Do It Yourself Health Care

Staggered grip double rope pull-ups - one of my favorite exercises from Dinosaur Bodyweight Training.

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

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

1. Dinosaur Bodyweight Training
DVD's

I have ONE set of all seven of my
Dinosaur Bodyweight Training
DVD's.

It would normally run $150 plus
shipping and handling, but since
today is Black Friday I'm letting it
go for $120.00 plus s&h. But if no
one grabs it, the price goes back
up tomorrow.

If you're interested, shoot me an
email. First come, first served.

2. The Dinosaur Files

The October and November issues
of The Dinosaur Files newsletter are
getting great reviews. You can grab
them in PDF format with immediate
electronic delivery:

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

The Dinosaur Files is printable, so if you
want a hard copy, get the PDF edition
and print it out.

if you don't have a printer or if you want
a one year (12 issue) subscription, shoot
me an email and we'll see what we can
do for you.

3. Do It Yourself Health Care

Everyone worries about health care -
and about the ever-increasing cost of
health care.

The politicians debate it backwards and
forwards, upside down, inside out, and
every other way.

Everyone has a proposed solution - most
of which just won't work.

But no one asked me.

And that's a shame, because I have a
couple of ideas that might help the
situation.

Actually, there not MY ideas - they're
just common sense physical culture
and physical fitness ideas that have
been around for the past 100 years
or more.

Here they are:

1. Walkable cities. The more people
walk, the leaner and healthier they
are.

a. Bike friendly cities are also
important.

2. Parks and playgrounds for kids.
Start 'em young, and keep 'em
moving.

a. With monkey bars, even. (Those
were my favorite when I was a kid.)

b. And outdoor workout areas for
the older kids and the adults.

3. Community gardens. They should
be everywhere - with people using
them - and growing plenty of healthy
and delicious food.

a. This also would help make real food
much more affordable.

b. And gardening is good for you - it
gets you outside, and it provides some
light exercise - at a level that almost
anyone can do.

4. A gym on every corner. Meaning an
old-school gym with barbells, dumbbells,
kettlebells and similar basics. A neighbor-
hood gym that anyone and everyone can
use.

a. This actually used to be pretty much
the case in many big cities back in the
day.

5. Real food in the grocery stores - and
in restaurants.

a. But no more deep fried, super greasy,
high fat, high sugar, high calorie fast
food.

6. A gym in every house (or apartment).

a. Just the basics - for the entire family
to use.

b. This was one of Bob Hoffman's life-
long dreams.

7. A national effort - similar to the effort
the USA made in World War 2 or to get a
man on the moon - to teach people to
build their health with the right kind of
diet and exercise.

Those are the ideas that come to mind
immediately.

Do you have any others? If you do, send
them on it!

Yours in strength,

Brooks Kubik

P.S. Dinosaur Bodyweight Training is
great for home-gym workouts - or for
outdoor training.

Go here to grab the little monster:

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

And remember, if you want the DVD
set - the last one I have - shoot me
an email right now.

P.S. 2. My other books and courses -
and 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/kindle.html

P.S. 3. Thought for the Day:

"Think how wonderful the world
would be if everyone followed the
strength and health lifestyle!"

- 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

Happy Thanksgiving from Dino Headquarters!

Happy Thanksgiving - and keep on lifting!

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

I hope that everyone has a terrific
holiday -- and that everyone has
plenty of delicious and nutritious
food -- and that everyone who
trains today makes it a good
one!

That goes double for all of our
Dinos in the military -- and triple
for military Dinos who are stationed
overseas.

And remember -- if you hit your
squats, pulls and pushes extra
hard, you get an extra big slice
of pumpkin pie!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Yours in Strength,

Brooks Kubik

Adapt, Change and Keep on Training!

We all need to make changes in our training as we grow older - but the important thing is to keep on training!

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

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

1. The Dinosaur Files

Go here to grab the October and November
issues of The Dinosaur Files in PDF format
with immediate electronic delivery:

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

The Dinosaur Files is printable, so if you
want a hard copy, get the PDF edition and
print it out.

if you don't have a printer or if you want a
one year (12 issue) subscription shoot me
an email and we'll see what we can do for
you.

2. New from John Wood!

John Wood has released a new e-book
on Kindle. It's written by Steve Pulcinella,
and it's called The Iron Sport Training
Method.

Go here to grab the little monster:

https://www.oldtimestrongman.com/ironsport.html

If you have a minute, post a review
on the Kindle page - the reviews
always help!

3. Training Adaptations for Older
Dinosaurs

The vast majority of those who train when they
are in their teens and twenties stop training long
before they hit the Big 4-0.

As in, most of them stop in their 20's or 30's.

Very few people train after age 50 -- and hardly
anyone trains after age 60.

That's a shame, because training should be a
part of your life for all of the days of your
journey. It's not just for the young -- it's
for everyone.

And if we're talking about quality of life, then
training is MORE IMPORTANT than ever as you
grow older.

But training often requires adaptations as we
pass the 40, 50 or 60 age mark.

We often need to change to new exercises to
work around age-related dings and dents.

For example . . .

I have shoulder problems that date back to
my high school wrestling days. They don't
keep me from training, but they make it
impossible to hold a bar on my upper back
for squats. It hurts my shoulders too much.

So I use the Dave Draper Top Squat device
for back squats -- or I do front squats.

Would I rather do regular back squats?

Yes.

Do I worry about it?

No.

Does it stop me from training -- and from
having fun when I train?

Not at all.

And even with shoulders that don't work as
well as they used to, I'm a heck of a lot
stronger and in 10 times better shape than
the average man my age. That's because I'm
still training.

And almost every older Dino could share a
similar story with you.

Bad knees that make squatting impossible.

That's no fun - but the Trap Bar deadlift is
a good work-around.

Some of our older Dinos have a bad back
or a bad hip that make both squats and
deadlifts impossible.

That's not fun, but it's not the end of the
world - or the end of your training.

One of our older Dinos figured out a way
to beat that problem. He does sled pulls
and sled drags now. Read about it in the
Nov 2017 issue of The Dinosaur Files.

Other Dinos find that bodyweight training
works better for them than barbell and
dumbbell work.

Or that kettlebells are best.

Or that twice a week training works better
for them than once a week training.

That partials are better than full-range
movements (or vice-versa).

Or - well, the list goes on and on.

There are many different problems for
older Dinos - and many different ways
to adapt, overcome, and keep on training.

That's what I do - and that's what ALL
older Dinos do.

Whatever your age, I want YOU to do the
same thing.

Keep on training.

Never stop.

Never even think about stopping.

Find the tools that allow you to keep on hitting
the iron.

If you need to make changes, make changes.

But keep on training. That's the important
thing.

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. Many older Dinos get great results with
Dinosaur Bodyweight Training:

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

Other older Dinos get great results with
old-school dumbbell training - the kind
I teach in Dinosaur Dumbbell Training:

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

And others prefer the workouts in Gray Hair
and Black Iron:

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

P.S. 2. My other books and courses -
and 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/kindle.html

P.S. 3. Thought for the Day:

"There's no roadmap for life. You need
to figure it out as you go." 

-- 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

A New Bone Strength Fan!

 

Bob Hoffman doing a super-heavy hip lift with one of Warren Lincoln Travis' monster sized stage dumbbells. This must have built a lot of bone strength. 

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

We have a new fan of John Wood's Bone
Strength Project.

I know she likes it, because I happen to
live with her.

In fact, we're married.

And she was raving about it at dinner last
night.

Yes, it's Trudi. AKA, Mrs. Kubik.

"This is the best!" she said. "It hits every-
thing with just a couple of exercises. And
it hits everything really hard."

I nodded.

I'm doing Bone Strength workouts as well,
and Trudi is absolutely right.

They're super effective.

And they're tons of fun.

Trudi has been going down to the basement
and doing two different exercises using the
Bone Strength Training protocol.

One is the deadlift - which she does with a
regular barbell in some workouts, and a Trap
Bar in other workouts.

She also does an overhead lockout, with one
leg bent, just as if she were doing an over-
head jerk.

Trudi can do that even through the basement
ceiling is really low - because she's only about
5'0" or 5'1" - and that's wearing a pair of
extra thick socks.

She alternates the lead leg from set to set,
to keep everything in balance.

And that's the entire workout. Two exercises -
using the Bone Strength protocol on every
set.

The workout lasts 30 to 45 minutes. Sometimes
Trudi does some dumbbell work after the Bone
Strength exercises. Other times, she saves the
dumbbell work for another day.

It's a simple workout, but it works amazingly
well.

For details on the Bone Strength Project, grab
issue no. 4 of The Train Hard Bulletin. It
lays the complete program out in detail:

https://www.oldtimestrongman.com/bone-strength-projectPDF.html

If you're already doing the Bone Strength
Program (or any variation of it), shoot me an
email and let me know how you like it and
how it's working for you.

If you haven't tried it, give it a try. I think you'll
like it just as much as Trudi does.

Yours in strength,

Brooks Kubik

P.S. The Bone Strength Program works great
with The Save Your Life Neck Training Program
featured in the November issue of the Dinosaur
Files - which you can grab right here:

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

P.S. 2. My other books and courses -
and 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/kindle.html

P.S. 3. Thought for the Day:

"Keep it simple, keep it real, and keep
on doing it."

- 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

John Grimek's Favorite Exercise

John Grimek hitting a heavy clean and press back in the early 1940's.

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

Two quick notes, and then we'll talk
training - as in, John Grimek's favorite
exercise.

1 The Dinosaur Files

The October and November issues of
The Dinosaur Files are available in
PDF format, with immediate electronic
delivery. The PDF is printable, so if you
want a printed copy, order the PDF, print
it out, and BANG - instant hard-copy -
with no shipping delay and no postage
charges.

Both issues have been getting great feed-
back, especially the November issue with
my special "Save Your Life Neck Training
Program."

Go here to grab them:

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

And please send in your feedback about
these two issues - and about the Save
Your Life Neck Training Program.

2. The Iron Sport Strength Training
Method

In other "new release" news, John
Wood has released a Kindle version
of Steve Pulcinella's popular book,
The Iron Sport Training Method.

It's available here - and it looks like
it's selling pretty well, because it's
already in two Top 10 Lists in the
Kindle bookstore:

https://www.oldtimestrongman.com/ironsport.html

If you have a minute, post a review
on the Kindle page - the reviews
always help!

3. John Grimek's Favorite Exercise

Back in the day, John Grimek was the
top man in the Iron Game.

A weightlifting champion - USA Senior
National champ - North American champ -
member of the USA Olympic team in
1936 - American record holder in the
military press - and unofficial World
record holder in the press.

Hands down, the top bodybuilder of
his generation. Undefeated in body-
building contests. Two time winner of
the Mr. America title. Mr. USA. Mr.
Universe. The Monarch of Muscledom.

A man who pretty much knew it all
when it came to effective strength
training and muscle-building - and
a man well worth listening to.

Grimek once wrote an article about
the single best exercise.

The one that gave you a complete work-
out.

If you only had time for ONE exercise,
this was the one.

What was it?

It was the clean and press.

And you would do ONE clean and
ONE press on each rep.

You also would LOWER the bar, not
drop it after each rep. They only had
iron plates back then, and dropping
the bar would break the floor AND
bend the bar - and break the plates.

So dropping the bar was a "Do Not
Do!" kind of thing.

Grimek liked to start with relatively
high reps, add weight  on each set,
- and drop the reps. And when you
got to lower reps, you might do a
couple of sets with each weight.

For example:

Clean and Press Workout

1 x 10 (light warm-up)

1 x 10

1 x 8

1 x 6

1 x 5

1 x 4

2 x 3

2 x 2

3 x 1

Now, that's a fast, hard, very effective
workout - and all you need is a barbell.

Of course, you also could do the program
with two dumbbells - or a single dumbbell -
or a pair of kettlebells - or a single kettle-
bell.

I've used that workout many times, and I
still use workouts that are very similar to
it. They're very effective.

Anyhow, that's a Golden Oldie - from one
of the true heroes of the Iron Game. If you
give it a try (and I hope you do), let me
know how it works for you.

Yours in strength,

Brooks Kubik

P.S. For more training wisdom from John
Grimek, grab my John Grimek training
course.

Hard-copy

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

Kindle edition

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

P.S. 2. My other books and courses -
and links to all of my e-books on
Kindle - are right here:

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 doesn't have to be complicated. In
fact, it's better when it's not."

- 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

How to Increase Your Nerve Force

Bernie Baron demonstrates plenty of nerve force - as well as muscle power and bone strength - in this classic photo from 1940.

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

One of our longtime Dinos sent
me an email about a recent study
that compared the effect of
training with light weights to
training with heavy weights.

They had one group of test
subjects who did leg extensions
3x a week with 30 percent of
their one rep max.

They had another group who
did leg extensions 3x a week
with 80 percent of their one
rep max.

Both groups did as many reps
as possible in each workout.

Pretty simple stuff - standard
protocol for research in the
field - and certainly not as
good for you as doing squats.

But stay with me - it gets much
more interesting.

The researchers found that you
build more strength with heavy
weights.

Okay, that's not a surprise.

We all know that (or should know
it - although the muscle media
and the Internet honchos tend to
forget it).

But here's the cool part.

The increased strength came from
an increase in nerve capacity.

In other words, an increase in the
ability of your nervous system to
recruit muscle fibers - and to
trigger them to fire fast and
effectively.

What the old-timers referred to
as NERVE FORCE.

The group that trained with light
weights increased their nerve
force by less than one percent
over the course of the six-week
study.

The group that trained with heavy
weights increased their nerve force
by almost 2.5 percent.

That's more than twice as much as
the group that trained with light
weights.

Now, again, this is a six-week study,
and it's leg extensions instead of
squats, etc., etc. - but that's a
very interesting result.

Think of the implications.

For weightlifters and powerlifters.

For martial artists.

For other athletes.

For increasing strength without
increasing bodyweight.

For healthy aging.

Yes, healthy aging - because anything
that keeps your nerves healthy and
strong also helps keep your brain
healthy and strong.

And the stronger your nervous
system, the better your balance
and coordination will be.

Anyhow, I thought this was a very
interesting experiment - even if they
did leg extensions - and it highlights
some important points for all of us.

By the way - there are two very good
programs to help build nerve force by
building and strengthening the spine:

1. The Save Your Life Neck Training
Program

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

2. The Bone Strength Project

https://www.oldtimestrongman.com/bone-strength-projectPDF.html

As I mentioned yesterday, the two make
an unbeatable combination - in part because
they help keep your spine strong and straight -
which in turn helps improve nerve force.

And who knows - maybe someday the
science guys will test them - and prove
to the entire world that old-school, Dino
style training has some very serious
benefits.

Yours in strength,

Brooks Kubik

P.S. Gray Hair and Black Iron has
tons of great training tips - and more
than 50 different workouts - to keep
older trainees healthy and strong -
and to help keep their nerve force at
full capacity.

You can grab the little monster right
here:

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

P.S. 3. Thought for the Day:

"For strong nerves, train your back,
spine and neck."

- 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

Try this Simple Mini-Cycle for Great Results!

Abe Boshes shows amazing muscular development in this classic photo.

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

One quick note, and then we'll talk training.

1. The Dinosaur Files

The Oct and Nov issues of the Dinosaur
Files are available right here in a quick
and easy PDF format with immediate
electronic delivery:

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

The PDF is printable, so if you prefer a
hard-copy, order the PDF and print it --
and you'll have an instant hard-copy to
save in your collection.

If you don't have a printer, send me
an email and we'll see what we can do
for you.

I hope you enjoy the October and
November issues -- shoot me an email
and let me know how you like them!

2. Try this Three Week Mini Cycle for Great
Gains!

(Here's something I shared in 2015. I'm running
it again because the program is so darn effective.)

I celebrated my birthday last night by hitting a
hard workout.

It was pretty good, because I hit a PR for 2015
in the split style snatch. In fact, it was the most
I had lifted in the split style snatch for the past
two years.

So that was a birthday present to myself.

I got there by using a simple variation of the old
Light, Medium and Heavy system.

It's a three week mini-cycle.

I use singles in all of my exercises, but it works
fine for sets of multiple reps, as well. Once you
understand the system, you can apply it to many
different kinds of workouts.

Here's how it goes:

Week 1 -- Light

I work up to 5 singles with my working weight.
I use a relatively light weight -- 70 to 75% of my
max.

In other words, my working weight is week 1 is
a light weight.

Week 2 -- Medium

I work up to 2 or 3 singles with my working weight.
I go heavier this week, but not too heavy -- 80 to
85% of my max. So this is a medium week.

Week 3 -- Heavy

I work up to one single with my working weight.
This is my heavy week. I go as heavy as I can. If
I feel good, I try to lift my max or to set a new
max. However, I usually work up to 90 or 95%
of my max. As an older lifter, I can train heavy
but I can't push for a new max too often.

Week 4

Start the mini-cycle all over again - either at
the same weight as before, or just a little bit
heavier.

And there you have it.

As I said, it's a simple system -- but it's been
very effective. It keeps me strong, helps me
improve my speed, form and technique, and
best of all, helps me avoid over-training.

And so far (knock on wood), it's helped me
avoid dings and dents.

Give it a try and see how you like it -- and
shoot me an email with your results.

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 other simple but very effective
cycling systems in Gray Hair and Black
Iron:

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

P.S. 2. My other books and courses
and links to all of my e-books on
Kindle -- are right here:

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

P.S. 3. Thought for the Day:

"First, last and foremost -- TRAIN!"

-- 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