Mapping Your News

We’ve all seen those commercials that tell us that our bodies are made up of a large percentage of water. And while it may be hard to believe, the reality is that water is the central force of life. We are told to drink several glasses of water during the day as a way to promote our overall health. Doctors and nutritionists recommend that we make a conscious effort to stay hydrated in order to stay in our best physical shape.

Water is important for the transportation of nutrients, the removal of waste products and the facilitation of digestion. It regulates body temperature through sweating and lubricates tissues and joints. Water is an important player in the function of many organs, glands and tissues.

Hydration is extremely important in daily life, regardless of physical activity. When intense athletic activity is added in, however, hydration becomes an even more vital issue.

Exercise causes us to sweat, meaning that our bodies lose water. When we lose water, our bodies are forced to work harder. Take this statistic for example – a loss of just one percent of body weight because of sweating is related to a significant drop in blood volume and an increased effort on the part of the heart. Dehydration is also a leading cause of cramps, dizziness, fatigue and heat stroke.  Read more...

For most Americans, the initial images that come to mind when one mentions sports are group athletics on a field. Football, baseball, and basketball are the holy trinity of sporting events States-side, but to Europeans, older and more traditional activities reign supreme.

Those in the United States might not understand the appeal of the race, but getting to know The Tour de France means starting to get excited about watching people on bicycles, too. For most amateur athletes, even a vague understanding of how fit one has to be to even consider making it to the end, let alone winning, is enough to give the race a little bit of time in between other television programming.

But make no mistake about it–rather than a simple leisurely bike ride through the countryside, The Tour de France is one grueling bike race, and the trials and tribulations of even making it to the finish are why it’s the most famous race in the entire world. Rides from all over the world are competing not just against one another, but also against the landscape, the conditions, and their own psyches. The three-week long race is broken into daily segments, with very little time for recovery from day to day.  Read more...

Unlike soccer, football, baseball, and even track and field, cycling is not necessarily the top attention or cash grabbing sport in the world today. In reality, most of us know very little – if anything – about the sport. The bicycle (the instrument of the cycler) is one of the most familiar items in the world. It, however, is recognized as a leisure and transportation tool. Many of us fail to think of the bicycle as the equipment a cycler uses in a heart-pumping competition. In recent years, figures such as Lance Armstrong have brought some attention to the sport. Nevertheless, it remains largely in the obscurity.

This lack of attention, however, is not due to lack of importance or lack of benefit. In fact, cycling is an extremely interesting sport to follow and a very healthy sport to practice.

The bike itself was invented as a means of transport. Beyond the function of getting riders from one place to another, it also serves as a primary piece of equipment in sport and athletics.  Read more...