Revealed -- The Mystery Lifter!

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

I'll start the week by revealing the name of
the Mystery Lifter featured in the May issue of
The Dinosaur Files newsletter -- which no one
was able to guess.

But first I wanted to clear up some confusion,
especially for new readers.

Many of you think that my daily email messages
and Blog Posts are "The Dinosaur Filers" newsletter.
They are not.

The Dinosaur Files is a unique publication. It's
an old-fashioned, hard-copy newsletter -- printed
on paper and mailed to readers each month. It's
a subscription-only publication because we need
to cover the cost of the paper, the printing, the
mailing envelopes and -- above all -- the postage.

The Dinosaur Files is 20 pages per issue, and always
contains a ton of great info not published in any
of my other books or courses, and not appearing
in my email messages or Blog Posts. It also has
killer photos and lots of useful and motivating
material from your fellow dinosaurs.

So that's what I mean when I talk about The
Dinosaur Files.

And now let's turn to the Mystery Lifter!

It's Harry Good!

Harry Good was the eldest of the famous Good Brothers.
He and his brothers were hailed as the strongest
family in the world "back in the day."

Harry got his start by training with something I talk
about in Dinosaur Training and in Strength, Muscle
and Power: heavy, awkward objects.

Harry lived on a farm in Pennsylvania, and he had
no barbells or dumbbells, and there was no neighborhood
gym, YMCA, or school weight room.

So he trained by lifting heavy rocks, logs, anvils, and
bags of sand, grain, or feed.

Sounds primitive, but it worked pretty well.

With this simple equipment, Harry gained 35 pounds
of muscle and worked up to the following feats:

1. Lifting a 548 pound stone with one hand with a rope
wrapped around his wrist.

2. Lifting an 829 pound stone with two hands in the same
fashion.

3. Lifting a 270 pound stone onto a fence that was
3 1/2 feet high.

And more, which I'll cover in the Dinosaur Files.

When Harry finally saved enough money to purchase a barbell
set, he gained even more strength, and worked up to some
amazing barbell, dumbbell and kettlebell lifts.

It's the kind of TRUE story that appeals to me. A skinny
kid gets bit by the strength training bug -- and all on
his own, with only the most basic of equipment, he turns
himself into a Hercules.

And he does it the old-fashioned way -- with hard work,
sweat, and fierce determination.

It's a classic example of one of the most important rules
in physical training: IT'S NOT WHAT YOU'VE GOT, IT'S HOW
YOU USE IT!

Yours in strength,

Brooks Kubik

P.S. For more about old-fashioned strength training and
muscle building, and for more stories about men who overcame
tremendous odds in the struggle for might and muscle, try
these:

1. Dinosaur Training: Lost Secrets of Strength and Development

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

2. Strength, Muscle and Power

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

3. The Dinosaur Files newsletter (new subscriptions):

http://brookskubik.com/dinosaurfiles_renewalpage.html

4. The Dinosaur Files newsletter (back issues from year
no. 1 -- 12 issues total):

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

10 Tips for Older Lifters!

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

Two quick notes, and then we'll cover a training
question from a reader.

1. No one has guessed the identity of the Mystery
Lifter profiled in the May issue of the Dinosaur
Files newsletter -- which goes to show that you're
going to learn all sorts of interesting new things
from the Dino Files. I'll reveal the name next week.

2. If you plan to subscribe to the Dino Files, do it
now. Ditto for subscription renewals. We'll mail the
May issue next Tuesday or Wednesday, so we can still
get you on the list.

As for training -- I've rec'd several questions from
older readers (age 50 or so) who are suffering from
aches and pains and dings and dents, and want to know
what advice I have for older lifters who want to keep
on lifting heavy weights.

So here are some tips. I'll cover them very briefly.
For more detail, see Gray hair and Black Iron. I wrote
it specifically for older lifters, and it has a ton of
great info older dinos.

1. Abbreviated workouts are more important than ever
for older lifters.

2. Recovery is the key.

3. Clean up your diet. A good, healthy diet helps to
reduce soreness and inflammation.

4. Use some sort of simple cycling system.

5. Don't go heavy all the time.

6. Stop doing exercises that hurt you, even if they are
your favorite exercises.

7. Use lower volume workouts to reduce wear and tear on
your body.

8. Stand on your feet when you train. (Very important for
anyone, but super important for older trainees.)

9. Do cardio work regularly -- but be sure to do the RIGHT
KIND of cardio.

10. Train with a young whippersnapper every once in awhile
and show him what an older lifter can do. (It's great for
your ego, and as for him, well, he'll get it over it
someday.)

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

Yours in strength,

Brooks Kubik

P.S. I cover much more about effective training for older
lifters in Gray hair and Black Iron. You can find it here:

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

P.S. 2 To subscribe to year two of The Dino Files newsletter
(or to renew your subscription) go here:

http://brookskubik.com/dinosaurfiles_renewalpage.html

For the entire set (12 issues) of year no. 1 of The Dino Files
newsletter, go here:

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

Can You Unmask the Mystery Lifter?

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

We're in the middle of a big contest to
see if anyone can identify the Mystery Lifter
profiled in the May issue of the Dinosaur
Files newsletter.

I gave you ten clues in yesterday's email. If
you missed it, you can find them in yesterday's
post on The Dinosaur Training Blog. (Take a look
and check it out right now if you missed it.)

The prize is your choice of a Dinosaur Training
t-shirt, any of the Legacy of Iron books or my
Doug Hepburn training course.

The first right answer wins the contest.

One guess per reader.

I'm going to keep the contest open through midnight
today. (Eastern Standard Time)

So far, we've rec'd the following guesses:

1. Arthur Saxon

2. Joe Rollino

3. Warren Lincoln Travis

4. Max Millian

5. Zishe Breitbart

6. Louis Cyr

7. Milo Steinborn

8. John B. Gagnon

9. Paul Anderson

10. The Mighty Atom

11. Herman Goerner

12. Bob Peoples

13. Thomas Inch

14. Wilbur Miler

15. J.C. Hise

16. George Hackenschmidt

17. George F. Jowett

18. Bert Assirati

19. James J. Carroll

20. Galen Gough

Some of these men got multiple guesses from readers.
More of you guessed Arthur Saxon than anyone else.

All of these were good guesses based on the ten clues
I gave you -- BUT none of them are the right answer.

Which leads to an interesting observation. There are
things in The Dinosaur Files newsletter that you're
not going to see anywhere else. Or learn anywhere else.
And that's one of the many benefits of the Dinosaur Files.

Another big benefit of The Dinosaur Files newsletter is
having a monthly resource that collects training ideas,
new exercises, new workouts, new twists on old exercises,
new equipment and real-world feedback on what works and
what doesn't work from your fellow Dinosaurs around the
world.

As I said, each issue of The Dinosaur Files newsletter
brings you material you're not going to see anywhere else.

Like the life, the lifting and the training of the Mysterious
Strongman -- the man no one can identify!

Yours in strength,

Brooks Kubik

P.S. You can subscribe to year two of The Dinosaur Files
newsletter right here at Dino Headquarters:

http://brookskubik.com/dinosaurfiles_renewalpage.html

You can order the complete set of back issues for the
first year of The Dinosaur Files right here:

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

Two Contests for Dinosaurs!

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

I just finished my interview on SuperHuman Radio
(covering Abbreviated Strength Training).

We decided to have a little contest on the show --
with the winner getting free copies of the first
two books in the Legacy of Iron series.

If you listened to the show live, you probably
already have taken a stab at it -- if not, then
listen to the podcast in the Superhuman radio
archives and send in your guess per the
instructions given at the end of the show.

Here's the link to the show:

http://www.superhumanradio.com/

In the meantime -- here's another contest for
readers. The first correct answer in the next
24 hours gets his or her choice of a free
Dinosaur Training T-shirt, a copy of any of
the Legacy of Iron books, or a copy of my
Doug Hepburn training course.

One guess per reader!

I'm finishing up the May issue of the Dinosaur
Files newsletter. One of the articles is about
a famous old-time strongman. It had some information
that was news to me, and I bet it's news to you
as well.

So here's the contest -- read the ten clue given
below and see if you can guess the name of the
strongman:

1. Before he could afford to buy a barbell, he
trained by lifting stones, boxes, bags and other
heavy awkward objects.

2. He also trained by bending iron bars.

3. At one point, he specialized in push-ups, and
could perform over 120 perfect, continuous push-ups.

4. At one time, he wanted to become a professional
wrestler, and contacted Farmer Burns (the trainer
of Frank Gotch) to see if Burns would train him.

5. He trained alone in an old farm building, lifting
late at night, using a lantern to light his training
quarters.

6. His first barbell cost $40 -- a huge sum in
those days. He trapped muskrats to earn the money.

7. At age 18, he lifted a 270 pound stone from the
ground to a stone wall 3 1/2 feet off the ground.
(That's the size of the world-famous Inver Stone.)

8. He was an expert at teeth-lifting stunts.

9. He set records in many lifts, including the Two
Hands Anyhow.

10. He was a master at juggling heavy weights.
Can you identify the Mystery Lifter?

Send your guesses to Dino HQ!

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. You can order all 12 of the back issues of The
Dinosaur Files newsletter here:

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

And you can subscribe to the coming year (12 issues)
of The Dinosaur Files newsletter right here:

http://brookskubik.com/dinosaurfiles_renewalpage.html

All About Abbreviated Strength Training!

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

Breaking news.

I'm going to be doing a radio
show on SuperHuman Radio today.

It will be at 1:00 noon EST.

You can listen to it live on
SuperHuman Radio at:

http://www.superhumanradio.com/

If you miss the live broadcast,
you can find the show in the archives
at SuperHuman Radio.

The topic will be Abbreviated Strength
Training -- How to Get Maximum Results
with Minimum Training.

This is going to be a good one - be sure
to listen to it.

Yours in strength,

Brooks Kubik

P.S. I cover abbreviated strength training
in detail in Strength, Muscle and Power.
It's a great book, and you can grab a copy
right here:

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

Questions and Answers About John Grimek

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

In response to yesterday's post, I rec'd a ton
of questions about received a ton of questions
about John Grimek and his training. I'll try to
answer some of the most common ones in this email.

1. Grimek's 190 Pound Barbell Curls

A number of readers wanted to know if Grimek did
strict curls with 190 lbs. or if he did "cheat" or
"swinging" curls.

They were strict curls -- and they were performed
as a WARM-UP prior to going on stage to pose at
the Mr. Universe contest.

THAT's how strong the man was!

2. Handbalancing and Gymnastics

Many readers asked if Grimek did handbalancing and
gymnastics.

Absolutely!

There's a great old photo where Grimek and Bob Hoffman
are out in a canoe one day -- on a river close to York.

Grimek is in the bow of the canoe -- and he performs a
perfect handstand while balancing on the sides of the
canoe.

Even with 265 pounds of Bob Hoffman weighting down the
stern of the canoe, you can imagine how tricky the
balance must have been!

Grimek also enjoyed performing giants and other stunts
on the horizontal bar.

3. Grimek's Bench Press

Several other readers asked how Grimek could bench press
over 400 pounds if he rarely or never did the lift.

The answer is simple.

Grimek did TONS of heavy military presses. When you can
military press close to 300 pounds, you can bench press
400 pounds with no trouble. (Note that the reverse is not
true.)

The bench press is primarily a shoulder and triceps lift.
The shoulder and triceps strength built by heavy overhead
pressing will always assure a lifter of a good bench press.

4. What is the Legacy of Iron series?

I'm working on a series of books where I cover the life
and lifting (and the training) of John Grimek, Steve Stanko,
and the other Golden Age Champions. It's the Legacy of Iron
series, and it captures the Golden Age of Strength in a way
that you won't see anywhere else.

I call them novels, but it might be more accurate to think
of them as dramatizations. The story lines track actual events,
such as weightlifting championships and the Mr. America contests.
Think of them as historical fiction.

There are currently five books in the series, with more coming.
You can find them here:

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

5. Who Was Stronger?

The final question came from several readers.

Who was stronger -- John Grimek or John Davis?

Well, the two men actually lifted against one another on several
occasions in the 1930's. Grimek failed to total in one contest,
won the second, and Davis beat him in the third meeting.

I cover the contests in detail in my upcoming
biography of John Davis, which you can find here:

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

6. A Final Thought

Men like John Grimek and John Davis achieved amazing things
with nothing more than a barbell, a lifting platform and squat
stands. And they did it with an ordinary diet, no drugs, and no
supplements.

Maybe, just maybe, the training methods of the 1930's, 1940's and
1950's were something extra-special.

Maybe, just maybe, most of what followed just isn't as good.

Maybe, just maybe, that's why I cover the old-time training
methods in my books and courses -- and why I'm writing the Legacy
of Iron books -- and why I've written a 450 page book about John
Davis.

And maybe, just maybe, the training programs that worked so well
for the lifters of the 1930's, 40's and 50's would work just as well
for 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. For Dinosaur Training and my other books and courses, go here:

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

How John Grimek Trained!

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

In response to last Friday's message,
"Was Grimek A Monster?" I received over
a dozen emails that said:

"Maybe he was, but I'd still like to look
like him!"

So let's talk a little about how John
Grimek trained. And see how much of this
sounds like Dinosaur Training.

1. Lots of squats!

Grimek was a huge believer in the heavy
back squat. No other bodybuilder of his
era did as much heavy squatting as did
John Grimek.

2. Barbells

Grimek was a child of the barbell era. He
used "free weights" for virtually all of
his training during his developmental and
contest-winning years.

3. Weightlifting

Grimek combined Olympic weightlifting (the
press, snatch and clean and jerk) with plenty
of hard work on basic, compound exercises.
The combination gave him an incomparable blend
of muscle mass, athleticism and rugged
development.

4. Dumbbells

Grimek was a huge fan of heavy dumbbell presses.
He probably did more work on dumbbell presses
and squats than any other exercise.

5. Heavy Support Lifts

As a young man, Grimek enjoyed performing heavy
partial movements with enormous weights in the
hip lift, hand and thigh lift, Jefferson lift,
and overhead lockout (i.e., the lockout position
of a military press or jerk). The heavy movements
helped build tremendous tendon and ligament
strength, and contributed enormously to the
massiveness of the Grimek physique.

6. Food

Grimek ate TONS of good, wholesome, healthy food.
He followed no special diet and subscribed to no
type of food fads. He predated supplements, protein
powders and the Get Big Drink. Note that the foods
available to him were largely natural and organic,
particularly when he lived in York, with its
surrounding farms throughout the Pennsylvania
Dutch countryside of the 1930's and 40's.

7. Grip Work

Grimek had a ferocious grip and enjoyed doing a
variety of stunts, such as tearing thick phone
books, bending spikes and metal bars, etc. One
of his sons used to make money by finding odd
pieces of metal and betting the other kids that
his dad could bend them.

8. Heavy Curls (Or Not)

When Grimek did curls, he did HEAVY curls. When he
was backstage at the Mr. Universe contest in London,
he warmed up by doing reps with 190 pounds!

But Grimek DIDN'T LIKE curls. In fact, he once told
Bill Hinbern that he "hated" the exercise.

9. To Bench of Not to Bench

Grimek could bench press over 400 pounds, but rarely
did the exercise. His favorite chest exercise was
the decline press with dumbbells.

10. Rib Cage Expansion

Grimek believed in training heavy, high rep squats
in combination with light breathing pullovers (with
dumbbells) to expand the rib cage. He believed that
building a huge rib cage was much more important than
building the pectoral muscles.

As I said at the beginning -- the same sort of training
that made John Grimek the Monarch of Muscledom sounds an
awful lot like Dinosaur Training!

As always, thanks for reading, and have a great day. If
you train today, train like John Grimek!

Yours in strength,

Brooks Kubik

P.S. For more about John Grimek's life and training, see
the Legacy of Iron books -- and for John Grimek's special
leg training program, see Chalk and Sweat. You can find
them right here at the Dinosaur Training store:

a. Legacy of Iron (the first book in the Legacy of Iron
series)

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

b. Chalk and Sweat

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