Wednesday, 17 November 2021

Fitness Trainer turned Homicidal Hit Man

 It is time for another edition of the Fitness Trainer Hall of Shame! Warning! This blog contains allegations of:

  • Adultery
  • Marital deceit
  • Valentine's Day trickery
  • Murder
  • A Fitness Trainer moonlighting as a contract killer for hire !!!!!!!!
Before you continue reading, first answer this question, "Can you can handle the truth!!!!!!!" 

Stacey Shoeck was an Atlanta mother of 3 children. She also volunteered with the Boy and Girl Scouts. She was married to Richard Shoeck.  Richard was Stacey's fifth husband! Yes, husband number 5 ????  Richard had adopted Stacey's children even though they were from a different father (or fathers?).  
Although this loving couple were only 3 years into their marriage, Stacey had strayed to the path of infidelity with a co-worker. Richard also had a life insurance plan for half a million dollars of which Stacey thought, mistakenly, that she was the benefactor.  
Stacey, happily married on the 5th try -or not!

Lynitra Ross was a coworker, and confidante of Stacey Shoeck.  She also rented a house that Stacey owned. Stacey started giving extra money of significance to Lynitra for house repairs. Such house repairs were apparently never done! What sort of  fetid stew was brewing on the stove here?
Lynitra, the co-worker, confidante and murderous go-between.

Reggie Coleman was an Atlanta fitness instructor with the self imposed title of "Mr.  Results." Reggie also allegedly was open for additional work that was 'not fitness related.' Reggie sometimes held lunch time exercise classes in the building where Stacey and Lynitra worked. Was Reggie promising results for more than just six pack abs and cannonball biceps?

Reggie a.k.a. Mr. Results

Stacey arranged to meet husband Richard at a suburban Atlanta lover's lane one Valentine's Day evening to 'rekindle their romance'. Richard was found shot to death in his car. There were no signs of robbery since wallet and money were intact in the victim's pocket.

Dirty deed done dirt cheap?


Police initially suspected Stacey's partner in adultery but he had a viable and airtight alibi. Using phone records, by following the money and finally by persuading confessions from persons of interest, the story unfolded.
  • Stacey, the wife, convinced her coworker and confidante, Lynitra, to act as a go between and hire someone to kill her husband Richard.
  • Lynitra hired the lunch time exercise instructor, 'Mr. Results' to do the dastardly deed. He was also her sometime boyfriend, She paid Reggie (Mr. Results) with ten thousand dollars of the money for the imaginary house repairs.
  • Mr. Results lay in wait at the lover's lane and shot Richard through the car window. He guaranteed results for sure! $10,000 makes up for many lunch time exercise classes.
  • When Stacey finally broke and confessed under pressure. She tried to claim that she did it because husband Richard was molesting her kids. The kids torpedoed that excuse. They said Richard was the best step father ever. Stacey, meanwhile, had an underperforming track record as a  loving wife.
Final verdicts have been delivered and justice laid down..
  • Stacey Shoeck got life in prison without parole.
  • Lynitra Ross got life in prison without parole for conspiracy and accessory to murder.
  • Reggie Coleman got life in prison without parole for being the trigger man. Maybe he can teach exercise classes in the Big House!
A Fitness Trainer can get a 2nd income without resorting to crime. 

Fitness Training is not always the most financially stable occupation. Sometimes it can require the Fitness Trainer to supplement the career with other forms of work. In the case of Reggie, aka 'Mr. Results', he somehow lost his way. He was supposed to help people attain vigor and undergo positive metamorphosis -  not rigor mortis!   A wrong choice of extra income wins Mr. Results my vote for nomination into the 
Fitness Trainer Hall of Shame !

Keep Fit
Little Bobby Strong

References

Monday, 19 July 2021

Tokyo Olympics: Controversy: Doping: Say it Ain't so Joe!

 The summer Olympics are almost here although a year late. As always, controversy rears its ugly head. Are we looking at an upcoming Festival or Fiasco?????

  • The majority of Japanese people want to cancel the games due to the COVID 19 pandemic. 
  • So far over 100 athletes and officials have already tested positive for the virus since arriving in the host city. There will undoubtable be many more.
  • Will the International Olympic Committee in all of their wisdom (sarcasm intended) weather the storm?      Or   ..............
  •  Is the city of Tokyo doomed and damned like a drunken beer league  hockey goalie who forgot his headgear at home, facing down a Bobby Hull slapshot???           
 At the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil there was the Zika Virus and the sanctioning of Russia for their state sponsored doping program.  For this Olympics circumstances get very weird. The U.S.A. track and field team has had 3 bizarre doping issues. However, this is unlike the Russian story of covering up their doping cases. To the credit of the United States Doping Agency (USADA) they have actually been diligent and caught and/or sanctioned some American track stars. Remember that it was USADA that eventually took down cyclist Lance Armstrong, America's most famous athlete.

  • The fastest man in the world in 2019, 100 meter sprinter Christian Coleman was barred from competition for a year even though he did not fail a drug test.  
  • Coleman did, however, miss 3 drug tests in one calendar year.  
  • It must have slipped his mind. After all, he's only human, although superhumanly fast!

                                      Christian Coleman running away from the drug testers?

           The second case involves some good old fashioned pork.

  • Shelby Houlihan, American record holder in the women's 1500 meters, failed an out of competition drug test in December 2020. 
  • She was found to have trace amounts of Nandrolone, or Deca-Durabolin, in her system.
  • Houlihan claimed that a beef burrito that she ate from a Mexican food truck the day before actually contained pig offal (ground organs) instead of beef. Supposedly this caused a spike in her natural hormonal levels.
  • As implausible as this story sounds, there have been cases of false positives from tainted supplements, but usually not from fast food.
  • Nandrolone is more helpful for power events, sprints or bodybuilding rather than middle distance running.
  • It is the wrong steroid to take for an athlete subject to doping controls. Nandrolone is traceable in the subject's system for up to 18 months. 
  • Her excuse was rejected and she received a 4 year ban. That will also exclude her from the 2024 Olympics. Sadly, her running career is likely toast!
                                           Shelby Houlihan kicking to victory in happier times.

The third doping controversy also falls into the realm of strange and unusual.
  • Sha'Carri Richardson rocketed to victory in the U.S. Olympic trials 100 meter sprint with flamboyant, flowing pink hair.
  • A few days later  it was announced that Richardson failed the post race drug test and would receive a month long ban. She had tested positive for cannabis. Her victory was erased thus disqualifying her from the Olympic 100 meters.
  • Richardson claimed that she had ingested cannabis to deal with the grief of learning of the death of he biological Mother.
  • Marijuana is legal in the state of Oregon where the trials too place but it is considered doping by many sport governing bodies.
  • Cannabis is not a drug that would be performance enhancing except for maybe a cheeseburger eating contest or an air guitar competition. But as they say, rules are rules.
  • For a few days there was some rumor that she might still be selected for the 4 by 100 meter relay. There was even a petition of over half a million signatures to "Let Sha'Carri Run'' but  it now appears that she is officially off of the team.
                                           Short lived glory for Sha' Carri

It sometimes feels as though the innocent athletes who make mistakes get caught while the real cheaters evade detection. Then again, maybe I am just a disgruntled old jock.
In summary:
The Olympics are expensive.
The Olympics are corrupt. 
The Olympics are heartbreaking.
The Olympics can be exciting.
I'll probably crack open a can of  spiked lemonade and watch anyways! 
Now where did I put my beer league hockey goalie mask?

Until next time Keep Fit
Little Bobby Strong
                                      

                               





Tuesday, 25 May 2021

Fitness Clubs During COVID: Safe or Unsafe?

The world today can be a difficult place to be working or working out in the fitness industry:

  • Last week there was an advertisement in the Toronto Globe and Mail Newspaper. It was a plea to keep Fitness Clubs open during the pandemic lock down. The advertisement was sponsored by Orangetheory, Movati Athletic, and Life Time.  https://www.getmovingagain.ca/
  • In Ottawa, an Anytime Fitness is challenging a city lock down ordinance. The manager claims that they supply a place for the disabled and injured to perform therapy exercises and should be considered an essential service.
  • Two other Ottawa Fitness Clubs are defying lock down orders and racking up multiple fines in the process.                                                                                                                          https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/two-ottawa-gyms-fight-fines-for-defying-public-health-orders
                                           Anytime Fitness Manager defying lockdown order          


Most reasonable people can understand that social distancing is necessary to try and curb the Coronavirus. However, many of the laws are inconsistent.

  •  Big box stores such as Wall Mart and Costco stay open while many local stores remain closed. As a compromise, some regions now make the big box stores cordon off all sections deemed non essential.
  • Liquor stores and beer stores remain open. 
  • Cannabis dispensaries are open. Their line ups are always populated by many just legal age aficionados who might be healthier going to a fitness center to work out.  
  • Are a few stoners passing around a reefer actually safer than people with masks in a fitness center with controlled entry numbers?

                                         Do you really believe that a trip to the pot dispensary is better for the mental health than a trip to the fitness center?


Does this really pass the common sense test?
  • Last year, when fitness clubs reopened after the first wave, 15 people from a spinning class in Hamilton, Ontario tested positive for COVID-19. 
  • This seems to be where the idea that Fitness Centers are hot zones came to be.
  • Working out on your own would logically be less risky than a group exercise class.
  • Fitness clubs that practice social distancing should be relatively safe.
  • Working out at a club could be a respite from being cooped up at home.
  • The mental health of the population is at stake!  
Until the lockdown can be eased, keep working out at home or outside using safe distancing protocols. Hope is on the horizon!

Little Bobby Strong