Here’s what we’ve curated from around the Internet to help both competitive and leisure runners alike improve their running and have fun while they’re at it.

1. Clear Your Mind

Too much brain activity makes you less efficient, which means your mind should be as clear as possible when you run. Studies have shown that constantly being consciously aware of how you run can make you less efficient. Also, the most skilled athletes across sports all have the least brain activity when performing sport-specific movements.

Train your mind and body when you run so that staying on form becomes autopilot. When you clear and relax your mind, running becomes much easier.

2.  Pump Up The Music

Researchers have proven that listening to music does help to motivate during exercise and reduces perceived exertion. It also distracts your mind so you’re not focused on running, which can slow you down and make you feel sluggish.

Listen to songs with high BPM (beats per minute) that matches your running pace so you can run in time to the music and keep the pace for longer.

3. Take Deep Breaths

Breathing fast doesn’t take in more oxygen, it actually takes in less oxygen because you’re not expelling all the carbon dioxide in your lungs.

Force yourself to slow down your breathing and take deeper breaths, holding your breath as long as you can before exhaling. This will help your body relax and loosen your muscles, and will ensure your body is getting enough oxygen so running will feel a lot easier.

4. Hold Tissue Paper

Holding tension in your upper body can make running feel a lot harder and can unconsciously slow you down.

Pretend you’re holding a sheet of tissue paper between your fingers and that you cannot let the tissue paper tear. This forces your hands to loosen up and reduces tension in your shoulders, ensuring you’re not wasting energy by tensing up your muscles.

5. Swing Your Arms

What contributes to your stride is your upper body movement. When you swing your arms, your hips automatically turn as well, which then causes your legs to move in accordance. This means that swinging your arms can actually help move your legs.

So train your upper body for strength to build a faster running pace.

6. Lean Forward

Leaning forward while you run will instantly propel you forward since you’re allowing gravity to pull you forwards. But make sure your posture is straight and don’t bend at the waist.

This is an easy trick to conserve energy and run faster, especially when you’re sprinting at the end of your run.

7. Don’t Leave Out Strength-Training & Cross-Training

Just sticking to the same running routine over and over will cause your supporting muscles to weaken from non-use, thus increasing the risk of injury. Remember to include strength-training and cross-training sessions once or twice a week in your exercise routine to prevent injury.

Strength-training exercises can include weighted squats and lunges, while cross-training exercises can include biking, or even running backwards and sideways.

8. Plyometric Workouts

To improve muscle elasticity, try doing plyometric workouts which involves fast, explosive exercises like jumping.

This will help your muscles contract faster which will enable you to run faster and your body to better cope with bigger workloads.

9. HIIT It

Both competitive runners and runners who run to burn calories can benefit greatly from HIIT (high intensity interval training). Researchers have found that the low volume and high intensity training can boost your speed and fitness. It also helps you burn a ton of calories.

HIIT improves elasticity and coordination between your nervous system and muscles, helping you increase efficiency in your stride at all paces.

10. Get Off Your Ass

Sitting too much may increase the risk of injury. When you sit, your hip flexors and hamstrings tighten, especially if your posture is slumped. Studies have shown that six to seven hours of sitting time daily is almost as bad for your fitness as an hour of running is good.

Walk around in the office as much as possible and make it a habit of not sitting down for too long.

 

Are you fast enough for QLIPP™? Find out more about QLIPP™, the ultimate tennis performance sensor here: https://www.qlipp.com/

References:

Kuzma C. (2013) Run Faster with High Intensity Interval Training. Retrieved from http://www.runnersworld.com/running-tips/run-faster-with-high-intensity-interval-training 

Smith J. (2013) The Best Running Tips of All Time. Retrieved from http://www.shape.com/fitness/training-plans/best-running-tips-all-time

Lobby M. (2011) Mental Energy. Retrieved from http://www.runnersworld.com/running-tips/mental-energy?page=single

Dewitt A. 11 Greatest Running Tips And Tricks. Retrieved from http://www.lifehack.org/articles/lifestyle/11-greatest-running-tips-and-tricks.html

N.D. 5 surprising tricks to help you run faster. Retrieved from http://www.realbuzz.com/articles/5-surprising-tricks-to-help-you-run-faster/

Kuzma C. (2014) 12 Habits of Highly Motivated Runners. Retrieved from http://www.runnersworld.com/running-tips/12-habits-of-highly-motivated-runners

 

Tennis has been around since centuries ago and since then , there have been numerous changes to this sport. For one, tennis is progressively shedding its elitist image and increasing its penetration to the masses.

Just two years ago, Forbes published an article that painted a seemingly gloomy outlook for this sport.Titled “American Tennis Isn’t Dying But It Does Need Help“, it raised several alarming concerns including the startling fact that for the first time in 101 years, no tennis players from the States had progressed to the third round at Wimbledon.

To summarize this extensive read, here are the factors deemed to have contributed to the near extinction of those glory days for American tennis players in 2013:

1) Failure of the  United States Tennis Association ‘s player development programme

2) Tennis, among other sports, has one of the steepest learning curve that can be unforgiving especially for beginner players

3) Low penetration rate of tennis to children not well acquainted with the sport

Reviving American tennis would then, require the cooperation of “… all of them, from the USTA to private academies and independent coaches, are sorely needed for the country to succeed in the sport.” However, with the addition of rule #31 by the ITF in 2014, we believe that this tremendous burden on those tennis powers can be lightened.

Essentially with this new rule, it means that the ITF has given its consensus to the use of technological tennis equipment during competitions, reflecting the rising popularity and increasing usage of such smart devices by professional players. While most of you might already be aware of this, what is actually more exciting is that such tennis technology could be the solution needed to get more into this sport and could even be providing us with a thrilling preview of the future of tennis.

With accurate statistical feedback provided in real time that analyze each stroke and ball that you hit, it is now easier than ever for new players. These smart devices including sensors would also allow tennis coaches to provide data in order to enhance their students’ learning experience. While it might be too ambitious for us to say now that these devices are able to groom you to a season pro playing on the Wimbledon courts, we believe that with them, the future of tennis is in fact, quite exhilarating.

At this point, before we sound a little too optimistic about the future of sports technology, Tech crunch’s recently published article, Investors Swing For The Fences with $1B In Sports Tech Deals, should have you thinking otherwise.

So, perhaps now should be the right time for your to invest in your own smart device and start materializing your passion for tennis (or any other sport actually) because as cliché as it might sound, practice can indeed, make one perfect.

 

Smash your opponents with these 5 tips to up your game and make you a better player.

#1 Choose a target and aim for it

Keep the ball in play longer than your opponent can by practicing your strokes. The better your strokes, the better the control over where you want your ball to go.

To improve on your strokes, choose a target each time you hit, but don’t aim just to get your ball over the net. Choose targets that are challenging and specific. As your aim improves, gradually make those targets smaller so as to train your aim accuracy. Your ability to get the ball where you intend it to go will greatly improve your game and yourself as a player.

#2 Reduce unforced errors

An “unforced error” is when you miss a shot that you should have been able to return successfully, given the situation and your ability. Giving away points to your opponents through unforced errors makes it harder for you to win, and thus it is important to ensure that you minimise the number of unforced errors made.

In a game play situation, selecting and changing your stroke technique and aim can help minimise the risk of making unforced errors. Whether it is a fancy, hard-hitting stroke or a soft, defensive one, knowing the appropriate time to execute them can help improve your game tremendously.

#3 Be consistent

Ensuring consistency in your shots will help you avoid losing control and points. Make sure to keep your shots consistent before increasing the intensity of your swing. Once you are confident enough and can control your strokes consistently without missing, you can then increase your firepower and hit with more strength to beat your opponents.

#4 Make the best of your warm up

A good and fruitful warm up will ensure that both your mind and body are ready and prepped to begin the game the moment it starts. Keeping in mind the following objectives when warming up will help you make the most out of your warm up time.

Firstly, get your muscles warmed up to prevent injury. The best way to warm your muscles up is to have long rallies with your groundstrokes and try to keep the ball in play.

Secondly, practice all your different stroke techniques so you’ll feel confident in hitting your targets. Use short strokes, overheads and serves with a specific target each time to find your accuracy and consistency.

Thirdly, observe your opponent’s weaknesses. Hit the ball consistently right to your opponent and observe his level of consistency and accuracy. Notice your opponent’s choice between forehand and backhand to know which side of his is stronger.

Keeping all these in mind, you would have successfully intimidated your opponent with your consistency and accuracy as well as learn his or her weaknesses.

#5 Keep your footwork fancy

Besides training your technique, your agility and speed are also key to being a better player. Train your body to be prepared for quick and sudden movements, and to change direction and increase speed in a split second.

Practice sprinting short distances in varied directions to stimulate your movements on court. Sprint for 10-15 seconds, then rest for 10-15 seconds and repeat.

Increase agility by incorporating jumps and hops in your sprints so your body is able to increase sudden speed whenever you need to.

 

Are you fast enough for QLIPP™? Find out more about QLIPP™, the Ultimate Tennis Performance Sensor here: https://www.qlipp.com/

 

References:
Tourdo, S. (2013). Free Tennis Tips. Retrieved from: http://www.unlimitedtennis.com/free_tennis_tips.html
N.D. Tennis tips and tricks to improve your tennis game. Retrieved from: http://www.optimumtennis.net/tennis-tips-and-tricks.htm

Find out how you can up your game with the Ultimate tennis performance sensor

Ready to take your training up a notch?  Meet QLIPP™, a powerful award-winning technology that records and analyzes your every move with effortless precision. Push past your plateaus and smash goals that you didn’t even know were possible.

QLIPP™ , the Ultimate Tennis Performance Sensor allows you to record video playback and track your stats with its 3D motion analytics so you can analyse your every stroke and immediately improve on it.

It reports ball speed, sweet spot accuracy, and backhand, slice and overhand efforts so you can analyse every aspect of your game. You can even set it to call out stats while playing, or take slow-motion video playback of every single serve and stroke so you can launch yourself from routine practice to peak performance.

Weighing only 8g, it is the lightest tennis performance sensor so you will barely feel it on your racket, and is the only kind of performance sensor that attaches easily to any tennis racket with just a twist and lock, minimising the hassle and saving you loads of time to focus on your game. It also acts as a dampener, which all tennis players know is important in reducing the vibration of the strings when the ball is struck as well as altering the annoying ‘ping’ sound.

Still wondering how exactly it works? Watch the teaser video here:

This June, QLIPP™ is going into crowdfunding and we’ll need your support: Click here to pre-order QLIPP™ at a discounted early-bird rate and to sign up for our mailing list to get exclusive QLIPP™ updates first-hand!

Are you fast enough for QLIPP™? Find out more about QLIPP™, the Ultimate Tennis Performance Sensor here.

With QLIPP™’s pre-orders currently ongoing on the website, we have received enquiries regarding the shipment of the final products. We are happy to announce that QLIPP™ will be released to the public market during the 3rd quarter of 2015, and we will be sharing the production process of QLIPP™.

A typical manufacturing cycle of a QLIPP™ sensor involves a design verification testing (DVT) run, which includes electrical DVT, followed by FCC CE certification and mechanical DVT. A DVT run is carried out on every QLIPP™ sensor to ensure that components are assembled well and electronic parts work as expected. The FCC CE certification ensures that QLIPP™ is regulated for use in the country, and that it will not interfere with other devices to allow for optimal performance.

Production is expected to be completed during mid-year and shipping is targeted to begin from June. If you want to be the first few in the world to lay your hands on the QLIPP™ sensor, please head to https://www.qlipp.com/ and pre-order yours today.

9 Degrees Freedom was founded in February 2012 by a pair of Singaporean researchers with a passion for innovative lifestyle sports technologies. Their first product, the ultimate tennis performance sensor QLIPP™, has recently emerged as a Digital Finalist in the ISPO BRANDNEW 2015. Co-founders Donny Soh and Cen Lee have sat down for an interview and shared about QLIPP’s progress and its prospective future.

1) How did you come up with the idea of QLIPP?

We were doing another project at that time, and we wanted to measure the data from a tennis racket and then put it in a virtual reality environment. We thought about being able to do the converse – measure the data, then use it to detect how good the strokes are. So that is how we thought we can use a sensor device to find out how good the performance is and to improve the performance. The sensor unit is in fact a generic unit which can be applied to different sports, that is why we called it the QLIPP Sports Technology, and the first vertical we are going into is tennis. We expect to go into different verticals like running, baseball etc. as well.

2) Were there any challenges faced during the process of developing QLIPP? What were they?

Hardware was one big challenge because we needed to make the hardware very stable and durable, so that it can be used in the outdoor environment and across very long distances. Our strength lies in data mining, so the problem was analysing the data in real time and making it responsive to the users.

3) How would you compare QLIPP against other sensors of its kind?

I think the biggest difference is the portability aspect, whereby the emphasis is being portable and being able to be applied to different verticals, so we don’t stress on just a particular sport alone, but in fact we try to make the sports sensor as generic as possible. We are also incorporating video analysis, so that it will give users very real feedback. We can also integrate into other devices, so we can accept third party sensor devices, such as heart rate monitors or temperature monitors. This will give QLIPP a more wholesome experience.

4) Congratulations for being a finalist for the ISPO BRANDNEW 2015 competition! How did you feel when you first received this piece of good news?

We are glad that recognition is given to QLIPP after more than a year of R&D. The key thing is that it is not just the award, but moving on, how do we go about launching the product.

5) QLIPP headed to Munich in February for the ISPO Munich Trade Show. Was there anything special that was showcased there?

We held a demo at our booth, where there was a ball that players could hit and try out the device. Whenever the player hit the ball, he would be given feedback on how good or how bad the stroke was – and that was the main attention drawer for the crowd.

6) Are there any exciting news we can expect from QLIPP in the near future?

We are going to ship! Our certifications will be done in June to July, and we plan to grab hold of the summer season in Europe. We are also having a crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo in June 2015. Next year, we are also probably joining the Sports Licensing & Tailgate Show, the biggest sports licensed products trade show in the US.

7) Moving forward, what will be QLIPP’s future plans?

We will be looking into different verticals. We also hope to open up our API, so we can connect it to different third party collaborators. We hope QLIPP can be a generic sensor that can be used for any application and different sports, and provide more meaningful data as well.