On the surface golf may look to be a slow paced low impact sport with little risk of injury. However, as many golfers have unfortunately discovered looks can be deceiving. The Physician and sports Medicine Journal reports 57% to 67.5% of all golfers will sustain some type of golf related injury.

Scientifically speaking our body was not designed to swing a golf club. During the swing strong compression, shear, and torsion force is produced placing our spine, joints and muscles at a relatively high risk for injury. The golf swing is an explosive movement that demands precise coordination of muscle contraction and relaxation, postural stability, strength, balance and body awareness. That is not to say we cannot swing a golf club without these elements. The body does a great job in compensating for weakness and faulty movement. However, there is a downside to this compensation. The downside is inconsistency, loss of power, and overuse of certain muscles which often leads to muscle and joint pain and injury.

Many golfers spend hours upon hours practicing their swing with little or no time devoted to training their bodies. This type of golf preparation usually results in two things: 1. Inconsistency 2. Aches and pains

So how does the golfer reduce their risk of injury? By establishing and maintaining core strength, muscle balance and flexibility by participating in a well developed integrated exercise program. Increased muscular efficiency and flexibility allow you to increase power and consistency while drastically reducing chances of pain and injury.

Beware; all golf fitness programs are not created equal. There are many programs out there that are merely body building or general strength training routines masquerading as golf fitness programs. These programs generally focus on training specific muscles or muscle groups with little attention paid to movement. Lying flat on a bench and pushing weight off your chest or doing biceps curls that isolate one single joint movement will hardly translate to improved performance on the golf course. In fact, many of the standard gym exercises found in such programs further disrupt muscle balance and postural stability and can increase risk of injry.

There are other golf fitness programs out there that claim to strengthen golf muscles by promoting exercises that mimic the golf swing. There are two problems with this approach to golf fitness. The first problem being; there are no specific golf muscles. It takes virtually every muscle in the body working in precise concert to complete a golf swing. The second problem is; due to the repetition necessary to master the golf swing those targeted golf muscles are often already over developed and over tight in relation to the rest of the body. Performing exercises that mimic the golf swing prior to establishing a strong foundation and good muscle balance will only strengthen the imbalance and lead to further inconsistency and greater chance of injury.

Look for a qualified strength and conditioning or fitness professional that has a solid understanding of not only exercise science and biomechanics, but also the physical demands of the golf swing. Increased muscular strength and efficiency will allow you to increase power and consistency while drastically reducing chances of pain and injury. Add a well developed integrated exercise routine into routine and you will not only be playing better, but you will feel better doing it.

Bill Scibetta, RN, NSCA-CPT

Bill is the founder and President of Precision Fitness Personal Training Centers in the Charlotte, NC area and co-author of the book Play Better Longer! Peak Performance and Injury Prevention for golf. Bill is a licensed Registered Nurse as well as a national Strength and Conditioning Association Certified Personal Trainer. After spending years practicing in the specialty of Orthopedics and sports Medicine, Bill has dedicated his career to helping individuals identify and overcome obstacles that stand in the way of optimal wellness and peak physical performance.

http://www.LakeNormanFitness.com

You have been given a chance of your life. A vacation leave from the company you worked for years. What you want to do is to pack your bags, take the kids with you and escape for a while to some interesting country. You want to take a breather from the pressures of daily life. For a weekend or a week, its just going to be your happy family vacation and some good ol rest and recreation.

So where to go and what to do? I will invite you to Florida where food is delicious, the climate is good and theres plenty to enjoy for both adults and kids. Before you proceed in reading this, I will recommend you to pack your things, kick off your shoes, relax and let me take you on a tour to two of the most beautiful spots in Florida.

Destination: Orlando Florida

Orlando as of 2000 census has a city population of 185,951. It houses Floridas 2nd largest university which is the University of Central Florida. Orlando is the 6th largest city of Florida State. This city is not only known for tourist attractions but also known for being a leader in research and medical care. Orlando carries a nickname city beautiful with a symbol Lake Eola fountain.

Sights to See:

A. The walt Disney World

walt Disney continuous to be a top vacation destination for families around the world. Orlando also has its walt Disney World; it has 4 huge parks full of shows, rides and other attractions. There are also shopping venues for shopping addicts and fine restaurants to satisfy your stomachs appetite.

Several parks fill the walt Disney Florida. One is Magic Kingdom which was the first theme park in disney and the most famous. Second is the animal kingdom is the latest addition to the disney theme parks. animal Kingdom Park combines an animal experience to the classic rides, attractions and shows Disneyland is well known for. Epcot Park holds futuristic and educational attractions for fun and learning. The MGM Studious contains a tower of terror. The tower looks very vintage and luxurious from outside but the sights inside will frighten your heart out!

B. Universal Orlando Resort

The resort has two theme parks, luxurious hotels, dining, nightlife and shopping venues. Universal Orlando Resort is just a different world; it also contains the Universal Studious where you can enjoy the ride while watching movies. It is very informative because you will learn how movies are made and the secrets behind some movie effects.

C. Adventure Islands

Looking for adventure? The Islands of Adventure can give you some! There are wild rides and roller coasters in this newest park in Orlando. Truly a great and wild way to enjoy your vacation.

D. sea world Adventure Park

sea world is a well known aquatic park of Orlando Florida. Aside from the breath taking rides to enjoy, there are animal shows where you can see smart animals doing their amazing stunts.

Other spots in Orlando are the Universal City Walk, Busch Gardens, Discovery Cove and Cypress Gardens for nature lovers, Orlando Science Center and Kennedy Space Center for space enthusiasts; Pleasure Island for nightlife and a collection of Ripleys believe it or not artifacts.

Destination: Miami Florida

Miami is located at the south eastern part of Florida. It has a mild climate all year round and is famous for beautiful beaches. In 2002, the Natural Health Magazine ranked Miami as the number 1 Healthiest City in the nation. Miami is the number one choice for boating enthusiast and active travelers.

Sights to See:

A. Miami Beach was listed as a historic district in 1979. Thanks to Miami Vice, this TV serves as advertisement to the public and has given the city much recognition.

B. South Beach is located along Bay Road and West Avenue at Miami Beachs western edge. Therein located the grandest island hotels such as Mondrian Hotel.

Numerous restaurants such as The Capital Grille, Palm, Porcao, Knife Steakhouse etc. Serve grilled steaks and other delicious foods. There are also hotels luxuriously serving 24/7 everyday for a day or week long vacation.

I have only mentioned two of the well known paradise escapes in Florida. There are numerous other destinations that you and your family can consider such as Atlantic beaches, Bimini Bahamas, Cedar Islands, Florida Gulf.

Florida is obviously blessed with numerous beaches, rich hotels, and beautiful spots that is suited for a family vacation. The best thing is for the family to unwind and have a good time to reunite. Never mind the expense, it will pour out again when you come back and be stressed with bulk of work. What is essential is for you to be focused on the vacation and your family once in a while.

For more information go to: http://www.bigfloridavacation.com http://www.aperfectharmony.com or http://www.a-1hypnosis.com

1.On the right-hand side of most screens in Office 2003, there is a Getting Started task pane which allows you quick access to your documents and also enables you to access the microsoft Office online system. From this task pane you can open new or saved documents, connect to the help section of the microsoft Web site and get the latest news about Office 2003. The task pane also contains a search box which will link to the microsoft Web site, provided your computer is online. You can enable or disable the Getting Started task pane by clicking on View on the top menu and then selecting Task Pane.

2.The new Research task pane is a very useful method of looking up information from a variety of sources on the internet. This pane also contains a search box into which you can enter your query. Immediately below the search box there is a drop-down arrow which, once invoked, displays a list of sources, e.g. Encarta Dictionary, Encarta Encyclopaedia, MSN money Stock Quotes etc The Research Task pane can be enabled by clicking on the small black triangle at the top of the right hand pane.

3.A selection of Templates is now available form the microsoft Web site. type templates into the search box and the Office online site will produce a list of appropriate results. Some of the templates available for microsoft Word 2003 include, calendars, business plans, resumes, flyers, presentations, expense reports, forms etc Why reinvent, when microsoft has the hard work done for you?

4.Information Rights Management (IRM). Click on File on the top menu and then Permission, and provided you have IRM installed you can restrict access to your documents. A download is available from The microsoft Web site. You can create documents with restricted access in microsoft Office Professional 2003, microsoft Office Word 2003, microsoft Office Excel 2003, and microsoft Office PowerPoint 2003. You can easily prevent sensitive material from falling into the wrong hands even when your documents have been submitted electronically.

5.New Reading Layout view which makes reading long documents much easier on the eyes. Turn on Reading Layout either from View on the top menu or from the Reading Layout icon on the bottom left hand corner. This view also introduces a navigational toolbar at the top which includes thumbnails and a document map.

xbox 360 is the next generation of the microsoft xbox. The xbox 360 can easily be compared to a computer designed for gamming. Most of the games available work on most of the newer microsoft platforms, (windows).

xbox 360

There are two versions of the xbox 360, the "xbox 360" and the "xbox 360 Core system".

The most important difference between the two is the detachable 20 Gb hard drive. This makes the use of previous xbox games possible.
As well as to play original xbox game, the xbox 360 enable you to play online.
The new xbox 360 offers very attractive incentives for game developers to release new titles.

Technical background

The xbox 360 can easily be compared to a media computer. The graphic card is a powerful ATI 500 MHz chip with 10MB of memory built on the chip.

The CPU itself, (actually 3 processors), is a 3.2GHz liquid cooled IBM using 512MB of memory, (shared between the graphics and the CPU).

The more expensive xbox 360 has a removable 20GB hard drive and both system use a 12x dvd-ROM unit. Up to four controllers can be connected to the machine, all wirelessly, and there are three standard usb 2.0 port too.

As a rule of thumb, what ever you can plug in your Windows XP machine usb port can be plugged into the xbox 360. That includes MP3 players, (like the iPod), digital cameras and so on.
This makes the xbox 360 a very powerful tool to add.

How many games are really available?

The xbox 360 was launched late 2005, (Xbox was discontinued in august that year), and there are well over 200 games available from the previous version.
As mentioned above only the version with the detachable hard-drive allows you to use the previous games created for xbox.
Otherwise the current xbox 360 only has about 15 games solely developed for the xbox 360. But with the microsoft muscle behind it, game developers are likely to rapidly develop new games for it.

Get a more detailed info on the Xbox 360.

Cardio is important for both weight loss and good cardiovascular health. Some body builders forget the importance of cardio, because they don't want to lose muscle mass as a result. Unless you are an ectomorph, part of your exercise regime should focus on aerobics. Contrary to what some people believe, cardio will not reduce you're muscle mass, and it will help you build up endurance and gain more definition.

Below is a list of reasons why you should keep up to date with your cardio workouts.

Prevention of disease, such as obesity and heart attack

Good mental health (studies show that people who exercise more are less likely to be depressed)

Shed off that layer of unwanted fat to show off the body you worked so hard for

Lowers blood pressure and resting heart rate

Increases blood flow to your muscles, which results in more nutrients being delivered to them

Increases endurance, which might help you lift heavier for longer time periods

When you are doing cardio, there are a few things that you should remember, they are duration, intensity and frequency.

Duration

Duration is how long you do a continuous aerobic activity in one session. Ideally, you should be training between 20 and 60 minutes per session. However, if you are a beginner, you may start by doing shorter workouts, of about 10 minutes at a time. Once you become stronger and more comfortable, you should start to increase how long you are exercising for. You should NEVER strain yourself, especially if you are a beginner. If you feel weak or dizzy, slow down or stop, and of course, consult a physician if you have any health problems before you begin. Note that although cardio will not promote muscle loss, if you're goal is to add mass you should be doing only about 20-30 minutes a time or else you will burn too many calories.

Sample workout for a beginner

2 minutes warm up (ex. light walking)

6 minutes higher intensity activity (ex. brisk walking, light jog etc)

2 minutes cool down (ex. light walking or stretching)

Sample workout for intermediate

5 minutes warm up

20-35 minutes high intensity cardio

5 minutes cool down

Sample workout for advanced

10 mins warm up

40 mins high intensity cardio

10 mins cool down

Cardio fitness Continued

Intensity means how hard you are working during your activities. This is a key component for optimal health and fat loss. Beginners should aim for a target heart rate of lower that 55% of their maximum heart rates, while intermediate and advanced people should aim for about 65-90%. Your maximum heart rate level is approximately 220 minus your age, but of course this may vary depending on your fitness level. Gym equipment usually has hand censors that will tell you what your heart rate is at, so that you can maintain a good level of intensity throughout your workout. If you find these censors annoying to hold or you are outside, and easy way to see how hard you are working is to see how well you can talk.

If you can sing without difficulty, you arent working hard enough

If you can talk without much difficulty, you arent working very hard

If you can talk with a little difficulty, you are working at an average

If you can't talk at all, you might be working too hard

take a look at these guidelines, and judge for yourself what a good pace is for you.

Frequency

Unless you are an ectomorph, you should be generally performing cardio 3-5 times per week, unless you have a lot of fat to loose you can go for 5-7 times per week. You should never space you're cardio fitness sessions out for more than 48 hours because your body start to loose the positive effects of the previous workout.

Interval Training

Interval training is a cardio workout that will take less time than a regular cardio workout and burn more calories. This type of workout is very effective and you will only need to do it for 15 - 20 minutes at a time. An example of interval training is to run for 3 minutes and walk briskly for 2 minutes. You continue this cycle until your workout is complete (don't forget to warm up!). This type of workout is great for preventing the boredom that can come with steady state cardio and boosts fat lose. Interval training is also good for improving you're cardiovascular abilities and preventing the muscle loss that can come with regular cardio. Remember that you should always be changing the duration of how long you are running and walking to keep your body guessing. This type of cardio can be done on virtually any cardio machine, and also outdoors.

Interval training vs. steady state cardio

Interval training - Pro's

burns a lot of fat

takes less time

burns less muscle tissue

Steady state cardio - Pro's

Improves endurance

Little impact on joints

It is not as easy to "burn out" - so you will end up burning more calories

An ideal workout routine will consist of both of these types of cardio, as they both have their own benefits. I would recommend doing interval training one day and steady state the next.

Sample week of cardio workouts

Monday
Steady state cardio 40 minutes stationary bike

Tuesday
Interval training 20 minutes treadmill

Wednesday
Rest

Thursday
Steady state cardio 30 minutes swimming

Friday
Interval training 20 minutes ecliptical trainer

Saturday
Rest

Sunday
Steady state cardio 60 minutes rollerblading

This is just an example to show you how you can vary your workouts. Remember to keep them fun and change them up weekly so that your body never gets used to a certain workout, and you don't get bored!

Tyler King writes about various health topics and helps run http://www.online-health-source.info