The sport of tennis has been around for centuries, and while it can logistically be a nightmare to play, it seems that it has a rich history, dating back well before the 19th century.

Originally classed as a white collar sport, or private school sport, which was mostly only played by rich individuals and upper class society, the sport has seen a rapid transformation in recent decades.

Now, tennis is played by all walks of life, and the social divide that once existed is slowly fading away forever.

For those of who who might somehow have no idea about what the sport is, here is a brief description.

Tennis is a ball sport played between two or four individuals.

Each player has a racquet and stands on opposite sides of a court that is divided by a net.

The aim is to hit the ball over the net on the full, into your opponents half, but within the boundaries indicated by a white line.

Each point you win counts to a game score, which then adds to a set tally.

The person who wins the most sets is called the winner.

The good thing about tennis is that it requires good athletic ability without putting too much strain on your body.

Anyone, any age is able to play, and being non contact, it is sure not to leave you with too many injuries.

The only downside to the sport is the fact that it can be quite challenging at the beginning, as trying to serve and get use to the racquet may be tough.

However, with a bit of practice you should find it to be a great and enjoyable sport.

Kayaking is a water-based sport in which you sit inside a tight oblong shaped floating device, which floats on top of water.

With a double-sided paddle in your hands you are able to steep, generate speed and navigate your way down a river, or along a lake.

Depending on what water body you choose to tackle there will be many possible obstacles that will make the sport and moment exciting and fun.

In rivers, every now and then you will experience rapids: stretches of water where mini waves are formed and water surges through a rocky surface.

In short, rapids will challenge and test you as a kayaker and require more skill and strength the harder the rapid.

The more you take part in the sport, the more you will develop inner strength and balance. Your shoulders and back will become bigger and stronger, and your general cardiovascular fitness will improve.

Constant paddling will also improve your core strength and give you better endurance.

In addition to the recreational side of kayaking, there are also professional avenues people can take.

As well as white water kayaking on the world stage, there is also speed kayaking on flat water, where you race other opponents, in straight lines on flat water.

The event is so global that it is a recognized sport at the Summer Olympics, and has been known to have produced some of the worlds greatest athletes.

In Australia lacrosse is virtually an unknown sport. However, overseas in places like France and Serbia, it is almost a national sport and followed with great passion and skill.

Much like Rugby Union is notoriously played in a few countries, lacrosse is a specific flavour in a handful of countries, mostly European.

So, what is the sport all about?

Well, in basic terms lacrosse is a lot like Hockey, in that the aim is to get the ball, or puck into a small net at either end of a rectangle court, while protecting your own goals.

But what makes the game so unique is the fact that you do so with a stick that has the ability to catch, thrown and pick up the ball ff the ground and in the air.

In short, you can pass the ball from player to player, scoop it up of the ground, and carry it the whole length of the field to score a goal.

While there is no talking, the defensive strategy is to defend them into a situation where they are forced to make an error.

The sport can be quite physical, with big bumps and hits allowed, as well as the odd stick whack allowed to go unnoticed by the referees.

The good thing for the players is that you do wear protective gear, such as helmets and padding across your body, so f you do get hit, it will to have too serious impact.

Smaller lacrosse leagues do exist in nations across the world, even if they do not have national side, and for more information head to www.lacrosse.com

Le Tour has been known for it’s ability to rekindle people’s love for road cycling, and this year was no different.

The sport itself is one of the best exercises possible for the human body, combining all types of endurance, strength and willpower, while at the same time taking the stress of the body, as it is low impact.

The good thing about cycling is that there are many natural varying conditions, so it really does target and focus on different muscle groups during a standard ride.

For example, if there is a hill climb, certain parts of your legs are engaged, so too your arms that are used to pull yourself up the mountain, while if it is a flat ride, different muscles are focused on.

While most of the workout does concentrate on your leg muscles, it does not mean they are the only ones getting a workout.

Your arms are a vital part of road cycling as they help pull you up hills and balance the ride so too your cores strength, which is virtually engaged the whole ride.

As mentioned before, the low impact takes all stress of your body’s joints and gives you a real workout minus the side effects.

The sport is great for maintaining a healthy lifestyle and keeping you fit and focused on life.

And, in addition it’s also a great mode of transport!

The Superbowl, the grand final of the American NFL, attracts hundreds of millions of viewers from across the globe, many of which have little to no idea about how the game is played.

Here in Australia, it is a sport that people are still struggling to grasp.

The sport itself is very unique, and is one of the only football codes where players wear protective gear on their head, their thighs, their shoulders and chest, their groin region, and their ribs.

In fact, there are very few spots on an American footballer player that is not protected during a game.

When watching a game, it visually looks a bit like a rugby game, where two opposing sides face off on a rectangle oval and attack form one side of the field to another.

The thing that makes it so unique, however is that the game is constantly top start, with plays usually not lasting any longer than ten seconds at a time.

After every attempt to move the ball forward and score a touchdown, the team gathers for a discussion about what play to perform next.

In a basic set up, the team is dependant on the quarterback, who is regarded as the playmaker and has the call to pass, throw, run or kick the ball in attack.

In defence, there is a whole new team set up and they usually consist of bigger bodies at the front to stop the run, and more agile bodies in the rear to chase down runners.

While the sport is often criticized for it’s big hits and impact on health, it is one of the most protected sports in the world and really caters for people of all shapes and sizes.

While this is partially true, there is much more to the sport than meets the eye.

Rugby League is actually one of the most explosive sports in the world, and while when you look at the players you may think they are just big, overweight players who would be super slow, there is more to them than just that.

People who play Rugby League at the elite level have an interesting physical make up.

Naturally, the sport requires players to be large sized with big muscles, and be able to take big hits and knocks.

Leg strength is a huge necessity in the sport, as there are many occasions you will need to push off, or carry opponents with you when you have the ball.

But, at the same time it is critical that they have explosive speed, decent endurance and great recovery.

The sport itself is played in short, small bursts, no more than around 10 – 20 yards at a time.

The idea is to break the defensive line and run to you try area to score.

For this reason it is essential to have great agility and the ability to reach maximum speed, fast.

While there are many different positions on a Rugby League field, the body characteristics are generally similar.

Now, there are many people who may argue the sport is bad on the body and not a good choice for our kids to play.

While I can see this argument, I do believe the sport has many positives.

Yes, there are many big hits, but they only condition your body to resist knocks, and the increase in muscle and strength are great in preventing future injuries.

The explosive speed you gain from the sport will only make life more enjoyable and will do wonders for your overall health.

There are many reasons to dislike the spot of Rugby League, but from a health point of view, there are positives as well.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lHgp9vP1Gg

LARS surgery is the new trend for AFL footballers to undergo as an an alternative to a full knee reconstruction.

It is considered a quick fix when a footballer does an ACL during a game but sports medical expert Dr Peter Larkins told the Herald Sun that there was a fear that the industrial-strength polyester fibres used to repair the torn natural ligament during LARS surgery have a limited lifespan.

Blues ruckman Matthew Kreuzer recently injured his ACL as the club weighs up whether to go down the path of LARS surgery.

“If Carlton sees him as a long-term player, it’s a real unknown as to whether they (artificial fibres) survive more than a couple of years,” Larkins said. “The concern would be whether the synthetic ligament eventually ruptures.

Sydney midfielder Nick Malceski was the pioneer, or “bunny rabbit” as he referred to himself, when he became the first AFL player to undergo the procedure after rupturing an anterior cruciate ligament in pre-season game early in 2008.

The serious injury normally sidelines players for 6-9 months, but Malceski was back playing senior football by round 8 of that season.

Other players David Rodan and Brad Fisher have recently undergone the LARS surgery with very swift comebacks also.

Knee reconstructions mean a full 12 months on the sidelines with limited exercise.

Fisher is getting ”better and better” according to Bullants coach David Teague. 

“He’s played four games now and he’s getting better and better,” Teague said.

Some players still wish to go through the full knee reconstruction such as Fremantle’s Rhys Palmer who returned this season and players such as Hawthorn ruckman Max Bailey injured his knee for the third time and underwent a third knee reconstruction.

But LARS surgery is certainly a risky trend.

That is the expectation.

Socceroos coach Pim Verbeek told a crowd at a Johnny Warren Football Foundation dinner just a fortnight before the Socceroos left for South Africa that Australia needs to invest in more facilities if it is going to be successful at the World Cup in the future.

He compared the facilities in Australia to his home at the Netherlands.

“Physically they are (Australia) more than capable, the next thing is about building academies, building facilities,” Verbeek said.

“It’s a start. We’re also starting to get a fair few people in Australia that like football. It’s a big step and in my two and a half years, football is getting better and better all the time.”

If you had thought of starting the game before, now is definitely time when it is at fever pitch around the world.

It will get you fitter than you can imagine – and it’s not just chasing the round ball – but the amount of training that goes into it.

You need to be amazingly fit to run out a 90 minute game of soccer.

Football Federation Australia shows that there are many clubs – and many new ones – around the nation and it is these figures that will provoke the sporting body to invest in more facilities.

At the moment Aussie Rules and Rugby League are getting the majority of the dollars, soccer is beginning to blossom but hasn’t quite made it in the country.

The more people that get involved the better. Don’t just cheer on the Socceroos at home or at your local pub – try it out yourself and you will become much fitter and happier because of it.

The cold weather makes it hard for you to head out and go for a surf, or even to warm your muscles enough to go for a skate or bike ride.

Then there is the issue of wind and rain, which makes it tougher all together.

So, what activities are there for an extreme sports lover in winter??? Well, there is one obvious answer… Snowboarding!!

For many Aussies, we have never even been to the snow let alone strapped our feet to a board and ridden down a hill in excess of 50 kilometers per hour.

But the sport is one of the fastest growing and much loved past times in our shores.

The good thing about snowboarding is that it keeps you active, warm and fit during the time of the year we usually let ourselves go.

What makes snowboarding even better for your health than skiing or tobogganing is that there it is a lot harder to move around, and because you do not have ski poles or free feet to move around with, you are often left unstrapping, skating and walking a lot more that you would like.

While actually traveling down hill, you will burn a lot of fat and strengthen your leg muscles as well as increasing your balance.

Snowboarding requires precise weight distribution and will build up your reaction time and stamina.

And if you like to hit the jumps and do tricks along your way own, your vertical leap will improve and so to your speed and agility.

Now, there are still some negatives attached to the sport.

For starters it does have a bad track record for damaging knees and ankles, and the harder you push yourself the more chance there is for injury.

While snow is softer than concrete, and you will not get any gravel rash, it is still hard and you must remember you are not invincible on it.

Happy boarding!

Surprisingly, table tennis can help your fitness in all facets given that you need the tenacity and speed to chase the ball from side to side.

The game plans involved are also very strategic and professionals say that the game helps your concentration skills which of course help other facets of life including driving, studying or simply focusing on something in general life.

You would be extremely surprised at just how much you might sweat during a game of table tennis. If you play a long set of games, then you would be rushing from side to side and then having the ability to focus on your game plan.

It may not be as physically demanding as tennis, but it is the perfect sporting option during winter if you are mor eof an indoors person.

It can also be played in the garage or in your living room or whereever there is space.

Table Tennis is also played competitively at sporting clubs around Victoria.

There are regional teams, there are simply club matches, state and national matches.

Table Tennis is an Olympic sport and although, it is not very popular in Australia, the Aussies still have a strong team who train regularly throughout the year.

There are many types of bats or racquets that you can buy depending on your game plan. The rubbers on your bat tell the story of your game plan. Some have defensive rubbers which slow the ball down; others have attacking rubbers which make the ball go faster and some even like a combination with one defensive rubber and one attacking rubber.

Head to your local table tennis centre now or simply just head to your garage.