Florida Agenda

CrossFit is a phenomenon that has revolutionized the fitness industry. Started by an unconventional personal trainer named Greg Glassman in a 1,250-square-foot warehouse in Santa Cruz, Calif. in 2000, CrossFit now has well over 5,000 affiliates in 67 countries, including 2,300-plus in the United States. Criticized by some traditional fitness trainers as being too intense, this “cult” is undeniably forging some of the fittest men and women on earth.

What’s the core principle behind CrossFit training? If you ask CHASE BRENDLE, head coach at Club One CrossFit in Oakland Park, Fla., it means being able to move large loads over long distances quickly. “The capacity to do high volumes of work not only prepares you for anything life throws your way, it also produces amazing results amazingly fast,” Chase explains.

The rapid physical changes seen in strength and in one’s physical appearance are due in part to the compound movements used.  Movements like the Squat, Shoulder Press, Deadlift and Pull-up (explained below) use multiple muscle groups.  “By recruiting more muscle, you are burning more calories, increasing your neuro-endocrine (hormone) response, and building muscle at an increased rate than with isolation training,” Chase says. “Combining compound movements in a constantly varied pattern, and with intervals of metabolic conditioning (cardio), takes your fitness to the next level.” Chase demonstrates the exercises:

Squat

The squat works the entire body. The quads and hamstrings in the legs do the lifting, while the core stabilizes your back, and your arms lock the bar onto your shoulders. 

Begin with the bar on your shoulders, usually by starting underneath it in the rack, standing tall to lift it up, then taking several steps back to allow space for the exercise.  Send your hips back, as though you are sitting in a chair.  Continue sitting back while keeping your chest up, your back arched, and your head neutral.  As you reach the bottom, your hip crease should pass below the top of your knee, and your knees should track wide over the ankles.  To complete the squat squeeze your hamstrings and glutes, returning to the standing position.

Shoulder Press

Start with the feet parallel under the hips, core tight, and the bar racked on the chest.  The elbows should be slightly in front of the bar, hands shoulder width apart.  Shift the head back without lifting the chin so the bar can travel straight up to the overhead position.  At the top, the shoulders should be shrugged up, with the armpits forward and the head between the arms.  Return the bar to the racked position on the chest.

Deadlift

Stand with the bar against the shins, feet parallel under the hips.  Keeping the back arched, bend from the hip and place the hands shoulder width on the bar.  The knees may bend slightly in order to keep the back arched.  The shoulders should be in front of the bar at the bottom position.  Push the hips back to activate the hamstrings. You should feel a stretch in the back of the leg.  Keeping the head neutral and the back arched stand up to a fully vertical position.

Pull-Up

Begin with the hands shoulder width apart on the bar, thumbs wrapped around the bar, arms and body straight.  Lift yourself up, squeezing your lats until either the chin is above the bar or the chest touches the bar.  Lower yourself back down until the arms are straight again.

Peter Jackson is a fitness and nutrition coach known for his cutting-edge fitness and fat-loss programs for individuals, couples and small groups. Peter welcomes your questions at Peter@PushFitnessFTL.com. Visit him online at PushFitnessFTL.com, ClubOneCrossFit.com, SouthFloridaYoga.com and PozFitness.com.

In a large pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the leeks and onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until wilted, 5 minutes. Add the garlic, stir and cook until fragrant, 1 minute. Add the spinach and cook until wilted and tender, 2 minutes. Remove from heat, taste and season with salt and pepper as needed; let cool. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk the ricotta, 2 eggs, thyme and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Fold the cooled vegetable mixture and the olives into the ricotta mixture. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the pastry until it is 12 inches square. Using a 12-inch plate or just eyeballing it, cut the dough into a circle. Transfer the dough to a parchment-lined baking sheet. Spoon the tart filling into the center, leaving a 2-inch border of pastry. Lift the pastry edges and fold over the filling, creasing the dough as needed and leaving the filling exposed in the middle. In a small bowl, whisk the remaining egg with 1 tablespoon water and brush a thin layer of the egg wash on the exposed pastry, taking care not to let egg run down the sides to the pan. Bake until the pastry is golden brown, about 45 minutes. Remove from the oven and let rest 10 minutes before serving. You are a chef!

• 2 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil

• 2 fat leeks (white and pale parts only), coarsely chopped and washed (2 cups)

• 1/2 medium onion, chopped

• 2 cloves garlic, chopped

• 8 ounces baby spinach, coarsely chopped

• salt and freshly ground pepper

• 1 15 -ounce container of ricotta cheese

• 3 large eggs

• 1 sheet of frozen puff pastry, already thawed in the refrigerator

• 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves

• 1/2 cup halved pitted olives

TALLAHASSEE, FL—Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi committed what many consider political suicide by stating in publicly-filed court documents that recognizing same-sex marriages performed in other states would disrupt existing marriage laws and “impose significant public harm” in Florida.

Bondi was responding to a lawsuit filed by eight gay couples and the American Civil Liberties Union who sued the state in federal court last March. The lawsuit does not ask for the right to have same-sex marriage legalized in Florida, but rather argues that the state is discriminating against the couples by not recognizing same-sex marriages performed in states where they are legal.

Bondi is asking the lawsuit be thrown out by the courts, stating that a federal court has no jurisdiction over state law. Additionally, Bondi raised eyebrows and a slew of additional legal issues by the wording of her response to the Federal suit.

Florida initally banned same-sex marriages almost 20 years ago, and reinforced the ban via a constitutional amendment in 2008. “Florida’s marriage laws, then, have a close, direct, and rational relationship to society’s legitimate interest in increasing the likelihood that children will be born to and raised by the mothers and fathers who produced them in stable and enduring family units,” Bondi’s office said in court documents.

While outlining no specific details, Bondi also suggested that there would be significant financial and logistical problems for the state’s pension and helath insurance programs if Florida recognized same-sex marriage performed in other states.

Daniel Tilley, the lead attorney for the ACLU of Florida countered, “Florida’s discriminatory laws cause serious harm to real families across the state. Despite the state’s assertion that the harms to same-sex married couples aren’t significant enough to warrant relief, the families living every day being treated like legal strangers by their home state know better.”

Governor Rick Scott, like Bondi a Republican, commented earlier in the year that he supports Florida’s constitutional amendment defining marriage as between a man and a woman, but confused the issue by adding the politically righteous statement that he “does not believe that anyone should be discriminated against for any reason.”

The lawsuit in Florida is part of a groundswell of public support in the gay marriage debate, including court challenges in every state that still bans same-sex marriages (with the exception of North Carolina where a suit is expected soon).

Several federal judges have previously ruled in support of same-sex marriage since the U.S. Supreme Court last year struck down part of the federal anti-gay marriage law.

Fundamentalist Christian group American Family Association is demanding that its members and others not to accept any mail postmarked with the U.S. Postal Service’s newly released Harvey Milk stamp, the first U.S. stamp to feature an openly gay elected official.

“Honoring predator Harvey Milk on a U.S. postage stamp is disturbing to say the least. Harvey Milk was a very disreputable man and used his charm and power to prey on young boys with emotional problems and drug addiction,” an AFA press release said last week. “He is the last person we should be featuring on a stamp.”

The radical organization, labeled a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center in 2010, ranted that the Harvey Milk commemorative stamp was the result of “seven years of lobbying by a self-described drag queen (a biological man with implanted breasts) and former transsexual prostitute Nicole Murray Ramirez of San Diego.” 

In reality, Nicole Murray-Ramirez has been an LGBT activist for over 45 years and is currently a San Diego appointed city human rights commissioner. Murray-Ramirez has served the last five mayors of San Diego, and was elected as the chair of the first mayoral GLBT Advisory Board and the first GLBT Advisory Board to the chief of police.

The inflammatory press release suggested that citizens “refuse to accept the Harvey Milk stamp if offered by your local post office” and “instead, ask for a stamp of the United States flag. In addition, the release suggests that citizens “refuse to accept mail at your home or business if it is postmarked with the Harvey Milk stamp. Simply write ‘Return to Sender’ on the envelope and tell your postman you won’t accept it.”

Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi is either extremely naïve or is so out of touch with her political base that she has lost track of both her responsibility to them and to the people of Florida. Recently, I’m sure you’ve heard, Bondi responded to a lawsuit filed last March by eight gay couples and the American Civil Liberties Union. The lawsuit argues that the state of Florida is discriminating against those couples and others by not recognizing same-sex marriages performed in states where they are legal.

Bondi’s official response can be read in its entirety should you care to wade through the legal jargon and political rhetoric that inspired it. But there is a paragraph that you should not miss.

“Florida’s marriage laws have a close, direct and rational relationship with society’s legitimate interest in increasing the likelihood that children will be born to and raised by the mothers and fathers who produced them in stable and enduring family units.”

Before I go any further, let me be clear about one thing. I could not agree more that children deserve to grow up in a loving and nurturing environment. To Bondi, that apparently means a husband and a wife living with children they have conceived and birthed. By her court response that is the complete reality of the bubble that constitutes a “family unit.”

Forget the husband and wife that have adopted a child or two. Forget the woman who gives birth as a single mother. There is no place for them in Florida according to Bondi and by association our governor Rick Scott.

But this case is not about those people—straight and loving and hopefully living in “stable and enduring family units.” This case is about recognizing same-sex marriages that are totally legal in many parts of the United States. In those states, a man who loves another man, or a woman who’s crazy about another women, can marry, flourish and raise children, pay taxes and grow old, without ever worrying that someone will suggest that their love and their stability is any less real than a man and a women who are similarly wed and form a family.

Before you ask, Bondi is a Republican of the most fundamental form. She is a member of the Tea Party, and carries all the political clout and baggage that such an affiliation merits. But like many members of the Tea Party, the plastic bubble in which they live is not transparent. They can not see out into the real world of very real families that include interracial couples, adopted children, gay men, lesbian women, and, lest I forget, the under acknowledged bisexual and transgender population who have family units as well.

Bondi says it is her responsibility to the people of Florida to defend the law. “In 2008, Florida voters amended their state constitution to define marriage as a union between a man and a woman,” said in a statement released Tuesday. “In response to a recent challenge to this provision, and in keeping with my sworn duty to uphold the laws of the land, my office recently filed a legal brief defending the voters’ decision,” she writes.

What Bondi is failing to understand is that the world—and Florida’s place in it—has changed since 2008. In the Attorney General’s rush to defend some voters’ rights, she has stomped on many others. She places same-sex families is a class of subspecies that would do “harm” to the state by merely existing. In doing so, she does more than attempt to defend a law that gives the state the right to discriminate. She trivializes same-sex marriage and those families they nurture. And there is the real harm. Real families, real people, real love.