I Forgot How Good this Was!

At age 61, my workouts are more fun than ever before - and that's good! And speaking of good, here's something that's even better than I remembered . . .

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

In 2015 I began a series of training courses
titled Dinosaur Training Secrets.

There are three courses in the series so far.

They're available any way you like to do your
reading: hard-copy, PDF with immediate
electronic delivery, or Kindle. And to make
things easy, you can grab all three with one
order if you want the PDF or Kindle versions.

I was just looking at Vol. 1 in the series,
which covers exercises, sets, reps and
workouts. It's pretty darn good.

In fact, it's better than I remembered.

Which may explain why it's our number
one best seller in the Kindle bookstore.

Take a look at the Table of Contents:

Introduction

1. The Best Exercises

2. Heavy, Awkward Objects

3. Olympic Weightlifting

4, Heavy Dumbbell Training

5. Bone, Tendon and Ligament Strength

6. Thick Bar Training

7. Heavy Poundages

8. Strength vs. "Cuts"

9. Gut Training

10. The Time Factor

11. Real World Training

12. The Recovery Factor

13. The Light, Medium, Heavy System

14. An Example of a Light, Medium,
Heavy Program

15. A Different Type of Light, Medium,
Heavy Program

16. Abbreviated Training

17. Examples of Abbreviated Workouts

18. Abbreviated Workouts for High
Intensity Training

19. Abbreviated Workouts for Olympic
Weightlifting

20. Abbreviated Workouts for Strongman
Training

21. Ultra-Abbreviated Training

22. Examples of Ultra-Abbreviated
Workouts

23. Ultra-Abbreviated Workouts for
Powerlifting

24. One-Exercise Training Programs

25. Some Final Thoughts

I'd forgotten I covered so much important
territory and jammed so many workouts
and so much information into one course!

I think it's a must have for all Dinos - from
beginners to intermediates to advanced
trainees.

And yes, it applies equally well to younger
Dinos - and to older Dinos - to men - and
to women.

If you already have a copy, go back and
read it again.

If you don't have a copy, you can grab the
little monster right here:

Hard-copy or Kindle

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaur_secrets_01.html

PDF

Go to our products page and scroll down
to the section with all of our PDF courses.

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

Yours in strength,

Brooks Kubik

What Training Equipment Would You Take to a Desert Island?

Age 61, and hard at work in the outdoor training area at Dino Headquarters. The older I get, the more I enjoy my workouts.

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

We'll talk iron in just a minute, but first
of all, let me cover two quick updates.

1. Brooks Kubik's Old-School
Strength Q and A, Vol. 1 and 2

We launched a great new series of
courses not long ago.

Each course has a bunch of training
questions from your fellow Dinos -
and my detailed answers to them.

This is just like sitting down and
having a good talk about training -
a talk where you could ask me
anything and everything, and
I'd give you my answer.

There are two volumes so far - go
here to grab them:

http://www.brookskubik.com/oldschool-qanda.html

2. The Dinosaur Strength Training
Notebook, Vol. 1

This is another recent release on
Kindle. It's a collection of training
tips, ideas, thoughts, commentary,
workouts, advice, suggestions,
stories, iron game history and
all-around fun stuff for Iron
Slingers.

This is vol. 1 in a series of courses -
and the series is going to give you
a huge amount of valuable training
information.

Go here to grab the first volume
on Kindle:

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaurnotebook001.html

3. What's Your Single Favorite Piece of
Training Equipment?

The "What's your favorite exercise?" question
is a popular one at discussion boards, but
here's another fun question:

"What's your single favorite piece of training
equipment?"

Meaning, if you were stuck on a desert island
somewhere (think Tom Hanks in Castaway),
what's the one piece of equipment you would
want the most?

For me, it would be a plate-loading barbell --
although in keeping with the desert island
theme, I can see the merit of an old globe
barbell that you could fill with sand.

No, on second thought, I'll stick to the plate
loading barbell. Faster and easier to change
the weight.

Other people might have different ideas. I
imagine that some Dinos would like a Trap
Bar more than anything else -- or a pair of
adjustable dumbbells -- or a pair of
kettlebells. (I think a pair of dumbbells
or kettlebells counts as one item.)

And I suppose we could change the question
and let you choose your TWO favorite pieces
of training equipment -- or even your THREE
favorite pieces of equipment.

If you had THREE choices, what would they
be?

For me, it would be:

1. Olympic barbell and bumper
plates

a. Actually, if you were on a desert
island, iron plates would work as
well as bumper plates.

b. Especially if you trained in the sand.

2. Adjustable squat stands or a
power rack

a. Of course, you could always rig
something up with trees, branches,
and rope (or vines) if you were on
a desert island.

3. Lifting platform

a. Again, if you trained out on a sandy
beach, this might not be necessary.

Of course, I focus on Olympic lifting now,
so my choices reflect that. If I were doing
powerlifting or basic strength and power
training, I'd choose a barbell, power rack
and a bench.

What would you choose?

Shoot me an email, and let me know! I'll
share the answers in a future email.

Yours in strength,

Brooks Kubik

P.S. Dinosaur Training: Lost Secrets of
Strength and Development is 22 years
old this year -- and it's still going strong.

If you don't have a copy, grab one now:

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

"Wherever you train, and whatever
equipment you use, make the most
of 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

Are Five Work Sets Too Much?

Hitting it hard and having fun in the outdoor training area here at Dino Headquarters.

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

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

1. Follow Me On Instagram!

I'm posting a ton of photos and videos
On Instagram now - be sure to check
them out:

https://www.instagram.com/brooks_kubik/

2. The Dinosaur Strength Training
Notebook, Vol. 1

This little monster is our newest edition to
the Kindle bookstore, and it's been selling
like crazy. Go here to grab a copy:

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaurnotebook001.html

3. "Are Five Work Sets Too Much?"
He Asked

I just got an email from a reader who says he
does 5 x 5, using five work sets for each
exercise.

He wondered if that was too much.

Short answer: Yes, it's probably too much
work -- but, like anything else, it depends on
several different factors -- and it will probably
change for you over time.

Many trainees get very good results from ONE
work set. They find that they over-train if they
perform more than one work set -- especially in
exercises like squats and deadlifts.

Other trainees do well with TWO or even THREE
work sets. But three is the limit for most trainees,
unless they're doing very low reps (singles,
doubles or triples).

As a general rule, older trainees do better with
fewer work sets -- and stronger, more advanced
trainees do better with fewer work sets. So what
works best for you may change over time.

If you do five work sets, you need to follow
an ultra-abbreviated training program. Limit
yourself to one or two exercises per workout.

You won't be able to do justice to more than
that.

And here's a thought: If one, two or three work
sets do the job for you, why do more than that?

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 more straight talk on sets, reps and real,
world, no-nonsense strength training, grab
Dinosaur Training Secrets, Vol. 1:

Hard-copy

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaur_secrets_01.html

Kindle

http://brookskubik.com/dinosaursecrets01_kindle.html

PDF

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaursecrets_vol1_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:

"Why do MORE when LESS works just as
well -- or maybe even better?"

-- 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 Really Good Dumbbell Training Workout!

Finishing a one-hand dumbbell swing with a 151-pound dumbbell - fun times back in the original Dinosaur Dungeon!

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

We've been getting a ton of questions
about dumbbell training and dumbbell
workouts, so I thought I'd share my
all-time favorite dumbbell workout
with you.

I used this 20 years ago, when I was
preparing to film The Lost Art of
Dumbbell Training.

It worked pretty well. I got up to doing
the two dumbbell clean and press with
a pair of 126 pound dumbbells, a one
hand clean and push press with a 151
pound dumbbell, a one hand swing with
a 151 pound dumbbell, and a two hand
clean and push press with a pair of 131
pound thick handled dumbbells.   Those
were done at a bodyweight of 225 or
so, and I was 40 or 41 years old.

I trained three times per week, alternating
between two workouts. Workout A was
nothing but squats. I did bottom position
squats in the power rack, and either worked
up to a top single, or worked up to 5, 10 or
20 singles with a little less weight.

That was all I did in Workout A. Nothing
but squats.

Workout B was the dumbbell program. On
the one arm exercises, I would do one set
with each arm at each weight. On the two
dumbbell exercises, I would do one set at
each weight.

I trained all singles. I started light, and
worked up in 10 pound jumps to my top
weight in each exercise. Of course, the
program would work fine with doubles,
triples, fives or any other number of
low to medium reps. Or you could
start with sets of five and work up
to singles. There are many ways to
do the job.

To keep from having to spend the whole
workout changing weights, I would do one
set of all the exercises for each weight, and
then add weight and repeat the process.

As the weight increased and I maxed out
on different exercises, I would drop them
out of the rotation. Thus, at the end, with
the very heaviest weights, I would do only
the one hand swing and the one hand
clean.

I did the following exercises:

1. Two hand dumbbell clean and press
(with two dumbbells)

2. One hand dumbbell clean and press

3. One hand dumbbell swing

4. Two hand dumbbell clean and push
press (with two dumbbells)

5. One hand dumbbell clean and push
press

6. One hand dumbbell clean (optional)

And that was it. Five or six big exercises.

Fast, fun and furious -- and very effective.

I cover more dumbbell workouts in
Dinosaur Dumbbell Training -- in fact,
there's a total of 50 of them, along with
detailed instruction on how to perform
each exercise:

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

Anyhow, if you're looking for something
fun and effective, give this workout a try.

It worked great for me -- and I bet it would
work great for you, too.

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

Yours in strength,

Brooks Kubik

Dinosaur Training Books on Kindle!

DO YOU KNOW ABOUT OUR BOOKS AND COURSES ON KINDLE?

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

Swing for the Fences!

Hitting it hard at age 61 - having more fun than ever - and still swinging for the fences!

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

Two quick notes to start the week - and
then a true story that I think you're really
going to like.

1. The Dinosaur Files

My layout and design guy is formatting
the March issue of The Dinosaur Files -
so it should be ready pretty soon.

I'll email when the little monster is
ready to go.

In the meantime, go here to grab any
issues you may have missed:

Oct, Nov, Dec and Jan issues

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

Feb issue

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaur-files-february2018pdf.html

BTW, if you prefer to grab a one-year,
12-issue subscription, shoot me an
email - we can make it happen.

2. A Strength Secrets Exclusive

John Wood has done a killer t-shirt
specially designed for members of
the Strength Secrets Facebook
Group.

If you're interested in seeing it, join
the group - which you can do by going
right here - and be sure to tell John I
sent you:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/strengthsecrets/

3. Swing for the Fences!

One of the very best lawyers in Louisville
passed away several days ago at the age
of 82. His name was Bob.

I used to work with Bob when I was a
young lawyer fresh out of law school.

We handled a lot of cases, and did a
number of trials together. I learned a
lot from him - not just about how to
try cases, but other things, as well.

Including some very important life
lessons.

Bob was a terrific softball player as
a young man. He was even on a team
that played in the World Series of
Softball - but that's another story,
for another day.

Today's story involves an old softball
field just south of Covington, Kentucky -
which is on the Ohio River, right across
from Cincinnati.

Bob and I had gone up to Cincinnati
for an oral argument in the Sixth
Circuit Court of Appeals.

Afterwards, we drove back to Louisville.

Bob was driving - and when we were just
past Covington, he got off the interstate
and drove down a side road - and then
another one - and another - and over a
bridge - past some farms - and down a
dusty little two-lane highway.

He stopped at a softball field surrounded
by corn fields.

"There it is," he said.

"What?" I asked.

I didn't see anything. Just a ball field.

"That's where I hit my very best home
run," he said.


And then he told me how it happened.

Bob's team had a line-up of home run
hitters - and some terrific pitchers - so
they usually won by a huge margin.

But one day, they played a team that
had the best pitcher they had ever seen.

No one could hit him.

He struck almost everyone out.

But so did the pitcher on Bob's team.

And in the bottom of the ninth, they were
tied at 0-0.

The first two batters on Bob's team struck
out.

Bob went to the plate.

The pitcher wound up - and threw a blazing
comet that moved too fast for the eye to
see.

Bob swung - and missed.

Strike one!

They stared at each other - and then the
pitcher threw the ball again - another
rocket - and Bob swung - and missed.

Strike two!

Bob stepped out of the batter's box -
rubbed some dirt on his hands - and
stepped back in.

The pitcher wound up - and threw another
bolt of lightning.

And Bob closed his eyes and swung as
hard as he could.

Crack!

The ball sailed over the left field fence -
and out into the corn field behind it.

It was a massive home run.

And it was the winning run.

There's a lesson there - and it applies to
anything and everything, not just to soft-
ball.

Sometimes, you just have to close your
eyes and swing for the fences.

Yours in strength,

Brooks Kubik

P.S. Be sure to grab the March issue of
The Dinosaur Files as soon as it's ready -
and the same for any earlier issues you
may have missed:

Oct, Nov, Dec and Jan issues

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

Feb issue

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaur-files-february2018pdf.html

And remember - if you prefer a one-
year, 12-issue subscription, shoot me
an email. I know a subscription is much
easier and more convenient for many of
you.

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:

"Yes, you can do it - you absolutely
can do 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