MMA News and Fight Videos

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to notice that obesity rates have “sky rocketed” in recent years.  Like it or not, but much of the world has grown fatter than ever before. Obesity is a growing problem (no pun intended), but we already know that.  Identifying the problem doesn’t do much of anything.  Yes, we have an obesity problem, but how do we go about fixing it?

I wish there was a simple answer, but when dealing with large populations, it becomes much more complicated.  Yes, we need to promote exercise and healthy nutritional habits, but there is a much more to the story. Those who read blogs such as mine are already health conscious, or at least ready to get started.  You didn’t come across this blog while watching your favorite television show.  You had to actively seek out exercise or fitness based information to end up here.

What about those who are not as active however?  What happens to these people?  Perhaps they turn on the television and come across one of the two commercials linked to below:

I can’t believe that such nonsense is allowed to run on national television.  Do we really need to promote high fructose corn syrup?  Does the world really need more of this CRAP! And what about the use of the word natural?  How the hell do these people pass high fructose corn syrup off as a natural food choice?  Are they serious?

Look, I’m not suggesting that a popsicle is the end of the world, but our kids are already growing fatter and fatter.  They are going to eat their treats regardless of the commercials, but do we really need to encourage even more?  Do we need to con the public into believing that this crap is somehow healthy?   Should we call everything “natural” considering that everything in this world came from this world.

And what about the reference to moderation?  Does anyone actually do anything (that they enjoy) in moderation?  Can we trust a young child to eat junk food, but only in moderation?  Will the average 9 year old recognize the need to consume his bag of treats in moderation?  Give me a break!  Where do we draw the line with this blatant bullsh*t?

And for those who may be confused, high fructose corn syrup is everything but “natural” and everything but “healthy”. It is pure crap, and something we can all do without.  If you want to give your children a natural snack, give them a fresh piece of fruit.  There is no need for a fruit flavored snack when you can go directly to the source and eat the REAL piece of fruit!

For those who need more information about high fructose corn syrup, take a moment to read through this link

And to the corn farmers who wish to send hate mail, how about growing some real corn that we can eat instead!

Ross

Below is an excellent article about safety and kids, and the potential problem that one has on the other.

Why Safe Kids Are Becoming Fat Kids

The author discusses several modern safety measures that didn’t exist when we were kids.  The world has changed however.  Kids no longer are encouraged to get outside and play.  There is no freedom to explore and do the things that kids would naturally do.  There are even certain school districts that have banned running at recess.  Running has been deemed too dangerous!  What the hell is wrong with our world!

When and why did the world become so soft?  What happened to letting a kid live a little?  Is it really that bad?  As kids, we grew up outside.  No one wanted to sit inside and play video games.  We grew up playing baseball, tackle football, pick up basketball games, etc.  We would have stayed out all night if sun didn’t go down.

Sure, there were times when I came home with bumps and bruises, but that was just part of growing up.  Life isn’t supposed to be cake walk.  Why fool kids and pretend that it is?  If you never learn to take calculated risks as kids, how can you be expected to take calculated risks as adults?  No one is suggesting that we all live recklessly, but there are times when it makes sense to go against the grain.  Almost every successful person in this world did just that on his or her way to the top.

Today, we preach safety and sameness.  Kids are always being reminded to take it easy.  Don’t do this, don’t do that, be careful with this, be careful with that, etc.  The outdoor fields are empty.  When I take my son to the playground, we are usually alone.  No one else is outside playing.  Should it come as a surprise that adults in today’s world struggle with obesity?

What will come next?  Will our kids be banned from going outside?  Is it too dangerous?   Should we all walk around with safety masks?  Should we live inside protective bubbles?

The world needs to lighten up.  A few bumps and bruises are the end of the world.  There are much bigger problems faced by millions of people around the world.  Let your kids live a little and get outside with them.  Leading from the front is the only way to lead, and your kids will learn by watching you!

Ross

PS - Here are two related entries (here and here)

PPS - Yes, the image above is of me at age 9.  What isn’t shown is me crashing into the floor after jumping off my bed in an attempt to look like I could fly.  My brother was the remarkable camera man who was able to jump out of the way before I crashed into him.  Nothing beats the good old days!

Below is an excellent article about safety and kids, and the potential problem that one has on the other.

Why Safe Kids Are Becoming Fat Kids

The author discusses several modern safety measures that didn’t exist when we were kids.  The world has changed however.  Kids no longer are encouraged to get outside and play.  There is no freedom to explore and do the things that kids would naturally do.  There are even certain school districts that have banned running at recess.  Running has been deemed too dangerous!  What the hell is wrong with our world!

When and why did the world become so soft?  What happened to letting a kid live a little?  Is it really that bad?  As kids, we grew up outside.  No one wanted to sit inside and play video games.  We grew up playing baseball, tackle football, pick up basketball games, etc.  We would have stayed out all night if sun didn’t go down.

Sure, there were times when I came home with bumps and bruises, but that was just part of growing up.  Life isn’t supposed to be cake walk.  Why fool kids and pretend that it is?  If you never learn to take calculated risks as kids, how can you be expected to take calculated risks as adults?  No one is suggesting that we all live recklessly, but there are times when it makes sense to go against the grain.  Almost every successful person in this world did just that on his or her way to the top.

Today, we preach safety and sameness.  Kids are always being reminded to take it easy.  Don’t do this, don’t do that, be careful with this, be careful with that, etc.  The outdoor fields are empty.  When I take my son to the playground, we are usually alone.  No one else is outside playing.  Should it come as a surprise that adults in today’s world struggle with obesity?

What will come next?  Will our kids be banned from going outside?  Is it too dangerous?   Should we all walk around with safety masks?  Should we live inside protective bubbles?

The world needs to lighten up.  A few bumps and bruises are the end of the world.  There are much bigger problems faced by millions of people around the world.  Let your kids live a little and get outside with them.  Leading from the front is the only way to lead, and your kids will learn by watching you!

Ross

PS - Here are two related entries (here and here)

PPS - Yes, the image above is of me at age 9.  What isn’t shown is me crashing into the floor after jumping off my bed in an attempt to look like I could fly.  My brother was the remarkable camera man who was able to jump out of the way before I crashed into him.  Nothing beats the good old days!

There isn’t much that I can add to this entry.  He’s already hit the nail on the head.

Ross

If you believe breakfast cereal is a healthy start to your day, take some time to read through the article below:

Drop That Spoon!

If time is limited, I’ve copied some of the article highlights below:

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“The absurdity of feeding an animal something that it never evolved to eat and that actually makes it fat and sick ought to be easy enough to see…  They (processed cereals) are the epitome of cheap commodity converted by manufacturing to higher-value goods; of agricultural surplus turned into profitable export. Somehow, they have wormed into our confused consciousness as intrinsically healthy, when, by and large, they are degraded foods that have to have any goodness artificially restored.”

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“It was a chronically dyspeptic businessman and former patient of Kellogg’s at the sanitarium who unleashed the power of marketing on breakfast. Charles Post set up the rival La Vita Inn in Battle Creek and developed his own versions of precooked cereals. “The sunshine that makes a business plant grow is advertising,” he declared, promoting his cereals with paid-for testimonials from apparently genuine happy eaters. He also cheerfully invented diseases that his products could cure. Grape Nuts were miraculously marketed at the time both as “brain food” and also as a cure for consumption and malaria. They were even, despite their enamel-cracking hardness, said to be an antidote to loose teeth.”

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My Comments -  Perhaps the best line from this entire article is bolded in the paragraph below.  If you currently eat cereal, consider eating the box instead. 

“That processed cereals had become little more than sugary junk with milk and vitamins added was an accusation made as long ago as 1970, when Robert Choate, an adviser to President Nixon on nutrition, told a congressional hearing into breakfast cereals that the majority “fatten but do little to prevent malnutrition”. Choate was outraged at the aggressive targeting of children in breakfast cereal advertising. He analyzed 60 well-known cereal brands and concluded that two-thirds offered “empty calories, a term thus far applied to alcohol and sugar”. Rats fed a diet of ground-up cereal boxes with sugar, milk and raisins were healthier than rats fed the cereals themselves, he testified to senators.”

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My Comments - It should come as no surprise that large cereal manufacturers such as Kellogg’s have sponsored many school nutritional programs.  Paying to sponsor a school program is just another form of advertising.  They have never been concerned about your health, or the health of your children.  The sole concern is annual revenue.   

“Getting children hooked, making them associate breakfast cereal with fun and entertainment, were among the main aims of competing manufacturers from the early days. Cereal advertising likewise helped shape early television. Using “motivational research” to work out how to appeal to women and children with different kinds of packaging.”

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“One of the biggest costs in cereal manufacture is not the value of the ingredients nor the cost of production, but the marketing. About a quarter of the money you spend on breakfast cereal goes on the cost of persuading you to buy it.”

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These are just a few highlights from the full article.  If you don’t have time to read through the entire piece, at least take some time to remove cereal from your morning schedule. 

Ross

It appears that my last entry has caused some confusion. My reasons for posting the entry were not to suggest that one needs 5 hours of training each day. On the contrary, I posted the entry to highlight the accomplishments of a 65 year old man. There are still people in this world who mistakenly equate age 65 with a feeble body and retirement home lifestyle. Clearly, this isn’t the case, and Sam Bryant is just one of many examples proving otherwise.

Fortunately, you won’t need 5 hours of training each day to live an active, healthy life. After all, who actually has 5 hours to train each day? And what would you do with 5 hours? As has been said before, less can be more.

I rarely train more than one hour each day. I do however use my time wisely. I train with intensity, and not a minute is wasted. I wake up early to train and then get on with the rest of the day. I may also mix in a brief mini-workout if necessary. That’s it. I’m not consumed with my own training. I’m busy running my business, conducting research, consulting with other athletes and coaches, etc. (not to mention being a husband and father). Even if I had 5 free hours (which will likely never happen), I wouldn’t spend it training. I don’t need 5 hours. When dealing with a strength or conditioning routine, a 5 hour workout is the last thing you’ll need. I spend much less time strength training than many, but am also much stronger than many who spend far more time working on strength.  It all boils down to quality over quantity and intelligent program design.

Furthermore, some may counter my comments and suggest that working as a coach somehow means that I run around doing pushups all day. This simply isn’t true. If I’m being paid to train an athlete, I’m not getting paid to show off. I am there to teach. If I need to demonstrate something, I can, but it usually isn’t necessary when working with experienced and/or professional athletes.  And if I’m conducting research at the university, it isn’t exactly proper etiquette to perform burpees in the computer lab.  Ultimately, no one cares what the coach can do. The coach is paid to prepare his team or fighter for victory. Bill Parcels is a great football coach, but he’s not in shape to get in the game. He isn’t paid to play, he’s paid to coach.

It is also worth noting that some of the stories regarding the training of professional athletes can be somewhat misleading. Consider a professional fighter for a perfect example. Suppose we are in the gym for 3 hours. Technically speaking, the fighter has been training for 3 hours that day. What many fail to realize however is that the fighter isn’t running around the gym doing pushups and pull-ups for 3 consecutive hours. If it is a sparring day, time is spent wrapping and taping the fighter’s hands. We may need to then wait for the ring to clear. We may need to wait for the sparring partners to be adequately warmed up. Some fighters need more time than others. We then need to lace up the gloves, apply grease to prevent cuts, grease the gloves to also prevent cuts, etc.

Don’t get me wrong, the fighter is still working very hard, but it’s not a non-stop 3 hour session. It is also worth noting that much of the work is skill based. When dealing with general health and fitness, you aren’t training for a professional sporting contest. You don’t need to drill new skills over and over again. Instead, you can strip your workout down to the bare essentials. When dealing with strength and conditioning, time is a poor measure of workout quality.

If you plan your workouts properly, you’ll accomplish what you need to accomplish without wasting an entire day. You can still live an active and enjoyable lifestyle outside of the gym. After all, we aren’t training for the gym. We are training to better ourselves, and ultimately better our lives.

Ross

We all have habits.  Unfortunately, more and more people seem to be living with more and more bad habits.  Take a look at the video below…

Listen how Jack describes the shopping experience at the grocery store. Does it strike anyone else as odd that his words are still true in today’s world?  It’s as if nothing has changed.  The bad habits that Jack identified still plague our society today.  I’m always shocked at the garbage that I see loaded in shopping carts.  It’s amazing that many of these items can even be passed off as food. 

You Can’t Eat What You Don’t Buy

When pondering your own shopping habits, it is useful to fall back on the advice of past poet John Dryden.  In his words,

We first make our habits, and then our habits make us.

Now think how these words can apply to someone who is trying to lose weight.  If you never buy junk food, how will you eat it in the middle of the night?  You can’t eat what you don’t buy.  By simply changing your shopping habits at the grocery store, you can begin to change your life (our habits make us).

As I’ve said before, often times the best advice is the most simplistic.  If you want to lose weight, stop looking for quick fixes and temporary plans.  If you really want to lose weight permanently, be prepared for a lifestyle change.  Start with the basics.  Shop the perimeter of your grocery store.  Shop your local farmer’s markets (great way to often save money).  Eat real food (ex. plants, animals, fish, etc.). 

If such foods were all you ever bought, it is actually difficult to become (or stay) overweight.  No one becomes fat by eating too many carrots and apples, and no one opens your mouth and forces you to eat junk.   And just in case you didn’t know, healthy foods are often far tastier than even your favorite junk food.  

Personally, I don’t count calories and I don’t count nutrient ratios.  I don’t count anything.  I eat healthy, fresh, real food throughout the day.  I eat to live, rather than living to eat.  I find joy in life and activity, not by pigging out at the dinner table.  I don’t eat cheat meals simply because I don’t like feeling like crap for the rest of the day.  I prefer the taste of real food and also feel much better (physically) afterwards.  Don’t be fooled into thinking that you need a cheat meal.  If you are eating the way you should, you’ll be eating tasty meals all along. 

I’m not suggesting that we all become fanatics, but don’t live your life waiting for the next cheat meal.  I enjoyed some ice cream on my son’s birthday this past weekend.  I’m not a food freak.  I do however prefer the taste of fresh/real food over any artificial/processed junk.  Eating real food is one habit that I’ll keep for the rest of my life. 

Ross

This blog entry isn’t intended to be a complete knock against the pharmaceutical industry.  There are good apples and bad apples in almost any industry.  I’m not looking to spread fear and chaos with this entry, but rather to open your eyes to events that often take place behind closed doors. 

As stated within the link below, the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) recently revealed how the large drug maker Merck had manipulated dozens of publications to promote its painkiller Vioxx.

Merck Busted For Ghostwriting

These recent events have come as a surprise to some.  After all, aren’t we supposed to trust the scientific process? 

In a perfect world, we would, but this world is far from perfect.

More Info To Ponder

When reading through new material, it is important to realize that actions are often inspired by motives.  These motives may have nothing to do with your well being.  Just because a doctor or pharmacist says something doesn’t mean that it is always true.  Regardless of your profession, we are all human beings.  We all make mistakes, and no one knows everything.  New information comes out each day, and no one spends 24 hours a day reading it.  Think back 50 years ago.  Many facts from yesteryear have been completely disproven.  I’m sure the same will be said 50 years from now. 

Ultimately, we need to make informed decisions.  No one plugs their brain into a knowledge machine at night and has all the answers in the morning.  Knowledge is free and readily available to those who are interested in finding it. 

I have friends and family members who would jump off a bridge if a doctor suggested it.  The word of the doctor is gospel in their eyes.  If the doctor said so, it must be true.  They have all the answers, right? 

I don’t agree.  I’ve met some excellent doctors in my time, but I’ve never met anyone who was perfect.  I rarely believe anything without first putting in my own due diligence to come to my own conclusions.  I’ll listen to everyone, but I don’t believe everyone until I am thoroughly convinced.  Perhaps that is the only message that should come from this random post-workout blog entry…

Ross