Issue Date: October 30, 2005
Warm up, weekend warriors
Weekend warrior [wek' end wôr' y r] n. a person who participates in little or no exercise during the week; on the weekend, partakes in physical activity far too vigorous for the conditioning level, resulting in injury.
The biological machine of the human body adapts to stress. And if you do nothing, it adapts to doing nothing.
"To avoid injury, you need to allow your heart, lungs, musculature and neurological system to adapt to the demands you plan to make on them," says Christopher Kaeding, M.D., medical director of the Ohio State University Sports Medicine Center. "The best way to avoid injury in any activity is by doing that activity."
So, if you're joining an adult sports league, prepare by doing more than just signing up. Start doing activities related to your sport three to four times weekly, three to four weeks before you compete. If you'll be running, start jogging. If you'll be throwing, toss around the ball. If you'll be dunking, practice jumping. Do it on grass, asphalt or hardwood, indoors or outdoors -- whatever best resembles where you'll play.
Prepping on the big day is also key. "Before the game, it's most important to warm up. Bring up your body temperature and get muscles flexible," Kaeding says. "Pre-game stretching has not been shown to prevent injury. Don't try to make up for the fact you haven't gotten in shape by aggressively stretching right before you play."
If you get injured, rest and ice are your best bets to speed healing. If after a couple of days the ache isn't gone or you're still limping, then see a doctor.
Contact Contributing Editor Jorge Cruise, author of "The 3-Hour Diet," at 3hourdiet.com.
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A disaster plan for pets
Hurricanes Katrina and Rita have put disaster planning for pets on the national agenda. Both the ASPCA and the Humane Society of the United States do not recommend evacuating without your pets. After all, if conditions aren't safe for you, would they be for your pets?
During Hurricane Katrina, many pets were left behind.
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Once, Julie Morris of the ASPCA was ordered to evacuate because of the threat of an explosion. She was able to get her two cats in a carrier and find the dog's leash. "But after driving around, I realized I had nowhere to go," she says. "Be prepared with a list of pet-friendly hotels or motels or out-of-town friends who welcome pets."
Be prepared for a disaster, says Martha Armstrong of HSUS:
Prepare a disaster kit with pictures of the pets, vaccine records and a portable litter box with litter.
All pets should wear ID tags and have a microchip implanted.
Have medications ready to go.
Have carriers to transport cats and small animals.
If you have a large dog, take the crate if you can; shelters may require it.
Finally, keep on hand a reserve of food and bottled water for pets.
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Locate the right GPS
How do you escape a traffic jam or find a gas station on your next vacation? Install a GPS in your car to get precise driving directions.
GPS is short for Global Positioning System, satellite navigation that pinpoints your location anywhere on Earth. It is an option in many automobiles.
The typical GPS is factory-installed and adds $1,500 to $2,500 to the price of a car. Also, "aftermarket" systems, such as the Magellan RoadMate 700, can be installed in any car. This $999.99 system is a version of the Hertz NeverLost found in many of the company's rental cars.
Before buying A GPS:
Check that the screen is big enough to read from the front seats.
Learn if it's loaded with maps or needs to be supplemented with CD-ROMs.
Be sure you can hear the voice guidance clearly via your car speakers.
Consider a WAAS (Wide Area Augmentation System), which corrects GPS signals to a greater degree of accuracy.
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Vitamin C helps gums
Eating two vitamin C-rich grapefruits a day -- or taking a supplement with the equivalent amount of vitamins -- helps to heal inflamed gums, reducing risk of periodontal disease.
So say German researchers who studied 58 people with low levels of vitamin C and periodontitis (gum disease, including bleeding). After two weeks of eating the grapefruit, blood levels of vitamin C rose more than 50% in non-smokers and nearly doubled in smokers. And bleeding gum scores improved about 60% in non-smokers.
So be sure to get your daily dose of vitamin C. Two medium grapefruits (4-inch diameter) contain about 175 milligrams.
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