Sounds of Spring
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April has a nice ring to it, a sweet sound, chimes in a faint breeze. Girls named April are automatically cute -- cover girls, centerfolds and starlets. Warm showers from blue skies come to mind, songbirds and spring flowers, shorts and T-shirts, long days and a convertible with the top down.
April is the month of hope, the month we dream of with longing in the middle of October when the days are grey and we’re chilled to the bone... six months till April, a desperately long time.
April is here at last, a time to celebrate.
The greatest way to celebrate an occasion is to not merely recognize it, but to embrace it with open arms, to perceive it in all its fullness, to hold it close and examine it, to know it before it slips away, into the past, into memory. Stop and smell the roses, we say, before the flower and its fragrance fade in the background.
Spring is a time to rejoice. Bright, tender and fresh, the season inspires life and living, rejuvenation and accelerated growth, a renewal of the mind, a deepening of the soul.
Muscleheads yell, “Let’s get huge,” while ironheads shout, “Let’s get ripped.” Bombers nod to each other knowingly and rumble, “Time to blast it.”
Remember, captains and navigators, “blast it” is a relative term. Blasting it means giving it all you have (without bleeding), taking it to the edge (without slipping), letting ’er rip (without tearing). It’s seeking a gratifying pump without exploding, and achieving a significant burn without incinerating.
Too few lifters blast it. They cause an occasional pop, a weekly poof or an infrequent boom, but authentic blasting is often missing.
A recap: My blasting lately has been limited to wobbling every other day between benches to sit with gratitude and pump out a set of 8 to 10 reps, sometimes 20 when it’s appropriate. I execute three sets of each chosen exercise, practice perfect form and manage to achieve a burn and a pump through complete muscle extension and contraction. I breathe like a racehorse coming in last, though I haven’t lost a race once.
Overloading the system with exercise and food, no matter how wholesome they are, is no longer wise when time and age move to the forefront. Actually, it was never wise, although it seemed to be working at the time.
Now I work out according to urge, good order, convenience, need, ability and responsibility. I don’t work for the Man so I come and go as I please. This varies from three to four workouts a week, or every other day, for usually around half an hour. My ‘blasting it’ is relative. Snap, Crackle, Pop!
And now some thoughts and questions that have come to mind.
What about squatting, deadlifting and heavy, low-rep, one-rep-max workouts? Alas, gone with the other overloads.
What bodyweight shall I maintain that is comfortable and wise? One could argue that 185 pounds at six feet is a smart bodyweight, not a small man by any means, but a stiff breeze I fear would take my bones for a ride in the sky... not exactly what I call bombing or flying high. I’ve dropped from holding 225, to 210, then 205 to 199. 195 was tough enough; under 190 is troublesome indeed.
Stress appears in many forms and must be attended with calm intelligence. That’s a big problem immediately, stressful in itself. Stress, the elephant in the room, must be eliminated. Turn off the TV and eliminate contact with the hostile outside world.
We do the best we can.
As I outline my cautions and limitations, I sound like a coward in retreat. This is not true. I still hold tightly my sword and shield and proceed with daring.
My winged craft is currently suited for gliding. Gliding is a patient art form and enables one to engage one’s finer senses entirely, an instructive and most gratifying experience.
Here’s to gliding... Cheers and gentle spring breezes.
dd
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