#some people have no respect for required competition etiquette. where would we even be as a society without trash talking

[rotisseries]

SOMEONE SAID THIS IN THE HUNTLOW VS LUMAX POLL AND HOLY SHIT. THE FIRE IT STARTED IN ME. MOTHERFUCKER. FUCK YOUR ENTIRE SHIP I DONT CARE. ok im done

NO REAL "don't fight in the tags pwease 🥺" BITCH.

[miixz]

It has been brought to my attention that we’re not all in agreement that the Wen attacked the Gusu Lan Clan first because they’re their biggest threat as an opponent and not because they were petty about the archery competition placements, so I guess this is a post I need to put out there.

Warning, lots of words ahead!

Let’s think about the other clans first, and what we know about them at the time: 

Nie Mingjue is young. His father died at Wen Rouhan’s hands and though he is very mad about this, he hasn’t been able to retaliate, which says a lot about the position he’s in. He would fight back with all he has during an attack, but he’s likely not to fare well by himself against all of the Wen’s resources.

Jin Guangshan is clearly a cunning person, but he’s also a slimy bastard who’ll take the opportunity that's more advantageous to himself and everyone seems to know that. I can see why Wen Rouhan would think that he’s more of a controllable element, especially when he’s holding the most power. Jin Guangshan has enough self preservation and lacks enough morals that he just wouldn’t oppose the Qishan Wen too strongly while they’re winning really.

Jiang Fengmian and Yu Ziyuan’s relationship is known to be a bit of a mess and their leadership works, but they’re not coordinated and seem easy to break apart, as well as not being very politically minded or full of alliances. Yunmeng is a really good location to have, but there does not seem to be a rush to take over it since they’re destabilized enough that they wouldn't fight back as strongly if not attacked first. Which they don’t, they stay in Lotus Pier pretending a war isn’t on the horizon until it comes to their doorstep.

In comparison to these, Gusu Lan is kind of thriving?

Yes, the whole thing with Qingheng-jun and Lan Qiren is sort of a mess of its own, but it’s a controlled mess. It doesn’t reach or affect them outside of the Lan, it has not made them lose any respect that we know of, the management seems to be going fine, they’re well respected enough that the lectures are a big deal event that plenty of the other clans participate in, not just because it's a tradition but because they want to be there.

There was a virtuous and prestigious elder in the Gusu Lan Clan - Lan Qiren. Everyone in the cultivation world accepted three characteristics which described him: pedantic, stubborn, and a strict teacher who produced outstanding students. Although the first two points kept a lot of people at a respective distance from him, some even to the point of secret dislike, the last one made them try everything they could to send their children to study under him. He had brought up quite a number of excellent disciples of the Lan Sect. As long as they stayed a few years in his classroom, no matter how pathetically useless they were when they first entered, they would at least seem to be decent when they depart, especially in terms of appearance and etiquette. There were plenty of parents who were so excited that tears flowed down their cheeks when they picked up their sons.

That’s the kind of thing that requires good organization and coordination between clans, a measure of respect, that they all do seem to have for the Lan and for Lan Qiren (effectively their leader). Those things are very important. 

Not to mention this creates a sort of network of all of the former disciples that would have come to classes and hold their own feelings of respect for the Lan Clan because of their time spent there. Plenty of people have a relationship of sorts with the Lan.

So, so far the Lan Clan has that the others do not:

A good functional environment within the Cloud Recesses where outsiders don’t really know of any strife.

Good relations and a history of coordination with other clans.

An experienced adult as a leader (or two, considering both LQR and QHJ sort of count).

They are also known to have the sort of beliefs that would evidently clash with Wen Rouhan’s conqueror ideas and wouldn’t be bought or manipulated on them.

Then we have the archery competition, which yes was a bit of a hit to Qishan Wen’s ego, but was also a great opportunity to look at the other clan’s disciples and ascertain their threat levels. strengths and weaknesses and such things. And it did prove that the Lan, along with what I have listed, seem to have the strongest and most well adjusted clan heirs - which isn’t exactly a surprise, they were already known as such. But it does add to the list of reasons why they’re currently the most well adjusted and the biggest threat, as even that reputation among the juniors counts as influence which is dangerous.

The respectable title of the Two Jades of Lan was given to the two sons of the Gusu Lan Clan’s current leader - Lan Huan and Lan Zhan. Just after they passed fourteen, they were deemed by the elders of each clan as exemplary models to compare with their own disciples. They were exceptionally famous among the juniors, so it was only natural that everyone recognized the names.

The Cloud Recesses are also on a pretty defensible territory should they be warned about an attack and ready for it to come. The terrain is in their favor. We know that in the war they did need to defend themselves from attacks, and that Lan Qiren was the one holding the fort, and since we don’t hear of any big attacks having landed on Cloud Recesses other than the first one, this proves both this point and also that as much as I don’t like him, Lan Qiren is as capable of handling this sort of operation as I’ve implied above.

During the Sunshot Campaign, stories of praise were told about all three of the Venerated Triad. The ones of Chifeng-zun were about how he swept over all obstacles, leaving not even a trace of the Wen-dogs after he finished. Zewu-jun - Lan Xichen - however, was different from him.

After the situation of the Gusu area had settled down, Lan Qiren was able to defend it with great tenacity. Thus, Lan Xichen often traveled to aid others, saving lives from danger. In all of the Sunshot Campaign, he had countless times recovered lost territory and assisted narrow escapes. This was why people were ecstatic whenever they heard his name, as though they gained a ray of hope, a powerful trump card.

Every time Lan Xichen passed Hejian as he was escorting other cultivators, he would rest shortly, with Hejian acting as some sort of a transit station. Nie MingJue led him to a spacious, brightly-lit hall. A few other cultivators also sat within the hall.

Let’s think of the situation where another Clan is attacked first and the Lan are left alone to prepare for what's to come. I can’t see them being okay playing nice with the Wen, and I can’t see them simply waiting around like the Jiang did.

They have a good relationship with all the other leaders they can reach out to. If Qinghe Nie was attacked, I think they would try to come to their aid while also raising their defenses, as they had a close relationship - and that's clearly possible for them to do all at once considering that passage I just included about Lan Xichen helping people in the war, a capable and whole Cloud Recesses would hold itself together even better.

If Yunmeng Jiang was attacked I’m not sure if they’d offer aid as strongly, but they likely would as well, as they’re very close geographically. 

Lanling Jin… I’m not sure.

But either way, whichever Great Clan is attacked, they are in a good position with the remaining clan leaders to reach out to them and coordinate strategies, and not even them, there are a lot of minor clans that based on the lectures and other similar interactions based on sharing knowledge would have good relationships with them. Not all of them would rally behind the Lan, but some would, and some is much better than none.

That makes for a lot more functional opposition.

Being knowledgeable of the possibility this may happen, it really just makes the most sense that they went for them first. This is their one opportunity to use the element of surprise to their advantage, obviously it’d be used to attack their most well adjusted enemy that has a better chance to fight back.

I’m unsure where to put this, but I do think that the indoctrination was also a sort of proof that the regard the cultivation world as a whole had for the Lan Clan was noticed by the Wen Clan and it bothered them (which makes sense, considering they wanted to be seen as the unquestionable leading clan).

It’s a very similar scenario to the one we are presented in the lectures, that functions as a mockery of them, a dark reflection where instead of the boys being invited to learn and socialize, they are being exposed to the cruelty of the Wen Clan and the consequences of disobeying them.

[wolfpawn]

Once Bitten, Twice Shy

Previous Chapter

Chapter Summary -  Paige does an interview at the BBC with a host who very much wishes to see if she can pry information from Paige regarding her relationship with Tom but Paige is aware of such.

Tag, @wolfsmom1 @sweetkingdomstarlight-blog @nonsensicalobsessions@damalseer   @standing-onthe-edge

anyone else who wishes to be added to the tags, just ask :)

Paige tried to settle her nerves. She had done so many interviews before, this would be no different. Yes, they could mention Tom, in fact, she was sure they would, but she had prepared herself for almost anything they could throw at her. Though most of the time, her work in media had been to do with her books, something she was well versed on, she decided to study her new topic of conversation that she was certain she would have in Tom. She read his interviews, she recalled his mother's comments, his conversations with her on different matters and compiled what would be sure-to-be asked questions and appropriate answers that she would need to know to keep up the pretence of a relationship with the actor.

She smiled as the radio station manager showed her where to sit in the studio and offered her some water. “Please, if it’s no bother.”

“Of course.”

She looked at the headset in front of her and took a deep breath before readying herself more.

“Ms Winters?” She looked to the side to see the radio host, Davina Curren looking at her. “Hello, thank you for your time. I can imagine you are a busy woman.”

“Please, just Paige. I am more than happy to oblige. I haven’t been here in over two years. You were in the evening slot then, weren’t you? I remember I used to listen to you on the Underground on the way home from different things. I loved your piece on Aristotle you discussed with the College Professor from London.”

Davina’s face became more animated on hearing Paige knew her work. “Wow, thank you. Yes, that was an interesting piece. Well, as Mike, the manager here would have told you, we will discuss mostly your work and if there is time at the end, some other bits and pieces.”

“Yes, he said. We’ll see what we get through.” She smiled politely.

“Well, we start in three so we will get ready now.” Davina indicated for her to put on her headphones before sitting in her own seat and doing the same. “You put the volume to a level that suits and please remember to speak clearly into the microphone, you can adjust it as required.”

“Okay.” Paige did so to allow her close to the microphone with comfort.

When the light flashed for thirty seconds, she readied herself.

“Can you hear me?” Davina checked.

“I can indeed.”

“Perfect, let’s begin.” The light ceased flashing and turned on fully. “Good morning, Britain, Davina Curren here with you again on this lovely Thursday morning, and my guest today is a woman that has been in a few of the celebrity headlines of late but whose name has been gracing the more prestigious world of literature for the better part of the last decade, Britain's very own Paige Winters, author of many pieces but most known for ‘Rumour Has It’, the Costa book of the year in 2016. Paige thank you for joining us in the studio here today.”

“Thank you for having me.”

“So, we will start at the beginning, what got you into writing?”

“Well, there’s no straight forward answer to that.”

“Surely you had some inkling, even in school?”

“Interestingly, when I was doing my GCSEs, I had this teacher who literally told me I had no right to be doing English. I could not comprehend the work and if I passed, it would be a miracle.”

“Really?”

“No, honestly. She had no faith in me. Thankfully, she retired that summer and the most incredible teacher, Benjamin Shakespeare, no relation to the playwright we checked, came in to fill the void and honestly, I would not be in this profession today had he not sat me down one day and talked to me about why I wanted to keep on English with such mediocre grades. Being honest, I loved English, I loved literature, but that other teacher drained my love of it but on her retirement, I hoped I could regain my love for it. Thankfully, he was able to see I had some potential and allowed me to remain in his class.”

“And that was it?”

“Sort of. I did a piece the summer before and sent it into a competition. I didn't think anything of it, I thought at the time I didn't send it to the right place or it was not good enough, in fact, I did and on the 8th of February, 2005, Blue Peter published my story as part of their short stories book. I knew then that I wanted to write and see my name on the cover of books.”

“That's amazing.”

“Yes, I still have the original Blue Peter book I was sent for writing a contribution to it, my mum has it safe at their house.”

“So you have a Blue Peter badge too.”

“Yes, I do. It is in my jewellery box to this day.”

“That's lovely. So, can I ask, your books, they're not conventional love stories, are they?”

“I personally don't class them as romance if I'm honest. They are stories that have romance in them, yes, it's true, but that is merely a part of it, not the entire basis of the story.” Paige explained.

“Is that how you see life in general?”

“Well, yes. Romance is not the reason to live but an enhancement of the act of living, in my opinion.”

“And your characters are always strong women.”

“Every woman has her own strength, it's not always conventional muscles and power strength. Strength is different things to different people. A person who is kind, even when others are not kind to them. Someone who suffers some form of pain and stands straight again after. I try to display that in my work so women of differing personal strengths can relate to the situation at hand. In writing, you need to make the character relatable for it to resonate with the reader.”

“People seemed to resonate with an alien ice-being with magic more than actual human characters before.” Davina pointed out.

Paige knew she was clearly referencing Loki. “Yes, because of the portrayal of said ice-being and how well the character was acted out. People gravitate towards characters that are well portrayed and in that case, the most relatable and likeable character was the abandoned ice baby, raised on lies who, on realising it was all a lie was acted with anger, resentment, feeling incredibly inadequate, these are things that people feel empathy for.”

Davina looked at her for a moment before returning to other questions. “What book would you say would be a personal favourite of yours that people would not usually agree with?”

“Of my own or of another author's work?”

“Another author's.”

“People are startled when I say this though it is a very common choice but Pride and Prejudice.”

“You don't seem the type for conventional romance stories.”

“But you see, that's the thing. It's not conventional, or it wasn't, not in its day, it was groundbreaking in many respects. I was asked before at a gathering of friends if I could time travel just once into the past, when and where would I choose, and why. I said England, 1813, a week or so after that book was published and my reason being; that for a woman of no significant name, wealth or titles to decline the hand of a man of such considerable wealth and standing and citing her reasoning for such at a time where to do so was unheard of would have been an incredible experience. You know men were appalled by it, women of a certain mindset would have been scandalised by it and amongst them all, young women flabbergasted and enthralled. It would be called feminism in the modern age.”

“But she went and wed him in the end.”

“Yes, once both put aside their pride and prejudice. In it, you also see Elizabeth grow, acknowledge her own faults and become a better person too. I think a lot of people need to realise we all have negative faults we need to look at in ourselves too and Austin married it accordingly in her main characters, but also that people do change or at the very least, acknowledge themselves they are not perfect and work on it.”

“And you have faults?”

“Find me a person who claims they are without fault and I will show you a liar.”

“What would you say is your greatest fault?”

Paige thought for a moment. “I don't know which would stand over others, but I would say that I often lack social etiquette in particular situations. I don't believe in entertaining ideas of grandeur and in my world, many would argue that to be a considerable fault.”

“Many would commend that too.”

“Most people say they like an honest opinion until they receive one they do not like.” Paige countered.

“True.” The radio presenter agreed. “You pride yourself in never having to do too much publicity to sell your books, so I have to ask, do you still feel that way now, in your current situation?”

“I don't follow.”

“Well, since you went public with your current relationship, as I stated at the beginning of the show, you are now in the celebrity news for being with one of the most eligible men in Britain, surely you've noticed the increase in sales for your work? That is mostly due to the publicity of your relationship.”

“Well, I would argue it was not as though it was decided to go public since it was a photographer taking a photograph of a private brunch that alerted the world to this information, not a conscious decision to declare it publicly that made this information known, but yes, I am aware of the renewed increased sales and I have little doubt that that has been in part due to people hearing my name for what is, to them, the first time and deciding to see if they like my work resulting in these figures.”

“Do you think you will become a charity shop book now?”

“I have no idea nor do I have a say in it. I cannot force people to like my work, nor would I wish to force it as I believe in 'a pat on the back, not a pat on the head’. I want to be acknowledged for my work and it's quality, not because of the company I keep or who I may choose to be in a relationship with.”

“So you are not upset that many of your newest followers are only discovering you by these means?”

“Not everyone discovers the same people at the same time. Some only learn about certain authors, actors and singers after they have been around a while, for whatever reason, this is the very same. My soon-to-be sister-in-law only heard of Saoirse Ronan from her part in Mary Queen of Scots even though she has been the lead role in many movies and has been around since Atonement. That is not something to ridicule. People are only hearing of me now because of whatever reason, I am delighted they are and truly hope the like my work.”

“You are close to your family, aren’t you?”

“Yes, I consider family the most important thing in my life, my brother, his fiancée, my parents, they are so precious to me.”

“It must also be hard being in your current situation, supporting your significant other in a role centred around being betrayed when you, yourself have a similar experience.”

Paige shifted anxiously. “Well, I do not dwell on the past, it’s not a healthy way to live life.”

“But you were cheated on by your fiance, weren’t you? And to be with a man now that in many people’s eyes split up a music couple, how do you marry that?”

“I am not sure if that sort of drama-fishing warrants an answer if I’m honest. The only people who need to take account of their actions are those who are the guilty parties, namely, those who elect to cheat, I am told there was no infidelity there and until such time as I am led to believe otherwise, I would not speculate to such.”

“Do you like her, Taylor?”

“I don’t know three things about her. I never really found myself listening to her music, I never was overly into pop, so that is not a slight on anyone. I know the name to hear, of course, I don't live under a rock but I don't know her in any manner that would cause me to form an opinion on her as an individual.” Paige stated diplomatically, uncomfortable with the situation.

“And have you been to the play?”

“I have actually, yes. I quite enjoyed it too.”

“You seem somewhat startled by that.”

“I stated in the not too distant past that I did not feel it to be the best of Pinter's work due to him writing it with the aspect of the one being cheated on as a main point when he clearly cannot comprehend the sensation. The actors and actresses that put their hearts into the roles, the stage crew, everyone backstage, they put everything into this and it shows. I cannot commend them enough, they brought it to life brilliantly.”

“So what is next for you?”

“I am not sure really. I find I am asked that and indeed, asking myself that a lot of late. I still scribble a few things down, to keep myself fresh, but of yet, nothing is really coming to me.”

“Do you think it is partly because of a content home life? Having another you can depend on surely makes you complacent in many ways, I know when I got married, my husband’s income really gave me the security to try and get the job I sought.”

“I think there is a considerable difference between someone leaning on their spouse for support and leaning on those they are not so bound to. I always prided myself, since the day after my A-levels, of having my own income. My parents assisted me until then, I would never deny it, something not everyone is lucky to afford, and I don’t ever plan on that changing. I think it is imperative people have security in themselves if possible when doing something like writing a book. I wrote four pieces that were outright ignored before I ever even got a hint of interest from a publishing house. While doing that, I needed to afford to live and that meant housing that I am fairly sure dogs in a kill shelter reside in, because this is London, after all, and two jobs, one as a receptionist and one in my local all-night cafe. Even now, I make sure I am smart with my finances and this is the life of a writer, I would very much want others to understand, not everyone turns to JK Rowling with millions, or in her case for a short time, billion, in the bank. Even George RR Martin is not as wealthy as people think and though it affords him a comfortable life, writers rarely are that well off and if you are expecting others to fund you, especially in this world, you may be a long time looking.” Paige could see the presenter didn’t like her going off course slightly, but she used a technique to volley the conversation into a more impersonal and vague area.

Davina frowned as she realised Paige would not say or do anything controversial as a guest, to which Paige smiled politely back. “Good sound advice there. What do you think of Tom’s online fans, they are enthusiastic and protective of him, aren’t they?”

“I do believe so, yes. I am not a big fan of social media myself. I don’t do Instagram or Twitter and my Facebook is dormant for nearly two years at this stage. I think personally, I am more at home in a less technological era. I would have done well back in the eighties, I think.” She laughed. “With regards fans, people gravitate towards some people. They hold your attention more than others do and some for the wrong reasons, some for some very right ones. Some people light up the room they are in, they smile and are wonderful people and of course, people would want to be around that and wish to project towards that, I cannot blame them. It is great and alluring quality.”

“You don’t seem to mention Tom by name,” Davina noted.

Paige laughed slightly. “I don’t seem to have to really, do I? I think people will know who I am referencing, those who care for such things, those who do not will be glad not to be bombarded with it.”

“Not really no.” Davina looked at Paige’s polite smile. It was clear Paige was studying every question before answering, making sure not to say anything that could be construed as controversial. “Finally, is there any advice you have for young aspiring people, not just in your own field, but in general?”

“Well, I suppose the best thing I can say is not something I personally have said. But I think it is a great quote. ‘Never, ever, let anyone tell you what you can and can't do. Prove the cynics wrong. Pity them for they have no imagination’.”

*

Tom huffed slightly as he listened to the words Paige spoke on his phone, Luke beside him.

“What’s so funny?” Luke asked curiously.

“That’s something I said.” Tom pointed out.

“She’s done her homework. Oscar said she is thorough, I didn’t realise how much so.” Luke commended. “She handled that perfectly.”

“She’s an incredible and intelligent woman.” Tom agreed.

Luke studied his friend/client carefully, noting the manner in which he smiled as he listened to Paige speak.

[kardzee]

How Can I Get You to Like Me?

Manners in Business are crucial in our world of evolving tech advances.  We love the convenience and the instant gratification, but are we losing the humanity that connects us. With the new normal of social media and texts, we are more isolated than ever before. Because of this disconnected feeling, customers are demanding a personalized experience that requires more of a human touch.  

What I am seeing is a lack of basic etiquette ranging from how businesses and individuals answer the phone to ghosting customers once the sale is complete.  Some feel the art of etiquette is old-fashioned and dying. Not true!  Now more than ever, we need manners and etiquette not only in our daily lives, but especially when it comes to business and company culture.  There ARE simple and effective ways to change that behavior and put your customers FIRST.  Let’s dive in!

3 things you can do to change your behavior in business

Generally speaking, etiquette is all about how we treat others.  My Mom always said “you want to treat others the way you would like to be treated.”  Sound familiar? As a customer, you wouldn’t want to have a business treat you like a number, so why would you treat your customers or your team like a number?

Ignoring your customers and your team in this extremely competitive market will sink your business.  The customers you treat poorly with go elsewhere and your team will feel disenfranchised and starting looking for a new job. 

1. Acknowledge that manners and etiquette DO matter.

2. Lead by example because your behavior will be noticed and then replicated.  This starts from the top down

3. Create and execute a plan that make this a BIG part of customer service and company culture.  Say ‘please’ and ‘thank you’, answer the phone politely, treat everyone with respect.

3 Bad Tech habits that are distracting you from your Customers

1.  Multi-tasking

We are ALL busy. A lot of the time we are multi-tasking with the belief we are being more efficient. Are we really?  Have you ever checked your emails or texts while on the phone with a customer?  Do you think they don’t know?  or you don’t care?  Then the person asks you a question, and you say, huh?  because you didn’t hear them, you weren’t paying attention. Now they have confirmed you weren’t really listening.  Many people check their texts and emails while they are talking to another person.  They might remember bits and pieces of the conversation, but they weren’t really present.  Author and Motivational Speaker Dean Graziosi says exactly this about multi-tasking in his book ‘Millionaire Success Habits’, Chapter 13.  “In most cases this is not being productive because you can’t do two things at once effectively.”  He goes on to say “But let’s be honest, your brain can’t focus on two things at once. That’s a proven scientific fact.”

 2.  Letting the phone distract

Younger Professionals grew up on phones and don't think twice about sending a text or reading an email during a phone conversation or even in person.   They may think it’s perfectly fine, but the person at the other end of the line thinks it’s rude and feels ignored.  Your customers deserve your complete attention.  You don’t want to be ignored and dismissed so why do that to your customers?  You need to give the person on the other end of the phone 100% of your attention.  They might say something valuable.   I can always tell when someone isn’t really listening, I hear the paper shuffling, or them typing on the keyboard - they aren’t hearing me.  

3.  Not identifying yourself when you answer the phone

Another big reason to practice good phone etiquette is you never know who’s calling.  We have had countless experiences where we have called businesses to introduce our services.  They either answer the phone and just say ‘hello’ or their energy is so low they sound depressed.  Who wants to work with someone like that in any capacity?   KardZee Founder Keverne Dehanhan talked about this in detail on our YouTube video The Power of a Phone Call in Real Estate (hyperlink). Yes it’s Real Estate specific, but it can be applied to any business.  Stating your name when you answer the phone is Step 1 in good phone manners.  “Hello, Amanda speaking” for example.

 The Big Takeaway:  Be Present

Being present seems obvious to us because we know how important it is but many businesses fail in this category.   When you are present, you have a complete sense of what is happening around you and what people are talking about.  When you focus on the person you are conversing with, whether in person or by phone, you are showing them you genuinely care and are there for them.  This applies to both customers, prospects, and your team.  As mentioned above, this is all related.  You are not alone but it’s a habit that you need to break to succeed in business because like it or not, people do notice, they just aren’t saying anything.  It’s about self-awareness and respect for others.

In an era of personalization, your presence is not requested but demanded. Our attention spans are getting shorter, so the attention you GIVE has to be longer.

Grow your business 10X:

Working on your etiquette skills is something that needs to be your focus in everything you do in business and in life.  When you are present and are courteous you will get that back 10X because as you practice it, you will see your business grow.   When it comes to your team, good etiquette can lead to a more positive company culture.  Etiquette is about respect for others.  

Here’s a simple way to look at it, just practice being present.  This will not only serve you well in life, it will set you apart. 

There are a lot of business choices out there and the competition is beyond fierce.  Are you practicing good etiquette and manners in your business?

We have a passion for helping our Clients in ways that make them feel personally cared for and nurtured.  You are not a number to us.  You are an individual.

We’re known for creating the most imaginative, creative campaigns designed to WOW your Clients.  Discover more at info@kardzee.com or go to our page here.

[redtigerfitness-blog]

12 Signs You Belong to a McDojo

As most people know, McDojo is a term used to describe successful martial arts schools that seem to churn out black belt students who have no real skill at a high rate. Typically, when you see an article that tries to identify the traits of a McDojo, most often the dojo, dojang, kwoon or school is criticized on the characteristics of success; such as displaying many trophies, having a thriving children’s program, the leaders sound like motivational speakers, or wearing “flashy” uniforms. This stuff is surface level, though, and sure, may be a turn-off, but these things do not really indicate the value of the program. Listed below are some obvious and not-so-obvious signs that you belong to a McDojo:

Abusive attitudes or actions toward students.

You never spar/ All you do is spar.

Rank awards based on time or fees paid, not skill.

You are required to compete / You are not encouraged to compete.

Status comes before students.

There is a sales pitch around every corner.

Your relationships have not improved.

Your health has not improved.

The techniques don’t work.

The instructor cannot explain “why”

You cannot ask questions.

You don’t know the history of the art.

1) No one should tolerate abusive attitudes or actions toward themselves or others in the martial arts environment. “Martial” does mean military, and a high degree of self-discipline is required to to not only learn new skills or techniques, but more importantly when and where to use these potentially damaging skills. Just like you would not want an irresponsible person wielding a firearm, you do not want a person like that with empty hand or cold weapon skill. However, an instructor's feedback or use of consequence should never injure a student mentally or physically. Push-ups may get you sore and words may be harsh truths, but at the end of the day, it is the instructor’s duty to educate and uplift. Students should not be punching bags for an instructor’s ego.

2) If you never do any type of live skill challenge, the purpose of the art is lost. You won’t really know what works in reality, or what works for you, or when and where to use what works. If classes are just sparring only, “fight club”, then you have the tendency to reinforce bad habits, skill refinement will be neglected, and you will only be as good as your physical attributes. Again the purpose of the art is lost. A true combat system has the potential to give you and edge in the event a physical attribute like size, strength or speed is less than your  opponent’s.

3) It is hard to believe that some instructors may dishonor an art by selling a rank, and this is a sure warning sign that it’s time to move on to a better environment. However, there are many places that  emphasize skill with the absence of rank, and it is easy for a student to get just as discouraged, It is important to remember that the skill is the reward, it is better to be a black belt that to have a black belt.

4) Being required to compete isn’t inherently a bad thing, it just means you joined a sports team. Unfortunately, if you just want to reap other benefits of martial arts such as physical fitness, coordination, stress relief, and had no intention of testing skill in a public forum, this may not be the school for you. If the instructor does not respect that, then it is time to move on. However, if an instructor deprives his students of the option to engage in the competition experience, then they are limiting their  students’ potential and growth, which is the opposite of what a good instructor should do.

5) Many times, an instructor’s desire for status is related to #3 and #4. An instructor may decide that they need a certain number of black belts to become a master, and may award rank to those who may not have the skill. Or, they may feel in order to become more respected as a coach they need to field a larger number of competitors in order to increase the odds of their school winning. These types of behaviors are a result of the ego taking over, causing backward thinking. Rank is an acknowledgement of skill development for the student, a true validation of an instructor’s methods is the amount of skill that any number of their students possess. Competitions are a way for a student to test their skill. The focus should be on the student’s experience. Win or lose, the instructor should feel privileged to have been a part of a growth experience.  

6) In this day and age, martial arts is a business, but no one likes to feel they are being sold. If a product or membership tier has value, then it should be expressed during honest interactions between the instructor and student or students. The mentor-student dynamic shouldn’t be exploited for financial gain.

7) The lessons that can be learned from a martial art should be much more than just about  physical fighting. A true martial arts system provides the tools to resolve conflicts in all areas of life. The goal of most Eastern martial arts is to harmonize in combat, as opposed to clashing. If you can harmonize on the mat or ring with an opponent, meaning the ability to adapt to the energy coming at you in order to avoid damage, and getting a better position to seize an opportunity to flee, strike or control, then you should also be learning, by studying your art, how to resolve conflicts with acquaintances, co-workers, and loved ones, thereby improving the way you relate to people all the way around.

8) There is a saying that, “The practice of martial arts without conditioning is just the flailing of arms.” Though most real fights are over in a matter of seconds, those few seconds can be exhausting no matter who “wins”. Just like you would not want our soldiers fighting with dirty, rusty firearms on the battlefield, the human body should be kept in the best shape possible for the worst case scenario. Any school that neglects physical (emotional, and mental for that fact) fitness is teaching an incomplete art.

9) if a technique violates the principles of physics, or the human anatomy, the it is obviously worthless. Techniques that rely solely on individual attributes, where mechanics cannot be developed are only worthy only to a few. If a technique cannot be demonstrated in a realistic or lively scenario, this is dangerous for the student, and it may even be safer to avoid the technique altogether in a real-life situation.

10) If an instructor cannot explain how or why a technique works, you will have a very difficult time learning or using it.

11) Again, martial or military arts must have a degree of etiquette and protocol in order to provide the most benefit to the student, but a student cannot grow if they are not given the opportunity to respectfully ask questions, and the teacher can grow if his perspective is not challenged.

12) Context is everything. Why was your art developed? When was it developed? Who developed it? You have to know where you come from to know where you are going. Knowing our history contributes to our  sense of purpose. The answers to those three questions can also answer a multitude of other questions like: “why do we use this technique?” “why do we use these weapons?” “when do we use this technique?” among others. It is the responsibility  of the instructor to have a deeper knowledge of the art, so he can broaden the perspective of the student.

This may not be a comprehensive list but if you encounter any of these indicators where you are training now, then know that there is a better place out there for you. If none of these indicators are present, I believe that means you are fortunate enough to have found a martial arts home.

https://www.redtigerswc.com/new-blog-1/

[fitfuturesacad]

Kicking goals on and off the field

As one of Fit Future Academy’s dedicated senior tutors, Nick Parke lives and breathes everything PT. Here he outlines the silver lining to his many injuries; how a background as a Personal Trainer helps him as a football coach and why you’ve got to have big dreams.

“People often say that motivation doesn’t last. Well, neither does bathing. That’s why we recommend it daily.”

 Zig Ziglar

Nick Parke is passionate about soccer – or as his British roots demand it – football. Born and raised in Auckland, his passion for the sport has deep family roots.

“My grandfather was a one cap international footballer for Northern Ireland and he also played football at Macclesfield Town in the United Kingdom, which is a feeder club to Manchester United,” Nick said.

“My Dad played for the youth side at Portsmouth FC in the UK for a spell and won numerous honours with Mt Wellington and Eastern Suburbs before coaching me; teaching me to kick a ball as soon as I could walk. Make no mistake, I was born into it! I absolutely adored my grandfather and, like most boys, my dad was my hero. My passion for football very much stops and starts with them.”

Now a strength and conditioning coach as well as an assistant football coach at Mount Wellington’s Bohemian Celtic (Boh’s Celtic), Nick knows all too well the physical toll of the sport when taking the body for granted.

“I experienced multiple overuse injuries, and consequently spent way less time playing the sport I loved because I was always injured,” he said.

“I was playing football at a good level, having been involved in football my whole life. When I was 18yearsold I started encountering exhaustion and overtraining, resulting in numerous overuse injuries through my knees and eventually, hip bursitis. I also had the usual injuries one can suffer from while playing competitive football; a broken leg, high ankle sprain, hamstring tear, low back pain, blown VMO. I didn’t know at the time, but I was doing way too much; training and playing every day and for multiple teams while not understanding the science behind how the body works and how best to structure training.”

  A decision to delve into the science 

Nick’s broken body led him down the training track, as he looked at how best to manage and understand his own injuries.

“An old coach and mentor of mine, Alejo Perez, worked for FIFA as a fitness coach for the world’s best referees. He introduced me to sports science and physical training around the time I was battling various injuries,” Nick said.

“I wanted to learn how best to structure training for myself and how best to train athletes to prevent injuries and improve performance.This led me to study a Bachelor of Sport and Recreation at Auckland Universityof Technology(AUT) on Auckland’s North Shore, majoring in Sport and Exercise Science. I loved it so much I would later return to complete a Post Graduate Diploma in Sport and Exercise Science and Strength and Conditioning.”

  A highly competitive industry 

Nick has found the world of sports science and strength and conditioning exceptionally competitive.

“Getting noticed and earning opportunities is extremely difficult,” he said.

“Jobs are scarce and many of them are unpaid – some places even go as far as ‘offering’ 40-hour-week, unpaid internships. To overcome this challenge, I just have tokeep getting better. I continue to learn and volunteer coaching as much as I can.”

There have been times in the coach’s life where he has felt disillusioned; struggling to find work in his field and working piecemeal jobs to make ends meet.

“This period of my life was difficult as I couldn’t have felt any further from where I wanted to be if I tried,” he explained.

“Thankfully, through an Alumni network at AUT, I managed to pick up 10 hours a week tutoring for Fit College NZ – now known as Fit Futures Academy. I’ve been with the company for four years, enjoying a diverse role that has involved tutoring, lecturing, workshops, marking and curriculum development and of course, student support. I enjoy the role for the people I meet – my colleagues during my time here have been the best!”

  Combining science and sport coaching

 Nick’s Personal Training background as well as his experience on the competitive football field is a double whammy when it comes to his coaching responsibilities.

 “If you are involved in coaching sport and you have an educational background in how the body works, whether that be as a physio, a strength or conditioning coach or a PT, that holds you in good stead. It means you don’t need convincing that recovery is wise. It means you know how much competitive advantage can be gained from fitness, strength and power training. It also means you know that movement prep and injury prevention methodologies are critical,” Nick said.

 “One thing that can be difficult is getting coach and player buy in when you are a trainer working with teams, so working with coaches that already have that appreciation cannot be understated. During my team’spre-season,we made them run and performEurofit and Tabata style HIIT training; very few teams at this level are doing this stuff. I think our unbeaten nine-match run is testament to competitive edge.”

  All kneel at the altar of fitness

From this perspective, Nick believes fitness is the most crucial element of being a competitive athlete – but the type of fitness depends on the sport. 

 “Sprinters over 100m won’t need much aerobic capacity as their events are dominated by the anaerobic energy system. For team sports it’s a little different,” Nick said.

 “High fitness levels help guard against injury and can impact greatly on one’s potential to rehab from an injury quickly and recover between training sessions and match days. For Boh’s Celtic, we place great emphasis on developing the player’s maximal aerobic speed (MAS) over the pre-season; this is just the slowest speed someone can run at when they reach maximal oxygen uptake. In team sports, which are intermittent by design, they require contribution from all three of the bodies energy systems. A lot of goals are also scored late in games, in critical moments, when teams fatigue. The fitter your team is the more likely it will be your team that is taking the spoils late in a game, as opposed to giving the game away to the opposition.”

 The coach emphasised the ease for implementing MAS. “It doesn’t require any fancy or expensive resources – you literally just need a stopwatch, some cones and a tape measure,” Nick said.

 “After calculating an athlete’s MAS score you can easily calculate individual training running distances. It has been heavily researched by the likes of Dr Dan Baker; a well-respected strength and conditioning coach, formerly of the Brisbane Broncos. He put it best at a workshop he took at the Filex conference in Sydney a couple of years ago. He said, the higher the MAS, the fitter you are. A high MAS score also correlates with potential to play and compete at higher levels of competition. When everything else like skill, attitude, and tactical knowledge is created equal, fitness levels can be a huge predictor of athletic success and can be used to help identify talent and select teams.”

  Don’t be afraid to dream big

 The tutor is currently registered as a level one strength and conditioning specialist with the Australian Strength and Conditioning Association (ASCA) and would like to kick it up a notch and complete his level two at some stage, edging him closer to his goal of working in the world of high performance sport.

 “I was always told and encouraged to dream big,” Nick said.

 “I shared a pretty lofty goal at AUT a couple of years back and didn’t know what to expect as a response. Our lecturer, John Cronin, was very supportive and encouraging, saying that it may be a big goal but if you can dream it, you can do it. Long term, the lofty goal is to spend some time living and working in the states. Specifically, I’d love to reach the NCAA or the NFL – that’s the ultimate dream.”

Nick Fitness Answers 76 – What ways can I progressively overload?

by Admin_ | Jul 16, 2019 | Nick's Fitness Tips

Nick Fitness Answer 75 -How important is nutrition and physical exercise to general wellbeing?

by Admin_ | Jul 9, 2019 | Nick's Fitness Tips

Nick Fitness Answers #74 – How important is gym etiquette?

by Admin_ | Jul 2, 2019 | Nick's Fitness Tips

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from https://fitfutures.co.nz/kicking-goals-on-and-off-the-field/

[healthylifepage]

10 WAYS TO BE A DUFUS AT THE GYM!

FitnessOnToast.com has always been a warm, friendly, inclusive place to share helpful, optimistic, focussed material. Well, NOT TODAY motherfos. This Gym Etiquette 101 post is motivated exclusively by burning rage and shall act as a form of cathartic therapy for me! I go to the gym on a regular basis, between 3 and 5 days per week. I consider the gym to be a shared space in which many people pay a fee to be allowed its use. However, my observation over 15+ years of gymming is that many people believe ‘once I’m a member, it’s my space’. They’re often disrespectful to the equipment, staff and other members, are messy and all too often, just really, really loud – just to name a few pet peeves. For me, I think of it as a privilege to use the gym. Yes, one pays a fee – sometimes a substantial one at that – but it’s not your property, or your private space. The better I look after the equipment, and the more respectful I am to other members, the more enjoyable and easier their time will be using the gym. In return, I’d expect the same consideration from others. So, without further ado here’s my TOP 10 of things that drive me up the wall every single time I go to the gym! Maybe you can relate to a few of them – alternatively, feel free to add your own irritations in the comments section below. I’d love to know if I’m the only one who feels this way.

1) PLEASE HAVE SOME SPATIAL AWARENESS

Yesterday, I was doing some deadlifts and an oblivious meat-head almost walked into me – thankfully my gym buddy stopped him just in time. This is incredibly dangerous; were this chap to have collided with me, I could’ve been seriously injured, as deadlifts can already render the body quite prone to injury – add in a push from an unexpected plane, and it could be game over for your back.

Faya’s considerate tip #1: Whilst it sounds obvious, try to be aware of the space around you. At times, the gym equipment layout is planned badly. For instance, I would personally never place the squat machine near a heavy tracking area where people are frequently running / walking behind you. The likelihood of someone accidentally walking into you is greater. However, space is limited, and compromises are made. People often walk around looking at their phones whilst playing music and aren’t aware of what’s going on.

2) PLEASE BE QUIET

Sounding like a cow in labour whilst squatting is NOT macho, sexy or endearing, and nobody ever found this a turn on. It’s ultimately unnecessary – at times humorous, given how absurdly preposterous it can sound – but mainly it’s just annoying beyond about the 3rd rep. I know that focussed exhalation and deep breathing can be important to maximise oxygen flow and power, and that’s obviously fine, but the level and variety of noises I hear in the gym is a truly ludicrous symphony of dying animal groans.

Faya’s considerate tip #2: Don’t imitate The Hulk when at the gym. Probably no one wants to hear your stupid noises.

3) BRO-HAVIOUR

Shouting out something moronic to your mates across the gym floor? Studies show you’re 100% definitely an idiot. I have to laugh, because this stuff happens all the time, and the laughter therapeutically dissolves my maniacal rage. Typically, it’s a group of guys.

‘No Bruv, I’m carb cycling. I’m on 50 grams innit’. ‘Listen, yeh, you gotta get them CLA’. ‘Yeh Bruv, I smashed out 300kgs – BIG leg day POW.’

Hmmmmm.

Faya’s considerate tip #3:If you’re about to misbrohave, stop yourself, and observe how literally nobody at the gym gives two hoots about how many grams you’re on – probably not even this ‘Bruv’ chap – who coincidentally, seems to be in all British gyms everywhere at the same time. Absolutely everyone just wants you to be quiet.

4) WHAT ARE YOU WEARING?!

Now this could be a post on its own… and of course people can wear whatever they want but here are a few points to consider if you haven’t already…

a) Crotch Sweat…

We all sweat, some more than others. In many ways, it’s to be encouraged in the gym. Just remember that certain colours and fabrics show sweat patches more than others.

Faya’s sweaty crotch tip #1 – I recommend avoiding greys and cottons if you tend to sweat a lot. No one wants to see a sweaty crotch whilst you do a stiff leg deadlift, and the likelihood is you don’t want to show it either.

b) See-through Pants

Faya’s visible crotch tip #1 This one mainly goes out to all women. Before purchasing any leggings, check in the mirror… if your pants are even mildly see-through, don’t buy them; it’s a waste of money because under the bright lights of the gym, with a little stretching, you might as well just walk around in your knickers instead and save yourself the £££. Perhaps I’m a prude, but unless I’m running along Miami Beach hoping to catch a tan, or in a Bikram class, whilst in rainy cold London, I don’t train in transparent hot pants and see through sports bra.

c) Men and tight pants…

I swear I could see absolutely every little millimeter of one gentleman’s modesty at the gym last week. The anatomical study of the human body fascinates me – I went to see Body Worlds the other day and it was mind blowing. However, at the gym I only want to see Swiss and medicine balls. Please guys, retain a little sense mystery!

Faya’s visible crotch tip #2 – If I were a gentleman, I would consider avoiding tight lycra leggings and opt for altogether looser shorts or joggers instead. Channel your inner ‘80s dude’ and go baggy.

5) ‘MY TRAINER FORGOT I WAS HERE’

Trainers on their phones whilst training a client – well, this isn’t gym etiquette per se, but I want to throw it in here anyway as it actually upsets me. To channel Mr T, I pity the fool. A client is willing to pay you good money, and you’re on your phone looking at photos of yourself from your last body building competition? This is what gives PTs a bad reputation. You should be looking at your client’s form, correcting their technique, inspiring them, and delivering them the specialism they’ll require to get stronger, fitter, healthier!

Faya’s considerate tip #4: Trainers gonna’ train.

6) CRASH-BANG-WALLOP

Breaking the equipment, and in particular, dropping the cable machine; MEGA ANNOYING. In fact, this is probably what annoys me the most. We all share a space, we all pay membership, yet there is a small group of people who ruin it for everyone else. The cable machine always breaks because some meat-head muppet insists on dropping the weight after every set, therein tearing the cable. This not only confirms the unfathomable nothingness between said people’s ears, but it means next time anyone goes to use the machine it’ll be broken for them too.

Aside from the obvious breakage point (bad!), we often forget about the subsequent lowering of the weight after it has first been lifted.

Faya’s form tip #1: By exclusively pursuing this noisy and dangerous approach of throwing down the weights, the ogre is missing out on a vital part of the exercise – the eccentric phase. Rather than just letting gravity do all the work for you (i.e. where you just drop the weight as if ‘meh’), actually controlling the weight’s passage on the way down delivers significant benefit from a workout perspective. So, have a look at the brief explanation as to what the different phases are below, and then have a think about your own workout technique, and how you might apply it to the likes of press-ups, pull ups etc to squeeze that extra 25% out of your sessions! For more on this read here:

 http://fitnessontoast.com/2018/06/18/technique-freak/.

n.b. Faya’s considerate tip #5: Avoid being an inane ogre, by being gentle with the kit!

7) MIRROR, MIRROR, ON THE WALL…

…who’s the vainest of them all? Turns out, loads of people are equally vain at the gym! I understand that for many people, gymming is in itself a narcissitically aesthetic pursuit (I disagree), but endless flexing…checking your reflection after every set in the mirror is unnecessary. It’s been 2 minutes my friend, nothing’s changed – trust me you still look exactly the same. Are you doing it for yourself, or perhaps for everyone else? They probably don’t think it’s cool either.

Faya’s form tip #2: On a serious note, a lot of people don’t know but mirrors are a very useful tool in the gym,  perhaps the most important tool. They are there to ensure your form and technique is correct when training. Observing alignment, monitoring pace, overseeing planes… these are all helpful activities involving a mirror. Auto-arousal is not.

8) SHARING IS GLARING

Occupying one or several pieces of equipment for long periods of time is just inconsiderate.

Common scenario 1: It’s leg day and today I’m going to get my personal best on deadlifts. I’ve worked hard on this for weeks and I can’t wait! Only problem is the dude in the gym is doing not 3 sets, but 8 sets…. this is truly ridiculous as it’ll mean I won’t get a chance to do my deadlifts. Of course, in this instance you’d share. It’s something we learn at kindergarten – to share the toys. I could easily do a set IN BETWEEN his sets. That is gym selfishness and totally unacceptable! “ASK!” you say? I shouldn’t have to.

Scenario two: Two friends are training together and rather than share the squat rack they’ve taken two! And refuse to allow anyone to jump in to do a set in between their sets!!

Scenario three: This guy has some sort of Round-Robin circuit going on and has taken three machines which he uses back-to-back and in no way can anyone use them in-between his sets!

Faya’s considerate tip #6: I don’t know, be nice, or something. Just don’t man-spread the gym equipment – everyone needs to use it.

9) TIDY UP AFTER YOURSELF!

Perhaps you’re used to your mum making your bed, but in the gym, once you finish using something put it back where you found it. Thanks guys, walking up to the squat rack the first thing I have to do is remove all your weights! This is super mega inconsiderate.

Faya’s considerate tip #7: Also a little wipe down every now and again doesn’t go amiss. Most gyms have towelettes for precisely this purpose, and even a little sanitising spray. Disinfectant is a nicer thing to see on a bench than a dribbling shiny bacteria-laden slick of perspiration. :: shudder ::

And finally 10) BE PATIENT!

Aware that I currently sound like the worlds least patient gym-goer, but a little bit of patience goes along way. If someone is doing a set, perhaps wait before jumping in to grab a weight right beside him/her. I know myself if I’m on a set, I’m really focused, maybe its PB day and someone skirts in beside me and grabs weight…. It blocks my view of my form in the mirror, interrupts my headspace, breaks my concentration, makes me think about whether they’ll bump into me by mistake… this is all super distracting, so just take a moment and jump in when it’s safe to do so!

Well, that’s all for now. Only another 250 pet peeves left on the list, but that’s enough to start things going…

Thanks for reading my vented-scribbles of fitness frustration, and if you have any more to add to this list, PLEASE PLEASE write them in the comment section below! I would absolutely LOVE to know what ticks you off at the gym, because I’m probably the same too

Faya x

________________

Wearing: Lululemon Pants & Hoodie, Adidas Ultraboost Uncaged shoes..

The post 10 WAYS TO BE A DUFUS AT THE GYM! appeared first on Fitness on Toast.

10 WAYS TO BE A DUFUS AT THE GYM! posted first on yummylooksbest.blogspot.com

[yolandadsims]

WORLD CUP DRESSAGE – A POTENT WORKOUT !

I recently had the good fortune to attend the Longines FEI World Cup Jumping and FEI World Cup Dressage Finals in Paris – which was RIGHT up my street! My formative years were spent living on a farm in the rural south of Sweden, and as a young child (then into my teens) I was a so-called ‘stable girl’, as my friends and I would spend all of our free time in the stables, combing the horses hair, cleaning their boxes and of course riding freely across the rolling fields. My walls were plastered with pictures of ponies – alongside the occasional Mariah Carey and kitten poster. Back in Paris, the FEI World Cup event is the pinnacle of equestrian competitions, their ‘Wimbledon’ or ‘America’s Cup’ equivalent if you like, so it was a real honor to have been invited the 10-year-old girl in me was overjoyed; watching the most decorated equestrian athlete of all time, Isabell Werth, dispatch a masterclass was a thing of beauty! This post is a behind-the-scenes account of the weekend, along with interviews with three riders, who reveal just how much of a physically and mentally demanding discipline this is. Click MORE to take a look at the fitness angle of world-class Horse Riding…

PREAMBLE:

Now, I realise that not everyone has ridden a horse, and I’ve encountered the misconception surrounding the sport, that horse riding is ‘easy’ and female-oriented. I would challenge any seasoned gym-goer to mount one of these huge beasts and control its power – it takes more than just brute strength, but also technique and the ability to communicate more subtly with the horse. It’s a ‘new’ meta-language that bridges the communication gap between human and animal. Once you’re able to ‘converse’ with your horse, you work as a team. The partnerships these world-class riders have with their horses is truly fascinating – it represents mutual respect, understanding and unconstrained drive to accomplish victory and be the best.

In an age of virtual reality, smartphones and social media, with most of our hours spent indoors, horse riding is more relevant that ever before, as a reactionary and liberating escape into nature. Getting on a wild animal and riding outdoors delivers a thrill unlike anything else. It’s a great way to truly switch off and be present.

BACKGROUND INTO THIS ANCIENT SPORT

The roots go deeper than almost any other sport which comes to mind. Renaissance Europe is the birthplace of the modern classical equitation (riding in harmony with the horse), though scientific and artisitic accounts of horse riding date back to about the 4th century B.C. with Xenophon, the masterful Greek general, whos treatises On Horsemanship show the concept of Parade Horses, and how to care for them. The Hittite civilisation, over a thousand years before even that, were participating too.

More recently, horses were the mainstay of the medieval battlefield, with an obedient and well-trained cavalry horse making the difference between life and death. They were trained in kicks, leaps and tears, to counteract any footsoldiers who were too close when the knight had been un-horsed. By the Victorian era, riding was a fully-fledged art; times have changed again, but today’s Dressage discipline still makes use of the ceremonial movements practised by the Ancient Greeks and the Medieval Knights – piaffe, passage, the half-pass and the pirouette.

The word Dressage originates from the French word dresser, which in this context, pertains to training or dressing a horse. It’s a super-organised discipline with strict etiquette, perhaps stemming from military heritage. Riders enter the 20 x 60m arena and perform a suite of manouevres with increasing levels of difficulty; they’re marked on their execution of these ‘tests’, as well as their horse’s gait, submission, impulsion and the rider performance. From what I can tell, the performance has to look gentle, quiet, harmonious, supple, loose, confident and attentive, all at once!

But don’t take my word for it; here follows an account of my discussions with three celebrated equestrians; Ellesse Jordan Tzinberg, Carl Hedin, and Mattia Harnacke.

FIRST UP: MY INTERVIEW WITH ELLESSE JORDAN TZINBERG, MODEL AND FEI WORLD CUP DRESSAGE FINALIST!

F.O.T: What got you into Dressage? 

EJT: I started off as a show jumper but about three years ago I really committed to Dressage – it’s always something that I’ve done especially in Asia, you only have so many shows that you can do a year and so if you only do one it’s quite limiting to your opportunities. So I’d always done both and been pretty good at both, and then three years ago I wanted to fully commit to one. I’d never been in a program for Dressage so I wanted to at least try it, so I could say I tried it, it failed!

F.O.T: Have you ever been interested in any other types of sports?

EJT: I used to play basketball quite a lot, both in college and high school. We have university sports in America but then you also have intercollegiate, which is not as competitive as NCA but it’s still quite competitive. So I played basketball a lot, and also was into fitness. I box a lot still. I’ve been boxing since I was really young so it’s something that’s always been in me. If I was younger maybe I would’ve committed to that instead of riding but it’s something that’s also been a big, big part of me.

F.O.T: What sort of sport specific fitness training do you do to complement your riding pursuits?

EJT: For Dressage, I love Pilates and I think it’s really great for all riders. Yoga is, of course really great for riders but I know that maybe not all riders like the pace of yoga. It’s quite slow, and we work with horses so we tend to like fast pace. For me Pilates is a bit more mentally my pace, I do that a lot and that really helps with posture. Dressage is so much about the core working, and so much so that you don’t really want to be seen moving very greatly, everything is about very minuscule movements – very strong small movements so Pilates in my experience really trains those muscles. Then I always thought boxing was great for all riders just because you’re using your entire body, you’re using you balance, you’re using coordination, hand eye coordination, speed, controlled movement, and there’s a lot of rhythm. You have to stick with the rhythm and there’s a lot of combinations – it’s the same with riding where you always have a rhythm whether your jumping or sound Dressage, you have a rhythm that you keep to and you don’t want to break that constant rhythm. It’s quite musical as well.

F.O.T: Why do you love yoga so much?

EJT: As riders we’re in the same position for hours each day. A lot of riders aren’t very flexible. They get quite used to using the same muscles every day, all day. And we sit in that same position. You talk to a rider and most of the time it’s always like their hamstrings and hip flexors are super tight as well as lower back. I like slower, more meditative yoga, as it also works on opening the hips up. It calls for a lot of mental strength too and the same goes for riding – mental patience, and mental strength. Yoga is practical for that.

F.O.T: How do you structure your training week?

EJT: A lot of professionals ride five-to-eight hours a day so that’s quite draining. It varies depending on the horse but normally you’d ride one horse for 30 minutes to an hour. Some days, you do end up really exhausted. You and the horse will always have a day off so I think it’s really essential to do something that’s going to change which muscles you’re using, to do something else with your body. Then I think it’s really important even if you’re riding 8 hours a day, to take care of your body so you’re training those other muscles that support the muscles you use whilst riding. So whether you do some plank work or core exercises, stretches, I think any little bit helps.

F.O.T: A lot of people who’ve never ridden may not realise the immense amount of strength required for horse riding…

EJT: I can definitely tell when I ride more horses or not. It does take a lot of strength, they’re such giant animals first of all; also, of course you immediately think you have to be so strong to handle these big animals but also because I’m like 56/57 kilos I’m never going to match up to a horse head to head so you have to find ways to use your muscles in a more practical way and being able to have your core strength and being able to be quick and hold, let go very fast… so it’s about being able to use what we have most efficiently also.

F.O.T: What do you do to really chill out and recover from training?

EJT: Massage!!! In Wellington which is where I live in Florida, I’m very lucky that there’s a wonderful massage lady there who I try and see every week. I think it’s so important for your body. Also someone with that profession feel things that you don’t know. They might notice that your hip flexor or spine is a bit crooked, so you need to have that expertise. Besides, getting a massage is just really relaxing too! 

F.O.T: In terms of nutrition, so you want to stick to a certain weight?

EJT: For the benefit of the horse, it’s nicer to be a lighter rider. I also think that there are some riders who are light but they ride very heavy, and there are some riders who are a little heavier but they ride very light. Of course you want to be your fittest self whatever weight that may be – the fitter you are the better you are for your horse I think. I know that for the jumpers, it’s a little more essential for them to be lighter. For me, when I first got the horse that I have right now, I felt very weak compared to him because he’s a bit of a different ride. So for me I focussed a lot on getting strong in creating parts of my body – like my core, being able to have good balance whilst still being able to use my core and my upper body. It really varies on the type of horse and it’s personality.

F.O.T: I’m Swedish; I know you spent some time there too…

EJT: Yes! I lived in Skåne for two years, and that’s where I moved to from California, but it was a huge culture shock. One winter there and I thought ‘I need to find somewhere else warmer’ and that’s why I went to Florida – warmest place to do it! I moved there and that’s where I really immersed myself in Dressage. The horse I have now is from Sweden it’s from a Swedish rider. I still have a special place in my heart for Sweden.

F.O.T: Is there a benefit between switching horse?

EJT: I think so because really the horses are just so different. Personally if I look at the Grand Prix horse I have now, compared to my last one, they are completely different rides. The last one was very nice in the sense that he was so soft and light, I really didn’t have to be very physically strong, however I had to be a little bit stronger in my legs and I had to ride him in a more forward aggressive way. Whereas with this one I have to be very strong to control his energy. His energy is already there, so it benefits me to be able to swap from different horses and be able to change in that situation or adjust the way your style is.

F.O.T: What would you say makes Dressage so special? 

EJT: I think as far as fitness goes, it’s an amazing workout. I’ve had friends who are huge fitness buffs, soccer players, tennis players, and when they’ve gotten on a horse, the next day they literally can’t walk. So it’s definitely a great workout in terms of strength, but I also think it’s so special compared to other sports because it’s really the only Olympic sport where you work with an animal, so that brings this whole other element to it. You’re not only training yourself you’re training a horse and then you’re training yourselves together. I’d say if you like mental games and mental sports it’s definitely one of them but from a little bit of a different aspect.

I have my own horse with whom I compete and then I work for a show jumping rider and I train his horses in Dressage. A lot of jumpers will tell me ‘oh you still go to the gym but you do dressage’ – they think it’s so much more of a physically intense discipline. You do have to be enormously strong to compete in Dressage.

SECONDLY, MY INTERVIEW WITH CARL HEDIN, DRESSAGE RIDER & INSTAGRAM PERSONALITY!

F.O.T: What got you in to Dressage?

CH: I started riding at riding school, when I was 7 years old in Sweden. I’m not from a horse background. My parents have always been very clear though, this is my passion, they’ve always supported me, and said that it was my ‘thing’. At first at riding school I just wanted to be like a cowboy riding out in the woods and doing three day eventing and all of that. So I started off doing eventing and then when I was 16, I realised I wasn’t any good to be honest! I was always very good in Dressage though – I’ve always been a perfectionist and I loved training with horses, and understanding how you can teach them, and just the whole behavioural aspect of riding really. Then when I was 16 I did some two star shows at eventing and hadn’t really caught a break for eventing so then I said to my Mum, ‘I think I want to do Dressage full time’, because somehow whatever horse I would get on, whether it would be an Irish pony or anything, it would just end up as a Dressage horse so I thought ‘why fight against it, just go for it’. That’s when and how I started Dressage!

F.O.T: What goes in to training a horse?

CH: I think there’s different aspects of that. The easiest way I would divide it up is into three parts. You have the rider and the horse as two singular units, and then you have the partnership between those two. These three aspects all need to collaborate in order for it to just work. So if you have a really good rider but not such a good horse, that won’t be a fit and you can have a really good horse but not such a talented rider that wouldn’t work either. Sometimes you might have a good horse and a good rider but it s still not working because you don’t have the chemistry, and the third factor isn’t really there. I think those are really the three aspects you need to look at.

F.O.T: You mentioned ‘the behavioural aspect’ – what do you mean by that?

CH: I think it’s important that when we work with live animals, that we can never expect animals to understand our language. Instead, we can just try to adapt to their way of communicating with each other. Therefore I think it’s amazing – it’s a new language that you understand little by little, how to read a horse, and how you build that trust and relationship, for you both to do these amazing things.

F.O.T: Have you always been an animal person?

CH: Yes, absolutely! I can do all the lines from National Geographic, I’ve always been so into animals since I was really really young. It falls naturally for me to work with horses.

F.O.T: Can you read the horse emotions, for instance can you tell if and when your horse really enjoyed a ride together?

CH: Yes I think that’s a very important part of being a professional rider, and to work with horses – you can always try to understand what’s going on in their minds, or you won’t have that third aspect of the ‘partnership’. 

F.O.T: In terms of training, what do you do in the lead-up to competition?

CH: It starts from the age of three really, when the horse is very very young, and you start with very easy exercises. Just to carry a saddle for a horse is very unnatural, so that takes quite a long time. The horses that we see her at the FEI World Cup finals will have been training for maybe ten years. In the short period of time before a competition I’d say that most horses will have been training almost everyday that can vary a little bit in terms of how they’ve been trained.

F.O.T: What does the training look for a rider like yourself?

CH: It varies a lot. I work professionally with horses so that means I’ll be riding from 8 o’clock in the morning until like one o’clock in the afternoon, non-stop more or less. So that is serious training in itself. Then there’s the fact that you have to work hard to be a top athlete; you have to work with strength, conditioning and stamina. So yes we do train a lot. I’ve been running a few marathons myself! My best time is 3.26 I think that’s pretty good. I think a lot of riders nowadays take their own physical health into consideration because there’s a long career. Maybe it’s not vital that you are in top shape just for your single performance, but it matters in the long run because you have to be able to go to the stables everyday and stay fit and healthy.

F.O.T: What are the most common injuries would you say?

CH: Back and hip injuries are the big ones, but also knees – especially for show jumping because they are standing up a bit more in the saddle so they tend to ruin their knees if they’re not careful.

F.O.T: What do you do to relax and ensure you get the best recovery?

CH: I think that’s a weak point for the equestrian community – we’re very good at taking care of our horses, having all kind of treatments and therapies and physios and all of that but we are not so good at looking after ourselves: that’s an area that can and should be improved.

F.O.T: Nutrition wise do you follow any particular diets or ways of eating?

CH: I have for periods of times been quite strict with my diet but right now I think that, I wouldn’t say it has so much to do with my equestrian career but my general life wellbeing. I do look after myself, and try to watch what I’m eating and be careful of what I do. I think that’s also something that can be improved. I like to be aware consumer of meat so I like to know what I eat and where it comes from, and I pick my days. I rarely buy my meat for my own household but if I go out to a nice restaurant and I can ask where the meat comes from. I try not to eat as much meat because I don’t think there are that many benefit to it.

F.O.T: For anyone who may be considering riding, what would be your main reasons for giving it a go?

CH: I think that riding is the most wonderful sport! In a modern day society, we have all the virtual realities and social media and all of that and in that world I think that equestrian sport is such a beautiful activity where you still have the element of the real animal! You can only get one horse, you can’t copy-paste a horse. You can’t produce them like an iPhone X on a factory line, with a million copies of a horse. That would be great in some ways because we could all compete against each other more equally, but they’re all individuals just like you and I, that’s the beauty of working with a live animal! Give it a try…

FINALLY, MY INTERVIEW WITH MATTIA HARNACKE, A CELEBRATED MALE MODEL, AND TALENTED SHOW JUMPER

F.O.T: How did you get into Dressage?

MH: I got in to Dressage when I first started riding at 8 in Italy. I started with jumping but found that all the horses I owned could never jump. So by default I got into Dressage which I really loved, and now I have my Dressage horse, but I do want to get a show jumping horse when I move to the Netherlands too. I jumped a few times and really want to get into it, it’s the next thing for me but I still want to do Dressage. I think it’s good to have a bit of variety.

F.O.T: What does a typical week look like in terms of training?

MH: It depends because my schedule is unpredictable; I model and I fly a lot. So if I’m in Australia [home], I usually ride 5 times a week and I get one or two lessons with my coach, Denise Rogan. I like to have a really good balance between riding and my normal life because horses can take so much work – as much it gives back, but I’m the kind of person that I would never want to say no to something that I won’t do because I’ve got to ride ten horses; that’s not the kind of life I want. I want to be able to pick up and go and make the most of every opportunity and then also still enjoy my horse!

F.O.T: So five times a week and how many hours a day would that involve?

MH: Well, I’m the kind of person, I’m quite slow because I like the process. So I like go there, I enjoy racking up, spending time with them, doing a few fun things before I ride and then I ride for maybe like 45 minutes.

To give you a sense of my life – I had maybe 9 months out of Australia last year, I’m constantly back and forth, and I like to commit to an animal and do it right so I can’t have ten horses – so one is enough just to manage between me and my coach.

F.O.T: Would you say there are any benefits of riding different horses though in terms of improving your riding?

MH: Absolutely, every horse is different, it brings out different skill sets in you as a rider but I’m very content with just one.

F.O.T: How did you find your horse?

MH: I sold my first horse and I was going through the last year of school, so I was focused on my studies but as soon as I sold my horse I was so lost. Horses were always part of my life, and it was such a coping mechanism for me as well when I struggled with things. I was very down, I lost a bit of purpose so it took me a year and a half to find my horse. I travelled all of Australia, flying, looking, I checked three horses and they all failed so I was like really bummed out. And then I was at a competition one day and I bought a horse, just a fun project horse, and then at the competition I realised this is not what I want to do, I still want to look for like that horse to be more competitive on, to really set myself up some goals. I started looking and this ad came up, and I saw his ad on Facebook and I saw that this girl in Australia who buys a lot of horses had made a comment – so I was like damn it I’m not going to have another horse bought from underneath me so I said I don’t want to see photos, videos – when can I just come and see him?! Then I saw him, he’s massive, he’s 17.2, which is 176cm at the shoulder and then you still have the neck – and he’s quite big there as well. So I was like; wow this is a very big horse and I’m like 6,3 so I kinda needed something like that. We clicked straight away, he feels like a brother in a funny kind of way. He’s always testing the boundaries a little bit, like pushing. He’s very cuddly but he’ll bite every now and then just to be like cheeky, not painful, just playful. He’s super interactive with humans in general. He just craves attention. If I go on the paddock he’ll come and eat the grass just beside me, just under my feet, he loves that. The people who work in the stables, they’re in there doing the racking out, or cleaning out the stable and he’s biting their hair or pulling their clothes. He just loves attention! So that personality aspect really won me over, and the fact that he just so big and he takes care of me when I ride, that’s very important to me too.

F.O.T: It’s fascinating to hear about that connection you share with an animal!

MH: That’s the thing, it’s almost like a person, you have to hang out every single day and you do things sometimes when you both can’t be bothered, but I always think you got to train with a horse and you got to be happy – but the horse isn’t going to want to train everyday. It’s like picking a flatmate – you want someone that you can live with. You can’t just see them once a day for a couple of weeks you know. It was a very special partnership to find.

F.O.T: Does your horse ever have bad days when you just think, he’s not in the mood?

MH: For sure, but I’m the kind of person, I don’t need to win. I don’t need to be like Grand Prix so if it’s a bad day I literally just get off. I’m like it’s just not worth it. There are some days when I get up and have to go for a ten kilometres run – it’s not fair.

F.O.T: That’s really interesting, how do you complement your training? Sport specific stuff on the side of horse riding? 

MH: I used to go the the gym quite regularly but now that I travel it’s been a bit interrupted. I’ve got to stay quite lean as I do the fashion circuit, so I’ve got to stay quite skinny.

F.O.T: How do you recover in terms of training? 

MH: We have physios who come for my horses, we ice the legs, the place that I’m going to now has a walker, you have a treadmill and a water treadmill. I think for the rider, a lot of riders have back and hip problems as well. I think if you ride as well 6-7 horses a day it affects you. It’s all about riding correctly. Keeping up your fitness like doing something else – weight training as well. Yoga is great too. I come at this from a different perspective I’m not a professional rider. That’s great to see because if the sport only had professional riders there would be like a tenth of what there is now. What we do as equestrian influencers as well is showcase these massive events for amateurs, who aspire to one day compete, or even who are competitive, and want to achieve higher goals with their horse!

F.O.T: Does weight play a role when riding?

MH: It doesn’t matter too much within Dressage but with jumping it would matter a bit more. There are still some heavier riders who do well but of course the lighter the rider for the horse the better for the horse, ethically as well, I think.

F.O.T: What are the basic things to look at for anyone who’s never ridden or is new to Dressage?

MH: So Dressage at a higher level is about ‘collecting’ and thats a hard concept to understand. The horse if it’s carrying a rider needs to work in a certian way so the muscular are working with the rider, so you want the horse to be through the back – which means instead of having a hollow back they round in the back so they carry the weight, distribute the weight evenly, it’s not pinching down on one spot. So the head, which is connected to the spine, it’s all connected to the the rounding of the neck and bringing the back up and engaging the hind, which kind of gives you that rounding. To make it simple, Dressage is a horse moving through certain movements without you seeing the rider do anything and I think you have to show a lot of passion behind it as well.

F.O.T: Do you think, perhaps a bit of a controversial question, but are there instances where horses are mistreated in Dressage? 

MH: Absolutely, in anything – in racing, in dressage, in show jumping – this is the sort of thing that the FEI try to monitor thoroughly because in any sport that involves money (though it doesn’t always have to involve money), people will do anything to get away with winning. That’s also the case in the Olympics where people are engaged in doping, it happens anywhere but when you involve an animal, the welfare of the animal could come second to the win or selling it for money. Just like any sport it has it’s dark sides.

F.O.T: But the bigger question; ‘Is Dressage cruel?’ 

MH: I think going into this, we need to understand that riding is a selfish sport. There’s no way of denying that, but if you’re giving a horse a good life, looking after it, and if you’re training it the right way, a lot of horses really enjoy it. Like my horse really enjoys the work. If you’re doing it correctly and you’ve got the right training and you respect the animal for what it’s giving you, there’s no reason my horse has to go round everyday in the arena form. I respect that, and I train him the correct way – there are certain things that you don’t do. I think if people understand that then it’s definitely not the case that dressage is cruel.

My horse had a tumorous growth which we had to get surgically removed, so we’ve definitely assisted; it’s just about managing that and making sure you have the horses best interest at heart.

F.O.T: Finally what would you say to anyone who is considering horse riding for the first time? 

MH: When people tell me horse riding is easy I always say it’s like playing soccer but the ball has it’s own mind and feelings – it makes it ten times harder.  On top of that you have, injuries, emotions, feelings, nerves. You may have worked your whole life, spent millions of dollars and you get to the olympics and your horse freaks out; there are people who get in the arena and they freak out and don’t even do their test. The road to getting there is hard, so hard, so competitive and so costly. Purely because of the fact that all this is going against you; how costly it is, and then you’re training a horse you get to the olympics, and it can take ten years to get in shape, but in that ten years, one injury and you’re done – the horse is gone – it happens a lot.

But if you’re considering riding as a hobby, there are a lot of benefits to it, and I actually used to be a coach at a riding school in Australia. I got the certificate so I used to coach a lot of young kids. I think from a child’s perspective, there’s so much personal growth that goes with it. Responsibility. For me it gave me a lot of confidence as well. I think handling these big animals who have so much presence was very scary at first, but you get used to it, and it really boosted my confidence as a child. Then moving on from that when I had to manage my own horse I had responsibilities of looking after it, and it really made me grow as a person. 

But I think for anyone who wants to start, have a lesson and see how you go. It is costly so it’s something you want to think about especially if you want to buy a horse. What I always tell people is  that it’s not actually the first outlay of buying a horse which costs the most; it’s maintaining it, and keeping it, giving the horse the best lifestyle you can. The vet bills, I just had a bill of 10,000 for surgery. Things like this happen and you just have to be ready for it.

If I ride – and this is why I feel like riding is so emotional for so many people – it’s the only time in life when you are 100% living in the moment. You don’t think of anything else, you don’t do anything else, all your emotions are concentrated on the outcome you’re seeing straight away. I don’t know any other time in my life when I have that. It’s crazy, that’s why I can get off a ride and just feel like I want to cry, if things go bad, it’s just because you’re so involved. And when it goes happily, you’re on cloud nine. And if you have a bad day it ruins your whole day. It’s one of those things, I can’t think of one other thing that gives you that. Even when I work and I model I’m thinking of other stuff and planning other things. My emotions aren’t there and if the shot doesn’t come out great, I can be of course maybe not 100% thrilled but it doesn’t affect me as much. Riding is crazy like that!

The post WORLD CUP DRESSAGE – A POTENT WORKOUT ! appeared first on Fitness on Toast.

from Health And Fitness Updates http://fitnessontoast.com/2018/04/26/world-cup-dressage-a-potent-workout/

[muscledemandsrespect]

WORLD CUP DRESSAGE – A POTENT WORKOUT !

I recently had the good fortune to attend the Longines FEI World Cup Jumping and FEI World Cup Dressage Finals in Paris – which was RIGHT up my street! My formative years were spent living on a farm in the rural south of Sweden, and as a young child (then into my teens) I was a so-called ‘stable girl’, as my friends and I would spend all of our free time in the stables, combing the horses hair, cleaning their boxes and of course riding freely across the rolling fields. My walls were plastered with pictures of ponies – alongside the occasional Mariah Carey and kitten poster. Back in Paris, the FEI World Cup event is the pinnacle of equestrian competitions, their ‘Wimbledon’ or ‘America’s Cup’ equivalent if you like, so it was a real honor to have been invited the 10-year-old girl in me was overjoyed; watching the most decorated equestrian athlete of all time, Isabell Werth, dispatch a masterclass was a thing of beauty! This post is a behind-the-scenes account of the weekend, along with interviews with three riders, who reveal just how much of a physically and mentally demanding discipline this is. Click MORE to take a look at the fitness angle of world-class Horse Riding…

PREAMBLE:

Now, I realise that not everyone has ridden a horse, and I’ve encountered the misconception surrounding the sport, that horse riding is ‘easy’ and female-oriented. I would challenge any seasoned gym-goer to mount one of these huge beasts and control its power – it takes more than just brute strength, but also technique and the ability to communicate more subtly with the horse. It’s a ‘new’ meta-language that bridges the communication gap between human and animal. Once you’re able to ‘converse’ with your horse, you work as a team. The partnerships these world-class riders have with their horses is truly fascinating – it represents mutual respect, understanding and unconstrained drive to accomplish victory and be the best.

In an age of virtual reality, smartphones and social media, with most of our hours spent indoors, horse riding is more relevant that ever before, as a reactionary and liberating escape into nature. Getting on a wild animal and riding outdoors delivers a thrill unlike anything else. It’s a great way to truly switch off and be present.

BACKGROUND INTO THIS ANCIENT SPORT

The roots go deeper than almost any other sport which comes to mind. Renaissance Europe is the birthplace of the modern classical equitation (riding in harmony with the horse), though scientific and artisitic accounts of horse riding date back to about the 4th century B.C. with Xenophon, the masterful Greek general, whos treatises On Horsemanship show the concept of Parade Horses, and how to care for them. The Hittite civilisation, over a thousand years before even that, were participating too.

More recently, horses were the mainstay of the medieval battlefield, with an obedient and well-trained cavalry horse making the difference between life and death. They were trained in kicks, leaps and tears, to counteract any footsoldiers who were too close when the knight had been un-horsed. By the Victorian era, riding was a fully-fledged art; times have changed again, but today’s Dressage discipline still makes use of the ceremonial movements practised by the Ancient Greeks and the Medieval Knights – piaffe, passage, the half-pass and the pirouette.

The word Dressage originates from the French word dresser, which in this context, pertains to training or dressing a horse. It’s a super-organised discipline with strict etiquette, perhaps stemming from military heritage. Riders enter the 20 x 60m arena and perform a suite of manouevres with increasing levels of difficulty; they’re marked on their execution of these ‘tests’, as well as their horse’s gait, submission, impulsion and the rider performance. From what I can tell, the performance has to look gentle, quiet, harmonious, supple, loose, confident and attentive, all at once!

But don’t take my word for it; here follows an account of my discussions with three celebrated equestrians; Ellesse Jordan Tzinberg, Carl Hedin, and Mattia Harnacke.

FIRST UP: MY INTERVIEW WITH ELLESSE JORDAN TZINBERG, MODEL AND FEI WORLD CUP DRESSAGE FINALIST!

F.O.T: What got you into Dressage? 

EJT: I started off as a show jumper but about three years ago I really committed to Dressage – it’s always something that I’ve done especially in Asia, you only have so many shows that you can do a year and so if you only do one it’s quite limiting to your opportunities. So I’d always done both and been pretty good at both, and then three years ago I wanted to fully commit to one. I’d never been in a program for Dressage so I wanted to at least try it, so I could say I tried it, it failed!

F.O.T: Have you ever been interested in any other types of sports?

EJT: I used to play basketball quite a lot, both in college and high school. We have university sports in America but then you also have intercollegiate, which is not as competitive as NCA but it’s still quite competitive. So I played basketball a lot, and also was into fitness. I box a lot still. I’ve been boxing since I was really young so it’s something that’s always been in me. If I was younger maybe I would’ve committed to that instead of riding but it’s something that’s also been a big, big part of me.

F.O.T: What sort of sport specific fitness training do you do to complement your riding pursuits?

EJT: For Dressage, I love Pilates and I think it’s really great for all riders. Yoga is, of course really great for riders but I know that maybe not all riders like the pace of yoga. It’s quite slow, and we work with horses so we tend to like fast pace. For me Pilates is a bit more mentally my pace, I do that a lot and that really helps with posture. Dressage is so much about the core working, and so much so that you don’t really want to be seen moving very greatly, everything is about very minuscule movements – very strong small movements so Pilates in my experience really trains those muscles. Then I always thought boxing was great for all riders just because you’re using your entire body, you’re using you balance, you’re using coordination, hand eye coordination, speed, controlled movement, and there’s a lot of rhythm. You have to stick with the rhythm and there’s a lot of combinations – it’s the same with riding where you always have a rhythm whether your jumping or sound Dressage, you have a rhythm that you keep to and you don’t want to break that constant rhythm. It’s quite musical as well.

F.O.T: Why do you love yoga so much?

EJT: As riders we’re in the same position for hours each day. A lot of riders aren’t very flexible. They get quite used to using the same muscles every day, all day. And we sit in that same position. You talk to a rider and most of the time it’s always like their hamstrings and hip flexors are super tight as well as lower back. I like slower, more meditative yoga, as it also works on opening the hips up. It calls for a lot of mental strength too and the same goes for riding – mental patience, and mental strength. Yoga is practical for that.

F.O.T: How do you structure your training week?

EJT: A lot of professionals ride five-to-eight hours a day so that’s quite draining. It varies depending on the horse but normally you’d ride one horse for 30 minutes to an hour. Some days, you do end up really exhausted. You and the horse will always have a day off so I think it’s really essential to do something that’s going to change which muscles you’re using, to do something else with your body. Then I think it’s really important even if you’re riding 8 hours a day, to take care of your body so you’re training those other muscles that support the muscles you use whilst riding. So whether you do some plank work or core exercises, stretches, I think any little bit helps.

F.O.T: A lot of people who’ve never ridden may not realise the immense amount of strength required for horse riding…

EJT: I can definitely tell when I ride more horses or not. It does take a lot of strength, they’re such giant animals first of all; also, of course you immediately think you have to be so strong to handle these big animals but also because I’m like 56/57 kilos I’m never going to match up to a horse head to head so you have to find ways to use your muscles in a more practical way and being able to have your core strength and being able to be quick and hold, let go very fast… so it’s about being able to use what we have most efficiently also.

F.O.T: What do you do to really chill out and recover from training?

EJT: Massage!!! In Wellington which is where I live in Florida, I’m very lucky that there’s a wonderful massage lady there who I try and see every week. I think it’s so important for your body. Also someone with that profession feel things that you don’t know. They might notice that your hip flexor or spine is a bit crooked, so you need to have that expertise. Besides, getting a massage is just really relaxing too! 

F.O.T: In terms of nutrition, so you want to stick to a certain weight?

EJT: For the benefit of the horse, it’s nicer to be a lighter rider. I also think that there are some riders who are light but they ride very heavy, and there are some riders who are a little heavier but they ride very light. Of course you want to be your fittest self whatever weight that may be – the fitter you are the better you are for your horse I think. I know that for the jumpers, it’s a little more essential for them to be lighter. For me, when I first got the horse that I have right now, I felt very weak compared to him because he’s a bit of a different ride. So for me I focussed a lot on getting strong in creating parts of my body – like my core, being able to have good balance whilst still being able to use my core and my upper body. It really varies on the type of horse and it’s personality.

F.O.T: I’m Swedish; I know you spent some time there too…

EJT: Yes! I lived in Skåne for two years, and that’s where I moved to from California, but it was a huge culture shock. One winter there and I thought ‘I need to find somewhere else warmer’ and that’s why I went to Florida – warmest place to do it! I moved there and that’s where I really immersed myself in Dressage. The horse I have now is from Sweden it’s from a Swedish rider. I still have a special place in my heart for Sweden.

F.O.T: Is there a benefit between switching horse?

EJT: I think so because really the horses are just so different. Personally if I look at the Grand Prix horse I have now, compared to my last one, they are completely different rides. The last one was very nice in the sense that he was so soft and light, I really didn’t have to be very physically strong, however I had to be a little bit stronger in my legs and I had to ride him in a more forward aggressive way. Whereas with this one I have to be very strong to control his energy. His energy is already there, so it benefits me to be able to swap from different horses and be able to change in that situation or adjust the way your style is.

F.O.T: What would you say makes Dressage so special? 

EJT: I think as far as fitness goes, it’s an amazing workout. I’ve had friends who are huge fitness buffs, soccer players, tennis players, and when they’ve gotten on a horse, the next day they literally can’t walk. So it’s definitely a great workout in terms of strength, but I also think it’s so special compared to other sports because it’s really the only Olympic sport where you work with an animal, so that brings this whole other element to it. You’re not only training yourself you’re training a horse and then you’re training yourselves together. I’d say if you like mental games and mental sports it’s definitely one of them but from a little bit of a different aspect.

I have my own horse with whom I compete and then I work for a show jumping rider and I train his horses in Dressage. A lot of jumpers will tell me ‘oh you still go to the gym but you do dressage’ – they think it’s so much more of a physically intense discipline. You do have to be enormously strong to compete in Dressage.

SECONDLY, MY INTERVIEW WITH CARL HEDIN, DRESSAGE RIDER & INSTAGRAM PERSONALITY!

F.O.T: What got you in to Dressage?

CH: I started riding at riding school, when I was 7 years old in Sweden. I’m not from a horse background. My parents have always been very clear though, this is my passion, they’ve always supported me, and said that it was my ‘thing’. At first at riding school I just wanted to be like a cowboy riding out in the woods and doing three day eventing and all of that. So I started off doing eventing and then when I was 16, I realised I wasn’t any good to be honest! I was always very good in Dressage though – I’ve always been a perfectionist and I loved training with horses, and understanding how you can teach them, and just the whole behavioural aspect of riding really. Then when I was 16 I did some two star shows at eventing and hadn’t really caught a break for eventing so then I said to my Mum, ‘I think I want to do Dressage full time’, because somehow whatever horse I would get on, whether it would be an Irish pony or anything, it would just end up as a Dressage horse so I thought ‘why fight against it, just go for it’. That’s when and how I started Dressage!

F.O.T: What goes in to training a horse?

CH: I think there’s different aspects of that. The easiest way I would divide it up is into three parts. You have the rider and the horse as two singular units, and then you have the partnership between those two. These three aspects all need to collaborate in order for it to just work. So if you have a really good rider but not such a good horse, that won’t be a fit and you can have a really good horse but not such a talented rider that wouldn’t work either. Sometimes you might have a good horse and a good rider but it s still not working because you don’t have the chemistry, and the third factor isn’t really there. I think those are really the three aspects you need to look at.

F.O.T: You mentioned ‘the behavioural aspect’ – what do you mean by that?

CH: I think it’s important that when we work with live animals, that we can never expect animals to understand our language. Instead, we can just try to adapt to their way of communicating with each other. Therefore I think it’s amazing – it’s a new language that you understand little by little, how to read a horse, and how you build that trust and relationship, for you both to do these amazing things.

F.O.T: Have you always been an animal person?

CH: Yes, absolutely! I can do all the lines from National Geographic, I’ve always been so into animals since I was really really young. It falls naturally for me to work with horses.

F.O.T: Can you read the horse emotions, for instance can you tell if and when your horse really enjoyed a ride together?

CH: Yes I think that’s a very important part of being a professional rider, and to work with horses – you can always try to understand what’s going on in their minds, or you won’t have that third aspect of the ‘partnership’. 

F.O.T: In terms of training, what do you do in the lead-up to competition?

CH: It starts from the age of three really, when the horse is very very young, and you start with very easy exercises. Just to carry a saddle for a horse is very unnatural, so that takes quite a long time. The horses that we see her at the FEI World Cup finals will have been training for maybe ten years. In the short period of time before a competition I’d say that most horses will have been training almost everyday that can vary a little bit in terms of how they’ve been trained.

F.O.T: What does the training look for a rider like yourself?

CH: It varies a lot. I work professionally with horses so that means I’ll be riding from 8 o’clock in the morning until like one o’clock in the afternoon, non-stop more or less. So that is serious training in itself. Then there’s the fact that you have to work hard to be a top athlete; you have to work with strength, conditioning and stamina. So yes we do train a lot. I’ve been running a few marathons myself! My best time is 3.26 I think that’s pretty good. I think a lot of riders nowadays take their own physical health into consideration because there’s a long career. Maybe it’s not vital that you are in top shape just for your single performance, but it matters in the long run because you have to be able to go to the stables everyday and stay fit and healthy.

F.O.T: What are the most common injuries would you say?

CH: Back and hip injuries are the big ones, but also knees – especially for show jumping because they are standing up a bit more in the saddle so they tend to ruin their knees if they’re not careful.

F.O.T: What do you do to relax and ensure you get the best recovery?

CH: I think that’s a weak point for the equestrian community – we’re very good at taking care of our horses, having all kind of treatments and therapies and physios and all of that but we are not so good at looking after ourselves: that’s an area that can and should be improved.

F.O.T: Nutrition wise do you follow any particular diets or ways of eating?

CH: I have for periods of times been quite strict with my diet but right now I think that, I wouldn’t say it has so much to do with my equestrian career but my general life wellbeing. I do look after myself, and try to watch what I’m eating and be careful of what I do. I think that’s also something that can be improved. I like to be aware consumer of meat so I like to know what I eat and where it comes from, and I pick my days. I rarely buy my meat for my own household but if I go out to a nice restaurant and I can ask where the meat comes from. I try not to eat as much meat because I don’t think there are that many benefit to it.

F.O.T: For anyone who may be considering riding, what would be your main reasons for giving it a go?

CH: I think that riding is the most wonderful sport! In a modern day society, we have all the virtual realities and social media and all of that and in that world I think that equestrian sport is such a beautiful activity where you still have the element of the real animal! You can only get one horse, you can’t copy-paste a horse. You can’t produce them like an iPhone X on a factory line, with a million copies of a horse. That would be great in some ways because we could all compete against each other more equally, but they’re all individuals just like you and I, that’s the beauty of working with a live animal! Give it a try…

FINALLY, MY INTERVIEW WITH MATTIA HARNACKE, A CELEBRATED MALE MODEL, AND TALENTED SHOW JUMPER

F.O.T: How did you get into Dressage?

MH: I got in to Dressage when I first started riding at 8 in Italy. I started with jumping but found that all the horses I owned could never jump. So by default I got into Dressage which I really loved, and now I have my Dressage horse, but I do want to get a show jumping horse when I move to the Netherlands too. I jumped a few times and really want to get into it, it’s the next thing for me but I still want to do Dressage. I think it’s good to have a bit of variety.

F.O.T: What does a typical week look like in terms of training?

MH: It depends because my schedule is unpredictable; I model and I fly a lot. So if I’m in Australia [home], I usually ride 5 times a week and I get one or two lessons with my coach, Denise Rogan. I like to have a really good balance between riding and my normal life because horses can take so much work – as much it gives back, but I’m the kind of person that I would never want to say no to something that I won’t do because I’ve got to ride ten horses; that’s not the kind of life I want. I want to be able to pick up and go and make the most of every opportunity and then also still enjoy my horse!

F.O.T: So five times a week and how many hours a day would that involve?

MH: Well, I’m the kind of person, I’m quite slow because I like the process. So I like go there, I enjoy racking up, spending time with them, doing a few fun things before I ride and then I ride for maybe like 45 minutes.

To give you a sense of my life – I had maybe 9 months out of Australia last year, I’m constantly back and forth, and I like to commit to an animal and do it right so I can’t have ten horses – so one is enough just to manage between me and my coach.

F.O.T: Would you say there are any benefits of riding different horses though in terms of improving your riding?

MH: Absolutely, every horse is different, it brings out different skill sets in you as a rider but I’m very content with just one.

F.O.T: How did you find your horse?

MH: I sold my first horse and I was going through the last year of school, so I was focused on my studies but as soon as I sold my horse I was so lost. Horses were always part of my life, and it was such a coping mechanism for me as well when I struggled with things. I was very down, I lost a bit of purpose so it took me a year and a half to find my horse. I travelled all of Australia, flying, looking, I checked three horses and they all failed so I was like really bummed out. And then I was at a competition one day and I bought a horse, just a fun project horse, and then at the competition I realised this is not what I want to do, I still want to look for like that horse to be more competitive on, to really set myself up some goals. I started looking and this ad came up, and I saw his ad on Facebook and I saw that this girl in Australia who buys a lot of horses had made a comment – so I was like damn it I’m not going to have another horse bought from underneath me so I said I don’t want to see photos, videos – when can I just come and see him?! Then I saw him, he’s massive, he’s 17.2, which is 176cm at the shoulder and then you still have the neck – and he’s quite big there as well. So I was like; wow this is a very big horse and I’m like 6,3 so I kinda needed something like that. We clicked straight away, he feels like a brother in a funny kind of way. He’s always testing the boundaries a little bit, like pushing. He’s very cuddly but he’ll bite every now and then just to be like cheeky, not painful, just playful. He’s super interactive with humans in general. He just craves attention. If I go on the paddock he’ll come and eat the grass just beside me, just under my feet, he loves that. The people who work in the stables, they’re in there doing the racking out, or cleaning out the stable and he’s biting their hair or pulling their clothes. He just loves attention! So that personality aspect really won me over, and the fact that he just so big and he takes care of me when I ride, that’s very important to me too.

F.O.T: It’s fascinating to hear about that connection you share with an animal!

MH: That’s the thing, it’s almost like a person, you have to hang out every single day and you do things sometimes when you both can’t be bothered, but I always think you got to train with a horse and you got to be happy – but the horse isn’t going to want to train everyday. It’s like picking a flatmate – you want someone that you can live with. You can’t just see them once a day for a couple of weeks you know. It was a very special partnership to find.

F.O.T: Does your horse ever have bad days when you just think, he’s not in the mood?

MH: For sure, but I’m the kind of person, I don’t need to win. I don’t need to be like Grand Prix so if it’s a bad day I literally just get off. I’m like it’s just not worth it. There are some days when I get up and have to go for a ten kilometres run – it’s not fair.

F.O.T: That’s really interesting, how do you complement your training? Sport specific stuff on the side of horse riding? 

MH: I used to go the the gym quite regularly but now that I travel it’s been a bit interrupted. I’ve got to stay quite lean as I do the fashion circuit, so I’ve got to stay quite skinny.

F.O.T: How do you recover in terms of training? 

MH: We have physios who come for my horses, we ice the legs, the place that I’m going to now has a walker, you have a treadmill and a water treadmill. I think for the rider, a lot of riders have back and hip problems as well. I think if you ride as well 6-7 horses a day it affects you. It’s all about riding correctly. Keeping up your fitness like doing something else – weight training as well. Yoga is great too. I come at this from a different perspective I’m not a professional rider. That’s great to see because if the sport only had professional riders there would be like a tenth of what there is now. What we do as equestrian influencers as well is showcase these massive events for amateurs, who aspire to one day compete, or even who are competitive, and want to achieve higher goals with their horse!

F.O.T: Does weight play a role when riding?

MH: It doesn’t matter too much within Dressage but with jumping it would matter a bit more. There are still some heavier riders who do well but of course the lighter the rider for the horse the better for the horse, ethically as well, I think.

F.O.T: What are the basic things to look at for anyone who’s never ridden or is new to Dressage?

MH: So Dressage at a higher level is about ‘collecting’ and thats a hard concept to understand. The horse if it’s carrying a rider needs to work in a certian way so the muscular are working with the rider, so you want the horse to be through the back – which means instead of having a hollow back they round in the back so they carry the weight, distribute the weight evenly, it’s not pinching down on one spot. So the head, which is connected to the spine, it’s all connected to the the rounding of the neck and bringing the back up and engaging the hind, which kind of gives you that rounding. To make it simple, Dressage is a horse moving through certain movements without you seeing the rider do anything and I think you have to show a lot of passion behind it as well.

F.O.T: Do you think, perhaps a bit of a controversial question, but are there instances where horses are mistreated in Dressage? 

MH: Absolutely, in anything – in racing, in dressage, in show jumping – this is the sort of thing that the FEI try to monitor thoroughly because in any sport that involves money (though it doesn’t always have to involve money), people will do anything to get away with winning. That’s also the case in the Olympics where people are engaged in doping, it happens anywhere but when you involve an animal, the welfare of the animal could come second to the win or selling it for money. Just like any sport it has it’s dark sides.

F.O.T: But the bigger question; ‘Is Dressage cruel?’ 

MH: I think going into this, we need to understand that riding is a selfish sport. There’s no way of denying that, but if you’re giving a horse a good life, looking after it, and if you’re training it the right way, a lot of horses really enjoy it. Like my horse really enjoys the work. If you’re doing it correctly and you’ve got the right training and you respect the animal for what it’s giving you, there’s no reason my horse has to go round everyday in the arena form. I respect that, and I train him the correct way – there are certain things that you don’t do. I think if people understand that then it’s definitely not the case that dressage is cruel.

My horse had a tumorous growth which we had to get surgically removed, so we’ve definitely assisted; it’s just about managing that and making sure you have the horses best interest at heart.

F.O.T: Finally what would you say to anyone who is considering horse riding for the first time? 

MH: When people tell me horse riding is easy I always say it’s like playing soccer but the ball has it’s own mind and feelings – it makes it ten times harder.  On top of that you have, injuries, emotions, feelings, nerves. You may have worked your whole life, spent millions of dollars and you get to the olympics and your horse freaks out; there are people who get in the arena and they freak out and don’t even do their test. The road to getting there is hard, so hard, so competitive and so costly. Purely because of the fact that all this is going against you; how costly it is, and then you’re training a horse you get to the olympics, and it can take ten years to get in shape, but in that ten years, one injury and you’re done – the horse is gone – it happens a lot.

But if you’re considering riding as a hobby, there are a lot of benefits to it, and I actually used to be a coach at a riding school in Australia. I got the certificate so I used to coach a lot of young kids. I think from a child’s perspective, there’s so much personal growth that goes with it. Responsibility. For me it gave me a lot of confidence as well. I think handling these big animals who have so much presence was very scary at first, but you get used to it, and it really boosted my confidence as a child. Then moving on from that when I had to manage my own horse I had responsibilities of looking after it, and it really made me grow as a person. 

But I think for anyone who wants to start, have a lesson and see how you go. It is costly so it’s something you want to think about especially if you want to buy a horse. What I always tell people is  that it’s not actually the first outlay of buying a horse which costs the most; it’s maintaining it, and keeping it, giving the horse the best lifestyle you can. The vet bills, I just had a bill of 10,000 for surgery. Things like this happen and you just have to be ready for it.

If I ride – and this is why I feel like riding is so emotional for so many people – it’s the only time in life when you are 100% living in the moment. You don’t think of anything else, you don’t do anything else, all your emotions are concentrated on the outcome you’re seeing straight away. I don’t know any other time in my life when I have that. It’s crazy, that’s why I can get off a ride and just feel like I want to cry, if things go bad, it’s just because you’re so involved. And when it goes happily, you’re on cloud nine. And if you have a bad day it ruins your whole day. It’s one of those things, I can’t think of one other thing that gives you that. Even when I work and I model I’m thinking of other stuff and planning other things. My emotions aren’t there and if the shot doesn’t come out great, I can be of course maybe not 100% thrilled but it doesn’t affect me as much. Riding is crazy like that!

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[miryeanotmadea]

A Table at Dante’s

It smells absolutely wonderful in here! My stomach let out a grumble simulating that of a whale’s call. It was my fourth time at my favorite restaurant in all of Florence… perhaps even in all of Italy! Dante’s was the go-to dinner spot for me, my summer classmates, and professors. As a large group of fifteen people from all sorts of different hometowns, backgrounds, tastes, and personalities, we didn’t agree on much—but one thing we always agreed upon was Dante’s. The pizza and seafood pasta had captured each and every one of our foreign hearts in a unique way. It was a unanimous vote, every single time. The caprese salad and cheese plate antipasti were delivered from hand to hand, making their way to the head of the table. My mouth watered as I swiftly reached for the largest piece of mozzarella on the wooden board. Every man for himself. We had all gotten used to each other by this point, and the whole; “wait until everyone else at the table has served themselves” business was out the window. It was week six of six—appetites were high, and table etiquette was low.

           Thinking back to our first ‘Italian restaurant’ meal together makes me wonder if I was with an entirely different group of college students than the ones that I share a table with tonight. Five weeks ago, ‘dinner talk’ consisted of scholastic aspirations, what it’s like growing up with “x” number of siblings, and other incessantly monotonous small talk that would make any businessman at a cocktail party envious. Occasionally, the chatter would be broken by an ever-so-polite; “please pass the natural water,” followed up with an even more polite; “I’m sorry, there’s only sparkling,” and ending with an; “oh, that’s okay! I’ll take sparkling, thanks!”  Tonight, the table has been broken up into two teams—team ‘acqua frizzante’ and team ‘acqua naturale,’ both assuming superiority—each fighting for dominance.

           During our very first meal at Dante’s, we were all on our best behaviors. We sat in our seats next to those with whom we were most familiar, observing each other surreptitiously, still unsure of how living with one another for the next five weeks would work out. I distinctly remember my first impression of each person at the table. I could tell by the way most of the students carried themselves that we would never become close friends. How could we? We were all so different, after all.

Tonight, you can barely hear anything over our boisterous laughter—the waiter has already asked us to quiet down twice. No one has a seat that is distinctly their own. We all sit, walk around, mingle, and float from conversation to conversation. It’s like a less competitive form of musical chairs. I examine those around me. Some students are hovered over a cellphone, laughing hysterically as they watch videos of themselves over the past few weeks. Others are building a giant tower made of cups, dishes, table utensils, and bread rolls. A few, (the more mature ones) discuss the approximate caloric intake of the native Italian people, and whether or not they appreciate gelato as they should. I really love these people. I can’t believe how much I’ve come to love these people.

           The waiter finally rounds the corner. Although in the past five-plus weeks I had seen the Duomo, the David, the Sistine Chapel, the Birth of Venus, the Coliseum, the Roman ruins, the Trevi Fountain, Venice, Cinque Terre, and the Mediterranean Sea… in this moment, what the waiter has in his hands is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen in my life—a large, meat-loaded, cheese covered pizza. He sets it before me, just as my stomach releases another whale call. It takes no time for the pizza to make its way from my plate, and into my mouth. This is the best pizza I’ve ever had.

           Dishes come and go as everyone offers each other a bite of their food. It was an unspoken rule among the group, that whoever ordered a meal must share with the entire table, otherwise one of us might be robbed the full experience. You were under no obligation to accept the food offered to you, but if the bite was denied, you would receive a look of confusion from your fellow classmates who understood the depth of what you had just done—that you had just cheated yourself out of what could’ve very well been the best escapade of your poor, uncultured, American, taste-bud’s lives. It was best for everyone if you accepted the bite.

           After taking one too many bites of God knows whose fettuccini alfredo, I lean back on my chair and, in complete contentment, let out a ferocious yawn accompanied by a cat-like stretch. “I’m really going to miss this.” My peaceful state is disrupted by the unsolicited smack into reality. The table becomes quiet. It’s as if, all at once, we woke up from the same, wonderful dream that was the past six weeks. All of a sudden, I felt my stomach begin to knot up, and a lump came to my throat. It was a familiar feeling, and it was not the overindulgence of fettuccini alfredo. It was the same feeling I got when I was nine years old, when my father told me that he was, in fact, Santa Clause. It was the same feeling I got when I spent my first night away from my family in my college dorm room three years ago. It was the same feeling I get when I wake up from the most magical dreams that I was convinced were reality. It’s the stomach pain that accompanies the type of sadness that is brought on by something marvelous coming to an end.

            I can’t believe this is coming to an end. It was a hard truth to swallow: that waking up to these people every day, traveling the world with these people, sharing meals with these people, sharing moments, and laughs, and memories with these people, and sharing this table at Dante’s with these people would all come to an end—tomorrow morning, in fact. This was our last night together, our last meal in Italy together, and our very last meal at Dante’s together.

           Traveling brings people together in a unique way. It requires everyone involved to lay aside their routine and the things familiar to them, and to be ever-present in the here and now. It connects people from all different races, ages, regions, backgrounds and interests, and causes them to connect over the opportunity they’ve each been given—this moment.

           I nostalgically examine everyone’s face. We’re all silent, but I know we’re thinking the same thing. We’re all excited to go home; to tell our families about the semester, to see our friends, to sleep in our own bedrooms, to have an In-And-Out burger… but we all know that this moment will be over soon—that this dinner will be over soon. We will board the plane home, and once we’ve landed, it will feel as though the past six weeks were just a dream. As time goes on, the concrete details of the past six weeks will become dim, and we will struggle to remember in depth, the sights and smells and sounds of Italy. As the waiter we’ve befriended comes to clear our table, I begin to question whether or not he will remember us. Next year, the students who come will sit in these exact seats, and order the same food. Will he forget us by the time they come around?

           The group that takes our place next year will have to learn to get used to the things we’ve become accustomed to. They will have to learn how to focus in Professor Chua’s detective fiction class when there’s a thunderstorm in Venice and all they want to do is run barefoot alongside the canals. They will have to learn how to keep up with Dr. Horner by following his hat through the train station in a full-on sprint while carrying all of their luggage in hopes that they don’t miss their train to Rome. They will have to learn how to be respectful and remain silent inside a cathedral when Mrs. Horner is imitating ‘Gant’ in an effort to make everyone laugh until they cry. They will have to learn how to save room in their stomachs for two gelato stops a day. And most importantly, they will have to learn to order a pizza at Dante’s that is big enough to share.

           My group and I began the trip as complete strangers—people from different places, living very different lives. We’ll all go home as different people, continuing our lives and each going our separate ways. Some of us will be married soon, others will graduate and begin their careers. But this study abroad program will always be a part of each of us. Italy will always be a part of each of us. This meal will always be a part of each of us. No matter where the Lord takes us, and no matter who we all become five, ten, or twenty years from now, we will always be a part of each other, because it was at a table at Dante’s that fifteen strangers became family.

[leopoldomunson1-blog]

Want To Play Online Car Games For Free

Car Games For Boys Online

Games undoubtedly are a great source of refreshment. And Spiderman video games are good video games to get refreshment. Young people are looking forward to games to begin with but swiftly lose interest. When you know it, they are begging you for yet another online game. Young children can become aware about trend and items of clothing in addition to body pieces, colors as well as learn about the surrounding planet while playing this zero cost dress up games. And most of these are available without cost. Online flash games will be the answer for every generation. Online flash games with regard to talented children are a smart way to master through play. It might look like they're just spending more hours enjoying video gaming, but the ones within this list are designed like that. It really is an unfortunate truth that on the net gaming requires tolerating the remarkable volume with bad manners, vulgarity, weak sportsmanship, along with simply old awful manners. Several online game areas tend to be a little more mature than others, although anyone can generally count on this specific type of misbehavior throughout simply regarding each and every multiplayer video game you appear across. I recognize that people are usually basically private on the internet, and some people could get quite sentimentally involved within the particular competition, although that is definitely simply no cause to be able to chuck away any semblance of respect or decency. I've set with each other a couple of pointers on good on-line video gaming etiquette, however I believe the actual worst type of offenders aren't most likely to receive notice. Play Sensible Disloyal and applying exploits is actually a great admission which you are unable to succeed without having them. Additionally, you'll find succeeding a considerable fight considerably more worthwhile. In the event that winning is definitely crucial to you, maintain just practising and also understand from what successful participants are usually undertaking. Must the actual opposition confirm to become far too much for you, finding a diverse online game can be a greater answer than cheating. Always be A Good Sport Laughing at conquered competitors, bragging with regards to your success, overdoing it along with taunts in addition to emotes, almost all help to make you look childish. The actual fact is, actually kids should understand far better. A good proper emote used during the right point in time is often a stunning factor, yet whenever it accompanies just about every encounter inside the game, it becomes into that much far more mindless spam, which brings us all to our next guideline. Do not Spam You really never have to smash the particular chat system by using WTS mail messages in order to promote a great merchandise, or do you have to use every channel within the actual online game any time there can be a channel focused to business. If folks are not interested, echoing a message within conversation each and every 3 seconds just isn't likely that will switch that. Hang on a minute or 2, and also perhaps you'll start to get through into a brand new target market. Give up All of us the actual Caps Lock come on men and women, this can be a no-brainer that has been close to since the start of the Net - don't employ almost all capital letters inside chat. It can be the wording equivalent with yelling at anyone, along with no person would like to get yelled at. You Were a Noob Too No person may select up a brand new game and instantly get familiar themselves along with most of its technicalities as well as particulars. Right now there are generally heaps of acronyms and slang special to each and every video game, and it is really absurd to be expecting people to recognise these kinds of elements with no somewhat assistance from some other people. Somebody once stated to you exactly what had been occurring, currently you may accomplish the exact same, instead than basically showing these individuals they really are "noobs" plus departing it at that. A Little Teamwork, Please Whenever you might be part of the group, try to cooperate with your current teammates a little. Rambo-style gameplay hardly ever pays off within a team-oriented video game, therefore you should not assume your current teammates to get right behind you when you go kamakazi directly into a gauntlet of opponents. Likewise keep in thought process that essentially winning the actual match is definitely far more necessary compared to being at the top of the scoreboard. You should not Be a Quitter It can be amazing just how often individuals may detach not having a word when there're losing, as well as drop out as soon as their own group come across a problem. In case you do not feel you could succeed, surrender. Whenever your current instance run is just not proceeding effectively, attempt to work it out politely as well as give a good number of pleasant advice. At situations while your own team seriously isn't up for the task, explain the problem to other people without insulting all of them. You under no circumstances recognize what exactly type of answers people may come up with right up until you provide all of them a chance. Not really Every person Who Is victorious Is a Cheater Simply just for the reason that a different participant eliminates you a several times really does not indicate that there're cheating. As very good as you may perhaps think you are at any video game, right now there usually are very likely a good deal of people that will be just as excellent or much better than you are. If you are as hot as almost all that, then begin trying to play professionally in LAN competitions exactly where there is no manner to gain a advantage. If you are just about certain that another person is cheating, report these individuals to an admin and also allow them take a look at instead than throwing about accusations you won't be able to back up. Camping out Is usually a Lame Approach Although many game titles promote it, camping spawn details and corpses is usually commonly a dull strategy. In several scenarios it's only possible due to the fact of problematic game design and style, although it's still a poor approach that people with any self-respect do not resort to. Overlook Insults Whenever someone insults you, your greatest alternative is to disregard them. In the event the insults go on, many chat and voice models include 'ignore' functions to guarantee that further communications coming from these folks are generally obstructed. Returning the insults generally just escalates the exchange into a little something you will regret later on. Enjoy the Video game Video games usually are meant to be enjoyable, and if you cannot chuckle it off when issues go drastically wrong, or forgive a team associate for screwing up, and then maybe it's occasion for a break. Many of us have enough anxiety in our lifestyles, we really don't genuinely care to add a lot of video gaming tension to that. Once you start taking it too seriously, it defeats the reason for playing a video game in the first place.

Car Games For Boys Online

Who won't know the Dirt-3, Burnout Paradise, Gran Turismo-5, Forza motorsport, Dependence on Speed. along with the list stays on. But from where this list starts, starts the excitment. Yes, the very exciting, adventurous and exploring car quests! Some of this games available on the internet have radical themes like bashing up other cars for points, or even running over people during the road. These free car games are awesome for giving vent to any and all that pent up road-rage, but make positive that you don't carry it over to real work. If you're a tame guy, you can invariably download car games that have more easygoing themes. In addition, flash car games are totally free games for anyone, with limitation of game. You'll choose any car game you desire to play, whilst keeping your money safe, unlike video car games which cost unwanted expense for small children. In addition, flash car games are always updated and there will be always new games which added countless. So what must be done to choose the perfect game among all the 3d car games you can get in the globe wide web? There are 3 commonly overlooked things which you need to take into consideration when choosing what type of game perform. If your road trip is very long, break it up into 2 days to limit the interval spent in the car. Try to look for a hotel using a pool to help you all do a little exercise after being alone in automobile all work day. Research your radio options. The area you live in could possibly have all typical radio stations you to be able to listen to, but probably not. A small investment in satellite radio could be just there isn't any magical to revitalize your drives. Satellite radio says he will be "commercial-free." While they don't have copious amounts of them like traditional radio, there the particular occasional plugs for another radio station on their network, nevertheless are very short in duration. Whatever your taste: country, rock, stand-up comedy, sports, top 40, talk shows, satellite radio has it an individual will do not be disappointed making use of listening past experience. The equipment could be $30-$50 and monthly plans are $15-$30. If you might be a car games enthusiast you can preserve some points in mind regarding the. Discovering your own methods adds to the fun and enjoyment you receive from playing them. Testing different tactics will help you identify the best method. Each day will become available new areas to explore, increasing is often a fun! The fun and excitement the hands down games is beyond creative thinking. You get so carried away associated with game you forget your stress threshold and worry. The amazing car-games leave you refreshed and thrilled!

Car Games For Boys Online

Games undoubtedly are a great source of refreshment. And Spiderman video games are good video games to get refreshment. Young people are looking forward to games to begin with but swiftly lose interest. When you know it, they are begging you for yet another online game. Young children can become aware about trend and items of clothing in addition to body pieces, colors as well as learn about the surrounding planet while playing this zero cost dress up games. And most of these are available without cost. Online flash games will be the answer for every generation. Online flash games with regard to talented children are a smart way to master through play. It might look like they're just spending more hours enjoying video gaming, but the ones within this list are designed like that. It really is an unfortunate truth that on the net gaming requires tolerating the remarkable volume with bad manners, vulgarity, weak sportsmanship, along with simply old awful manners. Several online game areas tend to be a little more mature than others, although anyone can generally count on this specific type of misbehavior throughout simply regarding each and every multiplayer video game you appear across. I recognize that people are usually basically private on the internet, and some people could get quite sentimentally involved within the particular competition, although that is definitely simply no cause to be able to chuck away any semblance of respect or decency. I've set with each other a couple of pointers on good on-line video gaming etiquette, however I believe the actual worst type of offenders aren't most likely to receive notice. Play Sensible Disloyal and applying exploits is actually a great admission which you are unable to succeed without having them. Additionally, you'll find succeeding a considerable fight considerably more worthwhile. In the event that winning is definitely crucial to you, maintain just practising and also understand from what successful participants are usually undertaking. Must the actual opposition confirm to become far too much for you, finding a diverse online game can be a greater answer than cheating. Always be A Good Sport Laughing at conquered competitors, bragging with regards to your success, overdoing it along with taunts in addition to emotes, almost all help to make you look childish. The actual fact is, actually kids should understand far better. A good proper emote used during the right point in time is often a stunning factor, yet whenever it accompanies just about every encounter inside the game, it becomes into that much far more mindless spam, which brings us all to our next guideline. Do not Spam You really never have to smash the particular chat system by using WTS mail messages in order to promote a great merchandise, or do you have to use every channel within the actual online game any time there can be a channel focused to business. If folks are not interested, echoing a message within conversation each and every 3 seconds just isn't likely that will switch that. Hang on a minute or 2, and also perhaps you'll start to get through into a brand new target market. Give up All of us the actual Caps Lock come on men and women, this can be a no-brainer that has been close to since the start of the Net - don't employ almost all capital letters inside chat. It can be the wording equivalent with yelling at anyone, along with no person would like to get yelled at. You Were a Noob Too No person may select up a brand new game and instantly get familiar themselves along with most of its technicalities as well as particulars. Right now there are generally heaps of acronyms and slang special to each and every video game, and it is really absurd to be expecting people to recognise these kinds of elements with no somewhat assistance from some other people. Somebody once stated to you exactly what had been occurring, currently you may accomplish the exact same, instead than basically showing these individuals they really are "noobs" plus departing it at that. A Little Teamwork, Please Whenever you might be part of the group, try to cooperate with your current teammates a little. Rambo-style gameplay hardly ever pays off within a team-oriented video game, therefore you should not assume your current teammates to get right behind you when you go kamakazi directly into a gauntlet of opponents. Likewise keep in thought process that essentially winning the actual match is definitely far more necessary compared to being at the top of the scoreboard. You should not Be a Quitter It can be amazing just how often individuals may detach not having a word when there're losing, as well as drop out as soon as their own group come across a problem. In case you do not feel you could succeed, surrender. Whenever your current instance run is just not proceeding effectively, attempt to work it out politely as well as give a good number of pleasant advice. At situations while your own team seriously isn't up for the task, explain the problem to other people without insulting all of them. You under no circumstances recognize what exactly type of answers people may come up with right up until you provide all of them a chance. Not really Every person Who Is victorious Is a Cheater Simply just for the reason that a different participant eliminates you a several times really does not indicate that there're cheating. As very good as you may perhaps think you are at any video game, right now there usually are very likely a good deal of people that will be just as excellent or much better than you are. If you are as hot as almost all that, then begin trying to play professionally in LAN competitions exactly where there is no manner to gain a advantage. If you are just about certain that another person is cheating, report these individuals to an admin and also allow them take a look at instead than throwing about accusations you won't be able to back up. Camping out Is usually a Lame Approach Although many game titles promote it, camping spawn details and corpses is usually commonly a dull strategy. In several scenarios it's only possible due to the fact of problematic game design and style, although it's still a poor approach that people with any self-respect do not resort to. Overlook Insults Whenever someone insults you, your greatest alternative is to disregard them. In the event the insults go on, many chat and voice models include 'ignore' functions to guarantee that further communications coming from these folks are generally obstructed. Returning the insults generally just escalates the exchange into a little something you will regret later on. Enjoy the Video game Video games usually are meant to be enjoyable, and if you cannot chuckle it off when issues go drastically wrong, or forgive a team associate for screwing up, and then maybe it's occasion for a break. Many of us have enough anxiety in our lifestyles, we really don't genuinely care to add a lot of video gaming tension to that. Once you start taking it too seriously, it defeats the reason for playing a video game in the first place.

Car Games For Boys Online

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New Post has been published on Webpostingpro

New Post has been published on https://webpostingpro.com/dit-model-krijgt-2-000-euro-elke-keer-ze-iets-op-instagram-post/

Dit model krijgt 2.000 euro elke keer ze iets op Instagram post.

Meer dan drie miljoen volgers heeft ze op Instagram en dat legt Rosanna Arkle (28) geen windeieren. Het model uit Nieuw-Zeeland incasseert ruim 2.000 euro elke keer ze iets put up en daar heeft ze onder meer al een prachtige villa van gekocht. Geïntrigeerd? Dan heeft ze enkele pointers voor jou. Eerlijk gezegd: Arkle had wel al enige bekendheid toen ze haar entree maakte op sociale media. Zo stond ze onder meer al in Playboy en Sports activities Illustrated en nam ze deel aan een realityprogramma over inwoners van Nieuw-Zeeland die hun geluk beproeven in Australië.

Maar het turned into een eenvoudige foto van het model in een grijze onesie die haar in amper 24 uur van six hundred.000 naar meer dan een miljoen volgers bracht en daarna ging het pijlsnel.

Adverteerders

En met de Folgers women de aanbiedingen van advert orders. Intussen is ze regulating tie in op foto’s Terrill ze proteïneshakes of Fiji water drink, of hair tended Bleeker. “Het hat er echt van of shoe heel Folgers be heated om te beat hoe veil he ran dragon door Een foto op Instagram. Standaard is 0,7 euro in keeping with 1.000 Folgers op elke sponsored post”, vert et ze. (fees hereunder order

Quick Tips to Build Your Brand Using Instagram

Social media is the new medium for emblem constructing. Businesses which can be the use of this as a platform for their logo’s voice are gaining extra visibility and quickly. This is why social networks must be one of the core tools being used on your online recognition control. Nearby Seo Organizations are already the usage of it as part of their offerings for branding businesses. If you do not know where to begin, take into account consulting with one.

Why Use Instagram?

There are various social media networks available that you can use as a platform to your business enterprise. Why select one over another? The first step is to decide whether it’s in which your audience hangs out lots. Next, you have to pick out whether or not or now not you’re capable of creating applicable content for that unique web page. This is in which a few agencies fall off, due to the fact they lack creativity.

Instagram is a visual platform, so it requires content in the form of video and pics. There are clever approaches you may make this form of content material match your business and target audience. This is additionally in which hiring one of the fine Neighborhood Search engine optimization Businesses can are available accessible. Their experts can conjure up ways to create content so that it will draw to your specific audience.

Now, what is the purpose for the use of Instagram?

For one, it has over 600 million customers around the sector. Sincerely, you’ve got a small percent of this pie it truly is made of your goal customer. In step with different stats, over three hundred million human beings are using the platform on an everyday basis.

The brands which have already begun using this platform are witnessing high quantities of person engagement. Numbers from Forrester Research display a 2.3 percentage in line with-follower engagement charge. That is plenty better than Fb’s zero.2 percentage Twitter’s zero.02 percentage rates.

Steps to Branding Yourself On Instagram

Optimistically, this helped capture your interest and preference to provide Instagram a try. What have you got to lose besides? you can rent a Search engine optimization organization to design an approach to make sure your launch in this network is surprising.

Right here’s what you need to do to get your enterprise noticed on Instagram:

Create your posts using your computing device. Why? Because it’s faster and simpler. Plus, That is in which all of your scheduling gear will be, which makes it easier to put in force.

Report content material posted through others. One has a look at accomplished by way of Crowdtap suggests that people trust consumer-generated content material extra. also, person-generated posts are 50 percentage extra sincere and 35 percent greater memorable. You should upload your own caption, so your essence is implemented into the publishing. don’t forget your gallery’s topic. This could rely on the kind of industry you’re in and the point of interest of your social media method. It is able to be a combination of enterprise images, topic-related pictures, person-generated images and so forth.

Set aside time to do every task to prevent multi-tasking. Research carried out with the aid of a professor from NYU shows that multi-tasking reduces your recognition and productivity. That is due to the fact your mind has to always switch backward and forward from one project to the opposite. Schedule time for posting and scheduling and yet again for engaging and commenting on posts.

Increase content material earlier. This can assist unfastened up a while to recognition on enticing with content and customers. you could also rent a Nearby Seo organization that may do all of the introduction and publishing for you.

Use the equal filters and edits for most or all of your posts to offer consistency.

Why Self-Esteem Is Important for a Model

We talk approximately how modeling can assist to boost one’s  and on the equal time what you may do to come out of the shell of insecurity and worry.

Whilst you Begin Getting Jobs

The whole thing seems like a scam and an evil plot against you until your modeling employer helps you to Begin acquiring jobs. Your self-belief skyrockets when the roles are obtained with credible clients or even greater so whilst they may be jobs that match your interests and likes. Modeling is a really effective shape of labor that could create confidence for your appearance and skin that few other jobs or careers can.

Beyond getting paid on your paintings, you also get your work published and marketed through courses, and mass media channels consisting of Tv on Print advertisements. This means you accumulate acknowledgments and also you as a consequence feeling desirable in your skin as nicely.

Modeling Can Play Tricks along with your Mind

While you see other fashions around you, you could begin to surprise, am I supposed to be that skinny? Have to I have actually 0 body fats so that it will be considered a model? properly if you have been imagined to be as skinny as a stick your modeling organization would not have well-known you for his or her work in the first place. If they do want you to alternate your weight in a drastic manner all you need to do is surely say no and discover every other modeling organization. Do no longer take recommendation out of your imagination, or from extreme humans. Be in a lean and fit frame and handiest work in jobs that healthy your herbal size and body. As a way to come up with the maximum career and intellectual pleasure you need.

Workout Right, Sleep Right, Eat Proper and Stay Proper

Drop the capsules and pills. What you want are herbal and natural methods to maintain your beauty and fitness in a test. Do not fall prey to consumerism schemes and truly by no means into excessive measures which include starving yourself. thin does not same stunning. You ought to be in your herbal frame size that suits you and your appearance, and most of the times that is obtained truly with the aid of normal Exercise and ingesting proper meals and avoiding speedy and fried food.

Modeling businesses in recent times are interested in a colorful character and a wholesome appearance this is marketable, not a pale looking stick determine. Remove misconceptions and prioritize your fitness above whatever else!

Rules of Netiquette – Tips for Communicating on the Internet

Netiquette is the fast shape of write built-ring network etiquette or integrated etiquette. Netiquette can built-in be built-indef built integrated because the practice of precise conduct or the acceptable manner of built-integrated at the built-internet integrates. It’s far a fixed of social conventions that facilitate interplay at the built-in. This type of etiquette covers no longer handiest ways to built-intabuiltintegrated civility built-in on line discussions, but additionally built-intips specific to the use of social media and emails. In a nutshell, netiquette is etiquette for the built-in. Netiquette is the practice of excellent behaviors – beintegratedg respectful and helpful, bebuilt-ing disciplintegrateded and not competitive, and be built-in mindful of the truth that different built-internet integrated customers may not have the same view with you on a few problems. This online code of conduct could be very vital due to the fact there’s no body language or facial features to help us understand some other person, as there’s integrated face to face built-in.

Disciplintegrateded and not competitive, and be built-in mindful of the truth that different built-internet integrated customers may not have the same view with you on a few problems. This online code of conduct could be very vital due to the fact there’s no body language or facial features to help us understand some other person, as there’s integrated face to face built-in.

The records of netiquette dates returned to the early

Days of the built-in net. A man got here up with the idea of built-ing to be satisfactory integrate to humans over the integrated due to the fact they couldn’t see his facial expressions. built-integrated netiquette is built-in etiquette, built-internet integrated customers ought to adhere to the built-in or policies integrated built-in an effort to assist them to attach and communicate better with others. The excellent manner to excel integrated any location is to recognize the built-in govern integrate dig such a place. To be a respectful person who respects others at the built-internet integrates, I want to share with you a few recommendations that will help you to speak properly on the built-internet integrates and no longer be one who breaks the rules.

Be Jones integrated

Impersonation or integrated cheat built-ingsintegrated on-line will no longer handiest integrated your popularity, however, can land you integrated huge problem. Honesty is a way of existence and have to now not be ignored when you are the usage ofintegrated the built-internetintegrated. Desist from scams built-in and spam built-in people!

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Yes, You Need the Track Workout

New Post has been published on http://www.greggsdiabetes.com/yes-you-need-the-track-workout/

Yes, You Need the Track Workout

If you’re fortunate enough to run regularly on forest trails or beachside promenades, the allure of swapping those scenic routes for a track workout is likely lost on you. Yes, this country does have some seriously inspiring track setups, but can doing laps around a 400-meter rubber oval actually be rewarding?

In one word: “Absolutely,” says Julia Lucas, a coach at the New York City installment of the Nike+ Run Club.

She would know. Following a successful collegiate running career at North Carolina State University, Lucas competed as a professional track and field athlete for the prestigious Oregon Track Club Elite. Her personal bests include 15:08 for the 5K and 4:05 in the 1,500 meters. In other words, Lucas became rather proficient at the whole doing laps around a 400-meter rubber oval thing.

Since she retired from elite-level competition two years ago, Lucas has dedicated her time to helping others become faster, more efficient runners. She’d be the first to tell you that track workouts are an essential part of that process.

We asked Lucas to impart some of her wisdom about her love for the track and how to use it to train.

#1. It’ll Elevate Your Running

Working out on a track instills a sense of purpose, because it’s a space specifically designed for running competitions. As Lucas puts it, the track “takes running from fitness to a sport.”

“When you’re running in a forest and getting lost in your thoughts, that’s great,” she says. “But when you’re running on a track, the confines of those lanes create a certain intensity. I love to see athletes come alive on the track.”

#2. Intervals Rule

Broadly speaking, a typical track workout will involve shorter, vigorous efforts of speed work, interspersed with brief recovery periods. Depending on your training objective, the faster “interval” segments of the workout can be as long as one or two miles (four and eight laps around a standard track, respectively) to as short as 100 meters (one-fourth of one lap). While the details of every workout—speed, recovery time, and number of reps—will change according to your day’s objective, the overarching goals remain the same. Track workouts, and really any interval workouts, condition your body to become more efficient at working hard in an oxygen-depleted state.

Quick primer on that front: Whenever you engage in the kind of vigorous exercise that causes you to be out of breath, be it anything from jumping jacks to sprints, you enter an “anaerobic” state where the energy demands you’re placing on your muscles outpace your body’s ability to deliver oxygen to those muscles. This causes your body to produce lactic acid, which helps facilitate the breakdown of glucose to generate energy.

But our bodies can adapt to sustaining higher-intensity efforts over time and become faster, stronger, and more resilient as a result of that training. That’s where the track workouts really make their mark. “Part of the goal of a track session is to teach your body to handle lactic acid better,” says Lucas. “That means cleaning it up faster, dealing better with the flood of lactic acid that leads to the knock-kneed and numb-leg feeling.” If you teach your body to manage lactic acid, you’re essentially teaching it to fight fatigue so you can go harder for longer.

In addition to pushing (and redefining) your fitness limits, running hard on a track requires you to open your stride much more than you would on an easy five-miler. A longer stride increases your range of motion and engages underdeveloped muscles, which helps build power and speed.

“To run fast, you are really asking all the supportive muscles, all the tiny muscles, to come alive. You are recruiting secondary muscles to help you become the most multidimensional, powerful, fluid, and graceful athlete that you can become,” says Lucas.

#3. Go Easy on the Warm-Up

To properly prep your body for the workload waiting for it on the track, you need to do an extensive warm-up. According to Lucas, it’s nearly impossible to spend too much time on this phase. “You’re communicating to your body that you are going to be asking something of it shortly, and you want it to be ready,” she says. If you forego this phase and jump right into intense speed work, you’re at much greater risk for muscle pulls and strains.

Begin with a slow jog for a lap or two around the track before eventually incorporating light plyometric exercises, like skips or high knees, to increase your range of motion. “The primary purpose of stretching before a workout is not to get more flexible,” says Lucas. “It’s to infuse those muscles with blood, literally warm them, and prepare them.” For that reason, choose dynamic over static stretching.

After you’re sweaty from the warm-up, you can tackle your workout. But even then, don’t expect your first few intervals to be as fast or as strong as the bulk of your workout. You’re still cueing your body on how it will have to perform.

#4. Know Proper Etiquette

Manners mean a lot on the track. During those workouts, you’ll almost certainly be sharing limited space with a number of other athletes, many of whom might be moving at high speeds.Unlike those long trail runs, where your mind may wander to lunch plans or ex-lovers, track running requires total focus—on both the workout and your surroundings.

Most runners prefer to do their workout in lane one (the inside lap), because a lap in that lane is exactly 400 meters, or a quarter-mile. The distance slightly increases as you move to the outside lanes, assuming the same starting point. (Technically, one lap is about 2.5 yards shy of a quarter-mile, so a mile equals four laps plus ten yards. Some tracks will denote an official mile start, which will be set back ten yards from the common finish line.)

For that reason, when a lot of people are sharing the track, lane one should be used only by those who actually need it. When doing an interval workout, use the inside lane for your high-intensity efforts but recover in one of the outside lanes, or step off the track altogether.

If you’re running hard in lane one and someone is tailing you, it’s considered good form to briefly cede the inside lane so that person can pass you on the inside. That runner might scream, “TRACK!” which is universal shorthand for: “Excuse me for bothering you. I know you’re running hard, but I’m coming up behind you and would be eternally grateful if you could momentarily move into lane two so as to allow me to pass. Thank you.”

3 Kickass Track Workouts

All track workouts are malleable in that you can adjust factors like distance, rest periods, and degree of effort to align with your training goals and fitness level. That’s certainly true of the following three basic track workouts that Lucas recommendsas a foundation for those who are looking to get into interval training.

#1. Four to eight repeats of 400 meters with one to three minutes rest between each.

“This one is great for lactic ‘buffering’ or ‘clearing.’ You cause a huge amount of lactic acid to pour into your legs, and when you stop, your body has to learn to clean it up really quickly. Great for shorter races like a 5K or teaching your body how to run fast sprints followed by periods of rest, like in a soccer game.” —J.L.

The goal of this workout, especially for beginners, is not to be overly concerned with a specific pace, but rather to learn to evenly disperse your effort between the intervals. Record your time for each 400, and look to maintain the same pace, or get slightly faster with each rep. You should be tired when you’re finished, but not to the extent that you can’t walk back to your car or jog home.

#2. Hollow Laps: Between two and eight laps of running hard on the straightaways and easy on the turns.

“Hollow laps are more about lactic toleration—teaching your body not to go into total shutdown mode when you get that lactic flood that often comes in the form of a knock-kneed feeling after running fast. This workout is a helpful speed element to accompany training for longer races, because in longer races, you’ll be running through a lot of lactic acid, and you need to learn to keep going.” —J.L.

With this one, you change up the pace every 100 meters. The difference can be dramatic—taking the curves very slowly, and then almost sprinting the straightaways. Or it can be more “wavelike”—not going as hard on the straights but maintaining a healthy pace on the turns. These two versions of the workout will achieve different things. The abrupt stop-and-start approach will cause a flood of lactic acid and a flood of adaptation during the rest period (like with the 400-meter workout, above), whereas a more subtle change in pace will do more to teach your body to run through lactic acid and recover on the go.

#3. The Ladder: A gradual decrease in distance and increase in effort—800, 400, 200, 100, with one to two minutes of rest between each rep.

“Every athlete on the track does ladders, from the high school to the professional level. They teach you to how to finish runs fast. You always want to have a little gas left so you can finish hard with a kick. A ladder is about understanding how you have more left than you think you do.” —J.L.

This one is a great workout to become familiar with the feeling of “shifting gears” and adjusting your speed, depending on the interval length. Once you become comfortable running a downward ladder, you can play with options like climbing back up again: for example, run 800, 400, 200, 100, followed by 100, 200, 400, 800. Climbing down and back up will force you to be even more economical with your effort to keep some reserves in the tank for that final half-mile.

Original Article

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New Post has been published on Webpostingpro

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Dit model krijgt 2.000 euro elke keer ze iets op Instagram post.

Meer dan drie miljoen volgers heeft ze op Instagram en dat legt Rosanna Arkle (28) geen windeieren. Het model uit Nieuw-Zeeland incasseert ruim 2.000 euro elke keer ze iets put up en daar heeft ze onder meer al een prachtige villa van gekocht. Geïntrigeerd? Dan heeft ze enkele pointers voor jou. Eerlijk gezegd: Arkle had wel al enige bekendheid toen ze haar entree maakte op sociale media. Zo stond ze onder meer al in Playboy en Sports activities Illustrated en nam ze deel aan een realityprogramma over inwoners van Nieuw-Zeeland die hun geluk beproeven in Australië.

Maar het turned into een eenvoudige foto van het model in een grijze onesie die haar in amper 24 uur van six hundred.000 naar meer dan een miljoen volgers bracht en daarna ging het pijlsnel.

Adverteerders

En met de Folgers women de aanbiedingen van advert orders. Intussen is ze regulating tie in op foto’s Terrill ze proteïneshakes of Fiji water drink, of hair tended Bleeker. “Het hat er echt van of shoe heel Folgers be heated om te beat hoe veil he ran dragon door Een foto op Instagram. Standaard is 0,7 euro in keeping with 1.000 Folgers op elke sponsored post”, vert et ze. (fees hereunder order

Quick Tips to Build Your Brand Using Instagram

Social media is the new medium for emblem constructing. Businesses which can be the use of this as a platform for their logo’s voice are gaining extra visibility and quickly. This is why social networks must be one of the core tools being used on your online recognition control. Nearby Seo Organizations are already the usage of it as part of their offerings for branding businesses. If you do not know where to begin, take into account consulting with one.

Why Use Instagram?

There are various social media networks available that you can use as a platform to your business enterprise. Why select one over another? The first step is to decide whether it’s in which your audience hangs out lots. Next, you have to pick out whether or not or now not you’re capable of creating applicable content for that unique web page. This is in which a few agencies fall off, due to the fact they lack creativity.

Instagram is a visual platform, so it requires content in the form of video and pics. There are clever approaches you may make this form of content material match your business and target audience. This is additionally in which hiring one of the fine Neighborhood Search engine optimization Businesses can are available accessible. Their experts can conjure up ways to create content so that it will draw to your specific audience.

Now, what is the purpose for the use of Instagram?

For one, it has over 600 million customers around the sector. Sincerely, you’ve got a small percent of this pie it truly is made of your goal customer. In step with different stats, over three hundred million human beings are using the platform on an everyday basis.

The brands which have already begun using this platform are witnessing high quantities of person engagement. Numbers from Forrester Research display a 2.3 percentage in line with-follower engagement charge. That is plenty better than Fb’s zero.2 percentage Twitter’s zero.02 percentage rates.

Steps to Branding Yourself On Instagram

Optimistically, this helped capture your interest and preference to provide Instagram a try. What have you got to lose besides? you can rent a Search engine optimization organization to design an approach to make sure your launch in this network is surprising.

Right here’s what you need to do to get your enterprise noticed on Instagram:

Create your posts using your computing device. Why? Because it’s faster and simpler. Plus, That is in which all of your scheduling gear will be, which makes it easier to put in force.

Report content material posted through others. One has a look at accomplished by way of Crowdtap suggests that people trust consumer-generated content material extra. also, person-generated posts are 50 percentage extra sincere and 35 percent greater memorable. You should upload your own caption, so your essence is implemented into the publishing. don’t forget your gallery’s topic. This could rely on the kind of industry you’re in and the point of interest of your social media method. It is able to be a combination of enterprise images, topic-related pictures, person-generated images and so forth.

Set aside time to do every task to prevent multi-tasking. Research carried out with the aid of a professor from NYU shows that multi-tasking reduces your recognition and productivity. That is due to the fact your mind has to always switch backward and forward from one project to the opposite. Schedule time for posting and scheduling and yet again for engaging and commenting on posts.

Increase content material earlier. This can assist unfastened up a while to recognition on enticing with content and customers. you could also rent a Nearby Seo organization that may do all of the introduction and publishing for you.

Use the equal filters and edits for most or all of your posts to offer consistency.

Why Self-Esteem Is Important for a Model

We talk approximately how modeling can assist to boost one’s  and on the equal time what you may do to come out of the shell of insecurity and worry.

Whilst you Begin Getting Jobs

The whole thing seems like a scam and an evil plot against you until your modeling employer helps you to Begin acquiring jobs. Your self-belief skyrockets when the roles are obtained with credible clients or even greater so whilst they may be jobs that match your interests and likes. Modeling is a really effective shape of labor that could create confidence for your appearance and skin that few other jobs or careers can.

Beyond getting paid on your paintings, you also get your work published and marketed through courses, and mass media channels consisting of Tv on Print advertisements. This means you accumulate acknowledgments and also you as a consequence feeling desirable in your skin as nicely.

Modeling Can Play Tricks along with your Mind

While you see other fashions around you, you could begin to surprise, am I supposed to be that skinny? Have to I have actually 0 body fats so that it will be considered a model? properly if you have been imagined to be as skinny as a stick your modeling organization would not have well-known you for his or her work in the first place. If they do want you to alternate your weight in a drastic manner all you need to do is surely say no and discover every other modeling organization. Do no longer take recommendation out of your imagination, or from extreme humans. Be in a lean and fit frame and handiest work in jobs that healthy your herbal size and body. As a way to come up with the maximum career and intellectual pleasure you need.

Workout Right, Sleep Right, Eat Proper and Stay Proper

Drop the capsules and pills. What you want are herbal and natural methods to maintain your beauty and fitness in a test. Do not fall prey to consumerism schemes and truly by no means into excessive measures which include starving yourself. thin does not same stunning. You ought to be in your herbal frame size that suits you and your appearance, and most of the times that is obtained truly with the aid of normal Exercise and ingesting proper meals and avoiding speedy and fried food.

Modeling businesses in recent times are interested in a colorful character and a wholesome appearance this is marketable, not a pale looking stick determine. Remove misconceptions and prioritize your fitness above whatever else!

Rules of Netiquette – Tips for Communicating on the Internet

Netiquette is the fast shape of write built-ring network etiquette or integrated etiquette. Netiquette can built-in be built-indef built integrated because the practice of precise conduct or the acceptable manner of built-integrated at the built-internet integrates. It’s far a fixed of social conventions that facilitate interplay at the built-in. This type of etiquette covers no longer handiest ways to built-intabuiltintegrated civility built-in on line discussions, but additionally built-intips specific to the use of social media and emails. In a nutshell, netiquette is etiquette for the built-in. Netiquette is the practice of excellent behaviors – beintegratedg respectful and helpful, bebuilt-ing disciplintegrateded and not competitive, and be built-in mindful of the truth that different built-internet integrated customers may not have the same view with you on a few problems. This online code of conduct could be very vital due to the fact there’s no body language or facial features to help us understand some other person, as there’s integrated face to face built-in.

Disciplintegrateded and not competitive, and be built-in mindful of the truth that different built-internet integrated customers may not have the same view with you on a few problems. This online code of conduct could be very vital due to the fact there’s no body language or facial features to help us understand some other person, as there’s integrated face to face built-in.

The records of netiquette dates returned to the early

Days of the built-in net. A man got here up with the idea of built-ing to be satisfactory integrate to humans over the integrated due to the fact they couldn’t see his facial expressions. built-integrated netiquette is built-in etiquette, built-internet integrated customers ought to adhere to the built-in or policies integrated built-in an effort to assist them to attach and communicate better with others. The excellent manner to excel integrated any location is to recognize the built-in govern integrate dig such a place. To be a respectful person who respects others at the built-internet integrates, I want to share with you a few recommendations that will help you to speak properly on the built-internet integrates and no longer be one who breaks the rules.

Be Jones integrated

Impersonation or integrated cheat built-ingsintegrated on-line will no longer handiest integrated your popularity, however, can land you integrated huge problem. Honesty is a way of existence and have to now not be ignored when you are the usage ofintegrated the built-internetintegrated. Desist from scams built-in and spam built-in people!