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's this for Fast Progress?

World and Olympic Champion John Davis finishes  a heavy military press in a contest from back in 1940 or 1941. The trainees of this era always did plenty of military pressing - and it showed!

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

One of the guys in the Strength Secrets
Facebook Group posted some questions
about the military press.

I saw them, answered them briefly, and
suggested that he grab a copy of The
Dinosaur Training Military Press
and Shoulder Power Course.

That led to some feedback from John
Angel, a hard-charging Dino from out
in California - who has made amazing
progress on the military press.

In fact, he's done about as well as any-
one I ever knew or heard about.

Or read about.

Get this . . .

John purchased my Military Press Course
on September 6, 2017.

At the time, he was pressing 65 pounds
for five reps.

Less than six month's later, he was
pressing 130 pounds for five reps.

That's a gain of 65 pounds - and in terms
of percentage, that's a 100 percent
increase.

In other words, John DOUBLED his
pressing power in less than six months.

That's pretty good progress - but then,
it's a pretty good course.

Go here to grab a copy:

Hard-copy

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

Kindle

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

PDF

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

I can't guarantee that you'll make the
kind of progress that John made - but
then again, you MIGHT!

Yours in strength,

Brooks Kubik

P.S. A very big CONGRATULATIONS to
John Angel - for making some truly
remarkable progress!

Brooks Kubik's Kindle Books

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

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

 
For even more Kindle books by Brooks Kubik, visit:

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

John Grimek's No. 1 Exercise

A rare photo of World and Olympic champion John Davis hitting a heavy military press back way in 1940 or 1941.

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

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

1. The Dinosaur Files.

Here's the link to the two most recent issues
of The Dinosaur Files in PDF:

July-August Dinosaur Files

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

May-June Dinosaur Files

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

2. 25 and Counting!

Speaking of good reads,  we offer 25 Kindle
books and courses. Here's the complete
list:

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

3. John Grimek's No. 1 Exercise!

And now, let's talk training.

For some reason, the most common question
on Internet strength training forums is this:

"If you could do just ONE exercise, what would
it be, and why?"

The most common answers are:

1. Squats -- because "they're the best exercise
for all-around strength and muscle mass."

2. Deadlifts -- because "they're even better than
squats and you can do them even if you don't
have squat stands or a power rack."

a. Or because: "It's a squat but you hold the bar
in your hands."

3. Trap Bar deadlifts -- because "they're a cross
between a deadlift and a squat."

4. The pec deck -- because -- sorry, just kidding,
no one actually says this.

a. Thank goodness.

b. Although some people probably think it.

5. The clean and press -- because "it works all
of the muscles."

6. Curls - because, you know - "curls for the
girls."

7. One-legged overhead squats on a stability ball
balanced on a wobble board - "Never done, them,
or seen them, but they sound cool."

Those are all good answers (other than no.
4, 6 and 7).

But what would John Grimek have said?

We actually KNOW what he would have said
because he once wrote an article about it.

In Grimek's opinion, if you could only do
one exercise, you should do the clean
and press.

He believed the clean and press would give
you a great total body workout.

Grimek followed his usual pattern of suggesting
that you start light, add weight from set to set,
and drop the reps as you added weight.

Thus, you might do something like this:

50 x 10 (light warm-up)

100 x 10

120 x 8

130 x 8

140 x 7

150 x 6

160 x 5

170 x 3

180 x 2

190 x 1

200 x 1 (if you're feeling strong that day)

If you want to focus more on strength and
power do lower reps -- something like
5/4/3/2/1 or 5 x 3 or 8 x 2 -- or singles.

Anyhow, that was John Grimek's answer --
and I tend to agree with him!

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 the military press in The Dinosaur
Training Military Press and Shoulder Power
Course:

Hardcopy

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

Kindle e-book

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

PDF

See the links to our PDF courses:

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

P.S. 2.  You'll also enjoy The Training Secrets of
John Grimek:

Hardcopy

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

Kindle e-book

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


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

Hard-copy and PDF Books and Courses

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

Kindle Books and Courses

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

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

P.S. 4. Thought for the Day:

"Load the bar, lift the bar, and repeat. It's
not easy, but it's not rocket science."

-- Brooks Kubik

My Definition of Functional Exercise

How do YOU define functional exercise?

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

Everyone seems to talk about "functional
exercise" - but they can't seem to agree
on what it means.

It seems to mean vastly different things
to different people.

There are lots of videos on Facebook and
YouTube that show "functional exercises"
on stability balls and wobble boards.

Many of the "functional exercise" move-
ments come to us from physical therapy
and rehabilitative medicine.

Others come to us from - jeepers, I don't
know. Homicidal space aliens would be my
first guess.

If that's your thing, then fine -- but my
definition of functional exercise is a bit
different.

To me, a functional exercise is one that
does the following:

1. Strengthens the muscles.

2. Strengthens the bones.

3. Strengthens the tendons and ligaments.

4. Improves balance and coordination.

5. Strengthens the neuro-muscular system.

6. Requires full focus and deep, intense
concentration.

7. Trains the entire body in free flowing and
athletic movements rather than focusing on
single bodyparts or isolated muscle groups.

8. Trains the heart and lungs, and strengthens
the internal organs.

9. Teaches you to move like an athlete.

10. Builds the strongest possible mind-muscle
link.

11. Can be performed in a progressive fashion.

12. Can be performed by trainees of any age,
and is something that older trainees can do
and enjoy.

There's one kind of exercise that does all of
these things.

It's ground-based strength training with your
choice of barbells, dumbbells, kettlebells or
heavy awkward objects -- supplemented with
old-school bodyweight exercises if you enjoy
doing them.

In other words, the kind of training I cover in
all of my books and courses.

It's the most functional kind of training you
can do.

This kind of training doesn't come with fancy
names or fancy labels. In fact, it's pretty old-
fashioned. People have been doing it for a
very long time.

There's a reason for that.

It works.

It works better than anything else under the sun.

If you're already doing it, then keep on doing
what you're doing.

If you're NOT doing it, then start now.

The right kind of strength training is one of the
most important things you can do for yourself.

Make it a regular and integral part of your
life.

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. Here's the best book ever written about
functional training for trainees age 35 and older:

http://www.brookskubik.com/grayhair_blackiron.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. 3. Thought for the Day:

"Functional training is training for the
game of Life."

-- 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