Power
to the People!
Russian Strength Training Secrets for Every
American
by
Pavel Tsatsouline.
Table of Contents
Foreword
Wired for power:
superstrength without bulk
How to install a ‘muscle software’
upgrade into your nervous system and improve your strength and muscle tone….Why the
fascination with bodybuilding has led to a decline in effective strength training….
Futuristic techniques which enable you to squeeze more horsepower out of your body-engine.
Tension! What force is
made of
How tension generates force…..How to
maximize muscular tension for traffic-stopping muscular definition…The five keys to
high tension training…The inverse relationship between velocity and
strength….Flexing to maximize tension…The function of the mechanoreceptors in
regulating strength….Using Henneman’s size principle to maximize muscular
recruitment....Why high values of fatigue and tension are mutually exclusive.
Training to
failure–or to success?
Why the strongest men and women in the world
have never trained to failure….Why intensity is the single most important factor in
strength training….The fallacy of ‘pushing to the limit’…The only
scientific definition of weight training intensity….. Pushing the limits of
weight/tension, not reps/exhaustion…..Why training to muscle failure is
counterproductive… Greasing the neural groove using the Hebbian rule.
Don’t water down
your strength with reps and fatigue!
How to minimize various types of fatigue and
get the most out of your strength training…
How to ensure high energy after your
workout….Why performing more than five reps per set hinders strength
development….Why you need to increase the rest intervals between sets….Why
it’s best to do only two sets….Why you need to pause and relax between
reps…How build greater ligament strength by "locking and
loading"….Surprising advice on how often to practice a lift for optimal gains.
More low rep
advantages
Three reasons why heavy low rep training is
the safest way to lift…. Why the stabilizing muscles are prematurely fatigued during
high-rep sets…. Why most serious injuries occur during fatigued states….Why
bodybuilders suffer from more pec tears than powerlifters….the significance of
concentration for injury prevention…Low reps for a better quality of life…Why
heavy low reps can have a tonic, energizing effect on the nervous system.
Rigor mortis,
or why high reps failed to tone you up
Why going for the 'burn' doesn’t
work….What is ‘real’ muscle tone and how do you get it?…..building
muscular tension from neurological activity, not energy exhaustion….Increasing muscle
tone through a more alert nervous system…Why strength and tone training is the same
thing….why deadlifts work best for steel glutes…How to get maximum definition in
your triceps…Why training heavy is the best way to get ripped….
"But I don’t
want to bulk up!"
Why lifting heavy doesn’t have to
translate into bulking up….What makes a biceps grow?…. How to get stronger and
harder without getting bigger…minimizing muscular tear-down and reconstruction….
Increasing your muscles’ packing density….Why a denser muscle is a harder
muscle.
"Machines are the
wusses' way out"
Why it’s safer to use free weights than
machines…..And why using the strength built on an exercise machine is like shooting a
cannon from a canoe….How machines create micro-trauma, pattern overload and eventual
injury….Why the Soviet Olympic teams considered free weights their best chance for
winning a Gold.
Isolation exercises,
Frankenstein’s choice
The dangers of isolation
exercises….Paying attention to the kinetic chain for optimal performance…The
importance of building inter-muscular coordination for functional strength….Why
deadlifts can help you run faster and jump higher.
Irradiation: the
science of getting strong and hard with only two exercises
The Sherrington Law of
Irradiation……The neural ‘turn on’…. How a hard-working muscle can
cheerlead its neighbors into amplifying their strength….Why compound exercises are
more effective strength builders than isolation moves…Designing a superior efficiency
strength workout…. Starting a chain reaction and bringing every muscle in your body
into play…..portrait of the deadlifter as supreme muscleman…Why the deadlift is
THE exercise of choice for everyone, from computer geek to Olympic athlete…..Why the
deadlift is more effective than the squat…. How the deadlift strengthens the lower
back, traps, scapulae retractors, lats, forearms, and hamstrings….Why the deadlift
may be the best abdominal exercise, bar none…..How to develop your pressing
prowess….How to correctly perform the side press.
How to emphasize your
problem areas without adding exercises
How to shape your body with only two
exercises….Why you cannot reshape an individual muscle….Why genetics makes a
difference…. Tweaking the basic drill to shift a lion's share of the load to your
problem area…Specializing on your weakness while working the rest of your muscles
adequately—without adding exercises.
How to become a
bear: a Soviet commando’s muscle building secret
If you want massive muscles and awesome
strength….How a Russian trooper was able to sport sixteen inch arms-of-steel in just
two months of training—and go on to lift 40-50 tons every workout…How
compression of rest intervals promotes growth hormone production and maximizes
testosterone
Last three
pieces of the big biceps puzzle
How to build huge muscles on a program of
deadlifts and presses only….What, how and when to eat for maximum gains….The
importance of rest….Why you need to reduce stress to protect your gains—and how
to do it best.
Virtual
masculinity, or "Can I get built up with a very light weight by pumping my muscles
up?"
‘Muscle spinning’,
‘fake’ muscle growth and the Potemkin village phenomenon….The
two types of muscle growth—which one
maximizes strength and makes you rock hard.
On variety,
soreness, and keeping things in focus
How the rebound phenomenon affects your
strength program….Mastering the magic of effective exercise variation….The
danger of switching routines….The importance of focused superhuman effort….How
to remain relatively free of muscle soreness…..The benefits of simplicity over
complexity.
Cycling: the
Russian breakthrough for continuous improvement (and an excuse to work hard part time)
The fallacy of the Milo myth…..The
pitfalls of over-prolonged training….Making improvements through
reduction….Periodization or cycling—a revolutionary approach to strength
training…..How to make gains year after year….Why ‘softening up’ can
reward you with new strength breakthroughs…The ultimate formula for
strength…..How to gain beyond your wildest dreams—with less chance of
injury….How to avoid burnout….How to perform the Linear Cycle for new personal
records….. Wave cycling and dealing with gaps in your training….The Flexible
Wave Cycle….. The Structured Wave Cycle…. The Step Five Cycle.
Hyperirradiation:
how to boost your strength and safety at the same time
How to hack into nature’s neural
software to maximize strength training effectiveness and efficiency….The reflex arc
for easier, safer deadlifts….How to milk irradiation for all its strength amplifying
worth.…..Hyperirradiation—the high intensity, immediate gratification technique
for massive strength gains…How to increase your bench press by ten pounds
overnight… Three ‘Anti-isolation’ techniques for added strength and greater
workout safety….How Japanese sanchin techniques can add power and stability to your
training….The importance of full tension….How to avoid dissipating your
strength…The three greatest benefits of hyperirradiation.
Hard abs +
strong hands = powerful body
Stimulating the forearm musculature for
enhanced lifting ability….The importance of grip strength….. Avoiding ligament
damage and carpal tunnel syndrome…..Abs—the weak link limiting everyone’s
performance…How flexing the abs amplifies the power of your lift.
Power breathing: the
karate secret of superstrength
How to elevate intra-abdominal and
intra-thoracic pressure for additional power….The pneumo-muscular
reflex……How to potentiate ‘muscle excitability’ for further strength
gains….How to safely hold your breath for greater lifting power—and when the
Valsalva maneuver may be contraindicated…..Why you shouldn’t wear a lifting
belt…..The best-ever ab exercise?…..Avoiding back injuries and
hernias…..Increasing your overall strength with the pneumo-muscular
reflex….Rectal sphincter contraction for amplifying strength…. The eight most
effective breathing habits for lifting weights.
Slow and steady
wins the race
How to simultaneously maximize training
effect, safety, and performance….The benefits of slowness.…Why gymnasts have the
most spectacular muscular definition…Why ballistic cheating is a loser’s
game….Straining and grinding for maximum lifts….How the firing rate burst can
turn you into a lifting crash-and-burn victim….How gunning the weight can kill your
lift….Super slow for massive go…..Teaching your nervous system how not to give
up.
Feed-forward
tension—how to acquire the strength of the mentally deranged
Frantz’s Third Commandment of
Powerlifting…..How to trick your feed-back loop and surge to new strength
gains….Pulling the brake from under your gas pedal…..Disinhibition training, the
hottest new direction in strength training……Employing feed-forward tension to
maximum advantage…. How ‘virtual lifting’ builds strength…..How to
successfully ignore reality….Using internalization as a secret weapon in strength
training.
Pre-tension for
max power and safety
Maximal flexing of the muscles for greater
strength and safety…. The three types of contraction and which gives the highest
values of tension….The secret that separates elite athletes from 'also-rans'.
Successive induction: how
to get a strong biceps by contracting your triceps
Why antagonist pre-tensing, or successive
induction, contributes lasting changes to your strength….. successive induction for
superior joint stabilization and reduced joint stress.
On shoes, gloves and
mirrors
Less strength, more injuries—why
it’s better not to wear shoes when you lift—and what to wear if you have
to…. Achieving a power boost with the positive support reaction…..sensitizing
the extensor reflex receptors for heavier lifts…Why wearing gloves weakens your
presses….Why mirror-gazing can be the difference between mediocrity and
greatness….Blindfolded lifting for developing superior ‘muscle-joint sense’
and better body awareness.
Power stretching
Becoming super strong and living to tell
about it….Speeding recovery and reducing injury with power
stretching….Increasing muscle growth 334%—with progressively more intense
stretching…. 9.4% strength increases using Loaded Passive Stretches between
sets….
Why Eastern European sports scientists consider
stretching a form of strength training…. The importance of Shutdown Threshold
Isometrics and Fascial Stretching.
The drills
Forging your body into an off-planet
rock….The only equipment you need…..Loading correctly…..Performing a
deadlift correctly….Grip, posture, breathing….How to lower the weight….The
five keys to an impeccable deadlift….. The Sumo Deadlift for steel glutes….
The Modified Romanian Deadlift for stronger
hamstrings and granite calves…. The Duck Deadlift off a Platform for eye-popping
quads…. The Snatch Pull for rock hard lats and upper back…..The Clean Pull for
exceptional hand and forearm strength….The Deadlift Lockout for midsection, traps,
and grip emphasis…. The Side Press—seven reasons to make it the press of
choice…. The Floor Press for pec emphasis…. The Curl Grip Floor Press for biceps
and lateral triceps emphasis—and for fixing wrecked shoulders….. The Barbell
Curl—for those who insist.
The Power to the People!
Manifesto
Getting back to the
basics—the Holy Grail of true power and strength…..Power to the People!, a
‘simplex’ approach to strength training….the no frills power formula for
everyone….On brutally effective essentials—Bruce Lee’s final word.
Item# B10
$34.95.
124 pages, over 100 photographs and illustrations.
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