Hail to the Dinosaurs!
Let's start the day with 10 little known facts
about old time strongmen. I'm thinking of the
European strongmen during the period from
1890 to 1920 or so.
1. Many of them worked as butchers.
That gave them ready access to plenty of high
quality protein -- and make no mistake about
it, the old time strongmen were voracious
meat eaters.
Also, working as an old-time butcher was
tremendously hard and heavy work.
2. Many of them grew up on farms.
This meant that they did plenty of hard, heavy
work when they were children and young men.
It also meant that they grew up with plenty of
sunlight, fresh air and healthy, fresh food.
Plus, they came from a long line of strong
and powerful, hardworking farmers.
3. Many of them worked as blacksmiths
when they were young.
Which is a great way to develop plenty of hand
and grip strength.
4. Many of them were wrestlers.
In the old days, most of the famous weightlifters
also competed in wrestling competitions. In fact,
promoters would host weightlifting contests and
wrestling contests at the same time, since the
same men would compete in both.
Of course, wrestling requires a terrific combination
of strength, power and muscular endurance -- so
the old-timers obviously had all of these attributes
in abundance.
5. They ate enormous amounts of food.
Most of these men were true heavyweights, with
tremendous appetites. They didn't count their
calories or limit their food intake. Of course, they
also trained ferociously hard -- and burned off
plenty of calories in their workouts and in
their competitions and exhibitions.
6. They specialized in grip strength.
I've covered this in Dinosaur Training and in
Strength, Muscle and Power. The old-timers had
ferocious hand and grip power. When you look
at their photos, notice their forearm development.
It's almost freakish in many cases.
See Dinosaur Training and Strength, Muscle and
Power for specifics on how the old-timers trained
their forearms and grip.
Dinosaur Training: Lost Secrets of Strength
and Development
http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaur_training.html
Strength, Muscle and Power
http://www.brookskubik.com/strength_muscle_power.html
7. They specialized in overhead lifting.
They did most of their training while standing on
their feet -- and much of it involved lifting heavy
stuff over their heads.
The military press was one of the most popular
lifts back then -- and the old-timers trained it
hard and heavy.
If you want to follow in their footsteps, grab
my Military Press course (available in your
choice of hard copy, Kindle e-book or PDF
edition).
Dinosaur Military Press Course
http://www.brookskubik.com/militarypress_course.html
8. They lifted heavy, awkward objects.
Heavy sandbags and barrels were favorites. These
impressed an audience of working men as much or
more than lifting barbells and dumbbells.
Again, see Dinosaur Training and Strength,
Muscle and Power for details on exactly what
they did -- and how YOU can use heavy, awkward
objects in your own training.
9. They used dumbbells -- HEAVY dumbbells!
The old-timers were masters of heavy dumbbell
lifting. Sig Klein called the two dumbbell clean
and press "the secret exercise" of the old-time
strongmen.
See Dinosaur Dumbbell Training for specific
exercises and workouts -- and for a detailed
review of how much the old-timers could handle
in their dumbbell exercises.
Dinosaur Dumbbell Training
http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaur_dumbbelltraining.html
10. They were 100% natural.
As in, nothing artificial added. Just hard work,
heavy iron, and plenty of good food. No
super supplements, and no roidskies.
And one bonus fact:
11. Some of the old-timers died relatively young,
and others lived very long lives. The ones who
lived long lives tended to keep up with their
training even after they ended their professional
careers.
In other words, one of the keys to lifelong
strength and health is to KEEP ON TRAINING!
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. Go here to grab Dinosaur Dumbbell Training
and learn the favorite exercises of the old-time
strongmen:
http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaur_dumbbelltraining.html
P.S. 2. I mentioned the importance of keeping
up with your training. Gray Hair and Black Iron
will teach you how to do it -- it's the best book
ever written for older trainees:
http://www.brookskubik.com/grayhair_blackiron.html
P.S. 3. My other books and courses are right
here at Dinosaur Headquarters -- including
links to my Kindle e-books and my PDF
courses:
http://www.brookskubik.com/products.html
P.S. 3. Thought for the Day: "What is old
becomes new again -- you just need to
look for it." -- Brooks Kubik
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