Six Left - and Counting!

We're down to the last SIX copies of Strength, Muscle and Power - and we're not going to do a reprinting any time soon - perhaps not ever - so if you want a copy, grab it now.

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

I want to make sure everyone knows that we're
getting near the end of the line for STRENGTH,MUSCLE AND POWER.

We have just SIX left - which sounds like
a lot, but it isn't - because they're going
very fast.

I'm not going to do another printing in the
near future - and may not ever do one - so
for right now, this is it.

It's a great book, with tons of workouts and
some really great training tips. I worked long
and hard to pack it full of solid-gold advice
for building strength, muscle and power.

It covers power rack training, rest pause
training, training for advanced lifters, home
gym training, special grip exercises, sandbags,
barrels, finishers, specialization programs,
and much more.

It even gives you the exact program I
used to win five National Bench Press
contests back in my powerlifting days -
and to set over a dozen National Meet,
American and World records in the sub-
master's division of the two drug-free
powerlifting organizations I competed
in.

Go here to grab a copy - and join the
thousands of Dinos the world over who
have read and benefitted from this
truly excellent training guide:

http://www.brookskubik.com/strength_muscle_power.html

Yours in strength,

Brooks Kubik

The First Rule

Hitting it hard - but training smart - is one of the most important keys to lifelong strength and health.

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

Two quick notes and then we'll talk training.

1. The Feb Dino Files

The February issue of The Dinosaur Files
is out - and the Dinos are loving it.

Go here to grab your copy - and if you
need back issues beginning with October
of last year, grab them as well. You'll want
the complete set:

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaur-files-february2018pdf.html

BTW, if you'd prefer a one-year, 12-issue
subscription, we can make it happen - just
shoot me an email.

2. The End of the Road

We have just SIX copies of Strength,
Muscle and Power left - and they're going
fast.

I'm not doing a reprinting any time soon,
and perhaps not ever - so if you want a
copy, grab it now:

http://www.brookskubik.com/strength_muscle_power.html

3. The First Rule

When medical students are studying to
become doctors they have to take the
Hippocratic Oath or a modern version
of it.

That includes agreeing to what Hippocrates
called The First Rule.

"The First Rule is never do harm."

In other words, don't do something to your
patient that makes his or her health problems
worse.

And don't do something that harms or injures
a healthy person.

The practical effect is to be fairly conservative
in what you prescribe as a doctor.

You don't prescribe untested or untried drugs,
remedies or courses of treatment - and you
don't prescribe anything that has a high risk
of harm.

To the best of my knowledge, that rule doesn't
apply to videos and photos posted on social
media.

If squats on roller skates look cool in a YouTube
video, someone will film it and post it. After all,
it's all about the hits, shares, looks and likes.

And if there's a high risk of harm, so what?

All that matters is looking cool and having a
ton of social media followers.

We recognize that, and when we see those
things we briefly consider the idea of dropping
a heavy dumbbell on the head of the clown who
posted the video (in the unlikely event that we
ever meet him).

But then we go off and do our own workout -
and all too often, we violate The First Rule
in our own training.

And we end up hurting ourselves - or laying
the foundation for future injury.

I've done it more times than I like to admit -
and in all likelihood, so have you.

We've all done it.

But I try not to do it any more.

I only use exercises that I know from experience
are safe and effective for me.

And if I try a new exercise, I start light and easy,
see how it works for me, and build up the weight
slowly and gradually.

I make perfect form a priority in all of my
exercises.

I always train with deep concentration and
total focus - which helps me maintain perfect
form - and also helps me listen to my body and
pick up on any signals it might be sending me
during the course of any given set or any
workout.

I keep a detailed training log so I can keep
track of what I did in a given exercise in a
previous workout - and so I can see how a
previous workout affected me.

If I train on Monday and rest on Tuesday, and
my knees, low back or shoulders are sore and
stiff on Tuesday, I make a note of that in my
training log - because that's very important
information. It means I probably over-did
things in Monday's workout.

I do a thorough, complete, head-to-toe warm-
up before touching the iron.

I work on stretching, mobility and flexibility
on my non-lifting days.

And yes, I have non-lifting days (and so should
you). Not non-training days, since I walk, stretch,
and do flexibility work every day - but non-lifting
days.

I use divided workout schedules and abbreviated
or ultra-abbreviated workouts.

My workouts are low volume and manageable.
I don't train so long (or so hard) that I can't
recover from my workouts.

If an exercise hurts, I find a different exercise
that accomplishes the same thing without
causing pain.

I follow simple cycling systems - the kind I cover
in Gray Hair and Black Iron. At age 61, I don't
need to be hitting my one rep max every time
I train.

I do the kind of cardio training that won't wreck
my body.

I follow an anti-inflammatory diet - one that keeps
me healthy and strong, and helps me recover
from my workouts.

I follow slow-cooking progression methods - the
kind I detail in Dinosaur Training Secrets,
Vol. 3.

They help make your training as safe and as
effective as possible - and they make it much
more fun, because you're following a plan and
you're always making progress.

These are things I do at age 61. I wish I had
done them when I was younger - and if you're
a younger trainee, there's no reason in the
world why you can't start doing them right
now.

And if you're an older trainee, you NEED to
be doing them right now - just like I need to
do them.

Remember, training is one of the very best
things you can do for yourself - but only if
you do it the right way - and only if you
follow The First Rule.

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 Training
Secrets, Vol. 3 - and harness the power
of old-school progression methods:

Hard-copy and Kindle editions

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaur_secrets_03.html

PDF edition

See the links to our PDF courses at our
Products page - which is right here:

http://www.brookskubik.com/products.html

P.S. 2. My other books and courses are
right here at Dino Headquarters - including
links to my PDF courses and my Kindle
books:

Hard-copy and PDF

http://www.brookskubik.com/products.html

Kindle

http://www.brookskubik.com/kindle.html

P.S. 4. Thought for the Day:

"Train hard, but train smart - and always
remember The First Rule!"

- Brooks Kubik

BEFORE YOU LEAVE . . .

We have more than 25 Dinosaur Training books and courses in the Kindle bookstore - here are several of them - head on over and take a look at the others:

http://www.brookskubik.com/kindle.html

http://www.brookskubik.com/kindle.html

What We Should Have Done

John Grimek showing an eager crowd how to do the military press at an exhibition many years ago. The military press is a great exercise for football players and other athletes.

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

Three quick notes and then we'll talk iron -
as in, talk about what my buddy Frank and
I should have done for an in-season weight
training program when we were playing
football during our freshman year in high
school.

1. The Feb Dino Files

The February issue of The Dinosaur Files
is out - and the Dinos are loving it.

Go here to grab your copy - and if you
need back issues beginning with October
of last year, grab them as well. You'll want
the complete set:

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaur-files-february2018pdf.html

2. The End of the Road

We have just seven copies of Strength,
Muscle and Power left - and they're going
fast.

I'm not going a reprinting any time soon,
and perhaps not ever - so if you want a
copy, grab it now:

http://www.brookskubik.com/strength_muscle_power.html

3. Flooding in Louisville

Many of you have asked if we're okay after
all the rain and the flooding here in Louis-
ville.

The answer is - we are dry and fine - the
only rough part was on Saturday night,
when there was a really wild storm and
the driveway flooded - and some water
got into the garage. But no biggie.

We have friends who have been hit very
hard - and there are parts of town that
have seen massive flooding - the worst
in 50 years. We're all hoping it's over
now, although more rain is in the fore-
cast for later in the week.

Anyhow, thanks for asking!

4. What We Should Have Done

Yesterday I described some over the top
workouts that my buddy Frank and I took
while we were playing high school foot-
ball.

The coaches didn't have any kind of in-
season weight training program, so we
thought we would set up our own.

And since I was reading Arthur Jones'
articles and training bulletins, I decided
we should do "train to failure" workouts.

In other words, maximum effort training.

Real blood and guts stuff.

Well, it didn't work.

Not on top of 2 1/2 hour football practices
that finished with plenty of wind-sprints
and hard conditioning drills.

We overtrained and burned out almost
immediately.

Looking back on it, we should have done
things much differently.

We should have done things much less
aggressively.

We should have settled on two workouts
a week.

We should have done one workout after
the game on Saturday - or on Sunday,
the day after the game.

We should have been content to maintain
our strength and use the workouts to help
us recover from the hard hitting in the
games and in practice.

And the workouts should have been fast
and short. Twenty or thirty minutes max.

Something like this:

Workout No. 1

1. Power clean 5 x 3 or 5/4/3/2/1

2. Squat 5 x 5

3. Chins or pull-ups 3 x 6-8

Workout No. 2

1. Military press 5 x 3 or 5/4/3/2/1

2. Clean grip high pull 5 x 3 or 5/4/3/2/1

3. Bench press 5 x 5 or 5/4/3/2/1

I would have included neck work on
the list, but we did lots of neck training
in our practices (bridges and buddy iso-
metrics).

And note - those are not "work up to
your one rep max" workouts.

The top weight in the 5/4/3/2/1 progression
should have been 90% of our true one rep
max.

And the same for everything else - the
top weights should have been manageable,
not maximum.

In other words, use the weight work to help
stay strong and to work out the dings and
dents from the football battles - and then
get back into really hard training in the off
season.

Of course, I'm speaking from the perspective
of a 61-year old who's been doing this stuff
for a very long time and has learned a little
bit about overtraining and over-enthusiasm.

If I could go back in time and hand this
program to 14-year old Brooks, would he
have followed it?

Probably not - because the 14-year old kid
would have thought the program was TDE
("Too Darn Easy" and TNC ("Totally Not
Cool").

And besides - it wasn't like anything he read
about in the muscle magazines!

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. Remember to grab this month's issue of
The Dinosaur Files:

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaur-files-february2018pdf.html

P.S. 2. My other books and courses are
right here at Dino Headquarters - including
links to my PDF courses and my Kindle
books:

Hard-copy and PDF

http://www.brookskubik.com/products.html

Kindle

http://www.brookskubik.com/kindle.html

P.S. 4. Thought for the Day:

"There's a time and a place for every-
thing - and that applies to your strength
training workouts."

- Brooks Kubik

BEFORE YOU LEAVE . . .

We have more than 25 Dinosaur Training books and courses in the Kindle bookstore - here are several of them - head on over and take a look at the others:

http://www.brookskubik.com/kindle.html

http://www.brookskubik.com/kindle.html

A Tried and True Motivator

When I was in high school, I used to count the days until the next issue of Peary Rader's IronMan magazine arrived in the mail.  

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

A lot of people say they have trouble
getting motivated to train.

Or to keep training.

They get started, and then something
comes up, and they miss a workout -
and then they miss another workout -
and before you know it, they've more
or less stopped training.

In the old days, the Founding Fathers
of physical culture had a simple solution
for this problem.

They published monthly magazines and
urged everyone who trained to read the
magazine every single month.

The monthly magazine was a great way
to stay motivated.

I can remember counting the days until
the next issue of Strength and Health,
Muscular Development or IronMan
came in the mail.

Bradley J. Steiner - my favorite Iron Game
author back then - once said that the most
important job of a strength training and
muscle building magazine was to motivate
its readers.

Yes, it was important to teach them how to
train and to give them good workouts and
training schedules to try.

But the single most important thing was to
MOTIVATE readers to keep on training -
and to get them back in the training habit
if they were slacking off.

I think Steiner was absolutely right - and
that's why I publish a monthly strength
training magazine in addition to everything
else we do here at Dino Headquarters.

It's called The Dinosaur Files - and it's
available in a downloadable PDF format
with instant delivery - and it's printable -
so you can buy it, print it and save it in
your collection.

Each issue is 8 to 12 pages - and each
issue is chock full of workouts, training
tips, Iron Game history, and - above all
else - gives you a goldmine of motivation.

We just released the February issue -
and you can grab it right here:

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaur-files-february2018pdf.html

It might be just the thing to keep you
training hard, heavy, serious and as
effectively as possible.

Give it a try - I know you'll like it.

Yours in strength,

Brooks Kubik

P.S. If you'd like a one-year, 12-issue
subscription to The Dinosaur Files,
just shoot me an email - we can make
it happen!

"I'm Not Doing This Any More!"

Bernie Baron shows terrific strength and muscular development in this photo from the early 1940's. But by the time I got into training - more than 30 years later - we had pretty much forgotten how men like Baron trained.

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

Two quick notes, and then we'll talk
training.

1. The February Dinosaur Files

The February issue of The Dinosaur
Files strength training newsletter is
out and available - and it's a great
issue. Go here to grab it:

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaur-files-february2018pdf.html

If you prefer a one-year, 12-issue
subscription, we can make that
happen - send me an email if you
are interested in this option.

2. The John Wood Report

Have you seen The John Wood Report?

It's pretty good - with some terrific
training tips - in a convenient, 12-page
PDF format.

Go here to grab it:

https://www.oldtimestrongman.com/johnwoodreport-01.html

This has been a big hit, and I'm sure
John is going to be doing more of these
bite-size reports. It will be fun to read
them during the coming year.

3. "I'm Not Doing This Any More!"

When I was a freshman in high school I
was on the freshman football team.

I knew that weight training was important,
but there was no time to do it after we
finished football practice.

And the coaches didn't run any sort of in-
season weight training program.

Still, I knew that it was important - and
I really wanted to do it.

So I talked Frank, my best friend, into going
to school early in the morning to get in our
weight training workouts.

He was on the football team, too, and he
also knew that weight training was important.

At the time, I was following Arthur Jones'
training ideas, so I talked Frank into doing
the Arthur Jones' leg training workout.

It used what Jones called "pre-exhaustion."

We started with a set of leg presses on the
Universal Gym leg press machine.

The idea was to do about 20 leg presses,
and keep going until you couldn't budge the
foot pads no matter how hard you pushed.

I went first.

I ground out one rep after another.

They started fast - and then they started to
slow down - and then they became slow and
grinding and painful.

By the end of the set, my thighs were quivering
like jello.

I pushed and pushed, but I couldn't do
another rep.

In fact. I couldn't budge the weight at all.

I was panting and gasping for air - my face
was bright red - and my thighs felt like they
were being stabbed with hot pokers.

But that was just the first exercise.

I stumbled to the leg extension unit, sat
down, and started to grind out the reps.

Once again, I kept on going until I couldn't
move the foot pads an inch no matter how
hard I tried.

The pain was incredible.

And I had to fight back the nausea.

Bu this was just the beginning. It was the
"pre-exhaustion" part of the program.

Now it was time for squats.

I rolled off the bench to walk to the squat
rack - and my legs almost went out on me.

I caught myself on the dipping bars, pulled
myself up, and stumbled to the squat rack.

I racked the bar and stepped back - started
to squat - and went down like a rock.

Good thing I was inside a power rack with
safety bars!

Frank helped me up, and we took some weight
off the bar and put it back into place.

I ground out five or six ragged reps - and then
we took some weight off the bar and I did some
more - and then we took more weight off the
bar and I did four or five slow, ugly, painful
reps to finish the set.

And then I spent a lot of time lying on the floor
and trying to recover.

After awhile, it was Frank's turn.

And it was just as tough for him as it was for
me.

After we were able to walk, we did some upper
body exercises - again, using the pre-exhaustion
principle, and taking every set to momentary
muscular failure.

When we finished, we were totally wiped out.

And yes, we both ended up losing our break-
fast.

That probably should have been a warning,
but if it was, we missed it.

We showered, changed, and went to our first
class.

As the day wore on, we started to get stiff and
sore - and we were barely able to stay awake.

And football practice was - well, let's just say
it was not one of our better practices.

The next morning, it was almost impossible to
get out of bed.

Amazingly, we kept it up for a week or two -
and got weaker, and stiffer and more sore every
day.

Finally, Frank said something that made perfect
sense.

In fact, it was the only sensible thing either of
us had said or done for the past two weeks.

"I'm not doing this any more!" he said.

And he quit.

I tried to keep going - did a few more of those
brutal workouts on my own - and then I quit,
too.

Tomorrow, I'll tell you what we SHOULD have
done. Be looking for it.

In the meantime, and 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 sure to grab the February issue of
The Dinosaur Files:

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaur-files-february2018pdf.html

P.S. 2. My other books and courses are
right here at Dino Headquarters - including
links to my PDF courses and my Kindle
books:

Hard-copy and PDF

http://www.brookskubik.com/products.html

Kindle

http://www.brookskubik.com/kindle.html

P.S. 4. Thought for the Day:

"It takes just one minute to write up a
workout that will take one week or more
to recover from - or a workout that is
impossible to recover from."

- Brooks Kubik

BEFORE YOU LEAVE . . .

We have more than 25 Dinosaur Training books and courses in the Kindle bookstore - here are several of them - head on over and take a look at the others:

http://www.brookskubik.com/kindle.html

http://www.brookskubik.com/kindle.html

The February Dino Files

It's almost training time here at Dino Headquarters - and it's definitely time to grab the February issue of The Dinosaur Files!

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

The February issue of The Dinosaur
Files has landed.

It's 12 pages, and it's chock full of
good stuff.

It features a very interesting program
used by one of our longtime Dinos -
with a ton of great training tips and
new exercises - including some things
you probably haven't seen or tried
before.

Go here to grab the February issue -
and after you've read it, be sure to
let me know how you like the little
monster:

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaur-files-february2018pdf.html

Yours in strength,

Brooks Kubik

Here It Is - The February Dinosaur Files!

The February issue of The Dinosaur Files has some terrific training tips - including a great training program with some very unique exercises and unusual workouts. You're going to love it!

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

We just released the February issue of The 
Dinosaur Files newsletter - and here's the
link:

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaur-files-february2018pdf.html

It's another great issue, with a terrific
article by one of our longtime Dinos.

Get this . . .

He was diagnosed with childhood cancer
and given a 1 in 20 chance of survival -
which aren't very good odds.

He made it - but radiation treatments
left him with a withered and paralyzed
left trapezius.

The doctors said that nothing could be
done.

But he didn't agree.

Instead, he started training.

And today, at almost 60 years of age,
he's in outstanding condition.

He has a very unique training program
with some very interesting and effective
workouts - and I know you're going to
want to read and study them in detail -
and probably give them a try.

Here's the link again:

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaur-files-february2018pdf.html

Happy reading - and be sure to let me
know how you enjoy this month's
issue!

Yours in strength,

Brooks Kubik

Down to the Last 11 Copies!

We're down to the last 11 copies of Strength, Muscle and Power - and we're not going to do another  printing any time soon - and we may not ever do one - so if you want a copy, grab it now.

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

I want to make sure everyone knows that we're
getting near the end of the line for STRENGTH,MUSCLE AND POWER.

We have just 11 left - which sounds like a lot,
but it isn't - because they're going very fast.

I'm not going to do another printing in the
near future - and may not ever do one - so
for right now, this is it.

It's a great book, with tons of workouts and
some really great training tips. I worked long
and hard to pack it full of solid-gold advice
for building strength, muscle and power.

It covers power rack training, rest pause
training, training for advanced lifters, home
gym training, special grip exercises, sandbags,
barrels, finishers, specialization programs,
and much more.

It even gives you the exact program I
used to win five National Bench Press
contests back in my powerlifting days -
and to set over a dozen National Meet,
American and World records in the sub-
master's division of the two drug-free
powerlifting organizations I competed
in.

Go here to grab a copy - and join the
thousands of Dinos the world over who
have read and benefited from this
truly excellent training guide:

http://www.brookskubik.com/strength_muscle_power.html

Yours in strength,

Brooks Kubik

Some Quick Thoughts on Strength Training

John Davis hitting a heavy clean and jerk at the Muscle Beach iron pit back in the day. Like all great champions, Davis developed a unique training program that worked perfectly for him.

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

Two quick notes, and then we'll talk
training.

The Feb Dino Files . .  .

is just about finished. I did my final
edits yesterday. We were a page short,
so I did some fast typing and added the
missing words. Now we're at 12 pages,
which is a very big issue.

I'll send an email as soon as the little
monster is ready for you.

In the meantime, if you missed the Oct,
Nov, Dec and Jan issues, grab them here
so you have the complete set:

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaur_files.html

By the way, if you prefer a one-year,
12-issue subscription, we can make
that happen. Send me an email and
I'll tell you how to do it.

The John Wood Report

Have you seen the first issue of The John
Wood report?

It's really good. 12 pages - a quick read -
with some great training tips - including
some things that you won't see anywhere
else.

Go here to grab a copy:

https://www.oldtimestrongman.com/johnwoodreport-01.html

Some Quick Thoughts on Strength
Training

I thought I'd do something a little different
today and share some nuggets rather than
doing a long post on a single topic.

So here are some quick thoughts on
strength training.

1. Nothing beats the basics, but some
of us do better if we modify them a little -
especially older trainees with dings and
dents.

2. When you try a new exercise, you are
a beginner for that exercise - so start light
and easy, and make gradual, slow and
steady progress on it.

3. A burning desire to succeed is the key
to great results from your training.

4. Rest days are more than merely okay -
they're an important part of your weekly
schedule.

5. No one has ever done a true long-term
study on the effect of life-long, drug-free
strength training - but we don't need a
study to tell us that it's a good thing.

6. After a certain age, it doesn't matter
what you're lifting as long as you're still
lifting.

7. From day one in your career, make
bone strength a priority.

8. If it's impossible to do both strength
training and cardio training (as some
believe), then how do wrestlers develop
superb levels of strength, power and
conditioning?

9. What works for me may or may not
work as well for you - but it will probably
work pretty darn well.

10. Think, plan, take action, evaluate
the results, and make any necessary
adjustments. Nothing ever happens
by accident.

I could keep going for a very long time,
but that's enough for today. I hope you
enjoyed these nuggets.

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. We're down to the end of the road
for STRENGTH, MUSCLE AND POWER.

If you want a copy, grab it now:

http://www.brookskubik.com/strength_muscle_power.html

P.S. 2. My other books and courses are
right here at Dino Headquarters - including
links to my PDF courses and my Kindle
books:

Hard-copy and PDF

http://www.brookskubik.com/products.html

Kindle

http://www.brookskubik.com/kindle.html

P.S. 4. Thought for the Day:

"Training isn't the only thing in life,
but it's a very important thing."

- Brooks Kubik

BEFORE YOU LEAVE . . .

We have more than 25 Dinosaur Training books and courses in the Kindle bookstore - here are several of them - head on over and take a look at the others:

http://www.brookskubik.com/kindle.html

http://www.brookskubik.com/kindle.html