My Jettisoned Ponderings

Came across this song today while looking for the MySpace profile for Basshunter. (By the way, his stuff is great for cardio and keeping a steady beat!) Looking at the actual lyrics though, the last verse caught my attention. I thought to myself, “Yeah, that’s pretty much right because when I see that I think ‘That’s not pretty, and she needs to do more squats and lunges’”. Curious what I’m taking about? Here’s the song and lyrics:

I’m still smiling like a beer in a bar
I’m staring in the mirror while I’m doing my hair
I’m  putting on my clothes
When I go down the stairs
I open up my mini bar
and make myself a drink
I’m not an alcoholic but I know what you think

My mood is getting higher
When it’s knocking on my door
It’s my party  home, boys and a girl I want to score
And I don’t have a time to
Take her for a ride
We are going to a  crazy college party tonight

-From Mr.Basshunter to myspace, come on!-

What if  people just gave a damn, about if I made this music with computer programme
I can’t play the drums or guitar but I’m still smiling like a beer in  bar
I know that this is a weird song’ but you can tell somebody if it’s right or wrong
I just want to show what I can do
So sit right back while I’m talking to you

-To all the on-line party people out there!-

Arriving to the party
Everyone is there
We are going to have it awesome, I can feel it in the air
I’m going to the backyard and what do I see?
All the girls are shaking with their ass in front of me
Well this is not my  cup of tea if you know what I mean

What if  people just gave a damn, about if I made this music with computer programme
I can’t play the drums or guitar but I’m still smiling like a beer in a bar
I know that this is a weird song but who can tell somebody if it’s right or wrong
I just want to show what I can do
So sit right back while I’m talking to you
-Alright mates, are you ready to a party??!!-

Waiting for my shift to end today as I was about to leave one of my co-workers came in, paused… "You look bigger"

…I just grinned ^_^

Its been a year since I’ve been able to donate blood due to piercings, but I was finally able to yesterday. Being my 8th time I’ve done it, I got my 1 Gallon donor pin! Seems like a lot, but really it made me realize that I need to donate more often since its taken me a number of years to get in only 8 times when really I could be doing it a few times a year. I may also look into plasma and platelet donation in the future simply because since I’ve put the extra weight on I can donate more since its based on gender, age, bodyweight, etc. versus just taking a single pint at a time.

This guy’s name is Jean Yves Blondeau. He built a custom roller suit (71 wheels I believe) and I saw this video a while back of him giving it a test in the Swis Alps. What’s impressive is that his helmet does not have rollers on it and the facemask (just a single bar) only is held up an inch or two above the ground when he’s going… over 60mph! He’s not an olympic athlete trained for skeleton or anything like that, so it makes it all the more impressive. You can’t watch it and tell me it wouldn’t be fun to be
doing this and passing up motorbikes!

(embedding disabled on this clip, so here’s the link)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LWLbu1wIIEo

I came across these today with a handful of other parodies of the usual motivational posters and I think they illustrate some important points quite potently. These ones got me thinking for a couple reasons.

First, the Delusion poster. A lot of people say things like "Life is too short" or "You’re only young once" with the idea that we have to do as much as we can in the moment with some sort of anticipation that the day we can no longer do what we can today could be as imminent as tomorrow. I think about a gal that came into Max Muscle last week when I was working and she is a competitive power lifter. She said how in the deadlift there were two guys, a 16 year old and a 60 year old. The 16 year old was being given a hard time because his turn was up and the 60 year old had just deadlifted 300lbs. To me, that’s the motivation I crave. There’s an older guy at our gym who I see deadlifting 185 now and then for multiple reps. I want to be that older man someday who’s still fit and able to lift heavy, even if its not as heavy as what I may be able to do come my 30’s. I think also how lucky that 16 year old kid is to see someone who’s still a peer, technically, as this senior in the same weight class as him. One of the best ways to stay motivated is to keep your eyes and focus on what you want to come. The way I see it, there are two sides to the coin, but it matters which you choose to look to. Everything has an equal opposite, so while someone may say I’m delusional for having heroes like Markus Ruhl or Jeff Long I remind myself that someone else is deluding themselves to think they’ll never become something like the photo above. Then one day they’re hit blatantly with the reality that their already too-short life is going to be shortened even more and wonder "how did this happen"?

Cue the caption from the Dedication poster. Disease does not occur overnight. Disease is a process. Synergistic with the delusion that someone "feels fine" comes the eventual consequence of the lifestyle someone is unknowingly dedicated to. I saw a brief DVD recently called "Every 20 Seconds" by Dr. Sam Walters, a naturopathic medical doctor. This interval of 20 seconds is the frequency that someone in America has a heart attack. In the DVD, Dr. Walters states how often his patients ask how they got heart disease and he explains to them that they didn’t just get it all of of sudden, but have more accurately been choosing to die for years by their lifestyle habits. This is the point where I get angry, because I love the wellness industry (note that I intentionally did not say "health care") and all it stands for. It irritates me when people always expect such a quick fix for a lifetime of bad choices. Feelings and emotions may be hurtful and quickly turned around by acceptance of an apology and the choice to let it go, but the body is not so forgiving. Excuses run rampant and blame gets thrown every direction but toward oneself. Fast food is to blame because they make it with too much fat. (So why are you getting the same combo meal instead of a salad from the grocery? Because the dollar menu is "cheaper"?) People get poor self image because of the way celebrities and cover models look. (When was the last time you complimented a peer and said he/she looked good? Why is it people look to photos for encouragement instead of their peers and friends who are supposed to be the closest ones to them?) My kid has never been very athletic. (Maybe he’s never had the chance because PE classes aren’t required curriculum so kids don’t have that challenge ever presented to develop a drive to meet and take head on).

I’m going off on a rant now, but I think the point is made. People joke about things to make light of relevant issues that are often the ones that need to be taken the most seriously. Our society handles things completely wrong in my opinion. Everyone is offended by this or that because they feel made fun of. You know what? Toughen up, thicken your hide and tough it out. Humans are static creatures that don’t take action until put into a position where their backs are to the wall and there’s no choice but to fight or fold. I don’t care if I offend you. Learn to use it as motivation or see it as a dilemma brought to light that only you can resolve. No one is perfect and the world seems to feel the best solution is to never acknowledge fault, because doing so means you can no longer evade accountability and should that happen it falls to the individual to take responsibility, which no one ever wants of course because its easier to take the route of shifting blame.

So I ask you, what have you spent your life being dedicated to? What delusions do you seem unable to acknowledge and forfeit so that you might gain insight and inspiration in exchange? Who have you been avoiding offending because that person may feel hurt, upset, or dislike you because you make them feel lesser?

Those of you who’ve seen and/or read Fight Club might be able to appreciate these words best:

"People do it everyday, they talk to themselves. They see themselves as they’d like to be, they don’t have the courage you have, to just run with it… if the applicant is young, tell him he’s too young. Old, too old. Fat, too fat… Without pain, without sacrifice, we would have nothing… It’s only after we’ve lost everything that we’re free to do anything… I’ll bring us through this. As always. I’ll carry you - kicking and screaming - and in the end you’ll thank me… Stop trying to control everything and just let go! LET GO!"

Gym time is my main personal time. Its where I let everything go, vent any frustrations or stresses I’ve had, get it all out and start fresh. While I may not have been making the best progress back when I trained 6 days a week and was over-training, I think I was at my happiest because nothing ever had the chance to build up inside. This week I’m only lifting 3 days to let the body recover more from the last couple weeks and heavier lifting this week brings. It bothers me though because I like to get up and go straight to the gym. It sets my mood for the rest of the day and gets everything right for me. Whatever it is, I’m one who likes to get right to it when I wake up or else I lag all day from the slow start. Rest is necessary, but I hate these days. Life’s just been stressing me out more than usual recently and thankfully I’ve been able to vent it out a bit. Perhaps I’m just too much a creature of habit and routine. I need to figure out whatever is bothering me and get over it or bring it to resolution.

Now, this was an interesting read while going through my NCSF manual. Makes perfect sense, too, considering the type of training I’ve been doing the last couple years and what it takes to get any sort of a burn at all in my muscles (that 280 rep arm Giant set was the first to do it in a LONG time!)

"Lactic acid has been blames for delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS), cramping, and as an inhibitor to recovery from exercise. It is often considered to be a negative waste product from high intensity work. The reality is that none of these statements are true. Lactic acid is produced when glucose is metabolized. The breakdown leaves lactate and hydrogen ions as by-products. The hydrogen ions may build up under conditions of rapid metabolism and increase the acidity of the environment which may interfere with electrical signals from motor neurons, slow enzymatic reactions, and impair muscle contractility. To the contrary, the lactate is a treasured fuel. It is rapidly produced and easily used by the tissue. The heart, slow twitch muscle fibers, and postural muscles thrive on lactate because it is easily shuttled into the cell without insulin. Lactate rapidly moves across the cell membrane through a process called facilitated transport, enabling the body to use the lactate without detrimental effects of insulin in the blood.

Lactate is produced in greater quantities when exercise intensity exceeds 50% of VO2max. The production is linear with the rise of intensity as fast twitch fibers preferentially rely on carbohydrates as the fuel. As the lactate is produced, it is used by the muscle or transported to other tissues via general circulation. The increased blood flow with exercise effectively mobilized the lactate for use by different tissues. Liver glycogen storage is maintained in part by the gluconeogenic activity to create glycogen for lactate. Equally important, lactate in the blood maintains available energy for working tissues. Unlike the liver, muscle tissue cannot free up glycogen stores to air other working tissues due to a missing enzyme. Lactate can provide the needed assistance via circulatory delivery to muscles that need energy. The transport and use of lactate is often considered the "second wind" because more energy becomes available.

If the intensity of the exercise becomes too elevated, the hydrogen ions produced inhibit muscle contractions. With quick recovery, the production removal balance is restored and training can continue. Training in the presence of lactic acid improves one’s performance through more efficient management of the lactate and removal of the hydrogen. Intense resistance conditioning, like plyometrics and sprints, intervals, and hill climbs produce large quantities of lactic acid and stimulate the body to produce enzymes that increase the rate of lactic acid utilization.

Blaming lactic acid for cramps, delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS), and as an obstacle to recovery is simply ignorant. Cramps are not caused by a sugar metabolite, but more likely, the over-excitation of the nerves from fatigue and intra/extracellular electrolyte imbalance. DOMS is an inflammatory response to cellular damage, ischemia, and tonic spasm, not the leftover lactic acid. Likewise, recovery is not inhibited by lactate. The body has already used the leftover lactate for fuel before the next bout of exercise has even occurred. Lactate is a friend of intensity. If there is a foe, its the hydrogen ion, and even that has been shown to be important for energy metabolism."

This isn’t new, but many of you may have never seen it before. Remember good ‘ol Super Mario Bros? Like, the 8-bit Nintendo version? Yeah, well, leave it to someone to make the hardest level ever and a guy with an amusing accent… How long will he last? Heh heh… Very much NSFW language in this one, folks: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6204903272262158881&q=super+mario+frustration&ei=B8V2SNiTIpHk4AKr_bmlCw

Hey, if GJ can post hers, then I can post one of mine, too! (I already know who’s gonna appreciate this one, heh…)