DINOSAUR ARM TRAINING

BROOKS D. KUBIK

AUTHOR OF DINOSAURTRAINING: LOST SECRETSoF STRENGTHAND

DEVLEOPMENT

WWW.BROOKSKUBIK.COM
 t
NTRODUCTION
Back in 1993,I wrote a short
coursecalledBIG ARMS, which was
editedby StuartMcRobert and published
by CS Publishing,Ltd. As originally
written, it featuredMike and Mike's
Gym. Stuart thought readerswould
confuseMike with Mike Thompson,4
popular writer for his bi-monthly
Hardgainer magazine,so he askedme to
changethe name. After kickirg around a
dozenor so different names,we settled
on Flynn and Flynn's Gym.
The coursewas so well received
that I wrote a secondone calledBIG
BENCH - also set in Flynn's Gym - and
on occasion,in my Hardgainer articles,I
wrote a trainirg article set in Flynn's
Gym. But in my heart,I always knew I
was writing about Mike's Gym - which
is about the best darn place in the world
to train, and a place that every serious
lifter should visit at least once in his or
her lifetime.
Three years after writing the BIG
ARMS course,I wrote and published
DINOSAURTRAINNG: LOST
SECRETSOF STRENGTH AND
DEVELOPMENT, and the rest, as they
s?y, is history. (And thathistory
included the original Dinosaur Files
monthly newsletter,which often
included training articles set in - you
guessedit - a very Dino-style gym
calledby it's true name-- Mike's Gym.)
Today, nearly 20 years after
writing that little course,I find myself
besiegedby readerswho ask for an
updated,revised,expandedcourseon
serious,no-nonsenseafin training for
Dinosaurs- and for an updateon Mike's
Gym.
One day not very long 4go,after
receiving yet anotheremail makittg this
request,I decidedto clearthe decks,
chain myself to the keyboardfor as long
as it took, and hammerthe little monster
into existence.And that's how this
coursecame into being.
This brand new coursedoes
severalthings:
1. It teachessane,sensible,no-
nonsenseann training as part of a
complete, total body training program.
2.It givesyou a completethree-
stageroutine for building strong,
powerful, large and musculararms.
(Yeah, I know the title suggeststhat
we're only interestedin building BIG
anns - but actually, we're interestedin
building anns that are strong and
powerful. If your arrns arestrong and
powerful, they'll be plenty big.)
3. It teachesyou which exercises
to avoid - becausethey can injure your
shouldersor elbows.
4.It gives you an updateon arrn
training methods thatMike and I have
developedover the past 20 years-
becauseit's almost20 yearssince that
first little affn training coursehit the
market and astonishedthe world.
5. It gives you ALL NEW
routinesto build DNOSAUR ARMS -
meanirg afins that arebig, thick, strong
andpowerful.
I've enjoyedthe work I've done
on this course,and I've enjoyedbringing
back Mike, Mike's Gym and Mike's
world-famous caninecompanion,the
inimitable Sam.Pay close attentionto
what they say. You'll learn a lot from
them. I certainly have.
Yours in strength,
Brooks Kubik
MIKE'S GYM kegs.He alsohas a completeset of
outdoor climbing ropes,pull-up bars, 4
Mike's Gym is the perfect place climbing wall and other fun equipment.
for dinosaursto train. The dumbbells go
up to 200 pounds.The gym boastseight
full-si zedpower racks, four platfonns
for deadlifting, and four more for
Olympic lifting. It holds somethinglike
30 Olympic bars- power bars and black
iron plates for the powerlifters and for
rack training, andhigh quality
weightlifting bars and bumper plates for
the weightlifting platforrns. There are
four competition style benchpress
benches,two sfurdy incline benches,
four flat benches,two chinning bars (one
with thick handles),four Gerard Trap
Bars, a standingcalf machine,two
heavy-duty overheadpulleys for lat
work, a vaiety of grip blasters,thick
bars of various sizesand thicknesses,
sledge-hammers,free standingsquat
standsto use on the lifting platfonns,
thick handleddumbbells,keffle-bells,
Indian clubs, climbing ropes,two setsof
gymnasticsrings, two adjustablesit-up
boards,log bars,lifting blocks, & couple
Edward Aston
of heavy duty head-strapsfor neck work,
bands and chains for the powerlifters, &
But other than the bars, the plates, the
wrestling mat for bodyweight training,
rest of the iron and the strongmantools
and nothing else- unlessyou include the
in the Pit, that was it. You can look
Pit in back of the gym and the special
oocardio around from side to side, top to bottoffi,
for strengthathletes" stuff that
and even up on the roof, and you won't
Mike usesto torture us.
find a single chrome-plated,whrz-bang
I'11tell you more aboutthe cardio
wonder machine.Nor will you find any
stuff and Mike's patentedcardio torture
of the typical piecesof 'ostandard"
routines some other time, but for now,
equipmentyou seeat most bodybuilding
let me briefly mention the Pit. It's an
gyms or in the muscle magazines.
outside trainittg areathat Mike uses
There's a rumor (and it may even be
primarily for strongman stuff and for
true!) that Mike actually purchaseda pec
conditioning work. You ought to seeit!
dec once - and raffled tickets to give the
Mike has filled the Pit with heavy tires,
guys the chanceto smack it to deathwith
sleds,sandbags,lifting logs, farmer's
sledgehammers.They say he sold the
walk implements,steel suitcases,granite
thing for scrapafter it was demolished.
balls, ropes,wheel-barrows,enonnous
The proceedswent to Sam's favorite
anchor chains,anvils, barrels and beer-
charity - the local dog pound. Sam is
 I
Mike's goldenretriever, andevery bit as
dementedas his thickly muscledowner.
Peopleoften tell Mike that he
would attractmore new membersand
make oodlesof loot if he put in some
"state of the art" training machinesand a
big cardio theatrecompletewith a 2000
channelgiant-screentelevision set -- or
even if he just put in a pec dec,leg
extensionmachine,leg curl unit, leg
pressmachine,and a few other "basic"
piecesof equipment.But Mike refusesto
do it. He has a theory about it. He says
that if you cram a gymwith non-
essentialpiecesof equipment all you do
is encouragepeople to avoid the result-
producing basic movementsin favor of
lighter, easier, far lessproductive
exercises.
"If I put a hack machine in here "
he said,"some poor misguidedsoul
would probably use it. Samewith a leg
extensionunit - or a leg pressmachine.
And I bet he wouldn't even do squats.
Imagine what a travesty that would be. I
would feel so guilty."
A new guy heard him say that
once and objectedto the dismissalof the
hack machine, saying that it worked
okay for GeorgeHackenschmidt,the
old-time Russianstrongmanand
wrestling champion known as "the
RussianLion." Mike told him to go find
a photo of Hack using a hack machine.
The guy cameback a week later,
dumbfoundedand embalrassed,and
admitted thathe couldn't find one.
'oThat'sbecausehe never used
one," said Mike. "In fact, he never
trained with any sort of modern-day idiot
machine.That's why he was so strong.
He usedbarbellsand dumbbells.?'
"Then why do they call it the
Hack machine?" askedthe highly
perplexedand confusedgym member.
"Probably becauseall the other
nameswere taken," said Mike, and he
went into the gym office and poured
Sam an extra large bowl of puppy food.
The guy scratchedhis head for nearly
twenty minutes tryittg to figure it out,
finally gave up, and went over to the
power rack and startedto do squats.(He
endedup gaining nearly 40 pounds of
muscle and became a statepowerlifting
champion, but that's another story and I
don't have time to tell it now. Let me
just say that GeorgeHackenschmidt
would have beenproud of him - and
proud of Mike, as well, for steeringhim
straight. The new guy, I mean - not
Hackenschmidt.)It was anotherexample
of Mike's sophisticatedtraining and
coachirg methods,and how well he has
masteredthe gentle art of combating the
modern-day brainwashing so many guys
seemto suffer from. Especiallythe guys
who spendtoo much time (Mike says
anything more than 30 secondsanda
chuckle is too much time) looking atthe
musclecomics eachmonth.
Mike's training philosophyis
nowhere more evident than in the special
training courseshe drops on beginners
who want to bomb and blitz a particular
body part to Herculeanproportions.
Take the Mike's Gym ann routine, for
example.
THE ROOKIE
A year ago a scrawny kid came
into the gym, signedup for a one year
membership,and proceededto try to curl
himself to death.He had one of those
space-dge,high tech training programs
that so appealto teenagers.Where he
found it, no one ever knew. The routine
was endorsedby apopular bodybuilding
star,who at 5'8" and (an alleged)293
poundsof "ripped to the bone, super-
shredded,maximum massmega-muscle"
claimed to have built his arms to 27" in
record time. I think he also said he could
curl 450 pounds for 35 reps and do lying
triceps extensionsfor 20 x 20 with 600
pounds.His arrnswere so massivehe
couldn't eatby himself, so he had to hire
hot babesin very small bikini's to feed
him. There were photos of this in the
magazinesand on the internet. I looked
at the photos once, and the girls were
definitely hot, but it still seemedlike a
difficult way to meet girls. I mentioned
this to Mike, and he said not to wory
becauseit was all the work of some
publicist's feveredand over-active
imagination, urhich was good to know.
Eugene Sandow
Anyhow, the kid trained on one heck of
a crazy program. To begin with, even
though he was a rank beginner he trained
his arrnssix daysper week. He did
hundredsof setsfor the biceps and
almost as many for the triceps.He did
every upper artn exerciseever invented,
and many that must have been invented
exclusively for his training program. I
had certainly never seenthem before. Of
course,the only gym I go to is Mike's
Gy-, so I'm probably not up on the
latesttraining breakthroughs.Mike's not
into the modern sfuff.
The kid bombed,blastedand
blitzed religiously. He did tri-sets,
supersets,giarrtsets,pre-exhaustion,
compounds,breakdowns,running the
rack, forced reps,negatives,isometrics,
peak contraction, flushing, pumpitg,
muscle spinnitg, crampitg, isolation
exercises,slow motion reps, mental
contraction,'opowertraining" (that's
what he called it, but it really wasn't),
muscle posiflE,and voodoo. Well, okay,
not voodoo - but if the guy who wrote
his program had told him to stick pins
into a little doll to make his anns bigger,
he would have done it. Heck, he would
have sfuck pins into his anns if someone
told him thatwas the way to make them
bigger.
On the kid's first day atthe gym,
Mike askedthe kid if he would like to
try a specialworkout for beginners.
'oIt'sa good, time-testedprogram
that a man named Bob Hoffman put
togetherway back in the I930's," Mike
said. "He called it York Barbell Cornse
No. 1."
"Why'd he call it that?" asked
the kid. 'o'Washe from New
York?"
'No, he owned the York Barbell
Compdrry,"said Mike. "In York,
Pennsylvania."
'Never heard of it," said the kid.
'Never heard of this Hoffman guy,
either."
. "'Well, it's just aboutthe best
courseever written for beginners,"said
Mike.
"Yeah, but I'm not a beginner,"
said the kid. "I trained for two weeks
over at FitnessWorld before coming
over here. So I'm ready for an advanced
program.t'
"Why'd you quit FitnessWorld?"
I asked.
"Conflict of interest,"saidthe
kid.
 Fred Rollon
"What do you mean?"askedMike.
"I heard the owner bet another
guy ten bucks on who was gonna win the
Mr. Inter-GalacticContestthis year,"
said the kid. "That's one I'm planning to
win. It will be my first win in a major
contest,and that's how I'll get my
endorsementdealswith the supplement
companies.So anyhow, when I heard
that,I figured the owner had a conflict of
interestand might not let me do enough
setsof curls if he knew it about it. ''
Mike nodded.
"Yeah, I can seehow that would
have really tore him up," he said.
"Anyhow, that'swhy I'm here,"
said the kid. "Otherwise,I'd go some
place where they have all the equipment
I need.This place doesn'thave much.
Just barbellsand dumbbellsand
stuff. "
Mike noddedagain.
When Mike nods his head and
doesn'tsay anythirg, he'susually
countittgto ten silently. In this case,
maybehe was countingto 100.
"You shouldmove out one of
thosepower racks and put in a pec dec,"
said the kid. "I heardthey're pretty good
for def and sep."
"I hear that Deff and Sepp enjoy
training on them," I told him.
'oYeah,well def and sep are
pretty important," said the kid. "I don't
want to be one of those loserswith
nothing but maximum musclemass.I
gotta be shreddedlike wheat, man!"
Mike saidnothing. He didn't
evennod.
The kid hit a quick double biceps
pose.Actually, it was too quick, because
I didn't see anybiceps.
 "ShreddedGuns!" he
proclaimed.
"What's that?" I asked.
"That's what they're gonna call
me!" saidthe kid.
Silencefrom Mike. I don't think
he was very impressedwith the kid's
plans. We have tons of gym members
with killer nicknames,but I don't think
ShreddedAnything has ever been one of
them.
THE INCREDIBLE SHRINKING
LIFTER
So that was how the kid endedup
skipping York Training CourseNo. 1
andjumping into the crary program I
already told you about. If you forgot
what he was doing, go back and reread
it. It takes too long to write it out, and
just thinking about it makes me tired.
After I typed it up, I had to go lie down
for 15 minutesbecauseI was so tired.
I think it made the kid tired, too.
He startedto get these greatbig bags
under his eyes.Pretty soon,the bags
under his eyeswere the biggestpart of
him. Nothing else was growing. In fact,
if anythirg, he seemedto be shrinking.
Especiallyhis affns. They hadn't been
very big to begin with, but now they
looked positively Lilliputian.
o'Isit my imagination, or is the
new kid shrinkrng?" I askedMike.
"He's shrinking," said Mike.
'oWhyis that?" I asked.
"Becausehe's following an atm
speciahzattonprogram straight out of the
muscle comics, and he's overtraininghis
arrns,and he's undertrainingthe rest of
this body - and he's a beginner,andhas
no businesson a speciahzationprogram
anyway -- and he probably lives on
goory supplementsinsteadof real food --
and he doesn't do squatsand pressesand
deadlifts and stuff like that -- and he
trains for a pump instead of training for
strength -- and he trains with midget
weights -- and he tries to FEEL every
rep -- and he's been brainwashed,and-
did I mention thathe doesn't do squats
and pressesand deadlifts and stuff?"
I nodded.
"Yeah, you coveredthat one," I
said.
"Well , it' s worth saying twice,"
said Mike. "Becausethat's preffy much
where the whole problem starts."
'oIthought maybe it was because
he wasn't taking enoughMegabolic
Maxi-Mass Magic Muscle Mix," I told
him.
I said it real serious,but sort of
casual,and kept my face real serious,
just to seethe big guy's reaction.
In retrospect,that was abad
move. Mike ignored me, but Sam came
out of the gym office with his fangs
bared,growled menacingly, and began
walking towards me the way a
prehistoric cave-wolf walked toward a
nice looking dinner of meat on the hoof.
"Tell him you werejoking and
give him a puppy biscuit," said Mike.
'oIwasjokiflEr" I said.
Sam stopped.
"Here you gor" I added,and
tossedhim a puppy biscuit.
Sam snatchedit out of the air
and swallowed it in one gulp.
"He's not a fan of the Magic
Muscle Mix, is he?" I asked.
Mike nodded.
"Not at all," he replied. 'oYou
should have seenwhat happenedthe day
some guy came over trying to sell the
sfuff to our members."
Sam smiled and waggedhis tail.
He obviously enjoyedthe memory.
"Well, what arc we gonna do
aboutthe kid?" I asked."He needs
 t
help."
"He's a hard case,"saidMike.
'oHeneedsanothercouple of weeks of
spinninghis wheels."
"What happensthen?"
"You'Il see,"he said.
So I satback and laid low for
almost a month, waiting to seewhat
rvould happen.I did notice that the bags
under the kid's eyeskept getting bigger
and darker.PreW soonhe looked like he
was a taccooll.
GeorgeHackenschmidt
TIME TO TRY SOMETHINGNEW!
One duy,the kid sloggedthrough
anotherof his four-hour arm-bhtzing
sessions,and then sat on a gym bench
sipping somethingfrom a thermos.f
figured it was Magic Muscle Mix, but I
was afraid to ask.
Mike chosethat moment to stop
by.
o'How'sit going, champ?"he
asked.
The kid took anothersip of his
whatever-it-was-drink, swallowed
quickly so he wouldn't tastethe stuff,
and looked np at Mike.
'Not so goodr" he said. "The
program doesn't seemto be working
very well."
o'That'stoo bad," saidMike.
'oEspeciallywith that big contestcoming
up for you. The Mr. - what was it?"
The kid frowned.
"I guessmaybe I'11have to wait a
few more yearsbefore I enterit," he
said.
"Well , that's okay," said Mike.
"That gives you more time for serious
training."
The kid noddedweakly.
'oYeah,I guessr"he said.
He almost sighedas he said it.
He looked so sadI startedto feel sorry
for him. Even Sam felt sorry for him. He
came out and sat in front of the kid and
looked np at him with big brown puppy
eyesfull of concenl.
"Maybe you should change
things up a brt," said Mike.
"What do you mean?" askedthe
kid.
'oOh,you know- maybetry a
new program," said Mike.
The kid brightened.
"That's a good idea!" he said.
"Maybe I can switch from multi-angular
blast-mastercurls to power-pump retro-
gravity curls!"
"That's one option," saidMike.
"Supersettedwith inverted low-
pulley tricepsextensions!"the kid
added."For 20 x20 - with 20 seconds
rest betweensets."
 SamandI both workedhardto mighty impressed.
keepq sftaightface.I haveno ideahow Mike seizedhis advantage.
Mike continuedto talk to the kid without "I happento havea copy of it
breakinginto wild galesof laughter. right here," he said."But I haveto warn
Maybe it wasbecausehe felt sorry for you, this is a liule bit different thanthe
him. Or maybehe wasthinking how programyou've beenfollowing for the
muchfun it would be to showthe kid pastcoupleof months.It usessome
how easyit wasto build his arms- and really new andexotictrainingprinciples.
therestof his body- with the kind of Specialstuffthat no oneelseknows
old-fashioned, backto basicstraining about.Specialexercises, too."
Mike lovessomuch. "Like what?"askedthe kid.
Evenso,he hadto takea big "Like squatsandpressesand
swig of coffeeto fortiff himselfbefore deadlifts,"saidMike.
he replied.In the meantime,I tried to o'Neverheardof them," saidthe
picture what invertedlow-pulley triceps kid.
extensionswould look like. Try asI 'Trlottoo manypeoplehave,"
might, I couldn'tdo it. saidMike.
Samlookedup expectantly.He "Specialexercises,"saidthe kid.
had seenthis happenso manytimesI'm "I like that."
surehe lost count.You couldalmostsee "Yeah,they work prettywell,"
the wheelstuming insidehis cunning saidMike. "The guysherehavehad
caninecranium:"Here it comes!" greatsuccess with them."
Mike took a deepbreath, "What aboutyour special
exhaled,andtried to keephis voice as trainingprinciples?"askedthe kid.
casualaspossible. By now, he soundeddownright
"How'd you like to try the eagerto get startedon the new program.
Mike's Gym armroutine?"he asked. "It's like the exercises,"said
"It's a specialprogramfor buildingbig Mike. "It's stuff you probablynever
arms." heardof. They don't coverit in the
The kid's eyesopenedwide in magazines you read."
surprise. "Like what?"askedthe kid.
"You havea specialprogramfor 'ol-ikehard work andheavy
building big arms?"he asked. weights- poundageprogression - basic,
Mike nodded. compoundexercises - dividedworkouts
"Sure,"he said."But it's a secret - andabbreviated training,"saidMike.
progrum- only for membersof Mike's 'Don't forgetconcentration and
Gym." hardwork," I added.
That caughtthekid's attention "I saidhardwork," saidMike.
fast.The word o'secret" is nearanddear "That wasthe first thing I said.
to the heartsof skinny guys aroundthe "Well, yeah- but add
world asthey desperately searchfor concentration, too."
THE PROGRAM that will transform Mike sighed.
their bodiesfrom toothpicksto "Okay," he said.
redwoods. He turnedbackto thekid.
'o'Wow!"saidthekid. And by the "Add concentration to ttrelist,"
way he saidit, you couldtellhe was he said.

10
 The kid noddedsagely.
"Concentrationcurls," he said.
"Got it.
Mike glaredat me. So did Sam.
It was one of those"you're making this
difficult and I'm not happy glares" that
Mike and Sam sendme every so often
(like once or twice a day).
GeorgeF. Jowett
I pretendedto be counting the weights
on Bubba Johnson'ssquatbar. Bubba
had loadedthe power bar until it started
to bend, so I figured counting the
weights would take long enoughto get
me out of trouble.
'Not concentrationcurls -
concentration! " saidMike.
"What's that?" askedthe kid.
"'We'11cover it Iater," saidMike.
I continuedto count the plates on
the bar.
Mike pulled a piece of paper out
1l
of his pocket, openedit up, and handedit
to the kid.
"Here's the program)'ohe said.
The kid took it eagerly,and
quickly read it from top to bottom. Then
he went back and read rt again.
"Where are the curls?" he asked.
"And where's the triceps work?"
Of course,Mike had anticipated
the question and had an answerall ready
packaged.
"This is the latestupdateon
Swedishsomatotrophichyperbole
training," he said."It's basedon the
scientific principle of neuro-bio-quadro-
optimization."
He pausedand let the big words
sink in.
o'I'm sureyou've
heardof itr" he
added."I know you read a lot about this
stuff."
The kid nodded avidly.
'oYeah,they say it beats
everything elsehandsdown!" he
squealed.
"Right," said Mike. "And the
way we do it here at Mike's Gym, it
really does."
"Wow!" saidthe kid.
He was mesmetized.
But then he looked at the
program again and frowned.
"But why don't I do any curls?"
he asked.
'oMolecularrefraction," said
Mike. o'Anyonecando curls, but only a
true champion builds his anns
molecularly."
The kid nodded slowly.
"That makessenser" he said.
Mike nodded.
'oYeah, it' s the little stuff that
counts,"he said."Squats,deadlifts,
pressesand molecularrefraction. They
all go together."
The kid nodded.
{
"That makes sensar" he said.
"So here'sthe deal," saidMike.
"Go take a shower,take a couple of days
off, and come back on MondaY for Your
first workout. Kubik and I will coach
you through it. We'll show you exactly
what to do!"
"Including the specialsecret
exercises?"
Mike nodded.
oolncludingthe specialsecret
exercises,"he said.
THE KID'S FIRST WORKOUT
The kid came back on MondaY,
ready to go. He looked real excited about
doing a special secretroutine filled with
specialsecretexercises.
"Okay, so here's what You do,"
said Mike. "Start by grabbingthatbat
over there and doing 10 or 12 fliP
snatches."
'oWhatare those?" askedthe kid.
"Let's have Kubik demonstrate,"
saidMike.
I walked over to the bar, stood in
front of it as if I was going to perform a
deadlift, croucheddown, keePingmY
back flat, and grabbedthe bar with a
wide grip. Not collar to collar, becauseI
have short artns,but pretty wide. I
pusheddown with my legs, and slowlY
lifted the bar off the platforrn - and
snappedit up and overheadwith a fast,
smoothmovement.I held it overheadfor
a secondor two, lowered it back to the
platfo* and repeatedthe movement.
fou do those with a wide grip,"
said Mike.
The kid nodded.
"Don't try to jerk the bar off the
platformr" said Mike. "You start slow
and accelerateall the way. Make it
smooth."
The kid nodded again.
L2
"The flip snatchis strictlY a
wafin-up exerciser"said Mike. 'oDothem
with a light weight and hit two setsof 12
reps. They'll make you puff and pant,
and get the blood moving through your
entire body. And since you use pretty
much every muscle in your bodY when
you do them, they get your joints loose
and limber and ready for the serious
stuff."
The kid did two setsof 12 rePs
with a light weight. He startedto do
some seriouspuffing and panting before
he was halfivay through the first set.But
he finished his setsand askedwhat was
next.
o'Indianclubs," said Mike.
"What do those do?" askedthe
kid.
"They help loosenyour shoulders
and your upper back," said Mike. 'oMost
people are pretty tight there from all the
sitting they do - and from being in front
of a computerso much."
o'Whatabout going to school and
sitting in classall day?" askedthe kid.
"That, too," saidMike.
"Especially if you have a really boring
professor."
The kid sighed.
"All of my professorsate
borin8," he said.
"What areyou studYing?"I
asked.
"Communications," said the kid,
glumly.
I made a mental note to Passon
any CommunicationsCoursesif I ever
went back to Central City Junior College
for a seconddegree.
Meanwhile, Mike showedthe kid
somebasic exerciseswith Indian clubs
and had him drill them for a couple of
minuttt.,
Ihat looks good," he said.
"How do you feel?'
 'oGoodand loose," said the kid.
"'Warmedup and ready to go?"
askedMike.
"Yeah!"
"Okay, then, let's get going.
Your first real exerciseis the military
press.We do a lot of them here at
Mike's Gym."
"I never heard of them," said the
kid. "What do they buil d?"
"They build the shouldersand
the triceps," said Mike. "And they make
you strong. Really strotrg."
He had me show the kid how to
do presses.I beganby cleaningthe bar,
and then pressedit for five strict reps.
No leg drive, no knee kick, no backbend
- just five perfect reps,up and down, in
the military style that Mike always
requires.
'oI don't get it," said the kid.
'oHow can something like thatbuild your
triceps?"
"A lot of people think the
military pressis the very best exercise
for the triceps," said Mike.
"Like who?"
"Well, like John McCallum, for
one."
'Never heardof him."
"Peary Rader, for another."
oNeverheard of him, either."
"Bradley J. Steiner."
"Nope."
'oJohnGrimek."
"That draws a blank, too."
Mike pointed to abrgphoto of
Grimek on the wall of the gym.
"That's Grimek," he said.
The kid walked over to look -
and then stopped- and then walked
closer and staredat the photo for
somethinglike half a minute. Maybe
longer.If I'd beenthinking,I would
have timed him. But whateverit was, it
was a long time.
13
'oGeez"I never saw anyonelike
that!" he said.
'No one has,unlessthey saw
Grimek in his prime," said Mike.
"And he said that those military
pressthings were good to do?"
Mike nodded.
"He always said they were the
very best exercisefor the triceps.And he
was seriousabout doing them, too. He
set a couple of United Statesnational
recordsin the military press- and came
darn closeto seffing a World record. He
could presscloseto 300 poundsat a
bodyweightof about 185 or so."
The kid nodded without
answering.He was still staring at
Grimek's photo.
'oSowhat do you think?" asked
Mike.
"I'll do them!" the kid almost
shouted,and he ran back to the platfonn
so fast that Sam and I had to jump out of
the way.
ooYou'regoing to do 5 x 5 on
your presses,"said Mike. 'oln fact,
you're going to do 5 x 5 on pretty much
everythingyou do."
"Why 5 x 5?" askedthe kid. "Did
John Grimek do 5 x 5?"
'No, but Reg Park did," said
Mike.
"Reg who?"
Mike pointed to the gym wall
again.
"That EUyr"he said.
Once again we went through the
whole deal of the kid walking over to the
photo, taking a look, taking a second
look, staring in amazement,and then
standinglike a stone statuefor half a
minute or more.
'oThreetime Mr. Universe," said
Mike. "Best built man of his generation.
Strongas heck, too. Pressed300 pounds.
Bench pressed500 pounds.In fact, he
I

was the secondman in the world to importance of adding weight to the bat.
bench press500 pounds.Doug Hepburn The next exercisein the Program
was the first." was one of the biggies - the squat.Now,
The kid nodded absent-mindedlY. you may not believe it, but the kid
He didn't even bother to ask aboutDoug actually said he didn't want to do them!
Hepbrlrrl. He just stood and staredat the He said thatleg training would tire him
photo of Reg Park. out so much that he wouldn't be able to
And that's how Mike sold him on do curls. I thought Mike would blow a
doing 5 x 5. gasket,for sure,but the big guy took it
There arelots of different waYS in stride. He explained that Grimek and
to do 5 x 5. Mike had the kid do one Park were both extremely strong
that's perfect for guys who are relatively squatters,and that both men always said
new to the lifting thing. He did two that the squatwas one of their favorite
progressivelyheavierwarm-up sets, (and most important) exercises.The kid
followed by three "working sets." Since took anotherlook at the Photosof
this was the kid's first real workout (the Grimek and Park, and once agarn,he
silly stuff he had been doing before was sold.
didn't count), Mike had him use light
weights, so it was fairly easy for him to
get five reps on all three of his work sets.
Later ofl, as he got stronger,he added
weight to the bar, and eventually he had
to work preff hard to get thosefive reps
on each set. Sometimeshe didn't make
it. When that happened,Mike made him
stay at that weight until he got the five
reps. When he did, he addedweight
again.
Mike explained that adding
weight to the bar was an important paft
of the program. Of course,the kid said
he'd never heard about that. Mike
explained by showing before and after
photos of Reg Park, who went from a
tall, skinny beginner who could barely
handle the empty bar to a massivelY
muscled235 lb. Mr. Universe winner
who played Herculesin the movies and
really looked the part- and who handled
heavier weights than just about any other
bodybuilder of his era- and who could
go head to headwith most Heavyweight JoeNordquest
weightlifters on squats,benchpress,
dumbbell press,dumbbell incline press, Mike startedhim very light, and
bent over rowing and similar taught him to do full squatsright from
movements.That sold the kid on the the get go. Mike prefers full squatsto

T4
 t
parallel squatsfor anyonewho can
perform them safely. Of course,the
powerlifters at the gym do parallel
squatsbecausethat's what they do in
competition, andthe Olympic lifters
always do fulI squatsbecausethey need
to be able to drop into the low squat
position to catch the weight when they
do squat cleansand squat snatches.
Here's an importantnote.Doing
fuIl squatsmeansyou need to wear
Olympic lifting shoeswith a high heel so
you can squat all the way down and keep
your back straight. If you do full squats
with a rounded back, you're asking for
trouble. Plus, you're not getting nearly
as much benefit from the exerciseas you
would if you were doing them the right
way.
Older guys may find it difficult
or impossibleto do full squatssafely.
That's especiallytrue for guys who have
done lots of heavy parallel squats.The
parallel squatswill actually tighten your
leg and hip musclesso that it becomes
very hard for you to do a full squat.You
CAN make the switch, but it takes time
and patienceand lots of stretchingand
plenty of common sensetraining. And
even at that, for someguys it's just plain
impossible.So Mike treatseachof his
membersas a unique individual, and
helps him perfect the best squat form
that he can master- which is parallel for
some lifters and full for others.
After the squats,Mike had the
kid do a single set of 20 breathittg
pullovers with a pafuof light dumbbells.
Thesewere purely for chestexpansion,
and the stretchwas the important thing,
so the weights were very light.
Next, the kid did the barbell
benchpress.Again, he did 5 x 5. Mike
madehim do the benchpressesstrict,
with a pauseat the chest.Mike doesn't
allow dropping and bouncirg, raising the
15
hips or any other form of cheatingbench
press.And he doesn't allow that "spotter
grabsthe bar and deadlifts it while the
lifter pushesand then the lifter claim she
did it all on his own" nonsenseyou see
in so many other gyms. If you bench
heavy in Mike's Gym, believe me, YOU
bench heavy. (Of course,you either
bench in a rack with pins to catch the bar
if you miss, or you use a spotterfor
safetyin caseyou miss. Never try
benching heavy - or going for maximum
reps -- without a power rack or a
spotter.)
The kid didn't bother to
complain about doing the benchpresses,
but Mike still told him that they were
excellentfor building the triceps.He
also told him that the benchpresswas
one of Reg Park's favorite exercises.
(Grimek rarely did them - they were not
a big deal when he was lifting, and he
preferredthe military pressin any case.)
The kid followed the benchpress
with the barbell bent-over row.
Amazingly, he didn't questionwhat
must have been a very novel and
surprising movement for him. If he had,
Mike would have told him how Reg
Park and Marvin Eder trained together
on bent over rows and piled on weight
until the bar startedto bend!
Mike taught the kid to perform
bent-over rowing with his knees slightly
bent and his back flat. He pulled the bar
up along his thighs, closeto his centerof
gravity, and finished with the bar
pressed againsthis lower abdomen.
Mike says thatyears 4go,many
instructors taught doing the bent-over
row by pulling the bar up to the chest
while the lifter was positionedwith his
back at a 90 degreeangle(i.e.,his back
parallel to the floor). Mike saysthat's a
tenible way to do rowing. You place
tremendousstrain on your lower back,
 {
and you can't handle anywherenear
enoughweight to build your lats and
other upper back muscles.
Mike made the kid do his rowing
with arm, shoulder and upper back
power alone- no bobbing, no jerking,
and no heaving. Nice and strict all the
way.And Mike madehim pausebriefly
in the finish position, and then lower the
bar slowly back to the starting position.
'oDothem strict or don't bother to
do themr" said Mike. 'oIt's not a bent
over power clean or an ugly looking sort
of high pull."
'oWhatarethose?" askedthe kid.
"Those are- heck, we'Il cover it
anothertime," said Mike. 'oJustdo the
rowing nice and strict."
The kid nodded,and did five sets
of five reps.
That endedthe barbell portion of
the workout. Mike had him finish with
two setsof bent-leggedsit-ups on a
slight incline (on a sit-up board), doing
about ten reps per set, and curling his
body up into a ball nice and slow so that
he really worked his abs. Later, &she got
stronger,Mike had him do the exercise
with abarbell plate pressedagainsthis
forehead.
When the kid finished his
workout, he was coveredwith sweat
(and even with chalk, rvhich he had
never usedbefore), and panting like a
race-horseafter a fast quarter-mile with
an overweighthippo as the jockey. He
was so tired he didn't even bother to ask
when he was supposedto do his curls
and tricepspumpers.
Mike told him he had done good,
to hit the showers,to go home and get
somefood, and to come back in 48 hours
for his next workout.
The kid nodded,wearily. He
looked so darn tired that I actually
wonderedif he would come back.
T6
'Not to woff!," said Mike.
o'He'11
be back."
'oBecause he had a life-changing
experienceby doing squatsand presses
and stuff?" I asked.
Mike shookhis head.
'No, becauseSam swipedhis i-
pod while he was trainittg. The kid will
come back looking for it."
I looked at Sam.He looked back
at me and grinned with satisfaction.The
i-pod lay next to his pillow.
Otto Arco
THE KID'S SECOND WORKOUT
For his secondworkout, the kid
followed a similar program - all 5 x 5
other than wann-ups and gut work - but
he used different exercises.Mike likes to
mix things up like that when he setsup a
program for someone.Almost all of his
programs involve two or three different
workouts: Workout A and Workout B,
or Workout A, Workout B and Workout
C. He calls it the "divided workout
system."I guessthat's as good a name
for it as anything else.But whatever you
call it, rt works pretty darn well. Many
guys who never gained very much
strengthand muscle doing the sametotal
body workout three times per week have
 t
made gteat gains by switching to a
divided workout schedule.(I should
know - I'm one of them!)
In his secondworkout - Workout
B - the kid beganwith two setsof 12
reps in the clean and press.Once again,
this was strictly for wanning up, so he
used arcaIly light weight.
Mike had me demonstratethe
power clean for the kid. You probably
know how to do it: stand in front of the
bar like you're going to do a deadlift,
keep the bar over the toes, legs bent,
anns straight, flat back, tight arch,push
the legs through the floor to get the bar
started,move the kneesback, keep the
bar closeto the legs (and later, closeto
the body), pop the hips forward as the
. bar passesthe knees- and make it a
combinedl.g, back and hip movement
rather than a slow deadlift followed by a
cheat-stylereversecurl the way so many
guys do it. Be sureto keep the bar close
to the body at the top. LIFT your elbows.
Do NOT reversecurl the bar - and never
let it swing out and away from the body.
You lose all your leverageand all your
power if the bar swings out and away
from you.
Many well-intentioned writers
have said thatthe power clean is a good
'Well,
arrn builder. it's not. It's a lousy
ann exercise- and if you try to make it
an atm exercise,you're doing it wrong.
It's not a reversegrip cheatcurl or a
reversegrip swinging curl or a reverse
grip anythirg, and it's not a deadlift
followed by an upright row. It's aleg,
back and hip movement, and that' s how
you needto do them. (Note: all of the
samepoints apply to high pulls. They are
a total body, all-out strengthand power
exercise,NOT an afiTrexercise,as so
many effoneouslybelieve!)
Of course,in this program you
do the power cleansonly as a wafin-up
I7
exercise- but do them the right w&y,
regardless!
Next, the kid did more work with
the Indian Clubs. Some guys think
Indian Clubs aresilly, but they're wrong.
It's really important to get those
shouldersnice and loosebefore you hit
the iron. Tight shoulderscan messup the
nerve impulses as they run down the
arrns and forearms - and that can make it
difficult or impossible to pack strength
and muscle into your anns! (Remember
that sometimesa pinched nerve in the
neck or shoulderscan causethe atm
musclesto atrophy. Tight shouldersdo
the samething, only in less dramatic
fashion.)
After his warrn-ups,the kid did
the standing alternatepresswith
dumbbells. Once again,Mike made me
demonstrate.You do this one by
cleaning the dumbbells to your
shoulders,standingtall and looking
straight ahead - and then pressingthe
dumbbell in the right hand. As you lower
the dumbbell in your right hand back to
your shoulder,you begin to pressthe
dumbbell in your left hand. It's right
hand, left hand, right hand, left hand, etc.
Do five presseswith eachhand and then
lower the dumbbellsback to the floor.
"What kind of grip should I
use?" askedthe kid - which was one of
the better questionshe has askedso far,
if you'rc paying attention to that sort of
thing.
ooThe old-timers usedto twist
their wrist so the palms of their hands
were facing eachother. That positions
the dumbbellsso the front of eachbell is
to your front and the back of eachbell is
to your rear. Your arrns and shoulders
are strongerin that position, and the
dumbbellsbalancebetter."
"So you can use more weight,
right?" askedthe kid.
I
1,,
Mike nodded.
"That's rightr" he said.
He shot me a quick glance.The
kid was catching on! (And after only one
workout.) This was beginning to look
promising.
o'Moreweight is good, right?"
askedthe kid.
"More weight is good," said
Mike.
"I thought it worked better to
pump up the muscleswith light
weights," said the kid. "That's what
everyonealways saYS.That's whatl
always read."
"That's what theY saY,"said
Mike. "But it's a big Pile of horse
patties."
Dave Mayor
"What's that?" askedthe kid.
Mike translated.
"Oh!" saidthe kid.
18
"Here's the way it reallY is," said
Mike. 'oYourmusclesaren'tjust big
chinks of solid tissue.They're actually
composedof millions and millions of
muscle fibers. The muscle fibers form
little ropes all along the length of the
muscle.When you PumPYour muscles
up, all you do is fill the ateain-between
the muscle fiber ropeswith blood - and
when your workout is over the blood
goes away, and you're right back where
you started.It's like a ballooll. You take
a balloon, and you blow it uP, and when
it's filled with ar rt getsmaYbe50 or
100 times bigger than when you started.
But when you let the air out, the balloon
goesright back to its original size.
Filling it full of hot air doesn't make the
balloon any bigger. It just stretchesit for
a while. Pumping Your muscleswith
blood doesn't make them anybigget - it
just*'IT*l'ffi
".[3:??:ffi::1f
;'
pump up your muscles?"
"Becausethat's what the muscle
magazineshave been teachingpeople for
the putt.:0 or 60 years," saidMike.
Why did they start doing 7t?"
"Becausethey were looking for
something new and different with a
catchy name. The factthat it was an
EASY way to train made it all the easier
to promote.Remember,there was a time
*h.tr pretty much everyonewho trained
with weights did heavy weightlifting and
strengthtraining. They developed great
physiques as a natural by-product of
their strengthtraining. Latet on, more
people were interestedin bodybuilding -
in how they looked - than in
weightlifting, so the magazinescatered
tothe':il|;l,ttr;*,nu,,,
Not many peoPledo. Most
people have beenbrainwashed,andthey
never figure it out."
 Well, I know what you're
thinking. You're wondering if Mike just
kept talking or whether he let the kid
finish his workout. I won't keep you in
suspense.Mike let the kid finish his
workout. At Mike's Gym, lifters
ALWAYS finish their workout!
'oHowdo people ever figure this
out?" askedthe kid. o'Imeufl,how do
they un-wash their brains?"
That was another good question.
I waited for the answer- but it never
came.
"Hold the thought for now," said
Mike. "You've got a workout to finish!"
"Oh - right!" said the kid.
He grabbeda pair of light
dumbbells and hammeredout his first set
of alternatepresses.
'oThatwas good," said Mike.
The kid did a secondwarm-up
set with heavier dumbbells, and then hit
his first "work" set. On the third or
fourth rep he startedto dip a bit to the
side on eachrep. When he finished the
set, he put the dumbbells down and
looked at Mike sheepishly.
"I did it wron5, didn't I?" he
asked.
'No, that's okay," saidMike. "In
fact, the old-timers used to call it the
see-sawpress.You're allowed to rock a
bit from side to side to get the dumbbells
up. Justbe sureto keep your legs
locked."
The kid brightened.
"Got it!" he said.
After he finished his alternate
dumbbell presses,he moved on to front
squats.Mike had me show him the
crossedhandsway of doing them and
the regular w?y, where you keep your
handsunder the bar and your elbows up
- just like you were an Olympic lifter
performing a squat clean. Mike prefers
to have his guys use the weightlifter's
t9
grip, but he knows that sometraineesare
just too stiff and too to do it. If that' s the
case,he has the guy work on his
flexibility, but let's him use the crossed
hands style so he can still do front
squats.(Or he has the guy do his wann-
up setswith the weightlifter grip and his
heavier setswith the bodybuilder grip
until the guy gets his flexibility where he
needsit to be.) Mike is a big fan of front
squats.He usually has most of his
beginnersalternatethem with back
squats.Back squatsin Workout A and
front squatsin Workout B.
To do front squatsthe right w&y,
you need to keep your torso in a straight
up and down position. If your back
rounds,you're doing them wrong.
Mike has everyonewho does
front squatsdo them full squat style, not
parallel. That meansall the way down to
the platfonn on every rep. If you were
doing them outside,it would be assto
grass.
The only way to maintain an
upright posture when you go that deepis
to wear the kind of liftitrg shoesthat
Olympic lifters wear (which is what
Mike prefers his lifters to do) or stand
with your heels on a 2 x 4 or a couple of
thick barbell plates (the poor man's
option).
Anyhow, I demonstratedthe
front squats,and then the kid did his 5 x
5. He did apretty goodjob, too. Of
courso,I deserveat least somecredit for
that since I was demonstratingthe
exercisesfor him.
After the front squats,Mike had
the kid do incline dumbbell presses.
Mike thinks that incline dumbbell
pressesare one of the very best chest
exercisesout there.They also work the
heck out of the shouldersand triceps.
Once again,the kid did 5 x 5.
For guys who train at home and
don't have an incline bench,the or pull-downs with a specralbarthat let
dumbbell benchpress(on a flat bench) him use a parallel grip with the hands a
works pretfy well. And if a guy ever gets little wider than shoulderwidth apart.
so strongthat he can't get the dumbbells Pull-ups are a better exercisethan pull-
into the starting position, he should try downs, but if you can't do them,
the one affindumbbell incline press or substitutethe pull-downs. They'll work
the one arrrndumbbell bench press.That fine. For guys who train at home, the one
allows you to use two handsto get the affn dumbbell row would be a good
dumbbell into position. substitutefor pull-downs.
I once askedMike if the
dumbbell floor press(or the one hand
dumbbell floor press)would be okay if a
guy trained at home and didn't have a
bench.Mike said it would be fine, so
there's really no excusenot to include
this one in your program.
After the dumbbell incline
presses,Mike had the kid do five setsof
pull-ups. The kid had no ann strengthto
speakof, but he was light and skinny, so
he managedto get 5 reps on eachset in
reasonablygood form.
Mike had the kid do the pull-ups
with his handspronated,so his palms
were facing away from his chest.He
held the bar with his hands a little bit
wider than shoulderwidth apart.I asked
Mike why he preferred doing them that
way insteadof with the palms facing the
chest(i.e., supinatedgrip, alWathe good,
old-fashioned"chin-up"). Mike said he
wants the exerciseto be a total upper
Ivan Sanakov
body pulling movement thatprovides a
heavy load for the biceps,NOT a pure
After the pull-ups, the kid did
biceps exercise.The chin-up is pretty
anotherof Mike's favorite exercises:the
much pure bicepsunlessyou're strong
bent-leggedTrap Bar deadlift. Mike is a
enough and advancedenoughto do it
huge fan of the Trap Bar deadlift, and
with your back arched and your
has most of his beginnersuse the
shouldersback, pulling yourseHup until
exerciseinsteadof the deadlift with a
your chesttouchesthe bar. Mike knew
straightbar. It's easierto learn the
the kid wasn't strong enoughto do that,
proper positions and the corect
so he had him stick to pull-ups.
movement,it's easieron the knees,hips
If he had not been able to do
and lower back, and it's an excellent
pull-ups, Mike would have had the kid
strengthand massbuilder. For many
do pull-downs to the chestusing the
guys, it's secondonly to the squatas a
samegrip as if he were doing pull-ups,
strengthand massbuilder - and for some

20
 t

men (often including older traineesor

very tall, 'olongand lanky" lifters), it's
actually more effective than the squat.
Mike had the kid finish the
workout with two setsof leg raises.
Fifteen reps per set.Mike told him that
as he got strongerhe would start to do
them on the sit-up board (with his head
at the top of the board, of course),and
then he'd progressto doing them with
ankle weights or iron boots on his feet.
The eventual goal was to work up to
hanging leg raiseson the chin-up bar -
which is a heck of a tough movement,
and a very effective *gut" exercise.)
Once again,the kid finished the
workout coveredwith chalk and sweat-
but he seemedto be enjoying himself.
Perhapshe was discoveringthatreal
training is a heck of a lot more fun than
the pseudo-stuffhe had been doing
before. Anyhow, he wiped the sweat off
his face with a towel, and askedwhat
was next. Mike told him to hit the
showersand come back in 48 hours. EugeneSandow
Before leaving the gym, the kid
poppedhis headinto Mike's office. EATINGFOR STRENGTHAND
"What will we do next time?" he MUSCLE
asked.
"'We'11go back to Workout A," Before I for get,let me cover an
said Mike. "You'll alternateback and important topic very quickly. Diet and
forth between the two of them for nutrition for lifters. Don't worrlr, it
awhile." won't take long. It's not too
I was waiting for the kid to say, complicated.
"But what about my arrn exercises?" Mike told the kid to drop all the
But he surprisedme. amino acid, mega-bolic,maxi-bolic
"Cool!" he said. multi-bolic, nutri-bolic, super-bolicand
And then he was gone. hyperbolic whatchyamacallit's that he'd
"That was amaziflg," I said. been chuggirg, and focus on eating
o'You'reright," said Mike. "He
somegood old-fashionedfood. And lots
didn't say a word about that missing i- of it. Mike knows that young guys can
pod." gain like qary if they train the right way
and combine it with plenty of good,
healthy food. The emphasisshould be on
high quality protein. Me at, eggS,fish,
chickon, and furkey. For those who can

2T
digestit, milk, cheese,cottagecheese,
and yogurt. Add lots of fresh green
veggies,somefresh fruit, sweetpotatoes,
brown rice, whole grain bread,whole
grain pasta,and nuts, and you've pretty
well covered everything.
Older guys aredifferent. Older
guys need to focus on protein and fresh
veggies(and not much else).This allows
them to gain muscle without adding fat.
One of the big problems that guys have
is thinking they can eatlike a teenager
eventhoughthey're 40 or 50 or older.
It's like they're in a time w&{P,where
they keep focusing on the two quarts of
milk, six-meal a daything and trying to
gain 30 poundsof musclein 30 days.It's
a classicexampleof how the stuff you
read in the musclemags when You'te a
young guy stays with you for your entire
life.
Oh, and whateverYour ?Ea,skiP
the junk food. You don't need that stuff.
That includes anything made with sugar
or high fructose corn syrup - anything
made with white flour - any "fast foods"
- and anything made with hydrogenated
fats (alkl a trans-fats).
I'11cover diet and nutrition in
depth the not too distant future, but
in
for right now, let me get back to arm
training. After all, that's the focus of this
course.
Oh, and before I forget. Don't
even think about taking steroids.If Mike
hearsabout it, he'll sendSam after you.
THE MIKE' S GYM ARM ROUTINE:
LEVEL 1
When you put it all on Paperthe
first part of the Mike's Gym ann routine
looks like this:
WORKOUTA
1. Warm-up with LIGHT flip snatches2
22
x 10 - 12,followed by Indian club drills
for five minutes
2 . Milit a ry p re s s 5 x 5
3. Squat5 x 5
4. Bench press5 x 5
5. Barbell bent-overrowing 5 x 5
6. Bent-leggedsit-ups2 x 8 -I2
7.Hang from thick handledpull-up bat 1
x as long aspossible
WORKOUTB
1. Warm-up with LIGHT Power clean
and press2 x 10 - 12, followed bY
Indian club drills for five minutes
2. Alternatedumbbell press5 x 5 (5 reps
with each ann on each set)
3. Front squats5 x 5
4.Incline dumbbellpress5 x 5
5 . P u ll-u p s 5 x 5
6. Trap Bar deadlift 5 x 5
T . L e g ra is e s2 x 1 5
Remember,it's a three-daY-Per-
week schedule,NOT a four-ddY,five-
day or six-day per week split routine.
That day of rest betweenworkouts is
important.In fact, it' s one of the reasons
why the program works so well.
Remember,your musclesdon't grow
while you're training. TheY grow
afterwardslIf you don't give yourself
enoughtime for rest and recuperation
after eachworkout, you're pretty much
wasting your time.
THE RESULTS
Mike had the kid train on the
program three times a week for the next
12 weeks.He did onlY the exercises
listed.Nothing else.No curls, no triceps
pumpers- not even any close grip bench
presses.And no dips. Mike's not a big
fan of them. He's seentoo many lifters
hurt their shoulderdoing dips. It seems
to happento everyonewho doesthem
 t

with addedweight, no matter how strong had gained 23 pounds of muscle and put
they are,how much they enjoy doing 2 /, incheson his upper arns.
dips and how much the dip helps them. "This is amazing!" said the kid.
Sooneror later it bites them - not in the "I gained2 y2" on my arrns without even
butt, but in the shoulder. training them!"
Amazingly, after the questions Mike laughed.
on the very first duy, not once during the "You've acfually been doing
entire l2-week program did the kid ask plenty of work for your arrns," he said.
about doing curls and triceps stuff. Mike "Like what?"
has been droppittg his affintraining 'ol-ikeall the pressingexercises,
routine on rookies for a long time now - the rowing and the pull-ups. The
like more than twenty years - and the pressingexerciseswork the heck out of
guys usually cry and moan and fuss and your triceps, and the rowing and the
holler about not doing curls and triceps pull-ups work the heck out of your
exercises,and Mike has to tell them the biceps,forearrnsand grip."
qaziest things to get them to keep them "You mean I was training my
on the program. He told one kid they had anns and I didn't evenknow it?"
to 'ooptimizethe metabolic flushing Mike nodded.
otYep."
factors" before they could do any direct
arin work. He told anotherkid they were "I can't believeit!" saidthe kid.
using the "blitz-pump system from "I mean- I can't believeit worked!"
Florid a" to'.vasculartzethe lobotomy" Mike laughedagain.
before they addedann exercisesto the 'The Mike's Gym Arm Routine
program. Thesewere whoppers,of alwaysworks!" he said.
course,but when you're fighting against
muscle mag brainwashing and
mainstreamsilliness,you have to take
strongmeasures.
But this time, all that was
necessarywere Mike's initial references
to "Swedish somatotrophichyperbole,"
"neuro -bi o-quadro-opti mization" and
[my personalfavorite] molecular
refraction training." After that,the kid
went along with the entire program
Herman Gorner
without any questionsat aII. So maybe
times arechanging - or maybe kids are
READYFORMORE!
changing.I don't know. I just know the
kid came to the gym and trained like
After he finished the first 12
clockwork - and addedweight to the bar
weeks of the Mike's Gym arm routine,
wheneverhe could - and startedto get
the kid was ready for Level 2 of the
bigger and stronger and thicker so fast it
program.
surprisedall of us.
"What do I do now?" he asked.
You can guesswhat happened.
"Mike's got a program written up
At the end of 12 weeks,Mike weighed
for you," I said. "But I'm not surewhere
the kid and took his measurements.He
he left it."

23
 "fs it in his office?"
"I don't know. He just coPYa big
shipment of old time lifting magazines-
Strength and Health back to the I930's
and I940's, Iron Man back to the 50's
and 50's, and some other good stuff.
Mike and I are indexing it all, and it's
scatteredall over the place right llow.
The office is a mess.We actuallYlost
Sam for a couple of hours."
'oHowcould you lose Sam?He's
the size of a small grizzly bear!"
o'I don't know how we did it, but
we did it. He was buried under a pile of
paper and stuff."
"How'd you find him?"
"Mike ordered a double
pepperonipizza and had it deliveredto
the gym. Sam dug his way out as soon as
it arcived."
o'Hemust like pizza."
"He does.And pepperoniis his
favorite."
The kid nodded.I knew it made
senseto him. It wouldn't make senseif
you didn't know about Sam and his
world-famous appetite- or about Mike
and his gym and the way he runs it. But
after you've beenhere awhile, it all
makesperfect sense.You get a ton of
old magazines,you pile them uP, You
lose Sam,you order aprzza, andSam
suddenly appears.What could be simpler
than that?
"Well, tomoffow is mY workout
day. Ask Mike if he can find that
program for me. Or maybejust write up
somethingne'w."
"Will do!" I said,and I went
back the job of catalogingand
to
indexing the old magazines.Meanwhile,
Sam lay next to an empty Przzabox at
the foot of the stuffed grtzzly bear in the
back of the gym. Aside from the corner
of Mike's office by his food dish, it's
probably his favorite spot in the entire
24
gym.
Mike came in an hour later and I
askedhim about the kid's next training
program.
"It's right here," said the big guy.
"Somewhere."
He looked around the office and
scratchedhis head.
"Maybe it's in the desk drawer."
I suggested.o'Orsomewherein the filing
cabinet."
'oIt'snot in the filing cabinet.All
I keep there is extra food for Sam."
He looked at the desk.
"But maybe it's in there."
He walked over and openedthe
drawer, rummaged around, and Pulled
out amanila folder full of paperswith
various plans, specsand training
program scribbledonto them. He started
to flip through them rapidly.
"H.y, I forgot aboutthis," he
said.
He pulled out a Pieceof PaPer
and set it to the side.
'oWhatis it?" I asked.
He handedit to me.
'oTakea look," he said.
It was a dragramof the gym with
alarge X marked on the back wall.
"What's that?" I asked."Is that
where they buried Jimmy Hoffa?"
Mike ignored the joke. He was
operatingin seriousmode todaY.
"No, it's where I'm going to Put
two chutesthat drop into an alligator
pit."
"What do you want with an
alhgator pit?"
"It's for muscle PumPersand
steroid pushers."
'No kidding? That's a great
idea!"
o'Iknew you'd like it," said Mike.
"But th;.1e'sone Problem."
What's that? Finding the
 t
alligators?"
o'No,that's easy.I
can't decide
whether to add a third chute for the guys
who write the superprograms for the
muscle mags.They're getting to be as
bad as anyone.In fact, they're probably
worse than the musclepumpers."
I looked at the plans carefully.
'oI don't think there's enough
room for a third chute," I said. "Maybe
you shouldjust use one shoot for the
muscle pumpers and the guys who write
the superprograms."
Andrew Passanant
Mike nodded.
'oYou may be right," he said.
"Thatwould make it easieron the
alligators.They won't have to watch as
many chutes."
As he spoke,Mike rifled through
25
the file, scafferingpaperseverywhere.It
looked like ablizzard. I wondered if
we'd lose Sam again But before that
happened,Mike stopped,held up a
single sheetof paper, andsmiled.
"Here it is!" he exclaimed
triumphantly.
"What is it?" I asked.
"It' s the secondpart of the
Mike's Gym ann training routine!"
"Great!" I said.'o'We'llbe seeing
those shreddedguns in no time!"
Mike stoodup, walked over to
his filing cabinet, andgrabbeda big pile
of old Strength and Health magazines.
He carried them over and set them down
on the desk where I was sitting.
ooHere you gor" he said. "Read
two of theseevery four hours and if you
don't feel better, call me in the
morning."
THE MIKE' S GYM ARM ROUTINE:
LEVEL TWO
The kid showedup right on time
the next day. This time, Mike didn't
have to say anythittg to convince him to
train the Mike's Gym way. The kid
already knew that it worked.
Mike once againaskedme to
demonstratethe exercises.It was easier
this time becausethe kid had a much
better idea of how to train, and because
many of the exerciseswere oneshe had
used in the first 12 weeksof the
program. The main difference was a
changein the setsand reps.
Mike put the kid on another
three-day-per-weekprogram. He uses
three-day-per-weekprogramswith most
of his members,including the
powerlifters, the Olympic lifters and the
guys training for strongmancomps. And
if three-times-per-week doesn't seemto
be working for someono,Mike usually
has him try twice a week workouts. For
someguys (especiallyolder guys), that
works really well. It goesto show you
how important it is to get enoughrest
and recovery in-betweenyour workouts.
Mike has a simple formulathat
sumsup his entire training philosophy in
just four words:
"Trainorest, gfow, rePeat."
Pretty good, huh?
In this program, unlike the first
12 weeks,Mike actually had the kid do
some direct affn work. Not a lot of it, but
enoughto give the biceps and triceps
some seriousaction. Basic sfuff, of
course.No exotic super-dupercurls and
no crazy tricepsexercises.I'll tell you
about it in a minute -- but first I want to
cover somethingvery imPortant.
Mike once told me an imPortant
secret.I'm going to shareit with you
now - but remembet,rt' s a secret,so
keep it under your hat. Mike said you
could probably add a SMALL amount of
direct arrn training to Level 1 of the
Mike's Gym ann training Program and
do fine. Nothing too extreme- just three
or four setsof barbell curls in Workout
A and three or four setsof close grip
benchpressesin Workout B. The reason
Mike savesthe direct armwork for the
secondstageof the program is to show
the guys that they can increasetheir arm
sizeENORMOUSLY (like a couPleof
inches) by training on nothing but basic
compoundexerciseslike military
presses,rowiflg, benchpressesand pull-
ups. It's an important lessonto learn,
and for most guYS,the only way to learn
the lessonis to try the program and see
what happens.
Another reasonMike savesthe
direct ann work for the secondpart of
the program is that he wants to be sure
the guys devote I00% of their energy to
the really important exercises(especially
26
the squatsand deadlifts).If he tells a guy
it's okay to do a couple of setsof curls
and close grip bench presses,the next
thing you know, the guy takes it easyon
the big exercisesso he eanhandlemore
weight in the arm exercises- or elsethe
workout suddenlyincludes 10 or 12 sets
of arm exercises- and then 15 ot 20 sets
- and then 20 or 30 sets- and all of a
suddenthe guy is back to doing nothing
but ann training.
Michael Salvane
And then there'sreasonNo. 3 for
saving the armwork until later. A
beginnerneedsto get strongerFAST in
the major compoundexercises.Too
many setsof biceps curls can affect a
rookie's rowing and pull-ups (because
your bicepswill be too tired and sorefor
maximum efforts), and too many triceps
pumpers can do the samething to your
benchpressand your military press.
Now you know the secret.So if
you simply MUST do some direct arm
work during the first 12 weeks of the
progr am,you can do it. But keeP it
simple: barbell or dumbbell curls (one of
them, not both!), and close grip bench
presses(as describedbelow). And as for
sets,and reps,try this: 3 ot 4 setsof 5
reps, starting light and adding weight on
each set so you do ONE set with Your
top weight.
 And now - back to the workout. use that, then do so - just be sureyou
As I said, it was a three-day-per-week can managefive reps per set on the thick
program,just the sameas before,but this handledbar.)
time there were three different workouts. 3. Closegrip benchpress5 x 5 (two
It looked like this: progressivelyheavierwaffn-up setsand
three setswith your working weight)
WORKOUTA 4. 4. Standingbarbell curls 5 x 5 (two
1. Warm-up with light flip snatches2 x progressivelyheavierwarrn-up setsand
10 - 12,Indian Club drills for 5 mins, three setswith your working weight)
and light cleanand pressfor 2 x 10 - 12 6. Hangingkneesto chest2 x 10 - 15
2.lMilitary press3 x 5 (progressively (Note: if you're strong enoughto do
heavierwann-up sets),followed by hangingleg raises,then do 2 x 5 - 10.)
5l4l3l2lI (adding weight as the reps are 7. Pinch grip lifting - 5 progressively
lowered).(Note: if 5l4l3l2lI is too tiring, heavier singles,working up to your top
try 5l3lI for your heaviersets.) pinch grip lift, then drop back to about
3. Squats4 x 5 (progressivelyheavier 70% of your top weight and do a timed
wann-up sets),followed by 2 x 5 with hold for as long as possible
your working weight
4. Bench press4 x 5 (progressively
heavierwann-up sets),followed by 2 x 5
with your working weight
5. Pull-ups 5 x 5 (add a small amount of
weight after each set if you are able to
do so - otherwise,do 5 x 5 with
bodyweight) (Note: if you have accessto
a thick handled pull-up bar and prefer to
use that, then do so - just be sureyou
can managefive reps per set on the thick
handledbar.)
6. Bent-leggedsit-ups on sit-up board 2
x 8 - 12 wrth extra weight resistance
7. Crush-stylegrippers 3 x max reps
with eachhand
CharlesPoire
WORKOUTB
1. Warm-up with light flip snatches2 x
WORKOUT C
10 - Iz,Indian Club drills for 5 mins,
1. Warm-up with light flip snatches2 x
and light cleanand pressfor 2 x 10 - 12
10 - I2,Indian Club drills for 5 mins,
2. Dumbbell incline press6 x 5 (three
and light clean and pressfor 2 x I0 - 12
progressivelyheavierwarm-up setsand
2. Alternate dumbbell press 6 x 5 (four
three setswith your top weight)
progressivelyheavierwaffn-up setsand
3. Pull-ups 6 x 5 (add a small amount of
two setswith your working weight)
weight after eachset if you areable to
3. One ann dumbbellrowing6 x 5 (four
do so - otherwise, do 6 x 5 with
progressivelyheavierwann-up setsand
bodyweight) (Note: if you have accessto
two setswith your working weight)
a thick handled pull-up bar and prefer to
4. Trap Bar deadlifts 6 x 5 (four

27
progressivelyheavier warm-up setsand
two setswith your working weigh|
5. Bent-leggedsit-upson sit-up board2
x 8 - 12 with extra weight resistance
6. Thick bar deadlifts with double
overhandgnp 5 x 5 (start light and add
weight on each set) (Note: theseare a
grip exercise- you alreadyhit your legs,
low back and hiPs with the TraP Bar
deadlifts.)
EXERCISE PERFORMANCE TIPS:
CURLS AND CLOSE GRIP BENCH
PRESSES
As I mentioned,the kid knew
how to do all of the exercises,and only
required coaching on the barbell curls,
the close gnp bench press' and the grip
work. On the curls, Mike taught him to
use STRICT form. No cheating.Mike
saysthat if there's one thing that 99% of
traineesdo wrong , it's cheatingin their
curls. And YeS,Mike knows all about
cheat curls, and he knows that
sometimestheY can be of benefit in a
training program for an ADVANCED
man - but he also knows thatthey're not
nearly as productive as strict curls. Plus,
he knows that cheat curls ate a greatway
to hurt your lower back. So rnrhydo
them?
' reps he was supposedto do were
I askedMike how the whole
cheating curl thing started,and he told
me it gave the magazinewriters
somethingnew and different to write
about. He also noted that cheat curls are
an easysell to readersbecausethey let
them use more weight than rnrhenthey
aredoing strict curls. So they can
pretend they're getting stronger,when in
fact they're just doing the exercisein
bad form.
Mike remembersa toP
bodybuilding champ who supposedlydid
10 reps in the curl with 185 Pounds'
28
Now, by point of reference,the World
and Olympic Weightlifting champion in
the Hear-yweightclassat the time was
John Davis - anenonnously powerful
man who held ALL of the American,
World and OlymPic records in the
Heaq4weight class- and who could
perform one-arrnchins while holding a
dumbbell in his other hand. (I know, I
know, hard to believe for a
Hear-ryweight.But I know a maflwho
saw Davis do a one-arrnchin while
holdin I a 50-pound dumbbell in his
other hand!) Davis once did someheavy
curls at alifting show where he appeared
as a specialguest|ifter, and cgrled 205
pounds in strict form. So the idea of a
bodybuilder who weighed far less than
Davis doing 10 reps in the curl with 185
pounds was just a little bit hard for
people to swallow.
In fact, one man was so upset bY
it all that he wrote a letter to Strength
and Health in which he challengedthe
bodybuilder to perform 10 curls with
185 poundsIN PUBLIC, with certified
lifting officials counting the reps. He
even bet the bodybuilder a big chunk of
changethat he couldn't do it.
In response,the bodYbuilder
admittedthat he could NoT do 10 reps
in the curl with 185pounds.Those 10
CHEAT CURLS, not strict curls.
Mike once said that cheat curls
arelike kissing your kid sister,exceptno
one brags aboutkissing their kid sister.
And no one should brag about doing
cheatcurls, either.
The close griP bench Press
requiresli6le explanatioll.Of course,
you do them strict, with no bounce.
Touch and go is okay, but don't bounce.
And don't arch,raiseyour hips or do any
of that kind of stuff.
fhe really imPortantthing is to
perfonn close gnp bencheswith your
handsjust a little closerthan shoulder
width apart.If you try to do the exercise
with your hands extremely close to each
other - or worse, touching each other -
then you don't have any strengthat all
and you'll be limited to a very light
weight. And worse than that, if your grip
is too close it trvistsyour elbows into an
unnafural position that can cause
extremely sore elbows - and possibly
even lead to tendonitis.Remember,
heavy ann training is impossibleif your
develop elbow tendonitis- so ALWAYS
use a grrpthat doesn't over-stressyour
elbows! (Even on your warrn-up sets.
That wann-up weight is more than heavy
enoughto do damageif you do it with an
excessivelyclosegrip !)
Bob Hoffman
PROTECTNG YOURJONTS
A11of this brings me to another
importantpoint. Severalof them,
actually. They all relateto one of the
most important - but neglected- aspects
of successfularm training. Protecting
your elbows. Somethingthat should be
fundamental,but somethingthat is rarely
if ever discussedin arm training courses
or in articles about affn specialization.
And that's crazy, becauseone of the
29
secretsof successfularm specialization
is training the armmuscles without
causingextrememuscular soreness,sore
elbows, "tennis elbow" or other forms of
tendonitis.Remember,sore elbows will
derail your arm training faster than you
can S&y,"Back to the drawing bo ard!"
But guys have a lot of questionsthat
bear directly on the whole issueof
avoiding elbow problems. First,
many guys ask if they can use anEZ curl
bar insteadof a straight bar. They say
that the straight bar rrcitatestheir elbows.
But they're reluctant to use the EZ curl
bar becausethey think it's cheating,or
becausethey've read that straightbar
curls are more effective. (Arthur Jones,
the inventor of the Nautilus equipment,
usedto note that your biceps are in a
fully supinatedposition when you
perform straight bar curls, but are only
partially supinatedwhen you perforrn
EZ bar curls - so he argued that straight
bar curls aremore effective.)
Mike has a different answer.He
saysyou shoulduse whichever bar feels
more comfortableand allows you to
handlemore weight. There'sno reason
to torture yourself with straight bar curls
if they hurt your elbows. Even if straight
bar curls really ARE more effective (and
that's debatable),they lose their
effectivenessif you developinner elbow
tendonitisand can't train any more.
Second,guys ask if they can use
anEZ curl bar for close grip bench
presses.Once agarn,the answeris a
resoundingYES ! Use whatevertraining
tools allow you to lift the most weight
without any muscle or joint pain. For
somemen, that meansusing a straight
bar for their closegrip benches- for
others,it meansusing anEZ curl bar -
and for some,it meansusing a Log Bar
with aparullel grip.
Mike often usesme as an
example of the importance of finding the
right bar for eachexercise.I usedto be
able to use a straight bar for curls with
no problem, but as I got older, the
straight bar curls started to hurt my inner
elbows.so I tried using anEZ curl bar. I
tried two or three different EZ curl bars
and didn't like them at all. Then I found
an old, thick, verY heavy-duty EZ curl
bar thathad unusually sharp angles
where you held the bar. This bar worked
GREAT for me! With it, I was able to
work up to 185Poundsfor five rePsin
the STRICT curl - which is pretty darn
good. And it never hurt mY elbows.
On closegriP benchPresses,I
was able to use an OlYmPicbar and
work up to 295 or 305 pounds for 5 reps
- but I preferredusing the samesharply
angledEZ curl bar, and did most of mY
close grip training with thatbar. I
worked up to 320 Poundsfor 5 rePsin
the close grip bench presswith that bat.
And once agarn,othet EZ curl bars with
a different angle don't work nearly as
well for me. So everyoneis different,
and everyoneneedsto find exactly the
right bars and other equipment for his or
her particular body. Your elbows will
thank you for it.
Third , train Your tricePsthe
Mike's Gym way - with close griP
benchpresses,regularbenchpresses'
and military presses.The Frenchpresses,
triceps extensionsand skull-crushersall
twist your artns into unnafural positions,
and they all exposeyour elbow joints to
the risk of severeinjury or crippling
tendonitis. (WhV do you think so many
guys who handle heavy weights in the
skull-crusherexercisewear rubber wraps
on their elbows or wraP them with
powerlifter-styleknee wraps?It's
becausetheir elbows areeither injured or
on the point of being injured every time
they train.)
30
Fourth, skiP the Preacherbench
curls. They're just too hard on your inner
elbows. That bottom position where your
arrn is extended againstweight
resistanceis an elbow killer. And they
will NOT 'olengthen"your biceps' as
many believe. The only way to lengthen
your biceps would be to have surgery to
reafrachthe muscle lower down - and
that's not somethingyou ever want to
do.
Fifth, skiP the curling machines'
They're evenworse than the preacher
bench curls. In fact, theY can cause
severetendonitisin just a couple of
workouts - I know becauseI did it once
when I was young and foolish. (That was
back in my BMG Days - Before Mike's
Gym.)
Sixth, skiP the wide grip curls
and the naffow grip curls. They place
tremendoustension on Your inner
elbows and wrists. (The wide grip curl is
especiallytroublesome.)Yes, I know
they look like fun, and I know that many
top champs sweat bY them - but
seriously,you onlY have one set of
elbows, and you don't want to abuse
them.
Seventh,droPthe reversecurls'
We used to do them a lot when we were
younger,but Mike's PrettYmuch
droppedthem now. They end up causing
tennis elbow for too many guys. The
problem, once again,is the twisted
positioll. It just torquesthe heck out of
your inner elbows.
Point 1lo.eight -- if barbell curls
hurt your elbows, use dumbbell curls
instead.Find an angle and a tange of
motion that feels okay, and stick to it.
For somelifters (especiallyolder lifters),
the hammer curl with dumbbells(i.e., a
t
dumbbell curl holding the dumbbells
with the thumbs-up, as if you were
holding a hammer) is the best way to go.
Indeed, for older lifters , it may be the
only curling exercisethat doesn't cause
joint pain.
Finally, if you want to do thick
bar curls, start slow and light and work
up carefully. Thick bar curls work the
heck out of your tendonsand ligaments,
and you need to break into them very
carefully. (The samegoes for any other
thick bar exercises.Thick bars are
terrific training tools, but you needto
use them wisely and intelligently. Train
with your brain, not your ego.) And if
you do try thick bar curls, try a 1 Yz"or
2" thick bar. Unless you have really
large hands, a thrcker bar is going to be
very difficult for heavy curls.
And since we'rc talking about
the importanceof protectingyour joints,
let me note that two of the most popular
arrr'exerciseswill causeshoulder
problems for a very high percentageof
lifters. One of them is the parallel dip.
As I've alreadynoted, it' s a very popular
exercise- and it works great for some
guys - but it leadsto shoulderproblems
for many guys. And the funny thing is, a
guy can train on dips with good results
for a long time, and then all of a sudden
WHAM! Somethinggoeswrong, and
one bad rep causesproblemsthat may
take weeks or months to heal. Or it may
causeproblemsthat never go away.
The other exerciseis the press
behindneck. It's a classicold-school
exercise,and many respectedauthorities
have taught it in their books, articlesand
courses- but it can really hurt your
shoulders.Military pressesand dumbbell
pressesare much safer-- so skip the
behind the neck presses,and stick to the
safer (andjust as effective) pressing
movements.
32
If you think about it, virtually all
of the arm specializationcoursesand
articleswritten over the past 100 years
have included too many different
exercises,performed for too many
different setsand reps, and they've also
included exercisesthat tend to cause
elbow problems.Most arm training
routines have severaldifferent types of
curls and severaldifferent triceps
exercisesin them (presumably,to give
the trainee amaximum pump and to "hit
the musclesfrom all possibleangles").
The problem is, if you do a number of
different ann exercisesthat someone
elsehas selectedfor you, the odds are
good that one or more of them is going
to be bad for your particular body
structure.As a direct result, many arrn
speciahzationprograms do little more
than lead to sore shouldersand sore
elbows for the guys that follow them. In
fact, if you ever wrote a book on the
history of arm speciahzationroutines,
you could call it: "A History of Elbow
and ShoulderWrecking Programs."
It makesfar more senseto build
your anns by training hard and heavy on
one or two exercisesthat you know from
experiencework well for YOU - and on
exercisesthat do NOT causeyou pain or
discomfort. Rather than try to work your
anns from all possibleangles,you
should work your anns ONLY with
exercisesthat don't causeproblems for
you.
Remember,it doesn't matter if
somemassivelymuscledchampion- or
a massivelymuscledguy who happens
to train at your gym -- saysto use a
particular exercise.If it works for him,
fine. But if it HURTS YOU, DROP IT!
Find anotherexercisethat doesn't hurt
when you do it.
Of course,no matter what
exercisesyou select,you can still hurt
yourself if you skip your wann-ups or if
you do too many setsand reps.Always
take the time to warm-up with
progressivelyheavier setsbefore
tackling heary curls or heavy close gnp
benchpresses.And pleasenote that the 5
x 5 systemor a similar set/repsystem
will allow you to train your muscles
without overworkittg your joints. That's
one of the reasonsthat Mike usesthe 5 x
5 system(and similar set/repschemes)in
his training programs.
And one other thing. Heavy
singles.They work gteatfor many
exercises(for an advancedman who has
built up to them with sensible,low rep
training), but they're not as good for ann
training. For presses,they're fine (for an
advancedman). For curls and close grip
benchpresses,not so good. So follow
the set/repschemesin this course.
Edward Aston
EXERCISE PERFORMANCE TIPS:
GRIP WORK
The kid's grip work was pretty
basic stuff, but Mike and I coachedhim
through the exercisesto help him
squeezeeverylast drop of good results
from them. Grip work is one of the many
aspectsof training where the liftle things
can be really important.
To begin with, you can use any
kind of crush style gripper you enjoy
using, &Slong as it's strong enoughthat
33
you hit muscular failure in no more than
15 reps. If your gnpper isn't strong
enough,you have three options: (1) buy
a strongergnpper (order from John
Wood at
www. functionalhandstrength. com), or
(2) begin the setby squeezingand
holding the gripper shut for 10 - 30
seconds,and then do your reps after you
have "pre-exhausted"your gripping
muscles,or (3) hold the gripper shut for
5 - 10 secondson eachrep.
If you have severaldifferent
grippers, you can do one set with the
easiestone, and then work your way up
to harder grippers for the secondand
third sets.
You can do your pinch grip
lifting with a pinch grip block or with a
barbell plate. If you use a plate,use a
smooth exerciseplate with no rim, not
an Olympic plate. Depending on your
equipment,you can work one hand at a
time or two hands at a time.
The thick bar double overhand
deadlifts work the heck out of your
fingers and thumbs. Many guys are
concernedbecausethey can't use their
regular deadlift poundagesin this
exercise.That's becauseit's a GRIP
exercise,not aleg, hip and lower back
movement. You train your legs, hips and
lower back with the Trap bar deadlifts
that come before this movement.
If you do your grip training right,
your hands and fingers will be fried
when you're finished. So always do your
grip work at the end of the workout.
By the w&y, Reg Park and John
Grimek both had massiveforeanns and
incredibly powerful grips. Thesemen are
clear proof that grip trainingplays an
important part in building Herculean
upper afins.
 John Grimek
THE KID'S RESULTS
The kid trained hard for the next
12 weeks,and always tried to add weight
to the bar on all of his different
exercises.And at the end of 12 weeks,
he had packedanother14 poundsof
muscle onto his frame, and added 1 y2,,
inchesto eachof his upper anns. That
made a total of 37 poundsof muscle and
4" to the kid's upper anns - all of it in
just 24 shortweeks.Not bad for six
month's of training.
Many beginnerswill gain just as
fast. Somewill gain even faster.That's
especiallytrue for guys who arestarting
out at the sametime they hit their
"growirg phase))- the one where
teenagerssleepso much, eatso much
and suddenlyend up many inchestaller
and many pounds of muscleheavier,all
as a result of their body having reached
the "GROW STAGE" where they move
from boy to man and their glands and
hormones areworking overtime to keep
them in "grow mode."
Older traineesand traineeswho
have been lifting for awhile will gain
more slowly - but everyonewho works
through the fuIl l2-week cycle for Level
One and the l2-week cycle for Level
Two of the Mike's Gym armroutine
shouldbe ableto add l0 poundsof
muscle and an inch on his upper arms.
It's a greatprogram- and if yOU work
the program will WORK!
Now if you really want to go
whole hog on the big arrnsthing, then do
this. Follow the program exactly as
written, going through both levels one
right after the other. After that,take 12
weeks and follow an all-aroundprogram
of your choicefiust be sureit's a Dino-
style programs,i.e., somethingthatMike
would let you do if you were training at
Mike's Gym) - and then follow the atrr1
routine (both levels) for two l2-week
cycles.After that,train on all-around
programs(Dino-style!) for most of the
year,but hit the level two program at
least once per year. And if you think
you're readYfor rt, try the Level 3
Programfor !2weeks every year' (The
Level 3 Program is outlined in the next
sectionof the course.)Aftef a few years,
your anns will be so thick and powerful
that you'll be able to get a job doubling
as the gorilla atthe local zoo.
Now, You might wonder what the
kid decidedto do next. Heck, if you've
been paying attention,you might even
wonder if he ever enteredthat Inter-
Galactic Mega-Muscle contesthe was
babbling about when he first showedup
at Mike's Gym. The answeris'No'" In
fact,he never even mentioned the silly
thing. At least,I never heardhim
mention it. But he did do some other
stuff thatwas probably more impressive.
I'll tell you about it the next time Mike
asksme to write somethingup about his
specialtraining programs and training
methods.
You also might be wondering
aboutthe kid's i-pod, and whether Sam
ever gave it back. It turns out that the i-
and the kid |eft it
-on had gotten broken,
pod
the floor in the locker room. That was
where Sam saw it. So Mike andI were
wrong. Sam didn't swipe it - he found it.
When Mike learnedthe real story, he felt
bad for having suspectedhis four-legged
buddy of cunning caninethievery (even
if it was - we thought - for a good
cause).So he ordered a double deluxe
pepperoniPvzafrom Sam's favorite
priruplace. A very cutepizza delivery
girt biought it over, and shemade a big
fuss about Sam and scratchedhis ears
35
and said he was 'othecutestpuppy dog
shehad ever seen," and thatmade it
extra special for him.
So once again,things are back to
nonnal atMike's Gym. Sam is enjoying
a double deluxe pepperoni przza,the
guys arestanding atthe window and
staring atthe pizza delivery girl as she
walks back to her car,Mike is working
on revised plans for his alhgatorpit, and
I'm hitting the keybo ardto put it all on
paper. And of course'we have Yet
anothermember of the Gym who made
greatgainswith the Mike's GYm arm
routine. That's beenhappeningfor a
heck of a lot of yearsnow. I guessyou
could say that somethings never change.
THE MIKE' S GYM ARM ROUTINE:
LEVEL THREE
Note bY Mike: Once agarn,
Kubik got most of it right. He onlY
missed a couple of important points'
Mainly, the entire Level Three of the
Mike's Gym Arm Routille. of course,in
Kubik's defense,the kid hasn't done the
program yet. But rnrhenhe does- which
I imagine will be in about two years -
he'll make evenmore greatgains'
Level Three of the Mike's GYm
Arm Routine is ONLY for advanced
lifters who have been through at least
two completecycles of Level One and
Level Two of the routine. It looks more
like a conventional arm training program
than Levels One and Two. But there are
someimportant differences.You'll see
them wfren I outline the routine for you.
You follow anotherthree-daY-
per-weekroutine. The secondworkout
of the week (Workout B) will be Your
afin training day.
WORKOUTA
1. Warm-up with light flip snatches2 x
10 - lz,Indian Club drills for 5 mins,
and light clean and pressfor 2 x I0 - 12
z.M7litary press5 x 5 (progressively
heavier setsworking up to one top set
for five reps), followed bY 1 x 3 and 1 x
1 (adding weight on each set)*
3. Back squat or front squat 5 x 5
(progressivelyheavier setsworking up
to one top set for five reps), followed by
1 x 3 and 1 x 1 (adding weight on each
set)*
4. Bent-leggedsit-upson incline boardz
x 8 --I2 (with extra weight resistance)
5. Crush style grippers 3 x max reps (at
least five, but not more than 15 rePs)
* Finish with a heavy single but NOT a
maximum single.
WORKOUTB
1. Warm-up with light flip snatches2 x
10 - Iz,Indian Club drills for 5 mins,
and light clean and pressfor 2 x I0 - 12
2. Alternatedumbbell press 6 x 5 (four
progressivelyheavier sets,followed by 2
x 5 with your top weight)
3. Barbell curls (progressivelyheavier
setsworking up to one top set for five
reps),followedby 1 x 3 and 1 x 1
(adding weight on each set)*
4. Close grip bench press(progtessively
heavier setsworking up to one top set
for five reps), followed bY 1 x 3 and 1 x
1 (adding weight on eachset)*
5. Dumbbell hammer curl 5 x 5
(progressivelyheavier setsworking up
to one top set for five rePs)
4. Pinch grip lifting 5 - 7 progressively
heavier singles*
* Finish with a heavy single but NOT a
maximum single.
WORKOUT C
1. Warm-up with light flip snatches2 x
10 - lz,Indian Club drills for 5 mins,
and light clean and pressfor 2 x I0 - 12
2. Pull-ups 5 x 5 (with bodyweight in the
36
first set, then using extra weight -
perfonn progressivelyheavier sets
working up to one top set for five reps)*
3. Bench press,incline barbell press,
dumbbell bench press or dumbbell
incline press(progressivelyheavier sets
working up to one top set for five reps),
followedby I x 3 and 1 x 1 (adding
weight on eachset)**
4. Bent leggeddeadlifts or TraP Bar
deadlifts5 x 5 (progressivelyheavier
setsworking up to one top set for five
reps), followed bY 1 x 3 and 1 x 1
(adding weight on each set)*
5. Hangingleg raises2x 8 - 15
* Finish with a heavy single but NOT a
maximum single.
** Use 5 x 5, 1 x 3 and 1 x 1 ifyou
perfofin benchpressesor incline presses
with abarbell. If you use dumbbells,
perform 6 x 5 (4 progressivelyheavier
wann-up sets,followed bY 2 x 5 with
your top weight). If you use barbells and
finish with a single reP, finish with a
heavy weight but NOT a maximum
single.
THE WRAP-UP
That covers the Mike's GYm arcrr
training routine. If you like it, ordet a
pepperoniprzza for Sam, and ask if
"Mandy" can deliver it to the gym. She's
the hottie that thinks Sam is so darn
cute!
Other than that,there's nothing
left to say- other than good luck, good
training, and keePus Postedon Your
results! You know how to reachme -
it's info@broekskubik.cour-- and if you
want to drop Mike anote (or ask him a
question),sendit to me and I'll passit
along.