A Personal Journey into Might

A Personal Journey into Might

 By Dan Flinta 

Prologue:  If the journey of a lifetime begins with a single step, then the journey of a bodybuilder begins with a single rep! 

How it began:  My weight lifting mentality started after I passed a milestone in my career.  I was mentally focused on studying for a grueling 2 day exam, which involved knowing how to use about 50 math formulas, which were not provided to the exam takers.  I spent 6 months solely focusing on this and did absolutely no weight training.  The only good thing about this was that my mind was so focused on studying that I lost weight – you know those who get so involved in learning that they forget to eat, forget they are hungry.  That was me.

New Year’s Resolution:

On January 1, 1996 I made a New Year’s Resolution to get into shape.  By the light of a candle, I started a journal of my workouts from a home gym.  It was an ambiance thing. 

It worked!  Now, nine years later I have maintained a workout and stretching routine.  Not the same routine through the years.  Over the years it has been modified from the home gym to the fitness center, to gym’s at hotels, to biking, to a killer Navy Seal’s video workout tape, and back to the fitness center, but I always did some stretches in the home.  The journal entries have gone by the wayside, but I still have the journal, and I compare my results now to what I was back then.  That is very important to me. 

My suggestion for new beginners:

 Start out at home.  You don’t want to be seen as a weenie arm, know-nothing asking how others how to do a lift properly.  You also want to read a book or two to learn proper lifting techniques.  See what works for you, and what does not.  Know what you can lift.  To find this out, start off with VERY low weights, but have PERFECT technique.  Add weight until you feel that you can do this without injury.  Doing this in the privacy of your own home will develop your mind – focus you to keep with the program, see improvements, and see yourself as a someone who knows what he/she wants and has the drive to get there.  You will also look impressive when you finally do walk into a fitness center for the first time.  You will look like you belong.

Keep a journal.  In my journal I had:  the date, my total weight, my number of reps, my number of sets, the type of exercises that I was doing, and I added little sayings like “You gotta be bad before you can be good” or “Beaten paths are for beaten men” or  simple one-liners like “Had a great workout” or “Bad workout – tired today” or “Need to bump up 10 pounds next time”.  These things let me see how I was doing.  I learned a type of short-hand to keep track of the number of sets and reps I did.  It goes like this:

For workouts that require no additional weight added to the exercise:

For workouts that involved weights in the exercise:

With this shorthand, I could tell what amounts of weights I did, how fatigued one particular muscle group was, what order I did reps, sets, and type of exercise.  This information is invaluable when you are learning.   This gives you ideas about pyramid sets, ramping up, ramping down, stagnant weights, etc.  You can find what works best for you.  This gives you a sense of what your workout consists of, and can ensure that you get an all-around great workout. 

This also helps to document what changes you need to make to your routine.  All routines should not be 100% stagnant.  In other words, your routine should not be routine.  If you get to a point where you cannot add anymore weight, then add reps or add sets.  This keeps you from becoming bored with your workout.

The journal will help if you have pain.  (‘Pain is Gain’ in some folk’s eyes, but joint pain and nerve pain are not helpful, and may cause you severe long-term problems).  At some point in my nine years of exercise I have had  back, elbow, wrist, & knee pain.  In some cases, such as with my back, there was a specific exercise that I was doing that caused the muscles to tighten and pull my vertebrae in my lower back.  I recognized this by my journal, but was not willing to give up the particular exercise, chin-ups.  Chin ups and dips are my favorite exercises, because of the results these two can produce.  I identified the problem, but was not willing to eliminate the source.  My doctor suggested stretches that did not work for me.  I did find one stretch by watching television, of all things – one workout program showed a stretch that I have now incorporated into my daily routine.  It has eliminated the pain (keeps that muscle group loose), and I can still do my favorite exercises with confidence.  Workouts are mental as much as physical.

Proper Stretching:

Static Stretching:  This is where you stretch leg, back, arm, and truck muscles without bouncing.  I do a set of stretching every night before bed and every morning after I wake up.  These stretches are okay to do anytime.  Just go as far as you can and try a little further each day.  The results are that you will be able to relax your muscles, which takes almost as much energy as it does to flex your muscles, and allow blood to flow into and out of your muscles - nutrients in and wastes out.  It also will let you know what muscles were affected the most during your last exercise – a way to self-monitor.  You will feel an AWE that will keep you stretching.  If you do not feel this AWE inspired, continue stretching until you do.  Stretch and repeat.  It is worth it!

In-Motion Stretching:  Moving, or kinetic stretches, are more tricky in that you have to be warmed up so you avoid injury, and you really need to see someone doing this stretch in order to learn it properly.  I have incorporated a few moving stretches from my Navy Seal’s workout tape.  Such things as “Up, Back, & Over’s”, “Press, Press, Pulling”, and “Hi Jack, Hi Jill’s”.  Sound pretty funny, huh?  But they work great.

My New Revelation

My latest workout routine is based upon necessity, and continuing to learn.  I have recently been frustrated that I cannot get to the gym as often as when I was single.  I have so many responsibilities with a young family (son age 3 year old and daughter age 1 year old).  I barely have time to get to the gym once a week for a 1-hour workout.  I feel guilty and selfish if I get to the gym twice a week. 

But, I have found a method called Max Contraction.  It is a newer technique and goes against some of the standard workout dogma, but has worked wonders for me in my situation.  MC is a formula that has you attempt your upper limits by holding the weight for 1 to 10 seconds in the fully contracted state.  That’s basically it.  I have a modified version of this.  I do a set of what I can easily do a set of eight to warm up.  Then I do a MC.  The results are that I am larger now with one 1 hour workout per week than I was when I spent over 2 hours in the gym 3 days a week.  How can this be? 

My challenge to you is to study, read, and be observant.   Pay attention to what others are doing in the gym, keep what works for the big guys and drop what the little guy is doing.  I will never give advice to someone else in the gym and rarely, okay NEVER, have been given good advice from someone telling me what to do.  I watch and learn.  Keep what works. Drop what does not.

Eating:

I have to admit my eating is the worst part of my workout routine.   I love food and do not want to give up anything.  In order not to get fat, this requires me to 1) limit the amount that I eat, 2) eat larger meals during the morning and smaller meals prior to bedtime, 3) snack throughout the day to keep my metabolism up, 4) drink lots of fluids (water), and 5) increase aerobic activities to also increase my resting metabolic rate.  As I see it, the only way that I would be able to compete, or to have abs anything like Mr. Kerry Dulin, would be to be on a strict diet.  Not possible in my situation now.  However, if this becomes a goal, I know that I have the capability to focus and compete.

Conclusion:

I challenge you to get into shape, no matter what equipment you do or don’t have, no matter what shape you are or aren’t in.  I challenge you to always learn and to make a New Year’s Resolution that sticks for more than 2 months.  I have 9 years on my resolution!  You Can Too!

Dan Flinta