Hail to the Dinosaurs!
A quick note, and then we'll talk training.
The orders continue to pour in for the new
John Grimek training course. We are shattering
previous sales records right and left.
So I need to begin by saying: THANK YOU to
everyone who stepped up and placed an order
for the Grimek course.
If you haven't placed your order yet, there's
still time to do so -- here's the link, and
you know the rest of the drill. And remember --
if you want me to autograph your course, all
you have to do is ask. There's no charge for
autographs -- it's an extra service for the
Dino Nation:
http://brookskubik.com/johngrimek_course.html
On the training front, here's something very
interesting from Huw Thomas, a hard-charging
Dino from Australia. Huw is the son of Keith
Thomas, who has been featured in The Dinosaur
Files newsletter, and father and son are both
seriously strong lifters.
Huw sent me the following email:
"I've noticed twice in the past year a
peculiar phenomenon, where after doing some
pretty demanding physical work, I lift
amazingly well if I use the same muscles I've
worked all day.
The first instance was a steady six hours of
leveling a house site by hand. Some crowbar
work, but mostly shoveling. I then felt good
enough to try a Trap Bar session, and lo and
behold, I lifted 245 kilos (tying my PR) for
a single easier than I had lifted 220 kilos
the previous week -- a weight I had not been
near for four or five years.
The second example was working with pliers
bending fence wire into staples. I had to do
a few hundred (about an hour of cutting and
bending) and the action of using the pliers
was exactly the same as a Captain of Crush
gripper. When I finished, I tried the COC
No. 3 and was literally a hairs breadth from
closing it -- a good 1/8 of an inch closer
than ever before.
I've been thinking that in each case the work
I was doing was similar to a very long warm-up,
and I figure it must somehow have primed the
nervous system to allow for greater lifts or
greater force to be applied.
Have you noticed or come across anything in
the old-time literature about this sort of
preparation for lifting? It could be useful,
perhaps, for some people to dig for a few hours
before deadlift sessions. I don't know how it
could be translated into actual gym time,
especially if you needed to keep gym time
to less than three hours. However, if it helps
with performance, people might be interested.
It does seem counter-intuitive in some ways,
but it has worked for me."
Huw -- Thanks for a very interesting email.
It reminds me of a couple of interesting things:
1. Back in the old, old days, many top lifters
and strongmen worked as butchers. This often
required long hours of hard, heavy work when
they quartered, carried and carved the sides
of beef. I don't know if they lifted after
these heavy work days, or if so, what effect
their manual labor had -- but the hard work
definitely did NOT affect their lifting.
2. William Boone worked 12 or 14 hours a day
digging water wells in Louisiana and Texas --
and then trained in his backyard -- and made
some amazing lifts: a 300 pound bent press,
700 pound deadlift, 900 pound partial deadlift,
and 420 or more jerk from the racks.
3. Bob Peoples worked on his farm all day --
and then trained hard and heavy in his Dungeon
Gym (he trained in an old root cellar). It
worked pretty well for him -- after all, he
set a World record in the deadlift!
Now, I know that three examples doesn't prove
that something works -- but they do give us
plenty of room for thought.
If anyone else has insight on this topic --
shoot me an email. Let's see if any other Dinos
have noticed that a long day of hard work actually
improves their lifting!
In the meantime -- and 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. Here's the link again for the new Grimek course:
http://brookskubik.com/johngrimek_course.html
P.S. 2. Remember, if you want me to autograph your
course, all you need to do is ASK! (Use the Special
Instructions section of the on-line order form.)
P.S. 3. My other books and courses -- and DVD's are
right here:
http://www.brookskubik.com/products.html
P.S. 4. Thought for the Day: "When you train, train
like you mean it!" -- Brooks Kubik
