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
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