Macrobolic’s BodyBlog

This was a question posed by a female viewer last night while my wife and I sat watching "I Am Legend" for the first time.

The question was posed during the scene in which Will Smith is performing some pullups on a bar with no shirt on. The reason I thought that this was so funny is that just because a person has a well defined physique, our culture these days must assume that the person is also using steroids. I blame the media misinformation and the government crackdown with this perception.

I was reading an article in MD by John Romano, in which one of the key players in bringing the negative light on steroids was Lyle Alzado. In the article, John Romano is talking about a book that many of you may have heard about, Steroid Nation, written by Shaun Assael. Lyle Alzado’s false accusation that steroids caused his untimely death is likely something that contributed the government to get into a hissy fit about steroids and cause all the misinformation that is so prevalent about them these days.

I suggest you read the article in this month’s Muscular Development, and maybe even buy the book, about which John Romano gave a positive review. You can also see the video on my bodyspace about the "other side" of the steroid debate, which is the one less heard.

	Download Disaster Preparation Tips

Sloshing through the flooded streets of New Orleans, USA in 95 degree heat and intense humidity, an IFAW Animal Rescue team goes door-to-door in search of lost and abandoned pets from Hurricane Katrina in the late summer of 2005.

Dressed in a royal blue and black dry suit and yellow life vest, IFAW rescue workers pulled a Zodiac through the dark brown floodwater, which ranged from six inches to four feet deep. The smell of the contaminated water, full of sewage, human waste, and oil, was overwhelming.

An eerie silence was broken by the distant sound of dogs barking, trapped in attics or rooftops for days without food or water. The teams approached the animals carefully, but most of the stranded pets were happy to see them. You could almost see the joy in their eyes that somebody was finally here to rescue them.

Minutes after a disaster strikes, you, your family, and your pets may need to leave home. Be prepared
…stay safe…and plan ahead.

Download Disaster Preparation Tips for You and Your Pets

In any disaster, emergency planning can save lives. Be sure to include your companion animals in your plans — they depend on you for protection. To stay safe, you’ll need a Family Disaster Plan, an Emergency Contact List, and a Pet Survival Kit. Use the Disaster Preparation Tips Checklist to be prepared.

IFAW and other animal rescue organizations are committed to helping wild and domestic animals at risk from disasters, but you are your pet’s most important lifeline. Be prepared!

Sincerely,

Fred O’Regan
President and CEO

PETA is pleased to announce the launch of its brand-new Animal Birth Control (ABC) campaign. This campaign is aimed at tackling the overpopulation crisis of dogs and cats. Every year, 6 million to 8 million unwanted cats and dogs end up in animal shelters—roughly half of them must be euthanized because there aren’t enough good homes available for them.

Some 30 years ago, my very first call as a Maryland state humane officer was to pick up a mother dog who had given birth under a rundown house. What a good mom she was trying to be, somehow providing for her hungry puppies! I remember that the people in the house yelled at her and stomped on the floorboards to try to get her out.

That year, I read a poem called “I Found Your Dog Today.” You may be familiar with the poem or one of the many variations of it. Each one was written by animal shelter workers over the years, and each one tells the same true story of animals who were found suffering out there. The one I read was about a pregnant dog dropped off in a neighborhood and about how everyone shooed her away. The dog was so hungry that her stomach ached and was so thirsty that she drank from a mud puddle. She was so hopeful that her family would come back to save her that she stayed by the side of the road, looking out, waiting, and baffled that she was suddenly in this strange place with no one to help her. I remember crying over that poem because, every day, I drove out and picked up animals just like her—and like the one under the house who tried so hard to please yet was so despised.

How can it be that this is all still going on today? When PETA started, we filled a void, working for animals no one talked or thought about: those killed for the table, abused in circuses, and used for fur and in experiments. But the problem of unwanted dogs and cats didn’t fade away. That is why PETA has made the decision to launch this campaign.

Visit our new ABC Web site to find out more and watch our brand-new video. Together, we can make a difference in the overpopulation crisis and save lives.

Sincerely,

Ingrid E. Newkirk
President

Shortly after Michael Vick pleaded guilty to federal charges of operating a dogfighting ring last month, The Humane Society of the United States analyzed all 50 state dogfighting laws. What we found was shocking.

Had Vick’s crimes been committed in the state of Idaho, he could have faced only a misdemeanor penalty with a minimum $100 fine and a maximum six-month jail sentence. And in Georgia, where Vick quarterbacked for the Atlanta Falcons, he’d be allowed to possess dogs for fighting and could even attend a dogfight — and law enforcement could do absolutely nothing about it.

Today, I invite you to sign the pledge to support stronger laws to protect dogs and other animals, and join tens of thousands of others who take action through the Humane Society Legislative Fund.

Recognizing that dogs and other animals are defenseless without strong laws to protect them, we created the Humane Society Legislative Fund (HSLF) in 2004. The organization’s goal? To get state and federal laws passed that protect animals from the worst abuses. HSLF also works to educate the public about animal protection issues and to support humane candidates for office.

Over the next year, the Humane Society Legislative Fund will work to strengthen anti-dogfighting laws in the states with the weakest penalties – states like Idaho, Wyoming, Georgia, Nevada, and Hawaii — and also work to pass a federal law introduced in Congress that would make it a federal crime to engage in dogfighting, possess dogs for fighting, or be a spectator at a dogfight.

Take the pledge today and tell us you’d like to receive alerts from HSLF. The organization will send you critical alerts giving you the chance to urge your legislators to support stronger laws against animal abuse. The Humane Society Legislative Fund will also tell you about other ways to help animals, such as by joining other advocates at our upcoming Halloween-themed “Party Animals” house parties.

People have power over animals, and can use that power to show mercy or to exhibit cruelty. The animals need more than good intentions to protect them. They need the force of law. Please take the pledge to support stronger laws today. Thank you for all you do for animals.

Sincerely,

Wayne Pacelle
President & CEO
The Humane Society of the United States 

Dita Von Teese is the definition of sexy. She is a spokesmodel for the MAC Cosmetics Viva Glam campaign and the face of the holiday catalog for Frederick’s of Hollywood, performs live burlesque shows, and has graced the cover of magazines around the world, including Playboy, Elle, and Harper’s Bazaar. Now Dita is combining her sex appeal with her compassion for animals to launch PETA’s new ABC campaign.

What does ABC stand for? Animal birth control, of course! PETA’s new ABC campaign tackles the issue of companion animal overpopulation and urges people to do their part by taking simple steps to help end this crisis.

Dita knows her ABCs and just how important animal birth control is. Every year, nearly 4 million dogs and cats are put to death in the U.S. because there are not enough good homes for them. Until we all do our part to put an end to this cycle, euthanasia will remain a tragic necessity.

In her ad, Dita urges fans to “bone up” on their ABCs and, if they are considering adding a dog or a cat to the family, to adopt from a local animal shelter and be sure to get their new family member spayed or neutered.

So, I haven’t worked out at all this week except for las Sunday as I developed a nasty cold, along with my ears being plugged to no end. This really has put a hamper on this phase of Titan Training. I think that today I am going to do a combined workout of all the bodyparts I missed this week, just so that they get some stimulation. Wish me luck! Tomorrow I will start training the normal Titan Training routine again.

And no more getting sick! 

Eva Mendes is one of Hollywood’s sexiest leading ladies, sharing screen time with the likes of Nicolas Cage, Will Smith, Joaquin Phoenix, and Mark Wahlberg. A regular red-carpet knockout, Eva is courted by all the top designers, but you can rest assured that she will never show up to any event draped in fur. In fact, she’d rather go naked than wear fur of any kind!

That’s why this sexy Latina posed nude for PETA’s anti-fur campaign alongside the tagline "Fur? I’d rather go naked."

In her interview with PETA, Eva says, “I want people to know that there are options—that killing a poor animal and wearing it isn’t cool … respecting all life forms is cool.” We couldn’t have said it better!

Like most people, Eva wasn’t always aware of the cruelty of the fur trade. She told us, “I remember having my first premiere in New York City and being so naïve that I didn’t have a coat with me. My stylist sent me a … fur wrap for the evening, and I ignorantly wore it. PETA then wrote me a beautiful letter commenting on my less-than-educated choice. I was so impressed that I vowed to them and myself to NEVER wear real fur on the red carpet or in my life again.”

As Eva knows, the fur trade is a violent, bloody industry that has no place in fashion. On fur farms in China, where most fur originates, minks, foxes, rabbits, and other animals are kept in tiny wire cages in all weather extremes. They are strangled, bludgeoned, and often skinned while they are still alive. Since fur is often deliberately mislabeled, if you wear fur, there’s no way to tell whose skin you’re in—it could even be cat or dog fur.

Follow Eva’s example and sign PETA’s pledge to be fur-free today!

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