Can you believe it’s almost September!!?!?!  I was writing our rent check this morning and I couldn’t help but think to myself, “WTF….September starts, like, tomorrow.”

It seems like yesterday I was excited about summer starting, and now it’s almost freaking over.  The worst part?  I can count on one hand the number of times I had the opportunity to take my shirt off.  That’s just completely unacceptable.

The positive in all this is that 1) I planned a special weekend “getaway” with Lisa and the weather is supposed to be amazing, sooooooooo basically, my shirt is coming off.  And 2) Autumn is my favorite time of year.  Being from the Finger Lakes region originally (in central New York), I grew up appreciating the contrast of colors that would surround the lakes during this time of year.  Luckily New England is just as beautiful in a lot of ways, and I think every person out there with a Y chromosome agrees that nothing beats the smell of college football season right around the corner

Nonetheless, it’s going to be brief today. Here’s some stuff to read to tide you over between rounds of Angry Birds.  It’s Friday, I know you’re not working.

The Hidden Truth about Calories – Rob Dunn

This was sent my way via Twitter, and while I know there are parts of this article that could easily be dissected and ripped to shreds by the nutrition nerds out there, I thought this was a pretty thought provoking piece overall.

Creatine – Examine.com

We get asked quite often about supplements at the facility.  While we first go out of our way to instill in our athletes (especially the younger, more impressionable ones) that eating real, whole, minimally processed foods is the best avenue to travel, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that we do view supplements as part of the equation.

Note: We never push supplements onto our clients, but if the topic ever manifests itself, we feel it’s important to provide as much factual, concise, and relavent information as possible.

With our athletes, it usually comes down to helping them filter out the stupid and help them understand that supplements are just that….supplements.  They can serve a purpose, but won’t trump a solid training and nutrition plan.

More importantly, with the parents that entrust us with their kids, it’s about educating them that supplements <=> steroids.

This is never more prevalent than when the topic of creatine pops up.  While it’s the most researched supplement in all of human history – and yes, it’s safe and effective – you’d be surprised as to how many parents, usually as a result of some bloated cautionary tale from their family doctor, are under the impression that creatine is a steroid and causes global warming.

And to their credit, they should be leery and pessimistic.  There’s a lot of shady stuff out there.

I just chuckle and tell them that, no, polar bear farts cause global warming, and that  creatine is completely safe and then hand them a very abbreviated version of the link above (which is arguably one of the most thorough reviews you’ll find anywhere).

60+ Lessons from the 2012 Midwest Performance Enhancement Seminar – Mike Robertson

I was bummed I couldn’t make it out to Indy for this seminar as the line-up was an All-Star cast of  who’s who in the industry. Nevertheless, Mike does a fantastic job of recapping some of the highlights from what seemed to be an amazing weekend.