Author: Maik Wiedenbach

THE DAILY GRIND

As I was walking to the subway station this morning, I couldn’t help but notice a sign outside a fitness store. It was a poster advertising fat burning pills, promisingbeach ready abs for a very low price of $39.99. I thought to myself: “How can youbeat abs for $39.99?” And although that is very tempting, […]

EVERYTHING IN LIFE IS LUCK

Luck is always quoted as a major success factor in all aspects of life: business, athleticism, romance, talent… the list goes on. To an extent, this definitely is true! For example, if Bill Gates was born as a peasant in a rural town in communist China, I highly doubt that we would be using Windows […]

ACTIVITY OR PRODUCTIVITY?

“It is difficult, therefore it must be good!” Whenever someone asks me about a new boot camp/fitness regime that their friends are trying out (Insert latest fitness craze here), the previously mentioned logic is often what sparked their interest. “Have you seen how much they sweat?” One of the most common misconceptions in the fitness […]

BABY, IT’S COLD OUTSIDE

New York City’s winters can be grueling on both your shoes and psyche — today is no exception. The combination of huge puddles (If anyone has figured out how to avoid them, any information would be appreciated!), wet subways, and addictiveTV shows makes it rather easy to take a couple of “snow days” and treat […]

Spring is in the Air

Spring is in the air… no, really! I know that it may not seem like it at the moment with all of the snow, but check your calendars! In the fitness industry, you can always tell that spring is about to arrive because of the new diets. I am willing to bet that within weeks, […]

DON’T CHASE THE RAINBOW

Since we like to be controversial but educational, let’s tackle another delicate issue: Steroids. There is no denying it; steroids play a huge role in the bodybuilding and fitness world. And if we’re being honest, it plays a huge role in pretty much every sport except for archery. The fact is steroids work and they […]

SUPERHUMAN

This morning, in order to keep the theme of our newsletters (“How I Got Huge from Reading Strange Books”), we’ll get to know one of my countrymen, Friedrich Nietzsche and his views on being superhuman. Sounds reasonable since we are all striving for superhuman bodies, yes? Let us start with a couple facts (and a […]

PERFECTLY IMPERFECT

Since we have been dealing with the subject of body images and goals recently, let us seek advice from one of the greatest. No, it is neither Arnold or Bob Paris (I know, very surprising)… but Plato. Yes, you heard me, a chubby Greek philosopher who never lifted a dumbbell nor drank a protein shake […]

KILL YOUR IDOLS

Happy 2014! Since the New Year is upon us, let’s talk about all those New Years resolutions that we’ve all made (at least the ones that were not broken already)! 🙂 Every year, it is the same spectacle: hordes of newbies joining the gym sold on the “super saver 16 month membership”, which they will […]

GOALS V/S VISIONS

This piece will bridge two items: last week’s newsletter and the upcoming New Year. What do they have in common? Talk about goals and resolutions! Have you given a thought to what your New Year’s resolutions will be? Bottom line: Goals are great, but they cannot survive on their own. Goals, left alone, are like […]