Hail to the Dinosaurs!
Let me begin by saying THANK YOU to everyone
who stepped up and ordered a copy of my big,
new book about weightlifting super-star John
Davis.
We appreciate your support, and as I've said
many times before, we can't do it without you.
I wrote about John Davis because he epitomizes
a very special generation of lifters.
They grew up in the middle of the Great
Depression.
They didn't have much money, and I'm sure there
were plenty of times when they went hungry.
They came from poor but honest families. Many of
them were immigrants. Some of them didn't speak
English when they were young.
Somehow, they got interested in weightlifting --
in large part as the results of the unceasing
efforts of Bob Hoffman to promote the sport
through his books, courses and the pages of
Strength and health magazine.
As far as equipment and training quarters, they
didn't have very much. Most of them used little
more than a barbell, a lifting platform, and a
set of homemade squat stands. Some had homemade
benches for doing prone presses. Some had
dumbbells and chinning bars. And that was
about it.
Many of them were self-coached. Self-trained.
Self-taught.
And yet, this generation of American lifters
managed to beat the entire world. They took on
the powerful Russian Bear -- the state-supported
Soviet lifting machine -- and they beat it.
Just a bunch of guys who lifted barbells in
garages, basements, YMCA weight rooms
and neighborhood gyms or lifting clubs.
And from 1938 through 1952, the top star in
American weightlifting was John Davis -- a poor
kid from Brooklyn who became the greatest lifter
of his generation -- and one of the greatest who
ever lived.
John died in 1984. Today, nearly 60 years after
his last Olympic victory, his strength, power
and lifting skill -- and his endless string of
championship performances -- are forgotten by all
but the few who either lived and lifted with him or
who study the Iron Game.
John Davis was far too great a man, and far too
remarkable an athlete, to be forgotten. And that's
one of the reasons why I wrote about him.
The title is BLACK IRON: THE JOHN DAVIS STORY -- and
you can find it right here at the Dinosaur Training
bookstore:
http://www.brookskubik.com/blackiron_johndavis.html
Again, thanks to everyone who has reserved a copy!
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 also need to thank everyone who has renewed their
subscription to the Dinosaur Files newsletter. If you
still haven't renewed your subscription, do it now so
you stay on the mailing list! The next issue is going
to be another good one, and you won't want to miss it:
http://brookskubik.com/dinosaurfiles_renewalpage.html
