True Musclebuilders Don't Let Go...
They Just Modify Their Grip
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It ain’t over till it’s over -- December 28th and counting. There’s still time to squeeze in a few more workouts and pump out a few more sets. How many of us have trained till the gym is closing and some poor sap is dragging a mop around the floor, putting plates away and turning off the lights?
“The gym's closed, ya bums,” he says wearily.
“One more set... two more minutes... three more reps.” The pleas from various corners of the gym floor are pathetic.
The need to build bigger muscles makes a mutt out of a good man or woman. Some people claim it’s been written in certain ancient manuscripts that the love of muscles is the root of all evil. This rather matches the old axioms, “Mutts and sinners make good bedfellows,” and “Live by the steel, die by the steel.”
A pound of iron shaped like a dumbbell is worth more than a pound of gold secured in a vault.
I have thus far made it through the exciting yet trying season without falling off the wagon. Some lovable wise guys sent us select chocolates, brownies and schnapps, which we sat on a tray for display. One particularly tempting brownie was unwrapped and Laree and I shared it over the course of three days. Neither of us gained a pound, had a seizure or went into shock. What a relief. I haven’t missed a workout, though their intensity has been reduced to wreck and ruin, down significantly from slaughter and devastation.
I, contrary to my associates, carry a lighter bodyweight this holiday season and struggle to maintain it (215, down from 225). Eating, as it is a discipline, is often a chore of fueling, and less than a merry occasion. Prepare, gulp and clean up, heavy on the protein, sameness of content, regular mealtime intervals, eating whether hungry or not and often alone -- all this adds up to another workout of sorts. I’d have it no other way... because no other way works.
The lighter bodyweight is both heaven and hell. I miss the size and power and assurance, but enjoy the leanness, looseness and trimness. Once adjusted to the sacrifice in mass, strength and pumping capability of the heavier bodyweight, I enjoy lightweight training with increased pace, less attention to weight used and more attention to feeling and muscle engagement. The workouts are more fun, less stressful and seem to be healthier and more profitable, productive.
There’s no doubt we get hung up on the need for heavy weight in our training and no doubt heavy weight in phases of our training is imperative -- for muscle mass and density, power and mental satisfaction. But there are times when heavy training can be counterproductive and injurious. We insist on pushing our limits and tear a muscle, wrench a joint or endure the depression of diminishing strength. And, realistically, there comes a time when heavy training and its pursuit must be put aside. Injury, age or life’s priorities take their proper place in the driver’s seat.
We sufficiently and rightly resist the arrangement, but we are wise to let go in time. And “letting go” is not “letting go,” as in submission, but, rather, advantageously grasping a more beneficial and rewarding method of training. There are other levels of training and degrees of advancement we need to discover and explore.
This does not mean we cannot retain or will not return to certain power training moves that are likable and favorable. I can’t push, but I can pull. I can’t jump high, but I can squat low. A bench press will bury me alive, but I can deadlift a quarter ton. Raw dogs love to gnaw on big bones.
2005 is almost behind us with all its guts and glory, failure and success. 2006 is ahead with hope and promise and awesome endeavor. If life were a vast ocean and I a small vessel, I’d see myself clutching the helm with both hands and staring into the hazy distance as I negotiated the rough waters around me. Rough waters are a struggle that keep me nimble and quick; the distant seas an unknown that cause me to wonder. Steady as she goes, mates, we have mounting swells and endless whitecaps, black nights and bright dawns, winds from hell and the calm waters before the storm.
How better does one equip oneself for life in the sea of time than training with iron and fueling oneself with quality food? No answer required, just a pause of recognition. Administering the two simple antidotes provides the third, the mental strength one needs as well: discipline, patience and perseverance -- never let them rest. Heave ho and thar they blow.
You heard it: my last declaration of the Bomber’s credo for the year. One day I expect ya’ll to retaliate by bombarding me with unblockable cascading spam, causing my computer to crash and me to eject in some unknown and impenetrable terrain.
Resisting convention, I’m not going to mention New Year’s resolutions this season. Whoops, too late... I just did... Son-of-a-gun! That being the case, have you made any? It’s the perfect time and not a bad idea for the average person to install one or two (5 to 10) fresh and smart disciplines or goals in their average lives. Let’s face it. Not everyone is driven to improve themselves.
There is, I suspect, a common follow-your-nose aptitude and see-ya-later attitude driving the masses of today’s world nowhere. A few folks naturally improve with each step they take; a few struggle with all their heart, a few are successfully coaxed and the swelling remainder take the path of least resistance. Mediocrity, lethargy and poor fitness are their companions. Tsk, tsk! Thankfully, we are not associated with that bunch.
The disappointing, yet encouraging thing is so little needs to be done to accomplish so much. Here are six no-brainers that could revolutionize the world: Dump the smokes, regulate the booze, eat right, exercise daily, drop the bodyfat and think positively. Think about it. It’s not like I said earn a million, acquire a degree, conquer cancer, make love not war, get a real job and give 10% of your paycheck to the poor and needy. I didn’t even suggest we stop corruption, stealing and cheating, drive-by shootings, serial murder or child molestation.
The benefits gained immediately and gathered over time would include sounder bodies, longer and healthier lives, brighter minds, clearer thinking, higher self-esteem, greater productivity, lower medical and insurance costs and bigger smiles. The closest we’re gonna get to heaven on earth, brothers and sisters.
I could go on and on -- take the soda pop and junk-vending machines out of schools, bring back phys-ed, ban violent video games (if not all) and encourage wholesome disciplined activities -- extending the list of New Year’s resolutions that should be naturally be in place.
The world, sometimes, looks like a pimple on the face of the universe.
Well, I guess that’s about as negative as one can get: the world’s zit and its inhabitants are little festering germs. Surely, I jest. You know I love this place and am grateful to be a resident. And to contribute to the world’s marvelous cause I shall be more tolerant on the runway, make clear paths for young bombers, keep my craft well lubed and in good repair, and fly high and swift and far, an example to those less capable, needier. I expect to see you at my wing, bombers.
Here’s to a Grand New Year, 2006. Go with God... DD
One closing thought: If you’re seeking or struggling to maintain a lower bodyweight or smaller waistline, why bother?
As Americans grow heftier, automakers are making seats wider, adding more space to interiors. Automakers have seats for increasingly rotund motorists. The average larger man grew 27 pounds heavier and nearly an inch-and-a-half wider in the hips from 1962 to 2000.
Why not enlarge the seat space behind the controls in the cockpit?
Only to allow for increased shoulder width, my child. Drink your Bomber Blend. Use your thick bars. Grow!
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