Contentment, the Luster of a Life;
Complacency, the Rust
August and September have been months of incredible weather in our little hunk of California, deliciously hot, sunny and dry, while flooding rains, heat waves and hurricane winds visit the rest of the globe. I grow anxious as I reflect upon my written word. Good luck does not frequent the Drapers and I therefore suspect a fire or earthquake is in the stars, which is weird because I don’t believe in luck or in the stars.
Responding to the uncertainty of the future, I’ve decided not to make any long-term training goals this fall. Rather, I shall do the best I can do with what I have, one day at a time. Advancement, development, improvement and progress are my daily objectives, but the 2007 Over-the-Hill Mr. Olympia is over my head.
This day-by-day approach -- to be the best we can be, to move forward and press on daily without overloading ourselves with impossible visions -- is not a bad approach anytime and all the time. It is real and down to earth. Having never been much of a dreamer, but more an accident in progress, I don’t agree with the new-wave societal notion touting you can be who you want and get what you want if you just believe in yourself and go for it.
This is not mankind’s strength on display; it’s his ego and pride, his arrogance and ignorance, his me-first and you-later selfishness; it’s his corruptible weakness and the world’s number one enemy.
Believe in yourself, if you’re worthy, but don’t be discouraged when you awake from the big dream. Instead, be humble and refreshed. Now you can apply your gifted imagination and create something useful with it, like authentic muscle and might and character, heart and soul, set by set, day by day.
Have you noticed we don’t live in a long-term, goal-setting world anymore? I have this feeling inside that urges me to get done what I can get done, now. Tomorrow will come, no problem, but don’t waste any time. Got something to do, do it!
It’s the evolving dynamic -- urgency rules. I’m no less driven, just driven by a peculiar impetus and less-than-upbeat perspective. Must be something in the six-o’clock news, the worldwide mood, the all-knowing, all-consuming computer.
We need to find joy in our daily living and our daily training. And where doth joy come from? It comes from here, there and everywhere -- people, places and things, you for starters. You’re driving this flesh-and-bone machine, it’s your vehicle; you wash it, fuel it and keep it on the road. Hot rod, classic, European sports or all-American muscle, you want this baby to hum and gleam, turn a few heads and cruise on down the highway. Zoom, zoom...
Of course, there are your family and friends and folks around you. They see what you do, and respect you and respond to your acts and deeds and accomplishments. Or not! Isn’t it cool when you’re on top of the training heap, eating right, exercising regularly and in control? Now that’s joy! Joy begets joy, joy is contagious, joy is real and long-lasting.
Joy is found in places, and I don’t mean pubs, ice cream parlors and Toys-R-Us. I’m talking about... yes, you guessed it... gyms: those sanctuaries of gravity-laden implements and resistance-prone gadgets requiring our deliberate exertion to shift and hoist. Sought-after force is felt deep in the body, mind and soul where creation is born and joy is spontaneous.
Joy is a dumbbell in motion, a barbell mid-flight.
Let us embark on today’s training journey. I can only tell you what I am going to do and hope you do something equally as exciting and productive. I shall proceed to the gym unencumbered by life’s doldrums and down a jigger of legs followed by a pitcher of bis, tris and forearms. Once an addict, always an addict.
I enjoy training extremities solely in one workout. My last exercise session two days ago worked the shoulder, back and chest muscles. That’s a pile of work in a day and I’m glad I’m not 10 and starting all over again. I’d do it, but, oh, the steep mountain ahead. Now, at least, I have a few slopes behind me.
I’ll forego midsection and get down to business. A jigger of legs is serious enough to stimulate my thighs, but not to cause me to stagger. This is happy-face fun, or you might say, joyful. I permit myself the delight of pumping the muscles for strong yet playful reps without entering the red-zone. This is as close to light-hearted as I dare to go, almost like skipping on air. A shot of quads -- a detoxifying dose of blood loaded with oxygen and nutrients -- is a restorative tonic between heavy leg workouts. Squats, leg press or hacks, my choice, for four or five times 12-15 reps.
Hello, biceps and triceps. An arm workout is not an arm workout unless one performs standing barbell curls supersetted with lying triceps extensions. I use an Olympic bar for both movements with the same weight, thus providing an easy back and forth exchange. I make five-pound or two-and-a-half-pound increments each consecutive set as I lower the reps from 12 toward 6. Give me four or five sets, depending on feel, energy, need and desire.
“How original,” you’re saying with a smirk and sarcasm. Engage the movements with confidence and renewed hope, courage and devotion and smile all the way to the Big Arm department at Macy’s next time you shop. “Triple XL, please, in any style, any color, thank you! No problem, I’ll squeeze into it.”
Next, I strongly suggest Leroy Colbert’s all-time favorite big-arm combo: seated dumbbell alternate curls supersetted with one-arm or two-arm overhead triceps extensions. You’ve gotta go back to the early days when weightlifting was authentic and muscle grew from hard, basic, unadulterated work absent the frills and fancy stuff, smoke and mirrors. I like five sets times 6-10 reps, but four sets will do fine.
Listen: When you contract the biceps, when you extend those triceps, when you move that stubborn iron, stay close to the muscle and the action -- think and visualize, pump and burn, focus and drive, appreciate and enjoy. This is it, there isn’t anything else. Trust me, trust yourself, thank God.
Another thing: Power and muscle growth (whether shape, size and density or vascular, thin-skin hardness) come from intense training. Everyday health and muscle conditioning comes with moderate training. Mild training offers hope to the mild-mannered and leads them forward. Right eating is essential to all three, and without a good attitude everyone’s in trouble.
Break out the wrist roller and get reacquainted with the wobbly apparatus. Spend ten minutes in trial and experimentation, pumping and twisting and rolling and reversing the action. Stand on a bench and engage it with the arms straight out, or bend the arms and roll from the hips; twist clockwise and twist counter-clockwise. Feels good -- has a future. Make mental notes for your next workout.
Captain to crew… I see land... looks like land... maybe it’s my couch... I’m going in...
Godspeed... DD
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