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

12 Tips for Building Muscle Mass

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

On the Q and A front, I've been getting
lots of questions about building muscle
mass. So let's cover some of the high
points:

1. Basic, compound exercises.

1a. This means squats, deadlifts, presses,
etc.

1b. Himalayan curls are not basics -- 
not even if you do them for 8 x 8, 10 x 10 
or 50 x 50.

1c. Neither are triceps kickbacks, french
presses, pec deck work, flies, lateral
raises, leg extensions, leg curls, hack
squats or bunny blasters. 

2. Focus on your legs and hips, your back 
and your shoulder girdle.

2a. In other words, do squats, deadlifts, and
presses -- oops, I already said that.

3. Train progressively -- which means, always
try to improve your performance.

3a. More weight, more reps, more sets or 
better form.

5. To make significant gains in muscle mass,
you need to make equally significant gains
in strength.

5a. Sorry, that's the way it is. Don't bother to
send me hate mail about it. 

5b. Even if you just want to look good, you 
might as well be strong, too. (Heck, it might
come in handy some day. Being strong, I 
mean.)

6. If you add 100 pounds to your top weights 
in the squat and the deadlift, and 50 pounds to
your top weights in upper body movements, you
won't have any more problems with muscle mass.

6a. See point 5, above.

6b. In his prime, Reg Park was the biggest and
most massively developed bodybuilder in the
entire world. He was also the strongest 
bodybuilder in the world. Maybe, just maybe,
the two were related.

7. You need to eat more, and better food --
with an emphasis on protein. You do NOT need 
supplements, and you do not need any sort of 
special diet or eating plan. Your workouts will
create a need for high quality food, and will
increase your appetite. So TRAIN -- and then
EAT!

7a. Force-feeding is a mistake.

7b. Chugging gallons and gallons of milk is
a mistake.

7c. The Get Big Drink is the worst mistake of
all, unless you enjoy a three day belly-ache.

8. Yes, older trainees CAN build muscle mass. 
Don't listen to the folks who try to tell you
it's impossible.

8A. The key to gains for older trainees is to
limit the amount of training you do, cycle the 
intensity of your training, follow a simplified 
cycling system and avoid overtraining. See 
Gray Hair and Black Iron for details and
for workouts. (It has more than 50 of them.)

9. Contrary to popular belief, you can build 
serious mass with bodyweight exercises -- but
they have to be the right kind of exercises, 
meaning they have to be difficult, demanding
and progressive in nature. See Dinosaur
Bodyweight Training for details.

9A. The old George Jowett idea of training
progressively by moving from easy exercises to 
more difficult exercises works very well for 
bodyweight training. 

9B. Bodyweight training and weight training 
make an excellent mass building program.

10. Rest and recovery are critical. It is
impossible to make good gains in muscle mass
if you are over-trained.

11. Sleep is so important they ought to bottle
the stuff and sell it. Seriously.

11a. See my new book, Dinosaur Sleeping,
for details.

11b. Sorry, just kidding about the new book.
But it's actually a good idea -- because sleep 
is super important when you're training hard
and heavy -- and when your body is in gaining 
mode.

12. John Grimek said it best: Skinny guys worry
too much. To build muscle, you need to slow
down, chill out, stop stressing, and RELAX a
little. 

12A. As Bradley J. Steiner put it, MAINTAIN 
A TRANQUIL MIND! That's way more important than
most people realize.

12B. Spending all day on internet forums arguing
about strength training and muscle building does 
NOT promote tranquility.  

So there you have it. Some very simple, but very
important, keys to muscle mass.

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 that bodyweight training and
weight training is a good combination to pack 
on the pounds. I detail how to to do it in a 
special report that you'll get when you order
Dinosaur Bodyweight Training:

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

P.S. 2. For all other Dinosaur Training books
and courses, including Gray Hair and Black Iron,
go here:

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

P.S. 3. Thought for the Day: "If you're gonna be
a bear, you might as well be a grizzly. And if you 
want to be a grizzly, you need to train hard,
heavy and serious." -- 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

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

Why I Don't Take Vitamins

Someone asked me what kind of vitamins
I take, and he was shocked when I said,
"I don't take vitamins."

"I thought you were into all this health
and nutrition stuff," he said.

"I am."

"Then why don't you take vitamins?"

I waved my arm toward the back yard.

"Look outside," I said.

The entire back yard -- as well as the
side yard -- is a garden. We have a bunch
of raised beds, which are filled with all
sorts of green stuff. The beds are filled
with the best soil you can find. I've spent
the past couple of years adding soil
amendments (compost, kelp meal, crushed
egg shells, leaves, cover crops that I
cut and turn under, etc.) and it's packed
with vitamins and minerals.

Vegetables are like people. They need
good nutrition in order to grow strong
and healthy. That's why you need to work
the soil to make it as nutritious as
possible.

Many people take food supplements to help
get all the nutrition they need. I give
the supplements to my garden. The soil
amendments are food supplements for the
garden.

Later, I harvest and eat fresh vegetables --
and that gives me a one-two knockout
punch of great taste and great nutrition.

For breakfast I had a big omelet made with
four eggs (purchased from the farmer's
market, and raised by a local farmer who
raises free range chickens). I added one
cup of fresh chopped parsley and one cup
of fresh chopped kale from the garden. For
extra flavor, I threw in some chopped basil
and dill.

That's pretty much what I have for breakfast
every morning, although I vary what greens go
into the omelet. Yesterday it included arugula,
several kinds of lettuce, a different kind of
kale, collard greens, dandelion greens, and
two kinds of mustard greens.

The nutritional content is off the charts.
Today's breakfast gave me the following
percentages of my vitamin and mineral
needs for the day:

327 percent of my vitamin A

267 percent of my vitamin C

1,914 percent of my vitamin K

56 percent of my riboflavin

16 percent of my vitamin B12

24 percent of my folate

29 percent of my calcium

47 percent of my iron

21 percent of my magnesium

47 percent of my phosphorus

27 percent of my potassium

22 percent of my zinc

26 percent of my copper

35 percent of my manganese 

23 percent of my selenium

Plus 9,217 mcg of beta carotene and
26,786 mcg of lutein and zeaxenthin
(high-powered anti-oxidants) -- along
with high quality protein and omega 3's.

And that's just one meal. Lunch and
dinner pack a similar nutritional punch.
In fact, they're usually a lot higher.

So, no, I don't take vitamins -- unless
you count my meals as vitamins! 

Anyhow, I think of it as vitamin power
for breakfast. Throw in some serious Dino
style strength training, and you'll be
unstoppable.

And hey -- if you WANT to take vitamins,
that's fine. But focus on food first --
and on eating as well as possible. If you
can do it, grow your own (or as much of
your own as possible). If that's not
feasible, find your local farmer's market
or see if there's a CSA program (Community
Supported Agriculture) in your community.
Every step you take to improve your diet
will improve your health enormously.

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 you can see, my approach to diet and
nutrition is PDS -- pretty darn simple. But
it's also PDE -- pretty darn effective. So
is my approach to building strength and
muscle. Learn about it in Dinosaur Training,
Dinosaur Bodyweight Training, Gray Hair
and Black Iron, Chalk and Sweat, and
Strength, Muscle and Power -- and in
my DVD's and training courses:

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

P.S. 2. Thought for the day: "You are what
you eat -- so eat the best food possible."
-- Brooks Kubik

How to Gain 180 Pounds of Muscle!

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

Last week we covered the time-honored
5/4/3/2/1 system -- and we also talked
about food supplements and whether or
not they're necessary.

In response to both points, Bill Norman
shot in the following email. Bill's a guy
who trains on Dino-style abbreviated
workouts -- and so far, he's gained 180
pounds of muscle!

This is a good one to save and reread
from time to time -- especially if you're
tempted to drop your heavy training and
jump into the latest and greatest muscle-
pumping program or spend your next paycheck
on super supplements.

Bill wrote:

"I found the best supplements to be gallons
of nonfat milk, pints of cottage cheese, egg
white omelets, and cans of tuna. I also found
all you can eat buffets to be helpful.

Over a 12 year period my weight increased from
140 to 320.

I am sure lots of 5/4/3/2/1 workouts were also
helpful. The lifts I used were squats (mostly
front style), standing press (on occasion, 60
degree incline), high pulls and curls."

So, in answer to the question, "Can you do it
without supplements?" -- and the related question,
"Does abbreviated training really work?" -- the
answer is -- Just as Bill!

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. For more about abbreviated workouts for strength,
power and muscle, check out the books and courses at
the Dinosaur Training Bookstore:

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

My View of Food Supplements

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

Yesterday we got into the issue of
protein powder.

Is it necessary for big gains?

Or for that matter, is ANY supplement
necessary for big gains?

In response, let me make a couple of
observations:

1. Personal example. When I was a kid, I used
protein supplements, wheat germ oil, vitamin/mineral
pills, liver tablets and all the other stuff
they sold back then. I chugged the infamous "Get
Big Drink" like it was going out of style. All I
ever got from it was a 3-day belly-ache.

1a. Later in life (age 29 or 30), I started to follow
abbreviated workout programs and THAT was when I really
started to make good gains.

I used a protein supplement for a few months, and then
stopped and just relied on good food. I made BETTER gains
on the food. As in, gaining over 30 pounds of muscle.

1b. Right now, I take no supplements of any kind (not even
a vitamin/mineral tablet). Instead, I rely on good, high
quality food, including a ton of fresh veggies from my backyard
vegetable garden (where I grow veggies that are 100 percent
natural and organic in soil that I enrich with compost and kelp
and seaweed and all sorts of amendments that greatly increase
their nutritional content).

2. Historical examples. John Grimek. Steve Stanko. Otto Arco.
Sig Klein. Arthur Saxon. Thomas Inch. Louis Cyr. Apollon. John
Y. Smith. Maxick. John Marx. Herman Goerner. Charles Rigoulot.
John Davis. Tony Terlazzo. No protein powder. No food supplements.
Just heavy training and good food.

2A. Steve Reeves, Reg Park, Tommy Kono, Doug Hepburn, Norb
Schemansky and Paul Anderson. Maybe they took some kind of
supplements (or not) but the stuff available to them in the
early and mid-50's was strictly fourth rate. Eating the boxes
it came in would have been better. So relaly, thse men fall into
the "no supplement" category as well.

3. Recent conversation with Frank Spellman -- Olympic Gold Medal
winner in 1948. I asked Frank what the lifters ate to build world
class strength and power "back in the day." His answer: "Steak and
potatoes!"

So, back to the questions.

Are supplements necessary?

Not at all.

Is it okay to take them?

Hey, you're an adult. If you want to try a supplement of some sort,
then do so. If you think it helps, fine. if not, consider it a
worthwhile experiment.

But whatever you do, remember that there's ONE THING -- and ONE THING
ONLY -- that builds strength, muscle and power.

It's regular, hard training -- progressive poundages -- basic compound
exercises -- and the iron will to succeed.

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. To learn more about how to build world class strength, muscle and
power, head on over to the Dinosaur Training Bookstore:

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