Are We Hard-Wired for Crazy Training?


Hard and heavy training is good - but hard, heavy and smart training is better. Sounds simple, but it's hard to "get" - and the reason may be that we're hard-wired for crazy training.


Hail to the Dinosaurs!

We'll talk training in just a second - and cover
the question in the title of today's email - but
first let me cover some important updates.

1. Those Cool Shirts

John Wood has opened a t-shirt shop with all
kinds of terrific old-time strongman designs -
including shirts featuring John Grimek, the
Mighty Atom, Louis Cyr, old-time kettlebells
and kettlebell lifters, the Farmer Burns School
of Wrestling, the Great Gama, Eugene Sandow,
bare-knuckle boxing, grippers, Bosco, Joe
Kinney's No. 4 griper close, and much more.

It's called the Retro-Strength shop - and the
name pretty much says it all.

Right now, there are 31 designs - t- shirts,
coffee mugs, posters and more - and John
is adding more great swag all the time.
So check it out - and bookmark it - and
check it again every couple of days. You
never know what you'll find there:



https://www.retrostrength.com/shop/

John has been bringing great products to
serious Iron Slingers for over ten years -
and the Retro-strength shop is another
home run.

2. The February Dino Files

The little monster is right here - hot off the
presses, if I can use that term for a PDF
newsletter:

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

3. Four Left!

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



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

4. Are We hard-Wired to Train on
Reckless and Crazy Workouts?

In yesterday's email I talked about The
First Rule - which is part of the Hippocratic
Oath that all doctors swear to follow.

The First Rule is "Do No Harm."

I noted that no similar rule applies to the
crazy exercise stuff that people post on
social media.

The more dangerous - the more reckless -
the greater the risk of a career-ending
(or even life-ending) injury, the better.

At least for clicks and looks and likes and
shares and building a big army of followers.

And many trainees - even the ones who
are old enough to know better - do a lot
of dangerous, reckless and risky stuff in
their workouts.

Stuff that isn't even very productive or
effective - and that certainly isn't worth
the risk of injury.

I posted the email at the Dinosaur Training
Blog (where I post all of my daily emails),
and then put up a link at the Strength
Secrets Facebook Group (which all of
you should join - I'll give the link at the
end of today's email).

And one of our longtime Dinos asked a
very good question:

"Why do we have to learn this the hard
way - why do all of us do the crazy stuff
when we're young - and why do so many
of us keep on doing the crazy stuff even 
when it's obvious it's no good for our
bodies?"

Well, that's a good question.

I think the answer is that we're hard-wired
to do crazy and aggressive, high-adrenaline
activities. Especially men.

It's in our genes.

And there was a time when it was a good
thing for the survival of the human species.

It's what made a cave-man go charging up
against a giant cave-bear or a saber-tooth
tiger armed with nothing more than a
pointed stick.

And that was very good for the human
race.

Without it, we probably would have died
off long ago.

But that urge to charge right in, no matter
how dangerous the foe, isn't as helpful in
the modern world - and in particular, when
it comes to strength training.

Instead, it makes us fascinated with high-
risk exercises - and high-risk ways of
training.

And all too often, that can have serious
consequences.

Now, I'm NOT saying to take it easy when
you train - or to stick to the soft and gentle
stuff - or to baby yourself.

But I am saying that you should consider
the risk-benefit ratio of anything you do
when you train - and let your brain, rather
than a primal drive for high-adrenaline
adventures - dictate what you do and
how you do it.

I know that's hard, especially when so
much social media is showing the high-
octane, high-adrenaline stuff.

But you can be smarter than that - and
being smarter means you can keep on
training for a long, long time.

If you need some specific training ideas
and some detailed workouts for safe,
fun, and effective training, grab a copy
of Gray Hair and Black Iron:



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

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 the February issue
of The Dinosaur Files - and to check out
the Retro-Strength store!

The Dinosaur Files

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

The Retro-Strength Store


https://www.retrostrength.com/shop/

P.S. 2. Here's the link for the Strength
Secrets Facebook Group:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/strengthsecrets/

P.S. 3. Thought for the Day:

"Training should be challenging and
demanding - but not dangerous. Never
dangerous."


- Brooks Kubik


BEFORE YOU LEAVE . . .

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