One of My Favorite Workouts

Having fun in the outdoor training section here at Dino Headquarters. My workouts look a lot like the one I'm describing in today's Blog post. The weights are lighter, of course, because I'm 20 years older - but everything else is pretty much the same.

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

One of my favorite workouts is also -
can you believe it? - one of the simplest.

It's an ultra-abbreviated workout that
features a single exercise: the clean and
press.

I used to do it down in the basement of
the original Dinosaur Dungeon.

I used an old-fashioned, "exercise" style
barbell with iron plates.

An "exercise" barbell being the kind that
the York Barbell Co. sold for so many grand
and glorious years - a 1 1/16 inch thick bar
and iron plates sized to fit the bar.

The bar was six feet long.

In other words, NOT an Olympic barbell.

And i really had no choice in the matter.

The ceiling was so low that I couldn't do
an overhead lift with an Olympic barbell
loaded with 45 pound plates.

So I used the exercise barbell and the
smaller iron plates - and loaded it with
25s, 10s, 5s and 2 1/2s.

And for the record, it wasn't even a
real barbell. It was a six-foot length
of cold-rolled steel that I bought from
a local steel supply company.

I used some heavy duty dumbbell collars
from IronMind to make inside and outside
collars to hold the plates on the bar.

It was the same barbell I described in
chapter 25 ("An Island Gym") in
Strength, Muscle and Power.

I used two short lengths of 2 x 8 inch
board to position the barbell for lift-off.

That raised the bar to the same height
as if I had been using 45 pound plates.

The boards also helped protect the
concrete floor.

Of course, I always lowered the bar -
I never dropped it. Dropping iron plates
on a concrete floor is not a good idea.

That sounds too old-fashioned to work -
but remember, John Davis trained with
an exercise barbell in the basement of a
church in Brooklyn - back when he was
winning World and Olympic championships.

And Clyde Emrich trained with an exercise
barbell in his parents' basement - and
ended up setting a World record in the
clean and jerk.

So there's good precedent for basic and
simple - although, of course, if you have
an Olympic barbell, that's fine, too.

Anyhow, I did the following workout:

Clean and Press

120 x 1

140 x 1

160 x 1

180 x 1

200 x 1

220 x 1

240 x 1

250 x 1

260 x 1

270 x 1

And on a good day, I added:

275 x 1

That was in my early 40's - at a bodyweight
of 225 pounds - so I thought the program
worked pretty well.

It was actually a pretty complete workout -
but I alternated the clean and press work-
out with a workout where I did nothing but
bottom position squats - once again starting
light and working my way up to my top
weight for the day.

I trained three days per week, going back
and forth between the two workouts.

That's about as simple as it gets - but it
worked great.

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. A couple of years ago I wrote a complete
guide to the military press - with a detailed
series of progressive workouts that will help
you build some serious pressing power.

You can grab it right here in your choice of
hard-copy, Kindle or PDF editions:

Hard-copy

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

PDF

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

Kindle

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

P.S. 3. Thought for the Day:

"It's amazing what you can do with an
old-fashioned barbell and plenty of
sweat." 

- Brooks Kubik

Before You Leave - Check These Out! 

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:

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

How to Do Overhead Presses with Low Ceilings

I train in a basement with very low ceilings - so I need to use work-arounds for my overhead presses and other overhead exercises. One of the simplest is to move outside whenever the weather permits. 

 

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

We got a ton of great feedback in response to
my earlier post about John Grimek's favorite
exercise - the clean and press.

The feedback included comments from a fairly
large number of Dinos who said they were not
able to do the clean and press because they
trained in their basement, and the ceiling was
too low.

That's a common problem. I had to deal with
it in the original Dino Dungeon - and I have to
deal with it today, because the basement of our
duplex is too low for overhead work.

So let's talk about some simple work-arounds
for that problem.

1. Go Outside.

I have two training areas now. I train outside
in the driveway whenever the weather permits.

I have a couple of thick stall mats that I lay
down to set up my "lifting platform" - and
I move the barbell and the plates outside -
and the squat stands if I want to do squats
or front squats.

Moving the weights outside is a part of my
warm-up now - so it serves double duty!

2. Use Smaller Plates.

The original Dinosaur Dungeon had ceilings
that were too low for overhead pressing with
an Olympic barbell loaded with 45 pound (or
20 kilo) plates.

And if you use rubber bumper plates, you
have the same problem with 10 kilo and 15
kilo plates - because they're the same size
as the bigger plates. Just thinner and lighter.

So I used iron plates - 25's, 10's and 5's -
and I was able to train with those because
they were so much smaller.

They were just low enough to miss hitting
the ceiling.

By the way, I set the barbell on top of a
pair of 2 x 8 boards so that the bar was
at the same height as if I were using 45's.

The 2 x 8 boards also protected the concrete
floor in the basement - which is always a
good thing.

3. Use dumbbells or kettlebells.

Using dumbbells or kettlebells for the clean
and press is another option that many Dinos
have used with great success.

For example, I used to do heavy dumbbell
exercises in the original Dino Dungeon - using
25's, 10's and 5's to load the dumbbells - and
I always had enough room to finish my presses,
push presses, and jerks.

And there are tons of different ways to do
dumbbell presses and similar exercises.

In fact, you can do quite a bit with a pair of
adjustable dumbbells.

Dinosaur Dumbbell Training gives you a
ton of old-school dumbbell exercises - and
50 different dumbbell workouts - so you can
include dumbbell exercises and enjoy plenty
of fun and exciting - and effective - workouts.

4. Split them up!

Do power cleans (or clean grip high pulls -
or deadlifts - or Trap Bar deadlifts). Do
any sets and reps you like - 5 x 5  works
well, but so does 5 x 3 or 5/4/3/2/1 or
5 x 5 followed by some triples and some
singles.

Then do seated military presses for what-
ever sets and reps you prefer.

Just be sure your bench is strong enough to
support both your weight and the weight of
your barbell.

I much prefer standing presses to seated
presses - but if seated presses are all you
can do, then do them - and don't sweat it.

And consider this - Grimek once wrote an
article about his "secret weapon" for training
the military press.

Guess what it was.

That's right - the seated press.

5. Do partial presses.

Do power cleans combined with a partial
presses.

For bonus points, do some timed holds.

Clean the bar - do a partial press - and hold
it for a count of two to ten seconds.

These will fry your arms and shoulders!

Give them a try and you'll see what I mean.

So there you have it - five simple ways to
deal with low ceilings. I hope they help!

Yours in strength,

Brooks Kubik

P.S. Here are some of my favorite books
covering old-school workouts that work
great for home gym training:

Dinosaur Dumbbell Training

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

Gray Hair and Black Iron

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

Chalk and Sweat

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

Dinosaur Training: Lost Secrets of Strength

and Development

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

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

Hard-copy and PDF

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

Kindle

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

P.S. 4. Thought for the Day: 

"Let nothing stop you. You can think
through, work around, climb over or
smash any problem to pieces."

-- Brooks Kubik

Before you leave, be sure to check out our Kindle books - we have over 25 now - with more on the way!

Brooks Kubik's Kindle Books

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

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

One of My Favorites

The clean and press is one of the best exercises there is - and you can use it to get a terrific, head to toe workout.

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

One of my favorite workouts is also -
can you believe it? - one of the simplest.

It's an ultra-abbreviated workout that
features a single exercise: the clean and
press.

I used to do it down in the basement of
the original Dinosaur Dungeon.

I used an old-fashioned, "exercise" style
barbell with iron plates.

An "exercise" barbell being the kind that
the York Barbell Co. sold for so many grand
and glorious years - a 1 1/16 inch thick bar
and iron plates sized to fit the bar.

The bar was six feet long.

In other words, NOT an Olympic barbell.

And i really had no choice in the matter.

The ceiling was so low that I couldn't do
an overhead lift with an Olympic barbell
loaded with 45 pound plates.

So I used the exercise barbell and the
smaller iron plates - and loaded it with
25s, 10s, 5s and 2 1/2s.

And for the record, it wasn't even a
real barbell. It was a six-foot length
of cold-rolled steel that I bought from
a local steel supply company.

I used some heavy duty dumbbell collars
from IronMind to make inside and outside
collars to hold the plates on the bar.

It was the same barbell I described in
chapter 25 ("An Island Gym") in
Strength, Muscle and Power.

I used two short lengths of 2 x 8 inch
board to position the barbell for lift-off.

That raised the bar to the same height
as if I had been using 45 pound plates.

The boards also helped protect the
concrete floor.

Of course, I always lowered the bar -
I never dropped it. Dropping iron plates
on a concrete floor is not a good idea.

That sounds too old-fashioned to work -
but remember, John Davis trained with
an exercise barbell in the basement of a
church in Brooklyn - back when he was
winning World and Olympic championships.

And Clyde Emrich trained with an exercise
barbell in his parents' basement - and
ended up setting a World record in the
clean and jerk.

So there's good precedent for basic and
simple - although, of course, if you have
an Olympic barbell, that's fine, too.

Anyhow, I did the following workout:

Clean and Press

120 x 1

140 x 1

160 x 1

180 x 1

200 x 1

220 x 1

240 x 1

250 x 1

260 x 1

270 x 1

And on a good day, I added:

275 x 1

That was in my early 40's - at a bodyweight
of 225 pounds - so I thought the program
worked pretty well.

It was actually a pretty complete workout -
but I alternated the clean and press work-
out with a workout where I did nothing but
bottom position squats - once again starting
light and working my way up to my top
weight for the day.

I trained three days per week, going back
and forth between the two workouts.

That's about as simple as it gets - but it
worked great.

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. A couple of years ago I wrote a complete
guide to the military press - with a detailed
series of progressive workouts that will help
you build some serious pressing power.

You can grab it right here in your choice of
hard-copy, Kindle or PDF editions:

Hard-copy

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

PDF

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

Kindle

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

P.S. 3. Thought for the Day:

"It's amazing what you can do with an
old-fashioned barbell and plenty of
sweat." 

- 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:

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

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

How to Deal with Low Ceilings

Using smaller plates on your barbell is one of many ways to deal with low ceilings. In this video clip from 1997, I'm doing a 302 pound push press with a Christmas Tree barbell - all the small plates I had plus some chains to get over the 300 pound mark!

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

We got a ton of great feedback in response to
my earlier post about John Grimek's favorite
exercise - the clean and press.

The feedback included comments from a fairly
large number of Dinos who said they were not
able to do the clean and press because they
trained in their basement, and the ceiling was
too low.

That's a common problem. I had to deal with
it in the original Dino Dungeon - and I have to
deal with it today, because the basement of our
duplex is too low for overhead work.

So let's talk about some simple work-arounds
for that problem.

1. Go Outside.

I have two training areas now. I train outside
in the driveway whenever the weather permits.

Training outside at Dino Headquarters. Outside workouts are lots of fun - and being outside in the sun and fresh air is always good for you!

 
I have a couple of thick stall mats that I lay
down to set up my "lifting platform" - and
I move the barbell and the plates outside -
and the squat stands if I want to do squats
or front squats.

Moving the weights outside is a part of my
warm-up now - so it serves double duty!

2. Use Smaller Plates.

The original Dinosaur Dungeon had ceilings
that were too low for overhead pressing with
an Olympic barbell loaded with 45 pound (or
20 kilo) plates.

And if you use rubber bumper plates, you
have the same problem with 10 kilo and 15
kilo plates - because they're the same size
as the bigger plates. Just thinner and lighter.

So I used iron plates - 25's, 10's and 5's -
and I was able to train with those because
they were so much smaller.

They were just low enough to miss hitting
the ceiling.

By the way, I set the barbell on top of a
pair of 2 x 8 boards so that the bar was
at the same height as if I were using 45's.

The 2 x 8 boards also protected the concrete
floor in the basement - which is always a
good thing.

3. Use dumbbells or kettlebells.

Using dumbbells or kettlebells for the clean
and press is another option that many Dinos
have used with great success.

For example, I used to do heavy dumbbell
exercises in the original Dino Dungeon - using
25's, 10's and 5's to load the dumbbells - and
I always had enough room to finish my presses,
push presses, and jerks.

And there are tons of different ways to do
dumbbell presses and similar exercises.

In fact, you can do quite a bit with a pair of
adjustable dumbbells.

Finishing a one-hand dumbbell swing with a 151-pound dumbbell. This was in the old Dino Dungeon - about 20 years ago. Fun times.

 Dinosaur Dumbbell Training gives you a
ton of old-school dumbbell exercises - and
50 different dumbbell workouts - so you can
include dumbbell exercises and enjoy plenty
of fun and exciting - and effective - workouts.

4. Split them up!

Do power cleans (or clean grip high pulls -
or deadlifts - or Trap Bar deadlifts). Do
any sets and reps you like - 5 x 5  works
well, but so does 5 x 3 or 5/4/3/2/1 or
5 x 5 followed by some triples and some
singles.

Then do seated military presses for what-
ever sets and reps you prefer.

Just be sure your bench is strong enough to
support both your weight and the weight of
your barbell.

I much prefer standing presses to seated
presses - but if seated presses are all you
can do, then do them - and don't sweat it.

And consider this - Grimek once wrote an
article about his "secret weapon" for training
the military press.

Guess what it was.

That's right - the seated press.

5. Do partial presses.

Do power cleans combined with a partial
presses.

Heavy partial push presses with 440 pounds on the bar. More fun times in the original Dino Dungeon.

For bonus points, do some timed holds.

Clean the bar - do a partial press - and hold
it for a count of two to ten seconds.

These will fry your arms and shoulders!

Give them a try and you'll see what I mean.

So there you have it - five simple ways to
deal with low ceilings. I hope they help!

Yours in strength,

Brooks Kubik

P.S. Here are some of my favorite books
covering old-school workouts that work
great for home gym training:

Dinosaur Dumbbell Training

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

Gray Hair and Black Iron

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

Chalk and Sweat

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

Strength, Muscle and Power

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

Dinosaur Training: Lost Secrets of Strength
and Development

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

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

Hard-copy and PDF

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

Kindle

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

P.S. 4. Thought for the Day: 

"Let nothing stop you. You can think
through, work around, climb over or
smash any problem to pieces."

-- 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:

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

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