Weight Training Peaks and Valleys

Flow -- Getting a Grip on the Ups and Downs

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The barbells were neatly arranged and bolted to the floor. The dumbbells were located along the length of the room where the gravity was evidently doubled by electromagnetic force fields or some sort of hi-tech gyroscopic gadgetry or perhaps nano-molecular tubing. The pulley systems were tightened down with wrenches to make turning them almost impossible and the various machines were frozen solid by oxidative expansion wherever metal met metal. Nothing moved without great difficulty.

The only reasonable explanation -- the gym was rigged, tricked out and tampered with. Not everyone agreed with me as usual, some going so far as to say I was imagining things, hallucinating again. Ha! I know when a place is hobbled just to drive me mad. I told a stooped, gray-haired gent behind the counter I knew what they were up to and I’d give them a day to get the gym back together or I’d be back to take it apart. Bloody mad, I was.

He nodded, said, “Si, Senor. Gracias,” removed his sombrero to wipe his wrinkled brow with the back of his hand and continued to mop the floor with aging passion. “Adios, amigo,” and, zoom, I was outta there.

You ever have a day such as this? The cold iron is weighed in one-ton increments; you strain and the dense steel will not move, not an atom, not a millimeter. You’re momentarily stunned. What’s this? You’re silent and despairing. It’s the down before the up, that’s what; the deep valley facing the mountain high, the darkness in waiting as the sun prepares to rise. I love it and hate it, the blues that hide the silver lining and the loud silences between the musical notes and their combined sweet song. I enjoy yet dread the wait, the suspense and the anticipation, the brief forever loss of time. There’s always hope. This is only a pause, an uncomfortable, airless space followed inevitably by relief and its miraculous power; a beaming resurgence of energy and mighty muscular rebound, the sure upward movement of sinewy hands gripping solid iron, impelled by tried yet ever-growing spirits.

Rising after a decline is inspiring and triumph after a notion of failure is exhilarating. The weights fly through the air as if propelled by unknown forces, the muscles pump and burn and sing in harmony; the body looks and feels strong and, once well-fed, sleeps restfully at night. Life is Grand!

Now what? Up and down we go like yoyos on short strings. Are the ups sufficient or the downs too much to bear? Is there a balance between the two, is there a difference, or do we find that as we understand the downs and recognize them as part of the advancing whole, the work in progress -- that is, you and me, our life of breathing, eating, sleeping and training -- they, too, are as necessary, intrinsic and enjoyable as the distinct and glorious ups? They, the ups and downs, are inseparable, therefore they are one. And not to enjoy and appreciate the down times, the less-than-inspiring lengths of our life, is to resist them and cause friction and stress, and obstruct our muscle repair and growth.

Keep in mind, muscle-builders, as our muscles struggle to grow, so do our spirits, hopes and dreams. The yoyo continues its up and down action, a testing playfulness, exhibiting tricks by the skilled, lightening speed by the practiced and around-the-world-loopty-loops by the risky and lucky.

It’s clear that I have something to say, but have not yet decided what it is, or how to say it. Listen. Building muscle takes time, hard work and consistency through the good and the not so good. You can never give up or give in. You grow according to your input and genetics and knowledge and understanding. Where you are denied in one area, you make up for it in another, and you reach the potential with which you are graced. Be grateful, I‘m reminded to say. Good health and function and courage are priceless and the least we can expect. We know folks who don’t have that, cannot and never will.

I talk with people who have trained in the past and want more than anything to restore the habit and reclaim the good-time feelings. How to start is obvious: Join a gym and hop right in. Straighten out the diet and take the latest new-age ingredients promising advanced muscle growth. It’ll take time, cost a few bucks and probably be painful at first. So what? Nothing can hurt more than being out of shape. Jump in there with all fours and make up for lost time. Lose the gut, ya mutt. Class reunion is a month away.

Enthusiasm is like a fuse. Something lights it -- inspiration, a dare, a threat -- and it sparkles, hisses and races all the way to the dynamite, and goes out when the charge fails to explode. The workout program, the training scheme, is like the dynamite. It’s gotta be just enough to do the job, packed right, have plenty of energy and force, but not so much that it does damage rather than acts constructively. No bang is dull and disappointing; a big bang can knock one’s socks off, send a gym bag to the moon and convince an out-of-shape person none of this was a very good idea. Can you believe it? The best thought he or she has had since deciding not to do drugs, smoke, drink or become a serial killer, and there are doubts. Nope, sorry, no way. This won’t do, Chief.

We need a simple concoction of exercises to suit the job we want done. One’s personality, lifestyle and daily routine are to be considered, but number one, numero uno, is get the job done.

Now here’s a routine that works for everyone. I say that because this is exactly what I did that day when the weights were suspiciously fastened to the floor and I had my little heart-to-heart with Senor Sombrero, the sweaty ole’ dude who was retired for telling the owners to fix the gym because it was broken and jinxed and they were in deep trouble.

This is what I did and the way I did it -- it was this way or the highway. I gobbled down the delicious and non-filling handful of exercises like they were Red Hots and went home feeling like a kid on summer vacation: happy, terrific, fantastic and swell.

Three-day-a-week blast with Day 1 and Day 3 the upper-body bursts and Day 2 reserved for lower-body bombing:

Days 1 & 3:

~ 10 minutes of High Intensity Interval Training on a stationary bike for mental and physical warm-up and cardio conditioning, followed by:

~ 10 minutes of crunches, leg raises and hyperextensions for torso and mid-section health. Suggestion: 2 sets of crunches and leg raises x max reps plus 2 sets of hyperextensions x 12+ reps)

~ Perform a standard biceps curl with a bent bar for biceps. Work up to 3 sets x 10 to 12 reps; be loose and allow your upper body to move with a mild thrusting rhythm, thereby including more torso muscle to come into healthy play. Feel, focus, forge and favor fluid athletic motion.

Eventually superset these two exercises. That is, perform back to back.

~ For triceps, pulley pushdowns with a slightly bent handle. Work up to 3 sets x 12-15 reps, with body rhythm as opposed to muscle isolation and rigidness.

~ Dips on a triceps machine or dipping machine. Lean forward into the dipping bars of moderate width. This will add strength and muscle to the triceps, shoulders and chest region and help balance and healthfully unite the skeletal and muscular structure. (3 x 12 reps)

~ Dumbbell presses on a flat bench to begin and in time, with a 30-to-45-degree incline for advanced development. Chest and shoulder areas benefit primarily. Triceps are involved as well. (3 x 10-12 reps)

Eventually superset these two exercises.

~ Stiff-arm pullover with one dumbbell in both hands. Lay the length of the bench, feet up on one end and head supported at the opposite end, start with the dumbbell overhead and slowly lower it with near-straightened arms to a position inline with the body, parallel to the floor. Return and feel the resistance in the lats, the minor pec and tris and bis. (3 x 10-12 reps) This is a wonderful, feel-good, posture-positive torso movement and lat-deepening exercise.

Alternate these exercises workout to workout, pulldowns Day 1, rows Day 3.

~ Wide-grip pulldown before the chin for lats, the wide V-shape admired by girls and boys, cats, dogs and marsupials ... (3 x 10-12 reps)

~ Seated lat rows (low row)... (3 x 8-10 reps)

End of upper body workout, then...

Day 2, lower body:

~ Same cycling and mid-section routines

~ Leg extensions (2 x 10-12 reps)

~ Leg curls (2 x 12-12 reps)

~ Leg presses (3-4 sets x 15 reps)

~ Calf exercise (3-4 sets x 15-20 reps)

~ Light-weight deadlifts (3 x 12-15 reps) with attention to perfecting form, full range of motion and focus on exact muscle activity.

Too simple? Not enough? The effect is in the involvement and effort applied; the uninterrupted concentration and continuous movement from start to finish, the individual exercise focus and the attitude of achievement. Smile and be happy and no daydreaming, no loitering and no submitting.

The basics speak the truth, simplicity rules and enough is plenty. You can stick to this for a long time, upgrading the weight used and intensity applied regularly and making minor exercise revisions after four-to-six weeks of overall body development and muscle-mind understanding. Don’t push so hard that you push yourself over the edge; don’t expect so much that you live in a cloud of disappointment, and don’t ever, ever stop, not for a heartbeat.

It’s the journey, the road along the way; it’s the flight, the wind beneath your wings; it’s the sets and reps, the pump and the burn. Dream on, but not while you're pushing the iron and lifting the steel. What’s around the corner, over the next rise and beyond the wild blue horizon are the joys and pursuits of tomorrow.

I hear the roar of aircraft streaking the skies overhead. That’s us, bombers, doing what we do best -- training hard, being strong.

God’s speed, people... Dave

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