A Few Tips for Visitors to Petra

Petra
Image: whc.unesco.org

As an attorney and business executive, Mark Fretta has held positions such as associate vice president of operations for ART Corporate Solutions and senior legal advisor and athlete agent for 5Ring Insight. A world traveler, Mark Fretta has visited more than 42 countries, but still counts Petra in Jordan as one of his top two favorite locations.

If you are planning a trip to Petra, you will want to consider a few important details prior to finalizing your itinerary. First of all, choose to visit in spring or fall unless you enjoy stifling heat; the best times range from March to May and September to November.

If you want to have time to visit all of the important features in Petra, allow yourself at least two full days. The Petra Archaelogic Park easily offers enough opportunities for five days of exploration or more. If you have a tight schedule, however, you can see a lot in one day.

Some of the best sites in Petra not to miss include a hike up to the monastery building with its spectacular views, the pillars of the Hadrian Gate, and a journey through the passage known as the Bab Al Siq, or gateway to the Siq. You can hire a guide to ensure you make the most of your experience. Note, however, that the law requires you to hire a certified guide.

The Manitou Incline in Colorado Springs

 

Manitou Incline
Image: manitouincline.com

Licensed attorney Mark Fretta is based in Colorado Springs, Colorado. He is the associate vice president of operations at ART (Active Release Techniques). Mark Fretta is also an accomplished athlete, and he holds the unofficial record for the fastest hike up the Manitou Incline.

The Manitou Incline is a popular and very challenging hike near Colorado Springs. The trail is short, only a mile long. However, the incline climbs more than 2,000 feet vertically. This extreme hike attracts top-tier athletes from all over the world, and it is a local favorite.

The Incline was originally a cable car track, first used to transport materials for building pipelines. Once the pipelines were completed, the cable cars began to carry sightseeing tourists instead of building materials. After a rock slide, the cable cars ceased operation, and locals gradually claimed the inline as a hiking spot.

Fans of the incline are competitive. Many locals time their ascent and compare it with the times of others. Hikers with smartphones can even use one of several apps to compare times, track climb frequency, and more.

How Are Triathlon Bicycles Different?

Triathlon Bicycles
Image: bikerumor.com

Mark Fretta is an attorney, sports agent, and former world-class triathlete. Competing with a borrowed bicycle, Mark Fretta earned his first major triathlon victory at the 2012 Chicago Triathlon. Triathlon bicycles are specially designed, and the right bike geometry can make a big difference in a race.

Question: How is a triathlon bicycle different from a road bike?
Answer: The most important difference is the angle of the seat tube, which is much steeper on a triathlon bike. On a properly fitted bike, this puts the cyclist’s hips directly over the crank for improved power transfer.

Question: What kind of handlebars do triathlon bicycles use?
Answer: Triathlon geometry bicycles are almost always fitted with aero bars, or with clip-on aero bar extensions. These special handlebars put the cyclist in an extremely aerodynamic position, reducing drag. They also allow cyclists to rest their arms on pads, relieving pressure on joins and reducing muscle fatigue.

Hall and Oates – From Philly Soul Onward

Hall and Oates
Image: rockhall.com

ART (Active Release Technologies) associate vice president of operations Mark Fretta holds responsibilities that include consulting with lawyers and managing human resources. Mark Fretta enjoys such 1980s stars as Hall and Oates.

While at Temple University, Daryl Hall and John Oates met and realized they had similar tastes in rhythm and blues, doo wop, and Philadelphia soul. They teamed up to write and perform folk songs together. After a producer from Atlantic Records signed them, other producers shifted their sound away from folk for their first three albums: Whole Oates, Abandoned Luncheonette, and War Babies.

Success did not materialize until they moved to RCA. Their first RCA album, Bigger Than the Both of Us, featured their first number one, “Rich Girl.” Adding more rock to their sound, the Voices album included their second number one, “Kiss On My List.” The follow-up Private Eyes produced two number ones, “Private Eyes” and “I Can’t Go for That (No Can Do).” Their next record, H2O, sold over 2 million copies of their biggest hit, “Maneater.”

By 1984, Hall and Oates had become the most successful duo in history, edging out the Everly Brothers with their 19 gold and platinum discs. That year they released Big Bam Boom, from which came the number one “Out of Touch.”

After an unsuccessful Hall album and a hiatus, the duo’s chart dominance faded. Although Change of Season won gold, it produced only one top-20 single. The 1997 comeback, Marigold Sky, was only partially successful. The next record, Do It for Love, did better. They later released a holiday album, Home for Christmas, and a boxed set covering their career.

The 2010s have been busy. The group toured several times and appeared on American Idol and The Voice. Each member put out solo albums, and in 2014, Hall and Oates were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

ART (Active Release Techniques) – Proven Techniques of Recovery

Active Release Techniques
Image: artcorpsolutions.com

Formerly a No. 1 world-ranked professional triathlete, Mark Fretta was resident athlete at the United States Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs for more than a decade. Mark Fretta presently works with A.R.T. (Active Release Techniques) and ART Corporate Solutions as vice president of operations.

A patented system, A.R.T. provides patients with movement-based soft-tissue manipulation solutions. A.R.T. techniques relieve conditions associated with the ligaments, tendons, muscles, and nerves, including tennis elbow and back pain.

In many cases, the patients are athletes and fitness enthusiasts suffering from overused muscles. Causes include micro-traumas, or a buildup of small tears that ultimately results in major pain. Also to be considered are acute conditions that occur suddenly and involve collisions, falls, pulls, and muscle tears. A third major contributing factor is hypoxia, or not getting enough oxygen to parts of the body that are being exerted.

Taken together, these factors can cause a buildup of dense, tough scar tissue which hampers performance and impairs the flexibility and health of nerves, muscles, and tendons. Accessible at http://www.activerelease.com, A.R.T. offers patients a permanent way of relieving and moving beyond these debilitating conditions.

Triathlon Basics and Distances

Triathlon Basics and Distances
Image: active.com

Before beginning his work as a sports agent and athlete marketer, sports and fitness enthusiast Mark Fretta was one of the top triathletes in the world. In fact, Mark Fretta was part of the 2011 men’s Pan American Games triathlon team.

While a triathlon can theoretically consist of any three athletic challenges, the most common form of triathlon consists of swimming, biking, and running. Triathletes must transition between these challenges quickly, and they have to dedicate hours of training each week to all three segments.

Triathlons also come in various distances. The most common, the Olympic-distance triathlon, consists of a 1,500-meter swim, a 40-kilometer (almost 25 miles) bike ride, and a 10-kilometer (more than 6 miles) run. A sprint-distance triathlon will cut all three of these distances by half. Ironman-distance triathlons, by comparison, drastically increase the distance traveled, requiring nearly 4 kilometers of swimming, 180 kilometers of biking, and 42 kilometers of running.

Colorado Springs U.S. Olympic Training Center

Colorado Springs U.S. Olympic Training Center
Image: teamusa.org

Triathlete and sports agent Mark Fretta has been part of the athletic scene for over a decade. In 2011, Mark Fretta was an official member of the USA men’s triathlon team for the Pan American Games, and prior to this, he was a resident athlete at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs for more than a decade.

The Colorado Springs training center forms the core of the Olympic Training Center program, and its 35-acre complex houses the USA Swimming and USA Shooting national headquarters. With venues for several Olympic sports, including gymnastics, pentathlon, and weightlifting, the complex enables a wide range of athletes to train for the Olympic Games.

It also supports its athletes’ efforts at nutrition and wellness through a dining hall and sports medicine center. More than 500 athletes can stay at the Olympic Training Center at a time. Such athletes are selected through the national governing body of their sport. Fans and other interested parties can visit the complex during the summer months, when it offers 15 daily tours.

Golf Digest Article – Hitting Over and Under Trees

The vice president of operations at Active Release Techniques in Colorado Springs, Colorado, Mark Fretta has also been an attorney, world-ranked triathlete, sports agent, and consultant. Mark Fretta also participates in a wide range of sports, including golf.

In a recent Golf Digest article, professional golfer Kevin Kisner explained how to hit under and over trees, a common and challenging obstacle on a golf course. Kisner explains that hitting under the tree is typically the best option, and recommends selecting a longer club than required for the distance and gripping it about an inch down. This well help to achieve enough distance, but with a low ball flight. With the chest positioned over the ball and feet shoulder-width apart, the club should travel on a more horizontal plane and with less vertical movement.

To hit over trees, Kisner suggests using a more lofted club and aligning the ball with the front heel, as if hitting a driver. The spine should also lean away from the target, and the right shoulder should dip to facilitate a more lofted shot. During the swing, Kisner recommends hitting up on the ball with a shallow swing that lightly skims the ground before and after impact.

Mark Fretta | YouTube

The Manitou Springs Incline – A Challenging 2,000-Foot Climb

Experienced attorney Mark Fretta serves as associate vice president of operations at A.R.T. (Active Release Techniques), Inc., in Colorado Springs, Colorado. An avid hiker and accomplished athlete, Mark Fretta currently holds the record for climbing the Manitou Springs Incline.

Known to locals as the Incline, the Manitou Springs Incline is a one-mile hiking trail that rises 2,000 feet in elevation. Originally, the trail was carved out to provide a track for a cable car, but a rock slide forced it to shut down in 1990. Locals in Colorado Springs soon began using the Incline for a challenging workout, despite the fact that it was illegal to climb portions of it up until 2013.

Today, hikers can legally climb the entire trail, and a renovation project that took place in 2014 has made it much safer to do so. Avid hikers of the Manitou Springs Incline can win rewards and compare their climbing times to other users on the Incline App.