Hail to the Dinosaurs!
Did you know that 100 years ago, the Milo
Barbell Company sold weight sets that
included:
1. one plate-loading barbell
2. one plate-loading dumbbell, and
3. one-plate loading kettlebell handle.
When Bob Hoffman started the York Barbell
Company, he switched to selling a weight set
that included a plate-loading barbell and TWO
plate-loading dumbbells.
And he dropped the plate-loading kettlebell
handle.
It was a good move. Kettlebells are a good
tool, but plate-loading kettlebells don't work
very well for swings and cleans and other
basic movements. Most trainees ended up
using them for one-arm curls and reverse
curls, and some trainees would hold them
in their hand to to add weight to one-legged
calf raises. Not exactly the most useful and
most effective of exercises.
It also was a good idea to give trainees
not one, but TWO, dumbbells with their
weight set.
You can do lots of good exercises with
one dumbbell -- but you can do way more
truly excellent movements with a pair of
dumbbells.
The old York courses offered many dumbbell
exercises -- some using one dumbbell and
others using two dumbbells. The dumbbell
training was an important -- and very
effective -- part of the program.
Meanwhile, Sig Klein taught old-school
training at his world-famous gym in New
York City. The gym had belonged to the
legendary Prof. Attila -- Sandow's trainer --
and it featured a marvellous collection of
the Professor's old barbells, dumbbells,
and kettlebells -- many with shiny brass
bells that were polished until they reflected
every last particle of light that filled the
gym on a sunny day.
Klein's favorite dumbbell exercise was a
simple one -- but he believed it was the
secret of the phenomenal strength and
power of the old-time Continental lifting
champions.
The exercise was the two-dumbbell clean
and press -- for reps. Do the first rep from
the floor, and the rest from the hang -- and
do one clean and one press on each rep.
Klein urged trainees to shoot for 10 or 12
continuous reps with a pair of 75 pound
dumbbells.
Try it sometime. It's a man-maker.
I cover the two-dumbbell clean and press
and many other old-school dumbbell exercises
in my book, Dinosaur Dumbbell Training.
I also give you 50 different Dumbbell workouts.
Which is literally a lifetime of dumbbell programs.
It's old-school all the way -- and very effective.
Go here to grab a copy:
http://brookskubik.com/dinosaur_dumbbelltraining.html
Give old-school dumbbell training a try. Bob
Hoffman and Sig Klein would be glad to see
you do it. And so would I.
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 cover old-school dumbbell training
in my DVD, The Lost Art of Dumbbell Training:
http://brookskubik.com/dinosaur_dvds.html
P.S. 2. My other books and courses are right
here at Dinosaur Headquarters:
http://www.brookskubik.com/products.html
P.S. 3. Thought for the Day: "Very few modern
trainees do old-school dumbbell training -- and
very few of them can match the strength and
rugged development of the old-timers."
-- Brooks Kubik
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