Hail to the Dinosaurs!
I did an interview on SuperHuman Radio
last week where we talked about workouts
that build health and workouts that don't.
(If you missed the live show, check it out
in the SHR archives -- it's show no. 976.)
Anyhow, it was an interesting show, and it
got me thinking.
In the old days, there was no difference
between training for strength and training
for health.
Look at the top magazine in the United
States. What was the title?
Strength and Health.
Look at the top magazine in England. What
was the title?
Health and Strength.
Back then, the leaders in the Iron Game
wanted you to train for both. Train for
strength -- and train for health.
And they believed that barbell training
was as effective for building health as
it was for building strength.
It was so effective that Bob Hoffman, the
editor and publisher of Strength and Health,
referred to barbells as IRON PILLS.
Hoffman had a theory about it. He believed
that a hard workout did two things: (1) it
provided exercise for the muscles (which
led to increases in strength), and (20 it
provided exercise for the internal organs
(the heart, lungs, digestive system, etc.)
and stimulated the body's glandular and
hormonal processes (which led to
improvements in overall health).
Hoffman made the point that you cannot do
a specific exercise for your internal organs.
Instead, you have to get them involved by
exercising the skeletal muscles. And in his
writing he made very clear that the most
important beneficial aspect of strength
training was its effect on the internal
organs.
The exercises that do the most to strengthen
your internal organs -- and thus, to build
your health -- also happen to be the best
all-around strength and muscle builders:
squats, deadlifts, cleans, clean and press,
snatches, etc. The BIG exercises. The ones
that make you do plenty of "puffing, panting
and perspiring." (Another Hoffman term --
and a good one.)
I have to admit it. I side with Bob Hoffman
on this one. To me, there's no difference
between training for strength and training
for health. If you train right, your
workouts will build both.
I don't care which one you put first. It can
be strength and health -- or it can be health
and strength. The important word is AND. It's
not OR. It's AND. They go together.
As always, thanks for reading and have a great
day. if you train today, make it a good one!
Yours in strength (and health),
Brooks Kubik
P.S. Old school strength training is the number
one way to build strength and health -- and you
can learn all about it in Dinosaur Training,
Chalk and Sweat, Strength, Muscle and Power,
Dinosaur Bodyweight Training, and my other
books, courses and DVD's:
http://www.brookskubik.com/products.html
P.S. 2. Thought for the day: "Good health
is your most valuable asset -- and every
workout should add to your strength and
health savings account." -- Brooks Kubik
