Tis the Season of Jingling Bells and Iron ‘a Clanking

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One of America’s favorite holidays, Thanksgiving, has come and gone.

Thanksgiving is an occasion of appreciation, resting and eating and eating and is largely without commercial excess. It’s the calm and soft introduction to the Christmas celebration and the New Year’s festivities, the busy -- hectic -- month-long holiday season.

Some people grumble and growl at the time of year because it’s become commercialized and chaotic and distorted... and expensive. Money and madness have largely adulterated what are particularly very loving and lovable times of the year, reflective, significant and worthy.

Other folks jump right in; join the crowd, the water’s just fine. Generally, everybody tolerates the inevitable cash-dash and trash-splash, gleaning meaning to suit themselves. And, yes, like any time, it can be lonely. It’ll pass. Smile, be happy. Better yet, be jolly.

Bombers, of course, pick up the breezes and fly high above it all, swooping in where and when the place and time are right. We recognize and delight in the essentials: a pair of dumbbells, a bar and plates, a smooth running cable and a prayer... the things that really matter... family and friends and training partners; moving conversations and exchanges of ideas.

Be still. Listen closely.

Q) I see in most of your routines you use supersets. Why? Can you build muscle mass supersetting, or is it for definition only?

A) The simple answer is supersets works for me, and with supersets we can build muscle mass, density and definition as well.

Supersetting, one set of an exercise followed by a second accommodating exercise, requires mental and physical adaptation. The technique can be a struggle at first, both fatiguing and confusing, and can present doubt. Changes are stressful. If you give supersets a try, give them time.

Not everyone on the gym floor knows this training style exists. Many push and pull like those around them. Monkey see... monkey business.

Supersetting is an efficient and effective training system and a solution to many musclebuilding predicaments. The methodology is best applied by the trainee who has had fair practice with the weights. One needs to know the tools, their proper application and how they engage the muscles. Groove, form, focus, pace and intensity are the characteristics of training a progressive lifter wants to seek, develop and perfect.

Once you adapt and the movements fall in place, you’re likely to appreciate the training flow and eventual rhythm. And it’s not long before the benefits and rewards of supersetting begin to unfold: the derived and accentuated training focus, improved muscle engagement, abbreviation of time between sets, the boost in exercise momentum and excitement and subsequent boost in workout production, the added cardio output and muscle pump and the elimination of distractions and the resulting reduction of time on the gym floor.

We’re all different in personality and nature and structure and chemistry. Some drive in the fast lane, some cruise in the slow. I love to superset and tri-set, and on some days, multi-set (4 or 5 exercises combined). Supersets work for me and suit my nature. I single-set train regularly on heavier movements or alternate-hand exercises, i.e. squats or one-arm dumbbell rows.

Mass, muscularity, density, hardness and weight gain and weight loss are adjusted by diet -- food intake, what kind and mostly how much. Training pace, weight engaged and sets and reps comprise the other part of the musclebuilding equation, the iron-handed variables in our goal-seeking. Of course, rest, sleep and recuperation are priceless.

As for me, supersetting constitutes 75 percent of each workout.

Q) What do you think of strict isolation training and slow-rep training styles?

A) They work. They all work. Some systems work better than others. It largely depends upon the abstract qualities of desire, devotion and appreciation of the lifter involved. I’ll take a pass without getting into the scientific or theoretical pros and cons.

Different strokes... I plain don’t like them for a number of reasons -- tedious and limited in benefit, not particularly healthy for body mobility and muscle function and dull, notwithstanding.

It’s questionable these methods advance specific hypertrophy, but, if yes, at what price? In today’s economy I look for the best buy, the deal with the biggest bang for the buck: two for one, three for one, the whole truckload at half price, without costing me time (time is muscle) and compromising the function of my body. I’m greedy and power-crazy.

Isolation counters my sense of developing the whole body as a working, functioning whole, an inter-related system in which each muscle and action depends upon allied muscles and actions, and the whole is not separate from any of its parts any more than a single muscle is apart from the whole.

Give me full range of motion to engage and develop as much related muscle as possible, and allow me to feel and visualize the interrelationship of the working muscles as my feeble mind is able. I exercise with the awareness that my body is a unit of function, and, therefore, it’s expedient for me to train the body with that premise foremost in mind.

It is far more satisfying to fully extend and tightly contract a system of muscles, to traverse the range of motion completely and healthfully and maximize exertion and expression with each rep at a pace that is natural to my nature and inner sense. What a ride. Bomber in action, blasting it.

Slow reps, isolated action, stiffness and stagnation... these MOs are applied successfully when I’m injured, near immobile, near death’s door. But, then, one must recall I’m an advocate of tuna and water. I’m a little fishy.

Q) Is it true that if I'm a regular swimmer, my arms and legs will go thin and my torso relatively larger. Is it also true that muscle sort of sags after a certain age? What can be done to prevent this?

A) If you want a bodybuilder's body, body-build primarily and add sufficient swimming as a healthy exercise and aerobic activity to develop sound universal muscle, as well as improve cardiovascular health. Extended pool training will interfere with thick, dense and defined muscle development, and counter bodybuilding goals. Buoyancy -- less muscle density -- becomes an efficiency factor.

If your goals are athletic fitness superiority, the two modes of exercise are accommodating. Add cycling and running and you're a triathlete.

Swimming, as a training priority for winning competition, will produce a system of muscles to accomplish your challenges; lengthier more supple arm muscle, broad shoulders and wide back, with a trim waist and strong, lean leg musculature. Wise weight training will assist your swimming power.

In regard to your last question -- yeah, it's called aging, old as time. Counter-measures and antidote: Train smart and eat right always; diminish stress and enjoy a healthy attitude and a healthy lifestyle. Don’t fret, don’t anticipate, appreciate the moment and live today, your most precious gift. Give thanks, and give before taking.

Q) Try as I might, my obliques seem to be undeveloped. Can you suggest a single best exercise for the obliques? Twists don't seem to work for me.

A) Don't try to develop the obliques specifically. Worst thing is blocky oblique over-development. Instead, do more core training for the entire midsection. Try repetition one-arm dumbbell snatches (clean dumbbell from floor to overhead position and repeat). Accentuate a sufficient torso twist in the action to engage obliques and sweep of the lats. (4 sets x 10, 8, 6, 6 reps). Great muscle-builder with systemic benefits.

Get into rope tucks and think obliques.

I like hand-hanging leg raises from an overhead bar, completely hanging, fully extended, to whatever range of contraction possible. The movement is best preformed with no hesitation -- this does not mean haste -- between reps to prevent the body from swinging. This takes practice, body strengthening and a touch of daring. Body stretch at the bottom of the action is essential to oblique engagement and development. Added oblique action is gained by raising the legs to left and right sides (3 to 4 sets of maximum mixed reps thrice weekly).

Time to go to the mall with Laree and join in the holiday spirit; lots of 50%-off and two-for-one sales. Remember: wear sneakers, take wallet, water bottle, coupon book, gift list... shin guards, helmet, groin protection (guys)... baton, mace, whistle... first aid kit and extra splints...

God have Mercy... Dave

A CHRISTMAS YOU’LL NEVER FORGET

Do you want to see you family’s eyes sparkle with joy on Christmas morning?

Give them yummy and wholesome Bomber Blend wrapped in a cardboard box (personal plastic scoop included free). Dazzle the little lady of the festive house with a personally autographed copy of Your Body Revival -- Straight Talk for the Overweight. See the kids jump with joy as they unwrap their own Nitro Max Powder by Anabol Naturals, Ageless Growth and a Bill Pearl-Dave Draper Seminar dvd. The little rascals are never too young for hope, commonsense and inspiration.

Buy, buy... bye bye... DD

Soak yourself in a taste of bodybuilding’s Golden Era with Dick Tyler’s on-the-scene record, written in his easy-going, one-of-a-kind style, West Coast Bodybuilding Scene.

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BILL PEARL/DAVE DRAPER LIVE SEMINAR DVD

The  Package includes a one-hour-and-fifteen-minute tape of the July seminar, two muscular slide shows, plus a 32-page booklet outlining the subsequent interview between the mighty one, Bill Pearl, and me in which we discuss some favorite subjects untouched by the seminar. ~Dave

Cut through the confusion! Grab your copy Brother Iron Sister Steel to make your training path clear.

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Golden Era fans will rejoice in this excerpt from West Coast Bodybuilding Scene.

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