Hail to the Dinosaurs!
It's Veteran's Day here in the USA
(and Remembrance Day in Canada,
Australia and New Zealand -- and
the same on Sunday in the UK) --
so let me begin the day with a great
big THANK YOU to all veterans,
wherever they may be -- and to all
men and women currently serving in
the Armed Forces. We owe you an enormous
debt -- so THANK YOU for everything
you did (or are doing) for us.
In addition to being Veteran's Day and
Remembrance Day, it's a once in a
century day: 11/11/11. That won't happen
again for another 100 years.
And that means, someone out there is going
to come up with the 11/11/11 Workout --
meaning 11 exercises per body-part, each
performed for 11 sets of 11 reps.
I saw this only half in jest. It's probably
already happening.
Let me suggest an alternative.
I was born in 1957, so I missed 5/5/55 --
but the 5/5/5 Workout would be a heck of a
lot better than the 11/11/11 Workout.
Five exercises -- for five sets of five reps.
Something like this:
Do a 10 to 15 minute general warm-up, and
then hit the following:
1. Military press or alternate dumbbell
press 5 x 5
2. Back squat or front squat 5 x 5
3. Barbell or dumbbell bench press or
incline press 5 x 5
4. Barbell bent-over rowing or pull-ups 5 x 5
(You can find some great pull-up variations
in Dinosaur Bodyweight Training.)
5. Deadlift or Trap Bar deadlift or shrugs 5 x 5
Finish up with some gut, grip and neck work
of your choice.
There are different ways to use the 5 x 5
system. You can do 2, 3 or 4 progressively
heavier warm-up sets -- which means you do
3 sets, 2 sets or 1 set with your working
weight.
Note that you can use different 5 x 5 variations
with different exercises in the same workout.
Also note that you can use the Heavy, Medium and
Light System -- and that you can mix things up
so you train Heavy on one or two exercises,
Medium on one or two others, and Light on the
remaining exercises(s).
You also can use some sort of simple cycling
system, as described in Gray Hair and Black
Iron. (Especially important for older lifters.)
You can train 2x per week or 3x per week.
You can use different exercises, such as
alternating squats and front squats in different
workouts, or alternating between shrugs and
deadlifts (which would be much easier on your
low back than hitting deadlifts in each session).
In some workouts, you might do arm work in place
of some of the heavier exercises. or you might
replace one or two of the exercises with the
farmer's walk, the sandbag carry, barrel lifting
or a similar exercise.
Ditto if you like kettlebells, as many readers do.
If the 5 exercise program is too long and tiring,
break it down into two different workouts -- or three
different workouts -- or four different workouts --
and do it that way (with a day of rest in-between
each workout).
And if you need to do more warm-up sets, do them.
Even if it means you're doing 6 x 5 or 7 x 5. 1965
and 1975 were good years, too!
As always, thanks for reading and have a great
day. If you train today, make it a good one -- and
remember, when you see a veteran today, say THANK
YOU!
Yours in strength,
Brooks Kubik
P.S. For more detail on hard-hitting, effective,
real-world strength training and muscle building,
grab any of my books and courses -- my Dinosaur
Training DVD's -- and the Dinosaur Files
newsletter:
http://www.brookskubik.com/products.html
P.S. 2. Thought for the day: "Always train for strength
AND health. They belong together." -- Brooks Kubik
