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

Does anybody know any real world applications for the bench press? Or world overhead presses and dips be better for function strength that you use in everyday life or a tactical sit?  

Has anyone done these with regularity? I decided to implement these into my workout last night in place of front squats. I haven't done for a long time and due to some chronic knee issues, thought I'd give them a go again. Lately, any kind of squat has really been aggravating my torn up knees. I found them to be kind to my knees and could potentially be a great assistance movement for improving my deadlift numbers. Please post any results/ advantages/ disadvantages you have realized with this movement. Thanks, Eric 

Hi folks, I started training with KBs back in October. Today I looked in the mirror, realized what month it was, and started thinking maybe I'd wasted a whole bunch o' time and money. I can say that my cardiovascular conditioning has improved a bit (when I started, 50 swings in a row with my 18kg would get me pretty winded, but now 100 swings is a piece of deliciously easy cake - probably can do more than that, but 100 is where I stopped), but as far as dropping fat and shaping and firming up my waist, hips and thighs...nothing. I can't tell what, if anything, it has done for my upper body, as I also practice astanga yoga which involves a lot of pushing up and arm balancing movements, and I'm working on increasing my regular ol' push up and pull up numbers. I started out training 6 days a week alternating yoga days (1.5 hours) with KB days (45-60 minutes), but after several weeks of ignoring my feelings that I might be overtrained I started to get sick, so I cut it down to 5 days a week - 3 days yoga, 2 days KBs, Monday through Friday, with weekends off. By the weekend I was pretty wiped, so I changed it again to: Monday - yoga, Tuesday - KB, Wednesday off, Thursday & Friday - yoga, Saturday - KB, Sunday off. My KB workouts are varied. Sometimes I'll start off with some miltary presses and wind mills and go on to sets of swings and clean-squat-press, sometimes I'll pick 3 or 4 exercises and do them in a circuit, sometimes I'll pick a timeframe and pick one exercise, say swings, and start a set every minute. It would not be wise for me to spend money on a personalized program right now. I'll be in a better financial situation to do so about 6 months from now. Does anyone have any helpful suggestions? I'm not fat - I'm just trying to take off an inch or two and make my fat to muscle ratio better to get tighter and stronger. Thanks, Camille 

Hello Comrades... I've been using kettlebells for over a year now, but I'm just now getting serious about organizing a training program rather than just doing whatever lifts come to mind on a given day, and I have a few questions that I hope someone can help with. 1) I've been noticing on posts lately people emphasizing the importance of backing off every 4 weeks. I have just started doing 2 weeks of PTP alternated with 2 weeks RKC. My question is - "Do I use one of the weeks in the rotation to back off, or can I do 2 weeks of each and then back off for a week before starting the rotation again?" 2)My schedule lets me get in the weight room M W F; I've been doing 'interval training' on T Th S with body weight exercises (Mt. Climbers, squat thrusts, sprints, martial arts kicks and such). I do 7 or 8 30-45 second intervals. Does that seem like it's too much? I do qigong and taiji everyday, so my muscles are getting their 'down time'; I just want to keep the heart and lungs well-oiled and shed this extra body fat. 3)Should I keep the two cycles completely distinct? One poster had suggested doing DL's and Bent/Side Presses during PTP, and then during the RKC cycle doing swings, C&P, snatches, and such. I love doing windmills, TGU's, and the Two Hands Anyhow as well as the others, but I'm wondering if the point of cycling is to get away from the 'grind' lifts? Thanks so much for taking the time to read my novel; I appreciate any and all feedback. Steve  

contest on Jan 28th, PL nationals April 8, BP nationals April 9th... what do you think of.... Jan 29 to Feb 4 Smolov 1 Feb 5 to Feb 11 Smolov 2 Feb 12 to Feb 18 Smolov 3 Feb 19 to Feb 25 Smolov 4 (lowbar test week) (Will bench each of the 4 days, light, heavy, light, heaviest) -------------------------------------------------------------------- from here, weekly schedule changes back to: Monday- heavy squat/light bench (sq suit, if worn, goes on this day) Wednesday- heavy bench, heavy deadlift (DL suit, if worn, goes on this day) Friday- light squat, light bench Saturday- heaviest bench, easy deadlift (bench shirt if worn goes here) -------------------------------------------------------------------- Feb 26 to Mar 4 Back off- squat twice, benchX4, dead once (no suits/shirts) Mar 5 to Mar 11 1st suit squat WO Monday, 1st shirt WO Saturday Mar 12 to Mar 18 2nd suited squat WO Monday, 2nd shirt WO Saturday Mar 19 to Mar 25 3rd suited squat WO Monday, 1st suit dead WO Wednesday, 3rd shirt WO Saturday Mar 26 to Apr 1 4th suited squat WO Monday, 2nd suit dead WO Wednesday, 4th shirt WO saturday Apr 2 to Apr 8 85%X2X2-->Mon raw SQ 80X3X3-->Wed raw BP, no DL's this week (Apr 8 is PL nats, Apr 9th is BP nats, I am entering both) NOTES: Have to get used to squat suit... bench shirt and dead suit are much easier to use I find NO FRIDAY LOWBARS- gives me sore elbows (biceps tendonitis??) that screws up Saturday bench target openers 529-413-551 (must smoke these repeatedly in training) target bwt 120-122kg (about 265-270lbs) Your thoughts... should I have any more back off time in there?  

Many of you have given me a hard time when I pointed out that there is a DDloyalty test and that you should not rock the boat. Well remeber Jeff Martone? Guess why he gave up the SRKC? Quote from Jeff's web site. Hi Christoff, Thank you for your post. You bring up an interesting concern and point of view. However, you don't have all the facts. I can't speak for other kettlebell trainers, but I will speak for myself. Please let me take a moment and clarify the recent events. The only reason I gave up my SRKC title is because Pavel chose to view me as disloyal because I wasn't exclusively selling a Dragon Door kettlebells to my clients. He decided to take a hard stance about the issue, so I resigned. It's that simple. That's the only reason I gave up my SRKC title. That was about six weeks ago. I could be wrong, but, by the tone of your post, it appears that you might have a bit of a problem with Coach Glassman and CrossFit. I attended a CrossFit seminar about a year and a half ago in CO. I was very impressed with the caliber of coaches and athletes associated with CrossFit. Do I agree with 100% with their training philosphy? Probably not. For that matter, I don't agree 100% on every tip or technique that the SRKCs or Pavel puts out either. I choose what works and ignore the rest. We don't have to agree 100% on everything to get along. Coach Glassman is open minded to a wide variety of training methodoligies. He see's kettlesbells for what they are... a contioning tool. Like any good coach, he wants to give the folks in his community the best training they can get. AFTER hearing about my split with Pavel, he offered me an open invitation to be the kettlebell representative for the CrossFit community. This was a few days AFTER the first of the New Year. I'm all about training and teaching folks about the benefits of proper kettlebell training. Will you be seeing a more crossfit style of training comming out on Tactical Athlete? If it works for me and the folks I train, then you'll see it on my website. It's that simple. Train Hard - Stay Safe, Jeff

Why Jeff gave up the SRKC 

Dear Kettlebell and Conditioning Aficionados, I've been working with kettlebells since about June. I've recently been plagued by an old disk injury again that I find I get from any ballistic movement with weights or weights exceeding around 50lb. I've found that swings with the 16kg bell is fine for me though. How strong can I get my back, hamstrings, and glutes just by doing those swings? I don't want my abs to get too strong compared to my lower back. What is the best shock-less (i.e. no snatches or cleans) way to build lower back strength and how do I know if my low-back strength is safely proportionate to my abdominal strength? I'm thinking the "what the heck effect" that people find with their deadlifts from doing KB stuff may indicate the effectiveness of the KB swings. Thanks a lot guys/gals, Sam Twito 

And what were the results? Thanks! z 

Hi Pavel! I just watched Vol. 1 of your "martial power" videos and I have a few questions about it: You only show the leg swings to the front. Could you tell how to do the side raises? I have also seen "Beyond Flexibility" but the leg swings in this video are very differrent. I don't have "fast & loose" , but on the cover of the video I think you do the side raise, but free-standing. Do you start with the back leg and turn your hips over? Also, are the exercises you show enough or should I add a few things from "super joints"? Is it a good idea to switch them every day, lets say monday super joints, tuesday martial power,... It would be great if you or any other comrade could help me!!! Have a nice day! yang