Hail to the Dinosaurs!
Back in 1969, I devised what was probably the
best training program of the year.
That was pretty good, considering that I was
barely 12 years old, and had NO IDEA what I
was doing.
Here's the exact program I was following. It
was designed to build strength and endurance
for wrestling, and to increase my weight. I
think I weighed around 101 or 102 pounds
back then.
By this point in time, I had been reading the
muscle comics for more than a year, so I was
pretty much of an expert when it came to
training. I knew all about supersets, tri-sets,
burns, pumping, bombing, blasting, and
blitzing -- as well as cheating, forced reps,
muscle priority, muscle confusion and a
bunch of other stuff that I (thankfully)
forgot about long ago. So prepare to be
super-impressed with my "state of the art"
workout.
Daily Training
Jog 1/4 mile three times per day. Increase to
1/2 to 1 mile.
(Not sure when I was going to do all this jogging, and
whether I actually did it.)
Leg raises 2 x 12
Chin-ups 1 x 6
Pull-ups 1 x 6
1 arm side pushups 1 x 3 per side, with feet elevated
(I learned these from an old book about training
for wrestling. They were tough.)
3x per Week Weight Training Workout
1. Squats 3 x 15/15/8 (add 25 lbs before the third set)
(Not sure why I added so much weight for the final set.
I was probably using 50 or 60 pounds for the first two
sets, so it was a big jump.)
2. Military press 1 x 8
(I must not have been a military press fan if I only
did one set. Not sure why.)
3. Bench press 3 x 6/4/6 with burns after each set
(The guys at Muscle Beach all did burns, so I knew
they were good. Not sure why I didn't do them on
everything.)
4. Barbell curls 2 x 6
(Can't believe I only did two sets. Most beginners do
20 or 30 sets of curls.)
5. Flat arm dumbbell curls (like a preacher bench dumbbell
curl, but with the arm on a flat bench) -- 2 x 6 per arm
(I learned these from a muscular pro-wrestler named
Mr. Kleen -- who looked like the character who sold
Mr. Clean dish detergent. He wrestled in the old
Chicago AWA territory for awhile and demonstrated
exercises for us on television. He said these were
the best for big arms. Duly noted.)
6. Upright rowing 2 x 6 -- holding the bar for a count
of two at the top of each rep
(These came right out of the Bruno Sammartino
Bodybuilding Course.)
7. Single arm triceps extensions or triceps kick-backs
with dumbbell -- 2 x 6
(On the triceps kickbacks, I would hold the lockout
position for a count of two on each rep. This was the
Weider Peak Contraction principle. It was almost as
good as burns. All the Muscle Beach guys did them.)
8. Leg extensions 3 x 9
(I was going to do these after I got a pair of Iron Boots.
When I finally did, I found that they kept falling off my
feet, so I don't think I did many leg extensions. And
why I did 3 x 9 is anybody's guess.)
9. Leg curls 3 x 6
(Again, I was waiting on the Iron Boots.)
10. Bridging 3 x 10 with 5 lbs. on my chest
(For some reason, I erased this exercise after writing it
into the program. I probably discovered that bridging
doesn't work very well if you train in a room with a
linoleum tile floor.)
11. Dumbbell wrist curls 3 x 10 each arm
(Not sure why I didn't do barbell wrist curls. Someone at
Muscle Beach must have said to use dumbbells.)
12. Mr. Kleen Dips (a/k/a handstand pushups) 2 x 6
(Again, I learned about these when Mr. Kleen
demonstrated them on the AWA wrestling show.)
Now, there were some good parts of that workout,
but there were some dumb parts, as well -- and I
doubt if it worked very well for me. But it was the
best program I could concoct based on the info
that was available to me.
In that regard, I was like most young guys. I was
desperate to build strength and muscles -- and had
no idea how to do it. All I knew was what the muscle
magazines said to do -- and that didn't do the job.
Eventually, I learned how to train the right way. But
I still remember what it was like to be a clueless
newbie who was DESPERATE to build some strength
and muscle.
That's why I wrote Chalk and Sweat. It has programs
for trainees of all levels -- from beginner, to intermediate,
to advanced (along with some leg and back programs
to build maximum strength and muscle mass.) It's a
great way to get started in the Iron Game.
So if you're a newbie -- or you know a newbie -- that's
a pretty good place to get started:
http://www.brookskubik.com/chalk_and_sweat.html
Dinosaur Bodyweight Training is another good place
to start your training. Yes, it has lots of exercises and
workouts for advanced trainees, but it also has plenty
of important advice for beginners -- as well as exercises
and workouts for beginners:
http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaur_bodyweight.html
And, of course, if you are an older trainee, Gray Hair and
Black Iron has what you need, whether you are a beginner
or someone who has been training for many years:
http://www.brookskubik.com/grayhair_blackiron.html
So that's the top program from 1969 -- and some good
ideas about effective training programs for beginners
and where to find them.
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. I also made TONS of mistakes when it came to diet
and nutrition "back in the day" -- which is not uncommon --
and which is why I wrote Knife, Fork, Muscle:
http://brookskubik.com/dinosaur_nutrition.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: "You're not going to get
everything right when you start training, but if you
do your homework you don't have to get everything
WRONG!" -- Brooks Kubik
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