This was a big game for the Packers. Win and advance to the NFC Championship game. And advance they did. They routed the Seattle Seahawks 42-20 in the snowy environs of Lambeau Field.

Nothing like seeing a game in Lambeau and tailgating in the parking lot before the game. I am envious of those that were at the game.

The start of a new year means the NFL season is winding down and this weekend, sixteen teams play to advance in the playoffs. The Green Bay Packers are one of four teams that have a first round bye and will play the Seattle Seahawks in legendary Lambeau Field in Green Bay.

I didn’t have a bye so I went to the gym and tried something new and something old I haven’t done in a long time…the bench press.

I did a few sets of the Burgener Warm-up and did a Dan John routine.

4 sets, 8 reps each of Power Snatch, Overhead Squat, Back Squat, Good Mornings, Rows and Deadlifts.

45/55/65/75.

It has been a long time since I have done bench presses and the last time I did, I re-injured my left shoulder. In doing 7 x 3, I would go no higher than my bodyweight for fairly obvious reasons.

135/155/175/185/205/185/185.

The Dan John routine was a smoker and I liked it for that reason. For the bench press, caution and moderation was a good call.

MarkFu is a big National Football League fan and has been a Green Bay Packer fan since he was a little Fu. I enjoy American football more than any other professional sport and I have no problem with the money that professional athletes earn during their careers, especially football players for the abuse their bodies take during, on average, a career that lasts less than 4 seasons with many players earning less than the $900,000 average NFL salary.

The dirty little secret in the NFL is how many of the great players and not so great players are forgotten once they leave the game due to retirement and career-ending injuries.

There is a grass-roots movement catching on, formed by Green Packer great, Jerry Kramer and backed by a number of big names in sports in and out of football, like Mike Ditka, Bob Costas, Charles Barkley and John McEnroe. HBO Sports has done a number of feature stories highlighting the plight of these former players. The organization is called “Gridiron Greats” and is raising awareness and money for those former players in dire need of help, post-football.

Every season, fans will ask each other, “Hey, I wonder what happened to so and so…Man, that guy was a good player!” The life after a pro football career for many is a living hell, but it is good to see an organization stepping up to do what the National Football League Players Association should be taking the lead on.

Coach Romanov, the founder of the POSE System, posted this useful article about stretching and flexibility. It may change the way you train in ways other than just running.

4 REASONS TO NEVER STRETCH AGAIN

1. STRETCHING DOESN’T DO WHAT IS CLAIMED The general claim is that stretching will help you warm up and relax your muscles, and it’s good for you. It is actually believed that it is important to stretch before training or racing. Sorry to disappoint you but stretching does not do any of those things. To warm up before training, you need to actually do a “warm up” routine. Instead of relaxing muscles, stretching actually tenses them and can tear the muscles, so if you feel sore and tense after your stretching routines, now you know why.
2. STRETCHING CAN TEAR MUSCLES As mentioned above, stretching can tear muscles. Stretching is a very damaging, violent and forceful action upon your muscles whether you’re doing it fast or slow. As part of a human body, muscles have only 2 functions - to contract and to relax. When you start stretching your muscles, which goes against their natural state of being or working, they react by contracting which puts an unexpected and unnecessary stress on the tissue and can tear it.
3. STRETCHING IS NOT FLEXIBILITY Majority of people do not know the difference between the two, and many consider both one and the same, but it is a guarantee that everyone is after being flexible not stretchable. Dictionary.com provides very good meanings for both words:
   • Stretching-To lengthen, widen, or distend-To extend or enlarge beyond the usual or proper limits-To wrench or strain (a muscle, for example)-To subject to undue strain
   • Flexibility-the property of being flexible; easily bent

   Read more on this subject here FLEXIBILITY vs STRETCHING

4. STRETCHING HAS VERY LIMITED PURPOSE AND EFFECT While stretching does have a purpose, it is a very limited one and has nothing to do with sports. Stretching can be used for rehabilitation purpose and can be relatively useful, but there are other and better ways of rehabilitating.

So next time out training, start with a good warm up routine appropriate for your sport instead of mindlessly stretching yourself to injuries.

Mayweather vs. Hatton - Watch more free videos

If you are are a fight fan, this Saturday promises a great welterweight match-up with two undefeated fighters, Floyd Mayweather. and Ricky Hatton. For pre-fight analysis by Compu-Box and Bert Sugar and fight hype go to HBO: Boxing and the Metro in the UK.
“Rant Irishman”, a former boxer and avid fight fan at Moynihan Institute has, well, a different take on the fight.

Readers to this blog may know by now that MarkFu is an avid Green Bay Packer fan and I am just as astonished as the rest of Packer Nation at the Green and Gold’s 10-1 start. The NFC Clash of the Titans for supremacy in the conference was held in Dallas, Texas where the Cowboys were host to the Pack. I, along with countless other fans were on high anticipation and anxiety alert for this game and that grew the moment Packer icon Brett Favre went down with an elbow injury and a separated left shoulder and had to leave the game early. It ended up being a good and exciting game to watch, but in the end, the Cowboys won 37-27.

I had planned on taking the night off from training to enjoy the game, but my nervous energy got the best of me and I started swinging kettlebells in the living room while watching the game. I intended only to do that to dissipate some of that energy, but it turned into a full-blown and productive training session.

I started swinging light kettlebells and before long, went heavy.

Kettlebell Presses: I did sets of 10, each arm and started by doing 16 kg one arm presses, 10 each arm for two total sets. Following that, I changed up to the 24 kg and did 5 sets of 10 each arm. Each set of 10 was preceded by a clean.

Snatches: I needed to get in some reps especially since I was having problems getting a nice landing on my arm at the top of my snatch with my left arm. It seems the problem was in “taming the arc”. Most of my reps improved my technique and prevented me from bruising my forearms.

I stayed light, first doing a set of 10 each arm with the 8 kg. bell.Following that, I did 7 sets of 16 kg snatches, 10 each arm and stopped when my technique began to fade.

I followed the kettlebell work with 2 x 35 push-ups. By the time I was done, there was no longer any anxiety and I could, for the most part, sit back and enjoy the game, regardless of the outcome.

That means football in Denver. Packers vs. Broncos. That also means I ain’t going to the gym so I brought my toys and did a bodyweight workout at halftime and between plays.

A little play-by-play…13-10 Green Bay with under 2 minutes in the game…Denver has 4th down and 2. All of Denver’s wins have come with last second field goals and Jason Elam is a helluva kicker.They got the first down and more. The Packers “D” is playing scared and it is looking like the Pack is going down. Overtime. Elam is a cool as they come. Denver kicks off in OT to Green Bay. The first play from scrimmage, Favre to Jennings 82 yards. TOUCHDOWN! Packers win it, 19-13!!!!!!!!!!!

Push-ups: 35/35/35/. I was elevated on the KB handles.Sit-ups: 35/35/35/Ring Pull-ups: 1 the first minute, 2 the second minute and go until you run out of gas in a minute.1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8/9/= 45Ring Push-ups with feet elevated on a hammock: 20/20/20.

Brett Favre is No. 1 — with a bullet. Favre broke Dan Marino’s record for career touchdown passes Sunday, zipping No. 421 to Greg Jennings in the first quarter of Green Bay’s 23-16 victory over the Minnesota Vikings.

He hit Jennings on a 16-yard slant for the score with 4:56 left inthe quarter, and like most of his touchdown throws through hisbrilliant 17-year career, this one had plenty of steam on it.

Ever the jubilant celebrator, Favre sprinted to the end zone andhoisted Jennings on his left shoulder. He joined in hugs with histeammates on the sideline, as thousands of Packers faithful who made the trip from Wisconsin cheered loudly.

Even those dressed in purple stood and applauded when theannouncement was made, and a taped message from Marino was played to congratulate Favre, who threw for another TD in the fourth quarter. He finished 32-of-45 for 344 yards, the 50th time he’s topped 300 yards in his career.

“I loved holding the touchdown record for the past 13 years,”Marino said. “But if someone was going to break it, I’m glad it was someone like you, who has always competed at the highest level and always played to win.”

It’s the latest, and possibly the most hallowed record claimed bythe league’s last true gunslinger. Two weeks ago, Favre broke John Elway’s mark for career victories by a quarterback when he led the Packers to a 35-13 win over the New York Giants.

The soon-to-be 38-year-old also holds the marks for careercompletions and consecutive starts by a quarterback, which hit 241Sunday, moving him past former Vikings center Mick Tingelhoff into second place on the list for all players.

Former Vikings defensive end Jim Marshall holds the all-time mark with 270 consecutive starts.

Late in the second quarter, Favre broke another Marino record when he threw the 8,359th pass of his career, and is also within shouting distance of Marino’s record for yards passing.

Favre tied Marino’s record with three touchdown passes in thePackers’ 31-24 victory over San Diego last week, including therecord-tying 57-yard completion to Jennings that gave the Packers the lead late in the game.

Marino held the record since 1995, but Favre’s reign could beconsiderably shorter. Old No. 4 has acknowledged that most, if not all, of the records he sets in his career will be challenged very shortly by the Colts’ Peyton Manning.

But perhaps even more impressive than the numbers Favre has put up is the manner in which he has done it.

Favre entered the league in a different era, when guys like Marino, Jim Kelly, Warren Moon and Steve Young played the game with an aggressiveness and a swagger that is uncommon among today’s quarterbacks.

While offenses have moved away from that mentality more toward “game managers,” the league’s biggest gambler hasn’t let go of his high-risk, high-reward style. That mentality has thrilled fans in GreenBay ever since he first stepped onto the Lambeau Field turf in 1992, but it has also earned him his fair share of criticism over the years.

He has been accused of being careless with the football at times,but Favre will be the last one to apologize for entering the game two interceptions shy of tying George Blanda’s career record.

Favre was pressured on his first pass attempt Sunday, and heblindly winged a pass far down field for Jennings that was intercepted by Darren Sharper. But Favre was bailed out by an illegal contact call on Vikings cornerback Antoine Winfield, and the Packers punted four plays later.

After Jeff Dugan fumbled to give the Packers the ball in Minnesota territory, Favre hit Donald Lee on a nice touch pass for 27 yards. Two plays later _ history.

This season, coach Mike McCarthy has reined in Favre a little bit, and it has worked brilliantly so farfor the Packers, who started the season 4-0 for the first time since 1998.

And while there is no single record for quarterbacks that carriesthe significance of Barry Bonds passing Hank Aaron’s career home run record, McCarthy said Marino’s touchdown mark probably comes closest.

But Favre said he didn’t think the touchdown record was gettinganywhere near the hype that Bonds’ pursuit of Aaron received over the summer. He laughed off any further comparison to Bonds, smiling as he jokingly flexed his forearms to prove he doesn’t quite measure up.

courtesy Associated Press

Football season is here and Bucky wins it’s first game, 42-21 against Washington State.

Not only was the game televised locally, but it was broadcast in high definition. Well, there is no way I was going to go to gym with the game on in HD on my big screen, so I came up with a training session that worked me over pretty good. My sets were done at half time and during commercial breaks, so I took what I had here at home and made a good workout out of it.

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Giant badgers terrorize Iraqi port city. BASRA, Iraq (AFP) - The Iraqi port city of Basra, already prey to a nasty turf war between rival militia factions, has now been gripped by a new fear; a giant badger stalking the…Go Bucky!!

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