A Top 10 List for Dinos!

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

Before we get started, here's the link
to Carl Lanore's Super Human Radio Show.
I did an interview that lasted over an
hour and 15 minutes yesterday -- and it
was GREAT!

If you missed the live broadcast, be sure
to catch the download -- it's Episode No.
1201:

http://superhumanradio.com/

On the training front, here's something
a little bit different for you.

Everyone loves top 10 lists, so let's
start the week with the top 10 giveaways
that someone doesn't know what he's talking
about when it comes to strength training:

10. Can train for three hours without
breaking a sweat.

9. So proud of his one rep deadlift with
35 pounds (not a typo) that he posted it
on the internets.

8. "Squats? No one does squats any more!"

7. "Those work much better if you stand on a
Swiss ball when you do them!"

6. "I read about it in last month's issue of
[fill in blank with any muscle comic]."

5. "We're gonna start you off with a 20 x 20
hypertrophy phase for four weeks."

4. "Power cleans? I already have a dish-washer!"

3. (Pointing to the power rack): "It's the
only safe way to do curls!"

2. "OMG, it's five minutes past the time to
take my amino acids -- I'm shrinking!"

1. "John Grimek -- who was John Grimek?"

Of course, the very BEST way to know whether
someone really does know what's he's talking
about is to look in his gym bag or on his
bookshelf. If there's a dog-eared copy of
Dinosaur Training, you know he knows the
score.

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's where to grab YOUR copy of
DINOSAUR TRAINING:

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaur_training.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: "You can't put
in what God left out, but squats and deadlifts
are still a pretty good idea." -- Brooks Kubik

The 5/4/3/2/1 Question

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

It's a big day today -- I'm live on Super
Human Radio with Carl Lanore at 12:00 noon
EST. Catch it live or listen to the podcast
by grabbing the download later on.

I hope to have as many Dinos as possible
tuning in for the show -- it will be a good
one!

On the training front, let's talk some
more about sensible sets and reps -- and
about adding weight to the bar.

Several readers have asked me about how
to increase the weight from set to set
when they do 5/4/3/2/1.

"Do I start with my 5 rep max?"

"Do I work up to my max single?"

"Do I use percentages?'

So here's the answer.

Like everything else in life and lifting,
it will vary from person to person. Some
lifters are better at 5 rep sets, and some
are better are triples or doubles, and some
are better at singles.

And that may vary from exercise to exercise,
as well.

But that said, here's my general guideline.

1. Do 3 or 4 progressively heavier warm-up
sets -- 5 reps per set.

2. Do a set of 5 reps with a weight you could
use for 6 or even 7 reps if you really gutted
them out.

3. From the 5 rep working set, go up in evenly
spaced jumps to a heavy single. Not your PR,
not your all time best, not even a "maybe"
lift - but a weight you can handle for a good,
solid single in perfect form, with full focus
and total concentration.

4. Obviously, your weight jumps will vary
depending on the exercise and the weight on
the bar. If you do squats and you're working
up to 405 pounds, you'll take bigger jumps
than if you're doing presses or curls.

5. The key thing is to get a good workout,
and hit it hard, but to get all of your reps
on each set.

6. And here's a gold medal tip -- you do NOT
have to add weight to each set to show
progress. Instead, you can add weight to the
5 rep set and keep everything else the same --
and in the next workout, add weight to the 4 rep
set and keep everything the same -- and so on,
until you've upped the weight on the bar for
all 5 of your working sets.

7. You also can progress by doing extra sets.
For example, 5/4/3/2/1 can become
5/4/3/3/2/1 -- working up to 5/4/3/2/3/2/2/1/1
before you add weight.

In short, there are lots of different ways to
train with 5/4/3/2/1. They all work, and they're
all good -- and they'll all build plenty of
strength, muscle and power.

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 must reading
for all older trainees:

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: "The barbell doesn't
count your reps for you. That's not it's job."
-- Brooks Kubik

The Easy Routine

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

Guy asked me for an "easy routine."

"Yo, dude," he said. "I want the bi's
and tri's and the pec's and the other
stuff -- and I wanna lift 2000
pounds -- but I don't like hard
work. Help me!"

"Close your eyes," I said. "And dream
big dreams -- all about big lifts --
stupendous lifts -- incredible,
awesome, monster lifts -- without
ever giving the iron a single drop
of sweat."

"That's what I want," he said.

He closed his eyes.

I tiptoed out of the room.

Don't worry. He'll never open his
eyes.

Yours in strength,

Brooks Kubik

P.S. As always, thanks for reading
and have a great day. If you train
today, make it a good one -- and
give the iron some sweat.

P.S. 2. Hard work, properly applied,
builds strength, muscle and power.
My Dinosaur Training books and courses
tell you how to build strength and
muscle fast and effectively:

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

P.S. 3. Thought for the Day: "If it were
easy, it wouldn't mean anything."
-- Brooks Kubik

Try this Workout for Great Gains!

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

I got a ton of feedback from yesterday's
post, and many readers wanted to hear
more about ultra-abbreviated workouts.

So here's an example of an ultra-
abbreviated training program:

Train 3x per week.

Do three different workouts: Workout A,
Workout B and Workout C.

Do one primary exercise in each workout,
followed by gut, grip and neck work for
a couple of sets each.

Use the BIG exercises. Ultra-abbreviated
doesn't work very well if you focus on
concentration curls and triceps pumpers.

Use multiple sets of low to medium reps.

Train progressively -- add reps, add sets,
and add weight to the bar whenever you can.
And remember, you can train progressively
bu doing your exercises in better form --
with tighter focus and do, intense
concentration.

Let me repeat -- concentration is key.
That's one of the great things about
ultra-abbreviated training. It lets you
focus.

Workout-wise, try something like this:

Workout A

1. Warmup

2. Squats 5 x 5 progressively heavier
warm-up sets, then 2 x 5 working sets

3. Gut, grip and neck work

Workout B

1. Warmup

2. Power clean and press (do one clean
and one press on each "rep") -- do 5 x 5
progressively heavier warm-up sets,
followed by 2 x 5, 2 x 3 and 2 x 1 for
your working sets

3. Gut, grip and neck work

Workout C

1. Warmup

2. Your choice of bent-legged deadlifts,
Trap Bar deadlifts, clean grip high pulls,
snatch grip high pulls, or power snatches --
same sets and reps as the clean and press

3. Gut, grip and neck work

There you have it -- short, sweet and
simple -- but incredibly effective. Give
it a try and see for yourself.

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

Yours in strength,

Brooks Kubik

P.S. For more about abbreviated and
ultra-abbreviated training, grab Dinosaur
Training, Chalk and Sweat, Dinosaur Dumbbell
Training or Strength, Muscle and Power:

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

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

http://brookskubik.com/dinosaur_dumbbelltraining.html

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

P.S. 2. I also cover abbreviated and ultra-
abbreviated workouts in Gray Hair and Black
Iron:

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

P.S. 3. Thought for the Day: "It's not how long
you train, it's HOW you train." -- Brooks Kubik

"Am I Overtraining?" He Asked.

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

A guy sent me an email saying he likes
to train four time per week. He does
one exercise per workout.

Something like this:

Mon -- Squat

Tues -- Bench press

Thurs -- DL

Fri -- Press

In other words, he's doing what I call
ultra-abbreviated training -- using a
divided workout schedule.

Things were going fine, and then he read
something on the internest (that's not
a typo, it describes the thing -- especially
when it comes to strength training advice)
where some guy said if you train more than
three times per week you're overtraining.

So the Dino sends me an email and asks,
"Am I overtraining?"

Well, that's a good question.

Here's the answer.

1. Stop reading internest stuff about
strength training. It will get you messed up
and second-guessing yourself every time.

2. Are you overtraining? Heck, I don't know.
The real question is -- are you GAINING?

2A. If you're adding weight to the bar on a
regular basis, you're not overtraining. Keep
on doing what you're doing.

3. As you add weight to the bar and increase
the intensity of your workouts, it becomes
easier to overtrain. So a program that works
great for you NOW may not work as well six
months from now.

4. As you grow older, it becomes easier to
overtrain (and harder to recover from your
workouts). So what works great NOW may not
work as well five or ten years from now.

5. One exercise workouts work really well,
and are a great way to avoid overtraining.
They let you focus and drill down and get
the most out of each exercise you do -- and
that's one of the keys to great gains -- so
if you like them, do them!

6. One exercise workouts work great if you're
crunched for time.

7. Always remember, the way to judge the
effectiveness of a workout is to look back
over your training and log and see if you're
adding weight to the bar. If you ARE, keep
on doing what you're doing -- and if you're
NOT, make some changes.

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. You can read more about abbreviated and
ultra-abbreviated workouts in these books and
courses:

http://brookskubik.com/dinosaur_dumbbelltraining.html

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

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

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

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaur_training.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: "Abbreviated training
is the way to go for gains in strength, muscle and
power." Brooks Kubik

The Best Exercise

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

Guy asked me "What's the best exercise?"

"The best exercise for what?" I asked him.

His answer floored me.

It wasn't "the best exercise for building
strength and bulk."

It wasn't "the best exercise for building
muscle mass."

It wasn't "the best exercise for strength
and power."

And it wasn't "the best exercise if you
have hardly any time to train and you
can only do one exercise."

Far from it.

"I want to know the best exercise to post
about on Facebook," he said. "You know --
something really crazy that will go viral
and gets tons of LIKES."

Tons of likes?

Why not shoot for pounds on the bar?

Ah, but I'm old fashioned -- and I'm
showing my age. I FORGOT that the most
important part of the modern workout is
posting about it on Facebook.

Anyhow, here's the deal.

I'm hitting the iron tonight. Alone. Out in
the garage.

Yes, it's gonna be a good one -- and no, I'm
not gonna post about it on Facebook.

I invite you to do the same.

Yours in strength,

Brooks Kubik

P.S. Tonight's workout will come straight out
of the pages of 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. 2. Thought for the Day: "There's a time
for training, and a time for talking -- and
contrary to popular opinion, they're two
different times." -- Brooks Kubik

Old School Iron!

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

Nowadays, everyone knows what a barbell is,
and everyone knows how to perform the basic
exercises: curls, presses, bench presses and
so on.

It's hard to imagine a time when things were
different. But not too long ago most people
had never seen a barbell -- and almost no one
had any idea what to do with one.

The first plate-loading barbells were sold in 
the United States beginning about 100 years
ago. Not very many were made, and not very many
were sold -- and all through the 1920's, 30's
and 40's, barbells remained pretty rare, pretty
unusual and pretty mysterious.

And that raised an interesting issue for the
barbell manufacturers.

When they shipped the barbell, it was usually
going to someone who had absolutely no idea
what to do with it.

So when they shipped the barbell, they had to
include a course that told you (1) how to
perform the basic exercises, and (2) how to
put them together into a training program.

That's exactly what the Milo Barbell Company
did -- and later, it was what the York Barbell
Company did.

And amazingly, the men and boys (and the
occasional woman or girl) who ordered a barbell
were able to follow the course well enough to
get some pretty good results.

Take Harry Paschall, for example. Farm kid from
North Central Ohio -- orders a Milo barbell back
around 1914 or 1915 -- and gains 25 pounds of
muscle in one year. Goes on to become a lifting
champion -- and later, to write his own books
and courses about barbell training.

And there were many other similar cases. Young
men and boys who ordered a barbell, followed the
little training course that came with it -- and
gained 20, 30, 40, 50 or more pounds of muscle
and tons of strength.

In fact, the average results from barbell training
"back in the day" were little short of amazing --
and they were (get this) BETTER than the average
results achieved by modern trainees -- most of whom
never gain much of anything at all, give up in
disgust, and tell people "I tried that barbell
stuff, but it doesn't work."

I write about the old-school training methods in all
of my books and courses. There's  a reason for that.
They have a long history of success. They've been
building strength, muscle and power for well over
100 years.

If you're tired of the modern stuff that just doesn't
seem to work, give old-school methods a try. You
won't regret it for a second.

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. CHALK AND SWEAT contains over 50 detailed training
programs -- 10 for beginners, 10 for intermediates, 10
for advanced men -- and 20 different programs for building
maximum strength and muscle mass. All of them old-school,
and all of them very, very effective:

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

P.S. 2 My other books and courses are available right
here:

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

P.S. 3. Thought for the Day: "Hard work, heavy iron
and an old-school attitude." -- Brooks Kubik