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True Die Hards see their training rhythm disrupted by the holidays. Gyms closed, different routines, different food. “Help, the gym is closed!” you see passing by as a Facebook status. Hastily, recipes for low-carb oliebollen are searched for, and the protein shakes are already prepared to limit the catabolic effect of champagne.
New Year’s Eve
“A bit obsessive,” many will say now. “Isn’t it normal to want to go to the gym even on Christmas?” No, indeed, it’s not. “Normal” is a six-pack hidden behind a 20% body fat. “Normal” is muscles dwindling over the years and feeling guilty every year after the holidays. “Normal” is reading articles that help you with your New Year’s resolutions (like the one I’ll post tomorrow) after months of doing nothing. “Normal” is starting to train in January and then trying to make up for all the damage in a few days, only to give up in February due to injuries from going too hard too fast.
Forget “normal.” I want to be He-Man, Master of the Universe! Or as Arnold said:
“The worst thing I can be is the same as everybody else. I hate that.”
Arnold Schwarzenegger
New Year’s Eve 1995/1996 with six-time Mr. Olympia Dorian Yates
Of course, you have a mental disorder if you get nervous when the gym is closed for two days. I understand that. I didn’t write a two-part article on muscle dysmorphia for nothing. However, to achieve certain things, a certain degree of obsessive behavior is necessary, especially in top-level sports.
Speaking of New Year’s Eve, six-time Mr. Olympia Dorian Yates (whom I spoke to earlier this year during the Bodypower Expo in his “hometown” of Birmingham) is a good example. Dorian has documented every meal and training session of his entire career. Whereas he saw other bodybuilders in a hotel simply order a meal, he couldn’t imagine eating a meal he hadn’t prepared and weighed himself. Even if the next competition took place almost 10 months later.
“It’s not New Year’s Day, it’s leg day”
Like on the evening of December 31, 1995. Dorian was already a five-time Mr. Olympia and would defend his title for the last time on September 21, 1996. His friend Peter McDough tells Muscular Development how Dorian and his wife visited him that evening [1]:
On New Year’s Eve 1995 my wife Anne and I stayed with Dorian and his wife Debbie at their home in Sutton Coldfield, England. We were to go to a club for a meal that night and all day I goaded Dorian that tonight was the occasion he and I were to sink a few pints of the old amber nectar (beer), maybe even a Scotch. At the club Dorian resisted all my, “Come on, it’s nine months from the Olympia, let your guard slip just once” appeals. We all joined hands at 12 midnight to sing Auld Lang Syne by which time he had imbibed a whopping 1/4 glass of wine. At that point he said, “Okay everybody let’s go home and have a drink.” Once home he strode into the kitchen and asked, “So what do you want to drink?” With my ears and saliva glands perking up, I replied, “What have you got?” With a poker face that would make the Sphinx appear as animated as Robin Williams, he answered: “Just tea or Ovaltine.” Ten minutes later it was off to bed as for Dorian it wasn’t the dawn of 1996, it was “Leg day, gotta be at the gym at 11.00am sharp.
Planning around holidays helps
Very nice; such a statement that January 1st is just a day to train legs. Especially if, like Dorian, you own your own gym and therefore have nothing to do with gym opening hours. However, for most readers, it will apply that they cannot train tomorrow (and possibly not tonight either) because of New Year’s Day.
This year, I was surprisingly relaxed about the holidays. No stress about closed gyms. I had learned my lesson from previous years. And that lesson was that I wouldn’t be surprised by a closed gym door. For once, take a good look at the adjusted hours well in advance.
And I mean really look in advance so you can adjust your training schedule accordingly. At least several days earlier to prevent, for example, your rest days from coinciding exactly with the days the gym is closed. After all, everyone needs rest, and few (sensible) people will train every day with the risk of overtraining. That one extra day after Boxing Day (if you normally take only one day off) shouldn’t make a world of difference either. So don’t irritate your family during the Christmas brunch by excusing yourself to do some push-ups in your room. In previous articles, I have cited studies that point to the benefits of a week’s rest during your vacation and the limited muscle breakdown that occurs in one or two weeks with good nutrition.
Conclusion
You may not care that others find you a bit crazy because you get stressed around the holidays due to your interrupted routine regarding training and nutrition. However, you can minimize that stress yourself by looking ahead to see what you’re dealing with regarding your gym and adjusting your schedule accordingly in time.
Happy New Year!
Reference
- musculardevelopment.com/news/the-mcgough-report/5695-the-waiting-game-dorian-s-contest-prep-strategy.html#.VKPH4k8CA
