A Goldmine of Strength Training Tips

You can't beat old-school training for real world, drug-free results - and you get plenty of old-school training tips in issue no. 4 of The John Wood Report.

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

I just read The John Wood Report
No. 4.

I'm amazed - because issue no. 1 was
great - issue no. 2 was even better -
and issue no. 3 somehow managed to
surpass both of them.

But issue no. 4 is off the charts good.

It includes articles on:

Breaking plateaus.

Bodyweight training.

Stone lifting.

Hand-balancing.

Sledge hammers.

Bench press training.

Chest expanders.

And a nifty little conditioning work-
out that dates all the way back to
1862 (not a typo - I mean back to
the era of the American Civil War).

Arm training.

And much more.

There's a total of 9 articles - including
3 articles by special guest authors -
each of whom any Iron Game enthusiast
will recognize immediately.

In short, it's a must-have for serious
strength trainers.

So I highly recommend that you sprint
on over and grab a copy right now:

https://www.oldtimestrongman.com/johnwoodreport-04.html


It's a PDF download - so you'll get a
link to the little monster almost
immediately - and that's good,
because it means you can start to
use this valuable information right
away.

Yours in strength,

Brooks Kubik

Strength Training Q and A

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

I received a question from Bill K., a hard
training Dino who I believe is in his 50's.
It's a common question, so I thought I'd
share the answer with everyone. See if this
sounds familiar -- aside from the part about
calling me a Guru!

"Hi Brooks,

I am in a bit of a conflict and could use some
input. My workouts have been going very good.
Strength is up on everything (except biceps),
but I am feeling totally beat up. Only training
four days and keeping super basic, so I don't
think I am over-training. Just feel wore out.
Debating taking a few days off. I am not sure,
as my strength seems to be going up on a nice
constant basis and I am afraid of losing the
momentum. The last time I was this heavy (205),
I was carrying a lot more body fat, so i know
I am on the right track. I think I am having
difficulty keeping my enthusiasm in check.
Advise me, oh Guru of Things Heavy and Iron.
Bill K."

As I said, that's a very common question. I
get different variations of it all the time.
So here's my response to Bill and perhaps
10,000 other Dinos out there:

"Hi Bill,

Thanks for your email and the update on your
training. I don't think I'm a Guru, but here's
the answer to your question:

1. If you are making good gains, getting
stronger, getting more muscular, losing fat,
and adding muscle mass -- at 50-plus years
of age -- then you are doing better than 99.99
percent of the folks your age (or any age),
and that means you need to keep doing what
you're doing. You've obviously found the
right combination of exercises, sets, reps,
etc., that works best for you.

2. That being said, it sounds like you have
been making such great progress that it almost
makes you nervous. Reg Park once wrote about
squatting 600 pounds for the first time --
back when that was close to the world record --
and he said it was like looking down from the
top of a very tall building. In a way, it was
almost scary. Sounds to me like you're doing
the same thing.

3. This is where cycling becomes important --
especially for advanced older lifters. You need
to give your body and mind a break -- and frankly,
it may be more important to give your mind a break.

4. So take a short break -- four to seven days.
No weight training. You can and should do other
things (cardio work, walking, swimming, etc.) --
and stretching, flexibility and mobility work --
but lay off the weights.

5. When you come back to the iron, drop your
weights a bit, take some light workouts, concentrate
on perfect form, training fast, and training with
perfect confidence.

6. Add weight to the bar in a progressive, systematic
fashion, and over the course of two to four weeks,
work back up to your current weights, sets and reps.
When you get there, push into new poundage territory,
stay there awhile, and then repeat the entire process.
Keep it up over a period of years and you won't
believe your results!

7. Good luck, and keep me posted on your training and
your progress!

Brooks"

And as I said, that should help many of you. For more
details about successful training for older lifters,
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. Successful training doesn't happen by accident.
You need to follow the right program -- and you need
to fine-tune your training the Dino way. These
books and courses will save you years of frustration:

a. Dinosaur Training: Lost Secrets of Strength and
Development:

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

b. Strength, Muscle and Power:

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

c. Chalk and Sweat:

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

d. Dinosaur Bodyweight Training:

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

P.S. 2. My other books and courses -- Dinosaur t-shirts,
sweatshirts and hoodies -- Dinosaur Training DVD's --
and the world-famous Dinosaur Files newsletter, are
right here:

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

P.S. 3. Thought for the day: "A great workout is
yours forever." -- Brooks Kubik

The Success Habit!

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

We're starting a New Year, and everyone
is thinking about how to make it the very
best year ever.

In strength training, one of the keys to
a great year -- a year full of great gains
in strength, muscle and power -- is to get
into the Success Habit.

But instead -- most people jump right into
the Failure Habit -- and as a result, they
sabotage their training for the rest of
the year.

Here's what I mean.

To get into the Success Habit:

1. Outline a simple, abbreviated workout.

2. Start with relatively light weights so
you can easily make every rep of every set
in PERFECT form.

3. Follow a progression system where you
gradually train harder and heavier -- but
you do it at a slow, steady rate that allows
you to continue to do every rep of every set
in PERFECT form -- with NO misses!

3A. For example: start by doing 4 x 5
progressively heavier warm-ups and 3 x 5 work
sets. Add ONE rep per workout to each work set
until you are doing 3 x 7 or 3 x 8. The add 5
pounds to the bar, drop back to 3 x 5 working
sets, and build back up by adding ONE rep per
workout.

When you train this way, you make every
workout a successful workout. You never miss.
You never have a "bad" workout.

As a result, you start to expect to make every
workout a success. In other words, you have
developed the Success Habit.

But what do most people do?

They outline an impossibly long and difficult
workout -- and they start with the heaviest
weights they can handle -- and they drive
themselves to utter exhaustion -- and they
burn out in a week or two -- and they start
to miss reps -- or they have to cheat to get
their reps -- and then they miss even when
they're cheating -- and WHAM -- they're
trapped in the Failure habit and we're not
even out of January!

So there's two ways to do it:

1. You can train progressively, with slow but
steady gains and consciously cultivate the
Success Habit.

OR

2. You can jump right into the hardest, heaviest,
most difficult, most demanding workout imaginable,
feel like a hero for a day or two and then go into
Crash and Burn Mode.

It's your choice -- but I've done both, and I know
which one I'm going to choose for 2012!

Yours in strength,

Brooks Kubik

P.S. Here are seven keys to staying on course --
and making each and very workout in 2012 a real
success:

1. Dinosaur Training: Lost Secrets of Strength and
Development (the book that started the Dinosaur
Revolution):

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

2. Gray Hair and Black Iron (mandatory reading for
anyone over the age of 35 -- and pretty darn good for
younger lifters, as well):

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

3. Strength, Muscle and Power (abbreviated training,
program design, specialization programs, ultra-
abbreviated workouts, power rack training, rest
pause training, lugging and loading, thick bars,
mind-power, Iron Game history, grip blasters and
more):

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

4. Chalk and Sweat (50 detailed training programs
for lifters of all levels):

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

5. Dinosaur Bodyweight Training (for the best in
no-nonsense bodyweight workouts):

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

6. Dinosaur Training DVD's (grab the whole set --
and get ready for some serious lifting and some
serious training instruction):

http://brookskubik.com/dinosaur_dvds.html

7. Dinosaur Training Courses (Doug Hepburn's Training,
Dinosaur Arm Training and the Dinosaur Training
Military Press and Shoulder Power Course):

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

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

http://brookskubik.com/militarypress_course.html

I Get This Question All the Time!

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

Let's do questions and answers today! Here's
a common question from readers.

Q. Most of my lifts are going up, but I'm
stuck on curls and presses. I do 5 x 5 on
everything, and use a divided workout
schedule and abbreviated training. What
should I do?

A. It's very common for some lifts to improve
faster than others -- just as it is very common
for some bodyparts to improve faster than others.

If your squat and deadlift are going up, things
are good. You just need to fine-tune your curling
and pressing.

So try this for curls and presses:

1. Change your sets and reps. What works best for
you on one exercise may not work as well on other
movements.

1A. Note that what works best for you for curls may
not work as well for presses. I like 4 x 5 or 5 x 5
for curls, but I prefer singles on presses.

2. Switch to dumbbell curls (pronated or hammer
style).

3. Switch to dumbbell presses or Log Bar presses.

4. Switch to pull-ups and handstand pushups. (For
details, see Dinosaur Bodyweight Training.)

Note: A training program featuring squats or front
squats, deadlifts or Trap Bar deadlifts, Dino-style
pull-ups and handstand pushups would build some
very serious strength, muscle and power.

Further Note: My arms and shoulders were bigger and
thicker when doing a 100% bodyweight program at age
50 than when I was doing heavy curls (185 x 5), bench
presses (up to 430 from the bottom position with a
3" bar), the clean and press (up to 275 pounds), and
and a bottom position seated press on a bench set at
80 or 85 degrees (320 pounds). So do NOT minimize the
value of bodyweight training for your arms and
shoulders!

5. For your press, a specialized program of power
rack training may work wonders. (For details, see
Dinosaur Training or Strength, Muscle and Power --
or my Power Rack Training DVD.)

6. Chains and resistance bands work well on curls
and presses. Very, very well . . .

7. And finally, here's a very simple, very effective
tip. Drop the weight by 20 pounds on your curls and
presses and perform your reps in absolutely perfect
form. Build back up -- and keep using letter perfect
form.

I hope that helps anyone who is trying to figure out
what to do for a lagging bodypart or an exercise that
doesn't seem to be keeping pace with everything else.

Remember -- it's a COMMON problem -- happens to pretty
much everyone -- so DO NOT GET DISCOURAGED!

By the way -- John Grimek once got so discouraged that
he quit training! A week later his arms had grown by
half an inch. Turns out he had been overtraining . . .

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. As I mentioned, Dinosaur Bodyweight Training can help
you build some serious arms and shoulders -- as well as
the rest of your body. Grab a copy here:

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

P.S. 2. Dinosaur Arm Training is another great resource --
and it will help you build arms (and shoulders) that are
big, thick and packed with power:

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

P.S. 3. I cover specialization programs, rest pause training,
and power rack workouts (and tons of other topics) in Strength,
Muscle and Power:

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

P.S. 4. My other books and courses -- and Dinosaur Training
DVD's -- are right here:

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

P.S. 5. Thought for the day: "It's not enough to train. You
need to train with a purpose." -- Brooks Kubik