AGGRESSIVE STRENGTH MAGAZINE

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ISSUE 88 - 1/25/2006

1. AGGRESSIVE STRENGTH QUOTE OF THE WEEK

"Laziness has a draining quality, as if we're low in life force. Sometimes it's hard to see it because it feels like who we are. It encroaches on our most intimate ground. It manifests as an allegiance to comfort. We may get plenty of sleep, but we're completely uninspired. We'd rather lie around on a couch watching television, or read a magazine and pass out on the floor."
- Sakyong Mipham

The desire to be lazy is always present and it is easy to give into it. Especially, when it disguises itself in other forms. Many people think that being lazy means sitting around and doing nothing. That is only one manifestation of laziness. There are many other forms which are far more subtle. For example, you can be lazy at work when you give the appearance of working and get nothing done in eight hours. I used to be more drained at jobs where there was not much to do, than jobs where you are really working for the entire eight hours. Many jobs require you to be on site for eight hours even if there isn't anything to do. This in itself encourages people to be lazy and inefficient. Why get your tasks done in three hours, if you cannot leave? What are you supposed to do for the rest of the day? Moreover being too efficient may get you fired as you may make your lazy superiors look bad. Many people are forced to fake working at their jobs to give the illusion that they are working. This alone is a real drain. It is amazing how draining pretending to do something can be.

Another example is training. Doing a workout in which you sit around and read the newspaper in between sets or stare away at the television in between sets is more draining than workouts in which you are very focused on what you are doing and block out all other distractions. Focused workouts often leave you re-charged and ready to go, rather than drained and wiped out. Also lazy people that workout are often not focused. They do not know what they are going to do in their workouts before they get started and of course are too lazy too keep a training journal. The end result is that their workouts take longer, their strength is sub-optimal, and their progress is much slower. They take much longer to reach a goal and again this is assuming that they actually have a goal and that they eventually achieve the goal. When you are focused you will have more energy for your workouts. When you know exactly what you want to accomplish in a workout and set a time limit to finish the workout, you will be much more efficient. Having a sense of urgency when you train will keep you focused on what you are doing. For example having a goal of getting the workout done in forty-five minutes will keep you engaged rather than not keeping any tabs.

Procrastination is another form of laziness that is very draining. Often more draining then actually doing what you are putting off. Thinking about things that need to be done and taking forever to do them is a real drain. Many people even have a hard time sleeping at night due to thinking about all the things that they did not get done. Taking action is empowering and the more action that you take the more you accomplish.

The funny thing is that the goal of lazy people is to relax and take it easy. However, by being inefficient, you end up with less time to relax. Personally, I enjoy working hard and accomplishing goals, but I also enjoy having a lot of free time and relaxing. What is great about what I do for a living now is that I do not have to put in eight hours every day. I get to set my own schedule. Some days I put in ten hours or more. However, often I only put in two to three hours of actual work and then take the rest of the day off to do other things. The key is that during those few hours of work, I am very focused and get a lot done. I could easily be inefficient and take eight hours or more to get what can be done in a few hours of focused work. Ironically, a slow and inefficient pace will leave you more drained then pushing it hard for a few hours. Moreover, you will have less time to relax. Thus at the end of the day being lazy forces you to work more and have less time to kick back and relax. No wonder lazy people are tired all of the time.

Being focused and efficient is a skill. It is something that you have to practice and get good at. Moreover, there has to be a purpose behind it. It will not happen if there is no need to get things done efficiently and in an expedient manner . Your brain will just say take it easy as you have all day waste. If one day is not enough then there is always tomorrow. On the other hand, a focused person may have a goal of getting things done in the morning so that you can take the afternoon off and have a good time. Now you have a reason to get things done efficiently. The take home message is that if you enjoy being lazy, find ways to be more efficient so that you have more free time to relax. Or just go join the Santa Monica homeless community. You get free meals every week and live in a warm climate so you can kick back all day long. I think that I will go with being more efficient with my business.

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

Make Exercises Harder With Pre-Exhaustion

I received an email from someone today that is just starting with kettlebells and is registered for my next seminar in Marina Del Rey, CA. She stated that while she enjoys working with her 26lb kettlebells, she finds kettlebell front squats too easy. After all a total of 52lbs is not exactly a challenging weight for squats. Moreover this person stated that her arms always give out on kettlebell front squats before her legs really get a workout. My DVD, "The Kettlebell Solution For Size And Strength" covers several tips on how to maximize the benefits of Kettlebell Front Squats (Click here for more info). However, one tip that I did not cover that works well is the concept of "pre-exhaustion" which I read about a while back in Mike Mentzer's "Heavy Duty" book. With pre-exhaustion, you fatigue the strongest component of an exercise to level the playing field with the weaker muscles. Also, unlike leveling the playing field at schools, this application is actually is beneficial. For example, with regards to the Kettlebell Front Squat, do a set of fifty bodyweight squats right before your next set of Kettlebell Front Squats. Now your quads are fatigued and will give out around the same time that your upper does. If that is not challenging enough, then knock off 20-40 reps with a 50lb weight vest on, take the vest off and immediately jump into the front squat set. You could also use Lifeline USA's Portable Power Jumper (http://www.mikemahler.com/store). You get the idea, the key is to pre-exhaust the muscles that normally give out last in an exercise.

Another example is the Kettlebell Military Press. To increase the difficulty of Kettlebell Military Presses determine what you weak link is. If you have strong triceps and fairly weak shoulders, then pre-exhaust the triceps with some close grip pushups or close grip floor presses. Then immediately jump into a set of Military Presses. If your triceps are the weak link, pre-exhaust your shoulders with Turkish Get-ups and then do a set of Military Presses. This is a great way to make an exercise harder with kettlebells if you only have one size. For example, if you only have one 53lb kettlebell and can easily press it ten times with each arm. Use a pre-exhaustion exercise so that you can only get five reps per arm. Pre-exhaustion works very well as a teaching mechanism as well. For example knock off some Military Presses and fatigue the shoulders and triceps. Then try doing a few Bent Presses. The Bent Press is an exercise in which a lat contraction is critical. If the weight is too light, it is easy to simply press it. However, if your pressing muscles are shot, you have to work on what is left which in this case is the lat. Yes the lat does come into play on pressing exercises, but will not fatigue as rapidly as the triceps and shoulders.

Top Strength Coach Steve Maxwell likes to use Janda Sit-ups to pre-exhaust the abdominal muscles before doing Turkish Get-ups. With TGU's the shoulder is often the weak link and gives out before the abdominal muscles do. Steve has his trainees do a set of Janda Sit-ups before each set of TGU's to level the playing field. Once your abdominal muscles are fatigued, you realize real fast how the TGU targets your core.

Another technique that you can do is to transition from a harder exercise into an easier exercise. Lets use the example of the Kettlebell Front Squat again. Knock off as my Kettlebell Front Squats as you can. Right before your upper body is about to go, take the kettlebells back to the bottom of the clean position. Now take the kettlebells outside your legs and do Suitcase Squats. Now do as many Suitcase Squats as possible. Once your grip goes out, continue with bodyweight squats to extend the set further. Your legs will be smoked in no time. For Kettlebell Military Presses, you could start with Double Kettlebell Military Presses and once fatigue builds up switch to Alternating Military Presses to extend the set further. Or do a set of Double Kettlebell Military Presses and then immediately do a set of Kettlebell Floor Presses.

Before you apply pre-exhaustion or any intensifying technique, make sure that you have solid form. If you are just learning how to do an exercise, then now is not the time to look for ways to make things harder. Get your form and conditioning up to speed first and then apply a technique such as pre-exhaustion to make things harder. Also, do not use these techniques at every workout. Once every two weeks or even once a month to ramp up intensity is fine. Or just avoid training to failure when you apply intensifying techniques. be creative and have a good time with training.

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4. GET THE AGGRESSIVE STRENGTH DVD COMBO PACK TODAY

"Kettlebell Solutions for Speed and Explosive Strength is incredible! All of the exercises are explained and displayed perfectly and leave you with no questions. There is absolutely no filler and it gives so many options to add to your arsenal. Watching it gets me so amped up to train! One of the best things is the Free DVD User guide to set you on the right track. I love all of the exercises and together with Tke Kettlebell Solution For Size and Strength, I will never get bored of training!"
- Chris Pontius of MTV's Wildboyz and Jackass

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5. AGGRESSIVE STRENGTH BONUS TIP

Here is a great training tip from Las Vegas Kettlebell Instructor Mike Springer. Make sure you check out Mike's website for more info on his classes and services at SpringerTraining.com

To practice for the SSST (10 minute snatch test) do: snatches daily for 1min, within that minute go balls out, switch as often as needed ( make sure you do no other training within 20 minutes of one of these sets). Do this 1-3 x daily and you will see a significant improvement in not only your SSST but snatches as well. Remember BALLS OUT!

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6. AGGRESSIVE STRENGTH PERSONALIZED PROGRAM DESIGN SERVICES

"Lost 10 lbs and went down from a size 12 to a size 8 in jeans – that was something I expected not to happen for another 10-15 more lbs! So thanks for your guidelines – they really have helped a lot."
- Michele Milevoi

Tired of trial and error? Want a training program that actually works? Click here for more info!

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7. NEW AGGRESSIVE STRENGTH PRODUCT RECOMMENDATIONS

I have just added some great new products to my website including: medicine balls, the ultimate portable gym, and some pull-up straps that allow you to do a pull-ups anywhere! Click here.

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8. THE AGGRESSIVE STRENGTH SOLUTION FOR THE ROAD WARRIOR

Tired of terrible hotel gyms and getting out of shape on the road? Tired of doing bodyweight only routines in your hotel room because there are no other options? You need Lifeline's resistance cable products. Not only are they light and portable but they provide enough resistance to humble the strongest athletes around. Click here for more info

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9. KETTLEBELL TRAINING INFORMATION PAGE (NEW)

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

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10. AGGRESSIVE STRENGTH MAGAZINE ARCHIVES

http://www.mikemahler.com/newsletter

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11. AGGRESSIVE STRENGTH ARTICLES

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

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12. AGGRESSIVE STRENGTH TRAINING JOURNAL

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

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13. 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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