Pavel Tsatsouline - Ironman Magazine Interview June 2005 5m2n2n

Red Zone The

Russian Pavel Tsatsouline’s Unique Perspective on Muscle Building, Strength and Kettlebell Training

Illustration by Larry Eklund

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by Ori Hofmekler • Photography by Michael Neveux

avel Tsatsouline is a former Soviet Special Forces physicaltraining instructor, currently an SME (subject matter expert) for the United States Marine Corps, the National Nuclear Security istration/U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. Secret Service. Pavel brought to the U.S. a traditional Russian training method that historically produced some of the toughest and strongest men on earth. He makes his “low-tech/high-concept” fitness programs available to civilians through his best-selling books that include

Power to the People! and The Russian Kettlebell Challenge (Dragon Door Publications, dragondoor.com). Pavel’s approach, in particular his kettlebell training, has been considered by many sports and strength experts to be brutal and effective. The following discussion presents ideas that may be controversial or even revolutionary. Nevertheless, body­ builders who are looking for alternative training methods to help break plateaus or gain strength will most likely find this information quite intriguing and useful. www.ironmanmagazine.com \ JUNE 2005 135 CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE

Red Zone

Muscle Building, Strength and Kettlebell Training

OH: What is a kettlebell? PT: A kettlebell is a cannonball with a handle. It’s an extreme handheld gym. Kettlebell training is like saying: “I’m sick of your metrosexual gyms! I’m a man, and I’ll train like a man!” Lifting a kettlebell is liberating, and it’s as aggressive as broadsword play. It’s a manifestation of your warrior instinct. Traditionally, guys name their kettlebells the way warriors used to name their weapons. They paint them with their unit’s coat of arms. They get tattoos of kettlebells. The Russian kettlebell is the Harley-Davidson of weights.

from 766 to 832 in less than a year. One of my students, Steve Knapstein, ran a marathon without practicing running. OH: How can you explain those benefits?

OH: With such a ionate definition of kettlebells, can you tell me the benefits of kettlebell training? PT: Kettlebell training can deliver extreme all-around fitness, all-purpose strength, staying power, flexibility and “A kettlebell is a fat loss without the cannonball with dishonor of aerobics. a handle. It’s an All these benefits extreme handcould be accomplished in no more held gym.” than one to two hours of weekly training—all done with one compact and virtually indestructible tool that can be used anywhere. On top of that, there’s an expression among gireviks, or kettlebell lifters, called the what-thehell effect. WTH is about getting better at things you have not practiced. PT: I can’t explain how such My students powerlift heavier, hit seemingly nonspecific training harder, run faster, bend nails and so made this happen. But in our brothon just from lifting kettlebells. erhood we don’t wait for explanaPowerlifter Donnie Thompson tion. If it works, we do it. If the WTH stopped deadlifting and started effect is the best explanation there kettlebelling. He took his deadlift is, so be it.

The what-the-hell effect notwithstanding, as a rule you’ll do your best by mixing kettlebell training with specific practice of the exercise you want to excel in. To use a martial arts analogy, you will never be able to express all your strength in a punch if you do not work with a heavy bag. OH: Is it possible to gain substantial muscle mass with kettlebells? PT: Yes, you can get outstanding muscle mass gains, provided your training protocol is designed accordingly and you throw enough protein and calories down the hatch. As a rule of thumb, to build beef, one should do slow kettlebell exercises (grinds), fives (five reps) or quick lifts of 10s (10 reps). Keep your rest periods minimal either way. OH: Define “minimal rest periods.” PT: As short as you can handle. Russian researchers in this area concluded that training against the clock is significantly more effective than selfpaced training with near complete recovery between sets. Note that the study involved strengthendurance and conditioning, not one-rep-maximum strength. Charles Staley has the best technique for compressing the bodybuilding rest periods just right. His site is EDTSecrets.com. OH: Do you know of people who gained substantial muscle mass with kettlebells?

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Red Zone

Muscle Building, Strength and Kettlebell Training

Model: Mike Mahler

“Save for your pecs and tri’s, the swing is a total-body workout and a conditioner second to none.”

PT: Thompson gained 26 pounds in three months on a routine of approximately 10x10 of kettlebell swings and snatches. His training partner Haney, a 51-year-old former college champion shot-putter, added 15 pounds of muscle on the same routine. Retired powerlifter Phil Workman, who already carried more muscle mass than a human body has the right to, started doing multiple sets of clean and jerks with a pair of kettlebells. His shoulders swelled up to the point where he was accused of taking steroids. Note that I’m talking about elite athletes who are not spring chickens here. If it works for them, it should work just as well for a beginner. OH: What is “sustained strength”? PT: Sustained strength is a conditioning concept that describes the strength to hit hard in the 10th round, not just in the first. Repetition kettlebell swings and snatches crank up an elite wrestler’s heart rate to 200 in seconds. There is no better conditioning method, period. Just to get an idea of how tough it can get, the U.S. Secret Service Counter Assault Team developed a special gut-check test for its operators: 10 minutes of one-arm snatches with a 53-pound kettlebell. You may switch hands anytime you want, and the total of both arms is

recorded. The team’s record exceeds 250 reps, and if you can’t put up 180 to 190, you’re nobody. OH: In a related matter, kettlebell training has shown how a relatively light weight can be great for flexibility and overall conditioning, but what about brute strength? PT: Inventive gireviks don’t need a heavy barbell to provide progressive resistance. One of my senior instructors, full- champ Steve Cotter, built a pair of legs as strong as any with a grand total of 140 pounds of weight. How can it be? Cotter does rock-bottom one-legged squats, or pistols, with two 70-pound kettlebells. And yes, kettlebell strength has a great transfer to other applications. The man flipped an 850-pound tire the first time he tried it. OH: Given your special-ops background, it seems odd that you are biased toward strength rather than endurance. Please explain yourself. PT: A warrior needs both, but he can’t afford to ignore strength. Because the demands of military service are so endurance oriented, it’s easy to focus on conditioning 100 percent. The point that most soldier-of-fortune types miss is that

without a base of strength they become very injury prone. It’s no secret that by the time a special operator hits 40, his body is wrecked. A friend of mine got a medical discharge from the U.S. Navy Seals after a severe back injury. Today he’s as good as new, thanks to a mix of kettlebell lifts, deadlifts and Olympic lifts. Note that unlike other strength tools, the kettlebell develops strength along many planes and angles and in the extremes of the range of motion. This “in-between strength,” as Marty Gallagher has called it, makes kettlebell practitioners unusually resilient. And if you’ve had injuries, you’ll snap back a lot faster once you start kettlebelling. My senior instructor, Jeff Martone, teaches physical training, close-quarter combat and a few other things at a federal agency. To say the man has lived hard is an understatement. Jeff has had at least 20 nose fractures, his knees and shoulders have more zippers than a biker jacket—you get the idea. Four years ago Martone was contemplating a different line of work as his mileage was catching up to him. Today he can do things he could never do many years and injuries ago—thanks to the Russian kettlebell and our special techniques. Jeff’s story is typical. OH: Can kettlebells be integrated with dumbbells or barbells for strength training?

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Red Zone

Model: Mike Mahler

Muscle Building, Strength and Kettlebell Training

“The one-arm kettlebell military press is the Russian ego lift, akin to the bench in the U.S.”

PT: There are two ways to train with the Russian kettlebell. One is to do it in the context of a sophisticated program that implements other strength tools. That’s appropriate for athletes and coaches who have the education, the experience and the hardware. Ethan Reeve’s strength program at Wakeforest University is a powerful example of that approach. Special operators, martial artists and other minimalists prefer to use the kettlebell as a stand-alone tool. The kettlebell can do anything a dumbbell can do at least as well and with some technical advantages. For example, the kettlebell provides an unsured range of motion on the military press: It doesn’t restrict your shoulder on the bottom, and it stretches it on the top. Hang a

kettlebell on your foot, Russian spec-ops style, and you don’t need a belt for weighted dips or pull-ups. As the Philadelphia Kettlebell Club’s credo goes, “We train with kettlebells in case civilization is temporary—don’t rely on anything you can’t carry.” OH: How do you define a minimalist? Does it mean one who wishes to get maximum impact from minimum exercise? PT: You have only so much time and energy for training. If you’re pursuing multiple goals at once, find exercises that enable you to kill two or more birds with one stone. For instance, if your goals are improving your deadlift and your grip, the one-arm deadlift is an exercise that serves both of your needs. If

you want to build up your bench and your biceps, the maximum powerlifting legal width bench press would address both of your goals. OH: What are the top kettlebell exercises? PT: The swing is the foundation of Russian kettlebell training. It’s exactly what its name implies: a swing of a kettlebell from between your legs up to your chest level. The arm stays straight and loose, and the power is generated by the hips. The motion is akin to the standing vertical jump, except the energy is projected into the kettlebell rather than being used to lift the body. Save for your pecs and tri’s, the swing is a total-body workout and a conditioner second to none. You must experience the swing to appreciate its power.

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Red Zone

Red Zone

OH: What kind of physique should one get from kettlebell training? PT: The kettlebell swing plus the Russian-style military press make up a great program for an aggressive minimalist who wants to be ready for whatever life throws at him and who chooses a doer’s physique along the lines of antique statues—broad shoulders with just a hint of pecs, back muscles standing out in bold relief, wiry arms, rugged forearms, a cut-up midsection and strong legs without a hint of squatter’s chafing. OH: Can you give an example of a basic training routine? PT: Here’s the routine: 5x5 presses per arm, 5x10 swings per arm, wrap up with another 5x5 presses. It’s up to you whether you want to clean the kettlebell once for each set of presses or once before each rep. Don’t fail. If you can’t make the prescribed reps, do more sets of fewer reps to make up the total; for example 3x5, 1x4, 2x3 for a total of

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OH: What’s the difference between your RKC system and other modern styles of kettlebell training? PT: As in martial arts, there are hard and soft styles of kettlebell training. The traditional Russian soft style is characterized by maximum efficiency; keeping the unused muscles relaxed; circular, wavy movements. It evolved into girevoy sport, the sport of repetition kettlebell lifting. I was nationally ranked in G.S. in the 1980s. My RKC is a hard style of kettlebell training born in the spec ops of the Soviet Union. Hard style refers to high muscular tension, forceful breathing and crisp, linear movements. RKC was designed as a strength and conditioning system for combative applications. If traditional kettlebell training is akin to aikido, RKC relates to karate. A U.S. Secret Service instructor described the RKC system as

by Mike Mahler During the past few years an old-school form of weight training called kettlebell lifting has made a comeback in a big way. That’s largely due to the efforts of top strength coach Pavel Tsatsouline, author of The Russian Kettlebell Challenge, who imported this exotic form of strength training from his homeland, where it’s actually practiced as a sport. I know what you’re thinking: “What the hell is a kettlebell anyway?” Imagine a cannonball with a suitcase handle on the top, and you get the idea. Kettlebells come as light as eight pounds and as heavy as 88 pounds. They have thick handles, and due to the way they’re built, the weight is always off center, which helps activate loads of stabilizer muscles. Thousands of people have experienced the cardiovascular and muscular-endurance benefits of ballistic kettlebell exercises, such as the clean and jerk and the snatch. Those are exercises that teach your body to work as one unit; they take muscular-endurance training to the next level. Imagine doing several sprints at full power, and you get an idea of what a high-rep set of kettlebell snatches feels like. In addition to the cardio benefits, many people have benefited from the tremendous fat-burning effects of hard kettlebell workouts. I’ve had clients lose 30 pounds of fat in two months of hard kettlebell training. While anyone who’s done a high-rep set of snatches can attest to the cardio component of kettlebells, few trainees realize that kettlebell training is an excellent way to increase strength and size.

According to Pavel, “The kettlebell will give you an infinite freedom of lifting.”

“simple and sinister.” Today RKC is a school of strength. I have a top-notch team of eight senior instructors who have developed their own branches of the RKC system and helped me refine the foundation. These Americans are advancing Russian kettlebell training as the Brazilians have done for Japanese jujitsu. OH: How can one get started in kettlebell training? PT: Our site, RussianKettlebell. com is your one-stop shop. Books, DVDs, a directory of certified instructors, free training articles, a forum, it’s all there. See what you’re made of. Editor’s note: Next month Pavel discusses fat burning, strength vs. muscle, breaking training plateaus and his favorite training program. Ori Hofmekler is the author of the books The Warrior Diet and Maximum Muscle & Minimum Fat, published by Dragon Door Publications (www.dragondoor. com). For more information or for a consultation, him at [email protected], www.warriordiet.com or by phone at (866) WAR-DIET. IM

Kettlebell bent-over rows.

Here are some ideas that work.

Add Kettlebells to Your Gym Workout One very simple way is to replace all dumbbell work with kettlebells. For example, instead of doing military presses with two dumbbells, use two kettlebells. Instead of doing curls with a dumbbell, use a kettlebell. What have kettlebells got that dumbbells don’t have? Good question. Kettlebells have thick handles, which turns just about every exercise into a grip exercise. As a result, you get bigger forearms. The thicker handles also force you to contract all of your muscles harder to stabilize the kettlebell and hold on to it. Expect more of a mind/muscle connection with kettlebell training than you get with dumbbell training. What’s more, because the weight of a kettlebell is off center, your body is forced to recruit more stabilizer muscles to get the job done. The displaced weight is constantly trying to pull you out, and you have to fight back on every exercise to control it. While kettlebell curls and other isolation exercises can be beneficial, that’s not where the real benefit of kettlebell training lies. The real benefit comes with ballistic exercises such as snatches, swings and clean and presses. In addition to working the hamstrings tremendously, those work the lower back, traps and, in the case of the clean and press, they work the shoulders as well. Such ballistic exercises also teach body synergy—in other words, they teach you how to use several muscle groups at once—which has obvious benefits for athletics. For body­builders it will ramp up your growth hormone levels the way that heavy squats do. In addition to kettlebell ballistic drills, kettlebell core exercises such as the Turkish get-up and windmill build a rock-solid midsection in addition to developing major shoulder stability and flexibility. Bodybuilders always complain about shoulder problems, and now you have a method of building stronger and more stable shoulders that will carry over to improve your gym workouts tremendously. I suggest you add one kettlebell ballistic exercise to each of your gym workouts as well as one kettlebell core exercise. Here’s an example of a sample routine with a few kettlebell drills: Monday and Thursday (upper body) A-1: Barbell bench presses A-2: Kettlebell bent-over rows B-1: Kettlebell military presses B-2: Weighted pullups

5x5 5x5 5x5 5x5

Do each pair in antagonistic fashion. In other words, do one set of A-1, wait 90 seconds, and then do a set of A-2. Wait another 90 seconds and then do another set of A-1. Go back and forth until you’ve done five sets of five on both exercises. Then take a two-minute break and do B-1 and B-2 in the same fashion. Take a oneminute break, and wrap up with:

Muscle Building, Strength and Kettlebell Training

Muscle Building, Strength and Kettlebell Training

The one-arm kettlebell military press is the Russian ego lift, akin to the bench in the U.S. The rules are simple: the fist must be lower than the chin at the start of the press, and the knees must remain locked. That’s a lot harder than it sounds. An overwhelming majority of the bodybuilders who took our 88-pound kettlebell military press challenge at Arnold’s expo could not do it.

OH: What about variety? PT: If you want variety, no problem. The kettlebell’s design, namely a thick, smooth handle removed from a compact center of mass, enables you to do a great variety of powerful exercises. You can swing it between your legs without worrying about taking your knees out. You can hold it like a regular dumbbell or bottom-up for a grip challenge, or you can palm it like a medicine ball. The position of the handle allows dynamic ing of the kettlebell from hand to hand for a great variety of powerful juggling-type exercises. Those drills develop dynamic strength and make the body injuryproof along many planes, unlike conventional linear exercise. The kettlebell will give you an infinite freedom of lifting. It has been said that kettlebells are to traditional free weights what barbells and dumbbells are to machines.

The Kettlebell Solution for Solid Gains in Size and Strength

Model: Mike Mahler

Pavel’s books are available at www. dragon door.com.

25. Rest as little as you can between sets. Start with a lot lower numbers and build up slowly. Train three times a week. Stretch. Eat a cow. Every fourth week take it easy—this means do half the reps on all your sets.

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Red Zone Turkish get-ups (per side) Alternate kettlebell curls (per side) One-arm kettlebell snatches (per side) Wednesday and Saturday (lower body) A-1: Barbell squats A-2: Double kettlebell swings

2x5 2x5 1 x 15 5x5 5x5

Follow the directions discussed for the upper-body workout. Take a two-minute break after you’ve completed all sets of A-1 and A-2 and then wrap up with: Kettlebell windmills (per side) Double-kettlebell clean and push presses

2x5 1 x 10

There you have it: a functional size and strength program that will address your weak links, build your shoulder stability as well as your lower back and add some functional strength to your program.

Kettlebell-Only Workout

Day 1: Upper-body focus PR Zone 1: 15 minutes A-1: Double-kettlebell floor presses A-2: Double-kettlebell bent-over rows Start off doing five to six reps per set and go back and forth between the exercises, taking as little rest as possible. As fatigue kicks in, lower the reps and take longer breaks. Your goal is to do as many total reps of each exercise in the designated personal record, or P.R., zone as you can. Record the total number of reps at the end of each workout. Your goal at the next workout is to do

PR Zone 2: 15 minutes B-1: Alternate kettlebell military presses B-2: Kettlebell biceps curls Follow the same instructions as described for PR Zone 1. Take a two-minute break after PR Zone 2 and then do: One-arm windmills (per side)

2x5

Day 2: Lower-body focus PR Zone 1: 20 Minutes A-1: Double-kettlebell front squats A-2: Double-kettlebell swings Follow the directions for the previous workout. Once you’ve completed the PR Zone, wrap up with; Turkish get-ups (per side)

3x5

Try the above program for one month, and give it everything you have. Expect to have bigger and more developed shoulders, a strong lower back, thicker hamstrings and forearms that look like Popeye’s. Are kettlebells necessary for getting bigger and stronger? Of course not! Kettlebells are not magical tools that will transform you from a skinny runt to a mighty man. Variety is the spice of life, however, and in order to maintain training longevity, you have to keep things fun and interesting. I have yet to meet someone who doesn’t think that kettlebell training is a blast. Many of the exercises are dramatically different from anything you’ve done before. As a result, you’ll be working muscles that you never knew you had and addressing areas of your physique that have been neglected. Whether you’re a professional bodybuilder or just interested in staying in shape, there’s no doubt that you’ll benefit from kettlebell training. Editor’s note: Mike Mahler is a strength coach and senior kettlebell instructor based in Los Angeles. He’s working on the book The Kettlebell Solution to Massive Gains in Size and Strength. For more info visit Mike’s Web site, www.mikemahler.com. IM

Double-kettlebell floor presses.

Model: Mike Mahler

Muscle Building, Strength and Kettlebell Training

Another option that works very well is to do a kettlebell-only workout for a month. It’s a great way to switch up your workouts and shock your body. Plus you can do them anywhere. You can do them at home or do what I like to do: Take two kettlebells to a park for a great outdoor workout. It’s a terrific alternative for times when you’re too busy to make it to the gym. A kettlebell-only program that has worked very well for my clients is the EDT/kettlebell combo. EDT (Escalating Density Training) is the brain child of top strength coach Charles Staley. The goal is to do more volume in less time, increasing intensity and volume, two critical components of getting stronger and bigger. Here’s a sample EDT/kettlebell regimen:

more reps. For example, if you did 25 total reps on each exercise at workout one, strive to do 26 reps at the next session. Take a five-minute break after doing PR Zone 1 and then proceed to PR Zone 2:

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