Body Slam: A Forgotten Movie of the Rock ‘n’ Wrestling Era

“Rock ‘n’ Wrestling” refers to a significant crossover between the worlds of professional wrestling and rock music that took place in the 1980s. It primarily revolves around the partnership between the World Wrestling Federation (now WWE) and the music industry, particularly with the involvement of musicians and collaborations with MTV.

During this era, the WWF recognized the potential of combining the popularity of professional wrestling with the mainstream appeal of rock music to create a larger fan base. This led to various initiatives and events that blended the two worlds, resulting in a phenomenon known as “Rock ‘n’ Wrestling.”

One of the key figures in this crossover was Cyndi Lauper, a prominent pop singer of the time. Lauper’s association with professional wrestling began when she appeared as a manager for wrestler Wendi Richter. This led to a storyline feud between Richter and Lauper’s rival manager, Captain Lou Albano, which culminated in a highly publicized match at the inaugural WrestleMania event in 1985.

The success of this collaboration prompted further integration of music and wrestling. The WWF featured rock musicians in their programming, such as Rick Derringer performing “Real American” for Hulk Hogan’s entrance theme. Additionally, the WWF created animated series called Hulk Hogan’s Rock ‘n’ Wrestling, which featured animated versions of wrestlers teaming up with various rock stars in comedic adventures.

The “Rock ‘n’ Wrestling” era represented a significant period of cross-promotion and entertainment convergence, bringing together the larger-than-life personalities of professional wrestling with the energy and appeal of rock music. It played a crucial role in expanding the fanbase of both industries and capturing the pop culture zeitgeist of the 1980s.

The natural progression of this awesome pairing was to bring the action of pro wrestling and sounds of rock music to the movie screen. However, this is where interest seemed to stop for most people. Perhaps purchasing a ticket and spending a day at the movies was always going to be a bit overkill for fans perfectly happy to watch Cyndi Lauper just have fun from their own living room for or parents who got a free cartoon for their kids every Saturday morning. Whatever the reasons, this effort to hit the big screen ultimately left us with movies like No Holds Barred (which Jim Ross once referred to as No Profits Allowed) and the should be cult-classic Body Slam.

Body Slam was a comedy released in 1986, revolving around a down-on-his-luck music promoter named M. Harry Smilac, played by Dirk Benedict of The A-Team fame. Smilac just happens to get involved in the world of professional wrestling and mischief ensues.

The film follows Smilac as he encounters a washed-up pro wrestler named “Quick” Rick Roberts, portrayed by Rowdy Roddy Piper. Smilac sees an opportunity to combine his love for music and wrestling by managing Quick Rick and a wrestling rock band called Kick at the same time.

With the help of his assistant Candace, played by Tanya Roberts, Smilac sets out to promote Quick Rick and his wrestling partner Tonga Tom, played by Sam Fatu. They embark on a tour with Kick, hoping to achieve success and fame by merging the worlds of music and wrestling. As the story progresses, Smilac faces challenges, including rival wrestling promoters, the constant chaos of managing a group of wrestlers and musicians, and the difficulty of putting on a show that features both live music and wrestling. Of-course the film culminates in a climactic showdown and a high-stakes wrestling match.

Body Slam combines elements of comedy, wrestling action, and music, creating an entertaining story about an unlikely group of characters trying to find success and redemption in their respective fields. Other wrestlers and personalities of note appearing in the film include Captain Lou Albano, Afa Anoai, Barbarian, Billy Barty, John Astin, Fans of The A-Team will especially enjoy this film as Dirk Benedict drives around in a Ferrari in some scenes and is essentially playing the Templeton Peck character (he juggled commitments to both projects during this time). That’s perfectly fine because Rock ‘n’ Wresting is a venture that the Face man would get into to make a buck.

Body Slam was not a financial success. The film was met with negative reviews and failed to attract a significant audience. The movie’s poor performance contributed to its status as a relatively obscure and forgotten film today. While it has gained a small following among fans of professional wrestling and ’80s movies, it hasn’t achieved the same level of cult status as some other films from the era. Its lack of critical acclaim and commercial success prevented it from attaining widespread recognition or a dedicated cult following. This isn’t surprising when thinking about the mainstream audience but perhaps a little more unexpected when considering the fandom of wrestling fans.  

Advertisement

Poker And Getting Rid of Your First Time Nerves

By: Tim Jeffries

I really have sympathy for you if you’ve decided to play poker for the first time and you’ve decided that you’re brave enough to try playing against live players. I wish you all the luck and offer our condolences in advance…

I am kidding!

Of course, we’re not here to grieve for your losses in poker in advance. If you’re a first time player and you want to play against live players, then good for you. And we’re here to help by providing you with useful tips that just may be the keys you need to survive round after round of poker.

Now, first time players are what most poker veterans refer to as “calling stations”. If you’re wondering about the logic behind the term, it’s basically because most first time poker players have the tendency to call almost all bets without even sparing a moment’s thought on their decisions.

Obviously, if you don’t want to be viewed as a “calling station” (egad!), gain the respect of your fellow poker players and maybe a share of their chips also, think before you act. Poker is not just any card game. It’s a mental game, a strategic competition between several players.

If you feel that your nerves are getting the better of you, here are some tips to get rid of cold feet.

Don’t pressure yourself by comparing your skills to other players’. That’s a futile exercise. Naturally, you can’t compare. You’re playing for the first time and they’re, what, celebrating their one millionth game? If you accept that, there’s nothing to lose yet there’s no harm in trying, you’ll feel much better later on and be able to concentrate more on the game.

Don’t turn your fellow players into gods. Okay, so you’ve heard about your opponents’ reputations. Say, one is called The Crocodile because of his ability to snatch you out of the game in seconds and the other one’s called The Rampaging Elephant because he’s always aggressive when it comes to bets. Remind yourself that before they got their monickers, they were also, once in their lives, christened as “calling stations”… just like you. If it helps, mentally replace their faces with funny looking ones to lessen your feelings of inferiority.

And lastly… relax. I know, it’s easier said than done, but you truly have to relax. Block out everything except for the cards you’re holding and mentally hum a happy song to yourself. If you let external factors get the better of you, you’re dead meat. But if you succeed in relaxing and focusing completely on your game, you may just have gotten rid of your nerves for the final time.

Leo Ferris: The Man Who Saved The NBA

The early days of basketball often seen slow fan-unfriendly low scoring matches that often left spectators bored. Games often only got into the 40’s and many of the best players averaged less than 15 points a game. Many early basketball games looked more like a glorified version of the children’s game of keep-away than an action packed professional sport. This style of play culminated in a game between Minneapolis and Fort Wayne, where the Pistons of Fort Wayne held the ball most of the second half nursing a 1 point lead over the Lakers. The Pistons would win 19-18 in the lowest scoring game in NBA history. Prior to that the fewest points ever score 33 points, just 4 fewer than both teams scored, and that game was one the opening night of the NBA, or BAA as it was called back then.

This pace bored fans, many of whom were promised an action packed fun experience and attendance and interest in the new league had begun to dip. The NBA needed a solution and needed it fast. The solution was an ingenious one and one that would revolutionize the game as we know it. A simple clock, with just 24 seconds on it would forever change the game.

The clock was the brain child of Syracuse Nationals general manager Leo Ferris, a man that the NBA has long forgotten in one of the biggest travesties in the games history. Ferris, is as important to the early days of the NBA as anyone and one could argue that without Ferris there would be no NBA today; and there definitely would be no Atlanta Hawks, or Philadelphia 76ers. The NBA would look much different today without Ferris’s input all those years ago.

Ferris got his start with basketball not in the NBA but in the NBL when in 1946 he helped found the Buffalo Bisons. The Bisons were pretty much a failure in upstate New York and after only 13 games the Bisons picked up and left the shores of Lake Erie and heated to the American Heartland in Molina, Illinois. Technically, the team played in Molina and Rock Island, Illinois and Davenport, Iowa but most of their games were played in Molina. The team was called the Tri-Cities Blackhawks and while they struggled the foundation of one of the longest tenured NBA teams was laid. The Blackhawks would eventually move to Milwaukee, where they took on the moniker Hawks, and than move to St Louis and finally to Atlanta.

Shortly after the team moved to Tri-Cities Ferris would go on to make one of his first major shake ups of the basketball world when he signed Pop Gates for the all-black New York Ren’s to a contract. African-American players had played in the NBL before, but only during the early 1940s when World War II had taken a lot of the white players from the NBL. Gates was the first black player signed to a contract when there was not a necessity for them, and the first one signed because of his skill and talent and not because the league needed players. Gates would re-join the Rens when they joined the NBL as the Dayton Rens two years later.

After only a season with the Blackhawks, Ferris returned to his native upstate New York and began as the general manager of the NBL’s Syracuse Nationals. As manager of the Nationals he scored a huge coup for the Nationals and the NBL when he lured highly coveted big man Dolph Schayes away from the New York Knicks of the upstart BAA.

The BAA and NBL rivalry only got worse, with the BAA stealing away most of the best players from the NBL and starting in 1948 the BAA started taking the best teams as well. In 1947 the Minneapolis Lakers, Rochester Royals and Indianapolis Kautskies left the NBL for the BAA. The Nationals were now in an uncertain league and they and the NBL desperately needed to find a solution, and Leo Ferris would find that solution.

Starting in the spring of 1949 Ferris started meeting with executives of the BAA, at first it was an attempt to possible get the Nationals into the growing league, but would soon expand to merging the two leagues. The talks ended in August of 1949 when an agreement was reached to merge the NBL and BAA and form the NBA. The BAA only wanted to absorb two teams; the Nationals, and the upstart Indianapolis Olympians; who would replace the Jets. Ferris managed to talk the BAA into accepting both of those teams, as well as the Denver Nuggets, Sheboygan Redskins, Anderson Packers and the Blackhawks. He originally wanted the merger to include Oshkosh, Hammond and Dayton, but financial backing ruined Oshkosh’s attempt to relocate to Milwaukee and Hammond was thought too close to Chicago where the BAA already had a team. The Rens of Dayton were not allowed to join because their players consisted of black players. In addition to the Rens not being allowed to join, black players on Syracuse also had to be let go.

The merge proved successful as the 17 team NBA seen initial success, but the old NBL teams had given up too much power in the merger and despite Ferris’s best efforts the league kicked out 5 of the former NBL teams the next season.

The 1950 season saw the Lakers continue their dominance and the Pistons thought the only way to stop them was to hold on to a one point lead and the ball. This was the event that usurer in Leo Ferris’s clock or more commonly known as the shot clock. Ferris had always liked math and had been good at it, and he used math to come up with the 24 second clock. He took the number of seconds in a 48-minute game (2,880) and divided that by the average number of shots in a game (120) to get to 24 seconds.

It took 4 more years for the league to implement the shot clocks and when they did the league seen a jump in scoring by nearly 20 points a game and gone were the days of games ending up in the 40s. In fact, since the introduction of the shot clock there has been only 20 regular season games were a team has scored less than 60 points, and only one were a team scored less than 50 and only one playoff game were a team scored less then 60 points.

The introduction of the shot clock caused the game to enter into an era of frenzied paces, with teams scoring what were once thought of as impossible number of points. In 1954-55 Neil Johnston lead the NBA in scoring with 22 points a game, seven years later Wilt Chamberlain would set the NBA record by averaging 50 points a game.

Ferris would only stick around the NBA for one season after his clock was introduced before permanently leaving the league and the game to develop real-estate. It was a shockingly short career for someone who would have such a profound impact on the game.

Despite all that he accomplished, Ferris has yet to be introduced into the Naismith Hall-of-Fame. He has been a finalist multiple times but never made it to the enshrinement portion. This is likely due to the utter and complete disregard and disdain that the NBA has often shown towards the NBL and its former players and staff.

Excluding Ferris has been one of the worst tragedies that the NBA has done in its 70 plus years of existence. Many people are in the Hall-of-Fame who have lesser resumes than Ferris and yet Ferris gets overlooked time and again. Maybe, hopefully, 2018 will be the year for the man who may have saved the NBA.

Resources and references come from http://nbahoopsonline.com/

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/9883795

Photo Credit: John Lent/AP

An Adventure into the Wild: The National Parks of Sri Lanka

Are you a fellow wildlife enthusiast? Then visiting the National Parks is a must when you’re in Sri Lanka. The country is blessed with a number of these jungle-clad areas housing diverse species of flora and fauna. Read on to discover some of the most popular National Parks of Sri Lanka. Our friends from the Travellanka Connection break down the top 5!

Wilpattu National Park

Located 30 kilometers west of Anuradhapura, Wilpattu National Park has declared a wildlife sanctuary in 1905. It was later elevated to “National Park” status. Spanning an area of no less than 131,693 hectares, this is the largest National Park in Sri Lanka. Wilpattu National Park has a unique topography; a complex of around 50 wetlands known as “Villus”. Surrounded by open, grassy plains, “Villus” are shallow lakes filled with rainwater. The best time to visit this National Park is the dry season between May to September. One would be able to spot an array of wildlife species including sambar deer, crocodiles, wild boars, wild elephants, and especially the elusive Sri Lankan leopard.

Yala National Park

Book a Sri Lanka Holiday Package to explore the famous Yala National Park; the second-largest wildlife reserve and one of the first protected sanctuaries to have been established in the tear-drop island nation. This National Park is home to over 31 mammals and more than 124 species of birds. The terrain boasts lush, green environs, and is home to its fair share of reptiles and other lagoon fauna. Embark on a jeep safari to spot the elusive leopard. These safaris are available during early morning and evening hours. Travel Lanka Connection and similar other reputed travel companies will put together carefully curated itineraries to suit all your travel needs – and this can include a safari to Yala National Park as well!

Kumana National Park

Kumana National Park is nestled on the eastern fringes of Yala National Park; however, it is considered a wildlife hub in its own right. Famous among avid birders and ornithologists, this National Park is blessed with a number of magnificent bird species. A few of the most prized bird species that one can spot here include the rare, black-necked storks, egrets, hawk eagles, godwits, and ibises. The park is also a prime location to spot many wildlife species such as sambar deer and elephants.

Minneriya National Park

Minneriya National Park is located in the middle of the famous cultural triangle of Sri Lanka. It is mostly famous for “The Gathering”, which is believed to be the world’s largest congregation of Asian elephants. The best time to witness this spectacular phenomenon is during the dry season, which spans from July to October; hundreds of elephants gather around the lake in search of water, creating a majestic scenery for the onlookers. Apart from the elephants, many inhabitants call this relatively small National Park their home, and these include the purple-faced langur monkeys, spotted deer, sambar, and macaques.

Wasgamuwa National Park

Located approximately 225 kilometres away from Colombo, Wasgamuwa National Park is bordered by two rivers – Mahaweli Ganga and Amban Ganga (‘ganga’ translates to ‘river’ in English). The park is dominated by a dry-mixed evergreen forest and is characterized by tall trees such as Weera, Palu, and Burutha. From November to May, tourists can spot large herds of elephants. These gentle giants migrate to the nearby Minneriya and Kaudulla National Parks during the dry season. Apart from mammals such as purple-faced langur monkeys and wild boars, Wasgamuwa National Park is famous for birds such as the endemic red-faced mal koha, Ceylon jungle fowl, and lesser adjutant stork.

How To Speak The Language Of Disc Golf

By popular demand, Disc Golf blogger Steven Pease breaks down the language barrier for FSM readers…

Most people who play disc golf know the regular terms and language. There are lots of other words that people use for describing things that happen on the course. Words not in the dictionary, or in the general vocabulary for disc golf. I have gathered some interesting terms from other players, and from what I’ve read that other players use. I will share the common ones, and some better ones that are not common that I have found.

I got a great story sent to me a couple years ago. A player who was new went out to play a round with his dad, there was a reporter and a photographer at the course from the local paper. He asked if you could take a couple pictures for a story they were doing on disc golf; the guy said sure. The photographer got into position about 50 feet up the edge of the fairway; the guy let loose with his drive and hit the photographer square in the chest with his driver.

Very embarrassing and funny now, but no one wants to do that. I love this story because it shows exactly why everyone wants to get better. I put together terms that I have learned over the past 30 years of playing disc golf. Terms that will make you feel that you know what others are talking about. Disc golf is one of the fastest growing sports in the world. One of the main reasons for its popularity is players of almost any age and ability can play.

I play with guys half my age and I consistently beat them. I am 62 years old and in good shape. I know people older that still play. There are no limitations. If you can get around the course, you can play. If you have never played, you should. If you play now, keep on playing. It’s great exercise, and it’s a great way to socialize. As far as sports go, it is also very inexpensive. You can start with as few as three discs. A driver, a midrange and a putter. For just around $30 you can get started. Most courses are free to play.

Common disc golf language

• Ace Getting the disc in the basket on the first shot
• Hyzer Releasing the disc with he edge closest to your body highest than the other edge.
• Anhyzer The outside is higher than the inside edge.
• Overstable The disc wants to hyzer into the ground when you release it. To make it not hyzer, you must snap it and throw it hard with a slight anhyzer.
• Understabe Can throw with less spin, less snap to fly straight.
• Turnover When you throw the disc hard with good snap; it will turn opposite the way it normally will turn. If you’re throwing right hand back hand it will turn to the right.
• S Curve The flight of the disc starts as an anhyzer, then will hyzer at the end of the flight.
• Snap The amount of spin on the disc at release from your hand.
• Driving The throw from the tee box.
• Approach The shot from the drive to the basket.
• Putt Throwing the disc into the basket.
• Grip How you hold the disc when you’re throwing.

Player Invented Disc Golf Terms

• Dead man When your putt hits the side of the basket and drops to the ground.
• Chain smoking Several great putts in a row.
• Bogey Sandwich A scorecard with a par bogey bogey par.
• Black ace Acing the wrong hole.
• Cabbage The weeds in the rough.
• Chastity belt The yellow band on the Innova baskets.
• Clank The sound that a putt makes when in hits the chastity belt.
• Hit the nickel A putt that hits the number plate.
• Horking A huge long throw.
• Locals route Taking an unconventional path to get you to the basket.
• Lumber jacking When you’re hitting every tree.
• Mirkwood Very thick woods.
• Nickel A score of 5 on a hole.
• Nuclear shule Very thick rough.
• Fly by Putt correct height, but sails by the basket.
• Fluke deuce A two from something very lucky happening.
• Gaack Missed a short putt.
• Grenade A shot that is high and falls fast to the ground.
• Head Banger When your drive lands under the basket and you might bang your head on the basket as you pick it up.

More Disc Golf Terms

• Paper plate An understable disc.
• pig putt A putt that’s really bad.
• Pinball A shot that hits several trees.
• Pinball Wizard Continually hitting multiple trees.
• Rooted When the tree root stops you shot from skipping.
• Saturn A score of 6 (saturn is the 6th planet)
• Shank Any shot that does not do what you wanted.
• Shule Heavy weeds off the fairway.
• Sneak In flight instruction to the disc.
• Snob A throw with the nose of the disc up.
• Snowman A score of 8.
• Spinach Bushes, trees, and undergrowth.
• Taco To hit a tree so hard it folds like a taco.
• Tombstone A disco golf disc that hits the ground, and remains standing on the edge.
• Treefelction The tree gives you a good deflection.
• Valet service When you park your drive under the basket.
• CRF Candy fundraiser.
• CTP Closest drive to the pole.
• DL Dead last in the order of throwing.
• FAT When you hit the first available tree.
• LB Lucky bounce.
• SED Seeing eye disc.
• YSA You’re still away.
• Gust from the Gods When the wind blows the disc way off line.
• Getting greasy Sneaking through the trees.
• Lawn dart A disco that has landed partially buried in the ground.
• Merked When you get hit in the head from someones throw off of a tree.
• Tombstone For those discs that stick on edge in muddy ground.
• Helicopter A shot that needs to come straight down at the end without curving.
• A rip The perfect drive.

The terms in the top section are ones you need to know. These terms will help you understand the game and how to play and how to play better. The rest are just temps other players use when they are playing.

FSM First Look: UNBREAKABLE

After years of rejection but with constant hustle, Jay Glazer has built a career as one of the most iconic sports insiders, earning himself a spot on the Emmy award-winning Fox NFL Sunday, a role as the confidant of coaches and players across the league, and a role as himself alongside Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson on HBO series Ballers. His gym, Unbreakable Performance Center, attracts some of the biggest names in Hollywood, and is the headquarters to the powerful charity MVP (Merging Vets and Players) that Jay founded in 2015.  MVP began as a weekly physical and mental health huddle with combat veterans and retired athletes has expanded to seven locations, helping soldiers and players transition to a new team.

In Unbreakable, Jay Glazer talks directly to you, his teammates, and shares his truth. All of his success from his screeching-and-swerving joy ride through professional football, the media, the fighting world, Hollywood, the military-warrior community, comes with a side of relentless depression and anxiety. Living in the gray, as Jay calls it, is just a constant for him. And, in order to work through the gray and succeed, Jay has to maintain an Unbreakable Mindset. With this book, you can too.

·        Be of Service—help others and help yourself in the process

·        Build Your Team—give support, get support

·        Never Underestimate the Power of Laughter—never take yourself too seriously

·        Be Proud of Your Scars—our trauma makes us who we are

Throughout Unbreakable, Jay will use his stories—featuring some of the biggest, baddest, and most fascinating characters in the public eye today—to show how he walks this walk, has learned that while the gray is very real, it doesn’t have to define him. And it doesn’t have to define you either.

Click here for a sneak peak of the actual book available April 4, 2023 and keep reading for a very special message from Jay himself:

Hey Teammate,

We all face obstacles-physical, emotional, between the ears. The good news is that everything we have fought back against can empower us, IF WE KNOW HOW TO USE IT. My obstacles happen to be anxiety and depression. I call it living in the gray, and I’ve been mired in it my whole life. To be honest, it sucks. But I have also recently recognized that this same gray that has held me down has also empowered me to make my wildest dreams come true. You have probably overcome many of your own obstacles, but you’ve been too close to the conflict to clearly see what you’ve accomplished. We are all UNBREAKABLE, no matter what we do, who we are, or what traumas we may have experienced. We just need to admit that we can’t walk this walk alone.

–Jay Glazer

6 Tips for Tracking Your Fitness

You have decided to bring the body into shape and regular workouts have become your usual routine. Still, after one or two weeks of such physical activity, you don’t see wishful results in the mirror and stepping on the scale just confirms it. For that reason, you give up, abandon set goals and return to a sports lifestyle only when a certain time passes. It is high time to break this vicious circle!

The most crucial thing here is to understand that changes are not a matter of one week. It takes time to achieve progress, so you should gain patience and keep motivated along the way. The best solution for following fitness goals is results-tracking.

Body alterations and how you feel constantly performing physical activities are the greatest motivators for moving ahead. By tracking your fitness, the possibility of reaching goals significantly rises and promotes you working and spending your time yet more efficiently. That way, our key task is to identify what ways of fitness progress measuring are the most fruitful and worth incorporating into the sports agenda. Let’s figure it out.

1. Keeping a Workout Journal 

Tracking your fitness results may be easy as a pie with steady journal keeping. Noting your exercising and meals is not time-consuming, but it will certainly give a clear vision of the advance. Do it the most convenient for you. It can be a usual notebook, notes on your device, or even Excel spreadsheets – it is up to you.

The essential is to be precise with writing down workouts. Try to include what exercises you did with the sets and reps number. If your workouts were of strength type, fix the used weight. In case you did running, record miles and performance time. No less important is the well-being after physical activity. So, point out how you feel after the workout: exhausted or energized, whether it was harsh or easy.

The journal is also perfect for diet tracking. Exercising is requisite, but it loses its sense without proper nutrition. Thus, you will succeed only by blending these two components. Still, you have to be careful since tracking your daily ratio may turn into obsessive calorie counting. To avoid this, we recommend just analyzing your eating habits and based on them, excluding or including specific products in your meals.

2. Fitness Trackers or Apps Appliance

Living in the modern world, we may benefit from various tech novelties, and it also relates to the fitness area. Track your results just in a few moments with smart fitness trackers or apps on your phone. There is a variety to choose from, and X-wrist is the name of one the leading. 

If you still count your steps and manually monitor your heart rate – stop doing this. Currently, such measurements are effortless with the fitness tracker. Select your best fitting application and your workout progress control will become a sheer pleasure. X-wrist is the app empowering you to make healthy choices. Its AI-based building system will allow you to log your meals, set diet goals and plan further nutrition. What’s more, this tracker may monitor your sports activity both at home and in the gym. You can also record workouts and create upcoming exercises routine here. 

So, fitness tracker usage is vital as besides providing info about physical achievements, it helps take care of your health and become the best version of yourself. 

3. Clothes Fitting

As practice shows, an appealing mirror look can be the highest motivation. The best way to get a dose of inspiration is by trying clothes on. For example, find a pair of jeans you have strived for so long to fit into and dress them. Wearing jeans will give an insight into how successful are your sports accomplishments and how far you are from your goals. 

Pay attention to your feelings: whether clothing sits looser or tighter. To attain the most accurate outcome, we offer to pick one specific piece of clothing and measure your progress in keeping with it monthly.

4. Taking Measurements 

Sometimes scale figures may be deceiving, so you should keep in mind that muscles weigh more fat. So it is significant not to limit scaling but to do the measuring to explore gradual changes.

It is worth steering clear of daily measurements. Record your neck, shoulders, waist, biceps, chest, thighs and hips sizes with a tape measure weekly, no sooner. Moreover, the time and conditions of measurements play an extremely important role, so be sure they are the same every time.

5. Blood Pressure Check

Fitness progress means more than an attractive body shape. No matter what goals you pursue: losing weight or gaining muscles, your blood pressure can present you with the overall picture of your health condition. Heart health directly depends on blood pressure that is consequently influenced by physical activity, nutrition and stress levels. 

With regular workouts, both your body and cardiovascular system stand stronger. That way, the blood pressure can be a pointer for diminishing heart and chronic disease risks. A blood pressure watch is the best decision for keeping abreast of your blood pressure indexes.

6. Progression Photos

Some may consider post-workout photos a waste of time. However, it is doubtless a valuable experience. Every day mirror-looking may totally change our body perception. Still, it can be challenging to trace the ultimate progress throughout the path, so pictures will come in handy here. Taking photos weekly will show you incredible differences already in half a year.

All you need to enjoy such contrast over time is to picture within the same conditions, light and angles. Remember that daily weight is floating and the photo taken in the morning will differ from one after the meal. Lighting is also the key point. Poor light can generate shadows and emphasize your drawbacks, hiding the apparent results. In addition, dressing in similar outfits in each month’s photos may confuse and prevent you from noticing differences.

After taking pictures, don’t compare them to two days ago. It makes no sense. The most appropriate checking frames are from four to six weeks.

Final Words

Being fit is not always a synonym for muscular body shape. It is about health, well-being and fulfillment. Regular exercising and proper nutrition will gift you the body of your dream, together with decreasing health hazards and improving mental health. You can’t do without tracking your fitness progress to get this with flying colors. So stick to our tips and the first considerable results won’t be long in coming.

Duck, Duck, Goose! Restored Wetlands Thriving

(NewsUSA) – As the sun rises in middle America, nature comes to life. Ducks, geese and other birds emerge from a marsh, taking flight into a golden sky, while prairie grasses whisper in the morning breeze and insects begin to hum.     

The growing cacophony of honks, quacks, chirps and splashes is music to Jason Black’s ears. As public land manager of the McPherson Valley Wetlands in central Kansas, they are proof that this habitat is thriving.     

“This is a special place,” says Black. “I get to watch it grow through the seasons, watch the birds come and go. Everything from our state bird, the meadowlark, to whooping cranes to a number of species of ducks and geese and shorebirds when water conditions and migration are lined up just right.”     

These public wetlands were recently improved through a public-private partnership thanks in big part to one of the nation’s largest clean energy infrastructure companies, Williams. The company’s generous contribution allowed Ducks Unlimited to seek matching funds to restore several areas that are critical to waterfowl during spring and fall migrations.     

The wetlands project included restoration of approximately 160 acres of previously drained and cropped agricultural fields. New water-control infrastructure was installed and prairie seeds planted to improve wildlife habitat for quail, pheasants and other grassland birds, along with pollinators.     

The marsh is the first of a series of connected wetlands in the complex and will help improve water downstream. The wetlands in the area provide critical resources for migrating waterfowl and other birds along the Central Flyway, along with outdoor recreation for residents and visitors.     

“We take great pride in being responsible environmental stewards and are honored to support Ducks Unlimited,” says Matthew Baker, manager of engineering at Williams. “Doing what is right for our local communities is part of who we are at Williams, and this collaboration is one of the many ways we aim to preserve resources for future generations while making a positive impact today.”     

The wetland restoration is one of many environmental stewardship and sustainability projects that Williams is supporting along its nationwide footprint. Others include planting seedlings, building hiking trails, developing wildlife crossings and funding intercity marine education programs.     

For more information, visit www.williams.com/sustainability.

Fort Tejon: Get Some Exercise Before Your Final Destination

California has always had a history of looking after their own. This includes in 1854 when Fort Tejon was established to protect its residents from people looking to do them harm and to crack down on cattle raiding. In 2022, the fort still provides refuge for overheated cars, respite for tired travelers, and tons of cool things to explore.

When driving through the infamous Grapevine on I-5 in southern California, one doesn’t necessarily think to themselves, “Hmm, this seems like a good place to stop.” Nor should they unless they are planning on making a quick stop at Fort Tejon State Historic Park. This hidden gem is located right off the highway and has been a cooling down spot for autos and their radiators struggling to make it through the vine for years. But just behind the wall of trees that line the parking lot lie the remains of a powerful little fort – and a great spot for EXERCISE!

The beauty of Fort Tejon hits you once you walk past that wall of trees and take a quick turn through a small wooden gate. Multiple structures in various stages of preservation make up the perimeter of Fort Tejon, giving it a weird Melrose Place (the TV show) feel with an open field and a handful of picnic tables acting as the pool/courtyard.

In addition to taking in some great California history, stopping at Fort Tejon State Park can be good for your health! If you’ve been sitting or driving for a long time, the fields and open areas are a great place to move around to get the blood flowing. Remember that sitting down for too long can be dangerous in certain situations. Road trip veterans may know this but that doesn’t mean rookie mistakes don’t happen once and a while. The Fort offers a safe space for some quick activity and never gets too busy.

So, when traveling this path, consider visiting Fort Tejon State Historic Park before you reach your next destination for any of the following heart healthy activities:

Individualized Stretch Routine

10 Minute Yoga

Meditation

Easy Hiking / Exploring

Brisk Walking

Running

Sprints

For more info about Fort Tejon State Historic Park, click here.

FSM Retro: A Lil’ Love for SNES’ Super Punch-Out!!

FSM takes a look back at the rarely talked about Super Punch-Out!! boxing game courtesy of Shaun Rogers from NextLevelGamerz. We find out it’s not that hard following the classic sans Mike Tyson and that gamers can have a little old-school fun…

Super Punch-Out!! is a boxing video game developed and published by Nintendo for the SNES. It was released on September 14, 1994 in North America and again in the same region in 1996.

Super Punch-Out!! is an impressive boxing game for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. It features great graphics, cool music, tight control, and excellent replay value. This game should be considered one of the greatest boxing games in video game history. The characters are full of personality and are unique and fun to fight. The game takes advantage of the SNES graphics chip capabilities and really pushes the envelope as far as graphics are concerned.

Playing this game is very enjoyable, as it is fun to play as a newbie or as an experienced veteran. Beating the opposition takes time and learning their patterns and moves really is a must. Super Punch-Out still rates up there as one of my favorite video games of all time. Beating the special hidden circuit definitely takes skills, and that is what I love about the game.

Gameplay

The action is fast, and the response times are lightning quick. Each opponent forces you to re-think your maneuvering, as they all have their own unique styles and patterns. The controls are simple enough, with a left and right punch, as well as a super punch. Dodging and blocking become key components in this game if you are to be successful.

The game play is very tight and responsive and pulling off super punches is easy. The game is easy enough for anybody to pick up and learn, and it is fun enough for everyone who wants to. Your boxer controls flawlessly and avoiding your opponent’s attacks will timing and skill.

The Storyline

You must take over the role of an underdog boxer attempting to win the Minor, Major, World, and Special Circuit Championships. Old arcade favorites like Bear Hugger, Piston Hurricane, and Bald Bull are here, as well as NES favorites like Mr. Sandman, and Super Macho Man. You are attempting to battle your way to the top of these circuits, which contain four boxers in each circuit, and the fourth opponent is the reigning champion. Overall the story is very simple but it works.

Graphics & Sound

Super Punch-Out is well animated and features beautiful cartoon like graphics that gives each fighter their own personality. The graphics are colorful and the characters are well animated. I love the opponents, Narcis Prince and Bear Hugger both are very different from one another but are so beautifully drawn that they just make my jaw drop wide open. The ring mat changes from circuit to circuit, but you only have the choice of using the one boxer.

He does not appear to be Little Mac from Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out but rather is a different character all together. The graphics are so bright and colorful that it is hard not to appreciate them. The opponents all have special facial and body expressions when they are about to pull off a new move or when they get decked themselves. It is comical to watch your opponent go sprawling into the corner after a knockdown punch.

It seems that each character is bigger than the last, and they all are so well done that each one is either very likable or easy to despise. The boxers feature their own theme songs and the sound effects from the punches are excellent. The sounds of the boxers are great as they each have their own voice samples, and the sound of your boxer after winning a match is great too. He will either exclaim that the match was, “A piece of cake,” or, “Too close”… your opponents laugh and pose when they win the match, which is incentive enough to get back in there and take them on once again.

The Games Re-playability

This game is very fun and the replay value is so high until you finish every circuit. The game has great graphics and sound, and the control is very precise and tight. Playing this game over and over can be easy to do because of all the entertainment value it possesses.

Attempting to beat your old best scores can be another incentive to play this game again. Tweaking your skills and becoming a master takes lots of time and practice, but putting a lot of effort into a game like this is easy just because it is so well done.

Final Thoughts

This game is a must have for Super NES owners. The cartoon like quality of the graphics makes this game humorous and addicting, and the music and sound effects are all right on with the game atmosphere. Missing out on Super Punch-Out!! would be a tragedy as this is the best boxing game Nintendo has ever made.

It is fun, addictive, humorous, challenging, and entertaining. Spending lots of time with your SNES will not be to difficult once you pick up a copy of Super Punch-Out!!, it is that kind of a game that still amazes even years later.

For more game reviews and things alike, visit nextlevelgamerz.