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Q&A with Mike Furci

February 24, 2014 / Mike Furci

A column by Bullz-Eye Fitness Editor Mike Furci that brings you research, trends and other info to help you with your fitness, health and nutritional needs.

Q: Mike,
I am a 60 year old male and love to do squats but my technique suffers at times because I always want to go heavy. I realize that you have other things to do than answer questions but I notice in the pictures that your eyes are looking straight ahead. I have been re-evaluating my squatting technique and was told that the eyes should be looking up as high as possible as you go down in the squat. The logic given was that this keeps your back straighter. Which is the right way?

How do you ensure that you are going low enough on each rep?
How many times a week should you do squats to get the most improvement?

Thanks for any help you can give.
Dave Patterson

A: David,
Thanks for your questions.
One doesn’t have to look up in order to attain proper form when squatting. However, looking up is an excellent way to help ensure your form is correct especially for those lacking experience. The object of looking up is to get your head to extend. By looking up it will help keep your back in the proper position by helping to prevent flexion or “rounding”. If you look up w/o extending your head slightly toward the ceiling, you won’t get a benefit. The body follows the head.

Another way to ensure your back is engaged properly is to take a deep breath right before lowering the weight. This helps ensure your chest is up and builds intra-abdominal pressure which helps stabilize the entire spine.

I look straight ahead most of the time when I squat. However, he heavier I go, the more my head extends toward the ceiling and deeper my breaths get.

To ensure proper depth, have somebody watch you while your warming up. “Parallel” is what you want to shoot for when squatting. Your femur or thigh bone should be level with the floor at the bottom of the movement. An easy way to judge this is by making sure the crease where your thigh meets your hip (at the bottom of the movement) is level with the top of your knee.

If done correctly, the squat is by far the single most taxing exercise on your body. For this reason I recommend only squatting once per week at the most. You will need this time to recover.

Keep up the good work. Let me know how you do.

Mike

Fitness

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Da Luca Winery delivers Italian values under $15!

February 24, 2014 / Gabe Sasso

The word “value” is thrown around in wine circles constantly, but it can have different meanings. In some cases, people are referring to a category. For me, value is relative. A $100 wine could be a good value if it offers more complexity, depth or other qualities than similar wines in its price range. An $8 bottle could be a terrible value because it’s not a good wine and other examples outshine it. In this case, I’m talking about some Italian wines that are good values for the money and also fall into what is generally considered the value category. In this price range, I’m looking for wines that are good representatives of the grapes in question, providing sufficient varietal character. Often they are also wines that will have mass appeal. That is, you could bring them to a party and most people will be happy. The casual drinkers will find them easy-going, and the wine lovers will find enough interest in them to drink them up. Here are three examples, which for me fit all of those criteria. Three of Italy’s workhorse grapes are represented, the prices are right and the wines are tasty and food-friendly.

The Da Luca 2012 IGT Delle Venezie Pinot Grigio was produced entirely from fruit sourced in the namesake region. This offering is 100 percent Pinot Grigio. It has typically modest alcohol of 12 percent and a suggested retail price of $13. A mélange of apple aromas lights up the nose of this Pinot Grigio, and hazelnut characteristics play a supporting role. The palate has Lychee fruit, apricot and apple flavors, as well as gentle bits of spice. Hints of honey and lemon ice emerge on the finish, which has sufficient length. This wine is refreshing, light and dry. It drinks nicely on its own but shines brightest when paired with foods such as salads, white meats and soft cheeses. There are way too many Pinot Grigio’s on the market that are — at best — innocuous. Many of them sell for more than this one. This offering from Da Luca is well priced and offers genuine Pinot Grigio character.

The Da Luca DOC Prosecco (NV) was produced from fruit sourced in the Treviso region of Italy. This offering is 100 percent Prosecco. It has a suggested retail price of $14. Lemon zest and crème fraiche aromas leap from the nose of this Prosecco. Take the first sip and hints of scone and stone fruits, such as nectarine, make their presence known. The finish is above average in length and shows off white pepper and biscuit characteristics. This is a dry sparkling wine which is light bodied with depth of flavor and a refreshing nature. It would be an excellent choice to pair with brunch foods.

Finally, we have the Da Luca 2011 DOC Romagna 2011 Sangiovese Superiore. This wine was made from fruit sourced in the namesake region. It is composed entirely of Sangiovese and it has a suggested retail price of $13. Violet and cherry aromas waft gently from the nose of this Sangiovese, along with bits of cigar box. Strawberry and red cherry characteristics are prominent through the palate. They’re joined by earth and a copious amount of spice. Leather, warming red fruits and continued spice influences are in evidence on the finish. This wine has medium tannins which yield with some air and firm acidity. It will pair well with just about anything with red sauce on it, as well as rustic Italian foods in general. I drank it alongside a hearty lentil stew and it worked fabulously.

As I mentioned above, these wines offer good value. The Pinot Grigio in particular is a well-priced example of the grape that offers good character. If you’re looking for a house white to stock up on, a case of it would be a good choice. The Prosecco and Sangiovese are similar in that manner as well. The bottom line here is that these are wines, which are priced for everyday drinking, are also a couple of notches better and more distinguished in character and quality than many other offerings in a similar price range. Check them out, I believe you’ll agree!

Check out Gabe’s View for more wine reviews, and follow Gabe on Twitter!

Vices, Wine, Wine Reviews

Da Luca 2011 DOC Romagna 2011 Sangiovese Superiore Da Luca 2012 IGT Delle Venezie Pinot Grigio Da Luca DOC Prosecco Da Luca Winery

Movie Review: “Pompeii”

February 20, 2014 / Jason Zingale

Kit Harrington, Emily Browning, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Kiefer Sutherland, Jared Harris, Carrie-Anne Moss

Paul W.S. Anderson

Paul W.S. Anderson must have had “Titanic” playing on a loop for his cast and crew during the making of “Pompeii,” because the director’s sword-and-sandals/disaster movie borrows heavily from the James Cameron drama. That’s not to say that “Titanic” was a wholly original story, but you’d think that Anderson could have done a better job of not making its influence so blatantly obvious. Of course, everything about “Pompeii” feels half-assed – from its bland romance, to its terrible dialogue, to the worthless addition of 3D – and though it’s slightly better than last month’s “The Legend of Hercules,” the film is still a pretty miserable viewing experience.

The movie opens in the year 62 A.D. as a young boy witnesses the murder of his entire Celtic tribe, including his mother and father, and is promptly sold into slavery. 17 years later, the now grown-up Milo (Kit Harrington) is fighting in Britannia as a gladiator known only as The Celt when his skills in the arena impresses a Roman lanista and he’s shipped off to the Italian city of Pompeii. Along the way, Milo catches the eye of a wealthy merchant’s daughter named Cassia (Emily Browning), who’s betrothed to the smarmy Senator Corvus (Kiefer Sutherland), the very man responsible for slaughtering his people. (Extraordinarily, neither Corvus nor his right-hand man have seemingly aged a single day, making identifying them that much easier.) Forced to fight in the upcoming games alongside fellow gladiator Atticus (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje), Milo is given a chance to exact his revenge when Mount Vesuvius suddenly erupts, causing mass panic throughout Pompeii as the city crumbles.

Entertainment, Movie Reviews, Movies

Emily Browning Kiefer Sutherland Kit Harrington Pompeii Pompeii review

Movie Review: “3 Days to Kill”

February 20, 2014 / David Medsker

Kevin Costner, Hailee Steinfeld, Amber Heard, Connie Nielsen

McG

It’s not often – on the big screen, anyway – that director McG traffics in human emotion. His films are mostly about the slam and the bang, so his attachment to a movie like “3 Days to Kill” is a bit surprising at first. This is not to say that the movie doesn’t have some slam-bang moments (it does), but that it operates at a different speed than McG’s other work. The father-daughter relationship comes first, though murder isn’t far behind. The story, by Luc Besson (“The Professional”), bites off more than it can chew, and it requires “Taken” levels of disbelief to excuse carnage that our government would surely have to answer for on a public stage, but the acting performances elevate the material from ‘predictable’ to ‘predictable but fun.’

Ethan Renner (Kevin Costner) is a seasoned field agent for the CIA. During an operation where he and his team are assigned to dispose of an arms dealer known as The Albino (Tómas Lemarquis), Ethan passes out after chasing down their target, wakes up in a hospital and is told he is gravely ill and has three months to live. Ethan plans on making the most of his time by reconciling with his estranged wife Tina (Connie Nielsen) and their daughter Zoey (Hailee Steinfeld). No sooner does he promise Tina that he’s finished with the CIA than he receives a visit from fellow CIA operative Vivi Delay (Amber Heard), who was tasked with taking down the Albino’s financier The Wolf (Richard Sammel) at the same time that Ethan was supposed to take out the Albino. Vivi has access to an experimental drug that may keep Ethan alive, and she will share it with him if he agrees to help her finish the job, as Ethan is the only one who knows what the Wolf looks like. Ethan reluctantly accepts, and it is not long before the unpredictable nature of being a hired killer makes life complicated for a man who already has a reputation with his angry teenaged daughter of never being there for her. Oh, and a family of squatters has taken over his Paris apartment while he was away, and it is against the law if he kicks them out.

Entertainment, Movie Reviews, Movies

3 Days to Kill Amber Heard Hailee Steinfeld Kevin Costner

5 New York City Steakhouses Guaranteed to Make Your Mouth Water

February 20, 2014 / Bullz-Eye Staff

If you love a perfect steak, New York City is the place for you. Long famous for classic steakhouses serving the highest quality U.S.-raised beef in tasteful surroundings, New York is home to some of the most highly regarded steak restaurants in the United States.

Whether you’ve booked a short or long stay in New York City, you’ll enjoy the experience of eating at a proper steakhouse. Though they have some points in common — they all use USDA prime meat, and offer a tantalising array of appetisers and desserts to bookend your meal — these steakhouses each have their own unique hooks that keep customers happy, satiated and coming back for more. It’s not unusual to hear of families of New Yorkers who have been dining at the same steakhouses for generations.

Lifestyle

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