Krunch Fitness Glossary - O

O

One Repetition Max
The greatest amount of weight a person can lift one time in good form.

Open Chain Exercise
Exercise that occurs when the distal segment of an extremity is free, such as performing a knee extension exercise.

Open Skill
One for which the environment is stable and unpredictable.

Osteoporosis
A decrease in bone density. Overload Stressing the body or parts of the body to levels above what is normally experienced.

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Krunch Fitness Glossary - N

N

Nervous System
The brain, spinal cord and all the nerves in the body.

Neural Drive
A measure of the number and amplitude of nervous system impulses to a muscle.
Neuron A conducting cell in the nervous system that specialized in generating and transmitting nerve impulses.

Neutral Posture
A halfway zone between a person's ability to flex and extend. Neutral posture involves a minimal amount of stress and strain, and is conducive to maximal efficiency of the body. (Also called Ideal posture)

Neutralizer Muscle
A muscle responsible for eliminating or canceling out an undesired movement.

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Valentines Day Fitness

Everyone associates the heart with Valentine's Day.

How about doing something that will strengthen the heart and improve cardiovascular fitness?

Challenge your family to a "hearty" Valentine's Day. Between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., family members should try to obtain as many heart points as possible. Select a Saturday or Sunday close to Valentine's Day, or disallow activity during Mum and Dad's working hours.

Walking
1 point for every 15 minutes

Jogging
1 point for every 10 minutes

Cycling
1 point for every 15 minutes

Swimming
1 point for every 10 minutes

Skipping
1 point for every 10 minutes

You may wish to give the younger children a handicap and make it harder for teens. For example:

Children 5 - 7
multiply the total score by 2

Children 8 - 10
multiply the total score by 1.5

Children 11 - 17
multiply the total score by .75

Ages 18 and up
multiply the total score by 1

The winner at the end of the day receives a token prize such as new shoelaces for their running shoes.

Krunch Fitness in Earlwood, Sydney
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Krunch Fitness provides resources to empower you with knowledge and motivation to lead a dynamic life through Health and Fitness, Knowledge and Vitality. . . . Not just another Fitness Centre . . Krunch Fitness 02 9559 7787

Krunch Fitness Glossary - M

M

Machine Assistance
Outside support which equates to less overall muscular effort.

Maintenance of Center of Gravity
Most activities involve the influence of gravity in a three-dimensional, unstable environment.

Massage
A massage is the treatment of superficial parts of the body by rubbing, stroking, kneading, or slapping. Massages are usually performed to relieve muscle stiffness, spasms, or cramps and to relieve anxiety and tension.Recommended Reading: Massage - The Timeless Miracle
MET (Metabolic Equivalent) 1 MET is equal to the amount of energy expended during 1 minute at rest, which is roughly 3.5 milliliters of oxygen per kilogram of bodyweight per minute (3.5 ml/kg/min) or 1.2 kcals per minute for a 70 kg (150 lb.) person.

Micro-Progression
Very slow changes in progression.

Micronutrients
The vitamins and minerals that help structure the body, as well as regulate all reactions and processes that take place within the body.

Mobility
Capable of moving or being moved readily. (Joint mobility) Movement around an entire joint.

Motor Neuron
Neurons that carry impulses from the brain and spinal cord to the muscle receptors.

Motor Unit
A motoneuron and all the muscle fibers it stimulates, innervates, or activates. The size of the motor unit is usually related to the degree of control required by the whole muscle.

Movement
A result of the harmonious functioning of the sensory and motor systems in concert with the central and peripheral nervous system.

Musculoskeletal System
The skeleton and its associated bones, the ligaments, tendons and the muscles.

Myofascial Unit
A muscle and the fascia, which directly surrounds it. Myofascial Skeletal muscles ensheathed by fibrous connective tissue.

Krunch Fitness in Earlwood, Sydney.
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Krunch Fitness provides resources to empower you with knowledge and motivation to lead a dynamic life through Health and Fitness, Knowledge and Vitality. . . . Not just another Fitness Centre . . Krunch Fitness 02 9559 7787

Krunch Fitness Glossary - L

L

Length-Tension Ratios
The relationship between the length of the muscle and the tension produced by the muscle.
Ligament A fibrous connective tissue that connects bone to bone or cartilage to bone, supporting and strengthening a joint.

Lordosis
An abnormal anterior curve, usually found in the lumbar region, and as such is an exaggeration of the normal anterior curve (avoid use of the term "normal lordosis"); often called "hollow back." It is accompanied by anterior pelvic tilt and hip joint flexion. If used without any modifying word, it refers to lumbar lordosis. In the thoracic region, occasionally, there is a slight lordosis which is a reversal of the normal posterior curve. In a typical forward head position, the neck is in a position of extension that is greater than the normal anterior curve and as such resembles a lordosis. (REFERENCE - "Muscles Testing and Function" By Kendall, McCreary, & Provance) .

Luxation
Bones in a joint that are no longer in the correct functional position to each other. Means the same as dislocation.

Lymph Node
A small oval structure located along lymphatic vessels. Lymphatic Often pertains to the system of vessels involved with drainage of bodily fluids.

Krunch Fitness in Earlwood, Sydney.
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Krunch Fitness provides resources to empower you with knowledge and motivation to lead a dynamic life through Health and Fitness, Knowledge and Vitality. . . . Not just another Fitness Centre . . Krunch Fitness 02 9559 7787

Happy Chinese New Year - Gung Hay Fat Choy!

Gung Hay Fat Choy!

On the Western calendar, the start of the New Year falls on February 7, 2008 — The Year of the Rat. If you were born in 1912, 1924, 1936, 1948, 1960, 1972, 1984, 1996 - you were born under the sign of the rat.

Chinese New Year starts with the New Moon on the first day of the new year and ends on the full moon 15 days later. The 15th day of the new year is called the Lantern Festival, which is celebrated at night with lantern displays and children carrying lanterns in a parade.

The Chinese calendar is based on a combination of lunar and solar movements. The lunar cycle is about 29.5 days. In order to "catch up" with the solar calendar the Chinese insert an extra month once every few years (seven years out of a 19-yearcycle). This is the same as adding an extra day on leap year. This is why, according to the solar calendar, the Chinese New Year falls on a different date each year.

New Year's Eve and New Year's Day are celebrated as a family affair, a time of reunion and thanksgiving. The celebration was traditionally highlighted with a religious ceremony given in honor of Heaven and Earth, the gods of the household and the family ancestors.

The sacrifice to the ancestors, the most vital of all the rituals, united the living members with those who had passed away. Departed relatives are remembered with great respect because they were responsible for laying the foundations for the fortune and glory of the family.

The presence of the ancestors is acknowledged on New Year's Eve with a dinner arranged for them at the family banquet table. The spirits of the ancestors, together with the living, celebrate the onset of the New Year as one great community. The communal feast called "surrounding the stove" or weilu. It symbolizes family unity and honors the past and present generations.

Taboos and Superstitions of Chinese New Year

House Cleaning

The entire house should be cleaned before New Year's Day. On New Year's Eve, all brooms, brushes, dusters, dust pans and other cleaning equipment are put away. Sweeping or dusting should not be done on New Year's Day for fear that good fortune will be swept away. After New Year's Day, the floors may be swept. Beginning at the door, the dust and rubbish are swept to the middle of the parlor, then placed in the corners and not taken or thrown out until the fifth day. At no time should the rubbish in the corners be trampled upon. In sweeping, there is a superstition that if you sweep the dirt out over the threshold, you will sweep one of the family away. Also, to sweep the dust and dirt out of your house by the front entrance is to sweep away the good fortune of the family; it must always be swept inwards and then carried out, then no harm will follow. All dirt and rubbish must be taken out the back door.

Bringing In the New Year and Expelling the Old

Shooting off firecrackers on New Year's Eve is the Chinese way of sending out the old year and welcoming in the New Year. On the stroke of midnight on New Year's Eve, every door in the house, and even windows, have to be open to allow the old year to go out.

New Year Activities Set Precendent

All debts had to paid by this time. Nothing should be lent on this day, as anyone who does so will be lending all the year. Back when tinder and flint were used, no one would lend them on this day or give a light to others.

Everyone should refrain from using foul language and bad or unlucky words. Negative terms and the word "four" (Ssu), which sounds like the word for death, are not to be uttered. Death and dying are never mentioned and ghost stories are totally taboo. References to the past year are also avoided as everything should be turned toward the New Year and a new beginning.

If you cry on New Year's day, you will cry all through the year. Therefore, children are tolerated and are not spanked, even though they are mischievous.

Personal Appearance and Cleanliness

On New Year's Day, we are not suppose to wash our hair because it would mean we would have washed away good luck for the New Year. Red clothing is preferred during this festive occasion. Red is considered a bright, happy color, sure to bring the wearer a sunny and bright future. It is believed that appearance and attitude during New Year's sets the tone for the rest of the year. Children and unmarried friends, as well as close relatives are given lai see, little red envelopes with crisp one dollar bills inserted, for good fortune.
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More New Year Superstitions

For those most superstitious, before leaving the house to call on others, the Almanac should be consulted to find the best time to leave the home and the direction which is most auspicious to head out.

The first person one meets and the first words heard are significant as to what the fortunes would be for the entire year. It is a lucky sign to see or hear songbirds or red-colored birds or swallows.

It is considered unlucky to greet anyone in their bedroom so that is why everyone, even the sick, should get dressed and sit in the living room.

Do not use knives or scissors on New Year's Day as this may cut off fortune.

While many Chinese people today may not believe in these do's and don'ts, these traditions and customs are still practiced. These traditions and customs are kept because most families realize that it is these very traditions, whether believed or not, that provide continuity with the past and provide the family with an identity.

Krunch Fitness in Earlwood, Sydney.
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Krunch Fitness provides resources to empower you with knowledge and motivation to lead a dynamic life through Health and Fitness, Knowledge and Vitality. . . . Not just another Fitness Centre . . Krunch Fitness 02 9559 7787

Krunch Fitness Glossary - K

K

Kegal Exercises
Exercises designed to gain control of and tone the pelvic floor muscles by controlled isometric contractions and relaxation of the muscles surrounding the vagina.

Kinematics
Area of study that examines the spatial and temporal components of motion (position, velocity, acceleration).

Kinesiology
The scientific study of human movement.

Kinetic System
Any system where each part of it is in some way influenced when changes occur in other parts of the system. Kyphosis A condition characterized by an abnormally increased convexity in the curvature of the thoracic spine as viewed from the side.

Krunch Fitness in Earlwood, Sydney.
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Krunch Fitness provides resources to empower you with knowledge and motivation to lead a dynamic life through Health and Fitness, Knowledge and Vitality. . . . Not just another Fitness Centre . . Krunch Fitness 02 9559 7787

Krunch Fitness Glossary - J

J

Joint Capsule
The thin, cartilaginous, fatty, fibrous, membranous structure that envelopes a joint. Fluid inside the joint capsule lubricates the area, allowing bones to glide smoothly against each other.

Krunch Fitness in Earlwood, Sydney.

Krunch Fitness provides resources to empower you with knowledge and motivation to lead a dynamic life through Health and Fitness, Knowledge and Vitality. . . . Not just another Fitness Centre . . Krunch Fitness 02 9559 7787