I’ve not perused the fitness mags in several months, as I don’t like to upset my delicate constitution, but I felt compelled to check out the newsracks today. A relatively new publication from Muscle and Fiction, Old School Fitness, caught my eye (I do so enjoy old school fitness). I was not surprised to be completely let down with the contents: Dinosaur training that resembled a beginner’s Weider routine, as opposed to Kubiks’ stripped-down, no-nonesense approach, “old school” exercises such as the walking lunge (gah), and to add insult to injury, the only “old-timers” mentioned were Reg Park and Steve Reeves (two fine gentleman, but when you say “old-timer” I think John Grimek, Sig Klein, Louis Cyr…) ! Needless to say, I was not impressed.

Except by one thing. An innocuous one page ad for ProSpot Fitness systems.

Here’s the skinny on ProSpot stuff: With a remarkable resemblance to a Smith machine (a comparison they seem to hate!), the ProSpot apparatus consists of a frame and a bar suspended by 4 “spotting” cables. The spotting cables are activated and deactivated through a touch sensor system embedded in the bar; grab the bar and the bar is released to move through whatever range of motion your heart desires, release the bar and the cables lock the bar in a dead stop, wherever it is. It’s a great idea, especially if you’re wedded to the idea that you must perform free weights, and you can’t be bothered to properly set up a power rack.

Taking a look at the demonstration videos gives you a sense of how the machine works (although the demonstrator’s form could certainly use some work). The ProSpot machine definitely has the “ooh I want that” coolness factor going for it (as does much in gizmoland - Treos and iPods being two prominent examples). As might be expected, this little gizmo carries a hefty pricetag ($1400 for a stripped-down P-100, $2250 for one with all the bells and whistles), but if you can’t be bothered with a reliable power rack and have the means, it is a viable alternative.

It certainly is better than getting a Smith Machine - the machine of doom.

I implore you to check out the videos. As any individual who has come out of the bottom position of a back squat with any meaningful resistance on their backs (like, say, 2x bodyweight) can tell you, a machine that “racks” you as soon as you let go of the bar is very intriguing indeed.

I’d pay good money to see someone try to do a hang clean with that, though. LOL.

Unfortunately, all was not wine and roses during our holiday trip. One of the unfortunate consequences of performing recreational activities is that, particularly with extreme sports, there is a high likelihood of injury.

I emerged unscathed (this time) from our downhill mountain biking jaunt. Sairalyn, however, was not so lucky. In fact, the very first two turns were quite steep, much more so than the rest of the trail (which was for the most part, as flat as a mountain trail can be). In addition, it was slick, due to all the gravel that was scattered all over the trail. Sairalyn took a tumble or two and got a little bit scraped up.

The interesting thing is that she merely exhibited minor scrapes and abrasions, which we bandaged up immediately following the biking. Two days later, however, there was an entirely different story to tell.

Above: Anterior shot of Sairalyn’s quadriceps two days after our biking trip.

Above: Note, if you will, the yellowing of the bruise near the top portion of the bandage. Nice.

The unusual thing was that the bruise was neither sore nor tender to the touch (unless you touched at the area that sustained the scrapes and abrasions). Interestingly, when we removed the bandage another two days later, there was zero bruising on the skin that was under the bandage - it was like someone ran over her leg with a bruise color crayon and wasn’t able to color the part that was under the bandage.

As you might imagine, none of this sat well with her. She has since sworn off mountain biking, unless it’s only uphill.

Snowboarding season can’t come soon enough, I’m afraid.

Above: My lovely, long-suffering wife comtemplates what it would be like being married to a man who wrote poetry for a living.

This past Labor Day weekend my wife and I were able to escape to Vermont to get away from the city, breathe some fresh mountain air, tease ourselves about snowboarding season, and have a generally romantic weekend away from home and responsibility.

Being purveyors of an active lifestyle, our Romantic Weekend Getaway somehow involved trail hiking and downhill mountain biking. I’m not sure this is what Don Juan or Rudolph Valentino would have done, but we had a great time. And we got to have a sneak peek at snowboarding season - fun on the mountain, dinner at Sirloin Saloon, and other sundry details my gentlemanly side prevents me from describing here.

Moral of the story, dear reader? It is good to live an active lifestyle.

Incidentally, progress on my ankle injury is generally good: the swelling is almost completely gone, I feel no pain when ambulating normally, and I can bear weight on it pretty well (as evidenced by my Leg Press performance of 500 lbs yesterday). Things I still can’t do without pain are: jump, land, and plantar flex more than about 75-80 degrees. I haven’t tried pushing it on inversion, but I’m fairly certain that it wouldn’t be a great idea. I’m slowly working on building stability and increasing ROM, but I admit I’m a pretty bad patient.

I know. A hike up a rocky mountainside in sandals. Do as I say, not as I do…

Above: No injured Jiu-Jitsu practitioner hike is complete without an adjustable ACE bandage holding one’s ankle together. Just remember: Your mileage may vary.