AGGRESSIVE STRENGTH MAGAZINE

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ISSUE 75 - 9/14/2005

1. AGGRESSIVE STRENGTH QUOTE OF THE WEEK

"Hell is waking every day and not knowing why you are here."
- From the film "Sin City"

Just because something is interesting now does not mean that it will remain that way indefinitely. I remember talking to a friend several years ago that was ecstatic about a sales job. A few years later, he was still excited. Then a few years after that, he said the job was starting to get boring. Finally soon after, he became very negative about the job and stated that he was sick of dealing with idiotic customers and their moronic questions. Sounds like he stayed passed his welcome. He should have moved on before the job became tedious and unfulfilling. This is not easy to do as human beings as we naturally enjoy "comfort zones." Even if we hate something, if that is all we know it is hard to move on. Even people that have served time in prison often have difficulty adjusting to life outside of prison do to becoming institutionalized. After serving time for many years, they have adjusted to life behind bars and having to adjust to a completely different life is difficult even if it is much better. In the training world, many trainees will stay on the same program and do the same exercises for several years as the thought of trying something else brings out a fear based response. All they know is what they have done, and to try something else forces them to make a paradigm shift which makes them uneasy. Thus, instead of trying something different and actually making some progress, they choose to stick to what they know and never make progress.

In the entertainment world there is a concept called "Fonzie jumping the shark." It refers to an episode of the sitcom "Happy Days" in which Fonzie was water skiing and jumped over a shark. This episode was the beginning of the end for the series. Analysts state that just about every TV show has an episode which signifies the beginning of the end and refer to this as "Fonzie jumping the shark." This concept can be applied to life as well. Lets look at a workout. You are having a great work out and on the your last set you nail every rep. If you ended the workout here, you would be all set. However, your ego gets the better of you and you decide to do one more set. On the first rep, you know that you made a mistake, but you keep going and screw up your rotator cuff. Now you have to skip training for several weeks and spend a lot of money on recovery. If you only knew when to stop you would have avoided this outcome. Playing stocks is the same way. You have to know when to get in and when to get out. Getting out at the wrong time can have disastrous consequences. A job many not have the same consequences as playing stocks, in terms of potential financial loses. However, it can have tremendous consequences to your well being. Moving on before your skills start to decline is certainly a consideration. More important, though is moving on before you hate the job.

One of the things that make life enjoyable and exciting is having a strong sense of purpose. The more meaningful the purpose is to you, the more you will enjoy life. If you reach a point in your career in which you no longer have a strong sense of purpose, then it is time to move on. Just because you enjoyed the job at one time does not mean that it will always be that way. Instead of waiting until you hate the job, look for signs in which the spark is no longer there and accept the message that it may be time to move on rather than just saying, well this is all that I know, so I will just stick with it. We live in exciting times in which people are changing careers all of the time. Four years ago, I was a Director of Business Development for an internet company. When I first started the job, I enjoyed it and looked forward to work. After a while, things changed and it was time to move on. Fortunately, I got laid off. If that did not occur, I would probably still be there as like many others, I was in a comfort zone. Now, I am in an exciting industry with numerous ways to keep things interesting. I do not have to just take one path and stay on it indefinitely. Strength and conditioning is far more than just working on the body. The mind and spirit are also areas that need strength and conditioning and this newsletter is one of the ways that I disseminate tips on how to develop comprehensive strength.

If you wake up each day with dread, then you are in the wrong career. Sure not every day is going to be a blast and there will always be parts of any job that are not enjoyable. However, you should be excited about what you do. Many of us have been conditioned to think that a job is something tedious and boring that we have to put up with to survive. Just the word "job" has a negative connotation and hardly sounds exciting. Most phrases that refer to working refer to it in a negative context, such as "the grind", "punching in hours" etc. I even heard one person say that life is what you do on the weekends and actually has a projection of how many weekends are left in his life. Pretty scary stuff to say the least. You can find tons of reasons why you have to stay with a job you hate. Several of them are legit such as you need to take care of your family, pay the bills, and simply survive. Regardless, with some creativity and maximization of free time, you can find ways to shift gears and have it all. People do it all the time. Why can't you be one of them?

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

Tip #1: GTG For Busy People

Pavel Tsatosuline's GTG protocol is one of my favorites for increasing strength. I have had great results using if for one-legged squats, Double Kettlebell Military Presses, Double Kettlebell Front Squats, and recently TNT cable Military Presses. While it is an effective system, busy people with jobs are going to have a hard time knocking off a several sets of an exercise through out the day. Fortunately, there is an alternative. Apply the GTG method to your training after you get home from work. One option is to do your sets while watching TV. During the commercial breaks knock off a set of an exercise. There are usually commercials for a show every 20 minutes. So you can get in three sets of an exercise for every hour of television. The breaks will be long enough to keep you fresh at each set. Pick two exercises such as a press and a squat and you have your strength training covered. Do a few sets of a pulling exercise later on and some ballistic work (swing, snatch, power clean, etc) and you are all set. A minimalist yet effective program for busy people to increase strength effectively. Do this protocol five to six times per week and you are all set. If you want to lose fat, reduce calories and do more ballistic work. Another thing that you may find is that you are strong with early evening workouts. Your body has had a chance to warm up and your CNS is ready to go. If you are anything like me, weight training first thing in the morning does not mix well.

Tip#2: Getting Stronger Without Adding Size

How to get stronger without adding mass is a common question that I receive. First, getting bigger is not easy and takes a lot of hard work and attention to diet. It is not something that happens by accident. Worrying about getting too big is like worrying about making too much money or having too many attractive women hitting on you every time you walk out the door (although this is a burden that I have bared for many years ;-) If you do not increase calories or practice high volume training, getting bigger is not going to happen. Regardless, if you still cannot let go of the irrational fear of getting bigger, then pick Rest Pause Training (http://www.dragondoor.com/articler/mode3/328/) as a program consisting of heavy weight 85-90% of 1 rep max in the 1-3 rep range with long breaks (3-5 minutes). Keep the volume fairly low (no more than three sets) and train frequently (M-W-F). Avoid training to failure and you are all set. With your diet, get all carbs from low-glycemic fruits and vegetables, cut out all starches, and get a good amount of protein and healthy fat in you diet.

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4. GET THE AGGRESSIVE STRENGTH DVD COMBO PACK TODAY

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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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