There’s a lot of talk about drugs out there.
You could hear about dagga from your friend or pain pills from somebody at school. You might have seen a movie about cocaine or read a post about LSD on the Internet. Some of it is true and some of it isn’t.

Much of what you hear about drugs actually comes from those selling them. Reformed drug dealers have confessed they would have said anything to get others to buy drugs.

Don’t be fooled. You need facts to avoid becoming hooked on drugs and to help your friends stay off them.

Sooner or later—if it hasn’t already happened—you, or someone close to you, will be offered drugs. The decision of whether or not to use them could drastically affect your life. Any addict will tell you they never expected a drug to take control of their life or maybe that they started with “just pot” and that it was “just something to do” with their friends. They thought they could handle it and when they found out they couldn’t, it was too late.

You have a right to know the FACTS about drugs—not opinions, hype or scare tactics. So how do you tell fact from fiction?

How do Drugs Work?
Drugs are essentially poisons. The amount taken determines the effect. A small amount acts as a stimulant (speeds you up). A greater amount acts as a sedative (slows you down). An even larger amount poisons and can kill you.

This is true of any drug. Only the amount needed to achieve the effect differs.

But many drugs have another liability: they affect the mind. They can distort the user’s perception of what is happening around him or her. As a result, the person’s actions may be odd, irrational, inappropriate and even destructive.

Drugs block off all sensations, the desirable ones with the unwanted. So, while providing short term help in the relief of pain, they also wipe out ability and alertness and muddy one’s thinking.
Medicines are drugs that are intended to speed up or slow down or change something about the way your body is working, to try to make it work better. Sometimes they are necessary. But they are still drugs: they act as stimulants or sedatives, and too much can kill you. So if you do not use medicines as they are supposed to be used, they can be as dangerous as illegal drugs.

Why do people take Drugs?
Most people take drugs because they want to change something about their lives.
Here are some of the most common reasons young people have given for taking drugs:
• To fit in
• To escape or relax
• To relieve boredom
• To seem grown up
• To rebel
• To experiment
They think drugs are a solution. But eventually, the drugs become the problem.
Difficult as it may be to face one’s problems, the consequences of drug use are always worse than the problem one is trying to solve with them. The real answer is to get the facts and not to take drugs in the first place.

Drugs affect the mind
Normally, when a person remembers something, the mind is very fast and information comes to him quickly. But drugs blur memory, causing blank spots. When a person tries to get information through this cloudy mess, he can’t do it. Drugs make a person feel slow or stupid and cause him or her to have failures in life. And as he or she has more failures and life gets harder, he or she wants more drugs to help him or her deal with the problem.

Drugs destroy creativity
One lie told about drugs is that they help a person become more creative. The truth is quite different.
Someone who is sad might use drugs to get a feeling of happiness, but it does not work. Drugs can lift a person into a fake kind of cheerfulness, but when the drug wears off, he or she crashes even lower than before. And each time, the emotional plunge is lower and lower. Eventually, drugs will completely destroy all the creativity a person has.

*Read more in the forth coming editions about drugs and the effect they have on you.

• Freddy Trout
Tel: 071 090 4450/071 003 8040

Whether running for fitness, lifestyle or weight loss, traditionally runners have focused on building a stronger heart and stronger legs and often don’t think about the area in between. But increasing numbers of athletes across all sports are starting to understand that a strong core is the foundation of all movement…

A strong core helps you generate more force and speed as you push off the ground. When you land again, strong core muscles help to keep you rock-solid. A stable core prevents extra movement in your torso and keeps you from using excess energy as your arms and legs move. This makes you a more economical runner.
A strong core also helps with posture while running. At the tail end of your run, a solid core can help you maintain correct form and run efficiently – even through fatigue – because strong lower abs and lower-back muscles aids better posture, and less fatigue leads to increased co-ordination. Strength in your side stomach oblique’s helps when you have to suddenly move to the side – whether it’s turning the corner on a track, navigating terrain or dodging a pothole.

If you don’t invest time in strengthening your core you can experience a variety of different problems ranging from discomfort to major injuries. You see, as your legs pound the ground your spine absorbs much of the force. That shock worsens if your core is weak, which can produce lower-back pain. Also, when your core isn’t stable, your hamstrings have to work harder – which if overloaded, can leave them shorter, tighter, and more vulnerable to injury. Without a strong core, it is difficult to control the movement of your torso. You risk putting excess force on your joints each time your foot lands, which can lead to pain under the knee and a whole lot of expensive health problems later in life. Further strain can be put on your joints when your technique deteriorates near the end of your run. If your core is weak, you can end up shuffling and slouching, putting too much stress on your hips, knees, and shins.

No matter what level you are running at, a strong core is the foundation for all your movement. There are lots of exercise options to consider for your core.

Invest the time in your core and you will enjoy your running a lot more – plus you’ll look great too!

• Researched By : Kátia C. Rowlands – Pilates Instructor & Personal Trainer – 082 513 4256