15 minute read
GIN GARDEN
by PaulGC
GC:EAT
GIN GARDEN. LIMASSOL. Address: Ifigeneias 23, Limassol 3036 Website: www.gingarden.com Telephone: 00357 96 108877
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With each issue of GC we meet to discuss the running order, along with ideas for future editions, and to generally shoot the sh*t with each other. Most brands like to do what many marketing bores term as ‘blue sky thinking’, where you are encouraged to say anything, as chair of the meeting happily announces there are no boundaries with all the zeal of the second in command at a cult.
Based on the majority of our past experiences, there are many boundaries often laid down, and the blue skies are often full of grey soggy clouds stained by the lost souls who were previously incumbent in your chair.
How many of you have been on the end of the dead eyed smile from the Head of Marketing, whose passive aggressive compliments you can actively use as a barometer for your future employment prospects.
At GC we have found that the best way to generate new ideas, is to add a little wetness to the blue clouds with the helping hand of alcohol. After all, most great ideas have been scien-
tifically proven to be generated in the relaxed environments of a bar or when you are taking a moment to yourself in the bathroom.
Seeing as though Limassol does not cater for an en masse toilet experience, we decided to think of new ideas with full stomachs and full glasses to feed the mind, body and soul.
We had been mailed many times by you the reader to take a look at the Gin Garden in the Old Town of Limassol. If you based in the Old Town and have never patronised it before, you have probably walked past the old mansion several times without knowing what sits behind the walls.
With summer ending, it seemed like a great time to sit in the faded grandeur of the old mansion, and not melt from the heavy summer city heat and see what all the cyber fuss was all about.
We sat in the garden which based on observing other peoples food and drinks, the Gin Garden caters very well for for vegans, vegetarians, meat eaters and alcoholics alike, all sitting harmoniously and enjoying the evening.
The menu has a nice selection of food that is enough to soak up the alcohol, but also a high enough quality
not to question what you will order. Moreover, it also matches the ambience very well, with music set at the right level not to deafen us.
With a huge selection of Gin on offer from the traditional brewing location of England, they also offer Austrian, New Zealand and Italian brands to name but a few of the extensive list of countries where your drinks are sourced.
Moreover, for the non drinkers and non gin drinkers out there, there is a nice selection of alternatives, so you are not stuck with the usual twins of boring choices, aka sparking water or diet Coke.
With regards to food we had a great cross section of homemade pizzas, tacos and dips which tasted delicious, but also not over filing so we could still have think and not fall asleep.
After a couple of hours and a nice new portfolio of ideas to work on for GC, we can definitely say that the Gin Garden is well worth a visit. One tip we would give is to book ahead as it has become an incredibly popular location.
They say that Gin is mothers ruin, it certainly did not ruin ours!
LUIS RIBEIRO
Founder of Club Health www.clubhealth.uk
Isn’t it funny when back pain, shoulder cramps or neck soreness appear “out of nowhere”? You keep doing what you are doing day in and day out and out of the blue, your body “decides” to give out.
News flash: The body never decides to do anything you’re not enabling it to do. The body acts and reacts based on your choices. Body aches are the amalgamation of bad habits, of unhealthy choices and unwise tendencies we develop in our daily routines.
Today we will look at 5 exercises to improve your posture and battle these pains and discomforts, giving you an easy solution to a problem that can develop to something big.
Before we look at the exercises, we’ll look at the causes and propose some quick fixes.
Sitting On A Desk
Can the people with an office job please stand up? We’re not trying to hype you up or call for attention. We’re actually suggesting you stand up. That’s tip number one towards fixing any upper body related aches you might be experiencing.
Stand up, stroll in the office, suggest to your management to provide you with standing desks. Their benefits are irrefutable. Here’s some of the core benefits identified by the Harvard Medical School: • Obesity • Diabetes • Cardiovascular disease • Cancer (especially cancers of the colon or breast) • Premature death
Standing is not the only thing you can do to reduce the strain on your body. There’s a lot you can do while sitting. This guide by the NHS ticks some of the most important points you should pay attention to. • Support your back • Adjust your chair so your arm forms an
L-shape at the elbow joint • Rest your feet on the floor • Place your screen at eye level instead of looking down to it
Lying On The Couch
For many people, this is the most relaxing part of their day – coming home after a long day at the office and relaxing on the couch watching some telly.
We’re not trying to ruin the experience, we’re just trying to ensure it doesn’t negatively affect your body in the long run. Here are some tips to keep in mind.
Give your neck and back penty of support Sit across from the screen, not at an angle Change posture frequently Take breaks Avoid watching movies on your phone
Lying on the couch might give the illusion it relaxes you, but it can prove to be the source of many back or neck-related problems.
Now that we’ve identified some of the sources of your posture discomfort, let’s have a look at some more direct solutions.
Exercise #1 – Plank
Say hello to the almighty plank. An exercise that is simple yet extraordinarily helpful for your posture and overall health. Before moving to the benefits, let’s introduce the exercise to those who don’t know it.
This is how you plank:
Step #1: Place your hands on the ground, either with your palms touching the ground. An alternative is to touch the ground with the length of your hand from elbow to your wrist.
Step #2: Your feet should be stretched back open at the width of your shoulders, your body not touching the ground. You should be balancing on the balls of your feet. Step #3: Your spine should be parallel to the ground.
Step #4: Your tailbone should be tucked so that it’s aligned with your spine, not sticking into the air.
Step #5: Make sure you squeeze your glutes (ass) tight.
Step #6: Your back muscles should be flexed and pulling away from the floor.
Step #7: Make sure your lower back isn’t sagging and your booty isn’t popping up. As much of a straight line as possible.
Try to hold the plank for as long as you can.
Now that you can do a plank, time to find out what it does for your body. • Engages the whole body • It needs no equipment • Improves your flexibility • Enables higher metabolic rate
The plank helps your body and health in a number of ways. When it comes to posture though, that’s when the real effects kick in. • Strengthens back muscles • Builds core strength • Stabilizes joints No equipment, no time wasting, no trip to the gym. Planking is the ultimate home exercise to battle bad posture and build a healthy, durable core.
Exercise #2 – Child’s Pose
This is one of the most underrated and underappreciated exercises. The reason? For some it’s the name. For others, it’s the seemingly easy execution of the pose.
At Club Health, we don’t follow trends or believe in what “most people believe in”. We like to investigate, test and come up with our own evaluations. The child’s pose is one of the exercises we regularly recommend to people that face posture problems.
Before we tell you why, let’s tell you how to execute it:
Step #1: Sit on your shin bones with your knees and big toes touching, whilst your heels are splayed out to the side.
Step #2: Bend forward at your hips and fold your body onto your legs. Then, walk your hands out in front of you.
Step #3: Try to place your forehead on the floor. If it’s not possible, try to get as close to the floor as you can.
Step #4: Keep your arms extended at all times.
Step #5: Take deep breaths and feel the air go through your rib cage down your waist.
Step #6: Keep this pose for up to 5 minutes while continuing to breathe deeply.
Now that you know how to get into a child’s pose, here are the reasons why it’s not a child’s play:
Releases tension in the back, shoulders and chest Helps alleviate stress and anxiety Flexes the body’s internal organs It lengthens and stretches the spine
It is an exercise that unlocks the lower back and spine, allowing your body to regain flexibility and range of motion. It releases all the tension you’ve been building through your routine and resets the body posture.
Exercise #3 – Hanging
To avoid any confusion, this is the exercise we are referring to:
You know pull ups, right? This is the exercise…without the pull up. Jump on a pull up bar and stay there. Just hang. Let your body weight drag you down. Don’t push, don’t pull. Just let gravity do its thing.
Reading our advice to just do a vertical hang might get you questioning the entire article but trust us when we say that this simple exercise can do wonders for both your posture and your body as a whole. Here’s how:
Stretches out and decompresses the spine Lubricates, hydrates, and nourishes the intervertebral discs It does wonder for your shoulder strength, flexibility and endurance
Add this to your daily routine and it won’t be long before you see the results.
Recap
Here you have it. 3 exercises that will save you from those nagging pains in your back, neck and upper body.
Our mission here at Club Health is to constantly feed you with information and resources for a more enjoyable life. Your body is your life and we will do everything in our power to get the best out of it.
Stay tuned as there’s more from where this came from.
GC:SPORTS - Women in Sports
VIBHA SANJAY NAIKNAVARE Head of Indian Partnership at Van Hawke Sports
I was 15 when I first saw a live match between Martina Hingis and Venus Willams fighting for the Title Champions Tennis league during 2014 which was the first International league held in Hyderabad, India. Thinking about the tournament still gives me goosebumps. But one thing that always bothered me was the empty stadium as opposed to the men’s matches that held full capacity. I always thought that the reason for this was a lack of interest in women’s tennis, but it turned out to be the same occurrence in other women’s sports.
When people think of sports, very few people think of successful female teams and athletes. Try naming your top 5 favourite female athletes or teams and you’ll probably see what I mean. Now think about it, I am sure the list of favourite teams or athletes is dominated by men. It is only within the last decade that female players have been recognized in male-dominated sports such as Football, Rugby, Formula One, and Cricket which allowed them to pursue sports full time. Women in sports have come a long way from facing challenges throughout history to achieving gender equality at a certain stretch.
Just take a look at the 2020 US open women’s singles draw with nine mothers out of which Serena Willams, Victoria Azarenka, and Tsvetana Pironkova made history by becoming the first trio of mothers to enter quarter-finals, also known as a charge led by super mums. Yet, stereotypes and lack of representation is the most extensive barrier to gender equality all over the world.
The battle of sexes first started in 1973 Billie Jean King, who founded the Women’s Tennis Association and started a movement for female players to earn equal prize money in tournaments irrespective of gender. It took 28 years until another Grand Slam consistently awarded equal prize money.
“Everyone thinks women should be thrilled when we get crumbs,” King once said. “I want women to have the cake, the icing and the cherry on top, too”.
Many would suggest that gender equality is all about equal pay. And although it is a major issue that cannot be ignored, there is more to it than meets the eye. At first, people believed the main reason for this was low participation and performance in women sports while compared to men. When shed a light, women have multiple opportunities and access when compared to the past. Thousands of grassroots development are aimed to increase the performance of women and the results have already shown. The data shows 40% of all the athletes are women and have excelled immensely in various sports from cricket to Esports. Words such as fear of failure, expenses, social reaction, and comfort zone that women always tend to hear act as motivation to perceive more.
The issue is embedded by the insufficiency of visibility in media and promotion. According to the reports, women makeup 40% of all participants in sports but only receive 4% of sports media coverage. Whenever I switch on the television, 90% of sports broadcasted are men’s sports. This indirectly leads to a shortage of motivation for future female enthusiasts to participate in sports and increases the drop out of female athletes. Even when you reflect back, if you are a die-hard Liverpool fan or a City fan, no one actually talks about their Women’s team. Interestingly, most of the team’s social media posting addressing their women athletes is one in twenty.
Ever wondered, why?
Well, sexism in sport starts with how women sports are marketed by their own leagues. Despite government’s efforts to equalise and invest in women sports, we are yet to see more results and changes moving forward. And marketing and media visibility play an essential role for this to happen. There is a correlation between the popularity of a sport and the salaries of its athletes. The game’s popularity comes from how much time, coverage, and money is invested in it.
To this date, female sports experience fewer media coverage and poor quality of technical production as opposed to men. This also shows the level of play and quality of the game as one of the main reasons behind the lack of support for women sports.
Thinking of it, women sports are worth the coverage
and deserve high production values. Women sports just cover fewer cut shots, angle, and replays which will obviously make the game much slower and not as exciting as men sports.
It is a vicious cycle in which the lack of promotion in women’s sport can easily be conceived as the root of the problem justifying why sports fans are not as interested in women’s sports as they are in men’s sports. Due to less promotional activities in women sports, brands are not very confident when it comes to investment and sponsoring them. Brands tend to follow the same traditional method of sponsorship thinking of better ROI. However this is completely changing now. Women in sport have a broad opportunity for brands by producing creative content and campaigns which has a unique mission to reach their target audience. Additionally, women’s sport is much more accessible than men’s sport.
There is a huge potential, strong interest, and growth in women sports. Majorly because of high growth in viewership in women tennis and according to Fox sports FIFA women’s world cup final match in 2018 outperformed men by a 22% increase in viewers.
For all that I can say is there is a huge interest in women sports but the solution starts with marketing the women teams and the individual athlete. Imagine WNBA being promoted on the same level as the NBA. The day when people want to watch, support, and pay for women sports as the same as men sports, it is that moment when female athletes will be paid equally.
Nevertheless, a stronger female presence within the sport is to be expected. We have witnessed certain improvements in media coverage and women sports development campaigns in recent years which is slowly eradicating the gap of inequality and is increasing female representation moving forward.
To quote Nelson Mandela, “Sports holds the power to change the world, inspire, and unite people together”. Sports can create a yearning and an opportunity for gender equality. What really matters is us, men and women working together towards positive changes. Sports has such a positive impact and is open for all, so why not lead women in sport to the top and celebrate them together by inspiring future generations of athletes and coaches towards a better future?
Van Hawke Sports is a leading sports marketing agency, specialising in sports sponsorship for brands. If you want to learn more about us and how we can assist you, contact us today.
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