You Dont Have to Hurt Yourself to Snowboard – Recreation
You Dont Have to Hurt Yourself to Snowboard
Lauren Traub Teton
Snowboarding Gear to Keep you Safe and Comfortable as you Learn and Ride
Are you thinking of trying snowboarding, but reluctant because youve heard that youll be bruised after the painful edge-catching falls of the first three days Or have you tried snowboarding but thrown in the towel because it hurts too much when you fall
Snowboarding without Injuries--
Snowboarding without injuries is actually a possibility. If you wear protective snowboard gear you will greatly reduce the odds of hurting yourself when you snowboard. You will not have to worry as much about possible pain and injury on the slopes, and you can relax and enjoy the ride. If you are lucky enough to always ride on soft deep powder, protection is not such a big issue. But hard snow happens, especially in Eastern America.
Most Websites and Magazines Do Not Discuss Snowboard Safety--
and protection for the snowboarder. In some circles, it seems there is something stoic and admirable about enduring pain. If you disagree, and want to spend quality time on the slopes instead of nursing bumps and bruises on the sidelines or sustaining slow-healing injuries that can become chronic and arthritic, read on.
Main Points of Impact with Snow and Ice--
When you ride, the main points of impact where your body will meet the snow or ice are predictable: knees, hands and wrists, buttside or tailbone, and head are the target zones. Protect these body parts and you will hurt less and have a lot more fun.
Knee Protection for Snowboarders--
Knee protection is one of the most important pieces of snowboard protective gear. Your knees are bony and vulnerable. And they are complex joints that are painful and expensive to fix.
Wear in-line Skate Knee Pads beneath your snow pants. Make sure they are soft and well-padded on the inside and hard plastic to absorb shock and protect on the outside. Good pads will also keep your knees warm and flexible, and you can relax so much more knowing that a fall forward is not going to be painful and damaging. Beginners fall on their knees often. Believe it or not, good knee pads also help to protect your wrists. Read on.
Hand/Wrist Protection for Snowboarders--
Falling forward with your weight on your hands is a good way to break a wrist. Fists should be balled up, with your thumb outside, as if you were ready to punch someone. Try to relax and fall evenly on your protected knees, and forearms. You should wear good protective knee pads so you can distribute the weight on both your knees and hands. Then you wont have to try to catch yourself with your hands.
Some experts argue that wearing skate wrist guards can increase the severity of a fracture by sending the "shock" up the arm to a larger bone. A new snowboard specific safety glove and wrist guard is now on the US Market. It was designed by a French Emergency Room physician who has worked on thousands of snowboard fractures, and it is supposed to reduce snowboard wrist injuries by up to 60%.
Butt/Tailbone Protection for Snowboarders--
People sometimes say "But I have plenty of natural padding on my butt." Forget it. You need padding that is not connected to your central nervous system.
If youre a beginner and if you dont have anything else, you can slide some bubble wrap down the back of your pants. Use plenty! Youll hear the bubbles pop when you fall and youll be glad you wore them. And you will have saved a lot of jarring to your spine as well as wear and tear on your buttocks and tailbone.
Once youre convinced of the need to save your posterior, invest in some real padding designed for snowboarders. A hard plastic shell outside with soft padding on the inside is great. It will hardly be noticeable beneath your snow pants and it really helps.
Helmets for Snowboarders--
You might think mistakenly that helmets are only for people who ride in the trees, or do big tricks. But the first time you catch an edge and go CLUNK! and the back of your head hits the hard hard ground, youll reconsider. A helmet also adds the comfort of warmth and dryness, as well as cushioning for your brain. With a helmet on, you can ride in the rain comfortably, and have the slopes almost to yourself.
You should buy a helmet in person at a shop. Correct fit is mandatory and tricky. Get expert help at the snowboard shop to be sure the helmet fits. And have your helmet checked for safety and fit next season if you fell on it a lot or grew dreds or shaved your head since you purchased it.
Hydration for Snowboarders--
Snowboarding creates heat. That means you are perspiring, even when its cold. Stay hydrated with water, and you will be able to ride longer and better. To replace the water lost perspiring and breathing the dry winter air, use a hydration system. It is a backpack with a water bladder, and a tube to deliver the water to your mouth. Simple and efficient. Just grab the tube, bite the valve on the end, and sip. You can easily do it while sitting on the lift. You can wear it outside your coat, or even under it on freezing days.
You can do tricks and ride the pipe while wearing a small hydration backpack, no problem. You can also throw an extra clothing layer, energy bar, tool set, or whatever in the hydration backpack. The backpacks come in many different sizes and configurations.
Safety for Your Board--
Its just as important to protect your trusty ride when you get off it. Hardcore riders never let their boards out of their sight. If you do, check yours at the lodge, or lock it with a small cable lock that you carry in your backpack. Also register it online at http://www.SnowboardRegistry.com/ so if it does disappear, you at least have a chance of getting it back. And be a good citizen of the snowboard universe. Before you buy a used board, check its serial number at http://www.SnowboardRegistry.com/ to make sure it wasnt reported stolen.
Ride Happily Many a Day--
Unlike with skating and surfing, you DONT have to endure pain to learn and ride your snowboard. Respect yourself. Dress for safety and comfort on the slopes, and youll come back to ride happily many a day.
About The Author
Read more about snowboard safety gear at http://www.snowboardsecrets.com/secrets.htm.
Lauren Traub Teton is an avid snowboarder and the Editor of SnowboardSecrets.com and the Snowboard Events Calendar at http://www.WhatsonSnow.com.
Get "16 Secrets for Successful Snowboarding" when you sign up for the Snowboard Szine at http://www.snowboardsecrets.com.
Copyright © 2004 Lauren Traub Teton. All Rights Reserved
Union Members Don t Be Fooled, Conservative Talkers Have it in for You – Writing
Union Members Don t Be Fooled, Conservative Talkers Have it in for You
Peter Mennona, Jr
Ever wonder why labor unions consistently endorse democrats over republicans in nearly every election The answer is simple. Democratic officials support the right of workers to unionize and collectively bargain. Ronald Reagan, the great communicator, communicated loud and clear that he didn
Do you Have the Burning Desire to Lose Weight or Reach any Goal – Diet
Do you Have the Burning Desire to Lose Weight or Reach any Goal
Mike Matthews
NOTE: This article is one of the component parts of the 9-step WTA3 program contained in the ebook titled "The Action Path -Your Key to Success!" due out in 2005 at http://www.your-key-to-success.com/index_actionpath.html.
- Do you have a Burning Desire -
Do you have a burning desire to lose weight and reduce your body fat to 10%
Do you have a burning desire to get a flat, well-toned midsection
Do you have a burning desire to increase your net worth to $500,000
Do you have a burning desire to improve your personal relationships
Do you have a burning desire to start a business next year
Do you have a burning desire to reduce your credit card debt
The key phrase is "Do you have a burning desire to...". We all have hopes, dreams, wants and wishes. Do you have a Burning Desire to make the right choices on a daily basis and take positive action steps toward your goals
Lets start with a common goal of reducing body fat or losing weight. While losing weight is a more common goal, reducing body fat to your bodys optimum level is the better route to take. For this illustration, imagine you had a personal goal of losing 10 lbs in 30 days. Because youre smart, you know that losing weight can be accomplished by taking in fewer calories than you burn. This is a law of nature and makes logical sense. Even though we are aware of this basic principle, losing weight continues to be a difficult goal for many people to accomplish. Now the question; do you really have a Burning Desire to lose 10 lbs in 30 days If youre like many, your answer is "...yes, I have a desire to lose weight..." but in reality you dont have a Burning Desire.
Another source for creating your own Burning Desire is a program from Tony Robbins titled, Get the Edge! You can see a product review of his program at http://www.your-key-to-success.com/product_gettheedge.html.
To further illustrate our day-to-day choices and the difference between a desire and a Burning Desire lets pretend that you are two days into your diet and youre at your favorite hamburger restaurant for your usual lunch. What are you going to choose from the menu What choice are you going to make
Will it be the usual double cheeseburger, large fries and a soft drink
Will it be a double cheeseburger, small fries and a small soft drink
Will it be a single burger, no small fries and a diet soft drink
Will it be a burger no bun, small salad light dressing and water
Will you leave your favorite hamburger restaurant and find a different place to eat
Most will order the usual lunch or might only cut down slightly. You might even justify it by convincing yourself that later in the day youll eat less, youll exercise more at the gym or you need all this food because you are starving. By choosing to order the usual lunch, youve made a choice to take action towards your goal of losing weight. Let me repeat in a slightly different way. By selecting the usual lunch, you have made a wrong choice to take a negative action towards your goal of losing weight. Every minute of every day you have the power, potential and intellect to make good choices that will help direct you to take positive actions towards meeting your goals. Will you succumb to a need for immediate gratification or can you delay it for a short period with your eye on the prize, of a larger, more gratifying long-term goal.
Was choosing the usual lunch the right choice for you to meet your goal of losing weight It probably wasnt the best choice, but only you can make the decision to make the right choice. Your decision to eat a high calorie lunch was probably based on a short-term craving and the need for immediate gratification. After the meal, youve met your short-term craving but youve moved farther away from your long-term goal of losing 10 lbs. You need to be aware that your day-to-day choices are often based on a superficial need to satisfy your immediate gratification. When short-term wins over long-term, it shows that your immediate gratification cravings have registered more votes in your brain. Your objective it to move the pendulum; make your long-term goals register more votes so you will automatically start taking more consistent and positive action steps. You need to create a Burning Desire to make long-term win over short-term.
Dont forget to check out the other examples, such as increasing your net worth, outlined in other chapters of this book. You can also check out a product review of Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle at http://www.your-key-to-success.com/product_burnthefatfeedthemuscle.html.
Stop reading and take your first positive action step to create a Burning Desire. You can apply this technique to any goal. To make this exercise easier, use the form in the appendix section of this book.
List at least 6 reasons why you want to attain a weight loss goal or any other goal. List both the positive reasons I want to look good for the Caribbean vacation and the negative reasons I cant fit into my pants. Positive reasons are "What will I get if I attain this goal". Negative reasons are "What will happen if I dont attain this goal".
Next to each reason you listed above, write a short, visual description of that reason. Its important that you visualize your reasons. If one of your reasons is "...I cant fit into these pants...", describe this visualization as a picture with your stomach hanging over the edge of your belt or waistband. Make sure you complete this visualization description for each reason. As you go through this visualization process you may start thinking of more reasons - go ahead jot them down on your list.
Take 10-15 minutes and read your 6 or more reasons along with your visualization descriptions. Which one or two reasons trigger the most emotionally energized response
Take the top 1,2 or 3 emotionally energized reasons, write them down on a business card size piece of paper and place them in your wallet, purse, desk and/or car. For the next 3-5 days, take out this card and read the reasons and the visualization description out loud.
By the end of the 3-5 days, if you still get emotionally energized and excited; congratulations, you now have created your own Burning Desire.
What if this didnt work and youre not emotionally excited - what if you didnt create a Burning Desire. Your current goal has reverted back to a wish, a want, a dream or a hope. At this stage you have a few options. First, you should go back to step #1 and try this exercise again. Often during the first attempts, you may not have put enough time or energy into the process. Right now is the time to change for the better - take a positive action step and give it another chance. Second, if youve tried this exercise or other techniques and still cant seem to create a Burning Desire, than you may need to pick another goal, abandon the goal or change the goal. Changing the goal is not giving up; changing the goal is often one of the best ways to get yourself re-energized, motivated and excited about moving forward.
By taking these 5 steps to create a Burning Desire for each one of your goals large or small, you will make your goals much more attainable, you will start to consistently meet more of your goals and you will have more fun along the path to success. This technique can be used in other areas of your life such as your business career, your personal finances and your relationships. Other chapters in this book will provide the details on how to use this technique to succeed with more of your personal goals.
Authors Personal Note: I have successfully used this technique in the area of weight loss and have lost 10 lbs in 45 days, reduced my body fat by 3% and dropped from a 35-inch waist to a 32-inch waist. What was my Burning Desire I had about seven of them, but two created the most passion and drive.
First, was when my youngest son commented about how big my stomach was getting and that I looked out of shape. This comment was my negative reason that drove me to make a change. If I didnt attain this goal, I would continue to hear these comments . Second, I had a closet full of size 32 pants and was ready to go out a buy more tight-fitting 34 size pants. Since I personally dont like despise spending money on clothes, I created a visualization of all the money I would save by not having to buy another 3-4 pairs of pants. If I did attain this goal, I would have another $150 to do what I love most - invest.
My personal visualization for the first reason was a flat stomach instead of the love handles and no fat comments from my son. My visualization for the second reason was seeing $150 invested in 3 shares of a blue chip stock on my portfolio statement, instead of pants hanging in my closet. While my personal visualizations might not get you motivated, these visualizations created enough push, motivation and drive for me to change my dietary habits and eat right not necessarily less and exercise more often. Remember, each of you will have your own personal visualizations that will get you to take action.
It was the first time in my 40+ years that Ive ever wanted to lose weight and while it was difficult to make these dietary and exercise changes; I sacrificed my short-term immediate gratification needs for the benefit and success of my long-term weight loss goal. Not only did I receive gratification from meeting my weight loss goal, but I received even more gratification by knowing that I could make the appropriate day-to-day choices to minimize my short-term immediate gratification needs to meet a long-term, more gratifying goal. It was worth the efforts. Other personal success stories can be found throughout this book.
Its time for You to take Action!
What are you going to do right now to take one positive action step towards meeting one of your personal goals To get the momentum moving in your favor, you need to take immediate action. After reading this article, take the next 30 minutes to complete this 5-step process for one of your goals You dont have 30 minutes, take 5 minutes to start the process. The key is to take Action. You owe it to yourself to be successful and one key component for making your personal goals attainable, is to create your own personal Burning Desire. Start it now!
About The Author
For more information about this ebook, "The Action Path - Your Key to Success!", by Mike Matthews, please visit http://www.your-key-to-success.com/index_actionpath.html. Your-Key-to-Success.com provides a resource for articles, products and services to help you get motivated to take action and succeed with your goals in the areas of your personal finance, your business and your physical fitness. Remember - Dreams will determine what you want in life, Actions will determine what you get in life. Sign-up for our free newsletter at http://www.your-key-to-success.com/index_newsletter.html.
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