Did Hi-Proteen Kill Bob Hoffman?

If you're my age or older, you probably remember Hoffman's Hi-Proteen powder and Hi-Proteen tablets. (Not a typo, that's how it was spelled.) You were supposed to gain one pound of muscle for every dollar you spent on Hi-Proteen - but that never happened for me.

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

Back in the early 1950's, everyone started
selling protein powder.

A guy in Chicago named Irving Johnson
started the craze. He later moved to
Beverly Hills and changed his name to
Rheo H. Blair.

He made so much money selling protein
powder that everyone who published a
weight training magazine decided they
needed to do the same thing.

Bob Hoffman did it - Joe Weider did it -
and even Peary Rader did it (for a short
period of time - and then he - thankfully -
stopped).

Hoffman called his protein powder Hi-
Proteen. (Not a typo - that's how they
spelled it).

The stuff was made out of soybeans,
which were being hailed as a super food -
even though, prior to that time, soybeans
had been used almost exclusively for
animal feed here in the USA.

But the bodybuilding world began using
them for humans - as a food supplement -
and before you knew it, pretty much every-
one who lifted weights had tried the stuff
at least once.

There was a relentless advertising campaign
for all the protein powders. We were bom-
barded with articles telling us we needed
to eat more and more protein.

Three square meals a day weren't enough.

You needed six high-protein meals a day.

You needed to take protein powder at
every meal.

If you were extremely underweight and
skinny (as most beginners were), you
needed to guzzle a gallon of milk loaded
with protein powder every day.

For good measure, you were supposed
to take a thermos of high protein shake
to the gym and glug it in-between sets.

And just to be on the safe side, you were
supposed to carry high protein tablets in
your pocket and eat them like candy all
day long - just to be sure you didn't go
a single minute without an adequate
supply of protein. You didn't want to
start shrinking and lose all your gains!

I remember trying all of the different
protein powders when I was a kid.

MAN, DID THEY TASTE BAD!

A pair of dirty soaks boiled in swamp
mud would have tasted better.

If you ever tried them, you know what
I mean.

Bob Hoffman always said he ate
more Hi-Proteen than any man
who ever lived.

I don't know if that's true or not, but
if he did, it probably killed him.

That's also why - to this day - I steer
clear of any protein supplements. Been
there, done that - and don't want to do
it again.

Yours in strength,

Brooks Kubik

P.S. I cover diet and nutrition for strength
training and muscle building in Knife,
Fork, Muscle. Go here to grab a copy:

Hard-copy

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

We're also releasing Knife, Fork, Muscle in
a series of Kindle e-books. The first three
books in the e-book series are right here;
book 4 in the e-book series is coming soon:

Knife, Fork, Muscle, Kindle e-book 1

(covers protein for strength training -- how
much, the best sources of high-quality
protein, etc.)

http://www.brookskubik.com/knifeforkmuscle01_kindle.html

Knife, Fork, Muscle, Kindle e-book 2

(covers healthy and unhealthy carbs,
vegetables, starchy vegetables, grain
and gluten issues, organic foods, and
gardening)

http://www.brookskubik.com/knifeforkmuscle02_kindle.html 

 Knife, Fork, Muscle, Book 3
(covers healthy and unhealthy fats,
food and chemical allergies, and the
importance of allergy-free diets)

http://www.brookskubik.com/knifeforkmuscle03_kindle.html 

P.S. 2. 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. 3. Thought for the Day: 

"Heavy iron and real food works
pretty darn well."
 
- 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

10 Tips to Rev Up Your Workouts!

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

Let's start the day with 10 quick tips to rev up
your workouts!

10 Tips to Rev Up your Workouts!

1. Spend 10 minutes a day visualizing your workouts
in full, complete and vivid detail -- to the point where
you see and feel the sweat dripping down your face
as you squat, push and pull.

a. 15 or 20 minutes is better. Split it up into two
sessions if you need to.

2. When you train, concentrate deeply on each and
every rep. "Become" the rep.

a. In other words, shut out the rest of the world.
Go deep inside the rep.

3. After each set, review your performance and focus
on the next set.

a. See Dinosaur Training and Dinosaur Bodyweight
Training for more details on the all-important
mental aspects of strength training.

4. Wear your power color when you train. Everyone
has a power color (or colors). You feel stronger when
you wear your power color.

a. For me, power colors are black, navy blue and gray.

b. We also have colors that make us feel weak. Don't
wear those! (For example, I avoid brown or tan.)

5. Focus on adding weight to the bar, BUT always
maintain perfect form. If in doubt, focus on form.

a. Never add weight at the expense of maintaining
perfect form.

6. Rest pause training builds serious strength and
muscle.

a. See Strength, Muscle and Power for details
and suggested workouts.

7. Abbreviated training works better than anything
else for the vast majority of trainees.

a. See Dinosaur Training, Strength, Muscle and
Power, and Chalk and Sweat for abbreviated
workouts that will build plenty of real world
strength and muscle.

b. Many trainees -- especially older trainees -- will
do best on ultra-abbreviated training. See Gray Hair
and Black Iron for details and workouts.

8. Eat smart. This means the right kind of real food.

a. That's the whole focus of Knife, Fork, Muscle -- real
food to help build lifelong strength and health.

b. Learn what foods work for YOU. That's one of the
important keys to long-term success.

b. Supplements will NOT make up for a poor diet.
You need to learn to eat right. When you do, the
results will amaze you.

9. Don't obsess about your training. Just do it. The
most important thing is to train regularly and
consistently. It all adds up over time.

10. Have FUN when you train. Fun is important. Your
training days should be the best days of the week --
and your workouts should be some of the most
enjoyable things you do.

a. Yes, hard work and challenging workouts are
fun!

b. And yes, it's a shame that most people don't
have a clue about this . . .

c.  . . . which is why it's good to train hard and heavy
and old-school, and set an example for others.

So there you have it -- 10 tips to rev up your
workouts. I hope you enjoyed them -- and I
hope you use 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. Go here to grab Knife, Fork, Muscle:

http://brookskubik.com/dinosaur_nutrition.html

P.S. 2. You can find Dinosaur Training, Gray Hair and
Black Iron, Chalk and Sweat, Strength, Muscle and
Power and my other books and courses right here
at Dino Headquarters:

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

P.S. 3. Thought for the Day: "In training,
as in life, the little things can make a big
difference in your results." -- Brooks Kubik

***********************************************************************************

What One Dinosaur Learned from a Trip to the Emergency Room

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

Pay careful attention because today's message
may save your life someday.

About a year ago, one of our hard-charging
Dinos asked me about some of those high-tech
super supplements. They were endorsed by
someone he respected, and they sounded
pretty good.

I told him that I don't use any supplements
other than vitamin-mineral tablets and fish
oil, and that works perfectly fine for me.

"Skip the supplements and use the money you
save to buy the highest quality food you can
find and afford," I said.

I also noted that many of the modern super
supplements come with warning labels that
read much like the warning labels for a
prescription drug.

"Don't use if you have this condition or that
condition, don't combine with this or that,
don't use if you take X or Y, etc."

Canadian labeling laws are stricter than those
in the USA, so it's a good idea to fire up the
old google and check the Canadian warning
labels. You'd be surprised at what you find.

For example, I have glaucoma (an eye disease)
and many prescription medications AND modern
supplements are contra-indicated if you have
glaucoma.

Six months ago, we had a repeat of the same
conversation. He was interested in a different
supplement. I gave him the same advice.

Last week, we had third repeat of the conversation.
Different supplement.

Same advice.

Well, I must not have been very convincing.

This morning, I woke up and found an email
with the subject line "Stupidity."

That was a bit harsh, but he's the one who
wrote it.

Long story short, he went ahead and tried
the supplement -- and ended up in the ER.

He wasn't sure what happened, but he assumed
it was a drug interaction.

Something to do with some prescription meds
he takes.

Anyhow, he asked me to let the rest of you know
about this. And I thought that was a pretty good
idea. After all, a trip to the ER is no fun.

Now, I'm not saying that you need to avoid all
supplements. That's an individual choice. You
need to make the decision.

But I am saying this: pay very close attention
to the warning labels -- and be aware of possible
interactions if you take any kind of prescription
meds -- or if you drink lots of coffee or other
products that contain caffeine -- or if you have
high blood pressure, glaucoma or any other
medical conditions.

And that's the message for today. I'm sorry if
it's not as much fun as sets and reps and heavy
iron, but it's important.

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 cover supplement questions -- and tons of
other important topics -- in Knife, Fork,
Muscle:

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

We're also releasing Knife, Fork, Muscle in a series
of Kindle e-books. See our products page for the
links:

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

P.S. 2. Thought for the Day: "Train hard and train
smart. Eat well, and eat smart." -- Brooks Kubik

***********************************************************************************

Did Grimek Use Proteen Powder?

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

Two quick notes, and then we'll talk about
John Grimek -- and whether he used Hi-
Proteen powder.

1. The September 2015 Dinosaur Files
Quarterly - Hard Copy Edition

We mailed the hard copy edition of the
new Dinosaur Files Quarterly on Thursday
of last week. If you reserved a copy during
the pre-publication special, you should be
getting it today or tomorrow -- unless you
live somewhere in the USA that's been
hit by the rain and flooding on the Atlantic
coast.

The rain and flooding will undoubtedly slow
down mail deliverythroughout the affected
region. How much, we don't know.

But wherever you live, shoot me an email when
you get your hard copy of the DFQ -- and let
me know how you like the little monster.

If you want the hard copy issue but haven't
ordered it yet, here's the link:

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

2. The September 2015 Dinosaur Files
Quarterly - Kindle E-Book Edition

We released the Kindle e-book edition of the
new DFQ on Sunday, and the little monster
zoomed right up into the Kindle Top 10 List
in its category -- which is pretty good for the
first day of a new release!

Here's the link to the Kindle e-book edition,
which is ready for immediate download:

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaurquarterly_04_kindle.html

If you grab the e-book edition, be sure to post
a review on our Kindle page. The reviews really
help us!

And before I forget -- a very big THANK YOU to
everyone who helped push us into the Top 10!

And now, let's talk diet and nutrition for strength
training and muscle building.

3. Did John Grimek Use Hi Proteen Powder?

When I was a kid, Bob Hoffman sold Hi-Proteen
powder in a big four-pound box. (And yes, they
spelled it "p-r-o-t-e-e-n.)

The box was blue, with photos of John Grimek,
Steve Stanko and Jules Bacon.

I bought the stuff because I wanted to look like
Grimek, Stanko and Bacon -- and hopefully, to
win the Mr. America title, just like they had done.

I figured that if Grimek, Stanko and Bacon used
Hi-Proteen to build their muscles, it would work
the same for me.

I was wrong. It didn't build much of anything.
And eventually, I stopped taking the stuff.

But here's the funny thing.

Grimek won the Mr. America in 1940 and 1941.

Bacon won the Mr. America in 1943.

Stanko won the Mr. America in 1945.

Hi-Proteen didn't go on the market until the
early 1950s.

In other words, Grimek, Bacon and Stanko
did NOT use Hi-Proteen to build their muscles.
They did it with barbells, dumbbells and plenty
of good, solid food.

Grimek once said, "Meat is my baby!"

He never said that about Hi-Proteen powder.

And yet, the stuff was marketed with photos
of Grimek, Bacon and Stanko on the box.

There's an important lesson there -- but I have
to admit, it took me a long time and many
boxes of Hi-Proteen powder to learn it.

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. Real food plus real training equals real
muscle. Get the details in Knife, Fork, Muscle:

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

P.S. We're also releasing Knife, Fork, Muscle in
 a series of Kindle e-books. You can find
links to the first three books in the e-book
series right here:

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

P.S. 3. Thought for the Day: "Five words: hard,
heavy, progressive strength training." -- Brooks
Kubik

***********************************************************************************

A Food Supplement Question for Dinosaurs!

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

I'm pounding away on the keyboard, working
on a new book covering diet and nutrition
for Dinosaurs, and I wanted to ask the Dino
Nation a question:

"Have you ever taken a food supplement of any
sort -- protein powder, amino acid, metabolic
optimizer, creatine, or whatever -- and seen
significant and measurable results in strength
and muscle mass that you attribute to the food
supplement alone?"

If you have, please shoot me a short email and
let me know what you were taking and what
results you achieved.

But remember -- I'm looking for results that
were significant and measurable -- and that
can reasonably be attributed to the food
supplement alone. If you changed your diet
or your workout, we can't know whether your
results were from the change in diet, the
change in workout or the new supplement.

So think back over your training career, and
if let me know if you can say with 100 percent
certainty that a particular supplement brought
you some specific good results.

By the way, and for what it's worth -- I've
thought about my own 40-plus years of training,
and I can't think of any occasion that I added
a particular supplement to my diet and got any
sort of specific and measurable increases in
strength or muscle mass.

I think that fish oil supplements have had a
beneficial effect, but I can't point to any
increase in strength or muscle mass as a result
of taking them.

I made the standard blender bombers with protein
powder and other stuff when I was a kid, and I
got bigger and stronger, but I also started
serious training, so who knows if the protein
powder actually did any good? I probably would
have done just as well without it -- and in fact,
I did, because I couldn't afford to take the stuff
all the time, so there were long stretches where
I relied on nothing but training and food -- and
I still made progress.

Anyhow, I'd be interested in your feedback!

Yours in strength,

Brooks Kubik

P.S. We're getting tons of terrific feedback on
my new John Grimek training course. If you don't
already have a copy, you're missing a real treat.
You can grab the little monster right here:

http://brookskubik.com/johngrimek_course.html

P.S. 2. Save some clams on s&h by ordering two or
more books and courses at one time -- or by adding
back issues of The Dinosaur Files newsletter or
some Dinosaur Training DVD's to your order. You
can find everything right here at Dino
Headquarters:

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

P.S. 3. Thought for the Day: "A barbell lasts a
lot longer than a box of protein powder." (Or
words to that effect.) -- Arthur Jones