RIGHT WAY TO RUN

To get the right form and position while running, keep these simple things in mind

There are many things you need to take care of before you wear your sneakers and go out for a run. It is one of the best forms of exercise but if you go do it in the wrong way, you can injure your body, so keep these simple things in mind.

HEAD TILT
How you hold your head is key to overall posture, which determines how efficiently you run. Let your gaze guide you. Look ahead naturally, not down at your feet, and scan the horizon. This will straighten your neck and back, and bring them into alignment. Don’t allow your chin to jut out.

SHOULDERS
Shoulders play an important role in keeping your upper body relaxed while you run, which is critical to maintaining efficient running posture. For optimum performance, your shoulders should be low and loose, not high and tight. As you tire on a run, don’t let them creep up toward your ears. If they do, shake them out to release the tension. Your shoulders also need to remain levelled and shouldn’t dip from side to side with each stride.

ARMS
Even though running is primarily a lower-body activity, your arms need to be in the correct position. Your hands control the tension in your upper body, while your arm swing works in conjunction with your leg stride to drive you forward. Keep your hands in an unclenched fist, with your fingers lightly touching your palms. Your arms should swing mostly forward and back, not across your body, between the waist and lower-chest level. Your elbows should be bent at about a 90-degree angle. When you feel your fists clenching or your forearms tensing, drop your arms to your sides and shake them out for a few seconds to release the tension.

TORSO
The position of your torso while running is affected by the position of your head and shoulders. With your head up and looking ahead and your shoulders low and loose, your torso and back naturally straighten to allow you to run in an efficient, upright position that promotes optimal lung capacity and stride length. Many track coaches describe this ideal torso position as ‘running tall’ and it means you need to stretch yourself up to your full height with your back comfortably straight. If you start to slouch during the run take a deep breath, you will straighten naturally. As you exhale simply maintain that upright position.

HIPS
Your hips are your centre of gravity, so they’re key to good running posture. The proper position of your torso while running helps to ensure your hips are also in the ideal position. With your torso and back comfortably upright and straight, your hips naturally fall into proper alignment – pointing you straight ahead. If you allow your torso to hunch over or lean too forward during a run, your pelvis will tilt forward as well, which can put pressure on your lower back and throw the rest of your lower body out of alignment. Try to maintain the right position of your hips while running.

LEGS/ STRIDE
While sprinters need to lift their knees high to achieve maximum leg power, distance runners don’t need such an exaggerated knee lift -- it’s simply too hard to sustain for any length of time. Instead, efficient endurance running requires just a slight knee lift, a quick leg turnover, and a short stride. Together, these will facilitate fluid forward movement instead of diverting (and wasting) energy. When running with the proper stride length, your feet should land directly underneath your body. As your foot strikes the ground, your knee should be slightly flexed so that it can bend naturally on impact. If your lower leg extends out in front of your body, your stride is too long.

ANKLES/ FEET
To run well, you need to push off the ground with maximum force. With each step, your foot should hit the ground lightly -- landing between your heel and midfoot -- then quickly roll forward. Keep your ankle flexed as your foot rolls forward to create more force for push off. As you roll onto your toes, try to spring off the ground. You should feel your calf muscles propelling you forward on each step. Your feet should not slap loudly as they hit the ground. Good running is quiet.

Pregnant Women Should Avoid Junk Food

WASHINGTON: Worried about your kids growing up being addicted to junk food? Well then stay away from fatty, sugary and salty foods while pregnant and breastfeeding.

The finding is based on a new study by researchers at the Royal Veterinary College, London, who found that mothers who eat junk food during pregnancy and breastfeeding may be putting their children at risk of overeating and developing obesity.

The study was carried out on a mouse model, during which researchers observed rats fed a diet of processed junk food such as doughnuts, muffins, biscuits, crisps and sweets during pregnancy and lactation.

The researchers found that offspring of these rats gave birth to offspring which overate and had a preference for junk foods rich in fat, sugar and salt when compared to the offspring of rats given regular feed.

The research team believes the findings have implications for humans as well.

"Our study has shown that eating large quantities of junk food when pregnant and breastfeeding could impair the normal control of appetite and promote an exacerbated taste for junk food in offspring," says author Dr Stephanie Bayol.

"This could send offspring on the road to obesity and make the task of teaching healthy eating habits in children even more challenging.

"Exposure to a maternal junk food diet during their foetal and suckling life might help explain why some individuals might find it harder than others to control their junk food intake even when given access to healthier foods later in life," Dr Bayol added.

Professor Neil Stickland, a co-author on the study, who heads the research group at the Royal Veterinary College, believes that mothers need to be made aware of the risks associated with a poor diet.

"The government is trying to encourage healthier eating habits in schools, but our research shows that healthy eating habits need to start during the foetal and suckling life of an individual," says Professor Stickland.

"Giving children better school dinners is very good, but more needs to be done to raise awareness in pregnant and breastfeeding women as well. Future mothers should be aware that pregnancy and lactation are not the time to over-indulge on fatty-sugary treats on the misguided assumption that they are 'eating for two,'" he added.

The research has been published in the British Journal of Nutrition.

Rember This

This should probably be taped to your bathroom mirror where one could
read it everyday. You may not realize it, but it's 100% true.
1. There are at least two people in this world that you would die for.
2. At least 15 people in this world love you in some way.
3. The only reason anyone would ever hate you is because they want to
be just like you.
4. A smile from you can bring happiness to anyone, even if they don't
like you.
5. Every night,
SOMEONE thinks about you before they go to sleep.
6. You mean the world to someone.
7. You are special and unique.
8. Someone that you don't even know exists loves you.
9. When you make the biggest mistake ever, something good comes from
it.
10. When you think the world has turned its back on you, take another
look.
11. Always remember the compliments you received. Forget about the rude
remarks.

When Insults Had Class

> "He has all the virtues I dislike and none of the
> vices I admire."
>
> *-- Winston Churchill
>
>
> "I have never killed a man, but I have read many
> obituaries with great pleasure"
>
> *-- Clarence Darrow*
>
>
> "He has never been known to use a word that might
> send a reader to the dictionary."
>
> *-- William Faulkner (about Ernest
> Hemingway)
>
>
> "I've had a perfectly wonderful evening. But this
> wasn't it."
>
> *-- Groucho Marx
>
>
> "I didn't attend the funeral, but I sent a nice
> letter saying I approved of it."
>
> *-- Mark Twain
>
>
> "He has no enemies, but is intensely disliked by his
> friends."
>
> *-- Oscar Wilde
>
>
> "I am enclosing two tickets to the first night of my
> new play, bring a friend. If you have one."
>
> *-- George Bernard Shaw to Winston
> Churchill...followed by
>
>
> Churchill's response: "Cannot possibly attend first
> night, will attend second, if there is one."
>
> *-- Winston Churchill*
>
>
> "I feel so miserable without you, it's almost like
> having you here."
>
> *-- Stephen Bishop
>
>
> "He is a self-made man and worships his creator."
>
> *-- John Bright
>
>
> "I've just learned about his illness. Let's hope
> it's nothing trivial."
>
> *-- Irvin S Cobb
>
>
> "He is not only dull himself, he is the cause of
> dullness in others."
>
> *-- Samuel Johnson
>
>
> "He is simply a shiver looking for a spine to run
> up."
>
> *-- Paul Keating
>
>
> "He had delusions of adequacy."
>
> *-- Walter Kerr
>
>
> "Why do you sit there looking like an envelope
> without any address on it?"
>
> *-- Mark Twain
>
>
> "His mother should have thrown him away and kept the
> stork."
>
> *-- Mae West
>
>
> "Some cause happiness wherever they go; others,
> whenever they go."
>
> *-- Oscar Wilde*