Author: Brooks Kubik

“It all boils down to you and the iron.
That’s the most important thing.”

— Brooks Kubik

For some reason, the most common question on Internet strength training forums is this:

“If you could do just ONE exercise, what would it be, and why?”

The most common answers are:

1. Squats — because “they’re the best exercise for all-around strength and muscle mass.”

2. Deadlifts — because “they’re even better than squats and you can do them even if you don’t have squat stands or a power rack.”

3. Trap Bar deadlifts — because “they’re a cross between a deadlift and a squat.”

4. The pec deck — because — sorry, just kidding, no one actually says this.

a. Thank goodness.

b. Although some people probably think it.

5. The clean and press — because “it works all
of the muscles.”

Those are all good answers (other than no. 4).

But what would John Grimek have said?

We actually KNOW what he would have said because he once wrote an article about it.

Grimek was hands-down a fan of the clean and press.

In Grimek’s opinion, if you could only do one exercise, you should do the clean and press.

He believed the clean and press would give you a great total body workout.

Grimek followed his usual pattern of suggesting that you start light, add weight from set to set, and drop the reps as you added weight.

Thus, you might do something like this:

50 x 10 (light warm-up)

100 x 10

120 x 8

130 x 8

140 x 7

150 x 6

160 x 5

170 x 3

180 x 2

190 x 1

200 x 1 (if you’re feeling strong that day)

If you want to focus more on strength and power do lower reps — something like 5/4/3/2/1 or 5 x 3 or 8 x 2 — or singles.

Anyhow, that was John Grimek’s answer — and I tend to agree with him!

What do YOU think? Shoot me an email and let me know.

Yours in strength,

Brooks Kubik

Workouts are the best part of the day —
and the better the workout, the better
the day. So let’s talk about to maximize your
workouts — and how to make each
workout as result-producing and
effective as possible.

Here are 10 tips to rev up your workouts:

1. Spend 10 minutes a day visualizing
your workouts in full, complete and
vivid detail — to the point where you
see and feel the sweat dripping down
your face as you squat, push and pull.

a. 15 or 20 minutes is better.

2. When you train, concentrate deeply
on each and every rep. “Become” the
rep.

a. In other words, shut out the rest of
the world. Go deep inside the rep.

3. After each set, review how you did
and focus on the next set – and how
to make it even better.

a. See Dinosaur Training and Dino-
saur Bodyweight Training for more
details on the all-important mental
aspects of strength training.

4. Wear your power color when you train.
Everyone has a power color (or colors).
You feel stronger when you wear your
power color.

a. For me, power colors are black, navy
blue and gray.

b. We also have colors that make us feel
weak. Don’t wear those! (For example, I
avoid green, brown and tan.)

5. Focus on adding weight to the bar –
BUT always maintain perfect form. If in
doubt, focus on form. Never add weight
at the expense of maintaining perfect
form.

6. The best exercise for any given body-
part or muscle group is the one that
works well for you – that you can do
pain-free – and that you have the
equipment to do in complete safety.

7. Abbreviated training works better than
anything else for the vast majority of
trainees. It’s not how long or how
often you train, it’s what you do
when you train that matters.

7a. Many trainees — perhaps MOST —
and especially older trainees — do best
on ultra-abbreviated training. See Gray
Hair and Black Iron for details and
workouts.

8. Study the Iron Game and focus on
the old-tme champions who did it
without drugs, supplements or
silliness.

9. Don’t obsess about your training.
Just do it. The most important thing
is to train regularly and consistently.
It all adds up over time.

10. Have FUN when you train. Fun is
important. Your training days should
be the best days of the week — and
your workouts should be some of the
most enjoyable things you do.

a. Yes, hard work and challenging
workouts are fun!

b. Lots of fun.

c. And yes, it’s a shame that most
people don’t have a clue about
this . . .

d. . . . which is why it’s good to train
hard and heavy and old-school, and
set an example for others.

So there you have it — 10 tips to
rev up your workouts. I hope you
enjoyed them — and I hope you
use 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