The Cell-Phone Workout

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

(Note: I wrote this on Wednesday, the day
before Thanksgiving, but have only now
had a chance to post it for you. We've been
super busy filling orders for Knife, Fork,
Muscle.)

We'll talk about the cell phone workout in
just a second, but first, three quick updates:

1. The Dinosaur Files Quarterly

The first issue of the new quarterly Dinosaur
Files was printed on Friday, and we mailed
them on Fri, Sat and Mon. If you ordered
the Dinosaur Files quarterly, let me know
when you get your issue, and how you
like it -- and what we can do to improve
the little monster.

2. Knife, Fork, Muscle

Was printed on Friday, shipped to us on
Monday, received on Tuesday, and we mailed
a bunch of them out the door yesterday. We'll
mail as many more as possible today and keep
on going on Friday and Saturday -- and on
Monday, if necessary.

There's a lot of books to pack and ship, but
we're working fast and furious, and it's going
pretty quickly.

If you ordered Knife, Fork, Muscle, let me
know when you get your copy and how you
like it.

BTW, everyone who ordered Knife, Fork,
Muscle gets a handwritten note with their
order. Be sure to look for it and read it. It
will be buried somewhere in the package,
along with the book and the bonus bulletins.

3. Here's the link to the interview I did with
Nik Hawks of Paleo Treats -- and as I noted
in yesterday's email, it's a good one:

http://paleotreats.com/blogs/paleo-treats/18217047-episode-26-brooks-kubik-round-2

Slide on over and check it out -- and leave
some feedback!

And now . . . the cell-phone workout.

One of our longtime Dinos was training the
other day at a commercial gym and noticed
a guy who was doing the cell-phone workout.

You may have seen it sometime.

1. Do set of bench presses, squats, curls or
any other exercise.

2. Sit down on bench.

3. Pick up cell-phone.

4. Talk on cell-phone, look at Instagram, Facebook
or YouTube -- or the news scroll -- or Twitter -- or
whatever -- for 2 or 3 minutes.

5. Do next set.

6. Repeat steps 2-4.

7. Continue for the entire workout.

That's the cell-phone workout. And it's probably
the most popular and widely performed workout
in the entire world.

As our Dino watched, he wondered if he should
try to help the guy.

He decided to give it a try.

"Excuse me -- but I can give you a tip that will
double or maybe even triple your results. I mean --
if you're interested."

That caught the guy's attention.

"What is it?" he asked.

Of course, he probably thought it was roidskies. Or
the latest super supplement. Or maybe the latest
mega-muscle blitz blast program.

"Turn off your cell phone and don't turn it back on
until your workout is over."

The guy looked up in disbelief.

"But what will I do between sets?" he asked.

"Focus on the next set."

And then our Dino went back to his workout.

I don't know about you, but I think that was
pretty good advice. Maybe the best advice the
other guy has ever heard.

I just hope he was paying attention.

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. If you forgot to grab a copy of the new
quarterly Dinosaur Files, we still have plenty of
them right here:

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaurfiles_quarterly.html

P.S. 2. And you also can grab Knife, Fork, Muscle:

http://brookskubik.com/dinosaur_nutrition.html

P.S. 3. My other books and courses -- and Dinosaur
Training shirts, hoodies, sweatshirts and DVD's -- are
right here:

http://www.brookskubik.com/products.html

P.S. 4. Thought for the Day: "Training time is time
for training -- and nothing else. Period. End of story."
-- Brooks Kubik

*********************************************

The 8-Week Rule!

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

I'm going to keep this short, because we're
in the middle of a book signing, packing and
shipping frenzy here at Dino Headquarters.

We've been working steadily since Tuesday
to sign, pack and ship Knife, Fork, Muscle
to everyone who reserved a copy.

Yesterday was a 12 hour work day -- no
turkey dinner -- although Trudi did cook
a nice pot roast and let me have some
for dinner at about 8:00 or 8:30 --
after we had met the day's quota for
orders. It was pretty good, and I was
pretty darn hungry by then.

We're also filling orders for other products,
of course, including the first issue of the new
quarterly Dinosaur Files -- so feel free to skip
the Black Friday madness and do your shopping
right here at Dino Headquarters.

Anyhow, let's talk about the 8-week rule.

I'm reading a great book by Daniel Coyle:

The Little Book of Talent.

It's about how to develop or teach top-level
performance.

One of the points that Coyle makes is that it
takes at least 8 weeks of practice before you
begin to master a new skill.

For example, if you're trying to learn the
dumbbell exercises in Dinosaur Dumbbell
Training -- or the bodyweight exercises in
Dinosaur Bodyweight Training -- or if you're
trying to learn any new exercise -- you'll
need a minimum of 8 weeks before you
get good at it.

Of course, many people change their routine
more often than they change their socks.
And that makes it awfully hard to develop a
high level of skill in any particular exercise
or lift.

So give yourself enough time to master any
new exercise or lift -- or any new program.
And yes, I did say new program. I view any
new training program as a new skill. Even if
you use exercises you've done in the past,
you're doing them for different sets or reps,
and in combination with different exercises.

So take some time and learn how to perform
the new workout efficiently and effectively.
And then -- after you're familiar with the new
program -- start to push and to add weight to
the bar.

That's how the magic happens.

You start slow -- build the skill -- and then you
use it to trigger big gains in strength and muscle.

And speaking of magic -- I need to make another
big bunch of orders disappear out the door. So I
need to sign off now. More to follow tomorrow.

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. Go here to grab the first issue of the new
quarterly Dinosaur Files -- which has been getting
rave reviews:

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaurfiles_quarterly.html

P.S. Go here to grab a copy of Knife, Fork,
Muscle -- which is in stock and shipping right
now:

http://brookskubik.com/dinosaur_nutrition.html

P.S. 3. My other books and courses are right
here:

http://www.brookskubik.com/products.html

P.S. 4. Thought for the day: "Effective strength
training is an acquired skill. Give it the time
it requires. Don't try to rush things."
-- Brooks Kubik

************************************************

Diet and Nutrition with the Top Athletes in Town!

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

Trudi and I made a post office run yesterday,
and dropped off three boxes, one bag and a
double arm load of the first issue of the new
quarterly Dinosaur Files. That's on top of all
the issues we shipped on Friday and Saturday.

So if you ordered a copy of the new Dinosaur
Files, be looking for it soon. If not, go here
to grab a copy -- and we'll shoot it right on
out to you:

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaurfiles_quarterly.html

In related news, Knife, Fork, Muscle was printed
on Friday, and shipped to us on Monday -- in two
different shipments. At least one of them is
arriving today, so we'll start filling the Knife,
Fork Muscle orders TODAY - beginning with
the first Dinos who reserved a copy of the
little monster!

To everyone who reserved a copy of Knife, Fork,
Muscle, THANK YOU -- and if you still need to
grab a copy of the little monster, time's a
wasting:

http://brookskubik.com/dinosaur_nutrition.html

After we made the post office run, we swung over
to The Root Cellar to load up on some fresh veggies.

We figured we should stock up on food because
we're going to be way too busy filling orders to do
any hunting, gathering, or provisioning for the next
couple of days. Maybe even the next week.

The Roor Cellar is a very cool Place. I talk about in
Knife, Fork, Muscle. It's a small, old-fashioned grocery
store. Just one room -- wooden shelves -- one small
freezer for the perishables -- and it's stocked entirely
with locally grown, locally raised, locally sourced foods.
It has fresh, seasonal fruit and vegetables from local
farmer's and growers -- locally raised free-range beef,
pastured pork and free-rangeeggs -- milk and cheese
from a local dairy -- free-range chicken, duck, and
(of course) turkey. Plus local honey, local butter, and
local flour.

And that's it. Nothing else.

It's sort of a small farmer's market, except it's
indoors and the farmers aren't there.

But the food is! And it was all fresh and healthy,
crisp, and beautiful looking.

We grabbed some fresh organic carrots, garlic,
onions, sweet potatoes, white sweet potatoes,
bok choy, leeks, and tomatoes. The leeks were
so big and beautiful they looked like a huge
bouquet of flowers.

Trudi even found a big jar of tomato sauce
made at a local farm, and promptyly nabbed
it. She's been looking for something like that
for awhile, so between that and the bouquet
of leeks, she was one happy girl.

We talked a bit with the owner, Ron. He's going to
sell Knife, Fork, Muscle at the store. That makes
sense. It's a local store, and I'm a local author --
and I talk a lot about the importance of local
food in the book.

And if you think that's hippy stuff -- or that eating
fresh, locally sourced food is for foodies driving
BMW's to the big box "organic food" store, then
consider this.

The little grocery has a huge following among
athletes at the University of Louisville.

Meaning that the top athletes in town -- NCAA
Division One athletes in a top sports program --
including some Olympic athletes -- believe that
fresh, local food is so important that they skip
the free food at the University Training Tables
and go over to a little neighborhood grocery
store to stock up on REAL food.

That speaks volumes.

And don't forget this. The simple, local foods
we buy at The Root Cellar are EXACTLY the kind
of foods that Grimek and Stanko lived and grew
on back in the day -- and The Root Cellar is
exactly the kind of place where they bought
their food.

In other words, when you eat fresh, locally
sourced food, you eat the way that Grimek
and Stanko ate -- and the way that all of the
Golden Age champions ate.

Anyhow, if you live in Louisville, stop by The
Root Cellar. And if you live elsewhere, find your
own source of fresh, local food. It's one of the
keys to lifelong strength and health.

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. Here's the link again for the first issue of
the new quarterly Dinosaur Files -- and for Knife,
Fork, Muscle:

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaurfiles_quarterly.html

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 train local, and
you should eat local as well." -- Brooks Kubik

**********************************************

Barbell, Basement, Lifter!

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

I did podcasts last week with with Bill Kociaba
of Kociaba Fitness, Nik Hawks of Paleo Treats,
and Eric Fiorillo of Fiorillo Barbell Co.

I'll send links as soon as I have them. You'll
like all three of the podcasts.

On each of the podcasts, we covered different
aspects of real world, no-nonsense strength
training. And we talked about the mental side
of things as much as the physical side.

That's because the mental component of
strength training is hugely important -- far
more important than most people ever
imagine.

And in this regard, Nik Hawks asked a very
interesting question in the Paleo Treats podcast.
He asked me if I had ever read The Talent Code,
by Daniel Coyle.

Answer -- no, but I have read The Little Book
of Talent, also written by Daniel Coyle.

Daniel Coyle did something very interesting.
He researched what common factors link
top performers in all aspects of life. Artists,
musicians, writers, athletes, martial
artists, etc.

One of the common factors was that successful
people tend to train, practice or work in spartan
environments -- not fancy, luxurious or richly
appointed ones.

The best tennis players come from tennis clubs
that practice on cheap looking courts with grass
and weeds poking up here and there.

The best musicians come from music schools
that look like an elementary school that should
have been renovated 50 years ago -- or from
music camps where the kids sleep in log cabins
that look like they might blow apart if the wind
blows.

Ditto for skiers and ski schools.

The very best high schools in the entire world
(the best academically) look like they were
built right after World War Two. The rooms
have walls, blackboards, and desks. Nothing
else.

In other words -- spartan and basic.

Spartan and basic is important, because it
eliminates distractions.

It's also important because it keeps you
from getting too comfortable.

If you train somewhere that looks and feels
rich and luxurious and wonderful, you start
to feel that you've "made it." You've "arrived."

And the result is that you start to cut back
on how hard you train.

You see this in the Rocky movies. Rocky is at
his best when he trains old-school. In Rocky III,
we see him training luxury style, while Clubber
Lang does pull-up after pull-up in a little hole
in the wall gym somewhere. And -- spoiler
alert -- it doesn't go well for Rocky.

Nik asked me if I trained in my garage because
I knew that it was better to train spartan and
simple -- in spartan and simple surroundings.

That was a good question.

The answer is, I know it now. And yes, that's one
reason I train in my garage.

But I didn't suddenly wake up and make the
connection. It was a gradual progression from
fancy gym to old-school, black iron gym to
home gym to even more minimalist home
gym.

And now, it's just me and the barbell.

Barbell, basement, lifter.

Except I'm out in the garage -- which makes it
barbell, garage, lifter. Less alliteration, but the
result is the same.

Wherever you train, and whatever you do, keep
it spartan. Simple and basic is best. It keeps you
focused -- and it keeps you hungry.

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. The first issue of the Dinosaur Files quarterly
was printed on Friday, and we've been dropping
them into the mail as fast as we can -- along with
the special bonus certificates making each reader
an official member of the American Strength and
Health League. Go here to grab your copy of the
Dinosaur Files quarterly:

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaurfiles_quarterly.html

P.S. 2. Knife, Fork, Muscle was printed on Friday,
as well, and the books should be shipped to us
today -- and as soon as we have them, we'll start
filling all orders ASAP. So if you've been waiting,
now is the time to take action:

http://brookskubik.com/dinosaur_nutrition.html

P.S. 3. My other books and courses -- and Dinosaur
Training DVD's, shirts, sweatshirts, hoodies, etc. --
are right here:

http://www.brookskubik.com/products.html

P.S. 4. Thought for the Day: "You don't build
strength by training pretty." -- Brooks Kubik

**********************************************

In the Mail -- The New Quarterly Dinosaur Files!

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

I want to thank everyone who has ordered
issue no. 1 of the new quarterly Dinosaur
Files.

The little monster was printed on Friday,
and we worked late to get most of them
into their envelopes and out the door
before the main post office closed at
9:00.

There are still some more to pack and
ship today, and we're working on that.

Most of today's packing and shipping is
for Dinos who ordered a book or course
with their issue of the Dinosaur Files.
Those take a little longer to fill. But
they'll all go out today or first thing
on Monday morning.

If you asked us to ship the Dinosaur Files
with Knife, Fork, Muscle, we should be
able to ship them next week or very
early the following week. Knife, Fork,
Muscle was printed on Friday, and is
scheduled to be shipped to us on Mon
or Tuesday, so we'll have them very,
very soon.

In any event, readers who live close to
Louisville may receive their Dinosaur
Files today -- and many of the rest of
you will receive your issue on Monday
or Tuesday. Pls shoot me an email when
your issue arrives, just to let us know
how long it takes to get to you.

After you read the first issue of the
new quarterly Dinosaur Files,  please
drop me a line and let me know how
you like it -- and how you like the
certificate of membership in the
American Strength and Health
League that you will be getting
as a special bonus -- and as our
way of saying THANK YOU for
your loyalty and your support.

And please let me know if there's
anything we can do to improve the
quarterly Dinosaur Files. I'm the
editor and the publisher, but it's
YOUR magazine -- so let me hear
what YOU want to see in it!

Yours in strength,

Brooks Kubik

P.S. We have plenty of extra copies
of issue no. 1 of the new quarterly
Dinosaur Files -- as well as the certificate
of membership in the American Strength
and Health League -- so there's still
plenty of time to grab a copy:

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaurfiles_quarterly.html

P.S. 2. If you want to order issue no. 1
of the new quarterly Dinosaur Files and
any other book, course or other Dinosaur
Training product, shoot me an email and
ask for a shipping quote. We can usually
save you some serious wampum by
combining orders.

P.S. 3. My other books, courses, DVD's,
t-shirts, sweatshirts, and hoodies are
right here:

http://www.brookskubik.com/products.html

P.S. 4. Thought for the Day: "Study the past,
live in the present, lift for the future."
-- Brooks Kubik

*************************************************

A Remarkable Coincidence!

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

Life is full of interesting things.

Some of them are almost uncanny.

They come under the "Strange But True"
category.

Here's something that happened this
week at Dino Headquarters.

I was sitting at the dining room table,
writing Thank You notes to everyone
who reserved a copy of Knife, Fork,
Muscle during the big pre-publication
special for the little monster.

We clip the Thank You notes to the
order sheets, so when the books get
here -- which should be sometime next
week, since they were printed yesterday --
we can easily match the note and the
order.

Anyhow, there are a lot of orders, and
there have been a lot of Thank You notes
to write.

So there I was, writing more Thank You
notes.

I picked one up.

Trudi had made a big notation on the order
form.

It was order number 1 for Knife, Fork,
Muscle.

That means, it's the very first order we're
going to fill -- and I'm going to sign the
book and flag it as copy no. 1.

It might be a collector's item someday.
Worth big wampum.

And it goes to one of our long-time
Dinos -- and to someone who's been
tossing the iron for many years. So
it's going to a good home.

Anyhow . . .

I started to write the Thank You note for
the man who placed the very first order --
and as I was writing it, I heard a loud

THUD

on the front porch.


So I went out to see what was up.

There was a package on the front porch.

And a UPS truck was already zooming
away.

I bent down and leaned forward -- and
picked it up -- read the label -- took it
inside -- and cut it open with a pocket
knife.

I reached inside the package, and pulled
something out, and laid it on the table.

It was the very first copy of Knife, Fork,
Muscle.

The printing company always sends one
copy that you need to review and approve
before they print the rest of the books.

This was that one copy.

The first copy.

And it was delivered at exactly the moment
that I was writing a Thank You note to the
lucky Dino who placed the very first order.

It was one of those times when truth is
stranger than fiction -- but that's exactly
how it happened.

Hopefully, it's a good sign for Knife, Fork,
Muscle. Maybe lots of readers will think
it's the number 1 book on diet and nutrition
that they've ever read. That would be pretty
good.

In any case, we have the very first copy of
the book -- and it looks great -- and the rest
of them should be arriving sometime next
week -- and that means we're going to go
into super shipping mode to get them right
out the door to you.

So it's going to be a very busy week -- and
that's GREAT!

And that's the report from Dino Headquarters.
Thanks for reading, and have a great day. If
you train today, make it a good one!

Yours in strength,

Brooks Kubik

P.S. You can't have the first copy of Knife, Fork,
Muscle -- that one's taken -- but you CAN have
a copy from the first printing. Go here to reserve
your copy now:

http://brookskubik.com/dinosaur_nutrition.html

P.S. 2. My other books and courses -- and the first
issue of the new quarterly Dinosaur Files -- are
right here:

http://www.brookskubik.com/products.html

P.S. 3. Thought for the Day: "When it comes to
old-school barbell training, you can't be first, but
you can be part of a long, grand and glorious
tradition -- and that's a very good thing."
-- Brooks Kubik

*********************************************

Breaking News -- Knife, Fork, Muscle Is Printing Today!

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

We have some breaking news as of 2 minutes
ago.

Trudi just got off the phone with our printing
company.

Knife, Fork, Muscle is being printed RIGHT
NOW.

The printing company will probably finish
the printing and then box and ship the books
on Monday -- although they may not finish
boxing and shipping them until Tuesday.

We should get them on Wednesday or Friday.
(There's no shipping on Thursday, due to the
Thanksgiving Holiday.)

As soon as we have them, we'll start filling
the orders, starting with the very first order
and working in chronological sequence from
there.

So if you already reserved your copy of Knife,
Fork, Muscle, it will be shipping to you very
soon.

If you were waiting until the last minute --
now's the time to step up and take action:

http://brookskubik.com/dinosaur_nutrition.html

By the way, the printing company always sends
an advance copy for the author -- so I have it
in my hot little hands -- and it looks GREAT!

Yours in strength,

Brooks Kubik

P.S. If you're sitting on the fence and asking
yourself whether to grab Knife, Fork, Muscle,
listen to my interview with Bill Kociaba, where
we discuss the book and its contents in detail:

http://kociaba-fitness.com/blog_an_interview_with_brooks_kubik

P.S. 2. Save clams on s&h by combining your
order for Knife, Fork, Muscle with any other
Dinosaur Training book, course, DVD, or
other product. Shoot me an email and ask
for a shipping quote:

http://www.brookskubik.com/products.html

P.S. 3. Thought for the Day: "Book printing
day is always a very good day." - Brooks Kubik

***********************************************

The Bob Hoffman - George Jowett Seal of Approval

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

I did a podcast with Bill Kociaba of Kociaba
Fitness yesterday. It's the second one I've
done with Bill, and he's great to work with.
He's been training and following the Iron
Game for over 40 years, and he really
knows his stuff.

You can catch the first show here -- along
with some other good ones from people
you will know. Yesterday's show will go
up in a couple of weeks. I'll let you know
when it does.

My first interview with Bill Kociaba:

http://kociaba-fitness.com/blog_an_interview_with_brooks_kubik

In any case, in yesterday's interview
we were talking about the new quarterly
Dinosaur Files, and I was telling Bill about
the special bonus for everyone who orders
issue no. 1 of the new quarterly Dinosaur
Files.

Bill almost fell out of his chair when he heard
about it. He thought it was pretty darn cool.
And so do I.

So I thought I should share the details with
everyone else.

When Bob Hoffman started Strength and
Health magazine back in 1932, he worked
with George F. Jowett, the world-famous
author of The Key to Might and Muscle,
and one of the best-loved Iron Game
writers of all time.

One of the things they did was to launch
the American Strength and Health
League -- which they did in the very
first issue, almost exactly 82 years
ago.

They said -- and I quote:

"The American Strength and Health League
is the finest organization under the sun for
people interested in any form of sport or
exercising, body building and strength. It
is a genuine organization created to help
you succeed. Prizes of all kinds are given
for development, improvement in body
building, in strength or for excellence or
perserverence in any sport."

The first members of the American Strength
and Health League included Bob Hoffman,
George F. Jowett, Henry "Milo" Steinborn,
Joe Lambert, Bill Lily, Harry Good, and
Bob Mitchell.

It cost one clam (a lot of wampum back
then) to enroll in the American Strength
and Health League -- but when you did,
you received a special blue and gold
certificate signed by Bob Hoffman and
George F. Jowett.

The certificate was "suitable for framing"
and "will show that you are a man among
men."

So here's where it gets really good for
everyone who orders issue no. 1 of the
new quarterly Dinosaur Files.

I have one of those original certificates --
signed by Bob Hoffman and George F. Jowett.
It's made out to an oldtimer who's no longer
with us. It's not dated, but it's probably
about 80 years old.

We made an exact copy of the certificate
and then used the magic of Photoshop to
replace the oldtimer's name with a blank
line.

We printed the certificates on some nice
looking, special paper that looks and feels
a bit like old parchment, but not as brittle.
Everyone who grabs a copy of issue no. 1
of the quarterly Dinosaur Files gets one of
the certificates -- with his or her name
handwritten by me -- which makes you
a full-fledged "life member of the American
Strength and Health League."

It's  a beautiful certificate, suitable for framing,
and it's a great piece of Iron Game history.

In fact, it's so good that I've done one for
myself. It's framed, on the wall, right where
I can look up and see it when I'm working
on Dino projects.

The first issue of the new quarterly Dinosaur
Files is being printed even as I type this email
message.

We'll pick up the copies later today, and start
firing them out the door today, tomorrow and
Monday -- along with those nifty certificates!

Consider it an early Christmas present for
Dinos.

Go here to reserve your copy of the new
quarterly Dinosaur Files and your certificate
of membership in the American Strength
and Health League:

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaurfiles_quarterly.html

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. If you want to combine your Dinosaur Files
order with any other book, course, DVD or other
Dinosaur Training product, shoot me an email and
ask for shipping quote. We can usually save you
some clams by combining orders in one package:

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaurfiles_quarterly.html

P.S. 2. My other books and courses -- and DVD's,
shirts, sweatshirts and hoodies -- are right here:

http://www.brookskubik.com/products.html

P.S. 3. Thought for the Day: "Follow the strength
and health lifestyle, train hard, eat smart,
and set a good example for others. "
-- Brooks Kubik

**********************************************

A Cold Weather Super Food!

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

Most of North America is buried in winter
weather. In fact, it was below freezing in
all 50 states, including Hawaii, and that's
pretty rare. And in places like Buffalo,
people are literally snowed in -- trapped
in their houses by six feet of snow.

It's been cold here in Louisville, and we
had an inch or two of snow. That's not
much by Buffalo standards, but it's very
unusual for us this early in the season.

The good news is -- cold weather is the
perfect time for one of the real super
foods.

No, it's not some funky new grain from
far away -- or an exotic fruit or berry --
or a little known root or tuber from South
America.

It's much more basic, and much more
simple than that.

And unlike the exotic stuff, it really is a
super food.

It's homemade soup!

Trudi has been stocking up (no pun intended)
on soup bones and soup stock from the
Farmers' Market. She has beef bones,
pork bones, soup stock and duck stock.

So we have homemade soup every day now,
and sometimes twice a day.

And by homemade, I mean made from
scratch, starting with your own homemade
bone broth. Canned soup or soup stock
doesn't do the trick -- and neither do
bouillon cubes.

But don't worry -- it's not hard to make
your own delicious soup.

In fact, soup is  one of the simplest things
in the world to make.

Start with your soup bones. If the bones
have any meat on them, sear them first
in a frying pan to lock in the flavor. Then
let them simmer in the stock pot or crock
pot for 3 or 4 hours.

With beef bones, Trudi adds a spoonful of
apple cider vinegar to help draw out the
minerals and other nutrients. A little red
wine will do the same.

Trudi adds lots of herbs to make the broth
extra delicious and extra nutritious. She
likes plenty of chopped onion, chopped
or crushed garlic, and chopped tumeric
root. She adds chopped ginger root to
her chicken and duck broth. These provide
powerful anti-inflammatory compounds --
and they taste great.

When the soup is close to done, Trudi adds
fresh greens and chopped veggies. And
sometimes she roasts the veggies before
adding them to the soup -- which makes
it about as good as soup can be.

The result is homemade bone broth with
added herbs and greens for extra nutrition
and a truly delicious taste.

Bone broth is one of the best foods you can
eat. The mineral content is unsurpassed --
meaning that bone broth helps build strong
bones. And it's very easy to digest and
assimilate the minerals in bone broth.

Trudi made meatball soup last night. It's easy
to do. She just heated 5 or 6 cups of bone
broth, added some chopped veggies, made
some meatballs (just meat, nothing else), and
threw them in. They cooked in the broth,
and in less than 15 minutes we had a soup
that was so thick you could eat it with a fork.

Good stuff -- especially because I had just
finished a hard workout in the garage -- and
even wearing double sweats, it was COLD!

Trudi is making duck broth today. I'm looking
forward to it!

As always, thanks for reading and have a
great day. If you train today, make it a good
one -- and stay warm!

Yours in strength,

Brooks Kubik

P.S. Yes, I cover bone broth and homemade
soup in Knife, Fork, Muscle -- and tons of
other great ideas about how to build strength
and health with simple, delicious, real food:

http://brookskubik.com/dinosaur_nutrition.html

P.S. 2. Go here to grab your copy of the
new quarterly Dinosaur Files:

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaurfiles_quarterly.html

P.S. 3. My other books and courses -- and Dinosaur
Training DVD's -- are available right here:

http://www.brookskubik.com/products.html

P.S. 4. Thought for the Day: "People need to learn
how to train, and they need to learn how to cook
and how to eat for strength and health. Luckily,
it's not complicated." - Brooks Kubik

*******************************************

Take a Peek Inside Knife, Fork, Muscle!

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

I talked to my printer yesterday, and Knife,
Fork, Muscle should be shipping to me next
week -- perhaps shipping to me as early as
Monday or Tuesday.

That means we should get the books on Wed
or Fri (no deliveries on Thanksgiving Day).

And as soon as we have them, we'll fill all
of the orders for everyone who reserved a
copy of the little monster during the pre-
publication special -- which will end as
soon as the books arrive -- so act now
if you've been waiting to reserve your
copy and the pre-publication bonuses:

brookskubik.com/dinosaur_nutrition.html

BTW, we were going to do two bonuses,
but I upped it to seven because the layout
and design took longer than expected to
complete -- which delayed the printing --
and made us run late on getting the books
to you. That's never happened before, and
it's been very frustrating for us -- and I
apologize. It won't happen again.

But -- the books are coming -- and that's
very good news!

This reminded me that I haven't shared the
contents of the book -- so here's a peek at
the table of contents and all 23 chapters:

Knife, Fork, Muscle -- Table of Contents

Foreword

Introduction

1. How Much Protein Do You Need?

2. The Best Sources of High-Quality Protein

3. Eggs, Milk and Other Dairy Products

4. Plant-Based Protein Sources

5. Refined Carbohydrates and the Diseases
of Civilization

6. Fresh Green and Leafy Vegetables, Herbs
and Flowers

7. Potatoes and other Starchy Vegetables

8. Fresh, Canned or Frozen -- Conventional
or Organic?

9. Grow Your Own Vegetables!

10. The Grain Connection

11. Fresh Fruit and Fruit Juice

12. Much Ado About Fat

13. Food Allergies -- The Missing Piece of the
Puzzle

14. The Effect of Chemical Allergies on Strength
and Health

15. The Truth About Supplements

16. How to Use the Sample Menus and Diet
Plans

17. Special Advice for Gaining Weight

18. Special Advice for Losing Weight

19. Strength and Health Breakfasts

20. Strength and Health Lunches

21. Strength and Health Dinners

22. Recipes and Cooking Tips

23. The Wrap-Up

The little monster weighs in at nearly 400 pages,
and as you can see, it covers a ton of important
information -- and helps you sort your way through
all of the conflicting advice on diet and nutrition --
just like my other books and courses help you
sort your way through all the conflicting advice
on strength training and muscle building.

And, of course, it is NOT a "one size fits all" book
that tells you "Eat this!" and "Don't eat that!"

One size fits all doesn't work very well in the real
world. So I give you many different ideas and
suggestions, and help you put them together
into an optimal diet and nutrition plan that's
best for YOU!

Yes, that's exciting -- and I'm very excited that
the books are coming soon -- and looking forward
to hearing from all of you after you read the little
monster.

Meanwhile, we've got the entire first floor of the
house set up to fill orders, with envelopes and labels
ready to go, special bonuses ready to go, and my
handwritten notes to everyone who reserved a
copy ready to go and clipped to the order forms.

PLUS -- we should be getting the first issue of the
new quarterly Dinosaur Files later in the week, and
we'll be shooting those out the door as well -- so
it's going to be a whirlwind of activity here at
Dino Headquarters.

But that's good -- because it means we're going to
be making our Dinos very happy, very soon -- and
that means we're doing our job.

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. Again, here's the link to reserve your copy of
Knife, Fork, Muscle:

brookskubik.com/dinosaur_nutrition.html

P.S. 2. Go here to grab your copy of the new quarterly
Dinosaur Files:

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaurfiles_quarterly.html

P.S. 3. My other books and courses -- and DVD's, t-shirts,
sweatshirts and hoodies -- are right here:

http://www.brookskubik.com/products.html

P.S. 4. Thought for the Day: "Train smart, eat smart,
and good things will happen." -- Brooks Kubik

*********************************************

Answers to the "Who Said It?" Challenge

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

Last Friday I sent you a special Dinosaur
Challenge -- to guess "Who said it?" for
10 quotes from famous Iron Game figures.

I said it would be hard, and it was. Several
Dinos got a couple of them -- but no one
came near getting all of them.

So here are the answers -- see if you were
close on them:

WHO SAID IT?

1. "Unfortunately, dreams and reality are
different states. Just to dream that you can
lift 300 lbs is no sign that you can do it."

Harry Paschall, Development of Strength

Harry went on to note that bigger dreams will
lead to bigger lifts -- after you put in the
work!

2. "Provided you are not organically sick,
a heavy training program, sensibly organized
and built around teeth-grinding squats, can
start you growing in size and strength like
a Dinosaur!"

Bradley J. Steiner, July 1969 IronMan

I had forgotten about that Dinosaur reference,
but I sure as heck like it! And Steiner was spot
on about the squats.

3. "Most men will gain fine on two heavy
workouts per week, especially if there is plenty
of heavy leg and back work included."

Peary Rader -- July 1969 IronMan

This was revolutionary back then -- but now,
many of us use divided workouts and hit any
given exercise only once per week. It's taken
a long time to learn that less is better.

4. "How shall we determine the proper amount
of exercise? This, in our opinion, becomes the
question of most vital import between the
instructor and the enthusiastic seeker after
results in physical improvement."

Mark Berry, Physical Training Notes, vol. II,
no. 5, 1937

Note that Berry was asking the question in
1937, and Rader was asking the same question
in 1969. It's one of the really important questions.

5. "The man who tries to develop all his body
by the use of a pair of light dumb-bells, is
laboring under a tremendous handicap."

Alan Calvert, Milo Barbell Company brochure,
date unknown, but probably 1910 - 1920.

Light dumbbells were all the rage back then,
and it was hard to sell the idea that you needed
to lift heavy iron -- or to do heavy leg and back
exercises. I guess some things never change.

6. "To build really big arms, the chest, lungs,
heart and other internal organs must be
strengthened and enlarged first."

Billy Van -- Superhealth course -- 1956

This was impossible to guess, but I put it
in because it expresses the point so well.
Back in the day, it was widely recognized
that strength training built muscle because
it strengthened and improved the internal
organs, improved digestion and assimilation,
increased the metabolism, etc. In other words,
with proper training you built your body from
the inside out. A key point, and one that is
largely forgotten today.

7. "Poundage progression is critical. Never be
satisfied with any particular weight in any
particular exercise. This is NOT new information,
but modern trainees seem to have lost sight of it
entirely."

Brooks Kubik -- in the Dinosaur Strength Training
Notebook (1998)

Been saying this for years . . .

8. "To build muscles and strength, to build
stronger attachments, tendons, ligaments,
and cartiliges, it is necessary to use heavy
poundages."

Bob Hoffman -- Strength and Health, Dec.
1940

Compare to no. 5. People need to hear this over
and over.

BTW, I covered this exact point in an interview
on Carl Lanore's SuperHuman Radio yesterday.
If you missed it, scoot on over to SHR and listen
to the podcast.

9. "To be free from winter ailments this year,
two things are highly essential for you to
observe, and I reiterate: Diet and exercise."

John Grimek -- Strength and Health, Dec. 1940

Since it's winter now -- snow on the ground here
in Louisville -- I thought this was worth noting.
It's good advice.

10. "To maintain youthful spirits, the great
muscles of the body -- in fact all the muscles --
must be used with a certain amount of
regularity. That does not necessarily mean
daily -- most people hate a routine, but they
should be used frequently and vigorously
enough to thoroughly stir the circulatory
processes."

Bernarr MacFadden -- Physical Culture, Dec.
1944

Compare to no. 6. This is very similar. The
leaders in physical culture have been saying
this for a long, long time.

As I said, this one was TOUGH. We'll do it
again sometime and see if we have any
winners.

As always, thanks for reading, and have a
great day. If you train today, make it a good
one!

Yours in strength,

Brooks Kubik

1. We're coming to the end of the pre-publication
special for Knife, Fork, Muscle, so if you've
not already reserved a copy, do it now:

http://brookskubik.com/dinosaur_nutrition.html

NOTE: I will be in touch with my printer today
and tomorrow and will update you on when I'll be
getting the books. We should be getting the
shipment sometime next week, and we'll fire
them on out to everyone as soon as we have
them.

2. Go here to order the first issue of the new
quarterly Dinosaur Files:

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaurfiles_quarterly.html

3. My other books and courses are right here:

http://www.brookskubik.com/products.html

P.S. 4. Thought for the Day: "Train for strength,
eat for health, and live your life to the fullest."

-- Brooks Kubik


 *************************************************

Take a Peek at the New Quarterly Dinosaur Files!

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

I worked all weekend proofing, editing and
finalizing the new quarterly Dinosaur Files.
It took a long time, because it's grown into
a T-Rex sized magazine -- a full 36 pages.

I thought you'd enjoy a peek at the table
of contents for the little monster -- so here
it is.

December 2014 Quarterly Dinosaur Files:

Hail to the Dinosaurs! -- by Brooks Kubik
Mesozoic Mail -- by the Dinosaurs

Jurassic Jottings -- by Brooks Kubik

Answers to Your training Questions -- by
Brooks Kubik

Requiem for a Lifter -- by Brooks Kubik

Note: Fans of Stuart McRobert's old
Hardgainer magazine will want to read
this article. It's about an old friend. All
HG readers will know and remember
him.

Physical Training and the Internal Life
Forces -- by Mark Berry

Note: Yes, Mark Berry, the former Director
of the Milo Barbell Company and the author
of Physical training Simplified, the Mark Berry
Barbell Courses and others. This is a reprint
of an old article from the 30's.

Stone Drills -- by Ian Duckett

Note: This one will make you want to go out
and do some serious stone lifting. Ian has
some great outdoor workouts to share.

Journey Into Strength -- by Jeff "T-Rex"
Bankens

Note: Jeff knows his stuff -- he just set a
world record by pulling two vehicles with
neck power alone.

Summer Fun with Granite and Iron - by Jim
Duggan

Note: The title says it all -- what a great
backyard workout -- as used by one of the
strongest drug-free lifters in the country.

Kevin Fitzgerald -- Going Strong at 79! -- by
Peter Yates

Note: Kevin is a longtime Dino, and one of the
strongest men of his age in the world. His story
is inspiring and motivating.

An Old School, Bosco-Style Program for
Dinos -- by Brooks Kubik

Note: Old school training at its best, as taught
by Harry Paschall in his Bosco books. A complete,
three-part training program for strength and
power training.

Observations at the Gym -- by Bobby Rich

Note: Something fun and different. Dinos
will love it -- pumpers and toners will not.

How to Survive a Rotator Cuff Injury -- by
John Stehman

Note: this gives some very valuable "from
the trenches" advice for dealing with shoulder
problems. Must reading for older Dinos.

A Light, Medium, Heavy Training Program
for Big Gains -- by Peter Bolsius

Note: A special progression program for
long-term gains. A little different, but very
good stuff. Slow cooking, as we call it.

John Grimek's Training Advice -- by Brooks
Kubik

Grimek's actual answers to training questions
from Strength and Health readers -- summarized
in my words, with my commentary to help put
everything in context. It's as close as you can
get to sitting down and talking iron with JCG --
and talking iron with JCG would be a pretty
good thing to do.

Dinosaur Classifieds

The Wrap-Up -- by Brooks Kubik

So, as you can see, it's a BIG magazine -- and it
has a ton of great information.

Go here to reserve a copy of issue no. 1 of the new
quarterly Dinosaur Files:

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaurfiles_quarterly.html

We'll be shipping the little monster later this
week -- just as soon as the printer makes the
last changes and gets it printed and over to us.

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. If you want to order the Dinosaur Files with any
other book, course or other Dino product, shoot me
an email and ask for a shipping quote. We can usually
save you some clams on s&h if we bundle orders into
one package.

P.S. 2. My other books and courses -- and Dinosaur
Training DVD's, shirts, sweatshirts, etc. -- are right
here:

http://www.brookskubik.com/products.html

P.S. 3. Thought for the Day: "Winter is here --
so gear up for serious cold-weather training."
-- Brooks Kubik

**********************************************

A Dinosaur Challenge -- Who Said It?

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

Let's do something a little different today.

Let's have a special challenge to the
Dinosaurs.

See if you can guess who said each of the
following quotes from famous Iron Game
figures. Shoot me an email with
your answers.

The first Dino to send me an email with all
10 correct answers wins a free Dinosaur
Training T-shirt.

The contest ends at midnight EST on Monday,
November 17, 2014.

If there is no winner, we'll try again in a
week or two, with another quiz.

And there may very well NOT be a winner --
because this one is darn hard.

In fact, it's really tough . . . but regular readers
may be able to piece together some of the
answers based on the words used in the
quote, the point of the quote, or even,
in some cases, some of the spelling
choices or capitalizations, which I am
reproducing exactly as they are in the
original quotes.

Still, it won't be easy . . . but even if there's
no winner, this is worth doing because these
10 quotes contain some very valuable nuggets
from the old Iron Mine.

Are you ready?

Get set.

Go.

WHO SAID IT?

1. "Unfortunately, dreams and reality are
different states. Just to dream that you can
lift 300 lbs is no sign that you can do it."

2. "Provided you are not organically sick,
a heavy training program, sensibly organized
and built around teeth-grinding squats, can
start you growing in size and strength like
a Dinosaur!"

3. "Most men will gain fine on two heavy
workouts per week, especially if there is plenty
of heavy leg and back work included."

4. "How shall we determine the proper amount
of exercise? This, in our opinion, becomes the
question of most vital import between the
instructor and the enthusiastic seeker after
results in physical improvement."

5. "The man who tries to develop all his body
by the use of a pair of light dumb-bells, is
laboring under a tremendous handicap."

6. "To build really big arms, the chest, lungs,
heart and other internal organs must be
strengthened and enlarged first."

7. "Poundage progression is critical. Never be
satisfied with any particular weight in any
particular exercise. This is NOT new information,
but modern trainees seem to have lost sight of it
entirely."

8. "To build muscles and strength, to build
stronger attachments, tendons, ligaments,
and cartiliges, it is necessary to use heavy
poundages."

9. "To be free from winter ailments this year,
two things are highly essential for you to
observe, and I reiterate: Diet and exercise."

10. "To maintain youthful spirits, the great
muscles of the body -- in fact all the muscles --
must be used with a certain amount of
regularity. That does not necessarily mean
daily -- most people hate a routine, but they
should be used frequently and vigorously
enough to thoroughly stir the circulatory
processes."

So there you go. Good luck!

As always, thanks for reading, and have a
great day. If you train today, make it a good
one!

Yours in strength,

Brooks Kubik

1. We're winding down the pre-publication
special for Knife, Fork, Muscle, so if you've
not already reserved a copy, now's the time:

http://brookskubik.com/dinosaur_nutrition.html

2. Go here to order the first issue of the new
quarterly Dinosaur Files:

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaurfiles_quarterly.html

3. My other books and courses are right here:

http://www.brookskubik.com/products.html

P.S. 4. Thought for the Day: "Today's Friday. That
means it's either a good day to train, or a good day
to rest and recover from your most recent workout.
But it's got to be one or the other " -- Brooks Kubik

******************************************

You Don't Throw a Back Suplex Forever!

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

A little over 40 years ago, I was in a free-style
wrestling match in Ohio.

I took my opponent down with a single leg.

He rolled to his stomach, and then moved to
his hands and knees. I was behind him, working
a basic waist ride, looking for an opening to turn
him.

That's when he made a very bad mistake.

He tried to jump up to his feet to get away.

As he did, I stood up with him -- wrapped my
arms around his waist -- locked my hands --
and lifted him up and off the mat, using his
own upward momentum against him.

I threw him with a perfect back suplex --
finishing in a high bridge as I slammed him to
the mat over my head and behind me.

You don't see many of those back suplex throws,
and there was an audible gasp from the crowd as
they watched it. I actually heard them in
mid-throw.

And today, more than 40 years later, I still
remember that particular throw. It was one of
my best moves ever, out of hundreds of matches
and thousands of hours of practice matches.

But here's the important part of the story.

That was then. This is now.

I don't throw a back suplex any more. And if I
were in a wrestling match, I wouldn't try. I'd
stick to basic, simpler moves, such as arm drags,
duck-unders, leg picks or single legs.

That's the difference between age 17 and age
57.

And it's the same in my training.

There are many exercises I did when I was a
teenager or a twenty-something (or even a thirty-
something) that I don't -- and won't -- do today.

And I do some exercises differently -- and I
use different sets and reps, different warm-up
progressions, and different levels of intensity
than before.

I do many things differently because they work
better for me, and I should have been doing them
that way from day one. But I do some things
differently because they're easier on my
body -- and face it, your body at age 57 is
different than your body at age 17.

Harrison Ford has a great line in the first Indiana 
Jones movie: "It's not the years, it's the miles."

I'm sure that's true for globe-trotting adventurers,
and I know darn well that it's true for Iron Slingers.

It's the same with diet and nutrition. Some things
work better when you are younger -- and sometimes
you need to change things up as you grow older. My
diet, like my training, has evolved over time. And
the same is probably true for most of us.

It actually makes training as an older Dino much
more interesting. You need to think things through,
and you need to train smart. And often, you need
to make adjustments in what you do.

After a certain age -- say, 45 or 50 -- what worked
for you 10 years ago probably won't work as well.
In fact, if you are over the age of 50, what worked
for you 3 or 4 years ago may not work as well as
it did -- and may need to be tweaked or modified.

So it's very interesting to be an older Dino.

Of course, the most important thing is to keep on
training. Don't focus on what you used to do -- or
how you trained many years ago -- or on what used
to work best for you. Focus on where you are today,
and on what works best for you to do NOW.

Yes, it was great to be able to throw a perfect back
suplex back in the day. But it's also great to go out
to the garage and hit the iron 3x a week.

I'm glad I used to be able to throw a perfect back
suplex -- but I'm just as glad I'm able to go out
and train -- and keep on training.

And that's something I plan to do for a very long
time.

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 cover training for older Dinos in Gray Hair and
Black Iron and my Going Strong at 54 DVD -- and I
cover diet and nutrition for older trainees (and younger
trainees, as well) in Knife, Fork, Muscle:

a. Gray Hair and Black Iron:

http://www.brookskubik.com/grayhair_blackiron.html

b. Going Strong at 54 (DVD):

http://brookskubik.com/goingstrong.html

c. Knife, Fork, Muscle:

http://brookskubik.com/dinosaur_nutrition.html

P.S. 2. We have some inspiring and informative material
on training for older Dinos in the first issue of the new
Dinosaur Files quarterly newsletter -- reserve your copy
now:

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaurfiles_quarterly.html

P.S. 3. Thought for the Day: "You can't go back, but
you can go forward." -- Brooks Kubik

*************************************************

The Iron Game Time Machine -- Back to 1985!

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

It's geting close to 30 years since January 1985.

Many don't know it, but that was an important
time in Iron Game history.

January 1985 was when Dr. Ken Leistner launched
his now legendary newsletter, The Steel Tip.

It was a wonderful little publication. Each issue
was 4 - 6 pages long, with some issues running
a full 8 pages.

It had a sharp looking but simple layout, and
each issue was nothing but text -- no photos
and no drawings. Dr. Ken probably wrote about
95% of the material.

It was pretty much all about strength training
the way Dr. Ken taught it: "high intensity
training" in the true sense of the word.

Short, brutally hard, as heavy as possible in
good form workouts built around the basic,
compound exercises. Lots of squats, stiff
legged deadlifts, Trap Bar deadlifts, pressing
and pulling. Nothing fancy. Just good, old-
faashioned stuff that really worked.

The Steel Tip ran for three years. A total of 36
issues. Those are worth their weight in gold
now. They're hard to find, and hardly anyone
has a complete set of all 36 issues.

That's why I wanted to let you know about
something pretty darn good. It's been out
for a few years, but it's sort of under the
radar screen for some reason.

Back in 2010, John Wood celebrated the 25th
Anniversary of The Steei Tip by working with
Dr. Ken and his wife, Kathy, to put together a
complete set of all 36 issues of The Steel Tip
in book form -- including updated commentary
from Dr. Ken as he looked back on the high-
lights of each issue.

The end-result was a mammoth 8 1/2 x 11,
330-page book. And that's a lot of book.

You can read more about it -- and grab a
copy right here -- directly from John Wood:

http://www.oldtimestrongman.com/products/steel-tip-newsletter-collection-dr-ken-leistner

Tell John I sent you. And say "HI!" to Dr. Ken when
you place your order.

Yours in strength,

Brooks Kubik

P.S. In the spirit of The Steel Tip, I'm doing a
new quarterly Dinosaur Files -- and you can
reserve your copy of the first issue -- which will
be shipping sometime next week -- right here:

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaurfiles_quarterly.html

***********************************************

Slow Cooking, Dino Style!

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

Today's the day to work like heck on proofing
and editing the first issue of the new quarterly
Dinosaur Files -- because we want to get the
little monster printed and out the door next
week.

We need to get the Dino Files printed and mailed
because we're going to be getting our copies of
Knife, Fork, Muscle VERY soon and we'll be busy
as heck for a few days getting them packed and
shipped to everyone who reserved a copy during
the pre-publication special.

So I'm going to be moving at double warp speed all
day long. In fact, I'll be moving at double warp
speed for the next week or two.

And that's funny, because the title of this message
is "Slow Cooking, Dino Style."

So let me talk about slow cooking and what it
means.

Back in the day, someone -- and I do not know
who -- came up with the idea of increasing your
military press by adding very small amounts of
weight to the bar every so often.

By small, I mean as little as 1/8 or 1/4 pound.

Lifters would go to the neighborhood hardware store
and buy a bunch of small washers -- and add these
to the bar to make those very small weight increases.

The idea was very simple. You added such a small
amount of weight that you never even noticed it --
and you didn't have to cheat or cut your reps short
to handle the heavier weight. You were able to
handle the *slightly* heavier weight in letter
perfect form.

Over time, the small weight increases added up to
another pound on the bar -- and then another two
pounds -- and so on. Eventually, you were hitting
a new PR with 10 pounds more than you handled
before.

And you avoided the dreaded bugabear of going
stale -- a/k/a hitting a brick wall and not being able
to add another pound to the bar no matter how hard
you try.

The brick wall thing is very common among the
folks who try to force progress by adding too much
weight to the bar. It works for a couple of workouts,
and then they do the crash and burn. Many trainees
repeat the cycle over and over -- good workout,
better workout, great workout, super workout,
best workout ever -- crash and burn -- lose
ground and go back -- and start all over again.
They never end up going anywhere.

As I said, I don't know who came up with the idea,
but whoever thought it up was a true genius.

It was a popular method of training in England before
and after World War II -- and then, as often happens
to good ideas, it fell out of favor and ended up lost
and forgotten.

Stuart McRobert resurrected the idea in Hardgainer
magazine back in the late 1980's and early 1990's.
If you remember Hardgainer from that era, you'll
recall the many references to "little gems" in Stuart's
articles, in my articles, and in Mike Thompson's
articles.

For more information, see my book, Strength, Muscle
and Power:

http://www.brookskubik.com/strength_muscle_power.html

You can buy small plates and give this method a
try -- or you can make them out of short lengths of
chain rolled into a donut to slip over your bar. Use
wire to hold them together. Very simple, but very
effective.

And yes, I know it's more fun to add 10 or 20 pounds
to the bar all the time. But that doesn't work forever.
And slow but steady progress beats no progress
every single time.

I'll be training today, and I'm going to go up in
weight -- using an old pair of "little gems" that I
got more than 25 years ago. They've seen a lot of
use over the years, and they've helped me build
plenty of strength, muscle and power.

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. Follow the links below to order Knife, Fork,
Muscle and the first issue of the new quarterly
Dinosaur Files:

http://brookskubik.com/dinosaur_nutrition.html

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaurfiles_quarterly.html

P.S. 2. My other books and courses -- and Dinosaur
Training shirts, sweatshirts, hoodies and DVD's --
are right here:

http://www.brookskubik.com/products.html

P.S. 3. Thought for the Day: "Make progress slowly,
but make progress." -- Brooks Kubik

**********************************************

Why I Don't Do the One-Legged Barbell Leg Press

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

Three quick notes, and then we'll talk about the
one-legged barbell leg press -- and why I don't
do it.

1. Happy Veteran's Day!

It's Veteran's day, and many Dinos are veterans --
or have friends or family members who served in the
Armed Forces.

So let's have a great big, Dino-sized shout out and a
THANK YOU to all of our current and former service
members!

2. Knife, Fork, Muscle

I talked with the printer yesterday, and the books
should ship next week -- probably near the end of
the week -- and as soon as we get them, we'll
fire them on out the door to everyone who reserved
a copy during the pre-publication special.

If you have not yet reserved your copy, now's
the time:

http://brookskubik.com/dinosaur_nutrition.html

And as always, if you want a signed copy, ask for
one in the special instructions section of the on-
line order form. There's no charge for an autograph,
and I'm always honored to do it for you.

3. The new Quarterly Dinosaur Files

This is going to be an early Christmas present for
Dinos. We're publishing the Files on a quarterly
basis now, and they're bigger and better than
ever. Go here to grab the first quarterly issue:

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaurfiles_quarterly.html

And now, as they say, let's talk training. . .

Back in the day, they had some very unusual
exercises.

Now, there are two kinds of unusual exercises.

There is Unusual Good -- and there is Unusual Bad.

Examples of Unusual Good would be:

1. One-hand dumbbell swings

2. The two-hand dumbbell swing

3. The one-hand barbell snatch

4. Hip lifts

5. Lifting an anvil by the horn (or any other way)

6. Sandbag training

7. Hand and thigh lifts

All of these were exercises that were done "back in the
day" -- and which are rarely done today -- and they're all
good exercises.

But other old-school exercises aren't as good -- or as
safe.

An example is the one-legged barbell leg press.

Yes, there was actually such an exercise. You would
lie on your back, and bend your leg back, and place
a barbell on the bottom of your foot -- and do a
one-legged leg press with it.

And hope the barbell didn't fall on your head -- or
your chest -- or your gut -- or end up ruining your
dreams of having a family someday.

There also was a two-legged barbell leg press. Same
thing, but you used two legs.

Same risks.

And not a very productive exercise in any event.

Some people did these with bare feet, but most people
did them with boots on -- so the bar would roll back and
get caught by the heel. That helped a little bit in keeping
the bar from falling on the lifter -- but it's still a very high
risk exercise, and one that I do NOT recommend. Nor do
I do it.

Bob Hoffman recommended a sort of twisting stiff-
legged deadlift called the Barbell Tee-Totem. That's another
one I would never do. Bending and twisting while you lift
a barbell is a great way to pop a disk.

Yet another example -- a twisting military press with
barbell. You would twist to the side as you pressed
the barbell -- sort of like a standing twist combined
with a standing press. Again, not a good exercise for
the spine. Why do it?

The point is, there is much from the past that is good.
In fact, much of it is solid gold.

But not all of it. You need to pick and choose -- and to
make intelligent exercise choices.

Personally, I prefer to work my legs with squats and
front squats. I'll leave those one-legged and two-legged
barbell leg presses for someone else.

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. The barbell clean and military press may have
been one of the very best of the old-school exercises --
and it's still one of the very best exercises you can do.
That's why I wrote a detailed course on the military
press:

http://www.brookskubik.com/militarypress_course.html

P.S. 2. My other books and courses are right here -- and
remember, ask for a shipping quote on multiple items.
We can almost always save you some wampum by
shipping two or more items together:

http://www.brookskubik.com/products.html

P.S. 3. Thought for the Day: "Never do a split-style
snatch on roller skates." -- Brooks Kubik

*********************************************

How I Learned About Effective Training

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

Two quick updates, and then we'll talk training.

1. Knife, Fork, Muscle

I just got off the phone with my printer, and it
looks like the books will ship to me next week --
probably next Thurs or Fri. We are all set to fire
them out the door as soon as they arrive. I will
keep you posted as I learn more.

BTW -- the little monster looks GREAT -- and is
a little bigger than expected -- and the 7 special
reports are pretty darn good, as well.

And yes, I really do have writer's cramp from
writing personal notes to everyone who ordered
the little monster.

2. The new Quarterly Dinosaur Files

Here's the order page for the new quarterly Dinosaur
Files:

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaurfiles_quarterly.html

We'll be shipping the little monster in 7 - 10
days, so grab your copy NOW.

Note that the price includes shipping. If you want to
combine your order for the Dino Files with any other
product, shoot me an email and ask for a shipping
quote. We can usually save you  some clams by
bundling 2 or more items.

Also -- note that the quarterly Dino Files is a single
issue item, not a one year subscription. It works
better to offer the little monster issue by issue
when we do a quarterly publication.

On the training front . . .

As you could see from Friday's email, I was pretty
confused about strength training back in 1969 --
largely as a result of the rampant misinformation
in the muscle comics I read.

The last thing I needed was a Muscle Beach "bomb,
blast and blitz" workout -- but that's what I was
doing, because that's what the magazines said the
"champs" did.

How did I learn the right way to train?

It was the result of finding a copy of Peary Rader's
wonderful old IronMan magazine at a big magazine
store in Canton, Ohio -- while we were up there to
visit my grandmother at Christmas.

There was an article by a man named Bradley J.
Steiner.

In it, he told the truth about how to build strength
and muscle -- and he talked about the old-school
champions, and how they trained -- and he laughed
the pants off the Muscle Beach workouts and the
muscle comic silliness.

He made an incredible impression on me -- and he
got me started on the road to SENSIBLE and
EFFECTIVE training.

Or, as I now call it, real world training.

Interestingly, I later learned that Steiner learned much
of his stuff from Harry Paschall -- who learned much of
his stuff from Alan Calvert -- and who got started with
a Milo barbell set and the old Milo barbell courses after
seeing Alan Saxon perform his strongman act in the
circus.

Thus, much of what we teach here at Dinosaur Training
traces its roots all the way back to Arthur Saxon and
the legendary Continental strongmen.

I did an interview last week with the guys from the
Paleo Treats website. We talked about the whole story,
and I think you'll enjoy it:

http://paleotreats.com/blogs/paleo-treats/18083027-episode-25-brooks-kubik

By the way, one of my feature articles in the first quarterly
issue of The Dinosaur Files gives you a detailed Bosco-style,
old-school training program based on the programs that
Harry Paschall taught -- so we've gone full circle, and
yes, we're doing our best to preserve and promote the
best traditions and the best workouts of the past.

You know, when I was doing the Muscle Beach stuff back
in 1969, I had no idea where it would all lead. I'm darn
glad it ended up leading back to the real roots of sensible
physical 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. Here's the link for the new quarterly Dinosaur Files:

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaurfiles_quarterly.html

P.S. 2. My other books and courses -- and shirts, sweatshirts,
hoodies and DVD's -- are right here:

http://www.brookskubik.com/products.html

P.S. 3. Thought for the Day: "Everyone deserves to learn
how to train the right way -- and no one deserves to waste
years of their life on the silly stuff." -- Brooks Kubik

***********************************************

Breaking News -- The New Quarterly Dinosaur Files!

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

We just put up the link for the new Quarterly
Dinosaur Files.

Head on over and reserve your copy now:

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaurfiles_quarterly.html

 Important -- please read:

1. The first issue of the Quarterly Dinosaur Files will
ship right around the middle of this month.
2. Please note -- the price includes shipping.

3. If you want to order The Quarterly Dinosaur
Files plus another item (or two), shoot me an
email and ask for a shipping quote. We can
usually save you some clams by bundling
items in one package.

4. The Quarterly Dinosaur Files will be available
as a single issue item -- meaning that you
order each issue as it comes out rather than
paying up front for a one year subscription.
We think it's better to do it that way with a
quarterly publication.

5. Each issue will be BIG and loaded with great
content. The size and format will be the same as
my John Grimek, Doug Hepburn Dinosaur Arms
and Dinosaur Training Military Press and Shoulder
Power courses. So if you have one or more of them,
as many of you do, you know exactly what to
expect.

In other words, 8 1/2 x 11, 36 interior pages,
heavy card cover. Yes, we've moved up to
magazine or journal size.

6. Any questions -- shoot me an email.

Again, here's the link -- and thanks in advance
to everyone who reserves a copy of what will be
a truly unique and outstanding publication:

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaurfiles_quarterly.html

Yours in strength,

Brooks Kubik

P.S. You'll love the special bonus -- I describe it
on the order page. It's pretty darn good -- and
I've been waiting to use it for a couple of years.
Waiting for the right time -- and the right time
is now.

************************************************

The Top Training Program of 1969!

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

*************************************************

These Four Exercises Are Hard to Beat!

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

Updates:

1. Knife, Fork, Muscle

Looking great, shipping soon, and I will
give you details as I get them more info
from my printer. As I mentioned yesterday,
I'm doing  a personal handwritten note to
everyone who placed an order -- and my
fingers are turning blue from so much
writing!

2. The Quarterly Dinosaur Files

Launching the order page for the little
monster as soon as my webmaster can
finish putting it up. Met with the layout
guy yesterday, and he is working to get
the first issue finalized. It has a TON of
great info, and you're really going to
like it. Size-wise, it will be just like my
Doug Hepburn, John Grimek, Dinosaur
Arms and Military Press courses, with
the same kind of heavy cover. So we've
moved from newsletter to magazine
or journal size.

We are shooting to have the first issue
printed and ready to mail by the middle
of November.

Important: we'll be offering the new
quarterly Dinosaur Files as a single
issue item rather than a subscription
item. We think it makes more sense
to do that for a quarterly publication.

Also -- the price for each issue will
include shipping and handling. The
cost will be different for US, Canadian
and overseas orders because of the
difference in postage -- but it's going
to be the lowest possible shipping
rate for everyone.

If you want to save on shipping charges
by combining an order for The Dinosaur
Files with any other book, course, DVD or
other item, shoot us an email and ask for
a shipping quote. We can usually save you
shipping charges by bundling things.

On the training front . . .

I received a ton of interesting emails in
response to my last two emails where I
talked about my favorite exercises over
the years and asked readers to share
their own favorites.

One of them came from long-time Dino
Rich Frisk. He wrote:

"Good morning, Brooks!

I just got home from work and saw your
newsletter about favorite exercises. I have
three that are probably the best. In no
special order:

1. Concentration curls -- they are usually
the first exercise I do when I get to the
gym.

2. Scott bench/Preacher bench curls --
these are really good for getting a peak
on the biceps. Occasionally I will superset
concentration curls and Scott bench curls
for 10 x 10 to get a good pump.

3. Pec deck work -- these will put a lot of
muscle mass on your chest.

Believe me, if you bust your butt, these
exercises work!

Sorry -- just messing with you!

My TRUE favorite exercises since I was in
10th grade (and I'm 57 now) are:

1. Push press

2. High pulls with hands slightly wider than
shoulder width

3. Front squats

4. Deadlifts

A coach I had in summer school taught me
these exercises. He was a powerlifter back
in the 70's.

Rich Frisk"

Rich -- Thanks for your email. You almost had me
with the concentration curls. I started to suspect
something when you added the Scott bench curls --
and when you mentioned the pec deck I knew
something was up! I've probably said more
unkind words about the pec dec than any other
piece of equipment out there -- aside from the
Smith machine, which I seriously dislike.

Your four TRUE favorites are hard to beat. I like
them all -- and they're definitely tops with many
Dinos. If you're going to have four favorites for
more than 40 years of training, those are good
ones.

To everyone else -- as always, thanks for reading
and have a great day. If you train today, make it
a good one!

Yours in strength,

Brooks Kubik

1. If you've been sitting on the fence and waiting
to place your order for Knife, Fork, Muscle, take
action now:

http://brookskubik.com/dinosaur_nutrition.html

2. Dumbbell Training is a favorite of many Dinos,
and here's the book and the DVD that will teach
you the secrets of old-school dumbbell exercises:

http://brookskubik.com/dinosaur_dumbbelltraining.html

http://brookskubik.com/dinosaur_dvds.html

3. My other books and courses are right here:

http://www.brookskubik.com/products.html

4. Thought for the Day: "Good exercises are like old
friends. You can always count on them." -- Brooks
Kubik

*********************************************

Your Favorite Exercises -- the Dinos Respond!

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

Three quick notes - and then we'll talk about your
favorite exercises.

1. My fingers are NUMB from writing personal "Thank
You" notes to everyone who reserved a copy of Knife,
Fork, Muscle. Once we get the books from the printer,
we'll fire them on out at Dino-Double-Warp speed,
with the Thank You notes and the bonuses. I'll keep
you posted as I get more info from the printer.

I am writing many Thank You notes to readers who
bought the first edition of Dinosaur Training back
in 1996, when I signed and numbered every copy --
so that makes almost 20 years together. It's been
fun.

2. The order page for the new quarterly Dino Files
should go up very soon. I'll forward a link when it's
up there.

3. I'll be on the 1:00 hour with Carl Lanore's Super-
Human Radio today. Listen live or catch the download
later on.

And now -- I asked about your favorite exercises --
and you responded!

And you had some good ones:

Trap Bar deadlifts (very popular)

Handstand pushups (free-standing -- which is a bear)

Deadlift (with regular bar) (also very popular)

Back squats (super popular)

Dips

Bench press

Kettle-bell swings or snatches

Power cleans with barbell (a big favorite)

Back hyperextensions on a hyperextension bench

High bar squats

Military Press (popular!)

Two dumbbell clean and press (also very popular)

Parallel squats (powerlifting style)

Gorilla pushups (from Dinosaur Bodyweight
Training)

Pull-ups (quite popular)

Car or truck pushing

One-arm pushups

Barbell bent-over row or Pendlay row

Overhead squats

Bottom position squats

Heavy barbell curls (emphasis on "heavy")

Rope planks (from Dinosaur Bodyweight Training)
Walking on hands (another toughie)

Swinging on the flying rings at Venice Beach's outdoor
training area (that sounds like fun -- with great
werather - and great scenery)

Medicine ball exercises

Swimming

Kettle-bell Turkish get-ups (or barbell, dumbbell
or sandbag ditto)

Spiderman crawling

Barbell split snatches (one of my current favorites --
and a favorite of Steve Stanko)

Barbell clean and press (one of John Grimek's favorites)

Sandbag bear hug and walk

The farmer's walk

Heavy hip belt squats (a John MacCallum favorite)

Log clean and press

Stone lifting

Two dumbbell curl and press ala Peter Cortese (a big
favorite of Grimek and Stanko)

Bottom position squat in the power rack

Sandbag curls (which reminds me -- anvil curls
are great fun)

Sledgehammer swings

Punching the heavy bag

Inverted rows

Heavy-duty wrist roller work

Snatch grip high pulls

One-hand dumbbell hang clean and push press

"All of them." (A very common response.)

and last but not least --

Car flip with a Smart car or Prius!

Thanks to everyone who fired out a response, and
as always, thanks for reading. If you train today,
make it a good one!

Yours in strength,

Brooks Kubik

P.S. Hard training on your favorite exercises requires
plenty of high quality nutrition -- which is why I wrote
Knife, Fork, Muscle:

http://brookskubik.com/dinosaur_nutrition.html

P.S. 2. Many of your favorite exercises come straight
from Dinosaur Dumbbell Training and Dinosaur Bodyweight
Training:

http://brookskubik.com/dinosaur_dumbbelltraining.html

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaur_bodyweight.html

P.S. 3. My other books and courses -- and Dinosaur Training
DVD's - are right here:

http://www.brookskubik.com/products.html

P.S. 4. Thought for the Day: "Make your training hard and
demanding, but make it fun." -- Brooks Kubik

**************************************************