Hail to the Dinosaurs!
One of the marks of a champion is something
I call "the iron will to succeed."
You find it in any champion in any sport -- but
you probably find it to a greater degree when
you study the great champions of the Iron Game.
There's a reason for that.
The vast majority of champions in other sports
were naturally strong, fast, athletic and gifted.
They were bigger, taller and heavier than the
other kids. In many cases, that's what made
them gravitate to sports in the first place.
In other words, they had a good start.
The Iron Game is different.
Many Iron Game champions were drawn to
barbells, dumbbells and strength training not
because they were bigger and stronger than
other kids -- but because they were smaller
and weaker than the other kids.
In many cases, they were small and skinny
and weak -- and sick.
Tommy Kono suffered from childhood asthma
that was so bad he couldn't run or play games
with other children. He was literally an invalid.
As a young teenager, he used barbells and
dumbbells to help overcome his asthma.
It was hard work, but he stuck with it. Other
kids dropped out of the program. Kono kept
going.
He discovered weightlifting -- learned how to
do the lifts -- and trained harder than ever.
He ended up winning six World championships
and two Olympic gold medals. The former invalid
became one of the greatest weightlifters of
all time.
Jack LaLanne was a sickly kid with a terrible
addiction to sweets. Soft, weak, and pale, with
bad teeth from the candy he ate all day long.
He used diet and exercise to become healthy
and strong.
It was hard work for him, too. But like Tommy
Kono, he stuck with it. He kept going.
He ended up world-famous for his his magnificent
physique, lion-like bearing, radiant good health
and remarkable strength and endurance.
For many years, he celebrated his birthday each
year by performing a super-human feat of strength
and endurance, such as pulling a heavily loaded
boat behind him as he swam the heavy surf from
Alcatraz Island to the San Francisco shore -- while
wearing handcuffs.
Once again, another sickly kid became a legend
of strength, health and fitness.
Doug Hepburn was born with a club foot that
required multiple surgeries. The surgeries left
him a near cripple, with one lower leg nothing
but skin and bone. That doesn't speak well for
a career in athletics.
What did he do?
He began a program of systematic strength
training that included hand-balancing, hand-
stand pushups, and plenty of barbell and
dumbbell training.
He worked hard, and when things were tough,
he buckled down and worked harder.
He worked hard on the squat -- and on Olympic
weightlifting -- which wasn't easy because of his
bad leg. But he never gave up. He kept working
to achieve his dream.
He ended up winning the Heavyweight class at
the World Weightlifting championships of 1953.
He won the Heavyweight class at the British
Empire Games (now the Commonwealth Games)
of 1954 -- which as luck would have it were
held in his home city of Vancouver, British
Columbia.
He was the first man in history to bench press
500 pounds.
He set a remarkable series of records in a wide
variety of lifts -- and is hailed as one of the
founding fathers of powerlifting and one of
the most massively muscular men of all time.
Like Tommy Kono and Jack LaLanne, Doug
Hepburn overcame adversity. He used the
power of an iron will to crash through every
obstacle -- and to accomplish the seemingly
impossible.
If you want a secret to strength, muscle and
radiant good health, it is this:
Harness the power of the iron will -- and use
it to achieve your dreams.
Good luck, and good lifting!
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. You can learn more about Doug Hepburn's
rise to Iron Game immortality -- and how he
trained to develop world class strengh and
power -- in my Doug Hepburn training course:
http://www.brookskubik.com/doug_hepburn.html
P.S. 2. Train for strength and eat for health.
Knife, Fork, Muscle tells you how:
http://brookskubik.com/dinosaur_nutrition.html
P.S. 3. My other books and courses -- and Dinosaur
Training DVD's -- are right here at Dinosaur
Headquarters:
http://www.brookskubik.com/products.html
P.S. 4. Thought for the Day: "Seize the day, and
make the most of it -- and do it for every day of
your life." -- Brooks Kubik
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