The Craziest Exercise on YouTube!

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

You've probably seen some crazy exercises
on YouTube. We all have.

There's squats on stability balls, and there's
all sorts of other stuff. It's silly, it's dangerous,
and it's a waste of time.

So are the videos that show the hapless newbie
falling off a bench, dumping a squat, or falling
off a treadmill while doing jumping jacks on
roller skates.

It's all a waste of time.

And if you think about it, it's a bit of an insult
to the Iron Game and to everyone who trains
seriously.

We have readers around the world who've been
hitting the iron (or doing bodyweight work) for
many years in a sensible, systematic and
progressive fashion -- and they do the basic
exercises -- and they do them the right way.

They don't do silly exercises and they don't
have silly weight room accidents. They just
train.

Those are the people I respect and admire. The
guys who post the "Look at me do something silly
in the gym" crowd deserve neither.

So here's a top 10 list of people I respect. See
if you know any of them:

1. The guy who trains hard and heavy a couple
of times a week using the same barbell he's been
using for the past 40 or 50 years.

a. Or the same plates.

b. Or both.

2. The guy who trains with weights his father used.

a. Or who trains with his father.

b. Or the father who trains with his son.

c. Ditto for grandfathers and uncles.

3. Anyone who does squats, deadlifts or Trap bar
deadlifts on a regular, consistent basis.

3a. But not on roller skates.

4. Anyone who does good, old-fashioned
"stand on your feet" training.

5. Anyone who keeps a copy of Dinosaur Training
in his or her gym bag.

6. The guy who goes to the gym and keeps his
eye on the squat bar instead of the girls.

a. Or the girl who keeps her eye on the squat
bar instead of the guys.

7. Anyone who grew up reading stuff by Peary
Rader, Harry Paschall, or Bradley J. Steiner --
and who still follows their teachings and their
advice.

8. Anyone over the age of 50 who trains hard
and heavy (but sensibly) on the basics.

9. Anyone of any age who combines sensible
training with sensible diet and nutrition.

10. Anyone and everyone who trains without
drugs.

And here's an extra one, as a bonus:

Anyone who teaches others how to train the
right way -- or who encourages them to do
so by his or her results.

That last lifter is pretty darn important --
because it's how we keep the Iron Game
alive, and how we pass the torch to the
next generation.

As I look at that list, I see many Dinos I know.
And that's hardly surprising -- because Dinos
are the best of the best.

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. Several readers have had trouble with the
links in some of our emails -- they have not been
live links. This is a puzzle, because I get the emails
as well, and I get live links. So here's a test link.

If it doesn't work for you, please let me know:

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaur_secrets3_kindle.html

P.S. 2. If I send a link and it doesn't work, try
the links on our products page. We have links
to all of my books and courses, including links
to my Kindle e-books:

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

P.S. 3. Thought for the Day: "Cat videos are
popular on YouTube, but that doesn't mean
you should train like a cat." -- Brooks Kubik

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

The Complete List as of Today!

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

We're up to NINE Dinosaur Training
e-books in the Amazon Kindle store,
and readers keep asking me for a
complete list with all the links.

So here you go:

1. Dinosaur Training Secrets, Vol. 1.
"Exercises, Workouts and Training
Programs"

http://brookskubik.com/dinosaursecrets01_kindle.html

2. Dinosaur Training Secrets, Vol. 2,
"How Strong Are You?"

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaur_secrets2_kindle.html

3. Dinosaur Training Secrets, Vol. 3,
"How to Use Old-School Progression
Methods for Fast and Steady Gains in
Strength, Muscle and Power"

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaur_secrets3_kindle.html

4. The Training Secrets of John Grimek

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

5. The Dinosaur Military Press and Shoulder
Power Course

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

6. The Doug Hepburn Strength and Muscle Building
System

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

7. Knife, Fork, Muscle, Book 1
(covers protein for strength training -- how much,
the best sources of hiqh quality protein, etc.)

http://www.brookskubik.com/knifeforkmuscle01_kindle.html

8. The Dinosaur Files Quarterly, Vol. 1
(December, 2014)

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaurquarterly_01_kindle.html

9. Legacy of Iron

http://www.brookskubik.com/legacyofiron01_kindle.html

We'll be adding more soon, and I'll update the list
when we do! In the meantime, you've got plenty of
great reading. Hope you enjoy the e-books!

Yours in strength,

Brooks Kubik

P.S. Be sure to post reviews after you read our
Kindle e-books. You also can post reviews if you
have read the book in hard-copy and have an
Amazon account. The reviews help us enormously.

P.S. 2. Amazon has a free downloadable app to
use to read Kindle e-books if you don't have a
Kindle. See any of the above links for further
information.

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

The Sheer Genius of Peary Rader's IronMan

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

Everybody over a certain age has memories of
the old-school muscle magazines: Bob Hoffman's
Strength and Health, Muscular Development  (a
Hoffman magazine that was edited by John
Grimek), and a host of other publications from
back in the era of ink on paper.

Most of us who were young in that era look back
most fondly to Peary Rader's wonderful old
IronMan magazine.

It was the best of the best.

The reason why is two-fold.

Peary Rader believed in basic, simple workouts
and what he called "limited exercise programs."

Lots of squats and a few other basic exercises.

And not much else.

He printed articles about longer, more complicated,
high volume programs because he felt that his job
as editor was to provide a forum for different ideas
about training rather than to censor the things he
disagreed with -- but the over-all message of the
magazine was simple: "Work hard on the basic
exercises."

Second, Peary Rader tended to focus on the
average trainee, NOT the "champions."
The other magazines ran one feature after
another telling us how so-and-so bombed,
blitzed, and blasted his biceps, powerized
his pecs, or carved those washboard abs.

And they topped that with the gossip columns,
where the insiders gave us the monthly scoop
on everything that was happening at Muscle
Beach.

But IronMan gave us articles about real people
who trained and lived in the real world -- and
who discovered interesting new exercises,
designed new pieces of equipment, or
figured out new and better ways of doing
things to build strength and muscle.

Their contributions to the Iron Game were
immense, immeasurable and invaluable --
and we would never have known about them
had it not been for Peary Rader's IronMan.

I'm trying to continue that tradition in the
Dinosaur Files Quarterly.

It's a strength training journal that's much
like Peary Rader's old IronMan.

It doesn't focus on the "champions." It doesn't
cover the big contests. If you're interested in
that sort of thing, there are plenty of places
to find it.

It's not a supplement catalog, like the other
magazines. We have some small classified ads,
but that's it. Not page after page of endless ads
with look-alike bodybuilders pushing protein
supplements, pre-workout energizers, post-
workout recovery drinks, herbal concoctions,
glandulars, metabolic this or optimize-me
that.

The Dinosaur Files features my own original
articles, as well as articles from your fellow
Dinosaurs. Thus, it serves the same function
that Peary Rader's IronMan served -- it gives
us a clearing house to share ideas about the
kind of training that works for people like us --
people who live and train in the real world.

We launched The Dinosaur Files Quarterly in
December 2014. The second issue came out
in March 2015. The June issue will be available
very soon.

Because it's a quarterly, and because it's now
available as a Kindle e-book, we offer single
issue purchases rather than a one-year
subscription. So you need to grab each
issue as it comes out -- just as if it were
a new book or course.

Let me repeat that to avoid any possible
confusion. We're offering the Dinosaur
Files Quarterly issue by issue, NOT as a
subscription.

The December issue was hard-copy only. However,
we just released a Kindle e-book edition, which I
know many of you prefer. It's especially good for
overseas Dinos because you don't have to pay
an arm and a leg for postage.

We're going to release the March issue as a
Kindle e-book, and then release the June issue
and all future issues in your choice of hard-
copy or Kindle e-book.

Go here to check out the table of contents for
the December 2014 issue and the March 2015
issues, with a link to grab the back issues of
each in hard-copy format:

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

If you prefer the Kindle e-book edition, go
here to grab the December 2014 issue:

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaurquarterly_01_kindle.html

In the meantime, we're working to get the March
2015 issue up on Kindle -- and to finish the June
2015 issue.

I like to think that Peary Rader would like what
we're doing. I sure hope so.

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 grab the Kindle edition of the Dinosaur
Files Quarterly, or if you've read the hard-copy
edition, please post a review on our Kindle page.
The reviews really help us.

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

The Day John Grimek Quit the Iron Game!

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

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

1. Dinosaur Training Secrets, Vol. 3

We launched course no. 3 in the Dinosaur
Training Secrets series -- in your choice
of Kindle e-book or hard-copy course:

Hard-copy:

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaur_secrets_03.html

Kindle e-book:

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaur_secrets3_kindle.html

We're getting great feedback on the course.
I'll be sharing some of it with you. In the
meantime, feel free to do a review on our
Kindle page -- the reviews help us
enormously.

And please note -- the new courseis GREAT for
older Dinos and for advanced Dinos who've been
hitting the iron for a long time -- because they'll
help you train for long and productive cycles
without burning out or going stale or hitting
a dead end. Training is fun when you're making
steady gains in strength, muscle and power.

2. The Dinosaur Files Quarterly

We also released the December 2014 issue
of The Dinosaur Files Quarterly as a Kindle
e-book:

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaurquarterly_01_kindle.html

We're going to get the March 2015 issue of
the Quarterly up on Kindle very soon, and
then release all new issues in your choice of
hard-copy or Kindle e-book. We need to do
that because some of you prefer hard-copy,
and some of you prefer Kindle e-books.

Again, feel free to post a review on our
Kindle page.

And as I mentioned yesterday, I'm looking
for feedback from readers -- and training
questions from readers -- so send them
on in. The Dinosaur Files Quarterly is YOUR
magazine -- so let me hear from you!

3. The Day John Grimek Quit the Iron
Game

Now, I know what you're thinking.

"John Grimek never quit the Iron Game!
He started training when he was a teenager,
and he kept going for his entire life -- right
up until the very end. He was doing heavy
squats and dumbbell presses in his 70's!"

Well, that's true -- but it's also true that
Grimek quit the Iron Game. We know,
because he wrote about it.

Here's what happened.

When Grimek was a young trainee he was
doing what all young trainees do and trying
to build bigger arms.

So he went on an arm specialization program
with way more exercises, sets and reps than
ever before.

After a couple of weeks, he was dog-tired,
worn out, exhausted, and the bags under
his eyes were the biggest thing about him.

And his arms hadn't gained a fraction of an
inch. In fact, they were smaller than before.
He'd actually lost size!

So he got mad and quit.

Put the weights back in their box, locked it
up, threw the key in the corner, and vowed
never to do anything as foolish ever again.

After a week or two of no training, something
happened.

His arms started growing again.

Once he stopped overtraining, his body started
to bounce back and rebuild.

So he dug out the key to the weight box, unlocked
the lock, pulled out the iron -- and started training
again.

But THIS time, he did it the right way.

Not too much. Enough to coax gains -- but not
so much that he prevented them.

It worked pretty darn well -- and the rest, as they
say, is history.

So if anyone tries to tell you that "There's no such
thing as overtraining!" or "Over-training is all in the
mind!" or "You just have to give your body time to
adapt!" -- think about John Grimek and the day he
quit the Iron Game.

If Grimek could over-train, ANYONE can over-train.

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. For more about John Grimek and how he
trained, grab my John Grimek training course:

Kindle e-book:

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

Hard-copy:

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

P.S. Dinosaur Arm Training will help you build big,
strong and powerful arms without overtraining:

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

P.S. 3. My other books and courses -- and links
to my other Dinosaur Training books on Kindle --
are right here:

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

P.S. 4. Thought for the Day: "Anyone can over-train,
but you don't have to keep on doing it forever."
-- Brooks Kubik

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

Update -- The Dinosaur Files Quarterly!

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

Yesterday was absolutely insane, and today
has been just about as crazy.

We launched course no. 3 in the Dinosaur
Training Secrets series -- in your choice
of Kindle e-book or hard-copy course:

Hard-copy:

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaur_secrets_03.html

Kindle e-book:

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaur_secrets3_kindle.html

We also released the December 2014 issue
of The Dinosaur Files Quarterly as a Kindle
e-book:

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaurquarterly_01_kindle.html

We're going to release the March 2015
issue of the Dinosaur Files Quarterly as
a Kindle e-book, and then release all
future issues in both hard-copy and
Kindle e-book.

We're doing it this way because some
Dinos prefer Kindle e-books and other
Dinos prefer hard-copy books, courses
and strength training journals.

Also, the e-book option helps our
overseas Dino save some serious
clams on shipping and handling --
so it's a very good deal for them.

It's twice as much work for us to offer
things both ways, but it's worth it to
be able to reach more Dinos around the
world.

Back in the day, Henry Ford famously
said that customers could have any color
Model T Ford that they wanted -- "as long
as it was black."

We're working very hard to do better than
that for the Dinos.

In related news, if you have any comments
on the first two issues of The Dinosaur Files
Quarterly, send them in. I'm working on
Mesozoic Mail, and I need more feedback
from the Dino Nation.

Also, feel free to send in any photos. We
particularly like training photos.

And if you want to send in an article, shoot
me an email and let me know what you'd
like to cover.

Thanks, and have a great day!

Yours in strength,

Brooks Kubik

P.S. If you grab the Dinosaur Files Quarterly
on Kindle, pls post a review on our Kindle
page.

Ditto for the new training course. The reviews
really help us.

P.S. 2. If you don't have a Kindle, be aware that
Amazon has a free downloadable app so you can
read Kindle e-books on your pc or phone.

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

Straight Talk on Training -- and a Big Thank You!

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

A Big Thank You!

Let me start with a big THANK YOU to
everyone who stepped up, took action,
and ordered my new Dinosaur Secrets
training course yesterday.

We had a great day, and smashed our
previous records for e-book sales in one
day.

We also shot the little monster right up
to no. 1 in Amazon's Top 10 list for Kindle
e-books in the Men's Health category.

Plus, we made it to no. 2 in the Sports and
Outdoors category -- and no. 3 in Health,
Fitness and Dieting.

And in Australia, we made it to no. 1 in two
of the top 10 lists.

And that's not bad for one day.

By the way, you can help that process just
by going to our Kindle page and looking at
the e-book -- and by posting a review -- or
even by reading and rating the reviews that
other people post.

In any case, THANK YOU for your support.
It was overwhelming, and it means more
than I can tell you.

How Does Your Training Make You Feel?

On the training front, let's talk about the
three measures of training progress.

Bradley J. Steiner wrote about this more
than 40 years ago. I read his words when
I was in high school, and I thought he made
a lot of sense. Over the years, I've come to
agree with him more and more.

Steiner said there were three ways to
measure the effectiveness of your training:

1. How you look.

2. What you lift.

3. How you feel.

Of these, he believed the third element -- how
you feel -- was the most important.

I agree with that.

One of the problems with modern bodybuilding
is that the focus is 100% on the first element --
on how you look.

That's important, but it's not the MOST
important.

What you lift -- in other words, how strong you
are -- is just as important (if not more so) than
how you look.

But most important of all is how you feel.

Your training should make you feel terrific.

It should energize your body from head to
toe.

Clear out the cobwebs.

Banish aches and pains.

Put the smackdown on the minor illnesses that
most people experience on a more or less
regular basis.

Fill you with that wonderful "It's great to be
alive" feeling that everyone knows but few
experience.

Fill you with optimism, courage and quiet
confidence.

Bob Hoffman's first book had a title that captured
it all: "How to be Strong, Healthy and Happy."

To me, that's the goal of physical training --
and the very best measure of the effectiveness
of your training program.

Of course -- and this is very important -- none
of that is going to happen if you over-train. If
you over-do things, your training wears you
down, and over time, it makes you feel WORSE
rather than BETTER.

That's one of the big problems with the super
programs, the high volume workouts, and the
spend all day in the gym approach -- and it's
one of the reasons I always promote sane,
sensible training and real world workouts.

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. My new Dinosaur Secrets course is available
in your choice of hard-copy or Kindle e-book:

Hard-copy:

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaur_secrets_03.html

Kindle e-book:

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaur_secrets3_kindle.html

P.S. 2. My other books and courses -- and links to my other
Kindle e-books -- are right here:

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

P.S. 3. Thought for the Day: "Your training
should always make you feel better than if
you didn't train. If not, there's something
wrong with how you're training." -- Brooks
Kubik

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

The Dinosaur Files Quarterly

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

It's been a crazy busy day, and I almost forgot
to let you know about something important.

We're going to release future issues of The
Dinosaur Files Quarterly in both hard-copy
and Kindle e-book -- AND -- we're going to
release Kindle e-book editions of the first
two issues of the Quarterly.

The first issue is right here:

 http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaurquarterly_01_kindle.html

Hope you enjoy it!

Yours in strength,

Brooks Kubik

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

Here It Is -- Dinosaur Training Secrets, Vol. 3

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

As promised, here's the link to order the
hard-copy version of my new course in
the Dinosaur Training Secrets series:

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaur_secrets_03.html

If you prefer your books and courses on
Kindle, here's the kindle e-book edition:

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaur_secrets3_kindle.html

If you have any questions, shoot me an
email!

Yours in strength,

Brooks Kubik

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

Take a Look at Dinosaur Training Secrets, Vol. 3!

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

It's a big day at Dino Headquarters.

The third course in the new Dinosaur Training
series of courses is live on our Kindle page.

Head on over and take a look:

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaur_secrets3_kindle.html

If you prefer e-books, grab the little monster
right now -- and start reading immediately.

If you prefer hard-copy, be looking for my
next email, which will be coming to you
this afternoon. It will include a link to the
sales page to place your hard-copy order.

The course is at the printer, and should be
printed and ready to ship in about 10 days.

As we always do with our hard-copy books
and courses, we'll run a pre-publication
special. Everyone who orders the hard-copy
course during the pre-publication special gets
a special bonus when we fill the orders.

Here's the link again for the Kindle e-book
edition:

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaur_secrets3_kindle.html

I have to say, I am VERY pleased with this
course. It answers many of the most common
questions that I receive from Dinos around
the world, and it's another one of those courses
that I really wish I had read when I was younger.
It would have saved me a lot of time and wasted
effort.

Remember, if you prefer hard-copy books and
courses, be looking for the my next email.
It will be coming later today, and it will give
you the link to the sales page for the hard-copy
course.

Yours in strength,

Brooks Kubik

P.S. If you missed volumes 1 and 2 in the new series
of Dinosaur Training courses, go here to grab them
in your choice of hard-copy or Kindle e-book:

a. Dinosaur Training Secrets, Vol. 1.
"Exercises, Workouts and Training
Programs"

Kindle e-book:

http://brookskubik.com/dinosaursecrets01_kindle.html

Hard-copy:

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaur_secrets_01.html

b. Dinosaur Training Secrets, Vol. 2,
"How Strong Are You?"
Kindle e-book:

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaur_secrets2_kindle.html

Hard-copy:

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaur_secrets_02.html

P.S. 2. My other books and courses -- and DVD's --
and links to my other Dino Training e-books --
are right here:

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

P.S. 3. Thought for the Day: "Knowledge is power,
especially when you know about squats and
deadlifts." -- Brooks Kubik

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

How to Avoid the Bugbear of Overtraining

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

In his prime, Arthur Saxon was widely
regarded as the strongest man in the
world.

His bent press of 370 pounds and two-
hands anyhow of 448 pounds surpassed
the efforts of all other strongmen -- and
the bent press remains a world record to
this very day -- making it one of the
longest-lasting records in all of sports.

Yet as strong as he was, Saxon was well
aware of the phenomenon of overtraining --
or burning out -- or, as he put, "going
stale."

He called it "the bugbear of training."

In his book, The Development of Physical
Power, Saxon wrote:

"To go on when stale is to invite over-
training. I have known even nervous
exhaustion to attend the misdirected
efforts of the athlete who persists in
hard training when he feels himself
going to pieces through overwork."

Saxon also wrote:

"To try to work like a machine, knowing
that ever at one's side stands the bugbear
of training, ready to weaken one's resources
through overwork, and bring about a break-
down, is the height of folly."

I had a good friend who read all the old-
school books and courses -- and was very
familiar with Saxon's writing. But he, too,
like so many others, fell prey to the
bugbear of training.

And it didn't happen just once. It happened
to him over and over.

He would go on a new program and make
great progress for about six weeks -- and
then he would crash and burn, and end up
severely over-trained, sore, tired and unable
to recover from his workouts.

He would rest, recover, regain his strength,
and try again -- with exactly the same result.

And he was NOT a beginner, NOT a small-boned
ectomorph, and NOT a "hardgainer." He was a
thick-boned mesomorph with perfect leverage
for heavy lifting. If anyone could make regular
and steady gains, it should have been him. But
it wasn't.

Over the years, I've received thousands of letters
and emails from trainees who experienced the
same sort of thing. They'd try a new program,
make great progress -- and then crash headfirst
into a brick wall.

For many trainees, this becomes a pattern that
lasts for their entire training career.

And that's hugely unfortunate -- and unnecessary.

There are simple strategies that allow a trainee
at any level of development -- from beginner to
intermediate to advanced -- to make regular and
steady progress without hitting those seemingly
impossible sticking points.

And that's what we cover in vol. 3 in my new
series of Dinosaur Training courses:

Old-school progression systems that allow a
trainee to make steady progress while avoiding
the bugbear of training.

It CAN be done. You just need to know how to
do it.

As with all of the courses in the series, the new
course will be available in your choice of hard-
copy or Kindle e-book.

We're going to launch the pre-publication
special at 9:00 tomorrow. Be looking for it.

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 missed the first two courses in the
series, here they are:

a. Dinosaur Training Secrets, Vol. 1.

"Exercises, Workouts and Training
Programs"

Kindle e-book:

http://brookskubik.com/dinosaursecrets01_kindle.html

Hard-copy:

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaur_secrets_01.html

b. Dinosaur Training Secrets, Vol. 2,
"How Strong Are You?"

Kindle e-book:

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaur_secrets2_kindle.html

Hard-copy:

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaur_secrets_02.html

P.S. 2. My other books and courses -- and DVD's --
and links to my other Dino Training e-books --
are right here:

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

P.S. 3. Thought for the Day: "Slow and steady
beats crash and burn every single time."
-- Brooks Kubik

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

Train Hard, Eat Well, Enjoy the Weekend!

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

I hope you're having a great weekend.

It's been pretty good here at Dino
Headquarters.

We had our granddaughters over on Sat
night, which is always an adventure. They
had us outnumbered two to two, but we
managed to survive until their mom came
over and picked them up.

I managed to sneak in a hard workout
yesterday afternon before they arrived,
and followed it up with a great dinner.

My legs are sore today, but that's all part
of the fun of training hard and heavy. And
it entitles me to more great meals today.

We took the girls to the park, and saw a
fitness boot camp in action. It wasn't
Dino, but it was pretty good for that
sort of thing. It looked like everyone
was having fun and working up a good
sweat, and that's a heck of a lot better
than being a weekend coach potato.

The bootcamp even used some sandbags,
although they were small ones.

I wondered if they had any idea that
the old guy pushing his granddaughters
on the swingset was one of the people
who helped put sandbag training on
the map -- and that he got the idea
from an NFL strength coach named
Kim Wood -- and that it dated back to
the old-time strongmen and wrestlers
over 100 years ago -- including Arthur
Saxon and his 300-pound Challenge
Sack that no one else could lift.

Or that George Hackenschmidt trained
for wrestling matches well over 100
years ago by getting down on his
hands and knees, and having a
couple of very strong helpers place
a 600 pound (not a typo, that's SIX
HUNDRED) sandbag on his back so
he could practice resisting a heavy
opponent in a match.

I probably should tell them. They might
move up to heavier sandbags in the
next bootcamp!

Anyhow, I hope it's been a good weekend
for you. If you train today or tomorrow,
train hard, and follow it up with some
great food. Pay attention to recovery
and recuperation. Have fun, and spend
some time with your favorite people.

And remember to synchronize your
watches for 9:00 a.m. on Wednesday
morning -- we're going to launch vol. 3
in our series of new Dinosaur Training
Courses, and I think you're really going
to like it.

Yours in strength,

Brooks Kubik

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

How to Eat Healthy Without Breaking the Bank!

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

It's Memorial Day weekend here in the
USA, and I hope everyone is having a
great weekend.

We started the day with a quick trip to
our favorite farmers' market, where we
grabbed a week's worth of organic beef
and pork, eggs and fresh veggies.

We try to eat locally grown foods from
farmers and growers who have small
operations that allow them to produce
organic food that they can sell for a
reasonable price -- reasonable meaning
we can afford it. I'm not into the upscale
"organic" food that requires a second
mortgage just to buy a bag of groceries.

You'd be surprised at how delicious fresh
food from local farmers and growers can
taste -- and how nutritious it is -- and how
much better you feel when you stop eating
the chemicals in conventional foods from
the big box supermarkets.

You'd also be surprised at how little it costs
to do your shopping -- or as much of it
as possible -- at the local farmers'
market.

Healthy food becomes very affordable
when you cut out the middleman and
deal directly with the local farmers and
growers.

In Knife, Fork, Muscle, I give an example
of a typical fast food meal for a family of
four compared to a farmers' market meal
with organic meat, whole grains, and fresh
veggies and fruit from the farmers' market.

I used the current prices from my most
recent trip to the market, and priced it
to the penny.

And guess what?

The farmers' market meal with organic
meat and fresh veggies was CHEAPER
(by far!) than the fast food meal.

And that's a bit of an eye-opener. We
expect it to be the other way around.

So the question becomes -- where do
find a good farmers' market?

Here in Louisville, we're lucky. We have
a thriving local foods movement, and a
number of good farmers' markets. We can
pick and choose.

But if you do your homework, you can
probably find a good farmers' market
in your neck of the woods.

Here's a link that should help:

http://search.ams.usda.gov/FARMERSMARKETS/

I checked, and our market is on there --
and I bet YOUR market is on there,
as well. Take a look and see.

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. Be sure to mark your calendar
for 9:00 a.m. (Eastern Time) on Wednesday.
We'll be launching vol. 3 in my series of
"Dinosaur Training Secrets" courses --
and I think you're really going to like it.
Synchronize your watches!

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

Coming Soon -- Dinosaur Training Secrets, Vol. 3!

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

I wanted to give you a special heads up on
something new and exciting for the Dino
Nation.

Synchronize your watches and get set to take
action:

1. The time is 9:00 in the morning (Eastern
Standard Time).

2. The day is Wednesday, May 27, 2015.

3. The place is wherever you are when you
receive my email message on Wednesday
morning.

We're going to be releasing course no. 3 in my
new series of Dinosaur Training courses. Most of
you already have course no. 1 and course no. 2
in the series, and based on your emails and your
reviews on our Amazon Kindle pages, you're
loving them.

And I think you're going to feel the same about
course no. 3 in the series.

I like writing the courses in this series because they
allow me to focus on some very important issues
that will make a huge difference in your training --
and in the results you get from your training.

They also allow me to pull together everything
I've learned during my almost 50 years in the
Iron Game -- and to give you my latest thoughts,
new discoveries, changes in my thinking, and the
reasons for those changes.

Course No. 3 covers a critical topic for all serious
trainees: progression systems that allow you to
make fast and steady progress without burning
out, going stale, over-training or hitting a plateau
or a sticking point that seems to hold you up
forever.

It's a topic that readers around the world ask me
about literally ALL THE TIME. Heck, as I was
working on the course yesterday afternoon I
received an email from a reader who had followed
the WRONG kind of progression system and
worked himself into a severe case of over-training
in just a few short weeks. He said this happened
over and over, and he didn't know what to do to
stop it.

I'll share his email tomorrow. Many of you --
perhaps most of you -- will identify with him.

He reminds me of ME many years ago -- before
I learned some of the things I'm going to share
in the new course.

Interestingly, I had just finished a chapter that
gave him the exact answer he needed -- an answer
that came from (get this) an UNPUBLISHED book
written around 1940 by one of the greatest Iron
Game authors of all time.

It's something that I didn't learn about until
very recently -- but it's something that may
be one of the most important and most
beneficial pieces of information that I ever
found.

It's solid gold from the old Iron Mines -- and
it's exactly what our reader needs to do to
get back on track and to start making fast
and steady gains -- and to avoid what no
less an authority than the legendary Arthur
Saxon called "the bugbear of training." (He
was referring to the phenomenon of "going
stale" -- or as we call it, "burning out" or
over-training.)

And that's just one chapter. There's a whole
lot more.

The course gives you a variety of old-school
progression systems for fast and steady gains
in strength and muscular development.

It covers the best and most effective systems for
beginners -- and then offers a variety of different
progression systems for intermediates and advanced
trainees.

It gives you concrete examples ands step by step
instruction, plenty of actual workouts, and enough
different approaches so that everyone who reads
it will be able to fashion his or her very best
PERSONALIZED progression program.

That's important, because we're all different, and
we all have different goals, needs and training
preferences -- and our bodies are different and
respond differently to our training. A one-size-
fits-all approach doesn't work. That's why I'm
giving you a variety of options -- so you can
choose the one best suited to YOU and to
YOUR needs.

As you can see, I'm very excited about the
new course -- and I think it's going to be one
of our most popular courses.

So, as I said at the beginning, synchronize
your watches -- and be ready to take action
at 9:00 a.m. on Wednesday.

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. As with courses no. 1 and no. 2 in the
series, the new course will be avilable in your
choice of hard-copy or Kindle e-book.

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

Assistance Exercises -- When and How Many?

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

Let me open with some birthday wishes to
one of our Dinos -- and then we'll talk about
about assistance exercises.

Today is Bill Kociaba's birthday. Happy
birthday, Bill!

Bill has a great little website where he posts
some killer podcasts. I've been a guest on
several of his podcasts, and I really enjoyed
them. You will, too. Bill knows the Iron Game
inside out, and he has a very natural, very
relaxed interview style.

To celebrate his birthday, Bill posted a long
interview with bodybuilding legend, Bill Pearl.
You can find it right here:

http://kociaba-fitness.com/blog_rwf_13_bill_pearl

In other podcast news, I'll be on Physical Culture
Radio today -- at 12:00 EST. Catch the show live
or listen to the download at your convenience:

http://www.superhumanradio.com

 We have a great show planned for today, and I
think you'll really enjoy it.

Assistance Exercises -- When and How Many?

On the training front, I received lots of questions in
response to yesterday's email. Most of them were
about assistance exercises for the press -- and I
realized that some readers thought they were
supposed to do all seven of the exercises that
I listed in my email.

And that means I wasn't very clear -- and I
created some unnecessary confusion. So let
me clear things up right now.

Many Dinos don't need any sort of assistance
exercise for the press. All they need to do is to
train hard on the press.

As you get stronger, and your gains slow down, you
can add ONE assistance exercise. Use different
assistance exercises in different training cycles.
Don't try to do all of them in one program.

As for WHEN you do them -- I prefer to do them
after my presses. That's what virtually all of the
champions did their assistance exercises.

For your sets, reps and workouts, grab a copy of The
Dinosaur Military Press and Shoulder Power Course:

Hard-copy:

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

Kindle e-book:

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

Let me close by reminding you of two things.

One is the Norb Schemansky story.

A young trainee asks Schemansky how to improve
his press.

Schemansky glares at him in surprise -- and
then shouts:

"Press, you idiot!"

In other words, NO assistance exercises.

BUT -- and this is important -- Harry Paschall reported
that Schemansky improved his press big time by doing
heavy dumbbell presses.

In other words, ONE assistance exercise.

Hope that clears up the confusion!

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'm doing a detailed series of new courses
covering different aspects of old-school, Dino-style
strength training. We've released two of them so
far, and they're available in your choice of hard-
copy or Kindle e-book:

a. Dinosaur Training Secrets, Vol. 1.
"Exercises, Workouts and Training
Programs"

Kindle e-book:

http://brookskubik.com/dinosaursecrets01_kindle.html

Hard-copy:

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaur_secrets_01.html

b. Dinosaur Training Secrets, Vol. 2,
"How Strong Are You?"

Kindle e-book:

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaur_secrets2_kindle.html

Hard-copy:

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaur_secrets_02.html

P.S. 2. My other books and courses -- and links to my
other Kindle e-books -- are available right here:

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

P.S. 3. Thought for the Day: "Choose your exercises
wisely, and train them hard and heavy." -- Brooks
Kubik

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

The 7 Best Assistance Exercises for the Press

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

Three quick notes, and then we'll cover
assistance exercises for the military press.

1. Legacy of Iron

Is available as a Kindle e-book. The e-book
edition has a new introduction that tells the
story of how the book got written -- and how
it almost NEVER got written. It's available as
part of the free on-line preview, so be sure
to check it out:

http://www.brookskubik.com/legacyofiron01_kindle.html

If you're an Amazon customer, and you read
Legacy of Iron in the hard copy edition, please
post a review. They really help us.

2. Physical Culture Radio

I'll be on Physical Culture Radio at 12:00 noon
tomorrow. We're going to announce something
new and exciting, so be sure to be listening for
it:

http://superhumanradio.com/

3. The Iron League

I'm getting great reports from Dinos who have
joined John Wood's Iron League. They're loving
the strength archive -- which is crammed full of
great material, with more being added all the
time. Go here to join the Iron League:

http://www.ironleague.com

And now, let's talk training!

The 7 Best Assistance Exercises for the Military
Press

The military press is a majestic lift.

The lifter tightens his belt, chalks his hand and
approaches the bar.

He stands over it, eyes closed, concentrating
fiercely.

He opens his eyes, gets into position, sets
himself, and cleans the bar to his chest.

He stands tall and straight -- and then drives
the bar off his shoulders. There's no leg kick,
no hip thrust, no body drive and no back bend.
It's nothing but arm and shoulder power.

He hits the sticking point and drives twice as
hard as before. It's man against iron, and for
a second, no one knows who will win.

He pushes through -- and suddenly, the bar is
up and over his head. He holds it high, arms
locked, every muscle straining, as the crowd
goes wild.

Good lift!

And it's not just a magnificent lift. It's a
terrific muscle builder.

Back in the day,  John Grimek was the best built
man in the entire world -- and one of the best
pressers in the world. He owed much of his upper
body, arm and shoulder development to the
military press. He set American and unofficial
World records in the press -- and you can see
why when you look at his photos. He had
cannonballs on top of his shoulders.

He also had triceps that looked like they
were carved from solid marble -- or that
he had borrowed them from a bronze
statue.

Grimek had a favorite assistance exercise for the
military press. So did most other lifters. Here are
the seven top assistance exercises for the press:

1. The Seated Military Press

A favorite exercise of John Grimek. Nuff said.

Do them strict. That's the whole point of the
seated press.

2. The Two Dumbbell Press

All of the York lifters liked heavy dumbbell pressing.
Frank Spellman thought dummbbell presses were
the best way to bring up the press. He won the
Olympic gold medal in 1948, so that's gold medal
advice.

See Dinosaur Dumbbell Training and my Dinosaur
Dumbbell Training DVD for detailed instruction and
tons of useful training tips on dumbbell work:

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

http://brookskubik.com/dinosaur_dvds.html

3. The Incline press

This came into vogue in the 50's, and helped many
top lifters improve their press.

I used to do lots of pressing on an 80 degree
incline, and built some serious shoulder strength
doing it. I did the exercise in the power rack, and
set the pins so I could start from the bottom
position. I worked up to 320 pounds, which is
a lot of iron.

4. The Two Dumbbell Alternate Press

Also known as the see-saw press. Another John
Grimek favorite. He learned the exercise from
Sig Klein.

5. Handstand pushups

A favorite of many top pressers, including Sig
Klein, who set a professional World record in
the press, and Tony Terlazzo, who won the
Olympic gold medal in 1936. Even the big
men did them -- Paul Anderson and Doug
Hepburn both did plenty of handstand
pushups.

See Dinosaur Bodyweight Training for tips
and progressions on handstand pushups:

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

6. Overhead lockouts in the power rack

The secret weapon of the York champions,
including John Grimek and John Davis. The
latter won six World championships and two
Olympic gold medals. See my power rack
training DVD for more ideas about how to
do heavy rack work for pressing power.

7. The bench press

John Davis, Doug Hepburn and Paul Anderson
all used the bench press to build strength and
power for the military press. Once again, nuff
said.

Of course, you have to do strict benches to
have any carry-over to the military press. No
bench bounces!

You now have seven terrific assistance exercises
to help build a world class military press. Have
fun with them -- and set some PR's in the press!

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. For more information about building a world
class military press, see The Dinosaur Training
Military Press and Shoulder Power Course. It's
available in your choice of hard-copy or e-book:

Hard-copy:

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

Kindle e-book

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

P.S. My other books and courses are right
here at Dino Headquarters -- along with links
to all of our Kindle e-books:

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

P.S. 3. Thought for the Day: "When you train,
train like a champion. Give every workout
your very best." -- Brooks Kubik

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

A Physical Culturist's Greatest Enemy!

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

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

1. Legacy of Iron

First -- we just released Legacy of Iron as a
Kindle e-book. If you missed the hard-copy
edition, go here to grab it:

 http://www.brookskubik.com/legacyofiron01_kindle.html

By the way, I added a special introduction that
tells how the book got written -- or rather, how
it almost NEVER got written. That's available
as part of the free preview at the Kindle page,
so head on over and read it. It's pretty
interesting.

The preview gives you the first couple of
chapters. I defy you to read chapter one and
not want to keep on reading. Head on over and
see for yourself.

And please post a review after you read Legacy
of Iron -- or if you've already read it in the hard-
copy edition. The reviews really help us.

2. The Iron League

Second, John Wood's Iron League is smashing
it. Head on over and sign up now:

http://www.ironleague.com

We've been getting some great feedback from
Dinos who've joined the Iron League -- and
remember, right now, you're just seeing the
tip of the iceberg. It's an ongoing project with
great new material being added to the strength
archive all the time.

The Physical Culturist's No. 1 Enemy

On the training front, let's talk about the
physical culturist's no. 1 enemy.

What's the biggest problem most trainees face
in their workouts?

What's the most common cause of bad workouts,
slow progress or no progress?

If someone goes to the gym regularly, and does
the right exercises for the right sets and reps --
but DOESN"T make gains, what's the reason?

It's not the muscle magazine answer: "Take more
supplements."

It's not "Get on the juice."

For older trainees, it's not, "You need HRT."

It's not sets and reps, and it's not needing some
super program from Bulgaria, Russia or Outer
Congolia.

In almost all cases, it's a very simple thing --
and something that's very easy to fix.

The trainee is forgetting to CONCENTRATE
when he trains.

He's allowing himself to be distracted.

Distracted by mirrors, music, other trainees,
tv or radio shows, conversations, background
noise, or things in his life that he can't stop
think about.

Make no mistake about it:  DISTRACTION is a
physical culturist's greatest enemy.

When you train, you need to give your training
total and complete attention. You need to focus
on every rep. You need to link your body and
your mind to the point where you feel each
individual muscle fiber contracting as you
squat, push and pull.

You need to shut out the rest of the world
and dive deep into what Bill Pearl aptly calls
"the inner universe."

Here's an example of what I mean.

I was training out in the garage yesterday. A
storm was coming in. I was training with the
garage door open, so I could see the sky and
the weather -- but I didn't really notice.

I was doing the clean and jerk, and I was filming
the workout so I could check my form after each
lift and make any necessary corrections.

On the next to last lift, the video camera jumped
up and down on its tripod and the lights flickered
and went out for a second right as I completed
the clean and prepared for the jerk.

Apparently, the storm had hit at that very
moment.

Here's the thing. I didn't notice it until I watched it
on the video. I was concentrating on my lifting, and
I never noticed the lights going out.

That's how you have to train -- by giving your
workout your complete, undivided focus.

By the way, I borrowed the title of this post from
Bradley J. Steiner. He said the very same thing
about 30 or 40 years ago. I was pretty young when
I read it, but it made an impression on me. It was
good advice then, and it's good advice now.

To summarize, if you want the secret of big
gains, here it is:

When you train, CONCENTRATE!

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

And be sure to head over and read that Legacy
of Iron introduction on the Kindle page:

http://www.brookskubik.com/legacyofiron01_kindle.html

Yours in strength,

Brooks Kubik

P.S. I cover concentartion and visualization drills
in Dinosaur Training and Dinosaur Bodyweight
Training:

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

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

P.S. 2. My other books and courses -- including links
to my e-books on Kindle -- are right here:

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

P.S. 3. Thought for the Day: "Mindpower builds
body power." -- Brooks Kubik

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

7 Simple Tips to Improve Your Workouts!

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

It's a new week, and we're going to start it
off with some great training tips -- but first,
let me cover three quick updates.

1. Now Available in E-book -- Legacy of Iron.

We just released Legacy of Iron as a Kindle
e-book. Go here to grab your copy of this
fast-paced, hard-hitting adventure story
set in the Golden Age of Might and Muscle:

http://www.brookskubik.com/legacyofiron01_kindle.html

Legacy of Iron is a unique combination of
historical novel and instruction book in old
school strength training. It gives you an
inside look at the York champions and how
they trained in the 1930's and 1940's.

It's one of our most popular books, and I'm
very happy to be able to offer it on Kindle.

There are four other books in the Legacy
of Iron series, and we'll try to get them
up on Kindle as soon as possible.

Note: If you prefer hard-copy books, shoot
me an email and ask for a special discount
on all five books in the series -- or a discount
on whatever book or books in the series you
need to complete your set.

Also -- if you've read Legacy of Iron in the
hard-copy edition, and you're an Amazon
customer, please go to our Kindle site and
post a review. The reviews help us
enormously.

2. Add 20 Pounds to Your Bench Press!

I updated and expanded one of my old
articles for John Wood's strength archive
project. It covers the bench press, and it
includes some terrific tips -- including one
tip that should add 20 pounds to your bench
all by itself. It's an Iron League exclusive,
and it's only available to Iron League
members.

Go here to join the Iron League:

http://www.ironleague.com

3. A Big Week for the Dinos!

We're going to be releasing some great new
books and courses -- and something else that's
new and special -- later in the week. Stay tuned
for updates. It will be exciting.

And now, let's talk training.

7 Simple Ways to Improve Your Workouts

Strength training is like anything else in life.
There's a very big difference between doing
something right and doing it "almost right."

And sometimes, some simple changes can
lead to a big difference in results.

So here are 7 simple ways to get more out
of your workouts -- starting right now.

1. Drop the Tech.

No cell-phone, no I-pad, no tablet, no Facebook
time, no selfies, no photos, no video uploads,
no internet, no nothing.

When you train, you have one job and one job
only -- to TRAIN.

To do it effectively, you need to do it with total
and complete focus  and maximum concentration.
Any form of tech interferes with that -- even
if you only use it in-between sets.

Drop the tech, up the iron, and see what
happens.

2. Keep a workout journal.

Tommy Kono used to record every workout he ever
took. He still has his training journals. Is it any
wonder the man was a six-time World Champion
and two-time Olympic gold medal winner?

A training journal is the only way to keep track
of your training, and make sure you are staying
on course and making real progress. You NEED
to keep one.

Keeping a training journal helps you focus on
your goals for each workout. And that brings
us to tip no. 3.

3. Use goal-oriented workouts.

Don't just train -- train for a purpose.

Every time you hit the iron, you should have a
definite goal -- more reps, more weight, better
form, or deeper concentration.

Every workout should be a step on the road to
strength training success.

You should go the gym (or to the basement or
the garage) with a definite purpose. And then
you should work like heck to achieve your goal.

4. Learn to do more with less.

Rather than trying a fancy new piece of equipment,
master the basic tools of the trade.

Barbells and dumbbells are the basic tools of the
trade. Learn to use them with maximum
effectiveness. Most people never do -- and
that's a shame.

Work on learning to lift as efficiently as possible.
Perfect your form -- and then work to make it
even better.

Perfect form helps you avoid injury -- and it helps
you use as much weight on the bar as possible --
and it helps focus the stress on exactly the right
muscle groups.

It also makes training more enjoyable and more
fun -- because it gives you another way of
measuring your progress and improving your
performance over time.

5. Expect to make good progress.

Don't just go to the gym and "give it a try."

Give it your all.

Expect to succeed.

Weight training works. It's been working for
well over 100 years. It works for me, it works
for Dinos around the world, and it will work
for you -- especially when you BELIEVE that
it will.

Train with quiet confidence. Know that if you
put in the work, you WILL succeed.

6.  Stick to your program.

Perhaps I should say, stick to YOUR program.

Tip no. 3 -- use goal-oriented workouts --
assumes that you go to the gym with a
definite plan of action.

You know what you are going to do, and you
do it.

You stick to your plan.

But too many trainees go to the gym and
start drifting. They plan to do squats, but
some guy is curling in the squat rack, so
they do leg presses instead.

Or someone asks to work in, and then he
suggests doing something new and different,
and all of a sudden the plan for the day goes
out the window.

Or the trainee checks Facebook before training,
sees someone doing a cool new exercise, and
decides to give it a try instead of doing his
deadlifts.

Don't do that. Stick to your plan. To YOUR
plan.

7. Think strong.

I cover pre-workout and pre-set power-thinking
in detail in Dinosaur Training -- and it's something
that will help rocket your workouts to the next
level.

If you have a copy, go back and read chapters
19 and 20.

If you don't have a copy, grab one and read it --
and then go back and reread those two chapters.

Using visualization and concentration to power
your workouts will increase your rate of progress
more than anything you can do.

It's easy to learn, and fun to do -- and it's a
skill you can use for the rest of your life.

It's also a skill you can use in all other aspects
of your life -- not just training, but everything.
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 Dinosaur Training: Lost Secrets
of Strength and Development:

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

P.S. 2. My other books and courses are right
here at Dino Headquarters -- along with links
to all of my Kindle e-books:

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

P.S. 3. Thought for the Day: "Anything worth
doing is worth doing right, and that goes double
for strength training." -- Brooks Kubik

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

Warning: Chicken Legs Can Kill You!

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

Yes, you read the title correctly.

Chicken legs can kill you.

And no, I'm not talking about the kind of
fast-food, deep-fried, batter-covered food
bombs that people eat. Those are bad, but
I'm talking about something else.

I'm talking about one of the leading causes
of death in the United States.

It's the slip and fall.

It happens to older people all the time. They
have a slip -- they fall -- and they break a leg
or a hip. Usually a hip.

That sends them to the hospital, and from there,
it's all-too-often a steady downward death spiral.

It used to happen to people of relatively advanced
years, but now it happens to people that many of
us would consider to be relatively young. Lots of
folks just five or ten years older than me have
had a slip and fall. And as I noted, it kills many
of them. If it doesn't kill them, it often leads to
a very low quality of life for the rest of their
years.

And many folks my age or younger -- sometimes
much younger -- have had a slip and fall or a
similar accident that caused a severe knee or hip
injury -- that often leads to joint replacement
surgery.

Sometimes, an accident is unavoidable -- just a
case of bad luck.

But many times, the problem is a lack of leg and
hip strength -- and poor balance. And that's not a
matter of bad luck. It's a matter of bad training --
or the result of no training -- or the result of no
leg training.

Of course, that doesn't have to happen to you.

You can control your destiny. You can take action
and help make yourself injury-proof.

You do it by leg training.

The bigger and stronger your legs, the less risk
you have of a slip and fall. And if you do take a
tumble, strong legs and plenty of muscle may
help you avoid a serious injury.

As far as the details go, here are some key
points about effective leg training:

1. Strengthen your ankles.

Work your entire leg and hip structure,
including the ankles. Many slip and fall accidents
occur when someone loses their balance and their
foot twists at the ankle -- and their ankle isn't
strong enough to bear the strain -- and down
they go.

So include calf training in your workouts. Calf
exercises help strengthen the ankles.

To work the ankles even more, lie a barbell
plate on the floor and push it around with
sweeping movements of your foot. Train both
sides of the ankle when you do this.

2. Train your toes and feet.

Try picking up marbles or pencils with your
toes. Strong toes help you maintain your
balance, and working the toes also helps
to strengthen the ankles.

Or try this. Soak a small towel in water,
lay it outside on the ground, and then try
to wring the water out of the towel by
picking the edge of the towel up between
your toes and squeezing the water out.
Work your way down the entire towel.

This is a variation of the old towel-wringing
exercise for grip training, and it will work
your toes and feet into the ground.

Another good exercise is one that Trudi
does. It's a 45 degree leg press with the
weight resting on her toes and the upper
part of her foot. She includes a toe press
on each rep. It's one of her favorite
exercises for strong toes and feet.

Trudi also uses Theraband exercises for
her toes, feet and ankles. You can find
many exercises on the interwebs. The
simplest movement is to sit in a chair,
loop the Theraband around your foot,
and hold the ends while you perform
toe presses or ankle rotations.

3. Do lugging and loading drills.

Including lugging and loading drills, where you
carry heavy weights. They work the feet and the
ankles on every step.

It doesn't matter what you do, how far you
go, or what you carry. Just be sure to walk
with heavy stuff as a regular part of your
training.

I cover lugging and loading drills in Gray
Hair and Black Iron. Check them out:

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

4. Do some weightlifting.

If you can, do some weightlifting. You don't have
to do squat style lifts. Power cleans and power
snatches will work fine. Every rep includes ankle
extension to complete the lift -- and every time
you extend your ankles against weight resistance,
you make them bigger, stronger and thicker --
and more resistant to injury.

Weightlifting exercises also build better balance
coordination and athleticism -- and help strengthen
your neurological system -- all of which helps you
avoid a bad slip and fall.

If you prefer, use dumbbells. For many trainees,
they are easier to master, and they provide all
of the benefits of barbell cleans and snatches.
See Dinosaur Dumbbell Training for details on
how to perform dumbbell cleans, swings, and
snatches:

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

5. Do squats and front squats.

Squats and front squats are the best leg exercises
out there -- and they should always be part of your
training program.

If possible, do full squats. They build more leg
muscle, and they work the hips much better
than parallel squats.

Use perfect form when you squat. Dropping and
bouncing, leaning forward, or rounding your back
can cause big problems -- and they all amount to
a form of cheating.

Wear Olympic lifting shoes when you squat. They
help you maintain the correct upright posiiton --
which in turn places the work on your legs and
hips, which is where you want it to be.

You don't have to use World record weights in
your squats -- but you do need to do them on
a regular basis. See Dinosaur Training Secrets,
Vol. 2, the "How Strong Are You Course?" for
some key points on how much weight you
should be using in your leg exercises:

Kindle e-book

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaur_secrets2_kindle.html

Hard-copy

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaur_secrets_02.html

6. Include some auxiliary leg exercises for
improved balance and mobility.

Overhead squats with a barbell or a pair of
dumbbells build a nice combination of strength
and muscle, along with improved balance and
coordination.

So does the one-arm overhead squat with a single
dumbbell or a kettlebell.

For other unique leg exercises, see Dinosaur
Dumbbell Training. The dumbbell complexes in
the book are particularly good for older trainees.
They will greatly improve your balance, your
coordination, and your mobility.

If you want to include some bodyweight exercises
for the legs and hips, try the movements featured
in Dinosaur Bodyweight Training. They're fast, fun
and effective:

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

7.  Get out the rope!

Start and finish each workout with some basic
rope-jumping. It's a terrific exercise for the feet
and ankles -- and a good way to build your balance
and coordination.

Invest in the kind of high-quality jump rope that
boxers use -- and include a couple of rounds of
rope work every day.

Jumping rope is also a good cardiovascular
exercise, and helps burn unwanted fat, so it's
got plenty of benefits.

To summarize, expand your concept of leg
training. Squats are the starting point, but it's
more than that. Train the feet and the ankles --
and do exercises that build balance, mobility,
and coordination.

And, of course, build the muscles of your legs
and hips.

In short -- stay strong, train your legs and turn
those bird-legs into pedestals of 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. Gray Hair and Black Iron is the best book
ever written for older trainees -- and will help
enormously to make you injury-proof:

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

P.S. Go here to grab Dinosaur Dumbbell
Training and Dinosaur Bodyweight Training:

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

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

P.S. 3. Thought for the Day: "Stand strong, walk
strong and live strong." -- Brooks Kubik

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

Do You Make these Seven Strength Training Mistakes?

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

Two quick notes, and then we'll talk about
seven of the most common strength training
mistakes.

1. The Iron League

John Wood's new members only site is just
one day old, and it's a huge success -- and
that's no surprise, because the strength
archive that John has created is off the
charts good.

Go here to grab your membership and have
immediate access to the strength archive:

http://www.ironleague.com

And please spread the word -- we want
everyone to know about this.

2. Physical Culture Radio

I'll be on Physical Culture Radio with my
co-host, Carl Lanore, at 12:00 EST today.
Catch it live or listen to the download later
on.

Physical Culture Radio is part of the
SuperHuman Radio network:

http://www.superhumanradio.com

It will be a great show, and I hope you're
able to join us.

And now -- let's talk training!

Are You Making these Seven Strength
Training Mistakes?

Strength training works -- and if you do it
the right way, it should produce rapid gains
in strength and muscle mass.

But far too many trainees make serious
mistakes in their training -- and end up
with little or no gains to show for their
training time.

Here are seven of the most common strength
training mistakes that even experienced trainees
often make:

1. Wanting to Do It All.

This is the trainee who wants to be a powerlifter,
an Olympic weightlifter, a gymnast, a martial
artist, a grip gorilla, a master of high rep
calisthenics, a strongman, and one of those
super-flexible rubber-men who can do a full
splits between two chairs with a smile on his
face.

He also wants to be great at kettlebells, club-bells,
maces, battle-axes, cannon-ball juggling, bull
roping, the Inman Mile, hand-balancing, and
the 20 rep breathing squat.

So he tries to "do it all" -- and he ends up doing
too much and over-training.

It's much better to pick the one or two things that
you really want to do, and work them more or
less exclusively.

2. Changing Routines Too Often.

This is related to no. 1, because too many guys
see or read about somehting, and immediately
change their workout around -- even though what
they were doing was working fine!

Routines are recipes for building strength and
muscle. You need to follow the recipe -- and you
need to let things cook for the right amount of
time.

It takes a period of time to get real results from
a training program. If you jump ship before you've
given yourself time to get some results, then you're
missing most or all of the benefit.

3. Training Too Light.

Many trainees sell themselves short by going too
light in their workouts. This usually happens when
they're advanced enough to be outlifting more than
most of the other guys at the gym. At that point,
they lose "the Eye of the Tiger." They get satisfied
with where they are and what they're lifting. So
they stay there. They stagnate.

You can't do that if you want to build super strength.

You need to keep on pushing to add more and more
weight to the bar.

4. Training Too Heavy.

The flip side of the problem is training too heavy --
and having to cut the range of motion or cheat to
get your reps.

This is a huge problem -- and a very common one.

Remember, you need to work uo to heavy weights
in your training -- BUT, you also need to use perfect
form on every rep you do.

It's not one or the other. It's both.

This is why exercises such as bottom position bench
presses or pause style squats or front squats are so
good. They force you to use perfect form, even when
you train heavy.

5. Too Much Assistance Work.

Most trainees do way too many assistance exercises
to try to imporve their primary movements -- and end
up turning a basic strength and mass workout into
something that looks like a typical high volume
bodybuilding program.

Assistance exercises have their place -- but you need
to give the lion's share of your time and effort to the
big exercises.

Remember the Schemansky story.

Someone once asked Norb Schemansky what to do to
improve his press.

Schemansky stared at him in surprise.

"Press!" he shouted.

6. Too Much Cardio.

Cardio training is good for you if you don't over-do it,
and if you do cardio that doesn't hammer your joints
into the ground.

But too many trainees over-do their cardio training --
and end up over-training -- and all of a sudden, the
bar seems twice as heavy as before when they do
squats and deadlifts.

This is another example of the "gotta do it all"
mentality.

Remember, if you are training hard and heavy on
the basic strength and mass movements, you
don't have very much energy for anything else --
and that includes cardio.

7. Forgetting the Non-Training Side of Things.

Lots of trainees do all the right things in the
gym -- and all the wrong things when they're
out of the gym.

That's always a mistake. Training is only part
of the puzzle. You need to train -- the right way --
but that's not all you need to do.

You also need to pay careful attention to your
diet. You need to eat for optimal nutrition --
and you need to eat foods that support your
strength training workouts, rather than hurt them.

See Knife, Fork, Muscle for details on how to eat
to build strength and muscle:

Hard-copy

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

Kindle e-book (part 1 of a series -- part 1 covers
protein foods)

http://www.brookskubik.com/knifeforkmuscle01_kindle.html

You also need to follow the other rules of good
health. You need to get enough sleep -- every night --
and you need to stay as calm and relaxed as possible
throughout the day. Save your nervous energy for
your workouts.

So there you are -- seven mistakes that far too
many trainees make - mistakes that sabotage
their training and make good gains all but
impossible. Make sure you avoid 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. Here are three great resources for real
world training -- and great gains in strength
and muscle mass:

a. Strength, Muscle and Power

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

b. Chalk and Sweat

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

c. Dinosaur Training Secrets, Vol. 1, Exercises,
Workouts and Training Programs

Hard-copy

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaur_secrets_01.html

Kindle e-book

http://brookskubik.com/dinosaursecrets01_kindle.html

P.S. 2. My other books and courses are available
right here -- including links to my other Kindle
e-books:

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

P.S. 3. Thought for the Day: "Doing it and doing
it right are two different things." -- Brooks Kubik

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

The Library of Congress of Strength!

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

In case you missed the big news, here it
is again --

John Wood's Iron League and strength
archive is open for business.

The Iron League is a unique members
only site -- and when you join, you have
access to the strength archive -- which is
a goldmine of old books, articles and
courses covering the past 150 years
of physical culture, strength training
and muscle building.

It already has a ton of great stuff, with
more being added all the time.

I described the strength archive in an
email last night, and one of our long-
time Dinos, Paul Murray, shot back a
reply that hit the nail right on the
proverbial head.

So I thought I'd share it with you:

"This is truly spectacular what John
Wood is undertaking. It's the
equivilent of the ancient library
of Alexandria (minus the fire),
the Library of Congress of
Strength, or something!

I recall at one time back in the 70's
or 80's, Dr. Terry Todd had a physical
equivilent of what John is up to down
at the University of Texas. I was always
hoping to see that, but now we have the
virtual version.

When I was  a kid, the only way to have
access to knowledge was to physically
possess it. I spent a lifetime collecting
and amassing books. In the electronic
age, this pursuit is obsolete, or getting
there.

There is no doubt I will pay the subscription
fee, not only to gain access to the material,
but also to underwrite what John has done.
Surely it was a labor of love.

Paul Murray"

Wow -- I couldn't agree more. The Library
of Congress of Strength! That sounds pretty
good, doesn't it?

Anyhow, the Iron League is up and running.
Go here to grab your membership:

http://www.theironleague.com

Tell John I sent you -- and please let me
know how you like the strength archive!

Yours in strength,

Brooks Kubik

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

7 Exercises that Build Serious Strength and Muscle Mass!

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

Here's some BIG BREAKING NEWS -- and then
we'll talk training:

1. It's Here -- The Iron League!

John Wood's Iron League is now open -- and
you can head on over, grab a membership,
and dive headfirst into the amazing strength
archive right now:

http://www.ironleague.com

As I mentioned the other day, I've been a
beta-tester for the Iron League -- and I have
to tell you, I am AMAZED at how much great
material John has put into the strength
archive. And there's more of it -- lots more --
on the way!

Head on over -- and tell John I sent you!
And please -- share this post and spread the
word. We want all strength fans all around the
world to know about The Iron League.

And now . . . let's talk training.

7 Exercises that Build Serious Strength and
Muscle Mass

Here are some tips to help you build plenty
of rugged strength and Herculean muscle
mass.

These are seven of the most effective strength
and muscle building exercises that you can do.
And yes, they are all Dino-approved and Dino-
certified. They include some of my favorite
exercises.

1. Bottom Position Bench Presses

Do these in a power rack. Set the pins so you
can just barely squeeze under the bar. Start
each rep from the bottom and drive the bar
up to the lockout positiion. Lower slowly and
under control, pause, get set, and repeat.

If you prefer, do singles. That lets you get
set in the right position for each rep.

When I trained for powerlifting and bench
press competition, these were all I ever did.
I never used the regular bench press. The
only time I ever did it was in a contest.

It worked pretty well. I won five national
championships in the bench press and set
a ton of records -- lifting in the submaster's
division, 198 and then 220 pound weight
class, in drug-free competition.

2. The Negative Accentuated Push Press

This is a push press with a slow negative
on each rep. Drive the bar overhead with
a combination of leg, shoulder and arm
power -- lock it out -- and lower as slowly
as possible.

Pause, get set, and repeat.

Three reps will fry your shoulder girdle.
This was a favorite exercise of Dr. Ken Leistner,
and many old-time lifters used it to help train
the military press.

3. Doug Hepburn's Power Curls

Doug Hepburn used heavy-duty wooden
boxes to position a barbell so he could begin
his curls from a deadstop with the bar resting
on the boxes.

This forces you to curl in good form, and it
allows you to do each rep with a tight back
and flared lats -- so you can dig your elbows
into your lats as you curl.

Hepburn worked up to 260 pounds in the
strict curl, so that shows you that the
exercise works.

I worked up to 185 for 5 reps in the strict
curl. That's not Hepburn territory, but it's
not bad.

Curls don't get much respect these days, but
this is a great exercise for wrestlers, judoka,
martial artists, football players, and anyone
else who needs to pancake an opponent.

4. Pause-style Front Squats

Perform regular front squats (using strict form,
an upright stance, and going all the way down).
Pause for two seconds at the bottom, and then
drive back up to the finish position.

Wear Olympic lifting shoes with a heel when
you do these. They help you maintain the
proper upright position at the bottom.

5. The Two Dumbbell Clean and Press

Sig Klein called this movement "the secret
exercise" of the old-time European lifting
champions -- and taught it to all of his
gym members.

He also taught it to John Grimek -- and
that turned out pretty well.

Clean the dumbbells, press them, lower
them to your shoulders, and then lower them
to the hang. Clean them from the hang, press
them, and repeat for the desired number of
reps.

This is a great conditioner, as well as a
terrific strength builder.

See Dinosaur Dumbbell Training for other
great old-school dumbbell body blasters.

6. Arched Back Pull-Ups

I teach these in Dinosaur Bodyweight Training.

I'm in good company, too, because Vince
Gironda taught them in his famous North
Hollywood Gym.

Do a regular pull-up, but arch your back and try
to pull your shoulders as far back as possible at
the finish of each rep.

And try to touch your lower pec to the bar
on each rep.

Pause and hold the contracted position briefly,
then lower and repeat.

These are tough, so you may need to start
by doing singles. Or you may need to jump
up to get into the contracted posiiton, hold
it, and lower slowly -- until you build the
strength to perform regular reps.

For my money, these are way better than
doing weighted pull-ups with a rounded
back or partial range of movement.

7. Handstand Push-Ups

Another exercise I teach in Dinosaur Bodyweight
Training -- and a favorite of many old-school
champions. America's first gold medal winner in
weightlifting, Tony Terlazzo, did lots of these.

So did John Grimek, Sig Klein, Doug Hepburn
and Paul Anderson.

If you can do them free-standing, that's great.

If not, keep your feet against a wall for balance.

So there you have it. Seven great exercises for
serious strength and muscle mass.

And remember -- The Iron League is now open
for business. Head on over and join up:

http://www.ironleague.com

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. For more great exercises and unique ways
to perform them for maximum results, grab
these great books:

a. Dinosaur Bodyweight Training

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

b. Dinosaur Dumbbell Training

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

c. Strength, Muscle and Power (especially
the chapters on rack work and rest-pause
training)

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

P.S. 2. My other books and courses -- and
links to my Kindle e-books -- are right here:

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

P.S. 3. "It's the little things that make a huge
difference in strength training and muscle
building." -- Brooks Kubik

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