Showing posts with label beginners. Show all posts
Showing posts with label beginners. Show all posts

How to Stay Out of the Danger Zone!

John Grimek shows what old-school strength and muscle looks like in action!


Hail to the Dinosaurs!

I saw an interesting article the other
day reporting on several recent studies
that looked at the effect of various factors
on injuries suffered by (1) runners and (2)
rugby players.

Now, I know that running and rugby are
different than strength training, but bear
with me. There was some very valuable
information for strength trainers like us.

In both studies, the researchers found
that the greatest risk of injury occurred
when there was a sudden increase in
the
amount or intensity of one's
training.


An increase of just 20 percent was
enough to put an athlete into the danger
zone -- and an increase of 40 percent
or more increased the risk of injury by
about three to four times.

Now, you may think, "That's fine -- but
who would ever increase their training
volume or intensity by 20 to 40 percent?"

That's a fair question.

Here's the answer.

We've all done it.

Beginners do it all the time. They go from
no training to "lots of training" (usually far
too much). That's why beginners need to
start  light and easy and train progressively,
with slow and steady increases in both
volume and  intensity.

Other trainees do it when they come back
from a lay-off. Once again, they go from
zero training to "lots" of training, and
usually do it without any kind of break-in
period or any sort of slow, systematic
progression.

Many trainees do it when they go one a
specialization program. You see it happen
all the time.

Trainees do it when they go on a crash
weight loss program and start doing
high volume workouts to "burn off the
flab".

Trainees do it when they add cardio to
their strength training programs. They
go from three training days a week to
six (three days of strength training and
three days of cardio).

I could go on with many more examples,
but you get the point.

So how do you stay out of the danger
zone?

It's simple.

You follow old-school, "slow cooking"
progression methods.

You increase both your volume and your
intensity at a pace your body can handle.

You give your body time to adapt to any
increases in volume or intensity.

In other words, you follow the slow and
steady approach. Not the crash and burn
approach.

It sounds simple. But it works. And it's
one of the secrets of lifelong strength
and health.

As always, thanks for reading and have
a great day. If you train today, make it
a good one -- and stay in the gaining
zone, not the danger zone!

Yours in strength,

Brooks Kubik

P.S. The progression systems in Dinosaur
Training Secrets, Vol. 3, will keep you
on the right track -- and keep you out of
the danger zone!



Hard-copy

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaur_secrets_03.html

Kindle e-book

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaur_secrets3_kindle.html

PDF with electronic delivery

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaursecrets_vol3_digital.html

P.S. 2. My other books and courses are
right here at Dino Headquarters - including
links to my PDF courses and my Kindle
books:

Hard-copy and PDF

http://www.brookskubik.com/products.html

Kindle

http://www.brookskubik.com/brookskubik-kindle.html

P.S. 3. Thought for the Day:

"Do it one rep at a time and one pound at
a time."

-- Brooks Kubik

Before You Go . . . . Take a Look at These:

Brooks Kubik's Kindle Books

http://www.brookskubik.com/kindle.html

We have over 25 books and courses in the Kindle store - including these little monsters:













 
For even more Kindle books by Brooks Kubik, visit:










































73 to 18 - and Counting!

Regular, consistent, progressive training and a healthy diet can work miracles.


Hail to the Dinosaurs!

A couple of days ago, I started a poll
over at John Wood's Strength Secrets
Facebook Group.

It was a Yes/No question.

Over the past 12 months, have you
made measurable progress in your
training, strength levels, lifting
ability, health and/or body
composition?

So far, 88 members have answered
the question.

73 said YES.

15 said NO.

Now, that's good news for the 73 forum
members who have made measurable
progress over the past 12 months -
although it's not unexpected, since
most or all of them have been following
me, John Wood and Bill Hinbern for a
long time - and they train regularly and
consistently - and they take charge of
their diet and nutrition.

But we still have 15 members who were
brave enough to step up, raise their hands,
and admit that they've not made any sort
of measurable progress for the past 12
months - which is an awful long time to
be trapped at a standstill.

And 15 out of 88 is close to 20% of the
members who responded - or almost
one out of five. Which is a lot of people
in a forum dedicated to old-school,
drug-free strength training.

I also asked the members to leave a
brief comment explaining why they
were or were not making any sort of
measurable progress.

The most common answer from the 73
members who made measurable progress
over the past 12 months was something
along the lines of:

"I trained regularly, consistently, and
progressively - and I ate right."

Many also noted that they trained on a
program that they enjoyed. In other
words, they had fun when they trained.

Those who had not made any measurable
progress also had pretty much the same
explanation for their lack of progress:

"I stopped training and I can't seem to
get back into it - and my diet is lousy."

So in a nutshell, that seems to be the
answer:

1. Regular, consistent, progressive training
and a healthy diet

vs.

2. Not training, and a lousy diet.

No. 1 works - and no. 2 doesn't.

It's that simple.

So if you're not making progress, you
know what you need to do.

You need to train regularly, consistently
and progressively.

Train on a program that fits into your
schedule.

Use a program that gives you plenty
of time for recovery.

Walk a mile or two on your non-training
days.

Don't try to do it all or to get it all back
overnight. That leads to the old Crash
and Burn.

Start back easy - and build back up
slowly and intelligently.

Use your brain, not your ego.

And eat smart - as opposed to mindless
munching on junk.

Forget about supplements. Eat plenty of
healthy, nutritious, fresh food.

Cook your own meals. It's much cheaper,
and it's enormously better for you.

It's not hard. In fact, it's easy if you just
make it a regular habit.

Start today - give yourself 30 days to
train regularly and to clean up your
diet - and after you do the 30 days
you'll be pretty well back in the
swing of things.

As far as workouts go, grab a copy of
Dinosaur Bodyweight Training if
you enjoy/want to try bodyweight
workouts:

 


Otherwise, grab a copy of Chalk and
Sweat, and start with one of the 10
programs for beginners:




But whatever you do, get started
right NOW.

The next time I ask if anyone has made
measurable progress over the past 12
months, I want you raising your hand
and saying YES!

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. My other books and courses are right
here at Dino Headquarters - including this
very popular book:



For hard-copy hard-copy and PDF books and courses, go to:


http://www.brookskubik.com/products.html

For Kindle books and courses, go to:

http://www.brookskubik.com/kindle.html

P.S. 2. Thought for the Day

"If you're not training, you're not
gaining."

- Brooks Kubik

BEFORE YOU LEAVE . . .

We have more than 25 Dinosaur Training books and courses in the Kindle bookstore - here are several of them - head on over and take a look at the others:



































































Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow

Every day is an opportunity to fall back or move forward. The choices you make determine which it will be.
 
Hail to the Dinosaurs!

Two quick notes, and then we'll talk
training - and cover the three most
important days in your life.

1. My Heavy Partials Course

My new course on heavy partials is
getting great reviews from Dinos
around the world. If you missed the
little monster, go here to grab it:



http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaurstrengthandpower-02.html

2. John Wood and Louis Cyr

Breaking news - look what John Wood
just released in the Kindle bookstore:



https://www.oldtimestrongman.com/louiscyr-kindle.html

3. Yesterday, Today and
Tomorrow


Someone in the Dinosaur Training
Facebook Group mentioned that he
had fallen off the training wagon
this summer - that his diet was
pretty bad now - and that he was
going to get back into it in
September.

To which I said:

"Don't wait until September - start
NOW!"

In other words, if you didn't train
YESTERDAY - train TODAY.
Don't wait until TOMORROW.

Do it TODAY.

Otherwise, yesterday, today and
tomorrow all became part of a long
list of missed workouts and missed
opportunities to build strength and
health.


And I hope he took that message to
heart - because it's one of the most
important messages he's ever going
to see.

Most of you are training right now -
and you've been training regularly
and consistently for a long time.

You also watch your diet and make
sure you eat the foods that are good
for you - that you don't overeat - and
that you keep your weight where it
needs to be.

And again, you've been doing that
for a long time - perhaps for so
long that it's pretty much second
nature to you.

But others have stopped training -
or they've stopped managing their
diet and nutrition - or they've let the
years and the pounds add up, and
now they don't look or feel the way
they want to look and feel - or the
way they used to look and feel when
they were doing the right things.

If that's YOU, then pay very close
attention.

You need to start training again.

You need to do it regularly and
consistently.

No more missed workouts.

No more, "I'll start tomorrow - or
I'll start next week - or next month."

"Start NOW!"

You don't have to make it super hard,
and you don't have to do any kind of
complex, complicated, or super-duper
program.

You don't need to train for a long time,
either.

30 to 60 minutes 3x a week will work
wonders.

And you don't need very much in the
way of equipment.

In the May-June issue of The Dinosaur
Files, we cover The Simplest Bodyweight
Workout in the World.

It's a short, fast, twice a week workout
that will probably take you about 45
minutes to complete - and you don't
need any equipment other than a
place to do pull-ups.

In the same issue, I also give you
Bob Hoffman's Favorite Workout.

It's a barbell-only program that you
can do from start to finish in as little
as 10 or 15 minutes.

In the July-August issue of The Dino-
saur Files, we cover two more "No
Excuses" Workouts.

One of them takes 30 minutes.

The other takes 35 minutes.

And neither of them requires very
much in the way of equipment.

The July-August issue also includes
an article about two guys who took
their barbell and dumbbell set to
Fiji - and lived and trained there -
doing a very simple, old-school
training program.

And it worked pretty well. One of
them gained 35 pounds of muscle
on the program.

More proof - if more were needed -
that you don't need much in the
way of equipment to get truly
excellent results.

So go ahead - grab both issues of
The Dinosaur Files - and get started
RIGHT NOW on some productive and
effective old-school training:



July-Aug Dino Files

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaurfiles-julyaugust2018.html

May-June Dino Files

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaurfiles-mayjune2018.html

Remember, if you need to get back
into it, then the best day to start was
yesterday.

If you didn't start back up yesterday,
start today.

Not tomorrow.

Today.

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. My other books and courses are right
here at Dino Headquarters:



Hard-copy and PDF

http://www.brookskubik.com/products.html

Kindle

http://www.brookskubik.com/oldschool_01-kindle.html

BEFORE YOU LEAVE . . .

We have more than 25 Dinosaur Training books and courses in the Kindle bookstore - here are several of them - head on over and take a look at the others:

































































The Red Wagon Gym

John Grimek started his career training at home with a basic barbell set - and so did almost all of the old-time champions. 


Hail to the Dinosaurs!

Two quick notes and then we'll talk iron.

1. The Dinosaur Files

I'm working away on the May issue
The Dinosaur Files - but in the meantime,
if you don't already have the April issue, go
here to grab it:

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaurfiles-april2018.html

Also - if you missed the Oct, Nov, Dec,
Jan, Feb or March issues. you can grab
them here:

Oct, Nov, Dec and Jan issues

http://brookskubik.com/dinosaur_files.html

Feb issue

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaur-files-february2018pdf.html

March issue

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaur-files-march2018pdf.html

The Dinosaur Files comes in a down-
loadable PDF with immediate electronic
delivery. Once you have it, you can save
it on your PC or print it out (or do both).

If you'd prefer to purchase a one year,
12-issue subscription, shoot me an email -
we can make that happen.

2. The John Wood Report, Issue 3

It's a great issue - with some really
interesting exercises and workouts -
and you can get it right here:

https://www.oldtimestrongman.com/johnwoodreport03.html

My favorite in this issue of The JohnWood Report is the article on the
special grip, wrist and forearm exercise
from the Shao Lin Monastery. I think
you'll like it, too.

3. The Red Wagon Gym

When I was a kid, I got a bodybuilding
course written by Bruno Sammartino, the
famous professional wrestling champion.

It was for home gym trainees - for guys
who were just getting started - and it
included some simple plans for building
a wooden weight bench and a set of
wooden squat stands.

Bruno said that all you needed for a great
gym was a barbell, a weight bench and a
set of squat stands.

I wasn't much of a carpenter, and neither
was my dad, so I never tried building the
bench.

But I did build a set of wooden squat
stands when I was 18 or 19.

They worked pretty well - I used them
for squats in the 300 to 350 pound range.

Anyhow, with that background, picture the
following.

It was 20 or 25 years ago.

Early evening on what had been a pleasant,
sunny day.

I was taking my dog for a walk.

And we see the strangest looking thing
coming toward us.

It's one of those little red wagons that
we all had when we were kids.

And perched precariously on top of the
wagon is a wooden weight bench - and a
set of wooden squat stands!

Just like the ones in the Bruno course!

A man was pulling the wagon down the
street.

A young boy was walking beside the wagon,
one hand braced against the weight bench
to keep it from tipping over.

Father and son, obviously.

The kid had the biggest smile you ever
saw.

He obviously knew he had found a real
treasure.

I called over to them.

"Wow - those look familiar!"

The man looked at me in surprise -
and with a bit of concern.

"Are these yours?" he asked.

"No - but I used to have a set of squat
stands like that - and I always wanted a
bench like that. Where'd you find them?"

"A couple of blocks back. Someone put
them out for the trash. I'm taking them
home for my boy."

I looked at the kid.

He was perhaps 11 or 12 years old - dark
hair - skinny as a rail - thick glasses.

Me when I was his age.

"You've got yourself a great gym there,"
I told him. "Get yourself a barbell, train
hard and you'll get really big and strong."

He nodded his head up and down.

You could see the determination in his
face.

"I will," he said.

They kept on going, turned the corner,
and I never saw them again.

Sometimes I wonder how the kid did - and
how much strength and muscle he built with
that wooden weight bench and those wooden
squat stands.

I'm betting it was a lot.

Yours in strength,

Brooks Kubik

P.S. Strength, Muscle and Power has a
great chapter on home gym equipment and
home gym training - along with plenty of
great workouts.

We're down to the last box - and I'm not 
going to do another printing any time soon -
so if you want a copy, grab it now:



http://www.brookskubik.com/strength_muscle_power.html

2.  My other books and courses are
right here at Dino Headquarters:



Hard-copy and PDF

http://www.brookskubik.com/products.html



Kindle

http://www.brookskubik.com/kindle.html

P.S. 3. Thought for the Day

"The best place to start is at the
beginning - and in strength training,
it doesn't take much equipment to
get started."


- Brooks Kubik

BEFORE YOU LEAVE . . .

We have more than 25 Dinosaur Training books and courses in the Kindle bookstore - here are several of them - head on over and take a look at the others: