Eleven Days Till Christmas and All's Well... So Far

by Dave Draper

December Madness
December, as we noted last year and the year before that, spins us in circles leaving us dizzy and out of shape. It comes on like one of those wild Gulf hurricanes with a pretty name, Jasmine or Collette. You hear the rumble and see the distant wind approaching as objects fly from a dark ominous sky. You hasten to prepare but it’s too late; you’re swirling amid debris and out of control.

Somehow, against promises, commitments and carefully laid plans, you are, once again, lost and confused among bright lights, lost causes and an ever-growing frazzled mob. You are on a treadmill that bears no resemblance to the one at the gym, that dreadful contraption you mock yet would die for at this delirious moment. Ah, the privacy and wisdom of a humming treadmill.

One more gift, another party, a little more holiday refreshment and, hopefully, one last trip to the ATM. No time to eat; I’ll have a cookie, one shaped like Santa, and an eggnog. The mall’s parking lot is full tonight, but it won’t be tomorrow at the crack of dawn. Clever plan... Good morning, World, I’m here to shop.

More like, stop the world, I wanna get off.

Life’s a rascal. We’ve gotta corner the restless creature and make him sit for a spell. But, then, he who sits grows mold in the most peculiar places. Where are you at this precarious juncture in time, space and reckoning? Whatever you do, don’t submit to the year-end chaos. Keep your head (White Rabbit -- Jefferson Airplane, 1974). Don’t compromise your values (discipline and order) or your valuables (muscle and might). December comes and goes like lightening; don’t flash across the sky with your backside on fire.

Bodybuilding Training and Nutrition Recommendations For Surviving the Holidays

You can still salvage the month, the remaining 18 days, should you have faltered thus far. Get a workout before nightfall; accept that you won’t make vast musclebuilding gains in the next 30 days; go with the flow of the season while clutching discipline and clinging to order. The world around you cannot be tamed, but you need not be subject to it. Let the busybodies buzz busily. Busy is good -- burns calories, is often a positive distraction, adds to the economy, gets the job done and stuff like that. Busy bees make lots of honey. Find contentment in your appreciation and understanding of them and your unique separation from them.

During the vital "before nightfall" workout, expect little more than a gratifying pump with an eye on training efficiency and delight.

This is not the time to set records or achieve maximum muscular exertion. You’re before the iron; isn’t that enough? Embrace the oneness of the moment. Observe your surroundings and be grateful for the 60 minutes to wallow in the good fight, engage the muscles, stimulate your mind and body and visit your soul, if only briefly. You’ve gotta visit your soul, your center, your spirit at least once a day lest it shrivel and die. And while you’re visiting, make a promise to visit again in a day or two... and to watch what you eat, for goodness sake.

Shopping, if it can’t be accomplished online, should be done with good humor, efficiency and high hopes. Courage and decisiveness and a pocket full of cash often help, though the latter is one of those mystery items hidden from me over the years.

Huh! Come to think of it, decision making is another elusive possession missing from my sparse collection of important things. I also lack courage -- courage and hopefulness. What a mess! Gee. Nevermind that. This is not about me. It’s about you. Be positive, bombers.

Make a list, be strong, go and buy. Do not eat junk available in amazing abundance and colorful variety at every turn in the merry mall and along the cheery boulevards.

Remember your promise, the Christmas Promise: Watch what you eat, which was prefaced by the other promise: Train again in a day or two. Look sharp! Straighten up!

I feel like I’m sitting at a chess board moving the pawns back and forth without a plan to advance or take control. I don’t want you to drop the ball, or the barbells, as the case may be, during this precious yet hectic month of the year. You relate and perform so much better in the world of people, places and things when you work out regularly. You know, "Ho Ho Ho, Merry Christmas everybody," not "Get outta my way before I belt ya one." And your health and fitness remain vibrant and sharp. Zoom zoom, lean machine! No gut on that Santa and his reindeer.