Contentment, the Luster of a Life;Complacency, the Rust

August and September have been months of incredible weather in our
little hunk of California, deliciously hot, sunny and dry, while
flooding rains, heat waves and hurricane winds visit the rest of the
globe. I grow anxious as I reflect upon my written word. Good luck
does not frequent the Drapers and I therefore suspect a fire or
earthquake is in the stars, which is weird because I don't believe in
luck or in the stars.

Responding to the uncertainty of the future, I've decided not to make
any long-term training goals this fall. Rather, I shall do the best I
can do with what I have, one day at a time. Advancement, development,
improvement and progress are my daily objectives, but the 2007
Over-the-Hill Mr. Olympia is over my head.

This day-by-day approach -- to be the best we can be, to move forward
and press on daily without overloading ourselves with impossible
visions -- is not a bad approach anytime and all the time. It is real
and down to earth. Having never been much of a dreamer, but more an
accident in progress, I don't agree with the new-wave societal notion
touting you can be who you want and get what you want if you just
believe in yourself and go for it.

This is not mankind's strength on display; it's his ego and pride, his
arrogance and ignorance, his me-first and you-later selfishness; it's
his corruptible weakness and the world's number one enemy.

Believe in yourself, if you're worthy, but don't be discouraged when
you awake from the big dream. Instead, be humble and refreshed. Now
you can apply your gifted imagination and create something useful with
it, like authentic muscle and might and character, heart and soul, set
by set, day by day.

Have you noticed we don't live in a long-term, goal-setting world
anymore? I have this feeling inside that urges me to get done what I
can get done, now. Tomorrow will come, no problem, but don't waste any
time. Got something to do, do it!

It's the evolving dynamic -- urgency rules. I'm no less driven, just
driven by a peculiar impetus and less-than-upbeat perspective. Must be
something in the six-o'clock news, the worldwide mood, the
all-knowing, all-consuming computer.

We need to find joy in our daily living and our daily training. And
where doth joy come from? It comes from here, there and everywhere --
people, places and things, you for starters. You're driving this
flesh-and-bone machine, it's your vehicle; you wash it, fuel it and
keep it on the road. Hot rod, classic, European sports or all-American
muscle, you want this baby to hum and gleam, turn a few heads and
cruise on down the highway. Zoom, zoom...

Of course, there are your family and friends and folks around you.
They see what you do, and respect you and respond to your acts and
deeds and accomplishments. Or not! Isn't it cool when you're on top of
the training heap, eating right, exercising regularly and in control?
Now that's joy! Joy begets joy, joy is contagious, joy is real and
long-lasting.

Joy is found in places, and I don't mean pubs, ice cream parlors and
Toys-R-Us. I'm talking about... yes, you guessed it... gyms: those
sanctuaries of gravity-laden implements and resistance-prone gadgets
requiring our deliberate exertion to shift and hoist. Sought-after
force is felt deep in the body, mind and soul where creation is born
and joy is spontaneous.

Joy is a dumbbell in motion, a barbell mid-flight.

Let us embark on today's training journey. I can only tell you what I
am going to do and hope you do something equally as exciting and
productive. I shall proceed to the gym unencumbered by life's doldrums
and down a jigger of legs followed by a pitcher of bis, tris and
forearms. Once an addict, always an addict.

I enjoy training extremities solely in one workout. My last exercise
session two days ago worked the shoulder, back and chest muscles.
That's a pile of work in a day and I'm glad I'm not 10 and starting
all over again. I'd do it, but, oh, the steep mountain ahead. Now, at
least, I have a few slopes behind me.

I'll forego midsection and get down to business. A jigger of legs is
serious enough to stimulate my thighs, but not to cause me to stagger.
This is happy-face fun, or you might say, joyful. I permit myself the
delight of pumping the muscles for strong yet playful reps without
entering the red-zone. This is as close to light-hearted as I dare to
go, almost like skipping on air. A shot of quads -- a detoxifying dose
of blood loaded with oxygen and nutrients -- is a restorative tonic
between heavy leg workouts. Squats, leg press or hacks, my choice, for
four or five times 12-15 reps.

Hello, biceps and triceps. An arm workout is not an arm workout unless
one performs standing barbell curls supersetted with lying triceps
extensions. I use an Olympic bar for both movements with the same
weight, thus providing an easy back and forth exchange. I make
five-pound or two-and-a-half-pound increments each consecutive set as
I lower the reps from 12 toward 6. Give me four or five sets,
depending on feel, energy, need and desire.

"How original," you're saying with a smirk and sarcasm. Engage the
movements with confidence and renewed hope, courage and devotion and
smile all the way to the Big Arm department at Macy's next time you
shop. "Triple XL, please, in any style, any color, thank you! No
problem, I'll squeeze into it."

Next, I strongly suggest Leroy Colbert's all-time favorite big-arm
combo: seated dumbbell alternate curls supersetted with one-arm or
two-arm overhead triceps extensions. You've gotta go back to the early
days when weightlifting was authentic and muscle grew from hard,
basic, unadulterated work absent the frills and fancy stuff, smoke and
mirrors. I like five sets times 6-10 reps, but four sets will do fine.

Listen: When you contract the biceps, when you extend those triceps,
when you move that stubborn iron, stay close to the muscle and the
action -- think and visualize, pump and burn, focus and drive,
appreciate and enjoy. This is it, there isn't anything else. Trust me,
trust yourself, thank God.

Another thing: Power and muscle growth (whether shape, size and
density or vascular, thin-skin hardness) come from intense training.
Everyday health and muscle conditioning comes with moderate training.
Mild training offers hope to the mild-mannered and leads them forward.
Right eating is essential to all three, and without a good attitude
everyone's in trouble.

Break out the wrist roller and get reacquainted with the wobbly
apparatus. Spend ten minutes in trial and experimentation, pumping and
twisting and rolling and reversing the action. Stand on a bench and
engage it with the arms straight out, or bend the arms and roll from
the hips; twist clockwise and twist counter-clockwise. Feels good --
has a future. Make mental notes for your next workout.

Captain to crew… I see land... looks like land... maybe it's my
couch... I'm going in...

Godspeed... DD

Source: davedraper.com