Ivan Learns the Ropes

I guess the first day in the gym for me was my freshman year of high school. I had went out for the freshmen's football team, all 5'10" 120 lbs. of me. Suffice it to say I wasn't the star player, but I was the kind of kid who could knock down some swinging linemen on sweep around. I could do that because I was nuts!!

After being beaten to a pulp about every practice the season came to a mericful end. Immediately into the offseason, for those boys who did not participate in another sport, we were sent to the weight room (I could have played basketball and very well but a crewcut was required to be on the team. This was the 60's for land's sake!! --- OK, OK I was a butthead!!!!).

The coaches advised me to lift and eat. I was good at eating, but not gaining. I ate everything in sight and every chance I could get. I lifted, as I remember, as heavy as I could. Never gained an ounce. The only thing I was good at was decline bench crunches. No one could beat me. I don't remember how many reps I did, but I used a 45 lbs. plate to do the crunches, BEHIND my head.

My experience at the high school was short-lived. After my sophomore year I scraped football, in fact, organized sports all together. Just didn't have the size. I still played basketball and sandlot football with guys who were starters on the high school team on the weekend and I kept up with them too.

Fast forward about 14 years. I'm about 32 years old and I end up with a very bad back, a herniated lumbar 5. Wonderful! The docs wanted to cut on me but I asked what else I could do. They said physical therapy and walk a lot. I did that. It helped.

The PT introduced me to weight machines. Didn't like it much but I was determined never to have surgery on my back. The weight resistance training helped a great deal. Soon I moved to an area that did not have access to weights of any kind. Gradually my back got worse and worse and in the midst of all that I moved again. To Powers Lake, Wisconsin, which is about ten minutes from the YMCA in Lake Geneva. I was saved.

When I went back to the Y I started using the machines, never the free weights. After about a year and a half of weight and cardio machines a guy in the free weight room came up to me and said, "You've been here a long time. Why don't you stop messing around with those machines and try free weights."

THAT was my first REAL day at the gym. I think I was about 40 years old and I had step into another world. Gradually I was introduced by the above gentleman to more and more iron movements until the machines, with few exceptions, were a thing of the past. I'll never be able to thank Andy enough for what he did for me. I see him from time to time (he doesn't come to the Y presently) and he is always evaluating my progress and encouraging me to forge on.

Of course, presently I have a training partner who is just starting to prepare for competition. Now that has really changed the workouts. We have learned tons. Now I've gotten the bug --- for competition. That's another story that I'll save for another post. I have some questions to ask about bodybuilding, competition, and 50 year olds.

Ivan

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