Video for our blog - Assignment 3

Behold the video for our blog!



In case it does not load, click here: http://youtu.be/oQXMSPoZ5Fw?hd=1

Enjoy!

Conclusion...

So, this is our final blog post!

We have discussed about sports, mainly focusing on gym, swimming and badminton. We hope our blog is a good guide and information for those of you who are interested in them!

Remember, for good health exercises are important. The type of exercises depend solely on yourself. You could choose to do light exercises few times a week if you're just aiming for good health, you could focus on cardiovascular exercises to burn calories and keep fit, or you could choose to do vigorous exercises if you're aiming for a muscular body. Also, remember to do warming up exercises each time before you start, and also to cool down appropriately.

On the other hand, for good health you need to also keep a good diet. Do not expect to be healthy by exercising vigorously but consuming large amounts of deep fried oily food daily. The extra calories might help to build muscles but it would not be healthy for your body. A good diet is a balanced diet (refer to the Food Pyramid), and also consuming at least 8 cups of water every day.

We hope you enjoyed reading! Thanks!

TeamNotSoCool

All Members

Lin Dan aka Super Dan

In my previous post, I am sure everyone is wondering what is so great about this player. Firstly, this talented player is a professional men single badminton player currently aged 28 (which is one year younger than Datuk Lee Chong Wei). Although he is currently ranked number 2, he is considered one of the greatest badminton player in the history because he is the first and the only player to achieve the 'Super Grand Slam" or "Golden Grand Slam" by winning all the major titles in the badminton world:  Olympic Games, World Championships, Asian Games, All England Open, Asia Championships, World Cup, Thomas Cup and Sudirman Cup.

Lin Dan celebrating after winning

Facts about Lin Dan:

1. Place of birth: Longyan, Fujian, China

2. Height: 1.78m (5ft 10in)

3. Weight: 70kg

4. Left handed

Achievements:

1. 43 tittles, 15 runner-ups

2. Gold in the Beijing Olympics 2008, men single

3. Gold in the Hyderabad World Championships 2009, men single

4. Gold in the Kuala Lumpur World Championships 2007, men single

5. Gold in the Madrid World Championships 2006, men single

6. Silver in the Anaheim World Championships 2005, men single

7. Gold in the Guangzhou Asian Games 2010, men single and team

8. Gold in the Doha Asian Games 2006, team

9. Silver in the Doha Asian Games 2006, men single

10. Bronze in the Busan Asian Games 2002, team

11. Gold in the Guangzhou Sudirman Cup 2009, team

12. Gold in the Glasgow Sudirman Cup 2007, team

13. Gold in the Beijing Sudirman Cup 2005, team

14. Gold in the Kuala Lumpur Thomas Cup 2010, team

15. Gold in the Jakarta Thomas Cup 2008, team

16. Gold in the Tokyo Thomas Cup 2006, team

17. Gold in the Jakarta Thomas Cup 2004, team

18. Bronze in the Guangzhou Thomas Cup 2002, team

19. Gold in the Yiyang World Cup 2006, men single

20. Gold in the Yiyang World Cup 2005, men single

Lin Dan performing a smash

Lin Dan and Lee Chong Wei can be said to be dominating the badminton sport currently as they are the favorite to win any tournament. The clash of both of them in the final is a dream for every badminton fan. Currently, both of them had met for 23 times with Lin Dan won 15 times and Lee Chong Wei only won 8 times. Although the past performance favor on Lin Dan, currently Lee Chong Wei is showing sign that both of them are on equal skills now. So, any matches that feature Lee Chong Wei and Lin Dan should not be miss as it would be a great showdown.

Top 2 players in the badminton world

From,

TeamNotSoCool,

Soon Teck

Lee Chong Wei

For those badminton fans out there, I am sure you will know about them but this post is to introduce the one of the most awesome player in the badminton history. ( I shall introduce another top player in the next post so stay tune)

Lee Chong Wei performing a smash

Datuk Lee Chong Wei, currently age 29 is a professional badminton player in the men single category from Malaysia. He is currently ranked number 1 since August 21, 2008. He is given the title Datuk by Governor of Penang, Tun Abdul Rahman Abbas on August 30, 2008.

Facts about Lee Chong Wei:
1. Place of birth: Georgetown, Penang, Malaysia
2. Height: 1.7m (5ft 7 in)
3. Weight: 60kg
4. Right handed

Achievements:
1. 35 titles, 17 runner-ups
2. Silver in the Beijing Olympics 2008, men single
3. Bronze in the Anaheim World Championships 2005, men single
4. Silver in the Guangzhou Asian Games 2010, men single
5. Bronze in the Doha Asian Games 2006, men single and team
6. Bronze in the Guangzhou Sudirman Cup 2009, team
7. Bronze in the Kuala Lumpur Thomas Cup 2010, team
8. Bronze in the Jakarta Thomas Cup 2008, team
9. Bronze in the Sendai/Tokyo Thomas Cup 2006, team
10. Gold in the Dehli Commonwealth Games 2010, men single and mixed team
11. Gold in the Melbourne Commonwealth Games 2006, men single and mixed team

Lee Chong Wei's rival in the badminton arena would be Lin Dan(the next top badminton player that I would write). Their rival can be considered as Nadal and Federer in the tennis arena. More story about their rival and also Lin Dan from China in the next post so stay tune.

Chong Wei celebrating after defeating his rival, Lin Dan in the All England Final 2011

From,
TeamNotSoCool,
Soon Teck

Introduction to Badminton

Badminton is a racquet sport which has been around from the mid-18th century British India, where it was created by British military officers stationed there.

It is also one of the fastest racquet sports. Badminton can be played in 5 categories, which consists of the Men Singles, Men Doubles, Women Singles, Women Doubles, and Mixed Doubles.

There are 2 type of serves for the badminton game :
Forehand Serve

Backhand Serve

Forehand serve used to be more popular during the 90's, but as the game changed from a 15 point system to a 21 point system, Backhand serve has been favoured by most players.

In a 21 point system,  players scoring a point whenever they win a rally regardless of whether they served. In the old 15 point system,  players could only win a point on their serve.
Rules for both the Singles and Doubles category are different.
For the Singles, the player can serve all the way to the back long service line, but is only able to serve to the inner one of the sidelines.
For Doubles, players are able to serve till the outer sideline, but if during the serve, the shuttle lands beyond the inner long service line, it is considered out and the point would be given to the opposing team.

So pick up your racquets and enjoy playing badminton !!

NotSoCoolTeam
Wye Ken

Swimming - Legend in the making

this guy looks familiar?
I know you are enjoying his abs and huge biceps in the photo,but do not get me wrong.This post is not about his muscular body,but about his great achievements in swimming.
For people who enjoy swimming,everyone must agree unanimously that this guy is a legend in the making.Yea,he is Michael Phelps!

For the young or old generations,if you do not know him,you do not know swimming.He can be easily said as one of the best swimmers in the world.His achievements are so huge and great that one of the achievements is he won 8 olympic gold medals in Beijing Olympic 2008,the most gold medals won by a player in the history of Olympic.Adding to that feat is out of the 8 events that he participated,7 of them were new World Record.

However,for the record breaking 8 gold medals in a single Olympic year,his 7th gold medal came amidst controversy.He won the 100m butterfly with a mere 0.01 second,ahead of his rival.

Believe it or not.That was the closest thing you can ever see in the swimming event.Wow!

"Dream as big as you can dream, and anything is possible ... I am sort of in a dream world. Sometimes I have to pinch myself to make sure it is real." - Michael Phelps

See,anyone can become Phelps if you dare to dream big.
TeamNotSoCool encourages you to dream big,to inch towards your dream confidently,and who knows one day you may become as successful as Phelps,or even more successful.
Cheers!

TeamNotSoCool
ZhengLik

Benefits of Swimming

Swimming has always been one of the most popular sports. Besides just having fun in the swimming pool, swimming is also a good way to keep our body fit, healthy, and meet lots of new friends.  Swimming is a healthy activity that you can continue for a lifetime. It is a low-impact activity that has many physical and mental health benefits. The common styles used in swimming are Breast-Stroke, Freestyle, and Back-Stroke.

Swimming can bring us both health and other benefits.

Health benefits
Moving your whole body against the resistance of the water makes swimming a great workout. It is also a good all-round activity because :

• Improves endurance in activities, stamina fitness and also muscle strength.
• It takes impact stress off your body and increases your heart rate.
• Nearly all muscles are used during swimming activities, and so it provides an all-over body workout.
• Improves strength and tones muscles.
• Keeps a healthy heart, weight and lungs.  

Other benefits
Other benefits of swimming includes :

• It relaxes the mind and is a peaceful form of exercise
• Flexibility increases 
• It helps improves posture, coordination and balance
• Stress alleviates 
• During a hot day, swimming helps cool down the body
• Providing good low-impact therapy for some injuries and conditions
• Everyone can swim in almost anywhere! from swimming pools to lakes to beaches, as long as the place is safe. 

What are you waiting for?
Grab your swimming attires and start swimming right away to improve your healthy lifestyle !!

TeamNotSoCool
Wye Ken

Swimming Styles

Let's now turn our topic from gym to swimming.

Swimming, either casual or competitive, is a fun cardiovascular exercise. It mainly requires you to be "moving forward (or backwards)" in water. Compared to other sports, this doesn't make you sweat!

There are four major swimming styles:

1. Freestyle
   
   
   • Arms: Palms should be cupped, with fingers sticking to each other. Arms move in an "alternating windmill motion", i.e. alternatingly, each palm pushes the water downwards, then moves in a "circular" motion, comes out of water, then "dives" back into the water (do not hit your entire palm onto the water).
   • Legs: Legs should be straightened and alternatingly kick each leg above and below of the water surface.
   • Breath: When moving one arm in the windmill motion, tilt your head towards the direction of that arm, then breathe in. When your arm comes back into the water, tilt your head back into the water and either breathe out slowly or hold your breath.
     
     
2. Breaststroke
   
   
   • Arms: Arms are straight and in front of the head initially. Push your hands outwards, then come towards the chest and finally straighten.
   • Legs: Resembles the movement of the frog's hind legs. Each time your arms are going back to the original straightened position, bring your knees towards your chest, then thrust both legs backwards together.
   • Breath:  During each arm stroke, bring your head out of the water surface, breathe in, then back into the water and either breathe out slowly or hold your breath.
     
     
3. Backstroke
   
   
   This is the similar to freestyle, the difference being the swimmer is facing the ceiling, with head out of the water surface.
   
   • Arms: Same as freestyle - move arms in an "alternating windmill motion".
   • Legs: Same as freestyle - alternatingly kick your straightened legs above and below the water surface.
   • Breath: Different from freestyle - since head is always out of the water surface, breathe when needed.
     
     
4. Butterfly Stroke
   
   
   
   • Arms: Hands are initially in front of the head. With hands cupped, push your palms outwards, pressing downwards and outwards. Then swing your arm in a "sweeping motion" above the water to return to original position.
   • Legs: Initially bend your knees slightly and keep them next to each other. Then straighten and thrust your legs downwards. Return to original position. For every arm stroke, there must be two kicks!
   • Breath: Bring head out of water during an arm stroke to breathe in, then bring it back into the water to either breathe out slowly or hold your breath.
     

Before trying the above swimming styles, remember to learn the kicking and breathing basics, probably with a float and/or flippers. Also, always warm up before swimming!
Enjoy!

TeamNotSoCool
Sinn-Shun

Fitness Balls

Also known as gym balls, yoga balls, body balls, balance balls, birth balls, etc.

Ever heard of a fitness ball? This is how it looks like:

Fitness ball

You had probably seen this in gyms (e.g. MUSAC's gym), but have been wondering how it helps in exercises.
Comparing to exercising on a flat surface (e.g. an exercise mat), when exercising using the fitness ball the body constantly adjusts to the instability of the ball hence exercising more muscles. This especially strengthen the abdominal and back muscles over time.

Some useful exercises using fitness balls:

1. Core Crunchers:
   
   Helps the abs and core muscles
   Kneel down on an exercise mat, bend your waist, then place your lower arms and elbows on a fitness ball in front of you. Roll the ball forward, while contracting your abs, until you straighten your upper body and thighs. Then, return to the original position.
   
   
2. Basic Crunches:
   
   Helps the abs muscles
   Firstly, keep your feet flat on the floor or exercise mat, and place your lower back on the fitness ball. Make sure you keep your thighs and upper body straightened and parallel to the floor (or exercise mat). Then do basic crunches, but only lift your shoulders and upper back.
   
   
3. Bent Knee Bridge:
   
   Helps buttocks muscles and hamstringsBending your knees, lie flat on the floor with your heels placed on the fitness ball. While spreading your arms out to your sides, lift your buttocks off the floor, pushing your hips towards the ceiling. Keep that position for a few seconds, then return to original position.
   
   
4. Superman:
   
   Helps all your back muscles and buttocks
   Stomach on the ball, place your body at 45 degrees to the floor (or exercise mat) with your arms stretched forward. Balance yourself using only the tip of your toes. Maintain the position.
   
   
5. Seated Wall Roll:
   
   Helps quadriceps, hamstrings, and buttocks muscles.
   Stand up straight, place the fitness ball between your back and a wall. Keep your feet shoulder-width apart. Squat, while rolling the ball along your back, until you are in a sitting position with your knees bent 45 degrees. Return to original position.

For more useful exercises, please visit Top 10 Fitness Ball Exercises.

Try the fitness ball, it's helpful!

TeamNotSoCool
Sinn-Shun

Leg Exercises

Want to be a runner but not sure how to start? Read on and this post will give you tips to be a runner.

Firstly, we need to need to work on the hamstrings muscles.

Hamstrings Muscle

Strengthen
Wide-Leg Squat

Stand with your feet just wider than shoulder-width apart. Bend the knees and slowly lower your butt until your thighs are nearly horizontal to floor (don't let your knees move forward beyond your toes). Slowly press back up to a standing position. Start with one set of 6 to 8 repetitions and slowly work up to three sets of 10 to 15.

Stretch
Cross-Over Stretch

In a standing position, cross your right leg over your left, with your feet close together, and then slowly roll your upper body down toward the floor until you feel a gentle stretch (not pain!) along the back of left leg. Hold for 30 seconds. Switch legs, repeating twice on each side.

Secondly, we need to work on the calves.

Calves Muscles

Strengthen
Single-Leg Raisers

Stand on one leg on the edge of a stair or curb. Your forefoot should be on the step with your heel hanging off the back. Gently lower your heel toward the ground, and then slowly lift back up so that your body weight is on the ball of your foot. You may lightly touch the stairway railings for balance, but don't put weight on your arms; your calf muscle should be doing the work. Start with 5 reps on each side, and build up to three sets of 10 to 15 with each leg.

Stretch
The Drop-Off Stretch

Start standing on one leg on a stair or curb, with your heel hanging off the back (same starting position as for the single-leg raisers). Gently press your heel toward the ground until you feel a gentle pull along the back of your lower leg. Hold for 30 seconds. Then slowly bend your knee slightly, until you feel the stretch move lower on the calf. Hold 30 seconds. Switch legs, repeating twice on each side.
Hope that this tips will help you in a great start to be a runner. This tips is just on how to make your leg stronger. You need to do some jogging to build up your stamina which is very important.

From,
Soon Teck,
TeamNotSoCool

MUSAC

Yo Wassup!
I bet a lot of you are confused by the title MUSAC right?
What does it stand for?
It is Macquarie University Sports Aquatic Center.Don't worry,lots of Macquarie Uni students do not know it as well.Hehe.
Okay!So,we talk about gym.The exercises that we carry out like jogging,abs blasting,weight-gaining ,biceps pumping and etc.etc.However,it is important for me to inform you about the center that provides this service.Since our group is from Macquarie University and lots of macquarie students are viewing our blog,logically for me I should introduce the MUSAC to you.

From the outside,it looks nice right?
About the inside,they have basketball courts,badminton courts,squash courts,both indoor and outdoor swimming pools,yoga room,chiropractic clinic, and of course the gymnasium.
Due to the large demand for the gym,the MUSAC administers are currently carrying out the expanding work where there will be an extra gymnasium built for the students to enjoy the facilities.
It is kinda good to know that so many students have high health awareness which is another reason why we decide to focus on this topic in our blog.
Health is Wealth!Remember?

About the fees?
I think it would be more appropriate if you enquired at the center.
About the location?
For the uni students,it is located at directly opposite the lighthouse theater.Another landmark would be Macquarie Village.If you were in the campus,the center is located right on the way to Macquarie Village.Anyway,a picture beats thousand words.Therefore,get a map and start exploring.
Grin!

Stay Healthy.

TeamNotSoCool.

Buiding Biceps

I guess every guys' dream is to have big and strong biceps like these 
It is achievable by a few simple techniques :



First is the Flex Armed Hang,
1. Grasp 

With your palms facing yourself, grab a chin-up bar. Make sure your hands are around 6 inches apart from each other. Keeping them close together will maximize the tension on biceps.

2. Position

Next, you have to put yourself in the top position of a chin-up by standing on a bench. Standing on a bench allows you to set up very precisely and deliberately.

3. Face

Keep your eyes level and face close to the chin-up bar as this gives a good body position to maximize bicep work. Stay as vertical as possible to maximize tension on the biceps rather than the back.

4. Hold

Lastly, hold onto the chin-up bar for as long as you can. Contract your biceps hard and hold that position until your biceps start to weaken.

Avoid having your body drop too quickly. Instead, allow gravity to pull yourself down. Try your best until you can't hold on to the bar anymore.



Second is the Barbell Curl,

1. Have your feet apart at the same width as your shoulders and bent your knees slightly.

2. Hold the Barbell with your palms facing forward at the front of your thigh.

3. Lift the bar up to your shoulder level and try to keep elbows close to sides throughout movement.

4. Slowly let the bar down to where it was at the start

5. This exercise should only involve the moving of the elbow joint. Always remember to keep head and back  straight in a neutral position throughout movement.


Enjoy !!
TeamNotSoCool.

Treadmill for Beginners

Beginners to the gym,
looking for which exercise to start with amongst the various types of machines you see in the gym?
Do not worry! You could always start off with light exercises - on the treadmill!

Treadmill

There are a few possible reasons you would want to use a treadmill:

1. To keep fit or lose weight- treadmill exercises (walking, jogging or running) are a type of cardiovascular exercise which helps to increase metabolism and hence burn calories
2. To stay healthy - you might not like strenous exercises and prefer light exercises, then the treadmill would suit you
3. Just to look cool or just to boast that you went to the gym to your female/male friends

So how do you start off with the treadmill?

An example of the screen of a treadmill

1. After stepping on to the treadmill, look at the screen on the treadmill (it should be quite similar in terms of basic functionality to the above picture). Hit start to begin.
2. Firstly, warm-up with the initial speed the treadmill sets for you (probably around 2kmph). It's our normal walking speed.
3. Then, gradually increase the speed as desired. This differs from people to people, so decide on this yourself by trying out each range of speed. Remember, if you have not been exercising for very long, please do not expect yourself to be able to run at a high speed (e.g. 20kmph for 30minutes) when you first begin. (My suggestions: 4-5kmph would be a slightly faster walking speed, 6-7kmph for brisk-walking, 7-10kmph for jogging, 10kmph and above for running.)
4. Once you start to feel unusually tired or that your legs are slightly painful/sore, be aware that you should be stopping sometime soon. If you feel uncomfortable (e.g. dizzy, nauseous, or leg cram), please stop immediately. If you were jogging/running, please gradually slow down the speed before you hit the Stop button. This action of cooling down is important (as described by the previous post).

Important things to note:

• Keeping a good posture helps. A good posture is by pumping your arms as you walk/jog/run, while keeping your head up and looking forward
• STOP IMMEDIATELY if you feel uncomfortable (e.g. dizzy, nauseous, or leg cram). Do not outstretch yourself especially if you haven't been working out for a long time.

I hope these advices would be good for you beginners! Once you're good with the treadmill, try taking new self-challenges by increasing the speed or increasing the slope. Or you might want to venture on to abs blasting exercises/machines to look even cooler!

Have fun!

TeamNotSoCool
Sinn-Shun

Warm Up and Cool Down

Do you know that we need to warm up before exercise and cool down after it?

Athletic, footballers and frequent gym-er will know the importance of warm up but I believe that everyone need to know about it.

Benefits of warm up:

1. Increase the muscle temperature - this will reduce the probability of overstretching and injury
2. Increase blood circulation - reduces the stress on the heart when start exercising
3. Mentally preparation - this will enable our mind to be prepared and concentrate

How:
1. Slow jog for 5 minutes to enable our body to get ready for more strenuous exercise
2. Stretching - limbs are moved around to cause our body to be more flexible. Please read more at About.com.

Once we feel that our body is ready for the next stage of exercise, we shall continue with our exercise plan.


Cooling down which is also known as warming down is what most people do not know about it.

Benefits of cooling down:
1. Allows the heart rate to decrease back to normal
2. Helps prevent dizziness and fainting due to the sudden change from vigorous exercise to resting
3. Helps to remove any waste toxic like lactic acid which is produced during vigorous exercise

How:
Just continue what you are doing but at a lighter state.

Hope that this post will teach you all what to do before and after your exercise. Have fun and stay healthy.

From,
TeamNotSoCool
Soon Teck

Abs

Do you want to have six packs like Christiano Ronaldo?

Or

Do you want to have the combination of six packs into one big belly?

Pretty obvious.

I want to have awesome six packs so that I can show off to the hot girls who walk by along the beach.I believe you do.Therefore,allow me to share some of my personal tips of having nice strong abs.Wait,if the tips below do not work for you,please don't blame me as I do not have nice six packs like C Ronaldo but at least I don't have a beer belly.Healthy abs.

Below are my abs blasting exercises :

1. Crunches 

- Stay like a sit-up position as crunches is kinda like a sit up exercise,but the only difference is that the neck should only elevate a few inches from the ground.Remember that it is important not to crank your neck.Crunches should be performed in a slow mannered way and you should watch out for your breathing as well.

2.Bicycle Crunches

- The same as Crunches,but only this time you would have to do extra work on your abs.Instead of just elevating your neck,this time you go towards the right of your thigh,lay back and then towards your left.

By now,you should feel that your abs are more rigid(/ fatigue) due to the workout.Believe me,it is only a momentarily feeling that you will have.If you stop the workout right now,thinking that you have already achieved your six packs,you are DAMN wrong.Your belly is going to come back and haunt you after a couple of drinks.

3. Plank

- Use your forearms to support you on the ground with your body straightenens to the back,tip-toe-ing with both your legs. Then,contract your stomach and back muscles. You will start to feel the effect after about 30 seconds.If not,it might be because your posture is wrong.Re-consider again.

Do each exercise for 3 sets,with repetitious of 20-25 times.

For plank exercise,stay still for 1 minute.You can start from 45 seconds and then gradually increase your time.

I only share 3 tips with you because I feel that they are the main one for you to have nice work out.At least,by doing those,I believe that you won't be having a beer belly.Six packs?Not only come from the workout,but also your diet.Watch out for your diet!It is very important.

Drinking more beer now?

Not a problem after you consistently do the exercises above.Of course,for further abs blasting tips,you can always google them.

Remember,Stay Healthy!

TeamNotSoCool.

Birth of our blog!

Yo! This is the notsocoolteam (ISYS100 Assignment 2 - Group 1, Wednesday 9am Practical Class, Practical Tutor: Ms. Charanya).

Firstly our group members (Student ID) are:

• Ng Sinn-Shun (41946618)
• Tan Soon Teck (42085314)
• Yeap Zheng Lik (42051428)
• Pang Wye Ken (41840410)

This blog will mainly about sports, current plan is to focus on gym and badminton.

Our blog layout plan is as below:

Current and final (5 May) blog layout (on paper)

(Click on the image to enlarge)

2nd (25 April) blog layout (on paper)

(Click on the image to enlarge)

Initial blog layout (on paper)

(Click on the image to enlarge) 

Blog layout (screenshot from Blogger) - Before

(Click on the image to enlarge)  

Blog layout (screenshot from Blogger) - After (Initial)

(Click on the image to enlarge)

Blog layout (screenshot from Blogger) - After (Final, 2 May)

(Click on the image to enlarge)


TeamNotSoCool