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| John Grimek started out by training at home with his older brother's Milo barbell set - and made his own plate-loading dumbbells to go with it. |
Hail to the Dinosaurs!
Following up on yesterday's email
about Sig Klein's beautiful, hand-
crafted dumbbells that I saw and
lifted at the special strength clinic
for Iron League members in good
old Cincinnati . . .
As I mentioned, the dumbbells are
true works of art - but they don't
quite feel and balance the same.
So you have to concentrate and
focus when you use them - and
work a little harder to balance
them - and this activates your
muscles and nervous system,
and causes you to build more
strength and muscle than with
two identical dumbbells.
You'll probably never have a
chance to train with a pair of
old-school dumbbells like
these.
But that's okay.
There's an easy way to mimic
the training effect of the old
dumbbells.
Actually, several ways - all of
which let you use two dumbbells
of the same weight - but balanced
a little bit differently from each
other:
1. Make your own plate-loading
dumbbells and load them to the
same weight but use different
combinations of plates.
or
2. Use different brands of plates -
so that they are of different
sizes and different thicknesses.
or
3. Reverse the order of the
small plates (10, 5, 2 1/2 on
one dumbbell and 10, 2/12,
5 on the other.
or
4. Throw in a small washer before
the last small plate you put on the
bar for one of the dumbbells. This
will move the small plate further
out, which changes the feel and
the balance.
or
5. Position the inside collars a
little further out on one of the
dumbbells. Just a 1/4 to 1/2
inch further is all you need.
Remember, the idea is to use the
same weight - but with a very slight
difference in the way the dumbbells
balance.
It's a very subtle thing - but one that
can make your dumbbell work much
effective.
Oh, and of course - switch the bells
from hand to hand on each set. That
way, you force both arms and both
sides of your body to work against
the different dumbbells.
Give this a try - and let me know how
it works for you.
Yours in strength,
Brooks Kubik
P.S. For more old-school training tips,
check out these great books:
Dinosaur Dumbbell Training
http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaur_dumbbelltraining.html
Dinosaur Training: Lost Secrets
of Strength and Development
http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaur_training.html
Strength, Muscle and Power
http://www.brookskubik.com/strength_muscle_power.html
2. My other books and courses are
right here at Dino Headquarters:
Hard-copy and PDF
http://www.brookskubik.com/products.html
Kindle
http://www.brookskubik.com/kindle.html
P.S. 3. Thought for the Day:
"Think, focus and pay attention.
Be mindful. Live in the moment."
-Brooks Kubik
BEFORE YOU LEAVE . . .
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