Fill In the _______
“My favorite way to get ready for a workout is _______________”
You take it from here. Don’t be shy.
Leave comments below.
Michelle Obama: Fox-y lady?
In case you missed yesterday’s preview video, this morning I made another appearance on Grand Rapids’s Fox 17 Morning Show to take Sarah Brodhead through 3 exercises that’ll help you develop arms even Michelle Obama would be proud of.
Anyway, here’s a link to the segment as you’d see it on TV (nothing but Hi-Def news broadcasts at Fox… Brian, you know what I’m talking about ;-) ).
[7.13.09 UPDATE: the link above is no longer accurate as wxmi.com is now fox17online.com. Will post new link if/when it becomes available]
And because you know how hard I work to keep my legion of adoring fans (all 5 of you) entertained, here’s some behind the scenes footage I put together with my Flip Cam. Trust me, you don’t want to miss it…
“I had a very unattractive transvestite throw softballs at me for half an hour…”
-Tracy “barefoot’n” Forner
“I’ll flash west Michigan” – Sarah “the animal cracker” Brodhead
Behind The Scenes at Fox17 (Grand Rapids, MI)
Tune in to the Fox17 Morning Show tomorrow – June 19th – and watch me take host Sarah Brodhead through a “Michelle Obama Arms” workout.
If you can’t stop in, honk as you go by (or watch it online at WXMI.com)
Life Lessons From Powerlifting #3
Lesson #3: Surround yourself with people who have already accomplished what you want to do.
While I never broke any records on the lifting platform, I went from a sloppy 400lb squatter as a young 20-something while doing things on my own to a respectable 700# lifter in my mid-20s by training with guys who squatted as much as 300 pounds MORE than me (and at a lighter bodyweight, I should add) who’ve already ‘been there, done that’.
Experience is the best teacher.
(now that I’m creeping ever closer to 40, I’m still keep this lesson in mind every single day!)
Life Lessons From Powerlifting #2
Lesson #2: Accept it, you’re never going to please everybody.
Give your very best on every attempt. There will be red lights in life, but 2 white lights out of 3 counts as just as good of a lift.
Life Lessons From Powerlifting #1
Back in the day when I trained alongside Ed Coan at Quads Gym on Chicago’s south side, I learned many a lesson that still apply to many aspects of my life today.
Lesson #1: Stay focused and do what you say you’re going to do.
If your training schedule calls for you to lift a weight for X number of reps, it doesn’t matter if you vomit, bleed or ‘hershey squirt‘ in the middle of your set – you’ll still be respected if you complete your set. You can always clean up your mess later.
Hair Removal: Where Does It End?
I used to give one of my ol’ buddies a hard time when his mom would Nair his back in high school.
Perhaps it’s what they call poetic justice, but I’ve grown progressively hirstute over the years.
Since finally breaking down and going to the table for my first back waxing experience last year, I’ve had to face tough questions. Namely, where do you STOP?
Unlike the naturally occurring tree line near the top of mountains, I think it looks pretty darned ridiculous to go from a woolly forest of body fur to the alpine tundra of bare skin.
No transition zone. No feathering/fading from one area to the next. Just a sharp line where the skin stops and hair starts.
To spite the fact that I have, in fact, become “one of those guys”, I’ve actually toyed with the idea of doing a full-body mohawk – one continuous loop of pelage from top to bottom. I seriously doubt I’ll ever go down that road, but it certainly paints an amusing picture in my mind.
At least now that I’ve become a regular at a local de-hairing establishment, it seems the hair that does grow back really is thinner and lighter that it used to be. And using balls of sugar, water and who-knows-what-else (instead of traditional wax), they’re able to give me a more natural looking ‘fade’ from back to shoulder.
If you want more information on the history of hair removal (and you know you do), you’re gonna love this.
While we’re on the subject of hair, is it just me, or have you ever noticed the correlation between bald guys and convertibles? On those rare occasions I see a guy with a full head of hair driving in the open air, I always snicker and think, “enjoy your hair while you got it, chump!” I plan on keeping my (head) hair as long as I can - I won’t even open the sunroof.
This Blog Post Doesn’t Suck
Thought ya’ll get a kick outta this li’l video I put together yesterday for one of my ongoing projects…
PSA: This One Goes Out to My Fellow Fit-Biz Friends
A couple days ago, I received the following email from “Dennis” (dennispixelservices@gmail.com) – it’s not the first time I’ve seen a variation of this spam message, either:
***** ***** *****
Dear Sir/Madam,
I am Dennis Cole of Pixel services based in the United Kingdom and we have a group of six clients coming for body building and fitness training lessons for one month period starting from the July 1st in your place. Let me know of your availability as well as the total costs for the services for the period of one month and training lessons of 2 hours daily.
Regards,
Dennis Cole.
Contact Address:
Pixel services Ltd,
Queen Street Close,
March, Cambs. PE15 8SP
United Kingdom .
Mobile Number:+447024061966
***** ***** *****
If you have a fitness-themed website/blog and haven’t received a message like this yet, it’s only a matter of time until they find you. To make the email seem even more legit, they may mention your specific city or offer to send you a check in advance if you send ‘em your mailing address.
The names and story may change, but in a nutshell, it’s all BOGUS.
So what kind of scam/spam “too good to be true” emails have you received?
"Mighty" Joe Stankowski
