The low risk/high reward world of soccer

Lord knows I wanted to be out there rather than on the sidelines playing the part of cheerleader.  Watching our team battle for field position in a defensive back-and-forth knowing I couldn't do anything but yell, "Get in there!" and, "Good job!"  It just wasn't satisfying to me.  Our best player, we'll call him 'Billy', can usually out run the other team on his way towards goal after goal.  Today, however, it wasn't meant to be.  #3 for the other side was just a fast if not faster.  Fortunately for us, his footwork and ball control weren't as polished and that kept the game close.

I looked around at the other guys on our squad, desperate for someone who could pick up the offensive load and push us on towards victory.  I shouted at them half-heartedly knowing that they probably couldn't hear me from this far away.  At one point, our man was left wide open on a corner kick in a fortuitous breakdown in the other team's communication.  The pressure was intense as the ball passed by the scrambling defenders and he took measure for an easy chip in.  Wide right off of the post!  Agony swept over the crowd and I let out a groan followed closely with, "Good try Horace!(not his real name either)"

Cletus (another fake name) was putting in a real workman's day on defense.  Each effort by the opposition to penetrate our defenses or pass around the edges was met with Cletus' cleats.   Sure, there were some tussles, a bit of pushing, maybe that was a trip that time but you've gotta give the guy an 'A' for effort.  Still, we needed a hero to come riding onto the field and gather up our men delivering fire from his right foot and some fricking lasers from his left foot.  That's when the coach called for substitutions, these men had given all they had and it was time for some fresh blood.

Galloping out to midfield he surveyed the grassy battlefield in silence.  Play resumed and he ran circles around the other players toying with them, as though it were just a game.   When in control of the ball, he would perform feats which seemed to confuse our opponents lulling them into a false sense of superiority. It was a match so compelling that I'm not even sure what the final score was.

Alright, enough of that.  It was a U-6 soccer game 3-on-3 with no goalie.  If you couldn't guess, my son is the galloper.  Literally, he galloped like a horse out to the line and examined the grass by pulling out a hunk of it and chucking towards his friend.  He also did run in circles around the other players and also did actually confuse them by kicking the ball the wrong direction, one boy so much that he tried to defend it.

I'm also not sure who actually won because, like my son, I don't care.  There is a real part of me that wants to treat competition like a death match, but that's ME, not my son.  Don't get me wrong, I believe competition is healthy and an important part of life on your way to becoming a successful grownup. He never asks if I saw all his goals, what the final score was, or who won.  So why should I?  As I pack up my chair he reminds me, "Dad, we can't go yet.  I didn't get my snack."  He doesn't ask me to kick the ball around before the game but does ask me to punch the straw into his Capri-Sun juice pouch.

He gets enough grouchy dad talk about things like finishing his dinner, cleaning up his toys, and actually using the toothbrush for his teeth instead of playing in the water and cleaning the sink with it for 10 damn minutes!  As my lovely wife is fond of saying, "He's 5."  So, for now, I'll let him be 5 on the soccer field just enjoying sport for the sake of sport.


Fit topic of the day - 
Find your own active enjoyment and relish in the participation and not so much the outcome.  Which form of cardio is best?  Does that really matter?  Do the one you like the most.   If you're interested, try galloping, it is kinda fun.


Ridiculously Fit Person of the day - Carson Palmer!
It's cheesy and self serving but who cares!  The Raiders completed the trade for the USC alum and the even money is that he'll start after our bye week against Denver.  Mr. Palmer has been sitting out hoping to force a trade from the Bengals and appears to have succeeded.  I say 'sitting' but apparently he has been staying very fit and working with former QB Ken O'Brien and former teammate TJ Hoooshman....Hushmanz.....Whoosh...forget it.  This Guy

Me and My iPod - 
Workout - Lunges with weight bar, Body weight squats, Dumbbell chest press on ball, pushups and then I was tired.
iPod - WTF episode with Jon Hamm from Mad Men.
Been sticking with some Podrunner mixes lately during cardio.

 

Mouth Breathers

Been experiencing a bit of gender bias lately.  It's ok though I don't take it personally.  Still, it's been tough hearing my wife talk about all her new people who specifically asked for a female trainer.  I get it I guess.  It just seems like I can't win sometimes.  Women tell Hillary that they don't want a guy to bulk them up or make them feel uncomfortable (I do neither of those things btw).  Guys tell her that they don't want me to injure them with heavy weights and or judge them by how little weight they can lift (I don't do those things either).

Don't feel bad though I've had some interest.  Just this past weekend a gentleman expressed some serious interest about getting ready for a bodybuilding competition and wanted my help.

Now, it's not my area of expertise but I was willing to take on the challenge.  He seemed to have some hurdles to overcome but I don't think his inability to successfully navigate through the two doors to our facility should stop him.  It has been suggested that the speech impediment that I feel could be tapped into as an emotional source of strength was actually caused by massive quantities of alcohol but I'm not so sure.  The fact that he was a very thin man in his late 50's just means that we'll qualify for the Master's division.  Judges like to see you having fun on stage with a big, bright smile and we can definitely supply a big bright tooth.  Ok, just a big tooth.

He seemed very excited when I gave him my card.  I'm still waiting for his call.  Other inquiries consisted of walk-ins who were actually looking for the hair salon next to us.  I tried telling them I could cut hair while they did squats but there were no takers.

Fit Topic of the Day - Huffing and Puffing

Probably once a month I get asked, "When should I be breathing?"  

"All the time," I say.  "If you aren't breathing we really shouldn't be kneeling on the ball with dumbbells in our hands."

Then we both laugh.  Then I apologize for making you laugh while kneeling on an exercise ball with dumbbells in your hands.

Proper breathing patterns are an important part of any weight training program.  I may write more extensively and more seriously about this in a future newsletter to which you should be a subscriber.  They are generally a bit more intelligently written and have fewer instances of grammar bad.

The Basics.  As a general rule you can keep a rhythmic breathing pattern going by remembering to exhale with resistance.  In a pushup for example, you would exhale as you push....up.  A cable row would then be the opposite, you would exhale as you pulled the handles towards you.   When we exhale the abdomen contracts drawing the belly button towards the spine.  By concentrating on that motion of 'drawing in' the belly you effectively squeeze all your guts in and around your spine.  This compression creates a platform of stability within the lower back protecting it as you exert yourself.

There are exceptions to any rule but those generally apply to much heavier weights and more focused forms of breathing.   Also, as you breathe in and out try to focus on breathing into your belly and not puffing out your chest.  This helps to recruit those deeper abdominal muscles by making them stretch and contract.

Ridiculously Fit Person of the Day - Kristin Aiken
I don't know what kind of shape she's really in but she put up a really interesting piece on using a TreadDesk for the first time.  I don't know if it will catch on but it was a good look at finding new ways to incorporate exercise into our daily lives.  Plus, she belongs to the coolest Facebook group I've ever heard of.

Me and My iPod -
35 min eliptical intervals - 5x 5min/1min plus warm-up and cool down.
30 min upper body workout - Bench press on ball, deltoid raises, triceps press and biceps curls, TRX body pulls.

iPod - Arcade Fire, Rage Against the Machine, Propellerheads, Devo, a Janet Jackson/Luther Vandross duet from "Mo' Money" and Celine Dion.
Don't laugh at those last two they're great songs to run to and Celine Dion's 'I Drove all Night' is all about a woman who's so hot and into you that she drives...well...all night, breaks into your house and does special hugging!