Home Gym Equipment – Do You Need a Weight Training Belt?

February 26th, 2009 by Winston Salem, under Exercise Tips. No Comments

In health clubs and gyms, it’s a common site to see burly men with thick leather belts lifting heavy weights. Are those belts of any use, and should you get one to compliment your home gym?

A weight training belt is a thick belt made of leather or synthetic material typically about 6 inches in width. The belt is worn around the waist and the idea is that it gives support to the back when lifting weights.

However you do not need to wear this type of belt in order to effectively train using weights. In fact, they can hinder your movements and prevent the proper development of your back and abdominal muscles.

The best way to develop your ability to lift weights is to develop the muscles in your back and to carry out the correct lifting and breathing techniques during your lift. To develop the muscles, it’s important that you have a program set up where you regularly train and gradually build up the resistance that you are putting on your body.

The other problem with weight lifting belts is that they can give you a false sense of security, especially when lifting heavier weights. This can lead to injury.

Some people also like to wear wraps and supports around the joints. These are typically made from elasticated material and fixed using Velcro around the wrists, elbows or knees. They are commonly seen in gyms and people often wear them if they have had an injury.

But similar to weight training belts, their usefulness is questionable. If there are exercises that make your knees hurt, then you should not be carrying out those exercises. If you are recovering from injury there are other exercises that do not put such a strain on the body that can be useful. For instance using an elliptical trainer is a low impact way of exercising that can help the circulation.

Instead of spending your money on a weight training belt and wraps, spend some time devising a personalized weight-training program that will help build your strength without risk of injury.

Tags: Gym, Gym Equipment, lift weights

The Aces High Workout

February 25th, 2009 by Winston Salem, under Exercise Tips. No Comments

Most people find bodyweight exercises and other such exercises to be boring or difficult (or both!), even though those exercises can yield tremendous overall health benefits. In various psychology circles there is a belief that to motivate people to start a new habit you should use things that they already know and love, and you would incorporate those activities with the area needing motivation. You are now going to discover how to use this psychological technique with motivating other people (and maybe even yourself!) to exercise.

Currently in the United States, many people have a passion for card games; and they play them whenever they can. Whether they play blackjack at the casinos, play in poker tournaments on Friday nights, or play bridge with friends at home many people are passionate about their card games. Chances are that these people own a deck of cards, and they most likely associate a deck of cards with something fun. If you want to get in better shape, still have fun with your friends, and not spend a dime on gym memberships then you will enjoy the Aces High Workout!

The benefits of the Aces High Workout are that it:

* Is free (except for the cost of a deck of cards)
* Can be done in just about location
* Can be done while traveling
* Can be done outdoors or indoors, especially if the weather is bad
* Builds camaraderie with friends
* Is a different workout every time
* Will help you look better
* Makes getting in better shape fun because you will have friendly competition
* Increases your “functional” muscles; these are muscles you can use for everyday activities such as housecleaning, yard work, gardening, playing with your kids, etc.

Here is a quick list of exercises you can do just about anywhere:

* Bodyweight squats
* Regular pushups (or kneeling pushups)
* Wall “sits”
* Jumping jacks
* “Hindu” pushups (or “Dive Bomber” pushups”)
* Climbing a flight of stairs
* Sit-ups
* Crunches
* Lunges
* Step-ups
* Any of the “animal crawls” such as the Bear Crawl
* Shadow boxing
* Any of the advanced bodyweight exercises with which you are familiar

The structure of the Aces High Workout has lots of room for variety, so you and your friend can decide on which exercises you will do. For example, you could choose a specific exercise for a certain card “suit” (Clubs, Diamonds, Spades, and Hearts). Or you could select a certain exercise for odd-numbered cards, a certain exercise for even-numbered cards, and a certain exercise for “face” cards (Jacks, Queens, Kings, Aces, and Jokers). If you decide to play a game of “War”, each of you draws a card. The winner is the one with the highest-value card, and the other person has to do that number of the specified exercise. If you decide to play a game of poker, you could predetermine a specific exercise for the type of winning hand. For example, if you win with “Three of a Kind” then the other person has to do pushups. If you were to win the hand with a “Full House” then the other person has to climb stairs, etc.

You can also modify these recommendations for other card games.

Here is an example of the Aces High Workout based off of the card game “War”:

* Clubs: Crunches
* Aces: Pushups
* Diamonds: Bodyweight squats
* Hearts: Step-ups

If you draw a 6 of Hearts and your friend draws a 9 of Clubs, you would lose the hand and have to do 9 crunches (because it was a Club suit which won). After a few seconds, you each would draw again and follow until the deck is completed. As you can imagine, the variety is huge and it can be fun. You also can change the incentive so that the person with the high card “wins” and gets to do the exercise. This may be more useful as you will associate winning with exercising. It is a useful psychological technique, and it can be applied to other areas of your life if you wish. We hope that you enjoy the Aces High Workout and find it to be fun, full of variety, and a way to have a great workout with a friend so that both of you get in even better shape!

Tags: exercise, The Aces High Workout, Workout

Using an Exercise Trampoline

February 22nd, 2009 by Winston Salem, under Exercise Tips. 1 Comment

We usually think of trampolines as a fun outdoor amusement item for children. In fact, trampolines provide fantastic exercise through their ability to sustain target heart rates while remaining gentle to joints.

Rebounders – also known as “mini trampolines” – have been popular for many years, both for high-aerobic fitness and for bouncing fun. Rebounding is a unique exercise in that you achieve a weightless state at the top of each jump then land with twice the force of gravity on each bounce.

Rebounding offers an exercise that can be adjusted to your fitness level, is easy on your joints and back, and can be done in your home at your convenience. Studies have shown that rebounding on a trampoline burns more calories than traditional jogging. Rebounding protects the joints from the chronic fatigue and impact delivered by exercising on hard surfaces.

Exercising on a trampoline also strengthens your heart and improves your circulation. Many other benefits have been claimed, such as stimulating the flow in your lymphatic system, revitalizing vision, helping to slow the effects of aging, reducing stress, and benefiting children with learning disabilities and cystic fibrosis.

Mini trampolines are particularly good for children as exercising on it, which is also fun, results in better mental performance, with keener learning processes.

Exercising on mini trampolines is also good for people leading a sedentary life, as it offers relief from neck and back pains, headaches, and other pain caused by lack of exercise.

Tags: exercise, Exercise Trampoline, Trampoline

Exercise At Home Without Weights

February 16th, 2009 by Winston Salem, under Exercise Tips. No Comments

It’s easy to see why many individuals would be interested in home exercise routines. You can get great results exercising at home, as long as you know what you are doing. All it takes to get results at home is an exercise mat, some free weights (dumbbells) and exercise tubings. Even if you don’t have all these tools, there are several exercises you can do around the house. You can always try exercises that use your own body weight. The secret to success is to exercise the right way without hurting yourself.

At home, you can train at your own time. You are unaffected by the timings of your gym or your trainer. This is an excellent solution for stay-at-home moms, individuals who work from home, and individuals with an erratic work schedule. It’s nice not to have to pay for a gym membership.

Personally, I enjoy exercising at home, because that’s how I started. It’s fun and convenient. I have a treadmill that faces a large TV, some dumbbells and a never-say-die attitude. That’s all it takes. With the number of tools available today, it is simple to set up a gym atmosphere in the comforts of your own home. I train most of my clients in their own home. To get results at home, you need self-motivation and discipline, since you are going to be on your own. It’s not as hard as you think and can be enjoyable and beneficial. When you are committed mentally to pursue a leaner, energized and dynamic fitness level, changes happen much faster.

There are some reasons that home exercise can fail. It’s likely your hectic schedule or a long commute discourages you from exercise. Sometimes, an individual can get intimidated by the social atmosphere of a health club. After all, if a club is a place where people flirt more and exercise less, you might find yourself less inclined to go! It could also be crowded, and many people do not like waiting in line for the equipment. With home exercise, there is not waiting period. Despite the popularity of health clubs, many individuals are now exercising at home. In fact, the Journal of the American Medical Association reported a study conducted by Stanford University. The study said exercising at home is just as beneficial as working out at a health club. Interestingly, the study also found people who trained at home were more likely to stick with their program than those who exercised at a club.

The advantages of working out at home include convenience, cost effectiveness and control over the atmosphere and timing. You don’t have to wait in line for any equipment, and can pace yourself. There is no fear of embarrassment, or feeling of incompetence On the other hand, there may be some minor drawbacks to home exercise. Working out in solitude may affect your long-term compliance, it’s easy to get distracted, bored or lackluster in your efforts. If you follow the same routine for each and every workout, chances are you will give up at some point. The body adjusts to an exercise routine very quickly. It’s important to change up your routine every 3-4 weeks. If you don’t know what you are doing, you may get injured.

Strength Training Exercises At Home For The Upper Body and Abdominals.

For best results, warm up for 10-15 minutes with light aerobic exercise (walking, cycling, jogging). Deep breathing and stretching for 3-5 minutes before you begin strength training helps the muscles relax and rejuvenate.

The following exercises do not require any equipment, other than a pair of dumbbells. This is a unique method that I have developed on my own, and it has helped thousands of clients get results.

Push-ups, seated rows, triceps dips, shoulder raises, overhead shoulder presses, lateral shoulder raises, biceps curls, regular abdominal crunches. reverse abdominal crunches, standing trunk twists.

Tags: exercise, Exercise At Weights

4 Tips for Designing an Attractive and Functional Home Gym Room

February 14th, 2009 by Winston Salem, under Exercise Tips. No Comments

Home gym and interior design is becoming a topic that is being discussed today more than ever. It used to be the case that a home gym was just some barbells, dumbbells, a rusty weight bench and maybe an exercise bike that looked like it was just taking up space inside your house. Today, however, with more and more emphasis on fitness and exercise, while having less time to do it, people are placing more attention to the design of their home gyms.

Designing a home gym to make it appear inviting makes it easier for you to workout at home. Not many people enjoy working out in a “dungeon”-like environment (such as a home gym located in a poorly lit, unfinished basement). An attractive looking home workout room filled with quality equipment that you will use can be easily accomplished with the following tips:

Select High Quality Home Exercise Equipment

The last thing you want in your home gym is a nice looking interior design with a piece of machinery that looked like it came out of the automotive junk yard. Select the best home gym equipment you can afford. Not only will this look nice, but chances are the gym equipment will last a lot longer than a cheaper variety.

Arranging Exercise Equipment

Construct a floor plan in order to visualize where your home gym and other exercise equipment will be located. With multiple exercise machines, it’s best to arrange the tallest and largest home exercise equipment along the walls, and the smallest shorter gym equipment in the middle. This maximizes the use of space in your exercise room as well as improves the appearance of your home gym. If you look at most health clubs, this is how their commercial gym equipment is arranged.

Add Colors to the Walls of Your Workout Room

A boring, egg-shell white color for the walls of your home gym will make it feel like a room in a hospital. Paint the walls with an eye appealing color to make the room more inviting.

Hang Up Pictures in Your Home Gym

Adding pictures and posters in your home gym will not only make the room resemble some of the designs of a health club, but with the right picture, it can act as a motivation tool as well.

The easiest way to gather ideas for designing your home gym is just simply to visit your local health club. Most of the time they offer a free trial or a tour, and what you can do is make notes of how they designed their fitness facility. Bring a notebook with you, and jot down anything that looks appealing to you that you could use for your own home gym. Take note of the colors of the walls, the positioning of the equipment, and the flooring of the gym. Also, look for pictures that are displayed on the walls. Theses are often designed to motivate members to workout.

Overall, with a sound plan and careful consideration of what equipment is needed and where to place them, you can design a home gym room that not only looks attractive, but is functional as well. Designing a home gym to make it appear more attractive may actually make you want to exercise more often too!

Tags: Exercise Equipment, Gym, Gym Room, Home Gym

Toning Exercise For Women

February 8th, 2009 by Winston Salem, under Exercise Tips. No Comments

According to an Australian study of 7281 subjects, women have unique life reasons that can derail workouts. These include the birth of a child, marriage, single parenthood, a new job, divorce, overworking, job stress and returning to school. Time is a big consideration. After a day of work and childcare, most women prefer to spend their leisure time in socializing with family and friends, reading and watching television, rather than rushing to the treadmill.

It’s just hard to be a girl!

The fact is that exercise has unique benefits for women. Regular exercise lowers estrogen levels, reduces body fat, and produces a healthier body mass index (BMI), all of which significantly reduce the risk of breast cancer, especially in postmenopausal women. In a study of 173 sedentary, overweight postmenopausal women, researchers had half the women do aerobic exercise for 45 minutes, 5 days a week and the other half perform weekly stretching. Since fat cells produce estrogen, fat loss lowered estrogen. The result: a lower risk of breast cancer. A survey of women, some with breast cancer, revealed that women who did more exercise, chores and had a physically demanding job were 26% less likely to develop cancer before menopause. They were also 19% less likely to develop postmenopausal cancer than sedentary women.

Strength training, in particular, has several benefits. When 27 menopausal women lifted weights for 8 weeks in a strength-training program at Richard Stockton College of New Jersey, 33% had boosted energy and sex drive. Also, 40% felt less anxious, and 50% said they were less achy, stiff, and irritable. Hot flashes, headaches, and painful intercourse decreased. (Some authorities believe that daily multivitamins contain iron, which can offset the monthly iron loss during your menstrual period). As women grow older, weight training becomes more important.

For women, perceiving fitness as positive and favorable is important. Women who perceive themselves as having more energy, fewer emotional problems, less pain, fewer social problems and lesser feelings of nervousness and depression are more likely to start exercising. Also, women are more likely to continue exercising if they believe that they have more energy, fewer emotional problems, excellent health and less pain.

When starting an exercise program, it is important to remember a few basic principles –

Get The Right Exercise Routines.

Ideally, you want a routine you can print out, take to the gym or use at home. It should include a start and end picture of exercises, along with a description of technique. Such exercise charts are available in health clubs and can be found on various websites like the one mentioned in the resource box. Always obtain a routine from a reliable source and ask questions if you don’t understand anything.

Start With Moderate Exercise.

The latest recommendations focus on moderate activity levels aimed at achieving functional fitness and avoiding disease. This differs from older guidelines that emphasized high-intensity activity for cardiovascular fitness. This shift took place because research found that lower levels of activity offered substantial health benefits. Also, public health experts believe that focusing on moderate rather than intense activity may help motivate more individuals. These guidelines don’t mean that high-intensity exercise isn’t helpful. They simply offer an alternative route for people who prefer less intensive workouts. If time is a factor, you may opt for more vigorous exercises, and shorten the duration of your workout.

What Is Moderate?

Because the same activity elicits different levels of effort for people at different levels of fitness, the best way to recognize how hard you’re working is to be aware of your breathing pattern, heart rate and exertion levels. Moderate-intensity activity is going to make you breathe harder than light activity, make your heart beat faster and likely make you sweat a little.

How Hard Is Moderate?

Very light exercise results in no noticeable exertion. Reading the newspaper is a good example. Light exercise results in noticeable exertion and normal to slightly increased breathing. Walking a dog can be considered light exercise for many individuals. Moderate exercise is (surprise, surprise) moderately vigorous. Gardening, for example, may be associated with deeper breathing to panting and sweating. Finally, hard exercise involves vigorous exertion, gasping and heavy sweating. Think of that aerobics class that’s hard to get through!

Source: Adapted from Exercise: A Program You Can Live With, Harvard Health Publications, February 2002.

How Much Exercise Is Needed?

3-4 days a week of moderate exercise for 30-45 minutes each time. Researchers have found that 30 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity on most days of the week can reduce the risk of developing heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, stroke, and colon cancer. It reduces feelings of depression and anxiety, helps build bones and muscles, keeps joints functioning well, and in older women minimizes the risk of falling.

How Do You Find The Time?

You don’t have to fit your exercise all into one session or limit yourself to only one exercise. For example, take a brisk 15-minute walk during your coffee break and another after dinner. Use a bicycle for 15 to 20 minutes. It all adds up. You may find that you can reach an hour a day of moderate-intensity activity more easily than you thought.

If you have not done much exercise lately, start adding physical activity to your life with some simple tips. Park your car further from your destination and walk. Find a group of friends to walk with on weekend mornings. Garden or help in home repairs. Take the stairs instead of the elevator or escalator. Use hand weights while walking. Vacuum while watching television. Every little bit helps!

Tags: exercise, Exercise For Women, Toning Exercise

Girls of Sunday Sports

February 4th, 2009 by Winston Salem, under Exercise Tips. No Comments

Women play a really big role in sports. When the women’s rights movement came into effect, that’s when women were allowed to participate in sports. In 1840-1901 was the beginning of women in sports, and then it was only in very few events they participated in. Tennis was played by women in the 1880’s which was more like batminton now. Even though tennis has been popular with the women for so long it still did little to help the future of women’s team sports.

It wasn’t until 1972 when Title lX, The Educational Amendment Act, was passed that said: Federal money could not be given to public school programs that discriminated against gender. Schools then had to have equal teams for girls and boys. They had to have equal equipment, scholarship funds, and teams to get government funding. That’s what has helped womens sports grow tremendously. Girls of Sunday Sports could include every woman these days, from church teams to professional sports. Women are very successful and talented in sports, Women are given drive, by the disbelief that we can not achieve the same goals that men do.

Women in sports has had to overcome a lot of different things. Of course, we first had to prove that just because we give birth to children doesn’t make us weak. Then men had this idea that if women played sports they couldn’t get married and have children like normal Americans. When women started bicycling there was proper clothing they had to wear such as lose unrestrictive clothing. Overcoming all of those issues we have proceeded to move forward.

Contact sports like football, wrestling and boxing are still not as popular as the rest. Golf was considered a good sport for women and back in the 1900’s was only played in the front yards of the rich or at country clubs. Women who was the daughter or wife of a member could play at almost every country club there were still a few that just had women’s day. Archery was one of the first organized sports for women that they could play competitive and could also have tournaments. Today the only major issues we have is which sport to play. Now colleges are giving scholarships for just about every women sport.

Girls of Sunday sports have a lot of confidence and a lot of sense of achievement. Just like everything else that we have to prove we can do, it empowers women to work harder. The future of women athletics are getting brighter each day! Women have earned a lot of respect due to the fact of motivation and the desire to succeed in every part of our daily lives, and to strive for bigger challenges. Girls of Sunday sports are legend and heroes to many.

Tags: Sports, Sunday Sports, women in sports

Guide to Fat Burning Cardio Exercise

February 3rd, 2009 by Winston Salem, under Exercise Tips. No Comments

You know you are in need of some fat burning cardio workouts once you feel the pants get a little snug, and you get winded just walking up a flight of stairs, and you have no energy during the day. There’s no quick fix to your overall health issues but you can adopt a weekly regime of moderate workouts that will give you a long-term solution to keeping you lean, fit, and happy.

It will have to be a daily and weekly program since there is no one single fat burning workout that can be done occasionally to take off the pounds. In addition, you must combine a workout program with a properly balanced meal plan to be successful. This means creating a calorie deficit in order to burn off excess body fat — which means doing more exercise and eating less. Since a pound of fat is equal to 3,500 calories worth of “fuel” to the body, you must burn 3,500 more calories in one week than you take in, in order to burn off just one pound.

Start Getting That Heart Rate Up

By using the term fat burning cardio, what we are really suggesting is doing a form of aerobic activity. This is exercise that helps you use oxygen in your muscles more efficiently. Aerobics can be described as almost any exercise that quickens your breathing and gets your heart pumping faster, and is maintained for at least 20 minutes.

This can even include brisk walking! One thing walkers and runners share is that they can no more miss time spent in a daily workout than they could skip brushing their teeth or catching the news. Most avid walkers can cover a distance of five miles easily and are quite trim individuals. Running is considered the apex, the hyper fat burning cardio exercise, but not everyone can handle the constant pounding on the knees.

An Ideal Indoor Aerobic Program: The Cardio Circuit

If running isn’t an option for you, consider pursuing a low-impact aerobics workout using cardio circuit machines such as treadmills, elliptical machines, bikes and so on. These are the big expensive machines you’ll find at the health clubs but you can also buy economically priced equipment for your home gym. Trainers and health experts recommend using fat burning cardio machines because they don’t put the stress on the joints like road running does and they do elevate the heart rate — which is, after all, the most important point of a “cardio” workout.

Consider two important points: an effective fat burning workout should be both weight-bearing and be sustainable for a period of time. Fitness activities such as running are especially effective at burning more calories because you have to carry your own body weight (as opposed to swimming weightless in water). As for the time factor, it’s recommended by all fitness experts that you should work out aerobically for a minimum of 30 to 60 minutes and do so at least three times a week.

The great thing about doing cardio circuit training is that the workouts target the large postural muscle groups in the body, i.e., the legs and trunk, but also the chest, abs, and back. When these large muscles are involved, calories get consumed at an even faster rate. When you start to get strong and have built up endurance, then it’s time to increase the resistance and challenge your body to do more.

Cardio circuit machines will help you burn about 500 calories in an hour if you stick to a moderate to intense fat burning workout, the equivalent of doing a 5-mile road run. For variety, try doing 20 minutes each on three different types of machines for an intense hour of activity.

It’s no secret that the way to lose weight is to: Eat Less + Work Out. And now we’ll show you how to add one more step to your fat burning cardio program to really get your butt in shape.

Combining Cardio with Weight Training

Here’s a great way to get the result you want — fast! Add some resistance exercise such as weight training to your weekly fitness schedule to help tone your developing body. You can alternate by doing weights one day, aerobics the next day, and so on. However, if you must do both on the same day, always lift weights first before doing aerobic activities.

There are two reasons for this: first, if you do the cardio first, you’ll get tired and you should not lift with fatigued muscles. The second reason is that lifting weights beforehand will help to burn off the blood sugar and stored glycogen before you start your fat burning cardio phase. Otherwise, it takes up to a half an hour to reach this zone when doing aerobic activity alone. Remember: lift first, then do the cardio. Before long, as you watch the pounds melt away, you’ll have a slimmer, more toned body and you’ll find that your endurance and energy levels will increase dramatically.

Tags: Cardio Exercise, exercise, Fat Burning

Exercise and the Need For Fresh Oxygen

February 2nd, 2009 by Winston Salem, under Exercise Tips. No Comments

When we workout hard our cardio vascular system is working over time to deliver much needed oxygen to our muscles. If you are a city slicker like me, you have probably developed the bad habit of exercising only at the local gym. The problem is health clubs today are poorly suited to supply the appropriate mix of inside to outside air exchange. Most are only equipped with ceiling fans, pushing everybody else’s carbon dioxide (and who knows what else) into your lungs! Muscles need and demand fresh oxygen!

There is something called “recovery oxygen uptake” and it basically means even after your muscles have stopped contracting, heavy breathing continues for an extended period. Your lungs are trying to restore metabolic conditions to the resting level. It makes sense to give the body as much fresh oxygen as possible, especially during and after intense exercise.

The remedy is simple and comes in two parts.

· Whenever possible try exercising outdoors. Try getting at least 30-45 minutes of fresh clean air daily. You can try some of the following: biking, hiking, walking, swimming or any other outdoor activity. Try making it a habit of training 1-2 times a week outside instead of the usual stuffy closed indoor environment.

· Own a home gym: I try not to endorse any products but you might consider owning a home gym. There are many to choose from, but I always go with names that are recognized in the field. If you have the money, 3 names stand above the rest…Bowflex, Hoist and Precor. I own various modalities from all 3. They have the best warranties and equipment on the market today. I workout with the doors and windows open most of the time (even during the colder months), this allows my lungs to suck up all that clean air.

The great thing about owning a home gym is you control the ventilation, along with not having to wait around for equipment to open up. If you want to go down the less expensive road here are some other great choices you might want to consider: selectable dumbbells and exercise bands (Bodylastics is a good choice). Both run under a $100 and can give you an incredible workout in your home.

Try these small but simple ways to get healthier – your lungs, immune system and muscles will thank you for it!

Tags: exercise, Fresh Oxygen, muscles

Immigration of Athletes

February 1st, 2009 by Winston Salem, under Exercise Tips. No Comments

As the government continues to crack down on immigration, the economic effects are often debated. But there is another area that is often ignored – the sports world. Some of the U.S.’s most famous athletes arrived here as immigrants: Sammy Sosa, Yao Ming, Patrick Ewing, and Wayne Gretzky to name a few.

As fewer work visas are handed out, coming to America to play professional sports is becoming more difficult. In 2004, only 66,000 total were issued and professional sports didn’t receive any special treatment, thus making it difficult to get some players here. Professional sports is a multi-billion dollar industry, bringing in significant revenue for the U.S., so it is important to look at the history of sports and immigration to understand how immigration laws will affect the future. According to Former MLB, Hall of Famer, left-handed pitcher, Sudden Sam McDowell, “Major League Baseball doesn’t get any breaks. They go along with the law. Some new ball players may report to spring training late, or not at all, because their paperwork may have been filled out incorrectly.”

McDowell added, cofounder of K-Towne Sports Academy in Montverde, “Major League sports has been recruiting players since the 1930’s, “We do have a special consulate in New York, we can make inquiries to with questions, but when recruiting we go through the same challenges as everyone else. When visiting other countries, we start the paperwork the year before they (the ball players) come to the states.

An there are different types of work visas with different time frames for each person.” “The boxers Benny Leonard, Kid Kaplan, Barney Ross, Lew Tendler, Benny Bass and many others in the 20’s and 30’s all left their mark on the sport – and many are remembered to this day,” remarks Arnold Holtzman, author. “But with the successful integration of these immigrants into American life, the Jewish, Irish and Italian boxers were replaced by African-Americans. These champions in turn gave way to the new immigrants from Puerto Rico.

Then came the turn of the Russians, and boxers from the Ukraine and other Eastern bloc countries. Now the Mexicans are rising to the top in many divisions. This remains, for many an immigrant, the swiftest way to secure a place for himself, or herself, and gain respectability in America – and realize America’s exceptional promise as the land of opportunity wherever genuine talent merits such opportunity.”

Tags: Athletes, Immigration of Athletes