There is a misconception when it comes to "getting loose" before starting a workout. For years we've been under the impression that Stretching was the most efficient way to Warm Up & Prevent Injury before exercising. WRONG. Recently I spoke to a female gymnast who told me she does extensive stretching before every workout. I asked her if she trains in the weight room at all and she said "Yes." She told me she does the same stretching routine even before lifting weights. INCORRECT
I myself used to do the same stretching regimen I learned back when I played high school baseball before working out. WRONG!!! STRETCHING BEFORE WEIGHT TRAINING IS ACTUALLY MORE LIKELY TO CAUSE INJURY TO YOUR JOINTS, TENDONS AND MUSCLES. Even in the Gymnast's case, when she stretches before doing Gymnastic Routines, she believes she is preparing her muscles, joints and tendons to be extended and stretched even further and more violently. STILL INCORRECT
STRETCHING CREATES MICROSCOPIC TEARS IN YOUR MUSCLES, THEREBY PREVENTING MAXIMUM OUTPUT AND WEAKENING YOUR MUSCLES, MAKING YOU MORE SUSCEPTIBLE TO INJURY.
The Best Method for Warming Up is simple. Get on the tread mill for 2 minutes. Start off slow for the first minute, then begin to jog and run for the second minute. THIS WILL GET YOUR BLOOD CIRCULATING, WHICH IS THE EXACT REASON FOR WARMING UP. Warming Up is nothing more than getting your blood flowing quicker throughout your body. The Blood in your Body acts the way Oil does for a Car Engine, keeping everything lubricated and moving smoothly.
So the next time you see a football or baseball player stretching before a game, SHOUT AT THEM! Tell them to stop stretching and to just run across the field to get Warmed Up. There is 1 exception to this Rule. MILD STRETCHING. If you experience "TIGHTNESS" in your joints and muscles, mild stretching can improve blood circulation to that specific area. It's when people stretch their muscles as far as they can injuries occur. STRETCHING SHOULD BE DONE AFTER OR POST WORKOUT. If you want to WARM UP, do something that will make you break a sweat like an abdominal exercise or running in place or jumping jacks or shadow boxing or jumping rope. Something rigorous but not too straining. THINK ABOUT IT. IF YOU'RE TEARING YOUR MUSCLES PRIOR TO THE GAME OR BEFORE WORKING OUT, HOW CAN YOU EXPECT TO PERFORM AT YOUR BEST & GET OPTIMAL RESULTS?
Not many baseball players had as much fun and caused as much raucous as Jose Canseco did in the 80s and 90s. Before becoming a 'writer,' Jose was the first player ever to hit 40 homers and steal 40 bases in a season(Canseco, Arod, Bonds, Soriano). The feat won him the 1988 MLB MVP Award and made him an instant Baseball Hero. Canseco started popping up at movie premieres and celebrity gatherings. He also popped Madonna but then again she pretty much banged every famous guy in the 80s. Jose Canseco transcended baseball turning himself into more of a Pop Star than a slugger. He sought fame and achieved it with his hulking physique and slick smile. You can hate him for being a tattling ego-maniac, but you have to respect Jose Canseco for his outgoing personality and willingness to stand alone.
Before Game of Shadows blew the whistle on Barry Bonds & BALCO, Jose Canseco outed the greats of the Steroid Era like a child without a conscience. In his 2005 book JUICED, Canseco barked about his knowledge of players like McGwire, Pudge, Giambi, Gonzales and Palmeiro. At the time people snarked at the book calling it another laughable publicity stunt and pathetic attempt for Jose to gain accord with Major League Baseball(he hoped to make the HOF someday). Well shame on all of us. Jose Canseco was right. Canseco was also the first to point the proverbial finger at Alex Rodriguez in 2007 before A-Rod came clean to Katie Couric. Nobody wanted to believe Canseco, especially about Rodriguez. Right Again Jose.
People tend to laugh at the thought of a physically gifted man foraying into intellectual discourse. In Canseco's case it's appropriate. But there are people out there with massive muscles & high IQs so don't be quick to dismiss them. I digress.
If a caricature were evermore be-fitting of an athlete it couldn't possibly be so. Jose Canseco still deserves some respect though. He never denied his use of PEDs. In fact he wore it like a badge of honor. Yes Canseco was arrogant and stupid, but deep down he was an honest fool(and an opportunist:). He never mistook his baseball greatness as pure skill. He wasn't delusional when it came to understanding exactly what Performance Enhancing Drugs allowed him to achieve, where his peers found comfort in believing their numbers to be real. Canseco is no pied piper, but he's more credible and more honest than most of his PED contemporaries. & Credit Canseco for getting the ball rolling for MLB's institution of steroid testing policies.
Here's the scenario. You're a 20-year-old guy in college. You come from a wealthy family and you've been raised to be an 'All American Boy.' You enjoy the lifestyle. Major Sporting Events are on your calendar. You regularly attend parties. You can pretty much do whatever you want, whenever you want to. As long as you do your school work and don't get caught breaking the laws too many times, you're golden. This is your life and you are Johnny Manziel.
I left out the part about being the QB for Texas A&M University only because that is what everyone knows Johnny Football for. What a great knickname too. "Johnny Football." And he earned it. Manziel won the Heisman Trophy his freshman year, passing for over 3000 yds and rushing for over 1000 yds. He led A&M to victory over the eventual National Champion Alabama Crimson Tide in Tuscaloosa, and to a Cotton Bowl Classic victory over Oklahoma, finishing with a 11-2 record and a #5 AP ranking. Not bad for a freshman.
Johnny Manziel is the golden child. He has the World at his feet. He plays football great and football is what Americans love most. And boy does he enjoy the spotlight. And why shouldn't he? This is America. We're all born and raised to believe that one day we can be rich & famous. Johnny Football is just living the dream we all wish we could mirror. Give him the credit he deserves. He's not hurting anyone. He's going to school and playing football. He could be doing many things much worse than being cocky and drinking some alcohol.
Manziel is much more relevant than your 'typical' Heisman-winning college QB. TIME Magazine sure thought so when they put him on the cover of their September 2013 issue. Manziel was recently discovered signing autographs for several Ebay vendors, who claimed they paid him. Normally this type of activity would get you ruled ineligible by the NCAA. However, Manziel coming from a wealthy background was able to Lawyer-Up and got the charge dismissed. Afterall, why would the NCAA go after a player that in the next year or so is going to make them and his school upwards of 500 million dollars? TIME found this same issue relevant and decided to make Johnny Football the poster boy for their issue on Paying College Athletes.
So back to the scenario. You're a 2012 Heisman winner. You're probably going to win it again this year. You're a symbolic and cultural figure already at the age of twenty. You're going to play in the NFL very soon as long as you don't kill someone drinking and driving or rip up your knee. Now who would let a few traits like that go to their head?
Johnny Manziel is the All American Boy. He's doing what every guy wishes he could do. He's the Big Man on campus and the campus is the World, not just A&M. He's relevant for being Arrogant. He's relevant for making money when he's not allowed to. He's relevant for winning. He's relevant for laughing at the rules. He's relevant for playing Football. He's relevant for being a Quarterback. That's why he holds up his hands and rubs his thumbs to his fingers cuz Johnny Manziel is straight cash homey. He knows it. You know it. And everyone knows it. His Critics say he's selfish, too small and a spoiled prima donna. Well until he goes Pro and a Defense proves it, the negative critiques don't matter. Johnny Football is Money in the Vault because the Bank Ain't Big Enough.
Strap on your Rollerblades Dude!!!!!! It's 1995, the Internet is born, modems operate at 28.8 kilobits per second and the World is only 5.5 billion strong. Ah, memories of a simpler time. NOT!!!! Oh yeah and that was still fresh.
HACKERS is a trippy time capsule look at the world 20 years ago(but more like a Hundred in iphone years) when recycling was cool, Saddam Hussein still sucked and Angelina Jolie was in her sexual prime. The Kids were wearing baggy clothes, listening to gangsta rap & techno and Windows 95 was introducing us to easy computing and Internet exploring(Walkman's were still around too). Netscape!
Ok so all that stuff was in the background, but right up front in your 3 1/2 inch floppy drive was an uber-clever script with extravagant visuals & burgeoning characters still popping pimples on their pretty faces. HACKERS captures the essence of the IT Sub Culture of the 20th century. Say What??? The physical World has already been conquered. The Digital World is still vast and untapped so these hackers sail through cyberspace to discover places unfound. The Rules and Laws aren't even written yet, so hackers will do as they see fit to thrive. Afterall, "Hacking is more than just a crime. It's a survival trait."
In the film, the hackers come to find there are some obstacles they must learn to circumvent in order to stop a greed-hungry one of their own, whom found his way into a government systems security job. Hackers need 9 to 5s too, so this hired gun chose to utilize his talents to advise the Powers he used to evade. A hacker engages in reconnaissance & espionage all the time to gain intel. The "Hacker Manifesto," written by The Mentor aka Lloyd Blankenship is quoted several times, stating the noble purpose behind hacking. Check it out http://www.mithral.com/~beberg/manifesto.html
Ok so the technology is severely outdated. But like any great film the story, characters, music, plot, visuals and the principles are timeless. Information is Power, and that is what every hacker seeks. Actually that is what every human seeks. Life, Liberty, the pursuit of Happiness & Information:) Mess with the Best, Die like the Rest!!! HACKERS is a Cool-Ass-Flick.
Last year we met some referees from the Lingerie Football League, CFL and various Farm Show Leagues from across the country. They call a great game by the way;) They were a temporary fix for the NFL Referee lockout, which lasted from June 2012 through Week 3 of the regular season. The "Fail Mary" was the play that convinced NFL owners to give in to the demands of the Ref's Union. Coupled with the sloppy officiating and embarrassing calls, the infamous blunder took place on Monday Night Football in front of a national audience, creating such a fuss the NFL was forced to end the public relations nightmare. Seriously, a 9-billion dollar a year business doesn't want to pay a little more for retirement benefits and salaries for the best Referees? Well only after they were humiliated on national television, making a mockery of their precious NFL shield. Anyway it was all pretty entertaining and inspired me to Welcome Back a few of the good, old Zebras.
