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

How to Do Overhead Presses with Low Ceilings

I train in a basement with very low ceilings - so I need to use work-arounds for my overhead presses and other overhead exercises. One of the simplest is to move outside whenever the weather permits. 

 

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

We got a ton of great feedback in response to
my earlier post about John Grimek's favorite
exercise - the clean and press.

The feedback included comments from a fairly
large number of Dinos who said they were not
able to do the clean and press because they
trained in their basement, and the ceiling was
too low.

That's a common problem. I had to deal with
it in the original Dino Dungeon - and I have to
deal with it today, because the basement of our
duplex is too low for overhead work.

So let's talk about some simple work-arounds
for that problem.

1. Go Outside.

I have two training areas now. I train outside
in the driveway whenever the weather permits.

I have a couple of thick stall mats that I lay
down to set up my "lifting platform" - and
I move the barbell and the plates outside -
and the squat stands if I want to do squats
or front squats.

Moving the weights outside is a part of my
warm-up now - so it serves double duty!

2. Use Smaller Plates.

The original Dinosaur Dungeon had ceilings
that were too low for overhead pressing with
an Olympic barbell loaded with 45 pound (or
20 kilo) plates.

And if you use rubber bumper plates, you
have the same problem with 10 kilo and 15
kilo plates - because they're the same size
as the bigger plates. Just thinner and lighter.

So I used iron plates - 25's, 10's and 5's -
and I was able to train with those because
they were so much smaller.

They were just low enough to miss hitting
the ceiling.

By the way, I set the barbell on top of a
pair of 2 x 8 boards so that the bar was
at the same height as if I were using 45's.

The 2 x 8 boards also protected the concrete
floor in the basement - which is always a
good thing.

3. Use dumbbells or kettlebells.

Using dumbbells or kettlebells for the clean
and press is another option that many Dinos
have used with great success.

For example, I used to do heavy dumbbell
exercises in the original Dino Dungeon - using
25's, 10's and 5's to load the dumbbells - and
I always had enough room to finish my presses,
push presses, and jerks.

And there are tons of different ways to do
dumbbell presses and similar exercises.

In fact, you can do quite a bit with a pair of
adjustable dumbbells.

Dinosaur Dumbbell Training gives you a
ton of old-school dumbbell exercises - and
50 different dumbbell workouts - so you can
include dumbbell exercises and enjoy plenty
of fun and exciting - and effective - workouts.

4. Split them up!

Do power cleans (or clean grip high pulls -
or deadlifts - or Trap Bar deadlifts). Do
any sets and reps you like - 5 x 5  works
well, but so does 5 x 3 or 5/4/3/2/1 or
5 x 5 followed by some triples and some
singles.

Then do seated military presses for what-
ever sets and reps you prefer.

Just be sure your bench is strong enough to
support both your weight and the weight of
your barbell.

I much prefer standing presses to seated
presses - but if seated presses are all you
can do, then do them - and don't sweat it.

And consider this - Grimek once wrote an
article about his "secret weapon" for training
the military press.

Guess what it was.

That's right - the seated press.

5. Do partial presses.

Do power cleans combined with a partial
presses.

For bonus points, do some timed holds.

Clean the bar - do a partial press - and hold
it for a count of two to ten seconds.

These will fry your arms and shoulders!

Give them a try and you'll see what I mean.

So there you have it - five simple ways to
deal with low ceilings. I hope they help!

Yours in strength,

Brooks Kubik

P.S. Here are some of my favorite books
covering old-school workouts that work
great for home gym training:

Dinosaur Dumbbell Training

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

Gray Hair and Black Iron

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

Chalk and Sweat

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

Dinosaur Training: Lost Secrets of Strength

and Development

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaur_training.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. 4. Thought for the Day: 

"Let nothing stop you. You can think
through, work around, climb over or
smash any problem to pieces."

-- Brooks Kubik

Before you leave, be sure to check out our Kindle books - we have over 25 now - with more on the way!

Brooks Kubik's Kindle Books

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

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