Week 1

• Staying in Shape -- You cannot spot reduce!  What this means is by exercising a certain area of your body you cannot “melt away” excess fat from this region.  For example, you may see commercials advertising for a slimmer abdominal region by doing certain abdominal exercises with their product.  It doesn’t work!  (Actually, I cannot believed it’s legal to sell such products, as it’s a physiological fact you cannot spot reduce!)    Just like you cannot choose where your body deposits fat, you cannot choose where your body will lose fat!  If you are trying to slim down, the best advice I can give to you is to engage in aerobic exercise that is moderate to vigorous in intensity for a period of 40 minutes or longer (within reason of course!).  Fitness is a lifestyle and not just about looking good.  So, just like you eat and go to work regularly, you must incorporate exercise in your routine like this for it to work!  Good Luck

• Sports Psychology Corner – Confidence….Ah! Possibly the cornerstone of all great performances.  It’s influenced most greatly by past experiences.  It also influenced by self-talk (i.e. personal dialogue with self – conscious and unconscious thoughts), modeling (i.e. watching someone do what it is you want to do or envisioning it yourself) and finally by your emotional and physical state.  Obviously, altering past experiences may be difficult, but, by you can alter the other factors.  Become aware of what you are thinking and saying, and make them positive!  The old adage “if you can’t beat them join them” also applies in improving confidence.  Associate yourself with those things/people that are getting it done and start watching and learning from them.  Finally, identify the physical and emotional states that work best for whatever it is you are trying to achieve.  Now, make sure you are in this state. 

 

• High Jump Facts & Tips -- Did you know the method that a high jumper clears a bar, by turning their back to the bar at take-off and essentially going backwards over the bar is called the Fosbury-Flop?  This was first done by Dick Fosbury in the 1968 Olympics.  It brought the progression of greater heights, including current existing World Record performances.  However, did you know that at this very same time, Debbie Brill, a Canadian high jumper was also jumping with this same method?  It was referred to as the Brill-Bend?  Oddly, the two had developed this method independent of the other.

**Nicole has her Bachelors and Master degrees in the field of Kinesiology and is completing her PhD in Sports Psychology