April Newsletter
"Oh my God, it's Dave Draper!"
Exclamed my wife. "Why thank
you,"
quipped Dave, and that is how
we met Mr.
America, Mr. World, Mr. Universe,
and all
around nice guy, Dave Draper
and his lovely
wife Laree at the Arnold Fitness
Expo on
March 7th! I was slightly in
awe...OK I was
in awe plain and simple! This
was Dave Draper
for crying out loud! Of course
I had to get
a photo, and they will be up
as soon as possible.
We shook hands hello and his
hand engulfed
mine. We shared a few words and
then I gracefully
took my leave. I figured that
he must get
this all day long and it must
grow tiresome,
but you would never know it.
He made us feel
like we were the first people
to come up
to him and say hello. A true
gentleman! Laree
gladly took on camera duty and
made us feel
very welcome. We came away feeling
very happy
to have finally met him! Now
to get him to
come to our show and expo!
I have to admit that I have been
having feelings
of doubt recently concerning
all of this.
I guess you could say that I
let the devil
put some negative spin on what
we are trying
to accomplish. I mean, who am
I? I have no
credentials to lead Christian
bodybuilders
anywhere. I don't own any titles
or trophies.
Heck I haven't even been saved
that long!
My wonderful wife summed it all
up with one
little sentence: "It's not
about you."
WHAM! That was the sound of the
devil getting
put back in his place! It isn't
about me,
it's about God and His Word and
where He
wants it spread , how and by
whom. Moses
was a murder, yet God used Him
to save his
people. Gideon was a coward,
yet God made
him to be a hero! Who am I to
question what
God desiresUntil next time all!
Go with God
and Lift that iron!
Do you ever wake up and you feel
like all
the work you put into training
just doesn't
show? You're flat and smooth
looking? All
those veins in your arms just
up and disappeared?
Look to some basic things like
are you getting
enough sleep? How is your fluid
intake? Are
you getting enough water? How's
the diet
going? Are you overtraining?
We all have
off or down days where it seems
like nothing
looks and feels right. Don't
panic, step
back and evaluate! It could be
something
so simple that it is jumping
up and down
in front of you waving its arms
to be noticed.
Be objective when evaluating
yourself, don't
be over-critical. We are, after
all, our
own worst critics. If you cannot
be objective
about yourself, ask someone you
trust to
give you the honest and straight
answers.
talk and listen to your body
when you train.
I do. It's almost like I run
a NASA systems
check. "Arms today fellas,
you ready?
Elbows feeling OK? Check. How
are the ligaments
and tendons doing? Roger &
OK!"
OK, maybe not that bad, but it
does make
the exagerated point of keeping
in tune with
your body as you work it. Keep
mental notes
on any little twinge of pain
you may feel.
Was it a burn like a lactic acid
build up
as you plow through your set?
Or did it feel
like someone shot a syringe full
of ammonia
deep into the muscle? Get that
one checked
out! Bodybuilding is more than
moving iron
from point A to point B, it is
a life style
that we live day in and day out
and lifting
the weights is only a part of
it. Keeping
in tune with how we feel is important.
We
cannot lift if we are hurt and
I don't know
about you, but I can't lift,
I get grumpy!
Just ask my wife!
Now I know that I am not the
only one to
suffer from this non-fatal, but
all the same,
mentally damaging disease...bigorexia.
Not
to the point that I would ever
do drugs to
enhance my physique, but I do
get discouraged
at times thinking I never make
gains and
when will all this hard work
pay off? I still
see that 169 lb. kid in the mirror.
Laugh
if you will, but at 6'5",
I looked more
like a flamingo than a flamingo
did! I love
bodybuilding, and growing is
a part of it,
without a doubt. A desired part,
but there
is also that joy that comes from
lifting
that is difficult to explain
unless you share
the passion. Banging out that
last rep when
you think you don't have it in
you is an
awesome feeling! Dragging yourself
out of
the gym after an all out session
can't be
beat! Where's my two cans of
tuna, rice and
some milk? I need to nap and
release some
growth hormone!
A couple of years ago, I was
on the path
to entering my first contest.
I was training
like a fanatic, eating and growing.
Suddenly,
I lost my passion for it and
walked away.
I couldn't explain what had happened.
I did,
after all, love bodybuilding.
I just didn't
have the desire any more. Then,
I was saved.
The passion for lifting returned
shortly
after, but with more of a fever
to it. Suddenly
my weight lifting had more meaning
to it
than just pushing iron. God was
in my life
now. Lifting took on importance,
but in a
different way. I didn't know
it then, but
I do now. Through bodybuilding,
we can spread
God's word to others. I don't
lift just for
myself anymore! I lift for the
Lord! Like
the MCBB bumper sticker says:
All Natural,
All For God! It doesn't get any
simpler than
that!
While driving to South Bend,
indiana, I was
listening to a Christian radio
talk show.
The woman was talking about todays
mode of
dress, how girls and women are
perceived
by their dress and the effects
on boys and
men. She spoke of inviting some
christian
girls, teens, to have a tea party
of sorts.
She served the girls on expensive
china and
made every attempt to make them
feel special.
At the end she asked the girls
how they felt
about the get together and they
naturally
replied that it made them feel
special. She
asked how they would have felt
if she just
served them in styrofoam cups
and paper plates.
They naturally responded it wouldn't
have
been as nice, they would not
have felt as
special. At this point the woman
began to
explain that dressing inappropriately
was
the same thing! if the clothing
a girl or
woman wears exposes the body
then she is
perceived as advertising something
and is
treated accordingly. She also
said Christian
girls and women are responsible
to her brothers
in Christ not to dress so as
to invite temptation
and lust! Dressing appropriately
requires
that she is seen as an individual,
not an
object. It make me think of our
organization
and what we are trying to accomplish.
We
want to bring it back to the
beauty of symmetry
and the physique and not about
selling sex.
We went to an expo and we were
basically
inundated with sex. It's not
about the bikini
clad bimbo handing out leaflets
or the biker
chick in thighter than tight
spandex. It's
about the fitness woman talking
with us about
fitness and the benefits, not
about "see
how big my implants are?"
This goes
for the guys too. Do we really
need to see
you strut around with your shirt
open to
the navel, or wearing pants so
tight that
we know what religion you are?
No bimbos
or himbos please. Bring back
the the golden
years! Bring back the days of
appreciating
the physique for it's aesthetics!
Bring back
the era of Steve Reeves when
bodybuilding
was in its infancy and done for
the sheer
joy of it. Before the influx
of drugs and
better bodybuilding through chemistry.
Train
hard, eat right, get plenty of
sleep and
say your prayers!
Well, we have already moved the
date up for
the first annual MCBB Warrior
Classic/health
& Fitness Expo. It was originally
scheduled
for 2006, but what the heck,
we bumped it
up a year to June of 2005, no
date set as
of yet. We have decided to go
with local
Chritian bands and we have sent
out requests
for demo tapes so that we can
begin the selection
process. If you have a band or
know of one
and would like to be considered,
email us
for details.
And now I'll end with a prayer.
Dear Lord,
we come to You and we ask You
to help us
find our identity in You. Help
us to know
that we are beautifully and wonderfully
made
and that You ordained our form
before the
foundations of the earth. Help
us to be good
representatives for You. In Jesus
name we
pray, Amen!
Until next time all! Go with
God and Lift
that iron!
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