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

failure is an enginering term used to describe structural breakdown. A steel beam support on a bridge, for example, has a certain amount of weight it can sustain before 'failing' or collapsing. In exercise, the term is used to describe the muscles inability to complete another repitition. During muscular work, the available muscle fibers get used up until the required task can no longer be completed. Once this occurs, the resistence must be lowered for any more work to take place. Each contraction of the muscle against a resistence uses a certain percentage of the available muscle fiber.The heavier the load, the greater the ammount of fiber is recruited. Most people can not recruit more than 25 to 30 % of their available muscle fibers. The ammount of fiber that can be recruited to lift a heavy weight at any given time is set by the nervous system. It is inborn for the most part, but there is some evidence that it can be improved upon by proper training. The extent to which one exhausts the muscle fibers is called inroading. Some body builders claim that training to complete muscular failure will turn on the growth mechanism in the body and build muscle size more rapidly than non-failure training. Their are two basic camps for body building training- high intensity (HIT) who train to muscular failure and the volume group who train multiple sets of multiple exercises and raely train to failure.Training to failure is very demanding and requires the body to take a lot of rest between workouts.Because HIT is so demanding, the sets and exercises must be limited. Strength athletes, who are not interested in muscular size, find that they can avoid training to failure and increase strength levels by manipulating nervous system adaptation. People in the the later category treat strength as a skill, use low reps and very heavy weight. Steve Maxwell

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When the subject of over training comes up, it tends to elicit a wide and varied response. Some claim it is all in ones head and do not even acknowledge it's existence. Many in this camp use performance enhancing drugs and are genetic freaks to boot. Others seem to believe that one can become over trained from the slightest bit of hard work. The reality is that it is an individual matter and there is a wide difference in tolerances to heavy exertion. As a rule, begginners can train with much more frequency than veterans without over training. This is because begginners do not have the muscular capabilities that experienced trainees do. The bigger, stronger veteran lifter can push himself systemically into a much deeper level of exhaustion than say a neophyte. The bigginers strength levels do not cause the systemic fatigue that heavier loads do. Age is a factor as well. It is well documented that ones recoverability from heavy exercise is compromised with age; older guys take longer to recover. Ones ability to recover from exercise is a genetic trait and is set at the biologic level. One can enhance recovery a bit with restoration techniques, but for the most part it is set at the cellular level and cannot be improved much. The sign posts of over training are elevated morning pulse, heavy legs, sleeplessness or over sleep, irritability, loss of appetite or increase in appetite, rapid weight loss or gain, lowered performance level, frequent colds or cold like symptoms, chronic illness and lack of sex drive. Keep these things in mind to gage your level of over training. Steve Maxwell

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The pulse test is only a guide. Even medical people will tell you that elevated pulse is an indicator of stress. Don't get to hung up on the exact numbers. Know this though, every time I chose to ignore elevated pulse and push myself through a workout anyway, I always suffered. Usually by getting a cold or just being exhausted later. I'm sure there is a wide level of variance among individuals. But if ones pulse is elevated, it is defineatly a warning sign to ease up. I have a hard time easing up and knowing when to back off, so this simple test has been invaluable to me. I agree that 'eastern european' means nothing- could be great or really dumb. Just have to experiment. Steve Maxwell

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For exercise in general and joint mobility specifically, use a 10 point pain scale. If 10 equals the worst pain you have ever felt, then do not allow the pain level to go above a manageable 3. I'm not talking about the pain of muscular exertion, burning lungs or fatiguing muscles. I am talking about pain in the joints. Driving through pain when doing joint mobility or flexibility work usually results in more residual tension, not less. The idea of joiont mobility is to make the movem,ents effortless. If you are feeling jopint pain above a level 3, then back off as you are harming yourself. Cracking, clicking etc. is fine as long as there is no accompaning pain. Steve Maxwell

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The exercise works the shoulders, elbows, upper back and core. Start by holding a kettlebell or barbell plate in front of your face, just above your chest. Slowly circle the bell around your head, ear level, while flaring the elbows out. Try to make smooth, tight circles and keep the bell close. Go for time or reps in one direction, then reverse the direction. I include this outstanding weighted mobility/conditioner as a warmup in every workout. Steve Maxwell

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In order for the body to grow and become bigger, plenty of recuperation is required. Once you have stimulated the body with the right amount of exercise, then food and rest will allow over-compensation to occur(increases in physical capacity). If the exrecise is to severe or not hard enough, little will be accomplished. In the case of to hard the body will struggle to get back to where it was prior to the workout. If the exercise is to submaximal, then the body has no reason to over compensate and get bigger or stronger. There are three main components, volume, intensity and rest. If any of the three are compromised or imbalanced, then optimal results will not be produced. The pulse test is a guide for determining whether the body has recovered and is truly rested. Elevated pulse is a bio marker of systemic fatigue. The system is not recovered, which means that muscular growth or strength increases are not going to occur until the system is allowed to fully recover. Pushing yourself at this time is not wise if you want to produce muscular growth as you stated in your post. Basically having an elevated pulse levels is an indication that you are not recuperated from the previous workout,so does it make sense to go out and work more? I think not. Steve Maxwell

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I am 53 and have been training since I was 12 years old. Almost all neck and upper spine pain is the result of residual muscle tension. One of the culprits is the bench press itself. Your Dad is in all likelyhood creating tremendous tension in his traps and neck by unconsciously bracing against the bench with his head and neck. He doesn't feel it during the bench press, but afterward when doing the other exercises. I would stop benching for a while and perform dips or weighted push ups instead. He also should do neck mobility drills during the workouts as an active rest. Steve Maxwell

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I personally found that if I went two weeks without doing swings or snatches that I would get really sore, especially in my hamstrings, back and glutes. It wasn't that my work capacity went down, but I did get delayed onset muscle soreness tha made my jiujitsu training somewhat compromised. I settled on doing strength and endurance in the same week (ala Clarence Bass) or even the same workout. Because I do my jiujitsu training 4 to 5 days per week, I had to adjust my volume of strength/conditioning down. I found two weekly workouts to be ideal, with one being strength oriented and the other based on the high rep quick lifts. I have also found good results from working on pure strength first and then using a high rep endurance movement last as a finisher. For example, heavy kettlebell presses alternated with weighted pullups. As a finisher, 10 minutes of swings done using the interval training method; 15 seconds work with 15 seconds rest (1:1 work/rest ratio). That's just one example. Of course, I do joint mobility daily, alternating standing work one day with mat work the next and then I teach jiujitsu and spar with my students. So I have to watch the over training. If I didn't do the grappling, I would probaly opt for three weekly weight workouts. Steve Maxwell

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You mixed two programs together and caused 'body confusion'. The 20 rep squat should be done alone as party of a wieght gain cycle for several months. Check out "Super Squats" by Randal Strossen. Then the PTP Bear program would be a good follow up for the next several months or the classic 5x5 program (five exercises done for 5 sets twice weekly). In 1970, I went from 156 lbs. to 205 lbs. following the exact program above. On my last workout during the 20 rep squat program I did 21 reps with 305 lbs. below parallel squats. I also did 15 reps with 250 lbs. in the stiff legged deadlift with the bar going below my feet (stood on a special platform). The program works if you work hard and eat plenty of food. I was drinking a gallon of raw milk per day in addition to my regular meals. Steve Maxwell

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I have had considerable experience with various stretching protocols. Being invovled in a martial art (BJJ) that requires a fairly high degree of flexibility has led me to search for ways to improve ROM for jiujitsu fighters. I train my students with a lot of mobility drills. I have a saying regarding range of motion training,"It is better to learn to put yourself there because someone is going to put you there whether you want them to or not". In a nut shell, mobility is more important than flexibility. Mobility is defined as an active form of flexibility where the body is voluntarily moved into the full range with strength.Special breathing techniques are used to release tension and allow the body to move more deeply into full ROM. Another words, if you can't get there under your own muscle power then any extra range of motion is useless. The difference between your passive flexibility and your mobility is the percent chance of you getting injured. It has been my experience that the most flexible students are the most frequently injured. This is because they do not have strength in the extreme ranges. Many people can do passive hamstring stretches for example and get way down past their toes. But when they must raise the leg with muscle power, their hamstring isn't able to let go and the range is greatly compromized. In grappling it is better to be a bit tight than to loose. Unless you are a dancer, gymnast, circus proformer or in a martial art that requires high kicks, spending a lot of time on extreme flexibility is a waste of that time. If you really need to get extremely flexible, then PNF is the way to go. The most important thing is freeing the body of tension through breath control. Pavel has the best book on the market in that regard. Steve Maxwell

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Don't force it. I have seen many injured knees as a result of trying to force the lotus (cross legged seated position). The pidgeon stretch is one of the important hip and tensor facia openers for the lotus. All pressure should be felt only in the hips and outer thighs. Back off if any pressure is felt in the knees. Slowly accustom the body to the lotus. Be patient and breathe into the move. Steve Maxwell

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A complex or combo is combining two or more exercises together. A classic example is the burpee (aka 8 count bodybuilders) where a squat thrust is combined with a pushup. Another classic is the continuous clean and press. Another is the full front squat to press overhead (aka thrusters). Combinations like this cover the entire musculature and involve the entire body structure. Combos produce systemic fatigue as oppossed to local muscle fatigue that single exercises produce. The cardio vascular system becomes heavily taxed because of the huge amount of muscle mass involved. Combos create a certain co-ordination and flow. One also learns how to breath more efficiently and how to learn to breath during movement. Many do not breath correctly during heavy exertion and pre-maturely fatigue. Combos expose weakness in the breathing patterns. Combos also spike HGH levels, much like sprint protocols do. All in all, combos are a great way to maximize ones training time and give you a big bang for the buck. Steve Maxwell

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Instead of regular deadlift sets alternated with sets of pistols, try one of my favorite combinations; single leg deadlifts imediately followed by pistols. The two movements compliment each other beautifully, are terrifically athletic and stays with the unilateral training theme that the pistols provide. The Janda situps should definitely be placed last in the workout sequence. Steve Maxwell

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Since you are working at a near maximum deadlift weight, but want increased numbers, I suggest dropping the weight by 20% and working in sets of 5 to 6 reps. Start with a weight that you can do for 5 reps. Work four sets of 5 with a minute rest between. Over the course of several weeks, rest less and cut the rest time( by 5 seconds) between the first two sets. Every workout, cut 5 seconds off your rest. When you can do the original 5 rep weight for 10 reps, bump the weight back up. At that point go back to a minute rest between the first two sets and start the process all over again. Soon you will be doing your old two rep max for ten! Steve Maxwell

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Although the prime mover in chinups and pullups are the lats, the arms are always the weak link. This is because the arms, primarily the biceps and gripping muscles, are much smaller and weaker than the large powerful upper back. The arm and grip will always give out first. In the hierarchy of pulling, a supinated grip (palms facing) is the strongest arm position. The nuetral grip is the next strongest (palms facing each other, thumbs toward the chest). The pronated (palms facing away) is the weakest grip. When the palms are facing away, the weak link (the biceps) is further weakened beacause the biceps cannot be fully activated since their primary function is supination. The origin of the pullup was for military training to simulate the pulling necessary for climbing over a wall, fence or side of a ship. For body building purposes, the chinup is superior because it uses the biceps in a more efficient way, allows one to pull more weight and involves more muscle mass. This is not to denigrate the pullup which is a excellent exercise for building functional real world pulling strength. For arm building, you can't go wrong with heavy weighted chinups. One way to train all three grips is to do two sets of pullups (hardest) with two sets of nuetral grip pullups (slightly easier) and finish with two sets of chinups (easiest). In this manner, you work all of the grips for a very complete upper body pulling program. You could also do two sets of body weight rows and strengthen that palne of motion as well. Steve Maxwell

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You can certainly mix and match the naked warrior protocols with kettlebell conditioning.These are some of my favorite style workouts. I would suggest alternating the kettlebell press with the one arm pushup every other workout. On the over head press day, do pullups. On the OAP day, do a body weight row or kettlebell row as a compensatory movement. Pistols could be done each workout. Finish one workout with interval kettlebell swings, 15 sec.work/ 15 sec. rest. The alternate day, do kettlebell snatches ala SS snatch test (10 minutes as many as possible). End each session with some abdominal work such as Janda situps. Work out every other day alternating between the A and B routines. This type of work is excellent for grapplers and will help you meet your goals. Steve Maxwell

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I know the Gracie family and Royce Gracie very well. For years I was on the 'inside' of the Gracie family. Royce was never considered a good blackbelt by the rest of the jiujitsu community. When Rorion Gracie first introduced his families jiujitsu, he created quite a stir in the martial arts community by issueing the $100,000. challenge. After observing what passed for martial arts training in the US in the 80's, he was so confident that his family jiujitsu style would prevail over any other art, he offered 100 grand to anyone who could prove otherwise. I was witness to hundreds of challenge matches during the early 90's when I started training. Sure enough, even an average jiujitsu student had no trouble beating standup striking styles. Rorion then decided to go step further to market 'Gracie Jiujitsu' and form the UFC. I was one of the original investors in the UFC and was ringside at all of Royce's fights. The early UFc's had no rules other than no biting or eye gouging. Hair pulling, groin shots, finger bending etc. were all part of the game. None of the fighters were allowed to wrap or protect their hands. This resulted in a lot of broken hands in those first few UFC's.Most importantly,there was no time limits and once the fight went to the ground, it stayed there until someone quit or was unable to continue. The jiujitsu man could exercise patience and take all the time in the world to secure victory. Royce was chosen to represent the Gracie family because he was skinny, weak and non-athletic. Rorion felt that when people saw what a skinny guy like Royce could do with jiujitsu, they would feel like they coul;d do it to. Royce won all those early fights because no one had any idea of what jiujitsu was all about. Royce launched a huge move in the martial arts community toward ground fighting. Soon everyone and their brother was training jiujitsu. Because most people were uneducated in the ground game, the audiences found jiujitsu boring. After Rorion sold the UFC, the new investors wanted t.o make it more exciting. They no longer allowed the fight to stay on the ground, but would stand guys back up, allowing more chances for spectacular knockouts. Protective gloves were allowed to satisfy the crowds knockout lust and to playcate the local boxing organizations who govererned the state athletic commissions. The gloves allowed for hard, wild punches that no longer resulted in broken hands. The gloves gave a huge advantage to the strikers, while greatly limiting the grapplers ability to apply holds. On top of the new rules, everyone was training jiujitsu. Matt Hughs is a very good submission grappler that has trained many years with some of the top jiujitsu fighters. So what happens when you put a athletic, conditioned, technical fighter against a skinny, weak technical fighter is what Matt did to Royce. Hughs beat Royce with beautifully executed jiujitsu moves...the same tools that had won fights for the Gracie's for decades. One thing for sure, now as it was 15 years ago, you had better back your stand up with jiujitsu training. Steve Maxwell

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