The Best Exercises for Strength and Health

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

Two quick notes, and then we'll cover the
best exercises for strength and health.

1. Carl Lanore's New E-Book

Carl Lanore, the host of SuperHuman Radio,
and my co-host on Physical Culture Radio, has
written a new book. It's available on Amazon's
kindle site:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00U7PT3LK

The book was produced as the result of a
panel discussion on natural approaches to
managing and reversing autoimmune and
neuro-degenerative diseases.

And unfortunately, those are very common
and very serious problems -- and they affect
a number of our Dinos or their family
members.

Carl's book shares insights on integrative
medicine and holistic therapies, and it has
some very interesting and potentially
life-changing information in it.

Trudi and I have both read it, and we give it
a combined four thumbs up!

2. My Dinosaur E-Books

Are selling like hotcakes and getting rave
reviews. We have two so far, with more
coming. Go here to grab The Dinosaur
Military Press and Shoulder Power Course
and Dinosaur Training Secrets, Vol. 1 in
your choice of Kindle e-book or hard-copy
format:

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

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

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

On the training front, let's talk about something
that doesn't get much discussion -- the best
exercises for strength and health.

Everyone talks about the best exercises to
build strength -- or power -- or muscle mass.

You even see lots of articles about the best
exercise to build the upper inner head of the
triceps -- or to "sculpt" the legs -- or to build
gladiator pecs -- or cannonball deltoids -- or
baseball biceps -- or whatever.

But you don't see very much about the best
exercises to build strength AND health.

That's crazy, because it all starts with good
health. You can't build strength and muscle
unless your body is in a state of abundant
good health.

But there WAS a time -- a long time ago --
when the top writers in the field gave this
issue the attention that it deserved.

Bob Hoffman used to cover the issue of health
building all the time.

So did George F. Jowett.

They used the term "organic health." It's a
good term.

They taught old-school strength training, where
you focused on strengthening the internal organs,
so that they worked at peak efficiency.

When all of the internal organs and metabolic
systems are working at peak efficiency, it
becomes very easy to make rapid gains in
strength and muscle mass.

So to men like Hoffman and Jowett, it was
very clear that you should do exercises that
built strength and simultaneously built
organic health.

The best exercises for building strength and
organic health are basic, compound movements
that allow you to train the body as a whole --
and that get you breathing hard and heavy.

Hoffman called it "puffing, panting and
perspiring."

That's another good term.

Squats do the job.

So do deadlifts.

So does what Hoffman called "repetition
weightlifting" -- meaning exercises like the
snatch, clean and press or high pull performed
for sets of five consecutive reps.

York training Course No. 3 is nothing but
repetition weightlifting -- and Hoffman always
said it was the hardest and most productive
of the York courses.

Jowett had an important addition.

He wanted trainees to do plenty of work
for the midsection -- because trainiing the
midsection helps strengthen the internal
organs.

So there's no mystery about which exercises
build strength AND health.

They're the exercises that Dinos do. The basic,
compound, movements. The stand on your feet
stuff. Exercises with barbells and dumbbells.

Plus gut work.

See? No mystery at all. Just good, old-fashioned
Dino-style strength training.

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

Yours in strength and health,

Brooks Kubik

P.S. The Dinosaur Files quarterly is the top
strength training journal around. Go here to
grab issue no 2 -- and if you missed issue no. 1,
 grab that as well. You'll want the complete
set:

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaurfiles_quarterly.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: "Build your body
the natural way -- from the inside out."
-- Brooks Kubik

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

The Secret of Knockout Throws!

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

Two quick notes and then we'll talk training.

1. Physical Culture Radio

I'm doing a regular podcast at 12:00 noon
EST on Thursdays with Carl Lanore. It's called
Physical Culture Radio, and I think you'll really
like it. Catch us live or listen to the download
at your convenience:

http://superhumanradio.com/

It's a great show that covers all things Dino.

2. The Dinosaur Files quarterly

Issue no. 2 is out, and getting great reviews from
Dinos around the world. If you missed it, go here
to grab the little monster:

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

If you already have your copy, shoot me an
email and let me know how you like this issue!

On the training front, let's talk knockouts.

I spotted a great video in my Facebook feed the
other day.

It was from a Greco-Roman wrestling match --
and it was one of the hardest throws I've seen
in a long time. A real power slam.

That made me think back 40 years to my wrestling
days.  I won a state championship in Greco-Roman
wrestling, and I did it by knocking out two kids in a
row with hard throws. Both of them were older and
better than me -- but the throws stunned them, and
that was that.

The year before I won a state qualifier in Greco-
Roman wrestling, and once again, won it with a
hard throw. I knocked that guy out, as well. He
was a friend and teammate. I threw him harder
than I meant to throw him.

Our coach called our 185 pounder and our Heavy-
weight King Kong and Godzilla. I wrestled 145
in the scholastic season and 154 in the summer
season. He called me the little monster. Now
you know why.

But back to those hard throws. They don't
happen without a lot of training.

The secret of hard throws is to get your hips into
the throw.  It's a total body movement. Legs,
back and hips provide most of the power.

Of course, upper body strength is very important
in Greco-Roman wrestling -- or in any kind of
wrestling. But it's the legs, back and hips that
bring home the gold.

That taught me an important lesson, and it's one
that I teach in all of my books and courses.

Train the entire body -- and train the legs, back
and hips harder than anything.

My wrestling days also taught me the importance
of stand on your feet training.

Wrestling is a stand on your feet sport. So it
makes sense to do most of your training on your
feet.

That's a bit like life in general. The human body is
designed for standing, walking and running. That's
why we need to stand on our feet when we train.

It's also why stand on your feet training is important
as we grow older. One of the goals of an older trainee
is to maintain youthful movement patterns, youthful
strength and youthful balance. Stand on your feet
exercises help do that.

That's the genesis of the advice I give you so often.

Do squats and front squats. Do deadlifts and Trap
Bar deadlifts. Do standing presses and other overhead
exercises. If you can, do Olympic lifting. Do lugging
and loading drills. Lift and carry and drag and pull
and throw heavy stuff. Work your legs, hips and back
to the max.

You didn't know it, but you were training to deliver
a knockout throw.

So if you're ever on a wrestling mat, be careful. Don't
hurt the other guy!

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 Training Military Press and Shoulder
Power course covers one of the best exercises for
stand on your feet, knockout strength and power.

You can order it your choice of hard-copy or
Kindle e-book:

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

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

P.S. 2. Dinosaur Training Secrets, Vol. 1, covers
plenty of great exercises and workouts to build
bone-crushing knockout power. It, too, is available
in your choice of hard-copy or Kindle e-book:

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

P.S. 3. My other books and courses are right here
at Dinosaur Headquarters - and all of them build
real world, stand on your feet strength and
power:

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

P.S. 4. Thought for the day: "If you wrestle,
wrestle tough. If you train, train tough."
-- Brooks Kubik

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

Do Mounties Lift Sandbags?

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

Do Mounties lift sandbags?

Well, actually, they do. So do others in Canadian
law enforcement -- and in the Canadian military.

Almost 10 years ago, I received an email from a
man who taught close combat to Canadian law
enforcement officers. He loved the sandbag training
and other types of heavy, awkward object training
that I teach in Dinosaur Training, and he had his
students use them extensively.

He thought it was perfect for unarmed combat.

And that's not surprising, because Dino-style
sandbag training goes back to old-school
wrestlers -- from the 1890s to the 1930s.
They made great use of sandbags in their
training.

Anyhow, to continue the story -- I received an
email from a young man in Canada who is
training to get into the Canadian military.

He sent me a link to the Canadian Military
physical fitness tests and asked if Dino-style
trainig would help him prepare for the test.

Well, it would.

Because in 2013 Canada adopted new physical
fitness tests for the military -- and for law
enforcement.

The military test has four parts:

1. Sandbag lift

2. Sandbag loaded shuttles

3. 20-meter bursts

4. Sandbag drag

In short, 75% of the physical fitness test is a
form of Dino-style finishers with sandbags!

So when our reader asked if Dinosaur Training
would help him with the Canadian military's
physical fitness test, the answer is "You're
darn right it will."

I would suggest that our reader follow a
basic abbreviated training program. The
workouts in Dinosaur Training Secrets,
Vol. 1, would be perfect for him:

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

He's currently benching 140 lbs., squatting
130 lbs., and deadlifting 145 lbs. for 3 - 5
reps at a bodyweight of 162 lbs. I'd like
to see him increase all of those training
weights by 50 to 75 pounds.

That should not be hard. He's young, and
in good health, and the gains should come
quickly.

He should finish each workout by doing
at least two of the four parts of the Canadian
military test. He should do the test exactly
the way it is administered -- and he should
work it to the point where he can blast
through the different segments easily and
effortlessly.

He also should train the farmer's walk
once a week. This will carry-over very
well to the military tests.

If necessary, he can start by using lighter
sandbags than he will use when he takes the
test. He can gradually progress to heavier
sandbags as he gets stronger.

And he can probably work up to training
with sandbags that are heavier than what
he will use when he takes the test -- which
should make the actual test pretty darn
easy for him.

His goal is not simply to pass the test --
it is to ace the test.

And when he does, I want to hear about 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 cover sandbag training, finishers and
similar strength and condition builders in
Dinosaur Training, Dinosaur Training Secrets
and Strength, Muscle and Power:

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

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

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

P.S. 2. For older trainees, I cover a special
variation of "finishers" in Gray Hair and Black
Iron:

http://www.brookskubik.com/grayhair_blackiron.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: "Choose your
adventure -- and train for it!" -- Brooks Kubik

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

Dinosaur Style Hand Balancing

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

I cover hand-stand pushups in Dinosaur
Bodyweight Training and in the Dinosaur
Training Military Press and Shoulder Power
Course.

And I describe John Grimek's off the chart
hand-stand pushup and tiger-bend workouts
in my John Grimek training course.

So it's probably not surprising that many
readers have asked me to do a book or
on Dino-style handstand training or
Dinosaur hand balancing.

For example, this was in the e-mail box
last night:

"Hey Brooks,

I absolutely love the John Grimek course.
Read through it four or five times the
first go around, and pick it up every
few months.

Grimek is one of my personal 'iron
heroes' and you did a spectacular
job on it.

If you were to do a strictly hand balancing
course I, along with many others probably,
would buy it in a heartbeat.

Thank you, and keep up the good work.

Blake"

And that's a typical email. I get this every
request every week or two.

But here's the problem.

I'm not a hand balancer. Never have been.

When I did handstand pushups by the bushel
basket, I did them with my feet touching the
wall, not the free-standing kind.

And I can't learn hand-balancing now
because I have glaucoma or pre-glaucoma
(the doc isn't sure which), and upside down
training is on the "don't do" list.

So I'm not going to do a hand-balancing
course.

But that's okay, because two of my good
friends have excellent hand-balancing courses
available.

Bill Hinbern has a killer course on hand balancing.

It's a hard-copy course, and it's off the charts
good.

You can grab it right here:

http://superstrengthtraining.com/hand-balancing-for-muscular-development-bill-hinbern

In addition, John Wood has released a terrific
modern reprint (with his own commentary) of
a very rare hand balancing course written by
Sig Klein -- who may have been one of the
greatest hand balancers of all time.

It's available in e-book on Kindle, and you can
find it right here:

http://www.amazon.com/Try-Hand-Balancing-Updated-Annotated-Edition-ebook/dp/B00LYM5I6E

Both of these courses are old-school, both of
them are very well done, and both of them
are Dino-approved.

So if you want to give upside down training
a try, grab both of them -- and learn hand
balancing from the masters!

Yours in strength,

Brooks Kubik

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

Questions and Answers for Dinos!

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

We had a great show yesterday on the first
official episode of Physical Culture Radio. If
you missed the show, you can download the
podcast right here:

http://superhumanradio.com/

And please give us feedback about the show.
We need to hear from you.

Physical Culture Radio runs every Thursday
at 12:00 EST.

For the first couple of shows, we're going to
cover the topic of building and maintaining
lifelong strength and health -- or, as I called
it on the show, "successful aging."

Some people use the term "anti-aging" -- but
I don't because the truth os the matter is, we
all age. The only alternative is to stop living,
and that's not a good alternative.

The key is, to age well -- meaning to stay
strong and healthy and fit and active.

So that's what we're going to focus on for
the first few shows.

And we're going to try to make the show as
helpful as possible -- and as organic as possible.
One thing we're going to do is to solicit training
questions from listeners -- and answer them
on the show.

So if you have questions about diet, nutrition,
or exercise for older Dinos, send them on in
and we'll see if we can work them into the
show.

Similarly -- I'm working on volume 2 in my
new series of courses, Dinosaur Training
Secrets -- and one thing I'm going to do
is to answer any questions that anyone may
have about something we covered in volume
1 of the series.

So if you have Dinosaur Training Secrets,
vol. 1, feel free to shoot in a training question,
and we'll try to answer it in vol. 2.

If you don't have the little monster, start by
going here to grab it -- in your choice of
hard copy or Kibndle e-book:

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

And please note -- I could charge some serious
clams to answer training questions -- but I'm
doing it for free on Physical Culture Radio and
in the Dinosaur Training Secrets courses, because
I think it adds lots of value for you -- and because
it's my way of saying THANK YOU for being a part
of what we do.

By the way, we're getting great feedback about
releasing the new ciourses as Kindle e-books.

Readers are saying:

1. It's fast and convenient.

a. And you don't even need a Kindle device --
you can download an app that allows you to
read Kindle e-books on your phone or your
computer.

2. I like not having to pay for shipping.

a. I like not having to charge you for shipping --
especially if you are an overseas reader.

3. It's easy to read, because you can increase
the size of the print.

a. I'm with you on that one!

4. My wife loves it because I don't leave books
and courses all over the house.

4a. Tell your wife that Trudi agrees 10,000 percent.

4b. Also, it might leave room for a power rack
and a thousand or two thousand pounds of iron
in the living room.

4c. Don't laugh -- Tommy Kono had squat stands
and a barbell in his living room once.

5. I can read on the bus or subway on the way
to work, or read during lunch time, or read while
I'm travelling.

6. It's about time you did this!

6a. About seven bazillion readers have said this.

6b. They're right.

6c. Trudi has been urging me to do this for the
past year or two. She was right, too.

On the other hand, many readers prefer hard-
copy because they just like ink on paper -- and
I understand that, too.

The bottom line is, we're going to continue to
offer books and courses the old-fashioned way --
ink on paper -- and we're going to continue to
offer books and courses as Kindle e-books. In
other words, we're going to continue to bring
you top-flight training information -- in both
hard-copy and e-book.

And before I go -- one final note -- issue no. 2
of the Dinosaur Files quarterly has been mailed,
and if you ordered it, the little monster should
be landing in your mail box very soon. Shoot me
an email and let me know how you like it!

If you forgot to order, here's the link:

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

Note that we have copies of issue no. 1 of the
Dinosaur Files quarterly -- so if you missed it,
grab both of them. You'll want the complete
set.

As always, thanks for reading and have a great
day. If you train today, make it a good one -- and
remember to send in those questions!

Yours in strength,

Brooks Kubik

P.S. We just released the Dinosaur Training Military
Press and Shoulder Power course as a Kindle e-book.
Go here to grab a copy:

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

P.S. 2. My other books and courses -- and Dinosaur
Training DVD's -- and the world-famous Legacy of
Iron novels -- are right here at Dinosaur
Headquarters:

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

P.S. 3. Thought for the Day: "The iron is your
friend, and so are good books." -- Brooks
Kubik

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

How to Train for Lifelong Strength and Health!

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

Let me start with some big breaking news, and
then we'll talk training.

I'm going to be doing a regular weekly podcast
on Carl Lanore's SuperHuman Radio.

The show will be called Physical Culture Radio.
It will air every Thursday at 12:00 noon EST.

You can listen to the live show or listen to
the download later on.

You can find us right here -- every Thursday --
at 12:00 noon:

http://superhumanradio.com/

We're going to start out by covering a very
interesting topic -- healthy aging, which I
define as staying strong and healthy and
active and fit for your entire life.

We'll discuss various aspects of healthy
aging in a series of shows. Listen to them,
and if you have questions, shoot them in
to me by email. We'll try to work them into
later shows.

On the training front -- since we're going to
be talking about healthy aging on the show,
let's prime the pump a bit by covering an
important aspect of it right now.

The training component.

A couple of nights ago, I saw a very interesting
interview.

It featured a man named Randy Lewis, who
happens to be one of the greatest wrestlers
of all time.

He won the NCAA championships 2x while
wrestling for Dan Gables' legendary Iowa
Hawkeyes -- and went on to win the Olympic
gold medal in 1984.

I actually saw him wrestle in the Junior
Nationals. He was probably the best high
school wrestler I ever saw.

Anyhow, in the interview, he was talking
about how he got the itch to compete again.

This was when he was in his 40's. Not old,
but almost twice as old as his competitors
would have been.

He had continued to work out after he
retired from competition -- but there's
a big difference between the kind of
workouts he did when he was training
to win the Olympic gold medal and the
kind of workouts he did after he retired.

So when he got the competition bug,
he decided to ramp things up.

And, of course, he started to train hard,
and put in lots of mat time and lots of
time on other work -- running and lifting
and cardio work, and so on -- and he
ended up overdoing things and getting
hurt.

So he tried again another time.

Same result.

After this happened a few times, he began
to wonder if it would ever be possible to
compete again.

That's when someone made a very good
suggestion.

"Don't train for it -- just compete."

So he did -- and he entered the Olympic
try-outs at age 50 -- and beat two younger
athletes before losing a close match to a
third wrestler.

And all of the men he wrestled were 20
or 25 years younger than he was. And
they were top wrestlers in their own right.
So notching a couple of wins at age 50
was pretty darn impressive. In fact, it
was absolutely remarkable.

But the interesting thing is how he got
there -- not by gearing up and going
crazy and training 8 hours a day and
doing the full-bore Eye of the Tiger
thing -- but by easing up in his training
and doing just enough to be effective
on the mat -- but not so much that he
hurt himself.

That's a vitally important lesson for all
older athletes -- and for all older trainees.
At a certain time in your life, you do better
with less -- and you do better by balancing
hard work with plenty of time for recovery
and recuperation.

And that's the message of the day. If you're
an older trainee, take it to heart -- and if
you're a younger trainee, file it away for
future reference. There will come a time
when you will need it.

As always, thanks for reading and have a
great day. If you train today, make it a
good one -- and be sure to catch me on
Physical Culture Radio!

Yours in strength,

Brooks Kubik

P.S. If you're an older trainee, be sure to read
Gray Hair and Black Iron -- and the Dinosaur
Files quarterly, which includes plenty of great
workouts and training ideas for older Dinos:

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

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

P.S. 2. Our Dinosaur Training e-books are getting
off-the-chart reviews. Go here to grab them:

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: "You can train at any
age -- but you need to train smarter as you grow
older." -- Brooks Kubik

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

I Need Feedback on the John Grimek Training Course!

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

I have two quick favors for the Dino Nation:

1. If you have a copy of my John Grimek
Training course, pls shoot me an email with
a one or two line review or testimonial for
the little monster.

1a. If you don't have the Grimek course,
now's a good time to grab a copy:

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

1b. Also, let me know who or what you'd
like us to cover in future courses!

2. If you have either of my new e-books,
pls post reviews on our Amazon Kindle
pages. The reviews really help us:

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

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

2a. I think you can post a review even if you
have the hard-copy versions of the courses,
although you probably need to say that in
your review.

Thanks, and much appreciated!

Yours in strength,

Brooks Kubik

P.S. If you ordered issue no. 2 of the Dinosaur
Files quarterly, let me know how you like it --
and what we can do to make the next issue
even better. I included some specific questions
for you in this issue, and I need your feedback
on them.

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