The Dinosaur Birthday Report

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

I hope everyone had a great weekend --
and if you trained, I hope you hit it
hard and heavy.

That's what I did on Friday night.

It was my birthday -- I turned 54 -- and
I celebrated by shooting a new DVD called
GOING STRONG AT 54!

The video guy arrived at 4:00 sharp, and we
went out to the garage and started working.

Yes, it was work. I demonstrated 21 different
Olympic lifting exercises for garage gorillas,
and followed that with not one but TWO of my
regular workouts.

My goal in the workouts was to go heavier than
usual -- heavy enough to make a two lift total
in the snatch and clean and jerk that would
equal the qualifying weight for the Master's
World Championships in Olympic Weightlifting
in 2012 (for my age group and weight class).

Of course, this wasn't an official contest and
it wouldn't count as an official qualifying
total -- but it seemed like a good goal to
shoot for. And I always like having a goal
when I shoot a Dino DVD.

Did I make it? Well, you'll have to watch and
see. I don't want to spoil anything for the
Dinos who order the DVD.

But I will share this.

There was one point where I walked up to the
bar -- when it was loaded with a heavy weight --
and I was sore and stiff and tired as heck, and
I knew it would be a hard lift -- and for a
second I wondered if I could do it.

And then I thought about all the Dinos all
around the world -- and I felt their energy and
I heard them pulling for me -- urging me to
MAKE IT!"

And that felt pretty darn good. So to everyone
out there who was sending positive waves to
Dino HQ on Friday night -- THANK YOU!

We kept filming until almost 9:00 at night --
and by the time we were finished I was as
tired as pterodactyl bone, and as hungry as
a cave bear on short rations.

Luckily, Trudi had prepared a great big hunk
of wild coho salmon, some fresh veggies and
a big green salad -- so I was able to sit down
to some much needed high quality nutrition.

She asked if I wanted birthday candles on the
salmon. (We don't do birthday cake.)

I shook my head.

"Too hungry and too tired to blow them out," I
said.

And that's the story of the big birthday bash --
almost five hours of heavy iron, chalk and sweat,
and pushing and pulling. Lots and lots of hard
work. But we shot are darn good DVD -- so it
was well worth it.

I'm going to sit down with the video guy and edit
the DVD next week -- and then we'll get copies
made for everyone who ordered one -- so we're
on track to get them out the door on or before
September 30, as promised.

As always, thanks for reading -- and again, thanks
for your support and well-wishes. If you train
today, make it a good one.

Yours in strength,

Brooks Kubik

P.S. You can order GOING STRONG AT 54! right here:

http://brookskubik.com/goingstrong.html

P.S. 2. My new course, DINOSAUR ARM TRAINING, will
be ready to ship on or before September 30. You can
reserve your copy here:

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaur_armtraining.html

P.S. 3 My other books and courses are available at
the usual place:

http://www.brookskubik.com/products.html

54 Dino Years and Counting

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

Well, it's here!

Today's my birthday. I'm 54 in Dino years.

To celebrate, I'm hitting a heavy workout
in the garage -- and I'm going to film the
entire session and make it available for
you on DVD.

I'm calling it GOING STRONG AT 54! -- and you
can learn more about it right here:

http://brookskubik.com/goingstrong.html

In other Dino news:

1. The September issue of the Dinosaur Files
newsletter has been printed and will be mailed
to subscribers tomorrow or Monday, depending on
how fast we can get them into envelopes.

It will be another great issue with a TON of
great training articles.

And yes, you can still subscribe to the 2011 - 2012
sub year. We'll start your subscription with the
May 2011 issue and send May thru Sept in one
package, and the other issues month by month
through April 2012. For further info, go here:

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaurfiles_renewalpage.html

We also have back issues for the complete 2010 - 2011
sub year. You can find them here:

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaur_files.html

2. My new course, DINOSAUR ARM TRAINING, is
the best-seller of the week -- by far -- and it
was last week's best seller, as well.

It's a heck of a course, and you're really going
to like it.

And please note -- if you ordered the arm course and
you add the new DVD to your order, you'll get them both
for no additional shipping and handling charges. (See
the note at the bottom of the special information page
on GOING STRONG AT 54!):

http://brookskubik.com/goingstrong.html

3. A Big Thank You!

I've been flooded with birthday wishes via email and
facebook. I won't be able to respond to everyone
individually, so let me just say:

THANK YOU FOR REMEMBERING MY BIRTHDAY!

Now insert a T-Rex with gray in his hair and a great big
smile . . .

As always, thanks for reading, and have a great day. I'll
be training between 4:00 and 7:00 tonight, so if you hit
the iron then, we can train together.

Yours in strength,

Brooks Kubik

P.S. My books, courses, Iron Game novels, my new biography
of lifting champion John Davis, The Dinosaur Files, Dino
sweatshirts, t-shirts and muscle shirts are all here:

http://www.brookskubik.com/products.html

Questions and Answers about the New Dinosaur Training DVD

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

As promised, here are some of the most common
questions I've been getting about my new DVD,
GOING STRONG AT 54! -- and my answers:

Q. How long has it been since you did a DVD?

A. I did a series of them that covered body-
weight training in 2005 -- and a series that
covered heavy iron back in 1997 through 1999.
So it's been awhile. I have a lot more gray
hair now.

Q. Can you cover your entire weekly training,
not just one workout?

A. Well, I can't shoot a week in one session --
but I'm actually going to combine two workouts
so you get a really good idea of what I'm doing
now.

Q. Is this a "how to do it" DVD or just a heavy
DVD? Are you going to teaching anything?

A. I'm going to demonstrate over a dozen different
lifts and exercises, and teach you how to do them.

Then I'm going to show you how I use my chosen
exercises in an actual workout. And as noted
above, I'll combine two workouts.

The idea is to show you what really works for a
54 year old Dino. Not just exercises, but work-
load, intensity, how heavy to go -- things like
that.

Q. What kind of equipment will you be using?

A. Barbells.

Q. Will you be using dumbbells or demonstrating
any dumbbell exercises?

A. Not on this DVD. I covered dumbbells in detail
in THE LOST ART OF DUMBBELL TRAINING DVD.

Q. Will you try to set a PR?

A. I'll go as heavy as my body says to go tomorrow.

Q. Do you do all Olympic lifting now?

A. Yes.

Q. Why?

It's fun, it's enjoyable, and it's a challenge -- and
at age 54, and being a grandfather, I can do what I feel
like doing when I train. And besides, I write about old
school champions like John Grimek, Steve Stanko and John
Davis -- and they all did OL work -- and it helps my
writing to do the same thing.

OL also has some important benefits for older lifters:

a. OL builds strength and power.

b. OL lets you specialize on the legs, hips and back.

c. OL helps you maintain good balance and coordination.

d. OL helps you with your flexibility.

e. OL is great for bone density and bone strength.

f. OL has unique cardiovascular benefits (even with low
rep training).

g. OL burns a ton of calories.

h. OL is hard work, but very relaxing.

i. Everyone your own age thinks your crazy -- and your kids
pretend they don't know you -- and there's a jillion million
young guys out there who can't do what you're doing, which
is always lots of fun.

Q. What if I don't want to do Olympic lifting?

That's fine. But you'll probably still enjoy the DVD, and
if you're over the age of 35, the basic principles about
training for older lifters will apply to you regardless of
what exercises and lifts you choose to perform.

And that covers the most common questions that I've been
getting.

Wish me luck for tomorrow! It's gonna be a lot of work!

Yours in strength,

Brooks Kubik

P.S. You can reserve your copy of GOING STRONG AT 54! right
here at Dinosaur Headquarters:

http://brookskubik.com/goingstrong.html

Questions and Answers about Dinosaur Arm Training!

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

We have two new products coming out -- the
DINOSAUR ARM TRAINING course and my new DVD,
GOING STRONG AT 54! -- and I've been getting
a ton of questions about them. So let me try
to respond to the most common questions,
beginning with questions about the arm training
course. (I'll cover questions about the new DVD
later today.):

Q. Does the new arm training course include
exercises for the entire body, or is it just
a course in arm specialization?

A. I would NEVER write a course that deals in
nothing but how to train arms or any other
body-part. Your body is a unit, and you need to
train it that way. So, yes, the new course
gives you a complete workout (several of them)
that works the entire body AND allows you to do
the right amount of extra work for the arms.

Q. I heard your interview about great feats of
arm strength on SuperHuman Radio, and you talked
about old-time strongmen who lifted heavy rocks
and barrels. Does your new course use barbell
and dumbbell exercises or is it strictly rocks
and barrels?

A. I also covered many great feats that involved
barbells and dumbbells -- including thick handled
barbells and dumbbells -- as well as some terrific
chinning feats by Eugene Sandow. But in answer to
your question, the course includes barbell and
dumbbell exercises. I tried to write it so that
anyone should have the equipment to do the
exercises.

Q. I didn't think Dinosaurs did arm exercises.
Aren't they just for bodybuilders and pretty boys?

A. Only if you consider men like John Grimek,
John Davis, Reg Park and Doug Hepburn to be
pretty boys.

Oh, and don't forget -- the last American lifter
to win a gold medal in the Olympic Games was
Chuck Vinci -- who also happens to be one of
only TWO American lifters to win TWO Olympic
gold medals (the others being John Davis --
see my new book on him -- and Tommy Kono).

Why do I mention Chuck Vinci?

Because the year before he won his first Olympic
gold medal, he performed a letter perfect STRICT
curl with 155 pounds -- at a bodyweight of 123
pounds.

That's a STRICT curl -- not a cheat curl, but
a STRICT curl -- with 32 pounds over his
bodyweight.

You can try it sometime, but trust me -- pretty
boys can't curl 32 pounds over their own
bodyweight.

Q. Is this another one of those "muscle pumping"
courses for the arms?

A. Not hardly. It teaches you how to build DINO
style arms - meaning arms that are big, thick,
strong and powerful.

Q. When will the course be ready?

A. We're doing a pre-publication special right
now. The course will ship on or before September
30.

Q. What if I order the arm course AND the new
DVD?

A. In that case, I'll ship them to you in one
package. You'll only pay shipping and handling
for the arm course, so you'll save some wampum.

That covers the most common questions on the arm
course. I'll cover questions about the DVD later
on.

As always, thanks for reading and have a great
day. If you train today, make it a good one!

Yours in strength,

Brooks Kubik

P.S. You can order DINOSAUR ARM TRAINING here:

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaur_armtraining.html

P.S. 2. Go here to order GOING STRONG AT 54!

http://brookskubik.com/goingstrong.html

P.S. 3. My other books and courses are here:

http://www.brookskubik.com/products.html

The First Workout of Winter?

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

Yesterday was my official First Day of
Winter Workout -- or at least, it felt
like it.

We dropped from 100 plus to 60 something
almost overnight, and although 60 degrees
isn't wintertime, it FEELS that way after
the really hot weather.

So I hit the garage last night with sweat
pants and a sweatshirt for the first time
in a long time. (The sweatshirt came off
after my warmups and the first couple of
sets.)

And I had a GREAT workout.

Good thing, too, because it was my last
age 53 workout. My birthday is on 9/9,
and I'm going to hit my first age 54
workout that evening.

And as a special birthday treat for the
Dinos, I'm going to film the workout and
offer it to you on DVD.

It's going to be called GOING STRONG AT
54! That should give you a clue about what
you'll see on the DVD.

You can learn more about it right here:

http://brookskubik.com/goingstrong.html

One of the the important things I want to
cover in the DVD is how LITTLE training is
required for older lifters. My workouts are
VERY LOW in quantity.

I don't do very many exercises.

I don't do many sets.

I don't do many reps.

I take my time, work slowly, and try to make
every set count -- even the warm-up sets.

I try to perform every rep in letter perfect
form -- and when I rest between sets, I focus
on making the next set better than the one I
just finished.

The focus is on QUALITY. I try to make every
lift as perfect as possible.

I write about this all the time, but sometimes
it seems that it helps to SEE it. Reading about
proper training is one thing, but SEEING it is
a whole new experience -- and a very valuable
one.

In any case, instead of celebrating number 54
with a big cake and a bunch of candles, I'm
going to celebrate it the Dino way -- on the
platform, covered with chalk and sweat, having
fun with my favorite barbell.

I hope you can join me -- your special admission
ticket and front row seat is right here:

http://brookskubik.com/goingstrong.html

Yours in strength,

Brooks Kubik

P.S. In other Dino news, my new training course
looks like a big hit for the Dinos. You can read
more about DINOSAUR ARM TRAINING (and reserve your
copy) right here at Dino HQ:

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaur_armtraining.html

P.S. 2 My other books and courses are here -- along
with shirts, hoodies, sweatshirts, my other DVD's,
The Dinosaur Files newsletter, BLACK IRON: THE JOHN
DAVIS STORY, and the popular LEGACY OF IRON books
featuring John Grimek, Steve Stanko, Harry Paschall,
Bob Hoffman and many others from the Golden Age
of Strength:

http://www.brookskubik.com/products.html

Dinosaur Birthday Bash!

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

Over the past few years I've received tons
of questions about my current training.

"What are you doing now?"

"Do you still do [fill in the blank]?"

"Do you use [fill in the blank]?"

"What do you use for [fill in the blank]"?

"Do you do heavy singles?"

"How heavy do you train now that you're
in your 50's?"

"What do you do for warm-ups?"

"Can you give me your exact training program?"

And then there are other questions from readers
who ask about Olympic weightlifting for garage
gorillas:

"How do I build a platform?"

"How do I do power cleans?"

"What's a high pull?"

"Where can I learn to do split snatches?"

"How do I do [fill in the blank]?"

And so they go -- on and on. Many questions.

So when I looked at the calendar and saw that
my birthday was coming up, I thought, "Maybe
the Dinos would like to see a birthday workout
on DVD?"

I threw the question out to you a few weeks ago,
and the response was an overwhelming, "YES!"

So I decided to do a special age 54 birthday
workout on September 9 -- and film it -- and
let you see it on DVD.

And then I thought, if I'm going to do all that,
I might as well teach you some Dino-style weight-
lifting -- so I decided to include some "how to
do it" on the Olympic lifts.

The goal is to let you see what I'm doing -- and
show you how to incorporate similar exercises into
your own program.

So it's going to be a very special DVD -- fast
moving, fun and exciting -- and very informative.

You can learn more about it right here:

http://brookskubik.com/goingstrong.html


By the way, the DVD is titled GOING STRONG AT 54!

That's a clue to what I'm doing. I may be in my mid-
50's, and I may be a grandfather, but this old guy
isn't slowing down.

Anyhow, we're just a few days away from the big
birthday bash -- and the big birthday workout --
and my video guy is scheduled to be here at 5:00
sharp, and I have one more workout to go (today)
to get ready -- and Trudi is under strict orders
NOT to throw a birthday party and NOT to cook a
birthday dinner (although a nice grilled steak
or thick slice of salmon would be okay after all
the chalk and sweat stops flying) -- and we're
all going to focus on putting in some old-
fashioned hard work and making sure the new
DVD is as Dino as we can make it.

Right now, it's about 80 hours and counting.
Synchronize your watches!

As always, thanks for reading, and have a great
day. If you train today (as I will), make it a
good one!

Yours in strength,

Brooks Kubik

P.S. Here's the link for GOING STRONG AT 54!

http://brookskubik.com/goingstrong.html

P.S. 2 Here's the link for my new DINOSAUR ARM
TRAINING course:

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaur_armtraining.html


P.S. 3 Everything else at Dino Headquarters is right
here -- and remember, you can save some clams on
shipping and handling by ordering several products
at the same time:

http://www.brookskubik.com/products.html

GOING STRONG AT 54!

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

Happy Labor day to everyone who lives
in the USA -- and Happy Monday to
everyone else!

I'll keep this short and sweet:

1. My birthday is September 9. I'll
be turning 54.

2. To celebrate, I decided to do
something special for the Dino Nation.

3. I asked you what you wanted to see,
and hundreds of you responded.

4. So I'm going to put together the one
thing that so many of you requested.

5. It's a new Dinosaur Training DVD --
and I think you're really going to like
it.

6. I also think you're going to like the
title: GOING STRONG AT 54!

7. For more information, go here:

http://brookskubik.com/goingstrong.html

As always, thanks for reading and have a
great day. If you train today, make it a
good one.

Yours in strength,

Brooks Kubik

P.S. You can find my other Dinosaur Training
books and courses -- including my new course,
DINOSAUR ARM TRAINING -- in the usual place:

a. DINOSAUR ARM TRAINING:

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaur_armtraining.html

b. DINOSAUR TRAINING PRODUCTS:

http://www.brookskubik.com/products.html



Old School Arm Training!

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

When I was a kid, I was nuts about building
big arms -- just like I was nuts about winning
10 gold medals in the Olympics, winning the
Mr. America and Mr. Universe contests, and
winning the heavyweight wrestling championship
of the world -- all of which sounded like very
good things to do.

I read (mo, make that STUDIED) all of the
mainstream muscle mags, so I knew exactly what
to do.

My training program was a combination of bombing,
blasting, blitzing, peak contraction, cheating,
overload training, and double split routines. I
would have done forced reps, as well, but you
needed a training partner for those, and I
trained alone with my bench, my chest expanders,
my doorway chinning bar, my iron boots, my hand
grippers, my neck strap, and my 110 pound barbell
set.

Later, I added a heavy sandbag to practice
wrestling moves (which was actually a good idea),
and one of those goofy bar and chain isometric
exercisers (which was not a good idea).

I guzzled the high protein shakes, and I trained
like a madman -- and I got NOWHERE.

One day, we were visiting my grandmother in Canton,
Ohio (where my grandfather, then deceased, had
worked at a steel mill -- both of my grandfathers
worked at steel mills) -- and we went to a news
stand, and I saw a magazine I had never seen
before: Peary Rader's wonderful, old-school
Iron Man magazine.

The magazine featured a great article by feature
writer Bradley J. Steiner. It was all about the
"essential exercises" for the arms and shoulders.

It was written in Steiner's unique, no nonsense,
straight from the shoulder style -- and it changed
everything I thought I knew about physical training.

That single article got me away from the muscle
comics and the muscle media silliness -- and on
the road to a life-long passion for sensible,
productive and truly effective physical training.

Today, more than 40 years later, I'm returning the
favor.

I've written a training course called DINOSAUR
ARM TRAINING. It's NOT your typical arm
specialization course. It's about how to train
your entire body for strength, power and muscular
development -- and how to work in the right kind
of no-nonsense arm training. The kind of arm
training that will build the perfect
combination of strength, power, function,
and thick, hard, rugged muscular development.

That's what Bradley J. Steiner taught ME to
do -- and it's what I'm going to teach YOU
to do.

And no, I never won 10 Olympic gold medals, the
Mr. America, the Mr. Universe or the heavyweight
wrestling championship of the world.But I did
build some pretty big, pretty powerful arms --
and I owe it all to the right kind of training.
Steiner style training. Peary Rader style
training. Old school stuff. In brief, the
stuff that works.

As always, thanks for reading, and have a great
day. If you train today, make it a good one!

Yours in strength,

Brooks Kubik

P.S. You can reserve your copy of DINOSAUR ARM
TRAINING right now during our big pre-publication
special:

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaur_armtraining.html


P.S. 2 For my other books and courses, go here:

http://www.brookskubik.com/products.html





Dinosaur News and Updates for September 1!

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

We have a ton of things happening in
the Dino Nation, so let me give you
some quick updates.

1. DINOSAUR ARM TRAINING

I have a new training course coming out.
We're offering it via a pre-publication
special, as we always do -- meaning that
if you order now, you get the course and
a special bonus when we print and ship
them (which will be in 3 - 4 weeks). The
bonus is a special 8 1/2 x 11 mini-poster.
For more information, go here:

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaur_armtraining.html


2. SUPERHUMAN RADIO

I'll be interviewed at 12:00 noon today (EST)
on Superhuman Radio. I'll be covering legendary
feats of arm strength -- and you won't believe
some of the things we'll be covering. Those
old-timers were seriously, seriously strong!

You can listen to the interview live or listen
to the download later on at your convenience.
There's no charge for it -- I consider these
interviews to be a public service for Dinos.

The Superhuman Radio site is here:

http://www.superhumanradio.com/


Note: If by chance the link doesn't work, just
search for the SuperHuman Radio site.

3. A SUPER REVIEW FOR BLACK IRON

Clarence Bass of "RIPPED" fame posted a killer
review of BLACK IRON; THE JOHN DAVIS STORY --
and he's on record as saying he thinks it's my
best book (which others have said -- Kim Wood,
for one, in a post at the IronMind Forum).

I was going to post the link, but for some
reason it's not working -- so just search for
Clarence Bass' Ripped Enterprises site. The book
review is there and should be easy to find. (Sorry
for the tech problem here, but after all, I AM a
Dinosaur.)

By the way, Clarence and his wife, Carol, provided
one of the photos that I used in the book -- as
did Tommy Kono, Pete George, and John Davis'
former training partner from 1940 - 41. All of
which makes it a very special, very unique book.

You can learn more about BLACK IRON (and grab a
copy) right here:

http://www.brookskubik.com/blackiron_johndavis.html


4. THE SEPTEMBER DINO FILES

Will be mailed out next week -- and it's going to be
another great issue.

For new readers, the Dinosaur Files is a monthly
newsletter covering Dino Style strength training
and muscle building, Iron Game history, etc. 20
pages per issue. Hard copy. Mailed to you (not
email, snail mail). And it's far and away the
best monthly newsletter or magazine available for
serious lifters.

To order the full set of 2010 - 2011 back issues (12
issues), go here:

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaur_files.html

To subscribe to the 2011 - 2012 Dino Files, go here
(and note -- I'll send May 2011 thru Sept. 2011 in
one package, and then send the remaining issues for
Oct 2011 thru April 2012 month by month):

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaurfiles_renewalpage.html


5. DINOSAUR BIRTHDAY!

It's next Friday -- and I have big plans for the Dinos.
Stay tuned!

6. MORE TRAINING COURSES

Many readers have been asking if I'll be doing more new
training courses -- and the answer is "You better believe
it!"

In the old days, there were very few books about strength
training, weightlifting and the Iron Game. (When I was a
kid, there were exactly FOUR books in the public library
that covered these topics -- and NO books in the local
bookstores.)

But there were many wonderful training courses (available
through the various magazines), and they were GREAT!

So training courses are an Iron Game tradition -- and I
intend to continue it!

7. DINOSAUR MUSCLE SHIRTS

These were Trudi's idea, and they've been a big hit. We
still have them in stock, and you can find them here:

http://www.brookskubik.com/muscle_shirts.html

There's more news, but that's all I can squeeze into
one email message. Remember to catch the SuperHuman
Radio interview -- and to read Clarence Bass' review
of BLACK IRON -- and of course, to have a great day
and to train hard and heavy the next time you hit
the iron!

Oh, and I almost forgot -- Happy September, everyone!

Yours in strength,

Brooks Kubik

P.S. You can find all of my books and courses -- as
well as info on The Dinosaur Files newsletter -- and
our shirts and sweatshirts -- and everything else at
Dino HQ -- right here:

http://www.brookskubik.com/products.html