Ruda's Ramblings: Garden of Disarray

Sports franchises go through periods of times where they need to rid the roster, start over, rebuild from the ground up. For the New York Knicks, this has been going on for the better part of 15 years now. A franchise that was once a force in the NBA's eastern conference in the 90's, has become an afterthought, and a joke to most basketball fans. With the exception of the 2012-2013 campaign the Knicks have been a mess. A mess that has been created by an owner , a tyrant, for that manner, who is absolutely clueless in James Dolan. He had the right idea hiring Donnie Walsh, who had the vision moving in the right direction, but Walsh resigned, a move made which i firmly believe was a direct result of pressure from above to acquire Carmelo Anthony.

Cue the next big move, hiring Phil Jackson, the Zen-master, arguably the greatest coach in NBA history to head basketball operations. He'll fix this mess right? Well in his tenure here the Knicks have yet to be even competitive. Drafting arguably our best rookie since Patrick Ewing in Kristaps Porzingis, and a slew of offseason moves that landed us Joakim Noah, Derrick Rose, Courtney Lee, and Brandon Jennings , hasn't lived up to on paper expectations. In fact what we see on a nightly basis is a team that can score, but lack the discipline defensively that is needed to hold down the opposing team in the closing minutes of a game. They also sorely lack veteran leadership. That's where our supposed superstar comes in to play. Sorry knick fans Carmelo isn't that guy. He proves time and time again he hasn't matured enough to lead a franchise. He's a guy that would be a robin to a batman. A Scottie Pippen to a Michael Jordan. A player that compliments a superstars skill set.

For the Knicks to be competitive again the time has come to TRADE CARMELO ANTHONY. The time has come for a full youth movement, led by Porzingis. The kid has superstar written all over him. His game mirrors that of Hakeem Olajuwon, and Dirk Nowitzki rolled in to one. Trading Carmelo doesn't have to net us an A-1 guy in return either. Build through the draft. Hijack a team desperate for that championship piece like the Celtics did a few years back for Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett when they dealt them to Brooklyn. And it doesn't have to be right this second. Wait for the right deal. Carmelo is going to be difficult to deal because his contract envokes a 15% salary increase once dealt rocketing his salary from 24 mill per to about 29 mill per, but there is a team out there that will be willing to take that on. Look at the way Lebron constantly whines to his franchise that he needs "playmakers".

I have no hatred for Carmelo. This ship has sailed. Its time to bring back meaningful basketball to the mecca again. Its time for Phil Jackson to realize that the triangle offense hasn't been successful since the early 2000s. Its time for the New York Knicks to get back to that gritty defensive style of ball that made us the bullies of the east in the 90s. No matter what team came in to the building the Garden was a place opposing teams HATED to play. Lets build that again, the time has come.

Michael Ruda will be offering his insights, analysts and knowledge on the world of sports, WWE, and more as part of "Ruda's Ramblings". Also look out and subscribe to his podcast  WHAT'S THE RUCKUS

How to Properly Lose Fat (Yes FAT not Weight) in 2017

This article has been contributed by Dan Cap courtesy of www.DCapFitness.com

In this new era of fitness trackers, we have more information than ever when it comes to our health and the good news is that it will get better as technology improves. You can see your current heart rate (or HR) based on your fitness watch or band (accuracy depends on price point and brand) and you can check how many steps you've taken so far in the day among other statistics. Taking steps (literally) is a motivating factor for many who don't have the initial motivation to get up and move. For the average or advanced gym goer, steps don't mean as much because you already have a set routine of how many days and hours you'll spend at the gym and which days you will be taking classes, doing cardio, or hitting the weights.

The primary goal for those just joining or getting back into their fitness routine in 2017 is losing 'weight'. Now the key word there is 'weight'. They use the scale as the determining factor. The scale should be a factor but not the main focus. Try the mirror test. Or try taking a selfie in the mirror daily or weekly and compare it to previous pictures. That will be the true testimonial for yourself. The focus should be on changing body composition. Too many people are married to the thought of losing pounds instead of losing fat and in return because they are stuck on losing pounds, they end up losing muscle along with some fat. Lets get into 'how to lose fat and not muscle'.

Nutrition (or 'diet' as everyone refers to it as) is the majority component when it comes to getting 'in shape' aka losing fat. Focus on the foods that you are eating first and make small tweaks of replacing a bad food or meal with a good one every day and you will notice a difference within a week. The main focus for foods should be for vegetables and protein rich foods. I won't list all the protein rich foods here because we have google for that and some people may be vegetarian but my specific go-to's are fish(cod, salmon, tuna), chicken (grilled with a little seasoning), and eggs (usually 4 egg whites and 1 whole egg). My goal is to aim for 1g per pound of body weight so I will have a whey protein shake right as I wake up. I know I don't eat enough protein in a day to hit my goal so this is the reason I go for a whey shake. Don't overdo it with the shakes and don't have more than 30g of protein at any 1 meal as the body won't absorb all of that and it will get excreted out(essentially you'll be wasting money). Focus on getting protein from actual food vs shakes. But why protein? Protein helps build and repair muscle. If you focus on protein-rich foods first, you are less likely to go for unhealthy foods. Then you'll be on your way to losing fat and building/maintaining muscle strength and toning.

Carbohydrates(carbs) are an interesting factor when it comes to losing fat. Somewhere along the years people, most likely influenced by a celebrity endorsement, went for these low carb or no carb diets because it made them lose weight. So again we go back to the determining factor that most people have(the scale) and not on body composition change. Carbs are good and essential for bodily functions. It's okay to limit them but only to a certain extent. I know personally when I dipped below 100g of carbs per day(I weigh 185), I couldn't think clearly. Low carb diets are known to suck the energy out of you and disrupt your thought process. Carbs are used for energy. When they are not used for energy, they are stored as fat. After going with the lower carb plan for a month or 2 I stopped because it was affecting my work and thought process and just wasn't worth it. These plans are not long term solutions. Intake carbs. If you intake too much, then expend aka workout.

So at this point you're thinking, okay thats great but it's worked for me before. I'm sure it has if you just looked at the scale but did you get a body fat analysis? These diets work short-term, and only if you are looking at the scale. Yes you'll look slimmer in the mirror and to other people but its deceptive. Its not mainly fat you're losing. It does not become a lifestyle change because it is something you can not and should not sustain and it disrupts your mind and body. Carbs are good because they produce ATP (adenosine triphosphate not to get too technical) which is basically the fuel you need to produce force. For those doing resistance (strength) training, this is good for you to have, especially before and after workouts along with approximately 10g of protein. Even if you're not a strength training person, carbs are still good and essential for you. If you're doing cardio, I'd suggest having a very small amount or none before a cardio workout as it uses a different energy system(aerobic) but afterward you can have a few more carbs and also protein. To sum it up, don't neglect carbs.

Fats are also essential. You may think, well why would I put fat in me if I'm trying to lose fat? There are different types of fat both in your body and in food. Read a nutrition label and you'll see the different types of fat under 'Total Fat'. There are good fats and bad fats. I won't dive deep into fats as this can get very detailed but stick with mixed nuts(if there are no allergies), extra virgin olive oil(stay away from fried foods as much as possible, especially when eating at a restaurant), and peanut butter. Fat will also be mixed in with other foods you eat here and there but focus on these for now.

Another factor for losing fat and not muscle would be your workouts. Everyone has their go-to for workouts. Beginners or those who don't know how to use weights properly will flock to the treadmill and either walk or run. Sure the treadmills have their place but you need to step out of your comfort zone and try new things. Take a class (this goes for guys too). You'll get a good mixture of cardio and resistance (or strength as most people know it) training within a 45-60 minute window that will make you sweat and most likely sore for the next few days. Classes (including spinning, yoga, and dance) all have their place when it comes to flexibility, strength, weight loss, fun, etc. Mix in 1-2 cardio/resistance days per week along with 1-2 classes a week to get a solid workout week in. Your body will be sore at first but you will become familiar with the movements and will be a regular at the gym in no time, leading to your new lifestyle and a new you!

Buying food at the supermarket and preparing meals ahead of time is the best option for eating healthy. Changing your eating habits and workouts won't be a significant difference in a week where you may think you'll drop 10 pounds and be a model but it's part of a process that leads toward your success. Success is built in steps. It doesn't come overnight or in this case over a week. It is a constant battle. It is a lifestyle. When you become successful at your goal, you will appreciate the battles you had along the way so much more. Break down your big goal into weekly goals and start there. One of the things I preach to my clients is, if you hit a bump in the road and think its just too hard to get to your goal and want to give up, think about if going back to not doing anything will actually be a better option? The answer is always no. So you get back on the yellow brick road and keep going. It's the best option vs sitting back on the couch, watching TV, and staying depressed because you're not where you want to be with your health and fitness. Use your fitness watch/band, get up, keep the HR up, and change yourself!

-Dan

Dan Cap is a Certified Personal Trainer and Health Coach. He can reached for Personal Training, Online Training, or anything health related. Follow him on Facebook or at his website www.DCapFitness.com. Also down his app "DCap Fitness" on the App Store

 

Ruda's Ramblings: 2017 Royal Rumble

Sunday January 29, 2017 marks the kickoff of what wrestling fans consider the most exciting time of the year, WrestleMania season. It all starts with the 30th annual Royal Rumble pay per view. It  returns to the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas for the first time since 1997 and will guarantee attendance numbers upwards of 60,000 people.

     For those not familiar with the WWE, the Royal Rumble, a fan favorite event, is headlined by a 30 man over the top rope match where the winner is granted a world title match main-eventing the biggest pay per view of the year WrestleMania. This years rumble features one of the most stacked list of entrants compared to years past headlined by the likes of Brock Lesnar, The Undertaker, and Goldberg. So lets get in to my predictions of what i see happening Sunday.

RAW Tag Team Title Match

Cesaro/Sheamus (c) vs Luke Gallows/Karl Anderson :

Wwe has been teasing a Gallows/Anderson tag title run since they arrived on the scene last year, and thats what continues a tease, Anderson and Gallows will look as they're about to pick up the victory only to have it snatched away by some fluke ending. Cesaro/Sheamus Retain.

WWE Cruiserweight Championship

Rich Swann (c) vs Neville:

Should be a great high flying matchup, Neville takes the title because quite frankly these guys on 205 live have failed to connect with the crowd. Vinny Mac has short patience, Neville is a name the casual fan has come to know.

Women's Division Singles Match

Sasha Banks vs Nia Jax

Eh, time filler, interested to see if this is a squash match by Nia. Nia wins.

Women's Division 6 Woman Tag Match

Becky Lynch, Nikki Bella, Naomi vs Alexa Bliss (c), Mickie James, Natalya:

Another time filler, dont see where this one goes other than setting up Mickie James vs Becky Lynch.. ill go with little Miss Bliss' squad.

WWE Raw Womens Championship

Charlotte (c) vs Bayley:

Id just like to point out how far the women's division has come taking 3 match slots on a major ppv. Kudos to them. This match will probably steal the show. Round 1 of a trilogy culminating with bayley finally taking the title at WrestleMania. Bayley wins, but via dq or something like that. No title change.

SMACKDOWN LIVE - WWE Title Match

AJ Styles (c) vs John Cena:

How long has it been since cena has been wwe champion? 60,000 people, one of the major 4 ppvs, and a chance to tie Ric Flair as a 16 time champion.. Catering to cena. Shame cause styles has been amazing in ring. Cena takes the title.

RAW- WWE Universal Championship

Kevin Owens (c) vs Roman Reigns:

Yes, im one of those fans who are tired of the 3 year roman reigns push. No matter how hard Vince McMahon tries its not working. Owens is by far the best heel the company has, they'd be dumb to take the title off of him at this point since him and Chris Jericho have carried the raw brand. Owens wins, something occurs that starts a Jericho-Owens feud.

30 Man Over The Top Rope Royal Rumble:

24 spots have been announced leaving 6 "surprise" entrants. Names like Brock, Taker, Goldberg, Braun Strowman have all been thrown around as favorites. Too predictable. I was on board with Undertaker winning and facing Cena at WrestleMania, but it seems like creative has moved away from that idea. Im going to go out on a limb here and go with a bit of a surprise pick. Finn Balor. He has been attempting to get medical clearance this week, and should he be granted that i see him as one of the surprise entrants ( im also expecting Tye Dillinger, Samoa Joe, and Kurt Angle to all be surprises as well). Of course my pick has a big If attached to it so should he not enter, i have my plan b pick. Bray Wyatt. Its time for him to get that main event status, dude is solid both in-ring and on the mic, perfect time to throw the fans a surprise non predictable ending.

And that my friend is how i see Sunday's event playing out. Hopefully the event lives up to the hype.

Michael Ruda will be offering his insights, analysts and knowledge on the world of sports, WWE, and more as part of "Ruda's Ramblings". Also look out and subscribe to his podcast  WHAT'S THE RUCKUS

Tinder Invented Sex, Goes Insane

I couldn’t even bring myself to finish the VF article. Story after story about relationship-challenged New Yorkers. Men in New York treat women terribly and brag about it in Vanity Fair. Wow, you don’t say?


The VF article is a retread of a topic that’s been beaten to death by the media and dating bloggers for almost two years, but VF decided to hang out with a bunch of New Yorkers who rack up Tinder sex-mates like there’s no tomorrow and talk to them like they are adults or something. The writer clearly emerged from a cave last week and the first thing they did was go on a Tinder date and now she’s scarred for life.


Surprised the cover photo wasn’t an Annie Liebowitz-styled image of a 24-year old guy in a $2,500 suit crawling down a fire escape at 4am while looking at Tinder, on his way to conquer one more target before dragging himself back to his $6,000 a month apartment he shares with a bunch of neckbeards learning how to code while working at Venture-funded almost-hot StartupX.


“It’s an eye-opener and validation of a woman’s worst fear. The guys are swiping right to hook up and it’s all just a game.” Give me a break. The women who enable men to behave this way are just as complicit in the degradation of modern courtship as Tinder is. And Tinder is at the bottom of the pile, along with Ashley Madison.


In New York legs are spreading like there’s no tomorrow and in Japan people are so timid they have to date pillows and robots and fake women on texting services. Don’t get me started on the dolls. Can someone go to Japan and help those poor people out?


What the hell did online dating do to us?


62% of Tinder users are actually in a relationship. Let that sink in for a moment. Remember what happened with Ashley Madison last month? Just wait until Tinder is hacked. By that time we’ll be so callous towards each other that everyone will just laugh. “Honey, you know, it was just me and the guys having fun at the bar.”


Can we talk about the 26 million matches made every day on Tinder? Why doesn’t anyone compare Tinder’s performance to other dating sites? More is better? Is that it. That’s all we’ve got to talk about? How many of those swipes are artificially inflated by spammers and bots? Nobody talks about that.


What is the equivalent of a right-swipe on a dating service? Replied to emails? If I email you and you email me back, that’s a match. Sam Yagan at Match told me that years ago. Back when he was the Co-founder of OkCupid, and they always said Match wasn’t worth the money and nobody should have to pay for a dating site. Money talks, right? $90 million for Sam and his team and now he’s at the helm of the company that’s changing society in ways they can’t stop, or even fathom because they’re right in the middle of it. Scary.


Maybe Mandy Ginsberg got out of Match at the right time. She’s now the CEO of The Princeton Review and on the board of JC Penny. I wonder what she thinks of Tinder.
Tinder’s definition of a match as two people physically moving their fingers about a quarter of an inch to the right compared with writing and responding to emails. Comparing swipes to responded-to emails is ridiculous; they’re not even comparable. But we’re talking about Tinder here, so anything goes.


How about this. Whenever two people like or favorite each other’s photos on a dating service, they are a match. Is that comparable to Tinder mutual swipes? I don’t know and I really don’t care anymore. And neither does anyone else, because all I read about in the media are stories about people on Tinder hooking up three times a week and 25 million matches a day.


What’s that other site, Hinge? Raised millions of dollars and copied much of Tinder and now it’s one of the most used services? Slow clap. They’ll sell to Match as well. You do understand that acquisitions like POF are arranged years in advance, right? It’s not like Sam Yagan and company woke up a few months ago with the brand-new burning desire to acquire POF.


Match CEO Greg Blatt Two years ago:


I think domestically, there’s nothing that we need to own, meaning we’ve got sort of everything checked off.
Yeah, right. Go Markus@POF. He’s the smartest guy in the industry. $575M for a company where what, 20% of it’s users leave every month! Markus destroyed Zoosk and a ton of competitors, warts and all, and gets a half-billion for the effort. Much applause for a job well done! Talk about taking the long view of the industry.


Online dating is barely recognizable from when I started covering it in 2002. Yes of course there are well-run sites captained by fantastic people, but those companies are extremely rare. How unfortunate.


Julie Spira says that women are meeting men on Tinder to change them. Now I’ve heard everything. Almost a year ago I wrote, Can Dating Sites Make Us More Civil? The answer is obviously a resounding no. Online dating has turned a large portion of the dating population into a bunch of maladjusted sexaholics (for the most part, if you read anything in the media about online dating these days). If you want to change the way men relate to women, Tinder is not the right medium to make that happen.


Really, it’s best not to think about it too much, we might get a conscious and realize how screwed up dating is now and that it’s mostly the fault of the dating industry for being asleep at the wheel while the money rolled in.


The Match Empire grew so large and boring! Sure it prints money, but for a category-leading brand, it’s become a real snooze. Can’t go wrong buying a Toyota, right? Makes me pine for the days when OkCupid was all the rage. To this day, Adult Friend finder is the most feature-rich dating or hookup app on the planet. Even OkCupid has changed very little in five years, just like Match. See a trend here? You think there are going to be any big changes at POF? Nope.


Remember when the industry cared about matching algorithms? Not any more. Well eHarmony has to, it’s in their branding and their DNA. Everyone else has “data scientists”, which is short for, “I have no idea what I’m doing but I landed this prime gig at dating site X.”


I’ve always felt like a bit of an edgy ombudsman regarding the online dating industry. Terrible way to make a living though. Having a conscience and all, difficult to get ahead. But I’ve had a lot of fun over the years and met some amazing people who toil behind the scenes who actually care about their customers. May they keep rocking on.


How quaint that Tinder and marketers have rebranded spammers and scammers as “brands”. Now that is something that Tinder got right.


In finality, Tinder is the worst thing to ever happen to the online dating industry. End of story

Should I Be Offended?...Is that Going To Offend People?

This is a subject I've been contemplating in my head a lot recently. It's such a sensitive issue. Ironic huh? The fact that so many people can have the same views as you yet that same amount have the opposite. What do you do? Stay quiet? Some people do. For argument's sake, I tend to throw my hat in the ring if I'm fully behind my belief and/or opinion. That rubs some people the wrong way, that's ok I'm running for a popularity contest. I do like to be liked, just like everyone else but I wont compromise my opinions so I can be liked.


Which brings me back to my topic. People are too sensitive these days. Everything bothers people. Weather, sports, politics, work, peers, coffee, holidays. You name it, someone's offended. In this day in age, we all have to be politically correct. Why? So we can get more Facebook and Instagram likes?? Who are we trying to impress? Why does that matter? Aren't we all at this point of our lives by doing things our way anyway? So why are we getting so offended by bullshit?




I'll give you some examples.

Example 1:

Simon Malls Holiday Display

Boycotting Simon Malls for their generic "Holiday display". They claim they wanted to create a more modern holiday experience. How are you going to modernize an old jolly fat guy in red suit? Is he going to be Justin Beiber with a six pack and a nicely trimmed beard? No! Leave it alone. There's nothing to modernize about Christmas. I get that there are people that don't celebrate the holiday but instead of pissing off the majority of the country that does, why don't we incorporate more? Not for nothing, but every religion does get their time to celebrate their big days of the year. It just so happens that Christmas IS the money making "day" that businesses spend months on preparing for. Money talks. Whether you agree with the greed behind the concept or not, it's the truth and it's what makes America the greatest and most hated country in the world. I was in favor of the boycott. While I hate the commercialization of  Christmas and the "What are you getting me " I do like the season, the music, the decorations, the cold, the snow that comes along with it. If it didn't then it's just another day turning into another week, turning into another month. Nothing wrong with wanting to make something feel special. Christmas is something that should feel special, not generic.

Starbucks 2015 Red Cups

Example 2:


Starbucks removed "Holiday themed decorations" on their cups and now all we're left with is plain red cups. Starbucks is claiming they want the consumer to use the extra space to use it as a canvas and decorate the cup as they wish. This is with the hopes of people taking to social media and posting their "personalized design" all the while promoting Starbucks in the process. Genius or a clever escape from controversy? I'm in the middle here. I love the "Holiday Season" so anything that makes it more generic I'm against but I'm going to take a wait and see approach here. While I don't think it really matters wtf Starbucks does because I'm only a consumer 2-3 months out of the year when they have their Valencia Orange Refresher in the summer and their Peppermint Mocha during the holidays, I do like the idea that those two items are significant staples of their respective seasons.

Example 3:




2015 NY Mets Failed To Win The World Series

The NY Mets recently made a run into the World Series and unfortunately came up short on their quest for a championship. This was BY FAR one of the most ridiculous and fun occurrences to happen in recent times. I am a die hard Yankees fan, to the point that anyone who knows me KNOWS this. There are not many things that I am passionate about, but the Yankees are one. I grew up idolizing Derek Jeter. The fame, the fortune, the dream of playing for your favorite team to come true with the absurd amount of success he has had. It just fills you up with jealousy, envy and amazement. I digress. So the time came where the Mets were the ones everyone was talking about. I was too, but I was going against them. I couldn't stand to see the "other" team in NY win while my team was out before the tournament even started. So it began, the banter. LETS GO METS...METS SUCK. For 4 weeks this went on and it felt like an eternity. I was just waiting for the Mets to die. They wouldn't. So I did everything I could to defend my Yankees. I went toe to toe with many Met fans. The general public who stood in the middle of the debate without a clear cut side said I should root for the Mets because it was NY. My answer was no. My answer was I was a Yankee fan. I was loyal to my team. They give me a team that I can be proud to root for every year. I wasn't going to cheat on them just because my "girlfriend" wasn't home and the Mets were right there. To this, it angered most people. First , why? It's my opinion. Second, what was wrong with showing loyalty? Third, people got so offended I was called names and got unfriended on social media. Uh-oh...oh no! Give me a break. You offended that a Yankee fan wanted the Mets to lose? Wow. Most people just take it as good ol' smack talk bur others took it personal, to the heart, and to the brain. I was shocked that people called me ignorant because I was being faithful to the team I love. But it showed that people take some things too seriously and sports shouldn't be one of them.

I could go on and on about all three subjects but honestly, I've spent enough time on them. EX1 I sided with the offended, EX2 I was in the middle, EX3 I was against the offended. Truth be told, all three are topics that some people got offended by and all three are topics people are just rolling their eyes at wondering why we're even wasting time on it. Everyone has a right to be offended, if they feel like there's a legit reason but if you have no reason to be offended then stop complaining and do something to help better the situation.

Until next time....

The Road Less Traveled - Fitness and Dieting

MERRIBALLZ ON FITNESS

I don’t even know what to focus on, so here’s a list: hoards of selfies, false advice, fucked up dietary advice, objectification of women, objectification of men, waist training, personal training, body image, judgment, narrow-mindedness, fake versus real, opinions versus fact, me, you , them. What I have written above is called a stream of consciousness and is great when you have a topic in mind but don’t know what theme or idea to work with. As I sat down to write my first fitness post I found myself rambling and jumping all over the place with my ideas, so I deleted everything and instead just typed out several topics I will eventually cover in my fitness related posts. True to my libra nature I have the tendency to pass judgment severely in all aspects of my life.

 Growing up, I have become conscious of this part of my personality and have been making a big effort to become well researched and informed before forming my ideas and opinions. In regard to fitness, I have learned that my journey and experience is only relevant to me. My methodology may be useless to one person and extremely helpful to another. I cannot emphasize how important staying true to yourself is when it comes to body image and fitness. Fitness isn’t only about having physical strength and an aesthetically pleasing figure. One must have a happy and healthy mind as well . To begin, I will give that generic “My fitness journey” story so anyone reading this can have an outline of where I’m coming from. Generic as it is, this will help readers as well as myself with organizing future thoughts and arguments.

As a child I was always skinny and never applied any energy or thought to physical fitness. My mom was a homemaker who was always there to make my family healthy home-cooked meals. Growing up I learned to love everything. I had my favorite fruits and vegetables and always loved beef, chicken and especially seafood. I also developed a huge sweet tooth. My mom is a MEAN baker so I always had fresh cookies and cakes to choose from for my dessert. My lifestyle was very active. Growing up before iphones and ipads I had to… GASP! PLAY OUTSIDE!! Dodgeball, manhunt, and street hockey were my favorites and I would spend all day with my friends running all over the neighborhood. Going into high school I started buying lunch and started some less healthy eating habits. I lived on soda, bacon and cheese bagels, and sweets, however I still had an active lifestyle dancing and walking 2 miles a day to and from school. When I went to college things began to change.

 My freshman year I developed seasonal depressive disorder because I was living in Syracuse, NY which is very cold and dark from November to April. I spent most of my time sleeping and would only get up to stuff my face with unhealthy cheap foods. When I wasn’t sleeping or eating, I was drinking like a fish. When I transferred to school in New Orleans I was much happier, but still eating like shit and partying all weekend. My “fitness life” started at about age 20. My mentality was “I want a 6-pack.” Ughh… So I started as I think most young women do, running on the elliptical and doing some crunches. I lost some weight over the summer going into my senior year, but gained it back quickly when I returned to New Orleans for school. With the help from some friends I discovered my love for weights. Starting with the basics I was curling 8 lb dumbells and doing lightweight tricep pull downs along with my elliptical bullshit. I started eating really well and learned how to deadlift.

I had a crazy 3 hour gym routine involving weights, abs, cardio, stretching and sauna time, followed by a healthy post-work out meal. My body was finally starting to look great… and then 2 things happened. I got back together with the love of my life just in time for Mardi Gras season. The party that year was great , but when it ended my routine was fucked. I would finish class and instead of hitting the gym would go and spend the night in bed with my man smoking weed and watching TV with some burgers and fries. Upon graduating another depression hit. What was I doing with my life? What would become of my relationship now that we were apart? So I came home and drank, smoked and ate my feelings away and throwing all my progress out the window. When I saw the photos from my annual Montauk vacation with my friends I was pissed. What the hell happened? This is when I became obsessed. I started following a lot of “fitness girls” on facebook and looked at their posts as my bible. I started all kinds of crazy dieting. Not eating any bread made me a psychopath. Protein pancakes were gross. But I still forced myself into these other people’s diet plans hoping my body would look like theirs. THE WORST MENTALITY EVER! However, my weight training improved as I became more informed and soon I cut out cardio all together and focused on the weights.

I started to love how my body was looking, but my mind was still unstable. Eventually I unfollowed all those “fitness girls” and started making decisions for me. The process was slow but soon I found a way to balance my love for sweets and comfort food with healthy options. This was long process I won’t go into on this post, but I learned dieting was a personal thing you have to do WITH your body not AGAINST your body. Wanting to look like someone else wasn’t working for me. Last year I started dancing again which has proven to be the best way for me to be healthy. Not only does it work my body physically, but mentally as well. I dove headfirst into ballet, contemporary, west African and other styles of dancing. I have re-kindled my true love and have never been more content with my body and mind.

My fitness journey is on its 5th year and had a lot of ups and downs. Besides figuring out your diet, injuries, heartbreak, and stress have a big impact on physical fitness. Your journey has to be all about YOU which is a huge challenge this day and age with influences from friends, family and social media most of all. It really is a challenge to stay on track but anything that knocks you down will make you stronger if you choose to learn instead of lament. My next posts about fitness will be targeted toward certain topics so please feel free to comment something you would like me to write about. I will do my best to be objective, but certainly be prepared to hear some ranting and raving as I find many aspects of fitness culture to be extremely problematic.

~~MERRI BALLZ~~

The Life and Times at NYSC

Merri Ballz here- I am very excited about this blog my friend Frank started up here. I’m a 24 year old brunette libra with an innate sense of justice and an allergy to bullshit. While my sunshine and yoga loving self is always trying to cultivate wholesome thoughts and ideas, I have another side that loves to wear black and go on verbal rampages whenever something or someone pisses me off. In other words, I’m a total weirdo still trying to figure her shit out and get her life together… Ideally without murdering someone in the process or running off to live the traveling gypsy life. Enough about me already.

 I had such a hard time figuring out what this first post should be about, because I have so much to say and it’s all pretty important. So I’ve decided to tell the story of how I met this Frank person who started this blog. Frank and I met years ago at New York Sports club aka the worst fucking place on earth. NYSC had a habit of trying to suck every last cent out of me despite the fact that I was a struggling college student working a service job just trying to get swole. Frank was a membership consultant who set me up with a free personal training session… It was horrible. The guy called me fat, weak and had me driving my ass home in tears after a 20 minute session. When I saw Frank the next day he greeted me with a smile as usual asking how everything went. Me being me I let him have it. I laid into this poor guy but eventually eased up when I could tell he genuinely felt really bad. I stayed at NYSC about 3 years for two reasons: it was less than a 2 minute drive from my house, and Frank. In those years this guy, whose head I wanted to rip off for putting me in that awful situation, became a great friend and my source of sanity at New York Freak Club.

Frank is everything NYSC is not. He is the genuine article who put more effort into his job than anyone else who worked there and they STILL treated him like garbage. With the exception of a few others; NYSC managers, trainers and consultants have sticks up their asses and a big attitude problem. Get ready to be harassed by CLUELESS trainers for half your workout because they have “quotas” they need to fill to keep their job. The managers there? They order mother-fucking pizza and stuff their fat-ass faces stinking up the gym with sauce and cheese as members try and get their FITNESS on. I cannot express how much I hate this fucking place, and I knew when Frank finally bounced that I would have to as well. I am now at a smaller, locally owned gym that I love but I miss my friend Frank.

I’m super excited to have this opportunity to work with him on this blog as we have spent hours ranting and laughing together. He knows I’m out of my mind but still gave me permission to write something for him. That’s it for now. Now we all know I have a foul mouth, love fitness, and think NYSC is run by a bunch of idiots. Hopefully my writing has been entertaining somewhat, and if you feel inclined ask me a question or my opinion on some shit and that will be the topic of my next post. I have a lot more to say and it’s only gonna get more outrageous so be prepared.

~~ MERRI BALLZ ~~