My Current Training Program

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

I've been talking about abbreviated and ultra-
abbreviated workouts for the past week, and
several readers have asked what I do in my
own training.

So here's what I've been doing lately. As you
might imagine, it's basic and simple -- but it
does the job.

Remember that I'm almost 60, so this is a
program for an older trainee. Also, as you
will see, it's a specialized weightlifting
program.

I train three times a week. I usually train on
Tues, Thurs and Sun. There's no magic to
those days. I started training on Tues and
Thurs way back in high school because most
guys trained on Mon, Wed and Fri, so the
weight room was pretty much empty on
the other days, and you didn't have to
wait for the power rack or your favorite
bench.

Later, when I started training at a regular
gym in my 20s, I stuck to the same schedule
for the same reason. Now I train in my
garage, so it doesn't matter, but I stick to
Tues, Thurs, Sun out of habit.

I've tried twice a week programs, but I prefer
three times a week. I'm not as flexible when
I train twice a week.

I'm concentrating on Olympic weightlifting
now, so I do weightlifting workouts. I don't
do anything else because I put all of my
energy into the weightlifting workouts.

And remember, at my age, recovery and
recuperation is critical. There's only so
much you can do before you start to
exceed your recovery ability.

I'm working on the squat style snatch and
the squat style clean and split jerk, and it
takes lots of work to get the timing and
the technique down. So I spend most of
my time on these two movements.

I've switched back and forth between squat
style and split style. Squat style requires much
more flexibility, and it's tough for an older
Dino, but I really enjoy it -- so I'm making
one last effort to get the squat technique
down while I still can.

I do two different workouts: Workout A
and Workout B.

Workout A is a snatch workout.

Workout B is a clean and jerk workout.
Sometimes I train both lifts in the same
workout, but usually I do them separately.

I do lots and lots of single reps. I stick to
singles so I can do every rep in perfect
form. I'm a fanatic about good form --
which may be due to all of the drilling I
did as a high school wrestler -- or to the
fact that I learned Olympic lifting later
in life, and form, technique and flexibility
have always been challenges for me.

I don't have many regrets about lifting and
training, but I do wish I had learned Olympic
weightlifting when I was in high school. It
would have been much easier than starting
in my mid-40s. But that, as they say, is
water under the bridge.

I film my workouts, and after each lift, I
play it back so I can check my form. This
lets me see what I can do better on the
next set.

I start every workout with 10 to 20 mins
of stretching and loosening up.

I begin with the empty bar, and do 3 to 5
singles -- and then add 5 kilo plates and do
another 3 to 5 singles -- and work up from
there. Starting light is part of the warm-up
process, and gets me ready for the heavier
stuff.

I do a total of 15 to 20 singles over the course
of a workout. I often do three to five snatches
with my top weight for the day, and two or
three clean and jerks with my top weight for
the day.

If time and energy permit, I do snatch pulls
or clean pulls for 3 x 3 or 3 x 2, followed by
front squats for 5 x 1 or 5 x 2.

When I do pulls, I focus on full extension and
high elbows at the finish. I use a fast, explosive
movement. I use my top snatch weight or my
top clean weight for the day, or a little bit more.
If I go too heavy, my form breaks down and
there's little carry-over to the actual lift.

I do low reps on front squats because it is
easier on my knees and back. It's hard to
recover from higher volume. And because
I do full squat snatches and squat cleans,
I'm already doing lots of squats in every
workout.

I am working on flexibility with flexibility
and mobility work on off days. We'll see
how that works over the coming year. It
seems to be a good addition to the
program.

If you're interested in more details, let me
know. If enough readers are interested, I'll
do a course on weightlifting for garage
gorillas and older Dinos.

In the meantime, here's a DVD that covers
my current style of training -- we filmed it a
few years ago on my birthday:

http://brookskubik.com/goingstrong.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. Gray Hair and Black Iron covers training
for older Dinos. Go here to grab it:

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

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

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

P.S. 3. Thought for the Day: "As you grow
older, train smarter. Smarter is the only way
to keep on training." -- Brooks Kubik

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

Living and Lifting in the Real World

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

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

1. Double Broadcast?

I'm still not sure if you some of you received
"Workouts for the Working Man" twice. If you
did, I apologize. It was a tech glitch, and not
intentional.

2. The Bill Hinbern Interview

My 5-part interview with Bill Hinbern is on
YouTube and it's getting great reviews from
Dinos:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFIy3f80GIE

And now -- let's talk training!

Several readers have asked about living and
lifting in the real world. Those are my words,
not theirs, but they all have similar concerns:

How do you train when you have a tough job
with long hours?

Or a physically demanding job?

Or two jobs?

Or you have a crazy job with long hours and
(get this) you're 73 years old?

Or you have a job with long hours, a couple
of small kids, a mortgage, older parents to
look after, tons of respobsibilities, and hardly
a minute of free time.

Or -- well, I could go on and on. The list is
endless because that's what life is like in the
real world.

Here's the answer:

1. You make time to train on a regular basis,
even if it's only one, two or three times per
week.

a. Make a point of training on a regular basis,
even if it is a short, fast workout.

b. A short, fast workout is always better than
a missed workout.

2. Focus on the important exercises: the big,
basic compound movements that build plenty
of real world strength, muscle and power.

a. Squats, front squats, presses, deadlifts,
Trap Bar deadlifts, clean and press, rowing,
pull-ups, etc.

3. Use sane, sensible set/rep systems. I like
multiple sets of low to medium reps.

a. Olympic weightlifting coach Jim Schmitz
likes 5/4/3/2/1 for trainees who live and
lift in the real world. He calls it "5/4/3/2/1
Done!" and that sums it up very well.

4. Schedule relatively short workouts. You can
get tremendous results from 45 to 60 minutes
of training -- provided that it's the right kind
of training.

a. When you train, use concentration and focus
to make every minute count.

b. No wasted time!

c. Let me repeat - no wasted time! You can rest
between sets, but FOCUS on the next set while
you are resting.

5. If you're super-strapped for time, do ultra-
abbreviated workouts.

a. Pick three exercises and train each of them
once a week.

b. Or pick 4 to 6 exercises, and train each of
them once over a two-week period.

c. Or train two or three times a week and do
two exercises in each workout.

6. If you are totally buried, just do 10 or 15
minutes of pushups, pull-ups and deep knee
bends.

a. Or keep some dumbbells, Indian clubs,
grip blasters or chest expanders handy --
and just do 15 minutes of light, fast, easy
stuff to get the blood flowing and help keep
you in tone.

7. On days when you are extra-tired, sore or
beat up, take it easy. Hit a fast workout where
you do some progressively heavier warm-up
sets, and then call it a day.

a. Or work up to a five rep working weight, hit
it for a single, double or triple, and then call it
a day.

b. The point is, don't skip the workout -- just
make it an easy one.

And that's how you get it done when you live
and lift in the real world.

By the way, if you have kids, it is a very
important life lesson to let them see you
working out even though you are very,
very busy. In fact, it's one of the most
important life lessons for 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. My new Dinosaur Training courses cover
real world lifting in detail. You can get them in
your choice of hard copy of Kindle e-book:

a. Dinosaur Training Secrets, Vol. 1

Hard copy

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

Kindle e-book

http://brookskubik.com/dinosaursecrets01_kindle.html

b. Dinosaur Training Secrets, Vol. 2

Hard copy

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

Kindle e-book

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

c. Dinosaur Training Secrets, Vol. 3

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 e-books on Kindle -- are right here:

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

P.S. 3. Thought for the Day: "Keep it simple,
but get it done." -- Brooks Kubik

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

Live and Lift with No Regrets!

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

As regular readers know, my dad passed away
in April of this year. He was 87.

I have some of his old books, and a few days
ago I picked one of them up to read. It was about
a young couple that moved to Ontario and built
a log cabin far out in the Northern wilderness.
This was back around 1920, and there was
still plenty of land available for anyone who
wanted to go out into the bush and settle
down.

I opened the book, and some old, yellowed
papers fell out of it.

There was a small drawing cut out of the
Cincinnati newspaper back in 1977. It was
a drawing of a small cabin: front, back, side,
and view from the top looking straight down.

There were several sheets of my dad's old
graph paper, with additional drawings and
sketches in pencil, along with notes in my
dad's handwriting.

It was a set of plans for a small wilderness
cabin. My dad put them together in 1977,
when he was 49 years old. Then he put
them in the old book, and saved them.

I never knew about this until I read that
old book and found the drawings and floor
plans for the cabin.

But I do  know this. Dad never built that
dream cabin.

I don't know why. But he never did. Maybe
he forgot about it. Or maybe it was some-
thing he always wished he had done.

And that brings us to the take-away from
this story.

Someday, my children are going to be
going through my books and notes and
weightlifting stuff -- and they're going to
find all sorts of workouts and training
programs, and notes of new exercises
and new equipment to try, a list of my
personal bests in different exercises
and lifts, and lists of future training
goals and things I want to do while I
still can.

Heck, I was working on one of those
lists last night. The notes are on a
small table in the breakfast room.

So here's the deal.

I don't want to leave notes and lists
about things I wanted to do, but never
got around to doing.

And I bet you probably feel the same
way.

Anyhow, you may not need any extra
motivation about training hard and
eating smart and working to achieve
your goals and make your dreams a
reality.

But if you do need just a hint of extra
motivation -- you just got it!

As always, thanks for reading and have
a great day. If you train today (as I will
in about 15 minutes), make it a good
one!

Yours in strength,

Brooks Kubik

P.S. These little monsters have been our
best-sellers this month -- and they'll help
you live and train the "no regrets" way:

a. Gray Hair and Black Iron

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

b. Strength, Muscle and Power

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

c. Dinosaur Dumbbell Training

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

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

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

P.S. 3. Thought for the Day: "Live every day
as if it were your last, and do the same with
every rep of every workout." -- Brooks Kubik

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

Workouts for the Working Man

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

I borrowed the title of this email message
from an old article by Peary Rader. He used
it when he answered a question from a
reader that is very similar to the one I'm
going to cover today.

The question comes from a very strong
27-year old lifter who competes in all-
around weightlifting comps.

He has a very demanding job. He works as
a refuse collector, and he walks 8 to 12 miles
a day and spends most of the day lifting things.
And so, as you might imagine, he needs a
good abbreviated program that he can use
after one of those very long and very
demanding work days.

He wants to train on five exercises:

1. Squat

2. Bench press

3. Deadlift

4. Power snatch

5. Power clean and jerk

His question is -- how to work them into a
realistic program, given the extreme demands
of his job.

He tried doing one power lift and one Olympic
lift each workout, but that was too tiring.

Here's a better approach:

1. Train 3x per week.

2. Do 1 exercise in each workout.

3. Do multiple sets of low reps or
singles, starting light and working
up to your top weight for the day.

a. Your top weight for the day should
be a heavy, demanding weight, but
not a maximum effort.

4. Spread the five different exercises
over five training days. Start the cycle
over again in the sixth workout.

a. Remember, you train three times a
week, so you will do three exercises in
week one, and the other two exercises
in week two.

5. If you prefer, do three workouts in
week one and two in week two.

6. Alternatively, include the two dumbbell
clean and press so you are doing some DB
work (since they do dumbbell lifts in the
comps) -- and make it a six day cycle
spread over two weeks -- with three
workouts in each week.

a. If you prefer, do the one dumbbell clean
and press (or push press) as your dumbbell
exercise.

7. Drink lots of water during the work day,
and drink lots of water during the workout.
You need to stay hydrated when you're
working a tough physical job AND hitting
the iron.

I know that doesn't sound like very much
work, and it's not. That's the whole point!

It's an ultra-abbreviated workout for a
working man -- and it will definitely do
the 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. I cover abbreviated training and ultra-abbreviated
training in STRENGTH, MUSCLE AND POWER. Go here
to grab a copy:

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

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

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

P.S. 3. Thought for the Day: "In the real world,
you work for a living -- AND you train. Learn to
do both, and do them well." -- Brooks Kubik

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

Should You Plan Your Workouts or Train Based on How You Feel?

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

A reader asked me whether I always plan
my workouts before training or whether I
base the workout on how I feel that day.

That's a good question, and it's one that
seems to puzzle lots of people -- probably
because they view it as an "either/or" when
it's really a "bit of both."

To begin with, I always have a long term
training plan, and long term goals -- usually
a one year plan, but sometimes a bit longer.

To get there, I break things down into a
series of mini-cycles. I like to do one month
mini-cycles. I set specific goals for each of
the one month cycles.

I alternate lighter weeks with more volume
and heavier weeks with less volume.

This is a simple but effective way for an older
Dino to train. I call it "simple cycling." It's a
way of maximizing recovery by using a
combination of light, medium and heavy
days.

I always go back through my training log,
and review the last couple of workouts,
and then write up my workout -- with
all of the exercises, sets, reps and
weights.

So the answer to the question is "Yes, I plan
my workouts very carefully."

But I also listen to my body, and based on
how I feel on a given day, I may change
things up a little once I start training.

Mike Burgener has a good way of putting it:

"When the oven is hot, you do your cooking."

In other words, if everything is clicking on a
given day, use more weight or do more sets
or more reps.

BUT -- and this is very important -- you also
need to go lighter and easier on those days
when that oven just won't heat up.

And this is one of the very hardest things to
learn. But it's also one of the most important.

If you're having an off day and you try to push
through it, things usually don't go very well. It's
better to train light, and then come back and
hit it harder another time.

Of course, you don't want to take it too easy
too often -- but if you're a Dino, there's not
much danger of that happening.

So plan your workouts -- but listen to your body,
and make any necessary adjustments after you
chalk your hands and get going.

Hope that helps!

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 covers simple
cycling sytems for older trainees -- and details
over 50 great workouts for older Dinos:

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

P.S. 2. Progression is the name of the game,
and I cover a variety of very effective progression
systems in Dinosaur Training Secrets, Vol. 3:

Hard copy

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

Kindle e-book

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

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

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

P.S. 4. Thought for the Day: "Think, plan, and
pay attention." -- Brooks Kubik

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

Reinventing Yourself at Age 60

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

We had a great show on Physical Culture
Radio yesterday. If you missed it, go here
to listen to the download:

http://superhumanradio.com/shr-1684-physical-culture-radio-reinventing-yourself-at-60-nourishment-in-the-full-sense.html

The show was based on some conversations
that Trudi and I have been having with
friends who are about our own age (60-ish).

We're all thinking about what we want to do,
and how we want to live, in our 60s and 70s.

We all face the same situation and share the
same thoughts and ideas:

1. We're in good health right now, and we're
strong and fit and can travel if we wish to do
so.

a. However, we recognize that things can
change as one grows older -- which could
limit one's options. For example, I have
glaucoma -- a progressive eye disease --
and it may lead to severely reduced eye-
sight when I'm a bit older.

2. We have lots of friends, co-workers, and
acquaintances our age or younger who are
in pretty poor health -- and who cannot do
much of anything except sit around and
watch television.

a. We don't want to live that kind of
lifestyle.

3. We've worked hard as heck our whole
lives, and would we think we deserve to
be a bit easier on ourselves in our 60s
and 70s.

4. The kids are all grown up and out of
the house.

5. The house is way too big for two people.

6. I work 100% on the Dino business now,
and it's fully transportable -- and Trudi is
a Physical Therapy Assistant and she can
work anywhere.

a. Others our age have retired or are close
to retirement age. They're not tethered to
a 9 to 5 job any more.

b. My grandfather worked his entire life,
and then retired, and died not long after --
because (as my father told me), "Back
then, that's what people did." But things
are different now.

7. When we sit on the front porch or sit
by an open window, we hear the wind
calling to us.

Now, I don't know what any of this means.
It may be nothing but the summer heat
scrambling our brains.

But it may be that we decide we want to
sell our house, downsize, simplify, and
find a different part of the world to live
in for awhile.

When we talked about this on Physical
Culture Radio, we focused on something
very important:

If you are strong, fit and healthy when you
are older, you have options. If you are not,
your options are much more limited.


That's something to think about, no matter
what your age.

And it's a very good reason to start training
and KEEP ON TRAINING -- to train the right
way -- and to eat the right way.

And that, in a nutshell, was the message
of yesterday's show on Physical Culture
Radio.

It was a good show. Listen to it tonight or
over the weekend. I think you'll enjoy it.

And if anyone out there is struggling with
these issues, or thinking about these sorts
of things, shoot me an email. It's always
good to hear from our fellow Dinos.

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 number
one book for anyone who wants to enjoy
lifelong strength and health:

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

2. My other books and courses -- and links to
all of my Dinosaur Training e-books on Kindle --
are right here:

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

3. Thought for the Day: "They call barbells and
dumbbells Iron Pills -- and that's a good name
for them. Strength training is the best medicine
and the best tonic in the entire world."
-- Brooks Kubik

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

The No. 1 Rule for Successful Training!

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

I started the day with an email from one
of our longtime Dinosaurs.

Today is his birthday. He's turning 59.

He's done various types of training over
the years, including Olympic lifting. Now
he's training for Crossfit. He wants to
compete in the Crossfit Masters'
division.

Yesterday I received an email from a
Dino who is training to compete in
Masters' powerlifting -- in the Raw
Division (no support gear other than
a lifting belt). He'll be 50 in a few
months.

Other Dinos compete in Masters'
weightlifting -- including one Dino in
his 60's who won a National Masters
championship this year.

Other Dinos compete in strongman
comps, track and field, judo, wrestling,
boxing, karate, ju-jitsu, and triathalons.

Some Dinos compete in bodybuilding
contests.

They all have different interests and
different goals -- but they all are doing
something they like, and they're all
training hard and in the final analysis,
that's the important thing.

Others don't compete in anything -- but
they train, and they train hard. And they
keep at it as the years go by.

They keep at it because they like the
results -- but more importantly, they
train because they enjoy their training.

And that's one of the secrets.

In fact, it's one of the BIG secrets --
and it's particularly important for older
trainees.

You have to find something you enjoy
doing. If you enjoy it, you'll stick with
it. If you don't enjoy it, sooner or later
you'll stop training.

That's one of the reasons I never say,
"You MUST do this -- and you MUST do
that."

Life doesn't work that way. I can offer
tips and suggestions to guide your
journey, but YOU are the one who
needs to decide where you want to
go.

Anyhow, we have Dinos all around the
world who are hitting it hard. They may
train differently, they may use different
tools, and they may pursue different
goals -- but they're all Dinos, and they're
all training, and it's all good.

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

Yours in strength,

P.S. Gray Hair and Black Iron is the number
one book for older Dinos -- and everyone over
age 35 should have a copy:

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

P.S. 2. My other books and courses -- and links
to my Dinosaur Training e-books -- are right
here at Dino Headquarters:

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

P.S. 3. Thought for the Day: "Find your passion,
live your dream, love your life." -- Brooks Kubik

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

We Have a Winner!

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

About 12 days ago, I sent an email with
a link to book no. 2 in our e-book series
for Knife, Fork,  Muscle. (The e-book
series breaks the hard copy down into
four books -- same content, but four
e-books.)

The cover photo features an actual Dino
Power Lunch that Trudi fixed for me. You
can see it right here:

http://www.brookskubik.com/knifeforkmuscle02_kindle.html

I sent everyone over to look at the cover
photo, and we had a contest to see who
could be the first to send in an email that
correctly identified the nine different food
items on my plate.

The winner would get his or her choice of
any ONE Legacy of Iron book or a copy of
Chalk and Sweat.

Well, we got a ton of responses -- but no
one correctly identified everything on the
plate. But some of you came *very* close.

I struggled to pick a winner, and finally
gave up and recruited Trudi. Together,
we reviewed all of the entries -- and we
chose five that were very, very close.

They were so close, that we just couldn't
pick a winner between them.

So we have not one, but five winners:

Giullaume Banville

Dustin Jones

Jake Andrews

Jane McConnell

Brad Nelson

If each of our lucky winners would send me
an email and let me know what book they
would like, we will mail them on out.

By the way, the lunch plate included the
following:

1. carrots

2. asparagus

3. wild salmon

4. blackberry compote on the salmon

5. rice pilaf (including brown and wild rice)

6. nasturium leaves (these were the toughest,
I think)

7. nasturium flowers

8. pumpkin or squash blossoms (these are
from a volunteer -- Trudi thinks they are
squash and I think they are pumpkin, but
it's too early to tell)

9. spinach and argula salad

That's what lunch and dinner look like here at
Dino Headquarters -- although on training days,
I don't get dinner unless I train ahrd enough and
heavy enough to earn it.  Trudi's rules, not
mine.

We had many other entries, and everyone did
well. A big THANK YOU to everyone who gave
it a try!

Yours in strength,

Brooks Kubik

P.S. Go here to grab a hard copy edition of
Knife, Fork, Muscle:

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

And here are books 1 and 2 in the e-book series; we'll
get books 3 and 4 up very soon:

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

http://www.brookskubik.com/knifeforkmuscle02_kindle.html

P.S. 2. Thought for the Day -- "Most people
live to eat. Eating to live is better."
-- Brooks Kubik

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

Seven Rules for Lifelong Strength and Health

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

I was talking with a friend and fellow
Dinosaur the other day. He's about my
age (I'm 58), and like me, he's been
training for pretty much his entire
life.

He's in excellent shape, and he looks
*much* younger than his age.

And that's true of many lifelong Iron
Slingers.

But it doesn't happen by accident. It
happens by living what Bob Hoffman
called "the Strength and Health lifestyle."

In other words, it's the result of eating
the right way -- and training the right
way -- and (very important) keeping
your weight under control.

Anyhow, we talked about those topics
a bit, and I thought I'd share some of
what we covered. So here are seven
rules for lifelong strength and health:

1. Follow a Dino-style strength training
program.

a. More than any other form of exercise,
progressive resistance training helps keep
you young and healthy -- in part because
strength training helps you maintain
healthy hormone levels as you grow
older.

b. Cardio training helps (if it's the right
kind of cardio training), and so does
stretching and what they now call
"mobility" work -- but progressive
resistance training is far and away
the most important thing to do.

2. Follow a training program that you
enjoy.

a. If you don't enjoy your workouts, you
won't keep doing them.

b. If you like kettlebells, use kettlebells.
If you prefer to use barbells, use barbells.
If you would rather do bodyweight training,
do bodyweight training. If you prefer to mix
things, up, that's fine, too.

c. No one type of training is "best." What's
best for YOU is what you enjoy doing. That
varies from person to person, and it may
change for you over time.

d. If you are a mature trainee, you have
earned the right to have FUN when you
train.

3. Train hard, but train smart.

a. Older trainees need to listen to their
bodies. There's a time to push hard, and
a time to ease up a bit.

b. See Gray Hair and Black Iron for advice
on sensible and effective training programs
for older Dinos.

4. If it hurts, don't do it.

a. You'd be surprised how many trainees
ignore this rule.

b. Things that work great at age 20 or 30
may be very bad for you at age 50 or 60.

c. Dings and dents may require work
arounds and/or different exercises.

5. Pay attention to rest, recovery and
recuperation.

a. If you don't recover from your workouts,
they will gradually wear you down, not build
you up.

b. Get enough sleep every night. Your body
rebuilds and recharges itself while you are
sleeping.

6. Pay attention to diet and nutrition.

a. When you're young, you can eat almost
anything and get away with it. Things are
different for older trainees.

b. See Knife, Fork, Muscle for more information
about diet and nutrition for lifelong strength and
health.

7. Keep your weight under control.

a. You don't need to walk around flashing your
six-pack -- or posting six-pack selfies on Face-
book -- but you do need to keep your gut under
control.

b. Excess stomach fat is linked to a whole host
of health problems, including diabetes and
heart disease.

c. The vast majority of physical culture heroes
who maintained good health and active lifestyles
well into their advanced years were men and
women who prided themselves on staying lean,
fit and muscular.

So there you have it -- seven rules for lifelong
strength and health. You probably follow them
already, but a little reminder now and then is
a good thing.

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 mentioned Knife, Fork, Muscle and
Gray Hair and Black Iron. Go here to grab
them:

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

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

P.S. 2. We're also releasing Knife, Fork, Muscle
as a series of Kindle e-books. Same content,
but broken into four books. Books 1 and 2 in
the series are available right here -- books 3
and 4 will be available soon:

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

http://www.brookskubik.com/knifeforkmuscle02_kindle.html

P.S. 3. Thought for the Day: "The ultimate goal is
lifelong strength and health." -- Brooks Kubik

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

The Dinosaur Training YouTube Channel

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

About four weeks ago, I went to Cincinatti
to attend a surprise birthday party for Hall
of Fame Strength Coach, Kim Wood.

As you might expect, this was a big deal,
and a number of friends and fellow
Dinosaurs were there.

My good friend, Bill Hinbern, drove down
from Michigan for the big event. If you
don't know who Bill Hinbern is, run on
over to his website and take a look at
the most comprehensive strength
training and Iron Game bookstore
in the world:

http://superstrengthtraining.com/

Long story short -- Bill and I were in the
same place at the same time -- which is
highly unusual, because we are both so
darn busy. Neither one of us gets out
much. The Dino business keeps me
busy 24-7, and Bill's book business
keeps him just as busy. Maybe even
busier.

So I had a crazy idea.

"Let's do an interview," I said. "We'll
film it, and put it up on YouTube for
all of our readers to watch."

"That's a great idea!" said Bill.

So we did a two hour interview the
morning after the birthday party --
and filmed it -- and later, when I
got home, my tech guy edited the
interview and split it into five parts.

Then he set up a YouTube channel and
loaded the videos. All five of them.

Anyhow, the interview is up on YouTube
and ready to watch. You can find the first
part right here, and link to the other parts
from there:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFIy3f80GIE

We've had a great response to the
interview, so I am going to do some
more videos and put them on YouTube
for you. In fact, we shot two more short
videos last night -- and my tech guy will
edit them and put them up later in the
week. I'll send an email when they're
ready to go.

The two new interviews are just me,
sitting at a table at Dino Headquarters,
sharing some fun stuff with you. One of
the videos features a very old book once
owned by a man who coached World and
Olympic weightlifting champion John Davis.
The book is filled with marginal comments,
notes and underlining -- and it gives us an
interesting insight into one of John Davis'
greatest lifts.

I have lots of fun old stuff to share with
you -- like those old IronMan barbell plates
I described in yesterday's email. So head
on over and watch my interview with Bill
Hinbern -- and while you're there, subscribe
to the Dinosaur Training YouTube channel --
and be watching for updates about what
we post for you.

And yes, we'll have more interviews with
Bill Hinbern and others. Some of you sent
in questions for Bill, and we didn't answer
all of them. We'll get to them next 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. Go here for a complete list of my Dinosaur
Training e-books on Kindle:

http://dinosaurtraining.blogspot.com/2015/07/the-complete-list-as-of-july-13-2015.html

P.S. 2. My hardcopy books and courses are
right here at Dino Headquarters:

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

P.S. 3. Thought for the Day: "Learn how to
train, and keep at it -- help others learn
how to train -- and help motivate them
to stay with it." -- Brooks Kubik

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

A Treasure Hunt for Old Iron!

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

I bought my very first issue of Peary Rader's
IronMan magazine in early 1969. I still have
it.

The first 9 pages were ads for Body Culture
Equipment, which Peary Rader made and
sold. Squat stands, barbells, dumbbells,
plates, benches, chinning bars, lat machines,
leg press machines, grip blasters, the Magic
Circle for squats and Hise shrugs -- it was
like the Sears Roebuck Christmas catalog
for lifters.

On page 9, there's an ad for Iron Man barbell
plates. You could buy a 50 pound plate for 8
and a half bucks, plus freight charges.

The plates were advertised as Olympic type
plates. You could choose the size of the
center hole. It was your choice of 1 1/8 or
two inch holes. The former were for what
we called "exercise barbells" -- the latter
were for Olympic barbells.

If I had been smart, I would have bought
a bunch of those plates. But I was young,
and I didn't have any cash, so I didn't. But
I always looked at that ad (it was in every
issue of the magazine), and I always
thought they would be pretty good
plates.

Fast forward to 2015.

The phone rings.

It's my buddy, John Wood.

He just bought six 50-pound IronMan barbell
plates on eBay -- and the guy who sold them
lives in southern Indiana, just across the Ohio
River from Louisville.

Can I run over and pick them up and keep
them until John gets a chance to travel to
Louisville to pick up his plates?

Of course I can!

It's a treasure hunt -- a treasure hunt for
old iron.

One quick trip later, I have 300 pounds of
old IronMan plates out in the garage. That's
pretty cool. The plates are a direct link to the
past -- and to Peary Rader, the man they used
to call "Mr. Integrity." Heck, maybe Peary Rader
actually touched these plates. They may have
IronMan DNA.

The back story on the plates is this: they were
owned by an eye doctor who worked in a small
town in southern Indiana. He trained with them
well into his 70s (and perhaps longer). He
passed away in his 90s.

His home gym included dumbbells up to 75
pounds. They were made the old-fashioned
way, with small plates. The outer collars were
welded on. I used to lift plenty of barbells and
dumbbells like that when I was younger. It
was what you saw in most gyms back then.

He also had some Jackson Barbell Company
plates. A man in Missouri bought those, and
travelled all the way out here to pick them
up. The Jackson barbell Company was owned
by Andy Jackson, who lived in New Jersey, so
those plates have travelled quite a distance
over the years -- and they're still travelling.
Maybe they'll make it all the way to the
West Coast someday.

The man who owned the plates also had a
pretty good magazine collection. It sounds
like he was quite a lifter -- and quite a
lifting fan. I bet he had plenty of great
workouts over the years -- and I bet
those old plates had plenty of fun
hanging out with him. Plates enjoy
workouts just as much as lifters
do.

I've been doing all Olympic lifting for a long
time now, and I use an Olympic bar and
bumper plates so I don't destroy my lifting
platform. But those old IronMan plates
are awfully tempting.

They have  plenty of rust on them, but
maybe I need to clean it off and paint
them with brand new paint (using the
original IronMan blue), and give them
a workout or two while I have the
chance.

I think they'd like that. And I think it
would be the right thing to do.

After all, they're old iron. And old iron
deserves to be lifted once in awhile.
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. 2. Here's some terrific courses about old iron
and old school training. They're available in your
choice of hard copy or Kindle e-book:

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

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

http://brookskubik.com/dinosaursecrets01_kindle.html

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

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

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

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_secrets_03.html

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

NOTE: If you want to order all three courses
in hard copy editions, please shoot me an
email and ask for a shipping quote. We can
probably save you some clams, especially if
you live overseas.

P.S. 2.My other books and courses are right
here at Dino Headquarters:

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

P.S. 3. Thought for the Day: "Old iron deserves to
be lifted." -- Brooks Kubik

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

Bench Press Alternatives for Dinos

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

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

1. Welcome Aboard!

We've had a ton of new subscribers in
recent days -- many coming as a result of
emails from Bill Hinbern or as a result of
seeing my interview with Bill on our new
YouTube channel.

So welcome aboard to all of the new
subscribers! if you have any comments
or questions, shoot me an email!

2. The Name the Foods Contest

We ran a contest last Friday to name all of
the foods on my plate in the cover photo
for book 2 in the e-book series for
Knife, Fork, Muscle.

We'll announce a winner later today or on
Monday. No one got all of the foods, but
some of you came very close, and I'm
struggling with how to call it. I may need
to recruit Trudi, since she's the one who
prepared the meal.

And now, let's talk iron.

BENCH PRESS ALTERNATIVES

Several readers have asked about bench
press alternatives for Dinos who train
alone, without a spotter and without
a power rack.

One obvious possibility is the parallel
bar dip. However, I would stay away
from these. They can be very tough
on the shoulders. That's especially
true if you do them on wide dipping
bars or if you pile on plenty of extra
weight.

Having said that, I know that some of you
do dips, enjoy them, and have no problem
with them. If they work for you, then feel
free to do them, but do them the RIGHT
way. Avoid a deep stretch, and don't do
any sort of drop and bounce stuff.

Also, some dinos do much better with
ring dips than parallel bar dips. But
again, avoid the deep stretch!

Here are some other, and in my opinion,
much better options. Of course, you
would only use ONE of these in any
particular training program:

1. Dumbbell Bench Presses

These are great, and many trainees
find that they actually work the chest
muscles harder than regular bench
presses.

Don't lower the dumbbells any further
than you would lower the barbell. Too
much stretch can hurt your shoulders.

2. Dumbbell Incline Presses

These were a favorite of many top
bodybuilders from the 1940s and 1950s.
Reg Park, Clarence Ross, Steve Reeves,
Alan Stephan and George Eiferman all
did plenty of dumbbell incline presses.

Note that you can use different angles.
Some dinos prefer a 30 degree angle,
others a 45 degree angle, and others
a 60 degree angle.

3. Dumbbell Floor Presses

Charles Smith covered these in an old
issue of Muscle Power magazine back
in the 1950s. It's a good exercise, and
with practice, you can go pretty heavy.

Resist the temptation to bounce your
upper arms and elbows off the floor
to use more weight or do more reps.
That's cheating, and it's a good way to
hurt yourself.

4. Barbell Floor Presses

Of course, you do these with plates
large enough that you can roll the bar
into the starting position and then roll
it back out when you are finished with
your set. You don't want to get stuck
under a heavy barbell.

Again, resist the temptation to bounce
the upper arms and elbows off the floor.

Some Dinos find that floor presses are
easier on their shoulders than bench
presses are -- but others (I'm one of
them) find the reverse to be true. So
start light and work up slowly until you
are sure the exercise will be okay
for you.

5. One Arm Dumbbell Bench Presses

These are a very good exercise -- and a
very tough one. It's hard to balance the
dumbbell and stay in position on the
bench. You actually get a good *core*
(I hate that word) workout when you
do these.

These are a good exercise if you have
trouble getting two dumbbells into the
starting position for the two dumbbell
bench press.

6. One Arm Dumbbell Incline Press

Again, this is a good exercise if your
problem is wrestling a pair of heavy
dumbbells into the starting posiiton
for the two dumbbell version of the
exercise.

Remember to experiment with different
angles!

7. Pushups

See Dinosaur Bodyweight training for
dozens of super-effective pushup variations,
including some killer pushups with rings.

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

Also, note that you can add resistance
with heavy bands or by putting a barbell
plate or a sandbag on your upper back.

Pro wrestling great Bruno Sammartino
famously did a pushup with 600-pound
wrestler Haystacks Calhoun sitting on
his upper back and shoulders. That
might be an all-time record in weighted
pushups.

So there you have it: seven terrific
alternatives to the regular bench
press. Give them a try!

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 Training courses are
getting rave reviews. You can grab them in
your choice of hard copy or Kindle e-book:

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

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

http://brookskubik.com/dinosaursecrets01_kindle.html

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

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

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_secrets_03.html

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

NOTE: If you want to order all three courses
in hard copy editions, please shoot me an
email and ask for a shipping quote. We can
probably save you some clams, especially if
you live overseas.

P.S. 2. Thought for the Day: "Where there's a
will, there's a way -- and where there's a way,
strength and muscle lies ahead." -- Brooks Kubik

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

Does Our DNA Make Us Like Strength Training?

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

Carl Lanore and I had a very interesting show
today on Physical Culture Radio.

Carl was on vacation for the past 10 days, doing
a cruise in Alaska -- and one day, he went dog-
sledding on a frozen glacier.

It was great fun, and he loved the powerful
husky dogs that pulled the sled.

The guide explained that Alaskan huskies are
specially bred to be perfect sled dogs. They
LOVE to pull. It's what they were born to do.

If they don't work hard every single day, they
don't feel good. They start to misbehave. They
exhibit all the signs of what we would call
depression and anxiety in humans.

Huskies are working dogs. They are bred to
work -- and it makes them happy. It's how
they express their DNA.

On the show, Carl wondered if this also applies
to human beings.

Are some of us compelled to enjoy heavy
strength training?

Does our DNA lead us to enjoy lifting heavy
things?

Does this explain why some people enjoy long
distance running, while others enjoy a hard
set of heavy squats or deadlifts?

In response, I shared my own family story.

My father's family is from Martin, Slovakia,
located in the rugged Tatra Mountains close
to the border between Slovakia and Poland.

They had a lumber business on a hill. They
cut down the trees, cut the logs into planks,
boards and beams, and carted the lumber
over the mountains and into Poland. They
sold the lumber in Poland because they
could get a better price for it there.

So I come from a family of Central European
lumberjacks. A family with good DNA for
hard, physical work and lots of heavy
lifting.

With that background, is it any surprise
that I discovered strength training at a
very young age -- and became fascinated
with it -- and have been training now for
close to 50 years?

Is it any wonder that I become grumpy
and irritable if I can't train -- or that I
always feel a thousand times better when
I'm training hard and heavy on a regular
basis?

I'm like those sled dogs -- I'm bred to work.

And note this: other types of exercise don't
appeal to me at all -- including things that
many people love to do.

High rep calisthenics?

I don't like them. I only like low rep, high
intensity, hard to do bodyweight exercises.

Long distance running?

Forget it. Not interested.

Swimming?

I could care less.

Cycling?

Yawn.

Tennis?

Double yawn.

Golf?

A rich man's sport. My grandfather, the steel
worker, despised the game. My father never
played it. I've never even tried to hit a golf
ball.

There's nothing at all wrong with these things.
They're just not for me.

I was bred for lifting -- and that's what I like
to do.

If you're reading this, the same is probably
true of you.

You're an Iron Warrior. You were born to lift
heavy things. It's in your DNA.

In short, you're like me. You're a Dinosaur.

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 strength training is part of your DNA, then
you'll like these:

1. Gray Hair and Black Iron

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

2. Strength, Muscle and Power

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

3. Dinosaur Dumbbell Training

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

4. Dinosaur Bodyweight Training

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

5. Chalk and Sweat

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

6. Dinosaur Training

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

P.S. 2. Thought for the Day: "Find what you like to do,
and then do it." -- Brooks Kubik

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

Is This the Most Dangerous Exercise?

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

A quick note, and then we'll talk iron.

I'll be cohosting Physical Culture Radio with
Carl Lanore at 12:00 EST today. Catch the
show live or listen to it later on at your
convenience:

http://superhumanradio.com/

Carl has been on vacation, so we haven't
done a show for about two weeks. This
should be a good one.I'm looking forward
to it.

On the training front, let's cover what may
very well be the most dangerous exercise.

Amazingly, it's a very common exercise.

You've probably even seen people do it --
and perhaps YOU do it -- or are thinking
about doing it.

So pull up your chair and pay close
attention.

THE MOST DANGEROUS EXERCISE

Readers often ask about bench pressing
with a thumbless grip.

Does it help?

Can you use more weight?

Should you do it?

In response, I tell them about something
I saw at a powerlifting contest many years
ago.

It was a National Championship meet for
submasters and masters. So it had plenty
of very good, and very experienced lifters.

I remember watching one lifter who was
a National bench press champion and
American record holder in the bench
press. Which obviously means he was
very strong and had been lifting hard
and heavy for a very long time.

On his third attempt, he tried for a new
American record.

He used a thumbless grip.

He lowered the bar slowly and under
control -- paused at the chest -- got the
"Press!" command -- and started to drive
the bar upward.

As he hit the mid-point and started to
pull the bar back toward his head, his
elbows rotated up and his wrists went
back a little -- and the bar rolled right
out of his hands.

There were two experienced spotters, one
on either side of the lifter.

But it happened so fast, they didn't catch
the bar.

It smashed into his chest before anyone
could do anything.

Luckily, he got up and walked away from
it. As far as I could tell, nothing was broken.

But it could have been a very serious
accident.

And if he had been training alone, without
a spotter and without safety racks or a power
rack with bottom pins set to catch the bar
at the bottom, it could have been very
bad. The bar might have ended up on his
throat.

Or on his face.

And neither throat nor face are good places
for a barbell to land.

Nor do you make good progress if you
try training with a broken rib -- or a
severely bruised sternum.

And that's why I suggest that you skip the
thumbless bench press thing. Wrap your
thumbs around the bar, hold onto it, and
control it.

By the way, if you were a member of the
Iron League, you would have known the
answer -- because I cover it in a special
bench press course that I wrote as an
Iron League exclusive.

I did that because I think the Iron League
is a great idea -- and a great value for its
members -- and I'm trying to support it
by providing some exclusive content.

Kim Wood, Dennis Rogers and others are
doing the same thing.

The Iron League also features plenty of
great vintage material that you won't
find anywhere else -- making it (in the
words of one of our fellow Dinosaurs,
"the Library of Congress of strength").

Go here to take a look at what's available:

http://www.ironleague.com/

But to get back to the thumbless grip on
the bench press -- it's a bad idea.

There's a reason why we have thumbs.

It's called "holding onto things."

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. Readers have been asking for the
complete list of all of my Dinosaur Training
e-books on Kindle. Here it is:

http://dinosaurtraining.blogspot.com/2015/07/the-complete-list-as-of-july-13-2015.html

P.S. 2. My hard copy books and courses
(and Dinosaur Training DVDs) are available
at Dinosaur Headquarters:

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

P.S. 3 Thought for the Day: "Train hard and
train heavy -- but always train safe."
-- Brooks Kubik

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

The 100 Word Challenge!

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

Two quick notes, and then we'll get
to the 100 Word Challenge.

1. The Dinosaur Files Quarterly

Issue no. 3 of the Dinosaur Files
Quarterly is ready to go -- and it's
available in your choice of hard copy
or Kindle e-book:

Hard copy

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

Kindle e-book

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaurquarterly_03_kindle.html

2. Questions for Bill Hinbern

Many of you sent in questions for my
interview with Bill Hinbern. Bill and I
reviewed the questions before the
interview, and we answered some
of them -- but there are more we
need to answer.

We'll try to get to them in follow-up
interviews and/or via our daily emails.
For example, I covered one of them in
yesterday's email about common
deadlift questions.

Also, I assume you have the link for the
interview on YouTube, but if not, here
is Part 1 -- and from there, you can link
to Parts 2 thru 5:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFIy3f80GIE

If you have follow-up questions for
either of us, send them in!

The 100 Word Challenge

Here's a challenge -- let's see if I can give
you 100 Biographical Summaries of Great
Iron Game figures in a total of 100 words
or less.

1. John Grimek

The best example of old-school strength and
muscle. Inspired thousands to start training.

2. Bob Hoffman

Tireless promoter of weightlifting.

[Note: that's 21 words -- I'm gonna
do it!]

3. John Davis

All-time great lifter -- almost forgotten today,
which is tragic.

4. Bernarr MacFadden

Mr. Physical Culture.

[Note: 37 words. I will make it!]

5. Steve Stanko

The Big Champ. The first 1000 lb. total. And
then, tragedy.

6. Reg Park

Mr. Massive (strong, too!). Inspired so
many of us.

[Note: That's 61. On track.]

7. Doug Hepburn

The most inspiring champion ever!

[Note: 68 -- Piece of cake!]

8. Peary Rader

Mr. Integrity. Tireless promoter of real
world training -- and the 20-rep squat!

[Note: 82 now. Still on track.]

9. Harry Paschall

Bosco. One of my favorite Iron Game
authors.

[Note: 92. It's getting close.]

10. Alan Calvert

Super-Strength and the Milo Barbell
Company.

[Note: 100! It's a darm good thing that the
book "Super-Strength" is hyphenated so it
counts as one word!]

That one eneded up being closer than I
thought it would be. We'll try another
challenge sometime and see how it goes.

In the meantime, thanks for reading --
and remember to grab your copy of the
Dinosaur Files Quarterly -- and to watch
my interview with Bill Hinbern -- and to
shoot in any follow-up questions for us!

Yours in strength,

Brooks Kubik

P.S. If you want a little more information
about John Grimek, grab a copy of 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. 2. Black Iron: The John Davis Story
covers the life and lifting (and the training)
of World and Olympic champion John Davis:

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

P.S. 2. Thought for the Day: "Study the
champions of the past. Learn from their
victories. Build on their successes."
-- Brooks Kubik

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

More Deadlift Questions from Dinos!

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

It never fails -- in response to yesterday's
email about common deadlift questions, we
have been buried in -- you guessed it --
more deadlift questions from Dinos.

Two of them came from Michael Dumas:

"Question 1:

What is the best start position for partial
deadlifts?

Question 2:

If grip is the limiting factor with partial
deadlifts, would this

Those are good questions. Here are the
answers.

Partial deadlifts are a good exercise, but
they work best if you use them together
with the full-range deadlift.

Try doing full-range deadlifts first, followed
by partial deadlifts after you finish your
sets of the full range movement.

The reason you need to continue to do
full-range deadlifts is to work the start
position. The deadlift begins with a leg
drive, and you only work the leg drive
if you do a full-range movement.

Thus, you might do 5 x 5 in the regular
deadlift, followed by 3 x 5, 4 x 5 or 5 x5
in the partial movement.

Or you might do the regular deadlift one
week, and partial deadlifts the next week,
and alternate back and forth between
them.

There is no "best" starting position
for partial deadlifts. It depends in part
on your body structure, and on where
yopu begin to slow down or hit the
sticking point in the full-range
movement.

For some trainees, it works best to start a
little below the knees -- for others, at knee
height -- and for others, a bit above the
knee.

However, a very high start position -- a
deadlift lockout -- is more of a bone mass
exercise and a trap builder than anything
else. It does not have much carry-over to
the full-range movement unless your
problem is locking out the lift to finish
it.

That said, the deadlift lockout is GREAT
for the traps. I like it better than shrugs.
It will powerize and massify your upper
back.

You can rotate between the different heghts
from workout to workout, or use different
heights in different workouts. That's very
effective, because it helps strengthen the
lift at different positions.

As for the grip -- use a reverse grip, and
skip the straps. If you're not strong enough
to hold onto the bar with a reverse grip,
the weight is simply too heavy for you.

If your grip is weak, do timed holds in
the finish position, using both a reverse
grip and an overhand grip. That will fix
the problem very quickly.

I hope that helps. Keep the questions and
the comments coming!

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 have some terrific deadlift and back
specialization programs in CHALK AND
SWEAT -- along with a total of 50 hard-
hitting workouts for Dinos:

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

P.S. 2. For fast and steady gains, use the
progression systems detailed in Dinosaur
Training Secrets, Vol. 3:

Hard-copy

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

Kindle e-book

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

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

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

P.S. 4. Thought for the Day: "Chalk your
hands, grab the bar, and pull." -- Brooks
Kubik

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

The Stand On Your Feet Workout

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

Back in the day, trainees had barbells,
dumbbells and kettlebells.

For many of them, that was all they
had.

It was all that many gyms had, too.

And it was all that anybody needed.

The most popular exercises were
pressing movements.

You stood on your feet and lifted
heavy stuff over your head.

It was simple, easy to learn, and it
built plenty of rugged strength from
head to toe.

It also built plenty of rugged muscle.

Consider this -- John Grimek was the
best devleoped man of his generatiion
in the entire world -- and he also was
a weightlifting champion who set an
official American record in the Military
press.

On two occasions he set a World Record
in the press -- but the record was not
submitted to the international lifting
authorities, so it never ended up in
the record books.

But still, he lifted the weight.

A WORLD RECORD weight.

That's the kind of strength and power
you build with old-school, stand on
your feet training.

The Dinosaur Military Press and Shoulder
Power Course teaches you how to train
like the old-time champions -- and how
to build plenty of real world, stand on
your feet strength.

It's available in your choice of hardcopy or
Kindle e-book -- and it's one of our most
popular courses.

Go here to grab a copy -- and start building
some serious, stand on your feet strength
and power:

Hardcopy edition

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

Kindle e-book edition

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

And yes, that's John Grimek on the cover --
because no one is a better example of old
school strength and muscle.

Yours in strength,

Brooks Kubik

P.S. If you already have a copy of the
course, please go to our Kindle page and
rate the reviews. If you purchased the
Kindle e-book, please post a review of
your own. Thanks!

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

The Seven Most Common Deadlift Questions

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

Two quick notes, and then we'll talk training --
and answer the seven most common questions
about the deadlift.

1. My Interview with Bill Hinbern

Is in five parts, and is available at my new
YouTube channel. Here's Part 1 -- after you
go there, you can link to parts 2 thru 5:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFIy3f80GIE

I hope you enjoy the interview. If you
do, please leave a comment. And if you
can, share the interview on Facebook
and other social media. Bill and I are
trying very hard to get the word out
about this project.

And, of course -- please subscribe to
my YouTube channel. We're going to be
posting lots of fun stuff for you.

2. My E-Books

Here is the complete list of all 11 of my
Dinosaur Training e-books on Kindle:

http://dinosaurtraining.blogspot.com/2015/07/the-complete-list-as-of-july-13-2015.html

Please post a review on our Kindle
page whenever you read one of our
e-books. The reviews really help us!
Also, it helps us *enormously* if you
visit our Kindle pages once in awhile
and rank the reviews from other
readers.

And now, let's talk iron.

The Seven Most Common Questions About
the Deadlift


Q. 1. Which builds more strength and muscle
mass -- the sumo deadlift or the regular
deadlift?

A. The sumo deadlift is more of a leg and hip
exercise. The regular deadlift works the back
harder and over a greater range of motion.

Some trainees can lift more weight in powerlifting
comps by using the sumo deadlift, but for all-
around strength and muscle building, the regular
deadlift is a better exercise.

Q. 2. Should I use a reverse grip when I do
deadlifts?

A. I prefer using a reverse grip on the deadlift.
You can handle more weight with a reverse
grip.

Alternate your grip from set to set.

The obvious exception would be a weightlifter
who is doing deadlifts to improve his clean and
his snatch. A weightlifter should always use an
overhand grip for any pulling exercise.

If you are doing stiff-legged deadlifts, you won't
be using as much weight as if you do bent-legged
deadlifts, so the overhand grip might work fine
for you.

Q. 3. Is it okay to use straps when I do deadlifts?

A. If you are an Olympic weightlifter, using straps
for deadlifts (if you do them) is okay. Everyone
else should skip the straps.

Q. 4. Are Trap Bar deadlifts any good?

A. Trap Bar deadlifts are a great exercise. Many
Dinos use them as their primary lower body
exercise. They are especially good for older
Dinos.

I like the ORIGINAL Gerard Trap Bar:

http://www.trapbartraining.com/

Q. 5. If I do squats, is it still necessary to
do deadlifts?

A. Even if you do squats, it is always better
to include a pulling exercise of some sort in
your training program. If you don't like the
deadlift, then try power cleans, power
snatches, clean grip high pulls, or snatch
grip high pulls.

Q. 6. Are stiff legged deadlifts safe and
effective?

A. They work well for some people. They
don't work very well for other people. You
can try them and see how you like them,
but if you do, start light and easy. And if
your back says, "No!" then stop doing
them, or do them with a light weight as
a stretching exercise.

Q. 7. Are dumbbell deadlifts any good?

A. I prefer using a barbell or a Trap Bar,
but you can get a heck of a workout with
dumbbell deadlifts. Some Dinos like to do
sets of 10 to 30 reps with a pair of heavy
dumbbells (80 to 100 pounders are good,
and a pair of 120s is excellent).

You get more range of motion with a pair
of dumbbells, so it becomes a very tough
exercise.

I hope that helps, and if you have more
questions about the deadlift, send them
on in!

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. Strength, Muscle and Power has a great
chapter on deadlift variations for building
superhuman grip strength -- as well as
plenty of other old-school training advice:

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 at Dino Headquarters:

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

P.S. 3. Thought for the Day: "There's strong, and
then there's deadlift strong." -- Brooks Kubik

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

Seven Things I Have in Common With Bill Hinbern

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

Two quick notes and then we'll talk about
seven things I have in common with Bill
Hinbern.

1. The Dinosaur Files Quarterly

Issue no. 3 of the Dinosaur Files is ready
to go -- and it's a great issue, with tons of
terrific articles and photos. Go here to grab
the little monster:

Hardcopy

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

Kindle e-book

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaurquarterly_03_kindle.html

2. The Complete List

Readers keep asking for a complete list of
all my e-books on Kindle, so here it is:

http://dinosaurtraining.blogspot.com/2015/07/the-complete-list-as-of-july-13-2015.html

And yes, we have more books on the way!

And now  . . . let's talk iron.

SEVEN THINGS I HAVE IN COMMON WITH
BILL HINBERN

I recently did a long interview with Bill
Hinbern, and learned that we have a
number of things in common. Here
are seven of them. There are more
than that, but these are some of the
most important ones.

1. Why we got started in the Iron Game.

We both got started in the Iron Game to
try to overcome severe childhood illnesses.

Bill had rheumatiuc fever. I had severe asthma.

We both were so weak and so ill that our doctors
wanted us to stay in bed and rest and not to play
sports. We didn't like that -- and we decided to
try to do something about it. So we began
exercising.

2. We both began with Charles Atlas.

We both read the Charles Atlas ads in the
comic books and magazines. Bill actually
bought the Charles Atlas course. I opted
for barbell and dumbbell training. But both
of us started training because we wanted
to be big and strong -- just like Charles
Atlas.

3. We both read the muscle comics.

And we even believed them. I even
followed Sergio Oliva's (supposed)
Mr. Olympia workout -- when I was
an 83 pound beginner!

4. We both discovered Peary Rader's
IronMan magazine.

We both discovered peary Rader's old
IronMan magazine -- and it taught us
how to train the right way.

And for both of us, that made all the
difference in the world . . .

5. We both used Hoffman's Hi-Proteen
powder.

I forgot to ask Bill if it worked for him.

It didn't work for me -- other than as
an industrial strength laxative.

6. We both use the term "physical culture."

We both talk about the Iron Game in terms
of "physical culture" -- which encompasses
all that is good about it in one very useful
term.

7. We don't like roidskies.

And we even tell you why -- it's in Part 5 of
the interview. Hint: it's probably not what
you think it is. And our reasons are slightly
different.

Of course, we have many more things in
common. You can learn what they are by
listening to the five part interview on my
new YouTube channel. Part 1 is right here --
and from there, you will have the links to the
rest of the 5-part interview:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFIy3f80GIE

Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoy
the interview!

Yours in  strength,

Brooks Kubik

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

The Complete List as of July 13, 2015!

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

We're up to a whopping 11 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.  Knife, Fork, Muscle, Book 2
(covers healthy and unhealthy carbs, vegetables,
starchy vegetables,grains and gluten issues,
oranic vs. conventional foods, gardening,
growing your own vegetables, etc.)

http://www.brookskubik.com/knifeforkmuscle02_kindle.html

Note: Books 3 and 4 in the series will be
available very soon.

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

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

Note: Issue No. 2 of the Dinosaur Files
Quarterly (March 2015) will  be available
on Kindle very soon.

10.  The Dinosaur Files Quarterly, Vol. 3
(June-July 2015)

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaurquarterly_03_kindle.html

11. 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.

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

Brooks Kubik Interviews Bill Hinbern!

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

Several weeks ago I did a long in-person
interview with my good friend, Bill Hinbern.

Bill is one of the top collectors in the Iron
Game, and has been running the no. 1
physical culture bookstore in the entire
world for close to 50 years.

He's met, talked with or corresponded
with virtually EVERYONE in the Iron Game,
and he has a wealth of information to share
with us.

We talked for almost two hours -- and covered
a wide variety of topics. It was great -- and you
would have loved to have been there.

So let me give Bill Hinbern a great big, T-Rex
sized THANK YOU for doing the interview!

But it gets better.

When I got home, I sat down with my tech guy,
and we reviewed and edited the interview. We
broke it into five chunks of about 20 - 25 mins
each.

We created a Dinosaur Training Youtube channel
and loaded the five parts of the interview. So
they're up there and ready to watch.

Here's the link to Part 1. Once you are there,
you can find links to parts 2 - 5, and you can
go aheead and subscribe to my YouTube channel.

I plan on doing more YouTube videos this year --
including more interviews with Bill Hinbern --
so be sure to subscribe to the channel.

The Bill Hinbern Interview, Part 1:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFIy3f80GIE

I hope you enjoy the interview. If you do,
please leave a comment, or share the link on
Facebook or other social media. We're trying
to get the word out about this project, so we'd
both appreciate anything you can do to help.

I'd also appreciate it -- and I know that Bill
would appreciate it as well -- if you would
go over to his website and sign up for his
daily email tips:

http://superstrengthtraining.com/

And while you're there, be sure to look
around. He's got over 70 great books and
courses, so I know you'll see something
you'd like.

Enjoy the interview, and have a great day!

Yours in strength,

Brooks Kubik

P.S. Issue no. 3 of the Dinosaur Files Quarterly
is available in your choice of hardcopy or Kindle
e-book:

Hardcopy

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

Kindle e-book

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaurquarterly_03_kindle.html

P.S. 2. My other books and courses are right
here at Dinosaur Headquarters:

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

P.S. 3. Thought for the Day: "When Bill Hinbern
speaks, Dinosaurs listen." -- Brooks Kubik

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

A Dinosaur Power Lunch!

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

We have some big breaking news for
you -- and a special contest for Dinos
only.

We just released my latest e-book on
Kindle.

It's book two in the Knife, Fork, Muscle
series -- and you can find it right here:

http://www.brookskubik.com/knifeforkmuscle02_kindle.html

This book covers healthy and unhealthy
carbs, grains, gluten, vegetables, starchy
vegetables, the benefits of organic
vegetables and fruit, where to find
healthy and inexpensive foods, how
to grow your own super-nutritious
vegetables, and much more.

The e-book series contains everything in
the hardcopy edition, but we broke it into
four different books. We'll get books 3 and
4 in the e-book series up on Kindle as fast
as we can.

And here's a bit of back story for you --
and a chance to win an autographed
hard-copy edition of your choice of
any ONE of the following:

1. Any book in the Legacy of Iron series

or

2. Chalk and Sweat

The cover photo for the book is an
actual lunch that I had on Tuesday
of this week.

Trudi fixed it -- and set the plate down
on the table -- and took a photo before
she let me eat it.

And I have to tell you -- it was hard to
wait, because it looked great -- and I
knew it would taste even better!

And I was right.

It was delicious.

One of the best Dinosaur Power Lunches
of all time.

So here's the contest:

1. Head on over to our Kindle page and
take a look at the cover.

2. See if you can identify everything on
the plate.

3. Send me an email listing everything
you can identify.

a. Be as specific as possible.

b. If you happen to see a salad, try to
identify EVERYTHING in the salad.

4. Everyone gets ONE email and ONE
chance to identify what's on the plate.

a. Don't ask me if you're right, because
I'm not telling anyone until the contest
is over.

5. The first Dino to correctly identify
EVERYTHING on the plate wins the
contest.

a. First means -- the first email to hit
my inbox with the correct answer.

b. EVERYTHING means exactly that.

6. If no one manages to identify
everything on the plate, then I'll
pick the winner based on who is
first with the most food items.

6a. There will be one winner, and one
winner only. No ties and no "I almost
got it." Close only counts in horseshoes.

6b. This is a hard contest. I just asked
Trudi, and she doesn't think anyone will
be able to do it.

7. The contest will stay open thru
Midnight EST on Monday, July 13.

And here's a CLUE:

There are NINE different items in the
Dinosaur Power Lunch in the cover
photo.

So sprint on over and take a look --
and send in your answer asap:

http://www.brookskubik.com/knifeforkmuscle02_kindle.html

And if you feel like grabbing a copy of
the book, that would be okay, too!

Yous in strength,

Brooks Kubik

P.S. If you prefer hard-copy books, go here to
grab the hard-copy edition of Knife, Fork,
Muscle:

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

P.S. 2. Thought for the Day: "You need the
right kind of training and the right kind of
diet for lifelong strength and health. Neither
works without the other." -- Brooks Kubik

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