Hail to the Dinosaurs!
This morning I was reading NEANDERTHIN
by Ray Audette -- one of the first books
on what is now known as the Paleo Diet --
and the following jumped out at me.
Audette was discussing the modern-day,
mechanistic approach to health and
nutrition, which typiclaly involves
massive reliance on synthetic vitamins,
synthetic foods (e.g., margerine),
and synthetic drugs combined with a
program of what could be labeled as
synthetic exercise -- such as the typical
"workout" followed by the typical member
of any typical gym anywhere in the world.
He contrasted that approach with what he
termed "chaotic nutrition."
Audette stated:
"A chaotic nutrition and fitness program
doesn't add new variables [such as
synthetic supplements, synthetic foods or
drugs] to the equation.
Instead, a chaotic approach stresses the
REMOVAL of variables (agricultural diet,
sedentary lifestyle) that aren't part of
the body's initial conditions -- naked with
a sharp stick on the African savanna."
Now, I'm not going to debate the merits of
a Paleo Diet -- but I want to explore the
concept of REMOVING variables from your
training rather than adding them.
In a very real sense, that's what Dinosaur
Training is all about.
Do you want to get big and strong?
Start by getting rid of the chrome plated
exercise machines that force you to move in
artificial and non-functional ways.
Drop the muscle pumping. It's the epitome of an
artificial training method.
Stop trying to get bigger and stronger by doing
longer and longer and more and more frequent
workouts. That's not how the human body was
designed to grow bigger and stronger.
Think about how early humans lived.
They were wanderers. Nomads. They followed the
game trails, and they lived by hunting and
killing some really enormous (and now extinct)
animals: mammoths, mastodons, huge bears, huge
wild pigs, deer the size of a moose, and birds
the size of a small truck.
The pattern of days was something like this --
a day or two of hiking and hunting and
tracking.
A day or two of stalking.
And when the moment was right -- the attack.
A ferocious fight -- a life and death struggle
which pitted the muscles of the early humans
against the muscles of their prey. It involved
sprinting, jumping, dodging, lifting rocks and
logs, throwing rocks, logs, clubs and spears --
and often a final, all or nothing struggle.
Picture early humans armed with simple spears
going head to head with a mastodon -- or with
a cave bear.
It was a heck of a workout. Had to be. No way
around it.
Then there was the skinning and the
butchering -- more hard, heavy work.
Picture how you would skin and butcher
a mastodon with a stone knife. What kind
of workout would that be? (Picture the
grip it would build!)
Then, the small tribe stayed by the kill
until the meat was gone -- and rested --
and then the entire sequence started all
over again.
It was exactly the same as the Irregular
Training concept that Bob Hoffman taught
(which we covered in last week's emails --
see the Dinosaur Training Blog if you missed
them).
Dinosaur Training takes you back to training
methods that work the way the human body was
designed to work: short, hard, infrequent and
diverse workouts followed by enough time for
rest and recuperation.
To get there, you need to REDUCE what you are
doing, not add to it. Cut out the fluff. Get
rid of the modern day stuff you see in the
magazines. Stick to the basics. Train for
STRENGTH -- not for any sort of modern-day
"look" pushed by the muscle media and its
munchkin armed ad-men.
Remember, being strong is a survival skill.
It's how your ancestors managed to stay alive.
And training for strength is the ultimate
all-Natural way to train. It's what your body
was built to do.
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 can learn more about back to basics
strength training in any of my books and courses:
http://www.brookskubik.com/products.html
Showing posts with label irregular training. Show all posts
Showing posts with label irregular training. Show all posts
Irregular Training or Cycling -- Which to Use?
Hail to the Dinosaurs!
Whenever I receive a dozen questions on
the same topic, I know there are many more
folks who have the same question.
When that happens, I try to answer it in an
email message so that everyone gets the answer.
So here's the question:
"You sent a message about irregular training
and Bob Hoffman's Heavy, Medium and Light system.
Is the Heavy, Medium and Light system only for
lifters who use total body workouts, or does
it work for those who use abbreviated training
and divided workout schedules?"
Here's the answer -- and like most good training
advice, it's fairly simple. As I've said ten thousand
million times, it's not rocket science.
If you choose to use total body workouts, the Heavy,
Medium and Light system works great.
If you choose to use divided workout programs, where
you may train each exercise only once per week, it's
just as effective -- and easier -- to use a simple
cycling system such as those I describe in Gray Hair
and Black Iron.
Week No. 1 -- Light (70% of your max)
Week No. 2 -- Medium (80% of your max)
Week No. 3 -- Medium heavy (90% of your max)
Week No. 4 -- Heavy (100% of your max)
Then drop back and build back up -- but add a bit
of weight so you are finish the cycle doing 100% of
your max PLUS a little bit more.
Then drop back and repeat -- and once again, nudge
the poundages up slightly.
The idea is to incorporate the Heavy, Medium and
Light principle on a week by week basis rather than
a workout by workout basis.
Of course, there are other ways to do the same thing,
and no one way is better. Don't get hung up on the
details, just find a way that let's you change things
up a bit to help give your body a better chance to
recover from those heavy training sessions.
There, you see -- Hoffman and Kubik really ARE on
the same page.
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. Intensity cycling and Light, Medium and Heavy
training is CRITICAL for older lifters -- which is why
I cover it in Gray Hair and Black Iron, the first book
ever written about serious training for older lifters:
http://www.brookskubik.com/grayhair_blackiron.html
P.S. 2 I'm looking for feedback and success stories
from readers. Don't be shy -- send an email and let me know
how your training is going!
Whenever I receive a dozen questions on
the same topic, I know there are many more
folks who have the same question.
When that happens, I try to answer it in an
email message so that everyone gets the answer.
So here's the question:
"You sent a message about irregular training
and Bob Hoffman's Heavy, Medium and Light system.
Is the Heavy, Medium and Light system only for
lifters who use total body workouts, or does
it work for those who use abbreviated training
and divided workout schedules?"
Here's the answer -- and like most good training
advice, it's fairly simple. As I've said ten thousand
million times, it's not rocket science.
If you choose to use total body workouts, the Heavy,
Medium and Light system works great.
If you choose to use divided workout programs, where
you may train each exercise only once per week, it's
just as effective -- and easier -- to use a simple
cycling system such as those I describe in Gray Hair
and Black Iron.
Week No. 1 -- Light (70% of your max)
Week No. 2 -- Medium (80% of your max)
Week No. 3 -- Medium heavy (90% of your max)
Week No. 4 -- Heavy (100% of your max)
Then drop back and build back up -- but add a bit
of weight so you are finish the cycle doing 100% of
your max PLUS a little bit more.
Then drop back and repeat -- and once again, nudge
the poundages up slightly.
The idea is to incorporate the Heavy, Medium and
Light principle on a week by week basis rather than
a workout by workout basis.
Of course, there are other ways to do the same thing,
and no one way is better. Don't get hung up on the
details, just find a way that let's you change things
up a bit to help give your body a better chance to
recover from those heavy training sessions.
There, you see -- Hoffman and Kubik really ARE on
the same page.
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. Intensity cycling and Light, Medium and Heavy
training is CRITICAL for older lifters -- which is why
I cover it in Gray Hair and Black Iron, the first book
ever written about serious training for older lifters:
http://www.brookskubik.com/grayhair_blackiron.html
P.S. 2 I'm looking for feedback and success stories
from readers. Don't be shy -- send an email and let me know
how your training is going!
How to Build Herculean Super Strength with Irregular Training!
Hail to the Dinosaurs!
Yesterday I sent out an email about irregular
training -- and got a ton of feedback. That means
it looks like the topic interests you -- so let's
continue talking about it.
In the world-famous York barbell Training Courses,
Bob Hoffman described the basis for Irregular Training:
Something has to be done to jolt the muscles out of their
regular routine. After progressive training, that is where
irregular training serves. All my life I had observed that
the only really strong workmen were usually foremen or
bosses of one sort or another who seldom used their muscles,
but occasionally would lend a hand at lifting or moving
heavy objects, or unloading heavy material. They would have
a considerable rest period, usually of day's duration, which
would then build up their muscles and be ready for severe
demands made upon them at some time in the future.
I noticed that the old time strongmen were often butchers,
perhaps sailors, or employed on beer delivery wagons. Old
time butchers would work very hard on their butchering days,
using the crudest methods. They would literally wrestle a
steer or large hog, string it up, and later carry it in
pieces or halves to the refrigerator. After this very hard
work they would have several days of little or no work which
had to be done. They would spend their time in their shops
or with their delivery wagons. Most of the great strongmen
of Vienna were butchers, from Turk, who first established
and held the world's record in lifting weights overhead, 365
pounds, to Swaboda, who jerked 448 pounds to arm's length
after several men had lifted it to his chest.
Old time sailing men would work desperately hard for days
at a time in rough weather. Then they would have days of
almost nothing to do. John Y. Smith, who won the title,
"Strongest Man in New England" at the age of sixty, was
one of these old time sailors. Workmen who worked very
hard at times, made tremendous demands on their muscles,
then had considerable rest periods, were the world's
strongest workmen.
So it is evident that great demands must at times be made
upon the body. This is done on the York heavy or "limit"
day. Moderate training must follow. This is why we advocate
training every other day, with a rest day in between, and
why the other training days are not as heavy as the "limit"
day.
Irregular Training is the way to your physical desires. You
must remember that your muscles quickly become accustomed
to a steady routine with the same weights. You must jolt
them out of their familiar rut; which is done with IRREGULAR
TRAINING."
So that's where it all started , and that's the pattern:
1. Train 3x per week.
2. Use the Light, Medium, and Heavy schedule.
3. Go to your limit on your Heavy day.
4. Train moderately hard on one of the other days (this
will be your Medium day.
5. Train lighter and easier on your Light day.
For more details, and for actual programs that take advantage
of the Irregular Training Principle, grab any or all of the
following:
1. CHALK AND SWEAT
http://www.brookskubik.com/chalk_and_sweat.html
2. GRAY HAIR AND BLACK IRON
http://www.brookskubik.com/grayhair_blackiron.html
3. STRENGTH, MUSCLE AND POWER
http://www.brookskubik.com/strength_muscle_power.html
As always, thanks for reading, and have a great day -- and
a great weekend. If you train today, make it a good one!
Yours in strength,
Brooks Kubik
P.S. I usually recommend Gray Hair and Black Iron for
lifters age 35 and up -- but it covers Irregular Training,
simple cycling programs and Light, Medium and Heavy training
in detail, so it's probably a good choice for anyone, at any
age:
http://www.brookskubik.com/grayhair_blackiron.html
P.S. 2 If you'd like to read the COMPLETE set of the legendary
York Training courses -- including the almost impossible to find
courses 5 and 6, then you're in luck. Bill Hinbern has put them
together into a TERRIFIC modern reprint edition. You can grab it
right here:
http://www.superstrengthtraining.com/bob_hoffman.html
P.S. 2 We're still baking in the big heat wave of 2011. Be sure to
keep drinking your water. Stay super-hydrated for those heavy
workouts!
Yesterday I sent out an email about irregular
training -- and got a ton of feedback. That means
it looks like the topic interests you -- so let's
continue talking about it.
In the world-famous York barbell Training Courses,
Bob Hoffman described the basis for Irregular Training:
Something has to be done to jolt the muscles out of their
regular routine. After progressive training, that is where
irregular training serves. All my life I had observed that
the only really strong workmen were usually foremen or
bosses of one sort or another who seldom used their muscles,
but occasionally would lend a hand at lifting or moving
heavy objects, or unloading heavy material. They would have
a considerable rest period, usually of day's duration, which
would then build up their muscles and be ready for severe
demands made upon them at some time in the future.
I noticed that the old time strongmen were often butchers,
perhaps sailors, or employed on beer delivery wagons. Old
time butchers would work very hard on their butchering days,
using the crudest methods. They would literally wrestle a
steer or large hog, string it up, and later carry it in
pieces or halves to the refrigerator. After this very hard
work they would have several days of little or no work which
had to be done. They would spend their time in their shops
or with their delivery wagons. Most of the great strongmen
of Vienna were butchers, from Turk, who first established
and held the world's record in lifting weights overhead, 365
pounds, to Swaboda, who jerked 448 pounds to arm's length
after several men had lifted it to his chest.
Old time sailing men would work desperately hard for days
at a time in rough weather. Then they would have days of
almost nothing to do. John Y. Smith, who won the title,
"Strongest Man in New England" at the age of sixty, was
one of these old time sailors. Workmen who worked very
hard at times, made tremendous demands on their muscles,
then had considerable rest periods, were the world's
strongest workmen.
So it is evident that great demands must at times be made
upon the body. This is done on the York heavy or "limit"
day. Moderate training must follow. This is why we advocate
training every other day, with a rest day in between, and
why the other training days are not as heavy as the "limit"
day.
Irregular Training is the way to your physical desires. You
must remember that your muscles quickly become accustomed
to a steady routine with the same weights. You must jolt
them out of their familiar rut; which is done with IRREGULAR
TRAINING."
So that's where it all started , and that's the pattern:
1. Train 3x per week.
2. Use the Light, Medium, and Heavy schedule.
3. Go to your limit on your Heavy day.
4. Train moderately hard on one of the other days (this
will be your Medium day.
5. Train lighter and easier on your Light day.
For more details, and for actual programs that take advantage
of the Irregular Training Principle, grab any or all of the
following:
1. CHALK AND SWEAT
http://www.brookskubik.com/chalk_and_sweat.html
2. GRAY HAIR AND BLACK IRON
http://www.brookskubik.com/grayhair_blackiron.html
3. STRENGTH, MUSCLE AND POWER
http://www.brookskubik.com/strength_muscle_power.html
As always, thanks for reading, and have a great day -- and
a great weekend. If you train today, make it a good one!
Yours in strength,
Brooks Kubik
P.S. I usually recommend Gray Hair and Black Iron for
lifters age 35 and up -- but it covers Irregular Training,
simple cycling programs and Light, Medium and Heavy training
in detail, so it's probably a good choice for anyone, at any
age:
http://www.brookskubik.com/grayhair_blackiron.html
P.S. 2 If you'd like to read the COMPLETE set of the legendary
York Training courses -- including the almost impossible to find
courses 5 and 6, then you're in luck. Bill Hinbern has put them
together into a TERRIFIC modern reprint edition. You can grab it
right here:
http://www.superstrengthtraining.com/bob_hoffman.html
P.S. 2 We're still baking in the big heat wave of 2011. Be sure to
keep drinking your water. Stay super-hydrated for those heavy
workouts!
Make Your Training Progressive!
Hail to the Dinosaurs!
One of the most important things
you can do is to make your training
progressive. Progression is the key
to getting great results from your
training.
To make your training progressive,
you can do any of the following:
1. Add weight to the bar.
2. Do more reps.
3. Do more sets.
4. Do your exercises in better form.
Or -- and this my favorite -- you can
combine several of the above "progression
techniques."
But you don't do all of them at
once. That would be more than your mind
and body can manage. You might do okay
for awhile, but soon you'll either burn
out, start doing your reps in bad form, or
hurt yourself. It's better to use a slow,
controlled progression, earn your weight
increases, and make steady long-term
progress.
So try something like this.
Let's say you're doing the Trap Bar
Deadlift once a week, and your current
top weight is 300 pounds for 5 reps.
In workout no. 1, do a series of
four or five progressively heavier
warm-up sets, and then do 1 x 5 with
300 pounds.
In your next deadlift workout, do the
same exact workout, but perform your
reps in tighter, better form. In other
words make the workout more progressive
by doing the reps in better form.
In your third workout, add a second set
of 5 reps. So you would do your warm-up
sets, and then do 2 x 5 with 300 pounds.
In your next session, do 2 x 5 working
sets with 300 pounds. Once again, endeavor
to make each rep absolutely perfect.
Next, do 3 x 5 work sets. (Do your warm-up
sets first, of course -- I won't keep saying
that, but always do them.)
In the next workout, do 3 x 5 work sets but
strive for even better form.
Keep going like that until you are doing
5 x 5 in your work sets.
At that point, add weight (10 or 20 pounds),
drop back to 1 x 5 work sets, and build back
up to 5 x 5.
That's an example of how to progress by
focusing on (1) better form, (2) more work
sets, and (3) more weight.
There are other ways to progress by adding
reps, and we'll cover them another time.
The point is -- always, always, ALWAYS strive
to show some sort of progress in your workouts.
But don't just throw weight on the bar and start
tossing it around in random fashion. Follow a
more systematic approach. It will work far better
for you.
In short, make haste slowly -- but progressively.
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 many more methods of training progression
in my books and courses. You can find them right here
at Dino Central:
http://www.brookskubik.com/products.html
One of the most important things
you can do is to make your training
progressive. Progression is the key
to getting great results from your
training.
To make your training progressive,
you can do any of the following:
1. Add weight to the bar.
2. Do more reps.
3. Do more sets.
4. Do your exercises in better form.
Or -- and this my favorite -- you can
combine several of the above "progression
techniques."
But you don't do all of them at
once. That would be more than your mind
and body can manage. You might do okay
for awhile, but soon you'll either burn
out, start doing your reps in bad form, or
hurt yourself. It's better to use a slow,
controlled progression, earn your weight
increases, and make steady long-term
progress.
So try something like this.
Let's say you're doing the Trap Bar
Deadlift once a week, and your current
top weight is 300 pounds for 5 reps.
In workout no. 1, do a series of
four or five progressively heavier
warm-up sets, and then do 1 x 5 with
300 pounds.
In your next deadlift workout, do the
same exact workout, but perform your
reps in tighter, better form. In other
words make the workout more progressive
by doing the reps in better form.
In your third workout, add a second set
of 5 reps. So you would do your warm-up
sets, and then do 2 x 5 with 300 pounds.
In your next session, do 2 x 5 working
sets with 300 pounds. Once again, endeavor
to make each rep absolutely perfect.
Next, do 3 x 5 work sets. (Do your warm-up
sets first, of course -- I won't keep saying
that, but always do them.)
In the next workout, do 3 x 5 work sets but
strive for even better form.
Keep going like that until you are doing
5 x 5 in your work sets.
At that point, add weight (10 or 20 pounds),
drop back to 1 x 5 work sets, and build back
up to 5 x 5.
That's an example of how to progress by
focusing on (1) better form, (2) more work
sets, and (3) more weight.
There are other ways to progress by adding
reps, and we'll cover them another time.
The point is -- always, always, ALWAYS strive
to show some sort of progress in your workouts.
But don't just throw weight on the bar and start
tossing it around in random fashion. Follow a
more systematic approach. It will work far better
for you.
In short, make haste slowly -- but progressively.
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 many more methods of training progression
in my books and courses. You can find them right here
at Dino Central:
http://www.brookskubik.com/products.html
More Training Tips for Dinosaurs!
Hail to the Dinosaurs!
Two quick notes, and then let’s talk training.
The November Dino Files were mailed on Tuesday – so if you subscribe, you’ll be getting your issue soon. Please shoot me an email when it arrives, and another one after you’ve had a chance to read it. It always helps to get your thoughts and feedback.
Second, my interview on Super Human Radio is getting off the chart ratings. Currently, there are 125 ratings, which is a huge number – and we’re getting a solid 5 stars (the top rating). If you’ve not had a chance to listen to the interview, you can find it on the Super Human Radio site:
www.superhumanradio.com
Now, to get to training.
A number of you follow divided workout schedules, where you use several different workouts and alternate between them. For example:
Mon – Squats and bench press
Wed – Standing press and bent-over row
Fri – Deadlifts, curls and close grip bench press
I’ve been talking about Irregular Training and about hitting one heavy day per week, and training lighter on your other days. So the question arises, how do you do this if you use a divided workout schedule?
There are several different ways to do it.
1. Alternate your heavy workout from week to week. For example, your Monday workout would be your heavy workout in week one, your Wednesday workout would be your heavy workout in week two, and your Friday workout would be your heavy workout in week three.
2. Train one exercise heavy in each workout, and rotate them. For example, in week one, you might train squats heavy on Monday and bench press light or medium heavy. You would reverse that the following week. Your other training days would follow the same pattern.
3. Alternate light, medium and heavy weeks. In other words, train everything light in week one, medium in week two, and heavy in week three. Then start over again.
Now, I KNOW that what I’ve just described doesn’t exactly fit the classic version of Irregular Training – but that’s because Irregular Training as originally conceived by Bob Hoffman was designed for total body workouts. If you use divided workouts, you need to change things a bit.
The IMPORTANT thing is to grasp the fundamental principle of Irregular Training – which is simply to train heavy some days, medium heavy on other days and light on other days. As I’ve said before, it’s not rocket science.
As always, thanks for reading, and have a great day – and if you train today, make it a good one!
Yours in strength,
Broooks Kubik
P.S. We have back issues of The Dinosaur Files newsletter from May 2010 forward – so if you subscribe now, we’ll start your subscription as of May 2010 and send all of the back issues to get you started. That way, you’ll have the entire collection. You can subscribe to the Dinosaur Files at the Dinosaur Training website at www.brookskubik.com
Two quick notes, and then let’s talk training.
The November Dino Files were mailed on Tuesday – so if you subscribe, you’ll be getting your issue soon. Please shoot me an email when it arrives, and another one after you’ve had a chance to read it. It always helps to get your thoughts and feedback.
Second, my interview on Super Human Radio is getting off the chart ratings. Currently, there are 125 ratings, which is a huge number – and we’re getting a solid 5 stars (the top rating). If you’ve not had a chance to listen to the interview, you can find it on the Super Human Radio site:
www.superhumanradio.com
Now, to get to training.
A number of you follow divided workout schedules, where you use several different workouts and alternate between them. For example:
Mon – Squats and bench press
Wed – Standing press and bent-over row
Fri – Deadlifts, curls and close grip bench press
I’ve been talking about Irregular Training and about hitting one heavy day per week, and training lighter on your other days. So the question arises, how do you do this if you use a divided workout schedule?
There are several different ways to do it.
1. Alternate your heavy workout from week to week. For example, your Monday workout would be your heavy workout in week one, your Wednesday workout would be your heavy workout in week two, and your Friday workout would be your heavy workout in week three.
2. Train one exercise heavy in each workout, and rotate them. For example, in week one, you might train squats heavy on Monday and bench press light or medium heavy. You would reverse that the following week. Your other training days would follow the same pattern.
3. Alternate light, medium and heavy weeks. In other words, train everything light in week one, medium in week two, and heavy in week three. Then start over again.
Now, I KNOW that what I’ve just described doesn’t exactly fit the classic version of Irregular Training – but that’s because Irregular Training as originally conceived by Bob Hoffman was designed for total body workouts. If you use divided workouts, you need to change things a bit.
The IMPORTANT thing is to grasp the fundamental principle of Irregular Training – which is simply to train heavy some days, medium heavy on other days and light on other days. As I’ve said before, it’s not rocket science.
As always, thanks for reading, and have a great day – and if you train today, make it a good one!
Yours in strength,
Broooks Kubik
P.S. We have back issues of The Dinosaur Files newsletter from May 2010 forward – so if you subscribe now, we’ll start your subscription as of May 2010 and send all of the back issues to get you started. That way, you’ll have the entire collection. You can subscribe to the Dinosaur Files at the Dinosaur Training website at www.brookskubik.com
The Question of the Day -- And An Answer!
Hail to the Dinosaurs!
Yesterday I covered Bob Hoffman’s Irregular Training as detailed in the old York Barbell Company courses.
If you missed it, it’s pretty simple. Train HEAVY one day per week – which we will call your LIMIT DAY.
Train two other days per week, but don’t train as heavy.
This later evolved into the York “Light, Medium and Heavy” Schedule – where you train light one day, medium another day, and heavy on the other day.
Now, that led to a ton of emails, including many from readers who said, “Why bother with the light and medium days – why not just train heavy once per week and not do anything else?”
Which is kind of surprising, given that I covered once per week workouts a few weeks ago, and got a ton of emails saying, “Impossible – it won’t work!”
Anyhow, here are some thoughts about training heavy once per week and doing nothing else during the week vs. training heavy once per week and doing some not so heavy training on other days.
1. First of all – everyone is different, and if training heavy one day per week works best for you, then do it.
1a. Ditto for training heavy once every six days – or every five days – or every four days.
1b. Related point. If what you are doing is working, then keep on doing it. If it’s not working, then make some sensible changes and see what happens. (Of course, whatever you do should be based on abbreviated training, compound exercises, heavy weights, etc. – in other words, don’t switch to a 20 set per bodypart muscle pumping routine and expect to see any progress).
2. If you do Olympic lifting, it is important to train more often than once a week in order to promote muscle and joint mobility, flexibility, and timing. Olympic weightlifting is an athletic skill, and must be treated as such.
2a. If you are an Olympic lifter, use your light and medium days to perfect your lifting technique.
2b. Note that two-time Olympic Gold Medal winner, Tommy Kono, has weighed in on this topic and has said that training 3x per week, using a Light, Medium, Heavy system, is BEST. You can’t argue with a two-time Olympic Gold Medalist.
3. Bob Hoffman always suggested that you include light days and medium days to help prepare you for the heavy work on your limit day. In Hoffman’s words, “They will tone the muscles and prepare them for the harder days ahead.”
3a. On light days and medium days, you can use letter perfect form and complete all of your reps on all of your sets. This gives you self-confidence, which carries over into better performances on your heavy day.
3b. Note that it is easier to learn important skills such as concentration and visualization if you are train I g with lighter weights. This means that light and heavy days are days when you can focus on developing the mental skills necessary for top level lifting.
4. Related to point no. 3 – some trainees will get really stiff and sore by going heavy one day a week and not doing anything else during the week. These trainees will do better by training on the Light, Medium and Heavy System.
5. Exercise is a great way to work off tension and stress – which is something we all encounter in the modern world. For older trainees, this may be one of the most important health benefits of physical training. And that’s a very good reason to train three times per week (Light, Medium and Heavy) rather than one time per week.
6. Consider “mixing it up” options if you do cardio work, kettlebells, martial arts, or a sport. In other words, do one heavy barbell workout per week and do cardio work or kettlebells or martial arts training or sports training on your medium and light days.
7. Note that older trainees may do better if their heavy day is not a maximum effort day. Many older trainees do best if they carefully limit the frequency of their limit workouts. Once a month as opposed to once every week may make all the difference in the world for an older lifter.
8. Beginners will do better with more frequent training because they need to learn the exercises. It’s much easier to develop good form in your exercises if you practice them 3x per week as a beginner rather than doing them only once per week.
9. As a general rule, if you’re trying to gain strength and muscle you can train less often than if you are trying to lose flab.
10. In the final analysis, it boils down to what works best for YOU – but just remember to follow and apply the basic principles of productive strength training as outlined in Dinosaur Training, Gray Hair and Black Iron, Strength, Muscle and Power, and each issue of the Dinosaur Files newsletter.
As always, thanks for reading, and heave a great day – and if you train today, make it a good one.
Yours in strength,
Brooks Kubik
P.S. For more about effective strength training and productive workout programs, grab Dinosaur Training – Strength, Muscle and Power – Gray Hair and Black Iron – my new Doug Hepburn Training Course -- or The Dinosaur Files newsletter.
Yesterday I covered Bob Hoffman’s Irregular Training as detailed in the old York Barbell Company courses.
If you missed it, it’s pretty simple. Train HEAVY one day per week – which we will call your LIMIT DAY.
Train two other days per week, but don’t train as heavy.
This later evolved into the York “Light, Medium and Heavy” Schedule – where you train light one day, medium another day, and heavy on the other day.
Now, that led to a ton of emails, including many from readers who said, “Why bother with the light and medium days – why not just train heavy once per week and not do anything else?”
Which is kind of surprising, given that I covered once per week workouts a few weeks ago, and got a ton of emails saying, “Impossible – it won’t work!”
Anyhow, here are some thoughts about training heavy once per week and doing nothing else during the week vs. training heavy once per week and doing some not so heavy training on other days.
1. First of all – everyone is different, and if training heavy one day per week works best for you, then do it.
1a. Ditto for training heavy once every six days – or every five days – or every four days.
1b. Related point. If what you are doing is working, then keep on doing it. If it’s not working, then make some sensible changes and see what happens. (Of course, whatever you do should be based on abbreviated training, compound exercises, heavy weights, etc. – in other words, don’t switch to a 20 set per bodypart muscle pumping routine and expect to see any progress).
2. If you do Olympic lifting, it is important to train more often than once a week in order to promote muscle and joint mobility, flexibility, and timing. Olympic weightlifting is an athletic skill, and must be treated as such.
2a. If you are an Olympic lifter, use your light and medium days to perfect your lifting technique.
2b. Note that two-time Olympic Gold Medal winner, Tommy Kono, has weighed in on this topic and has said that training 3x per week, using a Light, Medium, Heavy system, is BEST. You can’t argue with a two-time Olympic Gold Medalist.
3. Bob Hoffman always suggested that you include light days and medium days to help prepare you for the heavy work on your limit day. In Hoffman’s words, “They will tone the muscles and prepare them for the harder days ahead.”
3a. On light days and medium days, you can use letter perfect form and complete all of your reps on all of your sets. This gives you self-confidence, which carries over into better performances on your heavy day.
3b. Note that it is easier to learn important skills such as concentration and visualization if you are train I g with lighter weights. This means that light and heavy days are days when you can focus on developing the mental skills necessary for top level lifting.
4. Related to point no. 3 – some trainees will get really stiff and sore by going heavy one day a week and not doing anything else during the week. These trainees will do better by training on the Light, Medium and Heavy System.
5. Exercise is a great way to work off tension and stress – which is something we all encounter in the modern world. For older trainees, this may be one of the most important health benefits of physical training. And that’s a very good reason to train three times per week (Light, Medium and Heavy) rather than one time per week.
6. Consider “mixing it up” options if you do cardio work, kettlebells, martial arts, or a sport. In other words, do one heavy barbell workout per week and do cardio work or kettlebells or martial arts training or sports training on your medium and light days.
7. Note that older trainees may do better if their heavy day is not a maximum effort day. Many older trainees do best if they carefully limit the frequency of their limit workouts. Once a month as opposed to once every week may make all the difference in the world for an older lifter.
8. Beginners will do better with more frequent training because they need to learn the exercises. It’s much easier to develop good form in your exercises if you practice them 3x per week as a beginner rather than doing them only once per week.
9. As a general rule, if you’re trying to gain strength and muscle you can train less often than if you are trying to lose flab.
10. In the final analysis, it boils down to what works best for YOU – but just remember to follow and apply the basic principles of productive strength training as outlined in Dinosaur Training, Gray Hair and Black Iron, Strength, Muscle and Power, and each issue of the Dinosaur Files newsletter.
As always, thanks for reading, and heave a great day – and if you train today, make it a good one.
Yours in strength,
Brooks Kubik
P.S. For more about effective strength training and productive workout programs, grab Dinosaur Training – Strength, Muscle and Power – Gray Hair and Black Iron – my new Doug Hepburn Training Course -- or The Dinosaur Files newsletter.
The Value of Irregular Training!
Hail to the Dinosaurs!
I’ve been getting a ton of emails from guys who are worried about taxing their CNS (Central Nervous System).
They all want to know how heavy to go, how often to go heavy, what lifts to train, when to max out, etc.
And they all mentioned that they had been reading stuff by some guy who warned about CNS fatigue – or worse, that they had been to some Internet discussion board and read a thread about CNS fatigue.
The acronym CNS kept popping up in so many emails that I decided to do some google searches on it.
“CNS and high intensity training” got 141,000 hits.
“CNS and maxing out” got 231,000 hits.
Then we started to get some really big numbers.
“CNS and heavy weights” had 504,000 hits.
“CNS and heavy singles” brought a whopping 757,000 hits.
But then I typed in “CNS and Dinosaur Training” – and that one broke the bank.
There were 1,430,000 hits for that one.
So I guess there’s quite a bit of stuff out there about CNS issues – and I guess it can probably get pretty confusing.
So let’s try to simplify things a little – and let’s use a little bit of good, old- fashioned common sense – and let’s talk about practical training issues for drug-free trainees who are trying to get bigger and stronger.
1. CNS fatigue is nothing more than a fancy term for being “over-trained.”
2. Avoiding the problem of over-training is something that lifters have struggled with for years. 100 years ago, the great Arthur Saxon wrote about the importance of avoiding “the bug-a-bear of overtraining.”
3. The original York Barbell Company training courses, which were written in the 1930’s, suggested a simple approach to avoiding overtraining. Bob Hoffman called it: “Irregular Training.” Later, Hoffman advocated “Light, Medium and Heavy Training,” which was really the same thing as Irregular Training.
4. Hoffman’s program of “Irregular Training” did not mean that you trained on some sort of irregular schedule. Instead, it meant that you varied the intensity of your effort from workout to workout over the course of the week. In simple terms, you trained with your top weights one day per week. This was your “Limit Day.”
5. Hoffman wrote: “Great demands must at times be made upon the body. This is done on the York heavy or ‘limit’ day. Moderate training must follow. This is why we advocate training every other day, with a rest day in between, and why the other training days are not as heavy as the ‘limit’ day.”
6. Hoffman also wrote, “Although you must constantly strive to handle more and more weight, you should not work on your nerve too often. Except on your limit day of training, you should train well within your capabilities, in other words, train, but do not strain.”
7. “There should always be some moderate days of training,” Hoffman continued. “Days on which the muscles are given a nice, comfortable, stimulating workout, a workout which tones the muscles, and prepares them for the harder training days to come.”
So here’s the bottom line. Train to your limit once per week – and go lighter on your other training days.
That’s pretty simple – but it’s also pretty effective.
Thanks for reading, and have a great day – and if you train today, make it a good one!
Yours in strength,
Brooks Kubik
P.S. For more information about productive and effective, common sense training programs for drug-free lifters, you're going to want to have a copy of my new book, Strength, Muscle and Power, on your bookshelf.
I’ve been getting a ton of emails from guys who are worried about taxing their CNS (Central Nervous System).
They all want to know how heavy to go, how often to go heavy, what lifts to train, when to max out, etc.
And they all mentioned that they had been reading stuff by some guy who warned about CNS fatigue – or worse, that they had been to some Internet discussion board and read a thread about CNS fatigue.
The acronym CNS kept popping up in so many emails that I decided to do some google searches on it.
“CNS and high intensity training” got 141,000 hits.
“CNS and maxing out” got 231,000 hits.
Then we started to get some really big numbers.
“CNS and heavy weights” had 504,000 hits.
“CNS and heavy singles” brought a whopping 757,000 hits.
But then I typed in “CNS and Dinosaur Training” – and that one broke the bank.
There were 1,430,000 hits for that one.
So I guess there’s quite a bit of stuff out there about CNS issues – and I guess it can probably get pretty confusing.
So let’s try to simplify things a little – and let’s use a little bit of good, old- fashioned common sense – and let’s talk about practical training issues for drug-free trainees who are trying to get bigger and stronger.
1. CNS fatigue is nothing more than a fancy term for being “over-trained.”
2. Avoiding the problem of over-training is something that lifters have struggled with for years. 100 years ago, the great Arthur Saxon wrote about the importance of avoiding “the bug-a-bear of overtraining.”
3. The original York Barbell Company training courses, which were written in the 1930’s, suggested a simple approach to avoiding overtraining. Bob Hoffman called it: “Irregular Training.” Later, Hoffman advocated “Light, Medium and Heavy Training,” which was really the same thing as Irregular Training.
4. Hoffman’s program of “Irregular Training” did not mean that you trained on some sort of irregular schedule. Instead, it meant that you varied the intensity of your effort from workout to workout over the course of the week. In simple terms, you trained with your top weights one day per week. This was your “Limit Day.”
5. Hoffman wrote: “Great demands must at times be made upon the body. This is done on the York heavy or ‘limit’ day. Moderate training must follow. This is why we advocate training every other day, with a rest day in between, and why the other training days are not as heavy as the ‘limit’ day.”
6. Hoffman also wrote, “Although you must constantly strive to handle more and more weight, you should not work on your nerve too often. Except on your limit day of training, you should train well within your capabilities, in other words, train, but do not strain.”
7. “There should always be some moderate days of training,” Hoffman continued. “Days on which the muscles are given a nice, comfortable, stimulating workout, a workout which tones the muscles, and prepares them for the harder training days to come.”
So here’s the bottom line. Train to your limit once per week – and go lighter on your other training days.
That’s pretty simple – but it’s also pretty effective.
Thanks for reading, and have a great day – and if you train today, make it a good one!
Yours in strength,
Brooks Kubik
P.S. For more information about productive and effective, common sense training programs for drug-free lifters, you're going to want to have a copy of my new book, Strength, Muscle and Power, on your bookshelf.
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