The Six Points
Dave, in The Monkees
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As I write these meandering articles, I might miss the training topics vital to you, but at least -- here comes a laughable presumption -- I stir up your thoughts. In hopes of being more specific, let’s begin our brief time together from another angle: What is it about your training that bothers you the most?
That is, what perplexes you, distresses and disturbs you, disappoints you? What gets in your way, slows you down, prevents you from making progress -- losing weight, building muscle, increasing strength and gaining shape. How about energy, endurance and general conditioning?
Having spent considerable time in the gym in the pursuit of physical development, I’ve paused, scratched my head and devised a random yet comprehensive list of problems I suspect might represent us all. And considering the troublesome deterrents, perhaps we can whittle them down or reshape them into little more than annoyances to attend, not problems to perplex and suppress.
Though I’ll often use the second-person pronoun “you” to make a point in the following commentary, don’t take it personally. Or, maybe, do.
1) Purpose, the lack thereof
You’re lazy. You procrastinate and you’re unmotivated. Correspondingly, you have no energy, endurance or drive. Beyond that, you are without spirit or enthusiasm. You feel no excitement or desire. Why bother, you say rhetorically. You just don’t get it.
In the ’60s we said you were a bummer on a bad trip. Today I say you are without purpose. If your purpose was strong and well-defined, none of the aforementioned negatives would materialize. They wouldn’t survive. They would, like pesky mosquitoes, appear and be swatted before they could alight.
Laziness is a physical vulgarity. It afflicts those to whom the notion of lifting weights and being strong does not occur. Life without purpose is not life at all; it’s existence -- dead man walking.
And procrastination is a blight no musclebuilder who’s built any muscle dares to endure. Putting off one’s training swiftly enters the right ear and exits the left without tweaking the brain. To skip a workout is blasphemous, illegal, treasonous and immoral. Thou must not cancel thy workout. No man or woman who has truly experienced the iron desires to avoid it. Their purpose is too deep, too high, too wide and too grand.
Motivation is never in question, it never wavers and it supremely endures, as long as your purpose is clear. Purpose is the heart of the matter, the spark, the fuel and the fire. Where there’s fire, there’s heat and, therefore, energy and force and drive.
We are not physical beings apart from our spirit, and when purpose is intellectually determined, the spirit is aroused. When the spirit is aroused, purpose takes on greater dimension and intensity. The body responds with enthusiasm, excitement and desire. The package is complete.
Purpose must be held high and strong and in clear view to succeed day by day. Let it falter and fade and we fail proportionately. Without purpose we have nothing.
2) Discipline, the callous taskmaster
I’ll be kind. I won’t dwell on the topic. Discipline develops by our sides, and by its side we develop. Discipline is seen in our eyes when we look in the mirror, it’s noticed by the way we walk and in our posture, but mostly it’s observed in our nature.
He insists, persists and perseveres; he’s disciplined. She refuses to give up, makes no excuses and endures the pain; she’s disciplined. They’re heroes in a life where freedom has been confused with anything-goes, debauchery before control and tolerance of weakness rather than the development of strength. Love your discipline like a brother or sister, father or mother, spouse or best friend.
Without discipline you’re out of control.
3) Time, the imaginary gatekeeper
What can be said about time except we have neither enough nor can we manage what we have.
Slightly optimistic adult-life scenario: Have a family, secure a job, grow fat, weak, sickly, ill-spirited and die early. Poor design!
Go back to Purpose and review Discipline and get out your little black book. Somewhere under “urgent appointments” write: Work out at the gym for the purpose of good health and muscle and long-life; engage discipline and perseverance to perform the heroic physical act. Good! Done!! Do not dilly-dally!
Onto the next pressing appointments: Growing and learning, respect and responsibility.
4) Gym facility, inadequate and inconvenient
Let’s face it. Where there’s a will, there’s a way. We can work out in a bedroom, garage, basement, backyard or park, any space where we can do pushups, dips, chins, dynamic tension, crunches and leg raises. With purpose, time and discipline, we can do it.
But there’s nothing like a great gym just the way you like it. Give me a clean gym with meaty equipment, sufficient space, enough people, no jerks, some jolt-free sounds and plenty of air. Around the corner with my own personal parking space out front would be nice, but I’ll go cross-town or walk if I have to.
Anything worthwhile is worth working for. Be strong, be courageous. No wimps allowed. That goes for jerks, too.
Another thing we must face, as long as we’re facing things. As the world turns, we’re running out of such marvelous places. Neighborhood gyms have been perverted by the scene. They’re being replaced by no-heart corporate chains, facilities with acres of slick late-model treadmills, trick machines and personal trainers wearing Pampers. Head ’em up, roll ’em out.
It’s a good day for those who are building their own home gyms. Hang in there!
5) Training knowledge and methodology -- what to do, how, when and why
Once you’re past the fundamentals, there’s nothing more confounding than determining the proper exercise routine. And once you survive the frustration of managing intermediate training, how on earth do you design the workout scheme exactly suited for your metabolism and genetic makeup and evolving lifestyle? You read the mags, reference the books, ask online and guess a little. No two answers are the same and it’s been two years, maybe three. The methodologies are endless, complex and conflicting.
Beware! That might be mythology, not methodology. How about little white lies, exaggerations, mistakes, car-salesmanship or none-too-rare ego-espousing hype?
Put knowledge aside; it confounds understanding. Let the intellect be still; it inhibits the soul. Think less; it thwarts focus. Be consistent, work hard, apply common sense, but don’t take night courses in building muscles and power, biochemistry or nutrition. Eat a lot of protein and get plenty of sleep instead.
A personal trainer with muscles, experience, humility, compassion and conviction and ears that listen and a mouth that speaks kindly and wisely can be worth his or her weight for three one-hour training sessions and an occasional follow-up consultation.
Training’s personal.
Greet yourself with respect and appreciation -- you’re the best training partner you’ll ever have --and the best source of personal information, straight talk and insight this side of davedraper.com.
Trust the hearty companion you are and thereby impart encouragement to your lockstep mentor -- yup… you. As he grows, so do you. Count on it.
He or she is certainly an advocate, and no doubt wiser than you think.
6) Eating right or menu, diet and nutrition
About eating: You know what to do, don’t you? You just don’t want to do it. High protein, medium low-glycemic carbs and medium essential fatty acids and no bad, greasy fat. Lots of fresh vegetables and fruit and pure water. Smaller well-balanced meals more frequently throughout the day, starting with breakfast. Be consistent.
This is as basic as weight lifting, which doesn’t necessarily make it easy or fun. Go back and review that purpose and discipline before you order your next pizza.
Time is flying but I’m not. The sun’s gone down and I haven’t left the runway. Heads, I take to the sky. Tails, I taxi back to the hangar. Let’s see... where’d I put my handy two-headed coin?
Go, bombers... God’s speed... DD
*****
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