George Eiferman's Super Leg Training Workout

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

One quick note, and then I'll tell you
about one of the most unusual - and
most difficult - leg workouts of all time.

1. The May-June Dinosaur Files

Is available in your choice of Kindle or
PDF - and it's been getting great reviews
from Dinos around the world:

PDF edition

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaurfiles_mayjune2016.html

Kindle edition

http://brookskubik.com/dinosaurfiles_mayjune2016-kindle.html

Shoot me an email and let me know how
you like the little monster!

2. George Eiferman's Super Leg Workout

You probably know that George Eiferman
won the Mr. America Contest in 1948 --
and that he had one of the thickest, most
massive physiques of any of the old-time
bodybuilding champions.

He was strong, too -- and a good musician.
He used to do a stunt where he played a
trumpet with one hand while hoisting a
135 pound Olympic barbell over head with
the other hand.

And if a barbell wasn't handy, sometimes he
hoisted a pretty girl overhead with one hand,
while playing the trumpet with the other. Nice
work if you can get it -- and if you're strong
enough to do it!

When he won the Mr. America title, he was
training at John Fritshe's Gym in Philadelphia.
Fritshe was big on heavy leg training, so
George did plenty of squats. Sets of 10 and
sets of 20 were the order of the day.

But before that, he devised a unique leg
training workout of his own -- and I thought
I would share it with you.

Here's the story.

When he was 17, George joined the United
States Navy.

He had already started training, so he trained
with barbells and dumbbells whenever he was
on a ship that had a set of weights.

If there were no weights on board the ship,
he did curls with buckets of water.

He also did his special leg exercise.

He would go down to the "hold" and find a
100 pound bag of sugar and a 50 pound bag
of flour, and wrestle them up and onto his
back.

Then he would climb the ladder from the hold
to the main deck -- with the 150 pounds of
sugar and flour on his back.

And then he'd climb back down -- still carrying
the extra weight.

And he'd go up and down the ladder as many
times as he could.

It sounds like a pretty good workout -- and clear
proof that "Where' there's a will, there's a weight --
and a way to train for strength, muscle and
power!"

You may not have access to a large ship, so
you may not be able to duplicate Eiferman's
workout exactly -- but you can get a heck of
a workout by putting a heavy sandbag on your
back and going out for a run -- or a walk -- or
walking (or running) up a hill or up some
stadium steps -- or by doing squats with it.

And when you do, think of George Eiferman
going up and down that ladder.

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. Here are the links again for the May-June
issue of the Dinosaur Files:

PDF edition

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaurfiles_mayjune2016.html

Kindle edition:

http://brookskubik.com/dinosaurfiles_mayjune2016-kindle.html

P.S.2. My other books and courses - and
links to all of my Kindle e-books and PDF
products - are right here:

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

P.S. 3. Thought for the Day: "Where there's
a will, there's a way to train." - Brooks Kubik

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

Is Strength Training the Fountain of Youth?

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

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

1. The May-June Dinosaur Files

The May-June issue of The Dinosaur Files
us now available in your choice of Kindle
or PDF editions.

Here's the link for the PDF edition:

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaurfiles_mayjune2016.html

If you prefer Kindle, here's the link
to the Kindle edition:

http://brookskubik.com/dinosaurfiles_mayjune2016-kindle.html

We've been getting great reviews on this
issue, so check it out and tell me what
you think!

2. Is Strength Training the Fountain
of Youth?

On the training front, I received an email the
other day from a man who bought copy number
146 of the first edition of Dinosaur Training.

When I released Dinosaur Training back in 1996,
I signed and numbered every copy -- all 3300
of them.

Many of you have them. You've been reading
my stuff and sharing the journey with me for
almost 20 years.

That's what reader no. 146 has been doing.

Another reader shot in an email that I saw
this morning. He's been following me since
the days when I wrote for Hardgainer. That
takes us back almost a quarter of a century.
If you think about it, that's pretty amazing.
One reason that it's amazing is that those
long-time Dinos have been training for a
very long time -- and they're still training.
Just like me.

I've been training for almost 50 years now.
And I've enjoyed every minute of it.

Many Dinos have been training for 30 or
40 years -- some for 50 or more -- and a
surprising number for 60 or more years.

That goes to show you that strength training
is the fountain of youth.

It keeps you young -- because you can keep
on doing it for your entire life.

You can't do that with most sports. There
comes a time when your body just can't take
it any more. You hang up your cleats or your
gloves.

But strength training is different.

You can always modify your strength training
workouts, and make them work for you at any
age.

In addition, strength training is something you
can do by yourself. You don't need a team to
do strength training. You don't even need a
training partner. That, too, makes it easy to
keep at it.

And perhaps most importantly, strength training
is endlessly interesting.There are always new
things to try -- and new things to learn. It
never gets old.

And the results are right there, for you to see --
and for the world to see.

After a lifetime of sensible physical training,
you look *different* than other people your
age. You look, move and feel like you were
20 years younger.

And that's why I call strength training the
Fountain of Youth.

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. 1. Gray Hair and Black Iron is the number one
training guide for mature Dinos. Go here to grab a
copy:


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

P.S. 2. Our Dinosaur Training e-books are getting
off-the-chart reviews. Here are two of our most
popular ones:

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

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaur_secrets_01.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: "I'm not as young
as I used to be, but I'm younger than I'd be
if I didn't train." -- Brooks Kubik (and
a heck of a lot of other Dinos)

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

Here's What You'll Find in the May-June Dinosaur Files!

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

We just put up the PDF edition of the
May-June issue of The Dinosaur Files.

Here's the link for the PDF edition:

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaurfiles_mayjune2016.html

If you prefer Kindle, here's the link
to the Kindle edition:

http://brookskubik.com/dinosaurfiles_mayjune2016-kindle.html

It's about 20% longer than previous
issues, and it has a ton of great articles.

Here's the complete Table of Contents:

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

  by Brooks Kubik

Mesozoic Mail
   by the Dinosaurs

Jurassic Jottings
    by Brooks Kubik

What We Can Learn from America’s
Strongest Man
    by Brooks Kubik

How to Build Strength and Muscle Fast!
      by Brooks Kubik

 My Summer Training Program
        by Clifford M. Levy., M.D.

 The Three-One Training System
       by Peter Jensen

The Magic of Solo Training
      by Allan Roth

 Your 30-Day Challenge
     by Brooks Kubik

 The Importance of Strength
       by Steve Woolsey

The Dinosaur Kitchen
        by Brooks Kubik

How to Combine Bodybuilding and
Strength Training
         by Brooks Kubik

 Book Review: Old But Strong
         by Brooks Kubik

 The Wrap-Up
       by Brooks Kubik

As you can see, this is a BIG issue -
with tons of information. Several
readers have said it's the best issue
ever - and they may right!

Let me know how you like the little
monster!

Yours in strength,

Brooks Kubik

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

Check Out the Strength Archive!

Hail to the Dinosaurs!
 
Here's an email I sent one year ago. It
announced the opening of something
new and terrific for Dinosaurs: THE
STRENGTH ARCHIVE.

Also known as THE IRON LEAGUE.

Since we're now at the one year
anniversary of the little monster,
I thought it would be fun to go
back and see what I said about
it when I broke the news to the
Dino Nation.

Of course, my original email said the
Strength Archive would be opening it's
doors on May 13, 2015. Don't let that
fool you - the Strength Archive has
been open and going strong for one
year now!

THE BIG ANNOUNCEMENT

Synchronize your watches and be ready to
take immediate action at 9:00 a.m. EST
on Wednesday, May 13.

That's when John Wood is going to open
the doors to his Strength Archive.

The Strength Archive is a very unique
project.

I know about it because John is a good
friend -- and because I've been one of
the beta-testers for the Strength Archive.

In other words, I've been able to log in
and take a look -- and watch as the little
monster grew bigger and bigger -- with
more and more really terrific material.

Do you remember the line from The Blues
Brothers?

"We're on a mission from God."

Well, John Wood has been on a similar
sort of mission. He's been working like
crazy -- sometimes until 3:00 or 4:00
in the morning -- to put more and
more great material into the Strength
Archive.

Right now, it has enough material that
it would take you a very long time to
read it all.

But John is going to continue to add more
and more material to the archive -- so no
matter how hard you try, you might not
ever read all of it.

Every time you think you're almost there,
something new will appear.

It reminds me a little bit of a story about
the great American novelist, Thomas Wolfe.

I think he even tells the story in You Can't
Go Home Again -- but it's been almost 40
years since I read the book, so I may be
conflating things.

Anyhow, Thomas Wolfe went to college
at Harvard -- which has one of the biggest
and best libraries anywhere in the world.

So he decided to make the most of the
opportunity.

He decided to read every book in the
Harvard library -- starting with A and
working to Z.

I forget how far he got -- but never made
it through all the books. There were just
too many of them -- and more and more
kept coming.

And the Strength Archive is a little bit
like that.  It doesn't have as many books
and magazines as the Harvard library --
but it's got PLENTY to read.

And here's the other thing.

It's not just the stuff you see everywhere
else.

Sure, you may have seen some of the
material in the Strength Archive -- but
I guarantee that there's a ton of material
you've never seen.

I've been a student of the Iron Game for almost
half a century -- and I have a pretty good set
of materials in my personal library -- and I've
seen lots of other material over the years --
but there are MANY books, courses and
articles in the Strength Archive that are
brand new to me.

Here's a link that shows a small number of
books, courses and magazines that you'll
see in the Strength Archive. Take a look
and see how many of them are new to
you:

http://www.oldtimestrongman.com/about-us/news/2015-05/1173-strength-archive-taste-things-come

Anyhow, as I said, the Strength Archive
goes live tomorrow at 9:00 a.m. EST. It's
a members only site, so you'll need to
start by grabbing  a membership. They're
not expensive, so don't let that stop you.

And after that -- it's Happy Reading Time
for strength fans!

Which means some of you are going to
dive into the archive and not surface for
a week or two. So pack food and water --
let your spouse or significant other know
you'll be gone for awhile -- and be sure
someone takes care of the dogs and cats.

As always, thanks for reading -- and get
ready for plenty more great reading when
you enter the Strength Archive!

Yours in strength,

Brooks Kubik

P.S. Go here to join THE IRON LEAGUE -
and get immediate access to The
Strength Archive:

http://www.ironleague.com/

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

How Long Should a Workout Last?

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

A reader asked me how long a workout
should take. Here's the exact question:

"My question is workout duration. Is the
45 minute thing bro science? Sometimes
my workouts go into the 1 hour and 15
minute time frame. This is before I do 15
to 20 mins of mobility work and warming
up. I'm 42, and entering the gray hair
group."

So that's the question of the day -- now
let's figure out where to begin and how
to answer it.

First, I'm scratching my head a little because
I'm not sure what "the 45 minute thing" is.

And I have no idea if it's "bro science" because
I stay as far away from the bro's as possible.

Anyhow, I assume "the 45-minute thing"
refers to advice to keep your workout to
45 minutes.

That goes back to advice from a Bulgarian
weightlifting coach who visited the U.S.
back in the 1970's or 1980's, and was
quoted as saying that workouts should
last no more than 45 minutes because
your blood levels of testosterone start
to diminish after 45 minutes.

To get around that, the Bulgarians
supposedly trained for 45 minutes and
then rested for awhile -- and then trained
some more -- and then rested -- and so
on for pretty much the entire day.

At least, that's how it was reported.

Whether that's what the Bulgarians actually
did is anybody's guess -- and whether there's
any sort of solid science behind it is also
anybody's guess.

And, of course -- leave aside the drug issue.
If any testing was done to validate the 45
minute thing, was it done on natural
athletes or on drug-users?

Yeah, that would kind of change things,
wouldn't it?

But I digress . . .

It's obvious that you can't go to school or
work for a living (or do both, as many do),
and train all day -- meaning that  the so-called
Bulgarian method doesn't cut it in the real world.

In the real world, you can't train all day. So
let's not even argue about it.

In the real world, we need to rely on good,
old-fashioned common sense -- and some
intelligent trial and error on the part of the
trainee.

Common sense tells us that there's no
such thing as an optimal time for a workout.
It would depend on too many factors that are
unique to a given individual: age , experience,
types of exercises performed, sets, reps, how
heavy, etc.

You also have the question of light, heavy
and medium days. The total training time
would probably fluctuate depending on how
hard and how heavy you train on a given day.

So instead of hard and fast rules, we need to
have ranges.

Here are some ranges and some suggestions:

1. Start with 10 to 20 minutes of warm-ups.

a. More if you need more, less if you need
less. Age is a key factor here. Older trainees
need more warm-up time.

2. Train for 40 to 90 minutes.

a. Note that this is a wide range. It will
accomodate most of us perfectly well.

3. Total training times including warmups,
should be between 50 minutes and two
hours.

a. See no. 2a above.

4. Younger trainees usually recover better
than older trainees, so they can experiment
with the "more" end of the range.

5. Older trainees (age 35 and up) usually don't
recover as well, so they should move more to
the low end of the range.

6. On a low energy day, shorter is better.

7. On a high energy day, do a bit more if
you're in the mood. Or not. Either way works
fine.

a. If you train on Sat or Sun, that's usually
a good day for a longer workout.

8. The most important consideration is not
how long you train, but how much you FOCUS
on what you are doing. If you go through the
motions, you're wasting your time. If you really
concentrate on your training, you can have a
very productive workout in a short period of
time.

9. Measure your progress by weight on the bar.
If you're getting stronger, everything is fine. If
not, make adjustments.

10. If you're not getting stronger, you usually
need to do LESS training, not MORE training.

Hope that helps!

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 is the best book
out there about serious training for older Dinos:

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

P.S. 2. My other books and courses are right
here at Dino Headquarters -- and remember,
you also can find us in Amazon's Kindle
bookstore:

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

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

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

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

P.S. 3. Thought for the Day: "It's better to be
a lone wolf than a lemming." -- Brooks Kubik

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

Warning - Don't Make These Strength Training Mistakes!

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

Strength training works -- and if you do it
the right way, it should produce rapid gains
in strength and muscle mass.

But far too many trainees make serious
mistakes in their training -- and end up
with little or no gains to show for their
training time.

Here are seven of the most common strength
training mistakes that even experienced trainees
often make:

1. Wanting to Do It All.

This is the trainee who wants to be a powerlifter,
an Olympic weightlifter, a gymnast, a martial
artist, a grip gorilla, a master of high rep
calisthenics, a strongman, and one of those
super-flexible rubber-men who can do a full
splits between two chairs with a smile on his
face.

He also wants to be great at kettlebells, club-bells,
maces, battle-axes, cannon-ball juggling, bull
roping, the Inman Mile, hand-balancing, and
breathing squats.

So he tries to "do it all" -- and he ends up doing
too much and over-training.

It's much better to pick the one or two things that
you really want to do, and work them more or
less exclusively.

2. Changing Routines Too Often.

This is related to no. 1, because too many guys
see or read about something, and immediately
change their workout around -- even though what
they were doing was working fine!

Routines are recipes for building strength and
muscle. You need to follow the recipe -- and you
need to let things cook for the right amount of
time.

It takes a period of time to get real results from
a training program. If you jump ship before you've
given yourself time to get some results, then you're
missing most or all of the benefit.

3. Training Too Light.

Many trainees sell themselves short by going too
light in their workouts. This usually happens when
they're advanced enough to be outlifting more than
most of the other guys at the gym. At that point,
they lose "the Eye of the Tiger." They get satisfied
with where they are and what they're lifting. So
they stay there. They stagnate.

You can't do that if you want to build super strength.

You need to keep on pushing to add more and more
weight to the bar.

4. Training Too Heavy.

The flip side of the problem is training too heavy --
and having to cut the range of motion or cheat to
get your reps.

This is a huge problem -- and a very common one.
Remember, you need to work up to heavy weights
in your training -- BUT, you also need to use perfect
form on every rep you do.

It's not one or the other. It's both.

This is why exercises such as bottom position bench
presses or pause style squats or front squats are so
good. They force you to use perfect form, even when
you train heavy.

5. Too Much Assistance Work.

Most trainees do way too many assistance exercises
to try to improve their primary movements -- and end
up turning a basic strength and mass workout into
something that looks like a typical high volume
bodybuilding program.

Assistance exercises have their place -- but you need
to give the lion's share of your time and effort to the
big exercises.

Remember the Schemansky story.

Someone once asked Norb Schemansky what to do to
improve his press.

Schemansky stared at him in surprise.

"Press!" he shouted.

6. Too Much Cardio.

Cardio training is good for you if you don't over-do it,
and if you do cardio that doesn't hammer your joints
into the ground.

But too many trainees over-do their cardio training --
and end up over-training -- and all of a sudden, the
bar seems twice as heavy as before when they do
squats and deadlifts.

This is another example of the "gotta do it all"
mentality.

Remember, if you are training hard and heavy on
the basic strength and mass movements, you
don't have very much energy for anything else --
and that includes cardio.

7. Forgetting the Non-Training Side of Things.

Lots of trainees do all the right things in the
gym -- and all the wrong things when they're
out of the gym.

That's always a mistake. Training is only part
of the puzzle. You need to train -- the right way --
but that's not all you need to do.

You also need to pay careful attention to your
diet. You need to eat for optimal nutrition --
and you need to eat foods that support your
strength training workouts, rather than hurt them.
See Knife, Fork, Muscle for details on how to eat
to build strength and muscle.

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

You also need to follow the other rules of good
health. You need to get enough sleep -- every night --
and you need to stay as calm and relaxed as possible
throughout the day. Save your nervous energy for
your workouts.

So there you are -- seven mistakes that far too
many trainees make - mistakes that sabotage
their training and make good gains all but
impossible. Make sure you avoid them!

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. Here are three great resources for real
world training -- and great gains in strength
and muscle mass!

a. Strength, Muscle and Power

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

b. Chalk and Sweat

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

c. Dinosaur Training Secrets, Vol. 1, Exercises,
Workouts and Training Programs

Hardcopy

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

Kindle e-book

http://brookskubik.com/dinosaursecrets01_kindle.html

PDF version:

See the links to our PDF books and courses at
the Dinosaur Products page:

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

P.S. 2. Thought for the Day: "Doing it and doing
it right are two different things." -- Brooks Kubik

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

Thanks for the Great Reviews!

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

Last week we released the May-June
issue of The Dinosaur Files on Kindle.

We'll release the PDF version as soon
as we can. I'll send an email when it's
ready.

In the meantime, I wanted to give a
big shout out and thank you to the
three Dinos who posted reviews on
our Kindle page.

They're great reviews, and they mean
a lot to us.

The reviews really help us - and they
help new Dinos to be find us.

Here's how it works.

If you're looking for books and courses
that tell you how to build strength and
muscle, the Amazon search engines
start to send you suggestions.

The suggestions are based in part on
what Amazon thinks people are interested
in.

If a book or course has some reviews,
that tells Amazon that people like them -
and that they like them enough to take a
minute and post a review.

And if it's a five star review, that's even
better.

Plus, it helps if other Dinos start hitting
the "I found this useful" button that follows
each of the reviews.

That tells Amazon that people are reading
the reviews - and agreeing with them.

So the more reviews we have, the more
likely it is that some newbie out there
will get a nudge from Amazon.

It will be a "Try this!" nudge.

And our newbie will take a look and think,
"The Dinosaur Files? I wonder what that
is . . . "

And he hits the link, and takes a look.
And that's how we might end up with a
brand new member of the Dino Nation.

Of course, the reviews also help when
the newbie lands on our Kindle page -
because the reviews tell him something
very important.

They tell him that real people out there
are reading The Dinosaur Files - and
liking them - and getting great training
ideas from them.

And that might be all they need to give
the Dino Files a try.

Remember, we're competing against an
enormous mass, market muscle media
machine. The newbies get lost in all the
nonsense and all the silliness. Anything
we can do to help them find the Royal
Road to Muscle and Might will help
them enormously.

So to everyone who posted a review
on any of our Kindle pages - and there
are MANY of you - THANK YOU!

Yours in strength,

Brooks Kubik

P.S. Go here to see the reviews that have
been posted for the May-June issue of the
Dinosaur Files - and if they are useful to
you, hit the "I found this useful" button
and tell Amazon that you agree with
the reviews:

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaurfiles_mayjune2016-kindle.html

And, of course, feel free to post a review
of your own!

P.S. Our other Kindle books and courses
also need all the reviews they can get -
and they need to know that the reviews
are useful. You can fins links to all of our
Kindle e-books right here:

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

P.S. 3. Thought for the Day: "Anything you do
to help spread the word about sane, sensible
physical training helps someone, somewhere -
and often it helps far more people than you
ever imagined." - Brooks Kubik

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