Hail to the Dinosaurs!
When I was a kid, the muscle magazines
taught you three things:
1. To get big and strong you had to do
a super-duper bodybuilding workout where
you did every exercise under the sun,
trained six days a week on a split routine
and pumped your muscles to the max in every
workout.
1A. Your workouts took three or four hours.
1B. For best results, you didn't work or
go to school, and you moved to California
and hung around Muscle Beach all day.
2. You guzzled protein shakes and downed
supplements by the ton.
3. You used drugs.
3a. The muscle mags didn't come out and TELL
YOU to use drugs -- but drugs were a part of
the bodybuilding culture in the 60's and 70's,
and most of the "serious" guys either used
them or thought about using them.
There was one magazine that was opposed to
this sort of silliness.
Peary Rader's IronMan magazine.
And there was one writer who opposed this
stuff in each and every article he wrote.
He put it in very simple terms:
1. Train three days per week for about one
hour per workout.
2. Do basic exercises.
3. Focus on your legs, back and shoulder
girdle.
4. Train for strength, not for a pump.
5. Do some gut work so you keep your
midsection under control -- but don't train
for a wasp waist.
6. Do one to three sets of each exercise
unless you are doing strength and power
training, in which case you can do 5 x 5.
7. Good old-fashioned food builds strength
and muscle better and faster than any super
supplement ever invented.
7a. You can take supplements if you want to
take them, but don't use them to make up for
a lousy diet. It won't work.
8. Don't forget the conditioning work.
9. Combine your strength training with
sports or martial arts. Be well rounded.
Build coordination and athleticism along
with strength and power.
10. Concentrate deeply, fiercely and intensely
when you train.
11. The mental aspects of training are the
key to success.
12. Never give up!
13. Train for strength AND health.
14. Live a full, complete, well-rounded life.
Don't drop out and live at Muscle Beach --
and don't glorify those who do.
15. Don't take drugs.
Pretty simple stuff. But it was pretty
radical.
Who was this fire-breathing revolutionary?
His name was Bradley J. Steiner.
He was my very favorite writer when I was a
kid -- and you can see his influence in all
of my books and courses.
Brad Steiner wrote a terrific book called A
Complete Guide to Effective Barbell Training.
It's been out of print for 30 years. My buddy
Bill Hinbern has just released a modern reprint
(with Steiner's express approval).
Go here to order your copy of A Complete
Guide to Effective Barbell Training -- and get
set for a BIG TREAT and a TON of great training
info:
http://www.superstrengthtraining.com/a_complete_guide.html
Yous in strength,
Brooks Kubik
P.S. If you want to make it an extra-special
Holiday season, grab a copy of Steiner's book, and
a couple of my books and courses (or DVD's). They
go together pretty darn well:
http://www.brookskubik.com/products.html
P.S. 2. Thought for the Day: "Step one, get strong. Step
two, get stronger." -- Brooks Kubik
