Power to the People! : Russian Strength Training Secrets for Every American by Pavel Tsatsouline http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/t...glance&coliid=I18UNLDETHRHGN&me=ATVPDKIKX0DER The book claims to have the ability to teach you to better use your nervous system with your existing muscles thereby increasing your power rapidly without putting on weight. He also teaches 2 exercises that are supposed to allow you to put on muscle mass very quickly if you desire. Apparently this guy is a Russian Martial Artist so I am thinking that his techniques might help out in training. Anyone have any experience with these techinques? Do they work and is it worth the $36.00?
Looks pretty sound to me, although as usual cloaked in marketting hype. It's certainly the right side of the true path - minimalistic heavy lifting using basic compound exercises rather than the six days per week hundreds of sets routines designed to sell bodybuilding mags & supplements. Here's a pretty good review by my buddies over at SFUK.... Review
Thanks a bunch Yoda. I would assume that this style of lifting would not be the best choice for someone who hasn't consistantly lifted in a good year and does not have access to a spotter? My bench is ok but not as good as it could be as I have mostly been doing dynamic tension and barbell based workouts. My main goal is not to gain mass, I really want to just tone and build up strength if possible.
OK - let's get a few things straight.... (((Yoda puts qualified Pro Fitness Trainer hat on))) 1. Strength training builds mass and uses heavy weights. 2. Mass is good. Lean mass that is. The strength of a muscle is directly proportional to the cross sectional area of it's fibres. 3. "Tone" is a made up word used to get people into gyms who don't really want to work hard. It refers to a "firming" of the muscles & has nothing to so with athletic performance. 4. Light weights & high reps will build muscular endurance - and may even lower maximum strength. Endurance training should be part of your overall routine - but there are better ways for the martial athlete to get this than lifting light weights. R4bid - what you need is a good basic HEAVY strength training routine based on a few compound movements - I can & will create you a routine if you give me the following information. I will even monitor & change that routine for you over the months as you make progress. I would need... - Your age, weight & past weight / strength training history. - How often you can train and where (home / gym?) - What equipment you have access to. - Your current weight & body type. - Any limiting factors such as injuries etc that I should know. If you are uncomfortable sharing that info with the world them PM me.
Wow Yoda that would rock! My age: 17 Current Weight: 155 lbs Height: 5 ft 8 inches Bodytype: don't know any techincal terms but I am very wide at the sholders and have very thick ankles, calves and forearms. I have a bit of a stomache but it doesn't droop down over my belt or anything. I try to lift two times a week but have been inconsistant lately, applying to college takes a lot of time but I am done with that now so I can refocus. I train at home. I have access to a bench, an olympic bar, freeweights and a really crumy leg extension thing attached to my bench. The bar is an olympic sized bar so its a bit hard to do non bench activities with it(squats etc...) as my room is pretty small but I could try to clean up more space. I have no limiting factors. My training past(thought it might be helpful) -primarily just benching and free weights -due to long time off from lifting I can only bench about 100lbs (3 x 8) not sure what my max is as I don't have a spotter most of the time and want to play it safe. In addition to lifting and Kenpo I also do -pilates (trying to work off my stomache and get definition in legs as well as increase flexability) -Dynamic tension techniques from Harry Wong's Dynamic Strength book
How much weight do you have? Can you get a chinning bar - the ones that fit in a door frame are ok - here you can get them for about £7 which is about $10.
I have about 350lbs in plates for my bar and I have free weights up to 15 pounds. I am really interested in chinning bars if you mean the bar you would do "chin ups" on. My friend has one and I use it whenever I go over his house. I don't currently have one but if I can find one I could get one if they are that cheap. It would have to be one of the removable ones though.
By free weights do you mean dumbells? A bar with plates on IS free weights! 350lbs huh? Cool - the deadlift & power clean will be your friends
What is your diet like? Eating correctly is about 50% of the equation! You cannot run a Ferrari on diesel Also I'll need your weekly martial arts schedule & any other training you do on a regular basis.
Oh sorry I mean dumbells by free weights. So its 350 lbs plates and 15, 10 and 5 pound dumbells My diet is mostly beef and pasta. I eat three meals a day, not really a snacker but I do drink water often. Breakfast: glass of milk and cereal or a carnartion instant breakfast drink with a granola bar Lunch: A sandwich, usually PB&J or peperoni on a roll or whole grain bread with Apple Juice or skim Milk Dinner: My regulars are home made tacos, pasta, pizza, hamburgers. I also usually have a salad and maybe some fruit (berries or an apple) I am not really a dessert person. Martial Arts schedule -tuesday 2 hours -wednesday 1 hour -friday 1 hour -Saturday 1 hour and then any extra free time I have (not a whole lot) I use to train solo at home. I primarily do kata practice but also work kicking/punching drills, nothing too intensive. I would say I commit about 15 minutes a day every day to solo practice. I have no other regular training
Looks like Monday & Thursday then You'll need to eat more! More often - more protein. You should be eating 1g of quality protein per lb of bodyweight per day and taking a good strong multivitamin & mineral every day. You won't be needing the dumbells- why not sell them and buy that chinup bar?
Good idea about the dumbells. I take a multivitamin every morning. I can try to increase my protein intake, not really sure how I will do it yet but I am sure it will come to me. So should I be having more actual meals or should I be snacking in addition to my meals?
Ok - here's your first routine.... Go nice and easy for the 1st few workouts until you get the hang of it - good form is essential. Monday: Bent leg deadlift - 3 x 15 reps. Use a light weight for the 1st set then as much as you can handle for the other two. Push Press - 3 x 10 reps. Same as above - 1 x light 2 x heavy. A push press is an overhead press done standing, with a slight assistance with your legs tp get the bar moving - like a mini squat of about 6 inches. Do it from your upper chest. Chin ups - palms facing you, shoulder width grip. 3 x maximum reps. 2 seconds to chin up - 4 seconds slow descent. Flat bench press - 3 x 8 reps - you WILL need a spotter sooner or later so get one! Thursday: Front Squat - 3 x 12 reps. Get the weight there using a power clean (see below). Power cleans - 3 x 12 reps (This may help..... Power clean ) Chins - As Monday Flat Bench - As Monday There - that's it. Simple, big compound lifts. Do this, eat right, get enough sleep - and you'll make good progress. Write everything down - how you find each exercise, what weight you use & how many reps you manage. How you feel during and after each workout etc - PM it to me.
Thank you so much Yoda, this is great! Now I just have to get a chinnup bar and find a spotter (parents work and sister would probably drop the bar on me)
Gahhh I am having such a bad day! I am sick so I can't start lifting under your schedule but I did have time to go and check out my lifting setup. It would seem that there is no way for me to make enough room in my weight room to do any off bench work with my bar. So I can't do deadlifts, the push press, front squat or power cleans Why oh why did I get an olympic bar? I have an old standard bar which would fit a lot better (still a tight fit) but my weights are olympic size and wont fit on it. I ordered a chinnup bar and guess what, it was out of stock and is on backorder so I should get it in like 3 weeks ( I got an everlast removable door one) Any advice for alternate exercises till I can gain access to different facilities where I can do deadlifts etc...? (might not be till next year when I go off to college)
