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Interview with trainer to the pros, Ed Downs.

February 17, 2009 / Mike Furci

Ed developed the patented Downs Disc Fitness System, a training and exercise system. It is used and endorsed by professional athletes, the University of Miami basketball team, high schools around the country, rehab centers, pregnant women, and thousands of people with weight, type 2 diabetes and respiratory problems. Without corporate funding, Ed realizing his dream through self-financing (by asking clients to pay him in advance), taking out a second mortgage and the sweat equity of 14-hour days.

Here’s an excerpt from the interview:

BE: You?re actually training the natural form and function of how the body works.
ED: How the body works. How the body works my man. I love talking to somebody that understands what I?m talking about. Because sometimes it sounds so technical but it?s not really that technical.
BE: That?s kind of what attracted?you know when Stephanie gave me the e-mails and I started looking into your stuff, that?s what really attracted to me to your style of training. And there are some other coaches out there, not the same obviously but they have similar?they?re trying to accomplish the same goal. You?re taking, which actually in the lab is a fairly complex subject, and you?re making it very simple. You?re just doing what the body does.
ED: What it does. I mean, thank you. When we walk, you take your right foot forward and your left arm goes out. We don?t walk with your right foot forward and your right arm going at the same time; you would look goofy as hell. So we want to work in patterns of our natural movement. So I don?t care if I?m working with a lady or a man. A lady carrying a baby and getting ready to put it in her car seat; she?s kind of awkward when she?s reaching and bending down and they wonder why they twist their back. So I?ve got to be able to train their bodies to be able to move in unexpected movement, right?

Read the rest of the interview, HERE.

Exercise, General fitness, General training, Interviews, Workout programs

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Baggy eye lids

February 15, 2009 / Mike Furci

Numerous theories have been proposed seeking to explain what causes the baggy lower eyelids that come with aging. Now, researchers from UCLA have determined that fat expansion in the eye socket is the primary culprit.

The study is the first to examine the anatomy of multiple subjects to determine what happens to the lower eyelid with age. It is also the first face-aging study that uses high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

The study looked at MRIs of 40 subjects (17 males and 23 females) between the ages of 12 and 80. The findings showed that the lower eyelid tissue increased with age, and that the largest contributor to this size increase was fat increase.

A common treatment performed is eyelid surgery, or blepharoplasty. This treatment repairs droopy eyelids by surgical excision of excess fat in the eye socket. Blepharoplasty is usually done on an outpatient basis. Currently many plastic surgeons performing blepharoplasty do not remove any fat. They reposition the fat or conduct a more invasive tightening of the muscle that surrounds the eye or tighten the actual ligament that holds the eyeball in place. Surgeons perform these more invasive procedures despite the fact there is no data showing these structures change with age.

If surgery is an option for you, choose your doctor wisely.

(eurekalert.org)

Anti-Aging, Medical Issues for Men

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Mickey Rourke discusses his training methods for “The Wrestler”

February 13, 2009 / Gerardo Orlando

After hitting rock bottom, Mickey Rourke resurrected his career with his role in “The Wrestler.” He’s received numerous awards and he’s also been nominated for an Oscar.

Brad Balfour interviewed Rourke about his comeback, which included a discussion of his training methods for the film.

Q: What did you do to get into shape to play “The Ram?”
MR: It was a process over six months of putting on the weight. I had to put on muscle and not fat and I had never done that before. I’ve had to lose weight–20 pounds over 12 weeks–and I thought that was murder. So, I thought, ‘Oh great, I get to eat.’ You can’t just eat anything or you’re going to put fat on. But you’re going to put fat on anyway, because you’re eating six or seven meals a day.
You have to make sure you’re doing the weight lifting and the cardio, so it’s like never ending in the gymnasium for me. I have to admit, since I’ve done the movie, I haven’t walked into a gym. I’ve just done weights at home. I just can’t go to a gym yet, because it was hell…
Q: How many months did you train?
It was six months. It was three times a day, under this Israeli ex-army commando guy, who was a martial arts champion. They met him in Miami and I thought, ‘Wow. This guy won’t take any shit.’ And I wanted someone who was very disciplined, because I didn’t want to control this. I wanted somebody who wasn’t going to kiss my ass. I didn’t want a trainer where I could go, “Well, I don’t feel like working out today.”
This guy took it personally if I didn’t show up. Actually, I was staying at a hotel. I had a late night and I wasn’t answering my phone. He actually came up to the room, knocked on the door. I tried to roll up in a little ball and get the covers over me and hope that he’d go away. The prick went down and got the key…
He was like, “You were out till five in the morning. I heard. I got the report.” He would know where I was and [that] I was out until five am. So after me doing that a couple of times, he pulled me aside and he says, “You see the pictures that we looked at that we want to look like.”
And I say, “Yes.” He said, “When this movie goes, do you want to look like that or do you want to look like this the first time you see yourself up there?’ And I go, ‘I want to look like that.” And so he really put the wood to me… Even when I was out late, I managed to get my tired ass to the gym and just do endless hours, putting on weight. And every time my hands were empty, he’d stick a shake in my hand about this big, and say “Drink.”

Cool quotes, Exercise, Interviews, Motivation, Xternal Fitness

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Excuses

February 12, 2009 / Anthony Stalter

“He that is good for making excuses is seldom good for anything else.”

– Benjamin Franklin

Cool quotes, Xternal Fitness, Xternal Furci

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Ways to breakthrough plateaus in the gym

February 11, 2009 / Anthony Stalter

Men?s Fitness.com provides ways of overcoming workout plateaus in the gym.

Q: What’s the best way to overcome a workout plateau?
A: Increase the weight you’re lifting by small increments of a couple pounds or less, rather than a full five to 10. You could also drop out of your rep range a little. For instance, if you’re supposed to be benching for 5 reps and you find yourself stuck at 225 pounds, try to do 230 for 3 or 4 reps in your next workout. It will be deviating from your program, but it still provides a new stimulus to your muscles.
One way to increase the weight by smaller increments is to use Plate Mates, which are little plates that magnetically attach to larger plates and dumbbells. They come in numerous small increments (we recommend the 1 pounders) and can be purchased at fwonline.com for $20 a pair.

Read the rest of the article, here.

Exercise, Men's Health and Wellness, Sports Health and Fitness, Weight training, Xternal Fitness, Xternal Furci

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