The Original Dr. Ken Log Bar

Posted on Monday, July 29th, 2019 by John Wood
Here’s a look at one of the original ideas behind Dr. Ken’s Log Bar — an actual log with handles cut into it. This “log” was patterned on an unusual parallel-handled bar used for pressing movements that Dr. Ken trained with down in Lake Helen, Florida when he worked for Arthur Jones. As is the case with most of Dr. Ken’s unusual equipment, this log was a lot of fun to train with and provided many excellent workouts for his trainees. Many strongman contests these days have steel logs, usually used for overhead lifting, which approximate this original design — yet another innovation that you can thank Dr. Ken for.
All Contents, Including Images and Text, Copyright © 2005-2021 by John Wood and Thunderdome Media Inc., Not to be reproduced without permission, All Rights Reserved
Author: John Wood. All contents, including images and text, copyright © 2005-2021 by John Wood and Thunderdome Media Inc. Not to be reproduced without permission. All rights reserved. We will most likely grant permission but please contact us if you would like to repost. IMPORTANT: Equipment and books, courses etc. pictured in blog posts are generally not available for sale unless specifically noted.

Dr. Ken Squatting at Zuver’s Gym

Posted on Tuesday, June 26th, 2018 by John Wood
Dr. Ken, getting in a (what else?) squat workout at Zuver’s Hall of Fame Gym. Needless to say, intense leg work has been a mainstay of the good Doctor’s workout for a long time. This also happens to be “The World’s Biggest Squat Rack” or at least it was at the time.
All Contents, Including Images and Text, Copyright © 2005-2021 by John Wood and Thunderdome Media Inc., Not to be reproduced without permission, All Rights Reserved
Author: John Wood. All contents, including images and text, copyright © 2005-2021 by John Wood and Thunderdome Media Inc. Not to be reproduced without permission. All rights reserved. We will most likely grant permission but please contact us if you would like to repost. IMPORTANT: Equipment and books, courses etc. pictured in blog posts are generally not available for sale unless specifically noted.

Anchor Chain Dragging

Posted on Friday, November 10th, 2017 by John Wood
When you train at Dr. Ken’s place, one of the ‘fun’ exercises you can look forward to is anchor chain dragging. Enjoy! Look closely and you’ll see the man in the purple t-shirt… Doc had to re-pave his driveway every other summer, but it was a small price to pay in the acquisition of strength and power.

The Steel Tip Newsletter by Dr. Ken Leistner

Posted on Monday, October 9th, 2017 by John Wood

Back in the mid 1980’s Dr. Ken Leistner started his own newsletter — The Steel Tip — which ran for 36 issues. Pictured here is Volume I, Number 1 from January, 1985. Featured articles include: “Ripoffs” Sciatic Irritation, Off-Season Conditioning, Hormone Suppression, Orthopedic Insights, Improper Training, Muscle Loss vs. Fat Loss and Adolescent Dangers.

(NOTE: A few years back, we asked Dr. Ken if we could compile all the Steel Tip issues into one volume and he gave us the thumbs up, however, we sold out of all the copies that we printed and do not have plans to reprint them. We do NOT have any of these available although at some point, you may find issues of The Steel Tip posted in The Iron League.)

All Contents, Including Images and Text, Copyright © 2005-2021 by John Wood and Thunderdome Media Inc., Not to be reproduced without permission, All Rights Reserved
Author: John Wood. All contents, including images and text, copyright © 2005-2021 by John Wood and Thunderdome Media Inc. Not to be reproduced without permission. All rights reserved. We will most likely grant permission but please contact us if you would like to repost. IMPORTANT: Equipment and books, courses etc. pictured in blog posts are generally not available for sale unless specifically noted.

Dinosaur Training by Brooks Kubik

Posted on Thursday, September 21st, 2017 by John Wood
~ Lost Secrets of Strength and Development ~
A man who lifted weights for his entire life once took a good look at the world of strength training around him…
…and he didn’t like what he saw … so he did something incredible…

Here’s what happened next:

A gym used to be a serious place for serious people, interested in building serious strength, but in modern times its safe to say that gyms have become glorified juice bars — with no shortage of chrome, ferns, and pencil-neck pseudo experts who wave around plastic dumbbells while making sure their designer headbands matched their suede lifting belts.

This guy… Brooks Kubik. As he trains in his basement gym with a bunch of rusty old weights and oldschool techniques — no chrome or ferns to be found!

Yeah, you know exactly what I’m talking about! Weight training was slowly but surely being taken over by the druggers … the toners … the bros … the poseurs … the pretty boys … the pencil necks … the whiners … the pump artists …the arm-chair experts …and the mirror athletes. (no doubt you’ve seen them all, and this makes you just as sick.)

This man had enough – Enough! His name was Brooks Kubik, and what happened next started a revolution throughout the entire world of strength.

And so it Began

…So Brooks began to write. While Brooks had authored articles in several different publications over the years

(including Milo, Hard Gainer, Iron Master and Iron Man) the words that were now issuing forth on his type writer were somehow different than ever before.

He wrote about the training that had worked for him, how he trained in high school, how he trained in college, how he trained to win multiple National Championships in Bench Press Powerlifting meets, and how his favorite oldtime strongmen used to train…

Brooks had originally planned to type out a fifty or so page manuscript and possibly sell (though more likely give it away) to the few people out in the world he thought might be interested in it. Brooks reached fifty pages after only a few short days of writing, and there was still more material he wanted to cover — a lot more.

Fifty pages turned into a hundred, a hundred pages turned into two hundred. and it didn’t stop there. With the encouragement of several the top people in the strength world, the finished product was titled Dinosaur Training since it was covered training techniques that were almost (but not quite!) extinct.

Dinosaur Training covered the methods that the strongest men who had ever lived had utilized — sure, with traditional weights such as barbells and, but also highly unusual implements such as sandbags, kegs, rocks, anvils, sledge hammers and more. Brooks Kubik went ahead and published Dinosaur Training, releasing it on an unsuspecting world…

And Then Everything Changed
Arthur Saxon — also known as “The Iron Master” — put more weight overhead with one arm than anyone in history, nearly 400 lbs.!
John Davis, multiple-time Olympic weightlifting champion and world record holder, could have just as easily been a champion bodybuilder
Doug Hepburn, the great Canadian champion, was easily one of the strongest men of all time. His workouts are covered in details in ‘Dinosaur Training’.

It was as if the ghosts of Iron Game’s past were suddenly brought back to life… men like Arthur Saxon, John Davis, Reg Park George Hackenschmidt and Steve Stanko became household names again

All of a sudden people started attacked their training with a ferocity that hadn’t been seen for many years. Calloused hands started lifting odd objects again – sand bags, kegs, rocks, anvils, anchors. Training methods such as thick handled weights, heavy partial movements and power rack work all experienced a resurgence in popularity. Suddenly it became OK to lift heavy chunks of iron and steel once again.

Dont’s just train…
Revolution or Evolution?

Less than eighteen months after it appeared, the entire first printing of Dinosaur Training sold out completely … College and NFL strength coaches began reading it and incorporating Old School training techniques into their programs … Everyone started setting up personal gyms in their basements and garages, stocking them with plenty of “old fashioned” equipment that worked better than anything else available.

This wasn’t just a local thing either; orders started flooding in from all over the globe. The strength world had come full circle… once again, people were training like they did in years past — AND building strength like they did in years past.

When it came time for the second printing, Dinosaur Training became even bigger …literally – Brooks added two additional chapters of intense training material. Today, over twenty years after its initial release, Dinosaur Training still stands as one of the all-time great strength books. You would be hard pressed to find a weight training book which has helped more people get the fire back in their belly (or get it going in the first place) when it comes to serious training.

With the treasure trove of solid training information that it contains, it is no wonder that Dinosaur Training and the Dino-Attitude has reached such great heights of popularity. Now you can read and learn from one of the best training books ever published …the book that started a Revolution.

Take a look at all the valuable training information what you will learn within its pages:

The tremendous value of basic exercises …the exercises that MUST be in your program …and which exercises to avoid at all costs (since they are nothing but a waste of your time)

The biggest reason why most of what you read about modern training is unproductive, and THREE simple things you can do turn the ship around if that’s the direction you were headed

What is the Dinosaur challenge? …are you up to it?

7 ways to “Be A Dinosaur” and how to crank the intensity of your workout up a notch or three

The ONE characteristic that all Dinosaurs have in common – find out what it is

3 steps that will make your training more productive – instantly

The #1 reason why most people give up and how you can avoid that like the plague

Think you know the “Best” program?… you’ll be surprised at Brooks’ answer to this one

Brooks Kubik’s favorite strength writers and training tips from the last 100+ years

What an outline of productive training looks like and how to put together your workouts so it’s guaranteed to work

How to train with a water filled barrel or keg, and how that training style nearly put Brooks down for the count

Why hard work is necessary, and how to make sure you are getting the most out of your workout

The 5 reasons people fail according to Dr. Ken Leistner… – probably the most valuable lesson strength training can teach you

What hard work is and is not

2 types of abbreviated training styles that you can use for big gains

The real meaning behind hard work vs. “bunny” training

What the name of the game is… and it’s not what you think

2 approaches to poundage progression, and how to make sure the gains keep coming for a long time

Beginners, Intermediate and Advanced workout routines, laid out step-by-step

Want to know the “secret” of advanced gains? – You’ll be surprised at how simple it really is

How to make progress with multiple sets of low reps

What the 5 x 5 system is, and how Reg Park, Champion strength athlete and bodybuilder, used it to build super strength fifty years ago

How to use “singles” in the most effective manner in your training

Why thick-bars “work” and how to implement them into your workout

How you can make fear work for you instead of against you

10 grip exercises and a dynamite beginners program for future grip masters

6 advanced grip exercises for monster crushing power

How to build real strength with logs, barrels and heavy bags

The many benefits of proper power-rack training

5 hard core power-rack routines

8 fads, fallacies and pitfalls of modern training and how to avoid them all

Much more!!

As you can see, Dinosaur Training covers a lot of ground. Of particular note are three big chapters on grip training which helps anyone lay a solid foundation.

A Crash Course in How to gain Super Strength with
One of the World’s Greatest Teachers

Do you remember the first time you tried to learn something for the first time? Starting out, nothing made sense and you felt like giving up. That’s how it is for a lot of people who want to start lifting weights – they get confused and don’t know what to do – and so they do the only thing they could do, they give up.

Now imagine how confident you felt when someone took the time to explain some things to you. What used to be frustrating, now makes perfect sense and now that you know exactly what to do, it’s off to the races.

That’s exactly how it is when you have Brooks as your teacher. As you turn the pages of Dinosaur Training, all of a sudden all the confusing things about strength training will make sense – you’ll know how many sets to do, you’ll know which exercises to do, you’ll know how much weight to use… and you will begin to build the strength you have always dreamed about.

Get your copy of Dinosaur Training and join the Revolution!

Order now!Dinosaur Training by Brooks Kubik
_________ $19.99 plus s/h

The 12th Man to lift “The Water Barrel” at Zuver’s Hall of Fame Gym

Posted on Tuesday, June 21st, 2016 by John Wood

It was on July 1st, 1968 that Dr. Ken Leistner became the 12th man to lift the Zuver’s Gym “challenge” water barrel overhead. Nobody knows exactly how much the barrel weighed but it was somewhere in the neighborhood of 200-250 lbs. And, if you have done any barrel lifting, you know that it’s a whole different deal than a barbell. If you ever get to talk to Dr. Ken, get him to tell you the story on how this came about.
All Contents, Including Images and Text, Copyright © 2005-2021 by John Wood and Thunderdome Media Inc., Not to be reproduced without permission, All Rights Reserved
Author: John Wood. All contents, including images and text, copyright © 2005-2021 by John Wood and Thunderdome Media Inc. Not to be reproduced without permission. All rights reserved. We will most likely grant permission but please contact us if you would like to repost. IMPORTANT: Equipment and books, courses etc. pictured in blog posts are generally not available for sale unless specifically noted.

Dr. Ken’s Steel Suitcases

Posted on Thursday, March 24th, 2016 by John Wood

The farmers walk is a great exercise and has always been one of my favorites — just grab a weight in each hand and start walking. How far you go is up to you, but one thing is always for sure: you can go a lot farther than you think you can since your mind will give out before your body does. Needless to say, this is a great exercise for building hand strength AND mental toughness.

As far as the weights you can use, a pair of dumbbells is a good choice, as are sandbags, or even some specially made handles which some folks like to use.

If you got a chance to check out some of Brooks Kubik’s old Dinosaur Training videos, you saw Brooks performing the Farmers walk with some highly unusual implements: a pair of 180-pound iron suitcases made by Dr. Ken. Imagine two pieces of metal each shaped like an “I” with handles welded on top and that’s what we are dealing with.

Brooks, the madman that he is, decided to take these little monsters for a walk around the city block in his Bags, Barrels, and Beyond video and if you’ve seen it, you know it is in-tense.

Just Another Workout at Dr. Ken’s Place

Posted on Wednesday, January 6th, 2016 by John Wood

Despite what you may have read, heard or believe, REAL training is about effort — but the best part is, if you do it right, you’ll get out of it exactly what you put into it, maybe even more.
As you can see, when Dr. Ken trains, he gives it his all… and so should you.
All Contents, Including Images and Text, Copyright © 2005-2021 by John Wood and Thunderdome Media Inc., Not to be reproduced without permission, All Rights Reserved
Author: John Wood. All contents, including images and text, copyright © 2005-2021 by John Wood and Thunderdome Media Inc. Not to be reproduced without permission. All rights reserved. We will most likely grant permission but please contact us if you would like to repost. IMPORTANT: Equipment and books, courses etc. pictured in blog posts are generally not available for sale unless specifically noted.

Anvil Lifting

Posted on Wednesday, November 27th, 2013 by John Wood

“It would be very beneficial for any competitive athlete to obtain an anvil… Lifting it in various positions will greatly add to one’s upper and lower body strength.”

— Dr. Ken Leistner, THE STEEL TIP, Vol 1, No 12, December 1985

All Contents, Including Images and Text, Copyright © 2005-2021 by John Wood and Thunderdome Media Inc., Not to be reproduced without permission, All Rights Reserved
Author: John Wood. All contents, including images and text, copyright © 2005-2021 by John Wood and Thunderdome Media Inc. Not to be reproduced without permission. All rights reserved. We will most likely grant permission but please contact us if you would like to repost. IMPORTANT: Equipment and books, courses etc. pictured in blog posts are generally not available for sale unless specifically noted.

The Big Wheel at Zuver’s Hall of Fame Gym

Posted on Monday, August 29th, 2011 by John Wood
The Big Wheel at Zuver's Hall of Fame Gym
At Zuver’s Hall of Fame Gym, everything is BIG, including the unique piece of equipment seen here: The BIG Wheel. That’s a heck of a way to do pulldowns. Check out the handle, and that’s a pretty good sized anchor chain too. Dr. Ken Leistner, who trained at Zuver’s long ago, actually had a reproduction of the Big Wheel made for his Iron Island Gym (made for him by Jim Sutherland.)
All Contents, Including Images and Text, Copyright © 2005-2021 by John Wood and Thunderdome Media Inc., Not to be reproduced without permission, All Rights Reserved
Author: John Wood. All contents, including images and text, copyright © 2005-2021 by John Wood and Thunderdome Media Inc. Not to be reproduced without permission. All rights reserved. We will most likely grant permission but please contact us if you would like to repost. IMPORTANT: Equipment and books, courses etc. pictured in blog posts are generally not available for sale unless specifically noted.