Does Our DNA Make Us Like Strength Training?

Hail to the Dinosaurs!

Carl Lanore and I had a very interesting show
today on Physical Culture Radio.

Carl was on vacation for the past 10 days, doing
a cruise in Alaska -- and one day, he went dog-
sledding on a frozen glacier.

It was great fun, and he loved the powerful
husky dogs that pulled the sled.

The guide explained that Alaskan huskies are
specially bred to be perfect sled dogs. They
LOVE to pull. It's what they were born to do.

If they don't work hard every single day, they
don't feel good. They start to misbehave. They
exhibit all the signs of what we would call
depression and anxiety in humans.

Huskies are working dogs. They are bred to
work -- and it makes them happy. It's how
they express their DNA.

On the show, Carl wondered if this also applies
to human beings.

Are some of us compelled to enjoy heavy
strength training?

Does our DNA lead us to enjoy lifting heavy
things?

Does this explain why some people enjoy long
distance running, while others enjoy a hard
set of heavy squats or deadlifts?

In response, I shared my own family story.

My father's family is from Martin, Slovakia,
located in the rugged Tatra Mountains close
to the border between Slovakia and Poland.

They had a lumber business on a hill. They
cut down the trees, cut the logs into planks,
boards and beams, and carted the lumber
over the mountains and into Poland. They
sold the lumber in Poland because they
could get a better price for it there.

So I come from a family of Central European
lumberjacks. A family with good DNA for
hard, physical work and lots of heavy
lifting.

With that background, is it any surprise
that I discovered strength training at a
very young age -- and became fascinated
with it -- and have been training now for
close to 50 years?

Is it any wonder that I become grumpy
and irritable if I can't train -- or that I
always feel a thousand times better when
I'm training hard and heavy on a regular
basis?

I'm like those sled dogs -- I'm bred to work.

And note this: other types of exercise don't
appeal to me at all -- including things that
many people love to do.

High rep calisthenics?

I don't like them. I only like low rep, high
intensity, hard to do bodyweight exercises.

Long distance running?

Forget it. Not interested.

Swimming?

I could care less.

Cycling?

Yawn.

Tennis?

Double yawn.

Golf?

A rich man's sport. My grandfather, the steel
worker, despised the game. My father never
played it. I've never even tried to hit a golf
ball.

There's nothing at all wrong with these things.
They're just not for me.

I was bred for lifting -- and that's what I like
to do.

If you're reading this, the same is probably
true of you.

You're an Iron Warrior. You were born to lift
heavy things. It's in your DNA.

In short, you're like me. You're a Dinosaur.

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. If strength training is part of your DNA, then
you'll like these:

1. Gray Hair and Black Iron

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

2. Strength, Muscle and Power

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

3. Dinosaur Dumbbell Training

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

4. Dinosaur Bodyweight Training

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

5. Chalk and Sweat

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

6. Dinosaur Training

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

P.S. 2. Thought for the Day: "Find what you like to do,
and then do it." -- Brooks Kubik

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