Hail to the Dinosaurs!
I rec'd a ton of feedback in response to
yesterday's post about bench press safety,
and thought I'd share some of it with you.
First of all -- half a dozen Dinos admitted
that they had gotten stuck under the bar
while benching alone at some time in
their career. Most of them were using a
bar without plates, so they tipped it and
let the plates slide off.
So, yes, this really does happen!
Second -- Dustin Winnekens sent in a winner
of an email. Check this out:
"I sold fitness equipment for five years,
and would routinely get the father and son
looking at weights. Often it was benches.
"Gotta get ready for football, gotta bulk
up, etc."
Based on that, I would show them a squat
rack. They would repeat that they wanted
a bench, and I would explain the benefits
of squats.
I would tell the boy, "Drink a lot of milk
and squat. You will grow."
I would demonstrate the wide variety of
exercises they could do on the rack. Then
I would get serious about safety. I would
show them how to set the safety bars. The
racks had numbers on them, and I would
write them on the back of my card for
their reference.
Withe the sale closed, I had one last
demonstration -- because it is generally
the last thing you do that sticks with
them. I would load the bar without
collars. I would lie on the bench and
act like I was struggling with the
weight on my chest. Then I would roll
to one side, and the weights would fall
off, and the bar would fly off my chest.
I would point to the son and say, "That
is how you will save your life."
Some people would say that the plates
would slide off if you lifted without
collars. I would tell them, "After each
set, look at the plates. That will tell
you where to work with auxiliary
exercises -- and it will tell
you how to improve your form."
I sold a lot of squat racks in my time.
People would come in and say, "I'm
looking for the squat rack guy."
Dustin"
Thanks for sharing that, Dustin! Sounds
like you steered plenty of kids in the
right direction -- and maybe you even
saved some kid's life!
By the way, I have a feeling that Dustin
is not the only Dino who's helped steer
newbies in the right direction -- straight
to the squat rack!
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 top sellers this month are Dinosaur
Bodyweight Training, Dinosaur Training, Gray
Hair and Black Iron and my new John Grimek
Training course. You can find them right
here, along with my other books, courses and
DVD's:
http://www.brookskubik.com/products.html
P.S. 2. For more detail on power rack training,
grab a copy of Strength, Muscle and Power:
http://www.brookskubik.com/strength_muscle_power.html
P.S. 3. Thought for the Day: "Everyone wants to
bench, but everyone needs to squat." --
Brooks Kubik
