AGGRESSIVE STRENGTH MAGAZINE

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ISSUE 85 - 12/28/2005

1. AGGRESSIVE STRENGTH QUOTE OF THE WEEK

"Comfort is the enemy of the artist. If you find that you are comfortable, you are doing something wrong."
- Stephen Tobolowsky

2006 is around the corner and is it going to be another year in which you make resolutions that never see the light of day or a year in which you will crush the "inner chump?" More about the inner chump in a minute. One way to increase the odds dramatically of having a productive 2006, is to make things happen in the first three months of the year. Screw up the first three months of the year and you have to play catch up in the following three months and then half the year is already over. Work your tail off in the first three months of 2006 and you will build an incredible amount of momentum that will help you stay on track for the entire year. Don't believe me? How did 2005 go for you?

Next, instead of making a list of goals that you genuinely do not care about. Have one to two major goals that you want to achieve for 2006 and focus on those. The brain can only focus on so many things so avoid writing down goals that sound good to others, but are essentially goals that you do not care about. Now here is the kicker. Achieve those goals in the first three months of 2006. Then move on to some more goals for the next three months and so forth. If your goals are too large to achieve in three months, then break down your 12 month goals into segments. If you want to increase your income by $25,000 in 2006, focus on making an extra $6250.00 every quarter minimum. If you want to lose sixty pounds by the end of 2006, make sure that you lose fifteen pounds every four months. You get the idea.

Now lets move on to one of the major obstacles to achieving your goals in 2006, which is the "inner chump." I believe that all of us have an 'Inner chump" that wants us to be comfortable and lazy all of the time. For some people, all they have is an "inner chump", but that is another story. The inner chump is that voice of doubt in your head that arises whenever you want to make some improvements in your life. Just when you are ready to turn off the TV for the night, the inner chump says, come on the "Tonight show" is on, just watch a little more. Then the "70s show" is on after that, you have time to watch that as well. Five hours later you are still up watching TV and are the same person that complains that you are only getting five hours of sleep per night. When you finally due get to bed, you have a horrible five hours of sleep from all of the TV watching that you did.

Here is another example. You are excited about getting in shape in 2006. Your nutrition program is a lock and your training program is solid. The problem is that your significant other thinks that you have better things to do with your time instead of working out. Moreover, he or she does not want you to get back in shape as he or she will feel insecure about the fact that he or she is out of shape. Instead of telling your significant other to grow up and take responsibility for his or her health, you decide to be a chump and grab a container of Ben and Jerry's and get to work on turning your beer gut into a power gut by the end of the year. Option number two is to blast through anyone and anything that gets between you and your goals. Instead of being a chump, get your significant other to get in shape with you and if he or she is not supportive then ask yourself why you are with the person. Why would you want to be with someone that does not want you to be strong and healthy? Stop letting other people pull your strings and letting others victimize you. Moreover, stop letting your inner chump victimize you.

Another obstacle that will crush your goals in 2006, is the "poor me" syndrome. Many people like to feel important by dumping their "luxury problems" onto anyone that is willing to listen. They want others to feel sorry for them to make them feel important. The more problems they have the more important they are. Thus, these people always look for ways to make problems in their lives. If you are a "poor me" person then you need to stop feeling sorry for yourself and start taking action. Here is what you should do. Go to any hospital and see if you can visit some kids with terminal cancer, are burn victims, or were born with disfigurations. How do your problems look now? Now get out there and start improving your life and stop feeling sorry for yourself. Stop trying to get attention from others with your "luxury problems" and start acting. According to Dr. Wayne Dyer, you cannot be depressed and take action at the same time so start taking action and lots of it.

Make 2006 the year that you take control of your life and stop letting others or yourself victimize you. Be the master of your destiny and remember that the first three months of the year are the most important. Take massive action in January, February, and March and you will be amazed how well the rest of the year goes.

Live Life Aggressively!

Mike Mahler

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2. HELP THE KATRINA VICTIMS

My friend and top body worker Dianna Linden recently sent me a list of non-profit organizations for helping out the Katrina Victims. Here is the list:

• Operation USA http://www.opusa.org
• Mercy Corps http://www.mercycorps.org
• Oxfam America http://www.oxfamamerica.org
• America's Second Harvest http://www.secondharvest.org

I encourage you to take a look at the above organizations and make a donation to the one that sits well with you. Also if you want to help out animals, make a donation to http://www.bestfriends.org.

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3. AGGRESSIVE STRENGTH TRAINING ARTICLE

Combination Programs To Avoid Burnout

Cycling training intensity is the way to ensure that you avoid burning out and getting stuck on a training plateau. However, training cycling does not have to be over the course of several months or several weeks. Training cycling can occur every week. For example, instead of doing two high volume workouts in a row. Do one high volume workout, followed by one low volume high intensity workout. Here is an example.

Monday (high volume upper body focus)

• A-1: Barbell Military Press 10x5
• A-2: Barbell Bent Over Row 10x5

Do A-1 and A-2 back to back with one-minute breaks between each set. Do a set of A-1, wait a minute and then do a set of A-2, wait a minute and so forth. Pick a weight that you can do ten times and do ten sets of five on each exercise. When you can do all ten sets with the same weight, increase the weight by five pounds.

• One-arm Windmill 3x5 l,r (three sets of five left and right with one-minute breaks)

Wednesday (high volume lower body focus)

• A-1: Barbell Box Squat 10x5
• A-2: Double Dumbbell or Kettlebell Swing 10x5

Do A-1 and A-2 back to back with one-minute breaks between each set. Do a set of A-1, wait a minute and then do a set of A-2, wait a minute and so forth. Pick a weight that you can do ten times and do ten sets of five on each exercise. When you can do all ten sets with the same weight, increase the weight by five pounds on squats and add two reps on the swings.

• Turkish Get-up 3x5 l,r (three sets of five left and right with one-minute breaks)

Friday (Low volume Upper Body Focus)

• A-1:Dumbbell or Kettlebell Clean and Military Press 2x6
• A-2: Weighted Pull-up 2x6

Do A-1 and A-2 back to back with two minute breaks between each set. Do a set of A-1, wait two minutes and then do a set of A-2, wait two minutes and so forth. Pick a weight that you can do seven times and do two sets of six on each exercise. When you can do two sets with the same weight, increase the weight by five pounds.

• Double Windmill 2x5 l,r (two sets of five left and right with one-minute breaks)

Sunday (Low volume Lower Body Focus)

• A-1:Barbell Full Squat 2x6
• A-2: Glute-ham Raise or Stiff legged Deadlift 2x6

Do A-1 and A-2 back to back with one-minute breaks between each set. Do a set of A-1, wait a minute and then do a set of A-2, wait a minute and so forth. Pick a weight that you can do seven times and do two sets of six on each exercise. When you can do two sets with the same weight, increase the weight by five pounds.

• Turkish Get-up 2x5 l,r (two sets of five left and right with one-minute breaks)

Take Monday off and repeat workout one on Tuesday. Take a day off between each workout.

Want to make this program more effective? Click here.

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6. NEW AGGRESSIVE STRENGTH PRODUCT RECOMMENDATIONS

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7. THE AGGRESSIVE STRENGTH SOLUTION FOR THE ROAD WARRIOR

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8. KETTLEBELL TRAINING INFORMATION PAGE (NEW)

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

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9. AGGRESSIVE STRENGTH MAGAZINE ARCHIVES

http://www.mikemahler.com/newsletter

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10. AGGRESSIVE STRENGTH ARTICLES

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

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11. AGGRESSIVE STRENGTH TRAINING JOURNAL

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

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12. 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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