By Linda Drummond

CROSS-TRAINING can give you the on-field edge you need.

Take yourself back to those training sessions your coach forced you to suffer through when you first started a team sport: the endless plodding laps around the oval, the drills with the ball, the push-ups and, horror of horrors, the burpees (that bouncy squat, push-up, leap combo).

Were those coaches just sadistic, or is there something to all this training? You guessed it, they’d got it right. Practice might seem mind-numbingly dull, but it really does make perfect.

Physical activity does not have to be vigorous or done for long periods in order to improve your health. Walking is suitable for most people. Regular walking can help you lose body fat, maintain a healthy weight, improve your fitness, and reduce your risk of developing conditions such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes, osteoporosis and some cancers.

Some exercises are best avoided because they can cause damage to bones, muscles and surrounding tissues (musculoskeletal injury). They may make it more likely that you will injure yourself or worsen a pre-existing injury or medical condition. This article lists common potentially harmful exercises and offers alternatives or suggestions on how to safely modify them.

Bouncing while stretching

• For all exercisers, use enough weight that you can ONLY complete the desired number of reps--the last one should be difficult, but not impossible.
• Warm up with light cardio before lifting and stretch between sets.
• Give biceps at least one day of rest before you work them again. If you lift heavy, you may need 2 or more days to recover.
• Beginners: Choose 1 - 2 exercises, 1 set of 14 - 16 reps
• Intermediate-Advanced/Muscle Building: 3 - 5 exercises, 3 or more sets of 6 - 8 reps

Heather Kinnin

Sport, exercise and fitness are things we tend to associate with younger people. This is just one of the factors that put older people off getting active. But the rewards can be great - for your health and your social life!

Statistics show that although men are more active than women in every age group, our activity levels decline steadily with age. By the time we reach our mid-50s, few of us take regular exercise.

·  if you are new to running be sure that you have been
walking for 30 minutes at least 3 days a week about 3 months before you try to
transition to running. 

·  Do not bounce or overstride. Don't let your foot get
ahead of your knee. Run from the hips down with the upper body straight up and
used only for balance. 

·  Breath in through your nose and out through pursed lips.

·  Choose shoes appropriate for running and that fit well --
they don't cause any discomfort or blisters.

Does this sound like you?  You wake up bright and early in the morning quick brekky, rush to work and by the time you manage to arrive home you feel run down and exhausted. Definitely not feeling like exercising or the need to exercise.  However, the latest research shows that around 50% of Australians simply not getting enough physical activity to meet even the minimum targets needed for good health.  Lack of active lifestyle can not just impact body image, but lead to obesity, which has a range of associated health problems.

So how much exercise do we really need?

The Aerobic Energy System

All humans are aerobic beings, which mean that we require oxygen to sustain life. While being inactive or at rest, the body has a resting oxygen requirement that must be met. This is the minimum amount of oxygen necessary to burn enough fuel in order to create enough energy in order to sustain basic bodily functions.

This test is designed to test you lower body strength and endurance.

Stand in front of a chair or bench with your feet at shoulder's width apart, facing away from it. Place your hands on your hips. Squat down and lightly touch the chair before standing back up. A good sized chair is one that makes your knees at right angles when you are sitting. Keep doing this until you're fatigued. Record the number of correct squats that were performed without stopping.

The tables below show the break down of the scores for both males and females:

Plyometrics involve exercise that use explosive movements in order to develop both muscular power as well as ability to generate large amounts of force very quickly. This is achieved by the rapid alteration of lengthening and shortening of specific muscle groups while continuously applying resistance force to the muscle.

In order to grasp a better understanding of how plyometric exercises stimulate our muscles lets have a closer look at muscle contractions.

There are three different ways in which our muscle can contract: eccentric, concentric and isometric.