This episode was a real treat. It was one of the most enlightening and lucid conversations about physical training I’ve ever had. If you want strength, power, endurance, and flexibility, it’s all covered in this one interview.
[UPDATE: Pavel also answered your 15 most popular questions in a follow-up episode, now below]
Pavel Tsatsouline is Chairman of StrongFirst, Inc. and was born in Minsk, USSR, which is now part of Belarus.
In the 1980s, he was a physical-training instructor for Spetnaz, the elite Soviet special-forces units. Pavel is now a subject matter expert to the US Marine Corps, the US Secret Service, and the US Navy SEALs. He is widely credited with introducing the now ubiquitous kettlebell to the United States.
You can find the transcript of this episode here. Transcripts of all episodes can be found here.
Over the last several years, Pavel has become a friend, and his input was critical to the success (and experiments) of The 4-Hour Body. His massively popular post on 80/20 Powerlifting and How to Add 110+ Pounds to Your Lifts appears on this blog.
Whether you’ve heard of him or not, prepare to have your mind blown, and I don’t say that lightly 🙂 Enjoy!
- Listen to it on iTunes.
- Stream by clicking here for Part 1 and clicking here for Part 2.
- Download as MP3 by right-clicking here for Part 1 and right-clicking here for Part 2 and choosing “save as”.
This podcast is brought to you by 99Designs, the world’s largest marketplace of graphic designers. Did you know I used 99Designs to rapid prototype the cover for The 4-Hour Body? Here are some of the impressive results.
QUESTION(S) OF THE DAY: What’s the most valuable exercise tip you’ve ever received or learned? Please let me know in the comments.
Scroll below for links and show notes…
Enjoy!
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Selected Links from the Episode
- Learn more about StrongFirst
- Kettlebell: Simple and Sinister by Pavel Tsatsouline
- Antifragile by Nassim Nicholas Taleb
- Deadlift Dynamite by Pavel Tsatsouline and Andy Bolton
- Easy Strength by Dan John and Pavel Tsatsouline
- Learn more about The Four Quadrants by Dan John
- Pick up some Captains of Crush grippers from Iron Mind
- Hardstyle Abs by Pavel Tsatsouline
- The Naked Warrior by Pavel Tsatsouline
- Learn more about Tim’s suggested writing software – Scrivener
- Learn more about Dr. Mark Cheng and the Turkish getup
- The Paradox of Choice by Barry Schwartz
- The trailer for Pavel’s favorite movie – The Magnificent Seven
- Benjamin Franklin: An American Life by Walter Isaacson
Show Notes
- How Pavel and Tim first came in contact [1:00]
- How others define Pavel as “world-class” [2:00]
- Considerations for designing training for top performers [5:00]
- The biggest misconceptions about Pavel Tsatsouline [11:25]
- When in doubt, what’s the minimum you should train? [18:00]
- How to train “grease to groove” [21:15]
- Approaching training as a practice [35:45]
- Prioritizing skills that lead to strength [39:20]
- The most counter-productive myths about strength training [42:20]
- Pavel’s hypothesis for the science behind hypertrophy [48:30]
- What is preventing new powerlifting records? [1:02:00]
- Deadlifts, kettlebells, and the most common mistakes with both [1:10:00]
- Morning rituals [1:13:50]
- Most frequently played music [1:16:50]
- Pavel’s writing mechanics [1:18:05]
- Current professional improvement endeavors [1:21:30]
- Mobility, flexibility, and the goal of full side splits [1:22:45]
- On the malfunction of over-sharing [1:39:00]
- What Americans can learn from former Soviet culture [1:40:20]
- Mitigating distractions [1:48:40]