Rejoice: December is Here for Good


Dan John, Dave Draper, partner squats,
Weight Room Santa Cruz, 12/7/2010

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Windows and doors are shut tight; thermostats are turned up high and down jackets hang ready by the entryway. Snow is dumping in the mountains and eager skiers are retrieving their gear from cold storage. I left the snow in Jersey 45 years ago and the closest I come to skiing is manipulating Laree’s old ski pole, a helpful tool when unloading unreachable boxes of Bomber Blend from the back of my pickup.

Winter is not here yet, but its cold runny nose is pressed against the frosted windowpane of our front door. Time to fold up the muscles for the season and tuck them away in the bottom drawer with the tank tops, Ts and shorts. Goodbye, good riddance, beware of the moths. Let’s curl up and get cozy.

Might as well ease the dietary restrictions as well, bears and bombers. Like, who cares? The fair weather’s gone; it’s time to hibernate. We’ll deal with the impending consequences upon their full bloom in the spring.

When’s the ballgame? Is that beer and ribs in front of the widescreen? Move over. Who’s winning?

Who’s losing is the big question, the big, fat, out-of-shape, sad and sorry question.

Muscles, strength and health have no season. They are not occasional, sometimes and cyclical, perhaps and maybe. They are here and now and tomorrow. They’re always and forever. Be strong. Look sharp.

Looking sharp, Laree and a group of IronOnliners are preparing for The Mud Run, a Marine Corp obstacle course and endurance challenge, set for the fall of 2011 in Bakersfield. The event provides motivation to ease into condition from this day forward, whether you/the participant wants to win, lose or put on a good show.
 
Of course, there is no loser when you put your body and mind to a smart, long-term training regime. The emerging gang will be sharing programs and statistics, experiences and observations during the forthcoming months to encourage and to educate, to delight, to fulfill, to learn and to grow.
 
Still in its planning stages, the challenge has Laree cycling, rowing and walking and attending her FMS, some of which faded to gray while she worked on her various publishing and DVD projects. Gray is the color of tedious. Gold is the color of assiduous.

Seeking gold?

https://www.davedraper.com/url/running-prep.php

Me? I’m a plain and simple creature. Give me crude iron in circular shapes, room to grunt and I’m all kinds of rich.

Lady Goldentouch just parked herself on the couch before a roaring fire in the hearth and a short stack of written pages on her lap and her nimble editor’s pen in her hand. Are you comfy? The smart and persuasive words of Dan John are about to be compiled and edited, and fashioned into a six-week guidebook and log for those eager to bulk up, build muscle mass and get strong.

I’m like a school kid standing in the back row bouncing on my toes, hand stretched high overhead and face gleaming… Me, Me, Me…

I loved bulking up and getting strong when I was a young man (that would be anytime, say, pre-2005). Ate as much as I could, hit to the gym as often as I wanted, lifted like a maniac, slept like a horse; man, that’s living.

Lately, not so much: Sweetie… would you adjust my pillows and get me my meds, brace, ointment and tonic? Sigh… thank you so much, dear… Oh, and a cup of warm milk…

There’s a right way to bulk up and a wrong way; a smart way to build power and a dumb way; an intelligent way to develop muscle and a stupid way. Dan John, Heavyweight Scottish Games Champion, power coach and author of “Never Let Go,” knows every way and has outlined the best way. The handbook, concise, savory and direct, includes a dandy 42-page, six-week log to assist the lifter day by day and record his progress.

According to my inside source, the authoritative, information-packed, yet-to-be-named coil-bound bulk-up book will be available to aspiring athletes, underfed scarecrows and under-worked bone racks after the first of the year. Till then, do as I do: Drink your Bomber Blend and chew on the iron.

Wow! Did you feel that? Two days have gone by with a jolt and Laree and I are headed for the Weight Room Santa Cruz where we will convene with DJ of NLG. Have camera, will shoot. Dan will demonstrate the correct body position of the exercises for the terrific bulk-up manual, Laree will activate the camera and I will, of course, supervise, envision, inspire and entertain.

This should be fun. I’ve never been permitted to participate before. I’m hoping between supervising, envisioning and inspiring, I can superset. Anybody using the leg press? I need a pump, bad.

Whoa… another jolt… we’re back. After three hours of attentive and joyful productivity, 240 images have been downloaded onto the computer and are ready for selection. The little book about getting big requires only 15 of the 240 photos. Keep your fingers crossed, children: no closed eyes, zippers down, tongues out, figures blurred, distorted or missing, and no stray cats or gorillas in the background.

Dan drove down from the San Francisco area on what turned out to be a California beauty, sunny, clear and mild. Gear included barbells, dumbbells, kettlebells, a foam roller and one very cool lifting platform I built 20 years ago. I had to include the platform cuz, other than that, I did virtually nothing. I was like a dutiful busboy at the corner diner. Move this, grab that, get the other thing… don’t just stand there…

Dan’s a very cool guy, a good man, an excited athlete, fun companion and great teacher. Laree is a “rock star,” according to Dan. Me? I didn’t get in a single set of leg presses. Rats.

I think “Mass Made Simple -- A Six-Week Journey” is the title of the 160-page presentation. I suspect it’s one of a series of small yet significant “Journeys” by Dan John to follow. I had my ear to the metal.

Slow down if you need to, hurry if you want to, go sideways if you must, but don’t beat yourself up or down, and never let go.

God’s Speed is perfect… DD

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