Home → Aggressive Strength Magazine → Issue 144 - 1/10/2008

Aggressive Strength Magazine

Issue 144 1/10/08

1. Aggressive Strength Living Article Of The Week

"I like for things to happen and if they don’t happen I like to make them happen."— Winston Churchill

2008 has arrived and it's time for making resolutions and goals destined to end in failure and frustration.  Sounds pretty negative, huh?  It is, but merely having a positive attitude won't change your outcome.  In fact, just about now the majority of the New Year's enthusiasts' passions are already beginning to wear off.  For most, 2008 will be a virtual replay of 2007--or worse, a virtual replay of every year of the last ten years!

Of course, there will be a few people who finish what they start and make 2008 their best year ever.  Lets call these people the 5% club.  The 5% club realize it takes more than passion to create success in any endeavor.  Without the right plan--and a great dose of tenacity--you can forget about accomplishing anything life-changing.

The reality is, you can achieve your goals with or without passion.  That's right, even if you're a miserable person and hate all the day long, executing the right plan and sticking with it will still bring you great results.  On the other hand, the most positive person in the world achieves nothing relying on passion and poor planning.  And adding hard work to the mix simply enables you to fail harder.  Truly, an overly positive attitude may be the very thing preventing you from spurring change.  After all, if you think everything is fine already, why bother putting in the hard effort to effect change?  To be fair, neither is an overly negative attitude the way to go.  If you see no hope--why bother trying?  The truth is both positive and negative perceptions are irrelevant.  What is relevant?  An effective plan, putting it into action and the resolve to never give up.

 I'll say it again:  passion is not enough.  Far from it.  I feel irritation when I hear people saying passion is the most critical factor to success.  I know plenty of passionate people who love what they do yet barely make ends meet.  Every one of their businesses have been stuck in first gear for years, and they continue going nowhere fast.  Do they love their work?  Sure, and loving what you do is nice and a very important factor in overall happiness but every one of these people to whom I refer wish they made more money.  They front contentment with what their present situations but in the back of their minds (and in their hearts) they desire more than merely getting by.

Earning a desirable income and achieving an abundant lifestyle requires more than passion.  For that matter, achieving your training goals takes more than passion.  Passion is fickle and can dissipate at any moment--and then what do you do?  If you're like most people, you give up, couch it, and go back to watching your nightly four hours of reality TV.

In relying on passion as a primary motivation, you're actually doing yourself a disservice because no matter what you're doing in life, you won't feel passionate about it all of the time.  There will be times when you dread working out or putting in long hours on the job.  What separates successful people from unsuccessful people is this:  successful people are willing to do what needs to be done regardless of their feelings about it.  Whether enthusiasm is high or low, the work gets done and this is what makes a professional in the game of life.

There are parts of my business I love, such as kettlebell workshops and designing personalized client programs, and there are less enjoyable aspects, like writing ad copy for my products and services.  Yet good promotional copy is a critical component of my business and it's why I make a great living and a major reason why I enjoy life. 

Without good web placement and a content-rich site to attract people, no one would know about my workshops, services, and DVDs.  Without following through on those activities I might not find enjoyable, I wouldn't have the chance to experience the exhilarating side of my business--which is helping people.  Whether writing and posting free articles, producing DVDs or presenting workshops, I enjoy helping people, and I'm passionate about it, but it all amounts to nothing without my marketing expertise which I am not so passionate about.  Without that I'd be without customers.  So while I may not enjoy marketing and promotion tasks, they are vital to my success and I'm glad for my adeptness.  I know a lot of people lacking those abilities and, lets just say, I don't want to be in their shoes. Many people simply tell me they don't want to do what they don't enjoy. This is their excuse for being a marketing moron. Well, if you work for yourself and survival is an instinct you possess, you better learn the rules of marketing. More importantly if thriving is something you want, then it is critical that you take your success into your own hands and learn the art of marketing and promotion.

Another crucial component of success?   Multi-skills competence.  For example, being a gifted strength trainer is not nearly enough in and of itself.  You must be able to promote yourself and manage your time intelligently.  Some of you might think those things can be outsourced, and that's fine, if you have a nice bank roll ready.  But what if you're just getting started or simply have more time than money?  Make no mistake:   the more things you can do on your own, the less you need rely on others--and the less you rely on others, the more power you have in your life. No doubt delegation is important and you cannot learn everything well. However, that is no excuse for failing to understand at the least the basics of several arenas such as accounting, website design, marketing, networking skills, and public speaking skills. Once you become more successful you can outsource things you do not enjoy to others and focus on what you love to do. Until then, get ready to be a jack of all trades for a while.

I'll continue this topic in the next issue. For now, happy New Year to you and your families and here's to doing what needs to be done to join the 5% this year...and the rest of your life. 

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Live Life Aggressively!

Mike Mahler

***Article Edited by Teresa Blazey: teresa.blazey@gmail.com

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Support The Camp Victory Kettlebell Club In Iraq 

Yes some hard working members of our armed forces in Iraq have formed a kettlebell club and are selling some t-shirts, hats, and mugs to raise funds to purchase more kettlebells for our troops overseas. Kettlebell training is a much needed positive outlet for them so buy a shirt and mug to help a worthy cause at: http://www.cafepress.com/army_kettlebell

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2. Aggressive Strength Training Article 

How To Take Your Kettlebell Military  Press To The Next Level! You will press more than ever.  

By Ken Blackburn 

CSI – Miami

Since I competed in the chair press and got 52 reps at the World Kettlebell Championships in Miami earlier this month, there has been a lot of speculation/investigation as to how this happened.  To be honest, I am not sure how it happened either – thus, the title of this article.  The title is also reflective of the on-going investigation involving Steve Cotter and I breaking every traffic law in Miami.  However, according to our friend Jay Armstrong, because it happened in a rental car, it didn’t happen.  It may also reflect a certain magenta singlet being reported stolen by the Russian team but found later in Marty Farrell’s hotel room covered in tequila and lipstick…..I know, I know….disturbing.

Oh well, to back up, let me describe the event first.  The chair press involves cleaning 2 x 32kg bells, sitting down on a bench and then having 10 minutes to press the bells as many times as possible.  The only place to rest is in the rack position.   

Anyway, this has generated a lot of questions for a couple reasons.  First, I did not train specifically for this event at ALL.  I viewed this as a fun event and even had a good time joking with everyone while it was happening.  Second, outside of doing demo rep’s for new clients, I have done ZERO pressing over the last 2 years.  My focus has been centered on the competition lifts and assistance exercises – jerk, snatch, swing, jump squats, etc.

Even when I was pressing, I would describe myself as a strong presser but lacking stamina.  A typical workout would be the basic 5 x 5 with 2-3 min rest periods.  Granted, I did these with the 40kg bells but it’s still a long ways from the type of conditioning needed to do 52 reps with the 32’s.

So, we are back to the question – “Where did it come from”?  I have some ideas and am going to break them down into 3 areas:  physical, mental and nutritional. No worries – I won’t go in some crazy direction and reference power crystals, supplementing with Grizzly saliva and/or linking it back to the “Bowflex”.  However, after every workout, I do watch the movie “300” on my couch alongside a life-size cardboard cutout of Mike Maher to raise T-levels. Cmon, don’t act like you have never done it!

Physical – I have to credit Valery Fedorenko in this regard!  Despite being a lifetime athlete/trainee, I did not see huge increases in my competition numbers until I trained with him and implemented his methods.  Focusing on the competition lifts/assistance exercises, training for time, transitioning to a more fluid/relaxed style of lifting etc has resulted in HUGE improvements in my conditioning and technique. 

As it relates to the chair press, I think all the over-head work done for time at such high volumes via the jerk and snatch carried over to this exercise.  As an example, when doing a 10 minute set of jerks, you have nowhere to rest but in the rack position or over-head.  Thus, my shoulders are under varying degrees of tension the whole time. As for the actual jerk, although it is predominantly a leg exercise, I’m confident the ballistic nature of the lift for high volumes creates quite a bit of neuromuscular activity in the shoulder area.  All of this I believe has contributed to my shoulders being conditioned to fire at a descent strength level for extended periods of time.

In addition to the above, Valery also teaches what best can be described as a fluid style of lifting.  This promotes efficiency and thus higher work capacity.  As an example, some k-bell schools of thought suggest generating maximal force on each rep.  This is analogous to someone telling a boxer to make every punch a knockout punch.  The end result – he/she fatigues sooner.  Valery suggests only being tense where you need to be.  To relate this back to the chair press, I only used the minimum amount of energy needed to press the weight up and used almost no energy bringing the weight back down.  This translated into more reps!

Furthermore, the subtle hand and shoulder positions taught in the AKC approach are congruent with better mechanical leverage and thus less muscular fatigue.  Again, this was something I was mindful of during my event.

Although this describes how I indirectly improved my chair press through the core competition lifts, going forward I will train the chair press directly since it will be a continued event at competitions.  The training method will remain the same though – timed sets at a designated pace with a focus on mechanical efficiency.

Mental – Once again, I have to credit Valery in this area as well.  The AKC style of lifting promotes lifting at a designated pace.  Pacing may not sound like a big deal to some, but is incredibly important factor in achieving big numbers.  As an example, when I pace myself around 8 reps per min, I can do 85 reps in the jerk over a 10 minute time-frame.  If I sprinted from the beginning of my set to the end, I would not get that number and probably wouldn’t last the 10 minutes either.  As a result, this type of lifting, builds patience and a relaxed mind set.  I carried this over to my chair press set – approx. 5 reps per min for 10 minutes.  Had I rushed and chose to go 15 reps a minute, I know my number would have been much lower. 

Additionally, long sets with no breaks build mental toughness – period!  There is an immense difference between racking a set of bells and not setting them down for 10 minutes vs. doing a set, putting the bells down, doing another set etc.

Nutrition/Recovery -   I view training in a holistic sense and thus feel success/progress requires a multi-dimensional approach.  In addition to the actual training its how you eat, sleep, think, manage stress etc.  An area I have really made some significant changes in is nutrition. I worked with the guys here at VIP Nutrition in Flint, MI to put together a nutritional/supplement plan that would fully support my training.  In a nutshell, I ensure I eat 5-6 meals a day with quality protein/carbs and supplement with a good multi-vitamin, amino acids, desiccated liver tablets, EFA’s and glutamine (I like Beverly Nutrition’s products -www.beverlyinternational.com)  In addition, per Mike Mahler’s advice, I added zinc, L-Carnitine “good fats” and ZMA before bed to keep my t-levels in check.  Did I notice a difference in my performance and recovery? – Absolutely!!!  I also took Mike’s suggestion on adding a sports massage at least a couple times a month to speed recovery.  For more information in this regard, check out Mike’s website at www.mikemahler.com

To watch a video of me competing in this event in Miami, go to the below link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qusosiVKwa8

About The Author

Ken Blackburn is an AKC Coach and member of Team America living in Fenton, MI who recently won the world championship in the Chair Press, along with setting an American record in the Jerk. He is available for personal training, group workshops and online consulting.  Please visit his website for more information www.extremeathletictraining.com

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3. 2008 Aggressive Strength Kettlebell Workshops 

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March 1, 2008

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4. Aggressive Strength Nutrition Article

Making The Vegan Diet Work 

By Mike Mahler

There is no way that you can get big and strong on a vegan diet! I used to hear this all the time from my meat-eating friends. I say, used to as I never hear it anymore from people that know me or from people that have seen my photos on my website. Yes my friends, you can in fact get bigger and stronger on a vegetarian diet. You can even do it on a vegan diet (no animal products whatsoever).

Just because the pot smoking, rice dream eating hippie vegetarian in Venice Beach, CA looks like he has not eaten in a month, does not mean that every vegan does. I have the strength and size to back up the fact that you can get strong and have a muscular body on a vegan diet and I am far from being the only one. Just this past weekend MMA fighter and vegan Mac Danzig won a contract with the UFC after finishing off an opponent with ease.  Lets go over how to make the vegan diet work. 

Lets start off with the number one issue that people have when evaluating a vegan diet: where the hell am I going to get my protein from? Fortunately for vegans meat does not corner the market on protein and no you do not have to live off protein shakes either. The following vegan friendly foods are loaded with protein: lentils, black beans, pinto beans, kidney beans, garbanzo beans, navy beans, almonds, pistachios, pumpkin seeds, almond butter, peanut butter, and hemp seeds. Just one serving of lentils mixed with one serving of hemp seeds is around twenty grams of complete protein. In addition it is a nice balance of protein, carbohydrates, and healthy fat. Of course, you can always combine beans and rice for a complete protein meal. However, this also ends up being a high carb meal as well which is not ideal for everyone. Personally, I feel my best on a moderate protein, fairly high fat, and moderate carbohydrate diet. You will have to experiment to find what ratio works best for you. 

An example of a high protein vegan meal that I have often is three servings of lentils (24 grams of protein) mixed with two servings of pistachios (14 grams of protein and 26 grams of healthy fat), add two cups of broccoli and two cups of mixed vegetables. I then add one tablespoon of olive oil to the mix and I am good to go. To make it taste better you can add some tomato sauce, spices, etc. I eat more for fuel and health than taste so I am the wrong person to ask on how to make food delicious. This meal has around 40 grams of protein and while the fat count may sound excessive in reality it is not. Especially for people that workout a lot. Fat is a great source of energy and lasts much longer than carbohydrates. When I do not have enough fat in my diet, my energy and mood go down the drain. Fat fuel is what works best for me. You will have to experiment to see what works best for you.

Without enough fat in your diet, your skin will dry up, your energy will plummet, and you will look like death. Getting 20-40% or more of your calories from fat is a good way to go. Load up on healthy fats such as: Hempseed olive oil, almonds, walnuts, marine algae DHA, pecans, almond butter, and avocadoes. Also, many vegetarian diets are free of all saturated fats, which is great for the most part. However, some saturated fat is required for optimal health, so get some coconut oil or coconut milk in you diet as well. I generally have one can of  Trader Joes brand coconut milk with my protein shakes each day.

When putting together a vegan diet make sure you focus on real sources of food. Avoid relying on fake meat products, soy milk, rice milk etc. These packaged foods are loaded with sodium and sugar and are okay as transitional options rather than staples. Focus on real food such as nuts, beans, veggies, and some grains such as quinoa and oats. Vegans tend to follow low fat, low protein, and heavy carbohydrate diets, which is a big mistake. Only a small percentage of the population will feel optimal on such diets. You need to discover what will work for you. Play around with fat and protein ratios and see how you feel. Get over the myth that fat makes you fat. In reality excess calories and especially excess carbohydrates are the culprits for high body fat. You will find that your overall calorie consumption will be less when you load up on fat as fat provides a steady flow of energy and reduces hunger tremendously. People on low fat diets are always hungry which is why low fat diets rarely work.  Again, I do very well on high fat (30-40% of diet) moderate carb and moderate protein (100-120 grams per day). This is what I have discovered after being a vegan for many years.

Finally, there is growing evidence that soy can increase estrogen levels, block mineral absorption, and decrease thyroid function. Others argue that there are many health benefits of soy. Regardless, I would leave soy alone as contrary to widespread belief it is not a necessary part of the vegan diet so why take the risk? Wheat gluten is even worse and is the worst part of wheat. It is a highly allergic and inflammatory food so avoid it like the plague. Seitan is garbage and I do not recommend it at all. There is enough variety in real vegan food sources so leave the fake stuff alone.

Quick Reference:

Vegan High Protein Sources

• Almonds, 7-8 grams of protein per serving
• Pistachios 7 grams of protein per serving
• Pumpkin Seeds 11 grams of protein per serving
• Sunflower Seeds 8 grams of protein per serving
• Hempseeds 11 grams of protein per serving
• Almond Butter 8 grams of protein per serving
• Peanut Butter 8 grams of protein per serving (many people are allergic to peanut butter and it can cause inflammation. When in doubt, stick with almond butter)
• Black Beans 8 grams of protein per serving
• Lentils 8 grams of protein per serving
• Garbanzo Beans 7 grams of protein per serving
• Navy Beans 8 grams of protein per serving
• Kidney Beans 7 grams of protein per serving
• Pinto Beans 7 grams of protein per serving

Recommended Vegan Protein Powders

• Raw Power: Click here
• Nutribiotic’s Brown Rice Protein Click here
• Hempseed Protein Powder Click here
• Pea Protein Isolate Click here 

Recommended Vegan Sources for DHA (essential fatty acid) 

• NuTru's Omega-Zen-3 Click here

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5. Get The Most Out Of Training With My Personalized Program Design Service 

"I have to say this program really kicks ass. Everyone I know has noticed a difference in how much leaner I look already, and it has just been two and a half weeks (out of a 6-month program!) I am noticeably stronger (the girlfriend loves it;) Needless to say, I can tell you that I look forward to every work out, and I will be purchasing another six month program when this one is done. Thank you." 

And five months later.......

"I want to say THANK YOU in a huge way.  This past weekend was the RKC, and thanks to your program I am officially Mike Provost, RKC!!!  Not only did I ace it, I took third place (majority of the audience thought it should have been first, but it was fun so it’s cool;) in the technique competition, but I blasted through the snatch test and every workout they threw at me.  The heavy Kettlebell work translated to the light bell work perfectly, and the workouts, while certainly challenging, never made me tired for more than 30 seconds to a minute afterward.  Thank you, thank you, thank you!"
- Mike Provost, Reno, NV

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Click here for more info: http://www.mikemahler.com/services.html

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6. Aggressive Strength Equipment Recommendations

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John Brookfield's Battling Ropes For Serious Strength And Conditioning 

The Battling Ropes System is a complete strength and conditioning program like no other. The Battling Ropes System was created and developed by John Brookfield. John is a multiple world record holder and the author of the popular book "Mastery of Hand Strength". John spent over a year developing this system strictly for himself. He was using this advanced training system to skyrocket his strength and stamina to new heights, despite the fact that John has just turned forty-seven years old. John has continued to improve setting new records that require strength, endurance and mental toughness (See John Brookfield's Bio).

A few of the benefits of training with the Battling Ropes:

• Increased aerobic and anaerobic capacity
• Increased power and strength
• Increased power and strength for longer durations
• Increased motivation and mental endurance
• Increased performance in all areas of your life
• Increased martial power and speed

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7. Aggressive Strength Product Recommendations 

Meditation is one of the best things you can do to relax your mind and handle stress more effectively. High stress equals low DHEA, testosterone, and GH levels. You must get a handle on stress to be at your best. My online client Les Larson told me about this program and after only a few weeks I am hooked.

Just listen to the program for 30-60 minutes per day and you will notice a difference after a few days. After a week you will look forward to each session. I like to use it after working out or before going to bed. Check it out at:

» Meditation CD's That Actually Work

8. Kettlebell Training Information  

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

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9. Aggressive Strength Magazine Archives 

http://www.mikemahler.com/newsletter

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Until next time.

Live Life Aggressively!

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

Mike Mahler

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