Pavel Tsatsouline Kettlebell Strength Training Weight Lifting Workouts Exercise and Flexibility Questions & Answers.

I'm planning to teach some weekly KB classes starting in August. I know there are a number of folks on the forum that teach group sessions. Do you have any suggestion for how many KBs to get and what sizes? I'm looking at a class size of 10-15 people with nothing particularly special about the population. In other words, they're regular men and women wanting to get fit. I think the 4 KBs I currently own will be excited to get some company. Thanks for the help, Chris Brown 

Just read POWER TO THE PEOPLE, first time. Two questions: 1) Is the routine he describes as "The Bear" the same thing that others are calling "German Volume Training?" I saw one article on GVT where the writer recommended 10 sets x 10 reps. Another writer recommended 10 sets x 6 reps. Both had the "10 sets" in common. "The Bear" was 5-25 sets (as many as you needed) x 6 reps. The two approaches seem very similar. Are they? 2) Is there any science behind this concept? I see a lot of annectdotes, but other than vague stories about this or that person using it . . . do any studies support the idea that this is an effective way to add size to your muscles? Thank you  

Good afternoon, First, thanks to Pavel for the invitation to participate on the board and his "behind the scenes" feedback. Appreciate the candor and insight. I wanted to share an observation regarding Mike Mahler's Rest Pause article. While some of the trainers he mentioned may advocate the frequency/volume(s) outlined in the article, I did want to share that Mentzer's program suggested a more conservative approach via training frequency and volume. I'd spent time in LA training under Mike Mentzer's tutelage in the 80s and later had several phone consultations, etc., with him in the 90s. A typical Mentzer approach might include: Monday ------ Incline Bench - Two - three warm up sets - One work set of rest pause Lateral Raises - One work set* Triceps - Dips or tricep pushdowns* Tuesday - Rest Wednesday - Rest Thursday - Back & biceps -------- etc. *A warm up was not always deemed necessary because you were "warmed up" from your initial set. Mentzer's programs worked well for me for a period of time, however, with the intensity of the program and focus on heavier & heavier poundages, the injuries took their toll so people would be advised to use Rest Pause cautiously. So, another suggestion is pay strict attention to form because the risk:rewards with rest pause is higher than most forms of heavy bodybuilding/powerlifting style training. Best, Parker 

Good afternoon, First, thanks to Pavel for the invitation to participate on the board and his "behind the scenes" feedback. Appreciate the candor and insight. I wanted to share an observation regarding Mike Mahler's Rest Pause article. While some of the trainers he mentioned may advocate the frequency/volume(s) outlined in the article, I did want to share that Mentzer's program suggested a more conservative approach via training frequency and volume. I'd spent time in LA training under Mike Mentzer's tutelage in the 80s and later had several phone consultations, etc., with him in the 90s. A typical Mentzer approach might include: Monday ------ Incline Bench - Two - three warm up sets - One work set of rest pause Lateral Raises - One work set* Triceps - Dips or tricep pushdowns* Tuesday - Rest Wednesday - Rest Thursday - Back & biceps -------- etc. *A warm up was not always deemed necessary because you were "warmed up" from your initial set. Mentzer's programs worked well for me for a period of time, however, with the intensity of the program and focus on heavier & heavier poundages, the injuries took their toll so people would be advised to use Rest Pause cautiously. So, another suggestion is pay strict attention to form because the risk:rewards with rest pause is higher than most forms of heavy bodybuilding/powerlifting style training. Best, Parker 

I haven't been in a gym (literally) in years. Today I went to the local high school football gym to give a KB demo to the head coach for football. The second you walk into the gym there is just this energy. It makes you want to lift heavy and hard. All the sudden you're stronger. Before the coach got there I was messing around with the bells. I picked up the 26 and bottom's up pressed it for reps. I haven't been able to do that in the past. Granted, it has been a while since I even tried, but just being in that gym I knew I could. Plus I got 3 reps on my right side. Anyway, the coach was very interested and I had 3 guys that are going off to college this fall to play ball wanting instruction. (2 football players, 1 baseball player) I also just finished a KB class for the ladies in my neighborhood. It was a good day! Lisa

KettlebellTrainer.com 

I want to start doing Turkish Get Ups while recovering from a misterious shoulder injury (see below). My question is: When doing Turksih Get-Ups do you punch up with the KB and try to create space in shoulder joint or do you keep the shoulder down and in like in the Military Presses? Also what are some other key points of this exercise? Thanks. My left shoulder got tweaked recently a little bit so I can't do military presses. Not even sure how, I only did the morning recharge routine from the (Martial Power) DVD (vol. 1) that day. It started hurting later on during the day. It's better by now but still hurts during presses. It's strange because now it hurts only in the lower part of middle deltoid only a couple of inches before lock-out on the way up and in the same spot on the way down, when doing military press. Anyone had anything like that? 

Would it be OK to use Pavel's PTP routine with the squat, deadlift, and bench? I'd also be working misc exercises once or twice a week additionally (abs, grip, upper back, etc.) 

Played with them a little the last few days. Today did some cleans and Renegade Rows...going back to the Bulldogs seems easy now. :) There will be some major benchmarks set soon with all of the people who ordered them. After handling them for just a little bit the 70s seem like they are about 30lbs so it will be interesting to see the new PR's come of of the woodwork. It's like the Henry Rollins article...once the iron is a part of you, part of you is in the iron. Good stuff. Brad Nelson RKC

http://www.mtxeconditioning.com 

I noticed on the Dragondoor web site that there are 106 lb kettlebells for sale. At what level of proficiency would an athlete be using a 106 lb kettlebell? What exercises would an athlete be doing with a 106 lb kettelbell? Are there any professional/college football teams that are using this kind of weight? I would be interested in knowing? Moosehead 

I noticed on the Dragondoor web site that there are 106 lb kettlebells for sale. At what level of proficiency would an athlete be using a 106 lb kettlebell? What exercises would an athlete be doing with a 106 lb kettelbell? Are there any professional/college football teams that are using this kind of weight? I would be interested in knowing? Moosehead 

I noticed on the Dragondoor web site that there are 106 lb kettlebells for sale. At what level of proficiency would an athlete be using a 106 lb kettlebell? What exercises would an athlete be doing with a 106 lb kettelbell? Are there any professional/college football teams that are using this kind of weight? I would be interested in knowing? Moosehead 

I noticed on the Dragondoor web site that there are 106 lb kettlebells for sale. At what level of proficiency would an athlete be using a 106 lb kettlebell? What exercises would an athlete be doing with a 106 lb kettelbell? Are there any professional/college football teams that are using this kind of weight? I would be interested in knowing? Moosehead 

Hey Folks, We had a couple of tough workouts today with our football team! We'll need to back off a little next week after this week on the lifting intensities and volume! Friday KB Swings-72 lbs./3x10 Overhead Squats-1x5 Clean Deadlift-n-Hang Clean-4x1+1 warmup, 80%/12x1+1 Deadlift-4x2 warmup, 80%/8x2 Push Press-3x5 Chins-3x5 Dips-n-Arm Curls-5x5+5 Team Stretch Total Workout Time-60 mins. We did density with the Hang Cleans, Dead Lifts, Push press, Chins, and Dips-n-Arm Curls. We had 75 secs set starts on the Clean- deadlift-n-Hang Clean. We had 90 secs. set starts onm the Deadlifts. Absolutely a tough workout for 60 mins. We had several players using 352 lbs. on their 12 sets of 1+1 on Clean Deadlift-n-Hang Cleans. In Strength, Ethan Reeve  

I am close on the details which will be announced next week. Will be a kettlebell version of the Captains of Crush and we will be throwing in some cash prizes as well as a bucket of fame. 

I've been doing a lot of bottoms up cleans and presses,on separate training days.One of the things I've noticed is the incredible similarity between the muscles involved, the body positions required and their firing sequence in the BU press and the bench press. First, the forearms HAS to be perpindicular to the floor in the BU press to heven stabilize the weight. Same as the bench. Second, the grip has to be very tight and the weight on the heel of the hand. Ditto for the bench. Third, and perhaps most important and similar is that the lat has to be heavily involved in the bottom stabilization (rack for kb and pause for bench) position in both exercises.the triceps have to be literally lying on it.Forth, the lat HAS to fire first to initiate the pressing for both moves.And fifth, the shoulders have to stay in the socket for any kind of strength to be available.Same for the bench. The lat also has to stay involved thoughout the whole press or the elbows swings out and the press and the bench is lost. AND, more importantly, the shoulder is severly destabilized.This is when rotator cuff injuries occur when pressing. I had stopped regular KB presses as I coulnt stabilize with my lat well on my wierdo right side. I subbed the BU press for the lat stabilization effect on both the positive and negative reps.And wow what a differce! My right side lat is working much better and I can double the 53's now where I culdnt even press the 36 BU last month without pain and my elbows flairing out. Training my powerlifting partner on the today and he really got the connection to his bench.The lats the thing. Plus, you have to stay totally tight throughout the entire movment or it falls apart in a second.Good stuff. Now I have to BU press the 72. I can see it. Rif

http://www.giryastrength.com 

My primary goal right now is fat loss and I have been doing HOC (jumping rope for a minute alternated with ballistic KBs for a minute with minimal rest) every other day for close to two months now. I would like to mix it up a little and do a 4-week cycle of EDT to avoid getting stale. While I am doing EDT I want to keep the fat burning and maintain my cardio level. So I was wondering if its ok to skip rope on the days I am not doing EDT? Or should I just keep doing HOC and do different drills? For the cardio I was planning on something pretty moderate like a few five minute sets of jump rope (I'm not in the best of shape). 

Any thoughts??I was considering purchasing it.It has a cool feature where you can put your feet in straps on the wheel.I saw a good review of it on a BJJ site. 

Went down to DC with some friends this weekend so we went to check out the KB gathering that Dylan put together. I hit some good PRs and first time attempts today. 32kg L/R push press 100lb sand bag overhead press x 2 100lb sand bag front squat x 5 First time ever using a sand bag. 5 minute version of the SSST 111 reps with the 16kg. Last time rep count was 102. I know that a push press is not a military press, but with some help I should be able to hit the 32kg MP by my goal date. Pamela 

See the www.dragondoor.com home page on the right hand side.

http://www.dragondoor.com 

The weather held up and we had a great turnout,especially for something held in July,as many people are on vacation,and the heat is brutal. We all had fun and some PRs were set. Everyone got to try some new drills and tools, exchanged ideas and got to know some fellow K'bellers. Here is a breif rundown of the attendees and some PRs they set. 1.John Starego-Who brought the drag sled and 100# sandbag to play with di 6 reps of the Double Snatch with 2- 70# KBs.Thanks for bring the toys Bro! 2.Pamela MacElree- Came down from Pa. and did 111 reps with a 36#KB in a 5 minute Snatch test,all S&C.She did 2 overhead presses,right into 5 Front squats with the 100# Sandbag.Also she did 1 Push press each left and right with the 70#KB. It was good to see her again,she's a hell of a K'beller. 3. Amy Balog- Also from Pa. She did 109 reps with the 26#KB in a 5 minute snatch test,all S&C. It was her first time trying a timed snatch test. She's got guts! 4. Dan Cendoza- Dan was our strongman of the day. He did a Double Bottoms up press with 2-88#KBs, 3 Double Sots Presses with 2-70#KBs and di 112 Snatches in 5 minutes with a 53#KB. Dan is one hard dude. 6. Lisa Shaffer- Lisa did a Front Squat with the 100# Sandbag and did 2 Pistols on the handle of a 70#KB,as well as did some serious sled dragging. It's always good to have Lisa around a KB event,as her enthusiasim is infectious. 7. Jeff Shaffer- Jeff's got a whole bag of tricks,he was doing Pistols on the handles of KBs from the 70 to the 26,and came close to getting one on an 18. He taught a few of us how to do 1 arm,1 leg push ups,and he does a mean Bottoms up TGU with the 53 and 70.He was alos the time keeper for all snatch test. 8. Paolo Valladolid- Paolo showed up to both the Shaffer/Thomas workshop and the Gathering,while recovering from a injured shoulder and back. he got in some reverse dragging with the sled. It's always good to see him. He used to train with us at the Quantico Dojo and he was into KBs when I started. 9. Maggie Osbourne- My Dojo Sister,came out to take some photos,durring a heavy schedualed day,Thanks Maggie. 10. Dylan the Vylan- O.K. I suck. I did the 10 Minute U.S.Secret Service Snatch test with a 53#KB.This is the first time I did a full 10 minute snatch test,and it is 3 xs as hard as a 5 minute,not twice. I did 170 Reps,all over the fist S&C style. My 6-6-5-5 and rest plan worked untill about 5-6 minutes. I ripped the hell out of my hands. I'v ripped calluses before,but not to this degree. Remember kids,blood is slick.But anyways excusses are for wussies,I'll do this again,but I will be allot more specific in my training for it. Now atleast I've done it,and can learn from it. Thanks again to all that came down to Woodbridge,Va and made The Gathering a succsess. Shugyo! Dylan

http://martialstrength@yahoo.com 

The weather held up and we had a great turnout,especially for something held in July,as many people are on vacation,and the heat is brutal. We all had fun and some PRs were set. Everyone got to try some new drills and tools, exchanged ideas and got to know some fellow K'bellers. Here is a breif rundown of the attendees and some PRs they set. 1.John Starego-Who brought the drag sled and 100# sandbag to play with di 6 reps of the Double Snatch with 2- 70# KBs.Thanks for bring the toys Bro! 2.Pamela MacElree- Came down from Pa. and did 111 reps with a 36#KB in a 5 minute Snatch test,all S&C.She did 2 overhead presses,right into 5 Front squats with the 100# Sandbag.Also she did 1 Push press each left and right with the 70#KB. It was good to see her again,she's a hell of a K'beller. 3. Amy Balog- Also from Pa. She did 109 reps with the 26#KB in a 5 minute snatch test,all S&C. It was her first time trying a timed snatch test. She's got guts! 4. Dan Cendoza- Dan was our strongman of the day. He did a Double Bottoms up press with 2-88#KBs, 3 Double Sots Presses with 2-70#KBs and di 112 Snatches in 5 minutes with a 53#KB. Dan is one hard dude. 6. Lisa Shaffer- Lisa did a Front Squat with the 100# Sandbag and did 2 Pistols on the handle of a 70#KB,as well as did some serious sled dragging. It's always good to have Lisa around a KB event,as her enthusiasim is infectious. 7. Jeff Shaffer- Jeff's got a whole bag of tricks,he was doing Pistols on the handles of KBs from the 70 to the 26,and came close to getting one on an 18. He taught a few of us how to do 1 arm,1 leg push ups,and he does a mean Bottoms up TGU with the 53 and 70.He was alos the time keeper for all snatch test. 8. Paolo Valladolid- Paolo showed up to both the Shaffer/Thomas workshop and the Gathering,while recovering from a injured shoulder and back. he got in some reverse dragging with the sled. It's always good to see him. He used to train with us at the Quantico Dojo and he was into KBs when I started. 9. Maggie Osbourne- My Dojo Sister,came out to take some photos,durring a heavy schedualed day,Thanks Maggie. 10. Dylan the Vylan- O.K. I suck. I did the 10 Minute U.S.Secret Service Snatch test with a 53#KB.This is the first time I did a full 10 minute snatch test,and it is 3 xs as hard as a 5 minute,not twice. I did 170 Reps,all over the fist S&C style. My 6-6-5-5 and rest plan worked untill about 5-6 minutes. I ripped the hell out of my hands. I'v ripped calluses before,but not to this degree. Remember kids,blood is slick.But anyways excusses are for wussies,I'll do this again,but I will be allot more specific in my training for it. Now atleast I've done it,and can learn from it. Thanks again to all that came down to Woodbridge,Va and made The Gathering a succsess. Shugyo! Dylan

http://martialstrength@yahoo.com 

I’ve been military pressing 16kg kettlebell for some time and reached to the point when I can easily do 5 sets of 5 reps and still have some gas in the tank for more. I decided it’d give 24kg a shot and found it difficult to press even once. Which direction do I take from there? How can I prepare myself to overcoming 50% increase in weight, so I can at least press it once? Eugene. 

Hey Mike or anyone who has taken Cognamine, What was your experience like taking Body Quick. Did you improve your lifts? I came across this in Powerlifting USA. Thanks, SMM 

I have the following kbs, 2x25, 2x35, 2x53, 2x62 and 1x70 what would be the next logical progessive to go. With a second 70 or an 88 or 106. I work out mostly just for myself but have been doing martial arts for about 20+ years. Thanks 

Is it possible to do HOC after a skillwork session of am I just asking for burnout? My goal is to become a better Muay Thai "player" (I dont, and have no ambition, right now, to fight), so I thought adding one or two extra skill sessions per week would help. In addition it woul burn more calories, I want to be leaner too. 

ive been thinking of purchasing a joint mobility prgm and would like the best one. I've narrowed my choices down to Steve's prgm vs. Z-health. If anyone has an opinion about these two and why they would recommend one or the other then please let me know thanks. 

which one is better for a beginner on kettlebells? i am an avid weight lifter and have been into many pavel's philsophies for about a year or so. I have been weight training so i do have a firm base to start on. i am only 17 at a bodyweight of about 130lbs at 5'3. i deadlift about 400 lbs and clean and press 140lbs (i do not train the lift as much as i used to). I can do pistols pretty easily and one arm pushups also. So what do you guys think? Do i still need the RKC or can i just get Steve Cotter's DVD's. I am also a martial artist, etc. 

I saw this posted today at MMA.TV. I don't know if it is legitimate or not. This letter was forwarded to me by Jake and the boys over at Scientific Wrestling Kevin, Here is the letter than Karl wrote to me and asked to share with everyone, in it's entirety. I made some small edits for clarity but you can read the originals in Karl's handwriting here if you like: http://www.ScientificWrestling.com/letter_from_karl.htm ****************************************************************** Tampa, 18th July '05 Dear Jake, Thanks for sending me that copy of the fat man Matt Furey's website. As you know I don't have a computer and I don't know how to use it, but as I can see he employs it for a con game to steal from some poor guys that love the sport. He hung around me for about 5 months not over two years as he states. He writes, "What's Old is New - What's New is Old" well he uses this to put his hand in the poor guys pocket and grab the money. I found him out when he talked me into making a tape I had about conditioning commercial, I had made the tape as proof, because after my double hip replacement I could not do many of those things anymore and a picture is worth a thousand words. I told him to never use my name again with anything he ever did. The man is a disgrace to wrestling and has no honor at all, he can walk under a snakes belly wearing a top hat. To give you an idea what real pro-wrestling is lets take boxing as an example, even as an Olympic Champ when you turn pro you have to start all over again because it's completely different. Here in the U.S.A they had the best in the world, men like Strangler Lewis, Toots Mondt, John Pesek, etc. would take the life out of anyone that challenged them. Wrestling is opposite of what people think it is, it is not strength but knowledge, balance, and timing, leverage and where to place the fulcrum, that's what it takes to make it to the top in the noble art of wrestling. Also, the most difficult sport is wrestling because contrary to other combat sports you have to learn to attack and defend from 3 different positions; standing-up, on all fours and underneath. It takes know how to do that, and your best hold is condition, even the best automobile won't run without gas, oil, and water. People now go for excitement and to something that is easy to understand, that's why football, base-ball and basketball are drawing the big crowds, plus they are team sport, they change their players in and out. Wrestling in the amateurs should never be less than 12 minutes a match, then you can see the best man. I wrote you all this to show you that how can a fat slob like Furey, that doesn't know his elbow from his rear end, tell and show these poor boys that he charges an arm and a leg and a finger thrown in? Wrestling is a workman's sport, you need no expensive equipment and can practice it anywhere, and here is this greedy, fat no good misfit charging them all this money for nothing. I never took one cent from a boy to show him how to wrestle, all I asked for is guts. I can make you strong, fast, agile and train you for endurance and reflex, but guts you get when you are born. I hope that we can find a way to stop this misfit from fleecing those poor guys, thanks again for letting me know. Yours, Karl --------------------------------------------------------------------------------  

what are some good protein powders? can anyone list some whey protein powders and some vegetarian type also?  

what are some good protein powders? can anyone list some whey protein powders and some vegetarian type also?  

A friend of mine who has been into for about a year(has most of the material Sonnon's organization puts out) has convinced me to take it up(done wonders for him) He feels the biggest mistake is that people us too high a weight(he uses 15 and 20 pounders for the two handed stuff and trust me this guy's a 180 pound stud). I have Choach Davies Central Park medicine ball DVD and he's probably using a 10 pounder medicine ball for the entire balistic series utilizing high reps. Any thoughts from you experienced clubbell guys out there will be appreciated. 

I am a grappler and have recently added pistols and some weighted pistols and have experienced some knee swelling and slight pain when grappling. Is it normal to have some problems with pistols initially? 

I have known that my right arm has been stronger than my left for my entire life but a little test today showed me how big that gap really is! I read a bodyweight coniditioning article here and holidng yourself on a pull up bar with one arm was one of the things mentioned. I figured I would try it out and I probably did it about 15 seconds with my right arm and when I put ol' lefty up on the bar after about 4 seconds it felt like my wrist was going to be torn in half. Okay it didn't really feel that bad but what I'm getting at is that my left arm could barely do a third of the time my right arm could and that disturbs me deeply. Could I get some advice on how to bring my weak side up to par? Thanks! 

I have been doing the ladder shoulder program that was posted on DD. I misunderstood it and thought by doing c&p with the 24kg, I could work up to mil. pressing the same weight. After doing more reading, it seams that a correct c&p is a strict press, not a push presh like I use. should I continue with the program? will it help me to mil. press the 24kg, or should i start over with my 16kg that i can mil. press? Thanks, Jay 

When you listen to Steve Maxwell and throw Bear Crawls in your morning workout! Thanks Steve! ( I think..) Eric 

I read your article "Customized Volume Training" on T-Nation and wanted to ask about something. You said: "Why even bother with high volume [HV] training? After all, isn’t high intensity [HI] (low volume) training effective and less time consuming? Sure, high intensity training takes less time, but it isn't more effective for building size and strength." If your goal is primarily strength and not size, is it generally true that HV is more effective for strength then HI, or not? Generally, can you say that either HV or HI is more effective for strength? Thanks. 

Hi, I've just read this article(great article!) that Mike Mahler posted in response to someone else's question:- http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do?id=543803 My question is,when performing the Christian Thibaudeau test for fast/slow twitch fibers,is it possible to display different traits in different areas? For example,could your lower body(squat) seem to be fast twitch dominant whilst your upper body(bench press) seem to be slow twitch dominant? If so,when designing a routine would you have 2 different rep ranges for upper/lower body or would you take an average and use it for both? Thanks for your time, Gaijin.  

I have not handled KBs for almost a year. After giving up on the KB's and deciding to sell the big 145 and 120, I went down to muscle beach to deliver the (starting to rust) bells which Steve Cotter bought. Pavel, Brett, Mike M, Rif other RKCs were there and I really got inspired and felt like an ass giving up. The guys are all *&%&^7$& strong, and a few guys cleaned the 145, snatched the 120 easy, and mike freaking bent pressed the 145 while I cringed...when you pick that thing up it just breaks your spirit if you are not psyched to destroy it. It feels SO much heavier than say a 150lb dumbell for whatever evil reason. It is put up or shut up, no one cares what you "used to" do....and today, I cant snatch the 145 so whatever came before is meaningless...but I am putting KB's back in my routine. Got to try my first "real" dragondoor kettlebell. I had been using (not so great but glad that he is at least making them) MAX Kettlebells and some custom handles, but the real thing is just beautiful....the 106lb is a slick work of art. As I drove off I wanted to offer 300$ for it, I just dont want to wait, I want it TODAY!!! Anyone in LA have one for sale? I would HIGHLY suggest going to a seminar, training meeting, whatever, it is a great thing to be around people who really excell and can fix years of mistakes in minutes...I am inspirted to get back.