Hail to the Dinosaurs!
Back in the day, they had some very unusual
exercises.
Now, there are two kinds of unusual exercises.
There is Unusual Good -- and there is Unusual
Bad.
Examples of Unusual Good would be:
1. One-hand dumbbell swings
2. The two-hand dumbbell swing
3. The one-hand barbell snatch
4. Hip lifts
5. Lifting an anvil by the horn (or any other way)
6. Sandbag training
7. Hand and thigh lifts
All of these were exercises that were done "back in the
day" -- and which are rarely done today -- and they're all
good exercises.
But other old-school exercises aren't as good -- or as
safe.
An example is the one-legged barbell leg press.
Yes, there was actually such an exercise. You would
lie on your back, and bend your leg back, and place
a barbell on the bottom of your foot -- and do a
one-legged leg press with it.
And hope the barbell didn't fall on your head -- or
your chest -- or your gut -- or end up ruining your
dreams of having a family someday.
There also was a two-legged barbell leg press. Same
thing, but you used two legs.
Same risks.
And not a very productive exercise in any event.
Some people did these with bare feet, but most people
did them with boots on -- so the bar would roll back and
get caught by the heel. That helped a little bit in keeping
the bar from falling on the lifter -- but it's still a very high
risk exercise, and one that I do NOT recommend. Nor do
I do it.
Bob Hoffman recommended a sort of twisting stiff-
legged deadlift called the Barbell Tee-Totem. That's another
one I would never do. Bending and twisting while you lift
a barbell is a great way to pop a disk.
Yet another example -- a twisting military press with
barbell. You would twist to the side as you pressed
the barbell -- sort of like a standing twist combined
with a standing press. Again, not a good exercise for
the spine -- or the shoulders. Why do it?
The point is, there is much from the past that is good.
In fact, much of it is solid gold.
But not all of it. You need to pick and choose -- and to
make intelligent exercise choices.
Personally, I prefer to work my legs with squats and
front squats. I'll leave those one-legged and two-legged
barbell leg presses for someone else.
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. The barbell clean and military press may have
been one of the very best of the old-school exercises --
and it's still one of the very best exercises you can do.
That's why I wrote a detailed course on the military
press:
Hard copy
http://www.brookskubik.com/militarypress_course.html
Kindle e-book
http://www.brookskubik.com/militarypress_kindle.html
P.S. 2. My other books and courses are right here -- and
remember, ask for a shipping quote on multiple items.
We can almost always save you some wampum by
shipping two or more items together:
http://www.brookskubik.com/products.html
P.S. 3. Thought for the Day: "Never do a split-style
snatch on roller skates. In fact, never do anything
on roller skates." -- Brooks Kubik
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