A Healthy Debate...

     So there I was today, innocently trolling on Facebook when I noticed a posting by Robb Wolf, research biochemist, nutritionist and the author of the fantastic book The Paleo Solution.  His ideas, in conjunction with Mark Sisson and others, have had a profound affect on the way that I look at food and what I put in my body. His post was innocent enough but it ended up causing me to do some thinking, not usually one of my strong suits.
     What Robb wrote was:  "Heading to the @RonPaul rally in #Reno !!!"  
      I've struggled with how to write about this today or why it bothered me without becoming overly political or picking a fight with anyone who may be reading this (Hi Mom!).  I will say, however, that I consider myself a progressive, politically speaking.  A big ol' pro-choice, pro-marriage equality, pro-union, pro-health care reform, pro-secularism, anti-gun, anti-tax-breaks-for-the-rich, anti-corporate personhood Liberal (Capital L).  Some may read all that and just hear "Commie" and that's certainly their right.  Everybody has a right to a political opinion and, quite frankly, everyone should have one.  There does become a point where political discussion matures from the realm of ideological debate and becomes public policy and that is where the real effects on people's lives are made.  I know how I use my vote to shape that policy and Robb Wolf knows how he uses his.  But I won't lie and say that I wasn't disappointed to find out how this person, whose work I greatly admire, thinks politically.  I'm not looking to use this space to discuss Ron Paul, but you can read about his conspiracy theories here and his racist newsletter here, here, here and here.  (In no way shape or form am I suggesting that Robb Wolf believes what's in those newsletters...but at some point every Ron Paul supporter has to come to terms with them.)  What was interesting to me and what made me want to write this was this question:  At what point do personal facts about a person cross over into how their work is viewed?
     Does it make me think less of Walt Disney to know that he was quite possibly a nazi sympathiser?  (Yes).  Charles Lindburgh had some pretty terrible ideas but he's still regarded, mostly, as an American hero (the link is to Wikipedia but scroll down...the good stuff's about halfway down the page).  Same with Henry Ford.  Mel Gibson is no stranger to, um, let's just call them "fringe beliefs" (more here) and his abusive rant at his ex-girlfriend and the mother of one of his children is indefensible (it's not any better when pictured with kittens either), however, Braveheart is still a fantastic movie and I'll still watch it if I stumble on it on TV.  But does anyone listen to Chris Brown anymore?  How many Pennsylvanians are having an absolute crisis of conscious right now regarding Joe Paterno's legacy?
             

I'll stand up for Braveheart. Lethal Weapon 4 not so much...

                             
     These examples differ from just simple knowledge of someone's political slant, however.  I found a list of Republican celebrities and, scrolling through, found a few surprises (Easy-E? Johnny Ramone? Prince?) and a few not-so-surprises (Chuck Norris, Dennis Miller, Arnold).  Even my beloved Coach Ditka almost ran for Senate as a Republican against Barack Obama in 2004.  Curt Schilling considered a Republican political career as well.  Even KISS founder and marketing whore Gene Simmons put his two cents in about the presidential race (um, oops).  (A cynic might say that it's a lot easier to be Republican when you're rich.  I'm not saying that...but some people might...perhaps...moving on...)  I think I can honestly say that this list doesn't change how I think of the work of any of these people.  And, truthfully, it doesn't change what I think of Robb Wolf or his potentially life changing thoughts on diet.  But I do kind of wish that I didn't know that he was going to that rally today.  A little political TMI I guess...

Coach, yes.  Senator, no.

Today's training:

A. hurdle-hop: 3 consecutive x 8; rest 2-3 minutes (allow 1 step)
B. hang squat clean cluster: 63% x 1.1.1 x 5; rest 2 minutes

C. kb squat jump: 32kg x 6 x 3; rest 3-4 minutes
D. farmer carry: 45 seconds tough x 3; rest 2 minutes
+
3 sets:
12 glute ham raise
15 ghd sit-up
rest 2 minutes

     A.  34", 36.5" x 7.  I went up a little bit from last time even though last week I was allowed two steps and here only one.  These generally felt good but my knees hit the bar 2 or 3 times, mostly from a bad starting position rather than a bad jump.  I'm still experimenting with finding a good starting point for these jumps.  If I'm too close my knees hit the bar and if I'm too far away I run the risk of landing on top of it.  For the most part I'm not thinking too much about it though because I feel that over-thinking jumps makes them a lot harder than they should be.  I'm clearing these by a good distance too, apparently (at least that's what people said who saw them).

     B. 63kg x 1.1.1 x 5.  This was obviously heavier than last week but they still felt pretty easy.  I concentrated on good form and getting my elbows under the bar quickly and keeping them elevated during the squat..

     C. 32kg x 6 x 3.  These felt especially explosive during the last set.

     D. 119.2 lbs x :45 x 3.  I managed to successfully combine lbs and kgs to get the right weight and I'm very proud of myself for that.  Trust me- there are about a million ways I could have screwed that up, but I think I got it right.  The three calls we had at work after midnight had caught up to me at this point and I was getting pretty tired but the walks themselves weren't too hard until the last set, which I just barely made.  

     I completely forgot the assistance stuff so I'll make that up tomorrow.