I'm far from being a fitness fanatic, but I think if anyone "thinks" any one program is the best, they're a very narrow minded nutswinger. That said, I am a firm believer in the power of the mind and for some people some things just click. The issue is those who feel the need to be "holier than thou" and boast about how awesome their program was because they lost their weight and are in shape now because their mind finally decided to stick to something. Kind of like quitting smoking, you can try every miracle you want but until your mind is made up its not going to happen.
I don't follow bodybuilding/fitness at all, but I've heard so much about crossfit it makes me never want to try it, even if it is good. I'm not the type to follow the herd. That said though I don't think you can completely blame the program for injuries. It's a tool, if you put it in the wrong hands it can cause damage. A good trainer would be essential to making sure people understand their limits. I know very little about what is "proper" form, but do know that its the individual that controls this. If CF forces you to use bad form then its a different story I guess. I wouldn't know though, havent done it. I also think theres probably enough people who are new and maybe have a bad trainer thus never learning proper form or when their limits are met. Thats why I always believe in getting multiple opinions first. Knowing the limits on your body is important. Pushing your truck too hard is repairable and in 20 years you'll probably not even have it, but you only get one body.
That said, there is a local Crossfit program that is run by some farm kids I know. I actually hadn't heard much bad about the program as a whole until reading through this (like I said I dont follow this stuff) so I'm guessing the local guys a doing a decent job. They're pretty down to earth nice guys.
Just come work on a farm. I'll work your ass off and you would get paid for it.
x2 lol. You can lift all the weights you want, but can you apply it? I remember middle school and high school when all of my non-farm friends would sit in the weight room any time they could. They sure looked big and tough, and they could certainly outdo me in the weight room, but when they'd come out to the farm, or you'd be working with them in some real world environment they were useless. A lot of farm kids don't look like much, but can get a lot done. I watched a buddy of mine who's big into body building try and work on his truck. His arms were too big to fit anywhere lol.
I think of this when I think of "crossfit"
Return of the Broski lol
"I play real sports, not tryin' to be the best at excercising".
My favorite comment on that video was the fight club reference.
I started High fat / low carb-zero carb and it sucked. I eat tons of carbs now like 150-200g from sweet potatoes. Paleo in its simplistic form is great... No processed food, no gut irritating foods like wheat, corn etc. Minimal dairy, no beans and I eat 90% organic and grass fed food. Its great I feel good.
Curious to hear more about this. I have no interest it just want to hear your thoughts.
You mention three current "Fad's". I say that only because there are mass numbers following them under false impressions or simply because so and so said so along with the general media leading us to believe these are superior. Gluten Free, Organic and Grass Fed.
The Gluten-Free one is way out there. I just don't get it. Celiac's disease is very real and I do feel some non Celiac's intolerance is real as well, but the general population (especially the "healthy" and "green" crowds) seem to either want to eliminate Gluten because its the cool thing to do. I say that because if you ask a lot of these people (and I do) they have no clue what Gluten even is. I've gotten answers that range from it being a GMO, to being a chemical preservative, to being another name for wheat, etc etc. I just don't get it. People are allergic to peanuts, is that going to be the next cool thing to do? Lactose free milk isn't the new fad and that causes an uneasy gut just like gluten?
So why does everything think Gluten free is better? Simple, good marketing. A lot of the reason people automatically feel Organic and Grass Fed are also better. For whatever reason people seem to forget that the companies selling those products are not a public service. They need to make money as well. Since they are in a Niche market and have higher costs of production, they need to rely on good marketing. Conventional ag doesn't really have marketing in that way per say so its easy for them to influence the media and the market like they have. It's gotten to the point restaurants have jumped on the bandwagon, some heavier than others. Most notably Chipotle who took things a little too far and is feeling the pressure from it now.
Am I saying Organic is not better? No, but I do ask why you feel it is? Most of the reasons people give me are false impressions they are under for the most part. I'm a dairy farmer, so I mostly speak just for the dairy side of things. I practice what I preach, I don't tell you how to do your job because I don't know 1% of it, yet so many feel that since they grew a tomato plant in their backyard, they are now a "farmer" and should dictate how we run our business. Make no mistake, I am not against new ideas nor do I feel we do everything right. I hate narrow minded people and do not ever want to be one, but its really hard to take some people seriously with some of their idealistic ideas.
Back to Organic. I get told its better because there are no antibiotics in it. Two sides to that, I get told the milk itself doesn't have it and also some people feel the cows dont get antibiotics which is better. The reality is pretty simply though, no milk has antibiotics in it. Certain drugs have withhold times that farmers have to honor. During that time all of the milk from that cow is dumped. These cows are usually moved into a separate pen so there are no accidental milkings of them into the tank. If somebody does screw up, it will show up at the milk plant. Smaller farms are serviced by a farm pick-up tanker. Milk from various farms all goes into the same truck, however samples are taken by the hauler from each farmer every time the tank is pumped. These determine what the farmer will be paid as most get premiums for butterfat, protein and low SCC. They also serve as a tool to find antibiotics if the truck tests positive at the plant. The farmer responsible buys all of the milk on the truck and it is all disposed of. The milk haulers are certified by the state for this job as well and can test for antibiotics on site sometimes if needed. Larger farms fill direct ship tanks which are sealed at the farm and tested when they arrive at the plant. We haul our own milk to the plant. When you arrive they have to agitate for 15 minutes, then they pull the samples for antibiotics and temperature as well as the ones to determine the pay premiums. You have to wait for the antibiotic test to come back negative before you can start pumping the load off. They also do a longer test as well to ensure it is clean and safe. Once empty, the tank is sanitized for 20-30 minutes. This is good for 72hrs, every tank gets a wash ticket when they leave. If you are past the 72hrs you must wash again before refilling the tanker. The tanks are made from 316 food grade stainless and have very thick insulation that keeps the milk very cold. All dairy farmers actually have licenses to produce milk as well, many people don't realize this. You are subject to inspection at any time and if in violation can be shut down on the spot or given a short time period to come into compliance for less serious things (like the front door being open). The inspectors are picky, people have had their licenses suspended for having the front door open too often.
So what about organic milk? In the US the National Organic Program prohibits farmers from not administering proper care to their animals. This includes not giving them the proper medications needed, not excluding antibiotics. However once antibiotics are given the cow must be removed from the heard. This is just the US law, Canada and Europe just have longer with hold times. For some reason some people insist we pump our cows full of antibiotics. I think this assumption may come from what has been done in some other industries, but there are no antibiotics approved for continuous use in dairy cattle, so you are not getting residual amounts that way either.
Others say its because it is hormone free. While misleading, what they mean is the farmers do not use rBGH/rBST. The issue with that is that soo many assume that any non-organic farm just "pumps their cows with steriods". While we do not use rBGH, i'm not against it nor am I necessarily for it. I would sounds less "pro-rBGH" if there weren't so many uneducated misleading assumptions coming out of peoples mouths who are against it. The science of it is fairly simple, it is naturally produced by the pituitary gland and was found to increase milk production when given to cows. Of course harvesting it was a pain so not much happened until someone found a way to clone the gene in a lab. This was not Monsanto by the way, they purchased it later. This synthetic hormone is injected into the cow and acts a lot like a growth hormone does for many other things, increases production and intake.
As for the safety of the gene itself, I can't say. I do know the body cannot process the hormone as evidenced by those who were directly injected with it. Unlike others I don't believe everything I read, and don't feel theres enough evidence to support either side of the arguement for many reasons, but I wont go into detail. Some arguements I do like to bring up though are ones I know more about. The first hits home a little more now and that is recombinant DNA's importance and safety. I don't really know why as a nation many feel the need to move backwards, but just because theres one or two recombinant DNA products you are against, does not mean the entire concept is evil. I don't think people realize how much of it is in their lives. I'm going through chemo for Hodgkins right now for which the only long term cure is a stem cell transplant. Previously this would involve actually removing bone marrow. If that doesn't sound bad to you, go get a bone marrow biopsy and tell me how it feels. I was sedated and locally numbed yet felt that needle suck the stuff out. Its an invasive and unpleasant process. The other way to collect stem cells is through blood, but your body doesn't produce enough extra to make it worth while. So you are given shots of a recombinant DNA that causes your body to produce excess amounts of white blood cells and stem cells. Then they have enough to harvest, without the advance in technology though this would not be as simple. I think a lot of people's minds would change if their hardest choice in a day was buying Organic vs Non-Organic milk.
The other issue is the REAL reason the EU originally banned rBGH, in addition to political reasons. Cow health. This is another case of who killed someone, the gun or the person pulling the trigger? rBGH is a tool, if you just inject it and do nothing else to manage your heard properly you will have more issues. The problem is that it was not regulated as well before (now they wont sell to you if you dont have your sh!t in line). People who were poor dairyman to begin with would use it with hopes of just getting more production. I see some in here using products to boost their muscle mass, you know as well as anyone that if you just take all of that stuff and sit on your ass you will just get fat, you have to work out. Same kind of applies with the cows, if you use the tool you have to manage the cows properly or you will have issues.
Usually its just the vegans that bring up the "Pus" in milk but some feel organic milk doesn't have it. For the record, I have never seen this "pus" in any milk I've bought or that we have sold. I think it stems from what people see that cows sometimes produce when they have an infection. Cows are checked for this before the unit is attached. If they do not have good clean milk the milker will do a quick test for an infection and sort the cow out. The milk is dumped, but this is a good point to mention all of the filtration in place as well that would not allow this so called "pus" to pass through it. Some people have taken it a step further though as say that since milk has WBC's in it, all milk has "pus". Well yes milk has WBC's in it, its an animal product. This is regulated though and known as the Somatic Cell Count. Most places will not accept anything over 400k and most want it under 300k and give even bigger premiums for 100k. For comparison breast milk is usually 1-2 million.
Homogenization is another issue that often goes along with organic milk. They claim it ruins milks nutritious value. Again I don't see enough evidence to believe it either way and feel the benefit outweighs what little research is against it. Yes it prevents the cream from seperating, but it also is important in aiding digestibility of the milk. It breaks all of the fat globules into equal sizes by basically slamming the milk against a wall.
Then there is the pasteurization controversy as well. I'm not saying milk is not safe, but like any food product, unless you are growing it in your backyard you do not know the entire history on it nor do you have control over everything. This is not saying food isn't safe, just that pasteurization helps ensure we do not have an accidental widespread disease epidemic. It is legal in most states to own your own cow, or even part of one and drink the raw milk from it. In that situation you have control and its also your own liability. One of the major things keeping the raw milk bills from passing is our finger pointing generation. The wrong person gets sick, they are going to give the dairy industry a black eye.
Animal welfare is another issue with organic. I will never understand why so many people feel we just abuse our cows and throw them away. Cows are not robots, their brain may be small but they are still live animals with, for lack of a better word, "feelings". Milk production is simple, good genetics goes a long way but you still only get out what you put in. You give the cow crap feed you will get crap milk, you treat the cow poorly with poor housing and you will get poor production. Some cows we have bought over the years have more than doubled in milk production with nothing more than the diet and environment change. Cows are simple, too many people think animals are like humans, they are not. Cows are creatures of habit and many things about them are different than humans. Sleep is one of them. A cow will only sleep 3-4 hours total per day but in short 5 minute naps throughout the day. They will spend a lot of time laying down however and this is needed for proper digestion. Stress is an issue with cows. Farmers spend a lot of money managing this. We have mattresses that are cleaned twice per day with fresh bedding added every day, unlimited clean water, free choice feed and back scratchers in the pens. On hot days fans and sprinklers keep them cool. Cows are also much more sensitive to stray voltage than humans. 1 milliamp can cause a noticeable loss in production it takes less than 1 volt of stray voltage to cause this. Farms spend a lot of money getting rid of stray voltage, in our case we also pay extra to be nuetral isolated from the grid.
The issue of what a farm should look like comes up often. Remember farming is a business, not a hallmark card. Everybody wants old mcdonald and his red barn. Any farm with a freestall is a "Factory Farm". However you won't find many farmers who think the "red barn" (aka Tie Stall/Stanchion barn) is better for cows than a free stall environment. In a traditional tie stall cows stay in that stall. Many have yards or pastures to let them out into when the weather permits, but otherwise they stand locked in one stall. Free stall barns are like the name implies, cows get to do what they want when they want.
Pasture based is part of organic milk. Pasture based farming is great, but its not always what you see on the label. The regulations simply state the cows need "access" to pasture a certain percent of the time. It doesn't mean they sit on rolling hills their entire life. THis is not true for all farms, but just goes to show that Organic is as much as "label" as is "factory farm". Organic is not automatically better and factory farm is not automatically bad. Its the case of the gun versus shooter. Theres good and bad farms in both sectors. That's why I usually steer people away from Organic. Why pay extra for the brand? You didn't go to the farm and buy it so how do you know it meets your "ideals". If you do buy local then great, I like local stuff. People often think cows dream of pastures when they are in free stall barns. A few studies have looked at this and shown cows really seemed to not care. Equal amounts chose the pasture while others chose the free stall. There wasn't a real pattern observed really. Also remember that on a pasture, anything that cow decides to eat goes into the milk. If you've ever wondered why the taste fluctuates some from smaller bottlers that is often why. Tastes like garlic and onion really come through to the point even non trained tongues can taste it.
One thing I'll mention about organic crops is chemical use. Theres a misconception that they cannot use any which is false. They cannot use any synthetic chemicals, they can use primative organic chemicals which are often less effective and used at higher rates. Again not everyone does, but unless your buying it from the local farmer, you dont know that.
Always remember, behind everything there is someone trying to make a dollar whether right or wrong.
Curious to hear why you chose organic.
I sent some time on the winyV overseas also took hgh while in Iraq. Worked well for me I didn't have any rage issues or anything but I would NEVER recommend it to anyone.
I don't know much, but do know HGH use is one of the only known causes of Hodgkins along with Agent Orange exposure. I've never had either though.
Because a lot of weight lifters have zero cardio capacity & trash talk anyone that trains in anything other than lifting heavy.
Yeah, I *could* spend all my time lifting as heavy as possible and get jacked & huge, but what good would that do me in an actual fight or a situation where I had to run quickly or avoid an obstacle.
At the end of the day, to each their own & people should just respect and encourage one another for not being lazy and training in whatever they like.
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