Draper - Next

The year 2000 is just about as old as it's going to get. When you review the span of time, a seduction we find hard to resist, do you say it was a good year? Was it a step forward, personally? Rough times? The criterions for such assessments are usually finances, career, investments, possessions, relationships, freedoms, state of mind, health and the like. Philosophically, we may all wish to say, "Whatever took place is good for the good I have learned from it." Me? I'm interested in whether you are bigger, stronger, fitter, leaner, more muscular and/or faster. You see, I'm a bonehead and expect that everyone reading this is some form of bonehead also. Boneheads are like that.

Did you manage to improve in your weightlifting, muscle building and fitness- achieving endeavors since December of '99 — doesn't that sound like a thousand years ago? Are you tougher, more enduring, mightier, tighter, shapelier and more athletic? You've had a year to do it. Have you gained a real-life confidence and understanding? Three hundred and sixty-five days, I might add. Eating and training habits; are they commendable? Do you eat too much, too little, irregularly, not enough protein, more than enough carbs, junk? I'm a nosey bonehead. Are your workouts bright and intense and fun or are they dull and sluggish and occasional? Please, don't tell me the last three adjectives describe your workouts... please, don't tell me that.

Bombers, we are forever on the rim of the on-going opportunity in time. We stand together, arms entwined and take a momentary glance of good ole number 2000 and leap amidst the roil of 2001. This year we will accomplish what we postponed year last. It is what we do best. We continue, we fight, we hope, we win, we lose and we endure.

I did okay. One neat thing — I sort of gained a year... or, is it lost a year? I dunno. Anyway, in the synopsis on the back cover of the book (Brother) Laree claimed my age to be fifty-eight whereas I am only a youthful and dapper fifty-seven. So you see while I suffered the almost unbearable pains of the error this year, next year I shall not age at all. It's all in the mind I am told.

My weight is the same and I suspect the bodyfat has not altered either. No new injuries and some oldies have healed. I'm stronger than a year ago in pressing and tris while my squatting and deads are down... yet, returning. Endurance is good but I'm replacing 2 or 3 workouts a month for rest days. Perhaps, this accounts for some recent healing and improved strength. I do not confess to overtraining in prior years. 'Ya gotta blast it, Mac (Maxine). Food intake seldom wanders. Protein rules, as you all know. Fat's good and a few carbs ain't that bad. My training has not lost its intensity or momentum or luster, thank God.

What is my New Year game plan? Keep pushing the iron and lifting the steel with finesse; be alert to overload and rest, mix the volume supersetting with those slower pace single-set, low-rep power workouts throughout the month. My years and development allow me to arrange my training scheme on the spot to match my needs, a luxury you can't purchase but with time. I'll continue to dial in the movements and the nutrition according to systemic changes. I'm only learning day by day.

The gyms are good, more fun than ever. Laree is lighter and leaner and has sorted through a dozen training and menu plans and determined their merits. Self-taught through the Web and how-to books she knows more about publishing than Doubleday. I hope I can put the words together that will affect the thinking of the unhealthy, overweight population. A new diet, obviously, does not do it; a cultural restoration might. I will attempt to attract a small percentage of the fed-up and lure them down the road less traveled. Only the strong shall survive.

March is a big month with The Arnold Classic in Columbus and The Heidenstam Affair in London. We'll put up our passport photos when we get them�or not. And guess who's coming to dinner in July? There are book signings in gyms, fitness equipment stores and nutrition stores planned across the country by my agent and publicist, Ms. Draper. Good grief.

Time for a tall Bomber Blend. I will go to the gym and cause some trouble. In a few days I will put it all behind me and say, "That was last year."

Stay fueled, check your struts and thank God. Fly high, Bombers. See 'ya on the other side. Draper

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