AGGRESSIVE STRENGTH MAGAZINE

ISSUE 110 - 9/26/2006

1. AGGRESSIVE STRENGTH QUOTE OF THE WEEK

"People are never happy with what they have, they always want what they had, what someone else has."
- From the movie "Lucky Number Sleven"

It is very difficult to be grateful for what you have in a world in which we are constantly being reminded of what we do not have. We are constantly bombarded with messages that we are lacking in something and that we will not be happy or even content until the lack is addressed. My friend Mike Castrogiovanni (FYI: Mike is also a strength coach and KB instructor in Los Angeles) and we had a great discussion about this topic recently. Mike made an astute observation regarding how many marketers try to make you feel like you are nothing in order to seduce you with their "solution." Of course usually these messages are subtle so that it goes directly into your subconscious and stays there driving you crazy.

It also gets more complicated by the fact that once one lack is addressed another one pops up and the cycle goes on indefinitely. For example, you may be in great shape right now, but your finances are minimal and your focus is to get that taken care of. Thus, you decide to spend all of your time focusing on making money and when you finally achieve your financial goal, you realize your health has gone down the drain and you long to have your strength and conditioning back. Even if you do manage to hang on to your health while you make money, you will no doubt long for something else or be jealous of someone who appears to have more than you.

More often than not, people are busy trying to get more and we rarely appreciate the daily blessings we have. How many people wake up each day and give thanks for being able to walk, see, hear, breathe? My guess is not too many. On the other hand, many people wake up and immediately think about all of the things they do not have. As clich? as it sounds, we do not fully appreciate what we have until it is gone. For example, for the first twenty-seven years of my life I did not appreciate not having a burn scar on the right side of my face. Then I went snowboarding for a week in Utah and got sunburned severely which left me with the loss of pigmentation on the right side of my face. Now, I have learned to deal with having the burn scar and it is not a big deal anymore. However, my point is I did not appreciate having a scar free face until it was gone.

Another personal example is having a healthy set of lungs. Before I came down with a severe case of pneumonia several years ago, I did not fully appreciate being able to breathe deeply each day. However, after having severely impaired breathing for a short time, I really appreciate being able to breathe normally. Regardless, it is easy to forget about the pneumonia incident and get caught up in "luxury problems." Why? Again we like to focus on what we do not have instead of what we do have. This message is blasted at us constantly.

I am not saying that we should simply be content with what we have and not bother going after our goals and desires. What I am saying is that we should be grateful for what we do have while we are going after our goals and desires. Appreciating the daily successes however trivial they may seem is a powerful way to live fully in the moment. In his incredible book "Man's Search For Meaning", Holocaust survivor Viktor Frankl stated that it was a necessity to appreciate any moment of happiness no matter how rare to endure the brutality of the Auschwitz prison camps. Prisoners that let the brutality of each day overwhelm them did not make it. The examples of gratitude that Mr. Frankl revealed are down right humbling. If he received a bowl of soup with slices of potatoes that were dirt free it was a great day. If someone told a funny story and he was able to laugh for a few moments it was enough to make it through another day or week of brutality. I strongly encourage you to pick up a copy of "Man's Search For Meaning" today. Any time you feel sorry for yourself, just refer to the book and it will demolish your "grass is greener on the other side mindset."

I think motivational speaker Jim Rohn said it best when he said to be "happily discontent." Be discontent enough that you want to grow as a human being and achieve your goals. Be happy enough and realize that you already have a great deal to be grateful for and use that as an impetus to improve.

Live Life Aggressively!

Mike Mahler

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:

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

The Rounds Workout Solution For Muscular Endurance

By Mike Mahler

I had a great time this past weekend teaching a fun kettlebell workshop with top strength coach and kettlebell instructor Steve Cotter (FullKontact.com). Steve brought up a great point about workouts sets. Often when a trainee has a repetition goal for a set they end up doing less reps than they are capable of. Steve gave an example of a trainee doing fifteen kettlebell snatches. Since fifteen reps is the trainee's goal, mentally the trainee will get tired the closer he or she gets to fifteen reps. However, if the trainee forgets about counting the reps and just focuses on doing one rep at a time, he or she will blast right through fifteen reps. I have had this happen many times in my own workouts and have seen it happen with my clients. One personal example is when I hosted a Kettlebell Clean and Press contest for charity in San Diego several months ago. Steve Cotter counted the reps for me and all I had to do was focus on doing one rep at a time. I hit eighteen pretty easy reps and then it hit me that eighteen reps was more than I had ever done before. Right at that moment I barely finished off rep number nineteen. Once I got focused on the number, it was all over. Another personal example is when I worked up to hundreds of Hindu Pushups. I never started out a set saying I am going to do five hundred reps. I would simply put some music on and go for it for forty-five minutes or more. I counted the reps but I was not focused on the reps that had not come. In other words, when I finished rep one, I was only thinking about rep two, not rep one-hundred or five hundred.

While having set goals is important with training and for that matter life in general, it is good to use methods that leave some room open for unexpected progress. Having a training partner count off reps for you so you can focus on what you are doing is one method. Another method is to get over the concept of always doing reps and sets and focus on time. This is what Charles Staley brilliantly did with his EDT program (www.edtsecrets.com). Instead of focusing on sets and reps, Charles focused on how much can be done in a designated time frame. For example, the amount of total reps that can be achieved in fifteen minutes. Another program that is great for strength conditioning and muscular endurance is the "rounds workout." Top Strength coach and kettlebell instructor Steve Maxwell (www.stevemaxell.com) is a big fan of such workouts and I have seen him put his students through some brutal training with the rounds system.

For a basic strength and muscular endurance program, do three full body rounds workouts based on five exercises per week. Start off by spending one-minute at each exercise. Set a stop watch for a minute and do as many reps as possible per exercise in the one-minute time frame. If you have a training partner have him or her count the reps for you. Do not have them count out the reps for you out load. Just have them tell you how many reps you got at the end of the round or workout. Your goal is to do more reps at the next session. If you do not have a training partner, then you will of course have to count the reps yourself. No big deal just focus one rep at a time. When you are on rep ten, do not think beyond rep eleven. If you need to put the weights down or stop during the set for a breather, feel free to do so. Take one-minute breaks in between each exercise. You may need more in the beginning so adjust the program to your needs. Here is a sample Kettlebell training "rounds workout."

Monday

Wednesday

Friday

Once you get comfortable with one-minute rounds, go up to 90 second rounds per workout. When that gets do able go up to two minute rounds per exercise. When you can do two minute rounds, switch to heavier kettlebells or harder exercises and start with one-minute rounds again. Now another option is to do the rounds in antagonistic fashion and do multiple rounds. Here is an example:

Antagonistic Rounds Workout

Before starting the rounds do 1-2 sets of the Turkish Get-up or Windmill to get them out of the way.

Take a two minute break and then do:

The possibilities are really endless with Rounds workouts and I will be sure to go over more options in future magazine issues.

Need help with training? For a personalized program to ensure you reach your training goals, go to Aggressive Strength Services.

4. GET THE AGGRESSIVE STRENGTH DVD COMBO PACK TODAY

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5. 2007 AGGRESSIVE STRENGTH KETTLEBELL WORKSHOPS

Interested in hosting or sponsoring an Aggressive Strength Kettlebell Training Workshop?
» Click Here for More Information

Attention: I will no longer be doing workshops in Northern VA/DC, Denver, and Northern CA.

February 24, 2007:

Mahler Level 1 Beginner Kettlebell Workshop in Los Angeles, CA
» Click Here for More Information (Only 2007 LA Workshop)

March 10, 2007:

Mahler Level 1 Beginner Kettlebell Workshop in Las Vegas, NV
» Click Here for More Information

March 11, 2007:

Mahler Level 2 Advanced Kettlebell Workshop in Las Vegas, NV
» Click Here for More Information

May 12, 2007:

Mahler Level 1 Beginner Kettlebell Workshop in New York City, NY
» Click Here for More Information

May 13, 2007:

Mahler Level 2 Advanced Kettlebell Workshop in New York City, NY
» Click Here for More Information

May 20, 2007:

Mahler Level 1 Plus Kettlebell Training Workshop in Miami, FL
» Click Here For More Info (Only 2007 Miami Workshop)

September 15, 2007:

Mahler-Shaffer Level 1 PLus Kettlebell Workshop In Dallas, TX
» Click Here For More Information (Only 2007 Dallas Workshop)

6. AGGRESSIVE STRENGTH PERSONALIZED PROGRAM DESIGN SERVICES

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7. NEW AGGRESSIVE STRENGTH PRODUCT RECOMMENDATIONS

I have just added some great new products to my website including: medicine balls, the ultimate portable gym, and some pull-up straps that allow you to do a pull-ups anywhere! Click here.

8. THE AGGRESSIVE STRENGTH SOLUTION FOR THE ROAD WARRIOR

Tired of terrible hotel gyms and getting out of shape on the road? Tired of doing bodyweight only routines in your hotel room because there are no other options? You need Lifeline's resistance cable products. Not only are they light and portable but they provide enough resistance to humble the strongest athletes around. Click here for more info

9. KETTLEBELL TRAINING INFORMATION PAGE (NEW)

http://www.mikemahler.com/kettlebell_info.html

10. AGGRESSIVE STRENGTH MAGAZINE ARCHIVES

http://www.mikemahler.com/newsletter

11. AGGRESSIVE STRENGTH ARTICLES

http://www.mikemahler.com/articles.html

12. AGGRESSIVE STRENGTH TRAINING JOURNAL

http://www.mikemahler.com/journal.html

13. RECOMMENDED READING LIST

http://www.mikemahler.com/reading.html

Until next time.

Live Life Aggressively!

Mike Mahler

Feel free to email me with your comments and feedback at mahler25@yahoo.com

Mike Mahler