Welcome AARP Visitors!
You’re where you belong and you’re right on time. Whether you've been training for 20 years or thinking about it for 20 minutes, you now have at your fingertips the most complete blend of training information and motivation for every level of participation. In a world full of confusion and hype we need straight talk and encouragement more than ever before. We don’t have the time, space or tolerance for anything else.
Before you get involved and distracted, please sign up for Dave's free weekly newsletter, so we can share workout tips, hints and enthusiasm for staying on target and motivated during the amazing years to come. Allow nothing to hold you back.
Dave's welcome letter
Hey, I recognize you. You might be new here, but you don’t look any different than the rest of us. You have that look in your eyes – curious, aware, hopeful, eager yet hesitant, self-conscious yet bold, amenable, but no fool, and ready, willing and able to work, learn and grow. Welcome to IronOnline! C’mon in and make yourself at home. Meet the gang.
We’ve been waiting for you. There are enough active participants on IOL to fill a fair-size town – 20,000 give or take, not including pets -- ranging in ages from 14 to 84. Fact is most of us here are 40 and over, with enough youngsters present to keep us smiling and grateful, and enough octogenarians to keep us aware and hopeful. And now you’re here. How cool! >>Read more...
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AARP filmed video of Dave demonstrating the exercises in their toning article; Dave expanded on that article with his favorite top 20 exercises, and had these advanced-beginner exercise tips to help you with your new weight training program.
How to choose a gym
A resourceful young lady restless with her body’s fitness collected and clipped together a selection of my weekly email newsletters. She gleaned through the contents and extracted the thoughts and strategies that appealed to her. Furthermore, she applied them—at first in an awkward way— and discovered to her surprise an internal ability to connect the chaos I offered and found a working continuity as she practiced. She hung to the words “determination,” “persistence” and “patience” until they became more than words but her very own budding attributes. “I’ve changed,” she says, “I’m ready to go to a gym.”>>Read more...
Now that you've found your gym
The gym is across the street, and the time has come. You’re a big girl (or should I say a big boy?), but you wish this part were over. You’ve made the phone calls, and your fingers have done all the walking they’re going to do. The rest is up to the feet and the big chicken stuck to the other end. First time to the gym, is it? I can’t tell you what to expect because every gym is different depending on the community, size, style and the ownership and staff’s personality. >>Read more...
Getting started with your workouts
Your job is to get the job done well. That means reading the exercise descriptions, practicing the exercise with all your heart, allowing awkwardness to pass and error to slide. One of your aims is to discover how much weight is appropriate for each exercise. The standard approach is to warm up with a light weight for a set of 15 repetitions. In the subsequent sets, add weight till a set of 12 repetitions is an agreeable force; that is, one more rep might be too many, one less rep too few. Record your choice and stay with that weight as you continue to practice and mature in the workouts to follow. >>Read more...
6 keys to bodybuilding
To make clear the simplicity of bodybuilding I've arranged a list of six basic keys to successful training. They're nothing new and read like the same stuff in any motivational book on the market today. Yet they offer valuable insight and are essential to getting started and sticking to it. >>Read more...
8 common questions from beginners
I'm a beginner. How many days a week should I workout and what balance between weights and cardio? How many sets of how many reps of how many body parts? Should I do my aerobics before or after my weight training? How do I get a flat stomach? >>Read more...
What you need to know about nutrition
Good nutrition, like good training, is simple - learn the basics and practice them consistently. A little knowledge and a lot more discipline is the secret. Apply yourself diligently - look ahead, don't look back and don't look for shortcuts. There simply aren't any. But... here are the >>Read more...
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What about injuries? How does Dave work around those?
Who is Dave Draper, anyway? Here's the Draper bio, and here's a bit of his history.
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