Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Birthday
I’m proposing a new amendment to the Constitution that would make it illegal to use a color to describe a human being. White, Black, Yellow and Red are banned in particular but it’s only fair to ban all the colors. The Shades of Melanin Amendment would also ban using ‘country of origin’ and ‘continent of origin’ to describe people as well. The exception would be for folks ‘just off the boat’ and blue bloods (since they have a deep need to be set apart). Police will be allowed to ‘Profile’ bad people no matter their continent, country, religion, clothes styles, hair styles, where they live or who they hang out with.
In all of my 56+ years on this planet, the most ignorant thing I have ever heard is one person describing another by color alone. I still have not seen a White Man. All the albinos I’ve met have a pinkish glow in places (Pink is banned). All the supposed Black Men I’ve met always shake my hand with palms that would be accurately described as bronze or brown (Bronze and Brown are also banned but I’m not really sure if bronze is a color or a precious metal.)
In fact describing my two daughters with a color presents a major problem. Even though they look a tad pale during the winter months, by late spring they are usually bronze verging on brown. So if the typical fool met one of my daughters in January they would say ‘Oh, what an attractive White girl’. Meeting her on the 4th of July the description would be ‘Oh, she was a Bronze beauty’.
Other than appreciating his work as an actor, I know nothing about Morgan Freeman. He is ‘right on’ in this recent article titled ‘He’s No Fan of Black History Month’.
Morgan Freeman says the concept of a month dedicated to black history is ‘ridiculous’.
‘You’re going to relegate my history to a month?’ the 68 year-old actor asked in a recent interview. ‘I don’t want a Black History Month. Black history is American history.’
Black History Month has its roots in Carter G. Woodson’s Negro History Week, which he designated in 1926 as the second week in February to mark the birthdays of Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln. Woodson said he hoped the week could someday be eliminated- when black history would become fundamental to American history.
Freeman notes that there is no ‘white history month,’ and says that the only way to get rid of racism is to ‘stop talking about it’. ‘I am going to stop calling you a white man and I’m going to ask you to stop calling me a black man’.
Thanks Mr. Freeman. I will be asking you to become part of the committee to draft the Shades of Melanin Amendment as well as be a spokesperson.
About 10 years ago my kids played a song me for me that should be designated the ‘No Colors to Describe Other Folks’ anthem. I still hear it from time to time.
Pardon me, your epidermis is showing, sir
I couldn’t help but note your shade of melanin
I tip my hat to the colorful arrangement
Cause I see the beauty in the tones of our skin.
We’ve gotta come together
And thank the maker of us all.
(chorus)
We’re colored people, and we live in a tainted place
We’re colored people, and they call us the human race
We’ve got a history so full of mistakes
And we are colored people who depend on a holy grace.
A piece of canvas is only the beginning for
It takes on character with every loving stroke
This thing of beauty is the passion of an artist’s heart
By God’s design, we are a skin kaleidoscope.
We’ve gotta come together,
Aren’t we all human after all?
(full lyrics below)
This race stuff has bothered me since high school. I went to school in Jersey City, NJ. During the 1960’s the Black/White Us/Them hate was intense. I found myself in fights with kids I didn’t even know. They wanted to kill me and I wanted to kill them. Why? Had they insulted my Momma? No. Had they messed with my sister or my girlfriend? No. Had they robbed me? No. Did I do something to them that would incite their anger? NO.
It was about what had happened between light skinned morons and dark skinned people who had been enslaved for generations before I was born. But the line had been drawn in the sand. Somehow a large number of light skinned people felt threatened when slaves were set free. Maybe next year I’ll expound on those reasons.
Conversely, a large number of dark skinned people were threatened even after laws had changed. We can get into more detail in the future. But what we had and also what wound up with was a Big Mess, which continues today.
Because of the color of my Mommy and Daddy, that kid I was fighting in Jersey City hated me. It didn’t matter if I was a good person or not. And so it is- groups judging other groups for probably the least accurate of reasons--- One that predicts nothing of importance but serves to further deepen the chasm between many wonderful people.
When I size up a person, it’s a about the depth of their character. When I describe a person it will go something like this- ‘A bright articulate businessman who has been married for 23 years and has 3 extraordinary children. He’s about 5’9” tall, medium build, early 50’s, dark eyes, warm smile, dark hair with some salt mixed in and a light complexion’. Now you know something about the guy I met for coffee today and you also learned something about me.
I’m going to ask you to do 2 things. The first is to work on Reconciliation. Walk up to someone whose skin tone is opposite of yours and say something like this- ‘Hi, my name is Russell and I would like to repent and ask your forgiveness for anything my ancestors might have done to your ancestors. I want to be part of the solution and not continue this senseless division. Let’s move on together.’ Then shake the persons hand or give them a hug.
Next, I want you to get out and support the Shades of Melanin Amendment and have a fantastic MLK Birthday Bash (but don’t describe Dr. King by using a banned color).
Russell Jones
973.983.9607
http://www.powerworkshop.org/
http://powerworkshop.blogspot.com/
Colored People
Pardon me, your epidermis is showing, sir
I couldn’t help but note your shade of melanin
I tip my hat to the colorful arrangement
Cause I see the beauty in the tones of our skin.
We’ve gotta come together
And thank the maker of us all.
(chorus)
We’re colored people, and we live in a tainted place
We’re colored people, and they call us the human race
We’ve got a history so full of mistakes
And we are colored people who depend on a holy grace.
A piece of canvas is only the beginning for
It takes on character with every loving stroke
This thing of beauty is the passion of an artist’s heart
By God’s design, we are a skin kaleidoscope.
We’ve gotta come together,
Aren’t we all human after all?
Monday, January 18, 2010
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Stir My Soul!
Why is it so hard to stay Focused on things we are Passionate about? I believe we are all given Vision as part of our humanity. We ALL have seen a compelling picture of a better tomorrow.
We get distracted so easily. So if you’re too busy or pre-occupied, WHO is going to fulfill that Vision you’ve seen? If not YOU, WHO will step up and live out this thing called COMPASSION?
We shake our heads when we reflect on the condition of this world- global terrorism, religious extremism, nuclear tension, HIV & AIDS, political corruption, pollution, natural disasters, ethnic tensions, hunger and illiteracy. (You can include ‘global warming’ but it’s freezing here in New Jersey).
Oh but what can I do about this stuff? I’m worried about paying for medical insurance and getting my retirement plan in place. My children and grandchildren take up so much time. I’m so distracted by all of the ‘opportunities’ that come my way. It’s hard work figuring out everyone’s ‘dramas’ going on around me. Gotta plan the next vacation and home improvement and party and how many inches my new flat screen will be.
Oh my God, this world is a flippin’ mess and I’m trying to ‘get mine’! I want my kids to be Compassionate and Caring and Loving and Honest and Unselfish but I can’t quite get there myself (if ya know what I mean).
The book ‘Compassion Fatigue’ quotes an often repeated statement- ‘In the news business, 1 dead fireman in Brooklyn is worth 5 English bobbies, who are worth 50 Arabs, who are worth 500 Africans.’ Our compassion for others seems to be directly correlated to whether people are close to us socially, emotionally, culturally, ethnically, economically or geographically.
One of my sons was killed in a car crash in 1987. It was a horrific time in my life. Everything was turned upside down. The pain penetrated the deepest places of my soul. I physically and emotionally grieved for a full year. For years I would cry every time the news of a child dying came to my attention.
But now? Now when I hear of another family’s tragedy I mutter ‘that’s sad’ to myself and move on. And when I hear that 26,575 children died today of largely preventable causes related to their poverty, I just shrug. But another 26,575 children will die tomorrow and the next day and the next. I guess I got a real bad case of Compassion Fatigue.
So okay I get the message- now what am I going to do? I got distracted from my Vision a few years ago by an opportunity and by family stuff. But now I’ve been called out by my Soul and I was reminded of something I wrote 13 years ago.
“It was January 17, 1997 and my wife, Lin, and I had been presenting our motivational school assemblies for the last three and a half years. It had been a typical day. We were in an elementary school in South Jersey. After two assemblies, which included feats of strength and inspirational stories, we had visited classrooms. During these class visits, we pump up reading and answer questions.
After visiting our last class and loading our equipment, we were just about ready to walk out when a group of students asked us for autographs. We are always honored by these requests. It was dismissal time and the group around us got larger and larger. Teachers were trying to drag kids away to get them to their buses. The whole scene was wild and we stayed until the last child had an autograph.
We had signed autographs many times before and since that day. The thing that dawned on us as we drove away brought tears to our eyes. Before that day, none of those kids had ever seen or heard of us before. After only a few hours, we had become heroes. If we had announced that there was a bus outside school and that anyone who wanted to could come home and live with us, I'll bet that the bus would be full.
Why? Not because we’re great. These kids were hungry for encouragement. We let every child know that they are special and unique and we believe it. We let them know that they have a special gift and we believe it. We let love come through us. We also let them know that it takes work to achieve great things. The major problem lies in the home environment. Lin and I adjusted our commitment to include not only kids but parents as well. Our hope is that every child would want to stay with their own family and maybe just come to visit ours.”
So I’m committing to being a huge source of encouragement to every young person I come across until the day I die. I know now how to avoid the traps that would try to derail my Vision. I will learn how to reject rejection and do my best to build a more Compassionate World.
What about you? Are you part of the solution? Are you comfortable with your level of contribution to a better tomorrow for those other than your immediate family? Are we actually searching for the TRUTH? or are we trying to make up our own?
If you are old and tired, or lazy, or in need of motivation, Dr. David has a solution. Just cry out ‘God!!!! Fire me up again!!!’
As my friend David DeNotaris always says, “Make it a Great Day”...bye4now...
Your friend (iC),
Russell Jones
We get distracted so easily. So if you’re too busy or pre-occupied, WHO is going to fulfill that Vision you’ve seen? If not YOU, WHO will step up and live out this thing called COMPASSION?
We shake our heads when we reflect on the condition of this world- global terrorism, religious extremism, nuclear tension, HIV & AIDS, political corruption, pollution, natural disasters, ethnic tensions, hunger and illiteracy. (You can include ‘global warming’ but it’s freezing here in New Jersey).
Oh but what can I do about this stuff? I’m worried about paying for medical insurance and getting my retirement plan in place. My children and grandchildren take up so much time. I’m so distracted by all of the ‘opportunities’ that come my way. It’s hard work figuring out everyone’s ‘dramas’ going on around me. Gotta plan the next vacation and home improvement and party and how many inches my new flat screen will be.
Oh my God, this world is a flippin’ mess and I’m trying to ‘get mine’! I want my kids to be Compassionate and Caring and Loving and Honest and Unselfish but I can’t quite get there myself (if ya know what I mean).
The book ‘Compassion Fatigue’ quotes an often repeated statement- ‘In the news business, 1 dead fireman in Brooklyn is worth 5 English bobbies, who are worth 50 Arabs, who are worth 500 Africans.’ Our compassion for others seems to be directly correlated to whether people are close to us socially, emotionally, culturally, ethnically, economically or geographically.
One of my sons was killed in a car crash in 1987. It was a horrific time in my life. Everything was turned upside down. The pain penetrated the deepest places of my soul. I physically and emotionally grieved for a full year. For years I would cry every time the news of a child dying came to my attention.
But now? Now when I hear of another family’s tragedy I mutter ‘that’s sad’ to myself and move on. And when I hear that 26,575 children died today of largely preventable causes related to their poverty, I just shrug. But another 26,575 children will die tomorrow and the next day and the next. I guess I got a real bad case of Compassion Fatigue.
So okay I get the message- now what am I going to do? I got distracted from my Vision a few years ago by an opportunity and by family stuff. But now I’ve been called out by my Soul and I was reminded of something I wrote 13 years ago.
“It was January 17, 1997 and my wife, Lin, and I had been presenting our motivational school assemblies for the last three and a half years. It had been a typical day. We were in an elementary school in South Jersey. After two assemblies, which included feats of strength and inspirational stories, we had visited classrooms. During these class visits, we pump up reading and answer questions.
After visiting our last class and loading our equipment, we were just about ready to walk out when a group of students asked us for autographs. We are always honored by these requests. It was dismissal time and the group around us got larger and larger. Teachers were trying to drag kids away to get them to their buses. The whole scene was wild and we stayed until the last child had an autograph.
We had signed autographs many times before and since that day. The thing that dawned on us as we drove away brought tears to our eyes. Before that day, none of those kids had ever seen or heard of us before. After only a few hours, we had become heroes. If we had announced that there was a bus outside school and that anyone who wanted to could come home and live with us, I'll bet that the bus would be full.
Why? Not because we’re great. These kids were hungry for encouragement. We let every child know that they are special and unique and we believe it. We let them know that they have a special gift and we believe it. We let love come through us. We also let them know that it takes work to achieve great things. The major problem lies in the home environment. Lin and I adjusted our commitment to include not only kids but parents as well. Our hope is that every child would want to stay with their own family and maybe just come to visit ours.”
So I’m committing to being a huge source of encouragement to every young person I come across until the day I die. I know now how to avoid the traps that would try to derail my Vision. I will learn how to reject rejection and do my best to build a more Compassionate World.
What about you? Are you part of the solution? Are you comfortable with your level of contribution to a better tomorrow for those other than your immediate family? Are we actually searching for the TRUTH? or are we trying to make up our own?
If you are old and tired, or lazy, or in need of motivation, Dr. David has a solution. Just cry out ‘God!!!! Fire me up again!!!’
As my friend David DeNotaris always says, “Make it a Great Day”...bye4now...
Your friend (iC),
Russell Jones
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Fight for YOUR Health!
Just as most of us were getting ‘fired up’ about the impending Sick Care legislation, I penned my last Breakthrough Newsletter/Blog. Some of your responses were amazing.
The following was submitted by none other than Mr. Steve Perillo- Perillo Tours CEO- Mr. Italy Jr. Aside from running Perillo Tours and being an accomplished classical composer/recording artist; Steve also hosts his own talk show.
And while not being an unabashed ‘health nut’ like myself, Steve eats and supplements wisely AND he works out regularly.
He writes the following in response to Russell’s True Health Care Bill:
HERE! HERE! Right on!
Imagine exercise and diet credits! . . . like a ‘good driver’ getting lower insurance rates.
50% of all kids born today will get juvenile diabetes?
Even if that’s a huge exaggeration, 5% of kids getting that would be absurd.
Sorry to say, if you let market forces go wild, with no oversight, this is what we get . . . 150 pound, ten year olds playing video games all day while eating Coco-Puffs, unable to go outside because they need their parents to drive them everywhere. Our ‘junk culture’ is killing our children!
Sorry we’re too stupid to oversee ourselves because now we need laws to force us to behave:
1)Restrict amount of sugar in products
2)No sugar at all in schools
3)Sidewalks and bike-lanes mandatory for all new suburban constructions
4)No school bussing if you live within 1 mile of school
5)Food stamps only good for certain food purchases
6)Stop farm subsidies (corn) that promote tons of cheap, hormone and antibiotic invested beef and poultry.
The corporations don’t care. Just the opposite. They’re incentivized to create customer addictions!
They have multi-million dollar labs that study how to turn consumers into those lab rats . . . pawing the ‘more cocaine button’ until they kill themselves.
And what’s addicting? Fat, salt and carbs. And for some reason those are the cheapest materials to put on the table! (See corn subsidies!)
McDonalds is currently the cheapest way to feed a family of 4 . . . $12! Fruits and vegetables cost way more than that to feed the same family.
We used to be a lean, mean country . . . No mas!
Steve
Like me, Steve has an objective advantage over our lawmakers in Washington. He’s not a lawyer who has been elected to public office. He’s not ‘beholding’ to any self-serving lobby groups.
Don’t shrug off this topic. Think it through and come up with YOUR Personal Wellness Plan. Remember- once your Body is weakened by all the drugs and junk food being pumped into it, YOUR Mental, Emotional and Spiritual Strength is sure to follow.
The so called ‘greatest country in the history of the world’, the country that has sacrificed many thousands of lives to keep our freedom, the land of the free and the home of the brave is SICK. The corrupt money gods are creating wealth for themselves but force-feeding us a steady diet of dead, nutrition-less foods just to fill our bellies.
The ENEMY is within and it ain’t just a bunch of crazed terrorists. In the same way We The People have fought for our Freedom, we must fight for our HEALTH!
As my friend David DeNotaris always says, “Make it a Great Day”...bye4now...
Your friend (iC),
Russell Jones
The following was submitted by none other than Mr. Steve Perillo- Perillo Tours CEO- Mr. Italy Jr. Aside from running Perillo Tours and being an accomplished classical composer/recording artist; Steve also hosts his own talk show.
And while not being an unabashed ‘health nut’ like myself, Steve eats and supplements wisely AND he works out regularly.
He writes the following in response to Russell’s True Health Care Bill:
HERE! HERE! Right on!
Imagine exercise and diet credits! . . . like a ‘good driver’ getting lower insurance rates.
50% of all kids born today will get juvenile diabetes?
Even if that’s a huge exaggeration, 5% of kids getting that would be absurd.
Sorry to say, if you let market forces go wild, with no oversight, this is what we get . . . 150 pound, ten year olds playing video games all day while eating Coco-Puffs, unable to go outside because they need their parents to drive them everywhere. Our ‘junk culture’ is killing our children!
Sorry we’re too stupid to oversee ourselves because now we need laws to force us to behave:
1)Restrict amount of sugar in products
2)No sugar at all in schools
3)Sidewalks and bike-lanes mandatory for all new suburban constructions
4)No school bussing if you live within 1 mile of school
5)Food stamps only good for certain food purchases
6)Stop farm subsidies (corn) that promote tons of cheap, hormone and antibiotic invested beef and poultry.
The corporations don’t care. Just the opposite. They’re incentivized to create customer addictions!
They have multi-million dollar labs that study how to turn consumers into those lab rats . . . pawing the ‘more cocaine button’ until they kill themselves.
And what’s addicting? Fat, salt and carbs. And for some reason those are the cheapest materials to put on the table! (See corn subsidies!)
McDonalds is currently the cheapest way to feed a family of 4 . . . $12! Fruits and vegetables cost way more than that to feed the same family.
We used to be a lean, mean country . . . No mas!
Steve
Like me, Steve has an objective advantage over our lawmakers in Washington. He’s not a lawyer who has been elected to public office. He’s not ‘beholding’ to any self-serving lobby groups.
Don’t shrug off this topic. Think it through and come up with YOUR Personal Wellness Plan. Remember- once your Body is weakened by all the drugs and junk food being pumped into it, YOUR Mental, Emotional and Spiritual Strength is sure to follow.
The so called ‘greatest country in the history of the world’, the country that has sacrificed many thousands of lives to keep our freedom, the land of the free and the home of the brave is SICK. The corrupt money gods are creating wealth for themselves but force-feeding us a steady diet of dead, nutrition-less foods just to fill our bellies.
The ENEMY is within and it ain’t just a bunch of crazed terrorists. In the same way We The People have fought for our Freedom, we must fight for our HEALTH!
As my friend David DeNotaris always says, “Make it a Great Day”...bye4now...
Your friend (iC),
Russell Jones
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Russell’s True Health Care Bill
Okay,okay,okay (say it really fast like Leo Getz in Lethal Weapon2) help me here. The government is taking over Health Care in the United States.
First of all, there never was Health Care in the United States only Sick Care. And Sick Care is needed and we need a lot of it. ‘Preventative medicine’ is just a buzzword for ‘testing to see if you are Sick yet’.
WE THE PEOPLE have brought this on ourselves through ignorance and laziness. My Mother taught me a long time ago that we have to be proactively in charge of our own health. The early ‘health food nuts’ and ‘fitness crazies’ were Right. But we all have to come to grips with the fact that none of us are getting out of here alive.
We have to realize a few things:
1- The majority of ‘foods’ on the shelf in our grocery stores are g-a-r-b-a-g-e. It’s legal but it shouldn’t be. Most food processing companies are driven by 1 thing and that is Profit (for themselves and you who hold stock). As has been pointed out many times before---- if whatever you are buying has Sugar in any of its forms, White Flour or Chemical Additives, you are setting yourself and your family up for sickness, disease and pre-mature death.
2- Most Doctors DO know their *ss from their elbow- and that’s a good thing. However, 99.9% of the doctors we come across Specialize in something other than nutrition. Yet many dispense nutritional opinions and most of us buy their opinions.
And the Nutritionists I’ve met are too concerned with counting Calories and the Fat content of foods that they miss the boat when it comes to Fresh, Wholesome Foods from a variety of Natural sources. And they do not have a handle on Natural Supplementation. Methinks they ‘compromise’ too much and need to raise the standards and expectations. Nutrition Experts need to get radical and scream out ‘warnings’ to our culture. Also, the food pyramid and its various versions have not worked.
3- Pharmaceutical Companies do not have a moral compass. The researchers might but Drug Companies are driven by 1 thing and that is Profit (for themselves and you who hold stock). They are the best and worst of what big business is all about. They have had a huge hand in crafting our Drug Culture. They have pushed their ‘miracle cures’ on the medical community and on WE THE PEOPLE to a degree that is almost unfathomable.
Some of the stuff works but most are nonsense- the side effects alone are embarrassing.
4- Insurance Companies do not have a moral compass. I believe in free enterprise but Insurance Companies are so unscrupulous they NEED regulation. Insurance Companies are driven by 1 thing and that is Profit (for themselves and you who hold stock).
5- Government has a real hard time acting objectively when it comes to Most issues. Partisan politics has our elected officials voting the Party line. Lobbyists influence all levels of government and are only interested in furthering the interests of those who Pay them.
Someone has proposed that whatever the government gives us in Health (Sick) Insurance, that all elected officials would have to use it as well.
6- Lawyers! They are so intertwined in all of the above that they can make a well person sick. And they would figure out a way that it would be ‘prejudicial and unjust’ to treat someone who abuses their health any differently than someone who makes the effort to take care of themselves.
So this is what I’m going to use to start Russell’s True Health Care Bill. I’m borrowing it from Arthur Dreschler as he wrote in the November 2009 Association of Oldetime Barbell & Strongmen Newsletter:
While there are many issues regarding the health of this nation’s citizens, and that of people throughout the world, and change is going on all around us, at least one thing remains true. Progressive resistance exercise is one of the greatest discoveries in human history. It has the ability to heal the sick, strengthen the weak, inspire the downtrodden and transform the body and soul. Its benefits are available to all, without exception. And when such training is combined with sound dietary practices and abstinence from debilitating practices, such as the use of alcohol and drugs, a recipe for a longer and a more vigorous life is created. NOTHING MORE IS NEEDED, BUT NOTHING LESS IS SUFFICIENT.
… Nothing would benefit the health of the nation more quickly and completely, or reduce our health care costs more surely, that the widespread adoption of regular (ideally progressive) exercise, a sound diet and the avoidance of dissipation. Given this we should all redouble our efforts to extol the virtues of exercise and other sound health practices, while at the same time ASSURING THAT WE ARE EACH LIVING EXAMPLES OF WHAT WE ESPOUSE.
I know I left out the rest of My Son- the Experiment :( & Cardio as well… next time?
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
As my friend David DeNotaris always says, “Make it a Great Day”...bye4now...
Your friend (iC),
Russell Jones
First of all, there never was Health Care in the United States only Sick Care. And Sick Care is needed and we need a lot of it. ‘Preventative medicine’ is just a buzzword for ‘testing to see if you are Sick yet’.
WE THE PEOPLE have brought this on ourselves through ignorance and laziness. My Mother taught me a long time ago that we have to be proactively in charge of our own health. The early ‘health food nuts’ and ‘fitness crazies’ were Right. But we all have to come to grips with the fact that none of us are getting out of here alive.
We have to realize a few things:
1- The majority of ‘foods’ on the shelf in our grocery stores are g-a-r-b-a-g-e. It’s legal but it shouldn’t be. Most food processing companies are driven by 1 thing and that is Profit (for themselves and you who hold stock). As has been pointed out many times before---- if whatever you are buying has Sugar in any of its forms, White Flour or Chemical Additives, you are setting yourself and your family up for sickness, disease and pre-mature death.
2- Most Doctors DO know their *ss from their elbow- and that’s a good thing. However, 99.9% of the doctors we come across Specialize in something other than nutrition. Yet many dispense nutritional opinions and most of us buy their opinions.
And the Nutritionists I’ve met are too concerned with counting Calories and the Fat content of foods that they miss the boat when it comes to Fresh, Wholesome Foods from a variety of Natural sources. And they do not have a handle on Natural Supplementation. Methinks they ‘compromise’ too much and need to raise the standards and expectations. Nutrition Experts need to get radical and scream out ‘warnings’ to our culture. Also, the food pyramid and its various versions have not worked.
3- Pharmaceutical Companies do not have a moral compass. The researchers might but Drug Companies are driven by 1 thing and that is Profit (for themselves and you who hold stock). They are the best and worst of what big business is all about. They have had a huge hand in crafting our Drug Culture. They have pushed their ‘miracle cures’ on the medical community and on WE THE PEOPLE to a degree that is almost unfathomable.
Some of the stuff works but most are nonsense- the side effects alone are embarrassing.
4- Insurance Companies do not have a moral compass. I believe in free enterprise but Insurance Companies are so unscrupulous they NEED regulation. Insurance Companies are driven by 1 thing and that is Profit (for themselves and you who hold stock).
5- Government has a real hard time acting objectively when it comes to Most issues. Partisan politics has our elected officials voting the Party line. Lobbyists influence all levels of government and are only interested in furthering the interests of those who Pay them.
Someone has proposed that whatever the government gives us in Health (Sick) Insurance, that all elected officials would have to use it as well.
6- Lawyers! They are so intertwined in all of the above that they can make a well person sick. And they would figure out a way that it would be ‘prejudicial and unjust’ to treat someone who abuses their health any differently than someone who makes the effort to take care of themselves.
So this is what I’m going to use to start Russell’s True Health Care Bill. I’m borrowing it from Arthur Dreschler as he wrote in the November 2009 Association of Oldetime Barbell & Strongmen Newsletter:
While there are many issues regarding the health of this nation’s citizens, and that of people throughout the world, and change is going on all around us, at least one thing remains true. Progressive resistance exercise is one of the greatest discoveries in human history. It has the ability to heal the sick, strengthen the weak, inspire the downtrodden and transform the body and soul. Its benefits are available to all, without exception. And when such training is combined with sound dietary practices and abstinence from debilitating practices, such as the use of alcohol and drugs, a recipe for a longer and a more vigorous life is created. NOTHING MORE IS NEEDED, BUT NOTHING LESS IS SUFFICIENT.
… Nothing would benefit the health of the nation more quickly and completely, or reduce our health care costs more surely, that the widespread adoption of regular (ideally progressive) exercise, a sound diet and the avoidance of dissipation. Given this we should all redouble our efforts to extol the virtues of exercise and other sound health practices, while at the same time ASSURING THAT WE ARE EACH LIVING EXAMPLES OF WHAT WE ESPOUSE.
I know I left out the rest of My Son- the Experiment :( & Cardio as well… next time?
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
As my friend David DeNotaris always says, “Make it a Great Day”...bye4now...
Your friend (iC),
Russell Jones
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
My Son- the Experiment
Hopefully, we all want the best for our children. The ‘best’ can interpreted many different ways. What you think is the ‘best’ for your child might not be what I consider ‘best’.
And as parents we bring our own values, experiences and prejudices to the table which can really help a kid or really screw one up.
When it comes to sports, I have had more opportunities than most to mess up my kid’s athletic careers. As an ex-athlete as many dads and moms are, I had the perspective that I was eminently qualified to coach and teach my children EVERYTHING there is to know. Of course everyone that ever played a game, listens to sport’s talk radio, watches ESPN and has attended a sport’s safety course feels that they are just as qualified.
Over the years, I have had many opportunities to work with my kids in sports. While ALL of my intentions have been good, sometimes the results have not (I know that probably surprises you- :D).
My 3 oldest have had the chance to experience many different levels of sport- College Basketball, HS- Football, Basketball, Baseball, Track & Field. We’ve had Captains and County Champions and 1st Team All-Whatevers. But I always felt that I had let my kid’s down when it came to the ‘best’ possible way to PREPARE.
To me, Preparation is key because it’s something you can control and something, once you learn it, that can be applied to many areas of life. Preparation can be a problem though since most kids just want to play and are not mature enough to even grasp the concept of Prepping. And even if they are willing to Prepare, what system will you give them?
You cannot rely on the coaches. Most (the vast majority) are game strategists only. Some are able to inspire- which is a huge bonus.
Now if the coaches actually told you that they REALLY do not know the best way to prepare physically, you would save a whole lot of time and frustration. But they give your kids workouts or tell them to run or send them to a gym or a weight room.
And we parents get all bent out of shape when our kids do not perform to a level anywhere near their potential. Many of us blame the coaches or even the kids themselves for this ‘failure’.
But it’s NOT the coach’s fault. And it’s NOT your child’s fault. (With all things being equal, in that your child truly WANTS to succeed) It’s YOUR fault if they fail. I mean I truly believe that ANY kid who wants to earn a varsity letter can- just maybe not in a particular sport.
This brings me to my Experiment- my youngest son. I was running out of my own kids to train. Russ ‘Buddy’ Jones was my last chance. And he was and is a Challenge- in so many ways. But sharing in his Victories has been awesome.
My son loves baseball. I mean he really loves it. He loves playing it, watching it, umping it and talking about it. From birth he was destined to play for the Yankees- Ruth, Gehrig, DiMaggio, Mantle, Jeter, and Jones.
He loves the feel of a bat in his hands. He’d practice his swings everywhere- on the field, in the driveway, in the living room, in his bedroom. Always tweaking and adjusting his stroke or his stance.
And if he couldn’t play baseball, he would grab the kid next door to play wiffle ball in our front yard. They played from spring until the 1st snow every year for at least 10 years. They only stopped last year when my son was 18. The grass will still not grow around home plate and the pitcher’s mound.
Buddy played on baseball teams during the spring, summer and fall. But he swung his bat just about every day of the year. He wasn’t always the most teachable kid and I never wanted to push a sport on him so he taught himself a lot.
Since he was one of those kids who physically matured late, he was never looked upon as ‘athletic’ (whatever that means). This meant that he was never picked for the ‘elite’ teams. But he hung in there and was blasting home runs out of the big ball parks by the time he was 13.
But the ‘politics’ of local baseball was starting to wear on him and many times the ‘fun’ was taken out of the game. When he was a sophomore in high school he got cut from the JV team and I started to believe that maybe he was just not good enough. He took it hard but continued to play on whatever teams he could hook on with.
So I took my son to see an old friend who at one time was the head scout for the Chicago White Sox- Major League Baseball. On the side, he asked me, ‘Do these stupid )&)(*&%%$!#@ high school coaches know who this kid’s father is?’ I assured him that no one where I lived knew anything about me in sports- especially from back in the old days.
He put my son through almost 3 hours of drills in every aspect of baseball. He conferred with his assistant and then walked over to. ‘You’re kid’s getting screwed’, he whispered. I think we all have some doubt when it comes to objectively evaluating our own children-and not just in sports.
Driving home my thoughts went from anger toward those who treated my son poorly to frustration since I think I was kind of hoping that the evaluation would be poor and we could all move on with our lives.
What would you do? I know children around the world face much more severe issues than being cut from a baseball team but those kids don’t live in my house. We talked, we counseled, we prayed, we changed schools.
Well let’s put it this way, we didn’t change schools just because of baseball but that greatly contributed to the decision. Crazy to some but looking back it worked out pretty good. Although NOT in baseball- his new school had a very good team. As a junior, my son batted 2nd and played the outfield on the jayvee squad. As a senior, he had a shot to play the outfield on varsity or possibly be the Designated Hitter.
BUT after all these years of Baseball practice and games and loving the game, he chose not to go out for the team. AFTER ALL that he had gone through, he decided to NOT play. I could not believe my ears.
PAUSE- I have to stop here- finish next time :D. AND I will get to ‘cardio’ as well.
As my friend David DeNotaris always says, “Make it a Great Day”...bye4now...
Your friend (iC),
Russell Jones
PS- Please visit us at the http://www.powerworkshop.org/ and http://www.arpwavenj.com/ to see what’s new.
Copyright, the Power Workshop Inc., 2005
And as parents we bring our own values, experiences and prejudices to the table which can really help a kid or really screw one up.
When it comes to sports, I have had more opportunities than most to mess up my kid’s athletic careers. As an ex-athlete as many dads and moms are, I had the perspective that I was eminently qualified to coach and teach my children EVERYTHING there is to know. Of course everyone that ever played a game, listens to sport’s talk radio, watches ESPN and has attended a sport’s safety course feels that they are just as qualified.
Over the years, I have had many opportunities to work with my kids in sports. While ALL of my intentions have been good, sometimes the results have not (I know that probably surprises you- :D).
My 3 oldest have had the chance to experience many different levels of sport- College Basketball, HS- Football, Basketball, Baseball, Track & Field. We’ve had Captains and County Champions and 1st Team All-Whatevers. But I always felt that I had let my kid’s down when it came to the ‘best’ possible way to PREPARE.
To me, Preparation is key because it’s something you can control and something, once you learn it, that can be applied to many areas of life. Preparation can be a problem though since most kids just want to play and are not mature enough to even grasp the concept of Prepping. And even if they are willing to Prepare, what system will you give them?
You cannot rely on the coaches. Most (the vast majority) are game strategists only. Some are able to inspire- which is a huge bonus.
Now if the coaches actually told you that they REALLY do not know the best way to prepare physically, you would save a whole lot of time and frustration. But they give your kids workouts or tell them to run or send them to a gym or a weight room.
And we parents get all bent out of shape when our kids do not perform to a level anywhere near their potential. Many of us blame the coaches or even the kids themselves for this ‘failure’.
But it’s NOT the coach’s fault. And it’s NOT your child’s fault. (With all things being equal, in that your child truly WANTS to succeed) It’s YOUR fault if they fail. I mean I truly believe that ANY kid who wants to earn a varsity letter can- just maybe not in a particular sport.
This brings me to my Experiment- my youngest son. I was running out of my own kids to train. Russ ‘Buddy’ Jones was my last chance. And he was and is a Challenge- in so many ways. But sharing in his Victories has been awesome.
My son loves baseball. I mean he really loves it. He loves playing it, watching it, umping it and talking about it. From birth he was destined to play for the Yankees- Ruth, Gehrig, DiMaggio, Mantle, Jeter, and Jones.
He loves the feel of a bat in his hands. He’d practice his swings everywhere- on the field, in the driveway, in the living room, in his bedroom. Always tweaking and adjusting his stroke or his stance.
And if he couldn’t play baseball, he would grab the kid next door to play wiffle ball in our front yard. They played from spring until the 1st snow every year for at least 10 years. They only stopped last year when my son was 18. The grass will still not grow around home plate and the pitcher’s mound.
Buddy played on baseball teams during the spring, summer and fall. But he swung his bat just about every day of the year. He wasn’t always the most teachable kid and I never wanted to push a sport on him so he taught himself a lot.
Since he was one of those kids who physically matured late, he was never looked upon as ‘athletic’ (whatever that means). This meant that he was never picked for the ‘elite’ teams. But he hung in there and was blasting home runs out of the big ball parks by the time he was 13.
But the ‘politics’ of local baseball was starting to wear on him and many times the ‘fun’ was taken out of the game. When he was a sophomore in high school he got cut from the JV team and I started to believe that maybe he was just not good enough. He took it hard but continued to play on whatever teams he could hook on with.
So I took my son to see an old friend who at one time was the head scout for the Chicago White Sox- Major League Baseball. On the side, he asked me, ‘Do these stupid )&)(*&%%$!#@ high school coaches know who this kid’s father is?’ I assured him that no one where I lived knew anything about me in sports- especially from back in the old days.
He put my son through almost 3 hours of drills in every aspect of baseball. He conferred with his assistant and then walked over to. ‘You’re kid’s getting screwed’, he whispered. I think we all have some doubt when it comes to objectively evaluating our own children-and not just in sports.
Driving home my thoughts went from anger toward those who treated my son poorly to frustration since I think I was kind of hoping that the evaluation would be poor and we could all move on with our lives.
What would you do? I know children around the world face much more severe issues than being cut from a baseball team but those kids don’t live in my house. We talked, we counseled, we prayed, we changed schools.
Well let’s put it this way, we didn’t change schools just because of baseball but that greatly contributed to the decision. Crazy to some but looking back it worked out pretty good. Although NOT in baseball- his new school had a very good team. As a junior, my son batted 2nd and played the outfield on the jayvee squad. As a senior, he had a shot to play the outfield on varsity or possibly be the Designated Hitter.
BUT after all these years of Baseball practice and games and loving the game, he chose not to go out for the team. AFTER ALL that he had gone through, he decided to NOT play. I could not believe my ears.
PAUSE- I have to stop here- finish next time :D. AND I will get to ‘cardio’ as well.
As my friend David DeNotaris always says, “Make it a Great Day”...bye4now...
Your friend (iC),
Russell Jones
PS- Please visit us at the http://www.powerworkshop.org/ and http://www.arpwavenj.com/ to see what’s new.
Copyright, the Power Workshop Inc., 2005
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Raphael
Yesterday I spoke and broke a few things at a Powerlifting meet in Dover, NJ. It wasn’t a particularly huge event- except for the competitors that is.
I’ve never competed in one of these events but the whole concept is pretty basic. How much weight can you lift?
3 chances at 3 lifts- the Squat, Bench Press and Deadlift. According to weight class and gender, whoever lifts the highest total wins.
What I love about these meets is that EVERYONE wins. But not like the nonsense in kid’s sports today where they don’t keep score and everyone in the league comes home with a HUGE trophy at the end of the season (that policy makes more Wieners than Winners).
You see everyone wins at a Powerlifting meet but not everyone gets a trophy. Everyone wins because of 2 reasons. The lifters get a chance to give 100% effort and they get a chance to set a Personal Best. THAT is very rare in sports and rare in life.
In most sports, athletes must compete at less than 100% because we all start to fail after 10-20 seconds. Anything longer than that you have to pace yourself- which is okay but the absolute RUSH when you have to explode at your maximum is incredible.
And anytime you get to establish a Personal Best is fantastic. No one is banished to the loser’s bracket or eliminated from the competition. There are no playoffs or even tryouts. Just show up, give it everything you’ve got, hear the cheers of encouragement and go home happy.
So I gave my talk and did some feats in between events. The audience was great and they seemed to appreciate my effort. Most came up later to thank me including a happy looking kid named Raphael.
Raphael was tall and muscular. You could tell that he didn’t have a whole lot of competition experience but he was really giving a strong effort. His smile lit up the room.
I asked him where he was from and his story started to unfold. He was 25 years old. His parents had brought him to the United States from Poland when he was 8. They lived in Jersey City and then Bayonne for a while before settling in Parsippany, NJ. He had an older brother and a younger sister.
But then the ‘happy’ story changed. Raphael had gotten in with the wrong crowd in high school and had been strung out on drugs until about 7 months ago. He ended up in a place in Morristown called the Market Street Mission. There he lived with about 60 other men whose lives were in chaos. It sounds like a live-in 12-step program.
Raphael told me it’s been a really tough stretch but he has stayed ‘clean’ the entire time. The folks there have guided him in his thought processes and his spiritual life.
Along the way, he was introduced to our old friend Pastor Pete. A couple of years ago, Pastor Pete had scrounged around and put together a GYM for the guys at the Mission. Then he taught them how to train their bodies and he encouraged them to ‘compete’ because he knew how important it is for all of us to be strong Physically as well as strong Mentally and Spiritually.
Like the 3 legged stool, we cannot ignore any part of our being- especially when we are facing some of the biggest challenges of our lives.
It sounded to me like Raphael was ‘getting it’. I’m not sure if he captured a trophy yesterday but he did set a Personal Best. AND he’s due to EARN his release from the Mission just before Christmas- filled with a new found Dream and Hope for the future. If you’re a prayin’ person, send one up for this kid. Thanks.
Next time we begin our talk about Cardio (unless I get distracted :)).
As my friend David DeNotaris always says, “Make it a Great Day”...bye4now...
Your friend (iC),
Russell Jones
I’ve never competed in one of these events but the whole concept is pretty basic. How much weight can you lift?
3 chances at 3 lifts- the Squat, Bench Press and Deadlift. According to weight class and gender, whoever lifts the highest total wins.
What I love about these meets is that EVERYONE wins. But not like the nonsense in kid’s sports today where they don’t keep score and everyone in the league comes home with a HUGE trophy at the end of the season (that policy makes more Wieners than Winners).
You see everyone wins at a Powerlifting meet but not everyone gets a trophy. Everyone wins because of 2 reasons. The lifters get a chance to give 100% effort and they get a chance to set a Personal Best. THAT is very rare in sports and rare in life.
In most sports, athletes must compete at less than 100% because we all start to fail after 10-20 seconds. Anything longer than that you have to pace yourself- which is okay but the absolute RUSH when you have to explode at your maximum is incredible.
And anytime you get to establish a Personal Best is fantastic. No one is banished to the loser’s bracket or eliminated from the competition. There are no playoffs or even tryouts. Just show up, give it everything you’ve got, hear the cheers of encouragement and go home happy.
So I gave my talk and did some feats in between events. The audience was great and they seemed to appreciate my effort. Most came up later to thank me including a happy looking kid named Raphael.
Raphael was tall and muscular. You could tell that he didn’t have a whole lot of competition experience but he was really giving a strong effort. His smile lit up the room.
I asked him where he was from and his story started to unfold. He was 25 years old. His parents had brought him to the United States from Poland when he was 8. They lived in Jersey City and then Bayonne for a while before settling in Parsippany, NJ. He had an older brother and a younger sister.
But then the ‘happy’ story changed. Raphael had gotten in with the wrong crowd in high school and had been strung out on drugs until about 7 months ago. He ended up in a place in Morristown called the Market Street Mission. There he lived with about 60 other men whose lives were in chaos. It sounds like a live-in 12-step program.
Raphael told me it’s been a really tough stretch but he has stayed ‘clean’ the entire time. The folks there have guided him in his thought processes and his spiritual life.
Along the way, he was introduced to our old friend Pastor Pete. A couple of years ago, Pastor Pete had scrounged around and put together a GYM for the guys at the Mission. Then he taught them how to train their bodies and he encouraged them to ‘compete’ because he knew how important it is for all of us to be strong Physically as well as strong Mentally and Spiritually.
Like the 3 legged stool, we cannot ignore any part of our being- especially when we are facing some of the biggest challenges of our lives.
It sounded to me like Raphael was ‘getting it’. I’m not sure if he captured a trophy yesterday but he did set a Personal Best. AND he’s due to EARN his release from the Mission just before Christmas- filled with a new found Dream and Hope for the future. If you’re a prayin’ person, send one up for this kid. Thanks.
Next time we begin our talk about Cardio (unless I get distracted :)).
As my friend David DeNotaris always says, “Make it a Great Day”...bye4now...
Your friend (iC),
Russell Jones
Saturday, October 3, 2009
Stretching Controversy?
Hi. A few folks had questions. Please note that when I offer insights it’s with the hope of helping you IMPROVE your life… Most of us have ‘Sacred Cows’ in our life (something exempt from criticism or questioning). When someone raises a question about our Cow, we can tend to get very defensive.
And when we get defensive, sometimes we are unable to see things clearly. So if Stretching is sacred to you and it’s working for you and your performance is improving in your sport or in your life in general, then by all means keep doing what you are doing.
2 things you might want to consider.
Out in the wild when the animals have to chase prey, do they stop and stretch and get ready to go? Do they have to warm up and prepare the muscles to go and get dinner? Or is it because of the way they USE their muscles that they are prepared to go all the time? Humans are Capable of that very same thing.
AND with all the Stretching going on, why is it that the #1 injury in the entire WORLD is soft tissue injury?
Warm ups should be of the same Character and Intensity of the activity you are about to perform. We train our Athletes to warm up with activities that are of very high velocity and the loads are massive. It’s really not a warm up, it’s true work. And that’s what prepares us for what comes next.
When people get into a character of moving that is within a ‘comfort zone’—much less than 100% intensity—they’re able to avoid injuries but Human Performance suffers. If your performance is NOT improving, maybe it’s time to evaluate how you’re going about doing things.
I referred to my expert & friend- Jay Schroeder (Evosport, ARPwave, UltraFit). Here's a question and Jay's response which I felt was pretty indicative of the questions being raised…
re: Stretch out?
~Ok I'll bite. How is stretching bad for you?
Here's my personal scenario. I wrestled from 6yrs old to college, lifted and trained and feel I know my body well. I have a slight scoliosis due to the fact my one leg is longer than the other. So I have had my share of back "issues". Nothing severe but I was prone to injury if I lifted wrong. In addition, I also never stretched much and have particularly tight hamstrings. In fact touching my toes was impossible and the closest I could ever come was my shins. I mean tight! I just figured I was built that way.
Roll the clock forward and about a year ago I started running and lifting again (heart healthy). After about 6 months I hurt my back, bad. Like never before. I mean I couldn't walk. I went to a Dr. and the MRI showed 2 compressed vertebrae, one ruptured.
I went thru a Spinal Decompression process over 10 weeks that worked wonders! And here's the punch line. The biggest part of the rehab was to stretch. I stretched like never before. Now I touch my toes every day, I have better range of motion and feel stronger than ever. I know that my back is healed and will continue the stretching regime for the rest of my life.
So back to my question, how is this bad for me?
Thanks, Bill
Bill,
To begin with I am glad that you have been able to improve your quality of life. Muscles contract to shorten [concentrically], and to lengthen [eccentrically]. It is impossible to stretch muscle as it only contracts. What does occur when someone performs or assumes a stretching position is that connective tissue is stretched. This certainly can allow one to see and feel a difference when executing a task such as touching ones toes.
Unfortunately the way that humans are designed to display this range of motion is to have muscles concentrically contract and muscles opposite to eccentrically contract. This insures that the muscles absorb this load [force], not areas such as vertebrae, bones, connective tissue etc. You see when you were executing your training plan, the muscles you were using to execute the actions were inappropriate. This in balance of quadriceps to hamstring in your case leads to the overpowered muscle [hamstring] remaining in a constant state of concentric contraction, which then leads to other muscles, typically in the back area, to also stay in a concentrically contracted state, leading to this force being distributed to the vertebrae and connective tissue.
Now the human is amazing and can create a way to complete the desired action utilizing inappropriate muscles. This again was mainly due to muscles on one side overpowering the muscles opposite. Lets look at curling a bar, from the bottom position the biceps begin to contract concentrically, not only does this occur, but at the same moment in time for the same length of time, at the same force, and velocity the triceps must eccentrically contract. If this doesn't occur then the load must be displaced elsewhere, elbow, wrist, shoulder connective tissue in each area. This should not happen as our connective tissue is a last resort of protection; our muscles are designed for this task.
To summarize, no one would argue that humans, by stretching, can create increased range of motion, due to the laxity created by stretching the connective tissue. Unfortunately this is not the way we are designed to work, to allow one to perform in their later years the same as the younger years, and to avoid treatments [therapy] surgeries, such as yours and all the other related connective tissue exercises. This is the true task to accomplish when one is training. There is much research on stretching and the elderly that indicates that stretching leads to the more serious problems associated with hips, backs and knees.
I would recommend to you that you research stretching, and strength training and access how best to employ it to affect your life. I hope for your continued success, no matter what your choices may be.
Speed and Strength Always, Jay
There you have it gang. Next up is ‘Cardio’. Let me know if you want to discuss how we train.
As my friend David DeNotaris always says, “Make it a Great Day”...bye4now...
Your friend (iC),
Russell Jones
PS- Please visit us at the http://www.powerworkshop.org/ and http://www.arpwavenj.com/ to see what’s new.
Copyright, the Power Workshop Inc., 2005
**The contents of this Breakthrough-Newsletter are not to be considered as medical advice. Always consult a physician before beginning or changing any fitness program.**
And when we get defensive, sometimes we are unable to see things clearly. So if Stretching is sacred to you and it’s working for you and your performance is improving in your sport or in your life in general, then by all means keep doing what you are doing.
2 things you might want to consider.
Out in the wild when the animals have to chase prey, do they stop and stretch and get ready to go? Do they have to warm up and prepare the muscles to go and get dinner? Or is it because of the way they USE their muscles that they are prepared to go all the time? Humans are Capable of that very same thing.
AND with all the Stretching going on, why is it that the #1 injury in the entire WORLD is soft tissue injury?
Warm ups should be of the same Character and Intensity of the activity you are about to perform. We train our Athletes to warm up with activities that are of very high velocity and the loads are massive. It’s really not a warm up, it’s true work. And that’s what prepares us for what comes next.
When people get into a character of moving that is within a ‘comfort zone’—much less than 100% intensity—they’re able to avoid injuries but Human Performance suffers. If your performance is NOT improving, maybe it’s time to evaluate how you’re going about doing things.
I referred to my expert & friend- Jay Schroeder (Evosport, ARPwave, UltraFit). Here's a question and Jay's response which I felt was pretty indicative of the questions being raised…
re: Stretch out?
~Ok I'll bite. How is stretching bad for you?
Here's my personal scenario. I wrestled from 6yrs old to college, lifted and trained and feel I know my body well. I have a slight scoliosis due to the fact my one leg is longer than the other. So I have had my share of back "issues". Nothing severe but I was prone to injury if I lifted wrong. In addition, I also never stretched much and have particularly tight hamstrings. In fact touching my toes was impossible and the closest I could ever come was my shins. I mean tight! I just figured I was built that way.
Roll the clock forward and about a year ago I started running and lifting again (heart healthy). After about 6 months I hurt my back, bad. Like never before. I mean I couldn't walk. I went to a Dr. and the MRI showed 2 compressed vertebrae, one ruptured.
I went thru a Spinal Decompression process over 10 weeks that worked wonders! And here's the punch line. The biggest part of the rehab was to stretch. I stretched like never before. Now I touch my toes every day, I have better range of motion and feel stronger than ever. I know that my back is healed and will continue the stretching regime for the rest of my life.
So back to my question, how is this bad for me?
Thanks, Bill
Bill,
To begin with I am glad that you have been able to improve your quality of life. Muscles contract to shorten [concentrically], and to lengthen [eccentrically]. It is impossible to stretch muscle as it only contracts. What does occur when someone performs or assumes a stretching position is that connective tissue is stretched. This certainly can allow one to see and feel a difference when executing a task such as touching ones toes.
Unfortunately the way that humans are designed to display this range of motion is to have muscles concentrically contract and muscles opposite to eccentrically contract. This insures that the muscles absorb this load [force], not areas such as vertebrae, bones, connective tissue etc. You see when you were executing your training plan, the muscles you were using to execute the actions were inappropriate. This in balance of quadriceps to hamstring in your case leads to the overpowered muscle [hamstring] remaining in a constant state of concentric contraction, which then leads to other muscles, typically in the back area, to also stay in a concentrically contracted state, leading to this force being distributed to the vertebrae and connective tissue.
Now the human is amazing and can create a way to complete the desired action utilizing inappropriate muscles. This again was mainly due to muscles on one side overpowering the muscles opposite. Lets look at curling a bar, from the bottom position the biceps begin to contract concentrically, not only does this occur, but at the same moment in time for the same length of time, at the same force, and velocity the triceps must eccentrically contract. If this doesn't occur then the load must be displaced elsewhere, elbow, wrist, shoulder connective tissue in each area. This should not happen as our connective tissue is a last resort of protection; our muscles are designed for this task.
To summarize, no one would argue that humans, by stretching, can create increased range of motion, due to the laxity created by stretching the connective tissue. Unfortunately this is not the way we are designed to work, to allow one to perform in their later years the same as the younger years, and to avoid treatments [therapy] surgeries, such as yours and all the other related connective tissue exercises. This is the true task to accomplish when one is training. There is much research on stretching and the elderly that indicates that stretching leads to the more serious problems associated with hips, backs and knees.
I would recommend to you that you research stretching, and strength training and access how best to employ it to affect your life. I hope for your continued success, no matter what your choices may be.
Speed and Strength Always, Jay
There you have it gang. Next up is ‘Cardio’. Let me know if you want to discuss how we train.
As my friend David DeNotaris always says, “Make it a Great Day”...bye4now...
Your friend (iC),
Russell Jones
PS- Please visit us at the http://www.powerworkshop.org/ and http://www.arpwavenj.com/ to see what’s new.
Copyright, the Power Workshop Inc., 2005
**The contents of this Breakthrough-Newsletter are not to be considered as medical advice. Always consult a physician before beginning or changing any fitness program.**
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