RossTraining.com Blog

I have new black t-shirts in stock.  The shirts are heavyweight cotton (6.1 oz).  The design can be seen below:

Front

Back

The text on the back of the shirt reads:

RossTraining.com

Bridging The Gap Between

Ordinary and Extraordinary

The price for each shirt is $11.95.  For more information, please refer to the link below:

RossTraining Warrior T-shirts

Train hard,

Ross

I just wanted to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving!   I plan to exercise in the morning before tearing apart some tasty food for the rest of the day!

Have a great holiday!

Ross

We returned home late on Sunday and I am now in the process of catching up with the questions and orders that came in while away in North Dakota.  I plan to return to normal blogging on Wednesday.

As for our trip, I’m happy to report that Matt won a unanimous 10 round decision.  Below is a fight summary provided by Fightnews.com.

Godfrey Wins In N. Dakota

In front of a standing room only crowd at the 4 Bears Casino and Lodge in New Town, North Dakota, three of CES’s rising stars, Matt Godfrey, Aaron Williams and Hank Lundy all put on impressive performances in securing victories on Saturday night.  Godfrey (18-1, 10 KOs), the reigning NABF cruiserweight champion, added  the brand new Sovereign Nations Boxing Council crown to his resume with an impressive shut-out performance over Eddie Gutierrez.  Scores were 100-90 twice and 99-91…

I am headed to North Dakota on Wednesday to work with top ranked cruiserweight Matt Godfrey, who will be fighting Saturday night at the 4 Bears Casino.

Those in the local area can find details regarding the event at the link below:

4 Bears Casino

From what I’ve been told, wireless Internet is VERY limited at the casino.  If I am unable to get online, I will catch up with all emails as soon as I return on Sunday, the 24th.  I’ll also get back to updating the blog. 

Have a great week,

Ross

In a recent entry, I referenced a new study from the American Heart Association.  Within the study, researchers identified that young children may have a “vascular age” that is 30 years older than their actual age.

After reading the initial study, I had feelings of disgust and disbelief.  I cannot grasp how so-called loving parents are able to fill their kids with enough garbage to cause health problems.  The obvious response to my reaction would be that the parents did not know the consequences of their actions.  Perhaps they do not realize what is contained within certain food products.  Perhaps they have been victimized by the food industry’s powerful marketing force.

Is Ignorance An Excuse? 

Should we let these parents off the hook?  Does ignorance now serve as a viable excuse for poor parenting?  Is that really the state of our world today?  Does anyone else find this to be a tad bit on the pathetic side?!?!

Yes, the food industry is deceptive, but that’s no excuse to fall victim to its nonsense.  What happened to due diligence?  My wife and I were not given step by step instructions on how to raise our children.  We actively sought out our own answers.  Whether it was food related, vaccine related, social development related, physical development related, and so on, we read everything that we could get our hands on.  We searched the Internet, read books, watched videos, and continue to do so today.  We don’t take anyone’s word for anything.  We take the time to perform our own research so we can at least attempt to make informed decisions.

And don’t give me the excuse that you do not have time to perform research for your children.  Whether you are homeless and unemployed or a CEO of a Fortune 500 company, you have 24 hours a day.  Busy people do not have 36 hour days.  We all have 24 hours a day, and what you do with your time is your decision.

Putting the welfare of your children at the top of the priority list should be a no brainer!  Why does it appear to be so uncommon?

Just last year, Time Magazine referenced research from Stanford University regarding the preferences of three year old children.  At age three, many kids are already hooked on McDonald’s fast food.  At age two, children have already formed beliefs about certain brand names, logos, and packaging.

How does a 2 year old already know about McDonald’s?  Did he drive his tricycle up to the drive through window?   And how does a 2 year old watch enough television to start identifying logos and brand names?  Do parents ever think to turn off the television and instead spend some time trying to develop the child’s brain!

What happened to working on the alphabet?  Numbers are also fun!  How about puzzles and other BRAIN stimulating games?   And what about getting outside and playing!  Ya know… real simple activities like running in the yard, throwing the ball, learning how to pedal a tricycle, and so on.

I may not be a perfect parent, but I sure as hell try.  My son is two and a half and has never stepped inside a McDonald’s restaurant.  He wouldn’t know the difference between a Big Mac and a hot dog.  He has never tasted either.

Is he deprived?  Hell no!  I don’t consider nurturing the child and putting HIS welfare first to be any form of deprivation.  It may be unusual based on modern statistics, but I’ll happily be the odd man out if it means raising healthy children!

Parents need to take their parenting roles more seriously.  If that means staying up late to read a book, it looks like you’ll be staying up late.  Loving parents make sacrifices for their children.  Turning on the television to distract your kid isn’t a sacrifice.  It’s a damn shame.  Regularly filling your kid with fast food isn’t a sacrifice.  It’s pathetic.

Oddly enough, until I was a parent, these topics never really mattered to me.  Now that I have children, I cannot imagine living any other way.  My kids mean more to me than anything in the world.  It is difficult for me to offer anything but disgust to those who neglect the health and well being of their children.

Ross

I recently came across the video below…

Included within is a powerful tribute to the Ironman Triathlon.  Oddly enough, I hardly know anything about the Ironman.  It is not an event that I’ve ever followed.  I’ve never even seen it on TV.  It wasn’t until I watched a few Youtube videos earlier this year that I knew the specifics of the event.

So, why bother posting the video to this blog?

The answer is really quite simple.  Despite knowing nothing about the event, I am not ashamed to say that I am inspired by the athletes.  No, I do not have interest in the event, but I do admire anyone who puts forth a true, all out effort.

I see so many athletes and coaches who argue over which sport is the most difficult.  My answer to this debate is really quite simple however.  There is no such thing.  As I mentioned in a recent article, individual factors are much more significant.  I know fighters that I do not consider to be “tough” athletes.  They are involved in a tough sport, but their individual factors do not stack up to others in less contact based sports.

After watching Ironman footage, I see people from all walks of life who are giving everything they have, and then some.  When you give 110 percent, there is nothing else for you to give.  Such an effort is not dependent on the individual sport, but rather the individual person.  A half ass effort can be applied to any sport or task.

When I see someone put forth a truly gut wrenching performance and effort, I’ll tip my hat in respect, regardless of the event.   We do not all share the same interests in training or sport, but we should share the respect that is earned by those who go for it. What constitutes “it” is less important in my eyes.

The same logic applies to training.  We may not perform the same workouts, or even the same kind of workouts, but that does not mean we do not share the same intensity and effort.  We simply apply these factors towards different pursuits.  The bodybuilder may work as hard as the fighter.  The two simply apply their work in different directions.  Each competitor deserves respect for the effort, not the event that they have chosen.
Ross

New research from the American Heart Association suggests that obese children as young as ten have  arteries similar to that of a 45-year-old adult.

Fat kids founds to have arteries of 45-year-olds

As stated within the link above, Dr. Geetha Raghuveer (of Children’s Hospital in Kansas City):

“wanted to see if early signs of damage could be documented. She and colleagues used painless ultrasound tests to measure the thickness of the wall of a major neck artery in 70 children, ages 10 to 16. Almost all had abnormal cholesterol and many were obese.

No one knows how thick a 10-year-old’s artery should be, since they’re not regularly checked for signs of heart disease, so researchers used tables for 45-year-olds, who often do get such exams. The kids’ “vascular age” was about 30 years older than their actual age, she found.”

A Simple Solution

The article goes on to suggest that 1/3 of American children are overweight and 1/5 are obese.  It then states how the American Academy of Pediatrics has recommended cholesterol-lowering drugs for kids.

The fact that drugs are recommended as a solution isn’t a surprise, but that doesn’t make it any less pathetic.  Do we really need to give our kids drugs to solve their weight problems?  How about telling the parents to stop buying the junk that is causing the problem?  I don’t know any 8-year-olds who do their own grocery shopping.  When I was eight, I was outside playing until the sun went down.  We rode bikes, played basketball, football, baseball, etc.  I cannot remember any kids that were my age in the neighborhood who were obese.

How about we prescribe some commonsense to the parents, rather than feeding drugs to their kids?   Is that too much to ask?

I’ve seen parents smirk and chuckle to themselves when they see my son eating fresh vegatables or fruit.  We were at an aquarium a few weeks ago and we brought sliced veggies and apples to eat as snacks.  It was as if we were the odd folks since we weren’t buying the overpriced fried food that was available for purchase.

Since when did health become such a rarity?  Since when did eating a fresh piece of fruit make you the odd man out?   Since when was it rare to get up off your ass and play outside with your children?  Is that really too much to ask of a parent?  If you can drive to the pharmacy to pick up a prescription, why not use that time to go outside and throw the ball with your kid?  Guess what, they just might enjoy it, and you just might have some QUALITY time with your kids.  Doesn’t that mean anything to anyone anymore?  Shouldn’t parents care about the health of their children?

My son will pick playing outside or tagging along at the gym any day over sitting in front of the television.  We don’t force anything on him.  He is more eager to go to the gym than I am on most days!  He would stay all day if he could.  Kids learn from and imitate their parents.  Parents need to lead from the front.

Pumping Little Johnny full of crap isn’t a sign of love.  It’s a sign of ignorance and poor parenting.  Many parents in today’s world need to wake up and get a clue.

Ross

In the past few years, I’ve noticed a common theme emerging amongst many athletes and exercise enthusiasts. Day after day, more and more people seem to believe that they must follow a specific system EXACTLY as it is presented. Perhaps it is something they find in a book, DVD, website, or a combination of each. These people become so dedicated to a single training system that it isn’t uncommon for them to spend hours and hours defending their “way” of training.

Never before have I seen so many people care so much about what someone else wants to do with his or her time. There have been some truly epic (and nasty) discussions on even my own message board, where different folks spend all day arguing over different strokes.

I believe it was Mark Twain who said there is more than one way to skin a cat (meaning there is more than one way to get what you want).

Twain was clearly a wise man, yet why is it so difficult for some people to abide by his simple advice? Does it really bother you to see someone do things differently than you? Why spend so much time worrying about what or why someone else chooses to do what they want to do? Did it ever cross your mind that different people have different interests and opinions?

Fans of the old Dirty Harry (Clint Eastwood) movies will appreciate his quote below.

“Opinions are like assholes, everyone has got one” -Dirty Harry

Does anyone ever really win an online debate? How are online debates scored? Does the force with which you bang on your keyboard equate to effective aggressiveness? Does post count on a message board account for extra points on the scorecards? Or perhaps the number of 3+ syllable words included in a single response? Are style points added up for effective sarcasm?

Give me a break! I know WORLD champion fighters who couldn’t tell you the difference between periodization and a quadricep. They couldn’t win an online debate with an orangutan, but they could kick the asses of most who are much craftier behind the keyboard. They have better things to do than argue with someone who trains differently. Their sole concern is improving their own ability, using those methods that work best for them specifically (News Flash: what works for one may not work for another).

So, the next time you feel inclined to slug it out with your keyboard, why not simply worry more about yourself instead? Why not focus on REAL results in the competitive arena with real (not make believe) athletes?

When I’m working with a fighter, the only competitors that we are concerned with are those standing across the ring from us in the opposing corner. The athletes don’t bang it out on a message board. They don’t have time for such nonsense. Their fights are packed with real punches, real blood, and real pain.

As for the RossTraining system, there is no such thing and never will be. Take a look at the link below for more information:

What is RossTraining?

Ross

November 8th marks an anniversary of sorts for Roy Jones Jr.  It was November 8th, 2003 when he first showed signs of normality.  He labored through a close decision over light heavyweight Antonio Tarver, after having beaten John Ruiz convincingly just months earlier at heavyweight.  Roy then went on to lose three fights in a row, two by knockout.  It looked like it was over for Roy. He just wasn’t the same after rapidly cutting to light heavyweight after the Ruiz fight.  He looked like a shot fighter after three straight losses.

Yet to the surprise of many, Roy is back in the spotlight.  Tomorrow night he faces off with unbeaten super middleweight champion Joe Calzaghe.  My logical side tells me that Roy is far past his prime, and I shouldn’t be interested in this fight.  Logic is losing the argument for me however. As a youngster, I vividly remember watching Roy Jones in 1988 as an amateur on the US Olympic team.  It was that year’s Olympic games that sparked my passion for the sport of boxing.  I recorded all of the fights and still have the old VHS tapes.  Roy Jones Jr. was the one fighter who stood out to me.

Years later, I received an 8 x 10 autograph that was personalized to me from Roy.  Former world title contender John Scully (a mentor of mine) had gotten it for me.  He knew Roy since the amateurs and later trained with him as a pro.

You can actually see a brief video of John sparring with Roy back in 1988 at the the link below.  The two were sparring in preparation for the 1988 US Olympic Trials.  The sparring took place at Sugar Ray Leonard’s gym in Maryland.

Scully and Roy

There is no question that the interest sparked from the 1988 Olympic games is at least partially responsible for where I am today.  It was then that my passion for the Sweet Science took off.  It’s hard to believe that it has been over 20 years since those Olympic games.  I would have never imagined that Roy would still be fighting at this level.

The kid in me is excited about this fight.  Calzaghe has been a dominant champion throughout his career.  I remember reading about his interest in fighting Roy Jones many years ago in the International Boxing Digest magazine.  I wish it had happened back when Roy was in his prime, but it wasn’t meant to be.

Here we are however and I’m excited about tomorrow night’s fights.  Scully and many other fighters from our old gym are actually making the drive to New York to see the fight live.  We are all hoping for the old Roy, as opposed to an old Roy.  Calzaghe is a great fighter however, who has not received the credit that he deserves.

Regardless of the outcome, I hope that it turns out to be an exciting, fan pleasing fight.   To those who are not familiar with either fighter, below are two highlight clips that you may enjoy.

Enjoy the fights!
Ross

PS - One last thought worth mentioning…  I’ve written about Roy in this entry as I followed his career since the amateurs.  This should not take away from Joe Calzaghe however, who has been a dominant force in boxing throughout his career.  He is unbeaten and will certainly be very difficult to beat.  I wouldn’t bet money on this fight.

When time permits, I encourage you to read through the story linked to below:

Hopkins and an even tougher fighter
It is a powerful story about Bernard Hopkins and his friendship with the now deceased Shaun Negler.  There isn’t much that I can say that isn’t included in the link above, so I’ll cut this entry short so you can read the full story.
Ross