Monday, December 21, 2009

Improve Volleyball Hitting Accuracy


If executed correctly a volleyball attack is one of the most amazing skills in professional sports. Unfortunately for many of us, the volleyball attack is also a skill that can seem very complicated to learn. No matter what your height, with some perseverance and a mastery of the basic skills your kill percentage will go through the roof in no time.

It doesn't require anything but a volleyball net and a tennis ball so it can be done nearly anywhere. If you have a partner who can catch the tennis ball it will save you some time and keep you from running all around the gym, but if not just think of it as your cardio for the day.
To begin the drill put a tennis ball in your attacking hand, and move to the starting spot for whatever type of attack you need to practice. So if you're an outside (left-side) hitter, you'd start a step or two to the left of the court boundary and a step or two behind the 10-foot (3-meter).
Execute your approach using whatever type of footwork you're most comfortable with, plant your feet and jump as high as you can. When you're at the point of the attack when you would normally be hitting the volleyball, throw the tennis ball instead. Really focus on your arm swing and watch where the ball is landing in the court. And don't stop your arm swing once the tennis ball has been thrown; you want to simulate your attack motion, so keep the follow through in place. I like to think about "quarters in my hand": if there was somebody standing behind me while I did my approach my wrist should have snapped and my arm should have swung all the way back around by the time I land so that the person could put some quarters into my hand.Practice throwing the tennis ball across the court, down the line, on a sharp angle -- anywhere you want to hit with your attack. Once you're comfortable throwing the tennis ball on your own it's helpful to add a blocker or other obstacle so that you're forced to throw around someone's hand just like in a game.

Saturday, December 12, 2009

Tips To Improve Your Running Technique



Running technique is one of the most neglected parts of running training. It is not difficult to improve your running technique, although it is hard to bring into practice. After all, it is hard to kick habits, so you might have to do a bit of "unlearning" and go through a period of adjustment before you actually get used to your new way of running.
Try to avoid heel-striking and land on your mid-foot. During recent years the experts have been discouraging heel-striking. It is not suitable for the fastest running and more and more it is believed that heel-striking is one of the core reasons for the current running injury epidemic.Another way that will make you run the way you have to is to imagine running after a child that is about to cross a busy road. This will immediately push your body straight and push your legs to land under you rather than in front of you.
During your running, in order for any force to be transmitted from one leg to the other your pelvis must remain horizontal and rigid. In this regard, the core is responsible for keeping the pelvis in position. This horizontal position is essential for efficient force to be distributed. You can maintain core stability by just paying attention and concentrating on good posture. This is important whether standing, sitting or active. Apart from your running program you may want to spend some time doing cross-training like Pilates to strengthen your core.
you can also do is run with a metronome that is set at 90 or 180 beeps per minute and then try to follow the beat. Frustrating at first, but you will learn to take "lighter steps" and eventually improve your performance. Imagine how much faster you would be if you could do an extra 10 to 20 steps of the same stride length each minute!
Thus,if you are looking to improve your running technique, these few tips will get you started in the right direction. As said before, it takes time to kick old habits. Do not expect change to happen overnight. You may even get frustrated.

Thursday, December 3, 2009

Boxing - The History, Rules & Equipment

Boxing is a renowned sport which is viewed all over the world by thousands of people. Boxing is a combat sport in which two people, male or female of similar weight fight each other with their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee and is normally played in a series of one to three minute rounds. There are three ways to win one way is by knock out meaning the opponent is unable to get up before the referee counts to ten seconds or if the opponent is considered too injured to continue meaning a Technical Knockout. If there is no stoppage of the fight before the end of the rounds, a winner is decided either by the referee's decision or by judges' scorecards.

Boxing has been around for many years dating back to the ancient Greek times where it was first seen as a formal sport and this was when a set of rules where designed and tournaments were staged. Boxing was first recognized as a sport round about 688 BC and really evolved in Europe.There are numerous different styles of boxing practiced around the world such as French boxing in France, or in Burma with Burmese boxing and in Thailand with Thai boxing.
For boxers to participate on tournaments and events they must wear boxing gloves with wrist wraps as the wrist wraps are used to secure the bones in the hand, and the gloves are used to protect the hands from injury, allowing boxers to throw punches with more force. Also boxers must wear a mouth guard to protect the teeth and gums from injury, and to cushion the jaw.
When in the ring boxers are prohibited from hitting below the belt, holding, tripping, pushing, biting, spitting or wrestling their opponent. They are also prohibited from kicking, head-butting, or hitting with any part of the arm other than the knuckles. If a boxer violates these rules then they may be ruled as fouls by the referee, who may issue warnings, deduct points, or disqualify an offending boxer which may cause an automatic loss depending on the seriousness of the foul committed.