AGGRESSIVE STRENGTH MAGAZINE

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ISSUE 63 - 4/21/2005

1. AGGRESSIVE STRENGTH QUOTE OF THE WEEK

"Roadblocks are simply obstacles that the world throws at you-it rains when you're trying to put on an outdoor concert, your wife doesn't want you to move to Kentucky, you don't have the financial backing you need, and so on. Roadblocks are simply real-word circumstances that you need to deal with in order to move forward."
- Jack Canfield

It is very easy to get excited about achieving a goal, but much harder to blast through roadblocks that pop up on the way to your goal. How one deals with roadblocks separates the achievers from the non-achievers. People that cave in at the first sign of trouble never achieve anything note worthy.

What is ironic is that most people prove to themselves everyday that they are willing to overcome roadblocks. Where I live in LA, traffic is horrible. Yet, thousands of people sit in traffic everyday for hours to get to and from work. People, don't just see a traffic jam on the freeway and turn around and go home. They know that they need to go to work and deal with the literal roadblock. I am always amazed by what people will do to work for others and how they are not willing to carry over those same disciplines to other activities such as fitness or running one's own business.

People often tell me that they do not have the discipline to work for themselves. Yet, they are willing to wake up at 5am everyday, work overtime, weekends, etc to keep their jobs. Believe me, if you can do that, you have the discipline to put in three thirty minute workouts per week. It is simply a matter of caring. If you do not genuinely care about something, you will not do it and will just use any roadblock that comes up as an excuse to cave in. You might even create roadblocks to justify quitting.

This is a real shame as there is an incredible sense of empowerment that comes form persevering through roadblocks and set backs. One of the most important things that physical training teaches one is how to handle obstacles and persevere. When the weight gets heavy, you want to give up. However, when you push through, you tap into a part of you that you may not have realized was there. Now you can transfer that to other activities such as building a business. When you are doing high intensity cardio and you want to give up half way through, but decide instead to suck it up and push though, you develop mental toughness that will help you elsewhere.

You do not have to get to the point in which you look forward to roadblocks or welcome them, but you do want to get to the point in which you are not afraid of set-backs. Moreover, you should want the goal or achievement so badly that the roadblocks that inevitably come are things that you are willing to deal with to achieve the desired end. Handling roadblocks builds character and strength. Show me someone that has never faced adversity, and I will show you a boring person that has never achieved anything worth while.

Live Life Aggressively!

Mike Mahler

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2. AGGRESSIVE STRENGTH TRAINING ARTICLE

Training For Multiple Goals And Making It Work

By Mike Mahler

I work with great deal of people over the world via my personalized program design services. Many of my clients have more than one goal. For example, one client may want to build muscle, lose fat and increase muscular endurance. Another may want to put on size, train for the RKC Kettlebell certification, and improve his or her numbers on Military PT tests. I am a strong believer that a trainee should only train for a few goals at a time. Otherwise, the trainee will be all over the place and get mediocre at several things rather than make exceptional progress in a few areas. While working on several goals at a time is not the ideal way to make progress in each area, it is possible to work on multiple goals and make progress. This week lets take the example of a trainee that wants to improve his pull-up numbers, increase muscular endurance, and build some strength.

Lets start with the pull-ups. In order to get better at a skill you have to practice it often without burning out. For example, if you want to learn to play the violin, practicing once a week is not going to be as effective as practicing several times per week. If you want to learn a martial art, getting instruction several times per week is going to be much more effective than once a week or less. A great program that focuses on strength training as a practice is Pavel's GTG (greasing the groove program). The GTG program is just the ticket for ramping up pull-up numbers. Here is an example of an effective GTG program for pull-ups:

• Monday: Three sets at 50% of one set max (example: if your max is ten reps, do sets of five)
• Tuesday: Three sets at 60% of one set max
• Wednesday: Three sets at 70% of one set max
• Thursday: Three sets at 60% of one set max
• Friday: Three sets at 50% of one set max

Ideally, you do the sets through out the day. For example, do one set in the morning, one in the afternoon, and one in the late afternoon or early evening. However, for most trainees this system will not work. Thus, do one set in the morning before work and two when you get back from work. Or do all three sets at one time with five minute breaks. The key is to be fresh at each set. Focus on making every rep perfect. The more you practice the more efficient your grove will get. Training to failure will just fry your CNS so avoid it and have the discipline to leave each set feeling fresh. Train for your goals rather than the stimulus of training. Once a month test your one set max and adjust the training numbers accordingly.

Next lets focus on strength training. Assuming the trainee is not under a great deal of stress and is getting a good amount of quality sleep (7-9 hours), we will start with two strength training sessions per week and two muscular endurance sessions. If the trainee has a hard time recovering, we will reduce the volume on both and if necessary the frequency. What we are looking for is the minimum dose required to get the job done. More often than not less equals more. Here is what the strength training portion of the program will look like:

Monday

• A-1: Barbell Clean and Military Press 3x3 (80% of one rep max)
• A-2:Renegade Row (use dumbbells or kettlebells) 3x5 (a weight that the trainee can do seven reps with)

Do a set of A-1, rest for one-minute and then do a set of A-2, rest for one-minute and repeat A-1 again. Continue in this format until all three sets are completed. When you can do three sets with the same weight, move up five pound. If using kettlebells for Renegade rows, add a pause at the top of each rep to increase the difficulty.

• B-1: Barbell Squat 3x5
• B-2: Double Dumbbell Swing (use kettlebells if you have them) 3x5

Do a set of B-1, rest for one-minute and then do a set of B-2, rest for one-minute and repeat B-1 again. Continue in this format until all three sets are completed. When you can do three sets with the same weight, move up five pounds.

• Finisher: Hindu Squat 50-100 reps

Thursday

• A-1: Incline Dumbbell Press 3x5
• A-2: Barbell Bent-over Row 3x5

Start with weights that you can do seven reps with for each exercise. Do a set of A-1, rest for one-minute and then do a set of A-2, rest for one-minute and repeat A-1 again. Continue in this format until all three sets are completed. When you can do three sets with the same weight, move up five pound.

• Barbell Deadlift 5x3 (start with 80% of one rep max and take two-minute breaks)
• Finisher: One-arm Dumbbell or Kettlebell Swing 1x15 l,r (left and right)

Finally, lets cover the muscular endurance workouts. HOC (high octane cardio) based on "roadwork' will get the job done for not only ramping up muscular endurance, but burning some fat as well. Just keep in mind that fat loss is at least 70% diet and 30% training so practice pushing yourself away from the table more often and using ballistic strength to stay out of the kitchen. Here are some sample muscular endurance workouts:

Tuesday

Ten sets of:

• One-minute of Jump roping (an alternative is 25-50 Hindu Squats)
• One-arm Kettlebell Swing 12 reps l,r (pick a weight that you can do 15 reps with)

Do the jump rope and kettlebell work back to back and then take a one-minute breaks. When you can do ten sets with one-minute breaks, take the breaks down to fifty seconds. Long-term goal is thirty second breaks.

Friday

Track and Kettlebell Workout

Place two kettlebells on opposite sides of a track field. Each bell represents a workout station. Jog around the track and stop at each station as follows:

• Workout Station 1: One-arm Snatch 10 reps l,r (left and right)
• Workout Station 2: One-arm Clean and Push Press 10 reps l,r
• Workout Station 3: One-arm Swing 12 reps l,r
• Workout Station 4: One-arm Clean and Front Squat 10 reps l,r
• Workout Station 5: One-arm Snatch 10 reps l,r (left and right)
• Workout Station 6: One-arm Clean and Push Press 10 reps l,r
• Workout Station 7: One-arm Swing 12 reps l,r
• Workout Station 8: One-arm Clean and Front Squat 10 reps l,r

Record the total time it takes to complete this workout and work on beating that number at each workout or add more stations. In other words work up to 12-16 stations. Just keep the workouts under forty-five minutes to avoid depleting anabolic hormones.

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5. NEW AGGRESSIVE STRENGTH PRODUCT RECOMMENDATIONS

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6. THE AGGRESSIVE STRENGTH SOLUTION FOR THE ROAD WARRIOR

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7. KETTLEBELL TRAINING INFORMATION PAGE (NEW)

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

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8. AGGRESSIVE STRENGTH MAGAZINE ARCHIVES

http://www.mikemahler.com/newsletter

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9. AGGRESSIVE STRENGTH ARTICLES

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10. AGGRESSIVE STRENGTH TRAINING JOURNAL

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

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11. RECOMMENDED READING LIST

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

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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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