Hail to the Dinosaurs!
One quick note, and then we'll talk training.
1. The LOST Articles
From 1997 through 2002 I did a hard cover
monthly newsletter called The Dinosaur Files.
It has some of my best articles -- but they've
been out of print -- and LOST -- for a long
time.
Now, I'm bringing them back in a new series
of books.
This is a great chance for anyone who missed
them the first time around -- or who had them
once but misplaced them over the years.
Go here for details or to order the hard copy
of book 1 in the new series:
http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaurtraining_archive.html
We'll be releasing the new series in both hard
copy and Kindle e-book format. I'll send the
link to the Kindle e-book as soon as it's available
on Kindle -- which should be on Mon or Tues.
BTW, the hard copy book is printed and we mailed
them out yesterday to everyone who had pre-
ordered.
2. The Massive, Gigantic 40 Pound PR
I'm going to step on toes in this one, so if you
have tender feet put on your steel-toed shoes.
Over the past year, I've been noticing something
new on Facebook, YouTube. and other social media.
It's a video clip showing a relative beginner setting
"a new PR" by lifting 20, 30, or even 40 pounds
more than ever before.
You usually see it in the squat or the deadlift --
mostly the deadlift.
It's usually posted by a coach or a trainer, and it
includes a tag line suggesting that a 40 pound PR
is awesome and it's all due to great coaching.
Or, you see someone who posts a 40 pound PR in
a lift -- usually the deadlift -- and they say
something like:
"Hadn't done these for awhile, and wanted to
test my strength."
And hey, I've been there. I've done it. I just did
it before social media.
I remember one time when I was doing bent arm
pullovers in the high school weight room. I was
either a freshman or a sophomore at the time.
I weighed around 140 pounds, and I was trying
to do a bent arm pullover with 185 pounds.
Note to anyone who wants to try this -- DON'T.
It's not a very good exercise, and it can tear the
heck out of your shoulder. But back then, I didn't
know any better.
The Nautilus pullover torso machine was all
the rage, and if you didn't have access to
one of the machines, you were supposed to
use the bent arm pullover in its place.
Bad, bad advice -- but we had lots of bad
training advice back then. It was hard to
sort it out. We didn't know any better.
And speaking of not knowing any better, my
previous best in the exercise was 165 x 6. So
I was trying for a new PR by 20 pounds.
Anyhow, I tried 185 -- which would have been a
new PR -- and I couldn't budge it.
I pulled and pulled until I was red in the face
and nothing happened.
As in, nada. Zilch. Zippo.
N.o.t.h.i.n.g.
The bar didn't even break off the floor.
The wrestling coach walked by and saw me
struggling, and laughed and said to take some
weight off the bar.
That made me mad.
So I ADDED weight.
Twenty pounds.
Pushing it up to 205.
Forty pounds more than ever before.
I laid back down on the bench and got into
posiiton and pulled with all my might -- and the
bar came flying up -- and I did SIX reps!
The coach couldn't believe it.
But here's the thing.
I don't remember ever doing any more than
that. And I don't remember doing it on a
regular basis.
It wasn't real progress, it wasn't a real PR, and
it wasn't sustainable.
It was just a big jump when I was learning how
to do the exercise.
And I'm darn lucky I didn't kill myself doing
it -- or ruin my wrestling career by pulling a
shoulder out of joint.
And yes, if we had had I-phones and selfie
sticks and the Interwebs back then, I would
have filmed the set and posted it on social
media and loudly proclaimed:
"I hit a 40 pound PR -- look and see!"
When I look back on it, all I can do is shake
my head at my own foolishness.
It would have been much better off to have
slowed things down. I should have followed
a simple progression system. I should have
aimed for 2 1/2 pound gains. I should have
made it a series of little steps -- not a giant,
impossible leap of iron.
And that's what everybody should do -- on
every exercise.
Little steps.
Small gains.
Systematic progression.
There's no such thing as a 40 pound PR. If you
jump up in weight by 40 pounds, it's because
you're a beginner -- or you're coming back
after a long layoff -- or you're an experienced
trainee learning a new exercise.
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 sensible, slow cooking 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. 2. My other books and courses are right
here at Dino Headquarters -- along with links
to all of my e-books on Kindle:
http://www.brookskubik.com/products.html
P.S. 3. Thought for the Day: "Adding one pound
to the bar 100 times is better than adding 40
pounds to the bar one time." -- Brooks Kubik
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