Hail to the Dinosaurs!
Two quick notes, and then we'll talk training.
1. Knife, Fork, Muscle
Is getting rave reviews from Dinos. Many are
calling it the best book they ever read about
diet and nutrition for strength and health.
Go here to grab your copy:
http://brookskubik.com/dinosaur_nutrition.html
2. The Dino Files Quarterly
We're also getting great reviews for the Dinosaur
Files in its new quarterly format. Go here to
grab issue no. 1:
http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaurfiles_quarterly.html
I'm working on issue no. 2, so if you have an idea
for an article you'd like to submit, shoot me an email.
And now, let's talk training.
In my last email, I talked about the power of
one -- and how training alone has certain very
unique benefits.
But, of course, not everyone trains alone.
Many train at a commercial gym or school
weight room.
And that means there are plenty of distractions.
Meaning plenty of things that disrupt your focus
and shift your concentration away from your
training to something else.
What that means, of course, is that you have
to work twice as hard to train with the kind of
concentration and focus that brings good results.
That doesn't mean it's impossible -- it just means
that it's harder.
It can actually be a good thing-- because it can
teach you how to shut out distractions, clear your
head, and step right into the inner universe on
every rep and every set of your entire workout.
I think of it as "Ready -- Aim -- Lift!"
And it's a very good skill to develop.
Tommy Kono is a case in point.
He began his weightlifting career at the Sacramento
YMCA.
The weight room was down in the basement -- with
the lifting platform right next to a boxing ring,
a heavy bag, and a speed bag.
So when Tommy was on the platform, he had two
guys pounding on each other in the boxing ring --
another guy pounding on the heavy bag -- and a
third guy pounding a rat-a-tat-tat drum beat on
the speed bag.
All of them no more than 10 or 15 feet away from
him.
And all of them very, very LOUD.
It was like training in the middle of Times Square.
Can you imagine having to listen to all that -- and
to see all that out of the corner of your eyes --
when you're chalking up to do a heavy snatch
or a heavy clean and jerk?
Now, you might ask, "Why not go to a different gym?"
That might work today -- except all gyms are pretty
much the same. They tend to be loud and noisy.
And back then -- we're talking late 1940's -- there
weren't very many places to train.
So Tommy had to make do. He had to learn to train
hard and heavy in adverse circumstances. He had to
develop his powers of concentration to the point
where he could shut out all of the noise and all
of the confusion in that super-crowded, sardine
can basement gym.
It wasn't easy -- and there's a report in an old
weightlifting newsletter that says the speed bag
actually flew all the way to the other side of the
gym one day while Tommy was training.
Not sure how THAT happened.
Surely he didn't THROW the darn thing . . . or did
he?
But on the bright side, by learning to concentrate
in a loud, noisy environment, Tommy Kono developed
his mindpower to the absolute maximum -- and this
led him to victory after victory when he mounted
the platform in National, World and Olympic
competitions.
In other words, he took an apparent negative -- and
made it a positive.
Food for thought -- for all of us.
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. Wherever you train, the goal is get great
results -- and Strength, Muscle and Power will
teach you how to do it:
http://www.brookskubik.com/strength_muscle_power.html
P.S. 2. My other books and courses -- and the new
quarterly Dinosaur Files journal -- are right here:
http://www.brookskubik.com/products.html
P.S. 3. Thought for the Day: "Train your powers of
concentration as hard and as progressively as you
train your body." -- Brooks Kubik
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