MMA Prodigy or Too Much Too Soon?

I'm not exactly sure how I feel about this. He's obviously got great skills (especially for a kid his age) but I can't help but think it's another example of youngsters in America specializing too soon in sports activities.

It's my understanding that in most other parts of the world, the youth are encouraged to try a variety of sports and increase their general exposure to athletics. This is an advantage in keeping their interest piqued and it also develops more well-rounded physical attributes. "Jack of all trades, master of none" would be a great motto for all parents of young athletes to adopt, at least during their most formative years.

Nate Green Is More Important Than Metallica.

I’ve known Nate Green for a couple of years now, and I can honestly say that what he’s done this past week has made me question how much I actually like him. Let's flashback to see where I'm coming from...

It’s 1989 and I've just seen Metallica’s music video for “One.” I instantly develop a craving for more of this serious noise. The band plays heavy, fast, and raw. It is perfect. I spend the next decade and a half using Metallica as my own personal soundtrack. Every situation I come across has a song that fits it perfectly. I stick with them through the haircuts, the music-sharing debacle, members leaving, members arriving, and members reconciling.

And then, it’s 2007 and I get an e-mail from my pal Nate.

“Hey man, here’s some interviews I just did with a bunch of coaches. I call it Standing on the Shoulders of Giants. Let me know what you think.”

What do I think? I think Nate Green is half-a-jerk because he’s assembled one of the most kick ass audio products I’ve ever heard, and now I have to make room on my already overcrowded mp3 player to fit it all.

Nate sat down and interviewed the absolute best of the best fitness professionals. Serious heavy hitters like Alwyn Cosgrove, Craig Ballantyne, Ryan Lee, Mike Boyle, Jim Labadie, Pat Rigsby, Nick Berry, Chris Shugart, Susan Hill, Bill Hartman, and Lou Schuler.

Nate basically asked each of them how they got to where they are. Talk about a shortcut to the top? The info he pulled out of them is practically everything you need to have your most successful training year ever, just add clients (and that’s covered too.)

My dilemma was thus...so much info, so few available KB on the trusty mp3 player. After many hours of meditation (and alternately ruing and praising the day Nate was born) I had only one solution. I had to delete a few albums to make room for all the interviews. ::teardrop, moment of silence::

I could’ve just left Standing on the Shoulders of Giants on my computer, but the interviews were so important, I wanted them portable so I could listen to them in the car, while mowing the lawn, while out on a run, while lifting, where ever I was. So Metallica disappeared, and Nate Green’s Standing on the Shoulders of Giants went in.

If you’re a personal trainer, athletic director, gym manager, or any type of fitness professional, Standing on the Shoulders of Giants was made for you. Hell, no matter what your career, it’s worth a listen. It’s a collection of nearly a dozen experts explaining how they rose to the top of their field. With a bit of creative thinking, you could probably pick out the “morals of the stories” and still benefit tremendously. If you decide not to, that’s your call.

This whole story does have an even happier ending. I’m so convinced that what I’ve learned from Standing on the Shoulders of Giants will make the next six months more profitable for myself (and more productive for my clients), I’ve promised myself a fancy new mp3 player with video and enough space for a bajillion and two songs. So I guess I owe Nate a thank you.

Save The Children.

Folks, today's kids are in a world of hurt. Athletics and sports participation are supposed to be among the highlights of growing up. I look back and I still wish I played more sports in high school. Alas, it was only the poetry magazine for me, but I digress.

There were a pair of truly frightening health studies published over the last few days. If you have kids or if you know anyone who has kids, please, please let them know about this news. There's no reason not to.

Study #1 regarding our children and eating disorders:

“Teaching teenagers about eating disorders can make them more knowledgeable about the problem, but it may also have some inadvertent effects, a new study suggests.

Yale University researchers found that when they presented female high school students with videos on eating disorders, it met the intended goal of boosting their knowledge about anorexia and bulimia.

However, the team saw that the students didn't necessarily find the results of eating disorders unappealing. Teens who watched a video featuring a woman recovering from an eating disorder became more likely to view girls with eating disorders as "very pretty," and some thought it would be "nice to look like" the woman in the video..."

"It seems intuitively appealing to have recovered patients get up in front of high school or college-aged girls and tell the story of their eating disorder and recovery," lead study author Dr. Marlene B. Schwartz told Reuters Health.

However, she explained, there's also the argument that having an attractive, articulate woman talk about her eating disorder could inadvertently "glamorize" the condition..."

"Overall, the study found, both videos increased the girls' knowledge about anorexia and bulimia, but there were some unforeseen results as well...the girls were more likely to say afterward that "it's not that hard" to recover from an eating disorder. They were also more likely to believe girls with eating disorders have "strong" personalities.

Girls who viewed the video featuring the eating disorder patient were particularly likely to see women with anorexia or bulimia in a positive light."




Study #2 regarding our children and anabolic steroids:

“Participation in sports with real or perceived weight requirements, such as ballet, gymnastics, and wrestling, is strongly associated with unhealthy weight control behaviors and steroid use in teens, according to researchers at the University of Minnesota.

Research published in the March 2007 issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association found nearly 6% of males between the ages of 12 and 18 who participated in weight-related sports induced vomiting within the week prior to being surveyed, as compared to only 0.9% of males who did not participate in weight- related sports. The use of diuretics within the previous year was reported by 4.2% of males in a weight-related sport, as opposed to 0.8% who did not participate in a weight-related sport.

Steroid use was reported in 6.8% of females who reported participating in weight-related sports, compared to 2.3% of those that weren't active in a weight-related sport. Vomiting and using laxatives were also more likely in girls who were active in weight-related sports.

Researchers conducted the longitudinal study with more than 2,000 adolescents to examine changes in eating patterns, weight, physical activity, and related factors over five years. Participants completed two surveys, one in 1999 and one in 2004, to determine if there were changes in steroid use.

Overall, 1.7% of boys and 1.4% of girls between the ages of 15 and 23 reported steroid use in 2004. Those that reported use early on were 4 to 10 times more likely to use later in life.

Boys who reported wanting a larger body in 1999, as well as those who said they used healthy weight-control behaviors, were more likely to take steroids when they were older. In contrast, girls who were heavier, less satisfied with their weight, and who had limited knowledge of healthy eating and exercise habits were more likely to take steroids as they grew older...”