It is a sweltering Georgia summer day, with the temperature creeping into the triple digits and the humidity hanging in the air like an oppressive, invisible force.Sonequa Martin-Green and Andrew Lincoln are tasked with sprinting up and down a hill on this day -- over and over again.They both pull muscles in their legs, but cant stop, no matter how much it hurts. Not until everything is perfect.This is a typical scenario on the set of one of televisions most beloved shows, The Walking Dead. While one day can be radically different from the next, for Martin-Green, who plays the fierce and determined Sasha Williams, its all part of the regular challenge that makes her love her job so much -- pulled muscles and all.The series, which focuses on a group of survivors and their struggles to stay alive and adapt in the midst of a zombie apocalypse, debuted on AMC in October of 2010 and has since become a ratings juggernaut, drawing more than 17 millions viewers for its season premiere on Oct. 23. Martin-Green, who initially auditioned for the role of Michonne (Danai Gurira), was cast as Sasha beginning in Season 3 and has been a series regular ever since. Now in its seventh season, its filmed annually on location from May to November in Atlanta and the surrounding area.The scene above, which was part of Season 4, included the two stars (Lincoln plays protagonist Rick Grimes) culling walkers -- or zombies, for those unfamiliar with the series -- to the fence of the prison, in which the characters were living. When called by another character for help, the duo runs to the rescue. And while the final result is only a few minutes of the episode, it took hours of blood, sweat and tears. We just had to keep doing that -- up and down, and up and down the hill, said Martin-Green by phone from Los Angeles this week.It felt like it was 500 degrees that day. It was excruciating, and Andy and I both randomly ended up pulling our quads. We both kept going to the medic and saying Give us more of that rub!However, while the show is clearly physically grueling, its something she inadvertently spent her whole life preparing for. Starting in gymnastics at 8 years old, Martin-Green later got into softball and volleyball -- two sports in which she excelled in at Russellville High School in Alabama. As a theater major at the University of Alabama, she channeled her athleticism into stage combat and even received proficiency certifications from the Society of American Fight Directors (SAFD) in eight different weapons disciplines, including single sword, quarterstaff and knife.While the casting process didnt include a specific combat or stunt audition, nor did she do any specific training after being cast, the 31-year-old was immediately game for everything thrown her way on set.I do as many of my stunts as they will let me, she said. Thats the same for everyone on the show. Everyone is always down. We all push the limits as much as we can -- up until its to the point where its truly unsafe, I will do my own.From battling walkers to shooting guns to jumping over obstacles, Martin-Green has put her physicality on full display during her time on the show. An avid weightlifter, she remembers a time when she was trying to bulk up and increase her muscle mass but was unable due to the extreme cardio exercise she had on set. I was basically just running off all the muscle I was gaining, she explained.While every season presents a unique set of challenges, Season 5 was particularly tough for Martin-Green as she was pregnant with her first child (with husband and TWD actor Kenric Green, who plays Scott) throughout its duration. When the season wrapped in November of 2014, she had passed the eight-month mark. While her expanding stomach was regularly covered with weapons and various other props, she couldnt shy away from the action her character had grown to be known for.Martin-Green fought through morning sickness, fatigue and the elements, and maintained the same level of intensity she had previously. During a shoot near the end of the season, she recalls filming a fight scene on a bridge which required her to be constantly moving all day in the direct sunlight. Calling it one of the most difficult stunts she had ever done, she was unsure if she would be able to get through it, but she somehow managed.And while pregnancy is unique on the set, injuries are not. She and all of her co-stars have dealt with their fair share of bumps and bruises during the years.?A lot of stuff goes wrong, she said. Its such an intense show physically. Things are happening all the time. So whether someone passed out from heat exhaustion, or someone twisted their ankle, or accidentally stabbed themselves, or got hit in the head with a prop gun, the medic is just around all the time, and always needed.But, despite the risks and exhausting shoots, Martin-Green loves to be tested every day by the role. And shes grateful to have the opportunity to play such a strong character. Citing Sashas realistic evolution throughout the series, her development allows her to fully challenge herself as an actor. And as difficult as the fight scenes are, the emotional, dialogue-laden scenes are equally demanding --- something that she relishes.Its just so fun whenever I get a new script, she said. Especially because my character isnt in the comic (the show is based on a comic series by writers Robert Kirkman and artist Tony Moore), so I have this sort of infinite landscape to look at and to look forward to. I love it, and I love the way stories are told on the show.I love all the prevailing themes on the show -- one of them being female empowerment. And I love that its told in such a way that it doesnt beat you over the head with it, which I think is invaluable. Its presented in a way thats authentic and organic, and in that way, I think its much more inspiring.Martin-Green has been able to experience the rabid reach and impact of the show firsthand at various fan-centric events like Comic-Con and Walker Stalker Con, and thinks of everyone involved with the show, from the cast and crew to those watching at home from their couch, as one big family. While shes occasionally confused by an approaching fan at the grocery store (Im always thinking at first, do I know this person from somewhere?), she is thrilled when someone tells them how much they enjoy the show, or when a young girl on the street greets her with a, Hi Sasha!With the mid-season finale airing Sunday night, Martin-Green, like all of her castmates, is notoriously tight-lipped about what viewers can expect, but does promise an epic 90 minutes. So much so, she whistled emphatically about it for about 15 seconds after being asked about it.?Everyone will be embarking on their own kind of path, and youll see how theyre coping with this whole new world, she shared. Everyone is on their own [journey] in doing that, and well see where those paths lead. Its so tough because I really cant say anything. I have to really be creative with my words! Stephen Curry Shoes Wholesale . 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Buy Curry Shoes Online . - Raiders general manager Reggie McKenzie never doubted he would bring back coach Dennis Allen for a third year despite back-to-back 4-12 records.Canadas mens national team lost its opening game of the 2013 Concacaf Gold Cup on Sunday, after they were blanked 1-0 by Martinique. Thats right. Martinique. You can add this result to the growing list of international embarrassments for Canadian soccer. Weve had our fair share of suffering in Canadian soccer over the years. An 8-1 loss to Honduras that eliminated us from World Cup contention back in October; failure to reach the World Cup finals since 1986, our one and only appearance; a 2-0 loss to Cuba in the 2003 Gold Cup that saw us crash out at the group stage. If you think our embarrassments are unique to the mens program, think again. Twelve months before coming home with a bronze medal from the 2012 Olympic Games, Canadas womens team finished dead last in the 2011 womens World Cup, losing all three group games. Critics can blame the players, the coaches, the weather, the field conditions or any combination of other factors. They are nothing more than excuses. The brutally honest truth is this: we are simply not good enough. That criticism is not leveled at the players, the coaches or staff, who represent our country. They do their very best when wearing the red jersey, and on some occasions - like during last years Olympic Games - they pull off the impossible. The criticism applies to us - you, me and anyone else who is involved in Canadian soccer at any level. We are not good enough. We have stood idly by and allowed soccer to become nothing more than a recreational sport in our country. We have allowed the game to sink to the lowest common denominator, and we have done nothing - absolutely nothing - to put in place an effective development system for players, coaches and referees in Canada. While there are over 850,000 registered soccer players across the country, the vast majority of them are recreational players. Very, very few of them go through what can even loosely be described as an effective development program. Our youth soccer system emphasizes winning over development. The result is a pool of players who fail to master the fundamental skills required to compete at the elite levels of the game. The players - both male and female - who do manage to go on to represent Canada do so by chance, rather than by design. They reach the national team through their own will and determination, not because they have followed a well-researched, well-designed development pathway. It is time for that to change. It is time for the Canadian Soccer Association to put its money where its mouth is and to mandate change in soccer across the country. Thats right. Mandate. Asking for clubs to implement the principles of LTPD is not good enough. Asking for coaches to educate themselvees is not good enough.dddddddddddd Asking for leagues to implement minimum standards for coaching qualifications, training-to-game ratios and competition formats (including the removal of promotion and relegation) is not good enough. All of these things must be mandated. Because if the CSA leaves it up to the clubs, districts or leagues - if they make compliance with these things "opt-in" or optional - they simply wont happen. Because there is nothing stopping these things from being done voluntarily right now - other than the fact that we, as a nation, sink to the lowest common denominator. How can these changes be mandated? Easy. Create two streams of soccer in Canada - recreational and high-performance. Most clubs across the country do an excellent job of offering recreational soccer programs. The evidence is right there in the numbers - over 850,000 players from coast to coast. Leave the recreational programs as they are, and offer those clubs access to coach and referee education, as well as to a national development curriculum for recreational players. Then create a high-performance stream and mandate that organizations must meet the technical standards required to be involved in that stream. Both non-profit clubs and for-profit academies should be allowed to enter the high-performance stream - provided that they all meet the required standards. This isnt difficult to do, but it requires the CSA to flex its muscles a little bit. Given that there are high-performance leagues either already in existence (BC, Quebec) or about to get underway (Ontario), the CSA might be surprised just how little resistance there would be to such a plan. And heres another important component of pulling this off - the CSA needs to sing it from the rooftops. The CSA needs to go on national television and lay it all out on the table. Tell anyone and everyone what the plan is and why it is being implemented. Go across the country and hold open-mike town hall meetings where Tony Fonseca, the CSAs Technical Director, answers questions about the CSAs plan until all the questions have been answered. That is Fonsecas job; he needs to be able to sell the game from coast to coast. He needs to be able to win over skeptics, to convince the many likeminded people who truly care about the game in our country to start pulling in the same direction and start working to fix the broken mess that weve tolerated for decades in Canada. If he cant do that, then he is wrong man for the job. How many embarrassments must we suffer before we say enough is enough? How many more failed qualifying campaigns must we endure before we realize that the time to change is now? The time for change is now. ' ' '