AGGRESSIVE STRENGTH MAGAZINE
ISSUE 107 - 8/21/2006
1. AGGRESSIVE STRENGTH QUOTE OF THE WEEK
"If life is what you do and you never do anything, what does it say about your life?"
- From the movie "The Ice Harvest"
Having natural talent and never doing anything with it is not any where near as impressive as having average or above average talent and pushing it to the maximum. Being smart is never enough and will never take the place of hard work and perseverance. You may feel smart when you come up with brilliant plans. Regardless, it is the actual application of plans and seeing the plans through that makes the difference. An okay plan applied is superior to an outstanding plan that never sees the light of day.
Growing up, I had two good friends Ralph and Bill. Ralph was naturally very smart and did well in school without having to put too much effort into it. He was the kind of guy that could study for a few minutes for a calculus exam the night before and get a good grade. Bill was also a smart guy. However, Bill had to put in a lot more work to keep up. He would have to study all night before an exam just to get a "C." Things did not come easy to Bill. He really pushed and what he lacked in natural intelligence he more than made up for with hard work. Moreover, Bill never felt sorry for himself. He knew that he had to work harder than some other people and was prepared to do what needed to be done.
One thing Bill and Ralph both had in common was their love of partying. Both could party like rock stars and often did. The difference is Bill was far more strategic with he is partying. He knew when to work and when to have a good time. Ralph just wanted to have a good time all of the time. In high school, Ralph was able to get away with intelligence and no discipline. However, things got interesting when Bill and Ralph moved on to college. Bill went to a school in the midwest and Ralph went to school out west. College is a much different animal than high school and requires much more discipline. Bill had a great work ethic and was prepared to work as hard as necessary to do well in college. Ralph on the other hand hoped to get by in college the way he got by in high school.
To make a long story short, Bill graduated in four years and went to medical school. I am not sure what happened there as I lost touch with him. However, I have no doubt that he is successful at whatever he is doing. Ralph on the other hand never finished college. He failed out several times. The last time I saw him many years ago, he was smoking cigarettes, drinking 40s and bitching about why life sucks. Unlike Ralph, Bill was extremely focused. He knew exactly why he was in college and knew where he wanted to go. Ralph was not focused at all and paid the price.
It is not always about where you start in life or what advantages you have. It is more about what you are prepared to do, what you are prepared to sacrifice, and how strong your perseverance is. The earlier you struggle and have to persevere the better. The earlier you learn the importance of hard work and discipline the better. The earlier you learn the importance of being goal oriented and focused the better. When things always come easily you never learn to handle the hard times. Moreover, you never grow as you tend to gravitate towards what is easy in life. When college got hard for Ralph he looked for the path of least resistance and failed out. When college got hard for Bill, he did what he always did and stepped up and persevered. Never feel inferior to others for the apparent advantages they may have. What matters is what you are prepared to do and how bad you want your goals.
Live Life Aggressively!
Mike Mahler
2. HELP THE KATRINA VICTIMS
My friend and top body worker Dianna Linden recently sent me a list of non-profit organizations for helping out the Katrina Victims. Here is the list:
- Operation USA http://www.opusa.org
- Mercy Corps http://www.mercycorps.org
- Oxfam America http://www.oxfamamerica.org
- America's Second Harvest http://www.secondharvest.org
I encourage you to take a look at the above organizations and make a donation to the one that sits well with you. Also if you want to help out animals, make a donation to http://www.bestfriends.org.
3. AGGRESSIVE STRENGTH TRAINING ARTICLE
Interview With Dr. Carlon Colker, Author of "Extreme Muscle Enhancement"
Carlon M. Colker, M. D., FACN is the Chief Executive Officer and Medical Director of Peak Wellness of Greenwich, Connecticut (a center providing the full physician services of traditional allopathic internal medicine and preventive care, sports medicine, sports nutrition, and complimentary and integrative modalities). He has been in the health and fitness industry for over 20 years and to his credit, in the late 80s he helped design the first wellness program on the East Coast. Dr. Colker is also the author of the best selling books, "The Greenwich Diet" and "Extreme Muscle Enhancement."
MM: How did you get into training?
DC: I started weight training back in high school during a period of rehabilitation from a double epigastic hernia which I sustained while boxing. I was probably only fifteen years old. I was fighting a kid named Scott Silbers at Rago?s in White Plains New York . I split the other kids head open with some wicked uppercuts, which he later had to have stitched up. But he leveled me so many times with the sickest body-shots. I won by split decision but was doubled over in pain after the fight. He had torn open my abdominal wall and I had to have it surgically repaired. My rehab course was long and frustrating. One of my school mates, Pete Polzer, was big into bodybuilding. Once he showed me pictures of Arnold and Tom Platz?s legs, I was hooked. The rest is history.
MM: What are the biggest mistakes that trainees make?
DC: While there are quite a number of mistakes trainees make, perhaps the most common mistake is that of overtraining. It?s easy to fall into. Not only do you stagnate progress, you also open yourself up to injury. Ironically, for those who love to train, it?s simply one of the most difficult things to resist. The temptation that ?more is better? is powerful and at times overwhelmingly irresistible.
MM: With regards to successful fat loss, what % is training and what % is diet? What about strength and size training?
DC: Depends what you are shooting for. For some athletes (distance, cardio-oriented) it's 90% training. For the Sumo wrestler, it may be 90% diet?! Most other athletes fall somewhere in between. Also if you are blessed with great genetics, this can also influence the emphasis one way or another. For example body-types matter. I discuss this at length in my latest book "Extreme Muscle Enhancement." Either way, I?d still have to generally say that, training is more important for athletic performance, but diet is more important for optimizing performance and being healthy.
MM: Why do most people fail to achieve their training goals?
DC: Quitting and/or lack of training commitment are perhaps the most common reasons people fail to achieve their training goals. Training for improvement and movement toward your goal requires sweat, pain, and training intensity. At one point or another, if you don?t like that masochistic pleasure at some weird level, you?ll probably never get where you really want. Yes, we?re an odd bunch.
MM: What are the five most important things to ensure success?
DC:
MM: Many trainees make the mistake of knowing more about nutrition supplements than effective training. What is the benefit if any of nutrition supplements and are there any that you recommend?
DC: You are correct. Some nutritional supplements are amazing, but they are no substitute for good hard training. They are only adjunct and additive to a backdrop of hard physical work. Everybody wants a magic pill to substitute for all the hard labor, but there is no such thing.
MM: Where do you stand on steroid use?
DC: It suffices to say that if you want to dance, you have to pay the piper. I usually don?t take much of an ethical stand on it one way or another. My position is more educational. I like to provide the honest information and let each individual decide what is right for them. I will say that, if not medically necessary, the chance for problems goes up exponentially. I provide much more detail and even get into specific steroids in Extreme Muscle Enhancement.
MM: In addition to tons of athletes using steroids, testosterone and GH are far more available legally to the masses. Do for see an increase in ?regular people? test- driving these substances?
In fact, the boom in anti-aging is now scooping up more growth hormone and testosterone then bodybuilders and athletes ever did. People want to live longer and healthier. Baby-boomers aren?t ready to dig a hole and pull the dirt in over them. They will do anything to stay young, strong, and virile. Our media also perpetuates the ideal body as being young, toned, and fit. Anti-aging clinics are popping up everywhere and drugs are available on-line. There seems no end in site because people will stop at nothing to find the fountain of youth.
MM: What are some of the natural things people can do to increase GH and T?
DC: Arginine, Ornithine, glutamine, and lysine plus the BCAA?s can all bolster GH levels. Tribulus (when sourced correctly) as well as zinc in certain conditions can boost testosterone.
MM: What are the benefits of strength training that one can transfer to other areas of life?
DC: Hard work ethic, self-confidence, discipline, and self-realization are all benefits of strength training that one can transfer to other areas of life.
MM: What inspired you to put out your last book, ?Extreme Muscle Enhancement?
DC: My passion for the sport was my inspiration. It?s that simple. I love weight-training and bodybuilding. It?s as much a part of me as breathing.
MM: Any new projects in the works?
DC: I am working on Extreme Muscle Enhancement II. Hopefully it will out by next year.
MM: Thanks for taking the time to do the interview and I look forward to checking out the new book.
DC: You are welcome and thank you.
Make sure you check out Dr. Colker's excellent book Extreme Muscle Enhancement.
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6. NEW AGGRESSIVE STRENGTH PRODUCT RECOMMENDATIONS
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7. THE AGGRESSIVE STRENGTH SOLUTION FOR THE ROAD WARRIOR
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8. KETTLEBELL TRAINING INFORMATION PAGE (NEW)
http://www.mikemahler.com/kettlebell_info.html
8. AGGRESSIVE STRENGTH MAGAZINE ARCHIVES
http://www.mikemahler.com/newsletter
10. AGGRESSIVE STRENGTH ARTICLES
http://www.mikemahler.com/articles.html
11. AGGRESSIVE STRENGTH TRAINING JOURNAL
http://www.mikemahler.com/journal.html
12. RECOMMENDED READING LIST
http://www.mikemahler.com/reading.html
Until next time.
Live Life Aggressively!
Feel free to email me with your comments and feedback at mahler25@yahoo.com
Mike Mahler