SecondFocus Blog

Yesterday I was doing a photo shoot with my friend Eric at his gym, Anytime Fitness in Cathedral City, California. And then we decided to add his son, Austinn to a couple of photos. Families that lift together stay together, and maybe stay much healthier…

It reminded me that my father first took me to gym when I was about nine years old and I actually started lifting when I was around twelve. Somewhere along the way I think various medical groups and agencies decided that kids should not lift weights, that it would somehow do them harm. Probably the same folks who gave us those old food pyramids telling us about all the heavy carb and fruit intake we should have. Of course years later we found that diet was a not such good advice either.

In the latest issue of Iron Man Magazine, September 2009, there is a new report quoted from SportsHealthJournal.com that says "participating in even a short duration strength training program during childhood and especially during adolescence may not only improve one’s body composition, but also increase self-esteem and improve blood lipid profiles".

Right now we are facing a health crisis in the United States. I have read various reports in the last few days looking for the specific statistic but it seems to be that anywhere from 20% - 40% of the kids are now obese. It is truly a national crisis. So maybe a lot of us right here on BodySpace should lead the way and tell the story, take your kid to the gym. It’s fun. I liked it. And Austinn likes it too!

Thanks and keep coming back if you "Wanna See More…?"

Obviously here on BodyBuilding.com there is an emphasis on lifting weights and going to the gym. And that has always been a big part of my life. But so many of us do so very many other things that are sports and fitness related. For me, my past has included running, racquetball, Karate, and horse back riding. And all of it in some way is bodybuilding because we are building are bodies, our fitness. So what else do you do?

Yesterday I went hiking. I do live in Palm Springs and I am surrounded by great hiking but you have to be careful this time of year. The average day time temperature right now is around 110 degrees and hotter is often the case. I do love the hot weather, I really do! But hiking is pushing it right now. But 20 minutes away and I am at 9,000 feet in the mountains.

Right here a few minutes away I have the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway which in 20 minutes takes you up Mt. San Jacinto to the top tram station at 8,500 feet. Forty degrees cooler it is a wooded State and National Park crossed with hiking trails. And the tram car rotates 360 degrees all the way up.

Mt. San Jacinto itself is almost 11,000 feet and the views from around the trails down to the desert floor are pretty amazing.

On this trip I did a pretty easy trail but was more challenging than the treadmill at the gym, especially at the altitude.

There were some good up hills to the trail too, that worked up a sweat!

And even compared to looking at great bodies at the gym, the scenery was very impressive…

The return does bring you back to the tram station with restaurants and even a bar, a lot of creature comforts, but the workout was great.

I have done this in the snow too, I photographed a travel feature for a magazine and carried around 40 pounds of camera gear. That was a real workout. But it was fun, I like pushing it!

So what do you do? Post some photos to your BodyBlogs about your other sports, your other fun things that you do. It is all bodybuilding! And let me know when you post something so I can take a look! I would love to see what else everyone does. And I promise that from now on I am going to go out photograph more physical fitness than just stuff at the gym and on the competition show stage. It will be fun! And I will post it here.

Thanks and keep coming back if you "Wanna See More…?"

Yesterday, July 4th, was the official 75th Anniversary of Muscle Beach Venice! And the place where muscles were born was alive with a bodybuilding, figure and bikini competition that brought over 80 people from around the world to the place where it all started. Muscle Beach today is becoming bigger and better all the time. But this day did not forget the Muscle Beach stars of years past and even the eclectic personalities that so very much make up Venice Beach. Here are some photos from July 4th at Muscle Beach 2009…

I hope you like these photos. If you can get to Muscle Beach for a visit this Summer, do it! It is lots of fun! And the next show there is Labor Day on September 7, 2009.

Thanks for visiting and keep coming back if you "Wanna See More…?"