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| Sig Klein - pictured above - was a master of herculean hand-balancing - but he also was a master of old-school dumbbell lifting - and this led him to issue one of the most famous challenges of all time. |
Hail to the Dinosaurs!
Couple of quick notes, and then we'll talk
training.
1. Great New Stuff at the
Retro-Strength Shop!
John Wood has added a ton of great new
stuff to the Retro-Strength Shop - just in
time for Father's Day - and if you go there
and sign up for the Retro email list, you
get a special coupon code giving you 10
percent off any purchase from now until
June 17, 2018:
https://www.retrostrength.com/shop/
The new swag includes Dinosaur Training
shirts and coffee mugs - a great looking
Sig Klein coffee mug - Arthur Saxon
shirts - and much more! Swing on over
and take a look.
2. The May Dino Files
. . . is running late - because I've been
buried in a very big, unexpected project.
But it should be ready soon - and I'll send
an email when it's ready to go.
This issue has a terrific Challenge Workout
that you're going to want to try - as well as
some great "from the trenches" articles by
older Dinos - and a deep dive into one of
the most popular training programs of the
1940's and 50's - with some interesting
and effective ways to incorporate it into
your current program.
3. My New Course
I've got a brand new training course out,
and I think you're going to like it a lot.
It covers old-school arm training - not the
pump stuff, but the kind of training that
builds plenty of strength and power. I call
it "strength-style arm training."
It comes in a downloadable and printable
PDF - and you get a special bonus with it -
four workout charts. You can print them
out, make copies and use them to keep
track of your workouts.
http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaurstrengthandpower-01.html
4. Sig Klein's Dumbbell Challenge
The legendary Sig Klein had one of the best
gyms in the entire world, featuring a stunning
collection of old-time barbells, dumbbells and
kettlebells.
Klein used all of these tools in his own training,
along with some serious bodyweight work (he
was a master of herculean hand-balancing and
was great at strict-style handstand push-ups
and tiger bends). But dumbbells may have been
Klein's favorite tool.
Klein wrote a number of articles about old-school
dumbbell training. He believed that one particular
dumbbell exercise was the secret of the super
strength and remarkable lifting ability of the
old-time European weightlifting champions.
What was the exercise?
It was the two dumbbell clean and press --
performed for reps. One clean and one press
on every rep. The first clean from the floor,
and the the rest of them from the hang.
In one of his earliest articles, way back in
the 1930s, Klein issued a challenge to all
weightlifters and bodybuilders in the USA.
The challenge was to perform 12 continuous
reps in the two dumbbell clean and press with
a pair of 75-pound dumbbells.
Klein was able to do this himself -- at a weight
of about 150 to 155 pounds -- so in his case,
he was using a pair of dumbbells equal to his
own bodyweight -- for TWELVE non-stop reps.
That's a remarkable performance -- but Sig
Klein was a remarkable strongman.
Even today, almost 100 years later, Klein's
challenge is hard to meet -- and his own
performance, on a pound for pound basis,
is almost impossible to match.
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| John Grimek performing the two dumbbell alternate press - an exercise he learned from Sig Klein. |
Of course, if you rolled out the dumbbells
and started to work toward Klein's challenge,
some very good things would happen:
1. You'd get really strong.
2. You'd build tremendous conditioning.
3. You'd add some serious muscle to your
entire upper body -- especially your upper
back, shoulder girdle and arms.
4. You'd become a pressing machine.
5. You'd be able to toy with dumbbells that
most trainees can't even lift off the floor.
Hey, I sound like I just issued a challenge
of my own!
If I did, it's a good one. Just ask Sig Klein!
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. Dinosaur Dumbbell Training will give you
everything you need to master old-school
dumbbell training:
http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaur_dumbbelltraining.html
P.S. 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:
"If you want a real challenge, try heavy
dumbbells!"
-- Brooks Kubik
BEFORE YOU LEAVE . . .
We have more than 25 Dinosaur Training books and courses in the Kindle
bookstore - here are several of them - head on over and take a look at the others:
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