Hail to the Dinosaurs!
One quick update, and then we'll turn to
the topic of the day.
1. The Dino Files
The Dino Files is my monthly strength
training journal. It's available in PDF and
Kindle format. Each issue has tons of
articles covering OUR kind of strength
training and muscle-building, with a
combination of my own articles and
articles from your fellow Dinos around
the world.
We ran late on the August issue, so we're
doing a combined August-September issue.
My lay-out and design guy is working like
crazy to finish it up. The Little monster will
be ready soon, and when it is, I'll send an
email with the link. Be looking for it.
2. What it Means to be Built Like a
Greek Statue
One of our fellow Dinos went on vacation
recently, and visited Italy - and saw some
of the wonderful classical statues of ancient
men with muscles on muscles on muscles.
He shared some photos on Facebook.
The funny thing is, people have been sharing
photos of those statues for many years. I have
an old issue of IronMan from the late 50's or
early 60's that has some photos a guy took
of the very same statues while HE was on
vacation in Italy.
Anyhow, this reminded me of something very
important.
The ancient Greeks and Romans built some
remarkable physiques without any roidskies and
without any supplements. They did it with hard
training and a diet of all natural foods.
And they ended up looking like the very best of
today's bodybuilders and weightlifters.
You can see it in those marvelous old statues.
Put one of them on the stage at any bodybuilding
show, and he just might walk away with first
place.
We know this is true because those old statues
were NOT the result of the sculptor's imagination.
No one thought, "I'm going to sculpt a statue of
a warrior and make him look the way I think
athletes might look 500 years from now."
Nor did they say, "I'm going to sculpt a man who
never lived -- who doesn't exist -- and who never
will exist -- and make it up as I go along."
No, they did what artists have always done --
they used actual models.
The models they used were champion athletes
and seasoned warriors.
And you can see this in the resulting sculptures.
The sculptures show thick, heavy abdominal
and oblique development.
Why?
Because back then, men trained with many
different twisting and turning movements --
which you would use in throwing a javelin or
a spear, swinging an axe or a sword, throwing
a discus, or in throwing an opponent in a
wrestling match.
The models had powerful, corded forearms and
thick, powerful hands.
Why?
Because they did so much work with heavy
weapons. It must have built a ferocious grip
over the years.
They had remarkable shoulder and trap
development.
Why?
From all the training with heavy weapons.
In short, the men who were used as models for
statues such as the Farnese Hercules were men
who trained to be the best athletes and the most
powerful warriors of their era.
They weren't imaginary. They were real.
And they did it Dino-style -- with hard work and
healthy food. They probably did lots of old-school
bodyweight exercises, as well as dumbbell training.
So their workouts may have been very similar to
those in Dinosaur Bodyweight Training and
Dinosaur Dumbbell Training.
And they quite likely did some stone lifting. Men
have been lifting stones for thousands of years.
And as I noted, they ran, wrestled, swung heavy
weapons and threw things.
And that was all they needed.
I don't know about you, but I find that to be very
encouraging. It shows us what we can do -- and
what we can achieve.
And it reminds us that it doesn't take very much
in the way of equipment to get a great workout.
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.Be looking for that email with the link to
the next issue of The Dinosaur Files!
P.S. 2. My other books and courses -- including
Dinosaur Bodyweight Training and Dinosaur
Dumbbell Training -- are available right here
at Dino Headquarters:
http://www.brookskubik.com/products.html
P.S. 3. Thought for the Day: "Learn from the
past, live in the present, lift for the future."
Brooks Kubik
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