Hail to the Dinosaurs!
Let’s do some Trap Bar Q and A today.
I rec’d an email from Thornton Abbott, one of our younger Dinos, with a ton of Trap Bar questions. Let’s tackle them one by one.
“I have been using the Trap Bar for my deadlift for the last 2-3 weeks and must say I love it.”
Well, okay, not a question, but a comment. It’s pretty common, too. Trap Bars are GREAT!
“I have made some bumper plates for the Trap Bar, must still convert them to work on my barbell since I do my lifting indoors and the tiles doesn’t appreciate the punishment I give them. So I haven’t been alternating between the Trap Bar and the barbell yet, hopefully will get the bumper plates sorted end of this week or early the next week.”
Okay, that’s not quite a question, either, but it calls for a tip: put something on the floor to cushion things – ¾” rubber mats will do well – or build a small platform for your deadlifts. Plywood (two ¾” sheets) and rubber matting will work well. And don’t drop or bounce the bar – control it!
“My father also trains with me, and he can’t go so deep with the deadlift, and finds the Trap Bar (lifted a bit) more comfortable.
So I want to try and slowly get him to use the barbell, elevate it a bit and such but want to know what the benefits would be.
He likes the Trap Bar and is working out with it, why change?”
Your dad should stick to the Trap Bar. It’s much more forgiving for older lifters.
“So what benefits and negatives are there between the Trap Bar and Barbell for deadlifts.”
It’s covered in detail here (which is also THE PLACE to get the Original Gerard Trap Bar):
http://www.trapbartraining.com/
The short answer is, the Trap Bar keeps the weight closer to your center of gravity, which gives you better leverage for heavy lifting. Better leverage means heavier weight, more muscle growth and less stress on the low back.
“I read that Gerard designed the Trap Bar and managed to improve his normal barbell deadlift with just practicing the Trap bar version, is this so?”
Yes. Al Gerard was a competitive powerlifter, and used the trap bar to help his deadlift. By the way, there is much good stuff on Trap Bar training for powerlifters in Paul Kelso’s book, Powerlifting Basics – Texas Style.
“I looked on discussion forums but half the people there don’t know what a Trap Bar is, so I don’t know how they can give their opinions then.”
Don’t worry, they’ll give you their opinions anyway.
“Also what will be the poundage difference between the Trap Bar and the barbell, plus or minus.”
It varies from person to person depending on a variety of factors, including your body structure and deadlifting style.
“Will I be able to pull more with the Trap Bar?”
See the answer to the above question.
“Also I am smoked after my deadlifts and presses, so motivation for grip work is a bit low, just using my Ivanko gripper. I assume the normal deadlift will also work my grip a lot (trying to make myself feel better when skipping the grip workout). Want to try and move the workouts so I will do the grip work at night so I have time for recovery from my deadlifts. Does that sound ok?”
You’re much better off to do your grip work AFTER your regular strength training, not later on at night. I don’t care if you’re tired – do the grip work. It will work much better when you’re sweating, breathing hard, and your heart is pumping blood like crazy.
“Last question the 2 inch and 3 inch bar, does that train crushing grip or pinch grip? My hands are so open it feels like pinch grip training.”
Thick bars train both types of grip. The thicker the bar, the harder it works the thumbs – which makes it more f a pinch grip exercise. That’s a good reason to have several thick bars of different thicknesses.
“Had a PR with the Trap Bar deadlift last night. Need to get more plates though.”
Good job – and yes, get more plates! (Needing to get more plates is a GOOD thing!)
That’s enough questions and answers for one email – so that wraps things up. As always, thanks for reading – and have a great day. If you train today, stay warm – and make it a good one!
Yours in strength,
Brooks Kubik
P.S. For more information on Trap Bar training and Trap Bar workouts, as well as thick bar training and thick bar workouts, try the following resources:
1. Dinosaur Training: Lost Secrets of Strength and Development
http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaur_training.html
2. Strength, Muscle and Power
http://www.brookskubik.com/strength_muscle_power.html
3. Gray Hair and Black Iron
http://www.brookskubik.com/grayhair_blackiron.html
4. Chalk and Sweat (not yet available, but coming very soon)
http://brookskubik.com/chalk_and_sweat.html
5. The Dinosaur Files newsletter
http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaur_files.html
Showing posts with label Brooks Kubik. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Brooks Kubik. Show all posts
Why I Wrote Chalk and Sweat
Hail to the Dinosaurs!
Back in the old days, when you bought a barbell, you had absolutely no idea what to do with it.
Think about it.
There was no television – no video – no DVD’s – and no YouTube.
Gyms were few and far between.
There were very few books or courses that taught weight training or weightlifting. And most folks would go their entire life and never see a barbell, or someone using a barbell, or someone who had barbell-built muscles.
So if you wanted to make a living but selling barbells, you needed to offer very simple, very basic, easy to follow instructions on how to use the darn thing.
The Milo Barbell Company did a good job of that in the old Milo Barbell Company courses. Writers like Alan Calvert (“Super Strength”), George F. Jowett (“The Key to Might and Muscle”), and Mark Berry (“Physical Training Simplified”) did a good job of it, as well.
But the very best courses were the ones authored by Bob Hoffman, and sold with barbell sets from the York Barbell Company.
One of the great things about the York courses was that they were progressive. And by that, I don’t mean that you implemented the principle of progressive resistance training by adding reps, and then adding weight to the bar.
Instead, I mean that the courses were progressive in the sense that you started out on a beginners program (course no. 1) – and then you moved to a variation of the beginner’s program with slightly more advanced exercises (course no. 2) – and then you got serious by doing heavy leg and back training (via “repetition weightlifting” in course no. 3). After that, you moved on to course no. 4, which was nothing more nor less than training for weightlifting competition.
It was a wonderful way to train. It covered everything from beginner to intermediate to advanced men. And it made sure that you built a body that was strong and powerful from head to toe – hard and muscular—well-balanced, well-proportioned, and well-developed – with muscles that were functional and athletic.
Over the years, the basic York approach – the progressive exercises or progressive programs approach – built tons of muscle and brought great results to tens of thousands of boys and men around the world.
It also produced some remarkable champions, both in weightlifting, in bodybuilding, and in other sports. In the 1940’s and 50’s, virtually every great lifting champion or bodybuilding champion in the United States used a variation of this approach – and virtually every athlete who trained with weights did the same thing.
At some point, however, we forgot about this way of doing things. Gradually, we reduced the number and variety of exercises we were doing.
Pretty soon, everyone was doing pretty much the same exercises – and many of the really productive movements used back in the 30’s, 40’s and 50’s fell by the wayside.
Case in point. The very first barbell set I ever owned – one of those hollow pipe bars with caps on the end, and plates made of concrete inside of poly-vinyl – taught only ONE leg exercise: the two dumbbell swing and squat on toes, which you were supposed to do for two sets of five reps as a warm-up.
No back squats, no front squats, no overhead squats, no Jefferson lift, no squat and press, no squat and press behind neck, no power clean and front squat, no squat snatches, no split snatches, no split squats with the bar on your shoulders, no split squats with the bar overhead, no dumbbell squats, no one leg squats, no one arm overhead squats with barbell or dumbbell, no deep knee bends on your toes, no walking or going up steps with a barbell on your shoulders or while holding heavy dumbbells – literally NOTHING for your legs and hips.
My notes show that I weighed 86 pounds when I started training. A year later, I still weighed 86 pounds. Could it possibly have been the lack of leg training? Go figure.
The more I’ve thought about this, the more I’ve thought that it would be a real service to write a book that contained a whole bunch of training programs for beginners – like perhaps ten different programs.
If you were getting started, you could take a very basic, simple program and follow it for four to six weeks.
Then you could follow a different beginner’s program – and follow it for another four to six weeks.
After that, you could follow a third program for beginners. Or you could alternate back and forth between two or even three different programs for beginners.
The idea would be to lay a really good foundation for future training.
After that, you would tackle more difficult programs – programs designed especially for intermediates. And once again, you’d have ten of them to choose from.
After paying your dues on a couple of the intermediate programs of your choosing, you’d move on to the really fun stuff – programs for advanced lifters.
Once again, to make the book as complete as possible, there would be ten different programs for advanced lifters.
And in each of the sections of the book – beginner, intermediate and advanced – there would be detailed instruction on how to train the RIGHT way for your current level of development.
And because different guys like to do different things, there would be a nice mixture of barbell training, dumbbell exercises, bodyweight training, Olympic lifting, powerlifting, and heavy awkward objects. So there would be something for just about everyone.
And then – still following that old time idea of progressive programs – there would be two chapters devoted entirely to the kind of training that will take you from advanced to super-human – or perhaps even to super-gorilla.
Heavy leg and back training.
The stuff that will build as much muscle mass, as much strength and as much power as is humanly possible.
Once again, you’d get a variety of different programs. Perhaps ten heavy leg specialization programs – and ten heavy back specialization programs. With detailed, step by step advice about how to use them.
That would be a pretty good book – and a pretty valuable one. It would have something for virtually every trainee in the entire world – and for many trainees, it would have the very best and most effective training programs that he or she had ever seen.
The more I thought about it, the more I decided that this book really needed to be written.
So I sat down and started to work on it.
When it was finished, I needed to choose a title. And THAT part was easy.
CHALK AND SWEAT
You can see the cover for CHALK AND SWEAT right here:
http://brookskubik.com/chalk_and_sweat.html
The little monster is currently at the printer, and it’s scheduled to be finished and shipped to Dino Headquarters this coming Friday (December 17) . I use an out of state printer, so the books will be shipped to me by truck – and it takes a few days to get them to me – and that means that if all goes well, I should be getting the shipment on Tuesday (December 21) or Wednesday (December 22).
That’s not going to be early enough to get them out the door in time for Christmas, but you probably won’t be training on Christmas anyway – so go ahead and enjoy the Holidays, and be looking forward to seeing CHALK AND SWEAT arrive in the mail not very long after Santa, his elves and his reindeer taking a long, long nap up at the North Pole.
I’ll put an order page up after the printer has finished the books and the delivery truck is heading to Louisville. That way, you can pre-order and reserve your place in line. As always, once we have the books, we’ll shoot them right out the door to you – and we’ll fill the orders in the same order in which we receive them.
Yours in strength,
Brooks Kubik
P.S. Once Chalk and Sweat is here, we’re going to be buried in orders for it – so if you’re thinking of grabbing anything else form Dino HQ, please do it now. Chalk and Sweat is going to create a log-jam for a couple of days:
Our new Dinosaur Training hoodies are here:
http://brookskubik.com/dinosaurtraining_hoodie.html
And our books, courses, DVD’s, t-shirts, sweatshirts and subscriptions to the Dinosaur Files newsletter are right here:
http://www.brookskubik.com/products.html
Back in the old days, when you bought a barbell, you had absolutely no idea what to do with it.
Think about it.
There was no television – no video – no DVD’s – and no YouTube.
Gyms were few and far between.
There were very few books or courses that taught weight training or weightlifting. And most folks would go their entire life and never see a barbell, or someone using a barbell, or someone who had barbell-built muscles.
So if you wanted to make a living but selling barbells, you needed to offer very simple, very basic, easy to follow instructions on how to use the darn thing.
The Milo Barbell Company did a good job of that in the old Milo Barbell Company courses. Writers like Alan Calvert (“Super Strength”), George F. Jowett (“The Key to Might and Muscle”), and Mark Berry (“Physical Training Simplified”) did a good job of it, as well.
But the very best courses were the ones authored by Bob Hoffman, and sold with barbell sets from the York Barbell Company.
One of the great things about the York courses was that they were progressive. And by that, I don’t mean that you implemented the principle of progressive resistance training by adding reps, and then adding weight to the bar.
Instead, I mean that the courses were progressive in the sense that you started out on a beginners program (course no. 1) – and then you moved to a variation of the beginner’s program with slightly more advanced exercises (course no. 2) – and then you got serious by doing heavy leg and back training (via “repetition weightlifting” in course no. 3). After that, you moved on to course no. 4, which was nothing more nor less than training for weightlifting competition.
It was a wonderful way to train. It covered everything from beginner to intermediate to advanced men. And it made sure that you built a body that was strong and powerful from head to toe – hard and muscular—well-balanced, well-proportioned, and well-developed – with muscles that were functional and athletic.
Over the years, the basic York approach – the progressive exercises or progressive programs approach – built tons of muscle and brought great results to tens of thousands of boys and men around the world.
It also produced some remarkable champions, both in weightlifting, in bodybuilding, and in other sports. In the 1940’s and 50’s, virtually every great lifting champion or bodybuilding champion in the United States used a variation of this approach – and virtually every athlete who trained with weights did the same thing.
At some point, however, we forgot about this way of doing things. Gradually, we reduced the number and variety of exercises we were doing.
Pretty soon, everyone was doing pretty much the same exercises – and many of the really productive movements used back in the 30’s, 40’s and 50’s fell by the wayside.
Case in point. The very first barbell set I ever owned – one of those hollow pipe bars with caps on the end, and plates made of concrete inside of poly-vinyl – taught only ONE leg exercise: the two dumbbell swing and squat on toes, which you were supposed to do for two sets of five reps as a warm-up.
No back squats, no front squats, no overhead squats, no Jefferson lift, no squat and press, no squat and press behind neck, no power clean and front squat, no squat snatches, no split snatches, no split squats with the bar on your shoulders, no split squats with the bar overhead, no dumbbell squats, no one leg squats, no one arm overhead squats with barbell or dumbbell, no deep knee bends on your toes, no walking or going up steps with a barbell on your shoulders or while holding heavy dumbbells – literally NOTHING for your legs and hips.
My notes show that I weighed 86 pounds when I started training. A year later, I still weighed 86 pounds. Could it possibly have been the lack of leg training? Go figure.
The more I’ve thought about this, the more I’ve thought that it would be a real service to write a book that contained a whole bunch of training programs for beginners – like perhaps ten different programs.
If you were getting started, you could take a very basic, simple program and follow it for four to six weeks.
Then you could follow a different beginner’s program – and follow it for another four to six weeks.
After that, you could follow a third program for beginners. Or you could alternate back and forth between two or even three different programs for beginners.
The idea would be to lay a really good foundation for future training.
After that, you would tackle more difficult programs – programs designed especially for intermediates. And once again, you’d have ten of them to choose from.
After paying your dues on a couple of the intermediate programs of your choosing, you’d move on to the really fun stuff – programs for advanced lifters.
Once again, to make the book as complete as possible, there would be ten different programs for advanced lifters.
And in each of the sections of the book – beginner, intermediate and advanced – there would be detailed instruction on how to train the RIGHT way for your current level of development.
And because different guys like to do different things, there would be a nice mixture of barbell training, dumbbell exercises, bodyweight training, Olympic lifting, powerlifting, and heavy awkward objects. So there would be something for just about everyone.
And then – still following that old time idea of progressive programs – there would be two chapters devoted entirely to the kind of training that will take you from advanced to super-human – or perhaps even to super-gorilla.
Heavy leg and back training.
The stuff that will build as much muscle mass, as much strength and as much power as is humanly possible.
Once again, you’d get a variety of different programs. Perhaps ten heavy leg specialization programs – and ten heavy back specialization programs. With detailed, step by step advice about how to use them.
That would be a pretty good book – and a pretty valuable one. It would have something for virtually every trainee in the entire world – and for many trainees, it would have the very best and most effective training programs that he or she had ever seen.
The more I thought about it, the more I decided that this book really needed to be written.
So I sat down and started to work on it.
When it was finished, I needed to choose a title. And THAT part was easy.
CHALK AND SWEAT
You can see the cover for CHALK AND SWEAT right here:
http://brookskubik.com/chalk_and_sweat.html
The little monster is currently at the printer, and it’s scheduled to be finished and shipped to Dino Headquarters this coming Friday (December 17) . I use an out of state printer, so the books will be shipped to me by truck – and it takes a few days to get them to me – and that means that if all goes well, I should be getting the shipment on Tuesday (December 21) or Wednesday (December 22).
That’s not going to be early enough to get them out the door in time for Christmas, but you probably won’t be training on Christmas anyway – so go ahead and enjoy the Holidays, and be looking forward to seeing CHALK AND SWEAT arrive in the mail not very long after Santa, his elves and his reindeer taking a long, long nap up at the North Pole.
I’ll put an order page up after the printer has finished the books and the delivery truck is heading to Louisville. That way, you can pre-order and reserve your place in line. As always, once we have the books, we’ll shoot them right out the door to you – and we’ll fill the orders in the same order in which we receive them.
Yours in strength,
Brooks Kubik
P.S. Once Chalk and Sweat is here, we’re going to be buried in orders for it – so if you’re thinking of grabbing anything else form Dino HQ, please do it now. Chalk and Sweat is going to create a log-jam for a couple of days:
Our new Dinosaur Training hoodies are here:
http://brookskubik.com/dinosaurtraining_hoodie.html
And our books, courses, DVD’s, t-shirts, sweatshirts and subscriptions to the Dinosaur Files newsletter are right here:
http://www.brookskubik.com/products.html
Feedback on the John Davis Video
Hail to the Dinosaurs!
Several days ago I sent out a link to a video of John Davis – and ever since, I’ve been getting all kind of feedback from readers who really – really – really – enjoyed it.
Here’s some of the feedback:
“Awesome. Take me back to the time before supplements! The world of sports is overwhelmingly muddied up with juice, doping, GH and a zillion over-the-counter supplements.
Those were the days of real men lifting for glory, self-accomplishment and patriotism. Now we are forced into our garages; alone in the cold of winter facing ourselves the steel to triumph alone! But you know what - I freakin' love it! Take me back to the good, ole days, Brooks. Thanks for bringing us all together.
Let the spirit live on!
Thank you.
Tony Barnett”
“Thanks for posting the web address of the video of John making the lift. It's downright scary.” – Floyd Orr
“That was AWESOME! I really liked the opera voice,too.” -- Cesar Chaparro,
“Sir, may god bless you for this footage. – No name on the email
“That is one awesome video, can't believe how much talent the guy had. He'd be on Americas Got Talent with that voice!” Rob
“Thank you for posting these links. I had been trying to find that clip in Paris. I had no idea he was also such an accomplished singer. I am pretty sure you will be putting out a book on John Davis and his training in your series on strongmen.” – Peter Yates
“Brooks, this has got to be the best weightlifting video I have ever received. I am 63 years old and I am a Dinosaur starting back in the late 50's when I was still in the single digits and using a Johnson bar out in my grandparents’ garage. Then sometime in the late 50's or early 60's a friends dad who owned a sporting goods store bought home a 110 lbs Billard set and we went insane on that set of weights. I love your site Brooks and when I start back on my summer job I'm going to buy Gray Hair and Black Iron, Legacy of Iron, and your latest, Chalk and Sweat. Keep up the good work!” Bill Cullen
“Wow! What a great video. John was one strong guy.” – Luis Hernandez
“Thanks for taking the time to provide this link. I almost cried thinking about Mr. Davis being ignored and sickly when he should have been enjoying training the young ones.” Larry Garcia
(Note: John Davis died of cancer on July 13, 1984, at the age of 63.)
“Thanks so much for posting that link. While I've never done Olympic style weightlifting, I can't get over the way they seem to "snap" the weights into position. The way John Davis missed that clean and then came back to make it look a hundred pounds lighter was absolutely amazing. Phenomenal technique right there.” – Jim McAllister
“Man, I'm a sucker for heroics like that. Amazing! Practically passing out at the end. Davis and Grimek were so athletic, as well as strong. Davis's leg and hip development... pure power. I wonder if, say, football was as popular then as it is now. He (Davis) looks like he could run a 4.4 40 (yd. dash) and bowl anyone over who got in his way. Strip the ball out of his hands? I don't think so. Again, great video. Thanks.” – Tim Breidor
“Amazing video and the first time I’ve ever seen it. A 2-inch diameter bar on the rail wheel axle? That is superhuman. I love how this video shows the well-rounded nature of Davis (and by extension, most men back then) – i.e., singing opera baritone, etc. Although breaking records in niches is definitely appealing I feel so many people nowadays are NOT well rounded, seeking to succeed in too narrow of fields across the board. Not just in physical culture, either. I feel this whole dichotomous way of thinking pervades our entire culture. Be it medicine's way of looking at the body like just a joining of parts as in a car, to people that know everything about stock trading on wall street but can't play with a 2 x 4, etc. – Ben
There are more comments, but I can’t list them all. In any case, thanks to everyone who sent in a comment about the video, and to everyone else who watched it, I hope you enjoyed it as much as these guys did!
NOW you know what John Davis is one of my all-time favorite strongmen – and NOW you know why I pay so much attention to the lifters of his era – and NOW you know whey he appears in all of the various Legacy of Iron books.
As always, thanks for reading – and have a great weekend!
Yours in strength,
Brooks Kubik
P.S. If you enjoyed watching John Davis on video and learning a little bit more about the man and the lifter, then you’re really going to like the books in Legacy of Iron series – which bring you an unrivalled, up close picture of John Davis, Steve Stanko, John Grimek, Tony Terlazzo, Harry Paschall, Sig Klein, Bob Hoffman and the other legendary champions, coaches and trainers of the Golden Age of Might and Muscle.
There are four books in the Legacy of Iron series – and more coming in 2011.
http://www.brookskubik.com/legacy_of_iron.html
http://www.brookskubik.com/clouds_of_war.html
http://www.brookskubik.com/1000pound_total.html
http://brookskubik.com/legacy_of_iron4.html
NOTE: see the order pages for Legacy of Iron 3 and 4 for information about a discount if you order 3 or 4 books in the series.
Several days ago I sent out a link to a video of John Davis – and ever since, I’ve been getting all kind of feedback from readers who really – really – really – enjoyed it.
Here’s some of the feedback:
“Awesome. Take me back to the time before supplements! The world of sports is overwhelmingly muddied up with juice, doping, GH and a zillion over-the-counter supplements.
Those were the days of real men lifting for glory, self-accomplishment and patriotism. Now we are forced into our garages; alone in the cold of winter facing ourselves the steel to triumph alone! But you know what - I freakin' love it! Take me back to the good, ole days, Brooks. Thanks for bringing us all together.
Let the spirit live on!
Thank you.
Tony Barnett”
“Thanks for posting the web address of the video of John making the lift. It's downright scary.” – Floyd Orr
“That was AWESOME! I really liked the opera voice,too.” -- Cesar Chaparro,
“Sir, may god bless you for this footage. – No name on the email
“That is one awesome video, can't believe how much talent the guy had. He'd be on Americas Got Talent with that voice!” Rob
“Thank you for posting these links. I had been trying to find that clip in Paris. I had no idea he was also such an accomplished singer. I am pretty sure you will be putting out a book on John Davis and his training in your series on strongmen.” – Peter Yates
“Brooks, this has got to be the best weightlifting video I have ever received. I am 63 years old and I am a Dinosaur starting back in the late 50's when I was still in the single digits and using a Johnson bar out in my grandparents’ garage. Then sometime in the late 50's or early 60's a friends dad who owned a sporting goods store bought home a 110 lbs Billard set and we went insane on that set of weights. I love your site Brooks and when I start back on my summer job I'm going to buy Gray Hair and Black Iron, Legacy of Iron, and your latest, Chalk and Sweat. Keep up the good work!” Bill Cullen
“Wow! What a great video. John was one strong guy.” – Luis Hernandez
“Thanks for taking the time to provide this link. I almost cried thinking about Mr. Davis being ignored and sickly when he should have been enjoying training the young ones.” Larry Garcia
(Note: John Davis died of cancer on July 13, 1984, at the age of 63.)
“Thanks so much for posting that link. While I've never done Olympic style weightlifting, I can't get over the way they seem to "snap" the weights into position. The way John Davis missed that clean and then came back to make it look a hundred pounds lighter was absolutely amazing. Phenomenal technique right there.” – Jim McAllister
“Man, I'm a sucker for heroics like that. Amazing! Practically passing out at the end. Davis and Grimek were so athletic, as well as strong. Davis's leg and hip development... pure power. I wonder if, say, football was as popular then as it is now. He (Davis) looks like he could run a 4.4 40 (yd. dash) and bowl anyone over who got in his way. Strip the ball out of his hands? I don't think so. Again, great video. Thanks.” – Tim Breidor
“Amazing video and the first time I’ve ever seen it. A 2-inch diameter bar on the rail wheel axle? That is superhuman. I love how this video shows the well-rounded nature of Davis (and by extension, most men back then) – i.e., singing opera baritone, etc. Although breaking records in niches is definitely appealing I feel so many people nowadays are NOT well rounded, seeking to succeed in too narrow of fields across the board. Not just in physical culture, either. I feel this whole dichotomous way of thinking pervades our entire culture. Be it medicine's way of looking at the body like just a joining of parts as in a car, to people that know everything about stock trading on wall street but can't play with a 2 x 4, etc. – Ben
There are more comments, but I can’t list them all. In any case, thanks to everyone who sent in a comment about the video, and to everyone else who watched it, I hope you enjoyed it as much as these guys did!
NOW you know what John Davis is one of my all-time favorite strongmen – and NOW you know why I pay so much attention to the lifters of his era – and NOW you know whey he appears in all of the various Legacy of Iron books.
As always, thanks for reading – and have a great weekend!
Yours in strength,
Brooks Kubik
P.S. If you enjoyed watching John Davis on video and learning a little bit more about the man and the lifter, then you’re really going to like the books in Legacy of Iron series – which bring you an unrivalled, up close picture of John Davis, Steve Stanko, John Grimek, Tony Terlazzo, Harry Paschall, Sig Klein, Bob Hoffman and the other legendary champions, coaches and trainers of the Golden Age of Might and Muscle.
There are four books in the Legacy of Iron series – and more coming in 2011.
http://www.brookskubik.com/legacy_of_iron.html
http://www.brookskubik.com/clouds_of_war.html
http://www.brookskubik.com/1000pound_total.html
http://brookskubik.com/legacy_of_iron4.html
NOTE: see the order pages for Legacy of Iron 3 and 4 for information about a discount if you order 3 or 4 books in the series.
Snow, Chalk and Sweat in Canada
Hail to the Dinosaurs!
It’s currently 5 degrees above 0 in Calgary, and snowing – with a northwest wind for good measure.
But that doesn’t stop our Canadian Dinos – and later today, the chalk and iron is going to be flying as fast and furious as the snow is now.
How do I know?
I know it because of the following email from Jeff Osadec, who works at a place called Peak Power Sport Development, located on the campus of the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT) in Calgary. It’s a real gym, with lots of heavy iron – lifting platforms – high quality Olympic bars and bumper plates – and plenty of chalk.
I know, because I vacationed in Calgary and trained there several times. I had some great workouts, with plenty of heavy Olympic lifting and plenty of chalk. Good stuff.
So with that background, here’s the email from Jeff:
“Brooks,
I wanted to say thank you for the great posts, and I am looking forward to reading your book, "Dinosaur Training". I was referred it through a friend the other day. But the funniest part of this is sheer coincidence.
I had a woman call the gym I work at and ask is she can come in and have a look around.
She comes in, takes a look, and states, "No mirrors?"
I said,"No."
She asks, "Can I use chalk?"
I said, "Sure, it's in the buckets on the platforms."
We talked about training and the basics (pushing, pulling squatting and Olympic lifting) and she said, "I think this is the gym for me."
So I asked, "How did you hear about us?"
And then she said, "Brooks Kubik, the guy who wrote Dinosaur Training."
I just started to laugh and told her that I had just ordered the book. By the way, I work at Peak Power Sport Development on the SAIT Campus. Thanks for the referral and I look forward to reading the book.
Cheers,
Jeff Osadec”
Now, you might be wondering, who was the Mystery Woman?
Her name is Lynne Loiselle – and she’s one of the top female bodybuilders in Canada – and a certified Dinosaur. Her favorite exercise is the deadlift – and cleans, high pulls, squats and bent over rowing aren’t far behind on her list!
A few years ago, a different version of the Dinosaur Training site had a Dinosaur Hall of Fame – and Lynne was our very first Hall of Famer.
Anyhow, Lynne recently moved to Calgary – and asked me for ideas about places to train – and I suggested Peak Power – and now you know the rest of the story!
And speaking of CHALK – I will be getting some info from my printer about the shipping date for CHALK AND SWEAT – and when I have something definite, I’ll let you know the status.
As always, thanks for reading, and have a great day – and if you train today, do it Dino style – hard, heavy and serious – with lots of chalk, and lots of sweat.
Yours in strength,
Brooks Kubik
P.S. We’re shipping orders as fast as possible – but it’s getting very close to the Holidays, so if you want something to arrive in time for Christmas, please order today. Thanks!
Our new Dinosaur Training hoodies are here:
http://brookskubik.com/dinosaurtraining_hoodie.html
And our books, courses, DVD’s, t-shirts, sweatshirts and subscriptions to the Dinosaur Files newsletter are right here:
http://www.brookskubik.com/products.html
It’s currently 5 degrees above 0 in Calgary, and snowing – with a northwest wind for good measure.
But that doesn’t stop our Canadian Dinos – and later today, the chalk and iron is going to be flying as fast and furious as the snow is now.
How do I know?
I know it because of the following email from Jeff Osadec, who works at a place called Peak Power Sport Development, located on the campus of the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT) in Calgary. It’s a real gym, with lots of heavy iron – lifting platforms – high quality Olympic bars and bumper plates – and plenty of chalk.
I know, because I vacationed in Calgary and trained there several times. I had some great workouts, with plenty of heavy Olympic lifting and plenty of chalk. Good stuff.
So with that background, here’s the email from Jeff:
“Brooks,
I wanted to say thank you for the great posts, and I am looking forward to reading your book, "Dinosaur Training". I was referred it through a friend the other day. But the funniest part of this is sheer coincidence.
I had a woman call the gym I work at and ask is she can come in and have a look around.
She comes in, takes a look, and states, "No mirrors?"
I said,"No."
She asks, "Can I use chalk?"
I said, "Sure, it's in the buckets on the platforms."
We talked about training and the basics (pushing, pulling squatting and Olympic lifting) and she said, "I think this is the gym for me."
So I asked, "How did you hear about us?"
And then she said, "Brooks Kubik, the guy who wrote Dinosaur Training."
I just started to laugh and told her that I had just ordered the book. By the way, I work at Peak Power Sport Development on the SAIT Campus. Thanks for the referral and I look forward to reading the book.
Cheers,
Jeff Osadec”
Now, you might be wondering, who was the Mystery Woman?
Her name is Lynne Loiselle – and she’s one of the top female bodybuilders in Canada – and a certified Dinosaur. Her favorite exercise is the deadlift – and cleans, high pulls, squats and bent over rowing aren’t far behind on her list!
A few years ago, a different version of the Dinosaur Training site had a Dinosaur Hall of Fame – and Lynne was our very first Hall of Famer.
Anyhow, Lynne recently moved to Calgary – and asked me for ideas about places to train – and I suggested Peak Power – and now you know the rest of the story!
And speaking of CHALK – I will be getting some info from my printer about the shipping date for CHALK AND SWEAT – and when I have something definite, I’ll let you know the status.
As always, thanks for reading, and have a great day – and if you train today, do it Dino style – hard, heavy and serious – with lots of chalk, and lots of sweat.
Yours in strength,
Brooks Kubik
P.S. We’re shipping orders as fast as possible – but it’s getting very close to the Holidays, so if you want something to arrive in time for Christmas, please order today. Thanks!
Our new Dinosaur Training hoodies are here:
http://brookskubik.com/dinosaurtraining_hoodie.html
And our books, courses, DVD’s, t-shirts, sweatshirts and subscriptions to the Dinosaur Files newsletter are right here:
http://www.brookskubik.com/products.html
The Dinosaur Mailbag
Hail to the Dinosaurs!
Yesterday’s message about my old concrete barbell plates – which, by the way, are still alive and well 35 years after I cast them – brought a flood of emails from readers.
Here is a sampling of what your fellow Dinosaurs had to say – along with my responses:
1. More About Concrete Plates
Brooks, did the same thing, but I refined the concrete plate process somewhat. I found that if you used rubber baseboard material (used for vinyl flooring), you could make a perfectly round plate. Also, I calculated weight/volume for the circle and had forms for everything from 5 lbs. up to 50 lbs. Also, painting the plates with epoxy paint gave them a tougher skin. I have saved one of the 5-pounders. I got quite good at the process, especially when I learned how to get free ready-mix. Well, I made plates and gave tons away. I got out of the concrete plate business when I started buying plates, bars and everything in between in salvage yards for pennies on the dollar. It was amazing; most of it was Chinese, but occasionally I still find York and Billard rusting away. I have bought both Olympic and exercise plates this way. Next time, I'll give you a crash course on refinishing these "junk" plates to better than new. Best always, Paul Murray
Paul – That sounds awesome. You must have had some great looking barbell sets! Do you have any photos to share?
2. “Inspiring!”
I really found this inspiring. You don't mind if I pass the info on how to make homemade plates on to a friend of mine, do you? – Joseph Perkins
Joe – Thanks for your feedback. Feel free to pass it along – or just send your friend over to the Dinosaur Training Blog. It’s posted there.
3. Peary Rader
Gotta love Peary Rader. I trust HE wasn't left lying in some unmarked spot, otherwise we'd have to take care of that situation too. By the way, is there any kind of commemorative icon for Peary in his hometown or whatever? We all owe him. He's one of those people that even lifters who've never heard of him owe him without knowing it. Thanks for everything. – Simon Buchanon
Simon – I assume Peary has been well taken care of. If any of our readers live in or near Alliance, Nebraska, they could visit Peary’s grave and take a photo to share with the rest of us.
4. “Watering” Your Concrete to Cure It.
Yes, that is correct about the concrete. My dad taught me about that whenever we were putting in a new basketball pole when I was a kid. He said it helps to "cure" it. I don't think it's so much about drying it out as it is about just making it stronger. – Robert Locke
Robert – Thanks! I thought I remembered having to do that.
5. Museum Pieces
I love your story of home made squat stands and concrete plates! Do you still have them? You should put these pieces on invaluable training equipment in the Dinosaur Museum Hall of Fame! I continue to train in The Rusty Iron Dungeon! Nothing like it! – Christian Lombardo
Christian – They’re still in my parents’ garage! I’ll have to go up and get them and bring them back to Louisville – and take some photos!
6. Memory Lane and Iron Boots
Does that bring back memories! How I can relate. Like adding iron lifting boots on the end of the bar to add 5 lbs. – Cliff Werner
Cliff – Gee, you did that, too? It worked great, didn’t it?
7. The Best Move He Ever Made
Awesome article. Best move I ever made in strength training was quitting the gym and working out in my shed. I started with just my bodyweight, a 35lb KB and a jump rope. Now I have a bench, squat rack, over 1000 lbs of Olympic weights and whole bunch of homemade stuff. I love it. – Acie Bryan
Acie – I always tell people, if you can do it, training at home is the best move ever for most lifters. You can train whenever you want, you can use as much chalk as you want, you can do whatever you want – and most importantly, you can get out and CONCENTRATE on your training. That’s really hard to do at most gyms.
That wraps it up for now. I hope you had a chance to check out the cover of my new book – Chalk and Sweat. It’s right here:
http://brookskubik.com/chalk_and_sweat.html
Readers have been asking when the little monster will be available. The answer is – pretty soon. It’s at the printer now, and if all goes well, I’ll have the shipment of books in about 10 – 14 days. I’ll let you know more (and put up a sales page), when I have more info from the printer.
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. Our new Dinosaur Training Hoodies are selling like crazy. Take a look and see why:
http://brookskubik.com/dinosaurtraining_hoodie.html
Yesterday’s message about my old concrete barbell plates – which, by the way, are still alive and well 35 years after I cast them – brought a flood of emails from readers.
Here is a sampling of what your fellow Dinosaurs had to say – along with my responses:
1. More About Concrete Plates
Brooks, did the same thing, but I refined the concrete plate process somewhat. I found that if you used rubber baseboard material (used for vinyl flooring), you could make a perfectly round plate. Also, I calculated weight/volume for the circle and had forms for everything from 5 lbs. up to 50 lbs. Also, painting the plates with epoxy paint gave them a tougher skin. I have saved one of the 5-pounders. I got quite good at the process, especially when I learned how to get free ready-mix. Well, I made plates and gave tons away. I got out of the concrete plate business when I started buying plates, bars and everything in between in salvage yards for pennies on the dollar. It was amazing; most of it was Chinese, but occasionally I still find York and Billard rusting away. I have bought both Olympic and exercise plates this way. Next time, I'll give you a crash course on refinishing these "junk" plates to better than new. Best always, Paul Murray
Paul – That sounds awesome. You must have had some great looking barbell sets! Do you have any photos to share?
2. “Inspiring!”
I really found this inspiring. You don't mind if I pass the info on how to make homemade plates on to a friend of mine, do you? – Joseph Perkins
Joe – Thanks for your feedback. Feel free to pass it along – or just send your friend over to the Dinosaur Training Blog. It’s posted there.
3. Peary Rader
Gotta love Peary Rader. I trust HE wasn't left lying in some unmarked spot, otherwise we'd have to take care of that situation too. By the way, is there any kind of commemorative icon for Peary in his hometown or whatever? We all owe him. He's one of those people that even lifters who've never heard of him owe him without knowing it. Thanks for everything. – Simon Buchanon
Simon – I assume Peary has been well taken care of. If any of our readers live in or near Alliance, Nebraska, they could visit Peary’s grave and take a photo to share with the rest of us.
4. “Watering” Your Concrete to Cure It.
Yes, that is correct about the concrete. My dad taught me about that whenever we were putting in a new basketball pole when I was a kid. He said it helps to "cure" it. I don't think it's so much about drying it out as it is about just making it stronger. – Robert Locke
Robert – Thanks! I thought I remembered having to do that.
5. Museum Pieces
I love your story of home made squat stands and concrete plates! Do you still have them? You should put these pieces on invaluable training equipment in the Dinosaur Museum Hall of Fame! I continue to train in The Rusty Iron Dungeon! Nothing like it! – Christian Lombardo
Christian – They’re still in my parents’ garage! I’ll have to go up and get them and bring them back to Louisville – and take some photos!
6. Memory Lane and Iron Boots
Does that bring back memories! How I can relate. Like adding iron lifting boots on the end of the bar to add 5 lbs. – Cliff Werner
Cliff – Gee, you did that, too? It worked great, didn’t it?
7. The Best Move He Ever Made
Awesome article. Best move I ever made in strength training was quitting the gym and working out in my shed. I started with just my bodyweight, a 35lb KB and a jump rope. Now I have a bench, squat rack, over 1000 lbs of Olympic weights and whole bunch of homemade stuff. I love it. – Acie Bryan
Acie – I always tell people, if you can do it, training at home is the best move ever for most lifters. You can train whenever you want, you can use as much chalk as you want, you can do whatever you want – and most importantly, you can get out and CONCENTRATE on your training. That’s really hard to do at most gyms.
That wraps it up for now. I hope you had a chance to check out the cover of my new book – Chalk and Sweat. It’s right here:
http://brookskubik.com/chalk_and_sweat.html
Readers have been asking when the little monster will be available. The answer is – pretty soon. It’s at the printer now, and if all goes well, I’ll have the shipment of books in about 10 – 14 days. I’ll let you know more (and put up a sales page), when I have more info from the printer.
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. Our new Dinosaur Training Hoodies are selling like crazy. Take a look and see why:
http://brookskubik.com/dinosaurtraining_hoodie.html
One of the Best Gyms Ever
Hail to the Dinosaurs!
One of the best gyms I ever trained in was my parents’ garage back when I was 18 or 19.
You’d have laughed if you’d seen it. It was a unique collection of things cobbled together from a variety of sources.
I had an exercise bench we bought from a local equipment company that some guy ran out of his garage. I saved my pennies forever to buy it. The thing was a combination flat bench and adjustable incline bench, and the first time I tried an incline press on it with 150 or so pounds, it collapsed. After that, all I could use it for was a flat bench.
My squat stands were wooden things made out of 4 x 4’s, using a design in an old course written by Bruno Sammartino, the wrestling champion. I’m not much of a carpenter, and they probably would have earned me a C–minus in Shop class, but they did the job.
My dad had an old exercise style barbell with a one-inch bar and 110 pounds of exercise plates. He bought it in 1965 or 66. It was still in good shape 10 or 12 years later when I used it as part of my garage gym.
I had two “big” plates. These were black iron 25’s, which dad bought for his barbell. They let me load up to 160 pounds.
That wasn’t enough weight for squats, benches or deadlifts, so I had to think of something else. Barbell plates were expensive, and I was a poor college kid, working a variety of part-time jobs to try to pay for school.
First I got another bar. This was a seven-foot length of one-inch iron rod that lay rusting in the corner at one of the local YMCA’s. The athletic director let me have it for nothing.
An issue of Iron Man came out, and Peary Rader ran an article on how to make barbell plates out of concrete. This was amazing, because Peary sold his own barbells and barbell plates, so the article was strictly against his own business interests. He admitted this, but said it was okay because he was doing it as a sort of public service for lifters. Which goes to show you the kind of man he was.
Anyhow, I decided to make some concrete plates.
I followed the instructions carefully.
You made a mold out of sheet metal formed in a circle.
That was easy enough, although it took a lot of work to get the thing to form a perfect circle.
You mixed the concrete.
That was easy.
You poured the concrete into the mold, added some small pieces of chain and wire to help hold it all together, and then you put in a piece of plastic pipe to form the center hole.
That was all pretty easy, except for getting the center hole exactly right. I cast four plates and only got it right on three of them. The other was a little bit slanted.
After casting the plates, I waited a few days so they would have time to dry out and season. If memory serves correctly, you had to sprinkle water on them every day or two, which seems like a strange way to help the drying out process – but I think that’s what you were supposed to do. Mind you, this was about 35 years ago, so I may be getting some of the details wrong.
When they were finished, the plates were enormous. They were huge slabs of rock, several inches thick, and weighed about 75 pounds apiece.
They were so big and cumbersome that you got a good workout just loading the bar.
But they worked fine. I used my old iron bar from the YMCA and the concrete plates for all of my squats, benches and deadlifts, and although it may have looked funny, it built plenty of muscle. My first 300 pound squat was with that homemade barbell – and later, my first 300 pound bench press.
Today, 35 years later, I still train out in the garage, and I still keep things pretty basic. Basic is good.
That’s the way strength training used to be – a guy and a garage (or a basement) and a barbell – and not much else. But that was all it took. That’s all it ever takes.
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. Those old concrete barbell plates weren’t pretty, but they WORKED! So do the training programs, the advice and the ideas in these books and courses, and in the Dinosaur Files newsletter:
1. Dinosaur Training: Lost Secrets of Strength and Development
http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaur_training.html
2. Gray Hair and Black Iron
http://www.brookskubik.com/grayhair_blackiron.html
3. Strength, Muscle and Power
http://www.brookskubik.com/strength_muscle_power.html
4. The Dinosaur Files newsletter
http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaur_files.html
5. History’s Strongest Men and How They Trained: No. 1 – Doug Hepburn
http://www.brookskubik.com/doug_hepburn.html
One of the best gyms I ever trained in was my parents’ garage back when I was 18 or 19.
You’d have laughed if you’d seen it. It was a unique collection of things cobbled together from a variety of sources.
I had an exercise bench we bought from a local equipment company that some guy ran out of his garage. I saved my pennies forever to buy it. The thing was a combination flat bench and adjustable incline bench, and the first time I tried an incline press on it with 150 or so pounds, it collapsed. After that, all I could use it for was a flat bench.
My squat stands were wooden things made out of 4 x 4’s, using a design in an old course written by Bruno Sammartino, the wrestling champion. I’m not much of a carpenter, and they probably would have earned me a C–minus in Shop class, but they did the job.
My dad had an old exercise style barbell with a one-inch bar and 110 pounds of exercise plates. He bought it in 1965 or 66. It was still in good shape 10 or 12 years later when I used it as part of my garage gym.
I had two “big” plates. These were black iron 25’s, which dad bought for his barbell. They let me load up to 160 pounds.
That wasn’t enough weight for squats, benches or deadlifts, so I had to think of something else. Barbell plates were expensive, and I was a poor college kid, working a variety of part-time jobs to try to pay for school.
First I got another bar. This was a seven-foot length of one-inch iron rod that lay rusting in the corner at one of the local YMCA’s. The athletic director let me have it for nothing.
An issue of Iron Man came out, and Peary Rader ran an article on how to make barbell plates out of concrete. This was amazing, because Peary sold his own barbells and barbell plates, so the article was strictly against his own business interests. He admitted this, but said it was okay because he was doing it as a sort of public service for lifters. Which goes to show you the kind of man he was.
Anyhow, I decided to make some concrete plates.
I followed the instructions carefully.
You made a mold out of sheet metal formed in a circle.
That was easy enough, although it took a lot of work to get the thing to form a perfect circle.
You mixed the concrete.
That was easy.
You poured the concrete into the mold, added some small pieces of chain and wire to help hold it all together, and then you put in a piece of plastic pipe to form the center hole.
That was all pretty easy, except for getting the center hole exactly right. I cast four plates and only got it right on three of them. The other was a little bit slanted.
After casting the plates, I waited a few days so they would have time to dry out and season. If memory serves correctly, you had to sprinkle water on them every day or two, which seems like a strange way to help the drying out process – but I think that’s what you were supposed to do. Mind you, this was about 35 years ago, so I may be getting some of the details wrong.
When they were finished, the plates were enormous. They were huge slabs of rock, several inches thick, and weighed about 75 pounds apiece.
They were so big and cumbersome that you got a good workout just loading the bar.
But they worked fine. I used my old iron bar from the YMCA and the concrete plates for all of my squats, benches and deadlifts, and although it may have looked funny, it built plenty of muscle. My first 300 pound squat was with that homemade barbell – and later, my first 300 pound bench press.
Today, 35 years later, I still train out in the garage, and I still keep things pretty basic. Basic is good.
That’s the way strength training used to be – a guy and a garage (or a basement) and a barbell – and not much else. But that was all it took. That’s all it ever takes.
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. Those old concrete barbell plates weren’t pretty, but they WORKED! So do the training programs, the advice and the ideas in these books and courses, and in the Dinosaur Files newsletter:
1. Dinosaur Training: Lost Secrets of Strength and Development
http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaur_training.html
2. Gray Hair and Black Iron
http://www.brookskubik.com/grayhair_blackiron.html
3. Strength, Muscle and Power
http://www.brookskubik.com/strength_muscle_power.html
4. The Dinosaur Files newsletter
http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaur_files.html
5. History’s Strongest Men and How They Trained: No. 1 – Doug Hepburn
http://www.brookskubik.com/doug_hepburn.html
News and Updates from Dinosaur Training!
Hail to the Dinosaurs!
Couple of important updates and some Dino News.
1. The December Dino Files Newsletter.
Was mailed last Thursday – so be looking for it soon. Holler when it arrives, and give me your thoughts and feedback after you read it.
2. The Dinosaur Training Blog.
If you ever miss one of my daily email messages, check the Dinosaur Training Blog.
3. Follow Dinosaur Training on Facebook!
We’re right here:
facebook.com/dinosaur.training
Note that all of my daily emails are posted on the Dinosaur Training Blog and I link to the Blog through the Facebook page. So that’s another easy way to stay current with us.
4. The Harry Paschall Memorial Fund.
We’ve had a terrific response from Dinos around the world, and have raised a little over $4,000 for Harry’s marker. Thanks very much to everyone who participated in this worthy cause.
5. Dinosaur Training Hoodies.
Are flying out the door. Note: if you need to order small, medium or 3XL, just order an XL and note in the Special Instructions the size you really want – and we’ll get it done asap as a special order.
6. My New Book – Chalk and Sweat!
It’s at the printer – and I’m hoping to get the shipment right about Christmas time. I have NOT put up an order page because I don’t think we can get it to you before Christmas, and it will work better for everyone if we keep the Christmas orders separate.
If you subscribe to The Dinosaur Files, you’ll learn more about Chalk and Sweat and see what the cover looks like on page 4 of the December issue.
For everyone else -- I’ll put a photo of the cover up on the Dinosaur Training Blog a little later today or tomorrow. It’s a killer cover – one of those things that makes you want to grab something heavy and lift it over your head!
7. Autographed books.
I am always honored when someone asks that a book or course be autographed – but you need to ask! (Just include a note in the Special Instructions part of the on-line order form – and if you prefer Mike to Michael of Jim to James or whatever, let me know.)
If someone else is ordering a present for you, be sure they know this.
That’s all for now – back to filling orders and working on more good stuff for our Dinos!
Yours in strength,
Brooks Kubik
P.S. Here’s something that a little bit different – but readers LOVE it. Grab a copy by itself, or order it along with any of our training books or courses (and save on postage that way):
http://www.brookskubik.com/horatius.html
Couple of important updates and some Dino News.
1. The December Dino Files Newsletter.
Was mailed last Thursday – so be looking for it soon. Holler when it arrives, and give me your thoughts and feedback after you read it.
2. The Dinosaur Training Blog.
If you ever miss one of my daily email messages, check the Dinosaur Training Blog.
3. Follow Dinosaur Training on Facebook!
We’re right here:
facebook.com/dinosaur.training
Note that all of my daily emails are posted on the Dinosaur Training Blog and I link to the Blog through the Facebook page. So that’s another easy way to stay current with us.
4. The Harry Paschall Memorial Fund.
We’ve had a terrific response from Dinos around the world, and have raised a little over $4,000 for Harry’s marker. Thanks very much to everyone who participated in this worthy cause.
5. Dinosaur Training Hoodies.
Are flying out the door. Note: if you need to order small, medium or 3XL, just order an XL and note in the Special Instructions the size you really want – and we’ll get it done asap as a special order.
6. My New Book – Chalk and Sweat!
It’s at the printer – and I’m hoping to get the shipment right about Christmas time. I have NOT put up an order page because I don’t think we can get it to you before Christmas, and it will work better for everyone if we keep the Christmas orders separate.
If you subscribe to The Dinosaur Files, you’ll learn more about Chalk and Sweat and see what the cover looks like on page 4 of the December issue.
For everyone else -- I’ll put a photo of the cover up on the Dinosaur Training Blog a little later today or tomorrow. It’s a killer cover – one of those things that makes you want to grab something heavy and lift it over your head!
7. Autographed books.
I am always honored when someone asks that a book or course be autographed – but you need to ask! (Just include a note in the Special Instructions part of the on-line order form – and if you prefer Mike to Michael of Jim to James or whatever, let me know.)
If someone else is ordering a present for you, be sure they know this.
That’s all for now – back to filling orders and working on more good stuff for our Dinos!
Yours in strength,
Brooks Kubik
P.S. Here’s something that a little bit different – but readers LOVE it. Grab a copy by itself, or order it along with any of our training books or courses (and save on postage that way):
http://www.brookskubik.com/horatius.html
An Old-Fashioned Success Story
Hail to the Dinosaurs!
There’s a great letter to the editor featured (if memory serves me correctly) in an old copy of Strength magazine. It’s from a farm kid in one of the southern states, who got bit by the physical culture bug and turned one corner of the family farm into a training area.
He cobbled together some homemade barbells, dumbbells and kettlebells – put up a chinning bar, a climbing rope and some rings – and got some heavy sledge hammers to use for extra arm, shoulder and grip training.
Then he goes out and starts training, working on the best sort of schedule he can figure out from what he’s read in the magazine.
Now remember – back then, hardly anyone owned a barbell (and most people had never even seen one and had no idea what it was for or how to use it). So the odds are good that he was the only guy in the entire country who was doing any sort of systematic strength training and muscle building program.
He had no training partners, no coaches, no teachers, and no helpful gym owner to help out. And yes, I know it’s hard to believe, but he didn’t have a personal trainer.
Time passed, and the kid kept training, and he got stronger and stronger – and developed an outstanding, very muscular, well-defined physique.
So he sends a letter to the editor, along with a photo where he’s doing one of his favorite exercises, and asks, “Is it good?”
You see, since he trained alone, he really didn’t know how he was doing compared to other trainees. He had no basis for comparison.
The editor of the magazine got the letter, read it, took one look at the photo – and fell right out of his chair.
The photo showed the kid doing a one-arm pull-up – while holding a heavy sledgehammer in his other hand!
“Is this good?” the kid asked.
Yeah – I would say so.
In fact, I would say it was great.
Now, a couple of things have always impressed me about this:
1. The kid trained all alone -- in a small outdoor gym crammed with homemade equipment – and he made great gains.
2. The kid learned everything he needed to know from reading the few books and magazines available to him back then. Whatever else he needed to know, he figured out for himself.
3. Because he had little or no conception of just how difficult it is to perform a one-hand pull-up, he went ahead and taught himself to do it. The feat presented no sort of mental barrier to his young mind.
And for the record – with minor variations, this is the story of almost every kid who grew up to become a famous lifting or bodybuilding champion back in the 20’s, 30’s, 40’s and 50’s. The details vary – sometimes the kid uses a York barbell and the York training courses – sometimes he has a training a partner or two – and sometimes he trains at one of those old-fashioned hole in the wall black iron gyms or YMCA weight rooms – but the guts of the story is always the same.
Kid wants to get bigger and stronger – kid starts to train – kid works hard on the basic stuff – and kid gets great results.
And hard work on the basics is what does the job for him. It doesn’t take anything fancy, and it doesn’t take anything high tech.
That’s the tradition I work to keep alive here at Dinosaur Headquarters – and it’s the tradition that each and every one of you honors and supports whenever you train.
And for that, I thank you. Keep up the good work! You are helping to continue a great tradition.
As always, have a great day -- thanks for reading -- and if you train today, make it a good one!
Yours in strength,
Brooks Kubik
P.S. We’re filling Holiday orders fast and furious. Take a look at what we have for you – and grab those goodies now. The Christmas Rush is in full swing, and the sooner we get your order, the sooner we can get it to you – and that’s important this time of year:
http://www.brookskubik.com/products.html
There’s a great letter to the editor featured (if memory serves me correctly) in an old copy of Strength magazine. It’s from a farm kid in one of the southern states, who got bit by the physical culture bug and turned one corner of the family farm into a training area.
He cobbled together some homemade barbells, dumbbells and kettlebells – put up a chinning bar, a climbing rope and some rings – and got some heavy sledge hammers to use for extra arm, shoulder and grip training.
Then he goes out and starts training, working on the best sort of schedule he can figure out from what he’s read in the magazine.
Now remember – back then, hardly anyone owned a barbell (and most people had never even seen one and had no idea what it was for or how to use it). So the odds are good that he was the only guy in the entire country who was doing any sort of systematic strength training and muscle building program.
He had no training partners, no coaches, no teachers, and no helpful gym owner to help out. And yes, I know it’s hard to believe, but he didn’t have a personal trainer.
Time passed, and the kid kept training, and he got stronger and stronger – and developed an outstanding, very muscular, well-defined physique.
So he sends a letter to the editor, along with a photo where he’s doing one of his favorite exercises, and asks, “Is it good?”
You see, since he trained alone, he really didn’t know how he was doing compared to other trainees. He had no basis for comparison.
The editor of the magazine got the letter, read it, took one look at the photo – and fell right out of his chair.
The photo showed the kid doing a one-arm pull-up – while holding a heavy sledgehammer in his other hand!
“Is this good?” the kid asked.
Yeah – I would say so.
In fact, I would say it was great.
Now, a couple of things have always impressed me about this:
1. The kid trained all alone -- in a small outdoor gym crammed with homemade equipment – and he made great gains.
2. The kid learned everything he needed to know from reading the few books and magazines available to him back then. Whatever else he needed to know, he figured out for himself.
3. Because he had little or no conception of just how difficult it is to perform a one-hand pull-up, he went ahead and taught himself to do it. The feat presented no sort of mental barrier to his young mind.
And for the record – with minor variations, this is the story of almost every kid who grew up to become a famous lifting or bodybuilding champion back in the 20’s, 30’s, 40’s and 50’s. The details vary – sometimes the kid uses a York barbell and the York training courses – sometimes he has a training a partner or two – and sometimes he trains at one of those old-fashioned hole in the wall black iron gyms or YMCA weight rooms – but the guts of the story is always the same.
Kid wants to get bigger and stronger – kid starts to train – kid works hard on the basic stuff – and kid gets great results.
And hard work on the basics is what does the job for him. It doesn’t take anything fancy, and it doesn’t take anything high tech.
That’s the tradition I work to keep alive here at Dinosaur Headquarters – and it’s the tradition that each and every one of you honors and supports whenever you train.
And for that, I thank you. Keep up the good work! You are helping to continue a great tradition.
As always, have a great day -- thanks for reading -- and if you train today, make it a good one!
Yours in strength,
Brooks Kubik
P.S. We’re filling Holiday orders fast and furious. Take a look at what we have for you – and grab those goodies now. The Christmas Rush is in full swing, and the sooner we get your order, the sooner we can get it to you – and that’s important this time of year:
http://www.brookskubik.com/products.html
Revealed: The Title of My New Book!
Hail to the Dinosaurs!
Here the answers to yesterday’s 10 clues to help you guess the title of my new, soon to be released, strength training book:
1. The title is three words.
And remember that earlier I had said they were all one syllable words – and that they all shared one letter of the alphabet – and that other than that one letter, they had no letters in common.
2. The first word begins with the same letter as the first name of Tommy Kono’s brand new book on Olympic weightlifting.
The letter “C” – the title of Tommy’s new book (which is excellent!) is “Championship Weightlifting.”
3. The second word begins with the first letter of the stage name used by the legendary French strongman, Louis Uni.
The letter “A.” Louis Uni performed under the stage name of Apollon.
4. The third word ends with the first letter of the first name of the author of the old book, “Scientific Weightlifting” – which Bill Hinbern just released in a modern, reprint edition.
The letter “T” – Thomas Inch wrote “Scientific Weightlifting.”
5. The first word in the title is something that helps lifters.
6. The third word is something that’s often fake in the photos they use in the muscle comics.
Hmmm. Well, if they spray water on the guy to make it look like he’s sweating, the answer would be “sweat.”
7. Go to the Dinosaur Training Blog and look for a post I put up 7 – 10 days ago titled “Heavy Singles – What Works Best?” It gives you three HUGE clues. Look for what I repeat.
This sentence is repeated 3 times: “When I finished the workout I was covered with chalk, dripping with sweat, and breathing like a locomotive.”
8. When Doug Hepburn first traveled to New York City in the early 1950’s, an Iron Game author met him at the train station, and later wrote the famous words:
“So broad was he, so massive, so striking in appearance, that everyone around stopped, stood, and stared. His very carriage, his step, deliberate, yet light and springy, spelled power.”
The first letters of the author’s first, middle, and last name are the same as the first letters of the three words in the title.
The author was Charles A. Smith – so the letters are “C” – “A” – and “S.”
9. The three words in the title are the mark of a successful workout.
Go back and reread no. 7.
10. The three words in the tile will get you kicked out of 99% of the “gyms” in the world – and ALL of the chrome and fern pleasure palaces.
All the places that don’t like heavy iron, hard work, chalk – and – sweat.
Can you guess the title now?
I bet you can. Many of you already guessed it.
CHALK AND SWEAT
I don’t know about you, but I think it’s a darn good title for a book that focuses on the kind of hard, heavy, no-nonsense training we teach here at Dino Headquarters.
Yours in strength,
Brooks Kubik
P.S. I’ll reveal the winner of the “Guess the Title of My New Book Contest” next week. He did it the hard way – using the first clues I gave you way back in November.
P.S. 2 Our new Dinosaur Training hoodies are going like hotcakes. Check them out:
http://brookskubik.com/dinosaurtraining_hoodie.html
Here the answers to yesterday’s 10 clues to help you guess the title of my new, soon to be released, strength training book:
1. The title is three words.
And remember that earlier I had said they were all one syllable words – and that they all shared one letter of the alphabet – and that other than that one letter, they had no letters in common.
2. The first word begins with the same letter as the first name of Tommy Kono’s brand new book on Olympic weightlifting.
The letter “C” – the title of Tommy’s new book (which is excellent!) is “Championship Weightlifting.”
3. The second word begins with the first letter of the stage name used by the legendary French strongman, Louis Uni.
The letter “A.” Louis Uni performed under the stage name of Apollon.
4. The third word ends with the first letter of the first name of the author of the old book, “Scientific Weightlifting” – which Bill Hinbern just released in a modern, reprint edition.
The letter “T” – Thomas Inch wrote “Scientific Weightlifting.”
5. The first word in the title is something that helps lifters.
6. The third word is something that’s often fake in the photos they use in the muscle comics.
Hmmm. Well, if they spray water on the guy to make it look like he’s sweating, the answer would be “sweat.”
7. Go to the Dinosaur Training Blog and look for a post I put up 7 – 10 days ago titled “Heavy Singles – What Works Best?” It gives you three HUGE clues. Look for what I repeat.
This sentence is repeated 3 times: “When I finished the workout I was covered with chalk, dripping with sweat, and breathing like a locomotive.”
8. When Doug Hepburn first traveled to New York City in the early 1950’s, an Iron Game author met him at the train station, and later wrote the famous words:
“So broad was he, so massive, so striking in appearance, that everyone around stopped, stood, and stared. His very carriage, his step, deliberate, yet light and springy, spelled power.”
The first letters of the author’s first, middle, and last name are the same as the first letters of the three words in the title.
The author was Charles A. Smith – so the letters are “C” – “A” – and “S.”
9. The three words in the title are the mark of a successful workout.
Go back and reread no. 7.
10. The three words in the tile will get you kicked out of 99% of the “gyms” in the world – and ALL of the chrome and fern pleasure palaces.
All the places that don’t like heavy iron, hard work, chalk – and – sweat.
Can you guess the title now?
I bet you can. Many of you already guessed it.
CHALK AND SWEAT
I don’t know about you, but I think it’s a darn good title for a book that focuses on the kind of hard, heavy, no-nonsense training we teach here at Dino Headquarters.
Yours in strength,
Brooks Kubik
P.S. I’ll reveal the winner of the “Guess the Title of My New Book Contest” next week. He did it the hard way – using the first clues I gave you way back in November.
P.S. 2 Our new Dinosaur Training hoodies are going like hotcakes. Check them out:
http://brookskubik.com/dinosaurtraining_hoodie.html
Something New from Dinosaur Training!
Hail to the Dinosaurs!
They say that when you get married, you’re supposed to wear “something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue.”
Well, I’m not getting married – but at age 53 I do qualify as “something OLD.”
And right now, I’m wearing something NEW.
And it’s something I BORROWED from a big box of them that we rec’d not very long ago.
And it’s BLUE – with white letters. Although it also comes in black with white letters, and gray with black letters.
And I will add this – the little monster is just the thing for cold-weather workouts!
So slide on over to Dinosaur Headquarters and take a look:
http://brookskubik.com/dinosaurtraining_hoodie.html
Yours in strength,
Brooks Kubik
They say that when you get married, you’re supposed to wear “something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue.”
Well, I’m not getting married – but at age 53 I do qualify as “something OLD.”
And right now, I’m wearing something NEW.
And it’s something I BORROWED from a big box of them that we rec’d not very long ago.
And it’s BLUE – with white letters. Although it also comes in black with white letters, and gray with black letters.
And I will add this – the little monster is just the thing for cold-weather workouts!
So slide on over to Dinosaur Headquarters and take a look:
http://brookskubik.com/dinosaurtraining_hoodie.html
Yours in strength,
Brooks Kubik
Ten Big Clues to Give You the Title of My New Book!
Hail to the Dinosaurs!
Here are the 10 clues I promised to help you guess the title of my new, soon to be released, strength training book:
1. The title is three words.
2. The first word begins with the same letter as the first name of Tommy Kono’s brand new book on Olympic weightlifting.
3. The second word begins with the first letter of the stage name used by the legendary French strongman, Louis Uni.
4. The third word ends with the the first letter of the first name of the author of the old book, Scientific Weightlifting – which Bill Hinbern just released in a modern, reprint edition.
5. The first word in the title is something that helps lifters.
6. The third word is something that’s often fake in the photos they use in the muscle comics.
7. Go to the Dinosaur Training Blog and look for a post I put up 7 – 10 days ago titled “Heavy Singles – What Works Best?” It gives you three HUGE clues. Look for what I repeat.
8. When Doug Hepburn first traveled to New York City in the early 1950’s, an Iron Game author met him at the train station, and later wrote the famous words:
“So broad was he, so massive, so striking in appearance, that everyone around stopped, stood, and stared. His very carriage, his step, deliberate, yet light and springy, spelled power.”
The first letters of the author’s first, middle, and last name are the same as the first letters of the three words in the title.
9. The three words in the title are the mark of a successful workout.
10. The three words in the tile will get you kicked out of 99% of the “gyms” in the world – and ALL of the chrome and fern pleasure palaces.
Can you guess the title now?
Yours in strength,
Brooks Kubik
P.S. Several readers guessed “Strength, Muscle and Power.” That’s four words, not three – and I’ve already released that book! You can find it right here – it’s one of our best selling books:
http://www.brookskubik.com/strength_muscle_power.html
Here are the 10 clues I promised to help you guess the title of my new, soon to be released, strength training book:
1. The title is three words.
2. The first word begins with the same letter as the first name of Tommy Kono’s brand new book on Olympic weightlifting.
3. The second word begins with the first letter of the stage name used by the legendary French strongman, Louis Uni.
4. The third word ends with the the first letter of the first name of the author of the old book, Scientific Weightlifting – which Bill Hinbern just released in a modern, reprint edition.
5. The first word in the title is something that helps lifters.
6. The third word is something that’s often fake in the photos they use in the muscle comics.
7. Go to the Dinosaur Training Blog and look for a post I put up 7 – 10 days ago titled “Heavy Singles – What Works Best?” It gives you three HUGE clues. Look for what I repeat.
8. When Doug Hepburn first traveled to New York City in the early 1950’s, an Iron Game author met him at the train station, and later wrote the famous words:
“So broad was he, so massive, so striking in appearance, that everyone around stopped, stood, and stared. His very carriage, his step, deliberate, yet light and springy, spelled power.”
The first letters of the author’s first, middle, and last name are the same as the first letters of the three words in the title.
9. The three words in the title are the mark of a successful workout.
10. The three words in the tile will get you kicked out of 99% of the “gyms” in the world – and ALL of the chrome and fern pleasure palaces.
Can you guess the title now?
Yours in strength,
Brooks Kubik
P.S. Several readers guessed “Strength, Muscle and Power.” That’s four words, not three – and I’ve already released that book! You can find it right here – it’s one of our best selling books:
http://www.brookskubik.com/strength_muscle_power.html
What Is the Title of My New Book?
Hail to the Dinosaurs!
As regular readers know, I have a new book coming out. No, it’s not volume 5 in the Legacy of Iron series (although that will be coming g out soon, as well).
It’s a new training book.
It’s all about getting bigger, stronger and more powerful. It gives you step-by-step instructions. And it could literally save years of wasted effort and slow or even non-existent progress.
We held a contest two weeks ago to see if anyone could guess the title of the book.
It’s THREE words – three words you often see in my emails.
Hundreds of readers tried to guess the title. But only a few of you managed to piece the clues together.
Most of you thought it was “Yours in Strength.”
Good guess – but that’s not it.
Others thought it was “Hail to the Dinosaurs!”
Oops – that has four words, not three. So again, good guess, but that’s not it.
And others thought it was “Legacy of Iron” – but no, I already told you the next Legacy of Iron book is coming out AFTER this one. So that’s not it, either.
So here’s what we’re going to do.
I’m going to put up another post a little later today. It will give you 10 clues for the book title.
Be looking for it – and see if you can guess the title of my new book.
Yours in strength,
Brooks Kubik
P.S. In the meantime, if you don’t already have this one on your bookshelf, you’re missing something very, very special:
http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaur_training.html
As regular readers know, I have a new book coming out. No, it’s not volume 5 in the Legacy of Iron series (although that will be coming g out soon, as well).
It’s a new training book.
It’s all about getting bigger, stronger and more powerful. It gives you step-by-step instructions. And it could literally save years of wasted effort and slow or even non-existent progress.
We held a contest two weeks ago to see if anyone could guess the title of the book.
It’s THREE words – three words you often see in my emails.
Hundreds of readers tried to guess the title. But only a few of you managed to piece the clues together.
Most of you thought it was “Yours in Strength.”
Good guess – but that’s not it.
Others thought it was “Hail to the Dinosaurs!”
Oops – that has four words, not three. So again, good guess, but that’s not it.
And others thought it was “Legacy of Iron” – but no, I already told you the next Legacy of Iron book is coming out AFTER this one. So that’s not it, either.
So here’s what we’re going to do.
I’m going to put up another post a little later today. It will give you 10 clues for the book title.
Be looking for it – and see if you can guess the title of my new book.
Yours in strength,
Brooks Kubik
P.S. In the meantime, if you don’t already have this one on your bookshelf, you’re missing something very, very special:
http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaur_training.html
The December Dino Files
Hail to the Dinosaurs!
Re this morning’s email:
1. Yes, the reference to the old-time strongman going on a special “squat” program should have read “deadlift” program. My fingers type too fast sometimes.
2. The movie reference was to Kelly’s Heroes.
3. Several of you have asked what’s in this month’s Dinosaur Files newsletter – so here you go:
Hail to the Dinosaurs!
Jurassic Jottings
Mesozoic Mail
Workout of the Month
Another New Grip Exercise!
Training Tips for Injured Older Lifters Pt. 1
Sets and Reps
A Combination Strength Training Program
Dino-Mizing Big Nate
Once Per Week Training
George Ray Hudson: A Louisville Strength Hero (Part 2)
Five Training Tips from the Golden Age
Dumbbell Training from the Land of the Vikings
The Wrap-Up
Dinos Around the World
Plus TONS of photos featuring your fellow Dinosaurs doing Dino-type stuff.
It’s the last issue of the year, and we’re going out with a bang!
Yours in strength,
Brooks Kubik
P.S. A subscription to the Dinosaur Files would make a terrific Holiday present. Ask us to begin your subscription with the May 2010 issue, so that you end up with the complete set:
http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaur_files.html
Re this morning’s email:
1. Yes, the reference to the old-time strongman going on a special “squat” program should have read “deadlift” program. My fingers type too fast sometimes.
2. The movie reference was to Kelly’s Heroes.
3. Several of you have asked what’s in this month’s Dinosaur Files newsletter – so here you go:
Hail to the Dinosaurs!
Jurassic Jottings
Mesozoic Mail
Workout of the Month
Another New Grip Exercise!
Training Tips for Injured Older Lifters Pt. 1
Sets and Reps
A Combination Strength Training Program
Dino-Mizing Big Nate
Once Per Week Training
George Ray Hudson: A Louisville Strength Hero (Part 2)
Five Training Tips from the Golden Age
Dumbbell Training from the Land of the Vikings
The Wrap-Up
Dinos Around the World
Plus TONS of photos featuring your fellow Dinosaurs doing Dino-type stuff.
It’s the last issue of the year, and we’re going out with a bang!
Yours in strength,
Brooks Kubik
P.S. A subscription to the Dinosaur Files would make a terrific Holiday present. Ask us to begin your subscription with the May 2010 issue, so that you end up with the complete set:
http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaur_files.html
Questions and Answers for Dinos!
Hail to the Dinosaurs!
I thought you might like to see some short questions and answers today. Here’s what’s been coming in the door lately.
1. Is it okay to use deadlifts as your primary lower body movement rather than squats?
Absolutely! Back in the 40’s, a top strongman specialized on nothing but deadlifts – performed every 4 or 5 days with different set/rep schemes – and gained 20 pounds of muscle in 6 weeks – and ended up setting a world record in the deadlift.
2. I’m an older lifter, and my knees always swell up and get sore after I do squats. What should I do?
This is a common problem, which I cover in detail in Gray hair and Black Iron. In short – squat 1x per week only. Reduce your reps. Cycle your weights. Use Tommy Kono knee bands. If nothing works, replace squats with deadlifts or Trap bar deadlifts.
3. What do you think about the clean and press?
It’s a terrific exercise! John Grimek used to say that if you could only do one exercise, do the clean and press. I often use it as a one-exercise workout. It hits everything from your toes to your eyeballs.
4. Why do you tell people to use thick handled barbells for deadlifts and other exercises? You can’t lift as much with a thick handled bar, so you are defeating the whole purpose of training.
Ixnay on the egative-nay aves-way. (Classic movie reference rendered in pig latin – who can catch it?)
Train with a regular bar, and then finish things off with thick bar work for your grip. For example, do deadlifts with a regulation size bar, and then do deadlifts with a double overhand grip to work your grip.
A thick bar is a great tool, but like any other tool, you need to use it the right way.
5. Who is your favorite Iron Game author?
Wow, that’s tough – there are so many great ones. The list would include:
Harry Paschall
Bradley J. Steiner
Dr. Ken Leistner
Arthur Jones
Bob Hoffman
George F. Jowett
Alan Calvert
Peary Rader
Jim Schmitz
Tommy Kono
And many, many more.
6. When is the next issue of The Dinosaur Files newsletter coming out?
I just did the final edits this morning, and it should be printed today and (hopefully) mailed tomorrow. I’ll keep you posted as I have more detailed information.
7. What happened with the contest to guess the title of your new book?
We had several readers guess the correct title – and several hundred who did not. I’ve been busy with the Harry Paschall memorial Fund, but I’ll send an email with an update on the new book very shortly.
8. Are you sending emails every day? I’m not getting them.
Sometimes the emails don’t get through to everyone – which is the result of some sort of crazy cyberspace thing. I am posting all daily emails on the Dinosaur Training Blog, which you can access from the front page of the Dinosaur Training website. So if you miss an email, look for the Blog to stay current. You can also follow me on Facebook – I always link to the Dinosaur Training Blog through Facebook.
If you stop getting emails, you may need to sign back up for them. Sometimes you email filter blocks them for no real reason, and if this happens a certain number of times, you drop off the list.
But do whatever you need to do to keep current – because we have LOTS of new developments at Dino HQ – and much more coming to you this year and in coming years.
9. When is your new book coming out?
Stay tuned – very, very soon.
10. What do you think about Indian clubs?
I think LIGHT Indian clubs are a terrific tool for training and rehabbing your shoulders – and for keeping your shoulders healthy and mobile. So does Tommy Kono – and when a two Olympic Gold medalist likes something, that speaks volumes.
That wraps it up for this morning. 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. We’ve been getting tons of orders and great feedback on these two books:
http://www.brookskubik.com/grayhair_blackiron.html
http://www.brookskubik.com/strength_muscle_power.html
I thought you might like to see some short questions and answers today. Here’s what’s been coming in the door lately.
1. Is it okay to use deadlifts as your primary lower body movement rather than squats?
Absolutely! Back in the 40’s, a top strongman specialized on nothing but deadlifts – performed every 4 or 5 days with different set/rep schemes – and gained 20 pounds of muscle in 6 weeks – and ended up setting a world record in the deadlift.
2. I’m an older lifter, and my knees always swell up and get sore after I do squats. What should I do?
This is a common problem, which I cover in detail in Gray hair and Black Iron. In short – squat 1x per week only. Reduce your reps. Cycle your weights. Use Tommy Kono knee bands. If nothing works, replace squats with deadlifts or Trap bar deadlifts.
3. What do you think about the clean and press?
It’s a terrific exercise! John Grimek used to say that if you could only do one exercise, do the clean and press. I often use it as a one-exercise workout. It hits everything from your toes to your eyeballs.
4. Why do you tell people to use thick handled barbells for deadlifts and other exercises? You can’t lift as much with a thick handled bar, so you are defeating the whole purpose of training.
Ixnay on the egative-nay aves-way. (Classic movie reference rendered in pig latin – who can catch it?)
Train with a regular bar, and then finish things off with thick bar work for your grip. For example, do deadlifts with a regulation size bar, and then do deadlifts with a double overhand grip to work your grip.
A thick bar is a great tool, but like any other tool, you need to use it the right way.
5. Who is your favorite Iron Game author?
Wow, that’s tough – there are so many great ones. The list would include:
Harry Paschall
Bradley J. Steiner
Dr. Ken Leistner
Arthur Jones
Bob Hoffman
George F. Jowett
Alan Calvert
Peary Rader
Jim Schmitz
Tommy Kono
And many, many more.
6. When is the next issue of The Dinosaur Files newsletter coming out?
I just did the final edits this morning, and it should be printed today and (hopefully) mailed tomorrow. I’ll keep you posted as I have more detailed information.
7. What happened with the contest to guess the title of your new book?
We had several readers guess the correct title – and several hundred who did not. I’ve been busy with the Harry Paschall memorial Fund, but I’ll send an email with an update on the new book very shortly.
8. Are you sending emails every day? I’m not getting them.
Sometimes the emails don’t get through to everyone – which is the result of some sort of crazy cyberspace thing. I am posting all daily emails on the Dinosaur Training Blog, which you can access from the front page of the Dinosaur Training website. So if you miss an email, look for the Blog to stay current. You can also follow me on Facebook – I always link to the Dinosaur Training Blog through Facebook.
If you stop getting emails, you may need to sign back up for them. Sometimes you email filter blocks them for no real reason, and if this happens a certain number of times, you drop off the list.
But do whatever you need to do to keep current – because we have LOTS of new developments at Dino HQ – and much more coming to you this year and in coming years.
9. When is your new book coming out?
Stay tuned – very, very soon.
10. What do you think about Indian clubs?
I think LIGHT Indian clubs are a terrific tool for training and rehabbing your shoulders – and for keeping your shoulders healthy and mobile. So does Tommy Kono – and when a two Olympic Gold medalist likes something, that speaks volumes.
That wraps it up for this morning. 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. We’ve been getting tons of orders and great feedback on these two books:
http://www.brookskubik.com/grayhair_blackiron.html
http://www.brookskubik.com/strength_muscle_power.html
The Voice of Experience!
Hail to the Dinosaurs!
One of the most telling things you see on internet discussion boards or on Facebook goes something like this:
1. Someone posts: “Has anyone tried A and also tried B? What were your experiences with the two? Which worked better for you?”
I actually saw this on Facebook yesterday with A being the Paleo Diet and B being a pure vegan diet – which are about as North and South as you can get.
2. Ten people will post: “A would never work. It is scientifically impossible. So and so (learned expert) says so.”
3. Ten other people will post: “B would never work. It is scientifically impossible. So and so (a different learned expert) says so.”
4. The flame war will begin, and all the people who think that A would never work say terrible things about the people who think that B would never work – and vice versa. It’s a real Pier 6 brawl.
5. ONE person will say, “I tried A, and this is what happened. I got the following results: list results. I also tried B, and this is what happened. I got the following results: list results.”
Now, of everyone who posted a response, only ONE person is qualified to answer the question – the one who actually tried both approaches, and can truly say, “One worked better for me.”
Everyone else is just making noise. They’re not answering the question, and they’re not helping the discussion.
You see this all the time in the “free weights” vs. machines stuff that’s all over the discussion boards and has been from day one. In my opinion, the only person who is truly qualified to address this issue is someone who has trained with both. THAT person has the benefit of experience – and can aid the discussion by sharing his or her experiences. Not his or her opinions. His or her experiences.
One of the really wonderful things about the early days of strength training was that it was all pretty new – so people tried all sorts of different things – and reported the results.
So the old-time magazines were filled with letters to the editor or short articles from readers that detailed their training experiments, and outlined what worked and what didn’t work.
That was how the breathing squat came into prominence back in the 30’s. It was the result of readers who gave it a try and then sent in a letter with their results.
Nowadays, the muscle media focuses on “how the champs” train – and so you get an endless series of look-alike, read-alike articles that never say anything new. It was infinitely better when the magazines printed reports and feedback from the average lifter training “out in the Iron Mines.”
In any event, when you read something about training, examine it carefully. Is it a mere opinion – or is it based on real world, hands on experience?
As always, thanks for reading, and have a great day. If you train today, make it a good one – and add to that store of real world, hands on experience that all true Dinos possess.
Yours in strength,
Brooks Kubik
P.S. It’s the Holiday Season, and orders are coming in fast and furious. It looks like everyone is doing their Holiday shopping here at Dino Central:
http://www.brookskubik.com/products.html
One of the most telling things you see on internet discussion boards or on Facebook goes something like this:
1. Someone posts: “Has anyone tried A and also tried B? What were your experiences with the two? Which worked better for you?”
I actually saw this on Facebook yesterday with A being the Paleo Diet and B being a pure vegan diet – which are about as North and South as you can get.
2. Ten people will post: “A would never work. It is scientifically impossible. So and so (learned expert) says so.”
3. Ten other people will post: “B would never work. It is scientifically impossible. So and so (a different learned expert) says so.”
4. The flame war will begin, and all the people who think that A would never work say terrible things about the people who think that B would never work – and vice versa. It’s a real Pier 6 brawl.
5. ONE person will say, “I tried A, and this is what happened. I got the following results: list results. I also tried B, and this is what happened. I got the following results: list results.”
Now, of everyone who posted a response, only ONE person is qualified to answer the question – the one who actually tried both approaches, and can truly say, “One worked better for me.”
Everyone else is just making noise. They’re not answering the question, and they’re not helping the discussion.
You see this all the time in the “free weights” vs. machines stuff that’s all over the discussion boards and has been from day one. In my opinion, the only person who is truly qualified to address this issue is someone who has trained with both. THAT person has the benefit of experience – and can aid the discussion by sharing his or her experiences. Not his or her opinions. His or her experiences.
One of the really wonderful things about the early days of strength training was that it was all pretty new – so people tried all sorts of different things – and reported the results.
So the old-time magazines were filled with letters to the editor or short articles from readers that detailed their training experiments, and outlined what worked and what didn’t work.
That was how the breathing squat came into prominence back in the 30’s. It was the result of readers who gave it a try and then sent in a letter with their results.
Nowadays, the muscle media focuses on “how the champs” train – and so you get an endless series of look-alike, read-alike articles that never say anything new. It was infinitely better when the magazines printed reports and feedback from the average lifter training “out in the Iron Mines.”
In any event, when you read something about training, examine it carefully. Is it a mere opinion – or is it based on real world, hands on experience?
As always, thanks for reading, and have a great day. If you train today, make it a good one – and add to that store of real world, hands on experience that all true Dinos possess.
Yours in strength,
Brooks Kubik
P.S. It’s the Holiday Season, and orders are coming in fast and furious. It looks like everyone is doing their Holiday shopping here at Dino Central:
http://www.brookskubik.com/products.html
The Secret of the Old Gardening Shed
Hail to the Dinosaurs!
The big man peeled off a couple of bills and handed them to the smaller man.
“There it is!” he said.
The small man counted the bills and nodded.
“Yep! That’s it,” he said. “She’s all yours.”
The big man nodded and flexed his fingers.
“Where is she?” he asked.
“Same place as before – out in the shed.”
They went to the back door, stepped outside and walked through the year to the old gardening shed.
The door was unlocked.
The little man pushed the door open, and they peered inside.
In the far corner, hidden among the bags of seeds, the gardening tools, the spades and shovels, lay an old wooden box with faded lettering.
“He carried it around in a wooden box,” said the little man. “Made it easier.”
The big man nodded. It made sense.
“What do I owe you for the box?” he asked.
“For the box – nothing! Nothing at all – it goes with dumbbell.”
“Well, that’s fair.”
“I mean – they’ve been together for so many years now – it wouldn’t do to split them up, eh?”
“That’s true.”
The little man stepped to the side.
“If you can shift the box out of the corner, we can lift it into the wheelbarrow,” he suggested. “And we’ll just roll it out to your car.”
The big man looked at the old wooden box. Once again, his fingers clenched. He felt a challenge coming.
“Let me see what I can do,” he said, softly.
The big stepped through the door and into the shed, stooping slightly, and walked to the old box.
He took off the lid.
Inside, lay an enormous black iron dumbbell – with a handle just under 2 ½ inches thick.
It weighed 172 pounds.
It had been owned by a legendary strongman named Thomas Inch – who was for many years the only man in the world who ever lifted the dumbbell.
It even had a name:
THE UNLIFTABLE DUMBBELL
The little man was Bertie Lightfoot. He had purchased the Unliftable Dumbbell from Reg Park, who had purchased it after Thomas Inch died. Park had tried to lift the dumbbell – but strong as he was, he had not been able to do so.
The big man was David Prowse, the British Champion in Olympic Weightlifting – an enormously powerful competitor in the Highland Games – one of the very few men in history to lift the world-famous Dinnie stones -- and one of the very strongest men in the world.
Prowse wrapped his massive right hand around the dumbbell – and pulled as hard as he could.
The dumbbell shot up like a rocket – still in the old wooden box – and sailed up so high that if Prowse had dipped he would have cleaned it.
Prowse shook his head in amazement.
Bertie’s eyes popped out of head.
“I don’t think you’ll be needing that wheelbarrow after all,” he said.
Now, that was a golden moment in Iron Game history – and I’m sharing it with you because my friend Bill Hinbern has just put out something new and exciting.
No, it’s not the Unliftable Dumbbell – it’s a modern reprint edition of an extremely rare old book authored by Thomas Inch. The title is “Scientific Weightlifting.”
It will make a great addition to your collection -- you can find it right here:
http://www.superstrengthtraining.com/thomas_inch.html
As always, thanks for reading – and if you train today, make it a good one!
Yours in strength,
Brooks Kubik
P.S. We’re still taking donations to the Harry Paschall Memorial Fund. If you missed the announcement, please read about it here – and watch the video of my visit to Harry Paschall’s grave:
http://brookskubik.com/paschall_memorial.html
The big man peeled off a couple of bills and handed them to the smaller man.
“There it is!” he said.
The small man counted the bills and nodded.
“Yep! That’s it,” he said. “She’s all yours.”
The big man nodded and flexed his fingers.
“Where is she?” he asked.
“Same place as before – out in the shed.”
They went to the back door, stepped outside and walked through the year to the old gardening shed.
The door was unlocked.
The little man pushed the door open, and they peered inside.
In the far corner, hidden among the bags of seeds, the gardening tools, the spades and shovels, lay an old wooden box with faded lettering.
“He carried it around in a wooden box,” said the little man. “Made it easier.”
The big man nodded. It made sense.
“What do I owe you for the box?” he asked.
“For the box – nothing! Nothing at all – it goes with dumbbell.”
“Well, that’s fair.”
“I mean – they’ve been together for so many years now – it wouldn’t do to split them up, eh?”
“That’s true.”
The little man stepped to the side.
“If you can shift the box out of the corner, we can lift it into the wheelbarrow,” he suggested. “And we’ll just roll it out to your car.”
The big man looked at the old wooden box. Once again, his fingers clenched. He felt a challenge coming.
“Let me see what I can do,” he said, softly.
The big stepped through the door and into the shed, stooping slightly, and walked to the old box.
He took off the lid.
Inside, lay an enormous black iron dumbbell – with a handle just under 2 ½ inches thick.
It weighed 172 pounds.
It had been owned by a legendary strongman named Thomas Inch – who was for many years the only man in the world who ever lifted the dumbbell.
It even had a name:
THE UNLIFTABLE DUMBBELL
The little man was Bertie Lightfoot. He had purchased the Unliftable Dumbbell from Reg Park, who had purchased it after Thomas Inch died. Park had tried to lift the dumbbell – but strong as he was, he had not been able to do so.
The big man was David Prowse, the British Champion in Olympic Weightlifting – an enormously powerful competitor in the Highland Games – one of the very few men in history to lift the world-famous Dinnie stones -- and one of the very strongest men in the world.
Prowse wrapped his massive right hand around the dumbbell – and pulled as hard as he could.
The dumbbell shot up like a rocket – still in the old wooden box – and sailed up so high that if Prowse had dipped he would have cleaned it.
Prowse shook his head in amazement.
Bertie’s eyes popped out of head.
“I don’t think you’ll be needing that wheelbarrow after all,” he said.
Now, that was a golden moment in Iron Game history – and I’m sharing it with you because my friend Bill Hinbern has just put out something new and exciting.
No, it’s not the Unliftable Dumbbell – it’s a modern reprint edition of an extremely rare old book authored by Thomas Inch. The title is “Scientific Weightlifting.”
It will make a great addition to your collection -- you can find it right here:
http://www.superstrengthtraining.com/thomas_inch.html
As always, thanks for reading – and if you train today, make it a good one!
Yours in strength,
Brooks Kubik
P.S. We’re still taking donations to the Harry Paschall Memorial Fund. If you missed the announcement, please read about it here – and watch the video of my visit to Harry Paschall’s grave:
http://brookskubik.com/paschall_memorial.html
The Harry Paschall Memorial Fund
Hail to the Dinosaurs!
I know that many of you are huge fans of Harry Paschall.
That probably goes double for those of you who are purchasing vintage copies of Strength and Health from John Wood and reading Harry’s marvelous articles in them.
It probably goes triple for those of you who have grabbed Bill Hinbern’s modern reprint editions of Harry’s books and training courses.
And it probably goes double triple for those of you who are following the Legacy of Iron series, where Harry is one of the main characters.
So here’s a very special message for Harry Paschall fans:
Last Sunday, I visited Harry Paschall’s grave – to pay my respects – and this is what I found . . . .
http://brookskubik.com/paschall_memorial.html
Yours in strength,
Brooks Kubik
I know that many of you are huge fans of Harry Paschall.
That probably goes double for those of you who are purchasing vintage copies of Strength and Health from John Wood and reading Harry’s marvelous articles in them.
It probably goes triple for those of you who have grabbed Bill Hinbern’s modern reprint editions of Harry’s books and training courses.
And it probably goes double triple for those of you who are following the Legacy of Iron series, where Harry is one of the main characters.
So here’s a very special message for Harry Paschall fans:
Last Sunday, I visited Harry Paschall’s grave – to pay my respects – and this is what I found . . . .
http://brookskubik.com/paschall_memorial.html
Yours in strength,
Brooks Kubik
Heavy Singles -- What Works Best?
Hail to the Dinosaurs!
Newsflash: My buddy John Wood has something new and exciting for Strength and Health fans and fans of old-school strength training:
http://www.oldtimestrongman.com/1945_strengthandhealth.html
Meanwhile, one of our readers from Italy sent in a training question – one that I get quite often:
“How many singles are enough?”
Let me answer it this way.
I once performed the following workout in bottom position squats in the power rack:
135 x 1
225 x 1
315 x 1
405 x 1
450 x 1
500 x 1
When I finished the workout I was covered with chalk, dripping with sweat, and breathing like a locomotive. It was a heck of a workout. And it worked. I was big and thick and strong and I probably could have beaten a grizzly bear 2 out of 3 in arm-wrestling.
On another occasion, I performed the following workout in bottom position squats in the power rack:
135 x 1
225 x 1
315 x 1
405 x 1
420 x 20 singles
When I finished the workout I was covered with chalk, dripping with sweat, and breathing like a locomotive. It was a heck of a workout. And it worked. I was big and thick and strong and I probably could have beaten a grizzly bear 2 out of 3 in arm-wrestling.
On still another occasion, I performed the following workout in bottom position squats in the power rack:
135 x 1
225 x 1
315 x 100 singles, resting 30 seconds to one minute between lifts
When I finished the workout I was covered with chalk, dripping with sweat, and breathing like a locomotive. It was a heck of a workout. And it worked. I was big and thick and strong and I probably could have beaten a grizzly bear 2 out of 3 in arm-wrestling.
Which was best?
They all were! Each workout was hard, heavy and challenging. Each workout stimulated muscular growth. Each workout made me bigger and stronger.
Now, I will note this – doing 100 singles – what I call “The 100 rep Challenge” (an idea I got from from Kim Wood, who got it from an old Iron Man with an article by George Irving Nathanson, a training partner of Joe Hise) – is really tough, really grueling, and takes a long time to do. It also takes a long time to recover from your workout. It’s hard to do on a regular basis. It usually works better as a once in a while thing or as part of a one exercise specialization program.
20 singles is much more manageable. Ten is also good. So is five.
But working up to ONE heavy single works pretty well. And it has the benefit of being quick and fast and being something that you can recover from pretty easily.
And please remember that there’s nothing at all wrong with varying the number of singles you do and how heavy you go. You can do one heavy single, two heavy singles, three heavy singles, five heavy singles or seven heavy singles or ten heavy singles.
Each way of using singles is a little bit different – but each way is very effective.
So – how many heavy singles should you do? How heavy should they be? What percentage of your one rep max should you use?
The answer is – there are many different ways to do it. Your job is to experiment and find what works the best for you. But when you do, please remember this -- it may very well be the case that less is more.
One or two heavy singles with 90 or 95 percent of your one rep max may work wonders as part of an abbreviated training program – and doing each of your exercises once per week may be a big key to getting the most out of your single rep workouts.
But, please note that heavy singles are big medicine. They’re not for beginners. Save them for when you are an intermediate or advanced lifter. And be sure to break into them by doing low rep training for a few months before you try singles. If you’ve been doing high reps and you suddenly try singles, you are asking for trouble.
And if you do try heavy singles – warm up well – work up in progressive poundage jumps – and use perfect form! And for safety’s sake – do them in a power rack just in case you miss.
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 cover heavy singles in detail in Strength, Muscle and Power – along with many other old-school training methods that will add some massive mojo to your training:
http://www.brookskubik.com/strength_muscle_power.html
Newsflash: My buddy John Wood has something new and exciting for Strength and Health fans and fans of old-school strength training:
http://www.oldtimestrongman.com/1945_strengthandhealth.html
Meanwhile, one of our readers from Italy sent in a training question – one that I get quite often:
“How many singles are enough?”
Let me answer it this way.
I once performed the following workout in bottom position squats in the power rack:
135 x 1
225 x 1
315 x 1
405 x 1
450 x 1
500 x 1
When I finished the workout I was covered with chalk, dripping with sweat, and breathing like a locomotive. It was a heck of a workout. And it worked. I was big and thick and strong and I probably could have beaten a grizzly bear 2 out of 3 in arm-wrestling.
On another occasion, I performed the following workout in bottom position squats in the power rack:
135 x 1
225 x 1
315 x 1
405 x 1
420 x 20 singles
When I finished the workout I was covered with chalk, dripping with sweat, and breathing like a locomotive. It was a heck of a workout. And it worked. I was big and thick and strong and I probably could have beaten a grizzly bear 2 out of 3 in arm-wrestling.
On still another occasion, I performed the following workout in bottom position squats in the power rack:
135 x 1
225 x 1
315 x 100 singles, resting 30 seconds to one minute between lifts
When I finished the workout I was covered with chalk, dripping with sweat, and breathing like a locomotive. It was a heck of a workout. And it worked. I was big and thick and strong and I probably could have beaten a grizzly bear 2 out of 3 in arm-wrestling.
Which was best?
They all were! Each workout was hard, heavy and challenging. Each workout stimulated muscular growth. Each workout made me bigger and stronger.
Now, I will note this – doing 100 singles – what I call “The 100 rep Challenge” (an idea I got from from Kim Wood, who got it from an old Iron Man with an article by George Irving Nathanson, a training partner of Joe Hise) – is really tough, really grueling, and takes a long time to do. It also takes a long time to recover from your workout. It’s hard to do on a regular basis. It usually works better as a once in a while thing or as part of a one exercise specialization program.
20 singles is much more manageable. Ten is also good. So is five.
But working up to ONE heavy single works pretty well. And it has the benefit of being quick and fast and being something that you can recover from pretty easily.
And please remember that there’s nothing at all wrong with varying the number of singles you do and how heavy you go. You can do one heavy single, two heavy singles, three heavy singles, five heavy singles or seven heavy singles or ten heavy singles.
Each way of using singles is a little bit different – but each way is very effective.
So – how many heavy singles should you do? How heavy should they be? What percentage of your one rep max should you use?
The answer is – there are many different ways to do it. Your job is to experiment and find what works the best for you. But when you do, please remember this -- it may very well be the case that less is more.
One or two heavy singles with 90 or 95 percent of your one rep max may work wonders as part of an abbreviated training program – and doing each of your exercises once per week may be a big key to getting the most out of your single rep workouts.
But, please note that heavy singles are big medicine. They’re not for beginners. Save them for when you are an intermediate or advanced lifter. And be sure to break into them by doing low rep training for a few months before you try singles. If you’ve been doing high reps and you suddenly try singles, you are asking for trouble.
And if you do try heavy singles – warm up well – work up in progressive poundage jumps – and use perfect form! And for safety’s sake – do them in a power rack just in case you miss.
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 cover heavy singles in detail in Strength, Muscle and Power – along with many other old-school training methods that will add some massive mojo to your training:
http://www.brookskubik.com/strength_muscle_power.html
The Guess the Title of My New Book Contest -- Day Two
Hail to the Dinosaurs!
We’re in the middle of a contest to guess the title of my new strength-training book – which is currently at the printer and should be ready to ship to you very, very soon.
Don’t run over to the Dinosaur Training site and look for an information page about the book.
I haven’t put one up yet.
Instead, we’re going to see if anyone can guess the title. The first reader with the right answer gets a free copy of the book.
So far, we have had hundreds of guesses – and no one has come close.
Here are yesterday’s clues:
1. There are THREE words in the title.
2. I use all three words in my emails on a regular basis.
3. None of the three words in the title begin with the same letter.
And please note -- the new book has a subtitle as well – but this contest only applies to the main title.
Almost everyone looked at clue no. 3 and guessed “Yours in Strength.”
That was a good guess – but it was wrong.
Several other readers guessed “Legacy of Iron.” That’s wrong, too. I just launched a new Legacy of Iron book last week -- volume 4 in the series – and the new book is not part of the series. It’s a training book. It tells you how to get bigger and stronger – how to train for maximum results – and how to develop maximum levels of muscle mass, strength and power.
Others guessed “Dinosaur Strength Training” or “Dinosaur Olympic Lifting” – again, good guesses, but not correct.
So here are some more clues for the cryptologists and word-sleuths in Dino-Land:
1. All of the words in the title are one-syllable words.
2. One letter of the alphabet appears in all 3 words.
3. No other letter of the alphabet appears in more than one of the three words.
Think about it, play with a pencil and paper and see what you can do – and in the meantime, I’ll drop back later on and cover a training topic. Be looking for it.
Yours in strength,
Brooks Kubik
P.S. The Dinosaur Store is open for business – and Dinos around the world are doing their Holiday shopping early, right here at Dino Central. Step inside and join them:
http://www.brookskubik.com/products.html
We’re in the middle of a contest to guess the title of my new strength-training book – which is currently at the printer and should be ready to ship to you very, very soon.
Don’t run over to the Dinosaur Training site and look for an information page about the book.
I haven’t put one up yet.
Instead, we’re going to see if anyone can guess the title. The first reader with the right answer gets a free copy of the book.
So far, we have had hundreds of guesses – and no one has come close.
Here are yesterday’s clues:
1. There are THREE words in the title.
2. I use all three words in my emails on a regular basis.
3. None of the three words in the title begin with the same letter.
And please note -- the new book has a subtitle as well – but this contest only applies to the main title.
Almost everyone looked at clue no. 3 and guessed “Yours in Strength.”
That was a good guess – but it was wrong.
Several other readers guessed “Legacy of Iron.” That’s wrong, too. I just launched a new Legacy of Iron book last week -- volume 4 in the series – and the new book is not part of the series. It’s a training book. It tells you how to get bigger and stronger – how to train for maximum results – and how to develop maximum levels of muscle mass, strength and power.
Others guessed “Dinosaur Strength Training” or “Dinosaur Olympic Lifting” – again, good guesses, but not correct.
So here are some more clues for the cryptologists and word-sleuths in Dino-Land:
1. All of the words in the title are one-syllable words.
2. One letter of the alphabet appears in all 3 words.
3. No other letter of the alphabet appears in more than one of the three words.
Think about it, play with a pencil and paper and see what you can do – and in the meantime, I’ll drop back later on and cover a training topic. Be looking for it.
Yours in strength,
Brooks Kubik
P.S. The Dinosaur Store is open for business – and Dinos around the world are doing their Holiday shopping early, right here at Dino Central. Step inside and join them:
http://www.brookskubik.com/products.html
Can You Guess the Title of My New Book?
Hail to the Dinosaurs!
There’s a great new strength-training book coming to you from Dinosaur Headquarters.
Normally, I’d go ahead and tell you the title – and show you the cover – and let you go ahead and place an order for the little monster.
But not this time.
This time, we’re going to have a little contest.
So here’s the deal.
The first reader to guess the title of the new book gets a free copy!
And I’ll give you three clues:
1. There are THREE words in the title.
2. I use all three words in my emails on a regular basis.
3. None of the three words in the title begin with the same letter.
Now, for the sake of clarity, I’ll mention that the book has a subtitle as well – but this contest only applies to the main title.
Standard rules apply.
1. One guess per reader.
2. Email your guess to me at Dinosaur Headquarters.
3. Don’t bother asking Bill Hinbern, John Wood or anyone else – because they won’t tell you.
4. Do not email Trudi and ask her to tell you – she won’t tell you, either.
5. My layout and design team knows – and so does my printer – but once again, don’t bother. They’re sworn to secrecy, too.
So there you have it – and remember, the first correct guess wins!
As always, thanks for reading – and good luck to everyone!
Yours in strength,
Brooks Kubik
P.S. In the meantime, we’re filling orders for other products like crazy – and this little monster was the number one seller last week:
http://brookskubik.com/legacy_of_iron4.html
There’s a great new strength-training book coming to you from Dinosaur Headquarters.
Normally, I’d go ahead and tell you the title – and show you the cover – and let you go ahead and place an order for the little monster.
But not this time.
This time, we’re going to have a little contest.
So here’s the deal.
The first reader to guess the title of the new book gets a free copy!
And I’ll give you three clues:
1. There are THREE words in the title.
2. I use all three words in my emails on a regular basis.
3. None of the three words in the title begin with the same letter.
Now, for the sake of clarity, I’ll mention that the book has a subtitle as well – but this contest only applies to the main title.
Standard rules apply.
1. One guess per reader.
2. Email your guess to me at Dinosaur Headquarters.
3. Don’t bother asking Bill Hinbern, John Wood or anyone else – because they won’t tell you.
4. Do not email Trudi and ask her to tell you – she won’t tell you, either.
5. My layout and design team knows – and so does my printer – but once again, don’t bother. They’re sworn to secrecy, too.
So there you have it – and remember, the first correct guess wins!
As always, thanks for reading – and good luck to everyone!
Yours in strength,
Brooks Kubik
P.S. In the meantime, we’re filling orders for other products like crazy – and this little monster was the number one seller last week:
http://brookskubik.com/legacy_of_iron4.html
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