Hail to the Dinosaurs!
Several Dinos have asked about how to get
a good workout while travelling.
The problem is that even if you find a gym --
or stay at a hotel with a gym -- it's usually
not a Dino-style gym.
For example, you might find a gym with
dumbbells, but they only go up to 50
pounds.
Or you might find a gym that has barbells,
but no squat racks.
Or you might find a gym with good equipment,
but the "feel" of the place drives you crazy,
and not in a good way.
Hey, I'm right there with you. The last time I
tried training on the road it drove me so crazy
I left the gym half-way through my workout
and never went back.
Chuck Sipes used to have a good way of
dealing with this sort of thing.
You may recall Chuck Sipes from "back in
the day." He was a top bodybuilder in the
1960's. Won the Mr. World contest. He was
big, thick and muscular, with extreme
definition for a big man back then.
He was strong, too.
He could bench press close to 600 pounds,
and he moved really heavy iron in all of
his exercises. Did lots of heavy rack work
and support lifts. Trained his ligaments and
tendons. Real Dino stuff.
He specialized on forearm and grip strength,
and had the biggest, freakiest forearms
you've ever seen.
He did a strongman show where he bent
iron bars, blew up hot water bottles until
they exploded, broke heavy chains with
his bare hands, and drove a heavy spike
into a thick board with arm power alone.
So with power like that, how did he train
when he was away from the gym?
Well, get this.
Sipes worked as a counselor at a boy's
camp for what we would now call "at risk"
youth.
Sipes was an avid outdoorsman -- and
a former lumberjack -- and he knew
the California mountains like the back
of his hand.
He took the boys on some serious hiking
and camping trips. He thought it was good
for them. He was probably right. There's
something about the great outdoors, fresh,
mountain air, camp-cooked meals, and doing
plenty of walking, climbing, and working.
It's good for the body and good for the
soul.
Anyhow, when he went on the camping
tricks, Sipes carried a gym in his pocket.
It was a set of super strong rubber cables.
And he would put in some ferocious, super
intense workouts with them.
One time, he was caught in a blizzard. He
used the cables inside his tent. Later, he said
it was one of the best workouts of his entire
life.
And remember, this was coming from one
of the strongerst and best built men in the
world.
So if you're travelling, consider taking those
rubber cables. You might surprise yourself
by how much fun they are -- and by how
great a workout they can give you.
Heck, you might even decide to use them
at home -- along with your weights. That's
what Chuck Sipes did.
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 like the heavy-duty cables that John
Wood sells. You can find them here:
http://www.oldtimestrongman.com/products/chest-expanders
P.S. 2. Cables are great for older lifters. Use
them with any of the workouts in Gray Hair
and Black Iron:
http://www.brookskubik.com/grayhair_blackiron.html
P.S. 3. Thought for the Day: "Where there's a
Dino, there's a way to train." -- Brooks Kubik
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