Before you get a new swimming pool for your family, there are several factors to take into consideration. You may want to decide first what shape that you want. Most above-ground pools are either round or oval, while in-ground pools come in a variety of shapes, such as oval, kidney-shaped, square, or even a combination of these shapes.

A pool that is in-ground will come in a bigger size than the above-ground pool, giving you more room. An above-ground pool does not usually have an end deep enough for a diving board to be used. When you buy an above ground pool you will need to place a deck around the pool and a high fence. Buying an in ground pool only has the expense of fencing that is of regular height. However, it is much more affordable to get an above-ground pool if you total up the full cost of the project.

When you put on one of your many water resistant Michele watches which pool do you want to get into? You just need to decide what you want to do in the pool. Do you want to do your daily laps in there? Do you want to play with your kids there? You may also consider what type of pool your family will benefit from in the future.

Even though the in-ground pool is more expensive it will offer the greatest versatility. It can let you have a slide and diving board. This will also offer you the ability to swim laps. The above-ground pool is great for playing fun games and splashing around on a sunny day.

Which one of these is right for you? That is something that only you can decide on.

Swimming is a good exercise option for people of all ages and fitness levels—even those with disabilities or chronic pain. When you’re in the water, your bones and joints don’t bear all your weight. The vigorous movement of swimming places stress not on your weight-bearing joints but on your muscles.

Strength
While swimming is low impact, it’s still a great way to get strong because swimmers use major muscle groups in both the upper and lower body. And water offers 12 times more resistance than air, forcing swimmers’ muscles to work harder.

Endurance
Muscular strength alone is not the same as overall fitness. Water exercise, though, can build both strength and cardiovascular endurance. Swimming develops muscle strength through water resistance and raises cardiovascular endurance through aerobic activity.

Flexibility
Swimming, in tandem with good stretching, can boost flexibility and range of motion. Water’s buoyancy, resistance and temperature encourage muscle flexibility, and the smooth movements of swimming tend to stretch and lengthen muscles.

Weight management
Regular, calorie-burning exercise is key to successful weight management. People weighing 150 pounds can burn about 400 to 700 calories per hour while swimming, depending on their activity level. Frequent, regular swimming can speed metabolism, lower body fat and improve the body’s ability to burn fat.

Cardiovascular health
Because swimming uses so many muscles and your body is working against water resistance, even a low-key water workout can elevate your heart rate. When you’re swimming, your heart, lungs and circulatory system go all out to deliver oxygen and energy to each of your moving parts.

Overall toning
Olympic swimmers have terrific physiques. Years of training in the water have given them long, lean bodies with toned muscles. Swimming is the perfect sport for anyone who wants to feel fit and healthy—and look it.

If you have ran a few marathons, competed in bicycle racing events and swam long distances, then your next challenge should be completing a triathlon. Triathlons are events that consist of three sports: running, riding and swimming. They are serious business that require months of training time. Once you have completed a triathlon, though, you will feel like a real champion in top physical condition.

Triathlon distances can vary from event to event. Some triathlons even have different distances that depend on the participants’ ages and level of experience. Before competing in a triathlon, be sure to check with the sponsors to get information that is specific to the event.

Running in a Triathlon

The Ironman triathlon’s running section is just over 26 miles long. Completing such a long run will require the right types of triathlon gear, including good running shoes. Depending on the temperature, you might also want to use a water backpack that lets you drink throughout the event. That way you won’t get dehydrated.

Swimming in a Triathlon

Completing the Ironman triathlon means swimming 2.4 miles. If you have never swum competitively before, then this might not sound like that great a distance. Once you start training, though, you will find that swimming more than two miles is just as hard as running more than a dozen miles.

Biking in a Triathlon

There’s nothing like being a coach. Helping young people to work together and accomplish things is an invigorating feeling. It’s almost impossible not to feel good about yourself and the world when you see shy kids making new friends or patting each other on the back for a job well done. When they’ve worked on something for a long time and it finally clicks, it’s amazing to watch. It also helps when you’re knowledgeable on the topic at hand, because you can be even more helpful to the kids. The kids may not always appreciate it, but when they do, it makes an impression that can last a lifetime.

Many youth coaches are parents of kids who are participating in the sports. They may coach little league baseball, pee wee football, or some other sport. Maybe they’re involved in one of the community center leagues. The one thing they all have in common, though, is the urge to help. Even the coaches you may not like or get along with spend a lot their own personal time preparing the kids for the games and teaching them valuable skills. It’s a lot of hard work, but the end results produce great life lessons and experiences that can’t be replicated anywhere else.

Another thing that being a coach can do is bring people closer to other families in the community. When the kids play together, parents also end up spending time together. New friendships are often born this way. Even opposing teams’ parents can end up being friends. Of course, it’s all business when the game’s going on. After the game, though, whether the Bulldogs won or lost, nobody’s going to make any pet insurance claims so why not have a bit of fun. Everyone will probably go out for pizza or ice cream, though, and there will almost certainly be a big lesson learned for everyone involved.

If you have an immense love for sports, you aren’t alone. More people than ever follow a variety of sporting competitions religiously and feel a personal connection to the athletes with every win and loss.

If you have been searching for a way to take your fan status to a higher level, you may be wondering what other involvement options are available besides watching the competitions or games on television. So you can begin to better understand your options, here are a few ways people are taking their fan status to the next level.

Join a Virtual League

Perhaps the largest recent trend among sports fans is participation in a virtual league. These leagues carry a variety of benefits including the potential to win money at the end of the season. Apart from the money you can win by joining a virtual league, perhaps the greatest benefit of this option is having the chance to socialize with other individuals who love sports as much as you do.

Of course, if you decide to join a virtual league or partake in any other form of betting, then you should begin following the game statistics very closely. Understanding the world of sports handicappers can also be beneficial.

Attend Every Game

Although attending every competition of your favorite sports team can become expensive, this is the best way to see the sports action up close. While you may not have enough extra cash available to attend every game of every season, making this a goal for at least one sports season can help take your fan status up a notch or two.

Being in the sports stands among cheering fans who are excited about the big game is one of the greatest feelings. Few other venues or events bring so many people together and generate so much visible enthusiasm.

Being a coach of a sports team for children can really play an influential part in a kid’s childhood. That first coach is someone that leaves such a lasting impression on the child that they will be talking about it when they are 80 years old and sitting in a nursing home.

With such a task ahead of you as a sports coach it can be a bit intimidating. So how do you know that you are coaching the right way as compared to the wrong way? How do you know that you are leaving a good impression on a child?

The answer really comes down to instinct. If you are coaching from the heart and with the thought that you must guide a child through a very important part of their life and let them learn how to play a certain sport, then you are probably going to leave a very good impression on these children. However, if you are coaching them as if there is a hoard of sports betting sites nipping at your heels and trying to get them to win, then you probably aren’t going to be that coach that everyone remembers.

Children’s sports should be all about having fun, trying out a sport and meeting new friends above everything else. There is absolutely no need for anyone to act like these young children are professional players and have millions of dollars resting on their shoulders, because they don’t.

Remember if you coach with love and instinct then you’ll be a coach that children will love. If you act like these children have the world riding on their shoulders and end up being that screaming, raving coach, then you probably will not be a part of a child’s memory and if you are it won’t be favorable!

Sports are the fun way to keep fit, make friends and even improve self-esteem. From table tennis to football, any person of any age can take up a new sporting hobby that’s perfect for them. What about a sport that’s perfect for the funds too? Everyone these days is doing their best to save money and shave off a little here and little there. It’s true that some sports require pretty pricey equipment; some sports fanatics could easily have a stack of True Religion jeans for what they shell out on a single golf club. However, even if you’ve already cut out daily lattes, you don’t need to cut sports from your budget too; sports are still for everyone, no matter how little you have to spend. To get started, look at these ideas for keeping your love of sports alive without breaking the bank:

• Buy used. Open up the phone book and see if there’s a used sporting goods store in your area. They offer equipment that’s still in useable nick for much less than retail price. Online classifieds are a great place to find deals on equipment too. Your friends or family may also know someone who’s looking to get rid of a bat or helmet that’s been sitting in the garage.

• Start or join a local league. Ask local sporting stores, work colleagues or friends if they know of any amateur groups that get together for weekly games of soccer, tennis or whatever your favorite sport may be. These groups don’t need to shell out for the pricey padding or official balls; they’re in it for the pure love of the game. Can’t find one? How about forming your own? A few flyers around town and you may find a handful of people who’d love to do exactly what you’re doing.

There’s nothing wrong with playing on the computer after a long day at work. It can be very relaxing, and a lot of people enjoy making a few wagers on one of the sports betting sites. If you want to model, though, you’ll have to do more than that. Do you have a portfolio? Have you had any experience? Do you fit the height/weight profile of the companies you’re thinking of applying to? There’s a lot more to being a model than just looking pretty, but too many people don’t realize that. Instead, they get a few pictures taken and wait for the offers to come rolling in.

Unless they’re incredibly striking and very, very lucky, that generally doesn’t happen. Instead, they languish in their ‘real job,’ wondering why they haven’t been ‘discovered’ yet. If you want to be discovered as a model, you have to show the world that there’s something to discover. Do all the research you can on how a person gets into modeling. Narrow that research down to the companies that you’d like to work for, or the agents you’d like to represent you. Then, research them more carefully. Find out what they want, specifically. If you don’t have it, move on to the next company.

Some agents are more specific about people of a certain height, weight, or ‘look.’ When you find an agent that matches up with your abilities and qualifications, send them your photos. These shouldn’t be things a friend took at the beach. They should be professional photos that were taken with modeling in mind, with professionally done hair and makeup if at all possible. That will give the agent a chance to really see how you look, and you may get to proceed from there.

Sorry NFL football fans, Soccer still rules.
With the NFL football season kicking off recently, American sports fans reached a crescendo of excitement as their favorite sport finally started. Although American’s are stoked about the rebirth of football, their enthusiasm pails in comparison to the excitement of those that follow soccer.
When the World Cup soccer event began in South Africa this past summer, the world stopped and collectively watched the biggest tournament in the world. Soccer might be slow-paced and low scoring, but there is something about the sport that captures the world’s attention.
Maybe it’s the availability of the sport to be played in all regions of the world. Even in the poorest of third-world countries, soccer is available to almost everyone. Even in the poorest countries in the world, soccer players can find a piece of grass, throw out a ball and get started.
Football and baseball are traditionally American sports, although baseball has recently been influenced by a heavy dose of Latin-American players. You would be hard-pressed to find a Brazilian football player in the NFL, or a Russian baseball player in Major League Baseball.
Soccer is worldwide and it’s here to stay. In the Unites States, NFL sports fans stop their activities on Sunday to follow their favorite team. You won’t find a Buffalo Bills fan, dropping everything to watch the Oakland Raiders. When Brazil plays soccer, the entire country stops what they are doing to pay attention to their national pastime.
Although soccer is gaining in popularity in the United States, the world’s pastime will be hard pressed to pass America’s favorite games. Then again, youth soccer programs across the country are jam packed with kids that play soccer on Saturday morning.
There may come a day where a future generation of American’s switches their focus from football and starts paying attention to futbol like the rest of the world.

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell recently suspended the six game suspension of sports star Ben Roethlisberger to four games. The reduction of games suspended begs the question of does professional sports need to get more aggressive in the punishment of their athletes that do wrong?
Roethlisberger is the latest sports star to be punished for his action. The Pittsburgh quarterback was involved in an, alleged sexual assault scandal. While no charges were filed in court, Commissioner Goodell took a hard stance against one of his sports premier players.
If you watch Sports Center on a regular basis, hearing about the latest sports star arrested for driving under the influence or being involved in a domestic dispute is common.
Earlier this year, sports star Tiger Woods had his dirty laundry aired for allegedly cheating on his wife. While cheating is certainly not a crime, Woods took a beating this season with poor play on the course and a loss of many of his lucrative sponsors.
Sports stars Roger Clemens and Barry Bonds have been accused of taking steroids and tainting their sports with performance enhancing drugs.
The list of sports stars who have been accused of wrongdoing is long and filled with high-profile names. In most cases, these athletes with big bank accounts can afford the best legal representation and typically find themselves free from criminal charges.
For the average person who works an eight hour day and struggles to make ends meet, the news of more sports stars getting off with their unscrupulous behavior is hard to swallow. That average person would likely be dismissed from their job or face serious sanctions if they were to replicate the behavior of the high-profile sports starts.
Perhaps stiffer sanctions are called for. It’s hard to punish a sports star that makes 10 million per year, when a 10-thousand dollar fine is often the worst punishment they may face. Miami dolphins, Miami heat, Tampa bay buccaneers, Tampa Bay lightning, and Florida Marlins, are just a few sports teams in Florida. Check out Florida vacation rentals and enjoy a game of your choice.

Ladies look out, the start of the NFL football season is upon us.
With the beginning of the NFL football season this week, husbands will once again be neglecting their husbandry duties of taking out the trash and finishing that late season yard work.
That annoying friend that only comes over during the NFL season will start making those unwanted appearances and staying for nine hours as the Sunday sports ticker replays the highlights and low-lights of the weekend’s sports activities.
When the NBA season ends, sports junkies across the country lie in hibernation counting the days until football returns. As the preseason commences in early August, the NFL enthusiast starts making plans for the upcoming season that starts in less than a month. As the final preseason games ends, fantasy sports players study furiously to ensure that this year’s team will be the one that carries them to fantasy sports glory.
NFL football is the great unifier. The start of the NFL season brings lifelong friends together for fantasy drafts and gets families together for the pure viewing pleasure that high-level football provides. Whether it’s the lowly Detroit Lion or the Super Bowl Champion New Orleans Saints, sports fans across the country come together to celebrate their favorite pastime.
The NFL sports junkie that failed to exercise during the summer is more than willing to walk five miles to the stadium for the big game. The husband who tells everyone that he doesn’t know how to cook is suddenly a grilling expert with the start of the NFL sports season.
And oh the time that NFL sports consumes. With games on Thursday, and three games on Sunday plus the must-watch Monday night game, NFL enthusiasts are now pummeled with nearly 15 hours of their favorite pastime every week.
While it might not be the most productive of endeavors, NFL football is a pastime beloved by millions.

Tennis has four major events: Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and the United States Open. Unlike golf, where three of the four majors are played in the Unites States, tennis spreads the wealth to three continents and four countries.
During the latter part of August and the beginning stages of September, Flushing Meadow New York takes center stage as the best tennis players from around the world descend on New York City.
While the French Open is played on the famous clay of Roland Garros, and Wimbledon is played on the stoic grass-courts in London, the United States Open is played on hard-courts. Much like the hot summer in New York City, the hard-courts of the U.S. Open provide some of the most scintillating tennis in the world.
One aspect of the United States Open that is unparalleled in the tennis world is the popularity of the late night matches. Major tennis events are typically played outdoors, weather permitting. The play stops at the French Open and Wimbledon as darkness descends, but at the U.S. Open, things only start heating up as the tennis players take to the court for the extremely popular night matches.
Tennis fans from around the world can easily remember the epic night match between Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras or the same Agassi taking out fellow American James Blake in five sets as the match ended well past midnight.
New Yorkers are by nature boisterous and outspoken. As the clock approaches midnight, these revved up New Yorkers get louder, which typically inspires the play on the tennis court. Many times a near-beaten opponent rallies for the come-from-behind victory with the support of the raucous New York crowd.
With Serena Williams missing this year’s U.S. Open because of injury, Belgian Kim Clijsters looks to repeat. On the men’s side, tennis fans have to be hoping for Rafeal Nadal and Roger Federer to reach the finals for one of the most anticipated tennis matches ever.

Swim meets at the Olympic Games are held in regulation 50 meter swimming pools that are divided into lanes for each swimmer. Distances typically swam include 50, 100 and 200 meters or yards and the strokes that are used in competition include the following: the breaststroke, the butterfly stroke, the backstroke and the freestyle stroke.

The breaststroke involves kicking your legs, making sure knees stay as close together as possible, scooping water towards your chest, and then thrusting your arms forward, extending them as far as they will go just before the kicking is repeated. Breaths are taken as the arms are coming down from being extended.

The butterfly stroke, known as the fastest modality in swimming, borrows a few key movements from the breaststroke; however, the butterfly, or “fly” as it’s known to most swimmers, is slightly more complicated and involves synchronizing arm and leg movements in order to maintain movement and speed. The proper technique involves extending your arms beyond your head, palms facing slightly down, and using your arms to push through the water in a sort of semicircle movement that ends with releasing your arms at the waist. While the arms are extended, you’re periodically coming up for air, then pulling your arms down. Meanwhile you are synchronizing your legs with your arm movements, kicking with both feet together in sequence with two kicks per stroke.

The backstroke style involves floating on your back while using one arm at a time to glide through the water, all while kicking both of your feet simultaneously.

The freestyle stroke is based on whatever stroke you choose, though the most popular stroke is the front crawl. This involves breathing to the side with one ear in the water, and alternating leg and arm movements. The swimming distances vary during freestyle competitions and can go up to 1,500 meters.

The National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion has released its report on childhood obesity. According to the data, obesity has more than tripled among children in the last 30 years. The prevalence of obesity in children ages six to 11 years is 19.6%, which is up from 6.5% in 1980, and the prevalence of obesity among children age 12 to 19 years skyrocketed to 18.1%, up from 5% in 1980.

It’s no secret that obesity continues to be a growing concern in the U.S., particularly as more children are falling into the categories of being obese and morbidly obese. Obesity is defined as weighing more than 20% over your ideal weight, and morbid obesity is defined as weighing more than twice your ideal weight.

According to the American Heart Association, children are not as fit as they were a generation ago, which can be attributed to several factors, including a sedentary lifestyle brought on by video games and the Internet, as well as the high availability of unhealthy foods, and many children are already exhibiting signs of cardiovascular disease and other related conditions. And while the risk of heart attack and stroke are certainly lower in children than adults, there is significant evidence that the risk factors for these diseases begin in childhood.

Fortunately, the effects of a poor diet, lack of physical activity and cigarette smoking can be erased early on by a healthy diet and regular exercise. It’s up to parents to encourage activity and good food choices now so these healthy habits will be part of their child’s daily routine now and in the future.

Whether your child prefers moderate or vigorous activity, solo activities or team sports, make sure to get him or her involved in regular daily exercise. Even chores count as ways of burning calories. Switch out sugary foods and beverages for healthy choices and incorporate more fruits in vegetables into their meals.And most importantly, emphasize to your children the importance of regular exercise, combined with a healthy diet, and how it is key to maintaining a long and happy life.

Many people that need to be exercising and thinking more about their health are those that deal with such things as obesity, disabilities or chronic injuries which makes it harder to exercise and easier to be inactive. Swimming and other aquatic exercise are good options for people of all ages and varying fitness levels because they have less impact on your joints than other types of exercise do which makes it easy for those dealing with pain, size or injury issues. Also, there are many health benefits that are associated with swimming like increased flexibility, muscle building, cardiovascular endurance and weight loss or maintenance.

Flexibility or the range of motion of a person’s muscles and joints is often taken for granted by people. You don’t know how much you need it until you experience a lack of it. Water exercises and swimming, when done with good stretching, can improve your flexibility and range of motion. That is why water is often used in therapeutic settings and physical therapy to help increase flexibility for a person. Water makes movements smoother which leads to lengthening, stretching and toning the muscles.

As people age, they tend to lose muscle mass and flexibility which can lead to difficulty in performing simple, everyday tasks. Muscle strength and endurance don’t always go together, but swimming can actually build both of these at the same time. With swimming, the body naturally meets water resistance so no matter what you are doing or what speed you are moving you build muscle. And when you move at a fast pace in the water you not only build muscle strength but endurance as well.

Swimming can be enjoyed by anyone and everyone and is also one of the best cardiovascular exercises available. Those suffering with anything from knee or back problems to disabilities as well as those that are overweight can exercise easily in the water and gain better health and a stronger body as a result. And as an added benefit, those swimming or doing other aquatic exercise can increase their metabolism and in turn lose weight or maintain their weight.

The first modern Olympic games in 1896 in Athens included four swimming events, all freestyle, open only to men. Alfred Hajos of Hungary won the first swimming gold medal in the modern Olympics for his time of 1:22.20 in the 100-meter freestyle.

At the next Olympic Games in Paris in 1900, women were still excluded from swimming events. Baron Pierre de Coubertin, a French scholar and sportsman who developed the modern Olympic Games, held the belief (common in Victorian times) that women were too frail for athletic competition. The swimming events at the Paris Olympics included three unusual experiments: an obstacle course for swimmers, a test of underwater swimming endurance, and a 4,000-meter event—about 2.4 miles, or 80 lengths of a 50-meter pool, the longest swimming event in competition thus far. (British swimmer John Arthur Jarvis won the event, clocking in at just under one hour.) None of these events was included in future Olympic Games.

Australian swimmer Richmond Cavill (known as “Playboy Dick”) used his own improved version of the “Trudgeon” crawl in the 1902 International Championships in England. His improvement: the flutter kick. He set a world record in the 100 yards, leaving in his wake all Trudgeon-style swimmers. His technique, labeled the “Australian crawl,” rapidly gained popularity. In 1950 the term “Australian crawl” was shortened to “crawl,” and then became known as the “front crawl.”

In 1907 the Australian swimmer and vaudeville performer Annette Kellerman brought to the New York Hippodrome Theater her “water ballet” act, which she performed in a glass tank. She is now credited with inventing the sport of synchronized swimming. Her snug-fitting one-piece bathing suit caused a scandal, and she was arrested on a Boston beach for “indecent exposure.” (At that time women were expected to wear a layered outfit consisting of a dress, bloomers and leggings when swimming.) She thereafter became an advocate for a woman’s right to wear a one-piece bathing suit, and she introduced her own line of women’s one-piece swimwear, which became known as the “Annette Kellerman,” now seen as a pioneering step toward modern swimwear for women.

That’s just one of the options that someone can use to control his sports spending, though. There are also savings accounts, ‘rainy day’ funds like change jars, and other methods that can be used to control how much money is going out of the house for sports. If you know that a big sporting event is coming up, or you know you’re about to need a lot of specific equipment for a sport, consider budgeting for that and saving up for it. If you don’t overspend on sports, you’ll be more comfortable in the rest of the things you do, because you won’t be worried about money.

Sports are fun, and they’re great stress relievers, too. Getting exercise is always beneficial, so you don’t have to feel badly about playing sports. It’s just a good idea to make sure that you aren’t spending your entire budget on the equipment that you need. Plan ahead and take full advantage of sales at your local sporting goods stores. That way you can get what you need but you don’t have to pay nearly as much for it. It’s a big plus when you can get new sporting equipment and still pay the bills without any problem.

Armbruster combined these arms movements with a “dolphin kick” (performed with the legs kept together to move like a fish tail) developed at the same time by University of Iowa swimmer Jack Sieg. The “dolphin kick” was not allowed in competition, but a few swimmers used the new “butterfly arms” in breaststroke competitions in the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin. Two years later most competitive breaststroke swimmers were using the butterfly style, but the stroke was not accepted in competitions until 1952, when it was recognized as a separate stroke with its own rules.

By mid-20th century, Australian competitive swimmers had refined backstroke movements so that the arms were bent underwater instead of held straight, thereby increasing speed and reducing exerted force. This modified stroke eventually became the preferred backstroke method used in competitions worldwide.

Breaststroke swimmers, in search of greater speed, began trying to reduce the number of times they needed to break the water surface. At the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Japanese swimmer Masaru Furukawa surfaced only into and out of his turns, and won the gold medal in the 200-meter breaststroke. After the 1956 Olympics, breaststroke swimmers copying the technique of swimming without surfacing led to cases of oxygen deprivation and swimmers losing consciousness during races. FINA, the international governing body of swimming, thereby introduced stricter rules limiting the distances that breaststroke swimmers were allowed to swim underwater.

Front Crawl

Called the “freestyle” by competitive swimmers, the front crawl is the fastest stroke overall. Although a “freestyle” competition officially means that swimmers can use any stroke in the race, swimmers will almost always go with the front crawl for its speed and efficiency. Because lifting the head out completely of the water reduces speed, expert racers learn how to turn the head out of the water only high enough to take a breath.

Backstroke

Also known as the “back crawl,” this is the only competitive stroke done on the back—which makes for easier breathing, but it’s hard to see where you’re going. It’s also the only competitive style for which swimmers start in the water instead of diving in. Until the mid-20th century, backstroke swimmers held their arms straight in the underwater push, but Australian swimmers discovered using a slightly bent arm underwater improved speed. The bent-arm technique thus became the favored method worldwide.

Breaststroke

Generally considered the slowest of the competitive strokes, the breaststroke is difficult to learn and to master. Performing the breaststroke requires superb timing, and swimmers can be disqualified from a race if they miss even one stroke. A popular stroke with recreational swimmers because of its leisurely pace combined with its excellent aerobic benefits, the breaststroke is done by pulling the arms along the body while legs do a “frog kick.”

Butterfly

The newest stroke to competitive swimming, the butterfly was first swum as a separate Olympic event in the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne. Called the “butterfly” because of its wing-like arm movements, the stroke is considered by many swimmers to be the most difficult stroke to perform well. The powerful pull-and-push movement with both arms makes the butterfly’s peak speed even faster than that of the front crawl, but the stroke’s recovery phase makes it slightly slower than the front crawl during a race.

If you’re an avid swimmer, you might be prone to a condition called swimmer’s ear, or otitis externa. Often seen in children who swim a lot, swimmer’s ear begins with an itching and slight redness in the ear canal. If untreated, symptoms can progress to severe pain and redness in the ear, muffled hearing and discharge of pus.

If tugging on your earlobe or plugging your ear causes pain, it’s likely swimmer’s ear, an infection of the ear canal. Swimmers can be prone to this condition because repeated exposure to moisture strips away the protective coating on the thin skin of the ear canal.

It’s best to see a doctor as soon as symptoms appear instead of waiting until the ear canal becomes seriously inflamed. A doctor will usually prescribe antibiotic eardrops to treat the infection. Until the infection is cleared, which can take up to 10 days, you should keep water out of your ears.

Ways to Prevent Swimmer’s Ear
Dry your ears after swimming, bathing and showering. Tip your head to help water drain from your ear canal. With a soft cotton towel or cloth, slowly and gently dab moisture from your outer ear.

Don’t stick objects into your ears. Cotton swabs, hairpins or paperclips can irritate the skin of your ear canal and push material, such as wax, skin flakes and germs, deeper into the canal.

Avoid unclean water. If you’re susceptible to swimmer’s ear, steer clear of swimming in ponds and lakes because water quality is uncertain.

Use homemade preventive eardrops. After each swim, mix one part white vinegar and one part rubbing alcohol and pour about five drops of the solution into one ear canal. Keep the solution in the canal for five minutes. Do the same to the other ear canal.

Watch out for hair products. Put cotton balls in your ears when you’re using substances like hair sprays and hair coloring products.

Safety
Although drowning rates in the U.S. have fallen by about 50 percent since 1985—largely due to increased public awareness of swimming safety—drowning is still the second leading cause of death for children. Learning how to handle themselves in the water is the chief reason kids should take swimming lessons. Children under age four aren’t seen as being developmentally ready to learn how to make front-crawl swimming strokes, but they can get introduced to feeling comfortable and confident in the water. The AAP warns that taking swimming lessons will not make children “drown proof,” but evidence shows that lessons can make swimming a safer activity for kids.

Fitness
Swimming can be an ideal sports activity for kids because it’s a low-impact way—less risk of injury—to build strength, endurance and coordination.

Confidence
Swimming lessons give kids the chance to learn how to work toward mastery of a physical skill. They’ll learn to not only feel safe in the water, but also how to keep improving their adeptness as athletes in the pool. Learning how to swim is a vital life skill—an important milestone in kids’ development.

Social Development
Playing games in the water with friends and family offers kids fun opportunities to socialize. Kids like to swim with other people—initially, parents and instructors; as children get older, play dates with peers.

Athletic Challenge
For some kids, swimming lessons can be an introduction to the world of competitive swimming. Some swim teams begin accepting children as young as age five. Kids compete with others in their age group in events for these four strokes: butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke and freestyle. Young swimmers can compete throughout high school and college. The most talented and ambitious swimmers can aim for the top of the sport: the Olympic Games.

The most important, and often most neglected, tip is to manage your money. Never bet more money than you can afford to lose. Never. Set aside a betting budget and stick to it, regardless of whether you win or lose. Don’t dump your winnings into one large bet, It’s a wiser idea to spread some money out over smaller bets. Remember, slowly, but surely, wins the race!

The next important step is to shop for the best number. Different sports books carry wider discrepancies. The books base their numbers on the patterns of their customers, so it’s not uncommon to find a varying point spread. Even a point or two can make a difference. Don’t waste your hard earned money. Be sure to do your homework.

Choose a niche. Your odds of winning will be increased if you become an expert at one or two particular games. Study your sports and learn the ins and outs to become a more savvy bettor. Increasing your knowledge increases your chances of beating the books.

Be sure to check the odds to up your payout. You can do this easily with most bookmakers. Finally, timing is everything. A good rule is to bet late on the underdog and early on favorites. This will keep you out of direct competition with the pros.