agmMT

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news;_ylt=AqkxAaoWI7tpWqdd7LpMkOlDubYF?slug=ms-thegameface081508&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

I thought the vegans would appreciate this.

RIVER FALLS, Wis. – Tony Gonzalez heard the frantic screams – "He can't breathe! He can't breathe!" a woman sitting behind him in a Southern California restaurant was yelling last month – and whisked around to see a man turning blue. Within seconds, the Kansas City Chiefs' perennial All-Pro tight end was standing behind the stricken diner and administering the Heimlich maneuver, a lifesaving technique for which he'd never received any formal training.

 

As a chunk of filet mignon shot out of 45-year-old shipping company manager Ken Hunter's mouth and onto the restaurant floor, the first thought Gonzalez had was, "Thank God he's alive."

 

His second thought?

 

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I'll bet that beef is full of antibiotics.

 

An exaggeration? If so it's only a slight stretch. Of all the NFL stars who could've saved a man from choking, he may have been the only one who'd be quite so grossed out by the food he managed to dislodge. Just ask Gonzalez's teammates, who've grown so accustomed to his neo-vegan diet and the accompanying lectures that they sometimes shy away from him during meals.

 

"Eating with Tony is a great way to ruin your appetite," veteran quarterback Damon Huard said last Saturday from the team's training camp. "You'll be biting into a piece of meat, and he'll say, 'You know that cow was probably corn-fed. And because of that, they had to give it antibiotics, and that probably gave it ulcers. I don't even want to think about what might be in there.' By then you're pretty much ready to clear your plate."

 

An hour later, as he sat in the cafeteria at the team's University of Wisconsin-River Falls headquarters, Gonzalez expanded upon the carefully crafted dietary approach that has fueled his second decade of excellence. A year-and-a-half after swearing off most dairy products and meat, the 6-foot-5, 251-pounder is laying waste to the stereotype of the scrawny, wimpy herbivore.

 

Coming off a stellar campaign that included 99 receptions for 1,172 yards (leaving him 179 yards behind Shannon Sharpe for the NFL's all time lead among tight ends) and earned him a ninth consecutive Pro Bowl invitation, the 32-year-old Gonzalez insists he's at his physical peak, with no sign of a decline.

 

"It's unbelievable how good I feel," Gonzalez said. "Seriously, my recovery is so much better than it's ever been, and my endurance is tremendous. The best part is that during games I really don't get tired. I have more focus, too. I'm even staying awake in meetings."

 

There were times last season when Gonzalez felt like closing his eyes during film sessions, especially during Kansas City's nine-game losing streak to complete a 4-12 campaign. Frustrated by the motion-laden yet inflexible schemes of offensive coordinator Mike Solari, Gonzalez chafed as opponents such as Packers linebacker Brady Poppinga correctly called out his routes before they were run.

 

"Sometimes we'd do all that shifting and defenses wouldn't move," Gonzalez recalled. "They'd just sit there and wait, and we'd run the ball into an eight-man front and get stuffed. Even when we had a mismatch, the quarterback didn't have the freedom to change the play at the line. It's dumbfounding that we didn't do that."

 

With Chan Gailey having replaced the fired Solari and an influx of young players that includes rookie left tackle Branden Albert, the 15th overall pick in the 2008 NFL draft, the rebuilding Chiefs have reason for optimism. If star halfback Johnson comes back strong from the foot injury that short-circuited his '07 season, wideout Dwayne Bowe builds upon the breakout flashes he showed as a rookie and third-year quarterback Brodie Croyle justifies the faith coach Herm Edwards has shown in him, Chiefs fans could at least experience some offensive excitement.

 

It's a given that Gonzalez, fresh off his fifth consecutive season with at least 900 receiving yards, will do his part. "He's not slowing down at all," Vikings safety Darren Sharper says of Gonzalez. "Plus he's such a crafty tight end – he knows all the little push-off moves, and how to use his body and post you up."

 

Another standout Vikings defender, recently acquired All-Pro defensive end Jared Allen, says his former Chiefs teammate is "one of my biggest role models in the NFL, because of his work ethic. A lot of people don't see that – they see Tony Gonzalez, superstar pretty boy, the guy who has to be dressed just right and have his hair done before he does anything. But the guy works – he's out there catching 100 balls a day; he never drops a ball in practice and never lets up. He's an absolute machine."

 

For Gonzalez, it all goes back to nutrition. When he decided to eliminate dairy and red meat from his largely organic diet – he still eats fish and the occasional chicken dish – Gonzalez's peers were highly skeptical.

 

"They'd tell me, 'You're gonna get crushed. You're gonna get your ass kicked,'" Gonzalez recalled. "They still think that, too, because I look so skinny, but I weigh what I've always weighed."

 

Gonzalez is currently collaborating with a nutritionist on a book detailing his dietary philosophies, though not necessarily from a vegan perspective, that will tentatively be published toward the end of '08. Gonzalez, who was so moved by scientific tome "The China Study" that he met with author T. Colin Campbell, has spoken to children about the benefits of maintaining proper nutritional habits, something on which he wants to expand in the coming years.

 

In the meantime he is more than willing to lecture his teammates.

 

"Anything I eat, he'll tell me what's in it," Croyle said. "I tell him, 'Man, I'm from Alabama. I just eat. Leave me alone.' When I hear him ask, 'Could you cook that in olive oil instead of butter?' I say, 'Dude, if you went to Alabama and said that stuff, they'd ask you to leave.'"

 

Said Edwards, the Chiefs' third-year coach: "Tony and (veteran linebacker Donnie Edwards), they both get on each other. They're each on diets, but different kind of diets, and they argue about which one is better. I walk by and go, 'You guys are like two women.' "

 

Bowe, who caught 70 passes for 995 yards as a rookie in '07, is well-acquainted with The Lecture. "At least twice a week he'll be like, 'Man, what are you eating?' " Bowe said. "I'll look down and say, 'Fried chicken? Cheese?' and then he'll stop eating his big ol' salad and give me the talk. He'll say, '1 or 13? You can eat like that and play one year or eat like this play 13.' And you know what – I listen."

 

Perhaps, but Gonzalez isn't close to satisfied. As he paused to inspect a piece of tortellini to ensure that no cheese was inside, the tight end noted that two nights earlier in a preseason victory over the Bears, the Chiefs had moved 81 yards in 16 plays in the game's first 8:45.

 

"I wasn't tired at all," Gonzalez said, "but Dwayne Bowe is out there tapping his helmet saying, 'Come get me.' And he's in his second year! I was like, 'Bowe, you're killing me.'"

 

Spoken like a true lifesaver.

 

Take it to the ATM

listening to the post fight interviews on sherdog, I was not encouraged to here silva say he has never been hit that hard.

 

I think you have made my point, if couture was fedors age then the fight would be fair. I am very successful against kids half my age, I m 44, but if I had to meet the me of 32 I would destroy the older me. I dont question Randys fitness, just his ablilty to take on not jsut a younger fighter, but a greatest one his has probably ever faced too.

 

I will still be rooting my ass off for him though.

Just clarifying to other posters I'm pretty sure you mean Sylvia, not Silva. The reason I'm saying that to those who aren't hardcore MMA fans may not realize that an Anderson Silva was fighting in a different organization than the one Fedor was fighting in, against Tim Sylvia.

And no, I truly believe a Couture in his 40's beats a Couture in his early to mid 30's. He's one of those fighters who got significantly better with time. I wouldn't even really root for Couture, in the end I think I like Fedor more.

But do you fight?

http://www.geocities.com/elitemadcow1/5x5_Program/Linear_5x5.htm

Awesome, thanks for the link. I guess I've been too hard on myself recently in my workouts.

My sister is engaged to a croatian guy and he put me on to crocop. He has the meanest killer kick i've ever seen....

Do you think crocop has a better high kick than Peter Aerts?

Well Mirko beat him, but yeah Aerts has one hell of a resume... but that's primarily in kickboxing. Mirko has fought more well rounded guys.

Probably somewhere in the neighborhood of $2 million. Which is deserved when you're the #1 HW and fighter in the world. I'd love to see him fight Couture next, but I think Fedor easily wins that one too regardless of how good of a gameplan Randy creates for his fights.

 

I am sad to say that his age will be his greatest obstacle. He is closing in on 45 and will be facing a one of a kind fighter who I think is in his early 30's? That being said I definately want to see that fight.

Fedor is like 32, and yeah Couture is 45 I think. But "The Natural" defies age. He comes into his fights in better shape than most of his opponents who are around 10+ years younger than him and he always has a great gameplan. With that said I think Fedor would destroy him but I'd love to see that fight regardless too, just so it goes down as the biggest MMA Heavyweight matchup ever.

I dont think that the issue is how well he did against the current champ, the problem is the cage seems to be giving him alot of problems, he won his first fight then lost the other one. then no one was afraid anymore and rushed him. They took a page out of Fedor book and closed the distance. Also what hilary said about his hesitation (sp) to pull the trigger.

No I definitely agree, it's just people seem so ready to dismiss the guy, so I want to point out how he did against Nogueira. Once he works a little bit on his wrestling, takedown defense, and a little bit of footwork he'll do well in the cage. It's simply a matter of adaptation, but he's definitely one of the best strikers in the HW division in all of MMA.

2-5 minutes no more

I feel like 5 minutes rest between sets tends to make my workouts a lot less intense of an experience. If you rest 90 seconds to 3 minutes tops it really pushes you and I've been told it results in significantly better gains.

With that said I think 5x5's are helping me increase my strength. Has anyone had any good experiences with their bench doing this? I haven't tried it yet but my barbell curls have gone up from 70 lbs to 90 lbs through 5x5's.

Crocop got let out of his contract by Dana White, something that doesn't usually happen. He is going to fight in Japan again for a while and says he has intent to return, but I doubt it. He recently got nose surgery to correct a condition that he claimed was seriously screwing his cardio by about 50%. He is getting older though, so the probability of him wanting to step back into the high level of competition the UFC is currently serving up is low. Hope he does though, I would love to see a few more head kick knock outs.

Mirko could definitely be UFC HW champion in 2009. Last time he was fighting the current UFC champion he was dominating him for most of the fight until he slipped up, got caught in the mount and then put in an armbar. I'd love to see him back and dedicated towards winning the belt, for all that he's put into his career he needs to walk away having held the title in one of the two most historical organizations in the sport (Pride FC/UFC).

Thanks for the link!

I think that Silva should retire and get some Jenny Craig.

I don't like Tim Sylvia one bit, but I think that's just the guy's genetic makeup. I'm not sure he'll ever be a ripped or jacked HW, regardless he's still probably a top 5 HW. No shame in losing to the best in the world. But there is shame in being a hick who always brags about killing animals with high power weapons.

How much did Fedor earn for 40 seconds of "work?"

Probably somewhere in the neighborhood of $2 million. Which is deserved when you're the #1 HW and fighter in the world. I'd love to see him fight Couture next, but I think Fedor easily wins that one too regardless of how good of a gameplan Randy creates for his fights.

The thing is I'm not sure Fedor has any glaring weaknesses. He's defeated Brazlian Jiu Jitsu wizards, Olympic caliber wrestlers, and top K-1 kickboxers. I'm not sure if he'll ever legitimately lose a fight, the guy seems barely human, it's a pleasure to watch him every time he fights.

I think Affliction has a bright future in the fight promotion business, I hope people continue to support it!

Thanks again for the warm welcome from everyone.

I like the avatar Marcina. Are you Hindu too?

And looking jacked DV! Who knows, maybe I'll end up a vegan one day.. like I said in my first post I have a ton of respect as to why people practice that lifestyle. But it's even better when you meet a community in which plenty of people who are not only vegan or vegetarian but also happen to be very fit. Props to you guys.

I should probably start posting outside my introduction thread now.

Thanks everyone (especially for the link). I may have come off a little bit irritable in my first post but really I can't think of anything that annoys me more online than a bunch of keyboard warriors talking about how it's okay for the abuse of animals. A recent trend of posts in another forum are what actually made me actively look for a little bit more of a compassionate forum to participate in. I fail to see humor in doing things like shooting birds, squirrels, and rabbits in your backyard strictly out of boredom. Luckily, I don't think I'll be the minority on that view over here.

And maybe it's the first step, but I think that phasing in more vegan meals is a good start. While I don't know if I'd ever make the full conversion, I can definitely respect it and admit you guys take your dedication to your bodies and your stance against animal cruelty to another level.

Just thought I'd introduce myself. I'm a 21 year old college student entering my Senior year at TCNJ. The MT in my username is for Muay Thai, not Montana or something.

As the title says I'm not a vegan but up until the past 3-4 months I used to buy into the theory that in order to put on muscle you have to take in an absurd amount of protein from mainly meat, but I think I've smartened up a little bit since then. Most bodybuilding and fitness magazines seem to try to convince everyone you need to eat 12 eggs for breakfast, and then a chicken or steak based dish 4-5 times a day. It's ridiculous and kind of sad that people even buy into that.

Personally I've cut down on a lot of animal products and am primarily vegetarian, but I do occasionally have fish and poultry dishes if that's the healthiest option available. But who knows, one day I might start implementing more of a vegan lifestyle to my diet.

Regardless I just wanted to say hi, looks like I'll fit in well with this site compared to others I've seen. Nothing more annoying than the under 3 inch penis crowd bragging online about animal cruelty as if it's an alpha trait. I'm assuming that doesn't happen much here.