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
