Another Way to Measure Progress as You Grow Older

John Grimek was healthy and strong for pretty much his entire life - and he lived a very long life. We have much to learn from the old-timers about healthy and successful aging.

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

I changed doctors seven years ago,
and when I did, I collected a full set
of medical records from my first doc.

I'd been seeing him since I was 28 or
29 - and I changed docs at age 54 -
so there were a ton of records.

Anyhow, the other day Trudi had an
idea:

"You should go through all your old
medical records - and then get new
labs and blood work done - and com-
pare where you are now - at age 60 -
to where you were at age 30, 40 and
50. That would be good information."

"You could share it with the Dinos,"
she added. "They'd like to see it."

That's a good idea, so I'm going to
go ahead and do it.

My birthday is in September - I'll be
turning 61 - so I may wait until then
to get the labs and blood work.

That way I can compare age 29, 30
and so on to age 61 - a full 32 years
later.

In the meantime, I'm following a very
healthy diet - and training hard - doing
a lot of new things, that I'll be sharing
with you in the future - and working on
being as strong, healthy, fit and well-
conditioned as possible as I head into
my 60s.

I don't compete against other people
any more. I compete against myself.

My goal is to be stronger, leaner, fitter,
healthier and better conditioned at age
61 than I was at age 30 - or age 40 -
or age 50.

In fact, I plan to kick the you know what
out of the younger version of Brooks.

Not that the younger version was a bad
guy - or in bad shape - but the goal is
to always keep on improving - and the
more ways to measure improvement,
the better.

If you're  a younger Dino, get some
labs and blood work - and save the
results - and compare them to where
you are in 10, 20, 30 or 40 years.

The docs used to say that weight
training would kill us. Let's all work
together to prove them wrong!

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. Gray Hair and Black Iron has
tons of workouts and training tips
for trainees. If you don't already
have a copy, do yourself a big favor
and grab it today:

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

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: 

"Stay strong, stay young."

 -- Brooks Kubik

From Weightlifter to Mr. America!

 

Strength training is a life-long journey - and you can (and should) try many different things and have many different adventures along the way. 

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

One of the very best things about the
Iron Game is that it's a never-ending
journey - and you never have to end
up at one destination and stay there
for the rest of your life.

Case in point - Clarence Bass, a/k/a
Mr. Ripped.

Most people don't know it, but Clarence
started out as an Olympic weightlifter.

He was a good one, too.

He was one of the youngest lifters
of his generation to clean and jerk
300 pounds in official competition.

His best lifts were a military press
of 275 lbs., a snatch of 245 lbs.,
and a clean and jerk of 325 lbs.

He won city, state and regional
championships, and placed second
in the Teenage Nationals, the Junior
Nationals and the YMCA Nationals.

But by his mid-thirties, Clarence
found that his progress in Olympic
weightlifting hasd stopped. So he
decided to look for a new challenge.

He became a bodybuilder.

And he went on to win his class
in the Past 40 Mr. America contest
not once, but twice - and also to
win the title of Most Muscular Man
at the Mr. USA Past 40 contest.

He developed incredible muscularity
with a unique diet that flew in the
face of the conventional wisdom of
the era.

At the time, bodybuilders followed a
strict meat and salad diet (essentially,
a zero carb diet) to get "cut" for
contests.

Clarence ate almost no meat. He got
his protein from milk and eggs. And he
ate plenty of whole grains, beans, and
fresh vegetables. It was close to being
a lacto-ovo vegetarian diet.

It worked pretty well for him.

He ended up being one of the most
muscular men in the world - and
today, 40 years later, he's still in
terrific shape.

He also - get this - went back to
his first love - Olympic weightlifting -
when he was 60!

Clarence Bass is a great example
of how the Iron Game can be - and
should be - a lifelong journey - and
how it can take you to many different
places and bring you many different
adventures throughout your entire
life.

Yours in strength,

Brooks Kubik

P.S. Clarence Bass has written a number
of terrific training books that cover his
Iron Game journey - and his diet and
nutrition plan - as well as his training
program and workouts.

I have seven of them that I need to sell
as part of our big book and magazine
sale here at Dino Headquarters. They're
used copies, but in good condition.

If you're interested in the seven-book
set, shoot me an email. You can have
all seven for $100.00 plus s&h.

I have just one set, so it's first come,
first served.

P.S. 2. If you're looking to change
up your training, all-dumbbell and
all-bodyweight workouts are a
terrific change of pace - or you can
combine them for some really great
workouts:

I specialized in heavy dumbbell training in my early 40's because I wanted to try new and different ways to train - and to tackle new challenges.

Dinosaur Dumbbell Training

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

Bodyweight training is a great way to change things up. You can follow an all-bodyweight program, or combine bodyweight training with weight training.

Dinosaur Bodyweight Training

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

P.S. 3. My other books and courses -
and links to all of my e-books on Kindle
- 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:

"Change can keep you young - and
keep you training."

- 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

Just be You!

Hitting it hard at the outdoor training area here at Dino Headquarters. Yes, I'm doing front squats - with towels to hold the bar. You can try them if you like, but you don't have to do them. Your job, as always, is to find what works best for YOU.

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

I got a couple of emails from guys
who were hopping mad that I've
been following a vegetarian diet for
the past month or so.

"What do you want me to do?" one
asked. "Stop eating meat?"

No, not at all.

I want you to be YOU.

You don't have to do something
just because I'm doing it.

The vegetarian diet started when
Trudi asked me if I would join her
in a 30 Day Vegetarian Challenge.

She wanted to try new foods, new
meals, and new recipes - and she
thought that a 30 Day Vegetarian
Challenge would force us to try
new things.

She was right. We've cooked more
new meals in the past 30 days than
we've done over the past three
years before it. And we're enjoying
the new meals enormously.

So from that perspective, it's been
a big success.

But what about strength and health?

It's worked very well in that regard,
as well.

We both feel healthy and strong,
and we both have plenty of energy.

And my lifting has been going fine.

But now I'm curious.

I want to see what will happen to
my strength and my lifting if I
continue the plant-based diet
into 2018.

So I'm going to do that - as an
experiment - and then I'm going
to report on the results.

If I end up stronger at age 61 - on
 a plant-based diet - than I was at
age 60 eating lots of meat and eggs,
that's good information to have.

If it doesn't work - that's good
information, too.

It's the same as trying new work-
outs or new exercises. If something
works, it's good to know - and good
to share with you. If it doesn't work,
that's also good to know - and good
to share.

Meanwhile, if you enjoy eating
meat, keep on doing it.

This is an experiment, and you
should feel free to do what YOU
want to do - and feel free to be
YOU.

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. Dinosaur Dumbbell Training
and Dinosaur Bodyweight Training
both started out as experiments.

"How will they work?" I wondered.

Turned out they worked pretty darn
well - as many other Dinos have
learned.

You can grab either or both of the
little monsters right here - and see
for yourself:

Dinosaur Dumbbell Training began as an experiment - and ended up working pretty darn well.

Dinosaur Dumbbell Training

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

 

Dinosaur Bodyweight Training was another experiment - and it, too, worked pretty well.

Dinosaur Bodyweight Training

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

P.S. 2. Thought for the Day

"Study and learn from others -
but above all else, learn what
works best for YOU!"

- 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

The No Tofurky Diet

 

Hitting it hard in the Dino Dungeon, and earning my dinner. That's important, because we've been having some great meals here at Dino Headquarters.

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

Ever since I updated you on Trudi's
30 Day Diet Challenge - where she
challenged me to join her in 30 days
of nothing but home cooked vege-
tarian meals for 30 days - I've been
getting a lot of emails.

Some of you have been thinking
about doing the same thing, and
wanted to know how it was
working and what we are
eating.

Others asked if I was dead yet -
working on the assumption that a
meat-free diet would kill me. (So
far, that hasn't been the case. In
fact, I feel really good.)

There were many common questions
and concerns.

A lot of you asked if we were eating
Tofurky or other faux meats.

The answer to that question is a
great big "No, double no and triple
NO!"

The whole purpose of the 30 Day
Challenge was to try new meals,
new menus and new foods. Trudi
thought that going meat-free would
force us to do that - and she was
right. It made us think outside the
box.

We don't eat any faux meats, and
we eat no refined, packaged or pre-
pared meals. That would defeat the
whole purpose.

Instead, we scour cookbooks and
the web for interesting meals - and
then we prepare them from scratch.

If we like them, we may try them
again, perhaps using a slightly
different recipe. If we don't like
them, we find and try something
else. There are tons of wonderful
dishes to try, and life is too short
to eat food you don't enjoy 100
percent.

We eat lots of fresh vegetables,
including plenty of leafy green
vegetables. We add kale, spinach,
beet greens or collard greens to
almost everything we cook. And
all or almost all of it is fresh and
locally grown. We have some great
farmer's markets here, and we
make the most of them.

Trudi served this terrific fruit and veggie plate the other day. To round out the meal, we had toasted Ezekiel bread with hummus.

We eat lots of fresh fruit - and
try to keep it as varied as
possible.

We both love mushrooms, and
we've been having fun with sauted
or stir fried mushrooms over whole
grain pasta, brown rice or (Trudi's
favorite) barley.

Stir-fried mushrooms with onions and garlic, served over barley. This is one of Trudi's favorite meals. We often add kale or spinach for extra fun.

We also grill portabella mushrooms
and serve them like burgers. Those
are pretty tasty. Of course, we use
lots of onion and garlic with any of
mushroom dishes, and that's pretty
hard to beat.

Homemade veggie burgers with hummus, avocado and tomato.

We've found some great recipes for
homemade veggie burgers made from
beans, grains, garlic, onion, and various
spices. They're surprisingly good, and
high in protein (14 to 17 grams for
one burger).

One day, I added some acorn squash
to the veggie burgers, and didn't like
them as much - so for dinner I took
the same mix (I had lots of it left-
over) and made a veggie meatloaf
that we baked in the oven and topped
with tomato sauce for the last 10 min-
utes of baking. That was delicious.

Veggie meatloaf with oven-baked potato wedges. This was simple and delicious.

We get our protein from a variety of
beans and legumes. We also have
lentil dishes, and we'll try some split
pea  dishes soon.

Today's breakfast - oatmeal with cherries, topped with a ton of nuts and seeds.

We eat nuts and seeds, which have
fats and extra protein.  Our breakfast
today was oatmeal with cinnamon,
three kinds of cherries, hemp seeds,
sun-flower seeds, pumpkin seeds,
flax seeds, walnuts and almonds.

Trudi found a great-tasting pasta made
from brown rice and chickpeas. It has
11 grams of protein per serving. We
like it a lot, and it's a good way to
add some extra protein.


We also use Ezekiel bread for sand-
wiches. It's made from sprouted grains
and legumes, and has six grams of
protein per slice.

We have lots of hummus with our meals.
It's made from chickpeas, and is high
in protein. I use it as an all-purpose
sandwich spread.

We eat a variety of fresh-cooked whole
grains: brown, red and black rice; quinoa;
barley; couscous; wild rice (which is
actually a grass seed rather than a grain);
buckwheat (also a grass seed) and whole
corn meal.

Peasant food that's fit for a King - minestrone soup with white beans and barley. Very filling, and a nutritional powerhouse.

All in all, we're getting plenty of protein,
and tons of vitamins and minerals. The
only nutrient we're not getting is vitamin
B12 (which is only available in animal
foods), we take a supplement for that.
(By the way, no matter what you eat,
all Dinos over age 50 should take a
vitamin B12 supplement. That's be-
cause we lose the ability to absorb
it as we grow older.)

Our meals are fun, we're having a good
time planning our meals and prepping
and cooking them together, and we
are definitely achieving Trudi's goal
of trying new and different meals.

So it's been working pretty well so
far.

And yes, we're 100 percent Tofurky-
free.

Yours in strength,

Brooks Kubik

P.S. For more about diet and nutrition
for strength and muscle building, grab
KNIFE, FORK, MUSCLE. It has great
ideas for carnivores and non-
carnivores alike:

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

P.S. 3. Thought for the Day: 

"Always train for real, and always
eat real food."

- 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

Trudi's 30-Day Meal Challenge

I've never been one to back down from a challenge - and this one's been very interesting.

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

Two quick notes and then I'll update
you on Trudi's 30 Day Meal Challenge.

1. Dinosaur T-Shirts

We have THREE of the new Dino t-shirts
left.

XL - blue with white letters.

$19.95 plus shipping and handling for
one shirt.

$49.95 plus shipping and handling for
all three.

If you want one (or all three), shoot me
an email.

First come, first served.

2. The Strength Training Q and A

We just released my Strength Training
Q and A in hard-copy and PDF editions -
and it's also out there in Kindle - so you
can grab the little monster in whatever
format you prefer:

http://www.brookskubik.com/oldschool-qanda.html

By the way, the Q and A course is
no. 1 in a series of Q and A courses.
No. 2  in the series will be available
very soon.

3. Trudi's 30 Day Meal Challenge

Back in late August, Trudi decided
that she wanted to try some new and
different meals.

"We're in a rut," she said. "We need to
shake things up."

"What do you want to do?" I asked.

"I want all the flavors in the world," she
said. "I want every meal to be different
and exciting. I want to try new foods
from around the world. Things we never
eat."

"Then go ahead and do it," I said. "Try
anything you'd like."

"No, I'm not going to cook two meals
all the time - you have to join me," she
said. "And I want you to help me cook
them."

"Sure, no problem," I said. 'Let's do
burgers for dinner. I'll cook them."

She shook her head.

"No, I want to try something totally
different."

"Okay, we'll do cheeseburgers."

"No, that's not different."

"What do you want to do?" I asked.

"I want to try all vegetarian meals for
30 days," she said. "That would be
totally different."

And before I could say anything, she
made it impossible for me to say
"No."

"We can make it a 30-day challenge,"
she said. "You like challenges, don't
you?"

Challenges?

Of course, I like challenges.

That's part of being a Dinosaur.

Dinosaurs love challenges.

You can't say "no" to a challenge.

And that's how we ended up living
on nothing but plant-based meals
for the past three weeks.

You can see many of them at my
Instagram account:

https://www.instagram.com/brooks_kubik/?hl=en

So far, it's been pretty easy - and
pretty tasty.

Tuscan white bean soup.

We've had Indian curries, Thai veggie
rolls, Tuscan white bean soup,
Moroccan lentil stew, veggie pizza,
some killer veggie burgers and an
absolutely awesome hippie loaf and
oven-roasted potatoes that was one
of the best dinners I've ever had in
my life.

Hippie loaf (vegetarian meatloaf) with oven-roasted potato wedges. This was amazing. Who would have guessed?

We make everything from scratch,
and yes, I help with the meals - in
fact, I'm having so much fun that I
end up doing most of the cooking.

Moroccan lentil stew with potatoes.

We both feel great - healthy and
strong - and we're having a blast.

We're also saving a ton of money
on meals, which is always a plus.

Making our own vegetable broth for cooking.

Anyhow, that's the update on the
30-Day Meal Challenge. Let me
know if you want to hear more
about it, and if you'd like some
recipes and meal plans.

And if you have any questions
about Trudi's 30-Day Challenge,
fire them in.

Yours in strength,

Brooks Kubik

P.S. If you don't have the Strength
Training Q and A, grab it now:

http://www.brookskubik.com/oldschool-qanda.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

"Train for strength, eat for health,
and welcome new challenges."

- 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