Back in 1946 or so, Bob Hoffman traveled
to California on business, and stopped to
visit a big gym that Vic Tanny had opened
close to Muscle Beach.
It was a huge building -- an old airplane
hanger or something similar -- and it wasn't
at all fancy. It was mainly barbells, dumbbells,
benches, pulleys, chinning and dipping bars,
sit-up boards and squat stands.
The benches and pulleys got most of the
use.
This was at the start of an exercise craze
where trainees did endless sets of two
exercises:
1. The bench press
and
2. Lat machine pull-downs
The goal was to pump their upper bodies to
gargantuan proportions.
Hoffman was used to watching the weightlifters
at the York Barbell Club train, and he expected
to see lots of weightlifting, squatting and standing
presses when he went to a gym.
But not this time.
Instead, he saw many of the gym members doing
nothing but benches and pull-downs.
It baffled him.
Then he looked across the gym, and saw a lone
trainee working out all by himself in a far corner
of the gym.
He was an older man, and he was training with
nothing but a barbell.
He was doing the old schoool exercises in the
York training courses: squats, presses, curls,
bent over and upright rowing, cleans, snatches,
deadlifts, high pulls, etc.
Hoffman watched him for his entire workout.
The old guy finished with a good sweat and a
smile on his face.
It was the kind of workout Bob Hoffman liked
to see.
I'll be training tonight, and my workout will be
a lot like the old guy with the barbell.
In fact, if anyone walks past our place, and looks
into the driveway and sees me, that's what they'll
probably think:
"It's the old guy with the barbell again."
And that's okay with me. I'm perfectly happy to
be the old guy with the barbell. It beats the heck
out of being the old guy in the wheelchair. Or just
being "the old guy."
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 my new course, Brooks
Kubik's Old School Strength Q & A:
P.S. 2. My other books and courses are right
here at Dino Headquarters:
Hard-copy and PDF
http://www.brookskubik.com/products.html
Kindle
http://www.brookskubik.com/oldschool_01-kindle.html
P.S 3. Thought for the Day: "It's fun to be the
old guy with the barbell." -- Brooks Kubik
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