Vibram FiveFingers

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So for the past year I have been researching and casually reading about barefoot running. In doing so I came across the Vibram FiveFingers. Now I have been trying to get my hands on a pair of these things since 2009. Now I know what you're thinking, they're hideous. And ya know what, you are correct. My girlfriend has already told me that she is disassociating with me if I wear them in public. While I can not put my finger on it, there is just something about these "shoes" that I just love. And now that I own a pair, I'm sure there will be much more that I love.

Initially they were rather interesting to try on, to say the least. The salesman seemed extremely excited when I asked about purchasing them. I think he assumed I just wanted to see what they were, not that I had already been reading about them for over a year. So the process of getting fitted and wearing them for the first time was cool. They actually have a different foot measuring system for the FiveFingers because they run in European Sizes.

Getting my foot into the shoe was not easy the first time. The goal is to get the big toe in first then slide the rest of the toes in. After the first two times it became rather easy. They just slide on and fit exactly like a glove. Now the goal is to purchase ones that are nice and snug but not so much as to stop circulation. Mine are a little tighter on my second toe, but that is due to a deformation from when I fractured it ten years ago.

The "shoe" itself is already conforming to my foot which is nice. While I have not done anything but walk in them, the FiveFingers already feel very comfortable and natural. My next venture is to perform a work out in them. I will attempt to do so, tonight, after work. We shall see...

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High Sugar Diets Make You Fat... Fact

So I was clicking around on Yahoo News when I came across the following story: Cutting back on Your Sugar Intake.  The blurb below it goes as such:

High sugar consumption contributes to weight gain and has become accepted as a fact. The sugar actually makes us sick. A recent article in the New York Times Magazine suggests sugar could play a…

Well I'll be a monkey's uncle, you mean Sugar can make you fat?! What a great job reporting by the New York Times.

I mean come on, why do people need to be told this stuff? It is common sense that sugar can lead to being fat. This is the kind of crap that I just don't understand. How can an individual be stupid enough not to realize that excess sugar is unhealthy? It just amazes me that this is necessary to be in the news. Think about it, our society is so lacking in intelligence that we must have the news tell us sugar can be bad for us. We need the news to let us know that foods with no nutritional value can actually be detrimental to our health. 

I think it is about time that we have mandated nutrition classes in our public educational systems. Kids need to be educated from early childhood so that they do not become the spitting image of their parents, both physically and mentally.

Rant Concluded

Athletics - We ain't talking moneyball

I find it rather easy to become disinterested in your workouts. For the most part, people tend to work out alone. This is fine, however sometimes this can turn a boring activity into an intolerable one. Personally, I find it difficult to always "get up" for the gym.

There are many a time that I haven't gone to work out solely because I wasn't in the mood. I am willing to bet that most people have shared this feeling at one time or another. However, for many, the gym is their sole source of physical activity. Now I could sit here and go into all the different ways to get exercise, but instead I'm going to focus on one thing - ATHLETICS.

When I say athletics I am referring to a team sport. Any of sport of your choosing will do. Personally, I find it important to take part in a group/team activity and for me nothin is better than sports. I am involved in two softball leagues during the spring. And fill in whenever needed for another two more during the summer. I find this to be the perfect mix of competitiveness, male bonding, fun, exercise, and relaxation.

Any former athlete still  has that urge to compete. What's better than to compete somewhere that, in reality, winning and losing doesn't matter[s] (Winning > Losing). Seriously though, at a point it just feels good to compete for something. Sports/athletics give you something physical to do, get you outside, and can be a great substitute for a workout that day.

So find a bunch of guys (or girls) and get your ass doing something that takes athleticism, you'll enjoy yourself.

Gym Class Dodgeball - Bring It Back!!!

After reading a recent post, and taking a survey, I decided to post a modified version of my response to one of the questions listed in the survey:

In reference to dodgeball being banned in Schools: 

Personally, I do not believe dodgeball should be banned in our schools. Reason being, dodgeball requires eye hand coordination, agility, speed, and strength. These are things, that in the athletic realm, we try to improve in our athletes. 

• The lateral, and sometimes vertical, movement used in order to avoid a projectile will improve not only agility, but both an athlete's speed and proprioception. 
• The act of catching and throwing the ball improve both eye hand coordination and muscular strength. As well as, again, improving an individuals proprioception.
• Dodgeball can also be viewed as a strategic game. How does the team reach their goal of eliminating the other team's players? Do you take out the bigger/stronger player, the leader, or slowly take out the weak (see Darwin and natural selection).

The less scientific reason that dodgeball should be allowed is that kids today are becoming "soft". They have a lesser ability to handle physical feats, and mental problems. This is a direct result of how today's America Society acts and preaches. Apparently, we are more concerned with how children feel emotionally, then their physical health. Dodgeball, in essence, will force a sort of mental/physical toughness upon our youth. Getting hit with a dodgeball, 99.9% of the time, is not going to kill you. Most of the time it isn't even going to cause any real injury to a student/child. 

Bottom line, we need to stop worrying so much about the POSSIBILITY of a student getting injured. Kids do things all the time that cause them to get hurt. Most of the time, they just brush it off and move on. Should we remove all stairs because a student may fall down them? Honestly, where does it end? And let's be 100% honest, kids are going to go play dodgeball on their own even if it becomes banned from all schools.