THE ULTIMATE FIGHTER 11 EPISODE 4 REVIEW

It’s always great when the show gives us two fights per episode and this time was no exception. And, as one might expect, both fights are fairly short? Does that mean two finishes in one episode? Read on.

STRIKEFORCE: NASHVILLE REVIEW

Strikeforce’s Nashville event, which was held on April 17, 2010 at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennesee, has recently caused quite a stir within the mixed martial arts industry. And, unfortunately, it isn’t the good kind.

Let’s start with the fights. I’ll be honest upfront: I enjoyed all of them. The first piece of negativity that arose during the event was that all the fights were boring. I’d disagree based entirely on my own personal views on what makes good mixed martial arts matches, but in terms of actual objectivity and the ultimate purpose of the event, I’d have to agree.

Confused? Well, that’s what the Strikeforce executives probably felt after their “blockbuster” event ended as well. See, there’s something mighty special about this event. It featured only three fights within the main card, and all of them (and I’m not joking here), all of them were championship title matches. Strikeforce is attempting to break into mixed martial arts mainstream the same as the UFC did with the first Ultimate Fighter finale by broadcasting such a stacked card on CBS domestically all over the United States. Strikeforce execs hoped for similar results.

See, one of the primary reasons that mixed martial arts is supposedly “the fastest growing sport in the world” is because of The Ultimate Fighter 1 Finale. It was hyped particularly well, what with a main event featuring then-incredibly popular Ken Shamrock, who was still well known from his pro wrestling days, and UFC rising star Rich Franklin, but the real show stealer was the bout right before that, which featured TUF 1 finalists Forrest Griffin and Stephan Bonnar.

THE ATHLETE'S HEART

Here’s a short study I did on the Athlete’s Heart a while back. I find it amazing how regular physical activities can not only shape our bodies into positive forms of expressions, but can also physically transform our internal systems in order to function at a much higher level.

The Athlete’s Heart is defined as hypertrophy, or increased size, of the heart, as a result of regular, intense, physical activities.

HOW TO STAY PROPERLY HYDRATED

 This is the third in a series of articles concerning the Philippine Sports Science Conference 2010. Read the first, which is the introduction to the series and gives an overview of the conference, here, and the second, which talks about longevity, here.

The second talk in the Philippine Sports Science Conference 2010 was titled “the role of hydration in optimum performance” by Prof. Luz Felicidad Callanta, RND, who currently teaches at the University of the Philippines Diliman.


Continuing off of Dr. Varona’s train of thought, Prof. Callanta affirms that the body indeed only absorbs 30% of supplements consumed, and the rest is removed, usually by urination. One can check this by noticing the color of one’s urine after taking a supplement and after not taking a supplement. Urine is typically a light yellow color, but after consuming a multivitamin supplement, the yellow tint will be noticeably brighter and more pronounced, indicating that most of the nutrients were indeed, ejected instead of absorbed, by the body. In this respect, Prof. Callanta does indeed recommend the “food first” mantra and advises everyone else to do the same.

HOW TO LIVE LONGER

This is the second in a series of articles concerning the Philippine Sports Science Conference 2010. Read the first, which is the introduction to the series and gives an overview of the conference, here, and the third, which talks about proper hydration, here.

The first talk during the Philippine Sports Science Conference 2010 was about “energy and strength boosting nutrition by Dr. Blecenda Varona, RND, Dr. PH. She opens up, first of all, by saying that her expertise deals primarily with aiding sick, and average, yet sedentary individuals. Applications of her methods to expertly – trained individuals should first be reviewed and personalized by a professional nutritionist working closely with the athletes’ coaches.

Alright, first things first, is to simply do what our parents told us when we were little: “eat your fruits and vegetables!” This is basically the core concept surrounding Dr. Varona’s talk. There is such a large variety of these foods, especially in the Philippines, and all of them are incredibly healthy and nutritious, with the right combination giving us more than any overpriced multivitamin in the market today.

THE ULTIMATE FIGHTER 11 EPISODE 3 REVIEW

Alright, alright, I admit it. Egg on my face, shame on me. I wrote in my TUF 11 episode 2 review that I was very hyped for this episode because the preview was making a big deal of the “shocking announcement” that would take place this episode, alongside official news that Rich Franklin has indeed replaced Tito Ortiz as Chuck Liddell’s opponent at UFC 115.

Rumors have been circulating for weeks now that Tito will, at one point, be “kicked off” the show for some reason and be replaced by Franklin. So, was the reveal shown this episode? In a word, no.

Needless to say, I was still a bit “shocked” by the announcement, but not nearly as much as I wanted to be, since it was something totally different from what I expected (or wanted).

THE PHILIPPINE SPORTS SCIENCE CONFERENCE 2010: INTRO

This is the first in a series of articles concerning the Philippine Sports Science Conference 2010. Read the second, which talks about longevity, here, and the third, which talks about proper hydration, here.

I attended the Philippine Sports Science Conference 2010 from April 15 to 16, 2010 at the University of the Philippines Diliman’s National Institute for Science and Mathematics Education Development (NISMED) Auditorium, which was apparently the first of its kind in the country. There were twelve speakers over the course of the two speaking on a total of fifteen topics. I learned a whole considering that all of the speakers were very knowledgeable in their respective fields.

UFC 112 REVIEW

UFC 112, many will likely agree, is a very odd affair. I did honestly like it, though, but not for the usual reasons a good UFC event presents me. The event is actually history – making for the UFC as it’s the first to be held in Abu Dhabi and outdoors. To mark this occasion, the UFC has set up two title defense matches in the main card. The co – main event being a lightweight title fight featuring defending champion BJ Penn versus top contender Frankie Edgar, while the main event is a middleweight title match with defending champion Anderson Silva against contender Demian Maia. Two MMA legends also resurface for this historic occasion. The most dominant welterweight champion in UFC history, Matt Hughes, takes on the world famous Renzo Gracie.

THE ULTIMATE FIGHTER 11 EPISODE 2 REVIEW

Okay, here’s my week – late review of the The Ultimate Fighter Season 11 episode 2. Nothing too exciting in this episode, as it’s pretty much straightforward TUF fair. I kept my review of episode one very spoiler – free, but I don’t think I can do that with the succeeding episodes unless I want my reviews to be just one or two – liners.

So, yeah ... SPOILER ALERT!

DIET AND NUTRITION TIP 3: THE SPECIFICS OF THE HEALTH SHAKE

Okay, there’s what I promised before, a picture of what my Health Shake basically looks like.

Yeah, that greenish tint does look a tad nasty, I suppose, but it tastes great, I promise!

After reading my Diet and Nutrition Tip 2 article, a lot of you are probably wondering how I get through the day with mostly just a shake. As I previously mentioned, I usually start the day off with a solid meal composed usually of eggs and vegetables, but sometimes tuna and veggies or chicken breast and veggies. The rest of the day, I consume pretty much just the Health Shake.

First of all, I designed the Health Shake to be as balanced a meal as possible, so you’ve got your good proteins, carbs, and fat in there. The protein is the soy milk, the carbs are the veggies and fruit, and the fat is the nuts. Simple as that.

I’ve been living off of this type of diet for a few weeks now and it’s felt pretty good. I have a lot of energy throughout the day, starting immediately from when I get up, and I sleep very soundly. I originally thought that there would be a dip in my energy levels at first that I’d have to get used to when I started this regimen, but the opposite actually happened: my energy levels felt like they at least doubled; very pleasantly surprising to me.

DIET AND NUTRITION TIP 2: THE HEALTH SHAKE

All right. This article directly continues from my first diet and nutrition tip. I mention that I like to start out slow in the mornings, then get serious when I begin my work. The Health Shake serves me very well for this sort of lifestyle.

I usually begin either by doing choreography or heavy lifting to keep my muscles in shape. If it’s just weight lifting for the day, then I’m totally done in usually an hour or less (unless I decide to choreograph stuff afterward), but choreography time easily takes up two to three hours. I’m always wiped after my sessions, so I take a bath then sit at my computer doing work for my blog until late in the evening.

When I start doing work, I’m in what many people call a “zone”, where I just do whatever tasks it is I’m concentrating on for however long it takes until I’m done. I therefore usually don’t want like to take breaks and give time to eat solid foods. This is especially important during my choreography work because those can be very draining, and drinking even only a bit of my shakes during that time can help a lot. It also helps that since it’s mostly in liquid form, my body can digest it easily and quickly so it won’t interfere with my physical activities.

DIET AND NUTRITION TIP 1: SWEET TUNA SALAD

This is the first of what I’m sure will be many tips in the realm of diet and nutrition. A friend of mine asked me to post what I usually eat these days, so to fully cover what he's requesting, instead of creating just one post today, I’m actually going to make two!

These days, I usually go for a healthy solid meal when I wake up followed by two large shakes that I divide up during the day. The reason I do this is because I’m one of those people who start out slowly in the morning. I don’t normally feel weak and listless when I get out of bed, but I usually don’t like diving into work immediately. That’s why I prefer a good solid meal to start me out, along with a large cup of tea. I watch a show while I eat, then play a video game for maybe an hour, then it’s off to work!

The Sweet Tuna Salad is actually a recipe I got from a book called Muscle Chow by Gregg Avedon. I actually get a lot of my recipes from this book. I don’t really agree with everything that’s on there, but I honestly do find that some of the recipes in it are pretty great. Buy it and check it out if you’re interested:

THE GYM CAR

I remember reading about this one about a year or so ago. It’s the Gym Concept Car by a person named Da Feng. It is exactly how it sounds. It has a transformable mobile gym inside of it. So, yes, initially crazy – sounding idea that might invoke images such as those endlessly long limousines with everything in them including the kitchen sink from some old cartoon, or perhaps this Goofy cartoon from the 1940’s:

THE 12TH UP CHANCELLOR'S CUP

 The UP Chancellor’s Cup is an annual table tennis tournament sponsored by the University of the Philippines Diliman. It is literally one of the largest table tennis tournaments within the Philippines with participants ranging from all the UAAP teams, many provincial teams, and even some foreign teams.It is expected that there will be up to a thousand participants this year.

The event will be held from April 6 – 7 at the University of the Philippines College of Human Kinetics Gym starting at 9:00 AM onwards. The tournament will continue on April 8 – 10 at the SM North Edsa event area within the newly refurbished Annex building. The event is, of course, free for viewing, but will have a participants’ entry fee.

I invite all those interested in table tennis and sports in general to attend and have a great time watching these athletes compete! It is open not only to the general public but to players willing to arrive as walk ins. See you there!

THE ULTIMATE FIGHTER 11 EPISODE 1 REVIEW

 I’m a huge UFC fan. That being said, while I’ll of course be placing reactions to most things about the current UFC events and about mixed martial arts in general, I’ll be mostly publishing them late. Like, a day or two late, which is like an eternity in Internet Time. This is because I like to think about them for a bit after I view them so I can organize my thoughts somewhat.

Alright, now on with the review! Long story short, I loved it, suprisingly so. Why surprising? Well, to tell you the truth, I wasn’t excited about this new season AT ALL.

First of all, it’s the freakin’ eleventh season. And while literally all the seasons had their moments they’re mostly the same. Up and coming fighters train, generally maniacal behavior in the house, arguing coaches, flared tempers all around, and lots of bleeped swear words from Dana White. And after ten straight seasons, I wasn’t really confident that they’d keep ANYTHING about the show fresh.

FIRST POST

Hello to you all,

I have been personally involved in physical fitness for more than ten years to the day. I started in high school when I was only seventeen and wanted to change the way my flabby and unattractive exterior was viewed. Social conditioning, I know, which had vanity and possibly selfishness at its core, but it actually did a lot of good for me.

I started working out at a gym which was only walking distance away. Oddly enough, the gym had opened just three or four months before I seriously made my decision to get in shape. I worked out there pretty much every day, doing basic body building things like babrell biceps curls and machine chess presses. I also became more and more conscious of my diet and substituted fruit for all the junk food I was eating. I have no idea how I did it before but I just quit flat out. Almost like a smoker does cold turkey. Suddenly any and all junk food really did look like their namesake: trash, with flies and all.