Dinosaur Training: The Lost Art of Brutal Strength & What Today’s Strongmen Are Missing
Brooks Kubik’s Dinosaur Training is a book that refuses to die—because its principles are too damn effective to be ignored. Written in the 1990s, it wasn’t about what was trending or scientifically precise. It was about raw, real-world strength—the kind that turns a man into a human wrecking ball. And yet, despite its timelessness, today’s strongman competitors (and general trainees) are missing out on what this book has to offer.
What Is Dinosaur Training?
Kubik’s philosophy is simple: the strongest men in history didn’t need pristine gym environments, fancy equipment, or overcomplicated programs. They built their strength through brutal, no-frills training that revolved around:
Odd Object Lifting (barrels, sandbags, heavy chains, thick-handled dumbbells)
Grip Strength & Hand Toughness
Minimalist But Relentless Programming
Mental Toughness & Willpower Training
Heavy, Full-Body Workouts Focused on Old-School Lifting Techniques
Dinosaur Training is about developing working strength, not just gym strength. It’s about preparing the body to move and control heavy loads in unpredictable conditions—the kind of strength that actually matters in strongman competitions.
What Strongman Athletes Are Missing Today
1. Grip Strength as a Foundational Quality
Kubik emphasized thick bar training, pinch grip work, and brutal grip endurance as non-negotiable. He understood that if your hands are weak, your entire strength output is compromised. Yet, today’s lifters rely too much on straps, gloves, and assistance work that never truly replicates the bone-crushing grip strength of old-school strongmen.
What Can You Do?
Start implementing thick bar work (Axle Deadlifts, Fat Gripz on pressing movements)
Program grip endurance separately, not just as an afterthought (timed holds, heavy carries, pinch lifts)
Train grip-specific max effort work like one-arm deadlifts or Rolling Thunder lifts
2. Odd Objects & Unconventional Strength Work
Modern strongman training often follows a powerlifting-first model, with event training added in as a secondary component. Kubik, on the other hand, argued that lifting awkward, shifting, unpredictable objects was what really built “farmboy strength.”
What Can You Do?
Integrate heavy sandbag loading, keg carries, and Husafell stone work as primary movements, not just accessories.
Train unilateral stability and bracing with unbalanced loads—one-hand deadlifts, offset carries, and heavy sled work.
Drop the idea that only barbell lifts matter. If you can pick up a 150kg sandbag and carry it 50 meters, you’re strong—no spreadsheet required.
3. High-Intensity, Low-Volume Training for Maximal Gains
Kubik emphasized hard, heavy, low-rep training. He knew that if you’re training correctly, you shouldn’t need a dozen sets. Many strongmen today overcomplicate their programming by thinking more volume = more gains. But the strongest lifters throughout history built their numbers on brutal, all-out sets, not 15 reps of fluff work.
What Can You Do?
Strip the unnecessary volume and focus on maximal intensity.
Program top-end work with heavy loading (high triples, doubles, singles).
Use progressive overload ruthlessly—not just through weight, but by making lifts harder (tempo changes, grip variations, range of motion manipulation).
4. Mental Toughness: The Missing Ingredient
Kubik wrote about hardening the mind as much as the body. He believed that mental toughness was a skill—one that today’s lifters often neglect. Too many strongmen treat training like a checklist, not a warzone.
What Can You Do?
Remove crutches (less music, less psyching up—just get under the bar and lift).
Add hard training challenges that test grit (heavy carries for distance, max-rep sets with brutal weights, training in bad conditions).
Train without comfort—ditch lifting gloves, use bars that fight back (rusty, knurled, or thick bars), and push through imperfect conditions.
What General Trainees Can Learn from Dinosaur Training
Even if you’re not a competitive strongman, Dinosaur Training offers lessons that apply to anyone serious about getting brutally strong:
Strength Is More Than Just Big Numbers – It’s about being able to apply force in any situation.
Grip Strength Equals Full-Body Strength – Weak hands = weak lifter.
Less Is More – If you’re lifting properly, you don’t need 20 sets.
Harder Conditions = More Resilience – Train in suboptimal environments to build true toughness.
Old-School Methods Still Work – Odd objects, low reps, thick bars, and brutal carries aren’t just for nostalgia—they work better than 90% of gym fluff today.
How This Connects to Westside Barbell & The Conjugate Method
Louie Simmons may not have been a “Dinosaur Trainer” in Kubik’s sense, but Westside Barbell embodied many of the same principles:
Max Effort Work = Hard, Heavy, Minimalist Training – Just like Kubik preached, Westside prioritizes 1-3 heavy, all-out lifts over excessive volume.
Accommodating Resistance = Overload – Kubik emphasized making lifts harder over time, which is exactly what bands, chains, and specialty bars do in the Conjugate system.
Grip, Back, and Core = Strength Foundation – Westside lifters have insane grip & posterior chain strength, just like Kubik’s ideal trainees.
Mental Toughness & Environment – Westside and Dinosaur Training both advocate for brutal training environments, uncomfortable conditions, and psychological warfare against the weights.
If you’ve followed my articles, you’ll notice tons of crossover between Kubik’s philosophy and my own:
The Value of Odd Objects – I’ve written before about why keg, sandbag, and Husafell carries are criminally underrated.
Grip Training as a Strength Multiplier – My articles on axle deadlifts, thick bar pressing, and timed holds echo Kubik’s obsession with grip dominance.
The Flaws of High-Volume Strength Training – Just like I’ve outlined in my breakdowns of Conjugate programming, Kubik argues for lower volume, higher intensity for actual strength gains.
The Role of Hard Training in Building a Lifter’s Mindset – My piece on why most lifters don’t actually train hard aligns perfectly with Dinosaur Training’s emphasis on mental fortitude.
Sample Programming & Training Ideas
If you want to apply Dinosaur Training principles into your own program, here’s how to structure a week of brutal, effective strength training:
Weekly Layout
Day 1 – Max Effort Upper Body
Axle Clean & Press – Work up to a heavy triple
Thick Bar Bench Press – 3x5 heavy
Weighted Dips – 4x8
Rolling Thunder Grip Work – 3x8 each hand
Day 2 – Lower Body & Odd Object Strength
Sandbag Shouldering – 5x3 each side
Zercher Squats – 4x5
Heavy Sled Drags – 4x30 meters
Hanging Grip Work (fat bar holds, rope climbs)
Day 3 – Recovery / Conditioning
Light loaded carries (sandbags, kegs)
Bodyweight GPP (push-ups, pull-ups, ab rollouts)
Mobility & Stretching
Day 4 – Max Effort Lower Body
Axle Deadlifts – Work up to a heavy single
Front Squats – 3x5
Stone Loading – 4x4
Grip Training (Pinch lifts, wrist curls)
Day 5 – Strongman Event Focus
Yoke Walks – 4x20 meters
Log Press for Reps – 4x8
Farmer’s Carries – 3x30 meters
Band-Resisted Grip Work
This plan maximises raw, brutal strength while keeping volume in check and focusing on odd-object work and grip. If you’re serious about building functional, real-world power, this is where to start.
Why You Need to Apply Dinosaur Training Today
Modern strongman athletes (and lifters in general) are softening their training, relying on comfort, and chasing volume instead of true strength. If you’re serious about getting brutally strong, it’s time to revisit what Kubik was preaching decades ago:
✅ Train with odd objects and thick bars.
✅ Cut the fluff—heavy work, low reps, hard conditions.
✅ Make grip and mental toughness top priorities.
✅ Stop worrying about gym perfection—get strong in the real world.
If you aren’t incorporating these principles into your training, you’re leaving serious strength gains on the table.
It’s time to stop lifting pretty and start lifting heavy.
I don’t just talk about training—I live and breathe it. Whether you’re a strongman competitor, powerlifter, or someone who just wants to be brutally strong, I offer online coaching tailored to real-world strength development.
If you’re after mentorship, I’ve spent years studying and applying every strength methodology out there, from Westside Barbell to Dinosaur Training and beyond. Whether it’s programming, competition prep, or building a bulletproof foundation, I can help.
🔥 Get in touch today and take your training to the next level. 🔥
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