Hail to the Dinosaurs!
A week or two ago I rec'd a letter from
a reader who has worked his way up to a
military press with bodyweight -- which
is pretty darn good.
The funny thing is, he follows a vegan
diet, and averages something like 60 grams
of protein a day -- which is hardly what
most of us would consider optimal for
heavy strength training.
So I shot an email out and asked readers
to share their experiences with vegan and
vegetarian diets.
I asked for feedback based on personal
experience, not on opinions, and not on
something you read somewhere. The idea was
not to get into a debate or an argument, but
simply to collect some anecdotal evidence.
So anyhow, I rec'd about a dozen responses.
Five readers have had good success with Dino
style training while on a vegetarian diet.
They included milk and other dairy products,
or milk and eggs. They said the important
thing was to get plenty of protein and lots
of calories.
Several of the younger Dinos who follow this
approach reported gains of 50 or 60 pounds of
muscle over a period of two or three years.
Several said they had tried conventional
training programs -- the muscle comic stuff --
and had made no gains -- and that the gains all
came when they started to follow abbreviated
programs based on basic, compound exercises and
heavy training.
Three different readers said, "It was the training
that made the difference, not any sort of diet."
Only one reader reported good results on a vegan
diet (all plant-based foods).
Six readers said they had tried vegetarian diets
and had made no progress in their training -- but
then they went to a meat and veggies sort of diet
and made good gains very rapidly.
Their typical comment: "I tried it, and it doesn't
work for me. It may work for other people, but not
for me."
Now, I suppose that doesn't qualify as scientific
research (although one can argue that since the
food, medical or drug industry funds all the
nutritional research, it may be of dubious value),
but it's interesting.
It does suggest that people may have different
dietary needs -- and that what works for one person
may not work for YOU!
And I'm going to throw something else into the
equation -- what works for you at age 20 or 25 may
not work for you at age 40 or 50.
So don't follow anyone's nutritional advice
blindly or without thinking. Use a process or trial
and error to determine what foods work best for you.
And remember, this may change over time.
I know it's not a simple answer, but when it comes
to diet, nutrition and good health, there may not
be any simple answers -- or any one size fits all
answers.
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. If you like the idea of training for BIG GAINS,
grab any of the following books and courses -- and
remember, you can save on s&h by ordering two or
more at the same time:
1. Chalk and Sweat -- 50 Dinosaur training workouts
for beginners, intermediates and advanced trainees,
along with special programs for maximum muscle mass.
http://www.brookskubik.com/chalk_and_sweat.html
2. Strength, Muscle and Power -- 29 chapters that
cover abbreviated workouts, rest-pause training, power
rack training, specialization programs, grip training,
tendon and ligament strength, forgotten exercises,
and much more. Tons of great information!
http://www.brookskubik.com/strength_muscle_power.html
3. Gray Hair and Black Iron -- The only book of it's
kind. Special instruction for serious older lifters.
Includes over 50 workouts, detailed advice on programs,
cardio training for older lifters, and diet and nutrition
for older lifters. A must read for anyone over the age
of 30.
http://www.brookskubik.com/grayhair_blackiron.html
4. Dinosaur Training: Lost Secrets of Strength and
Development -- the book that started the Dinosaur
Revolution. Hailed as "the bible of strength training,"
this has been a best seller since it was published in
1996. Possibly the most motivational strength training
book ever written.
http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaur_training.html
