Hail to the Dinosaurs!
One of the problems about strength
training programs is that it's EASY
to write a program.
What's hard is training on it --
and recovering from it.
And that's where many trainees
go wrong.
They sit down and they start writing
up a program.
They start with squats, because
everyone knows that squats are good for
you.
Then they add front squats because
someone said that those were good, too.
Overhead squats because they look
impressive, and they build lots of
strength, and they want to start doing
some Olympic lifting someday.
And there's a blog post someone wrote
about one-legged squats -- so they add
those in, as well.
Next, they include some Romanian deadlifts
for the hamstrings -- and some good mornings,
because a guy in a forum recommended them.
Plus some one legged deadlifts because you
gotta do the unilateral stuff.
And some car pushing, because they do stuff
like that in strongman comps.
Plus, some hill sprints because you want
to be fast.
Quarter squats for tendon and ligament
strength.
Depth jumps for speed strength and explosive
power.
Jumping up onto a platform to build even
more explosive power.
Breathing squats because it would be pretty
cool to gain 30 pounds of muscle in six
weeks.
Kettlebell squats because kettlebells are
fun, and you need to keep your volume up.
Some bodyweight squats for high reps on
the off days -- for active recovery.
Plus some jogging on off days because
McCallum's Uncle Harry went jogging and
Bipsy and the other girls cheered for him
when he ran his laps on the track.
Plus a whole bunch of different kinds of
calf raises, and some iron boot exercises,
and some box squats, and some zerchers
and this funky thing some guy at the
gym was doing that he said helped him
put 50 pounds on his squat in three days,
and extra work for the hamstrings, and
walking up high hills with a knapsack
or a weight vest, and walking around
with a heavy barbell on your shoulders,
and some other stuff just to be sure you
don't miss anything.
And that's just the leg work.
By the time they're finished writing up
their program, it runs several pages and
it's as complicated as heck, and it
takes about half an hour to read the
whole thing.
Then they go out and try the program,
and it's like running right into a
brick wall. Instant headache. And
they don't get anywhere.
That's because you can always write up
a program that is simply too long, too
intense, and too demanding to use.
And that's exactly what most people do.
The BEST programs are different.
They're short, sweet and simple.
I once interviewed the training partner
of World and Olympic Champion John Davis.
He showed me John Davis' actual training
program for 1940 and 1941.
It was an eight week program.
It fit on a 3 x 5 note-card.
That's right -- the strongest man of his
era -- and the greatest weightlifter of his
era -- used a program so short, simple and
basic that you could write down an 8 week
program on a 3 x 5 note-card.
And frankly, that was one of the secrets
of his success. He knew that the best
programs are short, simple and basic -
because they allow you to focus all
your effort on the exercises that really
count.
And that, my friend is a gold-medal training
secret -- from a two-time Olympic Champion
and six-time World Champion.
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. I included John Davis' actual training
program (which was previously unpublished)
in BLACK IRON, THE JOHN DAVIS STORY. You can
grab a copy right here:
http://www.brookskubik.com/blackiron_johndavis.html
P.S. 2. The best training programs are short,
simple, and basic. I like abbreviated and ultra-
abbreviated workouts. Learn all about them in
Dinosaur Training, Gray Hair and Black Iron,
Chalk and Sweat, and Strength, Muscle and
Power -- or in my various training courses:
http://www.brookskubik.com/products.html
P.S. 3. You also can use abbreviated workouts
with bodyweight exercises. See Dinosaur Bodyweight
Training for details:
http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaur_bodyweight.html
P.S. 4. Thought for the Day: "Any fool can write
a training program that would cripple anyone who
tried it. And far too many trainees would
give it a try -- and that's a shame."
-- Brooks Kubik
