The "What Would Happen?" Question

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

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

1. The August-September Dinosaur Files

We ran late on the August issue, so we're
going to do a combined August-September
issue. It should be ready later today or
tomorrow. I'll send a link as soon as it's
ready to order.

2. The "What Would Happen?" Question
On the training front, I received an interesting
question in response to yesterday's email. It's
a question I get fairly often.

This time it came from Chris Califano. He wrote:

"Here is an interesting question: What would the
result/benefits be if a younger lifter followed the
exact same advice that older trainees should
employ regarding "making every rep count"
and "every exercise and every set count"?

In other words, that a younger dedicated lifter
can put more hours into his or her training
should not be a "license to waste energy."
Just that we COULD do it when we were
younger does not mean that we SHOULD
have.

In fact, I am sure that if I had applied the
same methods for Progression with
Recuperation when I was in my teens,
twenties and thirties, I would have
gotten further faster. And with less
if any injuries, nagging or small!

And I would have had more balanced
development, plus better health and
more free time, to boot!

Chris"

Chris -- Thanks for your email. The question
you pose is a good one. Most trainees follow
the over-the-top high volume workouts when
they are young -- and they end up wasting
what should have been the very best years
of their training careers.

It's a crying shame -- especially when it leads
them to quit training -- or to turn to steroids
and other drugs.

If everyone started training the right way from
Day 1 of their career, we'd see many more
trainees achieve great success -- and we'd
see many more trainees stick to their program
for their entire lives.

In terms of concrete results, let's look at
some real-life examples of young men who
started out training the right way from Day
One:

John Davis started training at age 15 -- and won
the World weightlifting championship -- beating
not one but two former Olympic gold medal
winners -- at age 17.

John Grimek went from 120 lbs. to 178 lbs. in
his his first three years of training -- and went
from a clean and jerk of 95 lbs. to a clean and
jerk with 247 1/2 lbs.

Steve Stanko gained 80 pounds of muscle in
his first 2 years of training -- and won his first
United States Senior National title later in the
same year.

Frank Spellman worked up to a 240 lb. military
press at a bodyweight of 156 lbs. -- after just
1 1/2 years of training. He went on to win an
Olympic gold medal in 1948.

Tommy Kono entered his first weightlifting
contest in 1948. He improved his 3-lift total
(press, snatch and clean and jerk) by 195
lbs. over the next 2 years. He won his first
Olympic gold medal in 1952.

Obviously, not everyone is going to become
a World or Olympic Champion, or a Mr. America.
But if more young guys trained the way that
Davis, Grimek, Stanko, Spellman and Kono
trained, they'd make enormously more
progress.

And that's why I continue to bang the drum.
It's an important message -- and so many
guys and gals need to hear it!

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

Yours in strength,

Brooks Kubik

P.S.As I mentioned, the August-September
issue of the Dinosaur Files will be out later
today or tomorrow. Get ready for it - it's a
terrific issue!

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

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

P.S. 3. Thought for the Day: "It doesn't matter
if a hammer and nails are old-fashioned. They
still work better than anything else -- and every
carpenter needs them." -- Brooks Kubik

***********************************************************************************

Muscles in the Military

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

Today is Veteran's Day in the USA,
so I want to begin by giving a big
shout out to all of the Dinos who
have served their country -- or
who are doing so now.

To all of you, THANK YOU for your
service!

In honor of the day, I thought I'd
share some fun facts about muscles
in the military.

1. The famous old-time strongman,
Clevio Massimo, once performed the
manual of arms using a 125-pound
soldier instead of the rifle normally
used for the drill.

2. Bob Hoffman was an infantry
soldier in World War One, and
was in the thick of the fighting
in France. Think how the Iron
Game would have changed if
he had been killed in action.

3. Norb Schemansky fought in
Germany, and found a 400-pound
Berg-Hantel barbell set after a
battle. He tried to take it with
him, but it was too heavy and
he had to leave it behind.

4. The German Strongman, Herman
Goerner, was a prisoner of war during
World War One. He trained in the prison
camp with a barbell made from logs.

5. During World War Two, Strength
and Health ran a regular series about
barbell men in the armed services,
and included photos of their "gyms"
featuring homemade barbells and
dumbbells assembled from tires
sheet metal, cogwheels, pipes
and axles.

a. In other words, where there's a
will, there's a way!

6. George Eiferman, the 1948 Mr.
America, served in the Navy and
trained his legs while on ship by
climbing tall ladders from the cargo
hold to the deck -- while carrying a
100 pound sack of flour on his
shoulders.

7. Frank Spellman landed on the
Normandy Beaches and fought with
the Allied Army in France and Germany.
One night, as he was sleeping, a German
tank rolled right over him while he was in
his fox-hole! Luckily, he was not hurt --
and went on to win a gold medal in
weightlifting at the 1948 Olympics.

I know that some of our Dinos have
stories of their own about muscles in
the military. If you have one, send it
in so I can share it with your fellow
Dinos!

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. The Legacy of Iron series takes place
right before and during World War Two --
and it includes many true stories about
muscles in the military. For book no. 1
in the series, go here:

Hard-copy

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

Kindle e-book

http://www.brookskubik.com/legacyofiron01_kindle.html

For books 2 - 5 in the series, go here:

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

Important -- email and ask for a shipping
quote if you order two or more books!

P.S. 2. Thought for the Day: "If you see
a veteran, step up and say THANK YOU.
And don't just do it today. Do it every
day." -- Brooks Kubik

***********************************************************************************

The Little Gym that Beat the World

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

Two men huddled in front of an old
fashioned, wood-burning, cast-iron
stove.

The men wore double sweat suits, dark
gray fisherman's knit hats, and thick
gloves.

One of them pulled his gloves off and
held his hands close to the top of the
stove.

"If my fingers were any colder, they'd
be icicles," he muttered.

The other man nodded in silent agreement.

The first man reached down and picked up
a York Olympic barbell that lay close to
the stove.

"It's ready," he said.

The other man laughed softly.

"Meaning it's not frozen," he said.

"Meaning it's not frozen," said the first
man.

He carried the barbell to the lifting
platform, and performed five quick reps
in the clean and press.

"Your turn," he said.

The second man stepped onto the platform
and began to do his warm-ups.

That was the South Phillie Weightlifting
Club in 1940. A neighborhood gym on the
second floor of a garage. The only source
of heat was the old wood-burning stove,
and the lifters kept one barbell close
to the stove so they could do their
warm-up sets with a barbell that didn't
feel as cold as ice. After that, they
used one of the other barbells -- one
of the cold ones. But after you did your
warm-ups, you could stand the cold.

That was in winter. In the summer, the
gym was so hot it felt like you were
training inside a blast furnace.

The gym was spartan at best. There were
a few wooden lifting platforms, some
homemade wooden benches and squat racks,
a pull-up bar, and some barbells and
dumbbells. That was it.

The men trained on basic exercises. Most
of them practiced Olympic weightlifting.
Many of them did plenty of squats and
bench presses, as well. They did lots of
dumbbell pressing, and plenty of high
pulls.

At the 1948 Olympic Games, six gold medals
were awarded in weightlifting.
 
Two of them went to men from the South
Phillie Weightlifting Club. John Davis
and Frank Spellman.

The little neighborhood gym had out-lifted
the world.

And that tells you something very important
about what it takes to be a champion --
and about the kind of gyms that build a
champion.

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

Yours in strength,

Brooks Kubik

P.S. You can read more about John Davis and
how he trained in BLACK IRON: THE JOHN DAVIS
STORY. It covers his life and lifting in a
big (almost 500 page) epic, with special
insights from his friends, team mates, and
training partners -- and many never before
published photos. It's a great tribute to a
great champion -- and a tribute to the
greatness in all of us:

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

P.S. 2. My new book, DINOSAUR DUMBBELL
TRAINING, is in stock and ready to ship.
You can grab your copy right here:

http://brookskubik.com/dinosaur_dumbbelltraining.html

P.S. 3. My other books and courses are right
here:

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

P.S. 4. Thought for the Day: "Luxury is for
cruises, not lifting." -- Brooks Kubik

You Spell It with a Capital "D"

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

I recently had the opportunity to talk with Artie Dreschler, the chair of USA Weightlifting's Board of Directors, the head weightlifting coach at New Yor's famed Lost Battalion Hall, and the author of The Weightlifting Encyclopedia. He also heads the Association of Oldetime Barbell and Strongmen, a fantastic organization dedicated to preserving the history of the Iron Game. (They host a terrific oldtimer's dinner every year, with one or more guests of honor -- it's great fun for fans of the Iron Game and old-school strongmen. For more info, go to http://www.weightlifting.org/aobs.htm )

During our conversation, Artie shared a story about Frank Spellman and Bob Hoffman. Frank Spellman won the gold medal in weightlifting in the 165 pound class at the 1948 Olympics. He's still alive -- and still training! -- and he's the USA's oldest living Olympic gold medalist in weightlifting.

Bob Hoffman was the coach of the United States Weightlifting team, and the founder and coach of the York Barbell Club. He was the editor and publisher of Strength and Health magazine, and the owner of the York Barbell Company. Back then, Hoffman paid the cost of sending the USA weightlifters to the World Championships and the Olympic Games. If it hadn't been for his support, many of our World and Olympic champions might never have had a chance to compete on the international stage.

Now, you can imagine how hard-working and dedicated a man like Spellman was. You don't win an Olympic gold medal by playing around!

And similarly, you can imagine how dedicated Hoffman was to American weightlifting.

 Now, here's how dedicated to the sport of weightlifitng these men were.

Sometime in the 1950's, Spellman moved back to York and attempted a comeback. His goal was to make the USA weightlifitng team for the upcoming Olympic Games.To support himself, he got a job working at a local factory. Unfortunately, he was assigned to the night shift. That meant he couldn't train with the other members of the York barbell Club when they hit the iron at the end of their regular workday.

But that didn't stop Frank Spellman. He went to Bob Hoffman and asked for a key to the building so he could train on his own after work -- at 2:00 in the morning.

Hoffman nodded his head.

"Of course, Frank," he said.

And he handed him  a key.

It was a long work day for both men. Hoffman typically worked ten or twelve hours a day. He had to.  It was the only way he could stay on  top of his duties and responsibilities as the owner of the York Barbell Company and as editor and publisher of Strength and Health (for which he wrote many of the articles every month). And after work was over, he spent several hours in the gym, coaching the members of the York Barbell Team.

At 2:00 in the morning, Frank Spellman unlocked the back door to the building, stepped inside, and made his way to the York Barbell Club gym.

He opened the door and stepped inside -- and got the suprise of his life!

Bob Hoffman was sitting on a bench by the back wall.

"Bob! What are you doing here?" asked Frank.

"I thought you might like some company," said Hoffman. "No one deserves to train alone at 2:00 in the morning."

And for many months, the two men met in the gym at 2:00 in the morning. Spellman trained, and Hoffman coached him, helped him load the bar, and offered companionship, encouragement and support.

That was called dedication. You spell it with a capital "D" -- and it always come from deep in the heart. And all champions have it.

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're in the middle of the big pre-publication special for my new book, Dinosaur Dumbbell Training. Read about it right here:

http://brookskubik.com/dinosaur_dumbbelltraining.html

P.S. 2. Save major clams on shipping and handling by ordering two or mote Dinosaur Training books and courses (or other Dino goodies) at the same time. You can find them right here at Dino Headquarters:

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

P.S. 3. Thought for the Day: "A champion is someone who finds the will to win and a way to do it." -- Brooks Kubik

Frank Spellman: A Hero for the Ages!

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

Frank Spellman won a gold medal in weightlifting
at the 1948 Olympic Games. He was 26 years old.
He lifted in the 165 pound class.

By the way, he was lucky to be there. He fought
in the Army in World War II -- in the bloody
hedgerows of Normandy -- and one day the Germans
launched a surprise attack, and a German tank ran
right over Frank's fox-hole. "That was an exciting
day," he says.

But the Olympics were also exciting for Frank.

He went 9 for 9 that day, making 245 1/2, 253 1/2,
and 259 in the military press -- 248, 259 and
264 1/2 in the snatch, and 314 1/4, 330 1/2, and
336 in the clean and jerk.

He says "It was a perfect day. Everything went
perfect for me. I felt like I could do anything."

That's interesting because I've run a biorhythm
chart on Frank, and on the day he won the gold
medal he was in a triple low crossing pattern.
That should have given him one of the worst
days of his life. Go figure.

Fifteen years later, Frank lifted in his last
contest -- the United States Senior Nationals
in Santa Monica. At the of 40, he WON the
contest!

His lifts at the 1961 championships were 260 in
the press, 230 in the snatch and 310 in the
clean and jerk. Not quite what he lifted at
age 26, but pretty close.

After his last contest, Frank continued to
train, doing squats, bench press, curls,
dumbbell presses and deadlifts. He trained
hard, too. When he squatted, he did 8 sets
of 5 reps with a heavy weight.

At age 73, Frank was training in his garage
with two buddies (both 77 years of age). One
of his training partners began working out
at age 69. For squats, all he could handle
was a 20 pound bar. Five years later, at age
74, he was squatting 220 pounds!

Frank was doing pretty good, as well. His
workout at age 73 consisted of 3 x 10 in the
bench press with 150 pounds -- 3 x 10 in the
squat with 185 pounds -- 60 leg raises and
situps -- 20 calf raises with 70 pounds extra
weight -- 3 x 10 in the barbell curl with 80
pounds -- and one set of upright rows (pulling
the bar to eye-level) with 80 pounds.

Not very long ago, I interviewed Frank to
get his old-school training secrets for my
new Military Press and Shoulder Power Course.

In addition to covering his training for the
military press, we talked about his current
training.

Get this -- at the age of 89, Frank is still
training. He does leg press, seated press,
barbell curls and deadlifts. And he still trains
heavy -- for example, he does 1 x 10 in the
barbell curl with 60 pounds!

"It's an ego thing," he said. "I like having
big arms."

Frank still weighs in at 165 pounds -- his
competition weight when he won the Olympic gold
medal at age 26!

Two years ago, Frank hurt his back and had to
have surgery to remove two disks. His doctor
told him to stop lifting weights.

"I guess you didn't listen to him, did you?" I
said.

Frank chuckled.

"Well, you know what it's like -- if someone tells
an iron-head he can't do something, he takes it as
a challenge."

All of which makes Frank Spellman an American hero --
and an inspiration to Dinosaurs everywhere!

As always, thanks for reading and have a great day.
If you train today, pretend you're training with
Frank Spellman -- and make it a good one!

Yours in strength,

Brooks Kubik

P.S. You can learn more about Frank Spellman's training
in The Dinosaur Training Military Press and Shoulder
Power Course:

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

P.S. 2. By the way, Frank Spellman trained with John
Davis at the South Phillie Weightlifting Club -- and
you can read all about it in Black Iron: The John
Davis Story:

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

P.S. 3. If you're an older trainee (age 35 and up),
here's the book that will keep you lifting for a long,
long time -- just like Frank Spellman:

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

P.S. 4. Thought for the Day: "Once a lifter, always
a lifter." -- Brooks Kubik