Tag: Interesting

Resources by Conor HeffernanNov 1, 20191:09 pm

Guest Post: Injuries That Almost Changed Sports History

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Every athlete’s worst nightmare is not whether they’ll miss out on a trophy or whether they could have signed a more lucrative deal or played for another team. There is one thing they all dread more than anything and that’s an injury that could seriously affect their career. While every athlete experiences at least one injury during their career, some of those affecting some of the world’s greatest athletes could have completely changed the course of sports history. Here are just four of the most famous injuries that could have had major impacts.

Resources by Conor HeffernanOct 23, 201911:34 pm

Guest Post: From Kings to Kicks – The Evolution of Football Shoes

Take a moment to envision the famous figure of King Henry VIII known for his six marriages and numerous unorthodox decisions (pardon the pun), wearing the very first custom-made pair of soccer shoes. In 1526, the very same year the Tudor ruler started courting his soon-to-be second wife Anne Boleyn although already married to Catherine, he also made another historic decision – to have his soccer shoes made.

The game of football as we know it today does stem from England, and the king’s single capricious demand may have very well been the catalyst for the footwear we use today. The game itself, however, is over 3,000 years in the making, dating back to the old Mesoamerican cultures, so it took us a substantial amount of time to get to the level of superior engineering that today’s football players enjoy. Here’s a brief, but thorough glance at how this quite literally game-changing footwear has come into existence.

Resources by Conor HeffernanOct 15, 20199:11 pm

Guest Post: A Brief History Lesson: Trophies and Awards

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Today, awards and trophies are a huge business. No matter if they are being lifted above winners’ heads after a grueling sporting match or if they are being handed to actors and singers at gala events, they have a clear purpose to award achievement. Each trophy tells you that the person holding it is a champion—they are the best of the best. They leave such a big statement that people of all ages from all sorts of organizations and branches get awarded trophies for their success. Since we live in a material world, most of us have a weird fascination with everything sparkly and glitzy, but trophies go beyond our love for glitter and gold. Want to know more? Here’s a brief history of trophies and awards.

Resources by Conor HeffernanOct 2, 20195:05 pm

Guest Post: History of Recreational Sports

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The recreational sport field has existed for quite some time now. Now we see it as a subset of both the recreation and leisure and the sport management industries. Those working in this field are tasked with providing sport opportunities to the widest range of participants. The idea behind recreational sport is that sport should be available to everyone and that all of us should engage in active, participatory sport experiences for many reasons. However, in order for us to be able to enjoy all the benefits now, recreational sport has had to develop and it continues to do so even today. So, why don’t we take a look back at the history of this noble and healthy idea?

Basics by Conor HeffernanSep 24, 20199:09 pm

Guest Post: How Tennis Developed over the Years

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One of the most popular sports nowadays, enjoyed by tens of millions of people, tennis has had a very interesting history. Like most other sports, it has seen many changes, some of which crucial to its development and popularity. So, let’s take a look back at how this great sport has developed to become one of the most attractive and popular sports in the world.

It’s actually very old

Believe it or not, tennis is the direct descendant of jeu de paume, invented in France in the 11^th century. This game was played with bare hands for centuries before rackets were introduced in the 16^th century, along with the special scoring system that remains a great to puzzle to many (15, 30, 40, game). It was in the late 19^th century, i.e. in 1870, that tennis was designed and codified in England. The name came from the French word “tenez!” (loosely translated as “here it comes!”), which a player was supposed to say to their opponent as they were about to serve.

Resources by Conor HeffernanAug 12, 20192:49 pm

Guest Post: Steroid Use through History

We all know how competitive humans are, especially when it comes to sports. Athletes are pushing themselves harder and harder every day to be the best and achieve what nobody has achieved before. Sometimes they resort to various substances to enhance their performance, but many of those substances are actually quite harmful and forbidden.

Still, this has been happening ever since people discovered that some substances help them improve their athletic performance. The ancient Greeks used sesame seeds, while the Australian Aborigines chewed the pituri plant. On the other hand, Norse warriors were fond of hallucinogenic mushrooms and we there is a lot of evidence that many other ancient cultures had similar traditions.

Resources by Conor HeffernanJul 29, 201912:45 pm

Do you Measure Up?

One of the most popular physical culturists of the entire twentieth-century, there is no denying the impact Charles Atlas had on the muscle making industry. Full of vigour, advice and the occasional insult, Atlas challenged […]

Training by Conor HeffernanJul 20, 20198:26 am

Guest Post: A History of Indoor Sports at the Olympics

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When you think of the Olympics, you probably imagine Usain Bolt sprinting towards another world record or Yelena Isinbayeva pole vaulting over the crowd. These outdoor sports have somehow become synonymous with the Olympics, probably because we don’t get to see them every time we switch to any sports channel. However, indoor sports are continuing to build a huge audience since the first time they were introduced at the competition. Some very well-known, some not so popular, indoor sports are slowly taking the center stage at the biggest sporting event in the world. Actually, eight out of ten most exciting and popular sports to watch at the Games today are indoor sports! So, let’s get a bit more familiar with the history of the indoor sports at the Olympic Games.

Resources by Conor HeffernanJun 27, 20195:53 pm

Guest Post: A History of the Sports Massage

Sports massage is one of the best healing practices for athletes, contributing to injury prevention as well as treating various types of sports injuries quickly and successfully. With the use of Swedish, deep tissue and stretching techniques, the massage improves athletic performance and recovery. It has been around for thousands of years, dating back from ancient Rome and even Greece, where sports massage was especially popular during the Olympics back in the day. If you’d like to know more about this old and very appreciated practice, we’ve got a bunch of interesting facts to introduce you to.

Resources by Conor HeffernanJun 21, 20196:24 am

Judging a Physique Contest

This article first appeared in Bob Hoffman’s Strength and Health Magazine in 1957. It details the point scoring for the precusors for today’s modern bodybuilding shows. Of particular interest are the categories dealing with muscularity and athleticism.

Many of us forget that physique competitions used to include some form of strength component dealing with the 3 big lifts (the two hand press, the two hands snatch, the two hands clean and jerk).

How would bodybuilding be today if Kai Greene and Phil Heath had to compete in the clean and jerk for the Olympia crown?

Since judging a Mister Competition has become one of the touchiest subjects in the Iron World, a great deal of time was devoted to clarifying this issue at the official AAU Convention last Fall in Los Angeles. I am going to try to briefly sum up these points for the benefit of officials who handle such contests.