Have you ever listened in on a conversation between two 
people talking about Pilates?
It sounds like something out of a medieval horror flick! Come to think of it, a Pilate’s table does have some resemblance to a torture rack.
I’ve never done Pilates but I stayed at a Holiday Inn Express once, so I feel like I can talk about it with no problem. What I really did was Google the term and do a bit of research.
This is what I found. Note, this list is in no particular order of importance and is the opinion of people who actually know what Pilates is.
1. Improves Posture: There is a lot of emphasis on aligning the body properly during each exercise. It is good exercise for the muscles of your ‘trunk’ which are responsible for posture.
2. Good exercise for back pain: Especially good for people suffering from chronic lower back pain. Good exercise for people who have a sedentary lifestyle and weak muscle tone.
3. Weight loss tool: A no brainer. Any exercise will help you lose weight, but a Pilates workout combined with cardio workouts and a good diet should yield results.
4. Aids in flexibility: Particularly good exercise for the lower back and of course any exercise that stretches and flexes the body will help keep injuries to a minimum.
5. Increases bone density: If you use resistance bands or weights while doing your Pilates routines, it should significantly help your bone density. Good stuff!
6. Strengthens your core: The midsection is the starting point of all Pilate’s exercises and will help your abs and strengthen the muscles in your lower back.
7. Improves blood circulation: Again, any exercise is good exercise!
8. Aids in stability and balance of older adults: Especially important in an aging population like the one in the United States.
9. Gives you a lean body like a dancer: Since it is an endurance workout, Pilates should definitely lean your muscles down. However, with my body type, it’s more like a sumo wrestler than a dancer!
10. Get your flat belly back after pregnancy: Improves muscle tone and strengthens your core.
11. Cope with menstrual pain: Practice a few days before the cycle starts. This is one subject where not even the Holiday Inn Express helps me.
12. Makes you feel light and relaxed: Kind of like a massage at a day spa. Or in my case a 6 pack of beer!
All in all, Pilates looks like a very good form of exercise. Maybe in another life I’ll get time to try it out.
When does “no pain, no gain” become “oh crap, I think I really
pulled something?”
So, you’re in the middle of a pretty intense workout. Everything is good. You’re feeling the pain. No really, there is a lot of pain! Should you quit or should you push through the pain?
That’s a tough question for most of us. There’s a fine line between “feeling the burn” of good pain and feeling the kind of pain that will likely sideline you for a significant amount of time.
A personal trainer will probably tell you to “listen to your body, it knows best.” Well hell that doesn’t work. My body just says that it’s time for a beer!
So, what are the differences in good and bad pain?
Good Pain: The type of pain where you can feel a burning sensation deep down in the middle of a muscle. This feeling is what you get when you’ve fatigued a muscle correctly and you know that in a day or so it’s going to feel better and look more toned than ever.
Bad Pain: This is not a good feeling. It can best be characterized by a pulling or stabbing sensation in a muscle or joint. Chances are that everyone reading this has experienced this at least once in their life.
There are lots of things that cause muscle pulls, tendon pulls, joint pain or even broken bones.
• Failure to stretch properly before beginning the exercise
• Doing the exercise wrong. This is very common for beginning weight lifters.
• Bad form on a lifting machine
• Stepping on something during cardio. The worst ankle sprain I ever had was caused by stepping on the side of another player’s foot during a basketball game. Damn that hurts!
Bottom line here is that if you aren’t sure what is causing the pain, either stop and rest for a day or two, or worst case scenario, go to a doctor and have some tests done.
All of you vegetarians and vegans out there will probably want 
to skip this post.
After writing the last post and talking about red meat as a source of protein, I decided to do a quick write up on my favorite food. Grilled Steak!
The secret to cooking a great steak is something people have been arguing about for years. Some people like to sear the meat at high temperatures on both sides, then turn down the heat and let it finish cooking. Others say that searing has no real effect. The real secret to a juicy steak is to get it off the grill the second it’s done. Letting a steak sit on a grill too long whether it’s cooked through or not will dry out the meat.
Cuts: The main factor is of course the cut of meat and the quality of that cut. Finding the steak you like best, that fits your pocket book takes knowledge and experience. Read up on the subject and try different cuts.
Grilling: Get your grill good and hot. The ideal temperature is one that will cook the steak to the desired doneness in the shortest amount of time without burning the surface. Start with room temperature steaks. Watch closely to avoid flare-ups and turn when the sides start to turn gray and the bottom side has good grill marks on it. Flip and close the lid again. Continue to watch for flare-ups. When the sides are gray all the way through and the second side has good grill marks check for doneness.
Doneness: Is that even a word? One of the biggest problems people have about steaks is how to know when it’s done. I use what I call the stiffness test. Take the raw steak and place it on a plate. With your spatula or fork press down on the steak and move the spatula back and forth. Get a good feel for how the steak moves between the top and bottom. A completely cooked (well done) steak will have almost none of this motion. A medium rare steak will have a little motion but will feel stiffer. This is a skill that you have to practice with. Remember that you can always put a steak back on the grill if it’s too rare but you can’t uncook a well done steak. Err on the side of under cooked and throw it back on the grill if you need to. If you pay good attention to the way a steak cooks you’ll get better at telling when it’s just perfect.
Resting: Now for the most important part, don’t serve it right away. Let the steak “rest” for about 5 to 10 minutes depending on the thickness. This allows the juices to move back into the meat. Resting should be done in a place that is about room temperature and with only a loose covering over it. If you doubt me, try cutting a steak in half right off the grill. Let a second steak rest for five minutes, and then cut into it. See which one is juicier.
In all my years of weight training, it never occurred to me to 
become a ‘body builder’.
Too damn much work and dedication for me. I lift weights because I like the feeling of being in shape, not to grow huge muscles. I have read a bunch about the subject though and there seem to be a number of ‘rules’ that bodybuilders have in common.
Let’s take a quick look at some of them.
Free weights: If you are doing heavy sets, free weights are preferable to machines. Often what seems heavy on a machine isn’t doing you as much good because the machine does part of the job for you.
Compound Movements: It’s better to train using compound movements as opposed to isolation movements.
What Needs Work? A body builder needs to work for symmetry and the only way to do this is to evaluate what muscle group needs attention. Work on these areas more than groups where you are already bulked up. Try different exercises until you find out what builds muscle mass the best for you.
Keep Safety in Mind: You’re working with ‘huge’ amounts of weight here. Wear the proper belts and shoes for weight training. Know exactly how to do each exercise correctly. Heavy weight can not only ruin your day, it can ruin your life.
Repetitions: Normally working with heavy weights a low rep count is the best. Some guys work with rep counts as low as 3, but they are using super slow motions for maximum size gain. Learn what works best for you.
Protein is King: Bodybuilding takes lots of energy! There are numerous ways to get protein into your diet but guys I talk to still think that red meat is the best source of protein. A medium rare rib eye steak sure sounds good right now.
My cousin was married to a bodybuilder back in her twenties. He was a nice guy and incredibly strong. I lost track of him after they got divorced but if I saw him now I would like to ask a few questions;
• Did you take steroids to increase mass?
• How hard is it to maintain that muscle now that you are over 50?
• Do you still have my Rolling Stones 8 track that you borrowed?
A good friend sent me this joke as an email this morning. It’s a 
good one and has even more significance if you know more about my friend. Her parents gave her a parrot when she was just a child. She’s had the darn thing for over 25 years now. It’s amazing how that bird picked up obnoxious language over the years. Hope you enjoy this:
Foul Mouthed Parrot
A young man named John received a parrot as a gift. The parrot had a bad attitude and an even worse vocabulary. Every word out of the bird’s mouth was rude, obnoxious and laced with profanity.
John tried and tried to change the bird’s attitude by consistently saying only polite words, playing soft music and anything else he could think of to “clean up” the bird’s vocabulary.
Finally, John was fed up and he yelled at the parrot. The parrot yelled back. John shook the parrot and the parrot got angrier and even ruder.
John, in desperation, threw up his hands, grabbed the bird and put him in the freezer. For a few minutes the parrot squawked and kicked and screamed. Then suddenly there was total quiet. Not a peep was heard for over a minute.
Fearing that he’d hurt the parrot, John quickly opened the door to the freezer. The parrot calmly stepped out onto John’s outstretched arms and said, “I believe I may have offended you with my rude language and actions. I’m sincerely remorseful for my inappropriate transgressions and I fully intend to do everything I can to correct my rude and unforgivable behavior.”
John was stunned at the change in the bird’s attitude. As he was about to ask the parrot what had made such a dramatic change in his behavior, the bird continued, “May I ask what the turkey did?”
