Hail to the Dinosaurs!
On the Q and A front, I've been getting
lots of questions about building muscle
mass. So let's cover some of the high
points:
1. Basic, compound exercises.
1a. This means squats, deadlifts, presses,
etc.
1b. Himalayan curls are not basics --
not even if you do them for 8 x 8, 10 x 10
or 50 x 50.
1c. Neither are triceps kickbacks, french
presses, pec deck work, flies, lateral
raises, leg extensions, leg curls, hack
squats or bunny blasters.
2. Focus on your legs and hips, your back
and your shoulder girdle.
2a. In other words, do squats, deadlifts, and
presses -- oops, I already said that.
3. Train progressively -- which means, always
try to improve your performance.
3a. More weight, more reps, more sets or
better form.
5. To make significant gains in muscle mass,
you need to make equally significant gains
in strength.
5a. Sorry, that's the way it is. Don't bother to
send me hate mail about it.
5b. Even if you just want to look good, you
might as well be strong, too. (Heck, it might
come in handy some day. Being strong, I
mean.)
6. If you add 100 pounds to your top weights
in the squat and the deadlift, and 50 pounds to
your top weights in upper body movements, you
won't have any more problems with muscle mass.
6a. See point 5, above.
6b. In his prime, Reg Park was the biggest and
most massively developed bodybuilder in the
entire world. He was also the strongest
bodybuilder in the world. Maybe, just maybe,
the two were related.
7. You need to eat more, and better food --
with an emphasis on protein. You do NOT need
supplements, and you do not need any sort of
special diet or eating plan. Your workouts will
create a need for high quality food, and will
increase your appetite. So TRAIN -- and then
EAT!
7a. Force-feeding is a mistake.
7b. Chugging gallons and gallons of milk is
a mistake.
7c. The Get Big Drink is the worst mistake of
all, unless you enjoy a three day belly-ache.
8. Yes, older trainees CAN build muscle mass.
Don't listen to the folks who try to tell you
it's impossible.
8A. The key to gains for older trainees is to
limit the amount of training you do, cycle the
intensity of your training, follow a simplified
cycling system and avoid overtraining. See
Gray Hair and Black Iron for details and
for workouts. (It has more than 50 of them.)
9. Contrary to popular belief, you can build
serious mass with bodyweight exercises -- but
they have to be the right kind of exercises,
meaning they have to be difficult, demanding
and progressive in nature. See Dinosaur
Bodyweight Training for details.
9A. The old George Jowett idea of training
progressively by moving from easy exercises to
more difficult exercises works very well for
bodyweight training.
9B. Bodyweight training and weight training
make an excellent mass building program.
10. Rest and recovery are critical. It is
impossible to make good gains in muscle mass
if you are over-trained.
11. Sleep is so important they ought to bottle
the stuff and sell it. Seriously.
11a. See my new book, Dinosaur Sleeping,
for details.
11b. Sorry, just kidding about the new book.
But it's actually a good idea -- because sleep
is super important when you're training hard
and heavy -- and when your body is in gaining
mode.
12. John Grimek said it best: Skinny guys worry
too much. To build muscle, you need to slow
down, chill out, stop stressing, and RELAX a
little.
12A. As Bradley J. Steiner put it, MAINTAIN
A TRANQUIL MIND! That's way more important than
most people realize.
12B. Spending all day on internet forums arguing
about strength training and muscle building does
NOT promote tranquility.
So there you have it. Some very simple, but very
important, keys to muscle mass.
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 mentioned that bodyweight training and
weight training is a good combination to pack
on the pounds. I detail how to to do it in a
special report that you'll get when you order
Dinosaur Bodyweight Training:
http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaur_bodyweight.html
P.S. 2. For all other Dinosaur Training books
and courses, including Gray Hair and Black Iron,
go here:
http://www.brookskubik.com/products.html
P.S. 3. Thought for the Day: "If you're gonna be
a bear, you might as well be a grizzly. And if you
want to be a grizzly, you need to train hard,
heavy and serious." -- Brooks Kubik
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