Spring is my favorite season.

I love to see the flora & fauna reappear, growing seemingly every day.

Stretching incrementally longer, the sun finally making an appearance most days after the dormancy of winter.

There is a general feeling of renewal and possibility.

Of course spring also means baseball.—my first love.

With America’s Pastime just about to embark on the 2018 campaign, I recently was thinking about my early frustrations, education, and even some of the magic moments that were such a huge part of my adolescent, tween and teenage years.

I wanted to be a Omar Moreno.

Somehow I convinced my manager to let me bat first and play centerfield. 😀

Omar stole a ton of bases.

If he reached base via a walk or a slap hit the other way, you knew he was running.

I always had the same mindset, having speedy legs as possibly my only asset.

I would always, always take a huge lead, a Rickey Henderson type of lead, and just bolt for second.

Stealing second base is actually somewhat of a stable approach as far as odds are concerned.

So much has to go right for the defense to throw you out, make you look foolish for giving up a sacred out.

The pitcher has to be very quick, accurate and deliberate to the plate, the catcher has to defy physics and in almost one motion, catch the pitch, aim for the base, and deliver a precise throw before you arrive.

That’s a whole lot of moving parts.

Stealing third base was actually a bit easier.

You could get even more of a lead, you could give the opposing pitcher fits by moving all around, just within his sphere of peripheral vision, disrupting his rhythm.

You could also almost sense the panic, as you were already in scoring position, and the extra 90 feet you were seeking, would almost guarantee a run on a slow hit ground ball, or any fly ball of decent depth.

Stealing home though, that is a different story.

All the advantages become disadvantages.

You, as the runner need everything to go right, as the pitcher is only a  60 feet, 6 inches toss away and most likely holding the ball.

The catcher (before the silly rule that didn’t allow him to block the plate) was anchored and just waiting for the throw, wearing the “tools of ignorance,” ready to crush you.

Coincidentally, I was thinking about the art and science of stealing home yesterday, the incredibly level of difficulty, risk,  and to my surprise, I happened to see this:

https://www.mlb.com/news/lolo-sanchez-steals-home-for-pirates/c-269733254

Did I tell you how much I love spring? 😀

 

Making A Case For Road Work.

I Decided to take a couple days off from the iron. I was feeling a little beat up, actually mostly due to schedule/work.

I realized that I have not done any conditioning/cardio/aerobics since December 22. Nearly 3 months ago.

I’m a huge believer in cardio in terms of visual impact and also of course the excellent health benefits of actually & directly exercising the very most important muscle in your body—Your heart.

So, today, after work, I decided it was time to get back to what is a fundamental value of mine in terms of not only aesthetics, but also what I consider to be a true game-changer for health, longevity, & vitality.

A 2 mile density run.

I have to be honest, I was a bit nervous.

Will I even be able to finish? 😀

I just got home from work, was feeling less than energized, it would of been equally advantageous or beneficial to take a power-nap, but the weather was decent, I had a window of time, and I was feeling a bit guilty for neglecting this area in which I have advocated and has served me so excellently all these years.

Mid-distance running, seems to almost always be met with contention by the bodybuilding community despite accounts of approval from some of the very best built physiques ever.

I believe the two go hand-in hand.

Frank Zane once said “In 1976 I got into great shape and was running about two miles four times a week. Then in 1979, when I reached my peak shape, I would go to a track at night and do six laps. My legs got very muscular from that.”

If it is good for Frank, it is good for me.

So, I grabbed the earbuds, plugged in some Led Zep and hit the track.

I was pleased to find, I still “had it.”

2 miles and around 15 minutes later, I was walking home.

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The Quiet Deadlift.

Going back a decade or two in any town, anywhere, in average commercial gyms, you would see a pretty wide gap in terms of the cross-section of populace and demographics in that community.

This is well before the advent of instagram filters.

Does checking your messages still count in total rest periods? 😀

There have always been the typical “gym rats,” bodybuilders and powerlifters, the middle aged former football star that is trying to regain some assemblance of his younger self, the new mom, or dad that are trying to get back into shape, the retiree that wants to make his or her golden years “golden” by getting into the absolute best shape of their lives so they can play with their grandchildren and maybe, just maybe see them get married, and find themselves great-grandparents.

The retirees, “Silver Sneakers.”

The young man that would love to become the hero, the young lady that wants to become beautiful like the stars on T.V.

This will always be, as it should be.

True classic notions always outlive trends.

As a lifelong natural trainee, I have seen the progression of what is/was considered intensive training.

What is hard and true work and results.

What is earned through discipline and time.

I’ve also become extremely attuned to what is a “sales pitch,” “scam,” and dishonest approaches and marketing.

Social media has upped the stakes exponentially.

Anyone can be anything.

Holy smokes!

I recently saw a guy that has made me realize we are living in times of absolute melt-down insanity (a self-proclaimed guru/personal trainer :D)

Reluctantly noticing this “gem” by the circles we are in common with, it seems as though he never has a bad day. lol

Never a failure, only success.

He claims six figure income, multitudes of online clients, seeing 35-40 per day (that math just doesn’t work) all the while being a retired anti-terrorism/anti-drug enforcement expert, most likely has or will produce the cure for cancer etc, probably will also develop a cure for the common cold in his spare time.

Probably finally develop the perpetual motion machine any day now.

Wow!

I wish I had a fraction of this clown’s chutzpah.

Those that have spent any real time in this lifestyle/industry know that you will get sick, you will get injuries, you will have dark periods where all you can hope for is to get by.

This is the real world that most of us live in.

Self-esteem is a very funny thing.

All I have is this blog and the people I am blessed to reach day to day to relay my experiences and when it is all said and done, I can only hope to help one person in some way, or touch someone, inspire someone.

Even if I wasn’t paid for what I do, I’d still do it.

My passion for what I do is reward enough.

In the real world that the majority of us live in, we all have the occasional bad day.

Sometimes it’s a series of bad days.

Oftentimes, you are not told how wonderful you are, but told how you need to step it up or improve.

It may be the truth, it may be someone with their own agenda.

Social media has some great benefits, such as eliminating the need for a high school reunion every five years, but it also has a dark side, a very dishonest side.

What you see isn’t always necessarily what you get.

 

It’s amazing how clear truth is in a very muddy sea of filtered exaggeration and distortion.

When you see it, it really stands out.

Back on the subject of deadlifts, my approach for quite some time has been to make this exercise as “quiet” as possible.

While being one of the most primal and violent movements in the exercise sphere, there is a certain command and mastery when you simply bend and with a double overhand-grip, eloquently from a dead stop lift the barbell to waist level.

No screaming.

No fanfare.

No psyche up.

No animus.

Just confidence in what you can do each and everyday, regardless of whether you are tired, over-worked, your girlfriend or boyfriend broke up with you, you lost your job, you missed a meal or workout.

No need for a stimulus of hundreds of grams of caffeine, no need for a monthly prescription to regulate your hormones, just honest to goodness real world, earned strength and poise.

On the subject of hormone therapy, before you consider taking this lifelong commitment of injecting yourself with needles, why not first try to see if you can naturally reach your goals in a healthy way.

 

 

 

 

How To Scramble Eggs and Influence People.

Holy Hell are we living in some unbelievably crazy/scary times.

The world is increasingly getting harder to comprehend for the sound of mind, the pure of soul, the innocent bystander, the honest of intention.

Do you know what you know, or are you being fooled?  Are your convictions your own through experiences or are you parroting another?

Basic, fundamental, thoughtful mores are being thrown out the window, truth and virtue are a far distant and secondary notion to agenda and oftentimes bought and paid for interest.

As Billy Joel once said “Honesty, is such a lonely word.”

Values and opinions seemingly are bought and paid for, our education system has become an indoctrination system. True history is rapidly being erased. Universities are more interested in “forming” your viewpoint to concur with their donors, than actually prompting you to develop your own unique view, getting you to be prepared for the real world and making your own way in it, or becoming a productive component of society.

If you have a recent degree and are responsible for the debt, you may agree, if not now, perhaps six months from now you will.

Late night “comedians” are losing their sense of humor and all of the sudden becoming “serious” voices opining on current news and the state of affairs—-all the while taking all of their ques and “opinions” from whatever or whoever is signing their exorbitant paycheck.

Seems the laughs/entertainment have ceased. They might be sheep.

Award shows, be it film, music, sports, whatever, are unbelievably becoming a predictable and a politically charged sham. They preach about oppression, they preach of misfortune, injustice, persecution, while wearing 300,000 dollar gowns/suits, arrive in 3,000,000 vehicles, and live in 30 million dollar mansions. Are they walking the talk? Nope. Please notice this absurdness.

Few in this day, in position of influence have individual thought out moral fiber, or convictions of their own, that they truly and absolutely believe in to their very core.  Instead they consult their agent to get a “pulse” on what they should be thinking or feeling. What cause they should care about, how they should feel.

Crazy/scary times indeed.

Anyway, on to more important things. 😀

Despite what the “experts” will tell you, eggs, meaning the absolute whole egg, are pure gold nutritionally.  Even the dastardly yolk, contains some of the very best nutrition you will find on the planet to support your fitness endeavors and to keep your NATURAL hormones functioning on all cylinders.

Cook them slow, on low temps.

There should be no browning, just yellow and fluffy.

I estimate I have ingested  16,000 + whole eggs in the 2010’s thus far.

No heart issues.

No cholesterol issues.

Natural testosterone is outstanding. No testing, don’t need it.

The proof is in the day to day.

Energy.

Strength.

Stamina.

Performance.

Muscle growth (even at almost 47.)

There are all sorts of claims, this is the internet of course. Just beware of the silliness that is ever-increasing and the druggies.

I have no interest in that scene.

The truth shall set you free.