Hail to the Dinosaurs!
For a couple of months, I've been ending
my daily email message with a final P.S.
headed THOUGHT FOR THE DAY.
The thought for the day is a one sentence
aphorism (i.e, a one-liner or a zinger)
that deals with one of the many aspects
of Dino-style strength training and old-
school iron-slinging.
Be sure to look for the thought for the
day -- you'll like it!
On the training front, I wanted to talk
a bit about rest-pause training. It's
one of my favorite old-school training
methods.
The term rest-pause training dates back
to the 1950's -- and specifically, to a
series of articles in Peary Rader's old
IronMan magazine by a man named Charles
Rosenberg (who later changed his by-line
(and possibly his name) to Charles Ross.
(Why the name change? I don't know --
but it may have been after the execution
of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg after they
were found guilty of being Soviet spies.
Just a hunch.)
Rest-pause training was intended to be
an old-school alternative to the pumping
programs that were came into vogue in
the 50's.
Peary Rader was never a fan of pumping
programs. He believed that they built
inflated tissue -- big muscles that
were lacking in strength and power to
match their size. (Remember, this was
back when many lightweight Olympic
lifters could out-lift massive body-
builders weighing in at 200 pounds
or more. And when a man with a 15 inch
upper arm can out-press a man with an
18 inch upper arm, you have to ask
yourself how the big guy built that
arm -- and when you learn what he did,
you might very well decide to try
something different!
Rest-pause training was actually a
lot like weightlifting. Weightlifters
often do heavy singles. They perform
a lift, rest, and perform a second lift.
They rest and perform a third lift. And
so on.
In rest-pause training, the idea was to
perform a series of single reps with a
brief rest between each rep.
For example, in the barbell curl, you
would perform a few sets of progressively
heavier warm-ups -- using regular style
(i.e., continuous) reps.
When you got to your working weight, you
would do one set of six to ten reps --
but you'd perform the reps one by one,
with a rest of ten or fifteen seconds
between each rep.
It was easier if you stood between two
benches or sturdy wooden boxes so you
could let go of the barbell in-between
your reps.
So the sequence would be:
1. Do a rep -- in letter-perfect form.
2. Lower the bar.
3. Rest for ten or fifteen seconds.
4. Repeat.
The standard program called for three
working sets on each exercise. The reps
would be 10/8/6.
And you would do all of your exercises
this way.
It's a good program for Dinos. You can
train with heavy weights, and you can
make each rep a set unto itself -- and
you can train rep by rep with total
concentration and deep, deep focus.
Center-of-the-earth deep focus. And
all of that is very good for you.
rest-pause training works best when you
use abbreviated training and divided
workout schedules. Otherwise, the work-
outs take way too much time to complete.
I cover rest-pause training in detail (and
give you a number of rest-pause workouts)
in STRENGTH, MUSCLE AND POWER --
along with many other old-school training
methods:
http://www.brookskubik.com/strength_muscle_power.html
Many IronMan readers reported great success
with rest-pause training -- as have many
Dinos. If you're looking for something old-
school, challenging, fun and effective, give
rest-pause training a try!
As always, thanks for reading, and have a
great day. If you train today, make it a
good one!
And don't forget -- read the Thought for the
Day!
Yours in strength,
Brooks Kubik
P.S. We just launched the big pre-publication special
for my new book, DINOSAUR DUMBBELL
TRAINING. Go here to reserve your copy
of the book and the pre-publication bonus:
http://brookskubik.com/dinosaur_dumbbelltraining.html
P.S. 2. My other Dinosaur training books and
courses are right here at Dino Headquarters:
http://www.brookskubik.com/products.html
P.S. 3. Thought for the Day: "The letter C in
champion stands for concentration, character
and correct training." -- Brooks Kubik
