Squats or Deadlifts -- Which Is Better?

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

One of the great internet debates
is the classic "Which is better,
squats or deadlifts?"

It's been argued endlessly -- and
it will probably be argued forever.

I have a simple answer to the
question.

"They're both good exercises. Do
both."

The exception would be if you're
doing lots of cleans and snatches.
If that's the case, you're already
working your pulling muscles hard
and heavy, so there might not be
much to be gained from deadlifts.

But otherwise -- do deadlifts!

I prefer bent- legged deadlifts,
not stiff-legged deadlifts. And I
really like Trap Bar deadlifts.

I'll also note that deadlifts from
the knees -- performed in a power
rack or using lifting blocks --
can be a very effective strength
builder. Work them into your
program and see what happens.

On the squat front, some people
can't do squats because of previous
injuries or because they don't have
squat stands or a power rack. If
that's the case, you may have no
choice other than sticking to
deadlifts. But most people can
do squats -- and they SHOULD do
squats.

And by the way, when it comes to
squats, I prefer full squats.

When I was a kid, the conventional
wisdom said that full squats were
bad for the knees and the lower
back. Everyone said that -- including
men who had plenty of great training
advice, like Peary Rader, who always
advocated parallel squats.

Rader thought that full squats were
too hard on the lower back. But I
think he got that idea because he
came from the era where they squatted
barefoot or in shoes without heels.
If you squat flat-footed, your lower
back is going to round when you do a
full squat -- and that's going to be
awfully hard on your spine.

I wear Olympic lifting shoes with a
high heel, and the high heel helps me
maintain an upright position for both
back squats and front squats. So I do
full squats -- all the way down -- with
a flat back. For my money, that's the
way to do them.

Of course, you do them the right way.
No drop and bounce stuff. Make it an
exercise, not a parachute drop or a
roller-coaster ride.

And PLEASE -- if you've not done full
squats before, treat them as a NEW
exercise. Take the time to learn the
movement -- and to develop your
flexibility and mobility. Work
into them slowly and gradually.

I'll be training tonight, and I'll
hit some clean and jerk and some high
pulls -- and then I'll finish things
off with front squats.

Gotta do those squats. They're one of
the best things you can do.

So back to the question: "Squats or
deadlifts?"

Answer: "Do both!"

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 have some great strength and bulk
programs in Chalk and Sweat -- and they
include plenty of squats and deadlifts.
Check them out:

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

P.S. 2. My other books and courses are
right here:

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

P.S. 3. Thought for the Day: "You can't
do everything, but you can do squats and
deadlifts." -- Brooks Kubik

90 Minutes of SuperHuman Dinosaur Training!

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

So I'm sitting there having lunch
at my desk yesterday, and Carl Lanore
calls.

It was 12:15.

I was scheduled to do an interview with
Carl on SuperHuman Radio at 1:00. Carl
does two back-to-back hours of live
interviews -- the first from 12:00 to
1:00 and the second from 1:00 to 2:00.

But things were going to be a little
bit different this time . . .

"My first guest can only stay until
12:30," he said. "Can you go on half
an hour early?"

"Sure," I said.

So I wolfed down the rest of the steak
salad and got ready for what turned out
to be a really fun 90 minute interview.

It was part three in a four-part series
on how to build strength and muscle mass
the Dino way. It's been a great series,
and yesterday, with 90 minutes, we were
able to cover some extra topics,
including questions from listeners.

We covered strength and muscle building
for older trainees, for teenagers, and
women -- and I covered one of the best
mass building programs there is
(including exercises, sets, and
reps) -- and we finished with some
important tips about progression
systems. 

If you caught it live, I hope you
enjoyed the show. If you missed it,
you can  download it and listen to
it any time. Ditto with parts one and
two of the series if you happened to
miss them.

And be listening for part 4 in the
series. We'll cover diet and nutrition
for strength and muscle gains. Important
stuff for everyone, so I hope we set
a new record for live listeners and
downloads. We'll run it sometime next
week -- and I'll keep you posted so
you can join us.

You can find Carl Lanore's SuperHuman
Radio at the below link:

http://www.superhumanradio.com/

So that was 90 minutes of Superhuman
Dino Training. Later in the day, from
7:00 until 8:00, I gave it another 60
minutes of Dinosaur Training out in
the garage. Split style snatches,
snatch grip high pulls and front
squats. That was pretty good, too.
Set a couple of age 56 PR's, worked
up a good sweat, and earned my dinner.

More to follow tomorrow. 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. 1. Chalk and Sweat has some terrific
strength and mass building workouts -- and
Gray Hair and Black Iron is mandatory reading
for older strength trainers:

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

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

P.S. 2. My other books and courses -- and my
Dinosaur Training DVD's -- are right here:

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

P.S. 3. Thought for the Day: "You spell
success H-A-R-D W-O-R-K." -- Brooks Kubik

10 Clues Someone Doesn't Know Squat about Training!

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

A quick news update and then some
training  talk.

Update -- I'll be on SuperHuman Radio
at 1:00 EST today -- to cover part 3
of our four-part series on Building
Dinosaur Strength and Muscle Mass.

Catch it live or listen to the down-
load at your convenience.

On the training front, here's a Top
10 List. This one is the Top 10 Clues
that Someone Doesn't Know Squat,
a/k/a, He's One of the Brain-
washed Masses:

10. "Don't do THOSE! They're old-fashioned!"

9. "Squats are dangerous!"

8. "Deadlifts will break your back!"

7. "Go for the burn."

6. "Train for a pump."

5. "Machines are safer and better --
and they make it much easier to change the
weight!"

4. "Slo-mo style is the way to go for
maximum muscle mass."

3. "Slow-mo style is the way to go for
maximum strength and power."

2. "High carb equals high energy equals
great workouts."

1. "Heavy weights are dangerous.'

1a. "Time controlled reps build more strength
and muscle than anything else."

1b. "Olympic lifting is dangerous."

1c. "If you just look strong, the other guy
will give up and run away."

id. "It's better to look like a bodybuilder
than lift like a weightlifter."

1e. "The leg extension is the only true test
of lower body strength and power."

1f. "That Dinosaur Training stuff is too old
fashioned to work!"

I could go on, but that's enough for now. if
you know anyone that mouths those mendacious
mediocrity molders, grab your wallet right
now, hold it tight, and back away from the
lunatic -- and then turn and run like hell.

You're dealing with an idiot -- or a Madison
Avenue Main Street Muscle Media Phoney.

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. Here's the number one guide to old-school
strength training and muscle building:

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

P.S. 2. My other books and courses are right here:

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

P.S. 3. Thought for the day: "Idiocy seems to be
catching. Strength doesn't." -- Brooks Kubik

Serious Strength and Muscle!

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

Guy walked into a gym and asked for
the owner.

The owner came over to see what he
wanted.

"I want to get big and strong," said
the guy.

"Do squats," said the gym owner.

The guy turned and walked out the door.

Ten minutes later, he walked back into
the gym.

"I want to get big and strong," he said.
"Really big and strong."

This time, the gym owner was waiting for
him.

"Do squats," he said.

The guy turned and walked out the door.

Ten minutes later, he walked back into the
gym.

"I want to get big and strong," he said.
"Seriously big -- and seriously strong."

"How serious?" asked the gym owner.

"Serious serious," said the guy.

"Do serious squats," said the gym owner.

The guy turned, and walked out the door.

Thy gym owner shook his head and walked
back to the squat rack.

"Lost another one," he said.

The squat rack didn't say anything. Squat
racks never do.

They just build serious strength and muscle.

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. Here's a great book about building
serious strength and muscle:

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

P.S. 2. My other books and courses are
right here:

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

P.S. 3. Thought for the Day: "The iron can
answer any question worth asking."
-- Brooks Kubik

Building Strength and Muscle Mass the Dino Way!

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

I hope you were able to listen to
yesterday's interview on Carl Lanore's
SuperHuman Radio show.

I was on for an hour, and Carl and I
covered part two in a four-part series
about building strength and muscle mass
the Dino way.

We talked about a ton of things, including
rest between sets, and how triple your
progress by using concentration, focus
and visualization during your rest
periods.

We shared a success story from Paul
Taylor, who gained -- get this --
40 pounds of muscle on a Dino-style
abbreviated program given to him
by his uncle (who also gave him a
barbell set and a copy of Dinosaur
Training for his 18th birthday.
Smart uncle.)

I outlined Paul's program, and then
we talked about ways to personalize
your program so it works best for you.

And we worked in some humor, and some
motivation -- and a little bit of
training wisdom direct from World
and Olympic weightlifting champion
Tommy Kono.

Carl records the shows and you can
download and listen to them whenever
you want. There's no charge for the
downloads -- it's just good training
info from us to you.

Here's the link to the SHR home page:

http://superhumanradio.com/

I consider the SHR interviews to be a
sort of public service announcement
for Dinos. I hope you give them a
try -- and I hope you enjoy them.

Oh, before I forget -- we're doing part
three in the series next week, and we're
going to be covering questions from
listeners. So download the first two
shows, listen to them, and if you have
any follow-up questions about old-school
strength and muscle building, send them
to Carl or to me. We'll cover as many as
we can.

In the meantime, and as always, thanks
for reading and thanks for training the
Dino way. If you train today, make it a
good one!

Yours in strength,

Brooks Kubik

P.S. Here's a training course featuring
a man who knew how to build serious
strength and muscle mass:

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

P.S. 2. My other books and courses are
right here:

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

P.S. 3. Thought for the Day: "Loading the
bar is one thing, lifting it is another.
You have to do both." -- Brooks Kubik

The Rest Between Sets Question

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

A quick note, and then some training
talk.

I'll be doing an interview at 1:00 EST
today on Carl Lanore's SuperHuman Radio.
We'll cover part 2 of a four part series
on building Dino style strength and
muscle mass. Catch it live if you can,
or listen to the download whenever it's
convenient for you.

On the training front, let's talk about
rest between sets.


For some reason, I've been getting tons
of questions about this lately.

"How long should I rest between sets?"

Here's the answer:

"Long enough to do justice to the next
set."

Now, please note -- that might change
over the course of your workout, and it
might change based on what exercise you
are doing.

You need less rest between warm-up sets.
It can be little more than "load the bar,
focus, chalk your hands and lift."

But when the weight gets heavier, you
might take a longer rest -- perhaps 2
or 3 minutes, maybe a bit longer.

You need more rest if you're doing back
to back work sets.

You need more rest if you're doing squats
or deadlifts.

You need more rest if you're doing OL
work.

But you never want to rest so long that
you cool off.

Try timing your rest periods. See what
happens when you move from two minutes
to three minutes -- or vice versa.

Stay focused during your rest periods.
If you train alone, that shouldn't be
hard. if you train with others, or at
a commercial gym, keep the chit-chat
to a minimum. Training time is for
training, not talking -- and one of
the things you do during a rest period
is gather your force (physical and
mental) for the next set.

In fact, if you really want to make
a difference in your training, make
your rest periods times of intense
mental concentration. Focus on the
next set. Visualize it. See yourself
performing each rep smoothly and
perfectly, with total power and
complete control.

Do THAT and you'll take your training
-- and your strength -- to the next
level.

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. Here's a great course for building
real world, stand on your feet strength:

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

P.S. 2. My other books and courses are
right here:

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

P.S. 3. Thought for the Day: "Think
it, believe it, lift it." -- Brooks
Kubik

A Dino-Style Birthday Workout!

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

Jim Duggan is one of those legendary
guys in New York City who puts the
steel in the word strong.

He's a powerlifting and strongman
champ, a Captain in the New York
Fire Department, and an all-around
powerhouse.

And if that weren't enough, he wrote
something like 24 killer articles for
the Dinosaur Files newsletter.

Jim follows in the footsteps of Jack
LaLanne, and always does a special
workout to celebrate his birthday.

Here's the report for this year:

"Hey Brooks,

Just thought I would shoot you an
email. I figured you of all people
would appreciate what I did for my
49th birthday yesterday.

I decided to challenge myself with
just three movements:

1. 180 lb. granite sphere -- lift to
shoulder for 50 reps

2. Dips -- 200 reps total, performed
in sets of 10

3. 1 mile walk wearing an 84-lb. vest

I supersetted the dips and stone lifts.
I did 10 dips, then went outside and
did 3 stone lifts. I kept going like
this until I hit 42 reps in the stone
lift, at which point I did sets of 2.
The hardest part was the skin on my
forearms beginning to tear.

Cascading sweat and the occasional
bit of dirt in my eyes didn't help,
but there was no way I was going to
quit.

The dips started getting hard around
170, but I was able to complete the
two movements in a little over an
hour.

After a short rest, I put on my
84-lb vest on, and went for a
leisurely (yeah, right!) stroll
around the neighborhood.

My biggest concern was the neighbors
would think I was crazy. New York is
in the middle of a heat wave, and no
sane person would go walking with an
additional 84 lbs. on his back.

This morning my entire body is aching,
my forearms are sore and covered with
stone rash, and I feel as if I was hit
by a truck -- and I wouldn't trade this
feeling for anything in the world.

Hope all is well with you and the rest
of the Dinos, and that your training
is going strong.

Jim Duggan"

Jim -- Happy birthday and thanks for
sharing the workout. It sounds like a
great one.

To everyone -- I hope Jim's birthday
workout inspires you to hit it hard
and heavy!

Yours in strength,

Brooks Kubik

P.S. For more hard-hitting Dino style
workouts, grab a copy of Strength, Muscle
and Power:

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

P.S. 2. My other books and courses are
right here:

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

P.S. 3. Thought for the Day: "Embrace
the challenge." -- Brooks Kubik