Sets, Reps and Warm-Ups

Having fun in the outdoor training area here at Dino Headquarters.

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

Two quick notes and then we'll talk
sets, reps and warming up.

1. The Dino Files

We did a combined May-June issue of
the Dinosaur Files and it was a big
hit.

So we're going to do a combined
July-Aug issue this time.

We're looking to finish it up and
shoot it out the door in the next
couple of days.

I'll send an email when it's ready.

In the meantime, if you missed the
April issue - or the May-June issue -
go here to grab them:

May-June Dino Files

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

April Dino Files

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaurfiles-april2018.html

2. Heavy Partials Rock!

My new course on heavy partials
has been getting great reviews
from readers - and that's not a
surprise - because heavy partials
rock!

You can grab the little monster
right here:

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaurstrengthandpower-02.html

3. Sets, Reps and Warming Up

I get a ton of questions about sets,
reps and warming up.

The other day, someone asked about
the proper percentages for warm-up
sets.

For example, if you are doing 5 x
5, with one working set, where do
start and how do you progress
from set to set?

What percentage do you use for
your first warm-up set?

What do you use for your second
warm-up set?

And so on?

That's a good question - I get it all
the time - so here's the answer.

Percentages are guidelines, not some-
thing that is carved in stone.

The purpose of warm-up sets is to
prepare you for your working set(s).

As long as you get to the working
set(s) well warmed up, loose, limber,
mobile and strong, everything is fine.

And if it takes 7 sets of 5 to get there,
that's fine.

There's nothing magic about 5 x 5.

If you need to do more warm-up sets,
then do them.

Also, use progressions that make it
fast and easy to change the weight
ion the bar.

If I stuck to a certain percentage and
was using 137, 157 and 169 on my
warm-up sets, I'd spend all day
trying to figure out how to load the
bar to get there on each set.

It's much better to do 135, 155 and
either 165 or 170.

Or, if you're using a kilo bar and kilo
plates, 60 k (132 lbs.), 70 k (154
lbs.), and 75 k (165 lbs.).

The point is - make the loading (and
the math) fast and easy.

For example . . .

I once trained with a barbell that
weighed 20 pounds with the collars
on it.

It was an exercise bar, with exercise
plates calibrated in pounds.

So for clean and press, I would start
with 120 pounds and make 20 pound
jumps - all the way from 120 to 250
pounds, which was my working weight
for 10 singles.

I did that because the 20 pound jumps
were fast and easy. Throw a 10 pound
plate on each side, tighten the collars,
and lift.

Fast and easy - no wasted time.

Of course, that also let me make a
smaller jump from my last warm-up
set of 240 pounds to my first working
set with 250 pounds - which is often
a very good idea.

It makes the working set feel lighter
and easier if you make a short jump
to get there.

At that time, I also trained with a York
Olympic barbell and pound plates - and
did bottom position squats with it.

I started with 135 and made 90 pound
jumps until I got up to 405 pounds -
then did a 30 pound jump to 435 - and
then 15 pounds to get to 450 - where I
did 10 singles.

Again, note that the last jumps were
smaller - because I was getting close
to that 450 pound working weight.

Two other quick notes:

1. Always begin with a good total body
warm-up - make it 10 or 15 mins - and
focus on the joints and muscle groups
you will be training that day!

2. If you're an older trainee, you need
more warm-up time than when you
were younger - and the more candles
on your birthday cake, the more time
you need for an effective warm-up.

a. Go back and re-read that.

b. Then go back and re-read it again.

c. And a third time. It's very important.

Anyhow, I hope that helps!

As always, thanks for reading and have
a great day. If you train today, make it a
good one - and be sure to grab the Dino
Files if you missed it - and ditto for the
new course on heavy partials!

Yours in strength,

Brooks Kubik

P.S. For more real-world, no-nonsense
strength training advice, grab these:

Strength, Muscle and Power

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

Dinosaur Training: Lost Secrets of
Strength and Power

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

Gray Hair and Black Iron

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

P.S. 2. Thought for the Day

"If your fortune cookie says that
today is a training day, pay close
attention to it."

- 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

10 Things Dinosaurs Never Say!

 

There are some things that Dinosaurs never say - here are 10 of them!

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

Top 10 lists are always a favorite on a
rainy Friday morning - and it's definitely
a rainy Friday morning here in Louisville.

So let's cover 10 Things that Dinosaurs
Never Say.

10 Things that Dinosaurs Never Say!

10. "Let's skip the squats - my legs are
too sore from spin class."

9. "Been doing the same thing for almost
a week now - it's probably time to switch
to a new routine."

8. "I don't know what that does, but it will
look cool in my Instagram feed!"

7. "I saw a guy doing it on YouTube, so I
decided to give it a try."

6. "Weekends begin on Wednesday and I
never train on weekends."

5. "Let's just order pizza."

4. "Warm-ups? I don't have time for
warm-ups!"

3. "No need to train heavy - I'm strong
enough already."

2. "I want to look like the guy in the
advertisement, so I decided to buy
the stuff."

And finally - drum roll - no. 1!

1. "What do you think about [fill in the
blank with anything from the muscle
mags or the muscle blogs]? Asking for a
friend."

Do any of those sound familiar? If they
do, you must have been talking to some-
one who needs to drop the silly stuff and
start training Dino style!

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. Do you have my first book - the one
that started the Dinosaur revolution?

If not, you need a copy of Dinosaur
Training - and you can get it right here:

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaur_training.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

3. Thought for the Day: 

"Let the rest of the world talk about why
it can't be done. Your job is to go ahead
and do it!" 

- 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

How I Do Warm-Up Sets

Having fun with old-school, split style snatches in the outdoor training area at Dino Headquarters.

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

Three quick notes and then we'll talk
training - as in, how I do warm-up sets.

1. The Dinosaur Files Newsletter

Go here to grab the Oct, Nov, Dec and
Jan issues of The Dinosaur Files news-
letter:


http://brookskubik.com/dinosaur_files.html

And go here to grab the February issue:

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaur-files-february2018pdf.html

2. The John Wood Report

Go here for The John Wood Report:

https://www.oldtimestrongman.com/johnwoodreport-01.html

3. The Strength Secrets Facebook
Group

We have over 1,000 members in the
Strength Secrets Facebook Group.

Go here to join us:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/strengthsecrets/

4. How I Do Warm-Up Sets

In response to yesterday's email about the
importance of pre-workout visualization drills,
I received the following email from one of our
longtime Dinos:

Thank you for focusing our attention on the prep
time before each workout. I have found it to be
a useful practice in all areas of life.

While reading, however, a question came to me.

You wrote that your first lift was with the empty
bar.

How quickly do you progress up to your planned
top weight for the day?

Is it more like a series of 5 pound jumps - or do
you go from empty bar to, say, 50 percent, then
75 percent, then 85 percent?

Michael Gray

Thanks for your question, Michael. It's a very
common one.

My weight jumps on warm-ups have changed
over the years based on two primary factors:

(1) My age,

and

(2) My exercises.

When I was in my 20's and then my 30's, I did
very heavy powerlifting workouts. I didn't need
very much warming up, so I started with a 135
pound bar in squats, benches and deadlifts, and
moved up in 90 pound jumps - in other words,
I added two 45's to the bar.

When I got closer to my top weight I added less
weight per set.

For example:

Bottom Position Bench Press

135 x 5

225 x 1

315 x 1

365 x 1

405 x 1

415 x 1

425 x 1

In my 40's, I did more overhead lifting, and
found that I needed more warm-up sets - so
I started lighter and took smaller jumps:

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

Today, at age 61, doing Olympic lifting, I
need lots of warm-up sets - and I need to
get really loose and limber before I go
heavy.

So I begin with 10 to 20 minutes of free
hand warm-ups - stretching, thera-band
pulls, overhead squats with a broomstick,
etc. - and then I begin with the empty bar.

I should note that almost all Olympic lifters
start with the empty bar - even the younger
guys and gals - including the World and
Olympic champions. You need to do it to
get loose and flexible for smooth lifting.

From there, I go up in 10 kilo jumps (22
pounds). And I usually do 3 to 5 singles at
each weight for snatches - and 2 or 3 singles
at each weight for clean and jerks.

As the weights get heavier I drop to 5 kilo
(11 pound) weight increases.

And when I get to working weight territory,
or close to it, I usually drop the number of
singles at each weight.

So snatches might look like:

Split Snatches

Bar x 5 singles

66 lbs. x 5 singles

88 lbs. x 5 singles

110 lbs. x 5 singles

121 lbs. x 3 singles

132 x 2 singles

143 x 1 single

154 x 1 single

The other thing I should mention is this -
I always move at less than 100 percent
speed with the empty bar and the lighter
weights - and gradually increase my speed
as I add weight to the bar.

And yes, that's a lot of very light work at
the beginning - but as a 61-year old who
likes to do OL work, it's the only way to
do it. In essence, the first half of every
workout is a very long, methodical and
progressive warm-up.

Hope that helps!

Yours in strength,

Brooks Kubik

P.S. For more training tips for older Dinos,
grab Gray Hair and Black Iron:

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

"Time marches on, and so do older
Dinos." 

- 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

Top Tips on Effective Warm-Ups for Dinos!

Retro lifting at Dino Headquarters always begins with a long, thorough and complete warm-up. It's a must for anyone, but a double must for an older lifter.

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

Last week we talked about stretching, and
whether it was good or bad for you.

I noted that when I was in high school,
stretching was the big deal in athletics.

The coaches had us do all sorts of stretches
before and after every practice and every
competition. It was supposed to prevent
injuries.

That theory has pretty much fallen by the
wayside over the years.

We've learned several important things,
and they've made coaches change what
they do.

Here's what we now know:

1. Too much stretching lowers a muscle's
strength and power potential -- so it's
NOT a good idea to do tons of stretching
before a heavy workout (or a football game
or a wrestling match or anything else
where strength and power is important).

2. Stretching can injure a "cold" muscle
or its attachments.

3. You get a better and fuller stretch when
the muscles and joints are warmed up and
looser.

For all of these reasons, most coaches
now have their athletes do stretching at
the end of a workout or a practice rather
than before.

Of course, some of us do need some
stretching before we train, usually for
a particular joint that needs extra work
to warm up and get loose. For example,
I always stretch my ankles before a
workout.

My workouts always begin with a good warm-up, followed by my first sets with an empty bar, and then gradually going up to heavier weights. Older trainees need longer warm-ups than younger trainees.

But most of my warming-up follows
these general guidelines:

1. The best way to prepare for a workout
(or a practice or a competition) is to do a
warm-up that involves light movements
rather than the static stretches we did
"back in the day".

a. For example, you might prepare for a
squatting or deadlifting workout by doing
deep knee bends with no added weight.

b. Or you might do squats, front squats
or overhead squats with a length of PVC
pipe or broomstick.

c. And you might use light Indian clubs to
loosen up your shoulders and upper back
before hitting the iron.

2. Do enough warming-up so that the joints
and the muscles are ready for the heavier
stuff, but don't do so many reps that you
start to get a pump. It's a warm-up, not
a workout. Five to ten deep knee bends (or
several sets of five to ten) may be all it
takes.

a. I usually do sets of three to five reps in
the overhead squat with a broomstick as
part of my warm-up. That's light and easy,
of course, but it does the trick.

3. Start light and perform the specific
exercise or lift you are planning to work --
and use a series of progressively heavier
warm-up sets performed in perfect form
to prepare you for the heavy stuff.

a. Remember that many or most top
weightlifters will start with the empty
bar for their first warm-up set -- even
if they work up to world-class weights
for their final sets.

4. Older trainees need more warming up
than younger trainees.

a. The older you get, the more time you
need to devote to your warm-ups.

b. At age 60, I now spend about 20
minutes on warm-ups before I even
touch the barbell -- and then I begin
with super light sets with the empty
bar and progress gradually from
there.

The barbell doesn't need a warm-up, but YOU do!

5. If you have time to train, you have time
to do a proper warm-up.

6. During the warm-up, concentrate deeply
on what you are doing. Don't just "run
through" the warm-up movements and the
warm-up sets. FOCUS on them.

a. Use the warm-up to help shift from the
everyday world we live in to the inner
universe we lift in.

7. Concentration and focus means no talking,
no goofing around, no distractions and (gasp!)
no social media.

And that's my take on warming-up. It's not
complicated, but it's not like the stuff the
coaches had us do 40 years ago.

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. We had a three way tie for our most
popular training books last week. Do YOU
have them all?

Dinosaur Bodyweight Training

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

Dinosaur Dumbbell Training

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

Knife, Fork, Muscle

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

P.S. 2. My other books and courses --
including 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/oldschool_01-kindle.html

P.S. 3. Thought for the Day: "Train smart,
and as you grow older, train smarter."
-- Brooks Kubik

We have 23 books in the Kindle bookstore. This the latest one. You can grab it right here: http://www.brookskubik.com/oldschool_01-kindle.html

The No. 1 Question About Warm-Ups

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

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

1. The January Dino Files.

Is now available in both PDF and
Kindle editions - AND (get this) in
hard-copy. The hard-copy is printed
and shipped to you by Amazon.

PDF edition

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaurfiles-january2017.html

Kindle edition

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaurfiles-january2017kindle.html

Amazon hard-copy

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaurfiles-january2017hardcopy.html

2. The Complete List

Speaking of Amazon, here's the complete
list of all 22 Dinosaur Training e-books
available in the Kindle bookstore, with
quick and easy order links for all of them:

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

Our Kindle books are just the thing for
those of you who are trapped indoors
by bad weather - or who just want some
great weekend reading.

Note that you do NOT need a Kindle reader
to read Kindle books. Amazon has a free app
you can download that lets you read Kindle
books on any device.

3. The No. 1 Question About Warm-Ups

On the training front, here's an email from
an older Dino with a very common training
question:

"Brooks,

My question concerns warm-up sets. As an
older lifter (57), I like to do a lot of warm-up 
sets before my top weight for the day. I like
low reps, never doing more than 5, and often
doing triples, doubles or even singles.

If I'm doing squats, and my top weight for the
day is 200 pounds, I might start with the empty
bar, and then do 95, 135, 155, 175, 195 and then
200.

Now here's the question: When I add weight and
progress to a top set with 205 pounds, do I also
add 5 pounds to each warm-up set?

If I do that, eventually the first warm-up set will
be very heavy. On the other hand, if I stay with
the bar, and then go to 95 and so on, eventually
I will be doing many more warm-up sets.

What do you recommend?

Banny"

Thanks for your email and your question. It's a
very common one.

Older lifters need to start light, and they need to
perform a series of gradually heavier warm-up
sets before they tackle their heavier weights.

When you add weight to your working set, you
should keep your initial warm-up sets where they
are. That allows you to start light and work up
slowly and gradually.

The place where you make your adjustments is
at the top of the warm-up progression.

In the example you gave, I would try this: empty
bar, 95, 135, 155, 175, 185, 195, 205.

Or this: empty bar, 95, 135, 155, 175, 190, 200,
205.

By the time you work up to 250 pounds for your
top set, things might look like this: empty bar,
95, 135, 155, 175, 195, 215, 230, 240, 250.

If you end up needing to do a few more warm-up
sets, don't sweat it. Just do them. At our age,
they're very important.

Hope that helps, and hope you keep on training
for another 57 years!

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. For more about effective training for older
Dinos, grab Gray Hair and Black Iron:

http://www.brookskubik.com/grayhair_blackiron.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: "Start light and
easy and finish heavy and strong." - Brooks
Kubik

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

10 Things I'm Going to Do in Today's Workout!

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

One quick note, and then we'll talk
training.

1. Follow the Big Adventure!

As I mentioned yesterday, we've moved.

It's the start of a new adventure - and I
documented it with a ton of photos that
I'm sharing on Instagram.

Go here to check them out:

https://www.instagram.com/brooks_kubik/

And now  . . . let's talk training.

2. 10 Things I'm Going to Do in Today's
Workout!

I'll be training today, and here are 10 things
I'm going to do.

No, I'm not talking about 10 different
exercises.

I'm talking about things that go beyond
exercises, sets and reps. They're things
most people never dream about - but
they can make a huge difference in
your training and your progress.

1. I'm going to start with 10 minutes of
stretching, loosening up, and general
warm-ups.

a. This is mandatory for a 59-year old Dino
who spends 8 hours at the keyboard
before hitting the iron.

2. I'm going to fuel my workout with a
healthy breakfast and a healthy lunch --
the kind I describe in Knife, Fork, Muscle.

a. No pre-workout energy booster for this
Dino. I don't want them and don't need
them. Nothing beats real food.

3. I'm going to start light and easy, and
slowly work up to my heaviest weights for
the day.

a. See 1a above.

4. I'm going to focus on performing every
rep in perfect form.

a. Including every warm-up rep.

5. I'm going to review every rep after I
finish each set -- and focus on how to do
the next set even better.

a. I like to film my workouts and review
each set to check my form.

6. I'm going to train fast enough to stay
warm -- but not so fast that I compromise
my form or can't hit my heavy weights.

a. This is a delicate balance. You need to
learn what works over time. Note that it
may differ from exercise to exercise.

b. It also may differ from workout to
workout, depending on how you feel.

7. I'm going to follow the program that
works best for ME -- not the program that
works for someone else.

a. After about 50 years of training, I
know what works best for ME.

8. I'm going to wear layers and dress warm --
and slowly peel off a layer or two as I move
through my workout.

a. Reg Park wore double sweat suits when he
trained outdoors in winter.

b. Rocky Balboa wore sweat suits and a knit
hat when he ran outside in the winter.

c. Brad Steiner wore sweats when he trained.
So did the York champions back in the day.

d. Dressing warm is old-school and sensible.

e. Even in the summertime, it's better to
stay warm. Sweats and a t-shirt are always
good choices.

9. I'm going to do better than my last workout --
but just a *little* better.

a. One more single with my working weight --
or 5 more pounds on my last lift. Or just better
and tighter form. Or deeper concentration.

b. Small gains are sustainable. You can keep
making small gains for a long time.

c. Trying to force big gains from workout to
workout almost always leads to over-training
and the big crash and burn.

10. After training, I'm going to have a protein
packed dinner -- as described in Knife, Fork,
Muscle.

a. It will look a lot like the cover photo for
Knife, Fork, Muscle -- which was a real dinner,
and which tasted pretty darn good.

The other thing I'm going to do after I train is
unload the bar and put everything away -- and
say THANK YOU to the bar, the plates, the
platform, and the squat stands.

I do that because they're good friends -- and
because I couldn't do it without them.

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

And remember -- check out my Instagram
account. You'll like what you see!

Yours in strength,

Brooks Kubik

P.S. Here's the link for Knife, Fork, Muscle:

http://brookskubik.com/dinosaur_nutrition.html

P.S. 2. Here's one of our best-sellers for the
month -- and it will help you finish 2016 in
championship style:

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

P.S. 3. My other books and courses are right
here at Dino Headquarters:

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

P.S. 4. Thought for the Day: "Train hard but
train smart. As you get older, train smarter.
And always say THANK YOU after you train."
-- Brooks Kubik

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

Cold Weather training Tips for Dinosaurs!

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

It's a cold day here at Dino Headquarters.
Winter is here, and it's here for real. Last
night was a three layer workout in the
garage -- meaning I wore three layers
of sweat clothes to stay warm.

If it's cold where you are, do the same.
Bundle up and stay warm!

And that brings me to a cold weather
training tip.

I usually do the following exercises in
the following sequence:

1. Snatches or clean and jerks

2. High pulls

3. Squats or front squats

But when it's unusually cold, I often reverse
the order and start with squats.

Why?

Because it's hard to get warmed up for
snatches and cleans when it's really cold,
and doing the squats first helps assure
that my knees, hips and lower back are
warmed up and ready to go before I
do my snatches or cleans.

And if it's ice-box cold, I sometimes skip
the snatches and cleans entirely, and just
do squats, high pulls and push presses.
These movements don't require nearly
as much flexibility and mobility to
perform, so if it's hard to warm-up
and get loose, they work a lot better.

They're also easier to perform when
you're wearing extra layers to stay
warm. Snatches are hard to do when
it's a three layer workout.

I also don't try to handle maximum
weights when the weather is really
cold. It's much easier to pull a muscle
or tweak an old injury or sore spot
when it's cold, so why take chances?

You can apply a similar approach to
any type of training program, workouts
or equipment. The idea is to adjust what
you do (and perhaps change the order
of your exercises) based on how cold it
is and how difficult it is to get warmed
up.

For example, you might do something
as simple as including extra warm-up
sets when it's cold.

Or you might start things out with some
cardio training just to get warmed up.

Or you might do sets of five instead of
heavy singles.

Or skip the heavy stuff entirely and do
bodyweight training.

I could give many more examples, but
you get the idea.

Your training program has to be flexible.
Give yourself the freedom to make cold
weather adjustments. It can make all
the difference in the world.

Of course, if you train at a commercial
gym that's the same temperature all
year round, the outside temperature
doesn't matter as much.

But for garage gorillas, it makes a very
big difference. And that goes double for
older Dinos.

What about you?

Do you have any cold weather training
tips to share with your fellow Dinos?

If you do, shoot me an email and let me
know how you deal with three-layer
workouts.

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. Have you seen the December and
January issues of the new monthly Dinosaur
Files? Go here to grab them:

January

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaurfiles_januaryr2016.html

December

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaurfiles_december2015.html

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

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

P.S. 3. Thought for the Day: "When the weather
is cold, bundle up and do squats!" -- Brooks
Kubik

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Bundle Up and Do Squats!

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

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

1. Sweatshirts and Hoodies.

We only have 10 left. Here's the list:

Gray Hair and Black Iron sweatshirts

2 in size L

1 in size 3XL

Dinosaur Training hoodies

1 L gray hoodie

1 L blue hoodie

2 M blue hoodies

3 S black hoodies (hint - these may be
too small for you, but they'd make a
great Christmas gift for someone)

Shoot me an email right away if you
want to order one. It's first come, first
served.

2. The New Course for Older Dinos.

Is a huge hit. Go here to order the little
monster -- and remember, it comes to
you by email, so download the link to
save and read the course:

http://www.brookskubik.com/minicourse_01.html

And please shoot me an email and let
me know how you like the course --
and how the PDF delivery works for
you.

3. Bundle Up and Do Squats!

It's officially winter now.

I know that because it was cold as heck
out in the garage last night, and I was
wearing double sweats to stay warm
during my workout. In fact, I started
out with three top layers -- but took
one layer off after I got warmed up.

So I thought I'd share some cold weather
training tips for Dinos. These apply to all
of you who train in a garage or anywhere
else where it gets cold in the winter.

1. Wear layers. They keep you warmer,
and allow you to take off the top layer
if you get too hot during your workout.

2. Wear a hat. A simple fisherman's hat
(like the kind Sylvester Stallone wears in
the "Rocky" films) will make a huge
difference.

a. A ski-band is also good.

b. Black is a good color for a hat or a
ski-band, and that's the only fashion
advice I'm ever going to give you.

3. Keep your ankles warm. If you wear
low cut shoes and sweats, wear high socks
to cover the gap between your sweats and
your shoes.

4. Some trainees like to wear gloves in cold
weather. I don't, because I want my grip to
be as secure as possible. This is one of those
"you decide" things.

5. A small heater to help keep your hands
warm is a great addition to a garage gym.

6. Do some warm-ups inside the house to
help get warm and loose before going into
the garage.

7. Do more warm-ups once you get to the
garage.

a. Good, thorough warm-ups are critical to
avoid pulled muscles or other problems when
it's cold.

8. Start light and work up in weight slowly
and gradually. Don't just run out and jump
into a heavy set.

9. If you use any kind of rubber cables, bring
them inside when you're not training. If you
leave them outside, they may snap and break
when you use them.

10. Stay hydrated. Drink plenty of water
during your workout. If you want to drink
hot tea, that's fine, too.

11. Basic strength exercises like squats, deadlifts,
presses, bench presses, rowing and pull-ups are
easier to do when it's cold than exercises that
involve skill or speed, such as snatches or cleans.

a. You can do snatches, cleans and similar
movements, but it takes extra warm-up time.

b. I did squat cleans and split jerks last night,
and it worked fine, but it took LOTS of warm-up
time. I may try doing front squats first the next
time I train, to help get loose and warm for
my OL training. (See tip no. 12).

12. You may find that starting the workout
with squats or a similar movement is the best
way to get warmed up for the rest of the
program. hence, the title: "Bundle Up and
Do Squats!"

All of the above points apply double for older
trainees.

One final note -- if it's really cold and you just
can't get warm enough to do justice to the
workout, then make it a light one and come
back and hit it heavier another time.

So there you have it -- 12 training tips for
cold weather training. I hope they help!

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. The Dinosaur Strength Training Archive
collects my lost articles from the original
Dinosaur Files back in 1997 -- along with
a brand new article on power rack training,
featuring a brand new power rack workout
for BIG gains in strength and muscle mass:

Hard copy

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

Kindle e-book

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaurtrainingarchive_kindle01.html

P.S. 2. My other books and courses -- and
my Dinosaur Training DVD's -- and links to
all of my e-books on Kindle -- are right
here:

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

P.S. 3. Thought for the day: "Stay warm, and
keep on training!" -- Brooks Kubik

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

Answers to Your Training Questions

The Dinosaur Files Quarterly is a great resource for Dinosaurs. It's available in your choice of hard copy or Kindle e-book.  It comes out every three months.

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

I've been getting a ton of questions from
Dinos around the world, and thought I'd
share some of them with you -- along
with my answers.

1. You're a former bench press champion
and record holder. Why don't you write a
course about bench pressing?

A. I just wrote a long course on the bench
press. But I don't sell it. It's only available
at The Iron League, which is a terrific new
member's only strength training archive
developed by my good friend, John Wood.

I've also allowed John to upload five of my
original Dinosaur Training DVD's, as well 
as all seven of my Dinosaur Bodyweight
Training DVD's. They're not all available
yet, but several are. And in the meantime,
there's a ton of other great stuff at The
Iron League:

http://www.ironleague.com/

As you can tell, I'm a very big supporter
of what John is doing with the Iron League.
It's a terrific resource for serious strength
trainers and Iron Slingers.  One fellow
Dino has called it "The Library of
Congress of Strength."

2. When you outline a program where the
trainee does 5 x 5 with one heavy set, what
weight do you use on the warm-up sets? If
the top set is 100%, what are the percentages
for the warm-up sets?

A. Try 60/70/80/90/100 percent. If you are
doing an exercise like squats or deadlifts where
you need to start lighter and do more warm-up
sets, then try 30/40/50/60/70/80/90/100
percent.

3. I dropped off your email list. What happened?

A. I don't know. People sometimes drop off the
list and we don't know why. It's either something
to do with our email service or its something at
your end. One reader changed mobile devices
recently, and doesn't get the emails any more.

I send emails every day other than Sunday, so
if you miss an email, there's a glitch somewhere.

Go to my website and sign back up -- and check
your junk mail settings, because they change
sometimes and you may need to put us on
your white list.

As a back-up, I post every email I send at the
Dinosaur Training Blog. If you miss an email, go
to the Blog to catch up. You can access the Blog
from my website. Email me if you can't find the
link.

I'm also on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram at
"Brooks Kubik." I share links to my blog posts
on Facebook and Twitter, so those are great
ways to stay in contact. Look for #brookskubik
or #dinosaurtraining.

4. I'm a young woman. How should I get started
in strength training?

A. Women can and should train exactly the same
as men. See Chalk and Sweat, and Dinosaur
Training Secrets, Vol. 1 and 3 for training
programs for beginners.

5. Which is better for upper body muscle mass --
the bench press or the push press?

A. The bench press will build more mass, but
the push press will build more power and is a
better movement for athletes in most sports.
That said, don't do one or the other. Do BOTH!


6. What do you weigh now? Are you trying to
gain or lose weight? What do you eat?

About 210. I am trying to get down to 206 pounds
so I can compete in the 94 kilo class in Masters
Weightlifting.  At my age (58) it's important to
train for strength and power, but it's just as
important to keep your weight under control.

My diet is meat, eggs, fish and veggies, including
tons of fresh salads, and small amounts of fruit.
We try to use local, in-season food from our
favorite farmers market.

For details, see Knife, Fork, Muscle. For photos
of my meals, see my Facebook and Instagram
pages (at "Brooks Kubik" or #brookskubik or
#dinosaurtraining. You'll see a lot of fresh
green stuff in these photos.

7. Do you like body rows with rings?

A. Yes, and I cover them in Dinosaur Bodyweight
Training -- along with tons of other great exercises
with rings (and with ropes, as well). Many Dinos
like body rows better than any other rowing
exercise.

There have been about a hundred more
questions this week, but we'll have to leave it
at seven for now.

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.  Go here to grab Chalk and Sweat, Dinosaur
Bodyweight Training, Knife Fork Muscle and my
new Dinosaur Training Secrets courses:

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

P.S. 2. Remember to check out The Iron
League -- it's really good:

http://www.ironleague.com/

P.S. 3. Thought for the Day: "There's never one
RIGHT way to do something -- but there are plenty
of WRONG ways." -- Brooks Kubik

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

Top Tips on Effective Warm-ups for Dinosaurs!

Bob Hoffman performing a hip lift with the World's Biggest Dumbbell, owned by legendary strongman Warren Lincoln Travis, who stands watching with interest. I hope Hoffman warmed up before trying this lift!

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

Last week we talked about stretching, and
whether it was good or bad for you.

I noted that when I was in high school,
stretching was the big deal in athletics.
The coaches had us to all sorts of stretches
before and after every practice and every
competition. It was supposed to prevent
injuries.

That theory has pretty much fallen by the
wayside over the years.

We've learned several important things,
and they've made coaches change what
they do.

Here's what we now know:

1. Too much stretching lowers a muscle's
strength and power potential -- so it's
NOT a good idea to do tons of stretching
before a heavy workout (or a football game
or a wrestling match or anything else
where strength and power is important).

2. Stretching can injure a "cold" muscle
or its attachments.

3. You get a better and fuller stretch when
the muscles and joints are warmed up and
looser.

For all of these reasons, most coaches
now have their athletes do stretching at
the end of a workout or a practice rather
than before.

Of course, some of us do need some
stretching before we train, usually for
a particular joint that needs extra work
to warm up and get loose. For example,
I always stretch my ankles before a
workout.

But most of my warming up follows
these general guidelines:

1. The best way to prepare for a workout
(or a practice or a competition) is to do a
warm-up that involves light movements
rather than the static stretches we did
"back in the day".

a. For example, you might prepare for a
squatting or deadlifting workout by doing
deep knee bends with no added weight.

b. Or you might do squats, front squats
or overhead squats with a length of PVC
pipe or broomstick.

c. Or you might use light Indian clubs to
loosen up your shoulders and upper back
before hitting the iron.

2. Do enough warming-up so that the joints
and the muscles are ready for the heavier
stuff, but don't do so many reps that you
start to have a pump. It's a warm-up, not
a workout. Five to ten deep knee bends (or
several sets of five to ten) may be all it
takes.

a. I usually do sets of three to five reps in
the overhead squat with a broomstick as
part of my warm-up. That's light and easy,
of course, but it does the trick.

3. Start light and perform the specific
exercise or lift you are planning to work --
and use a series of progressively heavier
warm-up sets performed in perfect form
to prepare you for the heavy stuff.

a. Remember that many or most top
weightlifters will start with the empty
bar for their first warm-up set -- even
if they work up to world-class weights
for their final sets.

4. Older trainees need more warming up
than younger trainees.

a. The older you get, the more time you
need to devote to your warm-ups.

b. At age 58, I now spend about 20
minutes on warm-ups before I even
touch the barbell -- and then I begin
with warm-up sets with the empty bar.

5. If you have time to train, you have time
to do a proper warm-up.

6. During the warm-up, concentrate deeply
on what you are doing. Don't just "run
through" the warm-up movements and the
warm-up sets. FOCUS on them.

a. Use the warm-up to help shift from the
everyday world we live in to the inner
universe we lift in.

7. Concentration and focus means no talking,
no goofing around, no distractions and (gasp!)
no social media.

And that's my take on warming-up. It's not
complicated, but it's not like the stuff the
coaches had us do 40 years ago.

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. We had a three way tie for our most
popular books last week:

Dinosaur Bodyweight Training

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

Dinosaur Dumbbell Training

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

Knife, Fork, Muscle

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

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

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

P.S. 3. Thought for the Day: "Train smart,
and as you grow older, train smarter."
-- Brooks Kubik

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