Taurus Sedan - Photo: Wikimedia

The 2006 model year will end the heralded Taurus name and for this writer, it is a bittersweet time as Ford retires what once the best selling car in all of America.

When Ford introduced the Taurus along with its cousin the Mercury Sable in the mid-1980s the car represented a radical departure from the standard American car of the day. Fairly large, front wheel drive, and very aerodynamic, the Taurus quickly rose to the pinnacle of the American car sales charts and was the best selling car for several years in a row. A much delayed “reskinning” did not occur until 1996, some ten years after the Taurus and Sable were first released. The new style, perceived by some to be ugly, quickly cost Ford sales as newer and more modern Toyota Camrys and Honda Accords outgained the line.  Slight changes in style incorporated with the 2000 model year took some of the edges off, but by then the Taurus was considered to be too old and outmatched by the competition.

I purchased an all-new 1994 Taurus and kept the car for seven years, racking up 117,000 miles before deciding it was time to trade in the car for something newer. I found the ride to be comfortable, the interior room to be expansive, and I enjoyed the overall style of the car. I was also one of the first people to purchase a Taurus in the then new Hunter Green color, an attractive deep green that was admired by many. 

When 2001 rolled around, I elected to lease a Saturn L series instead of going with the Taurus. I needed something similar in size with the Taurus and at that time Saturn had a lease deal that could not be beaten. In addition, I still wasn’t impressed with the Taurus which I felt had been out-engineered by other cars in its class. So, I took home the Saturn and donated my Taurus to the Kidney Foundation.

The 2005 model year represented the final year that Ford would offer the Taurus through dealers; for 2006 the Taurus is only available as a fleet car and it is unchanged from the previous year’s model. The slow-selling Sable was mercifully put to rest one year earlier.

For Ford, concentrating on trucks and SUVs meant neglecting much of their car line up, including the Taurus. Bigger and stronger SUVs, including the Expedition and Excursion, were introduced as America’s tastes continued to shift from passenger cars to SUVs. In addition, the ever popular F Series pick up trucks went through regular style and engineering changes every four years or so as did the Explorer, Ford’s midsized SUV.

Higher gas prices and changing tastes are once again impacting Fords’ line up. The beefy Excursion is gone and new cars including the Five Hundred and Fusion are now part of the lineup. These two new models represent a fresh change for Ford and a promise that the attention once given to the Taurus would be given to the new models. For that, I am glad. 

Author: Matthew C. Keegan

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Grand Central Terminal

Grand Central - Photo: Wikipedia

In New York City you will find Grand Central Terminal which is a famous landmark in reference to train stations. The terminal that is in place today was built in 1913 and it was built specifically for electric powered trains. Many people visit Grand Central Terminal today not to ride a train, but to take a look at the various architectural designs it has to offer. 

The most popular features include the marble staircase that never seems to lose its beauty. There are also numerous windows in the terminal that are 75 feet tall. You may end up bumping into many people while you are at the terminal because many of them walk around with their heads facing the ceiling due to the amazing paintings on it. There are plenty of starts up there where you will quickly forget where you really are at. 

One of the reasons why this is such a busy train station today is because there are so many large corporate offices and businesses in the area. It is very easy for businessmen to take a train to the Grand Central Terminal and then walk the remaining distance to their place of employment or for a meeting taking place in one of the area business locations.

If you find yourself at the Grand Central Terminal for any length of time you can enjoy one of the coffee shops or restaurants. There are also a couple of bars where you can enjoy a drink. There is an excellent selection of casual dining as well as fine dining in the Grand Central Terminal. 

Don’t forget to check out the market offered at the terminal as well. Here you will find an amazing selection of fresh fruits and vegetables for sale. There are also fresh coffee beans, baked goods, prime cuts of meat, quality cheeses, and chocolate delights that are made right in front of your eyes. This is a very colorful and fun place to explore when you visit the Grand Central Terminal. 

Many people want to the terminal in order to shop as there are over 50 shops featured there. In these shops, you will find clothing, shoes, electronics, toys, a small museum, luggage, books, beauty supplies, and even locations to get your hair and nails done. You can literally spend days at Grand Central Terminal doing nothing but shopping and pampering yourself. 

For some fun, while you are visiting the terminal, make sure you visit the Whispering Gallery. Due to the architectural design of the terminal, there is a place where you can whisper and it will echo loud like you are shouting. This is due to the various dynamic acoustics in that area of the terminal. The curved layout of the ceiling offers just the right elements necessary to allow this to happen. 

There are plenty of different events that take place at Grand Central Terminal throughout the year. They offer a splendid holiday décor that you will fall in love with. In addition to the many shops in the terminal, vendors are allowed to set up their booths to sell wonderful handmade crafts and Christmas ornaments. They also offer plenty of free entertainment and host art shows during the year to help support the arts. You can easily access a calendar of events for the Grand Central Terminal online. 

Today Grand Central Terminal is considered to be a historical landmark. There has been plenty of money invested in it to preserve the beauty of this remarkable train station. If you haven’t seen it you need to put it on your list of places to visit while in New York City. 

If you have ever heard the term Grand Central Station, this is in reference to the subway system found beneath the Grand Central Terminal. This is an icon of the hustle and bustle of New York City. Every effort has been made to preserve it and to honor the vitality of the train industry. 

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