The Power of Stretching
"The money and the fame are irrelevant really. I'm just a hamstring away from oblivion; you've got to look at it like that." ---- Steve Jones
Running is the oldest and most popular sports in the world. Most runners feel that running is fairly simple, when in reality it is very complex. Running is one of the only sports that gives the whole body a work out. Leg strength and cardiovascular endurance play huge roles in the success of a runner, but they are not the only things that measure ones running ability. Upper body strength and back support are also important in running. Since athlete's's bodies are made up entirely of muscle, they must exercise often in order to take care of themselves and prevent injuries. Muscles are like any other thing in the world, the more you use them the stronger they get. Running long distances is strenuous on the muscles and if they are over worked and under cared for they can be damaged. Running causes the muscles that are active to become strong and less flexible, whereas the opposing muscles that are relatively under used become weaker. When muscles are being used they expand and contract often. If the muscles were not used in a while they usually get sore from the work out. Since muscles are the most important part of being athletic, proper care should go into maintaining them. Stretching before and after runs is a perfect way to care for your muscles.
WHAT IS STRETCHING?
The three main reason why stretching is so beneficial to a runners body is: it reduces the risk of injury, prevents muscle soreness after exercise, and it improves athletic performance. What is actually happening to the body during a stretch is very complex. Each muscle contains stretch receptors which attach themselves to the working part of the muscle called, muscle fibers. The stretch receptors measure the degree of the stretch, sending a message through the spinal cord to the nerves that control the contraction of the muscle where the receptors are. As the runner stretches more intensely the receptors begin to send out pulses harder and more rapidly. These pulses exceed a certain frequency, and the stretched muscle contracts and shortens, preventing overstretching.
STRETCHING INJURIES
Unfortunately, stretching is not done willingly by runners. Even though it would only take an extra five to ten minutes on top of the one or two hour run, most runners choose to skip stretching.
One factor which is probably significant is that three weeks before the race, during an easy run the day after an excellent 41-mile training run, I injured a calf muscle. I used electronic stimulation to promote healing, and ran very little during the three weeks preceding the race. This area bothered me frequently during the race, feeling as if it wanted to cramp.
In conclusion, the author produces prejudices that surround each one of the characters in the novel. Each of the characters constructs their own internal turmoil dealing with the times and the race they were born into. The novel shows prejudices towards looks, class, race, and religious beliefs. In my opinion, the author shows that prejudice encompasses everyone's life in one form or another. Nobody can fully be excluded from the prejudices that are formed in this world. While the authors' sometimes-exuberant description of prejudice is narrated throughout the novel, he also describes through the use of the character Sandy, life is "Not Without Laughter" (p.249)
Endurance running is a rewarding experience that puts to test an athlete’s courage, perseverance and determination. It is a marvelous wonder how the human body, with the proper conditioning and mental focus, could achieve such tasking running distance. Elite runners complete the marathon course in just over 2 hours, while the average runner completes it in about 4.5 hours. It’s difficult to comprehend how someone could run, consistently, for 4.5 hours.The actual marathon is simply a formality as the journey starts the day training begins. The outcome, the day of the marathon, is dependent on how successful the training program was executed. Long distance runners are the biggest advocates of the sport, always convincing others to jump on the training wagon. However, some runners, while they refuse to admit it, ponder if the effects of long distance running could be doing more damage than good. It is true that long distance running is potentially dangerous to the heart; however, research suggests that physician examination, as well as proper mechanics and posture during the training phase would ensure an enjoyable journey towards reaching an endurance goal injury free and would even benefit the heart in the long run.
Obesity in children across America has become an increasing public health concern. Obesity has been identified as an epidemic that is plaguing our children in the United States. In some countries around the world children are dying of starvation everyday. How can this happen when here in America the opposite is a major problem? This is not to say that in America there are no hungry or starving children. It has been proven that our children suffer from obesity, and “children who are overweight or obese as preschoolers are five times as likely as normal-weight children to be overweight or obese as adults” (“Hope”). Obesity not only can cause a child to become more prone to having health problems down the road, but it can also make them feel insecure about themselves. There needs to be action taken in schools as well as in homes to help prevent this growing epidemic.
Running may have a heavier toll on the body than any other sport, literally. With each stride, force of two to three times the bodies weight is hammered on the joint, muscles, and tendons.
There is an alarming rise in childhood obesity throughout the United States, making it an epidemic in our country. Obesity has become a threat to the health of many children. Childhood obesity has more than doubled in children and quadrupled in adolescents in the past 30 years. The percentage of children aged 6–11 years in the United States who were obese increased from 7% in 1980 to nearly 18% in 2012. Similarly, the percentage of adolescents aged 12–19 years who were obese increased from 5% to nearly 21% over the same period.(Childhood Obesity Facts, 2015)
In the minds of most Americans, the name of Paul Revere forever conjures up the image of the lone patriotic rider shrouded in the darkness of the New England night. His mission: to inform the countryside that the Regulars are coming. On this night, the fate of the natural rights of all men in the new world seemed to rest on his shoulders. As terrifically romantic as this thought may be, it is far from the truth. Revere's midnight ride was anything but the heroics of just one man; rather, it can be much better summarized as the collective effort and doings of all New England Whigs. (ANB)
Running is an action or a movement, but actually it serves as more than just that. Running is what the human body was made to since the creation of the human species. Over many years of evolution the body has evolved and become adaptable to different types of running. Many who begin running at such a young age whether it is long distance or sprints,but have never stopped and realized, wait how is this affecting my body? Many believe that there is all good to running and that no harm can come from it. Others may argue that it comes with a series of lasting internal injuries that may not affect them at the moment but affect them in the long run. The physical characteristics associated with running can come with a list of positives, but have we forgot about the negatives ? Runners remain with lasting injuries that serve as injurious to the body . The benefits and downfalls in the physical aspects of running serve in areas such as the heart, bones, and joints.
John Updlikes, “A&P” is a fictitious narrative that presents an insightful view on some facets of human nature. Our story takes place at an A&P grocery store in a small Massachusetts town. We are taken into the mind of our 19-year old narrator, Sammy, who quickly leaves behind his innocence as a carefree teenager to become a man, with a realistic understanding of being an adult. Throughout this story, Updlike, creates scenes where peoples idealistic views of themselves and social norms, shake the monotonous routine of the A&P. We are then able to observe the internal and external conflicts that the ideal self can create in the world around us. Updike, uses themes in “A&P” to reveal through a carefully selected cross-section of society, how all people, across lines of gender and social class, face a daily struggle for self-expression while battling the oppression, and repression of their individuality.
John Updike's short story "A & P" reveals nineteen-year old Sammy, the central character, as a complex person. Although Sammy appears, on the surface, as carefree and driven by male hormones, he has a lengthy agenda to settle. Through depersonalization, Sammy reveals his ideas about sexuality, social class, stereotypes, responsibility, and authority. Updike's technique, his motif, is repeated again and again through the active teenage mind of the narrator Sammy.
Many young adults now would not know how different conformity was back in the day or how strong of a desire people have for independence that they start to rebel. Maybe they did because that is how coming-of-age is all about from the past and in the present. In John Updikes “A & P”, we meet a young boy name Sammy who grows a desire of change from the conformity of his town and a need for independence upon seeing a sexually attractive and independent young girl he nicknamed “Queenie”. The themes represented in the story centers around conformity and desires of independence driven by sexual attraction which creates an act of rebellion for Sammy when he quits his job at a small town supermarket.
The running phenomenon has blended into society in many different aspects of our lives. This does not only include track and field, but also cross country, road-racing, and jogging for health and leisure. Many Americans make running an essential part of their day. Running is not only good for your heart and lungs, but it is very beneficial for relieving stress, keeping your metabolism high, and keeping you trim and muscular. Another expanding characteristic of running is using it as a social experience. It is a part of people’s routine to meet with friends and to catch up with one another.
It causes heart diseases from high cholesterol and high blood pressure, asthma, and type 2 diabetes, and other health conditions. Obese children can have weight related health problems all the way into adulthood. This is something we need to resolve not only does it because physical pains but also psychological issues. Obese children tend to have low self-esteem and other social problems because of their weight. This is caused from the discrimination that overweight children and adults can face in their life.
Contrary to what some people say, running does not hamper the joints in fact strengthens the bones and other joints.
The role of religion in politics is a topic that has long been argued, and has contributed to the start of wars, schisms (both political and religious), and other forms of inter and intra-state conflict. This topic, as a result of its checkered past, has become quite controversial, with many different viewpoints. One argument, put forth by many people throughout history, is that religion and the government should remain separate to avoid any conflicting interests. This view also typically suggests that there is one, or several, large and organized religions like the Roman Catholic Church, which would be able to use their “divine” authority to sway the politics of a given state by promising or threatening some form of godly approval or disapproval. By leveraging their divine power, individual figures within a religion, as well as the religion as a whole, could gain secular power for themselves, or over others. A second view, which was developed by many theologians through history, suggests that that without religion there would be a general lack of morality in the people and leaders of a given state, which would give way to poor political decisions that would not be in the interest of the people and perhaps even God (or the gods). This argument, however, does not address the fact that morality can exist without religion. In sociology, it is commonly accepted that social norms, which include morality, can result from any number of things. Religion, laws, or the basic desire of survival can all create these norms, so it suffices to say that as a society, our morals reflect our desire to live in relative peace through the creation of laws that serve to help us to survive. The argument of whether or not religion and politics should mix...