Hail to the Dinosaurs!
There's a new year on the horizon, and
like all of you, I'm making plans for
it.
Of course, it's all lifting-related:
1. Get down to the 94 kilo (207 lb.)
weight class for Olympic weightlifting
comps.
a. Currently I weigh 215, so that means
I need to cut about 8 pounds.
b. Meat, eggs, fresh salads and fresh
veggies.
c. LOTS of meat - LOTS of eggs - LOTS of
fresh salads and veggies.
d. Did I mention that Trudi and I are very
popular customers at the local Farmer's
Market?
e. To drink: water, black coffee, and
herb tea.
2. Enter and compete in Masters weight-
lifting comps.
2a. The 2014 USA National Masters, the
2014 American Masters, and the 2014
Pan-American Masters.
2b. Should be lots and lots of fun.
3. Total at least 170 kilos in
competition.
a. Preferably 180 kilos.
b. 170 is the qualifying weight for the
Masters World Championships at my age and
weight, so it's a good goal to shoot for.
c. Especially for an old guy who trains
in his garage.
4. Qualify for and compete in the 2014
Pan-American Masters Weightlifting
Championships.
a. The qualifying total is 150 kilos for
my age and weight.
5. Train hard, but smart, and stay injury-
free.
a. Aches and pains, dings and dents, etc.
are not injuries, and at my age, they are
inevitable.
b. In 2013 I worked really hard on squat
snatches and my shoulders were sore all
year long. I've switched to split snatches
and my shoulders feel much better.
6. Write and publish at least one new book
for the Dino nation.
a. Heck, maybe two. You deserve it.
7. Teach the son and his wife how to do
Olympic lifting.
a. They're interested, so the time is
now.
8. Teach the granddaughters how to do
Olympic lifting.
a. That zero weight kiddie barbell will
see some fun workouts in 2014.
9. Keep on looking until I find a lifting
suit that fits right.
a. If they make such a critter. I sort of
doubt it.
10. Help make 2014 the best year ever for
the Dino Nation.
a. Of course, I'll need some help on this
one - as in, some help from each and every
one of you!
Anyhow, that's the plan for 2014. What does
YOUR plan look like?
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. For older trainees, here's the book
that will make 2014 the best year ever:
http://www.brookskubik.com/grayhair_blackiron.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: "Make a plan,
then make it happen." -- Brooks Kubik
A Barbell Christmas!
Hail to the Dinosaurs!
We had a barbell Christmas here
at Dino Headquarters.
My daughter - who's a heck of an
artist - gave me a drawing of Doug
Hepburn. It now hangs in the sun
room where I can see it every
morning when I eat breakfast.
Good inspiration for heavy
lifting.
Trudi gave me a couple of books
about training injuries, taping,
and trigger point therapy. Good
stuff to help keep an older Dino
in one piece.
She also gave me a book about the
evolution of the human body. It
should give some good insights
into optimum nutrition. And it
might help me understand how
Dinos - meaning you and me -
fit into the scheme of things.
I gave Trudi some new bumper plates
for her auxiliary gym in the
basement. She'll have lots of fun
with them.
One of the sons has set up a home
gym in his garage. We gave him and
his wife (who also trains) some
bumper plates and some rubber
matting. They'll put it to good
use.
But the best present of all was
an old - circa 1962 - kiddie barbell
and dumbbell set. It uses short
lengths of pipe for the bars, and
the plates are hollow plastic,
sized to be the same as old time
cast iron exercise plates. The
idea is to load them with water,
and later, with sand, as the kid
grows stronger. You can adjust them
from one pound to 22 pounds.
The barbell set went to the five year
old granddaughters, although we keep
it here so they can train in our
living room when they come to
see us.
And before anyone objects and says
that they're too young to lift weights,
please understand - they'll be using
nothing but the empty plates for a
long, long time. It's about the same
as lifting a large doll or a medium
sized teddy bear.
Now, here's the neat part.
I competed in a small, local weight-
lifting contest on December 15 - and
we brought the granddaughters and
let them watch the meet.
It was the first time they'd seen a
live contest. The only other lifting
they had seen was me in the garage
every once in awhile, and the U.S.
National Championships live-streamed
back in the summer.
They liked watching the Nationals -
especially when "the girls" (their term,
not mine) were lifting. They thought it
was cool to see the girls lift more
(as they saw it) than the boys. They
also liked the outfits and the shoes.
At the local contest, there were three
lifters in the women's division. The
granddaughters paid careful attention
to them.
So back to Christmas morning. The girls
tore into their presents, and jumped up
and down when they saw the barbell.
"Do you know what that is?" asked Trudi.
"A barbell!" they shouted.
"Go ahead and lift it," said Trudi.
So granddaughter no. 1 reaches down and
grabs the bar - wide grip - and power
snatches it - then does an overhead
squat - goes all the way down - goes
back up - holds it overhead - and then
drops it down and forward onto the
platform, a/k/a the living room rug.
Then her sister power cleans the bar
and presses it overhead - and then
drops it onto the platform.
I think that means they were paying
attention at the contest.
The next time they're over here, we'll
start teaching them how to squat snatch.
And then we'll teach them the clean and
jerk.
Again, with virtually no weight. Just to
practice the movement. Heck, they're
almost there already - and that's after
seeing one little lifting contest.
I'll keep you updated on what happens.
In the meantime, and 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. John Davis got started in lifting at
age 15 - and two years later he won the
World championship. Read about his life
and his lifting in Black Iron, The John
Davis Story:
http://www.brookskubik.com/blackiron_johndavis.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: "Start them
young, and give them the gift of lifelong
strength and health." - Brooks Kubik
We had a barbell Christmas here
at Dino Headquarters.
My daughter - who's a heck of an
artist - gave me a drawing of Doug
Hepburn. It now hangs in the sun
room where I can see it every
morning when I eat breakfast.
Good inspiration for heavy
lifting.
Trudi gave me a couple of books
about training injuries, taping,
and trigger point therapy. Good
stuff to help keep an older Dino
in one piece.
She also gave me a book about the
evolution of the human body. It
should give some good insights
into optimum nutrition. And it
might help me understand how
Dinos - meaning you and me -
fit into the scheme of things.
I gave Trudi some new bumper plates
for her auxiliary gym in the
basement. She'll have lots of fun
with them.
One of the sons has set up a home
gym in his garage. We gave him and
his wife (who also trains) some
bumper plates and some rubber
matting. They'll put it to good
use.
But the best present of all was
an old - circa 1962 - kiddie barbell
and dumbbell set. It uses short
lengths of pipe for the bars, and
the plates are hollow plastic,
sized to be the same as old time
cast iron exercise plates. The
idea is to load them with water,
and later, with sand, as the kid
grows stronger. You can adjust them
from one pound to 22 pounds.
The barbell set went to the five year
old granddaughters, although we keep
it here so they can train in our
living room when they come to
see us.
And before anyone objects and says
that they're too young to lift weights,
please understand - they'll be using
nothing but the empty plates for a
long, long time. It's about the same
as lifting a large doll or a medium
sized teddy bear.
Now, here's the neat part.
I competed in a small, local weight-
lifting contest on December 15 - and
we brought the granddaughters and
let them watch the meet.
It was the first time they'd seen a
live contest. The only other lifting
they had seen was me in the garage
every once in awhile, and the U.S.
National Championships live-streamed
back in the summer.
They liked watching the Nationals -
especially when "the girls" (their term,
not mine) were lifting. They thought it
was cool to see the girls lift more
(as they saw it) than the boys. They
also liked the outfits and the shoes.
At the local contest, there were three
lifters in the women's division. The
granddaughters paid careful attention
to them.
So back to Christmas morning. The girls
tore into their presents, and jumped up
and down when they saw the barbell.
"Do you know what that is?" asked Trudi.
"A barbell!" they shouted.
"Go ahead and lift it," said Trudi.
So granddaughter no. 1 reaches down and
grabs the bar - wide grip - and power
snatches it - then does an overhead
squat - goes all the way down - goes
back up - holds it overhead - and then
drops it down and forward onto the
platform, a/k/a the living room rug.
Then her sister power cleans the bar
and presses it overhead - and then
drops it onto the platform.
I think that means they were paying
attention at the contest.
The next time they're over here, we'll
start teaching them how to squat snatch.
And then we'll teach them the clean and
jerk.
Again, with virtually no weight. Just to
practice the movement. Heck, they're
almost there already - and that's after
seeing one little lifting contest.
I'll keep you updated on what happens.
In the meantime, and 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. John Davis got started in lifting at
age 15 - and two years later he won the
World championship. Read about his life
and his lifting in Black Iron, The John
Davis Story:
http://www.brookskubik.com/blackiron_johndavis.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: "Start them
young, and give them the gift of lifelong
strength and health." - Brooks Kubik
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