Nutrition For Your Young AthleteWritten by Murray Hughes
Nutrition for Your Young AthleteNutrition is extremely important for any young person, especially an athletic one, and even more so during developmental years of their life. Whether your child is involved in soccer or football, gymnastics or swimming or Little League, he or she needs a good nutritive balance in order to be successful in any endeavor. It cannot be stressed enough that anorexia and bulimia, chronic malnutrition, are absolutely devastating not only to an athlete’s career, but also to overall health and well-being. You should always watch for decreased eating in your child, no matter how robust and healthy they may seem. Interestingly enough, very few scientific studies on nutrition of child athletes have been published. You don’t really need to be a scientist (or an alchemist) to create a healthy menu for your active youth, though. All you need is a little bit of creativity, and, of course, facts about different kinds of foods. As is dictated by common sense, it’s necessary for kids who are active to consume more caloric energy than their couch potato counterparts. Sometimes, they must take in several hundred - or even a thousand - healthy calories more than average child, depending upon their age and upon intensity of sport they’re participating in. So what types of food should you give your gymnast? I'll help you out. In General Everyday nutrition calls for a healthy balance of protein, calcium, vitamins and minerals. The most important type of caloric intake for a child athlete is carbohydrates. Without carbohydrates, body cannot readily replenish its stores of energy in muscles and in liver. Simple carbohydrates, like those found in most candies and chocolates, are usually not enough: they are used up too quickly and if eaten before competing can cause changes in blood pressure (of course, you can splurge every once in a while -- just not constantly). Pasta, bread, and rice -- in other words, foods from grain -- are best overall for carbohydrate intake. Fruits and vegetables are excellent sources of carbs and of vitamins and minerals. Dairy products are especially important for building strong bones and teeth. Meat -- or meat substitute -- is needed for protein intake. Did you know that if you know... if you put beans and rice together, they create a perfect protein?
| | Life After Gymnastics - Is There One?Written by Murray Hughes
Gymnastics Olympics Champions From 1988-2004Here are men’s and women’s all-around champions from last five Olympic Games -- these are just brief biographies, but they surely give you an idea of your gymnast’s potential. 2004 Paul Hamm, Carly Patterson Paul Hamm, 2004 men’s all-around champion in gymnastics, was born on September 24, 1982, and has a twin brother by name of Morgan. Paul was first American man to take gold for all-around competition in a fully attended Olympic Game. He is noteworthy for some controversy surrounding his title. Carly Patterson was born on February fourth, 1988, in Baton Rouge,Louisiana, to a pair of loving parents - her mother, Natalie, and her father, Ricky. She is first of a pair of girls (her younger sister is Jordan). In 2004, she became first all-around Olympic champion for United States in more than two decades, and was also first to win for US in past two games. The last female all-around gymnastics champion for United States won in 1984, when Soviet Union had boycotted Olympics entirely. 2000 Andreea Raducan, Alexei Nemov Andreea Madalina Raducan was born on thirtieth of September, 1983, in Birlad, Romania. She was trained under Octavien Belu and Mariana Bitang of Cetate Deva Club in Romania and began gymnastics at age of five. She has several gold and silver medals under her belt from national and international competitions. Though she is listed as official Olympic all-around female champion, IOC stripped her of her medal when she tested positive for pseudophedrine (the active ingredient in many decongestants) after having taken a cold pill given to her by Romanian Olympic Team doctor. Regardless of whether or not she has medal, she is a champion - and an incredible one at that. Alexei Nemov is considered to be one of best male gymnasts in world, as well as being a pin-up for girls. He was born on May 28th, 1976, in Barashevo, Russia. His start on gymnastics started early. At age of five, his mother took him to local gym, thinking that gymnastics would be an acceptable alternative to a more violent sport. He has had his ups and downs in gymnastics -- namely, with many injuries to his arms and shoulders -- but left Atlanta and Sydney Olympics with six medals each. In 2000, he was crowned men’s all-around gymnastics champion and bore his gold medal proudly. 1996 Li Xiaoshuang, Lilia Podkopayeva Li Xiaoshuang, men’s all-around gymnastics champion in 1996 Olympics, was born on November 1, 1973, in Xintao, Hubei Province, China. His career has been marked with many successes. At age of seven, he took up gymnastics; two years later, he was part of his provincial team, and at twelve years of age, he was part of Chinese national gymnastics team. He has won many gold medals in his time, including two from separate Olympic games - 1992 and 1996 - and three from World Gymnastics Championships. In 1995, he was awarded well-deserved title of International Master of Sports and continues, to this date, to impress.
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