Where Did the Squat Racks Go?

The Dino Dungeon at our old house - out in the garage. I didn't have much equipment, but I did have squat racks - and I still do! And yes, they get lots of use in the new Dino Dungeon.

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

Two quick notes, and then we'll talk iron.

1. The July-August Dinosaur Files

It's a great issue - and you can grab it
right here:

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

The 30 and 35 minute workouts for
those of you who are pressed for time
are well worth reading - and so is the
article about the old-school, "break all
the rules" training program that helped
one young lifter gain 35 pounds of
muscle - drug-free and supplement-
free.

By the way - if you missed the May-June
issue, you missed another good one -
but you can still grab it - right here:

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

This one includes, among other things, Bob
Hoffman's favorite workout - which I think
you'll find very interesting. But be warned:
it's tougher than it looks!

2. Heavy Partials

My new course on heavy Partials is getting
great reviews from Dinos around the world.

Many have reported new PR's after being on
the program for a short period of time -
including one Dino who set a new PR in the
bench press in just two weeks!

Go here to grab the little monster:

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaurstrengthandpower-02.html

3. Where Did the Squat Racks Go?

There's a story going around about how a
guy walked into one of those coast to coast
commercial gyms and the squat racks were
gone.

Apparently, someone decided to get rid of
them.

They were too dangerous, or too intimidating,
or too - heck, I don't know. Maybe too old-
school.

And besides, who needs to do squats when
you have 27 different leg machines to pump,
bomb, blitz, torture, finagle and bedraggle
your lower limbs from every possible angle?

I don't know if the story is true or not, but
I know for sure that the prevailing mentality
at most gyms is pretty much like that.

No squat racks.

No deadlifts.

No overhead lifting - including the good old
military press.

No heavy partials in the power rack. (And
usually no power racks.)

The original Dinosaur Dungeon featured York squat stands and a heavy duty York power rack - and they got plenty of use. That's 440 pounds going for a ride in the partial push press.

No Trap Bars.

No thick bars.

It's pretty much chrome-plated (or brightly
painted) machines and plenty of cardio
stuff.

That's why I train at home - and why many
other Dinos train at home.

It's one of the only ways to be able to use
the right kind of equipment - and to do the
exercises that give you the most bang for
the buck.

And please note - a good home gym does
NOT have to have very much in the way of
equipment.

For example, my basement gym is pretty
spartan.

The basement gym here at Dino Headquarters. Yes, we have squat racks - and I use them regularly. BTW, those towels are for front squats, not back squats. I use a Dave Draper Top Squat for back squats.

But it does have squat racks.

And they get plenty of use.

So does the Trap Bar - for both full range reps
and heavy partials.

And when the weather is good, I set up some
heavy mats out in the driveway, move the bar
and the weights outside, and do all of my over-
head lifting.

Of course, there are plenty of things I don't
have.

I don't have cardio theater.

Heck, I don't even have any cardio machines.
Or any other kind of machines - unless Trudi's
hyper-extension bench and inversion table
count as machines.

And I don't have any mirrors.

In short, my training is a heck of a lot different
than what you see at most commercial gyms -
and so is my equipment.

The outdoor workout area here at Dino Headquarters. In this photo, I'm getting set to do some front squats with those towels you saw in the earlier photo. Again, those are NOT for back squats.

And both my training and my equipment work
a heck of a lot better than the mass market
silly stuff that so many people seem to be
doing.

Anyhow, I hope that YOU train somewhere that
still has squat racks - and since you're reading
this, I'm willing to bet that you do!

As always, thanks for reading and have a great
day. If you train today, make it a good one!

When the weather permits, I set up shop outside so I can do overhead lifting.

Yours in strength,

Brooks Kubik

P.S. Remember to grab the July-Aug issue of The
Dinosaur Files:

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

P.S. 2. If you're a home gym fan, you'll love
Dinosaur Training:

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

P.S. 3. My other books and courses are right
here at Dino Headquarters:

Hard-copy and PDF

The book that started The Dinosaur Revolution.

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

Kindle

Our Kindle books are best-sellers around the world!

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

P.S. 4. Thought for the Day: 

"It doesn't take much to get an effective
and result producing workout - but a barbell
and a set of squat racks sure as heck help!"

- Brooks Kubik

At age 61, I'm having more fun than ever in my workouts - and I plan to keep on doing them for a long time!

 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

Real World Desert Island Training!

Training outside in the fresh air and sunshine is great - but it may be even better on a South Seas island. That's what two young weightlifters discovered many years ago - and you won't believe their story!

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

From time to time I ask you the
following question:

If you were going to go to a desert
island and live there for a year or
two . . . .

What THREE pieces of training
equipment would you take with
you?

It's a good question, because it
makes you stop and think about
the exercises that are most pro-
ductive and effective for you -
and about the tools you need to
perform those exercises.

And it makes you realize that most
or all of the other stuff is kind of
unnecessary.

And perhaps even a distraction -
and a waste of valuable time and
energy.

I always get a ton of replies, and
it makes very interesting reading
when I share them with the Dino
Nation.

But not long ago, I spotted an old
article I had never seen before.

It told the TRUE STORY of two
young men - both of them weight-
lifting champions and "health nuts"
(as they were called back then) -

who decided to leave the city and
get away to a South Seas island -

live a simple life and eat healthy,
natural foods -

and train outdoors in the fresh air
and sunshine.

So they packed their barbell and
took off.

You won't believe what happened
next - or how their experiment
worked.

I have the whole program for you -
their diet - and their training pro-
grams - as well as their results.

It's right here - in the July-August
issue of The Dinosaur Files:

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

There are a ton of other great
articles, as well - we have loads
of great article in every issue -
but this one is extra-special.

Grab your copy now - read it
cover to cover - and let me
know how you like the little
monster.

Meanwhile, I'm trying to figure out
how to talk Trudi into a South Seas
vacation - or perhaps even an
extended stay!

Here's the link again:

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

Enjoy!

Yours in strength,

Brooks Kubik

Rainy Day Workouts at Dino Headquarters

The Rainy Day workout area at Dino Headquarters.

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

Three quick updates, and then we'll talk
training.

1. Pruning the List

I'm going to be pruning the Dino email
list in  a couple of days.

I'll try to delete only those email addresses
that don't appear to be active accounts.

But there are many emails to review, and
I'm sure I may make some mistakes.

If I delete you from the list but you still
want to receive the daily emails, please
sign back up at my website.

2. The May-June Dinosaur Files

It' s a terrific issue - jam-packed with
helpful training tips and workouts.
Articles include The Simplest Body-
weight Program in the World - The
Valhalla Challenge - The Deadlift
from Hell - and Bob Hoffman's
Favorite Workout.

Go here to grab the little monster:

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

3. The John Wood Report No. 4

John Wood just released this - and it's
very good - so be sure to grab a copy.

This issue includes articles on stone
lifting, sledge hammers, smashing
thru sticking points, a conditioning
workout from 1862, tips from Steve
Stanko and John Grimek, bench
press training, and a really tough
and effective arm training program.

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

4. Rainy Day Workouts

My current training quarters are about
as basic as they come.

We live in an old house in the Highlands
section of Louisville - which has been
converted to two living units. We rent
the top floor. It's the perfect size for
the two of us.

The basement has a washer and dryer,
amd not much else, so I keep my bar-
bells, plates, Trap bar,  and squat stands
there.

One of the barbells is an Eleiko bar that
I take outside and use for Olympic lifting.
I don't use it for squats because I don't
want to mess up the knurling.

I have a second barbell - a beater bar -
that I use for squats.

I also have a basic flat bench bench, and
a killer set of dumbbells that a friend gave
me. They're adjustable, so I can load them
to whatever I want.

The ceiling is very low, so if I want to
do overhead lifting I need to set up
shop outside - meaning that I lay some
1/2" heavy rubber stall mats down on
the driveway and lift there.

Works fine if you don't drop the weights,
and I don't drop them. I grew up in the
days of iron plates, and we never dropped
the bar. The high school coaches would
have killed us.

I also have a power rack. It doesn't fit
in the basement, so I put it outside.

So I really have two places to train - the
basement, and the drive-way.

Trudi has three. She also sets up shop
in the living room, using dumbbells, kettle-
bells, and rubber cables.

I do some things upstairs, as well, but
not anything heavy. Mainly stretching and
mobility work, so I don't count it as a
real training area.

It's been raining a lot over the past week,
so I've been dodging the storms and trying
to train in-between cloudbursts.

I mistimed it one day. Just as I was starting
my first set on the rubber mates in the drive-
way, it started to sprinkle.

I quickly moved everything into the base-
ment - which was a good thing, because
it started pouring for real.

And I had a great workout. It was a squat
day, and they work just as well inside as
they do outside.

Squats are squats no matter where you
do them.

Yesterday it rained in the afternoon, but
then the sun came out and started to dry
things off - so I went outside to train.

I had planned to do pull-ups on the power
rack, but of course the bar was pretty wet -
but that wasn't a problem - it's what towels
are for.

So I wiped the bar dry and did six fast super-
sets of pull-ups and one-arm dumbbell bench
presses - followed by other fun stuff with the
dumbbells.

And I had another great workout.

I prefer to train outside, but it all depends
on the weather - and that's okay.

Weather happens. I can't control it. But no
matter what the weather is like, I can have
a fun, challenging, effective and result-
producing workout.

And fun, challenging, effective and result-
producing is the name of the game.

Of course, you're a Dino - so you already
know that - and you live it every time you
train.

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. Chapter 14 of Strength, Muscle and
Power covers home gym training in detail -
and the other 28 chapters cover tons of other
topics - rest pause training, power rack
workouts, abbreviated workouts,sandbags,
barrels, finishers, heavy awkward objects,
grip training, specialization programs,
tendon and ligament strength, and much
more.

Go here to grab the little monster:

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

P.S. 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:

"It's all good and it all works - you just
have to knuckle down and train on a
regular and consistent basis."

- 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

More Spartan than Ever!

The outdoor lifting area at Dino Headquarters is as Spartan as it comes - but it's a great place to train!

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

A quick heads-up and then we'll talk
training.

The Dinosaur Files should be coming
out later today or tonight. I'll send an
email when it's ready.

We're running a bit late, so this will be
a combined May-June issue - an extra
big issue, with some killer workouts -
including a special challenge workout
that I know you're going to want to
try.

It comes from far away and long ago,
and you do it with - well, heck, I won't
spoil it for you.

But you're gonna love it!

On the training front . . .

I started out training at home, with a
basic barbell and dumbbell set.

I trained in my bedroom.

As you can imagine, it was pretty
Spartan.

Over the years, I've trained in many
different places - but I've spent the
most time (by far) in a basement or
garage gym.

They were all similar - nothing fancy -
pretty Spartan - basic but functional.

But last night's workout was in a gym
that was about as Spartan as they
come.

It was the outside training area here at
Dino Headquarters.

I set up two 4 x 4 squares of 1/4" rubber
matting on the concrete drive in back of
our garage, rolled out the dumbbells, and
I was ready to go - in the most Spartan
gym you ever saw.

But Spartan was all I needed.

I stretched, loosened my shoulders,
chalked my hands and got going.

It was 90 degrees with high humidity,
and there's no AC when you train out-
side, so it was hot.

Darn hot.

I trained pretty much non-stop for 90
minutes, and probably lost about 4 or
5 pounds during the workout.

And that was with drinking plenty of
water - as in, going through my stain-
less steel water bottle not once but
twice - for a total of 34 ounces of
clear, cold, and much needed water.

I did swings, cleans, presses, squats,
rowing, and a ton of other things.

By the time I finished, my shirt was
completely soaked, my hair was matted,
my glasses were covered in sweat so bad
I could hardly see, and I looked like I had
been training outside in a rain storm.

But I felt great.

I put the mats and the dumbbells away,
closed and locked the garage door, and
headed upstairs for a long, cold shower
followed by dinner and plenty of water.

Trudi looked up as I walked inside.

"Looks like you had a good one,"
she said.

And she was right.

Spartan workouts are always good.

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. We're down to the very last box of
Strength, Muscle and Power - and I'm
not going to reprint it any time soon -
perhaps not ever - so if you want a
copy, grab it now:

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

P.S. 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:

"It's not what you have or where you
train - it's HOW you train that counts!"

-- 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