Obesity in America
Yesterday on Weightlifting Talk(My Weekly Podcast with Jon North and Ryan Grady)we talked about Obesity in America. We definitely went a little over the top because that is what we do most of the time, but there were some points that we made that I am sticking by. One of our listeners, who is also a friend, made the point that none of us had ever been obese, so it would be easy on our parts to think that we have the answer. I agreed with her, and then I realized that we were on a very serious topic. I back tracked a little because I remembered that Martin Rooney had made the point that it was our job to educate and help people. I don’t want to be the person that makes fun of, chastises, or belittles someone. I want to be a source of knowledge, and I want to lend a compassionate heart to people in need.
With that being said I find myself at a crossroads in my career as a Strength and Conditioning Coach. I have always been drawn to athletes and adults that like to train like athletes, but I want to be a part in helping all people. We already offer Crossfit, Group Personal Training, and Semi-Private Training, so I want to be a part in educating the community. Obesity is a killer folks! It’s not cancer! It’s something that we can control, and it is something that we can fix. We are adding Training For Warriors at Mash Elite Performance which is a way of training that was designed by Martin Rooney. It was designed around fighters and wrestlers, but now Martin is using it to get the world in shape. My friend and partner Chris “Ox” Mason will be coaching the groups, and I promise he is just as motivational as Martin. Ox is also someone that lives by what he coaches because he is a 41 year old jacked man!
More than just adding programs I want to start a series of educational seminars open to the community. I want coaches, parents, athletes, and everyone else to come and learn the truth about nutrition, fitness, and health. I still love my athletes, but I want to affect my community. I believe that God has put me in a place to help others and share His love. That is exactly what I want to do. I will be announcing the dates for these seminars in the next couple of weeks.
One of the points that we made I am definitely stick too, and that is if a young child is morbidly obese, that is child abuse. The child’s habits are being formed by the parents, and the food in the house is not up to the child. First I would like to educate the parents and the family, but if the parents aren’t willing to change, then they need to be punished. When a child is obese, their chance of heart disease is forever increased. This could be looked at as attempted murder, since obesity leads to heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and types of cancer. I’m not condemning. I am just saying that America needs change in this area. We need to wake up as a country, and start taking responsibility.
As far as obesity for adults that is your choice. If that is what you want, well do what you want. It’s sad because it kills you, affects your work, affects your ability to play with your children and friends, and it simply makes living life harder, but if that is what you want, then that is none of my business. If you see it as a problem, then get help. You are right when you say that I don’t know what it is like, but I have had other problems. I didn’t ignore the problems, and I didn’t make excuses for having them. I found help from professionals, and more importantly for me I found Christ. Yesterday has given me a new passion. I want to help people! I want to see a healthy America! I look forward to starting our new “Learn to do Life” Seminars!
If you have any questions, email me at Travis.Mash@MashElitePerformance.com or check out the website at www.MashElitePerformance.com
Here is a link to the Weightlifting Talk Episode with Martin Rooney!
http://www.spreaker.com/user/weightlifting_talk/martin_rooney
