Down Time

I dropped the Mighty Mo off at my parents today so I could have at least one day to finish my shopping and be alone. It was a late night with the season finale of Nip/Tuck and stumbling on a ESPN reality show with Dick Butkis coaching a high school football team so I am pretty tired. BTW don't get me started on high school football, more specifically coaches...okay I will.

I think high school football is great but unless my son shows enough aptitude to make it to college, I am not in favor of him playing. On my side of the fitness fence, I have made a career out of helping men in their 20-30's loose the extra 30 pounds 'Coach' had them put on so they could win a couple of games. Most coaches now and especially then, don't know a thing about nutrition or exercise.

These young high school men, put on 20, 30, 50 pounds of unneeded fat so they can play eight games a year for three years and then think they can compete at the college level, which they can't and then they enter college big fat tubs o' lard. The sloppy, unhealthy eating that help them put on weight in high school coupled with being on their own for the first time in college and its blimpsville. Poor Bastards.

If I have any influence on my son as he grows into sport, if he does its up to him,is first to use one of my trainers, (its a nice perk) then try running (cross country or track), swimming and golf. Of all high school athletics these three have the most cross over into real life.

Running competitively involves tangible results in decreased time and increased speed. The side affects include lower bodyfat among adults. Running is also a timely sport that can be indulged in racing on almost any weekend of the year throughout a lifetime.

Swimming at a young age instills dedication and focus that translate later in life to hard work ethics. Early morning and afternoon swim practices instill time management. Most swimmers are hard studiers and accidents among swimmers are far fewer than among other team sports.

Golf is not the high school glamour sport. Most men do not appreciate golf until later in life. However the benefit of learning the proper strokes and forms early can lead to a lucrative side business winning hole money from friends until late in life. A good golfer among duffers is an immediate bump up in social status among that crowd. If a guy is good at golf, its almost like he's a blond driving a convertable, every man looks with appreciation.

All three sports translate into a lifetime of activity. When was the last time one of you high school footballers played even a pick up game? Or swung a bat or played hoops if you did those in high school? Not much or at all recently I would wager. Yet everyday I run into swimmers, golfers and runners who picked up the sport early and still perform often.

Okay so not what I had planned for todays post but I feel better and it's probably worth some comments from the peanut gallery. Am I right or am I full of crap?