What a Circus

Ever since the death of Anna Nicole Smith, the media has just been on a feeding frenzy, not just the men in her life. Every news cast is talking about the court room drama and showing photos and video footage of her. I'm so sick and tired of this bullshit. It's unfortunate for a mother to lose her son so early in his life. It's unfortunate for a woman to lose her own life at such a young age. Nevertheless, her death does not warrant this type of coverage. It's absolutely ridiculous in my opinion. Some idiots in the media have made her sound like someone who was of such significance and importance to our society. One moron, possibly from Fox News, went as far as considering her America's Lady Di. I'm not trying to demean a woman who just passed away. I just don't think she did anything with her life or for society that deserves this kind of coverage. As soon as I see her image pop up on the tube I move on to the next channel. Please let this circus end soon.

Rippetoe's the Name, Strength Training's the Game

Mark Rippetoe is a well established strength coach in the US. He created a weight training routine for beginners to help establish strength gains through 5 traditional compound exercises: squats, bench press, deadlift, power cleans or barbell rows, and military press. This can also be used by intermediate trainees looking to buildup more strength, which is exactly what I was looking to do. I had been following a traditional bodybuilding routine for about 3 years and decided it was time for a change. I thought this would be good for me to rebuild my leg strength since I had messed up my right knee last summer while training for dragon boat racing and couldn't perform any leg training for months. I lost a lot of strength and muscle mass but with the help of this program, I managed to squat the most I've ever done to date and regained the inch and a half in size I lost in my legs after 3 weeks.

I'm almost done my 7th week on this rountine and although I've made pretty good gains, I think squatting three times a week at 3 sets, 5 reps each time has gotten to the point where my body is having a harder time to recover. Most of my lifts are beginning to plateau. I think I'm going to do one more week and then switch to my newly planned routine that's more of a mix between strength training and bodybuilding.

If you're new to weight training, I highly recommend you look into Rippetoe's program that's in his book, Starting Strength. It's an excellent program that focuses on the basics. Go to the forum at bodybuilding.com and you'll be able to find all you need to know.

Grow Up Already

That's what I'm sure many Torontonians would love to tell the city council. How can anyone expect these morons to run the largest city in Canada when they can't even get organized for a group photo, which, by the way, will cost taxpayers a grand. If you didn't already hear it in the news, the mayor and councillors were supposed to get together for a scheduled group shot. Some staff had worked out a plan on where everyone would be placed for the photo. However, tempers flared when some councillors refused to move from the spot they wanted to be. School kids don't even act like this. David Miller ended up cancelling the photo shoot. It has since been rescheduled. We'll see if they can get their act together.

Killing Your Kids With Food

I caught the last half of the Dr. Phil show when I got home from work yesterday. Yeah, yeah, I know. My wife was watching it. Anyway, it was about babies and toddlers who were morbidly obese. It's incredible to see how many parents today still don't think twice about feeding their "precious" kids with garbage. I think anyone who lets their kids become morbidly obese, especially a baby, should be charged with parental neglect or something. I recognize that some kids are born with genetic problems or predisposition to excessive weight gain. However, if you choose to indulge your kids with junk food even when they are overweight, you are a bad parent. Period.

Look, I'm not saying people should never enjoy junk food. I indulged on KFC during the Super Bowl. It's about balance and moderation. Unfortunately, too many parents do not understand this. If you see a child who is overweight or obese, chances are one of his/her parents is also in the same boat. It's just sad to see the direction our society is taking. In the next 10-20 years, people in my generation will be supporting both a population of seniors that outnumber us and a population of obese youths with weight related health problems. Get ready to pay more taxes.