The Original 100 Rep Challenge!

A year or two after I specialized o heavy dumbbell training, I tried something a little different - and gave it a try to see how it would work.

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

Back in the 1940's and 1950's,
Big Joe Hise experimented with
some 100 rep challenge workouts.
He focused on the military press.

Did 100 single reps over the course
of several hours.

One of his training partners wrote
about it in Peary Rader's IronMan
magazine.

He said it worked really well.

Kim Wood tried the 100 rep challenge
when he was in college and got good
results with it.

He told me about it, and I gave it a
try.

I did 100 reps in bottom position squats
with 315 pounds - and over the course
of five or six weeks I worked up to 350
pounds.

I also did Trap Bar deadlifts for 100 reps
with 315 pounds - and kept at it until I
worked up to 350 pounds.

I stopped at that point.

The workouts were just too long and too
hard to recover from.

I wrote about it in the old Dinosaur
Files newsletter, and a number of
readers gave it a try.

They all enjoyed the challenge - got
sore as heck - and after awhile they
went back to more sustainable work-
outs.

In other words, we all learned the
same thing. Over the long haul, less
is better.

Anyhow, when we moved two years ago,
I was cleaning out some boxes of old
stuff, and I found an old VHS tape
labeled:

Life in the Dino Dungeon - Trap Bar
Deadlifts - 100 Reps

And then I remembered - I had filmed
one of those crazy 100 rep Trap Bar
deadlift workouts!

At that point, I didn't even have a VHS
player. So I gave the tape to John Wood,
and said he could put it up on the Iron
League if he wanted to do so.

It took a long time to convert the little
monster - but John finally did it - and
now you can see the entire workout.

All 100 reps.

Nothing but Trap Bar deadlifts, chalk,
sweat, and one very tired (but very
determined) Dinosaur.

It's not the fanciest workout in the
world - and it doesn't have any of the
cool (but silly) exercises you see on
Insta-Monkey, Face Pages, and
Monkey Tube - but it's a pretty hard
workout.

And it's up there for all Iron League
members to see.

So if you're an Iron League member,
check it out - and let me know what
you think!

Yours in strength,


Brooks Kubik

P.S. Go here to join the Iron League -
and tell John I sent you!

https://www.ironleague.com/

Training the Muscles of Posture (Part 2)

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

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

1. Our New E-Books

We have two e-books available on Amazon's
Kindle site, and they're getting great reviews.

Both are certified top 10 best-sellers in their
category at the Amazon site, which is more
than a little amazing. Go here to grab the
little monsters -- and please post a review:

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

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaur_secrets_01.html

Important -- note that you can download a free
app to read Kindle books on any device -- so
you can read our courses even if you don't
have a Kindle device.

2. Dinosaur Podcast Today!

I'll be a guest on Ken O'Neill's Trans-Evolutionary
Fitness Radio today. Listen live at 12:00 EST, or
catch the download later on:

http://superhumanradio.com/

3. Another great e-book

My buddy John Wood has a terrific e-book on
Kindle -- a modern reprint of Sig Klein's very
rare hand-balancing course. Klein was one of
the best hand-balancers of all time, and it
contributed mightily to his world record in
the military press -- so this is a gold mine
mine for Dinos:

http://www.amazon.com/Try-Hand-Balancing-Updated-Annotated-Edition-ebook/dp/B00LYM5I6E

On the training front, let's continue our
discussion of how to build the muscles of
posture.

The Hise shrug is excellent for the traps --
and for all of the muscles of posture.

You'll work up to heavy weights in this
one, but form is more important than
weight -- especially at the beginning!

Do it in a power rack.

Set the pins so you can dip down and get
under the bar in the quarter squat position.

Flat back is very important, of course.

Get set, and stand up with the bar high
on your shoulders -- as if you were going to
do high bar squats.

Stand straight. Don't round the shoulders.
Don't look down. Don't bend forward. All
of that defeats the entire purpose of the
exercise.

Now stand tall -- and take a huge, enormous,
rib-stretching breath -- and expand your lungs
to the utmost -- and as you do so, shrug your
shoulders as h-i-g-h as you can.

Try to touch your shoulders to your ears.

You won't be able to do it -- but try!

Pause in the top position with the lungs expanded
to the max and the shoulders as high as possible.

Slowly exhale, lowering the shoulders as you
do so.

Pause at the bottom -- and then repeat.

Make each rep a slow, deliberate, perfect
movement.

Try 5 x 5, 3 x 10 or 1 x 20. 10/8/6 also is
good.

If you want to do rest-pause reps, that's fine.
If you prefer to do singles, that's fine, too.

They all work -- and they're all good.

Do very light breathing pullovers after each
set (or series) of shrugs.

Joe Hise originated this neat little exercise.
He used it for chest expansion and gaining
weight -- but it's a terrific exercise for the
traps and other muscles of the upper back.

For some trainees, it's the best possible
exercise for the traps.

Start light and learn the movement -- add
weight slowly and sensibly -- gradually work
up to some serious iron.

Have fun, and report on your results!

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

Yours in strength,

Brooks Kubik

P.S. Any of the 20 leg and back specialization
programs in Chalk and Sweat would be great
for the muscles of posture:

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

P.S. 2. My other books and courses -- and
the Dinosaur Files quarterly -- and Dinosaur
Training DVD's -- and shirts and sweatshirts
and hoodies -- are available right here at Dino
Headquarters:

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

P.S. 3. Thought for the Day: "Train for lattitude as
well as longitude." -- Brooks Kubik

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

A Training Tip from Big Joe Hise!

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

We were talking about Joe Hise last week,
and that reminded me of a very useful
tip that he came up with about 80 years
ago.

This was back when the 20-rep breathing
squat was just getting off the ground.

Hise, William Boone and other young men
had made spectacular gains with the 20-rep
breathing squat and an abbreviated exercise
program to go with it -- and Mark Berry
was writing about it constantly -- and
guys around the world were giving it a
try.

But some of the guys who tried it had a
problem.

The 20-rep squat was too hard on their
lower backs.

Their legs could take it -- but their
backs weren't up to the challenge.

They wrote in to Berry and asked what to
do.

And Joe Hise had a suggestion.

"Tell them to try a specialization program
for the low back BEFORE they try the 20-rep
squat program," he said. (Or words to that
effect.)

"Once their lower back is strong and fit,
they can start on the squat program."

That was good thinking, and it was a good
idea.

It also teaches us a broader principle --
that you always need to lay the proper
foundation for any type of advanced
or specialized training that you plan
to do.

Sounds simple, but you'd be astonished
to see how many trainees forget about
this basic rule -- and jump into an
advanced program or a specialization
workout that's far too much for them.

It's one of the greatest causes of
failure in the Iron Game -- and it's
sad, because it's the result of being
gung-ho and enthusiastic.

That's one reason why I always urge  you
to start light and easy on a new program
or a new exercise. Learn the new workout
(or the new exercise) and get comfortable
with it before you start to pack on the
weight and go balls to the wall.

I KNOW it's tempting to jump right in and
go as hard and heavy as you can from day
one.

Trust me, I've been there -- and done
that. We all have.

But there's a better way to do it --
and the better way is to start easy,
play it smart, and build up to the
big weights and the high intensity.

In the meantime, if you're thinking
about doing the 20-rep breathing squat
program, be sure your lower back is up
to the task. If not, you might want to
spend the next couple of months on a
low back specialization program BEFORE
you try the breathing squat program.

And that's the tip of the day -- a tip
that's over 80 years old, and that comes
from one of the pioneers of the Iron
Game.

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 leg and back specialization
programs for maximum strength and muscle
mass in CHALK AND SWEAT -- along with
programs for beginners, intermediates
and advanced trainees. Go here to grab
a copy:

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

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

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

P.S. 3. Thought for the Day: "Never stop
learning, never stop seeking and never
stop growing." -- Brooks Kubik