Category: Opinion

Weight A Minute, Where’s My Cardio???

After several years of writing this blog, it should come as no surprise to anyone who reads it regularly that I’m a firm fitness advocate. I’m no Olympian or anything (Shut up! I heard that! You know who you are!) but I work hard to try and stay healthy, especially in light of having Type-1 Diabetes for over four decades. It started years ago with karate and slowly evolved into some cardio training and light weights. Like any fighting sport, karate requires that a practitioner have a reasonable amount of cardio in order to keep up with the rigours of martial arts. Some weightlifting is required in order to maintain one’s strength. So that begs the question: which is more important? Cardio or strength training?

The thing with any form of exercise is that one always believes that their way is the best way. People who focus on resistance training will always assume that resistance training is the best. People who focus on cardio will assume that whatever they do, running, cycling, swimming or whatnot, will swear that cardio is the only way. Realistically, karate is the only best way… (see what I mean?) But seriously, people will always assume that their direction is the only one but the reality is simpler than that. Proper and effective fitness will require both.

If all you do is weight lift, you may gain some static strength but it will have no practical application. Unless you’re trying to body build professionally, weightlifting is usually best done in moderate doses. The larger and more rounded your muscle groups become, the less flexibility and range of motion you’ll have. Picture those huge body builders who can’t remove that post-it note from between their shoulder blades. That’d be pretty easy shit for a person with normal muscle mass. That’s why in general and especially if you do karate, you should limit your strength training to developing actual strength and not necessarily increasing your overall size.

If all you do is cardio, you’ll have great stamina, great endurance and be able to hold out under your own body weight for extended periods of time. But you’ll need to run, if someone strong tries to get their hands on you. The caveat is that intensive cardio training will actually contribute to a bit of strength training. You can’t be a long-distance runner or a marathon swimmer without some strength thrown in there, right? But ultimately, you’ll still need some strength training included in your overall routine. Here’s where I get to brag a bit and mention that karate promotes and provides both of those things.

No matter what type of workouts you prefer, you should always work to include all types. You need some cardio. You need some strength training. And if you do martial arts, you need them both. Whether you integrate both aspects into one workout or do them separately… I like doing a routine where I’ll do my weight sets with a couple of minutes of high-intensity cardio in between. It keeps my heart rate up and makes the workout all the more challenging. If you’re doing cardio as a standalone workout, it’s important to remember that besides the normally-expected benefits of cardio, getting that heart rate up and increasing your blood flow will also help with muscle recovery from your strength training. Food for thought… ☯️

Commando: A Review (Heavy Spoilers)

It feels like I’m writing a fair bit of reviews on films and television series… And that’s because I am! No big secret, I’m a fan of a god flic, especially something that was aired in the good ol’ 1980’s. There’s just something about that decade that’s near and dear to my heart; likely the fact that my formative years took place during that decade. But there’s something about watching a solid action film that doesn’t stress out too much about the script or even the plot points and focuses on plenty of action and explosions. 1985’s Commando, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, is no exception.

Commando tells the story of a retired Special Forces commander named John Matrix who lives a secluded, quiet life with his young daughter, who just happens to be played by Alyssa Milano. I was a HUGE “Who’s the Boss” fan, so Milano is just the icing on the cake. Their lives are disturbed when members of Matrix’s team are systemically killed and the military assumes Matrix is next, and warns him. Matrix’s daughter is kidnapped and Matrix is blackmailed into performing a heinous act to get her back. Of course, instead of complying, Matrix becomes a one-man army of vengeance as he works to getting his daughter back.

I’d like to say the movie still totally holds up to modern times. The truth is that I likely only think so because I was a child of the 80’s. Most people nowadays likely wouldn’t get the references and comedy behind all the violence. Basically, Matrix makes his way back and enlists the help of an unwitting flight attendant who not only helps him gear up and get equipped to rescue his daughter but ends up being a key point to the story. It should be noted that the girl’s mother is never mentioned or referenced during the movie.

The movie reaches its climax when Matrix flies to a remote, private island where he absolutely decimates an army of opposing soldiers who are guarding the antagonist holding Matrix’s daughter hostage. Although I’m sure there are plenty of forums and discussion threads that would identify the impossibilities or inconsistencies of what takes place in this movie, sometimes it’s important to just sit back and enjoy the ride. This movies does just that, providing a gratuitous amount of action scenes while managing not to take itself too seriously.

As one would expect from a classic 80’s action movie, matrix rescues his daughter, annihilates everyone in sight and manages to kill the bad and save the day. The movie ends on a pretty cheesy note, with matrix marching down to the beachfront where U.S. Army forces storm the beach and somehow immediately recognize Matrix as a friendly, despite the fact that majority of them likely never served with him. He’s permitted to simply walk away and fly off with his daughter and newfound “associate,” without any debrief or information on what went down during his time on the island.

Honestly, it’s a pretty fun thrill ride, if you can get past the dated format of the movie and its plot points. It’s a guilty pleasure of mine, worthy of being included among classics like Conan the Barbarian, Predator and Red Sonja (yeah, I said it! Fight me!) I know not many people were pleased with Brigitte Nielsen’s portrayal of the famous, red-haired comic book heroine, but I think it totally stands up. If you’re looking for something action-packed, fun and easy to watch on a Saturday night, Commando is currently streaming on Disney+ and I highly recommend it. ☯️

Quality Over Quantity

One of the more complicated things with being a content creator of any kind, whether it’s a blog or one of the other, stupider forms of content creation (I swear I’m not bitter) is that the online world has more than its fair share of artificial people and fake followers. You know the ones; people who comment on posts even if it would be easier and simpler to just scroll on by and not comment at all. Or the ones that like to incite arguments and troll people from the safety and comfort of their keyboard. Such is the way of the world, these days. I don’t always agree with other people’s perspectives and opinions and the light knows I hate this stupid TikTok trend that everyone is on, but I keep that shit to myself. For the most part.

The bigger problem is when people shop for likes. What I mean is people who will click like on a post or an article or even follow someone’s account in the hopes that it’ll be reciprocated. My follower-ship has grown significantly in recent years. It’s a slow process and I’ve come to appreciate all my followers and the people who take the time to read my content. But I always find it interesting when a post goes live and someone will like it almost the same moment as its posted. For those of you who have noticed, I usually put up my daily posts between 6 to 7 am, so depending on what time zone one happens to be in, it’s FAIRLY unlikely that someone will have read some of my lengthy shit within a minute.

I make a point that I don’t like someone’s post unless I’ve taken the time to read it completely. That’s a point of pride for me. Wanna know what another point of pride is? Knowing that people are actually reading what I post. This blog started a few years ago as a way to keep my writing skills sharp and to allow me to share decades of experience about Diabetes, martial arts and health & fitness. I’ve enjoyed it and its become an integral part of my life and my weekly routine. In a few weeks in fact, I should strike 1,000 posts in a row. That’ll be a milestone for me. Can’t wait. ☯️

From The Least Likely Sources…

I kinda like this. Sometimes, it’s easy to forget that Robert Downey Jr. has been involved in movies for decades before the MCU “made him famous.” Personally, I thought he was great in Sherlock Holmes and Tropic Thunder. But from an 80’s standpoint, Johnny Be Good, Weird Science and The Pick-up Artist comes to mind. A great actor. But the thought provided above does get one thinking. Depending on who you’re dealing with, sometimes there’s no winning and you’ll just have to forge your own path regardless of what others think. ☯️

“Wine-ing” About Carbs…

Having Diabetes makes almost everything food and fitness-related more difficult. That’s why when I find something that boasts being “sugar-free,” I jump on that shit like, well… me! I’ve been fooled on a number of different occasions, where things like sugar-free candy still have carbohydrates that affect overall blood sugar levels. This is part of the struggle that most people don’t understand. That’s why, when I found a bottle of wine boasting “0g sugar,” I couldn’t help but grab a bottle. Although several different blends were available, I opted for the Pinot Noir, since it was on special and a couple of dollars cheaper. What can I say? I’m cheap…

Bask is a Canadian-made wine that appears to be recently featured at my local liquor store. Sitting at 12.5% alcohol ( as though you couldn’t tell from the photo), this pinot noir has a pleasant taste and a light finish that goes quite well after stuffing my face with buffalo chicken dip and nachos. But I digress… Unlike most other wines, there’s a full nutrition label on the back of the bottle, which boasts 7 grams of carbs per 188mL, which means approximately 21 grams of carbohydrates for the entire bottle. If accurate, that’s almost more than double the carbs in the bottle of shiraz I usually purchase.

So, the irony here, and what’s difficult for most Type-1 Diabetics, is that many are often fooled by a claim that something is “0g of sugar” or sugar-free. Although sugar in and of itself may be low or excluded, the total carbs will still affect one’s overall blood sugars. It will be interesting to see how this bottle affects me. I’m not bolusing for the drinks I’m having but rather, I’ll correct for any rises in blood glucose that I note in the next hour or two. What’s funny is that the nutritional label even talks about the sugar content that MAY be contained within…

By that count, there could potentially be 2 grams of sugar within one full bottle. This would be included in the total 21 grams of carbs, based on the nutrition label’s count. It’s a decent wine, the flavour isn’t my favourite but it’s good enough for the experiment at hand. Plus, it gave me a reason to sip wine. Not this morning, mind you. But let this serve as a PSA for all my fellow Diabetics out there. “Sugar-free,” “No Sugar Added” and “All Natural” may mean nothing, in terms of total carbohydrates and how it may affect one’s blood sugar. Food for thought… (pun fully intended) ☯️

BrightBurn: A Review (Significant Spoilers)

in case it wasn’t obvious from the multitude of references I’ve made over recent years in all my posts, I’m a bit of a comic book nerd. Having started my collection in the early 80’s and never really stopped. I’m a child of what was referred to as the Bronze Age of comics, and was carried well into the “Dark Age” of comics before I stopped purchasing monthly editions. When I reached adulthood, I started purchasing collected works of certain titles, better known as graphic novels. Although not traditional comic books, graphic novels have allowed me to reminisce and read some of the storylines I lived through.

The Death of Superman storyline is a solid example. Green Lantern’s Emerald Dawn/Twilight and the Flash’s “Terminal Velocity” and “Dead Heat” are among my favourite storylines. Since the entire point of comic books is to read and escape to a reality where people can do amazing things, I’ve always been a fan of original and unique comic book series, as well as the visual media that’s all the rage these days. For example (and it may not be a popular opinion among my comic peers), I rather enjoyed the changes brought about by the New 52 take on the DC universe. Movies and television have only gotten progressively better, although you’ll never convince me that anyone is a better Superman than Christopher Reeve.

With some of that originality comes some ideas that step away from the norm, and they can often be quite interesting. This is where I landed on a movie called BrightBurn. Released in 2019, this is a movie classified as a “superhero horror film” and features a couple unable to bear a child who finds an infant in a crashed ship on their property. The couple raise the infant as their own, knowing that someday the ship that carried him may be revealed and they’ll have some serious questions to answer. As the boy gets older, he begins to exhibit certain abilities including invulnerability, heat vision and flight. Sound familiar? It should; that’s basically the origin story for Superman.

The difference in this instance however, is that BrightBurn (or Brandon, as he’s named in the movie) begins to respond to calls from the ship and becomes darker and more sinister as the movie plays out. After a brief and awkward chat with his father about the birds and the bees, he begins to stalk and watch one of the girls from his class, going as far as killing her mother when he’s told to stay away. When one of his aunts opposes him, he kills her husband and makes it look like an accident. His parents realized far too late that their adopted child is turning evil and get killed themselves. The movie doesn’t end well, with the child carrying on as he sees fit, wreaking chaos and killing at will.

Picture Superman growing up as the worst possible version of himself. Some graphic novels have taken liberties with what may have happened if Superman had landed anywhere other than a Kansas field to be found by the Kents. Elseworlds Comics has done a pretty good job of this. Superman: Red Son examined the possibility of Superman landing in Soviet era Russia. Superman: True Brit examines if he would have landed in England as opposed to Kansas. But none has quite examined this level of destructive evil in one possessing powers similar to Superman’s.

Picture a child with all of Superman’s powers, completely unhinged and willing to kill anyone who opposes him or questions his will. That nightmarish in the best of circumstances and this movie examines that exact premise. Between burning a hole through his father’s skull with his heat vision and dropping his mother from 30,000 feet before intentionally downing a full passenger plane, the thought of what this child will be capable of as he gets older and takes full stock of his powers is the stuff of nightmares, and they put it in a movie.

The film was widely received as a failure, with the potential for BrightBurn’s universe to be expanded upon before scoring quite low with critics and audiences alike. I don’t get it, because I thought it was creepy as hell and an interesting and refreshing take on the superhero genre that shows that power doesn’t always land at the feet of those who will do good with it. It’s a decent watch, if you’re looking for something with a bit of creepiness mixed with super powers. I thought it was good and I would certainly watch it again. ☯️

Movember Update

Alright folks, here we are! The middle of November. On October 30th, I posted that once again this year, my team and I would be raising money for Movember, which is a registered charity aimed at men’s health, prostate and testicular cancer as well as suicide prevention. I know some folks find it odd that I would be lobbying for such a charity, especially since I have Type-1 Diabetes AND November is generally considered Diabetes Awareness Month. But the truth is, I raise awareness for Diabetes all year round with my writing and through discussed education with others. No, the month of November is when I can take four weeks ot attack something else that’s near and dear to me.

Decades ago, my grandfather was diagnosed with prostate cancer. It was long enough ago that I didn’t fully understand the situation. Hell, I had no clue what a prostate was, let alone the fact that I had one. When Movember came out, I decided right away to start participating. The best thing is that I was always part of a team that gathered together to raise funds as a group, which always made things easier. For the pst two years, I’ve gone it alone along with a few people at my work. Although we tend to donate ourselves in order to participate in moustache growth, we depend on outside donations in order to reach our very modest goals.

All we’re trying to raise is $500 and let’s be honest; you guys don’t come on my blog to be solicited for donations. But you should also recognize that I’m not typically one to solicit as a general rule. But this is a great cause and despite the fact that we’re only halfway through the month, we’re also only at about halfway of our total goal of $500. I know times are tough and everyone has their hand out, these days. But honestly, any little bit will help. Hell, if you can only donate $5 or even $1, it all goes towards the ultimate goal. This is where I ask for some help…

Please visit the Movember website. Once there, you’ll find a button at the top right corner that says “Donate.” Click on it and select “Find a Person or Team” and type in my name (Shawn Cook). There, you can donate anonymously or put your name and information in, should you need a tax receipt. It couldn’t be simpler. Prostate cancer is reasonably avoidable, provided men get themselves examined and checked on a regular basis and take the steps for self-care. I know this post will go to my Facebook as well and given the number of friends and followers I have, my hope and expectation is that at least some of you will step up to the plate. Help me help others… ☯️

Little Moments Of Silence

One of the most difficult aspects of adult life is finding moments of silence. Between work, kids and the rigours of daily life, finding a quiet moment to let your head cool can be a difficult aspect, at best. When I was a teenager, I didn’t appreciate those mornings when I could roll out of bed, have some breakfast and things within my home were nice and quiet. I used to think about how boring it was and how I would have loved to have something more to do on those mornings. besides work. Once I got a job, I started to miss those dull, quiet mornings. That feeling never goes away.

As the decades have melted away, I’ve learned to meditate and find the value in silence. But that silence has become fleeting. on mornings that i work, I don’t have the time to enjoy the silence within the house. I prep meals, shower, shave and get dressed before rushing out of the house. The irony is I often have moments of silence in my office; at least a couple of hours’ worth in the morning, depending on meetings. But silence doesn’t hold quite the same quality as it does when you’re at work.

On the weekends, I tend to sleep in (if one can truly call 9 am sleeping in) and usually all I want to make my weekends complete is to sip back that first load of caffeine, watch a few episodes of a preferred show and let my body relax after a week of work. However, since my children don’t usually get to see me in the mornings throughout the week, they have different plans on the weekends. The fact that I usually camp out in the basement with Nathan means nothing. once the morning comes around, both kids think it’s their complete and uncontested duty to pile on top of me and make as much noise as humanly possible. Brutal.

We always make a point of taking the boys to something that allows them to burn some energy and interact with other kids. This weekend, we brought them to Klimerz, and indoor play structure. It always amazes me how after two straight hours of playing, they still objected to leaving and had energy left to burn. Ah, to be young again. I seem to be rambling but the point is that no matter how busy your life gets, never forget to find a few moments of silence to let your head cool. Everyone needs it. Not everyone works to get it. ☯️

Ms. Marvel: A Review (Spoilers)

During my youth and even now, I’ve been an avid reader of comic books. Often seen as a touch childish by many, it’s a guilty pleasure that allows a person to escape into the wonder of possibility and answer the question of “what if,” as it relates to superhuman and their powers. I was always partial to the Infinity Gauntlet storyline, which unlike the watered-down MCU film adaption called Infinity War (Which was the second Infinity Gauntlet book, BTW) was a rich storyline loaded with hundreds upon hundreds of characters and sub-plots.

The MCU has done a fantastic job of bringing the comic books to life, starting with 2008’s Iron Man. Although there have been a number of movies and shows based on Marvel Comics in the decades before (Hulk and Spider-man being two of my favourites), the MCU brought comic book heroes into the modern age and rejuvenated the industry. Now that the primary storyline has reached its zenith, the MCU has released a batch of series on streaming services; some good, some bad. One of those is a rather short series based on Ms. Marvel. Let’s discuss…

Contrary to what most non-comic book readers would think, there have been several iterations of Ms. Marvel in the comic books, started all the way back in the late 1970’s. The first to bear the name was actually Carol Danvers, or who MCU followers know as Captain Marvel, from the 2019 MCU film. The current Ms. Marvel, Kamala Khan, is the fourth to take up the name and is the subject of today’s post. Released on Disney+ just this past summer, Ms. Marvel is a short-lived series with only six episodes in its first season.

Although entertaining, the concept of how Kamala gets her powers is a bit convoluted and muddies the flow of the story a bit. She inherits a Bangalore from her grandmother that was left for her by her great-grandmother. After putting it one, it begins to emit a glow and Kamala is exposed to an unknown energy that appears to give her superpowers. These powers fully surface during an incident at a comic-con where Kamala went dressed as Captain Marvel and saves a fellow peer’s life.

From there, the story goes on to see Kamala and her family returns o their home country, examine her origins and discover that she is actually a descendent of the djinn (yes, THOSE ones), which is why the bangal only works for her. Some time travel and family history gets mixed in, there, before Kamala returns to the US where she fights her enemies and tries to save a fellow peer with similar powers from being captured by the government. The season ends after only six episodes with Kamala running off into the night, powers aglow.

The build-up was significantly slow and I feel that there would be plenty of room for character growth, perhaps some deeper delve into how her energy powers actually work. On the one hand, it was a campy, entertaining few episodes that gave me something to watch while I do dishes at night. On the other hand, the story was too short, with only six episodes and no clear indication whether the show will continue or be cancelled.

To have it cancelled would be a shame, considering the character potential and further storylines that could be explored. And I’m a little disappointed at only six episodes. I mean, seriously, they could have maybe had Kamala square off against two enemies in season one, instead of just the one. This could have stretched it out to an even dozen episodes. But what do I know? I’m just a grizzled old comic book reader. Watch Ms. Marvel at your leisure. Although short and sweet, it has the potential to be entertaining. ☯️

The Little Engine That Couldn’t…

Have you ever noticed how finding the motivation to do something is usually difficult, if not all-out impossible? Why do you believe that is? If it’s something one WANTS to do, it would stand to reason that motivation should almost be self-fulfilling, right? But it never is. And there’s a genuine reason for that, that most of us don’t think about. You see, most people go through life assuming that motivation comes first. You’ll often hear one saying, “I need to get motivated to do this…” But that isn’t the way motivation works.

Loosely defined, because I LOVE to loosely define things, motivation means the general desire or willingness to do something. An easy example would be to say that I am motivated to learn karate or motivated to lose some weight and get in better shape. However, contrary to what the average person believes, motivation will almost assuredly never come first. Motivation comes as a result of success, and one can’t have success unless they make a start. Only then will one be motivated by their goals and achievements.

If I use myself as an example, I started karate at a tender young age at what feels like an eternity ago. When I first walked into the dojo, I wasn’t motivated. I wanted to be there, don’t get me wrong. I had goals and ambitions to achieve by starting in it, but I couldn’t rightly say I was motivated by karate. As I started to train and began to see some change brought on by my efforts and started achieving goals, I became motivated to continue, motivated to train harder, motivated to pop my clutch and study like a man possessed, which came about as a result of my success in learning some of the art and becoming proficient.

Had I not experienced that success, I likely would not have been motivated to continue with my training, which is what frequently happens to many people who join. I use this an my example because it’s an easy one, and one that I’ve experienced myself. But this concept applies to just about anything one does in life. Let’s say you decide to want to cycle 55 kilometres in the coming summer. You won’t be “motivated” to reach 500 kilometres; you’ll set the goal for yourself and become motivated to reach your goal once you’ve started to gain mileage and start seeing how your cardio and overall health is starting to increase.

It’s important to think of motivation a bit like momentum. If you try to run, you can’t leave your starting point at full speed. You need to get yourself moving and build up your speed through your own strength. The product of the runner’s mass and speed is what is considered momentum. Much like momentum, motivation can’t be achieved from a starting point; it needs to be fed and grown, and will only be experienced once you’ve reached a certain momentum in your goals and achievements.

Hopefully that makes sense and I haven’t muddied the waters. Too often, I’ve spoken to people who have said, “I’m just not motivated to do it, anymore…” Of course, you’re not! Because you haven’t achieved any of your goals or seen any progress. You won’t be motivated until you do. So if you feel yourself “unmotivated” in any particular thing you’ve undertaken, don’t believe that this is a reason why you should be determined to stop or walk away. A shout out to my friend, Ricky, for the idea to write about this! ☯️