The -isms

Declaring that a woman is physically inferior to men is not sexism.
Believing that this makes her less worthy of living is.

Stating that minorities are more prone to violent crime than whites is not racism.
Believing that this makes them less worthy of freedom is.

Insinuating that shorter players are less adept at basketball is not heightism.
Believing that this makes them unable to play is.

Preaching that young adolescents are not as wise as their elders is not ageism.
Believing that this makes their opinion worthless is.

Shouting that fat people are lazier than fit people is not fatism.
Believing that we should skin them and cook them to feed the hungry is.

Clamoring about how soda is less inherently more healthy than water is not sodaism.
Believing that we should ban all soda is.

Exclaiming that humans are better at running than birds is not avianism.
Believing that we should drown baby birds because of this is.

Not everyone is born equal. Not everything is made equal. Pretending that everything is equal is denying reality. Don't allow uncontrollable circumstances cloud your judgement. But that doesn't mean that they have less of a right to be here than you do.

Hockey Workout #2

This workout focuses on explosiveness, leg strength, and conditioning.

Running

Run two miles nonstop. Push harder than normal. Take what you know you can run two minutes in, and beat that time. If using treadmill, take your jogging speed and add 1-3 mph on top of it.

Cycle One (x3)

-One and One Quarter Barbell Squats: Do a full squat, raise one quarter of the way up, go back down, then go all the way up. (x10)

-One Leg Russian Deadlifts with Dumbbells: On one leg with dumbbell in opposite hand, bend leg while holding dumbbell close to the ground. Extend leg, and as you do it, bring the dumbbell above your head, then go back down. (x8 each side)

Cycle Two (x3)

-Lat crossover box step ups: Get plyo box. Place barbell on shoulders. Standing horizontally from the box, lunge onto box, then step off. Accentuate stride.  (x15 each side)

-Plyo Box Jumps: Place plyo box in front of you, then jump onto it. (x10)

Cycle Three (x3)

-Russian Twists (30 seconds)

-Stability Ball Crunches: With exercise ball, place feet on ground, small of back on ball, and lean back. Do full crunch, then twist to the left then to the right, then go back down. (x10)

-Side Planks: Laying on side, push up into side plank position, hold for 10 seconds, then go back down. (x6 each side)

Cycle Four (x2)

-Single Leg Wall Sits: Wall sit with one leg on the ground, one leg off. Deep bend. Leg should be >90degrees in relation to ground. With medicine ball, rotate side to side. (Hold for 20 seconds each side)

-Pull-ups: Do full pull-ups to failure. Make sure you go all the way down after each rep.

Be Preeminent

"I don't work out anymore. These younger guys I play against, they're all more athletic than me. They have more energy, can do things it takes me more effort to do. Now I black out."

Paraphrasing that Kobe Bryant quote, it shows the mindset of a champion. No matter how good you are in relation to where you are now, there's always a bigger, better pond to be big fish. What cuts it at one level may not always cut it. To be the best, you need to work harder than everyone else is working, until you are unquestionably elite. If you wallow in self-pity without making a single effort at increasing your positioning in life, without putting in overtime, without driving until your body can't take it anymore, you simply don't deserve anything.

It Always Counts

I recently listened to a girl, parading around her sex life, flat out deny a part of it, declaring that "it didn't count." Bewildered, I told the story to a few friends, expecting them to produce the same reaction I did. Instead, they shared stories of their own friends, who apparently also crossed out meaningful portions of their life that are unflattering to themselves. I get the feeling this phenomena extends itself further than just a few isolated incidents. Sluts everywhere manipulate their past in order to make their own reality more appealing. Would it have counted if it ended differently? How many months pregnant would she have to be for it to have counted? Would it count after a living being crawls out of her vagina, or would you be able to uncount it by immediately proceeding to drown the newborn infant? This philosophy undermines a problematic approach towards life in today's society. Too many people today only put effort into something if it counts for something, or can have some tangible benefit. The problem is, every single second of your life that has occurred so far, is occurring now, or will occur, counts. It doesn't matter if anyone is looking or not. It doesn't matter if it's "just practice." Everything counts. It always counts. Every single second you sit at home watching tv counts. Every relationship you've ever made, no matter how forgettable, counts. Every relationship you've ever had, no matter how abhorrent, counts. And every time you go on a blog searching for self-improvement, reading the same message dressed in different clothing, counts. "Make every moment count," they say. Every moment already counts. The onus is on you to make that moment worth something. Figure things out yourself, in the long run you'll understand it better. Everything in life is based off of one constant: how much work are you willing to put in?

How to Erg

Too many people I see erging at the gym row like idiots and then claim the erg is a worthless piece of equipment. Proper form when erging is essential to reap the benefits of the toughest exercises known to man. Erging works both the aerobic and anaerobic systems if used properly, and focuses mainly on the back, lower back, and legs.

The Basics:

Head up as to not stress the neck.

Hands over the grip, not under.

Brunt of grip should be grabbed with first crevice in the fingers, NOT where the fingers meet the palm.

Place thumb wherever comfortable.

There are four steps: The Catch, the Drive, the Finish, and the Recovery.

The Catch:

The first step. Knees should be perpendicular to ground, or slightly less than perpendicular. Arms fully extended, don't roll shoulders or back. Core up, should be leaning forward, but not resting on knees. Grip should be as close to the neck of the machine as possible.

The Drive:

Where the power comes from. Pushing off with the balls of your feet, drive first with legs, then back, then finally arms. Should be natural. Goal is to extend legs as quickly as possible, and keep height of grip as consistent as possible (about chest height).

The Finish:

Keeping wrists flat, bring handle to chest, then lower slightly. Keep back straight, ideally bent back as far as possible without affecting balance.

The Recovery:

The resting portion, do it in reverse of the drive. First extend arms forward, then bring body towards front, then bend legs. Return to catch and repeat motions.

Final Tips:

No jerking motions, it should be fluid. 

Erging, while incredibly tiring and a great exercise for the back, lower back, and legs, has almost no impact. It's very very very difficult to suffer physical damage from erging.

To find out sprinting time, row 2,000 meters nonstop at a 29-31 strokes per minute pace. Sprinting time (500m>) is a 30-32 strokes per minute pace with a 500m split approximately five seconds lower than 2k 500m split.

500-1000m pieces are at about 2 seconds faster than 2k time per 500 meters.

1000-2000m pieces should be done at 2k pace.

I personally don't prefer longer pieces, because I prefer interval training due to the sports I play, but if you play soccer, are a distance runner, triathlete, etc, long pieces are great for increasing endurance while limiting impact. The typical long distance pieces are either 6k, 10k, or measured by time. Long distance pieces should be performed within the aerobic system at about a 23-26 strokes per minute pace. The split for a 6k and 10k will be similar. The difference in 500m split for a 2k and a longer distance piece should be about 6-8 seconds.

Hockey Workout #1

This emphasizes explosiveness, reactivity, and agility, followed by a quick interval training session on the erg. 

Cycle One (3x)

-Lat crossover box step ups:

Get plyo box. Place barbell on shoulders. Standing horizontally from the box, lunge onto box, then step off. Accentuate stride.  (x15 each side)

-Knee Drives: Lean on wall with arms. Drive one knee powerfully up to chest, then hit ground. When it touches the ground, drive second knee up. Focus on explosiveness. (x10)

-Bosu alternate single leg jumps: Set bosu pad. Stand on one leg. Jump up, and land on opposite leg. Stabilize and repeat. For advanced, close eyes. (x10 each leg)

-Knee Drives (x10)

Cycle Two (x4)

-Medicine Ball Rotary Passes: Grab medium to heavy weight medicine ball. Bring to knee, triple extend and throw against a wall, catching it on the opposite side. Should be a fluid motion. Can be done with a partner. (x20) (alternate sides)

-Medicine Ball Double Rotation Passes: Wall sit. Double extend and pass medicine ball to partner. If alone, double extend to left, then right, then up, then down.

-Knock Offs: Stand either on one leg or bosu ball. Close eyes. Have partner apply force at random, attempt to maintain balance.

Cycle Three (x2)

-Bosu opposite leg step up to shoulder press on box: Place Bosu ball on plyo box. Step up on one leg, and holding dumbbell, shoulder press with opposite arm and hold before stepping down.  (x8 each side)

-Bosu single leg opposite arm lat raise: Step on a bosu ball. One one leg, perform lat raise with dimness with opposite arm. Maintain balance. (x6 each arm)

-Bosu hockey ready eyes closed: Adopt hockey ready position. Close eyes and maintain balance.

-Two Bosu power over push-ups: Place two bosu balls side by side. Starting off to side, do a push-up, then place one arm on bosu one off, push-up, then two arms on, push-up, etc then power over. Go there and back for one repetition. (x3)

Cycle Four (x4)

-Two Bosu crossover: Place two bosu balls apart from each other. Standing on bosu, explode off and crossover to other bosu, stressing quick foot movement. (x10)

-Plyo box jumps: Place plyo box in front of you, then jump onto it. (x10)

-Bosu alternate single leg jumps (x12)

-Bosu T Jumps: Place Bosu ball in front of you. Do T jumps, with Bosu as focus point. (x15)

Cycle Five

-Plyo box jumps (x13)

-Tennis ball drops with partner: Partner holds tennis ball, you stand away at subjective distance. After he drops it, sprint and catch it before second bounce. (alternate person x10)

-Reactive Plyo Step Off Sprints: Start on Plyo box. Have partner stand away. Partner raises either right or left arm and random time. Step off to that side and sprint as quickly as possible. (alternate person x10)

Light-Medium Erg Session: 250m/1:00 500m/2:00 500m/2:00 250m/1:00. 8 intervals.

Muscles with Garlic and Tomato Sauce

Ingredients:

Muscles

One diced tomato

Water

Sazon Goya Fish Seasoning

Salt & Pepper

Cooking Wine

Steps:

-Sauté garlic and tomatoes in a pot

-Add water for broth

-Put muscles in Broth

-Drench with Cooking Wine

-Put salt and pepper in, as well as seasoning

-Cover and cook for 15-20 minutes

Pepper Steak over Rice

Ingredients:

Package of Pepper Steak

Rice

Butter

2 bags of vegetables

Soy Sauce/Teriyaki Sauce

Steps:

-Pour small amount of olive oil on large skillet

-Sauté Pepper Steak and cover with soy sauce

-Bring water to a boil in another pot

-Put vegetables over Pepper Steak, cover again with soy sauce

-(Optional) Add small amount of A1 steak sauce

-Put rice in boiled water

-Stir steak/vegetables

-Cover steak/vegetables

-Cook twenty minutes

-Combine rice and steak/vegetables

Smart Phones are an Instrument of Laziness

I was recently thinking about how I could keep living expenses down significantly while enjoying the experience of life. The TV is expensive and not necessary, but I doubt I'd get rid of it. Nevertheless I've sworn to myself to limit TV consumption, which in turn would force me to find more productive things to do with my time. My next idea on how to save money is to switch from a smart phone to a cheap flip phone, which can't be done due to social purposes at this point. But it got me thinking, these things that were made to make our lives simpler have all but consumed our lives. We no longer have to remember anything, just set an alert. If we have a thought, make a note an expand on it when we have the time. If we want to talk to someone, text (which I'm noticing isn't used as much anymore), or now FaceTime and/or Facebook group chat. Horny? Limitless access to the Internet means a limitless amount of porn, the bane of our society. We could also sext with others over snapchat. Smart phones are consuming every aspect of our life, and it is counterproductive to our evolution as a species. Now insignificant things in our own social circles take on Orwellian significance for short periods of time, before our short intention spans focus with the definition of a laser on the next "thing." Important things, such as what has been happening to Edward Snowden, fall out of the mainstream as fast as they came into it. I'm curious as to how many people remember his name, or even what the PRISM project was. Remember how many people swore to keep their online activity more secretive since then? How many people actually followed through?

In depicting smartphones as these things that ruin our perceptions and experiences in life, I'm being utterly unfair to smartphones. Smartphones, if used properly, can be the greatest leap in technology in human achievement so far. Using a smartphone, you can teach yourself how to play guitar (which I did). You have the ability to learn any of a number of languages at your fingertips. You can consume a large amount of information in a relatively short period of time, you can learn how to dance, how to sing, how to do anything you can dream of. The issue here is, the smartphone doesn't do any of the work for you, it only gives you the opportunity to do these things for yourself. We live in a time in which we can achieve personal growth, where the axiom "the sky is the limit" cannot hold true because there truly is no limit. We also live in a time in which we are collectively lazier than any humans at any other time in history. These smartphones are our modus operandi for reaching great heights. But we must remember that it is still only a tool, and we must do all of the work ourselves.