Seasonal Workout Change-up

Temperatures Have Dropped

Dave Draper, 1992

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The fruit on the plum tree is gone, having served the appetites of the local deer, blue jays and black-furred squirrels -- wholesome desserts at McDraper’s. Laree and I managed to pick a sack full for ourselves, slightly sour, but homegrown. The towering redwoods are picking up seasonal winds, scattering dry foliage to the forest floor and casting lengthening shadows across the front deck. Temperatures have dropped. In three weeks or so our bags will be packed with fall gear and Bomber Blend as we make final preparations for our trip to NYC. Word’s out, big doings at Times Square on September 25th that we don’t want to miss.

So much for the summer, which I long for all winter. It’s the lengthy days I love most of all, and the optimism… of course, the warm weather... oh, yes, no rain… summers are loose and easy, man… less clothing, more exposure and the deep tan... top down on my sports car, cruising the coast with friends in my speedboat and racing along the sandy shores atop my Thoroughbred as the sun sets.

Summer is very cool, very cool, indeed. Summer’s gone. I don’t have a sports car or a speedboat and I don’t tan and you’d have to duct tape me to a horse unless it was made of wood and resting on rockers. I don’t have any friends. I have a cat. I feel depressed.

Just kidding. I can ride a horse.

Depression rots everything it touches, body, mind and soul. It’s a disease that’s becoming prominent in today’s societies, along with obesity, heart illness, diabetes and cancer. An effective medication and a sure cure of the debilitating blight is a blend of exercise and smart eating. One shot mitigates the pain, and ongoing doses restore well being entirely, while building resistance to further attacks as well.

Isn’t it curious? The slick combination of exercise and right eating regulates moods and is also prescribed as the first step toward recovery from obesity, diabetes and heart disease. It is universally agreed by doctors, researchers and clinicians that regular applications of the free, organic and readily available treatment serves as a cure-all and prevention for today’s major killers.

I am absolutely stunned every time I’m reminded that this commonly understood and accepted precept is ignored by the hurting majority. Relax, dear friends, I shall not go on to punish us (them, really, not us, but I’m doing my best to be nice) for being stupid as well as sick. Enough negatives. I’m smiling, see my teeth?

I walked into the gym only hours ago feeling quite normal. I stood before the array of barbells and equipment and hovering fitness hounds. It was high noon, sunny and warm -- and I perceived a calm before a storm. The gym hummed, but didn’t clang. The people moved, but didn’t exert. There was contentment, but no passion. I was in neutral, not in gear. Everything was fine, but not exciting. This was good, but not great.

I think I’ll cruise above the scattered low clouds at three-quarter throttle and enjoy the flying. Tomorrow’s another day.

Today, as the summer fades and the cool, cool, cool of the fall draws near, I have the urge for a cycle of short and lightweight training sessions. It’s been a busy summer and I could use a short break to adjust to the seasonal changes and assess myself briefly. Perhaps a similar strategy appeals to you, or, in fact, you might need to ease back into the gym after a holiday hiatus (whatever the heck that is).

And at this point I’m reminded of those who haven’t been in the gym since high school and haven’t a clue where their sneakers are, never mind the bench press and the squat rack. They, too, may want to listen closely.

Training success is all about timing, motivation, evaluation and finessing the variables -- one’s complicated self and life -- to get things going and keep them going. Not exactly a walk in the park, this exercise stuff, though in many ways as delightful and more rewarding. Just requires the application of commitment, discipline, understanding and guts, but where does one find these missing pieces and lost parts? The closet, the attic, the garage, the junkyard?

Clue: you’ve gotta have heart.

Ready or not, my scheme for brief workouts offering relief, readjustment and recompense goes something like this:

Now is the right time for the installation of the 12-minute aerobic routine, preferably of the HIIT (high intensity interval training) variety, which is best accomplished on the stationary bike; you get to sit and it’s low impact, familiar, safe and works. Zoom, zoom, zoom. Revolutions and revelations. Treadmill works for short runs.

Of course, some combination of crunches, leg raises, rope tucks and hyperextensions for five steady minutes is very productive -- supports the aerobic input, the mind and the torso.

As this pause in training intensity is brief (one or two weeks, whatever it takes to accomplish the purpose of renewal) we are permitted to work out loosely and, I dare say, randomly. In other words, whatever we choose, whatever strikes our fancy, daily and back to back: no order, no pressure and no stress. One rule: There will to be pushing and pulling each training session. No leash, I’m afraid, allows us to wander too far, out the back door like an alley cat -- wonder what’s on the other side of that fence… mischief, a perch for dozing, food?

Of course, the same focus is practiced, recruitment of muscle studied, pace observed and perfection of form accomplished. A nice burn and pump is sought, minus the unyielding intensity and dreary multiple sets. Fresh air and sunshine for the weary and long suffering.

Combined, push and pull movements do the job we need done; pushing engages the triceps, shoulders and some pec, while pulling works the bis and back. Our purpose is to stimulate the muscles and the mind: active relaxation to release creativity, renew appreciation, stir inspiration, excite perception and remind us of the fun of lifting metal. Take the heavy out of the iron for a week and we replace it with the light of the solid steel. Next time we bump into heavy, it’ll be like an old lost friend.

Pushing and pulling comes in all forms and is ideal for the superset technique. You can make your own match, as any two exercises fit under our loose parameters. What you don’t hit today, you’ll hit tomorrow or the next day. Look at you, you’re grinning and floating on air.

My favorites:

Chins and dips
Wide-grip bench and wide-grip chin or pulldown
Press behind neck (PBN) and pulldown behind neck
PBN and seated lat row
PBN and side-arm lateral raise
Close-grip bench and standing barbell curl
Curl and dip
Barbell curl and lying or seated overhead triceps extension
Leg press and leg curl
Squat and straight-arm pullover
Leg extension, leg curl and calf raise
Front press and side-arm lateral
Bent-over row and pullover
Cable crossover and rear delt lateral
Cable crossover and close under-grip pulldown
Cable crossover and seated lat row
Seated lat row and dip
Fly and bent-over lateral raise
Dumbbell press and pullover
Seated dumbbell alternate curl and two-hand overhead dumbbell triceps extension
Wrist curl, thumbs-up curl and pulley pushdown
Reverse bent-bar curl and pulley pushdown

And the list goes on, some tougher than others, some more balanced, all effective at the moment of performance according to the performer. Pick one or two for three to five sets of any number of reps you dern well desire. You’re in charge; you’re the chief, the captain, the champion.

Too often we lose our perception when our training slips from entrenched to entombed. One day we’re training hard and with purpose and another day we wake up and the workouts are in a dark hole -- worse yet, they’ve been there for who knows how long. You’re get buried when you’re not lookin’ -- when you’re just doin’.

I’m not crazy about layoffs. A day here and there, a long weekend, somebody’s wedding or funeral (may they rest in peace) is okay, but a layoff is mind bending. Good for the joints, no doubt, but tough on the rather frail tinhead. They say layoffs lead to gaps. Gasp!

Bombers have nothing to fear. We have wings and a throttle and limitless space filled with air. We know what to do. Fly.

Thank God for today… Dave Draper

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