Rawlings Official Major League Baseballs

Front Crawl
The front crawl also called as the forward crawl is the basic swimming stroke which is actually regarded as the fastest of all swimming styles under this subject. As compared to the backstroke, front crawl holds a lot of flexibility of the arm and chest when the swimmer is in water. This stroke has alternating arm stroke which allows the body to push ahead in a comfortable movement. The technique of performing this front stroke is to stretch both your arms out to the front and extend both your legs to the back, and then swim.

Freestyle a.k.a Front Crawl
Freestyle is somewhat like a front crawl stroke but herein, the body of the swimmer is posed in a manner where the head and the torso are pointed in the downward direction of the swimming pool and the legs kick constantly up and down to move ahead. Another aspect of freestyle is the co-ordination of the hands. When one hand is raised and brought back into the water, the other hand should co-ordinate underneath the water to help move ahead. With all these hand gestures, the head movement is important too. The head must tilt in the same side the body tilts. This type of head tilting is necessary for the swimmer to inhale proper amount of air while swimming.

Breaststroke
When you enter the pool, stand still, catch a little momentum to propel your body in the forward direction and start to fling your both arms and legs in the outward direction smoothly. The whole body should form a shape of a ‘T’. The arms should bend at the elbows and the front of the arms must lapse below the water level along with the chin at the surface. Positioning in this manner, you then have to stretch out your arms in the forward direction and legs in the backward. This breaststroke technique helps the swimmer to rise his/her head and torso above the water level and inhale air now and again.

Butterfly Stroke
As striking and difficult this swimming stroke happens to be, it is far more graceful to watch too! The movement of the arms and legs is supposed to be in an upward and downward movement altogether. The front arms are brought forward, then are pulled back and brought up once again. Whilst, these actions are performed the leg, too, are kicked in a powerful stroke something like the dolphin style.

Backstroke Read the rest of this entry »

The ASA softball rules are not too hard to grasp and remember as there isn’t a huge list of the rules either. While the core of the rules is going to be the same, the modifications and alterations in the rules have been done keeping in mind the fact that both the sexes are playing shoulder to shoulder.

Teams
A single ASA coed team should have 10 members, with 5 men and 5 women. If this is not the formation, a team cannot register as an ASA coed team. Moreover, the rules also say that ASA rules also specify that two males and two females must be present in infield and outfield and there has to be one male and female pitcher and catcher.

The Game Play
According to the ASA Softball rules, a game should have 7 innings and if the score is tied after the 7th inning, then the game continues. Extra innings will be carried on till a team has scored more than the other at the end of a complete inning. As far as batting is concerned in the game play, the batting will have alternate members of both sexes in the batting order. This order has to be given to the umpire before the match and it is mostly male-female, male-female. In case of females batting, an 11-inch red-stitch ball is in play, likewise when men are bating a 12-inch ball is used. In case of pitching, there are four types of pitches – Fast pitch, modified pitch, slow pitch and 16-inch slow pitch, with varying and specific rule sets.

These are the basic ASA coed softball rules, for starters. The detailed rules can be checked out in the book of the ASA softball rules released annually. All the same, there are some exceptions, as usual to these softball rules. Here is taking a stock of them too!

Exceptions and Special ASA Softball Rules Read the rest of this entry »

The Super Bowl 2012 is going to be the 42nd Annual Championship game of the contemporary NFL and it will be 46th annual edition of Super Bowl. The organization and the execution of this event has come under the veil of skepticism as a result of the tiff between the NFL and the NFLPA. The bone of contention is the collective bargaining agreement, which was in fact a determining factor as far as Super Bowl 2011 was concerned. However, the Super Bowl XLV went off without a hitch and if there is no work stoppage and a stumbling block of a strike by players during the season, the 2012 Super Bowl will be held with all the glory. The place which has grabbed the honors of hosting the Super Bowl 2012 is Indianapolis, Indiana. The Super Bowl 2012 location is going to be Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. This venue is going to experience the Super Bowl hosting excitement for the first time. Apparently, this stadium has been named as the best artificial playing turf by the NFL players association twice, back to back – in 2010 and 2011. A few rapid fire facts about this jazzy venue -

•Cost: Approx – $720 million
•Escalators – 14
•Elevators: 11
•Luxury Suites: 137
•Locker Rooms
•Field Suites: 8, 10′ from end zone
Along with all this, the roof opening size oft this stadium is around Over 176,000 sq. ft. This is what this stadium is all about. Now let us take a look at another aspect of 2012 Super Bowl.

When is Super Bowl 2012 Read the rest of this entry »

You’ve been obsessing over those abs for many years now. No matter how much you try, your stomach shows no signs of improvements. Most women due to time constraints can’t even go to the gym, so here are some good abs workout for women which can be practiced anywhere.

Toe Touch
For this exercise, you are going to need a pair of 8 pound dumbbells. Lie on an exercise mat holding a single dumbbell in both hands. Lift your legs in the air, until they are perpendicular to the floor. Without any movement from the legs, lift your shoulders and chest off the mat and try touching your toes with the dumbbell. Make sure you don’t bend your knees. Do 10 reps.

Hip Flexor
Kneel on the right knee and put your left foot in front of you. Place both your hands on the left knee and contract the right side of your glutes. Move your hips forward and make your back straight. Hold this position for 2 minutes.

Reverse Crunch
Lie down on the exercise mat and place your hands on the floor. Lift your knees up towards your chest. Make sure your legs are at 90 degree angles and are held together. Squeeze your abs and curl your hips off the floor, by bringing your knees close to your face. Do 10 reps.

Body Plank
Lie face down on the mat on your forearms, make sure palms are flat on the mat. Raise your entire body up and rest it on the elbows and toes. Keep your spine flat and your body position should be like a straight line. Tuck in your abdominal muscles so that it doesn’t hang in the middle. Hold this position for a minute. Repeat as desired.

Ball Crunch Read the rest of this entry »

Obesity and inactive lifestyle are the primary causes of increasing bad cholesterol. Every adult needs to undergo a thorough medical check-up at least every three years to know your body’s overall immunity to diseases. HDL levels are measured in terms of mg/dL (milligrams/deciliter). For men, normal HDL levels are from 40-60 mg/dL and higher. For women, these levels range from 50-60 mg/dL and higher. ‘Higher’ means this extra HDL will be beneficial to our body. But on the other hand, if these levels drop below 40 mg/dL for men and 50 mg/dL for women, then it is a cause of alarm, and you need to take requisite steps to raise HDL level. Let us see how to raise HDL cholesterol levels.

How to Raise Low HDL Cholesterol

If you find out that your HDL levels are not up to the mark, then here are some of the major steps you need to take to bring them to normal and minimize your risk of heart disease. There are two ways to raise your cholesterol levels – naturally and with food. Whenever we make something happen naturally, it takes minimal efforts and gives maximum results. Of course, it depends on one’s perception whether the efforts are less or more. On the other hand, there are various foods, which if consumed in appropriate amounts, can help raise HDL levels.

How to Raise HDL Naturally
How many times we must have heard that the best way to stay healthy is through exercise? And how many of us have ever given a serious thought to it? But, however clichéd this advice may sound, if you have the problem of low HDL levels, exercising is the way to go. Initially, at least 30 minutes of low to medium intensity of exercise everyday and gradually doing the high-intensity ones can go a long way in ensuring that your body metabolism functions at its optimum levels. Stress-relieving exercises like aerobics or yoga will certainly help. Remember, couch potatoes are most prone to have the ill-ratio of good cholesterol to bad cholesterol. Hence, it is imperative that you have active lifestyle. Also, increasing HDL naturally depends on how you curb your habits of smoking and alcohol consumption. Ill-effects of smoking are widely known, so simply quit smoking to help your chances of increasing the HDL levels. On the other hand, alcohol consumption, if done in moderation, is actually good to increase your low HDL levels, but you need to take care that you don’t overdo it, simply because it can lead to several liver and heart problems.

How to Raise HDL with Food Read the rest of this entry »