LegendaryLife Blog

No matter your personal views on how bodybuilders achieve their astonishing physiques, you can’t help but be amazed at how they are able to continually push the outer limits of the human body.

Better Living Through Chemistry

Bodybuilding is one of those few sports where experimentation in drug compounds is a requirement, suffice it to say that you need to take more then your daily multi-vitamin to even touch the top ranks of the sport No matter how hard Joe Weider has tried through the years to turn bodybuilding into an Olympic event, the use of drugs ensure it will never happen. I still consider bodybuilding among the toughest and most grueling physically, mentally and socially sports out there – from the exact nutrient timing to hours spent in the gym – bodybuilding is not a sport but a lifestyle that very few can adhere to, much less excel in.

What can we learn from bodybuilders?

Quite a lot actually, for instance, take a look at 50 year old Vince Taylor who has been living the bodybuilding lifestyle and competing for over two decades (http://www.vincetaylor.com). His skin looks free of wrinkles, the muscle mass and definition are not only beyond belief but put into question the entire concept that we “depreciate” with age. His external physical attributes put most of the young bodybuilders half his age to shame – he also competed directly against 31 year old Jay Cutler (http://www.jaycutler.com/) for the Mr. Universe title on September 30th 2006. The internal imagery we all have of getting older doesn’t need to happen – with an active and closely watched lifestyle you CAN make a very large difference in how you age.

Bodybuilders influence on sport development

I find this the most difficult aspect of bodybuilding, in the past few decades, as sport and chemical knowledge have increased, so has the level of athleticism in just about every sport. Are you a swimmer? A tennis player or even a basketball player – the push of bodybuilders into physique development has played a role in the evolution of your sport (and just about all the others). They are responsible for turning what use to be frown upon such as muscle development with high intensity training and diet into something not only mainstream but a requirement to compete at the higher levels. Just about any sport nowadays where the difference between a medal is sometimes only milliseconds has benefited greatly from their sacrifices.

When to draw the line

I do believe that bodybuilders are beyond the cutting edge at the moment though, they achieve phenomenal results but oddly enough, at the cost of their own health. The human body just isn’t engineered for constant, balls-out punishment year after year, decade after decade… no matter how good the nutrition or training, adaptation is a slow process that requires breaks. Yes, bodybuilders have passed the natural plateau but they pay a very high price for this achievement that won’t begin to be seen later in life. When you consider the heart of a 150lbs teenage boy is the same heart as the one found in a 300+ pound bodybuilder, you begin to realize how much our bodies are able to cope with stress, but like anything, cracks will appear.

Double Standards: Bodybuilders vs Couch Potatoes

What is worse for your body, being a bodybuilder or a couch potato? Well, if you go the drug free (or moderate) route, bodybuilding is fantastic for your body but like anything… you need to go slow and build on past success. What I have yet to understand is why governments around the world are hell bent on keeping steroid use underground (by banning them) and barring certain beneficial supplements (ei: creatine, ephedrine… ) yet have no problem with people smoking, drinking and purchasing incredibly unhealthy fast foods. Banning potentially beneficial products but keeping blatantly detrimental ones legal. This is a double standard which I believe is completely unfair. What bodybuilders are showing us is the potential for a true fountain of youth, if studied further by the scientific community.

Closing Thoughts

Overall, I am a great fan of bodybuilding because it’s the extreme opposite of how most North Americans live their lives – don’t get me wrong – you wouldn’t want to be “in” neither of these bodies for any extended period of time – but they are great examples of how little we know about our own body… and how much we can learn if we allow the politics behind our very own health not get in the way. I believe a life of moderation, tough physical activities with proper diet BUT with adequate breaks to allow the body to fully recover is the best route to a long, healthy life.

The Bottom Line

Bodybuilders have a lot to teach all of us… if we allow our biases to pass.

Well, I have been down-under for a month now – now that my biological clock has adapted fully to the natural rhythms of this place, I can now justifiably look back at how things have gone so far.

What I miss about Toronto, Canada

I would say the biggest things I miss about living in Toronto was the shier amount of food variety that was available within a 2km radius from my old place. I had 3 HUGE supermarkets selling things at different price points and a few ethnic markets as well. I remember one day I went to a Middle Eastern store and tried “salt water yogurt drink” and just about threw up but nothing ventured, nothing gained

I really, really miss Salmon for some reason, I use to be able to get a fresh, very thick juicy slab of it for only a few dollars but here, not only is it not available, but any type of Salmon is about 30$/kg! I guess I also miss all my old cooking utensils and the set-up I had in my old kitchen as well… now that I look back, I actually enjoyed cooking!

What I don’t miss about Toronto, Canada

Things are so peaceful here in Cairns, no traffic jams, no smog, no polluted air and the list goes on… this place of 100K + people really doesn’t feel that large at all. I could easily imagine myself living in Hearst with a population of 5K walking down any of the streets here. I have yet to visit the Great Barrier Reef or Cape Tribulation but I got a year to “get around to it” so no rush. In the meantime, I have more then enough work to keep me busy and distracted

What I like about Cairns, Australia

I must say that the people here are incredibly nice and forthcoming. Just about every store here also has “cash back” when you make a purchase and employers pay via direct deposit almost exclusively, I have yet to see a check! Heck, I don’t even use cash here anymore! Other then the weather, I feel healthier here… tranquility is something that I prize more then most other things and there is this in abundance, if I want to get away, I can hop on a plane to such great destinations as Fiji, Java, Sumatra… basically leaving one paradise for another I would like to get into off roading here and extended tours into the bush on my own with a Land Rover for weeks at a time but that will have to wait a bit till a few more things work themselves out.

What I don’t like about Cairns

The number one thing I don’t like about Cairns is that it doesn’t have a beach! You look out on the harbor and right in front of you is… A MUD FLAT! I have been told by a few locals that Cairns use to have a beach about 75 years ago but when they dredged out the canal, all that silt began building up along the waterfront. There have been plans to return it to its original “beach” shape but now environmentalists are crying fowl because it would damage the mangrove forest that is encroaching from the airport. As for me, I believe if something was “originally” one way, no harm in returning nature to its rightful balance, even at the cost of a man-caused natural adaptation.

I had a friend tell me Cairns was also very touristy, that starts in about a month but as I don’t live downtown (nor visit it often), I doubt this will bother me much but they do have a “last call” around 3am or 4am here. I have seen my fair share of drunk people (both locals and backpackers) in the streets so I tend to stay away from the entire downtown area after dark. It is nice but drunk people are crazy and unpredictable – not my kind of crowd

General Irrelevances and Observations

A large fraction of people here walk around without shoes (and even shirts) everywhere, I am talking about grocery stores, malls etc… it does make sense in that it’s a tropical environment where it rains quite often (during rainy season) but I have yet to get use to it. In Canada, just about every store and mall has a sign that says “no shoes, no shirt, no service” – here – they couldn’t care less.

SUV, 4x4s… EVERYWHERE! I sometimes feel like I am either in Hearst or in the United States – I have rarely stayed in a place where there are so many BIG trucks, vans, 4x4s and SUVs of all kinds. It does make sense as they have washed out roads and the “outback” isn’t far at all from here. One surprising observation so far is that there are lots of old vehicles as well, in Canada, the winter salt pretty much assures that no car will last more then a decade but here, vehicles last far longer. I find this ironic because my bike that is less then a month old is already starting to rust

The Bottom Line

So far, so good – I like it here… if only they had cheap Salmon!

I should have known better… I run a health site, avoid the sun but yet… the heavy rains and almost constant cloud cover here in the topics tricked me into believing that I was safe… I was so very wrong.

What is a sunburn?

A sunburn is a torture device created by God to remind all of us the importance of wearing sunblock. I think I would prefer to have my fingernails ripped out one by one then to live with a sunburn for any extended period of time! A sunburn is caused by an overexposure to UV light, most of which comes from the sun – the results are a nice burn… hence sun… burn… sunburn!

Just the symptoms please…

A few hours after getting a sunburn, you will notice your skin is red or a very deep tan depending on how much “overexposure” you received. You may experience some pain and temperature sensitivity to the burned area followed by blisters within a day or two. You will then notice your skin pealing up to several weeks afterwards as a new layer of skin is produced.

I got one… now what?

Basically, the best thing you can do is allow your skin to rest, limit further sun exposure and if you need to, put icy water over your burns… it will numb the pain and speed up the healing process. Expect it to take a few weeks though… sunburns are like in-laws, quick to come over but slow to leave

How NOT to get one…

Sunburns are the result of human error, if you don’t want to get one, put on tonnes of sunblock and don’t be shy about re-applying it every few hours especially if your are being active. I usually wear pants (track pants if very hot) and long sleeve t-shirt with a large brim hat. Don’t forget to put sunscreen over your ears and lower face/neck as well even with a hat, those places burn nicely if unprotected. Be sure to wear sunglasses as well, UV light can cause eye damage in the future even when not exposed to direct sunlight.

Can a sunburn cause cancer?

Why yes they do… but it generally takes repeated exposure to UV light, keep in mind sun tanning beds can cause cancer just as easily as the sun so they are NOT any safer nor alternatives. A tan by UV light is a tan… no matter how it was achieved. A tan is also a symptom of skin damage as well, keep that in mind. The sun is also great at causing premature aging as well, hence why many facial creams have added UVA and UVB blocking ingredients to their mix.

What is the difference between sunblock and sunscreen?

Sunscreen simply absorbs the UV light hitting your skin while sunblock… you guessed it… BLOCKS the UV light from ever getting to your skin in the first place. Sunblock also blocks out both UVA and UVB while sunscreen in general only absorbs UVB. Although labeling is a problem – most people think erroneously that sunscreen and sunblock are the same thing, if in doubt, look at the ingredients. Sunblock will have either titanium dioxide or zinc oxide listed while sunscreen will not. Ingredients that work wonders blocking UVA by the way are aveobenzone (also known as Parsol 1789), oxybenzone or octocrylene. Keep in mind that the words “broad spectrum” also indicate that they block both UVA or UVB light… but be sure to double check the label just to be on the safe side.

The Bottom Line

Sunburns, unlike the weather, are predictable and avoidable.