Hail to the Dinosaurs!
Happy Labor Day everyone! Whether
you're at work or at play, I hope
it's a good one.
On the training front, I want to
share an email from Larry Otero.
This was in response to my email
titled, "How to Get Back Into
Shape -- FAST!" If you missed it,
read it now -- it's posted at
the Dinosaur Training Blog.
(BTW, I always post my emails
on the Blog, so if you don't get
an email, go to the Blog. It's
the back-up system to stay in
touch with you.)
http://www.dinosaurtraining.blogspot.com/2012/08/how-to-get-back-into-shape-fast.html
Anyhow, here's the feedback from
Larry:
"Good morning. Great info. I found
out the hard way that this applies
to even getting back to an exercise.
I stopped doing Trap Bar deadlifts
while I went on a front squat program.
I must have stopped doing the Trap Bar
for about 6 to 8 weeks or so. I got
got back to Trap Bar deadlifts and
discovered two critical things.
First, I experienced a major de-training
effect on Trap Bar deadlifts.
Second, I went way too heavy on my first
Trap Bar workout. I felt like a truck
ran me over the next day.
Before dropping the Trap Bar deadlifts, I
was doing 450 pounds for my top work set.
When I started them again, I only did 340
pounds -- but it was still too heavy. I
should have done 30 or 315 pounds the
first day.
Since that workout, I have been adding 10
pounds every workout. I could add more,
but there's no sense in rushing things.
I'm up to 380 pounds now, and will hit
390 pounds next week. It is interesting
how that first workout felt heavier than
heck, and how terribly sore it made me.
The subsequent workouts only made me feel
tight.
So your advice about getting back into
training after a long lay-off or about
getting started if you are a beginner
also appears to be good for Dinos who
have been working out regularly but
are getting back to an exercise that
they haven't done for awhile -- or are
adding a new exercise. They need to
break it in slow and easy.
One other thing, the all-over body
soreness I felt from that first Trap
Bar workout made me realize just how
effective of an exercise it is. Even
though I had been doing front squats
and bent-legged deadlifts with a
regular bar, the Trap Bar still
kicked my you know what.
Larry"
Hi Larry -- Those are excellent points.
Going to hard and heavy on a new exercise
(or one you haven't done for awhile) is
a BIG mistake -- and a very common one.
Everyone has done it -- and many trainees
do it over and over and over.
Casse in point -- John Grimek. At one
point in his career, Grimek stopped
doing squats for many years because
he believed his legs were getting too
big and out of proportion with the
rest of his body.
Then he got back into them -- starting
with a hard, heavy session where he did
over 200 reps total (doing sets of 20,
15, and 10 reps). And he used heavy
weights.
The result?
Grimek was so sore he could barely walk.
He lurched around like a cripple -- or
like Boris Karloff in the original
Mummy movie. And that lasted for a
week or two.
As I said, I've done the same thing --
and I've done it more than once.
So learn from our mistakes. If you're
working a new exercise into your program,
start light and easy and build from there.
And if it's an exercise you used to do but
haven't done for awhile, treat it like a
new exercise.
In the long run, you'll gain faster and
do better by starting off slowly and
easily.
Larry -- thanks for sharing that!
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. CHALK AND SWEAT is mandatory reading
for beginners -- but it has great workouts
and important advice for everyone:
http://www.brookskubik.com/chalk_and_sweat.html
P.S. 2. John Grimek fans will love this great
new training course:
http://brookskubik.com/johngrimek_course.html
P.S. 3. My other books and courses are
available right here:
http://www.brookskubik.com/products.html
P.S. 4. Thought for the Day: "It's not where
you start, it's where you finish." -- Brooks
Kubik
