HEADLINES: Arnold Schwarzennegger

This is probably what Arnold did not have in mind for retirement.

If your objective is to use steroids and put on a hundred pounds of muscle ... remember when you get old, this may happen to you. It was a pic taken of The Terminator in March, 2005 by the Daily Mail in the UK.

You can see that Arnold's once famous, ultra lean, ultra definied body has deteriorated considerably with time, age, a few heart operations and years and years of packin' on the muscle. I always wondered why Arnold (pictured here at 68) and Jack LaLane (who is nearing 100, or any of Arnold's 70+ Pumping Iron cohorts, like Ed Corney) look much the worse for wear than the century old LaLane? Arnold is a billionaire and could certainly find time to work out; or has he simply given up? Was it the multiple heart operations? What was it?

The key is not bodybuilding for size - but bodybuilding for definition and cuts. MASS is something you have to live with for the rest of your life; MASS could be defined as a CEO (you) as the owner of a crapload of different companies, spread out all over the place (your body) that you have to watch, hire, fire and pay for (exercise, rest and feed) for life. The more MASS, the more work. Arnold is (or was) a good example of MASS ... that went south. This is just a hypothosis, but I beleive that with Arnold's sheer size, it became too much. He could no longer work out two hours a day to maintain the size and mass and it simply shacked up and went south.

The key to not looking like Arnold (as he looks now) is to:

• find a routine for life that will keep you slim and trim;
• a heart healthy nutritional diet (meat, veggies, plenty of H2O);
• work out to maintain a slim, lean, cut and defined physique that will be easy to care for as you enter your golden years.

Definition worn on a body that is cut, slim, and picturesque - male - or female (the way we were meant to look) is a body you can take into retirement. Yes, the women love MASS -- huge, blood-engorged, outrageous muscle ... but you must either maintain it, loose it or have it go south. Your choice. MASS is something that will haunt you for the rest of your life if you intend to powerlift or compete in bodybuilding. Take note all you Mesopmorphs!

I suggest you spend time considering not putting on weight but slimming down to a normal size and find a homeopathic way of maintaining it that does not involve someone sticking a gloved hand inside your rib cage. Live for retirement. Build up equity in your body by keeping it slim and trim; eat right at least six out of seven days a week; drink plenty of water. Sweat equity in your body, not just your house. The real key to life is how you will enjoy your golden years. You will either end up like most geriatric Americans - clogging the doctor's offices, getting stints, purchasing a hover-round or taking meds to stop the heart disease. Or live it up like Jack LaLane. Hell, with the health care costs now -- if you are really screwed (overweight, sick, diabetic) you'll probably end up in a care center (much like England) where your put on med's and eventually a morphine drip...

Spend time training for your retirement by slimming down.

Like home decorating, less is more.

In bodybuilding, less is better and easier to maintain.

ITEM: Workout to maintain a slim, defined, cut, easily-maintainable body. As you enter your golden years, your body will thank you for it.