Brother Iron, Sister Steel
by Dave Draper
Available
NOW!
FROM THE GRIPPER TO THE DUNGEON
Pages 14-18
Time appears to be a cool character: unchanging, forever on the
go, showing no favoritism. Yet time, upon which I never impose gender,
is healing. Time forgives. My life inches along, and, may I presume,
yours does as well. Two steps forward and one step back. The dance
of men, women and children doing the best they can.
I
can think few acts more profitable to growing up and becoming more
complete than the honest, hard work of lifting weights and eating
right.
I have two objectives as I set out to write this book: to underscore
the things you need to know and to encourage you to do them. Get
rid of the notion that you need to know more and more. The learning
is in the doing.
Muscle
and power building are not and need never become brain surgery or
astrophysics. Information beyond the ABCs and simple math only leads
to confusion, doubt, controversy and frustration. These conditions
distract from the wonderful work at hand and confound the basic
instincts and investigative courage to discover. Thus limited, one
imitates instead of seeks, copies rather than improvises, becomes
dull in place of shining. One stops growing in leaf and grows only
in knurly root.
There comes a time, sooner or later, when you must listen to yourself
and not those around you. You must become the student and teacher
at once. Look directly to yourself and your training as the masters.
If you enjoy the magazines and science and research, sip on them
as one does afternoon tea. Enjoy the aroma, swirl the flavorful
liquid about the palate, note the heady summaries but don't expect
sustenance. This comes from you, the gym and hard work over and
over again. Insight and revelation fall like sweet rain from above
on the sunniest days.
I think I can safely say that I am writing to a diverse audience.
And though I may not be penning a bestseller, my ramblings might
wind up in the hands of beginners of all ages, resolute former enthusiasts,
struggling mid-level bodybuilders and even a nip of award-collecting
pros curious about what I have to say. With that in mind, and firmly
believing the basics cannot be overstated nor simplicity replaced,
I'll begin.
I
walked into the picture about the middle of the Twentieth Century
when I wrapped a skinny, child's hand around a Hercules hand gripper.
It lay there with its bright red handles and gleaming chrome coils
amidst a heap of crushed display cartons, well-sampled wiry chest
expanders and "how to" pamphlets exhibiting sketches of a handsome
and rugged he-man with muscles bursting through his T-shirt. WOW.
Wide-eyed and transfixed. WOW.
I
was seven and in the sports department of Macy's in New York City
Christmas shopping with my mother. Mom got off easy. The hand gripper
was harmless enough, fit in my back pocket just right and was only
a couple of bucks compared to twenty for the rather cumbersome basketball
I'd been fondling earlier. Thanks, Ma, for that lovingly cruel steel
device and the cable chest expanders to follow, that pinched my
nose and tore hair from my head in clumps.
Queeze.Queeze
... Queeze.Queeze. That repetitious grating sound — music to
my ears — became like dripping water to the senses of my family,
not unlike an ancient Far Eastern torture. We all endured: I, the
burn in the forearms and the anxious need to grow, and they, their
loving patience and frazzled nerves.
By
the time I was ten I had acquired the three-spring chest expander,
the five-spring super expander and a wall-mounted bungee-pulley
contraption that hung conspicuously on the kitchen wall. Dear Mom
and Dad and older brothers barely noticed. Privately and uninterrupted,
I pressed on when they were elsewhere watching the black and white
as TV had just arrived on the American scene. Kitchen chairs back-to-back
served as a dipping apparatus and fingertips over the doorway entry-ledge
provided a tough chinning structure for a future big back. My home
gym non-compare, the only one I imagined.
Vividly
I remember one day staring down at a small, immovable pile of metal
neatly fixed to a sixteen-inch steel bar. On the barren concrete
sidewalk in front of my house in Secaucus, N.J., lay my first set
of weights, somewhat rusty and full of gravity. My very own purchase
from a neighbor up the street: for five dollars he was released
and I was hooked. My brothers each had their own thing, my mom smiled
and Dad did a shoulder shrug as he walked off. No one said "no"
or "hmph." I was encouraged. Self-inspiration was anonymously planted,
took root and grew, freely and unencumbered.
I was just a kid and virtually nobody was pushing iron. Weightlifting
and muscle building didn't have wide public appeal or approval and
ninety-nine out of a hundred athletic coaches gave it the thumbs
down. There wasn't a whole bunch of encouragement or inspiration
from a society that considered you either stupid or egotistical,
and probably a sissy. The two guys who inspired me to lift in those
days were Anthony Petrowski and Tony Napierski, local dockworkers
with powerful arms from hard work, meat and potatoes and some knarly
badboy weightlifting. Though I never saw his movies, a poster promoting
Steve Reeves in "Hercules" deeply branded me, setting me aside for
a labor of love to last, evidently, a lifetime.
What I did with this pig iron, the tens and fives and three pounders,
collars and bar, is vague and unfocused. There were no courses or
instructions or peer supervision. No mags in my library. I invented
and improvised and wrestled and played — hard. I arranged and
rearranged the makeshift set of weights and within a month I was
fully hooked, cookin,' bombing and pumping.
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NOTHING HAPPENS 'TIL IT HAPPENS
Pages 74-75
Exercise, working out, weight training, lifting. The routines, the
programs, the outlines, the schemes, the workouts. Let's do the
thing we talk about. No down-playing the important role of nutrition,
attitude, environment and life-style but the center about which
our muscle and strength building revolves is exercise, period. Nothing
happens until it happens.
Exercise is a meager word for the act of lifting weights, don't
you think? It's the iron in motion, the steel in hand and on the
back, the weight on the bar and suspended from cable, pushed, pulled
and cleverly, forcefully made to move from one place to another.
And, you know who eventually becomes the teacher, the coach, the
personal trainer to be relied upon? You, whose hands are grasping
tightly the equipment before you.
Early on, did your mom and dad tell you how to walk? I'll bet you
figured it out on your own, hot shot. Desire, eager pursuit, practice,
trial and error are built-in learning systems upon which we heavily
depend. As with infant walking, nine out of ten of us will have
a similar experience with weight training, provided basic guidance,
an outline, a demonstration and an encouraging word of confidence.
Given the truth we can take this activity, hobby, sport, diversion
— this exhilarating playfulness — a long way with our
own common sense, simple motives and driving forces.
Try
it, trust it, do it. The routines outlined in the next pages will
be accompanied with a scattering of tips and hints to give them
personality and remind you of their simplicity. They are a start,
sure-fire primers and elementary walkers to get beginners and returning
enthusiasts on their feet and back in action. The schemes become
bigger and stronger to suit your stability and needs. They become
loaded essays pitched with funk, unshaven and gritty.
You
want percentages, charted increments of resistance, the science
of progression and meticulous calculations one workout to the next?
They're available in marvelous publications in brilliant detail.
I have a list of recommended reading by highly esteemed, hard-working,
science-minded practitioners: good stuff intelligently presented
for all of us. They have assured me of the worth of my own insights
and training approach, fascinating me with the chemistry, physics
and physiology of the processes we practice here today. Fred Hatfield,
Ken Leistner, Siff and Strossen, champions of thought and performance.
Me? I mostly do this stuff, wonder and do it again.
Let's fly!
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SLUMPBUSTERS
Pages 139-143
Our
training will not always be a barrel of laughs. We expect a steady
upward curve in our progress and when that appears to stop or decline,
we become disappointed, disillusioned and discouraged. Our attitude,
which should buoy us up and lead us on, becomes weary, laden with
doubt and boredom — down we go like a lead balloon.
As these sticking points plague all of us frequently, we are wise
to press on with our prescribed workout, giving it plenty of time
to work. Those who endure these apparent voids — these plateaus
— have heart; they carry on to grow in both muscle and character.
Simply diminishing the demand on ourselves by lowering the poundage
and focusing on pace, form and feel often loosens the knot that
binds our progress. We grow in stages, improvements being made well
beneath the skin line which, much to our surprise and delight, surface
after months of steady, hard work. However, the time comes when
change is needed, if only for a day. Changes are a relief; they're
fun, revitalizing and instructive. Changes can be found in these
down and gritty slumpbusters.
Slumpbusters
are any combinations of superset exercises that stray from the norm
yet retain integrity. Integrity is found in logic and instinct —
qualities we all possess but seldom use. Slumpbusters are designed
for short-term use (a day, a week), but can be easily merged into
your training schedule regularly if it feels right. Because they're
unique, they're fresh to the mind, fresh to the body. With some
exceptions, the slumpbusting combinations listed here can be performed
using the pyramid system of reps and weight, or an eight to ten
rep range using a moderate fixed weight. Four sets of any slumpbuster
is a minimum. If you're pumping and having fun, take it to five,
six or seven. One combo, if pushed, may be all the doctor ordered;
two combos can be mixed according to your needs, desire and energy.
The thoughts above are important and should be read carefully. However,
thoughts without deeds are just thoughts. For your pleasure and
prosperity, put the following thoughts, or slumpbusters, into action.
BENT-ARM PULLOVER AND PRESS — BARBELL CURL
A powerful and tough combination that hits the whole upper body,
from longitudinal abdominal to major bis and tris, from serratus
and lat to pec and front delt. Standing barbell curls done with
thrust put a substantial demand on the erectors and upper shoulder
cage — a lot of pump, a lot of heavy breathing, a lot of circulation.
BARBELL CURL — CLOSE-GRIP BENCH PRESS — PULLDOWN
Pecs and front delts get involved with main focus on biceps and
triceps. Pulldowns offers relief from demanding curl and press and
continues voluminous blood flow. Works lats effectively.
WIDE BENCH — PULLDOWN — STIFF-ARM DB PULLOVER
A classic superset hitting chest, front delt, lat and upper back
in a big way with minor work to triceps and biceps.
WIDE-GRIP BENCH — BARBELL PULLOVER —BARBELL ROW
A heavy load, light load and heavy load series. Chest, front delt,
triceps followed by serratus, tri and lat followed by upper back,
rear delt and erectors.
SHOULDER
PRESS — PULLDOWN — TRICEPS DIP MACHINE
The Hammer shoulder press effectively and safely works the entire
shoulder, while stimulating the triceps. The pulldown works the
latisimus and if done with a focused flexing, the traps, rhomboid
and scapula can be brought into play. The triceps press works pecs,
triceps and upper back to round things out. (You can replace the
Hammer press with any shoulder press machine.)
SHOULDER PRESS — SEATED LAT ROW — DELT MACHINE
Freehand barbell press puts big demand on entire shoulder girth
and upper back while nicely tying into the triceps. Seated lat row,
my favorite feeling back movement, works the entire length of the
lats with major focus on rhomboid. Full forward starting position
activates erectors and biceps, forearm and grip are well stimulated.
The rear delt action puts the finishing touch on the upper back,
getting hard-to-reach details around the rhomboid and scapula.
E-Z
CURL OR BENT BAR CURL — TRICEPS PRESS MACHINE
There's nothing like a full arm pump to pick up your training spirits
— joined with the chest, back and shoulder action of the triceps
press machine, high pump and burn, low demand on cardio.
DUMBBELL
CLEAN AND PRESS — STIFF-ARM DB PULLOVER
The dumbbell clean and press is seldom done 'cuz it's ancient and
tough. Nevertheless, it's one of the best single bodybuilding exercises
working erectors and shoulders, traps and back for power and muscular
density. The stiff-arm pullover done with light to moderate weight
for simple, sound reps will give you a chance to re-oxygenize while
hitting the lats, serratus and some more minor bi and tri.
HAMMER CHEST PRESS — HAMMER HI LAT
Hammer chest press combined with the Hammer lat row does a lot of
good stuff to your upper regions, pec, triceps, scapula, rhomboid,
traps and a little biceps.
SQUAT
— LEG CURL — CALF MACHINE
The one and only lower body slumpbuster I use is the squat, followed
by leg curls and standing calves. These are done with high reps
and a lot of breathing, sets of fifteen on the squat, fifteen on
the curl and twenty-five to failure on the calf — pumps the
entire leg, front, back and side.
LUNGE — STIFF-LEGGED DEADLIFTS — CALF RAISES
Sisters — your attention, please. This peak training combination
attacks enemies number 1, 2 & 3 — the glutes, the upper thighs
and hips with considerable benefit to the lower back and overall
muscularity. Four sets of fifteen to twenty reps, depending on your
purpose and weight used, will provide both athletics and balance
to your training. Ease into this superset and build up reps, pace
and weight slowly, patiently and assuredly. This is the ultimate
glute blaster of all times, for all ages.
WRIST CURL — HAMMER CURL — O/H PULLEY EXTENSION
Total arm building with the accents on minor syllables — seldom-worked
forearm, grip, lower biceps and triceps. Unique series of exercises
adds interest, dimension, valuable muscle mass and power to your
bodybuilding storehouse. Barbell wrist curls are best performed
with forearms resting snugly on the thighs for four sets of fifteen.
Hammer curls are thumbs-up curls, performed alternately, and overhead
pulleys are done your style for pump and burn.
UP
AND DOWN THE RACK
This bittersweet, pumping and burning dumbbell routine can bring
tears of bliss and tears of tortured submission to your eyes - curling,
pressing, pulling - it's all the same, a total slam of eight to
ten sets in four to five minutes, virtually nonstop. Start light
for fifteen reps heading up the rack in two and a half or five pound
jumps, each consecutive set done to maximum reps with very reasonable
form (minimal cheating overlooked) until a two-rep set is reached,
then head back downhill, no coasting allowed, until your courage
or blood sugar give out. A partner is helpful to spur you on, though
the silent and brave who go the trip alone are to be admired. The
great burn and ache lasts for days and informs you that this intense
slumpbuster can only be done occasionally.
HIGH REP TARGET TRAINING
Keep this aside for a mindless day where the energy is there but
the desire and attention apparently are not. Pick an exercise, any
exercise that comes to thought, and with a light weight start repping
out toward one hundred. See how far you get and see how fast this
gets your attention. Concentrate on form and the rhythm of the reps.
This will push back the pain barrier. You'll need to take short
breaks to allow new blood to briefly flush out lactic acid. Continue
until a hundred reps are reached.
10
SETS OF 10 REPS
Nothing intricate here — just dogged set after set with ensuing
momentum. Works well with the basic bench, squat, standing barbell
curl, press-behind-neck and lat row, although any exercise you dream
up will do. Start with a light weight for a set of ten. As you proceed
with thirty-second intervals the workload gets tougher until ten
reps are a delirious challenge — forced reps and partner assists
are allowed. This method of operation can effectively break growth
plateaus by thoughtful implementation over a six-week period.
TO WRAP THIS UP
If this is not enough material covering the infinite variety of
training possibilities and exercise combinations, I have one last
offering. Skim your library of magazines and books and list the
vast selection of exercises on separate bits of colored paper. Fold
them neatly and place them in a large, wide-mouth jar. When preparing
your next intelligent and convincing workout program, grab that
overflowing jar, shake it and blindly pick out six or eight colorful
surprises. Randomly piece them together and there you have it; the
science of chaos, next month's blast, another way to apply our madness.
