A Long Wait for an Olympic Weight Lifter

   A Canadian weight lifter got an early Christmas present but only after a long wait. (Pun intended)
 Christine Girard finished third for a bronze medal at the London Olympics in 2012. Blood samples were tested again using evolved procedures and the gold and silver medalists from Kazakhstan and Russia were found to be positive for steroids. The subsequent qualifications retroactively moved Christine Girard up into the gold medal position.
   This was not Christine's first such experience. At the 2008 Bejing Olympics she finished fourth. Another retroactive drug disqualification belatedly bumped her up to the 3rd place bronze medal position.
   Blood and urine samples collected from competitors at major championships are tested and then frozen and stored. Samples are then retested years later using more advanced technology.

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Bronze medal in this competition. 

This is not the first time that this has happened to Canadian Olympians. In the 2002 winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, cross country skier Beckie Scott won Canada's first ever Olympic

 medal in that sport by snatching a bronze for 3rd place. Both athletes ahead of her failed follow up doping tests. Beckie was eventually moved up to a silver medal and then a gold medal position almost 2 and 1/2 years later.
Shot putter Dylan Armstrong finished 4th at the 2008 Beijing summer games. He was upgraded to a bronze in 2013 after another former east block country member was caught positive on a enhanced doping test at a later date. 

"Better late than never!" some may say. Justice sometimes proceeds at its own place. However besides having to wait for the truth to prevail there are other disadvantages to getting your just rewards retroactively.

• The athlete is denied the actual moment of glory. Receiving the accolades at the time of victory in front of a cheering crowd always trumps a conciliatory victory ceremony later on.
• The fair playing competitor may lose out on funding from the national sports association and//or sponsorship money. These are usually performance based. 
• The cheated competitor will usually recoup the national sports association funding but until justice prevails they are out of pocket. This is often needed funding for training and living expenses. 
• The aggrieved athlete can lose out on endorsement deals. Many sports are only in the limelight during the Olympic period. If the athlete does not strike when the iron is hot these deals are history.  Re-allocated success after the fact rarely brings about the same financial opportunity.

   Nevertheless, congratulations and kudos are in order for Christine Girard. She is the only Canadian woman Olympic medalist in the sport of weight lifting.

   In 2018 Beckie Scott resigned as a member of WADA , the World Anti Doping Agency. She disagreed with the WADA decision to reinstate the Russian Doping Agency after a ban for covering up a Russian state sponsored doping program. I would say that Beckie has good reason for her stance.

Gold medal this time.

   Weight lifters have have always been subjects of both my admiration and envy. As a former middle distance runner, I am probably composed of roughly 50% fast twitch muscle fiber and 50% slow twitch muscle fiber. World class weight lifters are fast twitch fiber phenomenons! They have superhuman explosive muscle power as well as expert technique and coordination. Alas, it also makes it a sport in which the use of performance enhancing drugs such as steroids would give an advantageous boost. Sports that are rife with such doping also have enhanced qualification standards as a result of skewed statistics. That makes it difficult for 'natty' (natural) athletes to even qualify for world championships or Olympics.
   Coincidentally, I was just about to post this blog when I came across a timely news flash. Five weight lifters from former Soviet states tested positive for steroids in retests from the 2012 London Olympics.Two of these doping positives were with gold medal winners. More early Christmas presents for weight lifters who had to wait!

Keep Fit over the Christmas Holidays

Little Bobby Strong

 Links

www.fitnwell.com

www.rabbitview.com

   

Humor, Fitness Training, and a Politically Correct World

 We live in a new era. Political correctness has run amok!   Suddenly huge multitudes of the populace are ready to be offended and cry that they are a victim. Even seemingly harmless jokes can explode on social media and lead to contrite apologies and shattered careers. Unless this trend implodes I can foresee a day in which there will be no more stand up comics. Every joke is making fun of someone or some thing! To query "Why did the chicken cross the road?" may be demeaning to poultry and will likely offend someone who does not eat chicken. In such an explosive climate I decided to revise an old blog on Fitness Trainers and humor.

It is often said that humor is a good thing to have in the workplace. Having a laugh can take the edge off of the tension. A lighthearted workplace can actually be an enjoyable place to work. A joyless workplace can be uninviting!  I have worked in places where my coworkers were always dead serious. I have worked in other places where joking around was common. I much prefer the latter environment. However, in the fitness business as in every workplace, the wrong type of humor at the wrong time can be a lit dynamite stick of grief. It could even get you fired! If you have your own Fitness Training business such trouble can harm your reputation and in the worst scenario can invite a harassment complaint.
   Working out can can be hard! Muscle fatigue and anaerobic intensity can cause brief discomfort. Some clients may be uptight about working out or they may feel uncomfortable around fit people. I want to make the workout experience enjoyable for my clients even if the workout is tough.  Enjoyment heightens the commitment.  However it is important to develop a knack for reading your client. Keep in mind the following points:

• Some people just don't have a sense of humor. They may feel that you are not a serious person if you joke around. They may even get annoyed. 
• Fitness trainers often deal with people that have poor body image and other issues. Something said in jest may unintentionally offend them.
•  Your client may not be used to your beer league hockey or rugby fest tradition of locker room irreverence. They may find it shocking and revolting.
• Someone nearby may overhear something that you say to your client. They may object.
• Beware of that rare person looking to make an example of someone by complaining. Don't put yourself in a position to be their target!

   I am not saying that a Fitness Trainer can't joke around.  I am saying know your client well! 

One of my long time clients was of a biblical religion historically older than mine. I would get him to the anaerobic pain threshold on the exercise bike. The usual quip was that I would lower the intensity if he converted. I knew this client well! With someone else such a joke could well have been a career breaker. It also depends upon the environment. What flies in a hard core musclehead weight room setting could well lead to big time trouble in a more civilized exercise environment.

   Humor that offends may be labelled as 'inappropriate'. The problem is that some people are very easily offended. Minimize your chances of getting into trouble with such people. Unless you know your client well, avoid the following:

• Sexual humor.  Heed the Rolling Stones lyrics "Don't play with me, cause you're playing with fire!"  This path can get you burnt!
• Religious jokes. (Remember, I knew my long time client very well)
• Racial jokes. DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT! Archie Bunker is dead!
• Family members. Yours or your client's are off limits for jokes. 
• Politics. This topic can turn ugly quickly. I once lost a potential wealthy client by ribbing him the day after a federal election that went badly for his ideological voting choice.
• Jokes relating to your client's weight or shape. You are there to help them remedy that,  not poke fun at them.

   If you happen to slip up and say something that offends,.....apologize immediately!

Don't let it fester. Hope and pray that the client puts it in the past.
   In the blogging world, I can always proof read and double check my words before I press the publish icon. In the real world, once you open your mouth the words are out there. If someone catches you with a cell phone camera there can be no chance of denial! There is no second chance.  After that, there is only damage control!

   You want your client to keep coming to you for training. You also want them to tell their friends about you and help market you. You want the sessions to be an enjoyable experience rather than a physical torture session. Be smart. Always be ready to smile but if in doubt back off on the jokes!

   Now for a Canadian style- beer league hockey locker room joke. A baby seal walks into a club......
As for  the age old question'Why did the chicken cross the road?'  It was because the Snap Fitness went under so he went over to join Planet Fitness!

"Did you hear the one about !?**# ?"
If in doubt about the appropriateness of the humor, don't use it. 

Until next time,.......keep fit! 

Little Bobby Strong!


 Links

www.fitnwell.com

www.rabbitview.com