The XYZ Workout

John Grimek used the XYZ workout at many different times in his career.

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

One quick note, and then we'll talk iron -
as in, the mysterious and virtually un-
known XYZ Workout.

1. The May-June Dinosaur Files

We ran late with the May issue of The Dino-
saur Files strength training newsletter, so we
did a combined May-June issue. It's an extra
big issue, with a ton of great articles -
including:

The Valhalla Challenge

The Deadlift from Hell

The Simplest Bodyweight
Workout in the World

Bob Hoffman's Favorite
Training Program

Go here to grab the little monster:

May-June Dinosaur Files

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

As always, be sure to let me know
how you like the little monster -
your feedback is important to us!

2. The XYZ Workout

As an older Dino who trains at home with
very limited equipment (and who likes it
that way), I almost always do some
variation "of the XYZ workout.

You've probably never heard of the XYZ
workout.

I don't think I ever did when I was a
kid who devoured all the muscle mags
every month.

I remember Betty Weider's leopard-skin
bikini, but I don't remember Joe Weider
extolling the virtues of XYZ training.

I remember Bob Hoffman writing about
Hi Proteen powder, but I don't remember
Strength and Health articles that covered
the XYZ program.

I remember tons of articles about 20-rep
breathing squats in Peary Rader's old Iron
Man magazine - but I don't remember any
articles about the XYZ workout.

No, scratch that - I remember one Iron
Man article that came close to it - but only
one.

So I didn't do it when I was a kid - or even
when I was in my 20's and 30's.

But now, as I said, I do it all the time.

Heck, I did it last night.

The XYZ workout goes something like this.

You want to do a particular exercise which
you know from experience is a very good
exercise for you - or it's a new exercise
that you want to try.

Let's call it Exercise X.

In your mind, it's the very best exercise
there is for building a particular muscle
or muscle group, or for gaining strength
in a certain part of your body (or through-
out your entire body).

Which means you really, really, REALLY
want to do it.

But you can't do it - because:

1. You don't have the right equipment.

2. It requires a power rack or spotters to
do it safely - and you don't have them.

3. You can't do it - or you can't do it
without severe muscle or joint pain -
because of a past or current injury or
one or more dings and dents.

4. You used to do it - and it used to work
great for you - but you can't do it now
because it pretty much cripples you for
a week or two - even with much lighter
weights than you used to use in it.

5. Two or more of all of the above.

So what do you do when you can't do
Exercise X?

Do you pack it in - skip your workout -
and go plonk yourself in front of the
television?

That's what most people do - but it's
not what Dinosaurs do.

If you're a Dinosaur, you do Exercise Y.

It may not be as good as Exercise X -
but it sure as heck beats not doing
anything.

But what if you can't do Exercise Y?

What do you do then?

You guessed it.

You do Exercise Z!

And that's the XYZ Workout.

You may not be able to do the one best
exercise for a given purpose - but that's
okay.

Find something else that works - and do
that instead.

No matter what, you can always find a
fun, effective, result-producing exercise.

Last night, I trained for a little over an
hour, and did five different exercises.

Three of them were exercise Y variations.

Two of them were exercise Z variations.

And I had a really good workout.

Thirty years ago, it would have been all
Exercise X variations - but that was then,
and this is now - and the important thing
is to keep on training and to do it pain-
free.

So that's the XYZ workout in a nutshell.

Give it a try - it works pretty darn well.

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 plenty of XYZ exercises and
related work-arounds for older Dinos in
Gray Hair and Black Iron:

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

P.S. 2. Dinosaur Dumbbell Training gives you tons of excellent exercises
that you can use as alternatives to
barbell exercises:

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

Dinosaur Bodyweight Training

gives you plenty of great bodyweight
exercises to use in place of similar
barbell or dumbbell movements:

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

P.S. 3. 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:

"If you can do X, then do X - but if not,
then do Y. If you can't do Y, then do Z.
But always do something!"

-- 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

Squats Are Zen

Reg Park trained hard and heavy on basic exercises. Squats were one of his favorites - and as you can see, they worked pretty well for him!

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

One quick note and then we'll talk iron.

1. The March Dinosaur Files

Here's the link to grab the March issue of
The Dinosaur Files. It's a great issue,
and we've been getting some seriously
good feedback from Dinos around the
world.

Go here to grab the little monster:

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

Also - if you missed the October, Nov, Dec
Jan or Feb issues, go here to grab them so
you have the complete set:

Feb issue

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

Oct, Nov, Dec and Jan issues

http://brookskubik.com/dinosaur_files.html

And please let me know how you like
this month's issue. Your feedback is
very important to us.

2. Squats Are Zen

The Small One went to the gym and
trained for many hours.

He bombed, blasted and blitzed.

He did all the exercises he read about
in the muscle magazines.

He used all the machines - some of
them twice!

He did high reps, peak contraction
and burns. Pumped everything to the
max. Double pumped his pecs. Triple
pumped his delts.

He finished with three hours of Mega-
Maxi Super Insanity Ultra Intensity
Monster Maker Hypertrophy Training
for his bi's and tri's.

After his workout, he stopped to watch
the Big Man.

The Big Man was training, too. He was
doing a strange exercise with many
plates on the bar.

The Small One had never seen this
exercise. And he had never seen so
many plates. He wondered where
they came from.

The Big Man did rep after rep of the
strange new exercise. The bar bent
as he did his reps.

The Small One watched him curiously.

When the Big Man had finished his
set, the Small One walked over to
him.

"What are you doing, Big Man?" he
asked.

"Squats," said the Big Man.

"What are squats?" asked the Small
One.

"Squats are zen," said the Big Man.

"I did 20 sets of Himalayan curls,"
said the Small One. "Are they zen?

"They're probably not even Himalayan,"
said the Big Man as he loaded more
plates onto the squat bar.

"Why are squats zen?" asked the Small
One.

"Do squats today, and tomorrow your
legs will give you the answer," said the
Big Man.

He taught the Small One how to do
squats. The Small One did five sets
of five reps.

The next day, the Small One's legs were
so sore he could barely walk. It was a
big surprise to him. He never got sore
anywhere else, even if he pumped for
hours and hours. Being sore was a
totally new experience for him.

"My legs are trying to tell me something,"
he said. "I wonder what it is."

The Small One went to ask the Big Man.

"My legs are terribly sore," said the
Small One. "What does it mean?"

"It means that squats are zen" said
the Big Man.

Moral of the Story:

1. Strength training is zen.

2. 5 x 5 and similar set/rep systems
are zen.

3. Hard work on basic exercises is zen.

4. Concentration, focus and intensity
are zen.

5. Muscle magazine silliness is not
zen.

6. Himalayan curls are not zen - even
if you do 20 sets of them.

7. Squats are zen.

As always, thanks for reading and have a
great day. If you train today, make it a
good one!

And remember - grab the March issue of
The Dinosaur Files. It's zen, too:

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

Yours in strength,

Brooks Kubik

P.S. Dinosaur Training is zen - and you can
grab a copy right here:

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

P.S. My other books and courses are right
here at Dino Headquarters -- along with links
to my Kindle e-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: 

"Find your zen, and do it."

- 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

Straight Talk for Older Dinos

As an older Dino (age 61), I don't do any funky-monkeys when I train - and neither should you!

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

Two quick notes, and then we'll talk iron.

1. The John Wood Report

The John Wood Report is a terrific little
newsletter - available in a downloadable
and printable PDF - and it has some great
training tips and terrific exercises in it.

Go here to grab the little monster:

https://www.oldtimestrongman.com/johnwoodreport-01.html

This has been a big hit, and I'm sure
John is going to be doing more of these
bite-size reports. It will be fun to read
them during the coming year.

Shoot me an email after you read it - and
let me know how you like it!

2. The February Dinosaur Files

Go here to grab the February issue of The
Dinosaur Files strength training newsletter
in a downloadable and printable PDF format:

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

Also - you can grab the Oct, Nov, Dec and
Jan issues right here:

http://brookskubik.com/dinosaur_files.html

I'm working on the March issue right now,
and we'll be getting it out very soon. Be
looking for it!

3. Straight Talk for Older Dinos

My standard advice for older trainees isn't
very fancy or exotic.

In fact, it's pretty darn simple.

Simple exercises, simple workouts and
simple progression systems.

That's because simple works best - and
because simple is safest - and because
if you're an older trainee, you don't have
50 or 60 years to screw around and finally
figure out what really works.

You need to focus on what gives you the
most bang for you buck.

So when you see my training advice for
older Dinos, don't be surprised if it's
simple, basic and old-school.

Similarly - and this is very important in
the modern era of social media - don't
expect me to teach you funky new
exercises that no one has ever seen
or done before.

Or things that someone made up purely
for social media attention.

I'm not here to get likes, clicks, hits, and
shares.

I'm here to help you achieve your goal
of life-long strength and health - and to
teach you how to have fun, effective and
productive workouts at any age.

And I'm confidant that we can make it
happen.

I know that simple works best because it
works best for me.

It also works best for many Dinos around
the world.

And it's been working great for them ever
since the early 1990's, when I was writing
regular articles for Stuart McRobert's Hard-
gainer magazine.

So if you're looking for stuff that works -
real world, no nonsense training advice -
you'll find it here.

If you prefer squats on roller skates super-
setted with inverted chainsaw curls - for
20 x 50 at 7/3/10 speed - with retro-gravity
non-weighted bunny hops and funky-monkeys
on your off days - then I probably can't help.

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. You won't find any funky-monkeys in
Gray Hair and Black Iron - but you will
find the best training advice ever for older
Dinos:

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

"You can do the silly stuff or you can do
the stuff that works - the choice is yours."

- 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

Training the Power Zones

Philadelphia's Louis Abele built incredible strength and muscle mass by specializing on the Power Zones.

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

One quick note, and then we'll talk
iron.

1. A Very Big Thank You!

Our t-shirt sale ended at midnight
last night, and it was quite a
success.

I want to thank everyone who
stepped up and took action. We
appreciate it.

We're talking with our printer
today to place the order for all
the different shirts, and we'll
keep you posted about when
they will be printed and shipped.

It should be 2 to 3 weeks, but it
will depend on how many other
jobs are in front of us.

Again, to everyone who ordered a
shirt - THANK YOU!

2. Training the Power Zones.

Yesterday we talked about the
Power Zones.

That was Brad Steiner's term for
what he regarded as the four
most important areas of the body.

The areas to train as hard and
heavy as possible - with the goal
of developing each of them to the
absolute maximum.

The Power Zones are:

1. The legs and hips

2. The back

3. The shoulder girdle

4. The chest area

Steiner's preferred exercises for
training the Power Zones were
as follows.

For the legs and hips, Steiner
preferred:

1. Squats - full or parallel

2. Front squats

For the back, Steiner liked:

1. Barbell bent-over rowing

2. Power cleans

3. Power snatches

4. Bent-legged deadlifts

5. Stiff-legged deadlifts

6. High pulls - using either a clean
grip or a snatch grip

For the shoulders, Steiner
recommended:

1. Military press

2. Press behind neck

Note; Perform these in a standing
position, not seated.

For the chest, Steiner advocated:

1. Barbell bench press

2. Incline dumbbell press

Of course, you wouldn't use all of
these in one workout - or even in
one program. You'd pick three to six
movements, train them hard for a
while, and then replace some or all
of them with different exercises.

We'll cover sets and reps tomorrow.
Be looking for it.

Yours in strength,

Brooks Kubik

P.S. For much more about training
the Power Zones - and about building
Herculean strength and muscle mass
from head to toe - grab Strength,
Muscle and Power:

http://www.brookskubik.com/strength_muscle_power.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. 2. Thought for the Day

"Train for strength. Everything else
will follow." 

- 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