The Ant and the Dinosaur!

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

Last night I hit the iron with
a new training partner. He's the
quietest guy I ever trained with,
so the no-talking rule was in full
force the entire time.

And pound for pound, he's the
strongest guy I've ever seen on
the lifting platform.

Here's what happened. I was doing
power snatches, and I lowered the
bar to the platform on one of my
medium heavy sets -- and as I
placed the bar on the platform,
I saw a small, dark sharp
dash forward across the
platform, right by my foot.

It was a big black ant. How I
missed stepping on him, I have
no idea. I must have barely
missed him when I hit the catch
position.

And for the record, ants are
strong. They say they can lift
50 to 10 times their own weight.

I loaded the bar for the next set.
As I put the plates on, he came
running down the rubber mat on the
platform, right past the plates.

I went over to the chalk box and
got ready for the next set. When
I walked back to the bar, he was
running past the plates again.

I hit the lift, lowered the bar,
and there he was -- right to the
side of the plates. Missed him by
inches.

Loaded the bar for the next lift.
Didn't see him.

Went out to make the next lift. He
ran under the bar as I got into
position to lift it.

I made the lift. Lowered the bar.
There he was -- playing chicken
with the barbell plates.

I added more weight. Apparently,
that was the end of his workout.
He took off. The last I saw of
him, he was dashing out of the
garage and into the alley.

Good thing, too -- I don't think
he would have made it through the
clean and jerks.

But I have to admit it. I was sorry
to see him go. As workout partners
go, he was a good one.

And that's the true story of the
ant and the Dinosaur.

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. We'll be getting Dinosaur Dumbbell
Training from the printer very soon --
and shipping them on out to everyone who
reserved a copy. If you haven't already
done so, grab a copy now so you get the
bonus that goes to everyone who orders
during the big pre-publication special:

http://brookskubik.com/dinosaur_dumbbelltraining.html

P.S. 2. My other books and courses (and
DVD's and shirts, hoodies and sweatshirts)
are right here:

http://www.brookskubik.com/products.html

P.S. 3. Thought for the Day: "Broaden
your mind, broaden your horizons and
broaden your shoulders. Life is too
short to be narrow." -- Brooks Kubik

Why Dinosaur Training Should Be Banned!

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

This is the American Library Association's Banned Books Week. In keeping with the occasion, yesterday I launched a campaign to ban my book Dinosaur Training, and asked readers to give me reasons to ban it. Here they are:

“Dinosaur Training is already banned at the gym where I work – but I train the members Dino style as an undercover mission when the owner is not around!”

Anonymous Trainer at Typical Gym

“Dinosaur training should be banned because it teaches exercises that aren’t chest and bicep pumpers.”

Austin Voutour

“It should be banned at any gym where the motto is ‘No grunting, no effort, no strength.’”

Bill

“Hasn't Dinosaur Training already been banned in the pastel-colored, fern-adorned, pink-dumbbelled establishments known as ‘fitness centers’ where the heaviest thing you lift is the monthly charge on your bank account?” 

Tony Williams

Dinosaur Training should be banned because if you train like it directs you to, you'll be able to tear things apart with your bare hands!”

Ken Soper

“Dinosaur Training should definitely be banned.  Heavy weights are dangerous.  It is heretical to suggest any set/rep scheme other than 3 x 10, with light weights, slow and controlled, feeling the pump.  It sends the wrong message about training frequency.  How can you expect to get big arms without doing barbell curls, followed by e-z bar curls, followed by cable curls (from low position and high position), followed by alternate dumbbell curls (using straps because your forearms are fried by now), and then finish up with concentration curls to failure.  This is the recipe for big arms.  Not compound movements with heavy weights.  And especially not squats!”  

Adam Jeffres

“Dinosaur Training: Lost Secrets of Strength and Development should be banned because reading it and following the clear instruction contained within will lead to a worldwide depletion of cotton due to a markedly-increased demand for larger size pants and shirts that will easily outpace production -- to say nothing of the rapid depletion of the world's iron ore reserves as they are converted into 45 lb plates to keep up with the progressive strength gains of a newly enlightened population.”

Scott Moehring

“Dinosaur Training should be banned because following its principles projects a false sense of youth, causing people to assume I'm younger than I actually am!”

Jimmy Clark

“Dinosaur Training should be banned because it reveals the chrome weight machine sissy boys as posers who want to portray themselves as tough guys rather than the Dino's they do not have the fortitude to become.”

Mike Keller

“The book should be banned in Hollywood, California. It's about hard work and real results, not photo-shopped illusions.”

Clifford Levy

“It should not be banned.  You never know who might pick it up, see the light, and be rescued from a life of super-silly, foo-foo fitness.”

Steve Ferguson

“Dino Training should be banned because it builds real men (or women) and that ‘s exactly the opposite of what the fitness industry wants. How can a training book be serious if it doesn’t talk about machines, pumping, supplements, and the latest super system?” 

Guillermo Marisi

“Dinosaur Training should be banned because it transformed me from a helpless muscle comic junkie into a physically and spiritually powerful free-thinker." 

 "T-Rex" Jeff Bankens
Performing Strongman

“Why ban it? Because the strength that Dinosaur Training builds is OBSCENE!”

Bobby Rich

“Your book should be banned because it terrifies the average wussified American male who resides in "PNGL" (pingil), a/k/a/ "Pencil Neck Geek Land"!

Dave Doering

“Dinosaur Training should be banned immediately! If people would read and actually follow its sage advice, an entire industry of fly-by-night personal trainers, supplement pushers, and fitness doo-dad inventors would be wiped from the face of the earth! It must not be allowed to be consumed by a thinking public nor placed anywhere near a bookstore, newsstand or magazine rack carrying the latest issues of Musclehead Monthly, SteroidInsanity Illustrated, or Brain-Dead Fitness Sheep Quarterly. I implore you to do the right thing and urge people to continue wasting their hard-earned money and precious time in support of the ‘latest, scientifically-proven, heretofore-never-made-public’ witchcraftery that comprises most people's idea of ‘working out.’"

Darryl Eng

“The knowledge revealed in Dinosaur Training is too upsetting for the average gym member, and therefore, the book should not be allowed inside any typical gym.”

Jeff DiMeo

“Dinosaur Training should be banned because it is just too heavy a book and poses severe health hazards to the gym bunny population with its unfathomable weight.”

Kevin Dillon

“Dinosaur Training must be banned now! My 140 pound, 15 year old son has worked up to a 215 pound bench press using the methods found in this publication.”

Stef Hiltz

“Dinosaur Training should be banned because it is too easy to understand. It should be banned because it is not designed to sell you a product to waste your money on and make other people rich. It should be banned because it tells it how it is, and how it works. It should be banned because most people cannot handle the truth about strength training!”

Dennis Brigham

“We can never ban this wonderful book. To heck with the bunnies and all their silly workout routines. I had a bunny promoting the triceps kickback to me. I told him I recently close grip pressed 315 and push pressed 190. I wear my Dino t-shirt and my Gray Hair and Black Iron sweat shirt with pride. The bunny crowd will never get it!”

Jeff Farelli    
    
“This book should be banned from all garage/basement gyms where common sense already rules. It should, however, be forcibly read to all chrome and fern folk all across the world!”

Chris “Paulie” Davis

“I believe Dinosaur Training should be banned because every time I read a chapter it makes me want to walk through walls, and I can't afford the re-plastering costs.”


Tommy Goldner    
              
“The Bible of Dinosaur Training should be banned for two reasons:


1. It does something to your body that is really strange. It changes your body composition and builds real muscle. No pump, no endless burn and soreness from 25 sets of 65 reps, no zeppelin-like arms unless they are really packed with 100% No BS muscle. Who in the era of modern bodybuilding would want that?


2. The book is written by a master of mind manipulation. He will not only change your mind and your concepts of training forever, he will make you addicted to the book in no time. Once you read it you have to re-read it – and read it again – and again – and again! STOP! I have to grab my copy and re-read it tonight!”
Andreas Jauss     
                           
And there you have it. Plenty of good reasons to implement an immediate ban on Dinosaur Training. I’ll forward this to the proper authorites in PNGL and see what we can do!

In the meantime, if you don’t already have a copy, grab it now – it might not be available if the Chrome and Fern Crowd has their way!

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 can grab your copy of Dinosaur Training right here:

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaur_training.html

P.S. 2. My other books and courses (and DVD’s and Dinosaur Training t-shirts, etc.) are right here:

http://www.brookskubik.com/products.html

P.S. 3. Thought for the Day: “Most people want something for nothing. Dinos are different. They want something for effort." – Brooks Kubik

Dinosaur Dumbbell Training Update!

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

At exactly 11:33 a.m. EST I rec'd
the very first copy of Dinosaur
Dumbbell Training.

It's actually the only copy of the
book in the entire world.

It's an approval copy -- meaning,
they run one copy, and if I approve
it, they run the rest.

So, here's what the approval copy
looks like:

it's big -- 8 1/2 x 11

it's perfect bound

it has over 200 pages, counting the
roman numbered pages at the front

it has nine chapters

it has forewords by Bill Hinbern and Mike
Mahler

it covers 103 different exercises

it gives you 50 different workouts

it includes a short history of dumbbell
training

it has all kinds of tips about how to
implement dumbbell training into your
workouts 

it has tons of photos

it has classic photos of old-time champions
who used dumbbells in their training

it has a full-cover cover with three photos
on the front, and three more on the back
(you can see the front cover on the order
page at my website)

And all in all -- it looks great.

So -- Did I approve the little monster?

You bet I did!

And I just put in the PRINT IT NOW
order -- so we should be getting all
the copies in the first printing very,
very soon. Next week, if we're lucky.

The pre-publication special ends as soon
as UPS delivers the books to me -- so if
you want to grab a copy and get the
pre-publication special bonus, do it
now. Go here to place your order:

http://brookskubik.com/dinosaur_dumbbelltraining.html

Thanks to everyone who already reserved a
copy -- and thanks to everyone who does
it today!

Yours in strength,

Brooks Kubik

P.S. If you want me to autograph your book,
please ask for an autograph in the Special
Instructions section of the on-line order
form!

P.S. 2. Save some clams on s&h by ordering
two or more of my books and courses at the
same time.

Attn Dinos -- Ban this Book Now!

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

This is the American Library
Association Banned Books
Week. It's a celebration of
the freedom to read books.

But the freedom to read books
doesn't always come easily.
Sometimes, authors and pub-
lishers (and loyal readers)
have had to fight for it.

Over the years, many great books
have been "banned" by school
boards, libraries, or even towns
or cities.

It's a long and impressive list,
and it includes:

1. Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn

2. James Joyce's Ulysses

3. D. H. Lawrence's Lady Chatterly's
Lover and his earlier novel, The
Rainbow

4. J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter
books

5. Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird

All of which are highly acclaimed,
award winning works of literature,
and all of which have sold millions
and millions of copies. (So it's
almost like being banned is good
for business.)

But there's one book that SHOULD be
on the list, that isn't.

You know what I'm talking about.

Dinosaur Training: Lost Secrets of
Strength and Development.

The book that started the Dinosaur
Revolution.

The one that covers all the things
that make the dweebsters, wannabes,
muscle pumpers and gym bunnies run
in terror.

The one that terrifies the little
lemmings in Chrome and Fern Land.

The book that brought you thick bar
training, death sets, heavy awkward
objects, finishers, 5 x 5, heavy
singles, bottom position rack work,
and the world-famous CAN DO Dinosaur
attitude.

The book that has been teaching and
inspiring trainees around the world
ever since 1996.

The book they call "the bible of
strength training."

It's a great book for anyone interested
in building sheer, raw strength and
power -- and it's a book the soft and
gentle crowd absolutely hates.

So we need to get it banned. There has
to be SOMEWHERE that is Bunny Safe.

Somewhere that qualifies as a sort of
Dinosaur-free Zone.

And since this is the official Banned
Books Week, this is the week to get it
done.

So do this -- if you've read Dinosaur
Training, shoot me an email and tell me
in one sentence why the book should be
banned and where the ban should be
imposed.

I'll post the best responses tomorrow,
and send them on to the folks in charge
of book banning.

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. If you have NOT read Dinosaur Training,
order your copy today -- before they ban
the little monster!

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaur_training.html

P.S. 2. My other books and courses are right
here -- and they, too, might end up on the
banned book list any day. After all, they
teach real world, no nonsense, old-school
strength training and muscle building --
and the pencil necks in charge of book
banning probably HATE that sort of thing:

http://www.brookskubik.com/products.html

P.S. 3. Thought for the Day: "Simple is
good, and simpler is better." -- Brooks Kubik

Train Hard, Have Fun!

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

One of the secrets of successful
training is to work hard but to
have fun. That's why we call it
THE IRON GAME.

Note the use of the word: GAME.

A game is something you play to
have fun. To relax. To have a
good time.

Most people don't get that. And
that includes Dinos and non-Dinos,
alike.

The non-Dinos don't get the part
about working hard -- nor do they
get the part about having fun. They
tend to view exercise as drudgery.
They don't like to train. They
"work out" (interesting term)
solely to achieve a particular
result (usually, to lose weight).
But they don't enjoy the process.
And even though they always moan
about how hard it is, they don't
train hard.

Dinos understand the importance of
hard work -- and Dinos enjoy their
training.

The problem for some Dinos is that
they sabotage the HAVE FUN part of
the game by driving themselves crazy
about the minute details of their
training or their diet. They start
to worry themselves to death -- and
that takes all the fun out of things.

Usually, it's the result of spending
too much time reading about training
on the internet or on Facebook. Every-
one has an opinion, and all the opinions
are different, and before you know it,
you have no idea what to do, and you
end up dazed, confused and frantic --
and unhappy.

When that happens, you need to step
back, take a deep breath, and think
things through.

It's all pretty simple. Train hard
and train consistently. Don't skip
workouts. Make training a habit.

Train progressively. 

Use mind-power when you train. Use
the concentration and visualization
techniques in Dinosaur Training and
in Dinosaur Bodyweight Training.

Train your legs, hips, back and
shoulder girdle extra hard. These
are the key muscle groups for
Herculean strength and
development.

Use abbreviated workouts.

Pay attention to rest, recovery and
recuperation.

Train with confidence. This stuff
works. It works for me, and it works
for tens of thousands of Dinosaurs
around the world, and it will work
for YOU.

Stay positive. Be cheerful. Cultivate a
happy mind. Don't let little things throw
you off track. And don't waste energy on
the small stuff.

Training should be the highpoint of your
day. Make it hard -- but make it fun!

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. Check out the cover of my new book,
Dinosaur Dumbbell Training -- and reserve
your copy today:

http://brookskubik.com/dinosaur_dumbbelltraining.html

Note: The pre-publication special for
Dinosaur Dumbbell Training is coming to a
close very soon -- and we'll be shipping
the books very, very shortly!

P.S. 2. My other books and courses are right
here -- check them out:

http://www.brookskubik.com/products.html

P.S. 3. Thought for the Day: "A happy
lifter is a stronger lifter." -- Brooks
Kubik

My Current Training Program

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

We were in radio silence yesterday --
meaning, I wasn't able to send an
email message or put anything up on
the Dinosaur Training Blog. So don't
worry about missing anything -- you
didn't!

That means today counts as Monday,
so we'll start the week by talking
about training.

I've been doing two workouts a week
for the past month or so, and it's
been working well. The extra rest
gives me more time for recovery,
and I feel strong and fresh in
each workout.

I've been doing two exercises in
each workout: power snatches and
the power clean and jerk (using
either a split jerk or a power
jerk).

I do singles on each exercise. I
take 10 to 15 minutes to do a good
general warm-up, and then I start
in on my lifting. I begin with the
empty bar and work up from there.

To save time, I do one power snatch,
rest briefly, do one clean and jerk,
and then add weight to the bar. I work
pretty fast, with very short rests on
the lighter sets -- really, it's no
more than the time it takes to change
the weight, take a sip of water, or
make a note in my workout log.

When I get close to my top weight for
the day in snatches, I may stop doing
clean and jerk, and just do snatches,
with a two or three minute rest
between snatches.

When I finish the snatches I add weight
and do my next clean and jerk -- and
then I move up from there until I hit
my top clean and jerk for the day.

Each workout takes 45 to 60 minutes
from start to finish, and as I noted
earlier, my recovery has been really
good. So it seems like I'm doing "the
right amount" of work for my 55-year
old body.

Mike Burgener uses a similar program
for his lifters in the Masters division
(age 35 and up). He's had good results
with it.

This month, I want to try including
some front squats or back squats. I'll
do them after the snatch and clean and
jerk. And again, I'll start light, do
singles, and work up quickly to my top
weight for the day.

That may or may not prove to be too
much work, but we'll give it a try
and see what happens. Successful
training is all about intelligent
experimentation, and making sensible
changes as you grow older.

Anyhow, I'll be hitting the iron later
today, and I'm looking forward to it.
If you train today, we'll be training
partners.

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. Dinosaur Dumbbell Training is at
the printer and I will be getting the
copies and shipping them very soon. If
you have not reserved your copy, do it
now:

http://brookskubik.com/dinosaur_dumbbelltraining.html

P.S. 2. My other books and courses are
right here at Dino Headquarters:

http://www.brookskubik.com/products.html

P.S. 3. Thought for the Day: "Training is
serious business, but don't forget to have
fun while you're doing it." -- Brooks Kubik

Hungry Dino Attacks Farmer's Market!

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

I just got back from the Farmer's
market with a ton of fresh veggies
and other great stuff.

We grow many of our own veggies in
our backyard garden, but we don't
grow everything we like, so we stock
up every Saturday morning at the
Farmer's Market.

Today, I went there before breakfast,
so I was hungry. So I didn't just go
shopping. I attacked the place!

By the time I was done, I had
loaded up with the following:

1. One big bag of fresh greens (two
bunches of arugula, two bunches of
kale, and three bunches of Swiss
chard).

2. One bunch of golden beets with
beet greens.

3. One medium pumpkin.

4. One head of broccoli.

5. One big garlic clove.

6. Two bags of shitake mushrooms.

7. 15 to 20 heirloom tomatoes
(four or five different kinds, and
several different colors).

8. Six medium-size heirloom potatoes.

9. One big bag of salad greens and
broad leaf lettuces.

10. One big bag of arugula.

11. One pint of grape tomatoes in a
variety of shapes and colors.

12. Six dozen eggs from happy chickens
that get to wonder around the farm and
eat bugs and worms all day long.

13. Two pounds of bacon and four
pork chops from a local farmer that
raises grass-fed beef and free-range
pork. (The same one who has the
happy chickens.)

14. Two pounds of stew meat (grass-fed
beef).

15. One bunch of radishes.

16. And last, but not least, flowers
for Trudi.

I would have gotten more, but I ran out
of bags and arms, and besides, we have
no way of storing any more than this.

As you can see, we eat lots and lots of
fresh veggies -- lots of eggs from happy
chickens -- and locally raised, free-range
pork and grass-fed beef.

Now, you may ask, "How much did he pay
for all that?"

You'd be surprised. The prices at the
Farmer's Market are lower than grocery
store prices -- and the quality is
enormously better.

Plus, everything I bought was natural
and organic. No added chemicals. No
herbicides, fungicides, fumicides,
or people-cides. No preservatives.
Just good, fresh, wholesome, delicious
and nutritious food.

When I got home, I had my Steve Stanko
breakfast. He liked fried eggs over
fresh greens (endive and dandelion
greens were his favorites). I had
four fried eggs over a big plate of
mixed greens and herbs -- along with
two small tomatoes, several sliced
radishes and one medium heirloom
potato.

I figure if it was good enough for
Steve Stanko, it's good enough for me.

It may be working, too. I had a great
workout last night. Dino style nutrition
builds Dino style strength. Just ask
Steve Stanko.

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. Dinosaur Dumbbell Training is at
the printer and I should be getting the
little monster very soon -- and when I
do, I'll shoot all orders out the door
faster than you can say Pterodactyl Mail.
If you have not yet ordered your copy,
do it now so you get the pre-publication
bonus:

http://brookskubik.com/dinosaur_dumbbelltraining.html

P.S. 2. My other books and courses are
right here at Dino Headquarters:

http://www.brookskubik.com/products.html

P.S. 3. Thought for the Day: "Train smart,
eat smart, live smart." -- Brooks Kubik

Gray Haired Dino Gets Great Results!

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

Two quick updates, and then some training
talk.

1. Dinosaur Dumbbell Training is at the
printer and will be ready to ship SOON!
I'll keep you posted when I have a firm
ship date from the printer. It's taken
longer than expected because it has so
many photos and pages -- it took my
layout team a long time to get it all
together. But it looks GREAT -- and it
weighs in at over 200 8 1/2 x 11 pages.

If you haven't reserved your copy yet,
now's the time:

http://brookskubik.com/dinosaur_dumbbelltraining.html

2. I'm working on the first issue of the
new and improved quarterly Dinosaur Files
newsletter. If you have an idea for an
article, or if you want to run a classified
or box ad, shoot me an email. Also, I'll
send  a link to the subscription page in
a week or two.

And now, let's talk training.

Dr. Clifford Levy is one of our older
Dinos who's been getting GREAT results
on a very simple twice a week workout.
Note that he is back to barbell and
dumbbell work after a period of nearly
20 years, and that he is approaching
weights that he has not lifted since
1984. That's pretty impressive!

"Brooks,

Just want to tell you how much this gray
hair likes your training ideas. After taking
20-plus years off from barbells and DB's, I
have been back at it for 2-plus years. I did
spend those "off years" lifting heavy awkward
objects.

I train 2x/week:

Monday: Bench press, squats and chins.

Thursday: Deadlift, press, and rows.

I add some gut work and farmer's walk
when I can and it works well.

I add weight to the bar almost every month
and hope to hit 300, 400, 500 again before
the end of the year. I last did that in
1984.

Keep writing -- your work is inspiring.

Lee"

Lee -- Thanks for sharing that. It looks
like you are doing everything right in
your training -- including:

1. Two workouts per week.

2. Divided workouts.

3. Abbreviated training.

4. Basic, compound exercises.

5. Some supplemental gut work
and the farmer's walk for grip
strength and over-all
conditioning.

6. Setting high but not
impossible poundage goals.

7. Adding weight to the bar
regularly, but slowly.

Keep me posted on your training and your
progress, and let me know when you hit the
300/400/500 numbers.

To everyone -- 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. Gray Hair and Black Iron is the best and
most complete book ever written about serious
training for older lifters:

http://www.brookskubik.com/grayhair_blackiron.html

P.S. 2. My other books and courses are available
right here at Dinosaur Headquarters:

http://www.brookskubik.com/products.html

P.S. 3. Thought for the Day: "Everyone needs to
train smart, but older lifters need to train
double smart." -- Brooks Kubik

The Dino of the Day!

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

Christian Tackett set a PR in the
front squat not very long ago --
but that's not why he's the Dino
of the Day.

On Sunday, I sent out a call for
help -- an email message telling
the Dino Nation about 21 year old
Carrie Clark, who is training for
the North Carolina Special Olympics
powerlifting event in 2013 -- and
who just had a medical set-back
that landed her in the Duke
University Medical Center for
six days.

She's home now, but she's still
having a lot of trouble. She
needs some get well cards --
or some notes or letters of
support.

In the past, she has responded
well when she has rec'd cards or
letters. Not emails, but old
fashioned snail mail. She likes
to put them on the wall of her
room.

So I asked the Dino Nation to
send a card, letter or note to
Carrie -- and to pass the word
and recruit others to do so.

Christian Tackett responded by
sending a card of his own -- and
recruiting some friends to do the
same thing -- and then telling
a school teacher friend about
it. As a result, an entire class
of 24 fifth-graders will be sending
cards or notes to Carrie.

By stepping up and taking action,
Christian has accounted for more
than 30 cards or letters for Carrie.

And that's why he's the Dino of the
Day.

Yours in strength,

Brooks Kubik

P.S. Carrie's address is:

Carrie Clark
5720 Lauderdale Road
Browns Summit, NC
                       27214

P.S. 2. Thanks to Christian and to
everyone else who has sent a card
or letter to Carrie!

Dino Style Cardio!

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

When I was a kid, all the coaches
used cardio training  as a form of
punishment.

They called it "running laps." When
a coach was mad at you, you ran laps.

If he was real mad, you ran many
laps.

The freshman football coach was
the worst. If the team lost a
game, he made all the players
honorary members of the Thousand
Yard Club.

The Thousand Yard Club was twenty
50 yard sprints in full football
gear, with hardly any rest between
sprints. It was brutal. They needed
to keep plenty of puke buckets handy
on the day we did it.

If you lost another game, the coach
added two additional 50 yard sprints.

The freshman team was TERRIBLE my
year. We lost 8 games and tied one.
By the end of the season the Thousand
Yard Club had morphed into the 1800
Yard Club.

The whole thing was self-defeating,
because that many sprints just wore
legs out, and we were stiff and sore
and tired and slow on game day. It
would have been a lot better to have
made us run some sprints, and then
stopped and called it a day. Our
recovery would have been better,
and we would have played better.

And that's the problem with cardio
training for Iron Heads. You need
to do enough cardio -- but not too
much. And you need to do the right
kind of cardio.

So here are some ideas:

1. Dumbbell swings, cleans and
snatches, as described in Dinosaur
Dumbbell Training. Sets of five will
get your heart and lungs working big
time.

2. Lugging and loading drills, as
described in Gray Hair and Black
Iron. These are great -- they're
lots of fun, and they involve
lugging, lifting, loading and
carrying heavy stuff -- which
is PERFECT for Dinos. Kudos to
Dr. Ken for this idea.

3. Finishers, as described in
Strength, Muscle and Power. These
are like number two, but you go
harder and heavier.

4. PHA training, where you combine
five or six different exercises for
different parts of the body and
perform one set of each back to
back with no rest. Let's you use
basic barbell and dumbbell (or
kettlebell or sandbag) exercises
for a great cardio workout. See
Gray Hair and Black Iron for
details and for routines.

5. Bodyweight training where you
do medium to high reps and focus
on conditioning. Or -- one of my
personal favorites -- supersetting
two advanced bodyweight exercises
for low to medium reps and doing
five to ten sets of each. Builds
strength, builds muscle and gives
you a great cardio workout all in
one.

6. Death sets, as described in
Dinosaur Training. Those 20 rep
sets of squats and deadlifts will
work your heart and lungs like
you won't believe.

As with anything else, you start
easy and build up gradually and
more progressively to harder
training. Do NOT go out and jump
into full bore cardio training.
(That's especially important for
older trainees and for heavier
trainees.)

Or -- you could go run laps or sign
up for the Thousand Yard Club. But
trust me, that's not nearly as much
fun!

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 can find the various books
mentioned in this email right here
at Dino Headquarters:

1. Dinosaur Dumbbell Training (currently
at the printer, and out very soon):

http://brookskubik.com/dinosaur_dumbbelltraining.html

2. Gray Hair and Black Iron

http://www.brookskubik.com/grayhair_blackiron.html

3. Strength, Muscle and Power

http://www.brookskubik.com/strength_muscle_power.html

4. Dinosaur Bodyweight Training

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaur_bodyweight.html

P.S. 2. Thought for the Day: "The air we breathe
is life itself, and so is the iron we lift."
-- Brooks Kubik

Will this Program Work?

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

We'll talk training in a minute,
but first, I am asking a favor on
behalf of a fellow Dinosaur:

Please send a card or letter to
Carrie Clark!

If you missed yesterday's email, please
read it on The Dinosaur Training Blog --
it will give you the full story:

http://dinosaurtraining.blogspot.com/2012/09/attention-dinos-fellow-dino-needs-your.html

You also can go to my Facebook page and
photos of Carrie with top strongmen and
in training for her competition.

In a nutshell, Carrie Clark is a 21
year old Dino training to compete in
the North Carolina Special Olympics
in powerlifting -- and she just had
a big medical set-back, and she really
needs some cards, notes and letters
of support. The blog post gives you
her mailing address.

That's all we're asking for -- just a
card or note with a brief word of
encouragement.

I know that many Dinos have already
sent Carrie a card or note -- so
THANK YOU to everyone who has done
so!

And now, on the training front -- I
get a lot of questions from Dinos
who have painstakingly put together
a new training program, and want to
know if it will work.

There are several answers to the "Will
it work?" question.

1. First of all, is your current program
working for you?

If it is, don't switch. Stay with what's
working. When it stops working, THEN you
can try something new.

2. Have you tried something like this in
the past, and if so, how did it work? The
odds are good that if something didn't
work the last time you tried it, it's
not going to work this time.

3. What are your goals? Your training
program has to be related to your goals.
You don't win the 100 yard dash by
training to run marathons, and you
don't win the shot put by pole
vaulting.

4. What's your current strength level
and how experienced are you? Two of the
most common mistakes are (a) using
advanced strength training methods
(like heavy singles) before you have
built a solid foundation, and
(b) using an advanced you're
ready for it.

See Chalk and Sweat for 50 different
workouts that are suited to trainees
with different strength levels and
different degrees of training
experience.

5. How old are you? The older you are,
the more important it is to use low
volume training programs a/k/a
Quality Training, or Abbreviated
Training.

It's also important for an older
trainee to cycle the weights he uses,
and to cycle his intensity. You need
to train hard, and then back off and
train not so hard.

See Gray Hair and Black Iron for
specific advice for older trainees.

6. It probably won't work because it's
too long and there are too many exercises.
I sometimes see proposed workouts that
are too short, but that's rare. They're
usually too long!

7. Try it and see. There's nothing wrong
with seeing if something works for you.
If it does, great -- if not, find something
that does.

7A. Note: of course, no. 1 and no. 6 trump
number 7.

And that's the answer -- or rather, the
answers -- to the "Will it work?" question.

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 can find all of my books and courses,
including Chalk and Sweat, Gray Hair and Black
Iron and Dinosaur Dumbbell Training right here
at Dino Headquarters:

http://www.brookskubik.com/products.html

P.S. 2. Thought for the Day: "Every good
deed leads to a new PR. It's the law of
karma applied to strength training."
-- Brooks Kubik

Attention Dinos -- A Fellow Dino Needs Your Help!

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

I just received the following email message from Jimmy Clark, a 55-year old Dino who is asking the Dino Nation for a very special favor. It's not for him. It's for his daughter -- and I'll let him tell you about it in his very own words: 

"I have a young Dino who really needs some support from her fellow Dinos.

Carrie is my daughter and is developmentally delayed. The day after her birth, she was flown to Duke Medical Center and put on a life support machine and was given very little chance of survival. We were told that if she survived she would most likely be a "vegetable." Another doctor told us that she would require a lot of extra care because her muscle tone would never be what it should be.

That was 21 years ago and Carrie has done remarkably well. She has a shunt in her brain that has had to be replaced 13 times, and has had several other surgeries including removing a tumor from her pituitary gland that had caused her to gain over 100 lbs.

Through all of this Carrie has always kept a good attitude and is the type of person that lights up the room she's in because of her sweet personality.

She has recently taken a real desire to strength training. One of the photos I attached is her posing at the 2011 World's Strongest Man competition with winner Brian Shaw and close competitor Mike Jenkins.( She's not confined to a wheelchair but was having a rough weekend at that time due to dizzy spells.) She told me after that event, " Daddy, I want to be strong!"

We started out training Dino style with abbreviated training and she is progressing quite well. The other photo I've attached is her pulling a 103 lb tire sled we made for a distance of about
 75 ft.! It is one of her favorite "cardio" exercises.

We took her to the North Carolina Special Olympics this past June and she decided she wants to compete in the powerlifting event in 2013!

However, we've had another set back. We just returned home from Duke Hospital after being there for 6 days, running tests for seizures.

CT scans, x-rays and flow tests have all shown her shunt to be working fine and an MRI confirmed no swelling in her brain. Even a 2 day EEG showed no signs of seizure activity. They think she is having a type of seizure that just keeps her in a state of confusion. She acts kind of like a person after a mild stroke. This just started about a week ago now.

We just haven't got the real Carrie back yet.

I write all this in hopes of some support from our fellow Dinos. I'm just hoping for a "get well" card or letter or note from those who would take the time. Carrie has always responded positively in past situations when she sees someone cares enough to send her a card. Right now she needs all the support and prayers she can get.

Her address is:

 Carrie Clark
 5720 Lauderdale Rd.
 Browns Summit, NC  27214

Please send a card, a letter or a short note. It doesn't have to be long or fancy. Even a postcard or a simple handwritten note would be fine. Carrie isn't really into emails much and besides, we hope to line the walls of her room with visual evidence that there's people out there who care about others. I've never met a true strength apostle who didn't.

Thanks for taking the time to help. It will mean so much to her -- more than I can ever tell you.

Your fellow Dinosaur,

Jimmy Clark"

Okay, Dinos --  we need to take action!

Synchronize your watches, because Operation Carrie begins RIGHT NOW.

I want the Dino Nation to send enough cards, letters and notes to Carrie to line every wall of her room. You can buy a card, sign it and mail it -- or make a card of your own -- or just write a short note on a piece of paper. If you're married, ask your spouse to join you by sending a separate card or note. If you have kids, please ask them to do the same thing. (A hand-written card with a child's drawing or coloring or painting would be extra special.) Mail one card or note from everyone in the family in a big envelope. The idea is to get as many cards as possible to Carrie -- and to do it as fast as possible.

We're having a family dinner tonight, so I'm recruiting Trudi, my stepsons, my daughter in law, and the granddaughters. The cats, too, although I'll write theirs for them. That makes nine cards, so we're off to a good start.

Please share this message with your friends, training partners, co-workers, people at school or church, etc. The cards, notes and letters don't need to come from Dinosaurs, and they don't need to come from weightlifters. They can come from anyone who wants to score a few good karma points by taking five minutes of their time and paying for a postage stamp to help brighten the day of a very strong and very courageous young woman named Carrie Clark.

Also, please share this message on Facebook, on discussion boards and forums, and anywhere and everywhere you can. Let's get the word to as many people as possible. I'm sure there are plenty of folks who would be delighted to help brighten Carrie's day and speed her on the path to recovery.

I'll ask Jimmy to keep us posted on what happens -- but I predict that it's going to start snowing cards and letters in Browns Summit, N.C. 

My apologies in advance to the postman -- and a very sincere "THANK YOU!" to everyone who steps forward and takes action to help out.

Yours in strength,

Brooks Kubik

The Weight Progression Question!

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

Yesterday we talked about rest between
sets.

Today we'll talk about weight progression,
meaning, where do you start and how much
do you add from set to set?

Once again, there's no one way to do it.
It depends on many different things,
including your current strength levels,
your age, and the exercises you are
doing.

When I was in my early thirties and lifting
in powerlifting and bench press contests, I
would typically start at 135 in the squat,
bench and deadlift, and move up in 90 pound
jumps. I chose 90 pounds because it was the
weight of two 45 pound plates.

Those are big jumps, but for a powerlifting
or power rack workout where I would go up
to 400-plus in the bench press, 500 or
600-plus in the squat and 500-plus in
the deadlift, it worked fine.

Of course, if your top weight is 200 pounds
in any particular exercise, you're not going
to make 90 pound jumps. Ten or twenty pound
jumps would work much better.

For other exercises, I would usually make 20
pound jumps. I'd start 80 or 100 pounds under
my top weight for the day and move up to it
20 pounds at a time. That, too, worked well.

For dumbbell training, I like to make 10
pound jumps, regardless of whether I'm doing
a one-dumbbell exercise or a two-dumbbell
exercise. If you go higher than that, you're
jumping too fast on the two dumbbell
exercises.

In my current workouts, where I focus on
Olympic lifting, I start with a broomstick,
and them move to an empty bar. I move up in
10 kilo (22 pound jumps) until I'm around
70 percent of my top weight for the day, and
then I drop to ten pound jumps. Sometimes I
even drop to five pound jumps. This works
better for me on the Olympic lifts, where
you really need to work on your technique.

As a general rule, older trainees should do
more progressively heavier warm-up sets than
younger lifters -- so keep that in mind when
you choose your weight jumps. You want to do
enough of those warm-up sets to be as ready
as possible when you get to the heavy stuff.

Poundage progression is just like any other
part of your training. There's no one size
fits all answer. You need to think things
through and learn what works best for YOU.
And you need to understand that what works
best for you NOW, may change in the future.
(In fact, it probably will change.)

To me, that's part of the fun of training.
And if you're a Dino, you probably feel the
same way.

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. Dinosaur Dumbbell Training is at the
printer now, and it looks great! We'll be
getting and mailing the little monster
pretty soon -- and I think you're really
going to like it. BTW, it's right around
200 pages. Big book, lots of great
material:

http://brookskubik.com/dinosaur_dumbbelltraining.html

P.S. 2. My other books and courses are
right here:

http://www.brookskubik.com/products.html

P.S. 3. Thought for the Day: "You can
over-complicate anything, and most people
usually do."-- Brooks Kubik

The Rest Between Sets Question!

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

Rob Condon asked me what kind of weight
progressions I use, and how long I rest
between sets.

We'll cover weight progressions tomorrow.
For now, let's focus on rest between sets.

First of all, there's no magic number for
how long to rest between sets. I'm sure
there's someone who posted an internet
article claiming to have discovered the
scientific basis for the perfect amount
of time to rest between sets, and I'm
even more sure I'm never going to look
for it, much less read it.

Like everything else, how long you rest
between sets depends on a number of
things.

For example, I train in an unheated
garage, with no a/c. It gets cold in
the winter, and hot in the summer.
I tend to rest less in the winter,
just to stay warm. In the summer, I
rest a bit longer because it's so
hot.

Rest periods also depend on how heavy
you go. On a day you're going after a
new PR or a day when you're upping the
weight on squats or deadlifts, you're
probably going to go a bit slower.

As a general rule, you can go faster when
you do upper body exercises. Squats and
deads generally require a bit more rest
because they take so much out of you.

In my experience, you need more rest
when you're doing squats and deadlifts
when you're doing explosive movements
like snatches and cleans.

And speaking of explosive movements --
you need to be sure you get enough rest
that you avoid getting a pump. A pump
throws your timing and coordination off.
(Don't disagree -- this comes directly
from Tommy Kono.)

For most Dino's, high rep sets are more
taxing than low rep sets, and that means
you need more rest between sets or between
exercises.

If you do multiple working sets, you need
enough rest between them to do justice to
each set. Doing 3 x 5 work sets with a heavy
weight is tough to do, and you won't get
your reps if you go too fast.

You need much less rest between warm-up sets
than you do between your working sets. I
usually just load the bar, record the previous
set in my training journal, and then go back
and do the next set when I'm doing my warm-ups.
As the weight gets heavier, I rest a bit
longer.

The bottom line is this: rest long enough to
get the most out of the next set. But when
you rest, stay focused. Close your eyes and
think about the next set. Don't make a call
on your cell phone, don't watch the idiot
box, don't listen to talk radio, don't jump
on Facebook, and don't surf the internet.
It's training time even when you're
resting.

Sometimes, though, it all comes down to what
Life has to say about it.

The other day I was doing power snatches, and
I had exactly 30 minutes to do the entire
workout because Trudi was working late and
I had to go pick her up. I didn't want her
to have to wait around, since she was already
late getting home and it had been a long day
for her.

That meant I had to go faster than usual --
but I wanted to do five working sets and then
do one additional, slightly heavier set to
finish things off. And I wanted to do all
of my warm-ups, because doing heavy snatches
without warming-up is silly -- especially for
a 55 year old Dino.

So I worked FAST -- and I did all of my warm-up
sets, worked my regular weight progressions, and
hit the five working sets and the heavier set.
I finished in exactly 30 minutes. And get this --
it was a GREAT workout, and the bar was really
moving fast. In fact, that 30 minute workout was
BETTER than the last time I did the same workout
at a much more leisurely 50 or 55 minute pace.

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. Dinosaur Dumbbell Training is looking great,
and we'll be shipping it soon. There's still time
to grab a copy during the pre-publication
special and grab the pre-publication bonuses
when we fill your order:

http://brookskubik.com/dinosaur_dumbbelltraining.html

P.S. 2. If you want to SEE what one of my current
workouts looks like, grab this:

http://brookskubik.com/goingstrong.html

P.S. 3. My other books and courses -- and DVD's --
are right here:

http://www.brookskubik.com/products.html

P.S. 4. Thought for the Day: "How long to rest
depends on how much iron you just killed."
-- Brooks Kubik

The Man at the Typewriter

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

A massive, thickly muscled man sat alone
in his office, pounding the keys of an
old-fashioned manual typewriter.

His thick fingers hit the keyboard so
hard it jumped and bounced.

He paused, collected his thoughts, and
continued.

A minute or two later, he nodded, pulled
the paper out of the machine, and gave
it a quick once over.

He stopped, shook his head, and reached
for a stubby no. 2 pencil. The point was
broken. He sharpened it with a small
pocketknife, turned back to the sheet
of paper, and made some rapid
corrections.

He signed his name with old cartridge
pen and threw the letter into a large
stack of other letters.

And that's how John Grimek -- the best
built man of his generation (and perhaps
of all time) spent many of his days.

Sitting in his office in the Strength and
Health building at 51 North Broad Street
in York, Pa. -- answering letters.

I've seen some of Grimek's letters, and
I'm struck by two things. One, he typed
them himself. No secretary. No dictation.
Just Grimek at the keyboard, pounding
away. You can tell because there are
typos everywhere. (Remember, there was
no spell check or correcting function
on those old-fashioned manual
typewriters.)

Second, he took the time to correct
them with pen or pencil.

Now, think about that for a minute.

John Grimek may have received more
letters than any other bodybuilding
or weightlifting champion in history.
He answered tens of thousands of them.
Maybe hundreds of thousands.

And yet, he always took the time to
read and correct his letters -- and
often, to add an extra hand-written
note or two.

That tells you something about John
Grimek -- and about what it takes to
be a true champion.

You always remember your roots. You
always go out of your way to help
others -- especially the beginners,
because beginners always need help.
You always give 100 percent. And when
you do something, you do it right --
even if that means taking a couple of
minutes to read and correct a type-
written letter.

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 can learn more about John Grimek
and his training in this great course:

http://brookskubik.com/johngrimek_course.html

P.S. 2. John Grimek and the other York
champions are featured in my Legacy of
Iron books. They're the closest thing
to a Time Machine that will take you
back to the Golden Age of Muscle and
Might:

1. Legacy of Iron

http://www.brookskubik.com/legacy_of_iron.html


2. Clouds of War

http://www.brookskubik.com/clouds_of_war.html


3. The 1000 Pound Total

http://www.brookskubik.com/1000pound_total.html


4. York Goes to War!

http://www.brookskubik.com/legacy_of_iron4.html

5. Barbells in the Pacific

http://www.brookskubik.com/barbells_pacific.html

P.S. 3. Thought for the Day: "Old-school iron
builds old-school character." -- Brooks Kubik

The Hammer and Nail Mentality!

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

When you train, you need to
train with the hammer and nail
mentality.

It's just like hammering a nail
into a piece of wood.

You set it up, position it just
right, hold it firmly -- and hit
it with just the right amount of
force. Not too much and not too
little.

You use controlled, targeted,
focused, intelligent force when
you hit the nail.

You hit it square on -- dead center.

You drive it straight into the wood.
Not to the side. Not at an angle.
Not almost where you want it. Exactly
where you want it.

Then you do it again.

And once again, you do it perfectly.

And you repeat until the job is done.

That's how you use a hammer and nail --
and that's how you train with the hammer
and nail mentality.

Control. Precision. Perfect form. Perfect
reps. No wasted movement. Everything
counts.

It's quality training all the way.

That's what does the job. And it works
for everyone -- every single time.

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 pre-publication special for
Dinosaur Dumbbell Training is winding
down and we'll be mailing the books
soon. If you've been waiting to place
your order, do it now:

http://brookskubik.com/dinosaur_dumbbelltraining.html

P.S. 2. Here are more great books and
courses for Dinosaurs:

http://www.brookskubik.com/products.html

P.S. 3. Thought for the Day: "If you're
going to do something, do it right."
-- Brooks Kubik

An Update on the Quarterly Dino Files Newsletter!

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

Rob Drucker, who has written some great
articles for the Dinosaur Files newsletter,
and done some killer reviews of my books,
shot in an email with a question about
the Dino Files.

Now, before I share it, let me note -- the
Dinosaur Files is NOT the email messages I
send to you.

It's a hard-copy, printed on paper, snail
mail (meaning the postman brings it to you),
old-fashioned newsletter.

For the past two years, I've done a 20
page monthly newsletter. Now we're going
to try something different -- a quarterly
Dino Files that will run 36 pages per
issue.

In other words, we're upgrading the little
monster into a quarterly magazine.

With that background, here's Rob's question
and my answer.

"Hi Brooks,

I hope you have been having a happy birthday
despite your busy schedule. It sounds like
you have been undergoing a writing marathon,
and this is good news to us Dinos.

I would like to subscribe to your new
quarterly Dinosaur Files newsletter, but
I don't see an order form for it on your
site. Are you accepting subscriptions yet?
If so, please let me know the cost and
where to sign up, or if I should
just send you a check. Also, when
do you anticipate that the first
quarterly issue will be sent?

Thanks,
Rob"

Rob -- Thanks for the b'day wishes, and
for your interest in the new and improved
quarterly Dino Files. In answer to your
questions:

1. I'm going to get the first issue (Fall
2012) out the door in October.

2. I'm looking for articles, photos, and
classified or box ads, so if you have an
idea for an article, want to send in a
photo or want to run an ad, let me know.

3. We'll put the sales page up a little
later in the month. You can order then.

4. The first issue will include one or
more great bonuses for subscribers.

5. I'm looking for articles, photos and
accepting classified or box ads -- oops,
I already said that!

5A. Seriously -- articles, letters,
feedback, workout reports, and photos
would be much appreciated. The more we
have, the better The Dino Files will be.

Yours in strength,

Brooks Kubik

P.S. You can order back issues (12 issues)
of year no. 1 of The Dinosaur Files here:

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaur_files.html

You can order back issues (12 issues) of
year no. 2 of The Dinosaur Files here:

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaurfiles_renewalpage.html

IMPORTANT: Note that the page says "renewals"
but it's not for year three renewals -- that will be
a different page. This one is for back issues
only.

2. I mentioned that Ron did some killer reviews
of several of my books. You can find them here:

http://www.musclesofiron.com/articles/gray-hair-and-black-iron/

http://www.musclesofiron.com/articles/strength-muscle-and-power/

http://www.musclesofiron.com/articles/review-of-black-iron/

P.S. 3. Thought for the Day: "Those who think
and fail to act go nowhere. Those who act and
fail to think do even worse. Those who both
think and act do fine." -- Brooks Kubik

Green Side Up, Roots Down!

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

I'm reading a book called The Good Food
Revolution, by a man named Will Allen.
He's a former pro basketball player
turned urban gardener. He runs an
incredible farm on three acres in
inner city Milwaukee, where he
produces over one million pounds
of fresh food every year. That's
enough to feed ten thousand
people.

It's an local operation. He hires
people in the neighborhood to work
on the farm, and he sells the food
at his own neighborhood market.

For many of his employees, it's their
only chance at a job -- and for just
about everyone in the neighborhood,
it's their only access to fresh,
healthy, nutritious  food. The local
supermarket closed down long ago, and
after that, the only food options were
burgers, fries and fried chicken from
two fast food joints.

There's no way to know, but I would
imagine that providing fresh, healthy
vegetables, eggs, fish and other healthy
foods has prevented hundreds of cases
of obesity, diabetes and other health
problems caused by a poor diet. So Will
Allen's inner city farm has probably
saved lives.

He does more than grow vegetables. He
grows hope.

Anyhow, I'm at a part in the book where
he's just getting started, and someone
asks him to teach some school kids how
to grow vegetables. So he clears out a
big field covered with tall weeds, tills
it, and buys some transplants.

But they kids don't know what to do.
They've never seen a transplant before.

"Green side up," he tells them. "Roots
down."

And those five words tell them all they
need to know -- and a few months later,
that formerly weed-covered field is full
of fresh, green vegetables.

And somehow, that reminded me of newbies
in the strength and muscle game. The ones
who are just getting started, and have
their heads crammed full of mainstream
muscle comic silliness.

They're just like those tiny transplants.
They're ready to grow, but they've got a
green side to them -- and they'll only
grow if someone plants them root side
down.

That was ME when I was a young kid. At 83
pounds of less than massive muscles, I was
training for two or three hours a day on
Sergio Oliva's super-duper Mr. Olympia
training program. I copied the entire
workout on a piece of paper, tacked it
to the wall, and hit it rep for rep
and set for set just like clockwork.

Of course, I got NOWHERE -- and that's
what almost always happens with newbies.
They don't gain until they learn how to
train the right way.

That's one of the reasons I write books
and courses about sane, sensible, productive
training. I remember the skinny kid I once
was, desperate to build strength and muscle,
and having no idea at all of how to do it.
I want to help that kid -- and I want to
help everyone else, from beginner to
intermediate to advanced -- of any age --
attain their goals of strength training
success.

If you're reading this and you're a beginner,
start with Chalk and Sweat. If you prefer to
start with bodyweight exercises, start with
Dinosaur Bodyweight Training. You can find
them here:

http://www.brookskubik.com/chalk_and_sweat.html

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaur_bodyweight.html

If you're an experienced trainee, make a point
of helping the next newbie you see. Get him
started the right way:

"Green side up, roots down."

Which usually means squats, deadlifts, presses
and pulling. But hey, you knew that -- after
all, you're a Dinosaur!

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. My other books and courses are right here:

http://www.brookskubik.com/products.html

P.S. 2. Thought for the Day: "Train smart from
day one, and you won't believe what happens."
-- Brooks Kubik

Attention Dinos -- Please Read!

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

I need to clear up some possible confusion,
so pls read this message.

Yesterday's email message apparently led
several Dinos to think that I was giving
a free t-shirt with any order placed on
my birthday (Sunday, 9/9).

What I was trying to say -- but I must not
have said it very well -- was this:

To celebrate my birthday, I'm going to do
something special for everyone who places
an order for any Dino book, course, DVD,
t-shirt or other product.

When I fill your order, I'm going to include
an autographed photo. It's 8 1/2 x 11, full
color, and yes, it's a photo of me playing
around with some heavy iron out in the
garage.

I'm also going to include a short handwritten
note when I fill your order.

Yes, I know it's the digital age, but sometimes
it's good to do things the old-fashioned way.
And who knows -- maybe my autograph will be
worth something someday. And maybe that
handwritten note will end up in a museum.
Stranger things have happened.

I'm going to do this from now until the end
of September.

Please note: I will NOT be able to include
handwritten notes for everyone who ordered
Dinosaur Dumbbell Training, because we're
going to shoot them out the door as fast
as possible once we get them from the
printer, and doing the notes would slow
things down. But I WILL include the
autographed photo, along with the two
special bonuses that go with the new
Dumbbell Training Book.

Also -- on any book, including the new
Dumbbell Training book, if you'd like me
to autograph your book, all you need to
do is ask. (Use the Special Instructions
section of the on-line order form.) I'm
happy to do it, and there's no charge for
an autograph.

Finally -- if you placed an order yesterday
or earlier today, pls shoot me an email.
I want to follow up with each of you
individually.

Sorry for the confusion!

Yours in strength,

Brooks Kubik

P.S. Go here to reserve your copy of
Dinosaur Dumbbell Training:

http://brookskubik.com/dinosaur_dumbbelltraining.html

P.S. 2. My other books and courses are
available right here at Dino Headquarters:

http://www.brookskubik.com/products.html

Busy Birthday at Dino HQ!

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

It's my birthday today, and I've been
up since 4:30 in the morning to work
on something for the Dino Nation.

I know that sounds crazy, but this is
something that many of you have been
asking about, and something I've trying
been wanting to do for you for a long
time -- and there aren't enough hours
in the day, so I decided to get an
early start of things.

I'm also doing something else for you.
Since it's my birthday, I decided to
include something extra with all
of the orders we fill.

The "something extra"  is an
autographed photo of yours
truly. And  I'll also include a short
handwritten note.

And yes, I'll get writer's cramp doing
this, but as I said, I wanted to do a
little something extra for the Dino
Nation.

I'm going to try to do this for the rest
of the month. Sort of a b'day special
from now until the end of September.

I won't be able to do handwritten notes
for everyone who ordered Dinosaur Dumbbell
Training, but I will include an autographed
photo -- along with two other special
bonuses.

And, as always, I'm happy to autograph a
book or course for you. There's no charge
for an autograph. If you want one, just
ask for it. (Use the Special Instructions
section of the on-line order form.)

I like to include a short personal note
when I autograph a book, so let me know
who to autograph it to -- Mike or Michael,
Jim or James, Pete or Peter, etc.

And if you're looking for encouragement
on something special -- like "Get that
400 pound squat!" or "Good luck in the
Contest!" let me know.

If someone orders a book or course for
you as a present, make sure they know
about the autograph and ask for one. I
always like to do that for presents.
It makes them all the more special.

BTW, over the years we've had a number
of girlfriends who ordered something
for their Dino sweetie -- and now
they're married. Trudi and I claim
full credit whenever that happens.

Anyhow, it's been a busy day, and there's
lots more to do before workout time --
so I need to get back to it.

As always, thanks for reading and have
a great day -- and if you train today
(as I will), make it a good one!

Yours in strength,

Brooks Kubik

P.S. My books, courses and DVD's are
available right here at Dino Headquarters.
Remember, if you want an autograph on a
book or course, all you need to do is ask:

http://www.brookskubik.com/products.html

P.S. 2. Thought for the Day: "Age 55 is
pretty good for a guy who writes about
5 x 5." -- Brooks Kubik

Two Important Updates for Dinos!

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

Tomorrow is my birthday, and the
birthday wishes have come flooding
in -- so let me say THANK YOU to
everyone who has given a b'day
shout out.

I'll be taking my annual birthday
workout tomorrow, so wish me luck!

In other Dino News, I wanted to update
you on several things.

First, my new book, Dinosaur Dumbbell
Training is looking great. It took
forever for my layout and design folks
to get it formatted because it has so
many photos. But it should be finished
and off to the printer on Monday, and
that means we should be mailing them out
in just a few more weeks.

I had hoped to get them out the door by
the end of August, and since we are
running late I am going to include a
special second bonus for everyone who
has ordered the little monster (or who
places an order before we ship the
books).

BTW, it's weighing in at 8 1/2 by 11,
200 pages, a full color cover, over 100
different exercises, 50 workouts, and,
as noted, a ton of photos. I think
you're really going to like it.

Second, I'm starting to put together
the first issue of the quarterly Dinosaur
Files newsletter, and I'm always looking
for photos and articles -- so if you'd
like to submit something, send me an email
and let me know what you'd like to cover.

We're going to be taking classified ads,
as well, so if you'd like to purchase an
ad to sell or swap equipment, old books
or courses, or whatever, send me an email.

BTW, if you own a Dino-style gym or sell
training equipment that Dinos would like to
use, this is a great opportunity to get
your message out there to a bunch of very
serious, very committed, very hard-training
Dinos -- and it won't take many clams to
do it.

And now -- back to work. I have tons to do
for the Dino Nation.

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. Go here to reserve your copy of Dinosaur
Dumbbell Training during our big pre-publication
special:

http://brookskubik.com/dinosaur_dumbbelltraining.html

P.S. 2. My other books, courses and DVD's are
right here:

http://www.brookskubik.com/products.html

P.S. 3. Thought for the Day: "The best way to
celebrate anything is with a hard workout."
-- Brooks Kubik

Big Birthday Workout!

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

Sunday is my birthday. I officially turn
55 on September 9.

I say "officially" because I count birthdays
the way they do it in Masters Weightlifting
competitions. Whatever age you will hit later
in the year, they count that as going into
effect as of January 1. So I've been thinking
of myself as 55 ever since January 1.

Of course, my plan is to celebrate with a
hard workout. That's how Dinos do it.

Anyhow, wish me luck. That darn barbell
always tries to get heavier each year, so
I need to work hard to stay ahead of the
little monster.

And speaking of hard workouts -- I hit a
good one yesterday. It was a one-exercise
workout -- nothing but snatches. I did them
power style, and did singles. I started light
and worked up slowly, doing three singles at
each weight. Finished heavy, and called it a
day.

The whole thing, including a thorough warm-up,
took about 50 minutes.

My next workout will be similar, except I'll
do the clean and jerk.

I know it's not high tech, and I know it sounds
too simple to work -- but it works pretty well
for me.

It works for other Dinos, as well. Here's an
email from 62-year old Chuck Brown, who's
still hitting the big exercises. He's found
that singles work well for him:

"Brooks, I have just gone to a workout where
after my warm up I do a set of 5 with a light
weight, then a set of 3 with more weight, then
singles on up from there.

I have been handling some good weights and
recovering much better than when I was doing
4 or 5 sets of 5. This has allowed me to lift
and also ride my bike a couple of days a week,
which I like to do in the summer.

I love that the singles allow me to reinforce
good technique without having to reset, count
reps or save energy for the later sets.

Currently doing squats, deadlifts, and presses
or push presses.

As an older Dino (62), singles rule!

Thanks,

Chuck Brown"

Chuck -- thanks for sharing that. I totally agree
with you! Singles rock!

It sounds like you are doing a great job in your
training. Keep it up, and keep us posted
on your progress!

To everyone -- as always, thanks for reading,
and have a great day. If you train today, make
it a good one!

And don't forget. Big birthday workout. Send
positive waves!

Yours in strength,

Brooks Kubik

P.S. Single rep training works great for older
trainees -- and for younger trainees, as well.
I cover it in detail in Dinosaur Training, Gray
Hair and Black Iron, and Strength, Muscle and
Power. Check them out:

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaur_training.html

http://www.brookskubik.com/grayhair_blackiron.html

http://www.brookskubik.com/strength_muscle_power.html

P.S. 2. I almost forgot -- there's plenty of good
single rep workouts in my Doug Hepburn training
course. Hepburn loved single rep training!

http://www.brookskubik.com/doug_hepburn.html

P.S. 3. Thought for the Day: "Another candle on
the birthday cake, and another plate on the barbell."
-- Brooks Kubik

Short, Simple and Super Effective!

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

I had a great workout the other night
and I thought I'd tell you about it.

It's another abbreviated workout. Two
exercises.

I start with a good ten or fifteen
minute warm-up, so I'm loose and
limber and ready to go. The warm-up
includes five minutes of Indian club
work to loosen my shoulders and upper
back. Tommy Kono suggested this to me,
and it works great.

Next, I did split style snatches. I
started with the empty bar and added
weight on each set and worked up to
a heavy lift. Not my max, but heavy.

Then I did the split clean and split
jerk.

Once again, I did singles. And once
again, I started light and worked up
to a heavy weight.

And that was it.

It's a great workout for anyone, but
it's especially good for older trainees.
It's fast, fun and low volume -- and
low volume means you don't end up sore
and stiff and aching, and you don't take
a week or two to recover from your
workout.

Recovery is critical. If you don't recover
from your workouts, you don't gain. Worse
than that, you develop chronic inflammation.
Instead of getting bigger and stronger, you
just get tight and stiff. Not good.

So train hard, and train heavy, but train
smart. Stay within the limits of your
recovery ability.

For those who don't do Olympic lifting, try
this two-exercise workout:

1. Military press or push press

2. Squat or front squat

That was one of Paul Anderson's workouts, so
it comes with quite a pedigree.

Or try this:

1. Dumbbell presses or alternate dumbbell
presses

2. Bent-legged deadlift or Trap Bar Deadlift

And yes, if time and energy permit, you can
add some gut, grip and neck work.

As far as sets and reps go -- you can do a
series of progressively heavier singles, or
do fives, triples or doubles. They're all
good. They all work.

Now, I know a two exercise workout doesn't
sound very exciting or very high tech, and
I know that everyone else is doing workouts
that include every exercise under the sun.

That's fine.

Let the other folks do the everything under
the sun stuff. In the meantime, YOU focus
on getting results. And abbreviated training
is the way to get results.

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. 1. You can use abbreviated training in
your dumbbell workouts -- or in your bodyweight
workouts. See Dinosaur Dumbbell Training and
Dinosaur Bodyweight Training for details:

http://brookskubik.com/dinosaur_dumbbelltraining.html

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaur_bodyweight.html

P.S. 2. I cover other abbreviated workouts in
Dinosaur Training, Gray Hair and Black Iron,
Chalk and Sweat, Strength, Muscle and Power
and my Dinosaur training courses. You can find
them right here at Dino Headquarters:

http://www.brookskubik.com/products.html

P.S. 3. Thought for the Day: "Why train more
and gain less when you can train less and gain
more?" -- Brooks Kubik

Watch This Great Workout!

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

Not long ago, I went to London and taught
Dinosaur Dumbbell Training at a seminar with
kettlebell expert Mike Mahler and UK strength
coaches Cj Swaby and Sabina Skala.

While I was there, I met Keris Marsden and
Matt Whitmore, who run a great little gym
called Fitter London. At the breaks, we
talked about exercise, nutrition and how
to save the world by helping people exercise
right and eat right. You know, the important
stuff.

Keris mentioned that her dad is still training,
and that her mum trains, too -- but she didn't
tell me what her mum does or how well it works.

I guess she wanted to make it a surprise when
it went up on YouTube -- which happened
yesterday.

So here's a video showing what Keris' mum does
in her workouts. And it's pretty darn cool. It
actually reminds me of the workouts that Jack
LaLanne used to teach on his old TV show. Fun
and effective stuff that you can do right in
your own living room.

Watch how Keris' mum does turns the house
into a gym by using tables, chairs and the
stairs instead of equipment, and how she gets
it done by using kettlebells for weights. It
goes to show that you can get a great workout
with the most basic of equipment.

Also note how she performs her reps -- none of
that silly bouncing half-way rep stuff, none
of that race the clock stuff, and none of the
heave and hope for the best stuff. Every rep
of every exercise is done in perfect form,
with deep focus and total precision.

And no, she's not throwing huge barbells through
the air -- but she doesn't have to. She's doing
a PERFECT workout -- perfect because it is
perfectly suited to her age, her needs and
her training goals. Ultimately, that's what
we all should be doing.

And as far as results go, look closely when you
see the gut work. Those are washboard abs on a
woman who (according to her daughter) is close
to 60 years old. (Personally, I would have
guessed a lot younger.)

So head on over and take a look -- and hit the
LIKE button, and feel free to leave a comment.
A word of encouragement or a short "Good job!"
would be nice. In fact, we ought to try to add
100 or more of those over the next 24 hours.
Just to show some support.

Yeah -- that would be good. Let's work together
to make this thing go viral. That will be the
Dino Nation's project for the day. Watch,
like and share:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gmxVB1js-E&feature=share

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. Here are two things that would be a great
addition to any train at home workout:

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaur_bodyweight.html

http://brookskubik.com/dinosaur_dumbbelltraining.html

P.S. 2. My other books and courses, DVD's and Legacy
of Iron books are right here. If you like hard work
and heavy iron, these are for YOU:

http://www.brookskubik.com/products.html

P.S. 3. Thought for the Day: "It's not WHERE you
train, it's HOW you train that counts." -- Brooks
Kubik