Gray Hair and Black Iron

[El Viejo]

Has anybody here bought the book, "Gray Hair and Black Iron" by Brooks Kubik. If so, is it worth the 35 bucks to buy it? It's specifically directed at us, the adult lifter. :D I just finished listening to a podcast interview of Kubik and it sounds interesting, but I'd like to get the opinion of somebody who has read it before buying it.
:D

[Thomas Padron-McCarthy]

I bought it and read it. I can't remember what it said, and I can't find it now, but I seem to remember that I liked it.

Sorry for the useless answer.

[El Viejo]

I bought it and read it. I can't remember what it said, and I can't find it now, but I seem to remember that I liked it. Sorry for the useless answer.

This means that you are fully qualified to post on this forum. Ahhh.......I forgot what I wanted to say............Oh, now I remember, thanks for the response, the fact that you remember liking it is a step in the right direction. I'm the same way with books and movies.

I think I'll just take the plunge and order it. It's got to be better than the stupid article I just read in a magazine while my wife was shopping. It was for the over 40 crowd. 1st it explained all the benefits that weight training offers the older person. Then it goes on to say, 'select a weight that allows you to do 15-20 reps without overly exhausting yourself.' WTF!!! That's the kind of advice I'd expect to get from the family doctor who doesn't have a clue about weight training, but not from an exercise publication. What's with these people that think we are delicate little flowers who can't exert any kind of force? Personally, anything over 5 reps for me is getting into cardio territory. :D:D

[Vader]

This means that you are fully qualified to post on this forum. Ahhh.......I forgot what I wanted to say............Oh, now I remember, thanks for the response, the fact that you remember liking it is a step in the right direction. I'm the same way with books and movies.

I think I'll just take the plunge and order it. It's got to be better than the stupid article I just read in a magazine while my wife was shopping. It was for the over 40 crowd. 1st it explained all the benefits that weight training offers the older person. Then it goes on to say, 'select a weight that allows you to do 15-20 reps without overly exhausting yourself.' WTF!!! That's the kind of advice I'd expect to get from the family doctor who doesn't have a clue about weight training, but not from an exercise publication. What's with these people that think we are delicate little flowers who can't exert any kind of force? Personally, anything over 5 reps for me is getting into cardio territory. :D:D

I'd be interested in hearing your review. I think all of us here have should have a reasonable understanding of the iron part, but I'd be curious what they had to say about recovery, diet, mixing in cardio etc. as it specifically pertains to us old folks. And yeah, that whole "you're too old to lift heavy" refrain people like to lay on us is, well... getting old.

[Kate]

I'd be interested in hearing your review.

+1.

[dcottrill43223]

Has anybody here bought the book, "Gray Hair and Black Iron" by Brooks Kubik.

I just happened to stumble across Brooks' website a few months ago and liked what I saw, so I took the plunge and bought this book. Well worth the $$ in my opinion. So many books for older lifters are just crap. (Light weights, high reps. Don't you dare think about squatting or dead lifting. You might hurt yourself.) Brooks, on the other hand, is a hard core iron guy who, being over 50 himself, has some very good advice for those of us who aren't quite as young as we used to be. While I respect Rip and acknowledge that his books are full of useful information for a lifter of any age, I have come to terms with the fact that I aged out of the Starting Strength demographic long ago. Brooks' book, however, is aimed at guys just like me. I don't think you'd be disappointed.

[Mark E. Hurling]

Brooks Kubik, eh? It looks like he reinvented himself again. This is the 3rd incarnation I know of. The first was his dinosaur training which had some merit. The second was body weight training that was pretty shaky along with his tenuous linkage to Matt Furey in that life. Now this. I haven't read it and I suppose I should refrain from commenting, but his other works gave me a significant problem with this person. I don't know how tall he is but the language he used for Dinosaur Training and associated articles along with his body weight stuff screams of someone with a Little Man's Complex. His capacity for talking shit in those works seemed to know no bounds. While Rip is not shy in expressing his views founded on experience and his own performance, Kubik would just go off on long rants that seemed to be more about telling everyone what a hard core bad-ass he was. Conveying useful information seemed to be a secondary objective. There, I've said it and I stand by it. I've gotten salty myself at 60, it seems to happen as you get older, but the purpose should be about passing on useful stuff not thumping your own chest.

Have at me if you must on this, but that's my story and I'm sticking to it. Sometimes who you are speaks louder than what you say.

[Vader]

Brooks Kubik, eh? It looks like he reinvented himself again. This is the 3rd incarnation I know of. The first was his dinosaur training which had some merit. The second was body weight training that was pretty shaky along with his tenuous linkage to Matt Furey in that life. Now this. I haven't read it and I suppose I should refrain from commenting, but his other works gave me a significant problem with this person. I don't know how tall he is but the language he used for Dinosaur Training and associated articles along with his body weight stuff screams of someone with a Little Man's Complex. His capacity for talking shit in those works seemed to know no bounds. While Rip is not shy in expressing his views founded on experience and his own performance, Kubik would just go off on long rants that seemed to be more about telling everyone what a hard core bad-ass he was. Conveying useful information seemed to be a secondary objective. There, I've said it and I stand by it. I've gotten salty myself at 60, it seems to happen as you get older, but the purpose should be about passing on useful stuff not thumping your own chest.

Have at me if you must on this, but that's my story and I'm sticking to it. Sometimes who you are speaks louder than what you say.

Well Mark... if the the tone of the book is as you describe, I'll give it a pass. Plus the several personal incarnations leave a suspicious odor.

[Mark E. Hurling]

Brooks Kubik, eh? It looks like he reinvented himself again. This is the 3rd incarnation I know of. The first was his dinosaur training which had some merit. The second was body weight training that was pretty shaky along with his tenuous linkage to Matt Furey in that life. Now this. I haven't read it and I suppose I should refrain from commenting, but his other works gave me a significant problem with this person.

This is hard for me to do Vader, but the Force is strong in me. I haven't read this particular book, and as much as I have my reservations about this guy it's only fair to make that point clear. He may have "played Inna Gadda Da Vida at 78 and seen God, man" but I have my doubts.

[lanky]

He's a lawyer...................

[Mark E. Hurling]

Well, I knew that, but refrained from further prejudicial comment about that particular aspect of his life. God knows, as an ex-cop I have strong enough feelings about about practitioners of that ilk. This is called full disclosure. I may not like the fucker, but that's just my opinion.

[dcottrill43223]

Wow! There's some Brooks Kubik hatin' goin' on here. I've only recently discovered Brooks and Grey Hair and Black Iron is the only book of his that I've read, so I have to plead ignorance regarding his past. That said, I thought the book was worthwhile.

[johnreynolds]

I've read Brooks first book, Dino training, which made a mockery of the popular gym culture at the time in the 90's where most people were more interested in "pumping and toning" rather than actually getting stronger. It got strident after a while, but overall at $20 the book was OK. He's a student of the Bradley Steiner, York Barbell Co etc school of limiting your workout to a few basic compound
movements, no fancy programming like periodization etc, just lift heavy weights at low reps. I'm sure today he has to modify his routine to account for his age and wear and tear on his body etc, but at $35 I don't think I'm that interested in finding out.
Just ask Rip what he does today for some free advice for middle aged lifters.

[Kate]

Here's a review that someone posted over at IronMind:

http://www.ironmind-forum.com/showthread.php?t=146

The reviewer says Kubik's writing style has improved & matured, and been toned down considerably, in Gray Hair and Black Iron.

Prolly not fair to judge that book (esp. without having read it) based solely on what you thought of his previous book, Mark. People do sometimes learn and change as they get older....

I wish Kubik would allow amazon.com to do their "look inside the book" thing so people could look the book over a bit. And he'd probably sell more books that way.

[Mark E. Hurling]

You make a good point about judging his current book Kate, and I mentioned that in my initial post. I made my comments based on what I assessed his character to be as revealed by his earlier writings. If Ironmind says his writing style has toned down and he has matured, so be it. He's roughly my age, so I'll just have to say maturity comes late to some. To which I can only add since he's a lawyer and this is one of their favorite cross examination techniques, "Were you lying then Mr. Kubik, or are you lying now?"

[Kate]

To which I can only add since he's a lawyer and this is one of their favorite cross examination techniques, "Were you lying then Mr. Kubik, or are you lying now?"

Huh? Is that supposed to be a joke? I can't tell.

[Mark E. Hurling]

No it's not a joke. When someone changes their story, or in Kubik's case, the way the story is told (according to recent Ironmind reviews) I wonder just which one is the real deal or are either of them are. I'm done parsing and dissecting Kubik. Continue if you want to but I'd rather read Mean Ol' Mister Gravity. When Rip wire brushes a topic or person it's because the topic or the persons brain has rust on it that needs removal, not an part of an indiscriminate desire to spray acid. Not mentioning any names here, but his initials are . . .

And this is not a joke either.

[Chucky]

I own the book, have read it cover to cover twice, and refer to it often. There really is no self-aggrandizing or chest-thumping in the book; in fact, Kubik comes across in the book as humble and down to earth, despite having been a lawyer (recently becoming a full time author).

Kubik is a historian of the Golden Age of American weightlifting and bodybuilding, before the modern era of performance-enhancing drugs of the seventies and beyond. I guess one could characterize him as a bit righteous because of his contempt for the use of drugs and steroids, and perhaps somewhat prudish because the strongest words he uses are “heck” and darn,” but that aside, Grey Hair and Black Iron is a very readable book with a lot of very sound and useful information for us aging lifters.

He espouses lifting the big, compound lifts “hard and heavy,” but at the same time cautions the reader to do so wisely and with plenty of rest between training sessions. The book contains a lot of different workout routines from 3-4 times per week to just once a week or even every 10 days.

Many of the workout routines Kubik describes are solid programs that have stood the test of time because he has gleaned them from the routines of the early legends of weightlifting, such as John Grimek, John Davis, Peary Rader, Reg Park, and Tommy Kono.

Kubik himself is a very strong, accomplished lifter, especially for his age, at 53. Having once bench pressed 455 lbs -- drug free, he claims -- he now places most his emphasis on three primary lifts: front squats, power snatches (and split snatches), and power cleans (and jerks). Myself the same age as Kubic, I could not agree more with his selection of lifts for the older lifter, if one has taken the time to learn them properly and invested in the equipment. He also is a big fan of the trapbar deadlift for those who have difficulty back squatting.

The book also has chapters covering the warm-up, auxiliary exercises, cycling systems, “cardio,” “core” training, and protecting joints. A couple things I disagree with in the book is in his chapter on “unsafe exercises” wherein Kubik lists hill sprinting, citing “fragile Achilles tendons” in older lifters. I happen to enjoy hill sprinting and don’t view a rupture as a looming threat. He also disdains yoga, which I also don’t view as a great threat.

Oh, a couple more things I disagree with: no alcohol and no milk. Two staples of my diet.

But for the older lifter who seeks to continue to build muscle or even maintain muscle as the twilight years approach, Grey Hair and Black Iron is well worth the investment.

[Vader]

I own the book, have read it cover to cover twice, and refer to it often. There really is no self-aggrandizing or chest-thumping in the book; in fact, Kubik comes across in the book as humble and down to earth, despite having been a lawyer (recently becoming a full time author).

Kubik is a historian of the Golden Age of American weightlifting and bodybuilding, before the modern era of performance-enhancing drugs of the seventies and beyond. I guess one could characterize him as a bit righteous because of his contempt for the use of drugs and steroids, and perhaps somewhat prudish because the strongest words he uses are “heck” and darn,” but that aside, Grey Hair and Black Iron is a very readable book with a lot of very sound and useful information for us aging lifters.

He espouses lifting the big, compound lifts “hard and heavy,” but at the same time cautions the reader to do so wisely and with plenty of rest between training sessions. The book contains a lot of different workout routines from 3-4 times per week to just once a week or even every 10 days.

Many of the workout routines Kubik describes are solid programs that have stood the test of time because he has gleaned them from the routines of the early legends of weightlifting, such as John Grimek, John Davis, Peary Rader, Reg Park, and Tommy Kono.

Kubik himself is a very strong, accomplished lifter, especially for his age, at 53. Having once bench pressed 455 lbs -- drug free, he claims -- he now places most his emphasis on three primary lifts: front squats, power snatches (and split snatches), and power cleans (and jerks). Myself the same age as Kubic, I could not agree more with his selection of lifts for the older lifter, if one has taken the time to learn them properly and invested in the equipment. He also is a big fan of the trapbar deadlift for those who have difficulty back squatting.

The book also has chapters covering the warm-up, auxiliary exercises, cycling systems, “cardio,” “core” training, and protecting joints. A couple things I disagree with in the book is in his chapter on “unsafe exercises” wherein Kubik lists hill sprinting, citing “fragile Achilles tendons” in older lifters. I happen to enjoy hill sprinting and don’t view a rupture as a looming threat. He also disdains yoga, which I also don’t view as a great threat.

Oh, a couple more things I disagree with: no alcohol and no milk. Two staples of my diet.

But for the older lifter who seeks to continue to build muscle or even maintain muscle as the twilight years approach, Grey Hair and Black Iron is well worth the investment.

Well, that seals the deal for me. Front squats? My knees know better. Disdains yoga? What's to distain about yoga... certainly not the scenery.

[johnreynolds]

There really is no self-aggrandizing or chest-thumping in the book; in fact, Kubik comes across in the book as humble and down to earth, despite having been a lawyer (recently becoming a full time author).
Grey Hair and Black Iron is well worth the investment.

Glad you liked the book. I guess Brooks toned down his bombast after he quit his day job as a lawyer :) ;) As a student of the old York lifters I'm sure he has some solid, practical advice for people interested in getting stronger.

[Bill2380]

I know I'm a little late to this thread, but I'm new here. I've heard a quite a few Brooks Kubic interviews on www.superhumanradio.com. He impresses me as a pretty decent and smart guy. He talks a lot about the old time strong men and their lifting techniques......always an interesting interview.

[Mark E. Hurling]

Thanks for bumping this Bill. Now that I look it over again some more recent hatin' becomes clear to me.

[FKYT]

I'm a fan of Brooks Kubick and own several of his books, including Gray Hair and Black Iron (even though I'm not quite in his target demographic yet). The stuff he talks about in Gray Hair and Black Iron is pretty consistent with some of his other work and is mostly "common sense" advice. He advises older lifters to continue to lift heavy, but not necessarily go all-out during every session (only setting a PR once a month or so, and working with 70-90% of that weight the rest of the time). He advises that a lot of time and attention is paid to a thorough warm-up and getting plenty of time to recover, which is good advice for lifters of any age. His diet advice is to basically get three square meals a day with lots of lean meat and vegetables. He also advises incorporating cardio for general conditioning, but he recommends weight training circuits and high reps with lighter weight rather than long, slow distance. It's written for older lifters, but younger people will also find a lot of valuable advice.

As for Dinosaur Training, I've read it and I get why many people may be turned off by his writing style. Personally, though, I thought his style was more about getting people pumped to lift hard and heavy rather than bragging. It's not something to take 100% seriously.

[DoctorWho]

Hurling and others: So is there a conclusion? I'm OK with not liking the author so long as the content is worth it. For content, is the book worth the time?

[Mark E. Hurling]

I've said my piece on Kubik. I distrust him, although a few people in this thread seemed OK with what he wrote. Being the cantankerous geezer that I am, I have to say I have no use for anything he has to say. He's turned his coat one time too many. I could be wrong though. It wouldn't be the first time, or the last.

[franklie]

I got an original autographed copy of Dinosaur Training back in the day. I felt it was a good book. It could have been better if he had left out all the advertising for Hammerstrength equipment. I think his pimping of Hammerstrength equipment was how he covered his printing and advertising costs.

When he got into the bodyweight training it seemed like it was partly due to him rebounding from his divorce and an attempt to glom onto the CrossFit movement.

With his remarriage, he seemes to have recovered his sanity and improved his writing skills as shown with Grey Hair and Black Iron.

[El Viejo]

I'm the OP of this thread. Since it got bumped I thought I'd jump in with a comment. I ended up not buying the book. I finally came to the conclusion that I really don't need it. Do I know everything about strength training? Absolutely not, but I have bought 3 of Rip's books and Wendler's 5-3-1 book. Those books plus the incredible amount of info available for free on the internet, including forums like this one, is enough for me.

I decided that another book is not going to help me. The most important things are getting my ass to the gym 3-4 times per week, using compound lifts with good form, progressively increasing the weight with some sort of periodization scheme and doing it consistently. Dan John once said something along the lines of - the secret to getting strong is to pick up heavy shit off the ground and put it over your head. I think that is some truly useful advice.

So, I'm not buying anymore books (at least not in the near future). :)