Hail to the Dinosaurs!
Yesterday we talked about about speed, and
about a question I received from an older
Dino who said that he lost his speed -- not
his strength, but his speed -- sometime
around age 60.
He asked me if I had noticed the same thing.
The answer is -- not yet -- and I'm working
really hard to keep it that way.
In fact, my workouts focus as much on speed
as on strength development now -- although
many of the things that build one also
build the other.
Here are seven things I do in my workouts
that help keep me moving FAST. They'll do
the same for you.
1. Stand on Your Feet Training
with Barbells and Dumbbells
You build balance, coordination, strength,
power and speed by using good, old-
fashioned, stand on your feet training.
Standing presses.
Squats.
Front squats.
Deadlifts.
Trap Bar deadlifts.
Dumbbell cleans and swings. (Note - see
Dinosaur Dumbbell Training for details on
how to perform them safely and effectively.)
Power cleans and power snatches (or
high pulls) if you know how to do them.
Stay away from lying and seated exercises,
and skip the machines. They do nothing for
your speed.
2. Perfect form.
Do all of your exercises in perfect form.
Perfect form promotes well-balanced
development -- and that helps your
speed of movement as you grow older.
It's also safer -- and avoiding injuries
is one of the most important things for
an older trainee to do. (See point 5,
below.)
3. No slow movements.
I don't do any slow, grinding movements in
my workouts.
Slow movements make you slow. You don't
need that.
That's not to say you use light weights and
fast, bouncy movements. Far from it. I train
heavy, and I do almost nothing but singles.
But there's a big difference between a slow,
grinding rep that takes forever to finish,
and a rep that's a little lighter but moves
twice as fast.
4. Keep your weight under control.
You can't move fast if you're carrying 20 or
more pounds of blubber. It's like running a
hundred yard dash while carrying a heavy
sandbag on your back. The sandbag just
slows you down -- and so do the Lard
Lumps.
5. Don't get hurt.
This one is easier to say than to do. Older
bodies are easier to injure.
But do everything you can to avoid injuries.
The dings and dents really slow you down.
They tighten you up, reduce your range of
motion, and make you stiff.
Train smart, and keep your ego in check.
Don't baby yourself, but don't be stupid.
Find the balance between aggressive training
and reckless training.
6. Under-train.
I almost said "don't over-train," but for an
older trainee, over-training is so easy that
it's better to say: "Under-train."
If you make it a point to do a little bit less
than you feel like you could do, both in
terms of weight, effort and volume, you
may end up doing just about the right
intensity and amount of work.
Always leave something in the gas tank.
It helps your recovery enormously.
As an older trainee, you've paid your dues.
Right now, consistent, regular training is
what you want. There's no need to smash
yourself into a pulp every time you train --
and every reason NOT to do so.
7. Follow a healthy, anti-inflammatory
diet.
Inflammation is an older trainee's worst
enemy. It makes you stiff and sore and
inflexible -- tightens your muscles -- and
slows you down.
You don't need that.
You need a body that doesn't suffer from
extreme inflammation.
You get there by under-training (see point
no. 6) -- and by following the right kind of
diet and nutrition plan.
The diet and nutrition program in Knife,
Fork, Muscle will work great. It's an anti-
inflammatory diet as well as a strength
and muscle-building diet -- and it will
help keep the excess pounds off, as
well.
Go here to grab the little monster:
http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaur_nutrition.html
8. A Bonus Tip
Bonus tip. I said we'd have seven, but
here's one more. Work on stretching and
flexibility -- or as they now call it, mobility.
You want freedom of movement in all your
major joints.
Freedom of movement helps your speed
enormously. Stiff and tight joints slow you
down.
So work on staying loose and flexible and
supple.
There's one more tip -- and it's a big one.
We'll cover it tomorrow. But those seven --
sorry, EIGHT -- tips will really help. They
work great for me.
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. Here's the number one book about
effective training for older Dinos:
http://www.brookskubik.com/grayhair_blackiron.html
P.S. 2. I mentioned Dinosaur Dumbbell
Training. Go here to grab the little monster:
http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaur_dumbbelltraining.html
P.S. 3. My other books and courses are
available right here at Dino Headquarters:
http://www.brookskubik.com/products.html
P.S. 4. Thought for the Day: "Stay strong, stay
lean, stay loose, stay fast." -- Brooks Kubik
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