Hail to the Dinosaurs!
Let me start with several quick notes about my
new book, Knife, Fork, Muscle -- and then we'll
talk about dings, dents and work arounds.
1. We are still running the pre-publication special,
but it will be wrapping up fairly soon.
2. We're going to ship the books as soon as we
get them from the printer -- which should be about
three weeks.
3. If you want an autographed copy and did not
request an autograph, there's still time -- just send
me an email. There's no charge for an autograph.
4. To reserve your copy, go here:
http://brookskubik.com/dinosaur_nutrition.html
5. I'll post a photo of the cover today or Monday.
It's pretty good -- and it will make you hungry
just to look at it.
a. After we shot the cover photo, I had a heck of
a good dinner -- and when you see the photo, you'll
know why.
6. If you ordered Knife, Fork, Muscle, get ready
for some truly delicious -- and nutritious -- meals.
7. I've even included some of Trudi's special
recipes for Dino-licious meals. Good stuff.
And now, let's move on to dings, dents and work
arounds.
I got an email the other day from a 62-year old
Dino who broke his ankle this summer and has
spent 9 weeks in "the boot."
Not fun.
Now he's ready to get back into training.
But what can he do?
He's not ready for squats, so he's going to stick to
bodyweight squats for awhile. That will let him
work his legs and hips without stressing the ankle
too much.
My suggestion -- do them with a broomstick on
his shoulders, lower slow and under control, and
perform his reps as if he were doing back squats
with a barbell. It will be more fun and it will carry
over better to his back squats when he is ready
to start doing them.
He should do flat-footed squats, and only go as low
as is comfortable at first. Gradually, over time, he
can increase the depth. But he has to be careful of
that ankle.
He should talk with his surgeon and PT about getting
a pair of Olympic lifting shoes with a high heel. That
would probably help his ankle right now. But he
should check with his medical team first!
He's going to try stiff-legged deadlifts. That's another
good idea. He doesn't have to go super heavy. Even
a light weight will help him strengthen and limber up
his low back, hips and hamstrings.
He's going to do seated presses, bench presses,
and similar upper body exercises that will allow
him to train in a seated position.
That's also smart. That's what Steve Stanko did
after he developed a devastating case of blood
clots in his legs. He had to stop Olympic lifting
entirely -- as well as all exercises where he stood
on his feet -- so he developed an entire program
based on seated and supine miovements. And
he used it to win the Mr. America and Mr. Universe
titles.
In time, our trainee will get back to standing
presses and other ground-based exercises. But
for right now, he needs to focus on the seated
variations.
This is a classic example of a work around.
If you're coming back from an injury, or if you've
got a naggjng ding or or a niggling dent, you may
need to find a work around.
A work around may not be the BEST exercise for
given bodypart -- but ANY exercise beats NO
exercise.
That's doubly true for older trainees, especially
if they're Type A personalities (as so many lifters
are) and they feel that if they can't do the BEST
exercise as hard and heavy as possible there's
no point in training.
Balderdash!
I repeat what I said earlier: ANY exercise beats
NO exercise!
Dings and dents are a part of life. We all get 'em.
The important thing is to find a way to keep on
training.
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. One way to beat dings and dents is to follow
a healthy, anti-inflammatory diet. I cover this in
detail in Knife, Fork, Muscle:
http://brookskubik.com/dinosaur_nutrition.html
P.S. 2. For more tips about effective training for
older Dinos, grab Gray Hair and Black Iron:
http://www.brookskubik.com/grayhair_blackiron.html
P.S. 3. My other books and courses -- and DVD's --
are right here:
http://www.brookskubik.com/products.html
P.S. 4. Thought for the day: "7 is less than 10, but
it's more than 3 -- and a heck of a lot more than
zero." -- Brooks Kubik
