Ten things that work much better than any food supplement under the sun

Doug Hepburn and APOLLON WHEELS

Below is the extract from Brooks Kubik, The Dinosaur Strength Training Notebook:

Ten things that work much better than any food supplement under the sun

1. Squats.

2. Abbreviated training programs that focus on heavy duty compound exercises with barbell and dumbbells.

3. Supplementing your barbell and dumbbell work with heavy awkward objects (bags, barrels, beams etc).

4. Dropping the heaviest dumbbell you can find on the head of any self proclaimed ''weight train authority'' who tells you that ''genetics are everything.''

5. Ditto to anyone who advocates slow motion training. Twice.

6. The heavy pulling movements that Olympic lifters use...the exercises that have been building the biggest, thickest, strongest backs in the world for close to a century: power cleans, power pulls, power snatches and the clean and press.

7. The type of HEAVY dumbbell lifting detailed on my training tape, The Lost Art of Dumbbell Training.

8. A no nonsense, never say die, never give up attitude...a strength of mind and power of will that allows you to SMASH through any sort of adversity or obstacle.

9. Plenty of good, nutritious food.

10. Heavy partials to build tendon and ligament strength.


First preference for anyone should be good nutrition, supplements should come second. Making good food choice is also cost effective.

I have made 2 comparison below :

Comparison 1
Take for example, 5lbs Whey Protein costs around Rs 3500 here in India and makes 75 serving days which will last about 90 days.

At same price you can get following for 3 Months, daily
1. 5 Eggs daily each @ Rs 2 = Rs 900
2. 500 ml milk @ Rs 25 per Liter = Rs 1125
3. 100 Gm Cottage cheese @ Rs 140 per Kg= 1260

Totals comes to about Rs 3285

Comparison 2
Now Total protein content in a 5lb jar @ 23 gm per scoop = 1725 gm (based upon label, can't be sure if supplement company are screwing us here.)

1. 5 Eggs daily each @ 6gm per egg = 30 gm daily and 2700 Gm for 3 months
2. 500 ml milk @ 6.5 gm per glass = 13 gm daily and 1170 gm for 3 months
3. 100 Gm Cottage cheese @ 20gm per 100gm = 20gm daily and 1800 for 3 months.
This amounts to 63 gm daily and 5670 gm for 3 months.

Though a vague comparison but we can conclude that natural protein source is better than any supplement both quality and money wise.

I am gonna ditch whey protein from this month and concentrate on good nutrition.

The Exercise Part 1 - Squat

Squat is the basic exercise that is used everyday in our daily life but unfortunately we have lost the mobility to do so. Below is a picture of a kid doing a perfect squat.


Here are few pointers that needs to be taken in mind.

• Big Chest : Try to make a big chest and squeeze your back and look straight ahead, this will prevent the rounding of the back.
  
• Bend from hips: Initiate the motion from the hips and try to sit back between your legs.
• Push from the heels: At any instant the weight should be on your heels and you should be able to wiggle your toes. Push the ground while coming up.
• Knees out : Always push your knees outwards and you knees will thank you.
• Go deep : Go as deep as you can, if you can not reach parallel then you need to work on your hips and ankle mobility.
  

One of the best Source to lean Squat is below video from Coach Dan John. It runs for about 50 minutes , great stuff.



Here he have used two techniques for teaching how to squat.

1. Goblet squat

Do this without a dumbbell, hold a goblet like position in front of you and squat down. and in the bottom position with the help of of your elbows push your knees outwards.


2. Potato sack squat

Insure that the weight is on your heels, keep your chin up and chest puffed, grasp hands and drop between your legs just as your going down to pick a sack of potatoes. touch the floor with your hands and get up.

Please note that before loading its important that your are squating with good technique. bodyweight first