From Mike Mahler:

A common thing that people often tell me is that I live life aggressively. The more I thought about it the more I realized that I do live aggressively and that this aggression caries over to my training as well. Thus, my style of training is called Aggressive Strength training.

Allow to me clarify how I define aggression. For me, aggression has nothing to do with being violent. I do not want to inflict harm on any being and would never recommend violence to others. What I mean by being aggressive is being proactive about your life. It is about going after what you want with full intensity like a warrior that will not accept defeat. Living aggressively is about being in the moment and taking care of things immediately. Living aggressively is about building a fulfilling life, rather than living vicariously through other people’s lives on TV. Living aggressively is about having the courage to stand up for what you believe in.

What does this have to do with strength training? Simple, it is not enough to just have a strong body. That is not real strength in my opinion. I see big and physically strong men and women frequently that cannot think for themselves and are at the mercy of the people around them. On the other hand, I know many intelligent people that excel in academia and in the business world. Yet, physically, many of them are weak and would be in serious trouble in any situation that required physical strength. They may be mentally strong, but overall they are weak.

I think that it is time to carry over the discipline that we learn from proper strength training to other areas of our life as well as take the disciplines that we have learned from other areas in life and apply them to strength training. Just as in area of life, the development of physical strength requires critical thinking and a strong mind. It is not enough to blindly follow others hoping that they have the answers that you are not willing to ascertain on your own. The great Buddha said that each of us must find our own paths in life and the path to strength is no exception. Through this website and my articles, I will be getting into these concepts much more. For now though, lets get into what aggressive strength training is.

Aggressive Strength Training is not about going to failure on every set and being sore as hell the next day. It is not about screaming and snarling like a maniac during each set. Aggressive Strength Training an approach to training that requires focus and internal intensity. An Aggressive Strength Training workout involves knowing exactly what you will be doing at a workout before getting started. Would you get in your car to drive to your job without knowing how to get there? Of course not and your approach to training should not be any different. Aggressive Strength Training requires being focused on the task at hand, rather than reading a newspaper between sets or talking to your friends about the great weekend that you had. With aggressive strength training, it is mandatory that you have clearly defined goals and deadlines for achieving your goals. Ever notice how many trainees in the gym have been using the same training loads for years? I see this all the time. That maybe fine if you goal is maintenance. However, I believe that if you are not improving you are getting worse. Aggressive Strength Training is about making progress and using the best programs to ensure progress.

Finally, Aggressive Strength Training requires what I like to call Internal Intensity. Internal Intensity is a form of channeling aggression and energy inward to increase strength and focus. Imagine a dam that is full of water and ready to burst and you have an idea of the power of Internal Intensity. Imagine applying that intensity to your workouts. You will when you train Aggressive Strength style. To sum it up, Aggressive Strength Training is the end of dogma. It is finding your strength training path and having the resolve to finish what you start. Welcome to the world of Aggressive Strength and the end of complacency.

Live life Aggressively!

Mike Mahler

“Mike Mahler is an expert in the challenging field of sports

conditioning. His unique and innovative teaching tactics

guarantee high retention of these one-of-a-kind

workouts. His extensive knowledge feeds a powerful

passion to explore the human body with safety and

strength. If you get a chance to train with him;

do so or regret it.”

- Frank Shamrock, 5-Time UFC Middleweight Champion

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