Chargers Curse

The "Real Charger Curse"

Being a Charger fan, I have heard many times over the years how the team is "cursed", always flirting with greatness but never reaching the pinnacle. The deterioration of Phillip Rivers sheds light on the fact that our team is no longer a Super Bowl contender and needs to start rebuilding. Disturbing for all the potential the team has had over the last 8 years or so... Well here is a story that is common among migrant farm workers and the people that work with them, it sheds light on the true Charger curse and even gives a time when the curse can be lifted. I will send this piece out to some local publications and see who has the balls to research or print it...

Migrant Workers Curse on Spanos

     Growing up around the produce industry I've heard this story a few times. I can give first names of sources but for obvious reasons they dont want to be named. Maybe the reader can send a crack reporter to investigate this in detail.
    Back when Alex Spanos was  starting to build his empire he owned some farms. He would hire undocumented workers to work the fields of his farms like as did  many others. Except Spanos would have the workers toil all week, but when payday came he would call INS on his workers and get them deported, avoiding having to pay them. This happened many times with different groups of workers, but eventually word spread among the migrant workers, who understandably began to despise Spanos. They got together with some "brujas" and cursed Spanos. When asked about the Chargers, older migrant workers will say they will never win a Super Bowl as long as Spanos is the owner, as he is cursed, this is common knowledge among them. Now with my limited understanding of curses, I believe that it is handed down from generation to generation, so giving the team to his son would not break the curse. So we know now not to expect a Super Bowl Victory until the Spanos' no longer own the team.
     I do not have the time or wherewithal to properly research this piece, but have heard from more than one person about the calling the INS on payday and I may not believe in this curse but the publication of this piece would at least shed some light on the true character of the Chargers owner.

Fountain of Youth Blog Confirmed

A while back i wrote a blog entitled, "The Real Fountain of Youth" , which explains why resistance training should be the primary training method for those starting an exercise or fitness program. Recently I have ran across a couple of articles that support the premise of that blog. 

The first, 

http://www.examiner.com/article/93-year-old-bodybuilder-defies-aging-a-walking-fountain-of-youth

Tells the story of an 87 year old who took up bodybuilding to improve his quality of life, the title looks familiar no? This is very similar to the title of my blog. My question to you, the rational reader, is this: Would he have gotten the same results if he decided to take up running, cycling or attempted to run a marathon? Would he look and feel as healthy and strong if he went the cardio route? 

The answer is hell no. The adjectives in the various articles about him: amazing, muscular, youthful and miraculous. I am here to tell you that they need not be miraculous or amazing if more people would follow his lead. If cardio-vascular training is your only form of exercise then you should immediately redesign your program to make resistance training primary.

Another article seems to have made just to validate my "Real Fountain of Youth" blog.

 http://www.examiner.com/article/health-and-fitness-experts-do-not-yet-understand-adult-exercise

Quotes for this article that support the blog and also the "Absurdity of Bench Press in Football" blog are numerous. Here are a few gems:

"Today's health and fitness experts do not understand adult exercise". Amen brother

""The short term effects of exercise are temporary. If doctors would trace the long term (permanent) effects on average adults who run, for their cardio exercise (10-30 minutes per session), they could watch skeletal damage accumulate, and sooner then later, if they continue, this damage is going to harm their skeletal health and fitness". HMM I said same in my blog!

"Because fitness experts have never differentiated between how hard any exercise method stresses the skeleton, compared to muscles, they are cutting years off of pro athlete careers. They are also keeping the vast majority of adults and seniors, who cannot push their skeletons 20 times harder than their muscles, from even knowing it is possible for them to do extreme muscle exertion exercises, that do not deeply stress their joints and spinal discs."   Slow controlled resistance training is the safest form of effective exercise there is...

Absurdity of Athletic Training Today

Overtraining in team weightrooms is epidemic. Indiana Jones once said, when defending his rundown and haggard looking condition, " Its not my age, its the mileage." Many of us can relate because its very true. Weightlifters and athletes that have been around for a while have a litany of injuries cataloged on their frame over the years. They appear in the form of nagging aches, weakened joints and sudden debilitating injuries that seemingly occur during everyday activities. 

So what happens when a person is both a weightlifter and an athlete? Why thats common sense right? You have double the mileage hence double the injuries. So why in the world do strength and conditioning coaches, trainers and the like subject their athletes to unnecassary mileage? Seems like common sense but the routines I have seen for athletes prescribed by coaches are absurd. If you take anything from this article heed the following warning: 

If your trainer or coach has you working a bodypart or exercise more than once a week, then you are sabotaging your results  and musculo-skeletal health. Seek a different program. People dont realize the toll high intensity sports take on your body. Football requires recovery more than most workouts. The same with the weight room- when someone is sore there are microtears, exploded and leaking cells, massive hormone and vitamin depletion etc. 

Unfortunately the common and agreed upon theory all the way to late 20th century was that muscle breaks down after 48 hours if you dont work out. Hence some of the M,W,F routines that are still being practiced. Intense resistance training workouts require at least 7 days rest for the average human. Thats right, If I have a client whos progress slows down while coming once a week, Ill prescribe they come once every 8 days and it works 90% of the time. Why subject an athlete (especially football) to on or more unecessary workouts per week? Couldnt that time be better spent recovering or practicing skills for their specific sport? 

Ask yourself that next time you subject an athlete, child or yourself to a similiar workout schedule.