25 Things that Dinos Do!

John Grimek shows his form in the one-hand deadlift. Very few modern trainees have ever seen someone do a one-hand deadlift, let alone tried to do one!

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

One quick note and then we'll talk training.

1. My EBay Store

Since Trudi and I are planning to move to
the Pacific Northwest in the not-too-distant
future, I'm selling al of my duplicate copies
of Iron Game books and magazines.

I'm listing them on eBay now - and here are
the first three listings:

 Peary Rader's Iron Man Sept 1978

https://www.ebay.com/itm/232993590754

Peary Rader's Iron Man Jan. 1978

https://www.ebay.com/itm/232990689162

The Illustrated History of Physical
Culture

https://www.ebay.com/itm/232990985557

I also have tons of old issues of Strength
and Health magazine from the 40's, 50's
and 60's - shoot me an email if you're
interested in buying some for your
collection.

I have tons of old issues of Bob Hoffman's Strength and health for sale. Shoot me an email if you're interested.

 
2.  Great Things that Dinos Do!

When it comes to training, most people focus
on "the champions" and what the "champions"
are doing.

I tend to focus on the ordinary folks - people
like you and me who love to train - who stick
to it through thick and thin - and who end up
pretty darn strong and pretty darn impressive.

So I thought I'd make a list of some really
impressive things that Dinos do.

Here it is. See if you can spot yourself on the
list (and note that you may be there more than
once):

1. Lifting and carrying great big stones.

2. Giving a heavy sandbag the ride of its life.

3. Making great gains from your training even if
you only have time for one or two workouts a
week.

4. Doing squats -- and doing them hard and heavy.

5. Any of the advanced workouts in Dinosaur
Bodyweight Training.

 

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

6. Heavy dumbbell training -- with the emphasis
on heavy. (See Dinosaur Dumbbell Training
for details.)

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

7. Finishers.

8. Thick bar training.

9. Heavy partials in the power rack.

10. Keeping at it after age 40.

11. Keeping at it after age 50.

12. Keeping at it after age 60 and beyond.

13. Making a date with a special strength
stone somewhere in Scotland - or in Iceland.

14. Teaching your children how to train.

15. Teaching your grandchildren how to train.

16. Learning to do new stuff -- whatever your
age.

17. Using the same barbell at age 60 that you
used at age 12.

18. Growing as much of your own food as
possible.

19. Entering your first powerlifting, weightlifting
or strongman comp.

20. Saying "no" to roidskies.

21. Dropping 40 pounds and five inches off your
gut because you know it's good for your health --
and staying just as strong at your new bodyweight
as you were when you were heavier.

22. Focusing on lifelong strength and health.

23. Learning about the lives and lifting of the
great old-time champions -- and striving to
match their lifts in your own workouts.

24. Setting a good example for others.

25. Teaching someone else how to train Dino
style.

There are many more. Send in your ideas and
I'll share them with your fellow Dinos.

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. No. 26 on the list is having a well-read copy
of Dinosaur Training on your bookshelf or in
your gym bag:

 http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaur_training.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. 4. Thought for the Day:

"The only person you should be trying to
impress is YOU."

-- Brooks Kubik

Before You Leave - Check These Out! 

Brooks Kubik's Kindle Books

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

We have over 25 books and courses in the Kindle store - including these little monsters:

 
For even more Kindle books by Brooks Kubik, visit:

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

How to Add Three Inches of Muscle to Your Quads - Fast!

John Grimek would have liked the training program described in today's Blog post - in fact, he used something very similar as a young man!

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

Everyone wants to build their arms
when they start training.

You know - the old "baseball biceps"
and "horseshoe triceps" thing.

The "big guns."

The "pythons."

Now, there's nothing wrong with
wanting to build bigger and
stronger arms (heck, I've written
several courses about how to do it).

But leg specialization is better and
more important.

Add an inch or two - or even three -
to your upper thighs, and you'll
literally transform your body.

You'll be bigger, thicker, stronger and
more muscular - better conditioned -
and those T levels that everyone
worries about nowadays will go
right through the roof!

That's why I like to include leg
specialization programs in The
Dinosaur Files strength training
newsletter.

And the Sept-Oct issue has a very
good one.

It's a very unusual program built
around the 20-rep breathing squat.

Now, that may sound like something
you already know about - but it isn't.

This one is different.

It starts different than the standard
program - and it includes a unique
and very effective progression
system.

And it works.

How well?

Get this.

The Dino who used it added THREE
INCHES of muscle to each thigh.

He also doubled his strength in the
20-rep squat - and increased his
endurance enormously.

And that's something worth reading
about.

The Sept-Oct issue of The Dinosaur
Files is right here - in a downloadable
PDF format with immediate electronic
delivery:

www.brookskubik.com/dinosaurfiles-sep-oct2018.html

Check it out - and give the program
a try.

I want to see more Quadzillas walking
around!

Yours in strength,

Brooks Kubik

Vintage Books and Magazines

I've got tons of old books and magazines for sale - including two killer items I just listed on eBay - as well as tons of old issues of Bob Hoffman's classic Strength and Health magazine from the 40's, 50's and 60's. See today's Blog post for links and details.

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

Trudi and I are planning to move to
the Pacific Northwest in the not too
distant future, so I'm selling all of
my duplicate books and magazines.

Here are two of them that I just
listed on eBay:

Peary Rader's Iron Man Jan. 1978

https://www.ebay.com/itm/232990689162

 

The Illustrated History of Physical
Culture

https://www.ebay.com/itm/232990985557

I also have tons of old issues of Strength
and Health magazine from the 40's, 50's
and 60's - shoot me an email if you're
interested in buying some for your
collection. You can reach me at:

info@brookskubik.com

I'll be listing plenty of other great stuff
on eBay, so keep an eye open for the
new listings as they go up.

Yours in strength,

Brooks Kubik

One of My Favorite Workouts

Having fun in the outdoor training section here at Dino Headquarters. My workouts look a lot like the one I'm describing in today's Blog post. The weights are lighter, of course, because I'm 20 years older - but everything else is pretty much the same.

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

One of my favorite workouts is also -
can you believe it? - one of the simplest.

It's an ultra-abbreviated workout that
features a single exercise: the clean and
press.

I used to do it down in the basement of
the original Dinosaur Dungeon.

I used an old-fashioned, "exercise" style
barbell with iron plates.

An "exercise" barbell being the kind that
the York Barbell Co. sold for so many grand
and glorious years - a 1 1/16 inch thick bar
and iron plates sized to fit the bar.

The bar was six feet long.

In other words, NOT an Olympic barbell.

And i really had no choice in the matter.

The ceiling was so low that I couldn't do
an overhead lift with an Olympic barbell
loaded with 45 pound plates.

So I used the exercise barbell and the
smaller iron plates - and loaded it with
25s, 10s, 5s and 2 1/2s.

And for the record, it wasn't even a
real barbell. It was a six-foot length
of cold-rolled steel that I bought from
a local steel supply company.

I used some heavy duty dumbbell collars
from IronMind to make inside and outside
collars to hold the plates on the bar.

It was the same barbell I described in
chapter 25 ("An Island Gym") in
Strength, Muscle and Power.

I used two short lengths of 2 x 8 inch
board to position the barbell for lift-off.

That raised the bar to the same height
as if I had been using 45 pound plates.

The boards also helped protect the
concrete floor.

Of course, I always lowered the bar -
I never dropped it. Dropping iron plates
on a concrete floor is not a good idea.

That sounds too old-fashioned to work -
but remember, John Davis trained with
an exercise barbell in the basement of a
church in Brooklyn - back when he was
winning World and Olympic championships.

And Clyde Emrich trained with an exercise
barbell in his parents' basement - and
ended up setting a World record in the
clean and jerk.

So there's good precedent for basic and
simple - although, of course, if you have
an Olympic barbell, that's fine, too.

Anyhow, I did the following workout:

Clean and Press

120 x 1

140 x 1

160 x 1

180 x 1

200 x 1

220 x 1

240 x 1

250 x 1

260 x 1

270 x 1

And on a good day, I added:

275 x 1

That was in my early 40's - at a bodyweight
of 225 pounds - so I thought the program
worked pretty well.

It was actually a pretty complete workout -
but I alternated the clean and press work-
out with a workout where I did nothing but
bottom position squats - once again starting
light and working my way up to my top
weight for the day.

I trained three days per week, going back
and forth between the two workouts.

That's about as simple as it gets - but it
worked great.

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. A couple of years ago I wrote a complete
guide to the military press - with a detailed
series of progressive workouts that will help
you build some serious pressing power.

You can grab it right here in your choice of
hard-copy, Kindle or PDF editions:

Hard-copy

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

PDF

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

Kindle

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

P.S. 2. My other books and courses are
right here at Dino Headquarters - including
links to my PDF courses and my Kindle
books:

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 amazing what you can do with an
old-fashioned barbell and plenty of
sweat." 

- Brooks Kubik

Before You Leave - Check These Out! 

Brooks Kubik's Kindle Books

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

We have over 25 books and courses in the Kindle store - including these little monsters:

 
For even more Kindle books by Brooks Kubik, visit:

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

The Best Cardio Workout for Older Dinos

When you're big as a house (like Mr. Universe, Reg Park, pictured above) and you do plenty of heavy strength training, you need a special kind of cardio training.

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

One quick note, and then we'll talk about
cardio training for older Dinos - or really,
for Dinos of any age.

1. It's Here - the Sept-Oct Dino Files!

The Sept-Oct issue of The Dinosaur
Files is available in PDF format with
immediate electronic delivery.

Go here to grab the little monster - and
get ready to enjoy some serious, super
inspiring and extremely valuable tips on
no-nonsense strength training and
muscle building:

Sept-Oct Dino Files (PDF)

www.brookskubik.com/dinosaurfiles-sep-oct2018.html

And, of course, let me know how you
like this issue!

2. The Best Cardio Workout for Older
Dinos

I've been getting tons of questions from
readers about how to combine strength
training with cardio training.

Most of them come from older Dinos --
and they're asking how to program sprints,
hill sprints, long distance running, finishers,
prowler pushes, high rep bodyweight work
or high rep kettlebell swings.

So here's the bottom line -- and as always,
I'm going to be perfectly blunt.

Most of the "cardio training" that you see on
the interwebs or in the magazines isn't going
to work very well for you.

That's because you're a strength athlete --
and strength athletes require a different
kind or cardio -- especially if they're older
trainees. 

Cardio training for strength athletes requires
a careful balance between doing enough to
get results and NOT doing so much cardio
that you affect your strength training or
your recovery ability.

You also need to train your cardiovascular
system in ways that avoid excessive wear
and tear on your joints.

And please note -- both problems are of
special concern to (1) a bigger, heavier
lifter (which describes many of us), and
(2) an older lifter (which also describes
many of us).

I mean, face it -- the things that are okay
for a 17 year old who weighs 145 pounds
are hardly going to work for a 60 year old
who weighs 220 pounds.

And if strength training is your preferred
form of exercise, and it's important to you
to squat, deadlift, pull, push and press hard
and heavy -- then face it, too much cardio
work is going to have a NEGATIVE effect
on your training.

I don't care how you program it, running
10 miles a day is going to cut your squat
and deadlift big time.

That's why very few (if any) top weightlifters
or powerlifters do much if any cardio. Lifting
heavy iron is their job, and they don't want
to do anything that will hurt their lifting.

But still, there are benefits to doing cardio
work -- especially for older trainees.

So here's a middle of the road position --
although you should avoid the middle of
the road when you do it.

Try walking.

In many respects, walking is a perfect cardio
exercise for guys who do lots of squatting,
pulling and pushing.

It's easy to do.

You can do it pretty much anywhere.

It doesn't require any special equipment
other than a good pair of shoes.

You can start as easy as you want, and build
up gradually over time.

It won't cut into your recovery ability and it
won't affect your strength training (unless
you go nuts and overdo it).

For a healthy lifter with no pre-existing foot,
leg, back or hip issues, it's pretty safe -- as
long as you wear good shoes and you start
slow and easy and build up the speed and
the distance g-r-a-d-u-a-l-l-y.

Of course, if you have any kind of health
issue -- high blood pressure, heart problems,
joint issues, etc. -- then check with your
doctor before starting a walking program.

Note: "Gradually" means "slowly, steadily,
sensibly and progressively." It does not, as
many believe, mean "overnight" or "
"immediately."

Many doctors -- including at least one former
Surgeon General of the United States --
believe that 30 minutes of daily walking is
one of the very best things you can do for
your health and fitness.

Bernarr McFadden believed the same thing.
He was such a big fan of walking that he
even wrote a book about it. He titled it
"The Walking Cure." Good title.

There are other kinds of Dino-style cardio
training that you can try. I detail them in
Gray Hair and Black Iron. It will give
you tons of tips on effective cardio training
for older Dinos and for strength athletes.

But start by walking. It's good for you.

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

And remember to grab the Sept-Oct issue of
The Dinosaur Files. You can read it after
you go for that walk we were talking about.

Yours in strength,

Brooks Kubik

P.S. Go here to grab Gray Hair and Black
Iron:

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

P.S. 2. My other books and courses - and
links to my Kindle and PDF books - 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: 

"Shoes on feet, and feet on the ground,
makes a darn good cardio workout."

-- Brooks Kubik

Before You Leave - Check These Out! 

Brooks Kubik's Kindle Books

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

We have over 25 books and courses in the Kindle store - including these little monsters:

 
For even more Kindle books by Brooks Kubik, visit:

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