Seven Training Tips from Bradley J. Steiner

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

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

1. The July Dino Files

The July issue of The Dinosaur Files
is available in your choice of Kindle
or PDF:

Kindle

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaurfiles_july2016-kindle.html

PDF

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaurfiles_july2016.html

2. Seven Training Tips from Bradley
J. Steiner

For the last couple of days, we've
been talking about ways to increase
the conditioning value of your regular
weight training workouts, and it has
reminded me of some good tips from
Bradley J. Steiner.

Steiner used to write for Peary Rader's
old Iron Man magazine when I was a
kid. He was my favorite Iron Game
author by far -- and ranks as one of
the most popular and most influential
Iron Game authors of all time.

Steiner taught self-defense, and used
his strength training workouts to help
his martial arts training and enhance
his self-defense skills. So he always
focused on ways to make you strong,
fit, and rugged -- and ready for anything
that might happen!

Steiner liked to integrate some basic
conditioning work into his barbell and
dumbbell workouts.

Here are some of the things he did to
maximize the conditioning value of his
strength training workouts:

1. Steiner liked to begin and end his
workouts with two or three "rounds" of
double-unders with the jump-rope. This
is a staple of training for boxers, and it's
an excellent conditioner. It also doubles
as a warm-up and a warm-down.

Use a high-quality leather jump rope --
the kind that boxers use.

Each "round" should last two or three
minutes. Start at 30 seconds and work
up.

2. Steiner liked to include some sort of
all-out exercise, such as power cleans,
power snatches, or the clean and press.

Doing 5 x 5 in the clean and press is
a great conditioner -- as well as a terrific
strength and power builder. You can use
a barbell or two dumbbells. Do one clean
and one press on every rep.

This was taken from the old York Training
courses -- in particular, the "repetition
weightlifting exercises" of course no. 3.

3. Steiner always included leg work, i.e.,
squats or front squats, which have plenty
of conditioning value.

We always think of 20 rep squats when
we think of conditioning workouts, but
any number of reps will have some degree
of conditioning value.

4. Steiner always followed the squat with
the breathing pull-over to help expand the
rib-cage and get your breathing back to
normal.

In essence, this was a deep breathing
exercise.

Note that you use LIGHT dumbbells for
pullovers. It's not a muscle builder or a
strength movement -- it's a breathing
exercise.

5. Steiner included stiff-legged deadlifts
in most of his workouts. Like the squat,
the stiff-legged deadlift has plenty of
conditioning value.

6. Steiner urged trainees to train at a
fairly fast pace, and to keep their rest
times to a minimum. You didn't rush
things or race the clock, but you
worked at a steady pace and didn't
waste any time.

7. To maximize point no. 6, Steiner
suggested that you try to cut 10 or 15
minutes off your total training time --
while performing the same exercises,
sets and reps.

Doing a 60 minute workout in 50 minutes
means that you're resting much less, and
ensures that you maximize the conditioning
value of your workout.

So there you have it -- seven training tips
from Bradley J. Steiner -- and seven ways
to maximize the conditioning value of your
strength training 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. See Gray Hair and Black Iron for more
ideas on how to combine strength training
and conditioning in a single workout:

http://www.brookskubik.com/grayhair_blackiron.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: "Simple changes
can have profound benefits." -- Brooks Kubik

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An Interview with Peary Rader

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

Earlier today I sent an email about
Peary Rader and how he developed
incredible endurance by doing 20
rep breathing squats.

Those same 20 rep squts also helped
him gain close to 100 pounds of muscle
in just two years - and to develop the
strength and power to win a number
of Regional weightlifting championships.

You can learn more about Peary
Rader in the July issue of The
Dinosaur Files.

One of the articles is an interview
of Peary Rader.

It's based on an article Peary wrote
way back in 1938 - a short auto-
biographical note.

I used it to create a nice little Q and
A - just me and Peary, talking about
his life and his training.

It's pretty good stuff - and well worth
reading. After all, Peary Rader is one
of the all-time Good Guys in the Iron
Game. He did more to push sane,
sensible, productive and effective
training than almost anyone else.

Anyhow, check it out. It's a fun
read - and it's one of many great
articles in the July issue!

Yours in strength,

Brooks Kubik

P.S. The July Dinosaur Files is
available in your choice of Kindle
or PDF:

Kindle

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaurfiles_july2016-kindle.html

PDF

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaurfiles_july2016.html



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The Man Who Sprinted Up the Rocky Mountains!

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

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

1. The July Dino Files on Kindle

Here's the link to grab the July issue
of the Dinosaur Files in Kindle:

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaurfiles_july2016-kindle.html

If you prefer PDF format, go here
to grab the July Dinosaur Files in
PDF:

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaurfiles_july2016.html

2. The Man Who Sprinted Up the
Rocky Mountains!

Many years ago, a man who lived in
Alliance, Nebraska went on vacation
way out in the rugged Colorado Rockies.

His name was Peary Rader. He was the
founder, editor and publisher of the old
Iron Man magazine.

Back home in Nebraska, there were few
opportunities to climb mountains -- and
certainly no opportunity to climb anything
remotely like the Rocky Mountains.

But to his surprise, Peary found that he
was as fast and nimble as a mountain
goat.

He literally ran up the side of some of the
steep slopes, leaving his friends far behind
him as they trudged slowly and doggedly
up the trail.

He also discovered that he had tremendous
endurance.

He could climb mountains all day without
feeling tired -- and when he woke up the
next morning, he was ready for more!

Now, you might ask if he did a lot of running
back home to get ready for the trip.

Surprisingly, he did none at all.

You might wonder if he did some sort of
intense cardio training -- perhaps riding
a bicycle?

Again, he did none at all.

Or long walks?

Nope.

Or you might think he was on some kind
of special, six-day a week, high volume
training program to build maximum work
capacity.

Again, the answer is no.

Peary trained just twice a week, using a
simple program and a small number of
basic exercises.

His primary exercise was the squat.

He did one set of 20 reps with all the
weight he could handle.

He did breathing squats -- meaning that
he took several huge, enormous breaths
in-between every rep. He breathed so hard
the plates rattled on the bar.

He used the breathing squat program as
a way of gaining muscular bodyweight
and strength. It worked great. In his first
two years on the program, he gained
close to 100 pounds of muscle -- and went
on to be a regional weightlifting champion.

But the squats also gave him tremendous
endurance. The trip to the Rocky Mountains
proved it.

It's another example of what we talked about
yesterday -- using your weight training to
build a superb combination of strength,
power and endurance.

Yes, you can get a great conditioning workout
and build tremendous stamina and endurance
with your barbell workouts.

Peary Rader proved it.

For details about specialized leg and back
programs to build strength, muscle and
outstanding condition, grab a copy of
Chalk and Sweat. It has 50 terrific
workouts, and they'll get you into
great shape faster than you can say
"mountain goat!":

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

And for special instruction on how to ease
into your squatting program and make
steady progress with old-fashioned "slow
cooking", grab Dinosaur Training Secrets,
Vol. 3. It's available in hard-copy, Kindle
or PDF with immediate electronic delivery:

Hard-copy edition

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaur_secrets_03.html

Kindle edition

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaur_secrets3_kindle.html

PDF with electronic delivery

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaursecrets_vol3_digital.html

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

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

P.S. 2. Thought for the Day: "Strong is good,
but strong and well-conditioned is better."
-- Brooks Kubik

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Did Reg Park Do Cardio?

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

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

1. The July Dino Files

We just released the Kindle edition
of the July Dino Files. Go here to
grab the little monster:

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaurfiles_july2016-kindle.html

I hope you enjoy this issue, and, of
course, please give us a 5-star review -
and please post a brief review on our
Kindle page. The reviews really help!

If you prefer PDF format, go here
to grab the July Dinosaur Files in PDF:

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaurfiles_july2016.html

2. Did Reg Park Do Cardio?

If you're a regular reader, you know
about Reg Park.

Famous old-school bodybuilder from
England. Three time Mr. universe.
Two hundred and thirty-five pounds
of massive muscle. Played Hercules
in the movies -- and looked more like
Hercules than Hercules did.

Strong, too. Park squatted 600 pounds
back when the top heavyweight lifters
didn't handle much more than that --
used 300 pounds in the press behind
neck (some say for reps!) -- set a
British record in the two dumbbell
clean and press -- and was the second
man in history (behind Doug Hepburn)
to bench press 500 pounds.

So I ask the question:

Did Reg Park do cardio?

And like many things in life, the answer
is "Yes!" -- and -- "No!"

If you're talking about endless hours on
a treadmill, jogging 20 or 30 miles a week,
daily spinning classes, power aerobics,
jazzercize, jumpercize or cardio theater,
the answer is "No, he did not!"

In fact, none of the champions from
Park's era did any kind of what we now
call "cardio."

But if you count hard, heavy workouts
where you train fast and furious with
heavy weights, then the answer is,
"Yes, he did!"

A gym owner named Ray Beck watched
Park train back in the 1950's. He wrote
about it in Peary Rader's old Iron Man
magazine. He said, "Nobody, but nobody,
works out as fast and furiously  . . . as
Reg Park."

Of course, that does NOT mean that Park
trained fast and sloppy or that he never
rested -- or that he handled light wights
in his workouts.

He trained on the basics, using low and
medium reps, and piled on the iron. He
trained with intense concentration and
ferocious determination. He performed
all of his reps in perfect form. He was a
stickler for details, and he squeezed
everything possible out of every set.

But he also trained fast -- meaning
that he kept his rest between sets to
a minimum, and he didn't waste any
time.

In other words, he was not "racing the
clock" -- but he was working as fast as
he could, while still paying full justice to
each and every set.

And when you're training hard and heavy
on the basic exercises, that kind of fast
and furious pace will give your heart and
lungs a terrific workout. It also will kick
your metabolism into high gear and help
you stay lean, hard and muscular.

You do NOT need to do conventional
"cardio" to be strong, muscular and well
conditioned. You can do it with the iron.
You just need to train the right way. You
need to train like Reg Park: hard, heavy,
fast and furious.

Yours in strength,

Brooks Kubik

P.S. I cover strength training and muscle
building workouts that double as great
conditioning workouts in many of my
books and courses, including:

a. Dinosaur Training: Lost Secrets of Strength
and Development

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

b. Chalk and Sweat

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

c. Dinosaur Dumbbell Training

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

d. Dinosaur Bodyweight Training

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

e. Gray Hair and Black Iron

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

f. Strength, Muscle and Power

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

P.S. 2. Thought for the Day: "Squats are
cardio for guys and gals who like to move
heavy iron." -- Brooks Kubik

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The July Dino Files - Now on Kindle!

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

We worked all weekend and just got the
July issue of the Dinosaur Files up on
Kindle - so if you've been waiting for
the Kindle edition, here it is:

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaurfiles_july2016-kindle.html

I hope you enjoy this issue, and, of
course, please give us a 5-star review -
and please post a brief review on our
Kindle page. The reviews really help!

Yours in strength,

Brooks Kubik

P.S. If you prefer PDF format, go here
to grab the July Dinosaur Files in PDF:
  
http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaurfiles_july2016.html

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Flying Under the Radar Screen!

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

For some reason, some of our books
and courses fly under the radar screen -
meaning that people don't seem to know
about them.

Our first PDF course is a good example.

It's a great little course - and because it
was our first PDF course we priced it super
cheap - as in, just five clams.

Here's what I said about it when we
launched the little monster late last year:

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

As promised, we have something new
and exciting for you.

It's something we've never done before,
but it's something I think you're REALLY
going to like -- and it's something that
can save you lots of clams on shipping
and handling, particularly if you're
one of our many overseas Dinos.

It's a brand new Dinosaur Training mini-
course -- and it's available as a PDF,
with immediate delivery.

It's not available in hard copy or as a
Kindle e-book. It's only available as
a PDF. (But you can print it out, so
it's the same as a hard copy course.)

Here's how it works . . .

When you order the little monster, you
get an email with a link to the PDF file.

You click the PDF link, and there it is,
ready to read.

And THEN -- print yourself a copy of
the course. And save the copy. Start
a notebook of them.

It's important to print a copy, because
the link expires in 24 hours.

The first course covers sensible and
effective strength training for older
Dinos, and contains a terrific training
program for older Dinos.

I chose that topic because I get so
many questions about it -- and because
older Dinos tend to be overlooked and
ignored by everyone else. Virtually all
of the training advice out there is for
the young guys -- and it largely
ignores the needs of older trainees.

And although I call it a mini-course,
it weighs in at a whopping 26 pages.

With photos, even.

So it's actually a pretty good-sized
course -- and it's all new material --
and it's available with immediate
delivery -- and there's no shipping
charge.

And get this -- the little monster
runs just five clams.

That's less than the cost of a grande
mocha frappacino with chocolate
sprinkles, whipped cream and a
cherry.

If this is a hit (and I think it will be),
we'll do more of them. We may price
them a bit higher depending on the
length, the topic, and how long it
takes to prepare the little monsters.
But right now, you have a great
little course waiting for you -- for
five little wampum beads.

Go here to grab it:

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

Thanks in advance to everyone who
steps up and takes action -- and be
sure to let me know how you like the
course!

Yours in strength,

Brooks Kubik

P.S. Remember to print and save a hard
copy of the course!

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If It's Working, Keep On Doing It!

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

Two quick notes and then we'll talk
Training.

1. The July Dinosaur Files

Here's the link to the PDF version of
the July Dino Files:

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaurfiles_july2016.html

We're going to try top get the Kindle
version up this weekend. I'll send a
link when it's ready.

2. New Stuff at the Iron League!

Check out some of the latest stuff
at John Wood's Iron League site. It's
pretty awesome.

I like the bone density studies (compare
the Neanderthal bones to the modern
human bones - ouch!) - and some of the
old-time strongman training items are
really interesting.

Then, of course, there's a lot of video
of me lifting and carrying heavy stuff.

Or doing bodyweight stuff.

Anyhow, check it out:

http://www.ironleague.com/

3. If It's Working, Keep on Doing It!

At least once a week I get an email from a
reader who's doing something that's working
well for him -- meaning that he's making good
gains in strength and muscle, recovering from
his workouts and enjoying his training -- but
then he sees something on the Interwebs
and it makes him think he should change
his program and do something different.

It's usually one of two things:

1. Something new and different that might
be better than what he's doing now -- often
being the workout of a current champion.

2. A blog post, article or forum discussion
telling him that what he's doing "doesn't
work."

Most of the time it's number two -- which
is surprising, because the immediate
response should be, "It may not work
for YOU, but it works for ME!"

But written words are powerful, and so
they often make us second-guess
ourselves.

So our trainee -- the one who is making
good gains and having lots of fun in his
workouts -- starts to second-guess
himself.

And he sends me an email and asks what
he should do.

As I said, this happens at least once a
week. Luckily, as questions go, it's an
easy one.

The answer is always the same:

"If it's working, keep on doing it. If your
gains slow down or stop, then and only
then try something different."

And here's a related point. When you do
try something different, it should probably
be something similar, not a radical change
in approach. In other words, if 5 x 5 has
worked well for you, you might try 5 x 6
or 6 x 6 -- or perhaps try 5 x 5 followed
by 1 x 3 and 1 x 1.

But don't change from 5 x 5 to 10 x 10
or 50 rep death sets or a three hour
pumping program.

Also, the best way to change things up is
often to use a new exercise, while keeping
the sets and reps the same. For example,
switch from back squats to front squats,
or from straight bar deadlifts to Trap Bar
deadlifts.

And remember this -- when you switch to
a new exercise or a new program, start
light and easy, and gradually add weight
to the bar. Make it progressive. Don't try
to max out and set new PR's the first day
in the saddle. See Dinosaur Training Secrets,
Vol. 3, for detailed advice on how to use old-
school progression systems for steady gains
without going stale or burning out.

Anyhow, that's the answer to a very common
question -- one that's become all the more
common because of the often overwhelming
amount and diversity of information on the
Interwebs.

Remember, if it's working for you, keep on
doing it -- and if it ain't broke, don't try to
fix it.

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 mentioned Dinosaur Training Secrets,
Vol. 3. Go here to grab the little monster in
your choice of three formats:

Hard-copy edition

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaur_secrets_03.html

Kindle edition

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaur_secrets3_kindle.html

PDF with electronic delivery

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaursecrets_vol3_digital.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: "Train with
confidence. Avoid doubters and nay-sayers.
Be resolute, and do what you need to do."
-- Brooks Kubik

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