November 6

Since you asked;

Being the cutting edge, open-minded finely-tuned athlete that I am – cough – I am always keeping my eye open for new and good exercises. I was an early fan of the Plyometrics, using those big bouncy balls and the weighted balls and such. It stresses using your own weight for resistance, bounding, balance work, etc, imitating what the body does in a real athletic sports activity.

So I was really happy to see that “Sports Illustrated” ran an article detailing New York Jets coach Herman Edwards fitness regime. Edwards was once a great defensive back in the NFL and now he is amazingly fit and trim. His body fat is 6% and he is a buffed 51-year-old.

The article said Edwards was famous for running on the treadmill at 5-miles-an hour for thirty minutes. Big deal, right? Wrong. He does 5-miles-an hour for thirty minutes backwards. OK, I so I wasn’t a great NFL defensive back, but I work out, I bike, I run, I hit they Cybex machine at the gym, so, after a real good and borderline anaerobic 20 minutes (heart rate at a steady 150) I decided to try it. Set the treadmill for 4 miles-an-hour figuring once I got used to it, I could move it up to five. Almost killed my damn self. 4 miles-an-hour running backwards is flying, forget about 5.

Ended up dialing it down to 2 ½ mph and I was hustling to not fall off. How long did I last? Five minutes. That was on Friday and today, Sunday, my hamstrings, calves and gluts are so sore I am walking like Dick Cheney after one of his weekly heart procedures.

Try running backwards on the treadmill, Slats and Nuggies, you will not only look like an idiot, you’ll be in pain in places you didn’t know you had.