The day of the final fitness test has arrived. Sonja Moses, Nike trainer, knows the Selects have made great progress, but only one can earn the trip to the U.S.

As the girls arrive at Emirates Stadium, they’re definitely feeling the pressure. At this point there’s nothing more they can do - except perform.

The winter blues are upon us and it is getting harder to wake up in the mornings, and even more difficult to move away from the heater. A logical choice is to do your workouts indoors; ala a gym. But once you have taken that unflattering picture of yourself for the membership card what do you do next?

1. Wear the right shoes. Make sure that you wear comfortable, supportive shoes with laces.

2. Warm up. Before jumping right into your exercises remember to do a few stretches and running in one place. Many gyms have a chart showing you a few warm up exercises, and some have a personal trainer who will take you through your initial gym experience.

3. Ask questions. Many machines, contraptions, and exercises may take a while to figure out. Rather than struggling by yourself ask a gym employee to show you.

4. Spice up your routine. You shouldn’t work the same muscle groups every single day. Make sure you focus on different muscles every so often.

5. Stay cool. Cooling down helps prevent injuries to your muscles. An easy way to cool down is to jog in one place, or to stretch.

Original article: Top Diva

We only have a few more weeks left before the opening night of ‘A New Perspective’ in Grahamstown! I can’t wait to perform alongside such passionate dancers. Long hours and a lot of hard work has gone into the production and I am that it will pay off.

At the end of the week I will be attending the opening of the new Nike Store in the V&A Waterfront, Cape Town. I am eager to see what the store will look like as the concept behind it is awesome! (Check out their Facebook profile: Nsw Cape Town)

I am also working on two other projects; one is an independent hip hop documentary filmed and produced by Mikhail Howitz. He has already interviewed some of Cape Town’s very own legendary hip hop figures and has captured awesome footage of some of the best!  The other is a first for me and I am keen to learn as much as I can! I will be singing for producer Ryan Murgatroyd!!! He is very talented and I am excited to see what the finished product will sound like! I have my first recording session with him Wednesday morning! I’m nervous!

Have a good week!

Amy Amz

It seems that every Tom, Dick, Harry and their cat is an expert when it comes to stretching and how to do it. But it seems that no one can agree on stretching. When to stretch, and if you should even stretch? So I put on my Sherlock Holmes cap, found that magnifying glass and did some good old-fashioned investigating.

According to Dr. David Musnick and Mark Pierce (in their book ‘Conditioning for Outdoor Fitness’), “The goal of stretching is to lengthen a muscle and move the corresponding joints through the full range of motion“.

Stretching does have many advantages:
o    Relieve muscle tension
o    Keep muscles flexible, which can help your posture and balance
o    Lengthen muscles and increase range of motion, which helps lengthen your stride
o    Help prevent muscle and joint injuries by elongating and relaxing muscles
o    Flush lactic acid out of your muscles.

So it seems that stretching has a purpose. However, stretching with bad form or tight muscles is the third leading injury in runners according to Jeff Galloway, author of ‘Galloway’s book on running’. So what do we do? To stretch or not to stretch?

Most arguments between stretchers and non-stretchers come down to “stretching helps prevent injuries” and “stretching is a leading cause of injuries“. Mmmm so what to do and which route is ultimately better? So it seems the myth of stretching vs not stretching cannot be busted. So maybe stick with what works for you- why break something that aint broken?

The Selects are at the mid-way point of their Hard Corps training. By now, they’ve learnt firsthand that pain is definitely part of the game.

Since Sonja can’t be there to supervise their training, she gave each of the Selects a camera to record video updates on their progress. So, will they be looking to Sonja for support or sympathy? They should know by now which one they’ll get. It’s not called Hard Corps for nothing.

Keep tabs on the Hard Corps and to download the training programme click here.

1. Build up slowly. If you are new to exercise the best bet is to start with walking. This gets your body used to the movement and warms you up nicely.

2. Choose a form of exercise that you can incorporate into your life. Choosing to walk, or cycle to the shops, letting your dogs take you for a walk, playing in the garden with your little cousins and washing the car helps.

3. Choose something you enjoy and try something new. Joining a local salsa dancing class is a fun way to get active. So look out for classes and clubs in your area.

4. Gather support. By getting your friends and family in on the action is a sure bet of ensuring you don’t fall off of the bandwagon.

5. Set goals for yourself and don’t forget to reward yourself when you reach one. Try and refrain from using sweets or cakes as a reward, use different incentives, such as going to the movies, buying those killer heels you have been eyeing, going to the hairdresser, or watching your favourite DVD.

And remember to drink water while you are exercising so you don’t dehydrate. Now is the time to start getting active- fight away winter blues and get your swim suit body ready for summer.

(Original article from PruHealth)

We can all run, we might not look at cool or as intimidating as Usain Bolt running on TV, but we can at least run and get some benefits out of it. So long as we go about it the right way, our bodies will thank us for getting off of the coach. Hans Koeleman, a renowned long distance runner from the Netherlands, imparts his words of wisdom on how to run and get the most out of it.

Running is a completely individualistic sport, where everyone excels at their own pace Hans reminds me. He is a firm believer that the slower you run as a beginner the better it will be in the end. He tells me that running 5 minutes slow has a greater impact on your body than sprinting for 1 minute and feeling like death afterwards.

Running at an easy pace or a conversational pace (meaning you could either talk to someone next to you or that you could sing Happy Birthday without gasping if you really wanted to) will help with:

o    Refining your threshold and running style
o    Teaches your muscles to learn to burn fat more efficiently
o    Your body will learn to receive and process oxygen better and deal better with lactic acid

Running at a slower pace will also aid in your tempo and recovery time being as close as possible, meaning that you wont feel like death after your run. Hans tells me that as a beginner you should never feel completely exhausted after your run and that if you do then you are doing something wrong and need to relook your pace.

In case you hadn’t noticed: it’s officially Winter. That thin, preppie cardie you bought a month ago is now officially useless. Getting up in the mornings is less ‘let’s get the day started!’ and more ‘let’s rather hibernate’. Leaving the house, even just for a quick meal, now entails an extra hour of layering and an ‘it’s not so bad’ pep talk. And, to make matters worse, I spent one winter’s night in public trying to be good looking and clever and returned with nothing more than a wine-stained shirt and some disgusting, rare, possibly-deadly disease that involves a lot of leaking around the face area (other people say it’s a ‘cold’).

So, here is where the problem comes in: if I can’t even get motivated to wash my hair because it’s too cold (note to self: seriously, work that out) how on earth can I be expected to get motivated to do even the smallest bit of exercise? Because, right now, unless training involves lifting spoons of soup to my mouth in front of the heater, I’m not interested.

I don’t know when it happens, but at some point between the middle of April and the middle of May, all the plans for the year seem to fall into some black hole, never to be seen again. Or is it just me? If not, here’s what I propose: one week of damage control. I’ve decided to find those plans, hold them tight and rip them from that black hole like they’re the last pair of Prada sling-backs in Johannesburg.

I’m going to remind myself what I wanted to do and why. And then, I’m going to create the great Winter Training Chart of 2009, which will include all sorts of warm(ish) sessions that I can do between watching the new season of Dexter and having hot baths - things like swimming in the heated pool or going to 40-degree Bikram Yoga some more.

I’m giving myself one week to pull myself up, get over the ‘cold’, and accept winter and then it’s go time. Who’s with me? On the up side, a warm bed is extra-appealing after exercising in the cold, so I’m giving you full permission to buy a new duvet. Come to think of it, winter doesn’t look too bad after all.

Through the inherent joy in dancing and movement Bona, Siya, Fana aims to counter the social exclusion of adults and children with disabilities. The goal of the Inclusive Arts Education programme is to enable such young people to improve their lives, moving towards independence and fulfilment. Over the past three years they have run a highly successful Disability Arts Festival in partnership with the City of Johannesburg and MuseumAfrica.

Founded by Gladys Agulhas, the initiative aims to reach more than 2000 children and adults through workshops, road shows, classes and other campaigns, breaking the barriers that keep those with mental and/or physical disabilities from joining the world of the performing arts - and even the world at large.

Vote for your GameChangers finalist today and make your voice heard.

Positive Heroes has taken what appears to be the tragic irony in the wording of testing ‘positive’ for HIV and turned it into a source of inspiration. Through the lives of positive (in both senses of the word) role models the initiative aims to show that it is possible to lead a full, long and powerful life with HIV - and that being HIV positive can even serve as an added incentive to get the most out of your life.

Founded by Dr Reon van Dyk, a specialist physician running a private holistic HIV practice, and Gavin Reid, an HIV counsellor and lecturer, Positive Heroes has found ways to challenge the silence, shame and fear associated with HIV through fresh initiatives such the Positive Heroes Ultra Marathon Team. This team consists of three runners, all living with HIV, who will take part in both the Two Oceans (56km) and Comrades (89km) marathons in 2009, thereby proving that HIV is not a disability.

In fact, as team member Evelina Tshabalala (who also happens to be a highly successful mountaineer), points out. “I do things that most normal people can’t do”.

Vote for your GameChangers finalist today and make your voice heard.