Nutrition Strategies for Young Athletes

Young athletes need plenty of energy . They need it to grow, to play and to compete. When it comes to active children or teenagers, it can be easy to skimp on nutrition - we all lead busy lives and snacks, high sugar drinks and fast food are usually quick grab-and-go items. Whole grains, dairy, lean meats and fresh fruits are what the body needs to be at its best. Carbohydrates - Good quality...Read more

Staying Active over the Holidays

SIRC Newsletter now available online: Staying Active over the Holidays This time of year means visiting with family and friends, attending holiday parties and giving gifts, so it can be difficult for most of us to stay active during the holidays. The good news is that staying active doesn’t have to be that hard; recruiting your friends and family can increase the fun, add motivation and create...Read more

What gets your heart racing?

With an abundance of fun tech available, more of us are using a variety of tools to enhance our workouts. Measuring your heart rate can be useful and is something that a lot of people are incorporating into their training. That being said, many of us rely on our gadgets to provide us with this information but do we really know how to utilize it? Did you know? 1. Heart rates are specific to the...Read more

Get the Warm up Low-down for Kids

When playing sports, warming up is a must and with kids there's an entirely different approach to coaching them through warm up drills . The value of a warm up created for children is that it raises the body temperature and heart rate, prepares the muscles and joints for activity, and helps to prevent injury. However, most people aren't aware that proper warm up also sets the mood and pace for...Read more

Fighting Fatigue

Fatigue seems simple: your body has reached its limit, you're tired. The current understanding is that we feel exhausted because of physical factors . Not enough oxygen and fuel to the muscles and decreased blood flow to the brain means that your muscles are no longer able to generate power no matter how hard you try. While this is true, it may not be the only factor in feeling fatigued. A recent...Read more

Exercise is a brain booster!

One of the most interesting findings in the last few decades is that the increased oxygen that the brain gets while exercising is almost always accompanied by an upswing in It is interesting to note that these studies determined that the intensity of the exercise mattered less than the frequency. It was found that you don't even have to go for long periods of time, any amount of movement creates...Read more

Don't let age slow you down!

Many of you may not know that the International Council on Active Aging celebrates Active Aging Week , from September 23-29. A lot people participate in this annual event, with this year's theme being many journeys, many destinations. To celebrate this week, we are giving some tips for healthy, active living, so you don't have to let age slow you down! 1. Determine your participation style - Do...Read more

Engagement

SIRC Newsletter now available online: Engagement With London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics still in everyone’s minds, it’s important to leverage this momentum to get more people engaged in sport. Sport has always promoted inclusion within the community; it supports participation and fun regardless of your gender, religion, ability, ethnicity, age or disability. Sport provides an avenue for...Read more

Maintaining your Summer Fitness Gains

Many of us have been taking advantage of this hot summer to exercise and further our training goals, so with fall just around the corner, how can we maintain the fitness gains we worked so hard to attain? Consistent commitment to any exercise training involves a lot of motivation, effort and hard work that we don't want to see decline over the winter months. Long-term exercise training has many...Read more

Is Stretching Really Necessary?

Stretching is an activity that we all know is beneficial to us but it's often overlooked. Stretching is necessary to a body in motion in order to help prevent injury and prepare the muscles for work. However, stretching is not a warm-up, in fact, stretching requires a warm-up. Stretching when your body is not warmed up can cause tiny tears in your muscle and also make you more prone to injury...Read more