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

There is a tendency with strong individuals to 'over power' certain techniques. This is especially true in grappling arts. Once the individual becomes muscularly fatigued, the technique becomes smoother and more fluid. Of course the downside is that it has less power. This type of training is necessary for combat sports because one must learn how to fight when tired, like the later matches or rounds of a tournament. Steve Maxwell

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Some people who have been successful with a particular training modality or style are reluctant to try something new, especially something radically different. They have been in effect, 'ruined' by their success. Your best bet is encouragement to give kettlebells and some of the other exercise ideas a fair chance. Two types of psychology can be used here. One is gentle encouragement and persuasive arguement. The other is to shame him and belittle his manhood. Both techniques work very well for different personality types. You have to figure out the best stratedgy. All the techniques and training that we teach as senior RKC instructors work and we have countless testimonials to back them. I personally have worked with the USSS CAT team, teh US Marine Corp Mixed Martial Arts team, the Phila. FBI SWAT team and the Phila. DEA. Every one of them had glowing testimonials about what they learned and I have been asked back for more several times. I will be doing my 4th seminar with the CAT team in a few weeks. Pavel is constantly being asked to do seminars for elite military and law enforcement units all over the country. If that is not enough to at least get the guy to try it, then he is probally a lost cause and you might as well save your breath. Steve Maxwell

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On the swings, you do not have to do walking swings. In tight spaces, just do them in place. If you opt for the waling swings, either walk out and back to the other bell or do the walking swings with one bell, then go back and do the swings with the other. That way you do not need anyone to help you. Steve Maxwell

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These are considered superior standards by most fitness norms based on college age men in the military or martial sport. Pushups-100 Hindu pushups-100 pistols-25 each leg pullups-18 chinups-20 hindu squats-100 in 3 minutes deck squats-50 in 5 minutes squat thrusts (burpees)-100 v-situps-50 one arm pushups-15 standard situps (feet anchored)-80 in 2 minutes hip pullovers on a high bar-10 25' rope climb (no feet)-10 sec. handstand pushups-15 dips-40 That should give a few numbers to shoot for. Don't try to work everything at once. For a few weeks or even months, pick one push, a pull, an abdominal and leg/hip exercise to focus on in your workouts. Do not neglect the lower back. Steve Maxwell

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Scotty, For fighters, especially MMA and grapplers, sandbag deadlifts with a round back style, bear hug style or grasping the cloth straightback style. Partner lifts form the single leg, body lock or double leg position are also very beneficial. Barbell deadlifts are great for general strength but they are a 'grooved' lift. Strength must be built in every position in the fighting game and barbell deadlifts just don't get it done. Check out Josh Henkin's new sand bag training manual. Steve Maxwell

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Muxa, When you say that your left knee 'bows' in at the bottom of the pistol. This is not bowing. Bowing of the knee means the knee goes out of alignment laterally. Your knee rotates inward medially. My guess is that this happens while the toe remains either turned out or straight ahead. This is a classic pistol problem. Pavel gave you the correct advice. The reason the knee turns in is because of muscular weakness in the bottom position. You must squat down and learn to balance isometrically while tracking the knee over the index toe. In this manner, you will build the necessary strength and confidence in the bottom. The static hold can be up to 90 seconds. Start with 20 sec.and build up. You may repeat for several sets. As soon as the knee starts to turn, terminate the set. In the begginning, you may need to use your hands to hold on to something like a pole or a railing. Soon, you will be able to do full pistols with ease. Steve Maxwell

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In pistols, the shin does not remain perpendicular.It moves slightly forward. Other wise, you would fall over backwards. The knee is tracking properly if you were to drop a plum line from the center of the knee cap and it would touch the index toe, while the weight remained on the heel. Your head also should be over your knee. Steve Maxwell

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There are several methods of using ladder sets. For pure strength and power, repititions are performed at the top of each minute. The rest of the minute is used as a rest. Then one to 5 minutes rest is taken and the next ladder is started. Generally these strength ladders invovle heavy weights and do not exceed 3 reps. Many people will super set another ladder set involving different muscle groups instead of just sitting around. This is a more efficient use of exercise time. Strength/endurance ladders involve higher reps with lighter weights. The rest time for each rep is how long it took to perform. For example, 1 rep=5sec. rest, 2 reps=10sec. rest, 3 reps =15 sec. rest etc. The trainee strives to do as many quality reps with minimum fatigue. when he begins to struggle and cannot complete a given number, he will rest for one minute and begin again at 1 rep. However, some people like to super set another exercise in a ladder set. An example would be pullups done ladder style, then dive bomber pushups done ladder style. He would alternate exercises using ladder sets until he struggled to get one rep. At that point the workout would end or another exercise would be performed. Steve Maxwell

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Thanks Eric. Thrusters really are a great exercise. I prefer doing them with kettlebells, but barbell thrusters are fine. It comes down to preference. With the barbell, they can also be done from behind the neck. This was a favorite of Bob Hoffman of York barbell fame and the father of American weightlifting. Bob would perform a barbell squat and would immediately press from behind the neck. If your shoulders are flexible , give this variation a try. One tip is to use a rubber pad or sleeve in the middle of your bar. By the way, 175 lbs. for this exercise is very good. You are a stud. keep up the good work. Steve Maxwell

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Mike, I use the rope climb as an alternate to pullups or chinups. I like to superset some type of pushup between each climb. It becomes real cardio if you don't rest. I will do as many climbs without using my legs, then as I fatigue, I start to use my legs. I just bought a rope from www.functionalhandstrength.com. They have great ropes and will customize. Mine is one and a half inches and made from dacron. I like manila ropes better, but manila rots and mildews outside. The dacron will not. Steve Maxwell

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Some specific isolation work may be in order here.This type of knee pain almost always involves a muscle imbalance or specific weakness of the surrounding structures. It is a double edge sword;the cause is more likely than not weakness, but the exercises cause irritation. The secret is to strengthen without the irritation. Staic contraction or exercise without movement is key. Weak hamstrings and or adductors could cause poor knee tracking during other exercises.Tight hamstrings, poor ankle and calf flexibility could cause her to push off the ball of the foot and toes during exercises that call for heel pressure. I have had success using single leg pelvic raises with both straight and bent leg on a stability ball. Also single leg pelvic raises and leg curls.Single leg standing calf raises with a stretch at the bottom are very good. If she is not strong enough, use both legs. Terminal end static contractions on a leg extension machine can work wonders for this type of knee pain. Only work the top 10 degrees on the leg extension. Set a range limiter and have her hold the leg in full extension for time for up to 90 sec. Static wall seats with or without a stability ball are great for knee pain management. Keeping the legs at a 90 degree angle while stabilizing the back against the wall is a very safe way to work the muscles of the knee, hips and glutes. Place a step or low stool under her so she doesn't lose it and slide down the wall. Hold for up to 3 minutes. She can squeese a medicine ball between her knees for greater recruitment and adductor involvement. She can keep her cardio up with kettlebell swings, sprints on the eliptical or stationary bike. None of these things place pressure on the knee. Steve Maxwell

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Craig, I use this exercise as part of my unweighted joint mobility routine. It is a fairly advanced exercise and you should be able to do it for high reps effortlessly before even considering using extra weight. Twenty reps would be a minimum with body weight. It is not necessary to add weight to make this exercise more difficult. You can increase the range of motion. Keep working with your body weight until you can sit down on the floor and effortlessly rise, twist and sit back down for 20 reps (each side). Range and fluid motion is more important than weight in this exercise. When this becomes easy, then consider extra weight.adding extra weight to soon is asking for a knee injury. Steve Maxwell

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Chris, You don't have to miss a beat with your strength training when traveling. You have at your disposal the best gym possible-your own body. Just a few of the strength moves you can do are, one arm pushups, handstand pushups, divebomber pushups, finger tip pushups, dips between chairs, door pullups, towel chins over a pipe, pole or tree limb, one arm towel rows on a door knob, body weight rows on a railing or broom handle between two chairs, one leg squats, front, back and side lunges, v-situps, janda situps, alternating knee to elbow, plank holds and all sorts of back arching type moves including neck bridges. For cardio,you can do hindu squats and pushups, rope skipping, stair climbing, jumping jacks for time or reps, split jumps, mountain climbers, burpees or 6 count squat thrusts etc. You can do straight sets or circuits. This is only the tip of the iceberg. Your only limit is the imagination. You are the gym. Steve Maxwell

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Peter, Of course one can mix and match flat foot squats, Hindu squats and dragon twists anyway they like. Flat foot squats done Amosov style or Chi Kung style are for knee, hip and low back mobility with some cardio benefit. For flat foot squats, I prefer deck squats (aka rock up squats) Hindu squats are knee strengtheners plus cardio. Dragon twists and dragon walks are for hip, knee, ilial/tibial band and spine. there is some overlap, but each movement has it's own particular benefits. If you couple these three with the cossack lunge stretch, you have a very complete program. Here is a great strength endurance program that will give you it all, strength/endurance, cardio and mobility. Do the following 4 movements back to back with little or no rest. 20 yoga squats- squat with arms overhead, bend forward with straight legs and grab your toes, back to squat and stand 100 Hindu squats- should take about three minutes 20 dragon twists (each side)- sit to floor 20 cossack side lunges (each side) 50 deck squats- touch your feet over you head to the floor as you roll back This routine is a fantastic conditioner for the entire lower body as well as being a good cardio workout. Steve Maxwell

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Lu Bu, The idea behind high intensity interval training is to tax the heart and vascular system by going anerobic. You say that went 90 to 100 % on the sprints. How do you know? Sprint protocols are extremely taxing and should be undertaken only by highly fit individuals that have slowly worked up to that intensity level. The fact that you complained of a headache demonstrates that you are exceeding your present capacity. You mentioned that you had not done this type of training for a number of years. One of the worst mistakes that you could make is to jump into a high intensity program without proper preparation. The best way is to build your aerobic base and slowly add build the intensity and number of sprints. In the beginning, you should rest double the time you performed the interval (1:2 work/rest ratio). That means that for each second that you sprinted, you rest double that amount. For example, a 20 second sprint followed by a 40 second rest. Slowly work up to a 1:1 work/rest ratio. Your eventual goal is a 2:1 work/rest ratio. If you cannot recover in the set rest time, then your intensity (exertion level) is to high. You want to set up the sprint protocol workout around a 5 to 15 minute time with a 5 minute warmup and 5 minute cool down on either end. Do as many sprints within that time zone that you can starting with the 1:2 work/rest ratio. Select a sprint duration time of between 10 sec. to 1:00. You can vary the interval time, but I suggest staying with the same time in the begginning. I prefer 20 sec. Try doing 10 , 20 second sprints with 40 seconds rest. That equals 10 minutes. When that becomes easy, stay at the same intensity(speed) and try to do the same thing,10 sprints, but cut your rest intervals to 1:1 (20 sec. work, 20 sec. rest). The workout now is 6:40 as oppossed to 10:00. Your goal is to do the same level of intensity at a 2:1 or 20 sec work and 10sec. rest. For 10 sprints, the total time is now 5 minutes. Always include a 5 min. warmup and 5 minute cool down. Steve Maxwell

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Shero, Yours is not an uncommon problem. The bottom part of the pistol is the most difficult and somewhat scary. I have helped many people achieve success with the following two drills at my gym, Maxercise. After warming up with your chair pistols, perform 3 to 5 full range reps using your arms for assistence. This will get you used to going all the way down. Use a pole or door knobs and unweight yourself as much or as little as needed to do full range reps. After several sets, go to the bottom most position and hold it as long as possible. Try to balance and use as little arm help as possible. Work up to over a minute. Use breath control like yoga, don't hold your breath. This drill will build strength in the bottom and build your comfort as well as confidence. Steve Maxwell

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Brett, I know what you mean about the muscular legs. I have always easily put muscle on my thighs and hamstrings. When I used to do heavy squats, my thighs would rub together and chafe. I now do only pistols and high rep body weight squats. For my sport of BJJ, I do not feel that my leg strength is as much a priority as endurance and flexibility. as a result of the higher rep stuff and pistols only, my thighs have slimmed down a bit. I keep my leg work to a minimum. Savannah has done 10 chinups in good style. My wife DC can also do 11 reps. Zak, my 16 year old, is up to 21 pullups. I trail behind at 19 pullups. It irks me that zak by passed me. I have to go on a quest to pull my numbers back up. Steve Maxwell

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One is in my 12 yr. old daughters room. I have her GTG. The other is in my 16 yr. old son's room. I keep the other in the garage foyer.I also have a pullup bar made of plumbers pipe cemented in the back yard, a wooden one on my deck and a Power Tower in the bedrom. Funny that you mention the stair climb workout. I have in past put one of my kid's on my back and climbed the stair well, then would dump the kid and do a set of pullups and some type of pushup. Put the kid on my back and continue. It's a brutal workout. Steve Maxwell

http://www.maxercise.com 

Kyle, Congradulations on your new home. Go to a local Home Depot or plumbing supply store and buy galvanized steel plumbers pipe. You need three pipes, two 90 degree elbows and 12 bags of Quickcrete cement. The pipes should be about 1 inch and a quarter to 1 inch and a half. This will give you a great grip workout. You could get reducing elbows that accomodate two different diameter pipes if you desire a thinner grip for the horizontal bar. The formula for vertical supports is for every inch above ground, there should be 1 inch under. If you choose a seven foot vertical height, you would want a minimum of three and a half feet burried under ground. The cross bar should be about four to five feet wide. That should give you plenty of room. For hanging rings, you will need to go somewhat higher than for a simple pullup setup. Ideally, you would have two seperate apparatus. In order to get the bar high enough to clear your head on muscle ups, dips, crosses etc., it may be to high to comfortably jump up and do pullups. I built a rope climbing tower out of galvanized steel fence posts. They look like flag poles. I hung my rings from the 25' rope climbing tower with galvanized chain. My pullup bar is about three inches above my reach and I jump to grasp it. I like this set up because I can hang free for hanging leg raises or hip pullovers, but it is not so high that I have difficulty reaching it when I am loaded up for weighted chins or pullups. Try jumping up with a 32kg. kettlebell hanging from your waist. The bar needs to be low enough to grab when loaded. That is why I think you might want to consider another option for the rings. Perhaps a tree branch. Also, do not let the rings outside . The sun will destroy the straps.They will dry rot and break. For outdoor rings, dacron rope or galvanized chain is best. Install by digging your two holes the width of the cross piece. Screw the pipe together and place in the holes. The holes depth should be a third of the support pole length. Use some rope as a temporary guy wire to hold the apparatus in place while you throw the Quickcrete in the holes. Use a garden hose and soak the Quickcrete per directions. As the concrete sets up, use a level to keep it straight. Keep checking to adjust before it hardens. Steve Maxwell

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It's really what the door frame can handle not the bar. Those bars are pretty tough. Each door is different however. I reinforced one of my door frames with a few extra nails. It's a judgement call. The bar itself is not the limilting factor unless you are using close to 100 lbs.on your pullups. Err on the side of caution. Consider placing a mat or pad under the knees when doing weighted pullups. Steve Maxwell

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It is about what one can do, not about what one looks like. Form follows function. Lift heavy weights, get the body into great condition and a good looking physique will follow. What we are about is physical culture, not bodybuilding. Modern bodybuilding has shamed and dishonored itself with the excessive drug use and other extremes. The standard for male beauty for the last 2000 years has been the ancient Greek statue. This dates from the 'golden age of Greece' to about 40 years ago. It has only been about 40 or 50 years since the use of muscle building drugs came on the scene. IMO, modern bodybuilding has hurt the iron game way more than it has helped. Most here on this forum lift for health, strengh and conditioning and allow our bodies to develope along these lines in a natural way according to our genetic potential. If my biceps are not huge or my pecs are a bit flat, so what? Can I do what I want to do when I train or step onto the Jiujitsu mat? That is the question and concerns my training is driven toward. Of course everyone wants to look their best and feel their best. A nice muscular body, male or female, is aesthically pleasing. It is when one falls prey to narcisitic behaviors like pumping and preening in front of the mirror, inapprorpriately not wearing a shirt in public, being over concerned about miniscule physical details of the body or other show off, that we here object. Body leaness and definition, a proportionate, balanced musculature all are products of being strong and in good condition, not the other way around. Your critizisms of someones physique will only be met with derision and scorn. Steve Maxwell

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MP, You are in an excellent school. The teaching there is very good. Obviously the more one practises something, the better they get. twice per week would not be ideal, but it is still better than the alternative of not doing it at all. Do not combine other martial arts with jiujitsu until you have developed some real expertise. Learning is best when it is concentrated on one thing at a time. Two lessons per week are great and enough on the instructional level, but you have to spend time training with your peers as well. Sparring with other white and blue belts will greatly help your developement and fine tune your skills. Steve Maxwell

http://www.maxercise.com 

Since a tactical pullup is your goal, the 'hollow back' form is correct. The purpose of a 'tactical' pullup is to build the specific strength required for climbing walls, fences and going through windows. The eventual goal is to be able to do a muscle up on the pullup bar. You can only do this with a hollow back. When you hollow the back, the abs are kept tight and engaged. At the end of the movement, the throat is pulled forward to the bar. This strongly activates the rear shoulder girdle and lats. Sometimes my abs get sore from this type of pullup. Keep you thumbs just outside your shoulders when doing your chins. Later, when you build more strength, use the reverse grip with the thumbs still outside the shoulders. This keeps the hands, wrists, elbows and shoulders in alignment and reduces the chance of irritation to the mentioned joints. The chest high, arched back style chinup or pullup is more for body building purposes. This type of pullup is good for power lifters and people who want to maximise bench press strength. For tactical pullups, hollowing the back is important because this is how one would scale a wall or climb through a window. When you can do 6 reps in the chinup, you can switch to a pullup grip. Steve Maxwell

http://www.stevemaxwell.com