Aggressive Strength Magazine
1. 11 Reasons Why We Make Mistakes (and why we keep making them!) Part One
By Mike Mahler
To err is human, and that will never change; however, not taking time to understand the underlying reasons mistakes are made and therefore, continuing to err, is simple ignorance. Humans can do better than this, and it all begins with honest self-assessment and self-analysis. Becoming a student of human consciousness--specifically your own--is critical in understanding what motivates erroneous behaviors and how to transcend them.
The book Why We Make Mistakes, by Joseph T. Hallinan, provides an excellent starting point. Hallinan details the reasons people make mistakes and why most never learn from them. For example, people get divorced from one spouse only to remarry someone else of a similar nature, only to get divorced again, etc. This same scenario replays itself in business as people move from one failed business venture to the next, always wondering why they keep missing the target. In the realm of nutrition, people again and again repeat the same weight-loss diets, though they never achieve their long-term goals. These habitual frustrations create a general attitude of apprehension--a malaise--compounded by the tendency to avoid taking action altogether--which is also a mistake.
Hallinan’s book gives eleven reasons why we make the mistakes we make--then continue repeating these same mistakes. Some of these reasons may seem trivial, while others will resonate more deeply. While you may relate to some--if not all--of the eleven reasons we make mistakes, you'll certainly find them interesting.
Let's get started on why so many of us have bought one-way tickets to the land of mistake and regret--and what we can do to make a mid-course correction.
The first reason for mistakes is taking more responsibility for a mistaken action than for taking no action at all. In other words, if you try to make something positive happen and it backfires, you'll take this badly, which creates--and reinforces--a reluctance to take further action. If instead, you do nothing (and as a result miss out on the same positive opportunity) you won't take this lack of action nearly as badly as the failed pro-action...thus entire lives are lived with negligible growth.
I experienced this myself when my first business venture turned out poorly. I'd worked my tail off for nearly two years without gaining any forward momentum. Worse, I was worse off than I'd started out. By the time the business officially failed, I was thousands of dollars in debt and to financially recover, I had to take a job working for someone else. What I'd wanted more than anything was to make it as an entrepreneur, so having to take a regular job for wages left me feeling bad, and I wondered if the entire experience hadn't been a waste of time. Yet to assume my sincere efforts had amounted nothing (that is, that this was the end of the story) would only have been pessimistic and myopic--and I am neither.
In the process of trying to create a successful business, I'd developed several useful skill sets, specifically, I saw what I was capable of when I was driven by a strong belief in what I was doing, which manifested in a tireless work ethic. It was at this time I also developed my public speaking skills, which have proven invaluable in my current chosen work. As a result, I was no longer afraid of speaking in front of groups (and actually became damn good at it) and I'd also acquired that elusive skill of effective interpersonal communication.
In spite of these worthwhile gains in both skills and experience, I was extremely reluctant to launch another business. The pain of the previous failure had made a home in my head and it took some time to evict it. In fact, it took becoming completely disgusted with working for others, in a series meaningless jobs, before I fully committed to my fitness business.
What I learned in the process of my first business failure has paid dividends in the success of my second, current vocation. In the eight years since I started my fitness business, it was cash-flow positive within the first year and three years in I'd realized a fair income, which I've sustained up to the present time
While the role of devil’s advocate can be useful in making important life decisions, conditioned apprehension results in a life lacking those deeper--and thus more meaningful--levels of experience, including the experience of joy. Making a big mistake isn't remedied by never again attempting anything new and original. Taking calculated risks is the price of living fully. Living life on the bench is secure--maybe even injury-proof--but devoid of any dynamism and contact, which is the essence of living life aggressively.
The second reason for most mistakes is giving too much weight to our initial instincts. We're told by teachers and authorities to trust our initial instincts and tend to selectively remember those times when it works in our favor, rather than all those other times our initial instincts miserably failed us. In reality, our initial instincts are mostly erroneous and worse, is our after-the-fact tendency to falsely remember instincts or intuitions that were never there! In other words, once we already know the outcome, we like to think we knew it all along.
According to Hallinan, first instincts are generally wrong, and studies of test takers have shown that people who go back and change their initial answers often achieve higher scores. Many people won't risk changing their initial test answers--even if they're uncertain of the correct answer--because they have a greater fear of actively marking a wrong answer then of missing through their ambivalence, a more passive form of error-by-default in contrast to the former active, willful error. Once again, this demonstrates the difference between mistakes committed by default and clinging to the known, rather than mistakes caused by direct action taken in the effort to do something right.
The third reason we make mistakes stems from our tendency to look back more favorably upon our past actions than they actually merit. Like proud parents, we delight in boasting of how well our younger selves performed certain tasks--which may in fact have been average at best.
This reminds me of when I presented a lecture on optimizing hormones at my Collision Course seminar (Las Vegas 2008.) In my memory, I saw myself as intense and riveting as Al Pacino's character in the movie Heat (and if you haven’t seen Heat, immediately stop reading this page and go watch it!) Since my brother filmed the seminar, I was able to compare my subjective memory with the objective evidence on video and, to my disappointment, my memory was not calibrated with reality. Not that I did a poor job, it's just that in my own mind at the time, I thought it was exceptional, not just pretty good. According to Hallinan, being well-calibrated is when our self-perception closely matches the objective reality our self. The truth? The mind's version of our selves is rarely well-calibrated with the self we present to the world. Short of enlisting a personal film crew to witness our personality in action, this can be difficult to face without flinching or self-censor. In your effort to calibrate internal memory with external reality, a more practical alternative to a personal film crew is requesting honest, constructive feedback from trusted sources.
The number four reason we make mistakes can be traced to that cliché so many of have internalized: hindsight is 20/20. In reality, hindsight--like memory--is fantasy-based, thus an inaccurate account of past events. Psychologists call this phenomenon: hindsight bias. This is how it works: Once we already know how events have played out, we tend to change our pre-event memories. I've personally experienced this more times than I care to admit with the most prominent event being the tragedy of Dr. Bruce Nadler.
In 2007 I spoke at the Fitness Business Summit, where Dr. Nadler was also presenting. I'd read many of his articles and seen him on Howard Stern and was looking forward to meeting him. He seemed like a really nice guy, excited about entering the fitness business with a new personal training studio in Los Angeles. After my presentation on Internet marketing, Bruce made a point of shaking my hand and congratulated me on a superb job. His wife, who seemed very kind, made a point of complimenting my wife, Carol, about me.
Well, fast-forward one year later and Dr. Nadler is making news for murdering his wife and committing suicide. It seems he'd been depressed over losing his medical license, his fitness business wasn't going so well and...certainly there's more to such a desperate act than we'll ever know. Yet, after I heard the story, my memory recalled Dr. Nadler looking depressed at the Summit. I now remembered walking past the table where he was eating lunch and him appearing noticeably miserable. Interestingly, this memory only surfaced after learning of the murder/suicide--in other words, I invented a memory based upon a known outcome. In fact I had no insight before the tragedy, and when the story broke I was just as shocked as everyone else.
The fifth reason we make mistakes? The myth of multi-tasking. You may have heard that in order to be successful you'll need to be good at multi-tasking, well, nothing is further from the truth! Multi-tasking is instead an excellent way of doing several things poorly or--worse--a way to completely fail in several efforts at once. Hallinan claims...We never make two conscious decisions at the same time no matter how simple they are. In other words, it's impossible to do multiple, conscious tasks at once and what we're actually doing is jumping back and forth between disparate tasks rather than effectively working tasks simultaneously.
My own experience is that it's virtually impossible for me to write articles if I have Internet access. Going online is a facile distraction when what I really need is absolute focus on my writing. I frequently disconnect the Internet or go to a coffee house, where I can't get Internet access on my laptop. If I don't block myself from the Internet, I'll typically to stop every 10 minutes or so to check email, or research something or other on the web. Every time I lose concentration it takes me awhile to refocus and resume writing. I've found it's far more efficient to concentrate an hour or so upon writing, then take a break and check emails, rather than continuously switching back and forth.
When it comes to the unconscious mind, on the other hand, it's quite possible to work multiple tasks at the same time, for example, I can lift weights while listening to music. Lifting weights is a conscious activity, while listening to music (at least in this context) is unconscious. But what if I tried to do my workout, listen to music, and train a client at the same time? At best, I'd get a mediocre workout, and my client as well. I'd risk potential injury, due to lack of attention or even worse, my client could get injured. Far better for both of us if I concentrate on training the client, then training myself.
Another example is something we do every day--driving. We can all drive our cars while listening to music; driving is a conscious activity, while listening to music is unconscious. However, driving a car while talking on a mobile phone is a potential disaster. When you're engaged in phone conversation you’re not paying full attention to driving and if something happens on the road requiring an immediate reaction, you’re going to miss it. I once saw a guy driving against traffic while talking on a cell phone, and he didn't stop driving the wrong way, even with traffic coming right at him. Cars in the correct lanes (going the opposite direction) had to drive around him to avoid a head-on collision. This insanity continued for several blocks before he finally realized he was on the wrong side of the road. On top of all this, in his delusion that he was right (and everyone else wrong) he'd been honking his horn at the oncoming traffic--so much for multi-tasking! While you may be able to jump back and forth between multiple conscious tasks, you'll neither save yourself time nor be efficient and effective at any of it. Focus on a single conscious task at a time and do it well, then move on to the next task.
Next time we will pick up with six more reasons why we make mistakes.
To be continued
Live Life Aggressively!
Mike Mahler
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2. Helping people in Haiti
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2. Optimizing Brain Health for Well Being, Vitality, and Incredible Physical Performance part 1
By Mike Mahler
Sources: Dr Eric Braverman’s “Younger You” and “The Younger You
Diet”
Optimal brain health for well-being and outstanding physical performance
requires optimal levels of the four main neurotranmistters: Dopamine,
Acetylcholine, GABA, and Serotonin.
Quick Overview
Dopamine and acetylcholine are essentially our energy neurotransmitters,
we need optimal levels of both to feel vibrant and excited about life. We
also need them for optimal levels of growth hormone and energy for intense
workouts. GABA and Serotonin are essentially our relaxation hormones; we
need both to deal with stress and to recover from hard training.
Dopamine is a powerhouse neurotransmitter and it is what gives you the
boost to get out of bed in the morning and take charge of your day. It
also plays a big role in the sex drive and sexual function. Dopamine is
also a powerful growth hormone booster and lowers levels of prolactin.
Prolactin is a nasty hormone that lowers testosterone levels in men.
Dopamine is intimately connected to addictive behavior. People with low
dopamine levels are often addicted to sources of quick pleasure and easily
succumb to addictions.
Acetylcholine is the memory neurotransmitter and is also involved with
reaction time. Without adequate levels of acetylcholine your memory will
suffer, as will your speed and reaction time. Acetycholine is also
involved with optimal growth hormone production.
GABA is an anti anxiety neurotransmitter. When GABA levels are low you
just do not feel right and have a hard time relaxing. This of course will
hamper sleep quality and overall well-being. You need GABA to calm down in
the evening and to restore after the daily stresses of life.
Serotonin is often referred to as the anti-depression neurotransmitter.
When your serotonin levels are too low you will feel burned out and
disconnected. You will have a hard time enjoying life and will go through
each day worn out. You will lack motivation. Serotonin is very important
for workout recovery and restoration.
Detailed Overview
Dopamine
Dopamine is a neurotransmitter and neurohormone. Dopamine is a precursor
to the adrenaline hormones norepinephrine and then epinephrine. Dopamine
is the brain’s power source that keeps you fully alive and alert.
Dopamine works like a natural amphetamine giving us power and controlling
our energy. High levels of dopamine increase focus.
Dopamine has many functions in the brain including important roles in
behavior and cognition, voluntary movement, motivation, rewards, sleep,
mood, attention, and learning. Dopamine is commonly associated with the
pleasure system of the brain, providing feelings of enjoyment and
reinforcement to motivate a person proactively to perform certain
activities. In the frontal lobes dopamine controls the flow of information
from other areas of the brain.
Dopamine also regulates prolactin production. Prolactin is a hormone that
counteracts the sexual arousal effects of dopamine. High levels of
prolactin results in impotence and low libido. Prolactin decreases
testosterone levels in men and estrogen in women. Dopamine keeps prolactin
in check and thus dopamine must be optimized for testosterone levels to be
optimal.
When your dopamine levels are balanced you’ve got plenty of energy, your
day is organized, and you feel social and confident. Low dopamine affects
emotional stability. People with low dopamine are often loners,
eccentrics, shy individuals, procrastinators, codependent, masochists, and
obsessive-compulsive. When dopamine is low you do not feel motivated and
alive. You have low energy and a feeling of being burned out.
Without dopamine your body and your brain will lose its vitality. You will
feel tired and burned out all of the time. Initial symptoms of low
dopamine include fatigue and light-headedness. If you have a severe
dopamine deficiency you will have a low sex drive, fat gain, and
difficulty performing simple tasks.
All addictions (food, drugs, sex) are linked to a brain chemical
imbalance. Low dopamine plays a role in addictive behaviors.
The low dopamine person needs more food or more pleasure gratification to
achieve what is considered a normal level of satisfaction. An addictive
brain seeks the dopamine high in the form of rewards and pleasures.
Dopamine and food
The brain and body are always trying to maintain homeostasis. Thus, each
time we eat the brain naturally releases less dopamine. People often try
to eat more to get an increase in dopamine to no avail.
If your dopamine levels are low your brain has fewer dopamine receptors.
When you consume low nutrient food that doesn’t produce dopamine it
becomes much more difficult for these receptors to transfer feelings of
satisfaction. This results in eating more garbage food in a desperate
attempt to get your fix, which results in the receptors becoming less
efficient and eventually causes them to break down. The bottom line is you
have to eat more low nutrient food to get an adequate dopamine boost.
Healthy food provides more nutrition per calorie and you do not have to
eat as much to get the same dopamine response.
The connection between the stress hormone cortisol and dopamine
Whenever a brain chemical declines a hormone is activated to take its
place. In the case of dopamine, the body ramps up cortisol levels (stress
hormone). Cortisol acts as a back up energy reserve so that the brain and
body can continue to function. This is fine for short stressful periods.
Cortisol helps with dopamine support when you’re under stress, because
during stressful times you burn immense amounts of dopamine. However, when
you’re stressed for too long problems occur from the extended high
cortisol levels. When your brain is continually turning to cortisol for
energy, it becomes a way of life. You’re addicted to the cortisol rush
and have the illusion that you’re in control and staying on top of
stress.
Excess cortisol leads to fat gain with particular emphasis in the stomach.
If you’re fat and still have high energy, chances are your body is
burning cortisol like crazy to support your low dopamine levels.
Increasing Dopamine levels
Low dopamine problems can be reversed by increasing dopamine through food,
nutrition supplements, and stress management. When you do so you will no
longer rely on cortisol to support energy needs.
Healthy food choices increase metabolism strength by ramping up dopamine
levels. These foods and nutrients will increase your dopamine levels to
the point where eventually you will retrain your brain to create more
dopamine on its own.
Cut out foods that lower dopamine
· Sugar and other forms such as high fructose corn syrup, corn syrup,
fructose, dextrose, agave, sucralose, molasses, and syrup. Use Stevia as
your main sweetener.
· High glycemic carbohydrates: cake, crackers, white bread, white rice,
pasta, pies, potatoes, and processed foods. Basically all of the garbage
that you like to snack on endlessly.
Increase consumption of the amino acids phenylalanine and tyrosine by
eating more high protein foods and wheat germ.
Add supplements such as:
· Power drive, which has 3 grams of tyrosine per serving.
· Acetyl-l Carnitine: Research shows that ALC elevates both acetylcholine
and dopamine in specific regions of the brain. ALC enhances cellular
energy in the brain and supports all bodily functions that have a
high-energy demand. Taking several carnitine analogs at the same time is a
more comprehensive approach as each analog has a precise benefit. I use
and recommend Beverly Nutrition’s Quadracarn. 2-3 caps three times per
day with or without food. 3-4 caps taken before workouts works well for a
nice mental lift. ALC also helps the body free up fat for energy and is a
great fat loss enhancer.
· Phosphatidylersine: lowers cortisol levels. Great when taken in the
evening to help you wind down. 400-800mg per day after workouts works
wonders.
· B vitamins for energy and stress management (1-4 tabs per day)
· Folic Acid enhances dopamine transmission (most B-100 supplements
contain folic acid)
· R Lipoic Acid, enhances blood flow, increases glutathione levels, and
helps drive nutrients into the muscles and liver.
· Macuna and tribulus also increase dopamine.
Caffeine can help with low dopamine levels. Coffee for example provides a
jump-start for low dopamine. Too much caffeine increases stress hormones
so keep it to no more than 200mg per day (100mg twice per day). Very few
have the discipline to only consume 1-2 cups of coffee per day. One
develops a tolerance to the caffeine boost from coffee with regular use,
which always results in increased consumption of coffee. Once that occurs
the potential benefits are nullified and adrenal resistance is around the
corner.
Add spices to your diet such as: Basil, cayenne, cumin, turmeric, sage,
rosemary, garlic, nutmeg, and ginger. Nutmeg is great in morning protein
shakes for a nice energy and dopamine boost. Cinnamon works great as a
blood sugar regulator and should be taken with meals several times per
day.
Drink tea every day. Loose tealeaves are better than tea bags. 1 teaspoon
of black tea and 1 teaspoon of green tea boiled in 10oz of water twice per
day.
Ramp up DHEA levels by taking transdermal magnesium oil twice per day.
DHEA is the ultimate stress management hormone and has a protective effect
on testosterone by acting as a back up reserve.
Sources “The Younger Thinner You Diet” and “Younger You” by Dr
Eric Braverman, MD
Dopamine support supplements (in order of importance)
1. Quadracarn 2 caps 2-3 times per day: http://www.mikemahler.com/
2. Phosphatidylersine (400mg-800mg after workouts or in the evening) http://www.mikemahler.com/
5. B-100 vitamins: (1-4 caps per day. Trader Joes brand)
6. R-lipoic Acid (200mg 2-3x per day with food) http://www.bodybuilding.co
The Ultimate Stress Reduction supplement that supports brain health, healthy testosterone levels, and optimal growth hormone production
Highlights
- Contains the right amount of Phosphatidylserine which prevents the rise in cortisol following exercise
- Contains Alpha-glycerylphosphorylcholine which amplifies Growth Hormone production
- Promotes muscle growth and speeds recovery
- Amplifies testosterone & GH production
- Improves the testosterone to cortisol ratio
What is EndoAmp Max?
EndoAmp Max is a naturally occurring phospholipid complex, designed to minimize the cortisol increase after exercise while amplifying the testosterone and growth hormone (GH) response.
As a mild "nutty" tasting powder, EndoAmp Max can be taken by itself or mixed with a beverage. Each dose includes 800mg of pure phosphatidylserine and 600mg of alpha-glycerylphosphorylcholine (A-GPC). At the recommended dose, EndoAmp Max will last 29 days.
EndoAmp Max is known as an "endocrine amplifier" because it can amplify the beneficial hormones such as testosterone & GH while preventing the unwanted spike in cortisol associated with exercise, so you can begin making progress towards building a harder, more masculine physique.
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3. Recipe Of The Week: Lima-Lentil Hearty Soup
By Carmen Garcia
Ingredients:
2 cups of green lentils (pre-soaked over night)
1/2 cup lima beans (pre-soaked over night)
1 small white onion, diced
10-15 cherry tomatoes, whole
1 lg carrot, sliced
3 celery stalks, sliced
1-2 small serrano chili pepper, chopped (optional if you prefer spicy)
2 small garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon, paprika
1 dash of sea salt and pepper (Bragg
Organic Sea Kelp Delight Seasoning)
1 teaspoon of Muchi curry (to taste)
3-5 tablespoons of Bragg Liquid Aminos
(to taste)
garnish with parsley or fresh dill
6-8 cups, alkalized water
Easy Recipe
Combine all ingredients in a crock pot. Fill with alkalized water to the
top. Cover and cook on low for 10-12 hours. Check every few of hours to see
if more water is needed due to evaporation. This is a nutritious and hearty
recipe for chilly winter days or evenings. Good for the body and warm for
the soul.
In Gusto!
Turista Chef
--Carmen Garcia
For more great vegetarian recipes check out Carmen's blog at: http://carmengarcia.onsugar.com/
4. A glimpse Into The Fighter's Mind
By Samuel Sheridan
“Fighting is fifty percent mental.” Through the ages, grizzled fighters and veteran trainers have said words of that nature to eager young fighters, to reporters, to anyone who would listen. Even for the ancient Samurai and sword masters of feudal Japan, where life and death were on the line every duel, after mastery the game was hugely mental, as the writings of Musashi and his contemporaries can attest.
But what does it mean, “mental?” Fighting is two guys in a ring, or cage, or on the street; smashing each other. It’s the ultimate physical endeavor, meat on meat. How could something so physical be more ‘mental’ than ‘physical?’
Boxing and Mixed-Martial-Arts (MMA) are called sports; but in sports, the real world is nominally held at bay, locked outside stadium doors for the viewer. No one is starving in football, there is no genocide in baseball, no terrorism coverage on ESPN. We watch a game to escape from the news, from politics. The rules are clear, there’s a winner and a loser, and everything is as fair as we can make it. Of course, sports are about everything in life, too, barely beneath the surface. Sports are about race and religion, class and poverty. Outside life squeezes in through the edges of field and climbs in under the ropes. Terrorism and genocide show up, like smoke drifting in through the cracks.
Prize-fighting is something more
again. We create a life-and-death struggle on demand. And while watching my
football team lose is one thing, it can’t compare with the empty lurch in
my stomach when I see a friend, or a hero, losing a fight.
A fight, a prize-fight, has some elements of that sporting fairness, there is a winner and a loser. Rules, weight classes, referees and judges; we try to make a fair fight, as fair as human ingenuity can make it.
But we invite the real world in—we ask for damage. There is a savage price to be paid. Prize-fighting operates in a grey area, on the dark fringes of the sporting world. To watch men fight is like watching a bull-fight or a dog-fight, on some level, you stop judging and thinking and instead feel in your bones, and connect to an older, primordial sense of spectacle. Fighting is much greater than a sum of its parts, it is more than a sport, more than any other form of competition in modern society. It is about truth.
Fighting for money requires an understanding of identity—you have to know and exploit who you are. As Randy Couture, a multiple UFC Champion said, “No lies get told in [the cage]”. If your opponent is stronger than you, we’ll find out. If you’re not prepared, we’ll find out. And more than that—you have to know who you are, what kind of fighter you are, what are your strengths and weaknesses. They’ve been stuffed down your throat since the day you started training to fight. If you’re tall, fight tall. If you’re a big puncher, don’t screw around on the outside—get in and hurt him. If you’re a wizard at ground-fighting, don’t stand in front of the kick-boxer. Honest appraisal of your own abilities—that’s a big part of the mental game. But it goes much deeper.
Josh Waitzkin, a chess prodigy and martial artist, wrote a book called The Art of Learning, and in it he describes the different types of kids he was teaching to play chess. He discusses at length “entity” versus “incremental” forms of learning, so classified by developmental psychologists. “Entity” kids think their chess skill is born of natural and innate ability, a pure talent; while “incremental” kids think they learned chess incrementally, step-by-step, and that hard work pays off.
Josh would give his students impossible problems, well beyond their level—that no one in the class could solve. So all the kids would fail that problem. But then, when he gave them other, manageable problems afterwards, the “entity” kids would struggle; they had broken mentally, and were unsure of themselves. The “incremental” kids would just go back to work, slogging away. “Entity” kids were “brittle;” when they lost, their faith in their talent was shaken. They struggled with accepting defeat. The “incremental” kids, who believed the power of labor, would keep digging in the trenches, even faced with insurmountable problems.
One of the old boxing truisms is “Frustrate a puncher and he’ll fall apart.” A ‘puncher’ is a fighter who hits really hard, with a big punch. It’s a natural gift that coaching can help—but you can’t teach power. The puncher relies on his big punching. He hits guys, and they go down. As he works his way up through the boxing ranks, this is the law of the land—he hits them and they disappear. Now, he gets to his first title fight, his first big fight, and he hits his opponent—boom—and the guy is still there. This guy can handle his punch, and keeps coming. So the puncher hits him again, but the other guy is still there. Now comes the crucible for the puncher—does he go to pieces? Or does he buckle down and keep fighting? Can he find another way to win? Mike Tyson, one of the greatest punchers of all time, rarely fought past six rounds. If he hit you and you were still there, he’d mentally break. He’d bite your ear off, foul himself out of the fight, or not answer the bell.
Good trainers know to take raw talent and season it, teach it to handle frustration. Fighters and trainers walk the line between understanding defeat and immersive self-belief. Successful fighters have things that work for them, and work incredibly well—but the great champions are those that can accept, internalize, and understand defeat. Waitzkin’s Tai Chi teacher, the renowned William C.C. Chen (whom I studied with briefly) called this “investing in loss,” and it means to study your defeat without ego, to let defeats happen in practice without reverting to your old habits, and to grow from it. It’s an essential skill, for even during a fight the fighter needs to be able to understand—and accept—when he is losing, and change his game plan. In order to win.
Ricardo Liborio, one of the great MMA and jiu-jitsu coaches in the world, made the same point, in his heavy Brazilian accent: “You have to unnerstan’ you CAN lose. Somebody can beat your ass; but you can overcome, don’t get frustrated. You can’t be a quitter, you have to understand it’s not your time, it’s not your day. Just because you lose doesn’t make you a loser. It’s not the same fight every time. Be humble enough to understand—losing is part of the game. It doesn’t mean to let yourself get conquered, but to know that you can win again, at the right time you can be great. The key to doing well in competition is to accept.” Liborio holds the word reverentially in his mouth, emphasizing with his whole face and body. “Accept you can lose, you can not perform. Take this big bag of rocks out of you backpack.”
Barbara Ehrenreich’s recent book “Bright-Sided” is a continual revelation about the dangers and industry of positive thinking in America, and she remains probably the most important writer we have. Positive, magnetic, “magical” thinking are dangerous illusions, particularly in investing and managing companies. But for fighting, positive, pro-active thought—thought that leads to positive action—play a critical role. And in fighting, illusions don’t last long.
Before Randy Couture was a multiple UFC Champion, he was a Greco-Roman wrestler who tried out and failed to make the number one Olympic spot three times (TK). He spent almost a decade chasing Olympic dreams, and came to MMA late, at the ripe age of 33. He wasn’t expected to do much.
“One of the things about being an underdog, there’s no pressure,” Randy told me. “Nobody expects you to win. It frees you up to go out and compete. We often complicate things with fear of failure, all that baggage of winning and losing. Being an underdog is freedom.”
“I realized I get way more nervous for wrestling than for fights. Way more keyed up. When I realized that, I thought, that’s odd. This guy could kick my head off, but I’m not worried about that at all. I’m having fun, I’m enjoying learning all this new stuff. I stopped and thought why the hell am I so nervous for the wrestling matches? I’d lost perspective, I was putting all this pressure on myself. It came down to one match, everything hinged on it, so I’d forgotten that I loved to wrestle and why I started wrestling—because it’s fun.”
Randy had been dealing with the endemic, systemic pressure that elite athletes face, the overwhelming pressure to succeed. The Olympics is particularly grueling in that respect—there are no seasons, no multiple game series, not many chances to fail. When you’ve worked every day for four years (or a lifetime) for a goal, and all that work comes down to the next ten minutes, it’s hard not to feel pressure—shattering pressure. But it is precisely how you deal with that pressure that dictates your chances of success. It is the Catch-22 vise for Olympic athletes.
Randy has found his way through; he’s regarded as the strongest mental competitor in MMA. He develops uncanny game-plans and sticks to them.
“The first thing is perspective—I frame things in a positive way, and stay reflective. It’s almost a cliché, but in the grand scheme of my life, if the worst thing that happens to me is I lose a wrestling match, even if it’s the Olympic finals, then I’m doing pretty damn good.
“Right away that takes some of the pressure off. I know I’ll survive it, it’s not the end of the world. I won’t like it; I don’t like to lose, but the people who really care about me, don’t care about me because I win. I think this helps me overcome the classic fear of failure that most athletes set themselves up for. They’re so worried about looking stupid, or making a mistake, they don’t do what they’ve trained to do, they get in their own way.
“You have to put a positive frame on things. In wrestling, in a heated match, sometimes the difference in the match is that you got called for “passivity,” or your opponent did. You know you’re working your ass off, and then referee decides for whatever reason that you are more passive than your opponent, so the ref gives him the choice, and your opponent sticks you in the disadvantaged position. And it would get to me, because no one was as active as I was in matches. It would really mess with me when I got called for passivity.” He shakes his head in remembered frustration.
“Then I figured it out, with my coaches, that it was OK, it was a coin-toss, the ref was going to call it on somebody. So why am I getting upset? It was taking me out of my game, and I was losing matches because everyone would put you in the disadvantaged position, and I’d get turned and scored on because I was pissed off.
“So I started framing it as ‘out of my control,’ what the referee does; it’s no big deal, this is just another thing to beat. Now my opponent will put me at a disadvantage, but he’s still not going to score on me. So psychologically that will have a big effect on him, it’s one more place where I can break this guy. Who gives a shit what the ref thinks? It’s all about my opponent.
“Once I wrapped my head around that, I started savoring those situations, not that I ever stalled; but when the passivity call came, I looked at it as a positive. Here’s a place where he can’t turn me, another place for me to attack him, wear him down. By creating a different perspective on the same situation, then technically things went a lot better. I thought better, my defense was better, and I had more success.”
When Yagyu Munenori, a legendary Japanese sword instructor of the Shogun in feudal Japan, wrote that ‘another man’s sword is your sword,’ he meant just that. If your understanding is deeper, his weapons can be your weapons. His own sword is more dangerous to him than to you.
For more information on Sam and his book "The Fighter's Mind" go to: www.worldismadeoffire.com
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6.
Eliminating Belly Fat for a Great Set of
Abs
By: Scott H. Mendelson and Eric Serrano MD
Shutting Off Fat Storage Receptors for Single Digit Body Fat %
Dr. Serrano so
much of the information about nutrition is geared towards people with high
body fat levels. I am trying to
go from 16% to 8%, how do you structure a plan for someone who is already
pretty lean with body fat centralized in the mid section?
You are correct different tactics must be used for
someone trying to break into the single digits, similar principles apply for
anyone trying to lose body fat, but we have protocols perfect for what you
are aiming to do. As you get
leaner both metabolic and hormonal conditions change, at first progress
comes easy this is why you see obese people shed weight so quickly.
We have not changed much genetically for 10,000 years and back then
starvation was more prevalent. Your
body responds to a consistent period of low food intake by jacking up
cortisol and other fat storage hormones while lowering metabolism to keep
fat as long as possible- preserving survival.
This fat storing hormonal
cascade activates fat storage receptors which are focused in the mid section
for men and legs for women. You
can do everything “right” but if the fat storage receptors are activated
by storage hormones- you will not succeed.
Other factors including poor sleep, bad nutrition
choices, combined with elevated stress levels negatively impact insulin
sensitivity resulting in higher circulating levels of this powerful fat
storage hormone. The correct plan can shut off these receptors- two powerful tools are Alpha
Omega and Fat
Reduce. Alpha Omega
forces the fat cells to mobilize more stored fat as fuel instead of acting
as vacuum cleaners for available material.
The proprietary essential fatty acid matrix within the Alpha Omega
along with proper diet and exercise can prevent highly problematic insulin
surges.
Do you ever feel despite your hard work that the fat is not burning off fast enough? You may be doing everything you believe to be right and working very hard, but actually supporting conditions that increase body fat accumulation. High stress levels arising from a lack of progress and related frustrations increases the depth of the problem. We get the tough cases and have built many protocols to tackle these problems, if you are not satisfied with your results it is time for a change in strategy- the Rapid Abs Nutrition Plan.
Deactivating Fat Storage Receptors
I became interested in hormones many years ago as they
govern all body comp and performance progress.
Following the evaluation of tens of thousands of blood test results I
was able to determine the optimal ratios of hormones to support maximum fat
burning, and that was the easy part. Developing
a formula to create these optimal hormonal changes was the big challenge.
Along with proper nutrition, exercise and life style management Fat
Reduce has consistently improved the fat loss fortunes of trainees wanting
to get to single digit body fat with a great set of abs.
We conducted a 30 day trial a few years ago which demonstrated an
average increase of over 400 calories in daily expenditure and follow up
blood work revealed great improvements.
Most importantly the participants lost a tremendous amount of body
fat and some of these trial participants had been struggling for years.
Fat Reduce PM was designed to lower stress levels in
the evening to support an easy transition into a deep level of sleep and to
accelerate fat burning. Do not underestimate the importance of restful sleep
which is vital for hormonal recuperation.
Clients tell us within a week they wake up feeling well rested with
greatly improved daily energy.
Stoking The Metabolic Fire
Macronutrient Cycling Fat loss plans make use of
several cutting edge techniques and is the perfect solution for anyone
trying to get lean- FAST. A recent trial resulted in an average loss of 10lbs of body fat and 5
lbs increase in muscle over 30 days!
The positive impact of macronutrient cycling is well documented from
prior articles and trials. Manipulating
food choices to force the body into burning more stored fat as fuel was
established early on; however we were very surprised to see big increases in
new muscle mass from the trial participants.
We learned that manipulating the macronutrient profiles enables the
body to use protein more efficiently as building blocks for new muscle while
shifting to stored fat as a primary fuel source. Adding Metabolic Fire
Days to the mix stepped up progress by another 10% when done once every 14
days. This single relatively
low calorie day enables the body to greatly accelerate fat burning without
triggering a negative hormonal response.
A high dosage of Amino Loading with 100%
MR and Muscle Synthesis on this day protects muscle while enhancing fat
burning through other pathways. Amino Loading around workouts and through
the day accelerates fat burning by consistently sending message to the brain
that large amounts of food have been consumed; forcing metabolic rate to
accelerate through the worth with nothing to burn except stored fat.
Busting Fat Burning Plateaus for a Great
Physique
I
know gaining muscle while losing fat is very difficult for fundamental
reasons, but what nutrition plan gives me the best chance to gain some
muscle while maximizing fat loss? Jerry
New Orleans
The typical long term low nutrient intake plan making
use of high protein with low carb and fat levels is a bad strategy if you
are looking to get very lean- FAST. I
am a metabolic janitor having to fix messes created by clients not due to
bad intentions, but a lack of information.
The Fat Buster plan is perfect
for busting plateaus and promoting rapid fat loss progress by making use of
enzymatic, hormonal and metabolic principles that the public does not
understand. Humans are
creatures of habit and this one of our greatest downfalls as we can easily
make the fat burning mechanisms very stale brining progress to a frustrating
halt.
Enzymes Hold the Keys to the Fat Burning
Treasure Chest
A little known factor of fat loss and Muscle growth is
enzymatic activity, which if turned in your favor will accelerate progress
but if availability is low you are headed nowhere fast. Enzymatic activity
is increased according to food consumption, for example eat a high amount of
carbs and enzymes will be available to burn the carbs, the same holds true
for proteins and dietary fats. Rapid
fat loss requires the body to burn stored fat as fuel and an elevated intake
of good dietary fat consumption will increase the enzymes needed to get the
job done. However combine the wrong carb sources and amounts and the
fat burning enzymes will not reach peak levels.
Macronutrient Cycling for Rapid Fat Loss
and Muscle Growth
By the time this issue hits the stands many people will
have arrived at a major plateau if they started an effort around Jan 1. The
amounts of protein, dietary fat, and carbohydrates must be manipulated in a
strategic manner to avoid metabolic staleness.
A consistent intake of high
protein levels without spiking dietary fat and carb intake will result in
the body using muscle as a fuel source since protein is abundant from daily
food intake. Why?
The enzymes needed to use protein as a fuel source will be very
active due to the high protein intake.
We do not want to make protein the bad guy, but try lowering intake
from 1.5g per lean pound of body weight to 1g a couple days per week while
spiking carb or dietary fat levels to prevent metabolic staleness.
Physique Breakfast of Champions
Yes lowering protein intake to moderate levels on
certain days will reduce the availability of certain building blocks,
however these can be efficiently replaced by Amino Loading with 100% MR and
Muscle Synthesis around workouts and between meals.
Designed following many years of research including muscle biopsies
to determine the exact ratios needed to support rapid muscle growth and
repair. Remember quality
ingredient intake is only beneficial when they can be properly utilized
making the proprietary ratios absolutely crucial to your success. This combo
does not increase protein burning enzymes; allowing fat burning enzymes to
increase rapidly thus torching unwanted body fat- FAST.
Use the MR and Muscle Synthesis around training as well as between
meals to force the body into using more stored fat as fuel, this also has a
big impact on metabolism by making the brain understand that an abundance of
food has been consumed, as a result metabolic rate is raised through the
roof! A
few days per week use a high dosage of 100% MR and Muscle Synthesis to
replace your breakfast and watch your body fat disappear for good!
Kick out the Fat!
Fat cells are a warehouse for stored fat and are
hormonally active, producing many types of hormones necessary for general
health and to communicate between cells.
Alpha Omega provides the vital raw materials and tools for optimal
metabolism and synthesis. Optimizing
fat cell function will help the body burn stored rapidly.
Providing the ideal materials to cells supports a beneficial level of
cellular fluidity which improves fat burning communications between cells
and the nervous system. Improved
blood flow enables more
nutrients and hormones to be delivered to desirable locations.
Macronutrient
Cycling Fat Loss Plan Your Key to Permanent Fat Loss!
We are keeping it very simple during the week and on the weekend I change several factors to increase fat burning enzymes, avoid food allergies, and optimize the hormonal environment for fat burning. The macronutrient cycling prevents metabolic staleness and forces the body to use more stored fat as fuel. Let me know about any questions.
Just like
training the nutrition plan muscle also change in a strategic manner to
avoid metabolic staleness. Shifting
the macronutrient percentages, especially dietary fat loading forces the
body to use more stored fat as fuel. The
increased utilization of dietary and stored fat as an energy source enables
proteins and other raw materials to be allocated to muscle growth and
repair.
With the New Year Here- Be Honest- ask yourself how much progress did you make last year or did you take a huge step back? Talk with Scott to get 2010 off to best possible start guaranteeing your success. You owe it to yourself to take every advantage. Plenty work hard and fail. The Few are truly successful work hard and smart using the right tactics for their unique needs and goals. Call or email me 7 days per week- I will change your life!
Infinity Fitness and Training INC provides training, fitness, and nutritional information for educational purposes. It is important that you consult with a health professional to ensure that your dietary and health needs are met. It is necessary for you to carefully monitor your progress and to make changes to your nutritional and fitness program to enjoy success. Infinity Fitness does not employ dieticians or health professionals and assumes no responsibility or liability for your personal health and condition. For more information regarding our Limited Warranty for products and services, please see our disclaimer at InfinityFitness.com
This document is provided by Infinity Fitness INC for general guidance only, and does not constitute the provision of health or fitness advice. The information is provided “as is” with no assurance or guarantee of completeness, accuracy, or timeliness of the information, and without warranty of any kind, express or implied, including but not limited to warranties of performance, merchantability, and fitness for a particular purpose.
Customized
Programs Available- See more info at the link below
http://www.infinityfitness.com/consult/index.htm
These
statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration.
Products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
SST™, Superior Supplements and Training™, 100% MR™,
Muscle Synthesis™, Muscle Synthesis Powder™, Alpha Omega M 3™,
Amino Loading™, Fat Reduce™, Zero Tolerance Fat Loss Plan™,
Macronutrient Cycling™ and Get Lean Protein™ are Trademarks
of Superior Supplements and Training LLC, OHIO USA. Your results
may vary and depend on many factors. No Endorsements of any product or
training system is intended, expressed or implied, by any athlete who may be
pictured in illustration of this Article. Copyright © Infinity
Fitness & Training Inc, OHIO USA 1999-2010, All Rights Reserved.
scott@infinityfitness.com 614 868 7521
7. Great supplement for dogs with hip problems: Cetyl Myristoleate
A few months ago my oldest dog Mona (she is 11 years old) started
developing some hip and joint problems. It started with her dragging behind
when I took her for walks and then eventually evolved into a much more
severe issue. As her hips developed more inflammation she had a hard time
getting up. She would often moan for me to help her and then proceeded to
have a pretty bad limp.
The mobility issues of course really affected her mood and she started to
become very despondent. She did not want to be bothered by anyone and only
got up to eat and to use the bathroom (yes she is trained to use the toilet
;-) Just kidding).
I took her to the vet and he recommended the standard protocol of more rest
and glucosomine. He also provided some painkillers. I did not bother giving
her the painkillers as that only sugar coats the issue and does not get to
root causes. I got her on the best glucosomine product I could find which I
determined was GLC 1000. This helped with some joint pain she was having in
her front leg after several weeks. However, the GLC 1000 did not help with
the hip issues at all. I put her on some DHA/EPA (marine algae source) and
that did not seem to do much either.
I was starting to get worried that Mona was getting towards the end of her
life. For dogs mobility is everything. If they cannot walk, sniff, and enjoy
the outdoors then they start dying inside. Moreover, enjoying life becomes
impossible if they cannot even get up without being in pain.
I researched the hip issues and came up with too paths that seemed
promising. One was physical therapy, which I don’t mind paying for, and
committing the time, but it did not seem that practical. I kept that option
as a last resort. The other was a supplement called Cetyl Myristoleate. Here
is some info on CM from wikipedia.com:
“Cetyl myristoleate is the cetyl ester of myristoleic acid. It has
multiple biological properties, including as an anti-inflammatory and a pain
reliever, as well as being an immune system modulator. As supplied, it is a
naturally derived, highly purified, and refined waxy ester prepared for oral
administration. Because it is an ester form, highly resistant to oxidation,
it has a relatively long life in the body. No harmful short or long term
effects have ever been observed in humans or in laboratory animals, even in
extremely high doses.”
I put Mona on a dose of 500mg twice per day on an empty stomach. After the
first week I noticed that Mona seemed to have more energy and become more
responsive. However, I didn’t want to get my hopes up to soon that it was
the CM that was kicking in.
After three weeks the results were undeniable. Mona had much more mobility
and was no longer limping. She was able to get up with ease pain free. By
week five she was feeling great and was eager to go on walks twice per day.
It is all too obvious that she is much happier and is enjoying life.
I am going to keep her on the CM indefinitely as well as the GLC 1000. I
also added Curcurmin too her food for some extra anti-inflammation. In
addition, I have her on a very clean diet loaded with sprouted brown rice,
legumes, and lots of vegetables. This diet was actually recommended to me by
a vet that specialized in allergies. Mona has plenty of allergies, which can
also cause inflammation. So far so good and I hope this info helps other
dogs with hip pain.
Many of the joint problems that dogs have are due to well meaning guardians
that feed their animals commercial dog food, which for the most part is pure
garbage. Natural balance makes a pretty good one, which I use from time to
time with my dogs. However, like people nothing beats clean real food.
Here is a link to a good option for CM: http://www.iherb.com/Now-Foods-Cetyl-Myristoleate-100-mg-180-Softgels/502?at=0
8. Lifeline USA Kettlebells: Finally high quality USA Made kettlebells at a great price!
Lifeline USA Kettlebells
The marketplace is finally ready for a high quality USA made kettlebells at a great price. I have no doubt that you will love these kettlebells and you cannot beat the price!
Click here for more information
9. Aggressive Strength Equipment Recommendations
Lifeline USA Power Wheel (The Best Ab Training Tool Period!)
Tired of boring ab workouts that are getting you nowhere? Get a Power Wheel and take your core strength through the roof! This is the ultimate ab wheel and a great device for building a strong mid section. Far more than just another ab wheel, with the Power Wheel, you can do a variety of killer core and upper body exercises.
The Ultimate Sandbag
This Sandbag is by far the best one on the market. No other model even comes close. No more sand showers with this baby! In addition it has handles on it which come in handy for cleans, presses, and tons of other great exercises. Sandbag training rocks for variety or as a stand alone training system. It hits your body in ways that no other training system can duplicate. If you love kettlebell training, you will love Sandbag training.
Jungle Gym
Do you workout at home? Travel a great deal for work? Do you enjoy bodyweight training? If yes to any of the above you will love the Jungle Gym. Great way to blast the upper body (both pushing and pulling muscles) and work your stabilizer muscles like crazy. Be prepared to shake all over the place when you do pushups with this killer training tool. In addition to being very portable it is inexpensive and like all other Lifeline USA products it is built to last. Get one today.
Power Pushup 2
This is the ultimate tool for adding resistance to pushups. It is perfect for people that travel.
Portable Monkey Bar Gym
Are you a road warrior that is sick of lame hotel gyms. If you travel a lot you know first hand how hard it is to stay in great shape on the road. In addition to the problem of trying to have a healthy diet on the road, keeping workouts consistent can be as hard as getting something to eat on any airline. Instead of complaining about getting out of shape on the road, attack it first hand and get your strength and conditioning back on track. This must have package comes with a:
- TNT Cable for pressing and pulling motions
- A weighted Jump Rope for building cardio and stamina
- The incredible "Jungle Gym" for hardcore pushups and pull-ups
- Power Up Chin-Up door attachment which turns any door into a pull-up bar
This package will provide everything you need to stay in great shape on the road, at home, or even at the office. A great training tool for busy executives, athletes, and house wives a like. get it now.
10. Kettlebell Training Information
11. Aggressive Strength Magazine Archives
http://www.mikemahler.com/newsletter
Until next time.
Live Life Aggressively!
Feel free to email me with your comments and feedback at mahler25@yahoo.com
Mike Mahler
