Hail to the Dinosaurs!
Kazakhstan is located in Central Asia
and Europe. It is the 9th largest country
in the world in terms of land mass -- and
it is the largest land-locked country in
the world. It is larger than all of western
Europe together.
But this enormous country has a population
of only 16.6 million people. That's 15
people for every square mile.
Russia is another enormous country located
in Asia and Europe -- but Russia has a
population of 141,930,000. Nearly ten
times the population of Kazakhstan.
But get this -- at the 2012 Summer
Olympic Games in London, Kazakhstan
has won FOUR gold medals in
weightlifting.
And so far, Russia has failed to win a
single gold medal in weightlifting. That's
a telling comparison, because weightlifting
is and always has been a big sport in Russia,
and Russian weightlifters have been at the
top of the world for the past 60 years or so.
But in 2012, the 16.6 million people of
Kazakhstan out-medaled (in weightlifting)
the nearly 142 million people of Russia.
And that demonstrates one of the great
things about the sport of weightlifting --
and about strength training in general.
Small countries can develop incredible
weightlifting teams because weightlifting
is not an expensive sport. The cost of
setting up a world class weightlifting
gym is peanuts compared to the cost of
setting up training and competition
facilities for other sports.
All you need to practice the sport of
weightlifting at the very highest international
level is a room with enough space for
some lifting platforms -- one barbell for
each platform -- and one set of squat stands
for each barbell (not power racks, but squat
stands that you can move on and off the
platform). Add pulling blocks and jerk
boxes if you wish (and you can make these
out of wood) and you're all set.
That's good news for small countries looking
to build an international presence in an
Olympic sport --and it's one of the reasons
why Olympic weightlifting is such a great
sport. Anyone can play, because it doesn't
cost that much to play.
I don't know how much money Kazakhstan has
spent on its weightlifting program, but I doubt
it was very much compared to (for example)
what we spend on basketball or football
in the United States every year.
But Kazakhstan's modest investment in
weightlifting has given its 16.6 million people
a total of FOUR gold medals in weightlifting.
That's a pretty good return on investment.
It's also one of the reasons why olympic
weightlifting (or any other form of progressive
strength training) is such a wonderful activity.
It doesn't cost very much at all -- and the rewards
are simply incredible. There is no sport, no other
type of physical training and no other recreational
activity that will do as much for you as progressive
strength training -- using your choice of barbells,
dumbbells, kettlebells, sandbags and other heavy
awkward objects, or bodyweight training (or a
combination of all of them).
And it doesn't cost very much to get in the game --
and to stay in the game. There are plenty of good
"old school" gyms out there, and the membership
fees are very manageable at an old-school gym.
(As a general rule, the better the gym, the less
expensive the price of a membership.)
If you prefer, you can set up a terrific home gym
at a modest cost, and train there for the rest of your
life.
In either case, your training will build tremendous
strength and power, outstanding muscular development,
and life-long health and fitness.
And that's also a pretty good return on investment.
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. Dumbbell training is made to order
for home gym training -- and my new book,
Dinosaur Dumbbell Training, covers super
effective, old school dumbbell training in detail.
Go here to reserve your copy during our big
pre-publication special:
http://brookskubik.com/dinosaur_dumbbelltraining.html
P.S. 2 My other Dinosaur Training books and
courses are right here:
http://www.brookskubik.com/products.html
P.S. 3. Thought for the Day: "There are only a few smart
investments in life. One is investing in your education.
Another is investing in your strength, health and fitness.
Put your time, effort and money where it will do the most
good for you." -- Brooks Kubik
