IOL Strength and Conditioning

Dave Draper, the Blond Bomber

With his golden locks, beach habitat and mind-blowing mass, Dave Draper became the archetype for an entire subculture. The iconic Muscle Beach regular graced 24 muscle magazine covers and earned the titles Mr. America (’65), Mr. Universe (’66) and Mr. World (’70). Now 65, he’s the author of three popular fitness books and hosts IronOnline at www.davedraper.com.

When I thought no one was looking, I held my breath, closed my eyes and leaped onto the posing dais, hit a few shots and miraculously disappeared. I later discovered the place was packed with screaming fans – “They’re hanging off the chandeliers, Draper” – and I’d won the 1965 Mr. America title.

One ordinary day not long after my move from the East Coast to the West, word circulated through the gyms that the popular Los Angeles television station was looking for a character to host their upcoming Saturday prime-time show. I couldn’t resist joining in the cattle-call action, and was eventually ushered onto a soundstage, placed before a marker and asked to read a handheld teleprompter. I got the part and they called the show, “David the Gladiator.” And so began my brief show business career.

24 magazine covers and countless inside spreads later, the weights – barbells and dumbbells – were the source of resistance that built the muscles that build the men who built the magazines. I, and the guys before me, lifted the cold and noisy metal not for a moment on a page of paper, but for reasons, wonderful reasons too numerous to count. Be sure of this: Few pastimes provide more benefits, rewards and fulfillment.

If I’m proud, it’s because I’m a muscle-building original. I invented, improvised and rooted about along with a small, disconnected band of rebels with a cause: to build solid muscle and might through the austere, hard labor of love – the lifting of iron. Our shirts were not torn to be fashionable; they were shredded by use and outgrowth. We didn’t imitate; who would be the model before us?

Training for contests in the Golden Era with The Governor, Franco Columbu, Frank Zane and Mike Katz: The heat was on and the pain was welcome. When you’re done, you’re done. Tomorrow’s another day. Nevertheless, it is very good – splendid, in fact – when you crown the fiery, intense moments with gratitude, mutual recognition and the encouragement of the guys.

My training today is fundamentally the same as it was when I trained for contests in the ‘60s and ‘70s: hard, long, supersetted and volume accented. There’s a lesson in this for all of us, new and seasoned, male and female, striving and maintaining: What worked for you in the past will work for you today with appropriate modifications and extraordinary care.

In 1970, after winning the Mr. World in New York City, I sensed a shifting of the gears in bodybuilding, and stepped out of competition. The sport took off like a rocket to the moon, soaring into the ‘80s with ever-increasing momentum toward where it is today. Where it will go next, no one can say.

The secret is, there are no secrets. You simply have basic God-given genetics, body chemistry and bone structure. And provided the attributes of discipline and determination, you apply yourself full bore and your body potential emerges, slow and sure. Where most go wrong is in perseverance; they give up too quickly.

My workouts have been fluid since I stepped out of competition nearly 40 years ago, no less intense, just less rigid. Therefore, in that sense, my training principles have not changed. I search each and every workout for the exercises, the combinations, the sets and reps, the page and tempo for the methodology that will allow me to optimize intensity.

The years have come and gone and tons of weights have moved up and down. I, as you, love this stuff and I can’t, nor do I wish to, put it aside.

We’ve got a bit of an anniversary to celebrate this week: Our blog rolled over its one-year calendar. It’s clearly been a lot of fun and has provided an outstanding and wide-ranging collection of material; still, without a specific purpose in mind at the outset, it’s hard to say we met any goals here. Next year we simply promise more of the same un-planned randomness to educate and entertain.

Snooping around the thousands of pages of the forum looking for the highlights to point out in a blog post a couple weeks ago reminded me of the kazillion other pages in this 3,000-page website you’re unlikely to have accidentally stumbled upon. A quick glance at our server logs gives a picture of our wiki health and fitness database, and I thought you might like a look at what pages are drawing the most reader attention, see what you’re missing.

Exercises and Workout Routines

1. Exercise Descriptions
2. Bodypart Exercise Suggestions
3. Workout Routines
4. Overhead Squat Instruction
5. Bench Press Instruction
6. Byron’s 5×5 Workout Guide
   
7. Bentover Barbell Row
8. Abdominals

Training Styles and Home Gyms

1. Powerlifting
2. Cardiovascular Fitness
3. Homemade Gym Equipment Ideas
4. Home Gym Set-up
5. Kettlebells
6. Sandbag Training

Health and Wellness

1. Dealing with Back Pain
2. Male and Female Hormones
3. Menopause
4. Cholesterol

Food and Diet

1. Intermittent Fasting
2. Protein Shake Recipes
3. Weight Gain

I was surprised to discover the weight loss page wasn’t even in the top 20. Who *are* you guys?

Ages ago, last winter when we were discussing spin bike training, I promised to write about heart rate training for the benefit of those who bought a heart rate monitor but never learned how to use it. Aside from being the most affective method of cardiovascular training, it’s also a way to spice up aerobic training for those who find cardio more boring than waiting for the spouse outside a Macy’s fitting room.

For years we’ve been encouraging high intensity interval training (HIIT), more work gets done… faster. So, now that you know what high intensity is, how do you measure it?

A heart rate monitor.

You already know I consider the spin bike the way to go for measured, planned cardio because it allows total concentration on technique (unless, of course, you’re lucky enough to have the structure for sprints and easy access to a cinder track, in which case all spin bike recommendations are nixed pronto). And as most of us are heading into winter, indoor cycling with a HR monitor is the order of the day. Let’s figure out how to do that, and slide into a simple heart rate training ride so you can learn how to use your new monitor.

Your monitor is a feedback tool; it’s going to take the guesswork out of your cardio training. Once you learn how to use it, you’ll have precise control over your training; your resting and intensity intervals will be planned in advance and each workout will end as intended, lightly worked, completely wiped out or a selected range between the two.

Most people use what are called training zones, the five training zones from the Zone 1 range of 50-60% of maximum heart rate to the red-line zone at 90%, Zone 5. Usually the initial suggestion is to calculate from a max heart rate of 220 minus age, yet what’s not commonly known is how wide a variance there is of max heart rate per person, per activity, heredity, fitness and more. Here’s a better method to calculate your maximum heart rate.

Not many people fit into “average” when it comes to max heart rate, so for today, let’s just take a little test ride and see what we learn. What we’d like to know at the end of this ride is our anaerobic threshold, that is, at what heart rate do we go from breathing comfortably through the nose, to the slightly uncomfortable anaerobic work that calls on us to breathe through the mouth, the place where nose breathing doesn’t provide enough oxygen.

Let’s hold up a sec for the cautionary note: If your cardiovascular fitness is low, that is, you’re unfit, this point may be low, quite low, and if you discover you hit that point too quickly, back off. Stay in your aerobic zone, a more low-key and comfortable place while you condition yourself, and simply use your heart rate monitor to coach yourself to that calm yet challenging place.

A reader, Susanna Hutcheson, reminds me to tell you that some medications, especially beta blockers, will blunt the natural heart rate numbers. Take your time, learn *your* numbers and work from there. How your heart rate numbers compare with another’s is fully unimportant and may not be a reflection of conditioning in any event. What’s important is to learn to use the heart rate as a training tool… that’s it.

You know what? Before we get into the nitty gritty of heart rate training, which we’ll do next week, let’s go for that test ride. Put on your monitor, grab a bottle of water and a music player and get on your ride.

This is a 60-minute ride I took recently to plot this out for you. If you want to go for a half-hour instead, that’s fine; it’s just a test run to see what the monitor has to offer.

Ready? Okay, let’s ride.

Pedal one minute to activate your monitor, where you’ll maybe see 80 or 90, something like that. Then, increase 5 beats per minute (BPM) per song. That’s it… hold your heart rate as steady as possible during each song and increase 5 beats per song until you get to the top of your aerobic zone, the spot where your mouth opens to breathe.

Make note of the number on your heart rate monitor, perhaps it will be 120, maybe 140, could be higher… just note it and we’ll use it another day to figure out an interval training ride.

If your songs are longer than average, more than four minutes, say, use the clock instead, and increase 5 BPM every four minutes.

Now make your way back down, easing off by 10 BPM per song to finish the ride at around 90 BPM.

Very simple, nothing tricky, just a learning tool to find your aerobic/anaerobic threshold, where it is currently on this particular cardio machine, hopefully we’re talking about your spin bike, but whatever you have access to is fine.

Watch your heart rate jump when you sit upright, balancing with your torso, all your weight on the seat and pedals instead of partially on the handlebars. Raise your hands overhead and watch your heart rate jump again. Your monitor may take 5-15 seconds to register the changing numbers.

Keep hydrated. Heart rate goes up without regular water intake during training. Make your muscles earn the rising numbers.

You’ll find this interesting: 10-point jumps are easier; 5 points take more attention, more finesse.

Also interesting, the way back down is harder to control. If you’ve been riding regularly, your heart rate will drop faster than your planned goal, which is a good thing since your conditioning is better than expected. If long rides are new to you, your legs will feel leaden by 45 minutes and it will be difficult to get your heart rate down. Slow as a tortoise, those moving pedals.

The first time you do this monitoring, use pedal speed to make your increases. You may have to adjust the resistance up or down if you’ve guessed wrong, but for this ride, let’s just have the one variable to attend to. Next time you can bring in the harder gearing.

Once you have the hang of controlling your heart rate, try this: Note your heart rate, decide your next marking point and close your eyes. See the new number in your head and pedal up to it. Open your eyes and see how you did. Amazing, isn’t it, how you can hit that new target so precisely and after just these introductory instructions?

A heart rate monitor is one of the more outstanding modern training tools, and at less than $75, an average unit will coach you into great conditioning workouts for years to come.