How Long Will It Take?

Brooks Kubik

Hail to the dinosaurs!

Folks often ask me how long it takes to make
good gains.

“How long will it take before I can bench press
300 pounds?”

“I want to gain 20 pounds of muscle. How long
will it take?”

“I want to add 100 pounds to my total? How long
will it take?’

The answer is always the same – I don’t know.

You see, everyone is different – and everyone gains
at a different rate – even if they follow exactly
the same program!

Many factors affect how fast you will make progress.
Some you can control, and others you have to live
with. In no particular order, they include:

1. Your age.

This is one you cannot change, although many people
lie about their age.

Teenagers can make very fast gains in strength and
muscle, especially if they start training as they
hit a growth spurt.

Men in their 20’s and 30’s can usually make excellent
gains.

Lifters over the age of 40 usually find that their
gains come slower.

But whatever your age, if you train hard and heavy
and serious – following the type of abbreviated
programs I write about in all my books and courses –
then rest assured that you WILL make progress.

2. How long you’ve been training.

This is another factor that you cannot change. Obviously,
a new trainee is going to make more rapid progress than
someone who’s been training for five or ten years and
is close to his or her individual potential for strength,
muscle and power.


3. Whether you are limited by any nagging aches and
pains, injuries, etc.


Again, this is something you cannot control, although
intelligent training and good diet and nutrition can
certainly help. And note that one of the best ways to
work around any nagging injuries, aches and pains is
to train on abbreviated schedules that allow for
increased recovery and recuperation.

And in that regard – a quick note – I’ve been experimenting
with a grain-free diet – no wheat, oats, rye, rice or
similar products – and it seems to have worked wonders
as far as being more mobile and flexible, with less
stiffness and fewer aches and pains.

I’m not ready for the USA Gymnastics team, but I’m
feeling MUCH better – and I’m lifting better. As in,
doing full range squat-style cleans and snatches
rather than power cleans and power snatches.

Food for thought.

4. Your genetics.

Another factor you cannot control, and one you really
shouldn’t worry about. Just TRAIN. All the genetics
in the world mean NOTHING if you don’t train – and
if you train the right way, you can do far, far more
than you ever imagined. As detailed in Strength,
Muscle and Power, there was a time when I thought I
had reached my genetic potential for strength and
muscle mass – when I was in my late twenties and
weighed 180 pounds. But I started to do abbreviated
workouts, and suddenly I started to grow like a
weed – and in a few years I was weighing 200 pounds –
and then 210 pounds – and then 220 pounds – and strong
as a horse – and it was all the result of changing
the way I trained.

5. Your attitude.

In my opinion, this is the single greatest factor in
whether you make good gains – and in how fast you
gain.

Are you positive and upbeat about your training?

Are you determined to make good progress?

Do you enjoy your training?

Do you look forward to each and every workout?

Do you BELIEVE you will make good gains?

Do you concentrate – and I mean, REALLY CONCENTRATE –
when you train?

Many years ago, a small kid in Akron, Ohio trained in
a neighbor’s garage. His neighbor, Larry Barnholth,
was a long-time lifting coach who had turned his
garage into a weightlifting gym.

He taught the kid to say – and to believe: “Every day
in every way I am growing better and stronger.”

The kid said it every day. Said it with passion and
with conviction. Said it until it was seared into his
consciousness.

The kid’s name was Pete George. He went on to win the
USA Senior Nationals 5 times – to win 2 Pan-American
championships – to win one Gold Medal and two silver
medals at the Olympics – to win the World Championship
5 times, and to be the runner-up on two other occasions.

So the bottom line is this – I don’t know how fast you
will gain – but I do know THIS – that if you train
hard and heavy, using Dino-style workouts, and you
train with the right kind of attitude – you’ll do fine!

Thanks for reading. Have a great day, and if you train
today, make it a good one!

Yours in strength,

Brooks Kubik