Hail to the Dinosaurs!
I've been getting a ton of emails
with interesting training questions,
and I thought I'd share some of them
with you over the coming week.
The first one is from a Dino who (like
most of us) is trying to balance job,
family, and life with his training.
He's using a short, two-day per week
program, and wants to know if it' s
enough work.
Here's the question -- followed by
my response.
"My current program is a two-day-a-week
singles workout. Workout 1 consists of 3
warmup sets of 5 reps, 6 progressively
heavier singles on the clean and jerk,
and then gut, grip and neck work, which,
to be honest, I often don't have the
energy for!
Workout 2 would be the same sets and reps
but with old school DB Swings, to slightly
replicate the C&J. Trouble is, fitting
it all around a 40 hour work week in
retail isn't nice!
But my question is this. I am training
just twice a week, C&J and DB Swing singles,
usually no gut, grip or neck work due to
energy energy and time - does it sound
solid to you for a long term program?"
So that's the question. Here's my
answer . . .
I'm a big believer in abbreviated and
ultra-abbreviated workouts, and I've
had great success with them over the
years.
That said, your current program is a
little too limited for long term
progress.
You need to work some kind of leg
exercise into the mix -- as in, squats
or front squats.
You can do squats or front squats at
the gym, after you do your clean and
jerk training. Your legs and back will
be warmed up and rarin' to go after the
c7j, so finish things off with 5 or 6
sets of squats or front squats.
Start light, and add weight on each set.
Do 5's, 3's or doubles.
That won't take very long, but it will
add enormously to your program.
Another option is to train 3x per
week. Do clean and jerk in one session --
squats or front squats in the next
session -- and DB work in the third
session.
As for gut, grip and neck work -- do it!
But you don't have to do it all on the
same day. Do gut work after one workout,
neck workout after the next, and grip
work after the following session.
Hope that helps, and best wishes for
big gains in 2014!
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. Dumbbells are great for home gym
training, and Dinosaur Dumbbell Training
is the number one resource for old-school
dumbbell training:
http://brookskubik.com/dinosaur_dumbbelltraining.html
P.S. 2. We also have a killer DVD on
Dino-style dumbbell training:
http://brookskubik.com/dinosaur_dvds.html
P.S. 3. Thought for the Day: "Keep it
simple, but keep it complete." -- Brooks
Kubik
