Sunday, 23 July 2017

Barry Bond's Strength Coach: Fitness Trainer Hall of Shame -or Not ?

   Can you sentence someone to the Fitness Trainer Hall of Shame when you actually feel some grudging admiration? That is my dilemma regarding Greg Anderson.  I have trouble completely condemning this man despite the abundance of evidence pointing towards guilt.
Who was Greg Anderson?
  • Greg Anderson was a weight room gym rat.
  • His father was killed during a gambling altercation when Greg was a child.
  • He grew up in the same neighborhood as future baseball home run king Barry Bonds. 
  • Like many gym rats, Greg became the go-to guy for fellow weight training enthusiasts wanting to gain muscle or get stronger.
  • This morphed into a career as a Strength and Fitness Trainer despite Greg's lack of educational background or formal accreditation in the Fitness Training field.
  • Anointing the most muscular men as physical training experts was not uncommon in the hard core weight room environment. 
   The relationship between Greg Anderson and Baseball home run king Barry Bonds evolved from teenage acquaintanceship to something more professional.
  • Greg Anderson starting working in the weight room with Barry Bonds and became his weight training guru. 
  • Barry Bonds morphed from a tall, wiry and talented athlete into a baseball bashing brute with cartoon like muscles and a pumpkin sized head under Anderson's guidance.
  • The gym where Greg trained his clients was only a few blocks from the headquarters for a health supplement company named the Bay Area Lab Cooperative. (BALCO)
  • BALCO founder, Victor Conte, was providing an undetectable steroid known as 'the Clear' to pro athletes in many sports. He also supplied the Clear to Greg Anderson.
  • Anderson also bought Human Growth Hormone from financially needy AIDS patients.
  • Presumably these substances were supplied to Greg Anderson's star client Barry Bonds.
  • After a tip from Olympic track star Marion Jones' disgruntled former coach, the internal Revenue Service and the Food and Drug Administration began investigating BALCO. 
  • The ensuing fall out caught up to Greg Anderson and Barry Bonds.
  • Barry Bonds was indicted and tried with lying under oath.
  • Greg Anderson refused to testify against Bonds and spent 3 stints in jail for contempt of court.
  • Bonds was convicted but the conviction was later overturned.
    • Image result for barry bonds and greg anderson together
    Barry Bonds (left) and Greg Anderson at court appearances
  • With the case concluded, Greg Anderson was off the hook for the contempt charges but remains with a criminal record for steroid trafficking. He has resumed Fitness Training for lower profile clients and as the go-to guy for aspiring gym rat/bodybuilders

Obviously, Greg Anderson was guilty of supplying banned substances to a client. That the client used these performance enhancing drugs to break a sacred baseball record compounds the story. Greg Anderson remained faithful to his client and repeatedly refused to testify against him at great cost to himself. Was this merely out of loyalty or will some financial payback be received from Barry Bonds in the future?
     In some social circles Greg Anderson deserves street cred for not ratting out his friend and client. However in the eyes of the legal system such loyalty is considered a criminal act. Does Greg Anderson Belong in the Fitness Trainer Hall of Shame? You decide! 
   Despite a lack of educational credentials this subject is often referred to as a Fitness Trainer. The controversy and danger arises when such a person obtains supplements or substances for someone else. Not only is this beyond the scope of practice for a Fitness Trainer, in this case it entered the realm of unlawful activity
                       
Until Next Time,  Keep Fit
Fitness Trainers beware! If you deal in illicit  substances or Performance Enhancing Drugs
 you just might run afoul of the long arms (and/or legs) of the law!


Little Bobby Strong










References
Steroid Nation Shaun Assael (2007) ESPN Books 
Bases Loaded     Kirk Radomski (2009) Hudson Street Press
Game of Shadows Williams and Fainaru (2006) Avery Publishing

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Thursday, 13 July 2017

Melissa Bishop's International Racing Conundrum

   I attended the 2017 Canadian Track and Field Championships in Ottawa last weekend. There was lots of running, lots of throwing, lots of jumping and lots of rain. There were some outstanding world class performances despite the inclement climate. Canadian sprint sensation Andre de Grasse ripped a sub twenty second 200 meters that wins the Canadian title but does not register as an official time due to a wind speed above 2 meters per second. Other events were most likely hampered by the conditions.
   The women's 800 meter race featured local track star Melissa Bishop leading most of the way to a winning time just a shade over 2 minutes. The time was half a second better than my best time on the same track (different surface) a generation earlier. Of course I was running into a 20 mile per hour headwind wearing cement boots - or at least it felt like it. Okay, maybe her running form was more efficient and economical than my technique in my prime. She looked smooth and fast!

Image result for melissa bishop
Melissa Bishop taking the lead in an international race.


  Melissa Bishop is a silver medalist from the 2015 World Championships. She finished 4th at the Olympics in Rio last year. Melissa is caught right in the middle of an international
 track and field conundrum through no fault of her own. A gender issue that has surfaced numerous times in international sports has once again reared its head and become news.
Image result for caster semenya
Caster Samenya after winning
209 World Championships in Berlin.
   Bishop's 800 meter race in Rio was won by Caster Semenya of South Africa. Melissa Bishop finished in 4th place. Since winning the 2009 World Championships, Semenya has been a controversial athlete. She has a form of hyperandrogenism which results in her producing more testosterone than women normally do. This likely gives her an advantage in competition since more testosterone means larger and stronger muscles.This physical benefit could be anywhere from 1.8% to up to 4% for female runners. This of course would put normal female runners such as Melissa Bishop at a disadvantage. There has also been some suggestion that the silver and bronze medalists from the same race also have hyperandrogenism.

   Since 2009, the world sporting bodies such as the International Association of Athletics Federation (I.A.A.F) and the International Olympic Committee (I.O.C) allowed such athletes to compete  only if they took female hormones. In 2015 the Center for Arbitration in Sport (C.A.S) ruled that to be a violation of the athlete's rights. Semenya won silver medals in the 2011 World Championships and the 2012 Olympics while taking female hormones. She won the Rio Olympics last year while off of the female hormones. The rule to force female athletes with hyperandrogenism to take female hormones is under discussion for reinstatement. This controversy will continue.
   Interestingly, the gold medal winner in the 2011 and 2012 races-a Russian woman- has since failed numerous drug tests for steroid enhancement. The world governing bodies were quick to act on Semenya after her 2009 win for natural but high testosterone levels but seemingly turned a blind eye for decades to unethical testosterone enhancement by eastern bloc countries and their political descendants. Sport is not always fair!  However, Caster Semenya may yet wind up with 2 more gold medals retroactively.
   There are many considerations that are aligned with this issue:
  • Caster Semenya did not intentionally try to get an unfair advantage unlike her Russian competitor who  was outright cheating.
  • Some may argue that all great athletes have some genetic advantage over the norm. Gretzky had magical perception and coordination. Phelps seems to have flippers for feet.  Basketball players are twice my height. Usain Bolt has no evident slow twitch muscle fibers.  Soccer players have more natural acting ability than Meryl Streep when trying to draw a penalty. Baseball players can wash chewing tobacco down with gutrot whiskey and not gag! Us mere mortals are humbled by such genetic physical genius.
  • We are in an era when some people want to be addressed as Meh rather than as Mister, Ms., or Mrs.  Sport will not be immune from such issues in the future.
  • Some view this as another attempt by men in power of trying to define what women should look like.
  • Some men who have transgendered to  become women will want to compete against them. Wasn't there a male who became a woman named Renee Richards and tried for the women's professional tennis tour some time back?
  • Should former Olympic Decathlon champ Bruce Jenner, now Kaitlyn Jenner,  come back and try and capture the women's Heptathlon crown, I am confident that Canadian Brienne Thiessen Eaton would kick his/her butt. Hey - they're both retired from track and field so it's a valid analogy and a moot point!  
  • Were I to pull a Kaitlyn Jenner and try to dominate women's wrestling Canadian Olympic Champion Erika Wiebbe would absolutely demolish me! (Ouch!)
  • More men becoming transgender women will want to compete against women. What will happen then?
  • The International Olympic Committee used to perform sex tests on suspect athletes back in the 1960's.  It is a historic and unpleasant topic in which the discussion is once again relevant!
Image result for caster semenya
Russian runner Mariya Savinova beats Semenya at 2012 London Olympics.
Unnaturally juiced- with-testosterone runner beats runner with naturally high testosterone levels.
 One took substances for an unfair edge! The other has a genetic advantage through no fault of her own!















  
 Meanwhile I will continue to be a track and field fan. I will still appreciate the running talent of a Melissa Bishop no matter how many medals she may or may not have. Running will always be poetry in motion to my sports starved eyes.

  On a more personal note, whenever I go to the Terry Fox Athletic Complex for track and field events in Ottawa, I feel old and slow. I sometimes feel like my track career peaked in high school and maybe it did. However, no worries,  my career as a sports/fitness blogger has yet to reach its zenith. Keep on reading fans!

Until Next Time

 Keep Fit!

 Little Bobby Strong
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Monday, 5 June 2017

Ottawa Marathon Race Weekend 2017

   I ran the first ever Ottawa Marathon - the full distance. I even ran it every one of the first five years. (I won't say how long ago that was but it did predate the 21st century.) I always knew that I was more of a short middle distance specialist. The 800 meters was my event. Even the 1500 meters or the mile felt too far for my body type.
   Finally after many slowing miles, numerous wrestling tournaments as the designated throwing dummy, countless hacker hockey tournaments and a hip replacement later I have returned to the road racing world as a walking weekend warrior. I decided to enter the Ottawa Race Weekend and see how fast I could power walk the 5 kilometer event.
   The cheetah is the fastest land animal in existence. Top running speeds of 70 miles per hour have been recorded. Cheetahs are built for speed not for stamina so they usually want their dashes to be as short as possible. Since the Ottawa Marathon Race Weekend has race distances of 3 kilometers, 5 kilometers, 10 kilometers, half marathon and the 26.2 mile marathon, the cheetah analogy might not work.
    The ostrich may be a more fitting animal mascot. These flightless birds can clock running speeds of 40 miles and maintain it for long distances. Ostrich power could kick butt in a 5 kilometer race. However, the most apt comparison to my current locomotive style might be that of a stranded, spasmodic sea tortoise wired on cheap street crack trying to crawl cross a freeway. Poetry in motion it was not!
   I did an upper body weight workout right before the race. Why not turn this day into a full body experience? It also gave me an out. If I sucked, it was only a workout. I wasn't intending to win the thing.If I completely tanked it was because I worked out hard beforehand! Then again, as one of my neighbors always told me "Who cares? Nobody's watching!"

The graceful ostrich in full flight. Or is it!
 
 When I arrived at the race, I lined up at the very back of the slowest section. No need to be demoralized by getting passed right at the beginning. When the starting gun went off I was momentarily blocked by a mass of humanity. Slower walkers than me, and people pushing racing strollers with their children along for the ride were like an obstacle course for me to wind my way through. Zig zags, stops, starts and lateral steps replaced straight line walking.
   It took about a kilometer to find enough open space to be able to focus on opening up my power walking stride. The spectators may have thought that they were witnessing my powerless walking stride.
   My neighbor was wrong. People were watching! Hordes of cheering spectators waved signs and shouted encouragement. I thought I heard someone yell at me "Hurry up you geriatric slob. I got a hundred bucks riding on you!"  I looked over but saw no such heckler. It must have been my imagination spurred on by the adrenaline rush of long lost competition. Only encouragement poured forth from the crowd lining the race route.
   At no point in the race was I in danger of bonking. The main issue was that I can only walk so fast. I was determined that I was not going to break stride and start running. I just felt like I should be generating more speed but with one foot always in contact with the ground there is only so much velocity that can be generated without doing a face plant. Fortunately I avoided the face plant but almost sprained an ankle in one of the potholes that make Ottawa's roads infamous. A quick lateral hop avoided what surely could have been a profanity laced disaster.
   With a kilometer to go I decided to make a race of it. I power walked past fading hordes of fellow walkers and even some straggling runners reduced to a survival jog. As I was overtaking a half dozen walkers at the final stretch, they all started running and beat me to the finish line. I held to my vow and did not break into a run. It was a power (or powerless) walk the whole way.
 I shouted "Where's the beer tent?"  As usual, no one laughed at my quip. I collected my finishing medal and sought out the free massage tent. I was a weekend warrior once again!

No, it's not a participation medal! I had to finish the bloody thing first!
   The aftermath was not as bad as I thought it would be. My quadriceps were fine the next day. Unlike in running, the quads must be spared the intense physical trauma by the mechanics of walking. Two days later the tops of my feet at the joint angle with the leg were sore. There must be a great deal of  forceful foot flexion in power walking. My time was 42 minutes, fifty three seconds. This works out to just under 9 minutes per kilometer or just over 14 minutes per mile. This was no stranded sea tortoise crossing a highway speed. This is ostrich territory!   
   In past years, the race quotas were always filled before I ever thought about entering. This year the number of racers was down. Us baby boomers are starting to succumb to our aches and pains. The youngest generation seems enslaved by their electronic gadgets and their computer games. There is already talk of replacing some traditional events in the Olympics with digital events. The world is changing. Hopefully the weekend warrior does not become extinct.  

Until next time

 Keep Fit!  

Little Bobby Strong

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Wednesday, 24 May 2017

The Trucker Bod - The End of an Era?

We all know the cartoon like caricature of the long haul rig driver:
  • Truculent, tattooed, truckers with tree trunk torsos and titantic tummies.
  • Mammoth sized man mountains of meat devouring mass.
  • Libidinous, licentious, lecherous leviathans with a lewd liking for lurking lot lizards.
  • Road warriors of the nations highways speaking indecipherable code words over a C. B. Radio.
  • Men not to be messed with whether in a greasy spoon roadside diner or a sleazy biker bar.  Remember the movie 'Duel' (1971) where travelling salesman Dennis Weaver confronts a trucker in such a greasy diner to accuse him of trying to run him off of the highway. That particular scene ended badly for poor Mr. Weaver as he was used to mop the floor with his hair.
 YOU TAKE THE WIDE LOAD
AND I'LL TAKE THE LOW ROAD
AND I'LL BE IN SCOTLAND BEFORE YOU

A BIG RIG AND A- BIG BOY
     















   The above, of course, are exaggerated stereotypes. There are are small and medium sized truck drivers. Many truckers are lean and wiry as well as strong. The aggressive driving highway hogs are not desired by trucking companies. Most pride themselves on compiling  accident free driving records. They perform a valuable and necessary job in sometimes lonely or often crowded and dangerous working conditions.
   Truckers can be legendary for offering assistance to stranded drivers or travelers in need of roadside assistance. I have been the beneficiary of such highway Good Samaritans.
   However, long hours of sitting along with the infamously unhealthy roadside cuisine can exact a toll (pun intended) on the physical well being of professional truckers. The long hours in the driver's seat can eventually cause negative postural and lower back issues. The sitting and less than optimal eating habits can lead to weight problems and even obesity. This can manifest itself in the form of diabetes or cardiovascular problems. Poor sleep habits may lead to drowsy drivers Passing the long hours by cigarette smoking can of course lead to multiple comorbidities thus piling on the possible health concerns.

 There is a new trend in this oft romanticized profession. Truckers are bringing coolers of healthy food on long hauls and taking stretching and exercise breaks. Drivers are realizing that by eating healthy and trying to exercise in their downtime  they can reap certain benefits:

  • They may prolong their career. 
  • The aches and pains from the prolonged sitting can be alleviated.
  • Body weight can be reduced which has multiple health benefits.
  • Sleep habits may improve and sleep apnea problems reduced resulting in more alert and aware drivers.
   Transportation governing authorities are starting to require professional truck drivers to pass a medical when applying for a commercial driving licence. This could be incentive for lifestyle changes. After all, no licence means no employment.
   Give these people your utmost respect. They keep our economy running. Plus if you lip lip them off in a roadside diner, not only will they mop the floor with you, they just might be fit enough to chase you down on foot!
EXERCISE BREAK
THE NEW BREED OF TRUCKER

 Until Next Time                                                            

 Keep Fit

 Little Bobby Strong







References
Antonella Artuso Wide Load Rules the Road The Ottawa Citizen Sunday October 23, 2016
Movie Duel, 1971, Director Stephen Spielberg, Writer Richard Matheson, Starring Dennis Weaver
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Saturday, 22 April 2017

Carleton University is a Weight Scale Free Zone

   My old Alma Mater is up to it's tricks again! Carleton University in Canada's capital city Ottawa was at one time in history a bastion of free thinking and free speech. That is not so much the case these days.Like many Canadian institutes of higher learning, Carleton U. is becoming choked and stifled by the antithesis of critical thinking -the Beast that is political correctness!
   Don't get me wrong. University days were some of the best of my life. Carleton U. also had some outstanding features.
  • There were no fraternity or sorority houses at Carleton practicing their snobbish, elite brand of exclusivity unlike many other institutes of higher learning.
  • I lived at home so maybe I missed it but I never had to endure any 'frosh week" hazing rituals.
  • I don't remember the campus ever being over run with far right or far left political wingnuts. The few that were around were on the fringes and were not taken seriously.
  • There was no religious dissension. Religion was just an arts option.
Of course it wasn't all paradise and it may have even been a somewhat uneasy environment for some.
  • The campus buildings at Carleton are all joined by tunnels which offer refuge from  winter weather when classroom commuting. The tunnel walls were full of colorful and often artistic graffiti. However, some of it was sexist, racist or homophobic. 
  • In my first ever university lecture the sociology professor told a crude story about the habits of a studied colony of rhesus monkeys. I thought it was hilarious. The majority of the women in the lecture were less easily amused and walked out en massse. 
  • The Carleton pub had its share of male trolls on rock band weekend, looking to prey on drunken co-eds. (I know what you're thinking.  No - I was not one of those trolls!) 
   How things have changed. The tunnel walls are blank these days. in fact I can get lost in them without the artistic guide posts. Lecturers and professors avoid humor since any jokes are bound to offend somebody. The pub is just a small lounge where rowdy behavior is discouraged and trying to chat up a potential partner of the opposite gender is verboten.
   This new normal seems to have finally arrived in the campus fitness realm. Carleton U. has a brand new state of the art fitness center. The fitness center administrators have decided that weight scales have no place in this new world order. The rationale is that there are far better methods for determining fitness, health and physical transformation.

  • Body Mass Index (BMI) and waist girth and other anatomical measurements are considered superior indicators of health and bodily improvement.
  • Shows such as "the Biggest Loser" have left a bad impression of overbearing trainers bullying obese people and judging them by the results of the weight scale, often to the very detriment of the health of the contestants.
  • Since muscle is denser than fat,  people may be mislead by weight measurement and become discouraged.
   Somehow though I sense that there is more to this decision to ban the scale. It seems to belong to the same mindset as not keeping score for children's soccer games so as not to belittle the losers.
Are weight scales perceived as implements of 'Fat Shaming' by the feared powers behind political correctness? 
Has my Alma Mater given in to such powers and taken away someone's freedom to use a weight scale as quick non intrusive guide to progression? 
Is it to be assumed that fitness center patrons have such low self esteem that they must be protected from such possible ridicule?

    Maybe I'm just a dinosaur reacting to the changing ways of the world? I am still proud of many things about Carleton University. The men's basketball team is a perennial national championship winner and the women basketballers scored a bronze medal this year. Hockey and football are back and other sports are always in the competitive mix. Nevertheless, I'm glad that I graduated many years ago. If I went there now I just might get kicked out.


The weight scale - a cruel symbol of Fat Shaming?
Until next time

 Keep Fit!

 Little Bobby Strong












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