If It's Working, Keep On Doing It!

 

World and Olympic Champion Charles Rigoulet preparing to perform a heavy one-hand snatch. Like all great champions, Rigoulet found the training programs that worked best for him - and then stuck to them like gorilla glue!

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

I have two important notes for you, and
then we'll talk training.

1. The Sept-Oct Dino Files

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

I'm working to finish the Nov issue, and
we hope to have that ready for you pretty
soon.

If you have comments or feedback on the
Sept-Oct issue, shoot them in asap!

2. More Great Swag for Dinos!

John Wood has released some great new
strongman shirts and other great stuff at
the Retro Strength Shop - some of them
are shown above, but there's close to 200
different items to choose from.

Go here to check them out:

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


3. If It's Working, Keep on Doing It!

At least once a week I get an email from a
reader who's doing something that's working
well for him -- meaning that he's making good
gains in strength and muscle, recovering from
his workouts and enjoying his training -- but
then he sees something on the Interwebs
and it makes him think he should change
his program and do something different.

It's usually one of two things:

1. Something new and different that might
be better than what he's doing now -- often
being the workout of a current champion --
or a workout authored by the champion's
ghost writer.

2. A blog post, article or forum discussion
telling him that what he's doing "doesn't
work."

Most of the time it's number two -- which
is surprising, because the immediate
response should be, "It may not work
for YOU, but it works for ME!"

But written words are powerful, and all
too often they often make us second-
guess ourselves.

So our trainee -- the one who is making
good gains and having lots of fun in his
workouts -- starts to second-guess
himself.

And he sends me an email and asks what
he should do.

As I said, this happens at least once a
week. Luckily, as questions go, it's an
easy one.

The answer is always the same:

"If it's working, keep on doing it. If your
gains slow down or stop, then and only
then try something different."

And here's a related point. When you do
try something different, it should probably
be something similar, not a radical change
in approach. In other words, if 5 x 5 has
worked well for you, you might try 5 x 6,
6 x 6, or 5 x 5 followed by 1 x 3 and 1 x 1.

But don't change from 5 x 5 to 10 x 10,
or 50 rep death sets, or a three hour
pumping program.

Also, the best way to change things up is
often to use a new exercise, while keeping
the sets and reps the same. For example,
switch from back squats to front squats,
or from straight bar deadlifts to Trap Bar
deadlifts.

And remember this -- when you switch to
a new exercise or a new program, start
light and easy, and gradually add weight
to the bar. Make it progressive. Don't try
to max out and set new PR's the first day
in the saddle. See Dinosaur Training
Secrets, Vol. 3, for detailed advice on
how to use old-school progression systems
for steady gains without going stale or
burning out.

Anyhow, that's the answer to a very common
question -- one that's become all the more
common because of the often overwhelming
amount and diversity of information on the
Interwebs.

Remember, if it's working for you, keep on
doing it.

If it ain't broke, don't try to fix it.

If the wheels are still on the wagon, and
they seem to be working fine, don't stop
and change 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. I mentioned Dinosaur Training Secrets,
Vol. 3. Go here to grab the little monster in
your choice of three formats:

Hard-copy edition

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

Kindle edition

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaur_secrets3_kindle.html

PDF with electronic delivery

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaursecrets_vol3_digital.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: 

"Train with confidence. Avoid doubters
and nay-sayers. Be resolute, and do what
you need to do." 

-- 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

The Fortune Cookie Workout

Reg Park followed many different training programs, but I don't think he ever did the Fortune Cookie Workout!

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

Son. no. 1 came over last night to
join us for dinner, and he and Trudi
shared a special treat of Chinese
carry-out.

So this morning I spotted a fortune
from a fortune cookie sitting on the
dinner table.

It made me think that most people
today train in such a random, hap-
hazard fashion that you could just
grab a fortune cookie, break it open,
and use the lucky numbers to devise
your workout.

So here goes.

The lucky numbers on this fortune
were:

9, 28, 32, 10, 13 and 17

This one's easy.

You do 9 different exercises.

You total the remaining numbers:

28 plus 32 plus 10 plus 13 plus
17 = 100

So you do 100 reps of each exercise.

Or - you do 9 different exercises for
whatever sets and reps you want,
and get a total of 100 reps.

That's totally random, of course,
and it makes no sense whatsoever,
but it's pretty much the way most
people train.

Of course, you also could do ONE
exercise for a series of descending
reps to match the lucky numbers:

1 x 32 reps

1 x 28 reps

1 x 17 reps

1 x 13 reps

1 x 10 reps

1 x 9 reps

Or - you could do one exercise where
you do as many sets as you want to
get a total of 32 reps.

Followed by another exercise where
you do the same thing to get a total
of 28 reps.

And so on.

There are lots of different ways to do
it.

Me, I'm going to do things the old-
fashioned way:

1. I have my program.

2. I know what exercises to do.

3. I know what sets and reps - and
what weights - to use.

So I'm going to go ahead and do the
job - and stick to the program - and
make things slow, steady and
progressive.

It's not the Fortune Cookie Workout,
but it's pretty darn effective.

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. There are 50 great workouts in
Chalk and Sweat - and you'll have no
trouble finding one that is perfect for
you:

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

"Tried and true is very effective -
and if very effective is boring, you
might as well throw in the towel."

- 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 Social Media Doesn't tell You About Strength Training

There's a very important secret to great gains - and it's something you just don't see on social media.

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

We'll talk iron in just a minute - but first,
let me cover a few quick updates.

1. The May-June Dinosaur Files

We ran late with the May issue of The Dino-
saur Files strength training newsletter, so we
did a combined May-June issue. It's an extra
big issue, with a ton of great articles -
including:

The Valhalla Challenge

The Deadlift from Hell

The Simplest Bodyweight
Workout in the World

Bob Hoffman's Favorite
Training Program

Go here to grab the little monster:



May-June Dinosaur Files

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaurfiles-mayjune2018.html

2. Strength-Style Arm Training

I'm doing a new series of courses. Each one of
them gives you a new and different training
program, with detailed instructions on how to
train for maximum results.

The goal is to give you a comprehensive
encyclopedia of old-school, super-
effective workouts.

No. 1 in the series covers Doug Hepburn's
strength-style arm training. It gives you a
complete program with three different work-
outs - plus four printable workout sheets to
keep track of them:

Dinosaur Strength and Power - Course
No. 1

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaurstrengthandpower-01.html

3. Dinosaur Tee-Shirts

Many of you have been asking if we carry
Dinosaur Training tee-shirts. We do - but
you need to order them from the Retro-
Strength Shop.

Trudi and I live in a small apartment now -
after selling the house and downsizing when
the kids grew up and moved out - and we
don't have room to keep a big inventory of
shirts here.

Which is why we're offering them at the
Retro-Strength Shop. They do the
printing and the shipping for us. Works
way better - and for overseas Dinos, it's
much, much less expensive - because
they can print shirts in Europe and ship
them for much less than we can do it
from Louisville.

Go here to check out the new Dino shirts -
and all the other great shirts and other
strongman swag:



Dinosaur Training 3/4 sleeve shirt

https://www.retrostrength.com/product/dinosaur-training-cover-3-4-sleeve-raglan-shirt/

The Retro-Strength Shop



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

4. The One Workout Fallacy

We seem to be bombarded with images
of strongmen, weightlifters, powerlifters,
MMA pros and other martial artists, body-
builders, wrestlers, football players, and
everyone else who has an I-phone and a
social medium account.

All of them are doing what appears to be
the hardest, heaviest most Herculean
workout in the history of the world -
and many of them are legitimately hard-
core and impressive.

They do everything - hill sprints, running up
stadium stairs, kettlebell swings, log lifts,
tire flips, sledge-hammer smashes, squats,
snatches, clean and jerks, handstand
gymnastics, chains, bands, box jumps,
circus dumbbells, stone lifts, amazing
feats of grip strength and other stuff
that shouts "Strength, Power, Fitness!"
so loud that they can hear it in Outer
Congolia.

It's great stuff - and it fires you up to go
out and train like a madman - and that's
fine, as far as it goes.

But the uber-workouts on social media
can't show one very important thing.

In fact, it's the single MOST important
thing  . . .  and you don't even see it.

It's the day to day, workout to workout,
non-heroic grind of slow, steady, gradual
progression.

You go from 300 pounds to 302 1/2
pounds.

You go from five reps to six reps with a
given weight.

You go from one single with a given weight
to two singles with the same weight - and then
you go from two singles to three singles.

You progress from one set of five reps
with a given weight to three sets of five
reps with the same weight.

You do one more tire flip.

You do one more sprint - or one more
jump - or one more of anything.

You include stabilizing workouts - where
you don't try to progress, but merely stay
where you are and consolidate your gains.

You even do lighter workouts where you
back off and give your mind and body a
much-needed rest from the maximum
intensity stuff.

You do it according to a predetermined,
systematic plan.

You set a goal, work back by 30 percent,
and then plan how to work up to your goal
in slow, steady, manageable increments.

Step by step, little by little, bit by bit.

Pound by pound, rep by rep, set by set.

And the thing is - you stay with it until
you achieve your goal.

Then you set a new goal, drop back, and
work up to it.

And you don't go looking for new things -
or new exercises- or new add-ons - you
focus on what you are doing and you
work relentlessly toward your current
goal.

That's the secret - and it's what you don't
see in the social media videos and selfies,
however inspiring they may otherwise be.

You don't see it because there's no way to
show it - and it would be BORING to watch -
because it's the same thing, over and over,
with very slow and gradual improvements.

So don't look for it on social media. It's just
not there.

But it means everything when it comes to
building strength, power and fitness.

Progression - it's the key to great gains.

Always has been and always will be.

As always, thanks for reading and have a
great day.  If you train today, make it a
good one - and make it part of that long,
slow, gradual march to achieve your goals.

Yours in strength,

Brooks Kubik

P.S. Progression is so important that I
wrote an entire course on it.

It's Vol. 3 in the Dinosaur Training
Secrets series - and it's one of the
best and most useful courses I've
ever offered.

Go here to grab a copy:

Hard-copy and Kindle:

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

PDF

Go to our products page and scroll
down for the list of PDF books and
courses:

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

IMPORTANT -  if you want to grab all three
of my Dinosaur Training Secrets courses, you
can grab them in hard-copy at the Dinosaur
Training website - or as a special three-book
package at the Kindle bookstore - or as a three-
book passage in PDF format at my website.

Three-book set on Kindle:

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



P.S. 2. Thought for the Day

"Inch by inch, rep by rep, pound
by pound."

- Brooks Kubik

Five More Strength Shorts for Dinosaurs!

 

Last week's strength shorts were a huge hit - so here are five more of them!

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

Last Saturday I gave you seven
strength shorts.

They were very popular - so here
are five more.

Let me know how you like them.

Also - be sure to grab the April issue
of The Dinosaur Files strength
training newsletter - which is right
here:

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaurfiles-april2018.html

1. Fake Weights

They actually make fake weights
now.

And sell them.

What's worse - people buy them!

What does that tell you about modern
training in Selfie World?

2. Bulgarian

You can sell anything in modern strength
training and muscle building if you just
call it "Bulgarian."

3. Change Is Good

Learning new skills helps keep your
brain sharp as you grow older.

That may be a reason to change up
your exercises from time to time.
Especially if you're an older Dino.

That doesn't mean new and crazy -
but it does mean that new and
different has some very important
benefits.

4. Will This Work?

I get this question all the time.

But to answer the question, I need
to ask a question.

What are you trying to accomplish?

What's your goal?

Because "Will it work?" depends on
"What are you trying to do?"

5. The Simplest Change

Switch from barbells to dumbbells for
any given exercise.

Works every time.

For exercises and workouts, grab this:

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

A Bonus Short

The guy who starts today is always
one day ahead of the guy who starts
tomorrow.

A Thank You!

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. Gray Hair and Black Iron has over
50 great workouts for older Dinos. If
you don't have a copy, go here to grab
one:

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

"Always keep a mountain on the far
horizon. It gives you something to
work toward."

-- 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