Look What Raced Up to No. 1!

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

If you missed the BIG
NEWS, John Wood's
new book raced up to
No. 1 in its category in
the Kindle bookstore -
in less than 24 hours!

It's also in the no. 3 spot
on two other top 10 lists.

So I guess old-school
training is alive and well -
which is a very good thing.

It's called OLD-SCHOOL
STRENGTH ARTICLES,
VOL. I.

Go here to grab the little
monster - and be sure to
post a review after you
read it:

http://www.oldtimestrongman.com/oldschoolarticles001.html

Yours in strength,

Brooks Kubik

John Wood's Old School Strength Articles, Vol. 1

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

About one year ago, my buddy John Wood a terrific little book
on Kindle - and it zoomed right up to the No. 1 spot on a
number of different Kindle Top 10 Lists.

In other words, it was an overnight best seller.

And that means a ton of people grabbed it and read it -- and
liked it -- and that's no surprise, because it's very, very good. 

It's called OLD-SCHOOL STRENGTH ARTICLES,
VOL. I.

It includes FIVE great articles from Peary Rader's
old Iron Man magazine:

1. Part 1 of an article by Tony Ditillo
on power rack training.

2. Part 2 of Tony Ditillo's article on
power rack training. 

3. A special "field report" on isometric
training.

4. A very interesting article on mind
power for lifters.

and (get this):

5. An article by Doug Hepburn about
training for the Olympic lifts.

So that's five killer articles, together in one little book --
with a knock-out cover - and that's  a pretty good
deal.

Go here to grab the little monster - and be sure to post
a review after you read it:

http://www.oldtimestrongman.com/oldschoolarticles001.html

Yours in strength,

Brooks Kubik

Seven Strength and Conditioning Tips

 The power clean and push press has great value for strength and conditioning workouts.

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

For the last couple of days, we've
been talking about ways to increase
the conditioning value of your regular
weight training workouts, and it has
reminded me of some good tips from
Bradley J. Steiner.

Steiner used to write for Peary Rader's
old Iron Man magazine when I was a
kid. He was my favorite Iron Game
author by far -- and ranks as one of
the most popular and most influential
Iron Game authors of all time.

Steiner taught self-defence, and used
his strength training workouts to help
his martial arts training and enhance
his self-defense skills. So he always
focused on ways to make you strong,
fit, and rugged -- and ready for
anything that might happen!

Steiner liked to integrate some basic
conditioning work into his barbell and
dumbbell workouts.

Here are some of the things he did to
maximize the conditioning value of his
strength training workouts:

1. Steiner liked to begin and end his
workouts with two or three "rounds" of
double-unders with the jump-rope. This
is a staple of training for boxers, and it's
an excellent conditioner. It also doubles
as a warm-up and a warm-down.

Use a high-quality leather jump rope --
the kind that boxers use.

Each "round" should last two or three
minutes. Start at 30 seconds and work
up.

2. Steiner liked to include some sort of
all-out exercise, such as power cleans,
power snatches, or the clean and press.

Doing 5 x 5 in the clean and press is
a great conditioner -- as well as a terrific
strength and power builder. You can use
a barbell or two dumbbells. Do one clean
and one press on every rep.

This was taken from the old York Training
courses -- in particular, the "repetition
weightlifting exercises" of course no. 3.

3. Steiner always included leg work, i.e.,
squats or front squats, which have plenty
of conditioning value.

We always think of 20 rep squats when
we think of conditioning workouts, but
any number of reps will have some degree
of conditioning value.

4. Steiner always followed the squat with
the breathing pull-over to help expand the
rib-cage and get your breathing back to
normal.

In essence, this was a deep breathing
exercise.

Note that you use LIGHT dumbbells for
pullovers. It's not a muscle builder or a
strength movement -- it's a breathing
exercise.

5. Steiner included stiff-legged deadlifts
in most of his workouts. Like the squat,
the stiff-legged deadlift has plenty of
conditioning value.

6. Steiner urged trainees to train at a
fairly fast pace, and to keep their rest
times to a minimum. You didn't rush
things or race the clock, but you
worked at a steady pace and didn't
waste any time.

7. To maximize point no. 6, Steiner
suggested that you try to cut 10 or 15
minutes off your total training time --
while performing the same exercises,
sets and reps.

Doing a 60 minute workout in 50 minutes
means that you're resting much less, and
ensures that you maximize the conditioning
value of your workout.

So there you have it -- seven training tips
from Bradley J. Steiner -- and seven ways
to maximize the conditioning value of your
strength training workouts.

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. See Gray Hair and Black Iron for more
ideas on how to combine strength training
and conditioning in a single workout:

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

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. 3. Thought for the Day: "Simple
changes can have profound benefits."
-- Brooks Kubik

If you enjoyed this Blog post, you'll love my Dinosaur Training books and courses. You can get them in PDF and hard-copy editions at my website or in Kindle editions at Amazon. 

For a complete list of my Kindle books, go here: http://www.brookskubik.com/kindle.html

The Man Who Sprinted Up the Rocky Mountains!

Long before "cardio" training, weightlifters were using barbells and dumbbells to build a terrific combination of strength, power, muscle mass and physical condition.  

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

Many years ago, a man who lived in
Alliance, Nebraska went on vacation
way out in the rugged Colorado
Rockies.

His name was Peary Rader. He was the
founder, editor and publisher of the old
Iron Man magazine.

Back home in Nebraska, there were few
opportunities to climb mountains -- and
certainly no opportunity to climb
anything remotely like the Rocky
Mountains.

But to his surprise, Peary found that he
was as fast and nimble as a mountain
goat.

He literally ran up the side of some of the
steep slopes, leaving his friends far behind
him as they trudged slowly and doggedly
up the trail.

He also discovered that he had tremendous
endurance.

He could climb mountains all day without
feeling tired -- and when he woke up the
next morning, he was ready for more!

Now, you might ask if he did a lot of
running back home to get ready for
the trip.

Surprisingly, he did none at all.

You might wonder if he did some sort of
intense cardio training -- perhaps riding
a bicycle?

Again, he did none at all.

Or long walks?

Nope.

Or you might think he was on some kind
of special, six-day a week, high volume
training program to build maximum work
capacity.

Again, the answer is no.

Peary trained just twice a week, using a
simple program and a small number of
basic exercises.

His primary exercise was the squat.

He did one set of 20 reps with all the
weight he could handle.

He did breathing squats -- meaning that
he took several huge, enormous breaths
in-between every rep. He breathed so hard
the plates rattled on the bar.

He used the breathing squat program as
a way of gaining muscular bodyweight
and strength. It worked great. In his first
two years on the program, he gained
close to 100 pounds of muscle -- and
went on to be a regional weightlifting
champion for several years.

But the squats also gave him tremendous
endurance. The trip to the Rocky Mountains
proved it.

It's another example of what we talked about
yesterday -- using your weight training to
build a superb combination of strength,
power and endurance.

Yes, you can get a great conditioning workout
and build tremendous stamina and endurance
with your barbell workouts.

Peary Rader proved it.

For details about specialized leg and back
programs to build strength, muscle and
outstanding condition, grab a copy of
Chalk and Sweat. It has 50 terrific
workouts, and they'll get you into
great shape faster than you can say
"mountain goat!":

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

And for special instruction on how to ease
into your squatting program and make
steady progress with old-fashioned "slow
cooking", grab Dinosaur Training Secrets,
Vol. 3. It's available in hard-copy, Kindle
or PDF with immediate electronic delivery:

Hard-copy edition

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaur_secrets_03.html

Kindle edition

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaur_secrets3_kindle.html

PDF with electronic delivery

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaursecrets_vol3_digital.html

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. 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. 2. Thought for the Day: "Strong is
good, but strong and well-conditioned
is better." -- Brooks Kubik

If you enjoyed this Blog post, you'll love my Dinosaur Training books and courses. You can get them in PDF and hard-copy editions at my website or in Kindle editions at Amazon. 

For a complete list of my Kindle books, go here: http://www.brookskubik.com/kindle.html

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

Did Reg Park Do Cardio?

 

England's Reg Park was a muscular marvel - and he was just as strong as he looked!

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

If you're a regular reader, you know
about Reg Park.

Famous old-school bodybuilder from
England.

Three time Mr. Universe.

Two hundred and thirty-five pounds
of massive muscle.

Played Hercules in the movies --
-- and looked more like Hercules
than Hercules did.

Strong, too. Park squatted 600 pounds
back when the top heavyweight lifters
didn't handle much more than that --
used 300 pounds in the press behind
neck (some say for reps!) -- set a
British record in the two dumbbell
clean and press -- and was the second
man in history (behind Doug Hepburn)
to bench press 500 pounds.

So I ask the question:

Did Reg Park do cardio?

And like many things in life, the answer
is "Yes!" -- and -- "No!"

If you're talking about endless hours on
a treadmill, jogging 20 or 30 miles a week,
daily spinning classes, power aerobics,
jazzercize, jumpercize or cardio theater,
the answer is "No, he did not!"

In fact, none of the champions from
Park's era did any kind of what we now
call "cardio."

But if you count hard, heavy workouts
where you train fast and furious with
heavy weights, then the answer is,
"Yes, he did!"

A gym owner named Ray Beck watched
Park train back in the 1950's. He wrote
about it in Peary Rader's old Iron Man
magazine. He said, "Nobody, but nobody,
works out as fast and furiously  . . . as
Reg Park."

Of course, that does NOT mean that Park
trained fast and sloppy or that he never
rested -- or that he handled light wights
in his workouts.

He trained on the basics, using low and
medium reps, and piled on the iron. He
trained with intense concentration and
ferocious determination. He performed
all of his reps in perfect form. He was a
stickler for details, and he squeezed
everything possible out of every set.

But he also trained fast -- meaning
that he kept his rest between sets to
a minimum, and he didn't waste any
time.

In other words, he was not "racing the
clock" -- but he was working as fast as
he could, while still paying full justice
to each and every set.

And when you're training hard and heavy
on the basic exercises, that kind of fast
and furious pace will give your heart and
lungs a terrific workout. It also will kick
your metabolism into high gear and help
you stay lean, hard and muscular.

You do NOT need to do conventional
"cardio" to be strong, muscular and well
conditioned. You can do it with the iron.
You just need to train the right way. You
need to train like Reg Park: hard, heavy,
fast and furious.

Yours in strength,

Brooks Kubik

P.S. I cover strength training and muscle
building workouts that double as great
conditioning workouts in many of my
books and courses, including:

Dinosaur Training: Lost Secrets of
Strength and Development

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

Chalk and Sweat

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

Dinosaur Dumbbell Training

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

Dinosaur Bodyweight Training

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

Gray Hair and Black Iron

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

Strength, Muscle and Power

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

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. 3. Thought for the Day: 

"Squats arecardio for guys and gals who
like to move heavy iron."

 -- Brooks Kubik

If you enjoyed this Blog post, you'll love my Dinosaur Training books and courses. You can get them in PDF and hard-copy editions at my website or in Kindle editions at Amazon. 

For a complete list of my Kindle books, go here: http://www.brookskubik.com/kindle.html

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

Grab Them While You Can!

 

Bill Hinbern's modern reprints of old-school books and courses are one of the very best resources for authentic, real life, old-school training and lifting.

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

I just want to give you a
quick heads up.

My buddy Bill Hinbern is
almost completely out of
stock for two great books
on old-time training - and
he's not going to reprint
them.

So this is "last chance to
get them" time.

The books are by W. A.
Pullam, the famed "Wizard
of the Weightlifting World."

They're two of the very
best guides ever written
about how to perform the
old-school lifts - and about
how the old-timers trained.

The titles are:

1. Weightlifting Made Easy
and Interesting

and

2. How to Use a Barbell

Right now, you can grab
them right here:

http://superstrengthtraining.com/william-pullum

But as I said, there aren't
many left - and when they're
gone, they're gone.

Yours in strength,

Brooks Kubik

If It's Working, Keep On Doing It!

 Old-school, split style snatches keep me strong and fast at age 60 - and they're fun to do.

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

At least once a week I get an email from a
reader who's doing something that's working
well for him -- meaning that he's making good
gains in strength and muscle, recovering from
his workouts and enjoying his training -- but
then he sees something on the Interwebs
and it makes him think he should change
his program and do something different.

It's usually one of two things:

1. Something new and different that might
be better than what he's doing now -- often
being the workout of a current champion.

2. A blog post, article or forum discussion
telling him that what he's doing "doesn't
work."

Most of the time it's number two -- which
is surprising, because the immediate
response should be, "It works GREAT -
so shut up already!"

But written words are powerful, and
they often make us second-guess
ourselves.

So our trainee -- the one who is making
good gains and having lots of fun in his
workouts -- starts to second-guess
himself.

And he sends me an email and asks what
he should do.

As I said, this happens at least once a
week. Luckily, as questions go, it's an
easy one.

The answer is always the same:

"If it's working, keep on doing it. If your
gains slow down or stop, then and only
then try something different."

And here's a related point. When you do
try something different, it should probably
be something similar, not a radical change
in approach. In other words, if 5 x 5 has
worked well for you, you might try 5 x 6,
6 x 6, or 5 x 5 followed by 1 x 3 and 1 x 1.

But don't change from 5 x 5 to 10 x 10
or 50 rep death sets or a three hour
pumping program.

Also, the best way to change things up is
often to use a new exercise, while keeping
the sets and reps the same. For example,
switch from back squats to front squats,
or from straight bar deadlifts to Trap Bar
deadlifts.

And remember this -- when you switch to
a new exercise or a new program, start
light and easy, and gradually add weight
to the bar. Make it progressive. Don't try
to max out and set new PR's the first day
in the saddle. See Dinosaur Training Secrets,
Vol. 3, for detailed advice on how to use old-
school progression systems for steady gains
without going stale or burning out.

Anyhow, that's the answer to a very common
question -- one that's become all the more
common because of the often overwhelming
amount and diversity of information on the
Interwebs.

Remember, if it's working for you, keep on
doing it -- and if it ain't broke, don't try to
fix 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. I mentioned Dinosaur Training Secrets,
Vol. 3. Go here to grab the little monster in
your choice of three formats:

Hard-copy

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaur_secrets_03.html

Kindle

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaur_secrets3_kindle.html

PDF with electronic delivery

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaursecrets_vol3_digital.html

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. 3. Thought for the Day: "Train with
confidence. Avoid doubters and nay-sayers.
Be resolute, and do what you need to do."
-- Brooks Kubik

If you enjoyed this Blog post, you'll love my Dinosaur Training books and courses. You can get them in PDF and hard-copy editions at my website or in Kindle editions at Amazon. 

For a complete list of my Kindle books, go here: http://www.brookskubik.com/kindle.html