The Power of Positive Thinking (Part 1)

Like all great champions, John Davis learned what worked best for him - and then trained with total and complete confidence to achieve his goals.

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

Earlier this year - about six or seven months
ago - a longtime Dino here in Louisville
decided to go on a special training program
to build strength and muscle mass.

So he sat down with some of my books and
courses - and back issues of The Dinosaur
Files - and read through them very carefully.

He made careful notes, and started to put
together a list of things to try.

He also reviewed his training journals to
see what had worked best for him in the
past.

And he studied everything he could find
about Doug Hepburn, reasoning that if
anyone knew how to build strength and
muscle mass, it was Doug Hepburn.

He ended up putting together a very good
program.

It features four different workouts spread
over a period of 9 to 10 days - which gives
your body plenty of time to recover from
each session.

It includes plenty of things I teach in my
various books and courses - lots of tips
from Doug Hepburn - things he knew
from experience worked well for him -
and things that had worked well for
other Dinos.

So he figured that the program would
work.

In fact, he KNEW it would work.

So instead of wasting time searching
the Interwebs and looking for some-
thing better - and without posting it
in a forum or discussion group and
asking other people if they thought
it would work, he just knuckled down
and started doing it.

That's an example of positive thinking.
You study, plan, work things out - and
then you go for it - confident that it
will work for you.

And work it did.

Four months later he had gained 25
pounds of solid muscle.

Today, six or seven months later, he's
added another 5 pounds of muscle. So
he's gained a total of 30 pounds in
just about six or seven months.

I asked him to write up his workout to
share with other Dinos.

He did, and you can find it right here in
the November issue of The Dinosaur
Files:

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaurfiles-nov2018.html

Be sure to grab this issue - and check
out the program. It's a really good
strength and muscle builder.

And, as always, let me have your
thoughts and feedback about this
month's issue - and any updates on
your own training that you'd like to
share with the Dino Nation.

Yours in strength,

Brooks Kubik

Take a Peek Inside the November Dinosaur Files!

Each issue of the Dinosaur Files is jam-packed with great old-school workouts and training advice for drug-free trainees - and the November 2018 issue is no exception!

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

We released the November issue of
The Dinosaur Files yesterday, and
Dinos around the world have been
snatching it up like hotcakes.

And that's great - because it's a
heck of an issue.

Take a peek inside:

It begins with a turbo-charged
editorial I wrote - a true story
about a dark and deadly night
on the North Atlantic - an SOS
signal - and how two very
different men on different ships
responded to the signal.


No, it's not about lifting - or sets
and reps - but it's an incredibly
strong and motivating story - and
it will get you revved up and ready
to go - and ready to respond to
any call for help you may ever
encounter.

And then we turn to training - starting
with reports from our readers.

Abbreviated training - a report from a
63-year old Dino.

20-rep Trap Bar deadlifts.

Abbreviated workouts and aging joints.

An update from a 74-year old Dino and
how he trains.

A report from a man who found what
works for him training-wise.

And more:

The vitamin everyone over age 50 needs
to take. (Do you know what it is?)

Some very bad advice that could kill you -
or make you very sick - and how to avoid
falling for it. (Advice that I fell for - and
that you probably fell for if you're my
age. Heck, you may STILL be falling for
it.)

A simple "stay busy/stay active" program
that I use every day here at Dino Head-
quarters.

A detailed report by one of our readers on
his special training program to build strength
and muscle mass - and how he used it to
gain 25 pounds of solid muscle in just
four months. Exercises, workouts, sets,
reps - it's all here - the whole thing - every
detail covered in full.

A salute to one of our recently departed
Dinos - a man who began following my
work way back in 1996 when I first pub-
lished Dinosaur Training - and how his
tradition lives on.

A detailed article from a cancer survivor
about how to keep on training after cancer
or other major illness - with information
you won't see anywhere else - and things
the medical community doesn't even
begin to understand.

And finally - a special "do it anywhere"
workout to use when you're traveling -
as many of you will be next week at
Thanksgiving time.

In short, it's a great issue - and you can
find it right here:

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaurfiles-nov2018.html

Happy reading!

Yours in strength,

Brooks Kubik

Here's How to Gain 25 Pounds of Solid Muscle - Super Fast!

We have some big breaking news for Dinos - and a terrific new training program that one of our Dinos used to pack on 25 pounds of solid muscle in just four months.

Hail to the Dinosaurs!
 
I'll cut right to the chase.

We just released the November issue of
The Dinosaur Files, and it includes a
terrific article by one of our longtime
Dinos who went on a special weight
gaining and strength building program
earlier this year - and gained a whopping
25 pounds of muscle.

He gives you his exact program:

Four different workouts.

How he scheduled his workouts (which
was one of the secrets of his success).

Exercises.

Sets.

Reps.

Percentages.

Weight increases.

Full range movements.

Partial movements.

His preferred equipment - and options
if you have other equipment you want
to use..
And yes, it's a STRENGTH BUILDING
program - not a muscle pumping
program - so it builds plenty of
real-world strength and power.

And you can use it as a strength and
power program if you don't want or
add any more muscle mass - just do
the program and don't eat as much.

In short, it's a really good program.

And, of course, there are other
great articles and workouts in
the November issue.

Here's the link - go ahead and grab
it:

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaurfiles-nov2018.html

As always - let me know how you
like this month's issue!

Yours in strength,

Brooks Kubik

Important Tips for Bottom Position Squats

Like all great champions, John Grimek always did plenty of squatting. Heavy leg and back training is the Royal Road to Muscle and Might!

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

I got an email from Nick C., who wrote:

"Hi Brooks!

I'm planning on starting a leg specialization
program that will use the bottom position
squat singles you prescribe in workout no.
39 in Chalk and Sweat.

I'm going to start with 6 x 5 with regular
Olympic squats, followed by five sets of
progressively heavier singles in the bottom
position squat.

I was wondering how you would suggest
increasing weight for this routine. Should
I try to add 5 or 10 lbs. to my top single
every week or every other week? 

Should I also be adding weight at the
same rate to the regular squats?

I guess I really want to know how you
did your weight progression on this
program when you had such great
success with it."

Thanks for your question, Nick, and
have fun with your squat program. It
will build some serious strength and
muscle. As I mention in Chalk and
Sweat, I added almost 200 pounds
to my squat by using bottom position
squats.

BTW, in case anyone is unfamiliar
with them, bottom position squats are
performed in the power rack. You set
the bar on pins placed so it is low
enough that you can get under the
bar and start the squat from the
bottom. 

It's much harder than the conventional
way of doing squats -- which is why it
is so effective.

Of course, it's an ADVANCED training
technique. Don't use it unless you can
handle at least 300 pounds for sets of
5 reps in good, deep form.

Some people find that pause squats work
just as well or better for them than bottom
position squats. Personally, I prefer bottom
position squats for powerlifting squats
(low bar, starting from parallel), and
pause squats for OL squats (high bar,
donkey to grass full squats). I also
prefer pause squats for front squats.

As far as progression goes, do this:

1. Start light and easy and use the first
four to six weeks as a break-in period. 

a. You need to start light on the bottom
position squat. It's much harder than you
think it is. 

b. Let me repeat that - start light!

2. After you start to feel comfortable with
the exercise, train it hard and try to add five
pounds to the bar every week for as long
as you can.

3. At some point, your gains will slow
down, and it will become harder and
harder to add the five pounds. When
that happens, change the progression
to five pounds every other week. Do
that for as long as possible.

4. Try adding weight to your regular
squats at the same rate as the bottom
position squats at the start of the
program, when the weights are light.

a. When the weights get heavier, your
poundage increases on the regular squats
will be slower because the bottom position
squats are a new exercise for you, and they
have much more room for improvement.

You can try two workouts a week when
the weights are light, but one workout a
week will probably work better as the
weights get heavier.

I hope that helps, and again, have fun on
the program!

Yours in strength,

Brooks Kubik

P.S. I cover bottom position squats and other
super effective strength and mass builders
using the power rack in these books:

Dinosaur Training: Lost Secrets of Strength
and Development

 

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

Chalk and Sweat

 

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

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/kindle.html

P.S. 3. Thought for the Day:

"Set high goals, and work hard to achieve
them."

-- Brooks Kubik

Before You Leave - Check These Out! 

Brooks Kubik's Kindle Books

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

We have over 25 books and courses in the Kindle store - including these little monsters:

 
For even more Kindle books by Brooks Kubik, visit:

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

How to Add Three Inches of Muscle to Your Quads - Fast!

John Grimek would have liked the training program described in today's Blog post - in fact, he used something very similar as a young man!

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

Everyone wants to build their arms
when they start training.

You know - the old "baseball biceps"
and "horseshoe triceps" thing.

The "big guns."

The "pythons."

Now, there's nothing wrong with
wanting to build bigger and
stronger arms (heck, I've written
several courses about how to do it).

But leg specialization is better and
more important.

Add an inch or two - or even three -
to your upper thighs, and you'll
literally transform your body.

You'll be bigger, thicker, stronger and
more muscular - better conditioned -
and those T levels that everyone
worries about nowadays will go
right through the roof!

That's why I like to include leg
specialization programs in The
Dinosaur Files strength training
newsletter.

And the Sept-Oct issue has a very
good one.

It's a very unusual program built
around the 20-rep breathing squat.

Now, that may sound like something
you already know about - but it isn't.

This one is different.

It starts different than the standard
program - and it includes a unique
and very effective progression
system.

And it works.

How well?

Get this.

The Dino who used it added THREE
INCHES of muscle to each thigh.

He also doubled his strength in the
20-rep squat - and increased his
endurance enormously.

And that's something worth reading
about.

The Sept-Oct issue of The Dinosaur
Files is right here - in a downloadable
PDF format with immediate electronic
delivery:

www.brookskubik.com/dinosaurfiles-sep-oct2018.html

Check it out - and give the program
a try.

I want to see more Quadzillas walking
around!

Yours in strength,

Brooks Kubik

10 Big Strength Training and Muscle Building Mistakes

Here's an exercise from Dinosaur Bodyweight Training - and it's a very good one. I wish I had done it when I was a kid! But, like all of us, I made  a lot of mistakes back then . . .

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

We all make mistakes, and in that regard,
I'm no different than anyone else.

I've made plenty of mistakes over the
years.

But there's a positive side to making
mistakes. Hopefully, they teach you
a better way of doing things.

And if you're lucky, you can learn
from other people's mistakes. That
saves time, effort, and can even help
you avoid unnecessary injuries.

So I thought I'd share The Top 10
Training Mistakes I Made When I
Was a Kid.

Hopefully, this will help you avoid making
some of the mistakes that I made.

Don't laugh too hard when you read
these. They were things I did in junior
high and high school -- a very long
time ago. And in my defense, we all
made these mistakes back then.

The Top 10 Training Mistakes I
Made When I Was a Kid

1.  I read the muscle magazines.

a. Worse, I believed them.

b. In fact, I did more than believe them.
I memorized them. I was brainwashed by
them.

2. I tried the Get Big Drink.

a. I did NOT get big. I got sick.

b. Very sick.

c. Sick for days.

3. I used soy-based protein powder.

a. We all did. And it was terrible for
us.

b. Soy powder is incredibly nasty. And
the stuff they sold back then was the
worst of the worst.

c. You do know that it was pig feed
before they figured out they could
sell it to aspiring bodybuilders and
weightlifters . . . . right?

4. I didn't do Olympic lifting.

a. For some reason. Olympic lifting
all but disappeared in the USA in the
60's and 70's.

b. I really wish our coaches had trained
us in Olympic lifting. What a difference
it would have made.

c. Even teaching us power cleans, high
pulls and push presses would have been
a huge improvement.

5. I used machines instead of free
weights.

a. Including the Universal Gym.

b. Of course, all the pro athletes did
the same thing.

c. Related point: I should have used
heavy awkward objects along with my
barbells and dumbbells.

d. I should have done old-school
dumbbell training (the kind I teach
in Dinosaur Dumbbell Training).

6. I did long, slow running instead of
sprints and other fast, short-burst cardio
work.

a. The long, slow stuff didn't have very
much carry-over to wrestling, which is
what I was training for in high school --
but it's what all of us did back then. We
thought it would help us.

7. I used high-volume bodybuilding
programs.

a. The magazines said that was the
way to be a champion.

b. It wasn't.

c. And besides, why train like a body-
builder if you were a wrestler?

8. I didn't do anywhere near enough leg
and back work.

a. None of us did.

9. I didn't do anywhere near enough grip
work.

a. I don't think my high school even had
anything for the grip -- other than a wrist
roller thingie on the Universal Gym.

b. I wish I had done the farmer's walk
back then.

c. Or used thick handled barbells and
dumbbells.

10. I didn't do enough bodyweight training --
which would have been an excellent program
for a high school wrestler.

a. The muscle magazines never said anything
about bodyweight training.

So there you have it: 10 big mistakes that I
made almost 50 years ago.

And here's the thing -- many people are still
making one or more of those mistakes -- or
very similar mistakes -- and some people are
making ALL of them.

That's a shame. There's a much better way
of doing things. I teach it in all of my books
and courses, including:

Dinosaur Training

The book they call "the Bible of strength
training." A must have for all serious
trainees - and a best-seller since 1996.

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

Gray Hair and Black Iron

The best and most detailed book ever written
about real world training for mature lifters
and Iron Slingers.

Includes 50 different workouts for older
Dinos.

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

Chalk and Sweat

50 different training programs - from beginner
to intermediate to advanced - along with special
programs for building maximum strength and
muscle mass.

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

Dinosaur Bodyweight Training

The best book ever written on old-school
bodyweight training - with tons of fun exercises
and over 50 different workouts.

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

Dinosaur Dumbbell Training

A complete guide to old-school dumbbell
training - with many forgotten exercises -
and over 50 different dumbbell workouts.

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

In other words, help is here - right at
your fingertips.

You don't have to make my mistakes. I
made them. You can learn from them.

Train the right way. Unlock your full potential.

Train with maximum effectiveness - and make
every rep of every workout really count!

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. My other books and courses --
including links to all of my e-books on
Kindle -- 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. 2. 

Thought for the Day: 

"Those who ignore the lessons of history
are doomed to repeat them -- and that
includes the lessons of the Iron Game." 

-- Brooks Kubik

Brooks Kubik's Kindle Books

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

We have over 25 books and courses in the Kindle store - including these:

 
For even more Kindle books by Brooks Kubik, visit:

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

35 Pounds of Muscle and Lifelong Strength and Health!

John Davis jerking what looks to be 400-plus pounds of old-school iron at Muscle Beach way back in the early 1950's. More proof that old-school training works!

 
Hail to the Dinosaurs!

Yesterday I mentioned that the new
issue of The Dinosaur Files tells the
true story of two young weightlifters
who decided to go to a South Seas
island and focus on their training,
diet and health - and see what
happened.

What happened was this.

With just a barbell set, one of them
gained 35 pounds of muscle - going
from 135 pounds to 170 pounds.

That's a 26 percent gain in muscle
mass.

Which is huge.

And he was ALREADY a weightlifting
champion in Australia - so it's not
like he was a beginner.

This was back in the 1930's - and
it was during the Depression - and
so the two guys were living on a
shoe-string, and eating a diet that
was MUCH DIFFERENT from the
modern 6 meal a day, 400 grams
of protein stuff that everyone is
pushing for "mass building" and
"weight gaining" and "hypertrophy"
programs.

And, of course, they didn't use any
supplements - or any drugs.

Nor did they do any kind of over-
the-top insanity training. Their
workouts were totally old-school -
and pretty low volume.

PLUS - they learned to surf while
they were on their tropical island -
and they both became avid, lifelong
surfers.

And one of them was surfing all
the way into his late 80's or early
90's - which tells us that his training
program and diet helped build life-
long strength and health as well as
that 35 pounds of muscle.

Anyhow, I have the whole story in
this issue of The Dinosaur Files:


the workouts

the exercises

the sets and reps

the diet

breakfast

lunch

dinner

what they ate

what they didn't eat

their daily schedule

the whole darn thing

It's all there in the July-August issue
of The Dinosaur Files - which you
can grab right here:

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaurfiles-julyaugust2018.html

Give it a read - study it carefully -
and let me know what you think.

Yours in strength,

Brooks Kubik

"I Don't Listen to Old Guys!" He Said

Hitting it hard at age 61 - after more than 50 years of strength training - and yes, I've learned a few things about training over the years.

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

Over the past couple of days, I've been
buried in emails from readers in response
to the emails I've sent out this week.

The consensus is this -- it's a crying shame
that more guys and gals don't start training
the right way from the very beginning -- as
opposed to wasting so much time and effort
on the high volume muscle blasting programs.

And everyone wonders why that happens.

Especially if you have the proof right in front
of you.

A number of older Dinos mentioned that their
nephews or grand-nephews -- or their sons or
grandsons -- are teenagers or 20-somethings
who are just getting into weight training.

They have an older family member -- father,
grandfather or uncle -- who is a very strong
and very accomplished lifter. He clearly knows
what he's doing -- and he knows how to put
together a workout that brings FAST and
BIG results.

But the newbies don't ask for his advice. They
just jump right into the muscle-blasting non-
sense in their favorite muscle comic or muscle
comic website.

Uncle Joe trains twice a week in his garage,
and does the basics -- and lifts a ton.

The kids run off the the nearest Chrome and
Fern Gym and do a 6-day per week triple
split routine featured in their "must read"
muscle comic.

Forget about Uncle Joe.

What does he know?

He's OLD, man!

The same thing happens in the gym.

The newbies do what they read in the muscle
comics. Never mind that there's a big, thick,
strong-a-horse older guy doing 5 x 5 in the
squat over in the corner -- or pressing double
what the young guys are deadlifting -- or
doing heavy deads from the knees with more
than the combined weight of the young guys,
their curl bars and their pec decs.

They. Just. Don't. Ask. Him.

It's such a shame. The answer is right there --
right in front of them.

Here's someone who knows what he's doing.

Just look at him. Look at the weight on the
bar!

And he's doing something WAY DIFFERENT
than what they tell you to do in this month's
issue of Ultra-Massive Super Muscle or Inter-
Galactic Power Pecs.

Okay, deep breath.

I guess all we can do is keep fighting the fight.

If you're a younger trainee, give the old-school,
basic, hard and heavy approach a try. You'll be
shocked by your results.

If you're an older trainee who knows the score,
keep on squatting, pushing and pulling. They'll
ask you for help someday.

And when they do -- be ready to drop some
knowledge bombs on them!

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. Speaking of knowledge bombs, Strength,
Muscle and Power has plenty of them:

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

P.S. 2. My other books and courses are right
here at Dino Headquarters:

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

P.S. 3. Thought for the Day:

"A prophet is without honor in his own
country, and so is anyone who trains
old-school style -- even when he's the
strongest guy in the room. And that
needs to change." 

-- 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