fitness

Morris dance is a traditional folk dance originating from England. Rhythmic stepping and extras such as handkerchiefs and swords are the main components of Morris dance. It is typically composed of sets (quite large groups of people), or jigs, which are dances performed by

one or two people. The Morris sets are quite complicated, with people taking positions of foreman, bagman, ragman, and many others(you can learn more about them from the link provided). Music accompaniment is played by a pipe and tabor(flute and a drum) or by a fiddle(violin playing folk music). Morris is also a VERY old dance, with first evidence dating back to the 15th century.

[kml_flashembed movie="http://www.youtube.com/v/N7ytMspgJ5A" width="425" height="350" wmode="transparent" /]

You’ve probably heard the word “flamenco” somewhere. So did I. However, I was confused whether it was a dance, a music genre, or a type of singing. It turned out to be a combination of the three. Flamenco is a music-dance style which combines musical accompaniment (tocar), singing (cantar) and dance (bailar). Very popular in Spain, flamenco originated from Mooritanian Romanis, which brought the dance to Spain. The main distinctions of this dance from other dance styles is that dancers usually wear a long, colorful dress called bata de cola, and play with their shales and scarfs while dancing. I recommend this dance to anybody who adores pretty, colorful dances. You can check out mny of the Flamenco festivals at:

http://www.flamencofestival.info/

[kml_flashembed movie="http://www.youtube.com/v/BdDD9JX-Tyg" width="425" height="350" wmode="transparent" /]

Charleston is a type of dance which was created in the 1920s (The Roaring Twenties), and named after a city in North Carolina. Designed for people who went to wild, frivoltous parties of the new age, it became a hit. Charleston was popularized by the flappers, who were people who decided not to conform with the old traditions. For example, Charleston is quite hard to dance when you’re wearing a long skirt, so flappers wore revolutionary minis to parties. Both the dance and the flappers were considered quite provocational. Today, Charleston is still popular because it is a fun, creative and easy-to-learn dance.

[kml_flashembed movie="http://www.youtube.com/v/ZJC21zzkwoE" width="425" height="350" wmode="transparent" /]

Have you ever found yourself in a situation when you are extremely confused about what you eat? For instance, when you gain weight, are the carbohydrates, proteins, or fats to blame for? Before blaming one of those, we need to know that all three are useful in moderation. Most dieters stick with the 40-30-30 percent ration of carbs-fat-protein, but this is a very different thing for many people, so you’d have to see your nutritionist for more info. Carbohydrates (carbs) are sugars which

fuel the body, fat provides protection and energy, and protein makes up your tissues, form DNA and have many other functions.

Where do you think baseball was invented? If you thought of those big baseball leagues in United States, think again. There are sports similar to baseball which are played in other countries. One of them is Lapta, a Russian version of baseball which is dated back over to the fourteenth century. However, its rules are somewhat different from baseball. It is played on a field which is approximately 140 by 175 feet, and which is marked by lines called “salo”, which translates into English as “fat”. Players divide into teams ranging from five to ten players. Then, one of the team members hits a ball with a lapta bat and has to run to the other side of the field and back without his teammates catching the ball and “capturing” him. It is somewhat simpler than baseball, so you can play even when you don’t have special bats or gloves.

I decided to talk more about the sneaker’s terminology today. Did you know, that there are about 20 different names for athletic shoes in English? There are sneakers, sport shoes, takkies, joggers, runners, and tennies. All of them come from different variations of English language such as British, American, Canadian and South African English. When we say “athletic shoe”, people don’t really consider cleats or boots which are used in football. There are Nikes, Adidas, K-Swiss, Puma and probably over a 100 different brands out there. With a 13-billion dollar industry in US, sneakers

are a fashion statement, a casual accessory, and of course, a sport necessity.

Court Shoes: these shoes will interest you if you play court sports: basketball, tennis, baseball etc. These shoes require all-round support as your feet move in all directions during games of basketball and similar sports. They usually have light-colored soles to prevent staining the court. Basketball sneakers offer a lot of mid-foot, heel, and ankle support, while tennis shoes focus more on cushioning side-to-side motion. Shoes for squash have a gummy, stable soles to prevent slipping.

Just a side note: shoes wear out fast. Ideally, you should change athletic shoes every 600 hours of use. Otherwise, the soles lose their flexibility, and the above features are simply lost.

Come back tomorrow for the next scoop on athletic shoes.

Before today, I never really thought much about athletic shoes. After all, sneakers are sneakers. However, after walking 6 miles today sightseeing Washington, DC, my feet were hurting. Really badly. So badly, that I had to massage them until I could walk properly again. I had to go through all this torture because I wore sandals. Now, after I browsed the web for a while, I decided to learn more about those sneakers. So in the next few days, I’ll talk about athletic footwear. Today let’s start with running shoes:

Continuous forward motion (like running): requires less support on the sides, but more padding on front and back. These shoes have a little bigger heel to absorb the shock/pressure. Also, they have a

wider front to help the forward motion.

 Here is a pic of such a shoe:

For me, one major problem with fitness was staying committed. After a few weeks of excitement, I tend to slack off and get really bored. A tip which many magazines offer is to get a fitness buddy who will encourage you to continue participating, and wont let you quit. This is a good idea, but what if none of your friends are into this sport. Personally, I’ve found that I have a different taste in many things, and not a lot of my friends share it. My best tip to you is to create a workout schedule and reward yourself once you go. Yes, every time. For instance, go get some sweets or visit your favorite coffee shop.