athletes

Using Deception as a Sports Performance Enhancer: Liar, liar legs on fire? [New Research]

September 26, 2011

If you recall, this did not end well for me either. Lies I have told myself: – The sunglasses I bought for $10 in Mexico really are Oakleys. – If it’s on clearance then I have to buy it because it’s practically giving me money back. – No one will notice if my son isn’t wearing underwear because I forgot to change the laundry. – I’m only doing 4 Tabatas today. While believing the first three certainly haven’t done me any favors (it would have helped if my son had kept his mouth shut), according to new research reported in [...]

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Everything You Know About Stretching is Wrong

July 27, 2009

It’s inevitable – go to any starting line, fitness class or gym and you’ll find people in various stages of stretching. Almost always, people are stretching before their exercise. It’s what we were all taught by our elementary P.E. teachers, right? You gotta warm up those muscles so you don’t pull something! While my elementary school teachers taught me many important and useful things (one particular lesson that has stood the test of time in my memory was Mr. B telling us 5th graders to always run the water in the sink for a good 10 seconds after running the [...]

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Tennis Officials Call Serena Williams Ugly, Send Her to Back Courts

June 30, 2009

Quick, name this profession: long, slim, toned bodies poured into tight fitting – but adorable! – clothing and jumping around in front of a bevy of overeager photographers, magazine editors, and camera crews. Oh yeah, and there’s a lot of “grunting” involved (oh, the scandal!). Did you say modeling? Actually, it’s tennis. With East European beauties such as Maria Sharapova, Anna Kournikova and Elena Dementieva ruling the press coverage of the sport, one would think they must also be ruling the courts. Not so, say many tennis insiders. Often the best courts and play slots (and hence the better media [...]

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Athletic Models Should Look Athletic – Plus Giveaway!!! (And no, it’s not a model smart alecks.)

October 27, 2008

Girl 1: Ugh, do these stripes make my thighs look big? Quick, do the 3/4 Paris Hilton pose! Girl 2: Whatevs, you can totally see my ribs. That’s why I get to wear this teeeeeeny little bra. I just hope my girls don’t get showy.Girl 1: What I love is how it says “sportswear” and “workout” in really big letters despite the fact that we are doing nothing sporty nor working out.Girl 2: Wait – this isn’t a casting call for The Real World: Sweaty Gym?Girl 1: Just be glad we’re not working for Equinox. Now those girls have it [...]

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The Fastest Runner Doesn’t Win First Place in Nike Marathon

October 23, 2008

Um, oops. Some things should be self-evident. Like the fact that I run with an entourage consisting of very short people with runny noses and a propensity for whining should indicate that I am well versed in how babies are made. (Stranger at Trader Joe’s, sneering, “Don’t you know how those are made yet? Me: Why, don’t you? Are you looking for tips?) Something else that you would think would be self evident: the first person over the finish line (barring cheating) at a race is the winner. Not so, says the Nike Women’s Marathon. The largest women’s marathon in [...]

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Yellow Waterfalls by I.P. Freely (a.k.a. Steve Stenzel)

September 10, 2008

So a while ago I confessed my fascination with how athletes “take care of business” during an athletic competition. This fascintation generally takes the form of intrusive questions asked to anyone who will sit still long enough to listen to me. My friend and first-time triathlete P, upon being on the recieving end of my grilling, simply rolled his eyes and said, “What are you – a twelve year old boy?” Apparently, yes. And I finally found someone who is not only an accomplished triathlete and Ironman but is also as immature as I am. Possibly more so. (Yeah, I’m [...]

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Sleep Creep: Is Exercise the Reason for Your Midday Crash?

September 9, 2008

Exercise is often touted as the antidote to everything from depression to insomnia. “Take a brisk 10-minute walk on your lunch break and power through that glass ceiling!” magazines often advise (note to mags: What does one do about the sweat on one’s power suit? Because I’m not changing into my Lululemon and nikes for 10 minutes.) But what if it works against you? Gym buddy Allison made an interesting observation on the stretching mats (a.k.a. the mats of ill repute) the other day as we navigated the damp spots of other people’s bodily fluids in order to find a [...]

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Athletic Optimism

August 11, 2008

We’ve all had them. They read like the Best Of ESPN sports reel in our memories. They fill us with pride and awe and emotion and strength. And confidence. I’m talking about the good days. Not just the good days but the days when you are really on. Somehow you woke up with boundless energy, the sun is shining and everything in your body works as it should. You don’t just run, you are liquid lightening separating the clouds. You don’t just lift the iron, you almost throw it. It’s a perfect 10 stuck landing with no hop. It’s touching [...]

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Not Living Up To My Potential

August 5, 2008

“You’re not living up to your potential.” Those are probably the scariest words anyone has ever spoken to me. I’ve spent my entire life running as fast and as far as I can, trying to grasp that elusive goal. It seems like I should be able to do it – after all it is my potential – and yet I never quite get there. My teen years were a blur of trying to always be ten steps ahead of where I was. I couldn’t be thin enough or smart enough or fun enough to represent the real me. College was [...]

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The Backlash Against Dara Torres Begins

July 22, 2008

The Olympics haven’t even begun and yet Dara Torres, the 41-year-old mother and record-breaking five-time Olympic swimmer, seems to already be riding a falling star. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen Torres’ face and story on the TVs at the gym or the cover of a magazine or on every single health and fitness website, as of late. Her story, complete with YouTube videos and adorable chubby baby, has been told and retold to the point where I dare say she is the face of the U.S. Olympic swim team, dethroning the buff, talented and yet tragically [...]

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