All Blacks awesome

I simply had to watch in wonder as the All Blacks demolished the Wallabies 51-20 yesterday.

Died-in-the-wool Wallaby fan I am, I can certainly appreciate perfection, which is what the All Blacks displayed.

I could’t help but wonder, though, how wonderful a team the Wallabies would be if we didn’t have two rugby codes in Australia. 

Rugby league is certainly the dominant code when it comes to total crowds. I’m not sure of the players numbers nationally but I’m sure league outdoes union in that regard.

What league also outdoes union in is toughness. Sure, union is a hard game but the players don’t take the continual “beltings” in tackles as they do in league. That’s what the Wallabies seems to lack (as Peter FitSimons would say) “mongrel”.

I know it’s never going to happen, but I’d love the day to dawn when we could just have one rugby code. 

Training when you work

For most of us, keeping fit is a matter of trying to fit in training with work. Many people just don’t bother because it’s all too hard. Or is it?

I’ve worked fulltime all my life but managed to train twice a day (most days) and help raise a family of three children. These days I just have to walk the dog.

This morning, after walking the dog from 5.30 to 6, then swimming from 7 to 7.45 I questioned why I’m still doing it. Answer: I’s enjoyable and I have a reason for doing it.

The reason is most important. I have several. The first is that I like to compete and I have the opportunity to do so at national level, individually and in a team. The team is more important to me these days. I can let myself down, no problem, but I don’t want to commit to a team without training hard, otherwise I’m letting them down.

Whatever your reason for working out, you then have to enjoy it. Like everything, you have to find the program and the coach that makes your workouts enjoyable. I still enjoy mine becuase I vary them. It’s called cross-training. If I don’t feel like a swim, I’ll go and paddle, or do gym, or walk.

So find your reason for being fit and go enjoy your workout.

Maybe Lance is just ‘tired’

Maybe Lance Armstrong is guilty, maybe not.

The fact is that just because he doesn’t want to defend himself any longer is not an admission of guilt, as so many commentators (e.g., Simon Barnes in today’s The Australian) are saying. http://www.theaustralian.com.au/sport/cycling/lance-armstrongs-biography-peddled-pure-fiction/story-fn8sc2wz-1226459012440

Maybe he’s just at a point where he doesn’t give a damn and just wants to get on with his life.

Wallabies underdone

I still reckon the Wallabies are too ‘soft’ (underdone physically).

Compare their physiques to the leading union sides and I believe they are not well muscled. This is also apparent when you look at most rugby league players. They look fitter. They’re hard men, they’re faster and have better ball-handling skills than the rugger lads.

Perhaps the ARU needs a wholesale raid on rugby league.

They could do worse than give some new faces a chance against the Springboks at Perth in two weeks.

As the Sydney Morning Herald’s Greg Growden pointed out today, the so-called “X-factor” players (Beale, Cooper, etc) simply are not producing.

Olympics: what needed, what’s not

Having just watched (Channel 9) coverage of the Olympics, it seemed to me there’s a need to ditch some events. Of course everyone will have their likes and dislikes, but some events are just plain ridiculous.

Walking. It has to go. I mean, who walks like that, anyway? Looks like it’s bad for the hips and knees. John Cleese would probably not be happy it it disappeared.

Synchronised swimming. Another ridiculous spectacle (and what a spectacle). I certainly know that it’s physically demanding, but, again, who does that?

Gymnastics. They really have to cut down on the number of events. I had to sit by Natasha throwing a ball, flinging a ribbon and then juggling some tenpins. Sure, all skilful but are they ALL necessary. Same goes for the vault. Skiil required, but I prefer my gymnastics to last longer than five seconds.

Swimming. Now I’m a swimmer and I’m bored by it. Too many events. Let’s just stick to freestyle and just have medleys, instead of events for every damn stroke. No one swims butterfly to save their lives anyway.

Equestrian. Again, too many disciplines. And what about those poor horses made to prance and stop? If we’re going to have dressage, then let’s have sheep dog trials.

Archery. Nice pastime, but boring.

In essence, I’m all for eliminating events which are judged subjectively. After all, the original ethos of the Olympics was faster, higher, stronger. Lets just have events which can be measured outright. 

A number of the sports I’ve mentioned aren’t really practised in third world nations. So the notion of inclusivity isn;t all that great at the Games. Equestrian, and sports like rowing and yachting, are a little beyond the budgets of nations like Western Samoa and Burma.

Finally, I’m not that much of a fan of what essentially has become a marketing activity for major corporations. And it’s a big ask for athletes to pin their hopes on an event held every four years. For me, world titles are much better indicator of performance.

So, good luck to Brazil. Pity they don’t spend that much on preserving the rainforest.

 

WA government’s short-sighted decision

The decision by the WA Government (aka the Premier) to dismantle the Physical Activity Taskforce is short-sighted.

The Taskforce only “consumes” a relatively small amount of money, but the returns in the form of lessening the overall burden on the health system are immeasurable. 

It’s simply part of the government’s latest austerity drive, which of tours, they are blaming on Canberra reducing their GST revenue. 

Rottnest, here you come

Best of luck to all those swimming to Rottnest on Saturday. Looks as though it’s going to be a bit of a slog. The talk at training this morning was of some lumpy seas, and I note the swim web site is also telling swimmers of what it will do if things get rough.

Rottnest for me was once was enough, and that was only in a relay, and we finished second. It’s just not me “thing”. I prefer the hurly burly of the surf race, so will continue training for the next five weeks for the nationals at Kurrawa.

As an aside. A funny incident in the change room after training this morning. A young guy recognised his thongs, which he’d left there two weeks ago. Strange when he asked someone if they were his. These thongs were pretty worn (and gross). The owner would certainly recognise them. Guess that’s why the cleaners left them untouched on a bench for those two weeks.

Those pesky sharks

I’m not sure what will happen with the sharks next time I go for a swim/surf at the beach.

For the past two weeks I’ve finished my swim and/or ski paddle and just as I’ve left the water the shark alarm has sounded.

I consider my self fortunate not to have been bitten, I guess. But the point is I was out there with them swimming in close proximity anyway.

As they say in the classics: ignorance is bliss.

Holidays are training days

I hope everyone in Perth was out and about today and not scoffing hot dogs at the Queen’s BBQ. If you were, I hope you walked home.

It’s all to easy to sit back and relax when there’s a long weekend.

Okay, maybe you deserve to do nothing, but I always treat it as an excuse to exercise a little bit more … just so I can enjoy myself later.

Why not just have a sleep-in and go training, have a nice brunch, then some light exercise again before dinner?

I went hard at 8.30am on the surf ski, had lunch “out” (fish and salad) with my wife (rare), relaxed until five, then jogged the dog around the park twice (30 minutes).

All up, an hour and a half.

Later I didn’t feel guilty about the beer and pizza (home-cooked, of course).

The best exercise schedule

How many times a week should people over-40 exercise?

There are many variables when determining this. Things like: current fitness levels, previous exercise patterns, injuries, lifestyle, work, family demands and motivation. All up, there can be many barriers to exercise.

For general health and wellbeing, I’d recommend at least four to five workouts a week, with a combination of half strength and half aerobic, and in at least two different settings.

Weights, walking, swimming and cycling (and variations within those activities) are my recommended activities. For those a little more adventurous, try surf ski or kayak paddling. If you haven’t noticed, cycling, swimming and kayak are all non weight-bearing exercises, which means there is less wear and tear on the body and less chance of injury.

At the end of the day, the golden rule for people easing back into exercise is: “train, don’t strain”. There’s nothing worse than having all the best intentions and it’s ruined because you’ve pushed yourself too much.

Visit my web site: http://www.gsmith.id.au