...

is for the Million things she gave

... means the One and Only best friend

... is for the Tears she shed

... is
is for her Heart of purest gold

... is for her Eyes, that watches over you

... means Right, and Right she'll always be.

Put them all together, they spell "MOTHER,"

"MOTHER,"
A word that means the world

Happy Mothers day to all wonderful women in our life

Your Editor

Raine
History and Customs...
In the U.S. Mothers' Day is a holiday celebrated on second Sunday in May.
It is a day when children honor their mothers with cards, gifts, and
flowers. First observance in Philadelphia, Pa. in 1907, it is based on
suggestions by Julia Ward Howe in 1872 and Anna Jarvis in 1907.

Although it wasn't celebrated in the U.S. until

until 1908, there were days
honoring mothers even in the days of ancient Greece. In those days,
however, it was Rhea, the Mother of the gods that was given honor.

Later, in the 1600's, in England there was an annual observance called

"Mothering Sunday." It waswas celebrated during Lent, on the fourth Sunday.
On Mothering Sunday, the servants, who generally lived with their
employers, were encouraged to return home and honor their mothers. It
was traditional for them to bring a special cake along to celebrate the
occasion.

In the U.S., in 1908 Ana Jarvis, from Grafton, West Virginia, began a
campaign to establish a national Mother's Day. Jarvis persuaded her
mother's church in Grafton, West Virginia to celebrate Mother's Day on
the anniversary of her mother's death.
death. A memorial service was held there
on May 10, 1908 and in Philadelphia the following year where Jarvis
moved.

Jarvis and others began a letter-

letter-writing campaign to ministers,
businessmen, and politicians in their quest to establish a national Mother's
Day.
Day. They were successful. President Woodrow Wilson, in 1914, made the
official announcement proclaiming Mother's Day a national observance
that was to be held each year on the 2nd Sunday of May.

Many other countries of the world celebrate their own Mother's

Mother's Day at
different times throughout the year. Denmark, Finland, Italy, Turkey,
Australia, and Belgium celebrate Mother's Day on the second Sunday in
May, as in the U.S.

Copyright © 2004 - 2008 by Jerry Wilson.

 DREAM OF BECOMING AN
INSTRUCTOR??
INSTRUCTOR??

26th - 28st June 09 (CUT OFF DATE: 5th June 09)

10th - 12th July 09 (CUT OFF DATE: 21th June 09 )

18th & 19th July 09 (CUT OFF DATE: 27th June 09)

For more information, please contact:

Alex C @ 03-79647333; Jack @ 03-92067000;
Annie @ 03-80250300 ; Lorraine @ 03-62033313
Contact the Instructor Education Department of Les Mills Body Training Systems Phone: 02
6282 8192 Fax: 02 6282 0563 Or for further training information, dates & registration forms,
visit www.lesmills.com.au
Many athletes and trainers use plyometric jumping exercises to build power
and speed, improve coordination and agility and effectively improve sports
performance.

If you've been doing the same thing for a while, you're probably ready for
some new workout ideas to get your body in good shape. You already know to
vary your cardio workouts and try different intensities and activities, right?
Here's another way to challenge yourself and increase your endurance, burn
more calories and lose body fat.

Plyometric Training

Plyometric training has long been a staple of athletes who need to work on
their explosive strength. Plyocity defines it as "exercises that enable a muscle
to reach maximum strength in as short a time as possible. This speed-strength
ability is known as power."

With athletes, plyometric training involves intense exercises specifically

designed for their particular sports such as jumping off a platform and
rebounding off the floor onto a higher platform. Most of us don't need exercises
of that level of difficulty, but it's possibly to incorporate basic plyometric-type
moves into your workout to add more intensity and challenge.

Before we get started, keep in mind that plyometric training:

• Is very advanced and intense! If you're a beginner, don't mess with it

until you've been exercising consistently for at least 3 months.
• Requires strength and endurance, so make sure you have some weight
training under your belt
• Should be added VERY slowly and in VERY short intervals--beginning
with 10-30 seconds and slowly working your way up to 1 minute. In
between, walk in place until you recover.
• Should be followed by a day of rest. Trust me, you'll know why.
• Should only be done about once a week. It's easy to injure yourself with
this type of training, so be cautious.
Safety Considerations

Plyometric training isn't necessary to challenge yourself and, in fact, may very
well cause injury. Most athletic injuries are caused by forces upon
musculoskeletal structures that exceed the structure's tensile limits. This means
injury is caused by excessive force. What could be more forceful than bounding
off a 2 to 3 foot box and back up onto another box?"

Now, what exactly are those exercises?

Plyometric Exercises

The exercises below are just a few exercises you can incorporate into your own
workouts. Tips for doing these exercises:

• Add them at the end of your usual workouts

• Sprinkle them throughout your workout.
• Alternate each exercise with recovery periods on those days when you
don't have a lot of time but want a challenging workout
• Do them 1-2 times for anywhere from 10 seconds to a minute and always
recover with a few minutes of walking or light cardio before you repeat
them. You can repeat them more often or for longer intervals to progress.
• Make sure you get a nice long warm up in before you start.
• All exercises are high impact. When you land, make sure your knees are
bent to take the stress off your joints. Obviously, the lower you squat and
the higher you jump, the harder the exercises will be.

Stair or Step Leaps

If you use a step, begin with the platform at it's lowest level (progress by adding
risers). Stand in front of the step, brace your abs, bend your knees and jump
onto the step with both feet. Step down and repeat for 10 seconds to 1 minute.

On a staircase, simply hop up the stairs, landing with both feet on each step.
Each time you leap, brace your abs, bend your knees and use your arms to help
you keep your balance.

If you can't land with both feet simultaneously, stagger your landing and work
your way up to both feet.
Plyo Lunges

Stand in a split stance, right leg in front and left leg in back. Bend knees
into a lunge (keeping front knee behind toe) and, in an explosive
movement, jump up, switch legs in the air and land in a lunge with the left
foot forward. Go as slow as you need to to keep your balance. Go faster,
jump higher and/or lunge lower for more of a challenge.

Side-to-Side Lateral Jump

Begin by placing a small object (such as a piece of tape) on the floor. Stand
on one side of the object and bend your knees into a slight squat. In an
explosive movement, jump over the object, landing with knees bent into a
squat. Continue jumping from side to side for 10 seconds to one minute.

As you get better at it, you can use larger objects (such as a small ball or a
step). If you use a step, you can ease into this exercise by standing
sideways to the step, jump on top of the step and then step down on the
other side (it's better not to jump off the step). Be VERY careful to use
objects that won't slide if you land on them! Start with an object you can
easily clear when you jump.

Plyo Jumps

Stand with feet together. Bend your knees into a squat and then jump up as
high as you can. Land with knees bent (to protect your joints) and
immediately go into a squat and repeat the squat/jump for 10 seconds to 1
minute. Raise your arms as you jump to add more intensity.

Below are some resources for finding plyometric videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LLzI1mcvIv8

Remember, plyometric training is an advanced activity and most of us don't

need to do too much of it to reach our goals (once a week is enough).
Easing in a few plyo exercises is a great way, however, to raise your heart
rate quickly and to improve your stamina, strength and muscle endurance.
 Congratulations to Meei
Liew, winner of the
MISS FITNESS 2009
FAME Philippines
regional finals.

The event was held last March 28, 2009 at the SM Mall
of Asia Center stage, Manila. Top caliber athlete vied
for numerous titles and the rights to represent the
Philippines in the FAME Championships! Welcome to
the world class elite in fitness! First Place Winners:
All Athletes - Winners! Having achieved their Body
Proud physique and getting up on the FAME Stage to
showcase the results of their efforts, makes each and
every one of them a winner!! Congratulations!!
 John Tan – 5 May
Mary Yap - 7 May
Janet Choo – 17 May
Terence Tan – 25 May
Clement Chai – 13 May
Vincent Bong – 20 May