Steven M. Cohen's Blog
Posted by Steven M. Cohen
Boy, what a football season it has been so far for the NFL. Last year's Super Bowl winning New York (New Jersey?) Giants are going strong, despite losing several key players to retirement and injury. The Super Bowl losing Patriots are hanging in despite losing their All-World quaterback and leader, Tom Brady, to injury in the first quater of the the first game of the seaon. Perennial power Indianapolis Colts are struggling, due to key injuries to the offensive line, and due to quarterback Peyton Manning's struggle to return from off-season knee surgery.
Do you notice a pattern here? I do - INJURIES! I follow the NFL like millions of other fans, but I can't help but be disturbed by the seemingly endless parade of stretchers taking players off the field. While I love watching the games, and find them entertaining, I'm getting turned off by the carnage among the players. I think the NFL needs to look into ways to decrease the injury rate in the league, before the average fan notices the human toll the game takes.
Posted by Steven M. Cohen
I write this as I watch the closing ceremony of the Olympic Games in Beijing. As someone who is all about health and fitness, I’m fascinated by the various shapes and sizes of the athletes. The marathon winner from Nigeria is phenomenally fit, as is the gold medalist in men’s gymnastics. When I look at them both, though, I’d much rather look like the gymnast than the marathoner. That’s how I know that I’m on the right with my fitness program. With a combination of weight training, body-weight exercises and interval cardio training, I’ll continue to improve my conditioning and appearance. On the other hand, those that prefer endless endurance training will end up looking like a marathoner…no thanks.
Posted by Steven M. Cohen
Funny how quickly a blog post can become dated. Looking back, I re-read my previous post lauding golfer Tiger Woods for his dedication to fitness. I went on to point out how his fitness regimen helps keep him on top of the golf world, and free from injury. As I write this, Tiger has missed the final two major golf championships of the 2008 season – due to injury. Apparently, Woods suffered an ACL injury at the end of the 2007 season, and chose to play on in 2008. He had hoped to make it through the season, and then have surgery to repair the ligament tear. Well, things didn’t go quite the way Tiger had planned. He instead underwent an arthroscopic procedure to “clean up“ damaged cartilage in his knee. Then, he suffered two stress fractures in the area of the surgical knee while running during physical therapy.
Woods played the US Open tournament in June despite these injuries, and pulled off a nearly-miraculous win. He then underwent his season-ending operation.
So, my missive about the power of physical fitness in the case of Tiger Woods lost something. However, I would invoke my March 10, 2008 post “Running While Injured”. That post is dedicated to the idea of resting an injury (or in Tiger's case, having surgery promptly), rather than “toughing it out”. Perhaps if Tiger had taken care of his injury when it first occurred, he would have spent less time out of action. Just something to think about…
Posted by Steven M. Cohen
It's been a long time since my last blog entry. I guess I was on a bit of an unintentional break from writing - a very productive break. Like many of you, I work full time, in addition to my responsibilities as a Feature Writer at here at Suite101. I also have a wife, and two young children. I've always felt that doing anything well, be it writing, acting as a supportive spouse, or being a dedicated father, requires discipline, focus and maximum effort. Sometimes, though, we wear too many hats in our lives, and performance suffers. When that happens, we must prioritize, and direct our efforts toward the roles we feel are most important in our lives. That's what I've been doing during this brief hiatus.
I'm pleased to say that during my time away from the laptop, I've had a great mental break, and feel refreshed and ready to write again. With the understanding of my wonderful editors, I'll be bringing you all the latest information on trends in sports medicine.
The take home lesson for me is: rest is as important for the mind as it is for the body. Now, let's go after it!
Posted by Steven M. Cohen
I thought I’d use this post to give another update on my quest for better health through nutrition. I’m in a terrific groove lately, following the diet plan in Dr. Gundry’s Diet Evolution pretty carefully. I haven’t had bread or pasta in weeks, and quite frankly, I don’t miss those foods. Junk food is a thing of the past, needless to say. Again, I don’t miss it (I think it’s kind of like kicking a tobacco addiction. As you get further away from it, the less you crave it).
Also, I’ve been using most of the supplements recommended in the book. Over time, I’ll be writing individual articles on each of these supplements, as I feel it is important to spread the word about them. Check out my articles on omega-3-fatty acid, and Coenzyme Q10 supplementation. Several other articles will follow shortly.
As for my measureable results, this morning I tipped the scales at 169 pounds – the first time below 170 since the Bush Sr. administration. Exercise-wise, I’m continuing to “bring it” with the principles of P90X (disclosure - I'm an independent "coach" for the parent company Team Beach Body), a workout program I’ll be discussing in future posts.
