Matt Metzgar

Superwaves

I just finished reading "Making Waves: Irving Dardik and His Superwave Principle", which is the most interesting book I've read in a while.

I remember coming across Dardik's work in the late 1990s.  His story is an interesting one.  Dardik came up with a novel "cyclic exercise" program, which alternates bursts of high-intensity activity with complete rest.  He found that his program helped those suffering from a variety of severe ailments: Parkinson's disease, Multiple Sclerosis, AIDS, etc.

A few people thought he was a quack; a particularly persistent lady helped to get his medical license suspended.  Dardik continued on, and now, guess what, scientists at top universities are indeed finding out that his protocol helps people with Parkinson's disease, AIDS, and the like.

I enjoyed the book and admire Dardik's perserverance to bring his findings to light.

LA Story

We went back to LA for the long weekend and did some sightseeing.  The traffic was horrendous - only in LA do you have five lanes of traffic backup at 10 o'clock at night.

The first stop was the site of the original Gold's Gym, where Arnold worked out in his heyday.  It's closed now, but the building and sign still remain.

The next stop was the legendary Muscle Beach just down the road.  I hate to say it, but that place has gone downhill.  The whole Venice Beach area seemed pretty shady.  Yet Muscle Beach was still there, though not really in its glory.

Next up was Venice High School, where the movie "Grease" was filmed.  The school still pretty much looks the same.

The next stop was Malibu, which has some of the worst traffic I've ever seen.  Lots of stars live there, but all their beachhouses are backed up right onto the main road.  The beach was very scenic however.

Finally, it was on to the Santa Monica Pier, which was home to the original Muscle Beach in the fifties before they moved it to Venice.

A Nice Workout

It was a nice sunny day in Vegas today, and I couldn't bring myself to go indoors to the gym.  Plus, it had rained earlier, which makes for good barefoot running.  I grabbed a 25 pound plate and headed down to the local soccer field for a workout.

I did a number of sprints, even a couple of slower sprints holding the plate.  I then did a few exercises with the plate, lifting it off the ground and overhead, and carrying it around the field.  All in all, a nice little workout that sure beat going to the gym. 

H Street Collection

Readers will know that I believe flat shoes are best for your feet.  The Puma H Street is the best athletic flat shoe in my opinion.  I just added another pair of Puma H Street to my collection.  The lime green H Street was one of the first color schemes of the H Street to come out.  After some searching, I finally acquired a pair.

2 Fast 2 Furious

In a bizarre Fourth of July incident, a local Vegas man ended up dead because of his refusal to turn down his music. 

Police officers on bicycles asked the man to turn down his car stereo.  He declined to do so, and hence one of the cops confronted him.  The person then tried to flee, dragging the cop with him and crashed into a pole.  The suspect then tried to drive away again, and that's when the other police officer shot him dead.

It's clear from the video that was taken, that this was a "2 Fast 2 Furious" type car - a little Japanese car with tinted windows that blares rap music.  I guess now these people feel it is their unalienable right to blast rap music to anyone within earshot.  When this country began, people were dying for freedom.  Now people are dying for the "right" to blare rap music from their cars.  Pretty sad...

Fourth of July

Happy Fourth of July to everyone.  I was traveling this past weekend, and I should have some photos up in the next few days.