by Dave Draper

What can I say to lure you, beckon and coax you, inspire you -- ensure you will apply yourself to the art and responsibility of bodybuilding training through the frantic weeks ahead? "What if you don?t?" is a good line -- works on anyone with the merest of imaginations. "You?ll be sorry" is about as adult as the talking Mommy Barbie doll. You wanna grab the squealing source by the neck and give it a quick twist.

See what happens when you miss a few workouts? Keep your hands in your pockets until you can wrap them around a pair of 45-pound dumbbells and start counting reps.

Remember this: A training gap appears like a loose thread at the end of a garment.

The thread is barely visible at first and if left unattended, unmended, it inevitably gets hooked on this and snagged on that. In a short time the tattered thread extends its work to the entire garment and your pants fall off while your fiancee introduces you to her mom and dad at the family Christmas party. "Oh, my, what skinny legs you have, dear lad. Have you ever considered weight training?"

You can spend next January trying to catch up to last November.

Oh, I just got a shot of indescribable pain through my entire body... like the moment you hit a pile of rocks after freefalling 90 feet, or stick your wet nose in an electric outlet or drop a 65-pound dumbbell onto you bare toes from an overhead triceps extension... training next year to make up for this year...

horrors.

Tell me the truth. Did you look down to see if your pants were still on? I did. What a relief. Look: You?re safe for now. It?s only the middle of the month. The destruction has not yet occurred. Take a deep breath and thank the starry hosts and sunny heavens above. Hitting regular training sessions from now on will be a thrill. And about eating right -- tuna and water sound like dessert.

This is what I?m going to do between now and, say, January 5th:

• I?m maintaining my bodyweight plus or minus three pounds by eating as I always do, but with a 10- or 11-percent margin for error -- Holiday Leeway.
  
  
• I shall allow the three-hours-between-meals rule to slacken according to good instincts or common sense and joy of the season.
  
  
• I shall occasionally eat something that is neither protein nor a living vegetable or fruit -- something almost sugary.
  
  
• I shall train to 80-percent output and be content. It?s hard writing this stuff down. I?m sweating and twitching.
  
  
• I shall allow myself to miss one out of four... no... one out of five workouts without sending myself to my room without TV. I shall lighten up, loosen up... I shall be set free.
  
  
• I shall, accompanied by the brave and the bold, fly higher and farther and faster from here to next year... There?s no stopping us now.

About Dave Draper
Dave Draper is a bodybuilding author and fitness expert with over four decades of practical experience. He holds the prestigious bodybuilding titles of Mr. America, Mr. World and Mr. Universe, in addition to being part of the Bodybuilding Hall of Fame. Dave writes a weekly e-mail newsletter which can be found at www.davedraper.com and is also a frequent contributor to Muscle and Fitness, as well as many other publications in the fitness industry. Dave has also authored a book on bodybuilding called Brother Iron, Sister Steel, and a book on weight loss called Your Body Revival: Weight Loss Straight Talk.