Home → Aggressive Strength Magazine → Issue 152 - 6-12-08 

Aggressive Strength Magazine

Issue 152 6/12/08

1. Aggressive Strength Living Article Of The Week

“Are you not entertained?” ~ from the movie Gladiator

We're an entertainment-addicted society. We need to be entertained at every waking moment and who knows,  maybe even our dreams are next.  Four hours of  TV per night is no longer enough: we need to be able to watch TV on our cell phones, have TV monitors in elevators to be entertained on the fifteen-second ride to our floor, and even in cabs--heaven forbid we look out the window and observe the world as we cross town. We even view thought-provoking video commercials while standing in line at the grocery store--the possibility of boredom while waiting to buy things is unacceptable!

Restaurants now have TV’s positioned around the dining rooms so every guest can enjoy the pleasure of moronic television shows and avoid talking to the people in front of them.  Thanks to cell phones, we enjoy eavesdropping on intellectually stimulating conversations of strangers around us as they get input from friends and family on important decisions such as whether they ought to get Cocoa Puffs or Fruit Loops at the grocery store.  Forget using cell phones for emergencies, use them all day long and exploit as many meaningless conversations as your plan allows!

It's a good thing we have computers and the Internet at work:  faking working has gotten so much easier this way.  You no longer have to be bored at work, i.e., actually doing your job, now you can spend the workday day on idiotic message boards talking to people that you'll never meet in real life.  When that gets boring, you can spend the rest of the day watching home video clips on YouTube.  Once another "productive" day at work closes, it's time to go home and spend the evening entertaining yourself further with such stimulating TV shows as The Moment of Truth and The Flavor Of Love.

No need to think about what you'd actually want to do with your life nor what line of work you'd enjoy.  Work isn't supposed to be fun and a job is supposed to be, well, a job!  That's the bill of goods you've bought--hook and sinker--and why shouldn't you follow the masses?  Just keep distracting yourself with entertainment outlets...and when you're on your deathbed you won't have the regret of inadequate entertainment during your fulfilling lifetime.

It seems many movie and TV production companies are all-to-aware aware of our addiction to entertainment and her fat cousin, spectacle.  Thus they no longer bore us with neither complex plots nor dialogue in movies and shows.  Why bother with character or story development when we can watch things blowing up and otherwise getting tossed around for ninety minutes?  Ah yes, it's fun being part of the MTV generation!  Forget about movies which might inspire people to live more fully.  Nah!  Living vicariously is the in-thing...and the masses are skilled at it.  In fact, if the sport of living vicariously-though-entertainment ever becomes an Olympic event, we'll win, hands down!

You'd think that with our addiction to entertainment and our access to information we'd no longer accept boring jobs, only doing what genuinely interests.  Yet that's not the case.  Many people accept a bill of goods that jobs are boring you'll have to put up with forty-plus hours of boredom per week, then get in as much entertainment as possible during off-hours and weekends to make up for it.  Hell, if you can get in as much entertainment as possible when you're at work, via the Internet, who says you can't have it all?

Unfortunately, our entertainment-addiction hasn't carried over to the places where it really matters.  It's used instead as a coping mechanism to accept our lives as they are without bothering to change.  After all, why bother taking risks and doing the hard work that it takes to make the changes necessary to living a fulfilling life?  Far easier is vicarious living though others, via entertainment sources.  But entertainment rarely inspires us to make our own lives better, merely substituting for deeper experiences of life.  When we disassociate the entertainment from our experience of living, we don't see the obvious connection of how one, when used properly, can improve the other.

In addition to being an entertainment-addicted society, we're also a society which no longer understands the concept of delayed gratification.  After all, not having what we want--right now--is boring!  Working hard and sacrificing are unacceptable options; we want things now and if we can't afford those things, there are friendly--and generous--companies willing to lend us the money it takes to make all our material dreams come true.

These lenders, of course, have our best interests in mind, only charging a reasonable 20% plus APR to borrow money, so we can buy the mountains of things that we need to fill up our garages.  Want a big screen TV but can't afford it?  No problem!  Just sign up for the monthly installment plan and spend the rest of your life paying it off.  Who cares if the $4000 TV ultimately costs you $20,000 in interest fees, when--and if--you ever pay it off?  You must live fully in the moment and refuse to sacrifice the now!  After all, that's the secret to enjoying life, right?  If you cannot afford something, get it anyway and worry not about the consequences--maybe you'll get lucky and die, sparing yourself the worry about paying back the money.

A result of our entertainment addiction and hatred of delayed gratification is that saving money is now an outdated concept.  Money is for spending, in order to be entertained now.  Putting away money is boring and doesn't at all support our present entertainment.  As for the future, I'm sure things will just work out fine--right?  I hope so.

It's no wonder that moronic sayings, such as fake it until you make it, are so popular today.  Our society has become very good at faking it:  we fake liking jobs we hate; we fake enjoying lives that we detest; we fake being happy when we're miserable inside.  We fake being who we aren't and yes, we even fake financial wealth when we're living month to month.  Well, you can't fake success or happiness, no matter how hard you try, so don't bother.  Further, if you work hard, and pay the price of success, you'll never have to "fake it".  If you do some self-reflection, and determine what makes you happy, you don't have to fake it.

I don't think there's anything wrong with watching TV or a good movie.  In fact, while 99% of TV is garbage, the few quality shows are better than all the campy shows that used to be on many years ago.  The Shield, 24, The Tudors and Sleeper Cell are all well-made shows, with good acting and engaging plots.  Shows like these, in addition to being engaging, can actually provoke independent thought. Addiction to entertainment, and using it as a substitute for living a genuine life, is a slippery slope for some--and an avalanche for most.  People are better than that and should expect more of themselves.

So where do we go from here?  One, stop playing the distraction game.  Stop distracting yourself from living your life fully and try spending an hour alone with your thoughts each day.  This means no music, TV, reading, no conversations--nothing for that hour.  Don’t worry, you can go back to your four hours of TV after the hour is up!  You may find this painfully boring, which says a lot about your lack of imagination.  The more dialogues you have with yourself, the better you'll know yourself, giving you the impetus to make some changes in your life.  A more aggressive approach is to unplug the TV for an entire week, turn off the cell phone except for emergencies, and check email just once per day.  You'll learn a lot about yourself in a week of unplugging...and you may not like what you find.  Brutal reality may be unpleasant but clarity is necessary for growth.  Otherwise, keep distracting yourself as the years go by and changes occur, though, most likely, they won't be the changes you want

.

Live Life Aggressively!

Mike Mahler

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

 

 

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2. Aggressive Strength Training Interview 

Beyond Kettlebells An Interview with Mike Mahler
by the Editors at t-nation.com 

UFC fighter Frank Shamrock says that Mike Mahler's training tactics are unique, innovative, and one of a kind. And that seems to be on the mark, as Mike is proving to be much more than just another "kettlebell guy."

Coach Mahler has published about a dozen articles here at Testosterone, but we've never sat him down and picked his brain... until now.

Testosterone Nation: Sum up your overall training beliefs for us, Mike. What's at the core of your philosophy?

Mike Mahler: When it comes to a comprehensive training program for strength, health, and well-being, there are five important areas that need to be addressed: strength, cardio, joint mobility/flexibility/balance, nutrition, and restoration.

I don't like to waste time, and don't want my clients and readers to waste time, so my strength training approach focuses on compound exercises that provide the most bang for your buck. There are five areas I like to cover: presses, pulls, hamstrings, quads, and core.

click here to read the rest of the interview

 

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Why people are signing up  

 

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--Sincere Hogan
http://sincerehogan.com
New Warrior Fitness Coaching

"Your course has everything we do and need, body weight, strong man training, the ropes and of course KBs. We were going to go to a fitness conference but then decided we didn't want to deal with 1,000 other fitness professionals and courses that don't apply to what we do in our business. Your conference is small and just deals with the stuff that pertains to us. The FREE DVD is what sealed the deal for us!  

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--Beth Currie

Click here for more information

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4.  The Kettlebell Solution For MMA Strength And Conditioning

By Mike Mahler

The top MMA athletes are far and away the best-conditioned athletes in the world. Second place is so far behind that it is not even worth mentioning. These men and women work hard and need a great strength and conditioning program to enhance their efforts. While no strength and conditioning program can make up for tireless hours sparring and working hard on the mat, a properly executed program will help hard working MMA athletes increase explosive power, ramp up cardio and muscular endurance, and make the body more durable.

There are many effective training tools to choose from for a killer strength and conditioning training. However, the tool that we are going to focus on in this article is the kettlebell.  Before we get into why the kettlebell is a great training tool for MMA athletes and how to use it, lets go over what the hell a kettlebell actually is!

A kettlebell looks like a cannon ball with a suitcase handle and is a relative of the dumbbell. Many of the old-time strongman in the US and overseas used kettlebells as part of their overall regimen for building incredible levels of strength and power. In Russia and more recently in the US, kettlebell training is actually a sport in which athletes focus on three kettlebell exercises: The Jerk, The Clean and Jerk, and The Snatch for time. 

These are full body exercises that teach your body how to work as one unit. While novices can get away with muscling the kettlebell for these exercises, kettlebell athletes on the professional level have to be efficient and use as many muscle groups as possible to get the job done.  The sport involves doing the designated exercises for ten minutes! If you put the bells down at any point it is over similar. Just lasting ten minutes alone with a light kettlebells takes a great deal of mental toughness and conditioning. Imagine using two 70lb kettlebells for the clean and jerk (an exercise in which you take the bells from the floor to the upper body and then overhead) for ten minutes and you get an idea of the incredible strength and conditioning that these athletes have and how such training will carry over very well to the needs of MMA athletes.

While simply working on the kettlebell competition lifts will go a long way for developing incredible levels of strength and conditioning for MMA athletes, it requires professional instruction and a lot of dedication to get really good at (working up to ten minute sets). While I do think that this is worth your time, in this article we are going 

To work on some other kettlebell exercises that have a very direct application to MMA. In addition we are going to go over a sample program on how to put the exercises into play for serious explosive power, strength, and conditioning. Lets get started.

The Exercises

The Double Kettlebell Clean and Push Press

If you ignore the rest of this article and only focus on this exercise you will go a long way to getting a lot out of kettlebell training. This is a full body exercise that teaches your body how to work as one unit. It is not as technical as the clean and jerk and is relatively easy to learn. If you have ever done a military press than you have probably done a push press. 99% of the clips I see for the military press on youtube.com are in fact push presses in which you use the legs to help drive the weight overhead.

The Double Clean and Push Press is a combination of two kettlebell exercises. The Double Clean and the Double Push Press. Lets cover the clean first.

Double Kettlebell Clean

Place two kettlebell between your feet aligned with your toes. Sit back as if you are trying to sit in a chair behind you and grab the kettlebells. Looking at the floor slighting in front, swing the kettlebells between your legs as if you are trying to pass a football behind you. Quickly reverse the direction and drive through with your hips, pop your pelvis up and drive the kettlebells to the rack position (Nope, the rack position is not referring to the ring girl’s chest). The rack position is where the bells are resting against your upper body below chin level.

Performance Tips

·        Focus on getting your hands around the kettlebells rather then letting the kettlebells flip over your hands and bang your wrists.

·        Breathe into your stomach as you drive the kettlbells to the rack

·        Stand up straight at the end of the move. Your legs should be locked out.

·        Hold the bells in tight and close to the body at the top.

• Breathe out as you swing the bells between your legs

Now lets cover the push press portion of the lift

Double Kettlebell Push Press

Clean two kettlebells to your shoulders. Squat down a few inches and reverse the motion rapidly. Use the momentum from the legs to drive the kettlebells overhead. Once the kettlebells are locked out, lower the kettlebells to your shoulders and the back to the starting position. Stay loose upon cleaning the kettlebells and when you squat down a few inches to power up the leg drive.

Performance Tips

·        Push the kettlebells off of your upper body.

·        Do not squat down too far.

·        Breathe in as your lower the weights and breathe out forcefully as you push press the kettlebells overhead.

·        Look straight ahead or slightly up when driving the bells off of the rack position. 

  One-Arm Kettlebell Swing

The kettlebell swing is a great exercise for developing explosive hamstrings and when done in high reps incredible cardio and muscular endurance. Best of all it is pretty easy to learn and apply safely. It has many of the benefits of the kettlebell snatch without the technical demands of the snatch. No doubt the snatch is worth your time to learn, but the swing is the best exercise to put into play immediately while you work on snatches for down the road.

Performance

Place one kettlebell between your feet. Push your butt back and bend your knees slightly to get into the starting position. Make sure that your back is flat and look down or at the floor slightly ahead. Swing the kettlebell between your legs forcefully as if you are passing a football to someone behind you. Quickly reverse the direction and drive though with your hips explosively taking the kettlebell straight out. Let the kettlebell swing back between your legs and repeat. Switch arms with each set. Remember that the swing is primarily a hamstring exercise and that is where all of the power is generated from. It is not a front raise so do not use a crush grip on the kettlebell and keep the arm loose.

Double Swing

The Double Swing is one of the most powerful ballistic drills that you can use with kettlebells. There is no way to muscle up two heavy kettlebells. You have to have powerful hamstrings to make double swings happen. On the Double Swing you are going to focus on driving through with the hips as fast and as powerful as possible. Do not worry how high the bells get. In fact, they should not get higher then chest level. Keep the tension and focus on the hamstrings. A large percentage of the lower body explosive power comes from the hamstrings. Keep that in mind when doing Double Swings. If your lower back gets sore then you are not doing the exercise correctly.

Performance Tips

Place two kettlebells between your feet. While you will most likely have to take a wider stance than you would when doing a regular one-arm swing, do not stand too wide. The wider you stand the less hip drive you will have. Only stand as wide as you need to in order to comfortably place two kettlebells between your feet.  Push back with your butt and bend your knees to get into the starting position. Make sure that your back is flat and look down or slightly in front.  Swing the kettlebells between your legs forcefully.  Quickly reverse the direction and drive though with your hips taking the kettlebells forward. Let the kettlebells swing back between your legs and repeat.

Double Kettlebell Squat Shrug

This is a great exercise for developing full body explosive power. You start the power with the lower body and transfer it into the upper body in each repetition. The best part about this exercise is that it is not technically demanding and fairly easy to learn. It does not require the technique of the clean or snatch, yet has many of the benefits. It is also a tremendous trap developer and strengthener.

Performance.

Place a kettlebell on the outside of each foot. Squat down and pick then up as if they are two suitcases. Keep your eyes forward and arch your back in the starting position. Stand up quickly and drive through with the hips and get airborne on each rep. As you get off the floor, push your chest out and pull your shoulders up and try to pinch your shoulder blades together. Let your shoulders go back in the socket as you land back on the ground.

Full Body Attack 

This is an incredible exercise that will teach you how to use your body as one unit and build explosive power from the ground up. It is particularly beneficial for combat athletes. Often in a fight you have to get from the floor to your feet explosively against the resistance of an opponent. That is exactly what you are doing with the "Full Body Attack."

Performance

Place two kettlebells shoulder width apart on the ground. Get into the top position of the pushup with both hands on the kettlebells. Jump forward explosively while holding onto the kettlebells. Now you are in the starting position of the clean. Clean both kettlebells and drive through with the hip flexors rapidly.

Your elbows should be tucked in and in line with your stomach at the top of the movement. Bend you knees slightly, reverse the motion quickly and drive the kettlebells overhead. Now reverse the motion and do another rep. For the purpose of building speed and explosive strength, keep the rep range to no more than three. Focus on moving as quickly and as explosively as possible while maintaining solid form.

Full Body Defense

In addition to learning how to go from the ground to your feet explosively, a combat athlete needs to be able to go from the feet to the ground rapidly as well to avoid takedowns. That is precisely what the "Full Body Defense" will assist you with.

Performance

Start the exercise by cleaning two kettlebells to your shoulders. Push your pelvis up at the top of the clean so that that you can press your elbows against your stomach and keep the kettlebells tucked in. Take the kettlebells to the floor so that you are in the starting position of a double clean.

Now jump back while still holding onto the kettlebells and arch your back. When executed properly, you will look like you are doing a yoga stretch or end position of a Hindu Pushup. Immediately jump back into the clean position, clean the kettlebells, and then proceed with another rep.

Alternating Kettlebell Renegade Row

This is an outstanding drill that I picked up from my friend Coach John Davies, author of “Mastery On The Gridiron.” In addition to being an excellent exercise for your upper back and lats, the Renegade Row is a killer core exercise and a great chest exercise. Yes, even the chest is worked with the Renegade row. How is this possible? The chest is activated tremendously to stabilize the body for rowing with the Renegade Row. Don’t be surprised if you notice that your pecs are sorer than your lats the next day after doing Renegade Rows. Because you are off balance with the Renegade Row, the abdominal muscles are also worked tremendously to maintain balance. There are not too many upper body muscles that the Renegade Row does not work.

Performance

Get into the top position of the pushup holding on to two kettlebells that are less than shoulder width apart. Take a shoulder width stance and push one kettlebell into the floor forcefully while you pull the other kettlebell in the working arm. Hold the kettlebell in the working arm in the top position for a second and then lower the kettlebell under control back to the floor. Switch arms after each repetition. 

Performance Tips

·        Push the kettlebell of the non-working arm into the floor with as much force as possible.

·        Breathe in as you pull one kettlebell and out as you lower the kettlebell.

·        Flex your butt and stomach for added stability

·        Flex the lat of the working arm before pulling each kettlebell off of the floor.

Take a wider stance to make the exercise easier and a closer stance to make the exercise harder.

The Kettlebell Guard Attack

This is an exercise that suits perfectly the needs of MMA fighters and grapplers.  Sports in which you often end up on you’re back called the guard and have to fight off an opponent in the mount position. Learning how to be strong and powerful out of the guard position is a valuable skill. The Guard Attack will help build explosive strength from the guard position. It is also great for building strong and a powerful chest, strong triceps, strong shoulders, and impressive core strength.

Performance

Lie on the floor and position two kettlebells on the floor next to your shoulders. Use two arms to get the bell on the weaker side into place on your chest. While holding on to the bell on your chest, pull the other bell towards your other pec and get it into the starting position on your chest.  Lets use the right arm to illustrate the performance of the Guard Attack. Press with your right hand and use your right foot to shift your weight to the left. As you lower the bell, press with the left hand and use your left foot to shift your weight to the right. Use maximum speed when doing this drill. You want to be fast and explosive in the guard position.

Sample Kettlebell Training Program For MMA

Monday And Thursday  (Circuit Training for strength endurance)

Double Kettlebell Clean and Push Press 10 reps

Double Kettlebell Squat Shrug 10 reps

Guard Attack 10 reps each side

Alternating Renegade Row 10 reps each side 

Full Body Attack or Full Body Defense 10 reps

Double Swing 10 reps

Take 30-second breaks between each exercise and 60-second breaks at the end of each round. Do five rounds per workout I recommend that beginners do five reps per exercise and take one-minute breaks between each exercise and round. Add a rep to each exercise each week until you are up to 10 reps per exercise. Work on getting the breaks down to zero in between each exercise and in between each round. Do this by shaving ten seconds off each break per week until there are no breaks at all. If you get to this point with a relatively heavy set of kettlebells you will be a machine to say the least.

  Tuesday and Friday (High Octane Cardio for muscular endurance and cardio)

Ten rounds of

Squat Thrust 30 reps 

One-arm Kettlebell Swing 15 reps each side 

A round is one set of squat thrusts and one-arm kettlebell swings down back to back. In case you do not know what a squat thrust is it is a bodyweight exercise in which you squat down, get into the top position of a pushup, and then get back to the standing position.

Beginners can take on-minute breaks in between each round. Shave ten seconds off each successive workout until you can do ten rounds with no breaks. Once you are there you will never have to blame lack of cardio for losing a fight.

Wrap-up

There you have it an array of killer kettlebell exercises to get you in shape and a sample program to get into action right away. Depending on what else you have going on with regards to training, life, and individual restoration you will most likely have to modify the program to fit your situation. If four workouts is too much, start with two workouts per week or reduce the rounds and go from there.

For more information on kettlebell competitions and how the Russians experts use kettlebells, check out the following sites:

www.ikff.net

www.americankettlebellclub.com

 

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6. UFC Fighter Mac Danzig's Vegan Diet 

By Mac Danzig 

Although there are other people at the controls, manning and updating my websites, I do read all of the mail, and the questions I get asked most often (hundreds upon hundreds of times now) are about my diet. All of the emails and letters are so hard to keep up with, so I finally sat down and decided to write a comprehensive look at my diet. I'm writing this on the fly, so even though it's long, I will most certainly leave some important things out.. 'Sorry' about that in advance.

This is not going to be political or preachy. I am not here to push my beliefs on anybody. This is a chance for all of you who have asked for diet advice from me, to get some ideas and hopefully gain a better understanding of how easy it is for me to maintain athletic performance with the foods I consume. In the mean time, I will simply lead by example.

I noticed that a lot of fighters write down what they may generically eat on a given day and simply post that as their "diet". I'm sure this leads to confusion with most readers and still leaves many questions unanswered. My diet, in particular is extremely varied and also very specialized. As you will see, I eat completely differently when I am cutting to 155, than when I am simply in training without having a weight-cut... And even more differently than when I am lazing around, eating whatever I want and getting fat...

By no means whatsoever, is this 'the gospel' of vegan eating... I am just sharing what I do... It may work for you, it may not... Take what works and discard the rest. I can tell you right now, I don't spend nearly as much time doting over my diet as most people think.. I know what to eat and what not to, and following those guidelines, I'm looking to get it done with and get on with my day...

I usually don't have the time to cook, so unless my girlfriend is cooking for me (she's great), or I am eating at a restaurant, I am usually looking for something quick and easy...

A few articles on me have gone into detail on what my daily diet is like... This one in particular stands out: MMA digest article

Also, Mike Mahler happens to be the one person who's diet I followed in the beginning of my change to a vegan diet. He inspired me and I hope I can do the same for some of you... I urge you to check out his diet if you're interested in mine. Mike Mahler

Before I get into specifics, I'd like to address something that ties into the same discussion...

For the record, I cut dairy completely out of my diet in 1999 (over 5 years before I ever committed to a full-Vegan diet)... This was due to an allergy that I developed in my adolescent years to dairy that effected my sinuses and everything connecting to them. For a good part of my teenage years, I suffered from severe ear infections and chronic Vertigo (which is completely miserable). It took me a few years of to finally realize that the antibiotics were only temporarily subduing a much bigger problem. I did my research and finally found the source. A lot of people don't realize how hard milk, whey, and other dairy products are on the sinuses and respiratory system, and the dairy industry would like you to believe that you need milk to get calcium. That notion is as oxymoronic as you can get. Although not everybody has as severe an allergy to dairy products as I did, I just wanted to point out that after years of battling with ear and sinus infections, eliminating dairy completely cured my problems. Anyone with similar problems may want to try it for a while.

Also, let me just say that although protein intake is important, especially for athletes, I find the usual listed "requirements" for protein are blown completely out of proportion, and the thought of consuming "1.5 grams of protein per pound of body weight" during down time seems ridiculous to me... I truly feel that all the articles telling people to eat that way are written by people who copied the diets of fanatical body-builders and tried to present them to the general public. If you ingest that much protein a day, you're taxing your liver and kidneys big-time... For example, I walk at 168lbs and I usually eat between 100 and 140 grams of protein per day when I'm in grueling, peak training... When I'm taking time off, I don't pay attention to it and I'd say it's usually around 70 grams a day, give or take...

One thing I consciously try and do is eat a higher amount of Alkaline-forming foods than acid-forming foods throughout each day...  I don't have time to get into the whole "alkaline foods" discussion, but I'll just leave it out there, that there is plenty of info about it on 'teh interweb'...

Ok, first here, I'm going to list some regular foods that I eat a lot of, along with an explanation on each one. Essentially these are of some basics that really make up a large portion of my weekly caloric intake...
Afterwards, I'll list some broader ideas of diet, some supplements, then list some junk foods I eat and finally some daily examples...

Brown Rice: One of my main sources of complex carbs along with Oatmeal... I buy the 'microwave in the bag' frozen brown rice from Trader Joe's... It's pretty easy to make and can be added to almost any meal. Wild Rice (actually a grass seed) is even better if you can get a hold of it.

Portobello mushrooms: These are great. Good protein source, low calories, low sodium... Can be sauteed or stir-fried with vegetables. I eat many of these when cutting weight.

Tempeh: This is a Tofu-based food and a good source of protein and fiber... Although a little bitter when eaten plain, I find that some flavorings can really make this good...

Quinoa: This grain is sometimes a chore to cook, and if you live in the middle of nowhere, it might be hard to find, but it's a great source of not only carbs and protein, but fiber as well. This is one of the most nutritionally complete foods out there with a full, balanced set of amino acids...

Black Beans, lentils, etc: Really, many Mexican foods I find to be pretty substantial as long as there's some beans and rice in it... Lentils are great in soup and have some decent protein and fiber... My girlfriend makes some really good lentil soup as well as squash soup.

Now, here are some things I will simply list and then explain how they work with my system.

Drinks: I drink water 99.9% of the time... Rarely do I ever feel the need for soft drinks or juices, although I might add some orange juice to a protein shake to make it taste better...I drink in excess of 1.5 gallons of H2O per day when I'm training hard and about 1 gallon per day on the regular.

Wheat: My diet is not "wheat-free" but I do my best to avoid it... It's an allergen (mild for most people) and not as easily digested you might think... Every now and then I have something that has wheat gluten in it as well... I'm not really into sandwiches, so bread is easy to avoid. I do eat pasta every once in a while and I might have some wheat tortillas, but if I had my choice of carbs, it'd be brown rice or quinoa. On a side note, they have come out with some good rice-based pastas that are identical to normal wheat pastas in every way.

Fake meat products: These are usually geared towards people making the change to vegetarianism and are made to mimic various meat products... I usually don't mess with these all that much, with the exception of "riblets" made by Gardenburger brand... Most of the stuff out there doesn't taste anything like meat to me (unless it's seitan) and I don't need my food to. Unfortunately, if you live in the midwest, or any place who's stores haven't adapted to vegetarian diets, you may find that these are the only things sold in the frozen section without meat or dairy... On the other side of this, many vegan restaurants have great fake meat products that are much more palatable than the stuff sold in the stores.

Vegetables: These are very necessary. I don't eat them as much as I should, but when I do, it's broccoli, peas, corn, green beans and spinach most of the time.   Whenever I have a salad, I do my best to use organic kale or baby spinach as the main source rather than romain or iceberg lettuce.   The leafy greens like collards, spinach and kale are extremely good for you.. Don't sleep on them.

Nuts & seeds:  I find almonds are the best for me.  Some articles have stated that they boost testosterone...  I can't say that's true or false, but I do find almonds to be superior to most of the other nuts and seeds out there...Trader Joes sells raw, sliced almond flakes that can be turned into powder (if you have a chopper) and put into a protein shake. I do eat peanuts sometimes, and natural peanut butter, but too many peanuts can be bad for you because of the naturally-occurring toxins in them.   I eat cashews in moderation, and I usually stay away from Macadamias when I'm cutting weight because of their high fat content.   I don't eat as much seeds as I probably should, but Pumpkin seeds are definitely recommended... They are high in iron, which is important, because as an athlete, iron can be lost rapidly through sweat.   Sunflower seeds are also pretty good and are a decent source of protein and vitamin E...  

Seitan: although this stuff is delicious and has the most meat-like texture, it is essentially just wheat gluten and is pretty hard to digest... I stay away from it when I'm in hard training, but during the off-season, it's fair play. Many restaurants have good meals with seitan.

Soy milk, almond milk, etc: I don't eat cereal all that much, but when I do, I prefer almond milk and rice milk over soy milk... Just a personal preference. These can be added to protein shakes too. Rice milk is a little thinner that almond and soy usually...

Sodium: Many of the foods I really enjoy have a lot of sodium in them. I have no problem eating moderately sodium-rich foods until I get close to cutting to lightweight... Sodium causes you to retain water, so it's pointless to consume if you want to drop water weight. 3 weeks before a fight, I start watching my sodium intake, and by the week of the fight, I'm down to less than 100 grams per day.

Supplements:

Vega : This is awesome. It has everything I need and it's quick and easy. Although not ideal, I could really live off of this with no problems. Full nutrition. Vega makes powdered whole food meal replacements and energy bars that I eat pretty much every day. Their meal replacement uses hemp protein and pea protein as a base. When I'm taking this and/or The Ultimate Meal (see below) I find there's no reason for a multi-vitamin.

The Ultimate Meal : I swear by this stuff, it's a whole meal and has made up a huge part of my diet for 3 years now. It's a bit of an acquired taste, but I truly notice myself feeling better when I use it daily. Remember to follow the directions and add the apple and banana. (This is not your normal "add powder to water" supplement)

Organic food bar : These are great for cutting weight... there is some fat but it's good fat, and there's hardly any sodium. Made of mostly almond butter and date paste.

Cliff Builders Bar : As far as protein bars go, these are the best tasting and pretty addictive... There's a decent amount of sodium and calories, so they're not ideal when you're cutting weight.

Protein powders: I stay away from soy as a powdered protein supplement, and not because of the idiotic claim that it is "bad for men because it boosts estrogen" (which is complete nonsense), but because it doesn't have a full amino acid spectrum and has less protein content percentage... Instead of soy powder, I use brown rice protein from Nutri-Biotic brand when I'm looking for plain protein supplement. Nutri-Biotic Rice protein has an 80% protein content and all the amino acids. I also find that Rice protein is digested a lot easier than soy.

Junk Food:

I eat a ton of soy ice cream and vegan cookies when I'm not dieting... This is my weakness, but my metabolism burns most of it off...

Also, I eat a lot of Thai food from vegan restaurants that, although normally not considered 'junk-food', certainly has a lot of fat and sodium. Example: Yellow Curry (made with coconut milk) with tofu and deep fried soy "chicken"... Oh yeah, I'm a potato chip fiend too...

Even with all the sugary stuff I indulge in, I do my best to completely avoid high fuctose corn syrup.

Examples:

Ok, here is an example of just one day of my diet leading up to a lightweight fight that I posted on a blog a while back...

You must remember that this week and next are atypical of what I'd normally eat calorie-wise daily compared to, say, a month or more out... There is no way I could sustain this low-calorie diet for long periods of time... I love vegan cookies and Thai Food too much.

Morning: woke up at 166lbs and after a short 35 minute run and some calisthenics, I had The Ultimate Meal, which is a pulverized meal replacement. I swear by this stuff. There isn't a single other product out there that comes close to this as far as recovery goes in training. Put it in a blender, add some water, an extra scoop of rice protein powder, an apple and a banana and I'm good to go. 400 cal

Noon time: Organic food bar 300 cal

Afternoon: Low-carb tortilla chips with Salsa. Soy yogurt with Fresh Pinapple. 350 cal

Mid Day: After working a private lesson at 3pm, and then at 4:00 sparring, consisting of five 5-minute rounds with 30 seconds rest and finishing with jump-rope interval training, I had a Clif Bar immediately to replace glycogen and help speed up recovery so I can function in my third workout. 250 cal

Evening: Rice Noodle mushroom soup with sautéed high-protein tofu added. Fresh pineapple. 300 cal

Night: After my Night workout in west LA, which consisted of 45 mins grappling, followed by ab work, I had a Clif Builders Bar and a rice protein shake. 350 cal

Last meal: Salad w/ baby greens, artichoke, olives, mushrooms, high-protein grilled tofu and light goddess dressing. Fresh strawberries and grapes for dessert. 300 cal

So that's 2250 calories total, which is fine since I'm training 3x a day. The next week I'll start to taper off my training and cut out all the sodium, so that I'm not retaining water.

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Here's an example of a typical (non-weight cutting) training day:

Breakfast: Oatmeal and soy yogurt with fruit.

Snack: almonds and dried cranberries

Lunch:
Barley salad
Sauteed zucchini and mushroom and 'garden' flavor tempeh with curry dipping sauce.

Midday:
Vega shake, Clif Builder Bar.

Snack: Tortilla chips and Guacamole

Dinner:
Brown rice pasta with fresh portabello's and eggplant and marinara sauce.

Late night:
Coconut sorbet with pineapples.

Ok... well, I hope this answers at least a few of the diet questions some of you may have, and if not, I don't know what to say... It took me almost 7 months to get around to writing this, so who knows when my lazy ass might get around to writing more...

Thanks for all the feedback and positive emails, you guys... Even though I can't always write back, I hope all of you understand that I'm grateful to have such loyal and intelligent fans!

Take care

Mac

For more information on Mac Danzig, go to: http://www.macdanzig.net

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7. 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.......

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8. Aggressive Strength Training Article 

The Role Of Pain In Training 

By Frank DiMeo

Too many times than I can remember I have heard people say, "No pain, no gain", probably not even knowing how pain shows itself during training, or why. Some humorously equate pain with hard work or focused effort in the gym or on the playing field.

Though I can appreciate this comical approach to pain, it is definitely not real helpful in maximizing your training.

Pain, in reality usually is indicative of an impennding injury or other dangerous condition. Though people have heard they should listen to their bodies when they are training, few heed this advice, often  to their own detriment.

Pain that occurs during training should merit your focused awareness of it, and the circumstances surrounding it. Someone training really hard does not want to stop their workout becaause of a pain they think is not too severe. Stopping is exactly what they should do.

Training in the gym is not the same as being on a mission for the military, where you have to keep going no matter what. When pain begins,

stop and try to get an accurate idea of what is going on and why you are hurting.

Due to a condition known as exercise-induced hypoalgesia (EIH) pain may not be percieved to its' full extent; and the severity of the condition causing it may be obscured.

Dr. Daniel Drury and Dr. Karen Wonders recently wrote an article called "Unmasking Pain" in the May 2008 issue of "Training & Conditioning" that explains some of the causes of EIH. A couple of theories are mentioned, one focuses on the role of endorphins in the process of blunting the pain signal; while the other looks at the roles of adrenaline and high blood pressure as contributing to this condition.

This phenomena is not new, medical records from as far back as the Civil War mention this condition occurring with wounded  soldiers.

Back to the gym, though, let's say you've just complete a heavy lift and notice a slight pain in your hamstring. It really doesn't seem so bad, and you're close to setting a new personal record, so you proceed. Suddenly, you are injured, and might ave to be out of training for several weeks or even months.

The other scenario could be, you feel the pain in the hamstring, and decide to stop for the day. In fact, you take an extra day of rest then return to you training. Maybe you missed 2 or 3 days , at most, and you do  great when you come back.

Is one more rep worth missing a couple of months of training? In my gym it isn't; and hopefully, not in yours. Just remember that the condition causing the pain is probably more serious than you might think due to your body masking it. Train hard, but train smart!

For more info on Frank, go to http://mysite.verizon.net/res8kp13/crossfitgulfcoast/index.html

 

9. Aggressive Strength Equipment Recommendations

Lifeline USA Kettlebells

The marketplace is finally ready for a high quality kettlebell at a great price. I have no doubt that you will love these kettlebells and you cannot beat the price! Here is what people are saying about these high quality bells:

"Mike, I received the Lifeline KBs(2 79s and a 97) today, and did some snatches, Turkish get ups, and presses. It felt good to be able to press the 97. The handles have a nice gritty feel--I believe I like them a little better than the original Dragon Doors, definitely better than the newer, slicker Dragon Doors. Thanks again for your ideas. I'm looking forward to your new DVD."
- Brian DeLong, Harrisburg, PA

Lifeline Kettlebell FAQ

Q: I have one Dragondoor bell, can I use a Lifeline USA bell with the DD one for double work?

A: Yes it should not be a problem at all. While the LL bells have slightly thicker handles, the bell is pretty much the same size and will not be an issue.

Q: Can the smaller ladies bells be used for Renegade Row?

A: While the smaller bells look like real kettlebells (no plastic thin handles) I do not recommend anything below 35lbs for Renegade Row. It becomes too much of a stability issue with very light bells.

Q: Do the handles have the slick smooth epoxy coating that DD bells have?

A: Nope, I made a point of having LL avoid the slick handles. They are smooth enough that they will not tear up your hands and rough enough that they will not fly out of your hands on high repetition work.

Q: How big is the 97lb bell?

A: Around the same size as DD's 88lb bell. I love the 97s for double work!

Q: How is the quality?

A: I am very happy with the quality. The bells went though strict quality control measures and passed with flying colors. I could put my reputation behind any bell on the market and chose to do so with the LL bells. I have been training with them for a month and love them. I know you will as well.

 

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10. 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

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11. Kettlebell Training Information  

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

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12. 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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