Hail to the Dinosaurs!
You can get older, which happens to
everyone, or you can focus on getting
better and better from year to year --
which is what a Dinosaur does!
Back in the day, Jack LaLanne used to
celebrate his birthday by doing an
incredible feat of strength and
endurance -- like swimming from
Alcatraz Island to Fisherman's Wharf
in San Francisco -- while handcuffed --
pulling a 1,000 pound boat behind him.
(He did that one on his 60th birthday!)
So imagine how curious I was when I
received an email with the subject line:
"The Jack LaLanne Birthday Workout."
It came from Jacob Derksen, and this is
what it said:
"Hi, Brooks,
As you're one of the handful of people
whose daily emails (and your Dinosaur
Training book) have been a huge source
of inspiration to me, I thought I'd send
a quick email detailing my JACK LALANNE
BIRTHDAY WORKOUT.
I usually follow a 5 x 5 program but, as
it was my 48th birthday, after warming up
I did 48 squats (6 x 8, with one minute
rest between sets) with a barbell equal
to my own bodyweight (170 pounds).
Then I did 48 shrugs (6 x 8, with 30
seconds rest between sets) with 85
pound dumbbells.
My warm-up was the primary focus of my
b'day workout, and included 24 consecutive
pullups and 48 consecutive dips. (A few
days later I tried the dips again and
made my goal of 48 consecutive reps.)
I'll add that these were respectable
reps, too, not the half reps you see some
of the young guys doing. My squats were
full squats, too.
None of this qualifies me as an Olympic
athlete or anything, but for a guy who
was born with a ventricular septal defect
(i.e., a hole in the heart), I like to
think it's reasonably respectable.
Moreover, armed with Dinosaur Training,
I know I'll surpass that birthday workout
next year.
BTW, look for my order in the near future.
I'm going to get Gray Hair and Black Iron.
As always, thanks for the inspirational
emails.
Best regards,
Jacob"
Thanks for sharing that, Jacob! I think it's
the email of the day.
The idea of a birthday workout is GREAT! I
always try to do a special workout on my
birthday. One year, i did a squat workout
and went for a new PR of 500 pounds (which
is a magic number, for sure) -- and I GOT IT!
A PR on your birthday is a great present --
and so is a super tough and extra-challenging
workout.
Last year, I took an extra-heavy Olympic
lifting workout on my birthday, and tried
for lifts that would meet or exceed the
qualifying standards for the Master's World
Championships in my age group and weight
class. And guess what? I made it! That was
another special b'day workout. (We filmed
it, and it's available on CD -- I call it
GOING STRONG AT 54!)
Anyhow, the idea of a JACK LALANNE BIRTHDAY
WORKOUT is a pretty good one -- so file it
away for future reference, and roll it out
the next time your birthday comes around!
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. You'll find plenty of ideas for extra-
challenging workouts in any of my books and
courses, including these:
1. Dinosaur Training: Lost Secrets of Strength
and Development
http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaur_training.html
2. Gray Hair and Black Iron
http://www.brookskubik.com/grayhair_blackiron.html
3. Dinosaur Bodyweight Training
http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaur_bodyweight.html
4. Strength, Muscle and Power
http://www.brookskubik.com/strength_muscle_power.html
5. Chalk and Sweat
http://www.brookskubik.com/chalk_and_sweat.html
P.S. 2. You can grab a copy of GOING STRONG AT
54! right here at Dino Headquarters:
http://brookskubik.com/goingstrong.html
P.S. 3. Thought for the Day: "Older is one thing.
Older and better is an entirely different animal."
-- Brooks Kubik
