Hail to the Dinosaurs!
When I was in high school, there was an
ad in Peary Rader's Ironman magazine
that had a line something to the effect
of:
"I'd rather be stronger than I look, than
look stronger than I am."
I used to think about that and try to
puzzle it out.
On the one hand, as a high school wrestler,
I wanted to be strong as heck -- but I
also wanted to look strong. (After all,
I was 15 or 16, and I had just
discovered girls -- and everyone knew
you had to look like Mr. America to
get any of the girls to notice you.
At least, that's how it seemed when
you were 15 or 16.)
I finally decided that I wanted to look
really strong -- but be even stronger
than I looked.
That was a good decision, because it had
a huge impact on how I trained.
I never followed any of the conventional
bodybuilding programs of the day.
I stuck to the (even then) old-fashioned
three-times per week total body workouts.
I used the basic exercises. Squats, presses,
bench presses, bent-over rowing, pull-ups,
deadlifts, and curls.
I used basic set/rep system, like 3 x 6
and 5 x 5.
I read books and articles by men who taught
this kind of training -- Bradley J. Steiner,
Harry Paschall, and Peary Rader.
Today, at age 56, I still feel the same way.
Yes, I want to look strong.
But I still want to be stronger than I look.
The STRONG is more important than the LOOK.
If you're reading this, you probably feel
the same way. That makes a distinct
minority in the Iron Game -- because most
people would rather look stronger than they
are (and in fact, could care less about
actually strength) -- but that also makes
us kindred spirits.
So thanks for reading -- and thanks for
focusing on STRENGTH when you train.
As always, have a great day (and a great
weekend). If you train today, make it a
good one!
Yours in strength,
Brooks Kubik
P.S. Here's the book they call The Bible of
Strength Training -- do you have a copy?
http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaur_training.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: "Strong is good,
but stronger is better." -- Brooks Kubik
