Hail to the Dinosaurs!
I fired up the old email yesterday and found
this question waiting for me. It's a good one,
and probably applies to many Dinos, so I
thought I'd share it -- along with my answer:
"Hi Brooks,
75 year old Dino here. I have been squatting
3 x 1 in week 1, 3 x 2 in week 2, and 3 x 3
in week 3.
Then I add weight in week 4 and drop back
to 3 x 1.
When I get to 3 x 3 I am sloppy -- with bad
form and too much fatigue.
I was in a happier place when I did singles.
Am I answering my own question -- which is,
do I lower the weight (which I hate doing)
or go back to singles and stick to 3 x 1?
Art C."
Art -- Thanks for your question. At age 75,
you're doing GREAT. Most people over age
50 or 60 can't do a squat with their own
bodyweight -- so for your age, you're at
the front of the pack.
I agree that you answered your own
question, but let me add two comments.
First, going from 3 x 1 to 3 x 2 really
means you are doubling your total
number of reps.
It would be better to use a one rep per
week progression.
Go from 3 x 1 to 1 x 2 plus 2 x 1.
The next week, go up to 2 x 2 plus
1 x 1.
The following week, do 3 x 2.
Use the same procedure when you go
up from 3 x 2 to 3 x 3.
Also, consider moving up every other
week rather than every week.
These are forms of slow cooking --
which means that you aim for slow
but steady progress.
Most trainees try to force their progress
by adding too much weight too fast -- or
by increasing the reps too fast -- and they
end up burning out, going stale, or hitting
a major sticking point.
See Dinosaur Training Secrets, Vol. 3 for
detailed advice on old-school progression
methods. It will help you enormously:
Hard-copy
http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaur_secrets_03.html
Kindle e-book
http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaur_secrets3_kindle.html
It's also available as a PDF course -- see
the links for PDF books and courses on
our products page:
http://www.brookskubik.com/products.html
Second point -- if you were happy when
you were doing singles, go back to doing
singles.
Always listen to your body -- it's much
better than your brain when it comes
to telling you what works.
And finally -- if your form breaks down
on squats, drop the weight or the reps
ASAP. You always want to use perfect
form in any exercise, and that goes
double for the big exercises.
So there's the question for the day -- and
the answer. I hope it 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 is the no. 1 book
for older Dinos. Go here to grab it:
http://www.brookskubik.com/grayhair_blackiron.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
If you want to order multiple products,
shoot me an email and ask for a shipping
quote. We can probably save you some
clams, especially if you live outside the
USA.
P.S. 3. Thought for the Day: "Slow and steady
wins the race. Crash and burn doesn't even
finish." -- Brooks Kubik
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