Weightlifting Motivation

A little motivation for the new week. If these don't get your blood pumping, you had better see a doctor, or a funeral director.......

An Opinion on Supplements

The real unretouched truth.........

The article below reflects my experience with supplements. I take a multivitamin-mineral tablet along with some fish oil and that's about it. When I was younger and wanting to gain weight, I found protein supplements to be helpful as well. But nothing beats good food. In general, as the article states, the cost to benefit ratio with supplements is just not there. Nothing can compensate for lack of a disciplined diet and smart and consistent training.

“Fitness or Fiction: The Truth About Diet and Exercise”

by Brent Brookbush MS, PES, CES, CSCS, ACSM H/FS

Purchase your copy at Amazon.com; available in paperback, e-book, or for rent withAmazon Prime

Myth #18: Most supplements are effective, I should trust my local supplement dealer.

What You Should Know: Writing this section of the book has changed my view of supplementation from skepticism to utter dismay.  There is no doubt in my mind that the supplement industry is a multi-billion dollar, bull-shit industry, with few exceptions!

So as a general rule, I steer far clear of supplementation.  But, I seem to be the exception rather than the rule.  Supplements are more popular than ever, and even high school athletes are hooked^{50, 143}.

What’s Wrong with Supplementation

1 Because they are marketed as a food item they are not regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). That means no one is policing their effectiveness, purity, claims, or potential for risk.

2 There is a general lack of unbiased third party research to support any claims made by supplement manufacturers.  Most “research studies” seen in magazines and advertisements are done by the company who manufacture the product and are inherently biased. Further, case studies, including the testimonials of individuals, represents the weakest form of research.

3 Those supplements that are effective are generally far too expensive for the small effect they have on your performance.  (Ex. $700 – $1000 a year for a product that may increase your performance by less than 1 percent.)  Personal training and education on program design strategies give you far more bang for your buck.  HMB is a great example of a product that has some effectiveness, but in the amount that has been proven effective is way too expensive for the average consumer.

4 Most supplements are so new that long term studies are not possible.  There are many supplements on the market that are so new that research has yet to be done, and long-term effects cannot be investigated.  These products may hold the key to untapped levels of performance, or they may have terrible long-term side-effects.  Supplementation must be weighed on the basis of risk versus reward. Unless you are performing at the highest levels of competition and rely on athletic performance to pay your bills, it is hard to justify the risk and expense of supplementation, and at the highest level of competition many of these substances are banned anyway.

5 Many supplements have potentially harmful side effects when combined with other medications or certain food products. (example: ephedrine and beta blockers).  The Anne Marie Capati vs. Crunch Gyms case is a tragic example. At 37 years old, Anne Marie Capati had a stroke during a training session.  It is believed that a reaction between her hypertension medication and the supplement Thermadrine (containing ephedrine) is to blame.

6 Many manufacturers overstate claim, or generalize the effects of their product to include markets that will receive little benefit.  An example of generalization:  Gatorade is an extremely effective performance enhancer for intense endurance events lasting longer than an hour, and is effective as a recovery aid post exhausting intense exercise.  Some of their advertising infers that Gatorade will enhance the performance of any activity, including pool, golf, and weight lifting.  Although Gatorade is a great product, it will not enhance the performance of short duration events and lighter activity.

7 Supplements should be just that, supplements to a healthy diet.  They should not be used to replace real food and good nutritional practices.  If you eat garbage most of the time it is unlikely one drink, bar, or powder, is going to improve your performance.  Improving your eating habits should precede any supplement considerations.  A good diet is your foundation for better health, weight loss, and/or performance, supplements are minor details in comparison.

How to Pick Up Girls at the Gym

A little humor is always a good thing. One of my students showed me this, even the girls in the class thought it was funny.

Coaching in the United States of America in 2013

Personally, I prefer not to use physical activities as punishment, for reasons I explained in earlier posts. The long range effect of such coaching is to develop an aversion to exercise. My personal feelings about that aside, this situation is a sad one. Here in the USA teachers and coaches are under attack for the low performance of their students, yet when any effort is made to really challenge them, parents protest and work to get them fired. Administrators are spineless and cave in to the parents. Scholastic coaches have no support. This particular incident is definitely a border line issue. Personally I would not have done what these coaches did.  But really, the hands on the video seem more dirty than injured. The blisters are not any worse than the scrapes that come from chopping wood, digging with a shovel, or falling on the track with your hands out. Parents are more concerned about protecting their children from any consequences than they are about their commitment to the team and individual excellence. It sounds like the kids chose to take a day off from practice to do something that they could have likely done on their own. It seems as though the majority of the team did just that and were at practice and likely at the prom as well. Parents today want excellence without commitment. They want freedom to choose, not only their actions, but the consequences. We are certainly free to make our own choices, but we also must take responsibility for the consequences that follow. The local reporters make it seem like cruel and unusual punishment. Where were they 40 years ago when my high school coaches dragged us behind their cars around a cinder track in early attempts at overspeed training? We spent hours cleaning the cinders out after we wiped out, and this didn't happen infrequently either. We were subjected to practices in full equipment in the hot sun, no water breaks, (to toughen us up) and getting slapped around when we missed assignments. Oprah and Dr. Phil would have field day interviewing us. Somehow we survived and actually feel that life is supposed to be hard sometimes. We actually came to believe that when you screw up, you take responsibility. Here in the USA in 2013, coaches are at the mercy of the kids and their parents. Offend one and you lose your job.

Four track coaches have been placed on administrative leave and asked to resign from coaching after some of their athletes were hurt during practice.

A parent, who didn’t want to be identified, said a handful of Cascade High School students were forced to do bear crawls on their track during Wednesday’s practice as punishment for missing a practice last week.The practice they missed was scheduled the day before prom. The father we spoke with said his son missed practice because he needed to pick up his tux.

A bear crawl is an athletic move where a person places their hands and feet on the ground and crawls. Their knees never touch the ground.

“I don’t know what they were thinking. I’ve been a coach and I’ve done athletics and I understand there needs to be a consequence when you miss practice. And you know, if you want to do the bear crawls, you can do 600 yards as far as I’m concerned on grass, but not on a tar track when it’s 80 degrees outside,” he said.

The father was told some students had to do more laps around the track than others.

“Apparently one coach made the decision to do it and all four coaches talked about it and it was agreed upon that that’s what they would do,” he said.

His son was taken to the ER after practice. He suffered 1st and 2nd degree burns on his hands after being forced to go around the track twice.

“I think (in) this situation, people weren’t thinking well. People make mistakes, but they sure need to live up to their mistakes,” he said.

The father of the track athlete would like to speak with the coaches.

“I just hope that these coaches will see that there’s a line there when it comes to your authority over these students. (I hope the students) will see that, you know, if you think something is wrong, if you think you are being asked to do something that isn’t right then don’t so it,” he said.

Another parent, whose child runs for the track team, said she was surprised and angry about the punishment.

“I send my kid to school to be protected and they did this. It’s not right,” Tammy Rulfs said.

Rulfs said her daughter’s hands hurt.

“I want to see the coaches have to do what the children did,” Rulfs said.

Mill Creek Community School Corporation officials met with track parents on Thursday afternoon. Assistant Superintendent, Dr. Jill Jay said they are investigating the incident. In a statement she said:

“Last night we became aware of an incident involving the boys’ and girls’ high school track team and inappropriate conduct by the team coaches. We immediately began an investigation and interviewed those involved. In addition, our office contacted the Indiana Department of Child Services. We sincerely apologize to the parents and assure them we do not condone, nor will we tolerate this type of behavior from our school employees. We have requested that all four coaches resign from their coaching positions and they have been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation.”

The Life of a Chinese Weightlifter, Zhang Guozheng

This video takes 25 minutes to watch, but is a fascinating look at the life of a Chinese weightlifter and gives insight into what it takes to compete at a world class level. Also what life is like for an athlete in a communist regime.

Ultimate Stupidity

Something about this just doesn't look right!

This article appeared in the Arizona Republic newspaper this week. Arizona is famous for it's extreme right wing views, but this is so far right that it's left, in my opinion. How ironic that the anti government involvement people want to regulate a community's right to provide recreational and fitness facilities to it's citizens. They don't do much for their "out of touch" image when they propose closing down public facilities in order to deflect competition from for-profit commercial gyms.  Only in Arizona.
Communities all over the world have been providing facilities and encouraging public involvement for their own health and fitness for centuries. What are these people thinking? Someone's brother-in-law must own a Planet Fitness in the area.

By Parker LeavittThe Republic | azcentral.comTue Apr 16, 2013 11:07 PM

The Goldwater Institute is demanding that Gilbert cease operations at its popular Freestone Recreation Center over concerns that the $11 million public facility violates state law and unfairly competes with private fitness centers.

Goldwater attorney Taylor Earl said the conservative think tank hopes to send a message across the state that compels governments “to stay within their constitutional bounds,” something the group believes Gilbert has overstepped in building the public fitness center.

The dispute will be closely watched by other Arizona cities and towns, especially Phoenix, Scottsdale, Mesa and Tempe, all of which have similar recreational facilities.

Freestone opened in 2002 with basketball and racquetball courts, exercise equipment, saunas and a 40-foot rock-climbing wall. Daily admission costs $4 for an adult Gilbert resident and $6 for a non-resident.

The town estimates that the center has 236,000 visitors annually.

In a letter to Gilbert Mayor John Lewis in November, Earl contends the recreation center provides services beyond the scope allowed by state statute and is therefore “unauthorized and illegal.”

Though Freestone is now nearly 11 years old, a local gym owner complained to the Goldwater Institute last year, prompting the group’s recent legal challenge, Earl said. He refused to identify the owner but said it was a gym in Gilbert.

“Private health clubs in the area have not only been forced to fund their competition through taxation, but they cannot compete with Freestone on equal footing,” Earl argues in his letter to the town.

Goldwater has asked Gilbert either to shutter the recreation center or to sell it to a private company. The town should also order a legal audit of its Parks and Recreation Department to look for other facilities it may not have the legal authority to operate, Earl said.

Gilbert’s Freestone center is not unique in the Valley. There are several other facilities that also provide exercise equipment, sport courts and rock climbing to the general public.

Mesa’s Red Mountain Multigenerational Center, for example, offers cardio machines, volleyball, rock climbing and massage therapy. Admission prices are similar to those at Freestone.

Scottsdale and Phoenix offer multiple public fitness centers, and Tempe’s Kiwanis Recreation Center includes a gym, batting range and wave pool.

Goldwater says Gilbert is different because the town does not have a voter-approved charter that broadly defines its powers. Instead, the town derives authority from state statute, giving it limited powers, Goldwater says.

Ken Strobeck, executive director of the League of Arizona Cities and Towns, said cities and towns for the most part have the same powers whether they have adopted a charter.

City charters historically were more meaningful, but the Legislature in recent years has granted more authority to “general law” cities, which don’t have a charter, Strobeck said. It’s been 20 years since the last city charter was adopted, he added.

There are 19 charter cities in Arizona, according to the league. Among Phoenix-area municipalities with more than 50,000 residents, only Gilbert and Surprise remain without charters.

Still, those communities have the right to develop parks, league general counsel William Bock said. If Goldwater is trying to draw the line on what type of park is allowed, it is “splitting hairs too much,” Bock said.

Earl said the Goldwater Institute hopes Gilbert will voluntarily comply with its demand but hinted at possible litigation if the town refuses.

If the issue ends up in court, Earl said, the case could exceed the scope and significance of the high-profile CityNorth case, in which Goldwater challenged Phoenix’s $97 million incentive deal for the mixed-use development.

Strobeck agreed that the case would be significant for municipalities but thinks that it is unlikely that a court would issue a ruling that requires cities to receive permission from the state Legislature for every activity.

Gilbert’s contract town attorney, Susan Goodwin, dismissed Goldwater’s claims in a response she sent to the organization in December asserting the town’s right to own and operate the facility “for the general good of the public.”

Cities and towns are not restricted from competing with the private sector in providing recreation opportunities, Goodwin wrote.

In March, Earl again prodded the town on its operations at Freestone and restated his opinion that the center does not meet the definition of a park.

The Goldwater complaint came as a “big surprise” to the town, Goodwin said.

The Gilbert Town Council was scheduled to meet in executive session on Tuesday evening to discuss the Goldwater complaint. Officials are forbidden by law from divulging details of such closed-door meetings.

The makeup of the council leans to the right, and recent elections have sent staunch conservatives with “tea party” ties to Gilbert Town Hall. It remains unclear, however, if the council will be receptive to Goldwater’s demands.

Former Phoenix Mayor Paul Johnson, now a member of the centrist Grand Canyon Institute, said the Goldwater complaint is “depressing” and “out of touch.” Johnson said the argument reminds him of one made by a resident during his tenure as mayor, when Phoenix weighed funding a swimming pool.

“They said, ‘Mayor, if these kids want to swim, they ought to swim in their own backyard,’ ” Johnson recalled.

But there will always be groups of people who lack the financial means for such activities, and cutting them off from public facilities is only asking for trouble, Johnson said.

“I will make you a guarantee. You will need to hire a lot more police because, sooner or later, some of those kids will get into trouble,” Johnson said. “You are sowing the seeds of revolution. That’s something that history tells you.”