Steel Notes Magazine May 2014 | Page 20

The Notebook

We ’ re all a bit egotistical . We like to look back with pride at some ( but Lord knows , not all ) of the things we have done over the past few decades . We like to pull out old newspaper clippings in which we were prominently mentioned or tell ( and re-tell ) that shop-worn story of our famous victory . These stories help us keep that I-still-got-it spirit alive , which leads me to my next point : your notebook . Another vital aspect of your workouts is to keep a diary of your exercises : your sets , reps , and weights . You need to do this a couple of reasons . First , it ’ s easer

to see where you ’ re going if you know where you ’ ve been . Consider it history in the making . If you ’ ve ever caught yourself reviewing your Social Security statement and marveling about how you got by on so little income when you were young , you ’ ll know what I mean . When you look back at your notebook after a couple months , you ’ ll find yourself saying things like “ gee , two months ago , I could only do that ?” Then you ’ ll be looking forward to the next two months ! Second , you won ’ t remember . Trust me .

Barbell Buzz by Tim Caso

Before we get too far into exercises , workouts and goals , we need to go over some important preliminaries . Like showering in the morning , incorporating these guidelines into your workout routine will help point you in the right direction .

than you are too !) Yes , dear reader , even I , your humble host , have occasionally fallen prey to that “ great ” chest / shoulder / ab / back workout I saw on YouTube ! Hey , I ’ d like to cheat Father

Time too but somehow that never quite works out the way I had planned . Case in point : I once fell in love with a so-called beach-bodyworthy shoulder routine , which consisted of four exercises in a row , without rest . I admit that I was a bit envious of the shoulders on the guy in the video and pictured myself squeezing sideways through the doorway after doing this workout for a while . “ Yes ,” I thought , “ that could be me !” The first time I tried this workout , I was hooked ! My shoulders got a great pump , and I could barely get my shirt off to show my wife ! Wow ! I was hot stuff — even the doorways started to look a bit narrower ! Do you know how long that lasted ? Exactly two workouts . Yes , two — before my shoulder joints started biting back and my elbow began crying . Oh yes , I tried to tough it out : “ C ’ mon , Tim ,”

I said . “ You have forty years of experience , and you ’ ve been through much worse — like the time 405 pounds fell on your back !” ( Another story for another time .) But it was all to no avail . My body was unconvinced and , once again , it proved to be much smarter than I am ! Needless to say , I bathed myself in ice for a few days , put my tail between

Fads

A few words about fads and about that “ great workout you saw on the internet !” Okay , I confess : my body is smarter than I am . ( Don ’ t kid yourself : yours is smarter

20 | Steel Notes Magazine www . steelnotesmagazine . com | May 2014