AGGRESSIVE STRENGTH MAGAZINE

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ISSUE 96 - 4/20/2006

1. AGGRESSIVE STRENGTH QUOTE OF THE WEEK

"If you don't like your job, your boss, or the associates with whom you spend a third of your daily life, you're in a dark place, a pit. Sometimes the money explains the compromise, the benefits, the hours, and the convenience."
- Dave Draper

Those of you that have been reading my newsletter for a while probably know where I am going this week. Thus, I will start by stating that I respect anyone that works for a living. There is pride that should be taken in working and there are so many losers that just want hand outs such as some homeless people and worse trust fund recipients. I have no respect for "vultures" that try to ride off the work of other people. That is down right pathetic. I have done many lame jobs in my life and respect anyone that is willing to pay his or her dues and work several jobs to make ends meet. I know many people that work their tails off to provide for their families and I have the utmost respect for such people. That said, I will begin my weekly rant ;-)

There is no reason why you should not be excited about working. Work should be fun, fulfilling, and enjoyable. You should look forward to working. Just recently I was talking to my friend Chris Pontius who is working on the upcoming movie "Jackass 2." Chris is very enthusiastic about the movie and wakes up every day ecstatic about going to work. When you talk to him on the phone and meet him in person, it is very clear that he loves life and loves his work. He recently told me that everyone should be excited about what they do. I agree with Chris and one of the reasons why we are friends is because we are both enthusiastic about what we do. Enthusiastic people want to be around similar people. No one wants to be around people that think that life sucks and people that complain about their lame problems all day long. Personally I do not tolerate such people and do not let them infiltrate my life.

Now you are probably thinking of course Chris loves his life. He is making a movie and has a great lifestyle. What is not to like? Well, you have to look at the price Chris paid to get to where he is. For a long time he was living in his car and barely had to coins to rub together. He had to use his dirty laundry as a blanket to keep him warm at night. Okay, I am joking about that part. Nevertheless, how long would you last living in your car? Chris persevered. He never gave up and is now enjoying the fruits of his labor and determination. He has a great wife, three dogs, and owns two houses. One in Hollywood and one in Hawaii. Not bad at all!

How many of you have made or would be willing to make sacrifices like Chris? Do not think so? Then do not whine about how others have what you want. If you are not willing to pay the price, you do not deserve the reward. Also, keep in mind that not all "celebrities" are happy people. I have met some celebrities that have plenty of money and hate what they do. They are negative about everything and are real lame people to be around. I have met some strength coaches that fall into the same category. They have the appearance of loving what they do, but behind the scenes, they hate it and have no respect for their customers. They put out crappy products to make a quick buck. This is beyond pathetic to say the least. I will quit being a coach long before I ever let it get to that point. I love working with my online clients and the people who attend my seminars. I go to bed every night feeling great about what I do and waking up excited to begin the day which starts at the early time of 11am for me! I know, I know I am an early riser. While I have not being doing this for decades, I have done it long enough that the novelty has worn off. What is left is genuine enthusiasm for my line of work.

Now you may be thinking I should be happy about what I do. However, what about jobs that are not glamorous at all. Well, the lady who cleans my apartment is very upbeat and positive. Most people would hate what she does for a living, but she takes pride in doing her job very well and has carved out a great living doing it. Hell, she even has a nicer car than I do ;-) It does not matter whether I like what you do or not, what matters is do you like it? If yes, great and if no, do something about it. My friend Dan has been trying to break into Hollywood for years. Even after years of frustration, he is still an upbeat guy and very friendly to everyone. Just recently he started getting some great gigs and is on cloud nine. However, he is still the same cool guy that he was when nothing was going on. He has always put 100% into the process and is finally reaping the rewards. If he did not love what he was doing, he would have given up a long time ago.

Where am I going? The achievement of goals is fleeting even if you do love what you do. It is the process that has to be enjoyable. You need the goal so you know where you are going and the achievement of goals is how you measure growth. However, enjoyment of the process is a critical component. If you do a job in which you make a nice paycheck but the process is miserable, you are really cheating yourself and the effects will be all too apparent with your health. There is certainly a correlation with low levels of Testosterone, Growth Hormone, and DHEA and having a job that you hate regardless of how much money you make. Now I am not saying that having a job that you love guarantees optimal anabolic hormones. However there is no doubt in my mind that it will help a great deal for a lot of people. The main reason being that your stress levels (cortisol) will be much lower. The higher the Cortisol, the lower the DHEA, T, and GH. If you hate what you do, your cortisol levels will be high.

The effect that doing jobs we hate and being in relationships that we do not want to be in should not be trivialized. The negative effects on our health are profound. Also, the behaviors that are a side effect of not enjoying your occupation are often negative as well such as eating junk food and getting overweight or abusing alcohol and drugs. Becoming a stimulus freak in the gym to make up for not getting any positive stimuli through work is another common action step that should be avoided.

I have never been happier than I am right now. I love my work, I love my girlfriend, and I am getting in great workouts every week. I get to spend most of my days working at home on the couch (like right now) and enjoy the weather with my dogs when I take breaks through out the day. I wake up when I feel like it on most days and get tons of positive feedback from people every week. I get to travel around this great country and get paid well to work with positive people at my seminars. Just this past weekend, Steve Cotter and I showed legendary bench presser Scott Mendelson some kettlebell stuff and had a chance to watch him bench press 1000lbs for reps! Then we went and hung out with Chris Pontius. The night before, comedian and host of fear factor Joe Rogan invited me and my girlfriend to his comedy act in Hollywood. We had a chance to hang out with him after the show as Joe is a big fan of kettlebells and a great guy. These fun experiences never would have been possible if I never left my lame ass job in 2002. In addition to having a blast with my line of work, I make a great income and thus have financial security and can also support organizations that are making the world a better place. I also have plenty of time to do volunteer work and enjoy giving lectures at LA high school. One of the best things about doing your own thing is the fact that I do not have to report to anyone. I am my own boss and I hold myself accountable. I say all of this to provoke thought and give you an impetus to examine your life closely and ask yourself if you like what you see.

Back in early 2002, I was making good money. However, I was doing a job that I hated and working for a guy that had the ethics of a street peddler in India (Yes I have been there). I had to set an alarm clock and drag myself out of bed every morning for work. I dreaded going to work and had no energy when I got there. I would come home wiped out every night. Not because I was working so hard, but because the job was not fulfilling at all. Having been around the world, it seems trivial to complain about having a good paying job. I realize that there are people that are starving all over the world and that I was fortunate to even have a job. Let alone a good paying one. However, that is no excuse to lead an unfulfilling life. Just because there are people that would love a job that I hate does not mean that I should do it. In fact it is more reason to create an opportunity to do what you love. Yes, there is risk involved and only you can decide it if it worth it. Many of your have families and other responsibilities. I respect that completely. However, don't you think you would be a better person to be around if you were doing a line of work that you really enjoy? Also, there is not necessarily correlation between loving what you do and not making good money. I make a lot more now than I ever did working for others. When you take into the equation the that I work 3-4 hours on most days, I make even more.

As I stated in my last newsletter, I put it all on the line to have what I have now and would gladly do it again. The person you become in the process is worth the risk. Also you only fail if you give up. One thing that is for damn sure is that life is too short to be miserable. If you have an opportunity to be happy and excited about your life, you owe it to yourself to take it. By the way, fake excitement and enthusiasm is not the same as the real thing. Either you like what you do or you do not. You should not have to think about it. Forget about watching four hours of TV every night and living vicariously through others. Live through yourself. Just remember that nothing is more expensive than regret. Nothing! Well time to walk the dogs. See you next time ;-)

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

Unleash The Power Of Heavy Kettlebell Training

By Mike Mahler

Many people believe light to moderate kettlebell training is ideal, 53lb kettlebells for men and 26lb kettlebells for women. This line of thinking is a great way to miss out on the benefits of heavy kettlebell training.

For example, 53lb kettlebells are not challenging to me at all and if I based my training on 53lb kettlebells, I would not have the strength, size, endurance, and explosive power that I currently have. Moreover, my clients would not make the improvements that they have made if they stuck to light bells.

Even if your goals are cardio and muscular endurance, why not work up to heavier kettlebells for reps? Do you really think that knocking off ten double swings with two 88lb kettlebells will not be beneficial? Do you think that ten Clean and Presses with the 70s will not benefit you as an athlete? Of course both will. An athlete would clearly do better with do twelve Clean and Presses with two 70s than thirty Clean and Presses with two 53s.

If you can do thirty reps with a weight, it is too easy to have any dramatic benefit for athletic activities and strength (unless your sport is GS, a kettlebell sport), especially, for combat athletes. The heavier the kettlebells you can handle for muscular endurance, the more benefit you will have for your sport. Using Olympic lifting as a back drop, an athlete who can Power Clean 315lbs five times is going to have much more explosive power than an athlete who can Power Clean 135lbs fifteen times. Moreover, the athlete who can Power Clean 315lbs will be able to do far more than fifteen reps with 135lbs.

Heavy training improves light training, but not the other way around. So why even bother with light training? With the exception of working on form and back-off weeks, I would say do not bother. Personally, 70lb bells are the lightest ones I own and I only use them for GTG (Pavel's Greasing the Groove in which you practice an exercise daily for neurological facilitation) for presses and sometimes high-rep Front Squats.

Recently someone asked me how many reps I can do for the ten-minute Snatch test with a 53lb kettlebell. I have no idea as I have never done the test. With all due respect to the test and the great people who have participated in the test (lots of impressive numbers by people who have taken the test), I'd rather have an athlete knock off twenty Snatches left and right with an 88lb kettlebell and eventually the 105lb bell. Sounds like too much? I can do 17 Snatches left and right with a 105lb kettlebell and I am far from a gifted athlete.

A few months ago I knocked off 50 reps per arm on One-arm Snatches with a 53lb bell. I am not breaking any records, and there are a few things you should know. I never train with light kettlebells; I rarely work on high reps (over ten reps per set), and the 50 reps left and right was easy for me. The power and endurance that I built with heavy kettlebells carried over very well to light weights for high reps. However, take a man or woman who can do 50 snatches with a 53lb kettlebell who has never trained with a heavier kettlebell and I promise you that he or she will not be able to do more than a few reps with a 105lb kettlebell. More than likely, he or she will not even be able to do one rep. If you are an athlete, light training it is not ideal for the majority of your workouts.

Once you have the technique down, ramp up the intensity. Heavy kettlebell training will do far more for explosive power and when done in high reps will develop muscular endurance that will transfer to your sport.

Now I am not blowing my own horn here or trying to convey what a great athlete I am. Again I am not a great athlete and certainly not a genetic freak. My anabolic hormone levels are good, but certainly not exceptional. Thus, I do not have tremendous recovery abilities either. I did not even start lifting weights until I was 18 and got pinned with 100lbs on the bench press when I first got started. I never played sports in high school or college. Thus, if I can work up to the numbers above, it should be no problem for gifted athletes. I am just an average guy who learned how to train smart, recruit the CNS, and use my own leverage points to handle heavier bells - more about leverage points later.

My point to drive home is that heavy kettlebell training is not just beneficial for size and strength, but for muscular endurance as well. The muscular endurance you build with heavy kettlebells is much more beneficial than light kettlebells for athletes. In addition, heavy kettlebell training engages the CNS more efficiently, teaches you how to master your own leverage points, and if used correctly, probably has a great benefit to optimizing anabolic hormones. Of course this is far more complicated than just training.

Let me make it clear by stating that I do not think heavy weight low-rep training takes the place of muscular endurance. That is not what this article is about. Of course you need to work with high reps and lots of volume or frequency to ramp up endurance, but you should not be afraid of heavy kettlebell training. If muscular endurance is your thing, have a goal of working up to some high reps with some heavy kettlebells on the Double Clean and Press, Double Swing, Double Front Squat (or Double Clean and Front Squat), Double Clean and Jerk (or Clean and Push Press), Double Snatches, One-arm Swings, and One-arm Snatches.

Heavy kettlebells are bells you can only do a few reps with, say 2-4. Start with low reps to get used to the heavier kettlebells. For example, if you can Clean and Press two 53lb bells ten times, do a few sets of two reps when you start working with the 70lb bells. Make each rep perfect. Once that gets easy, start building the reps. When you can do ten Clean and Presses with the 70s, get a pair of 88s and do the same thing.

One important thing to keep in mind is that training form needs to be modified as the bells get heavier. Let's use the Clean and Press as an example. With light kettlebells, you can keep the body fairly loose and still maintain proper technique. You can easily keep your body upright as leverage is not a necessity. However, once you start doing Clean and Presses with heavy kettlebells, you are playing in a whole new ball game. You have to tighten up and apply more tension to have a solid foundation. You will have to let your back "sit back" and push your hips as far forward as possible for optimal leverage. Your breathing will change. Now you have to hold your breath or apply "power breathing" to keep the tension high to get the bells moving.

An another example is the One-arm Snatch: When I do Snatches with a 105lb bell my form is much different than my form with a 70lb kettlebell. I drive through with much more power and pop the pelvis through and let my back sit back for more explosive power and leverage similar to what Olympic lifters do. As the bell goes overhead, I bend my knees slightly to get under the weight and catch it. When I return the bell to the starting position, I keep it close to my body for maximum control. I also do not swing the bell back as far between my feet as that also throws off the leverage. It is almost a completely different exercise all together than a One-arm Snatch with a lighter bell.

One final example is the One-arm Military Press with a 105lb kettlebell. At my bodyweight of 193, I can One-arm Military Press a 70lb kettlebell easily without having to shift my weight at all for optimal leverage. When I press an 88lb bell, I shift my weight a little bit. However, when I press a 105lb kettlebell, I need every leverage point that I can take advantage of. I kick my hip out under the bell; I take the bell behind my back so I can engage the lat more and acquire more leverage and stability. Then I shift my weight in the opposite direction similar to a side press to keep the bell moving, and once I have the bell moving, I shift my weight under the bell to finish the move.

I saw Steve Cotter, founder of Full Kontact Kettlebells, One-arm Military Press a 105lb kettlebell recently and it almost looked like a Kettlebell Windmill. Steve started the press from under the chin and quickly got the bell behind his back to reach the optimal leverage point. Some of you may feel that this is cheating. To retort I say you either weigh a lot more than Steve and do not need leverage to press a 105lb kettlebell, or you are not even close to pressing a 105lb. Do you really feel that mastering leverage with a heavy kettlebell is not beneficial to athletes? Isn't that what athletes do all of the time? Judo and wrestling have a lot of techniques in which the ideal leverage is used to take the opponent down efficiently. In football you do not just ram into your opponent haphazardly, you go for a particular spot to do the most damage.

One of the strong benefits of heavy kettlebell training is that you ultimately have to master all of your leverage points to get the job done. Right now, I am working on the Double Clean and Press with two 105lb kettlebells. The only way that it is going to happen is if I apply my ideal leverage points. These are points I have not found yet as I have not needed to apply them with 88lb kettlebells and below. Regardless, I will find these points and I will press the 105lb kettlebells. It is only a matter of time and the learning process in and of itself is a lot of fun. I really enjoy the challenge. When I work up to a Clean and Press with the 105lb kettlebells for reps, you better believe that it will improve my numbers with the 88s and 70s. No doubt about it.

I will leave you with this. Even if you do not want to train with heavy kettlebells, if you want to improve your numbers with the bells you are currently using, get some heavier kettlebells. The 88lb kettlebells always felt heavy to me until I started training with 105lb kettlebells. Now they feel light and the 70s feel so light that when I went to do a Double Clean and Press yesterday, I almost ended up doing a Double Snatch by accident!

Unleash the power of heavy kettlebell training today.

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4. AGGRESSIVE STRENGTH BONUS TIP

Steve Maxwell On Time Zone Adaptation

I knew going in to the BJJ Pan American championships that it might be a late night. I live on the east coast and like to train during the afternoon. My division was scheduled Sunday evening at 7:45 PST. This would usually be bed time for me. I started my adaptation two weeks prior to my trip. I would train two times each day. Early pm I would do jujitsu. Later in the evening, I would do a conditioning workout. My conditioning workouts two weeks out from a match are very specifically (SPP) geared toward the conditioning needed for jiu-jitsu matches. I would do 5 minute circuit rounds of rope skipping, fast Hindu squats, Hindu pushups, lunges, body weight rows with a towel and special ab work. I would do four to five rounds with 2&1/2 minute rests for a thirty minute total workout time. Alternatively, I would do rope climbing for 5 minutes straight, skip rope for five minutes, do one-legged for five continuous minutes, (alternating legs) and one-arm pushups for five nonstop minutes (alternating arms). I would add some yoga postures at the end of each workout as a cool down. My body got used to the nightly workouts, but it was still east coast time and not as late as I would be fighting. I did not have the luxury of being able to stay up really late to work out at the same approximate fight time because I still had morning work duties. Just getting used to evening workouts was a good start.

I flew into LA Thursday afternoon and immediately got on PST time. I stayed up and did a mild workout that first evening around my scheduled fight time. I did the same thing the next two evenings. Nothing to strenuous, but broke a nice sweat and kept loose. I also forced myself to stay awake until midnight PST and sleep in the next morning. By Sunday evening during the competition, my body was expecting a workout and I felt ready, alert, confident and prepared. BJJ tournaments are notorious for running late. Sure enough, my weight division ran three hours over due. I did some chi-kung recharge and energizing exercises to bolster myself. With some special breathing exercises, I kept my energy at optimum levels and calmed my nerves at the same time.

I finally got on the mat around 10 pm, 1 o'clock in the morning back home! Normally I would have been in a deep sleep by then. All my preparations came to fruition as I won my division by submitting my opponent in the finals with a rear naked strangle. I ended up staying awake until 2:30 in the morning PST. That's really late for me in any time zone. I've always been a 'early to bed ,early to rise' type. I worried about my re-adaptation traveling back home. I new that I had to be up and ready to go to work by 6:30 am on Tuesday. My plane arrived back in Philadelphia on Monday 6:30 pm east coast time.

I took the kids out to eat for a nice big dinner. A full belly creates a sleepiness. After we got home from the restaurant, I watched some dull TV show and took 9 mg. of melatonin along with an herbal testosterone formula, ZMA , tryptophan, L-arginine and valerian root. I fell asleep like a baby and awoke 6:30 on the button. Today, I feel mild jet lag, but an afternoon workout will clear that right up. My time strategy worked great. It was well worth the investment of time and energy. I am sure that I could not have nearly as well if I had not made the preparations that I did.

About The Author (written by Mike Mahler):

Steve is available for phone consultations. Steve is a very busy and in demand strength coach so do not contact him with the intent of "picking his brain" for free info. He is worth every penny. Make sure you pick up his killer DVD's as well on strength training and joint mobility. For more info go to SteveMaxwell.com

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5. GET THE AGGRESSIVE STRENGTH DVD COMBO PACK TODAY

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- Chris Pontius of MTV's Wildboyz and Jackass

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7. NEW AGGRESSIVE STRENGTH PRODUCT RECOMMENDATIONS

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8. THE AGGRESSIVE STRENGTH SOLUTION FOR THE ROAD WARRIOR

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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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