Say Goodbye to the Child
Dave Draper's Bomber Blend Protein
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The time has come to open the door and walk through. Youth isn't exactly ancient history, but it and the dust around it has settled in the past. Nod and toss a mock salute. What youth didn't do for you, you must do now… pick up the pieces and put them together. That's why today you stand beyond the door and on the gym floor. Say goodbye to the child, but be sure to take the kid with you.
The men and women who, over the years and by accident or design, built a foundation of muscle, fed themselves decently and treated their bodies fairly are rare and far ahead of their neighbors. They can step into a training program and proceed without a turmoil of emotions and toil of mind necessary to center themselves and aspire.
Those sterling characters who started their robust fitness venture years ago and have persevered are aware of the precarious twists in the road ahead. They are even more rare and accomplished and will not be thrown off course.
The few who gather in a tight circle around the piles of iron and steel, belt and wraps dangling from their strong grips, access the hairpin curve that edges the heights of the mountain they've climbed for so many years -- they lead where no one has led before. Tilted heads studying, narrowed eyes focusing and knitted brows concentrating, they resourcefully improvise the next uncertain move. Stoic grins crowd their faces.
There's a smart way for each of us to go, depending on fitness level, experience, constitution, health, means and available time. Here are some non-technical generalizations about aging based on my limited observations:
~ Needless to say, the timeless teens and the 20-some fly high, far and fast. They are not, however, invincible; they strain and they break, they overtrain and complain. Age… it begins.
~ The terrific 30-some grow, muscularize, further perfect shape and tone, and they gather and apply wisdom. Injuries and plateaus are responsible for the latter. Risk taking, heavy weights and mean persistence do their jobs, yet take their toll on the hardcore. Growing up and growing older… it continues.
~ Forty-some, frivolous and frantic, provides a stretch of positive growth for the trainee who didn't ignore the responsibility to fitness for a regretful length of time -- the longer out of the loop, the bigger the penalty. The slightly abused or negligent pick up where they left off after dutifully and painfully reestablishing their parameters. Strength, muscle size and definition can be achieved by the tough, perceptive and determined... given time, and time moves on.
~ The overused over-40 can do wonders to restore health and well-being, control bodyweight, improve energy, strengthen the back and flatten the stomach. Self-esteem is added to the bargain. There's no time or effort to waste... ever again.
~ The early 50s rock on as you suspiciously glance over your shoulder. A ding here and a ding there become more frequent and last a little longer and cause more concern. Human nature, I guess. To push or not to push, that is the question. We hesitate briefly, yet we don't stall and we don't fall apart. Caution is coolish… fear is foolish. We're hanging in there, mister and sister, as we head for 60. Very becoming.
~ The 60s... it seems the curiosity and care I integrated and the wisdom I collected during the downside of the 50s gave me a head start on the big six-oh. I was stronger, healthier and fitter than I was in my mid 50s. That went on the decline as I hit my mid-60s and underwent a bypass surgery due to some harder living in my younger years; however, there's no reason that should happen to you. Carry on -- you got this!
At any age and under any circumstances, exercise and eating right will support the body, mind and spirit of every participant. The younger you start, the better the foundation. The longer you continue, the more durable the structure. The later you start, the more dramatic the life-sustaining renovations you will experience.
Never to have exercised with at least moderate passion is to have somehow withheld opportunity and dimension from your life. It's never too late to start.
Okay, already. What do we do?
The largest group of less-fortunates is the once-in-shape, now out-of-shape, over-40-yet-not-one-hundred, back-in-the-gym and wondering-what-to-do bunch. What they must do is… well… start; get the immovable object in motion and keep it in motion despite all imaginary and real obstacles.
This demands desire, commitment and guts. If these can't be arranged, it's back to the TV or job or refrigerator with their expanding britches and narrowing arteries and diminishing muscles and failing self-image. Face the facts, consider the consequences and hop in the pool; the water is fine. Exercise, eat right and be happy.
Wow. Aren't you glad you're past that stage?
To those who are not, I usually say something like this…
What must be done? Exercise vigorously three days a week with the weights and throw in some aerobics between workouts. It's wonderful, exhilarating and joyful.
It's a challenge; a challenge that restores the body and revives the soul and regulates the emotions. What have you got against challenge? Too hard, too much trouble, no time, no interest, no courage, no confidence… exactly what is it?
Has it been a while? To the vast group of deconditioned, I say this: Take heart and start walking. Over the weeks, add mild jogging to your walking and do 10 minutes side bends and leg raises at a specific time during the day (before dinner, before breakfast, just make it specific).
Start planning to expand your exercise to the gym floor. A good gym can be a refuge, a rewarding diversion, a place of redemption and that bracing, long-absent challenge you need for fulfillment.
Three whole-body workouts, three alternate days a week for the first month as you practice, concentrate on the task at hand and the muscles at work, observe your surroundings, smile, nod and be extraordinarily happy. You are an extraordinary person applying quaking courage, reluctant responsibility and staggering persistence. These, too, are about to flourish and thrive.
What needs to be said about the technicalities of the workouts (sets, reps, exercises and combinations) is just… so technical. Workouts are workouts, mixed and matched to people, situations, circumstances, genetics, injuries, the past, the present and the future, moods, attitudes, doubts, conclusions, chemistry and character. What we think about and talk about between the lines is where the real questions and answers are exchanged.
Men and women, you are building all the main muscles throughout your body for balance, efficiency, health, strength and appearance. What works for him works for her. As the climb continues, the course will change, but not much. That's another matter. For now don't wander from the basics and don't expect miracles beyond the one that you are experiencing.
Enjoy yourself and continue to be hopeful and positive – the perfect environment for musclebuilding, health and long life.
Dave
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