Asphalt work requires an entire set of specialized skills and tools. In order to keep roads, driveways, and parking lots safe, attractive, and lasting, asphalt crews have to have what they need to do their jobs well. One of those most important pieces of asphalt equipment is the paving lute. In terms of asphalt work, a lute is a long, metal instrument rather like a rake, used to smooth out the surface of the asphalt after it’s poured. The lute is often a straight edge on one side and a serrated edge on the other, and the sides are used alternatively to spread and smooth the asphalt while it’s still malleable.

Lutes are simple tools, but it takes some know-how to discern which lute is best for which job, and how to use them right once you’ve chosen. Here are 5 tips for how to choose a lute for asphalt work.

1. Aluminum is fine, but magnesium is better. Although lutes have traditionally been made out of aluminum, some companies have recently gone to making them from magnesium. Magnesium is a slightly heavier, more durable, and somewhat more expensive choice for a paving lute, but most people now think that it’s worth the extra investment. Magensium lutes won’t turn your ands black over long periods of use like aluminum lutes will, and they seem to last longer and break less than their counterparts do.

2. Handle length is important. Your crew should really have several paving lutes of different lengths to choose from. Your skilled lute men won’t all be the same height, and will need lutes of different lengths. Also, different projects will require different reaches-that is, the distance a lute man has to reach across the pavement in order to smooth it properly. Some will require longer, some shorter, handle lengths on the lutes.

3. Handle weight matters. Lute men have to smooth out thick, viscous material made from rocks and rubber. They do this through repetitive casting of the lute and drawing it back, an action that works the muscles of the shoulders, arms, and back. A heavy handle can cause more strain on the lute man than is necessary. However, a heavier handle might be exactly what you need for certain types of surface material, especially if it’s very thick or requires a very long reach. You should stock several weights of handle and head for your lutes.

4. Width. For broad expanses of paving, a wider head on the lute will get more smoothing done in less time. However, for corners or tight areas of parking lots or driveways, a smaller lute with a narrower head might be the more appropriate tool.

5. Flexibility. Paving lutes often get twisted, turned, and pulled during asphalt work, with great amounts of pressure put on them due to the sticky nature of the asphalt. A flexible but strong lute can bend with the pressure so that it doesn’t break, yet still be solid enough to push against resistant material.

For such a simple, straightforward tool, a lute used for asphalt work has to be well-made, strong, and fitted for the job it does. If you have a seal coating business or asphalt crew, it’s a good idea to have several good lutes on hand, so your lute men always have what they need to get the job done.

Cardio exercises are a must when it comes to being fit or shedding fat, but that does not mean you do not have options. Cardio does a lot for your health in general, it increases your metabolism, burns fat, makes your heart and blood vessels healthier, decreases your blood pressure, increases your stamina, improves your sex life and the list goes on.

With all that I have stated doing the same thing day in day out might bore you so much that you could forget the benefits of cardio, so I’m going to give you other alternative ways to do your cardio that are not the traditional, steady pace jogging or cycling that everyone associates with cardio.

What most people think is that the longer you do an activity such as jogging the more you will get out of the workout, which is not true but may be true if you are talking about steady pace cardio. Doing something like jogging for a long distance is also time consuming and if you do too much cardio or too long of a distance you might find that it holds you back in terms of muscle gain, if that is what you are after.

How to get creative with your cardio:

First thing you can try is to change your traditional cardio workouts into more fast paced, interval sessions. What I mean is you can train in short intense intervals by timing yourself on a bike or treadmill and increasing the intensity in each interval. This would not require a lot of time and you would have one hell of a workout. In fact you will be burning calories long after you have worked out, but your time spent working out would be less than if you did the traditional steady pace stuff.

You could try doing sprints which is another form of interval training, running between cones. Taking short breaks and doing it again and increasing the distance and trying to run as fast as possible, short break again increasing the distance a little and go at it hard again, you get the idea. This would be a short intense and fun workout, obviously its short because it takes more effort and we can’t sprint for long distances or long periods of time. The cool thing with sprints is that you get the benefits of traditional cardio and you built lean muscular legs, you have noticed that sprinters are jacked compared to long distance runners.

Other cardio exercises you could try includes martial art such as MMA, Kick boxing, karate etc. You could also play sports if you have time such as soccer, tennis, hockey or any other high activity sport. You could try swimming if you love the water; swimming is one of the better forms of cardio since it has less impact on your body and joints because the water supports your body weight.

There are a lot of alternatives to traditional cardio, it’s up to you to find the ones that you like best, most of them are just fun and most people do not even know they are doing a cardio exercise. Just think of dancers they do cardio and have fun the same time. So go out there and find what works for you, no more excuses and no more boring cardio sessions.

When trying to get faster, bigger, and stronger for football, you need to use every weapon in your arsenal. Your football strength and speed training program needs to be excellent, your diet 90% on point (at least) and your mental training and football skill building all need to be constantly improving.

For those of you who fit this description, supplements can help. There are certain supplements that can help you get faster and stronger for football…if all the other factors are in place!

I’m always hesitant to talk about supplements for football training. While there is a short list of products that can really help your football training, they are not magic bullets. And, as any coach reading this will know, we’ve all had “the conversation:”

Player: Coach what supplements can I take to get bigger?

Coach: Well, what are you eating every day?

Player: Well, I had some cheerios, a Red Bull, a burger and a snickers bar today.

Coach:…head explodes.

So, before we get into the subject of how to use supplements to get faster and stronger for football at all, first realize that they are, as the name implies, supplements. As in, they supplement your normal eating, they don’t replace it. If you’re not eating correctly, start. Then, when you have that down, you can worry about supplements.

Second, some of the best supplements for football players are both very cheap and not very well hyped. It’s hard to justify rolling out a major ad campaign for a $5 bottle of something…that’s better saved for the $75+ bucket-o-worthless-chemicals.

When it comes to supplements to improve football ability both in the weight room and on the field, go:

Simple
Cheap
Effective
Know why you’re taking what you’re taking

Here are the Top 6 Supplements to help you get faster, bigger, stronger and more explosive for football.

1. Protein

Five of the 6 supplements in this list are what we consider “base supplements.” They’re not exciting, but they work and they are necessary. Protein powders being the base of the base.

Can you train without taking a protein shake? Yes, of course. But, why would you? I know some guys use this as a badge of being “hard core,” whatever the hell that is…but, really, do you want to be that guy sitting in the gym eating chicken out of a Pyrex bowl, stinking the place out?

Protein is excellent for football training, especially to high school and college players because it is so easily carried around. You can quickly drink it in the halls, on the way to class or at your locker. You can try, as I did in vain, to eat actual food in class, but, most teachers get mad when you pull out giant roast beef sandwiches (no, I don’t have enough for everyone, damnit)

It’s also very cheap. While it may seem that putting out $25 – 35 up front is expensive, the truth is most protein shakes, made at home with two scoops in water, come out to around $1.77. For 50+ grams of protein and minimal carbs and fat, that’s impossible to beat.

And, its ideal post workout. You train hard so get the nutrients into your system as quickly as possible. This helps you recover faster. Recover faster – train harder – get bigger, stronger and faster on the field. Simple.

But, let’s clear one thing up…protein is just food in liquid form. No more, no less. All the bells-and-whistles and marketing hype is just that. Don’t expect to start drinking a few shakes and wake up looking like Arnold.

Start off with two shakes per day. One between breakfast and lunch and one post workout. A lot of experts are suggesting you drink 1/3 pre workout, 1/3 during, and 1/3 of your shake after lifting. This is fine as long as your stomach can handle it. In the summer, it can be tough so test it out and see how you do. Your shake does no good for you if its coming out instead of going it.

Favorites around here are IronTek’s Whey, Muscle Milk, CytoSport Gainer, and Optimum’s 100% Whey

2. L-Tyrosine

L-Tyrosine is one of the most exciting supplements I’ve ever come across for football. It is an absolute life saver on those days where no matter what, you just can’t seem to get your brain right for the game. This isn’t a base supplement but it’s a staple around here. Most people have never even heard of this amino acid, so what’s the big deal?

Again, it’s tough to hype up a supplement that costs less than 10 bucks.

L-Tyrosine is a precursor to adrenaline and blocks the movement of Tryptophan (the stuff in Turkey that makes your fat uncles fall asleep after Thanksgiving dinner) across the brain. This gets you “up” without becoming jittery or cranked out like Ephedrine used to do.

This is huge for both training and football games. Combined with some caffeine it is an unbelievable pre-game/workout supplement…capable of waking you up, firing up the CNS and getting your brain right.

Don’t over use this stuff. Like everything else on Earth, the more you use it, the more the body adapts. In-season, save it for game day. In the weight room, save it for the big P.R. days.

About 45-mins pre lift or pre-game, take 3 – 4 L-Tyrosine caps. You can combine these with a caffeine tablet for maximum effect. You can also use one of Joe DeFranco’s “DeFranco Energy Bars,” if you need a pre-training meal, as these have a lot of quality protein and a nice dose of Tyrosine and caffeine.

3. ZMA

ZMA might be the most underrated supplement in the world when it comes to recovering from training. Studies have shown that athletes, especially football players, are deficient in magnesium. The harder you train, the more the minerals are burned up.

This can lead to poor sleep quality and achy joints.

By taking ZMA (Zinc, Magnesium and vitamin B6) you get a much more restful, deep sleep. This alone makes it almost anabolic in nature. Studies have shown that simply by supplementing with ZMA you can increase your testosterone levels.

You spend a ton of time training, lifting, running, practicing football – you have to balance that with an equal amount of recovery and there’s nothing better for recovery than sleep.

Biotest’s ZMA is probably the best out there, you should definitely go with that to start.

4. Caffeine

This one is tricky. If you’re under 18, I’d stay away from this one. I realize most high schoolers drink coffee and those femme latte-crap drinks, but, something about putting caffeine in pill form causes problems. Plus, you’re young, you should be wired through the roof anyway.

For the more mature football player, caffeine tablets can be a life saver. They get you focused, get the nervous system fired up, and wake you up. This is especially helpful after a long day of classes, work, or playing PS3.

Most guys just drink coffee but this can be problematic. Most convenience stores water down their brew to the point that you’re essentially drinking acidic, brown water. Even places like Startbucks and Dunkin Donuts can be inconsistent in how much caffeine per cup you’re getting.

Best bet is to but a bottle of caffeine tablets. They’re super cheap and safe. One tab is equal to a cup of coffee. And, all you need is one. They are much more potent than actually drinking your caffeine.

Take one tablet 45-minutes prior to a big workout, practice or game. Again, save it for the big ones…if you keep hammering away, it’ll lose it’s effectiveness. You should take a week off of caffeine every 8-weeks or so. That means completely; no tablets, no coffee, no diet soda. If you are really suffering during that week then you’ve been over-relying on the stuff.

If you really want to have a huge day, combine one caffeine tablet with 3 – 4 L-Tyrosine tabs. If you can, drink this down and take a very short nap (15-minutes). As you wake up, the cocktail will start kicking in and by the time you hit the gym or the field you’ll be ready to kill.

5. Fish Oil

This is another base supplement and something about it just bores the hell out of most football players.

Who cares about heart health? Don’t you know high school football players are Unbreakable like Bruce Willis?

Even if we put the heart-health benefits aside, Fish Oil is still extremely useful for football because of it’s anti-inflammatory properties. Every time you lift, every time you practice, and especially when you play a game, you are creating inflammation. The longer you stay this way, the longer you’re sore, tight, and unable to train at 100%. The quicker you squash inflammation, the faster you can get back to training or the field at full strength. This alone is invaluable.

Back when I played in High School, I was much stronger than anyone, setting school records by my junior year. Everyone would break my chops and ask what special supplements I was taking, steroids I was jabbing in my butt, or some special creatine water I’d drink. Truth is, and this is disappointing to most people, that I got that way because I was absolutely obsessed with recovery. I’d go crazy to sleep extra, eat right and kill inflammation as quickly as possible. Because of this, I could train more than everyone.

Think about that next time you have an extra 20-bills in your pocket. Are you going to buy some faux testosterone pill and pee out your money or are you going to do the smart thing, make the boring choice and get some Fish Oil so you can recover faster and train harder than everyone?

6. Multi Vitamin & Mineral

Another boring, base supplement that is absolutely indispensable. If you want to perform at the highest possible level, every cell in your system has to be functioning properly. Taking a good multi vitamin & mineral can help ensure that your body is replacing the nutrients that your burning up in your training. And, despite what most know-it-alls will tell you, you do need extra vitamins and minerals. Maybe the average American fat-ass who sits on the couch playing video games doesn’t need them, but, a football player does.

Even if you eat a ton of different protein foods and “eat the rainbow” in vegetables, there’s no way you’re getting in all the minerals you need. The fact that most football players are woefully deficient in magnesium, zinc and copper should tell you why you need to supplement.

But, you have to get a good product. Taking Centrum will get you no where. A good multi product will require you to take 2 – 3 pills per day to get the full dose. Take one with breakfast, one pre-workout, and one at night. This ensures that you get a nice, steady flow of nutrients and you replace anything you lose quickly.

Among the many sports that man has ever played, perhaps, bowling is the most popular among all. With over 50 million players in the United States alone, bowling is definitely one sport that is a cut above the rest.

Among the many reasons this particular sport has remained at top of is the fact that it is a highly flexible sport. It promotes easy adjustment methods that are why many children and adults alike can take part in this remarkable game.

About 95% of bowlers consider bowling as a sport that can be exploited as a recreation, a form of relaxation, a societal factor, and a competitive nature as far as sportsmanship is concerned.

The simplicity of the game contributes to its adaptability. Because its rules are easier to understand, more and more people are engaging in this sport, not because of competition but basically because they want to enjoy the time with their friends or family.

With all these advantages, many people are still not aware of the health benefits that bowling can provide. They just thought that the activity could promote physical vigor and it stopped there. What they do not know is that the health benefits of bowling is more than just building stamina and releasing energy.

So for those who are not yet aware of these benefits, here is a list that you should know:

1. Promotes good muscle exercises

Merely walking along the lane, while attempting to make a strike or a spare, is enough to exercise the muscles in your legs. It resembles that of the “walking exercise” that most health buffs do; the only difference is that there is more weight involved. This is because in bowling, your hands are holding the bowling ball.

Consequently, as you swing around to hit the pins, the flexing and stretching provides adequate exercise for your tendons, joints, ligaments, and muscles in the arms.

2. Fat burning

As your muscles flex, turn, and twist in every swinging motion that you make while playing bowling, these moves can actually promote the burning of some accumulated body fat.

3. Builds friendships

One of the health benefits that can be derived in bowling is based on the kind of relationship that is being built with your friends or family. As some psychologists contend, building social relationships can actually promote better performance of the heart muscles. Emotional stress can shorten the lifespan of an average person.

Indeed, there can be no better or enjoyable way to live a healthy life than bowling can.

Amino acid products are becoming a very popular component of a boxing training program. Athletes of all shapes and sizes can make use of amino acids because they provide a huge range of benefits. They are of course natural compounds, and your body utilizes them in a near infinite amount of ways. Take a look at how you can benefit from them as a piece of your boxing training program.

When most people think about amino acid products they think about building muscle and strength, and this is true. Aminos are the building blocks of proteins, which are the building blocks of muscles. They are necessary for muscle repair, growth and recovery, and if you want to build new muscle mass you need to be ingesting enough amino acids.

As mentioned, most people realize that but what most people don’t necessary think about is that they make for excellent muscle recovery supplements. They will help your body repair your muscle mass in less time, allowing you to get back in the gym and back to training. You will also be able to prevent injuries from reoccurring, and you’ll notice less pain and nagging strains as well.

In addition to serving as muscle recovery supplements, they can also help to improve the strength of your entire frame. They target the bones, joints, ligaments and cartilage, providing an all-over boost to your strength and fitness. You will immediately notice the difference in your performance and what you’re capable of.

With amino acid products this is still really just the beginning. They can be used for just about anything. Some can actually serve as a natural energy booster, while other products and supplements can help your focus and concentration. You can find both complete amino acid products and those that offer or specialize in just one key amino acid. The most popular of these products are those focusing on L-Glutamine and L-Arginine.

It’s also important to realize that many of these are actually essential for your diet, which means that your body can’t produce them and therefore needs to ingest through through diet and supplementation. Therefore, using some of these products will enable you to meet all of your dietary needs, which can have a wide range of health benefits as well.

For a boxing training program, your body and your performance can reach entirely new levels as you take advantage of amino acid products. As muscle recovery supplements and in many other ways, they will increase the results that you see and keep you in action for more of the time with less pain and aggravation.

BPI Sports 1 MR is becoming a pretty popular sports supplement these days, but how do the ingredients compare to other sports supplements on the market. 1 MR claims to have three times the dose of other preworkout supplements like Jack3d, but does this really add up?

Is this supplement more of the same or something to be excited about?

1 MR contains a laundry list of ingredients that are packed into a 5.5g scoop. This makes it suspect that any one ingredient can have the desired potency. Additionally, there are only 28 scoops per bottle, making it much less of a value to other supplements like Jack3d and Anadraulic State GT. In fact, Anadraulic State GT has almost three times the active ingredients per scoop, which makes it a much better value.

1 MR contains L-Arginine Alpha Ketogluterate as its first ingredient, making it a NO based pump type product. This really doesn’t make it an effective creatine preworkout product, since you need 3-6g of creatine minimum to have a positive effect. Arginine AKG does have value as a NO potentiator, but NO products have been shown to not add to muscle mass or muscle size. Only higher doses of creatine can do that, NO products are really meant to help you look good after you do the basics.

If you are trying to gain size and mass, you need more creatine than 1MR provides per scoop. Even USP Jack3d has 1.5g per scoop and Anadraulic State GT has over 3g per scoop. Based on the ingredient order which is based on ingredient amount, 1 MR is estimated to only contain 500mg of creatine, meaning you would need 6 scoops to get the full serving of 3g per day. Jack3d contains an estimated 1.5g of creatine, meaning you would need only 2 scoops to reach the active dose I recommend while Anadraulic State GT contains 3g of creatine per scoop, meaning you get the full dose of creatine in 1 scoop.

All three formula’s contain Beta Alanine, which is a key ingredient for buffering lactic acid. As for stimulants, both Jack3d and 1 MR contain caffeine and 1,3 Dimethylamylamine, while Anadraulic State GT contains Synephrine and caffeine.

What’s missing from 1MR is simple carbohydrates, which are necessary for weight gain. Additionally, the formula doesn’t have any anabolic amino acids like Leucine or Hydrolyzed Amino Acids. These are used to build mass and strength. Leucine is the most anabolic amino acid out of them all and causes muscle growth and strength. Hydrolyzed amino acids are simply partially digested proteins that get almost immediately into the blood stream giving you an immediate pool of amino acids to build muscle.

1 MR does contain 300mg per serving of caffeine, making it nearly impossible in our opinion for anyone to take more than one scoop. Sure, caffeine will make you amped in the gym, but caffeine isn’t good for real muscle building and you wouldn’t want to take the more than one scoop. If you divided the 15 ingredients in 1 MR by a 5.5g scoop you get less than 400mg of any active ingredient. I am sure there are ingredients that are much higher than that, but the point is that you need more than 5.5g to build muscle.

You also need more than just stimulation in a preworkout to build muscle and 7 out of the 15 ingredients are used for stimulants in 1 MR, not for building size and gaining weight!

To build mass, you need both stimulation AND nutrients to get the most out of your pre-workout. 1 MR is light, in our estimation, on the nutrients and heavy on the stimulants. So, if all you want is to get wired, then it is great.

1 MR is a decent formula, but it doesn’t contain some key elements for muscle growth like enough creatine, anabolic amino acids and simple carbohydrates. As a NO product, it doesn’t have an arginase inhibitor, which make NO products active.

Preworkout formulas like Anadraulic State GT contain Leucine, a large dose of creatine and hydrolyzed amino acids, making it a better value for the money. I am sure that you probably get a huge stimulant effect from 1MR though, so if you value stimulation in the gym vs building mass then 1MR is for you. If you are more concerned with building mass then products like Anadraulic State GT or Jack3d are more your style.

So, it simply comes down to personal preference. If you want to get shaky and jittery in the gym and feel the highest stimulant possible, then 1 MR is for you. If you want to build more mass and gain more strength, then look to Anadraulic State GT. The choice is yours!

So you want to build muscle, work out and wonder if you can find the best legal steroid out there that’s available. Well you’re in luck because there are some legal steroids and the best legal steroid doesn’t even require a prescription in the United States.

Anabolic steroids are illegal due to the dangerous side effects. Liver toxicity, hormonal problems, steroid rage are all pretty bad things. Legal steroids however do not have those side effects, but do promote muscle growth just like a steroid. The best legal steroid I’ve heard about is Mesobolin or Tridenosen.

Mesobolin is the best legal steroid alternative. It is also a great replacement for anabolic steroids that have too many dangerous side effects. Mesobolin is a combination of two prescription only anabolic agents. One is derived from a plant that stimulates protein synthesis as good as the steroid Dianabol. The protein synthesis with Mesobolin is actually executed more quickly.

The new steroid on the block and one that is gaining fans in Europe and Australia is Tridenosen. It may be the best legal steroid out there because of all it does. It is not an anabolic steroid as it does not affect hormones with anabolic effects. Tridenosen has terrific retention properties and increases the production of natural hormones such as testosterone, growth hormone and others. It is anabolic, thermogenic, and increases blood supply to skeletal muscles. The main reason Tridenosen is amazing is the main component which is ATP or adenosine triphosphate. It provides high levels of cellular energy which in turn promotes a high amount of protein synthesis.

Before we get into a detailed analysis of the benefits and side-effects of creatine monohydrate, let us define what creatine actually is. Creatine is a natural substance, which is produced mainly in the liver and its main storage is in the muscle tissue, skeletal muscle and a minor percentage is located in other organs of the human body like the testicles. It is actually the result of a combination of three amino acids: glycine, methionine and arginine and it is transported via the blood circulation throughout the muscle cells.

An external source of creatine is our daily diet. Creatine was named after the Greek word creas, which means meat. As you understand, food that contains meat is a valuable source of creatine. However, other foods like fish, dairy or dry fruits are also rich in creatine.

Creatine as a supplement is to be found in different forms. Nevertheless, it’s most popular form between athletes and especially weightlifters and bodybuilders is creatine monohydrate. Monohydrate contains a high percentage of pure creatine and therefore it is much more effective and nutritionally valuable.

Benefits

Creatine monohydrate helps increase strength, endurance and muscle mass. In most athletes the results are almost immediate and reports indicate that a 10% of strength increase is possible in the first couple of weeks.

Side Effects

Scientific research over the last years showed that creatine doesn’t cause any serious side-effects. However, overdose can lead to various complications such as kidney or liver dysfunctions. It is also recommended that people with allergies should avoid creatine.

Creatine monohydrate intake should be accompanied with plenty of water intake. This supplement withholds water inside the muscle cells. So keeping your body sufficiently hydrated during the day is important in order to avoid potential complications like dehydration.

Unlike other supplements in taking the right dosage of creatine monohydrate is very critical. Normally, you will start with a “filling” period of one week, where you will take 20 grams daily. In the second stage, which is called “maintenance phase” you will take five grams a day. The whole cycle will not last more than four to six weeks. After that a “pause period” of one or two months must follow. The exact dosage guideline can vary between different brands, but the general rule is pretty much the same.

Unfortunately creatine got a bad reputation. Many people wrongly connect it with steroids. Such a statement is actually totally ridiculous if you take into consideration all the above written in addition to all the scientific studies regarding creatine.

Keep those muscles pumping!

Think about the last time you started a physical activity, one using muscles you had not used much before. You started out feeling fine, but the next day, you were sore. Those muscles were protesting their initial use. But you enjoyed the activity, so you continued to use those muscles. And gradually or quickly, the strain decreased, the muscles grew stronger, and you were able to do more.

Writing is like a muscle because writing involves many developing many skills — from understanding grammar to understanding purpose and audience — skills that need practice in order for you, the writer, to become proficient. When you start writing, your writing muscles are unaccustomed to that activity, so you ache afterwards. This ache could translate into over critical evaluations of the work produced (probably valid), unfulfilled expectations that the writing would be easier than it actually was, or frustration that the activity took so much more time than expected with much less produced than hoped for.

IN THE BEGINNING, YOUR RESULTS ARE AWFUL

Lew Hunter talks of “training-wheel screenplays”: those first four or five screenplays that are truly awful but that you need to write in order to learn enough to write a fairly good script. These first scripts should never be shown to anyone because they are embarrassing.

Every writer has a time of producing training-wheel material, whether short stories or novels, articles or books, or short stories or novels; however, we are so proud of our accomplishment — we actually finished something — that we show it to everyone. Most readers are polite, perhaps even encouraging (mothers can be like that); some will say, “It needs work.” That is all part of building the writing muscles.

Realize that practice is essential to building muscle. That practice takes time and effort, focus and concentration, and much patience on your part. You must allow yourself time to grow those skills and confidence to the next level. Proficiency only comes with much dedicated practice and focused effort.

Refrain from too much self-criticism at the beginning stages of your development. Do not become discouraged at your first feeble attempts at your craft. We all start out as poor writers; with practice, we become better writers. Eventually, we can become professional writers, if that desire is strong enough.

Do not make the mistake I did. In my early writing career, when I was trying to decide the genres to focus on, I would write something and send it out. The rejection came back with boomerang swiftness. With each rejection, I would jump to another type of writing, figuring that rejection indicated my talent for the genre. The result was that I never stayed with any one kind of writing long enough to become proficient in it.

I finally realized that all this jumping around was not the best course of action, so I chose a few types of writing that I had enjoyed (writing books, writing about travel and writing, writing screenplays) and focused on developing those muscles (skills) specific to each type of writing. Eventually I became good enough to be published or to win awards, but I worked hard, spending a lot of time and effort to reach that point of proficiency.

One benefit of all that jumping around was that I learned about many types of writing, and I learned to write better out of sheer practice of writing. Writing is always good practice for better writing, no matter the genre you write.

PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE

The more you exercise that writing muscle, the stronger it becomes. The more writing practice you put in, the better writer you will become. The stronger the muscle becomes, the more you will be able to perform more complicated, challenging tasks. You will feel confident at tackling larger and more complicated projects. So you can move from writing short blog posts to short 10 page e-books and eventually to writing 100 to 200 page book manuscripts.

The old adage is true: “practice makes perfect.” For writing, since no writing is ever perfect (a topic for another article), we will amend the adage to “practice makes improvement.”

Exercising the writing muscles is hard work, at least at first, but the whole process does become easier — with practice. The key to success is constant, daily (or as often as possible) writing. And write projects that really spark your interest, so you can sustain your writing efforts through the frustrating times.

Granted, some people do hit success with their first attempt at a genre, but most of us need that practice before we are good enough to be recognized for our accomplishments.

EVENTUALLY, YOU BECOME A PROFICIENT WRITER

As you become a better writer, you will find other writers who agree to read and critique your efforts (I am not talking about your mother or close friends or relatives, unless they are truly qualified). You may join a writing group, or you may just find friends who are also good writers.

As your writing is critiqued by these qualified readers, you will learn even more, especially about those issues particular to your writing — your “favorite” grammar errors or lazy ways you put words and sentences together. You will learn to tighten your writing. You will learn techniques to create better ideas and better ways to express those ideas.

Regardless of the pain and frustration of building up your writing muscle, trudge on. Continue to write; play with different types of writing; play with writing for different audiences and age groups; eventually, you will stumble upon your best fit for your writing. Actually writing is the only way you will achieve that level of proficiency so that your writing is taken seriously.

To get to that level, practice writing– stretching the writing muscle is essential. Write in a journal or write a blog about your hobby or passion. Write novels and stories and screenplays for you alone as the audience. But write. And then write some more.

Keeping in Shape with Wrestling Drills

As with any sport, it’s important for wrestlers to perform a series of wrestling drills to keep them in their finest form on and off the mat. Since wrestling is a sport that requires brute force and agility, the repetition of these drills not only builds strength in the necessary areas, but also helps to build muscle memory which can be essential in winning wrestling matches. Try these wrestling drills during practices or as a part of the pregame warm-up.

Aim for the Knees

First, here’s a drill called “Knee Grab” that’s appropriate for wrestlers of all ages. To begin, two wrestlers of comparable strengths stand facing each other in their regular stances. Both wrestlers should have their hands facing downwards and extended out near their knees.

In this drill, the wrestlers will attempt to use their hands to grab their opponent’s knees while trying to keep their opponent blocked on the outside. Make sure the wrestler really grab for their opponent’s knees as opposed to just a mere tap or slap. Run this drill for 2 or 3 sessions of 20-30 seconds in length, allowing the wrestlers a 10-20 second rest between sessions.

When performed correctly, this drill can be quite physically demanding. Since performing countless wrestling drills can become monotonous, some coaches like to inject a little competitive spirit into their drills. This is one of those drills that functions really well as a mini-competition, with the winner of each pair facing off with a winner of another pair until only one wrestler remains victorious.

Grabber-and-Go

Next is the “Grabber” drill, which is great for building upper-body strength. To begin the drill, two wrestlers stand facing each other in their regular stances. At the sound of the coach’s whistle, both try to get their opponent in a body lock or to get behind their opponent while remaining in an upright, standing position.

The best moves for winning this drill are the duck under, arm drag to body lock, or the wrist lock. Some coaches will allow head locks for this drill as well. Perform this drill for 3 sessions of 30 seconds in length, allowing at least a 10-20 second rest between sessions.

A Fine Balance

This next drill called “Hopper” is a simple yet effective way of helping wrestlers develop and maintain their balance. To begin the drill, two wrestler stand facing each other in their regular stances. At the sound of the coach’s whistle, one wrestler grabs and holds their partner’s foot at waist level. They are permitted to move the foot as much as possible without bringing it above chest level.

The goal of this drill is for the wrestler on one foot to constantly readjust their balance to avoid falling to the mat. Run this drill for 2-3 sessions of no more than 20 seconds, as it is quite tiring for the wrestler on one foot.