Hail to the Dinosaurs!
We had a GREAT first class for my Dinosaur
Training audio-seminar on Saturday. The
class was scheduled for 60 minutes, but
the Dinos had so many questions that we
ran over by more than half an hour.
One of the questions was about old-time
strongman Sig Klein and his famous slogan,
"Train for shape and strength will follow."
Someone wanted to know if that made Sig
Klein a muscle-posing pretty-boy -- or if
Sig Klein was a Dinosaur.
Well, let's look at the facts.
First of all, Klein was a human powerhouse.
He set a professional World record in the
military press with a letter-perfect lift
of 229.5 pounds at a bodyweight of 152 pounds.
That's more than 150 percent of his bodyweight,
and that's pretty incredible.
Klein also squatted with double bodyweight --
without squat stands! He did it the old-
fashioned way -- by standing the barbell on
end, and squatting under it -- and then standing
up from a full, butt to heels deep knee bend --
and then he would perform ten or twenty easy
full depth reps with the weight.
He could do reps in the see-saw press with 100
pound dumbbells -- or with kettlebells of the
same weight.
He was a master of handstand pushups and tiger
bends. he would do handstand pushups while
balanced on a piano bench, going down so low
on each rep that his chest would touch the
bench.
His records in handstand pushups and tiger bends
were as follows:
1. 19 consecutive handstand pushups on a bench
2. 13 consecutive tiger bend pushups
3. a hollow-back handstand pushup with a 75
pound dumbbell strapped to his back
In the latter feat, Klein began by lying face-
down on the floor and then lifted himself up
into a handstand -- with a 75 pound dumbbell
strapped to his back!
Klein also was a certified hero. He rescued a
woman from a burning building. Climbed up a
metal drain and kicked in the window pf her
apartment -- and then dove inside -- raced
through the flames -- carried her back to
the window, and climbed three stories down
to the street -- while carrying the woman!
Based on all that, I think Sig Klein qualifies
as a Dinosaur.
But what about his comment, "Train for shape
and strength will follow" -- what does that
mean?
Does it mean to train for shape and not for
strength?
Absolutely not.
In Klein's day -- and he got started in the Iron
Game right around World War One -- many young men
and boys would do nothing but upper body exercises.
Many of them only trained their arms. Very few of
them ever thought about training their back and
legs. It was the old, "If you can't see it in the
mirror, you don't train it" mentality.
Klein wanted trainees to be STRONG -- and he wanted
them to build their strength by training ALL of
the major muscle groups in the body -- including
the legs and back.
When he urged men to "train for shape" he meant
all-around training -- as opposed to nothing but
arm exercises or nothing but upper body work.
John Grimek had a similar phrase that encompassed
the same general idea. He urged men to train for
"proportionate muscular development."
It's the same idea -- the old-school idea that
you train all the major muscle groups and build
a body that is strong from head to heel -- a
body with NO weak links in the muscular chain --
and a body that both LOOKS strong, and IS
strong.
And frankly, that's well worth striving for.
Anyhow, that was one of the many questions that
came up during the first of the four classes in
the audio-seminar series.
You can still sign up for the class, and listen
to the first class on a download -- and then catch
the three remaining sessions live. Here's the link:
http://www.entheosacademy.com/courses/Dinosaur-Training
By the way, if you attended the live class, shoot
me a short email and let me know how you liked it.
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. As I mentioned yesterday, the new John Grimek
training course is at the printer, and I'll be mailing
it out -- along with the pre-publication bonuses --
on Monday. The pre-publication special ends on
Wednesday, so if you've been waiting, wait no longer --
it's time for action:
http://brookskubik.com/johngrimek_course.html
P.S. 2. You can read more about Sig Klein -- and
even visit his world famous gym -- in Legacy of
Iron:
http://www.brookskubik.com/legacy_of_iron.html
P.S. 3. My other books and courses -- and my Dinosaur
Training DVD's -- are right here:
http://www.brookskubik.com/products.html
P.S. 4. Thought for the Day: "Train your entire body.
You want to be strong from head to toe. No weak links!"
-- Brooks Kubik
