Barbells, Dumbbells and Kettlebells!

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

I was reading an old weightlifting book
at breakfast this morning.

It described all of the official lifts
used in competition in the B.A.W.L.A.
(the British Amateur Weightlifting
Association) going back prior to World
War One. It included barbell lifts,
dumbbell lifts, and kettlebell or
ring-weight lifts. It also included
special developmental exercises to
be used to build strength and power
for performing the competition lifts.

And I noted something interesting.

Some of the lifts and exercises were
performed with a barbell.

Some of them were performed with a
a single dumbbell.

Some of them required two dumbbells.

Several required dumbbells loaded so that
the back end was heavier than the front
end.

Some of them required a single kettlebell
or a single ring-weight.

Others required two kettlebells or ring-
weights.

And others required a barbell PLUS a
dumbbell -- or a barbell PLUS a kettlebell
or ring-weight -- or a dumbbell PLUS a
kettlebell or ring-weight.

That's interesting in many respects.

For one thing, it gives you a good idea
of the proper answer to the question,
"Which is better -- barbells or dumbbells?"

Or, the one you hear more often nowadays,
"Which is better -- barbells or kettlebells?"

Or, "Dumbbells or kettlebells -- which is
better?"

In the old days, they didn't ask those sorts
of questions. Instead, they trained with all
three -- and in some exercises or lifts, they
used two different lifting tools (e.g., a
barbell and a kettlebell) at the same time.

It was a good way of training. There was
plenty of variety, but everything you did
was old-school, hard core, basic and
productive.

And all it required was a barbell -- a set of
dumbbells -- and some kettlebells.

That made a pretty good little gym "back in
the day" -- and it makes a pretty good little
gym today!

BTW, if you're wondering what book I was
reading and where to get a copy, go here:

http://www.superstrengthtraining.com/william_pullum.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. The one hand swing is one of my favorite
old-school lifts. It builds strength, muscle,
speed and explosive power -- and it's tons of
fun! You can learn how to do it on my DVD,
The Lost Art of Heavy Dumbbell Training:

http://brookskubik.com/dinosaur_dvds.html

P.S. 2. My books and courses -- including Black
Iron: The John Davis Story and the Legacy of
Iron series -- are right here:

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

P.S. 3. Thought for the Day: "Nothing beats
hard work intelligently applied. Nothing."
-- Brooks Kubik