National Athlete of the Month | Scott Bauhs | November 2011

Event: 10,000m

Born: May 11, 1986

High School: San Ramon Valley High School '04 (Danville, Calif.)

College: Chico State University '08

Career Highlights: 2007 NCAA Div. II 10,000m Champion … 3rd at the 2011 USA Outdoors

Scott Bauhs had arguably one of the most successful collegiate careers turned in by a Division II distance athlete. He is the youngest American to run sub-4 minutes for the mile and sub 28-minutes for the 10,000m. While competing for Chico State University, Bauhs amassed eight All American awards, and three national titles. His professional career began one week after the 2008 NCAA national cross country meet with a win at the Silicon Valley Turkey Trot. He joined the Mammoth Track Club where he has continued to improve his times and qualify for two more US international teams, under the guidance of Coach Terrence Mahon. He placed third in the USATF Cross Country Championships and fourth in the 3000m at the USATF Indoor Track and Field Championships in 2010.

2011: 1st at the Jim Bush Southern Cal USATF Championships 1,500m (3:42.87)… 3rd at the USA Outdoor Championships (28:40:51)

2010: 2nd at the UW Invitational indoor 3,000m (7:51.65)… 3rd at the KBC Night of Athletics 5,000m (13:36.77)… 13th at the USA Outdoor Championships (29:51.91)… 3rd at the Applied Materials Silicon Valley Turkey Trot 5k… 1st at the Las Vegas Rock ‘n Roll Half Marathon (1:02:39)

2009: 1st at the Chico Twilight 1,500m (3:41.34)… 3rd at the Adidas Track Classic 5,000m (13:38.95)… 5th at the USA 20 km Championships (59:46)

2008: 1st at the Chico State Invitational mile (3:59.81)… 1st at the NCAA Div. II Outdoor 5,000m Championship (14:00.65)… 1st at the Synaptics Elite 5k road race (13:37)

2007: 1st the California Collegiate Championship 1,500m (3:46.42)… 2nd at the NCAA Div. II 5,000m Championship (14:08.32)… 1st at the NCAA Div. II 10,000m Championship (29:31:93)… 6th in the San Jose Rock ‘n Roll Half Marathon (1:03:04)

2006: 6th at the NCAA Div. II 10,000m Championships (30:36.1)

Source: http://www.usatf.org/

Exercise of the Month | Barbell Upright Row | November 2011

The Barbell Upright Row is an excellent strength exercise for the upper traps and shoulders. This exercise requires a barbell loaded with the appropriate weight for your ability. Begin by standing with the barbell in front of you, with your feet shoulder-width apart. -- Grasp the barbell with an overhand grip slightly closer than shoulder-width. Bend at the knees, keeping your back straight, and pick the bar up. Lift the bar to chest height, pause, then slowly lower the bar back to the starting position. Keep the bar as close to the body as possible during the exercise.

Proper technique will make this exercise easy and safe for you to perform. Keep your body fixed during the entire exercise. Do not learn forward as you lower the bar. To add a little bit of difficulty to the exercise pause and squeeze your traps at the top of each rep, then slowly lower the bar down. This slow descent causes each muscle to work longer during every set.

Weekly Training Article | Cramping Your Style: How to Prevent Muscle Cramps | 11/28/11-12/4/11

By Tom Ambrozewicz

Muscle cramps happen to all athletes at one point in time or another. In fact, muscle cramps happen to most people regardless of athletic training. Muscle cramps are the involuntary tightening of muscles -- which you usually can control, -- and the most common problem areas are the legs and abdomen. They can put a real kink in your workout, so practice healthy habits to prevent your muscles from cramping as you train.

No one knows exactly what causes your muscles to cramp, but the first thing you can do to prevent it from happening during your workout is to warm up your muscles at the beginning of your training session. Use the mat area of your gym to stretch and do some light lifting to prepare your muscles for the day's activity. This is a good practice to prevent other injuries, as well. When your muscles are warmed up, they will expand and contract better during training, preventing you from cramps.

If you are unconditioned, start off slow and work your way up to harder and more intense physical activity. Athletes just returning to their sport after the off-season or an injury are more prone to muscle cramps, as are beginners. Building intensity will help you build muscle mass more quickly as well, so don't overdo it from the start, and be sure not to over-train. … Take enough time to rest between workouts.

Finally, keep your muscles and the rest of your body hydrated. Drink lots of water before, during and after your weight training or cardiovascular workout. Your body needs water before you feel thirsty, so drink at regular intervals, and if you are out in the sun or doing something that is making you sweat, avoid water poisoning. -- Drink sports juices to help you replenish all the nutrients your body is losing. Loss of these nutrients may cause your muscles to spasm and cramp.

If you do get a muscle cramp, don't worry. It is normal and will probably go away in a few minutes, although you may be sore for a lot longer. Stop what you are doing and gently stretch and massage the muscle until it is no longer cramped. Applying heat will also help relax the muscle, and if you are sore, cold compresses will help your muscles heal. If your cramps become routine or do not release for long periods of time, see your doctor to make sure everything about your body is in good condition.

Source: articlecircle.com

Weekly Training Article | Hypertension: Forget the Salt and Spice Up Your Life | 11/21/11-11/27/11

By TheBloodPressureCenter.com

If you have hypertension, or are worried about developing high blood pressure, then you will probably know that one of the first things you need to do is to reduce your intake of salt. However, that is not always as easy as it sounds.

Salt has been around for thousands of years and is used in most food products both as a preservative and to bring out the flavor of the food. This means that when it comes to cutting down on salt you have two problems -- trying to avoid buying foods which contain a lot of salt and finding an alternative way to add flavor to your meals.

Fortunately, today, both the government and food manufacturers often come to our rescue when it comes to helping us choose food products which are low in salt. As far as the government is concerned, almost all foods are required to carry nutritional labeling, which includes the amount of salt, or sodium, which the food contains. At the same time, more and more manufacturers are now producing sodium free, or very low sodium, varieties of many of our favorite foodstuffs.

But when it comes to good old fashioned home cooking, what do we do with all those recipes which call for a pinch of salt? Well, a pinch of salt is probably okay here and there. After all, we are not talking about cutting salt out of our diet altogether, but simply about reducing our intake. But the pinches soon add up and while a little bit of salt in some recipes will not do any harm, you need to look for ways of replacing this salt wherever possible.

One answer is to turn to spices and herbs, or to low sodium seasonings such as onion powder, garlic powder and sodium free bouillon.

Of course you will need to experiment to see what you like and do not like, but start with a few simple ideas like seasoning/marinating fish and meat well ahead of cooking to bring out the flavor. You will also find that there are all sorts of things that you can add to your food at the table to add flavor. For example, try squeezing a little fresh lime or lemon juice onto your vegetables.

Cutting down on salt to help lower hypertension, or to prevent you from developing high blood pressure in the first place, is not too difficult … but it will take a little bit of thought and some experimentation.

Source: articlecircle.com

Weekly Training Article | Osteoporosis: Definition, Risk Factors and Prevention | 11/14/11-11/20/11

By Barney Garcia

Osteoporosis is a bone disease which causes a deterioration of bone density and low bone mass. This is dangerous because is causes the bones to become fragile (especially the hips, spine and wrists) and there is increased risk of broken bones and slow recovery periods. Osteoporosis can affect any bone, but special attention is placed on the hips and spine, because the breaking of these bones can result in long term injury including difficulty walking, hospitalization, deformity, loss of height, severe pain and even death. You should ask your doctor to check your bone density levels yearly, since this disease often has no symptoms at all. When a person finally does experience any symptoms, they are usually so far into the disease that what they are feeling is back pain because of a fractured vertebra.

Women are more likely to contract this disease than men, often due to menopause, in which bone loss increases. One in four women are affected with this disease, while only one in eight men are. Certain people are at a high risk for developing this disease, and you should be cautious if you have any of the following risk factors: having a personal history of low bone mass, being female, being thin (male or female), having abnormal menstrual periods in women, currently having or have had anorexia nervosa in the past, eating a diet low in vitamin D and calcium currently and throughout your life, having an inactive lifestyle, having low testosterone levels in men, being a smoker, being a heavy drinker, and being Caucasian or Asian. However, keep in mind that people with these risk factors are not the only people who can get this disease, and all people are at risk and should be checked for the disease regularly.

There are certain things you can do to prevent your risk of developing osteoporosis, including consuming a diet rich in vitamin D and calcium, having an active lifestyle and doing weight-bearing exercises, quitting smoking, drinking alcohol in moderation, and taking regular bone density tests. Doctors and health professionals both agree that this is a very preventable disease as long as you take proper care of your health. Even if you start taking these precautions late in life, they will still lower your chance of developing the disease.

Source: articlecircle.com

Weekly Training Article | Women and Coffee Consumption | 11/7/11-11/13/11

By Kadence Buchanan

I do not know about you, but for me, coffee drinking, especially in the morning or early evening, is more than a simple habit or cultural characteristic. Actually, it has become a necessity without which I cannot open my eyes and stand on my two feet all day. According to researchers, I am not alone. Nearly 80% of the U.S. population drinks coffee on a daily basis. The caffeine measured to be contained in a cup of coffee, me and you consume daily, is around 80-130 mg. But while the medical community has warned the public of the health risks associated with caffeine intake, there still is little linking between coffee and health problems, except in a very few cases.

Coffee, which is a beverage served cold or hot, comes from the roasted seeds of the coffee plant, almost always referred to as coffee beans. But regardless of its tremendous market success, coffee is the second most commonly traded commodity in the world surpassed only by petroleum. Coffee has been blamed to be the cause of a variety of disorders ranging from indigestion to cancer, at one time or another. Since it is the main source of caffeine, which is a stimulant, coffee has had an almost constant role in the news pertaining to health problems in recent years. Surprisingly, most of these warnings and urgent health reports, describing problems like the human airways clogging, are aimed at women.

But while even doctors have been very critical of the role of coffee in women's health, the fact of the matter remains -- there is little proof that any risk to women exists from coffee drinking, especially when consumed in moderate amounts. As a matter of fact, reports have even suggested that coffee even lessens the risks of some diseases in women, such as bladder cancer. Unfortunately, since the health problems examined in relation to their linkage with coffee consumption have not yet reached indisputable results, women have reached a stage that it is almost difficult to believe anything involving the health risks of coffee and women.

The reasons why coffee has been getting such a bad reputation are based on the fact that of all drinks containing caffeine, coffee has the highest concentration amount, far exciding that of sodas. In addition, since doctors advise pregnant women to be cautious and avoid caffeinated beverages while carrying an infant, despite there being no evidence of any serious health risks involved, women tend to consider coffee drinking almost as if they were performing some kind of sin and avoid drinking it in fear of the unknown consequences. On the other hand, new research has revealed that coffee is actually beneficial to a person's health. For example, the diuretic effect of coffee has proved that it lessens the incidence of bladder cancer in smokers, and drinking coffee regularly is also reported to lessen the onset of Parkinson's disease.

So, what should we ladies do? The best advice that anyone can believe is the trusted advice of their doctor. Question your doctor if he/she restricts coffee and follow their advice, but stay current on health news. Although it seems impossible to know which study to believe, we have to train ourselves to tell the difference between hypothesis and fact. Being educated about our health will always make us women feel better in the long run.

Source: articlecircle.com