FISH SHAKE....

Summer swim season is a wonderful time to fall in love with swimming.  Couple of helpful hints from Owner Mike Troy.

1.  Meet new people- this sounds like a small thing but it can be the best part of summer swimming.  Here is how it works...look around your lane....spot someone you don't know.....reach out your hand and introduce yourself with the all important "fish handshake"...don't know what a fish handshake is?  It is a handshake that a fish would use...don't get it still?  Ask your coach :-).  Once you have met that new person this is the first step to making a new friend.  New friends can make summer swimming go from super fun to super duper fun.

2.  Enjoy the racing- When you push off the wall in practice or a swim meet race the people around you to the wall.  No worries if you are racing for a Blue, Red, Pink or Pokka dot ribbon...just race.  If you don't have anyone around you to race then make up a pretend race partner.  Once the race is done reach over and give them a little "FISH SHAKE".  Good times and big smiles are sure to follow.  It is not nearly as important who wins the race but rather that you raced your best.

3. Take a big deep breath- Ever get a little nervous and have butterflies in your belly?  Take a big deep breath and blow those butterflies out of your belly.  Yep, once you start blowing those butterflies take a look at them fly away.  Repeat this 5 times and you will be amazed how much better you feel.

See you around the pool

Teens Eat More Weigh Less

Research from the University of Minnesota School of Public Health shows that teenagers who eat breakfast on a regular basis tend to weigh less, exercise more, and eat a healthier diet than teens that usually skip breakfast. The research is published in the March, 2008, issue of the Medical Journal of Pediatrics .

The study followed 2,216 adolescents and their lifestyle habits for five years beginning at age 14. The researchers were surprised to discover that the more regularly the teens ate breakfast, the lower their body mass index was. Body mass index, or BMI, is a ratio of height and weight. Those who always skipped breakfast, on average, had a higher BMI.

According to previous research, 12 to 34% of children and teens age 6 to 19 regularly skip breakfast and we also know that 25% of 6 to 19 year olds are overweight or obese. The researchers also warned about rates of obesity, which have doubled in children and nearly tripled in adolescents over the past two decades, according to a 2007 report by the U.S. Surgeon General’s Office. Obesity has been clearly linked to high cholesterol, high blood pressure, asthma and diabetes.

Many people assume that skipping meals will help them to lose weight. In reality, when we skip a meal, the body thinks that food is scarce so it slows the metabolism to protect us from starving -we then have less energy so we burn fewer calories. On top of that, the next meal that we eat after skipping a meal is converted to fat and stored around the waste and hips as protection from starvation. The net result of skipping meals, especially breakfast, is a slower metabolism, less energy and more production of body fat.