Pavel Tsatsouline
Pavel Tsatsouline Biography
Birth
23 August, 1969, in Minsk, Belarus (formerly Union of Soviet Socialist Republics)
Family
Wife, Julie.
Wife, Julie.
Career
- Former physical trainer and drill instructor with the Spetsnaz, the Soviet special forces.
- Now a civilian trainer and consultant with the U.S. Marine Corps Martial Arts Program, nuclear-security units of the U.S. Department of Energy and elite units of U.S. Marshals and SWAT teams.
Education:
Physical Culture Institute, Minsk – Degree in Physiology and Coaching
Physical Culture Institute, Minsk – Degree in Physiology and Coaching
Books
- Relax Into Stretch
- Instant Flexibility Through Mastering Muscle Tension
- The Russian Kettlebell Challenge
- Extreme Fitness for Hard-Living Comrades
Others
Contributing editor with Muscle Media Magazine.
Contributing editor with Muscle Media Magazine.
Pavel Tsatsouline Story
Pavel Tsatsouline’s father is a fanatic of self-improvement. It is mainly due to his father that Pavel began to have interest in martial arts and physical conditioning. Naturally, Pavel’s early training is military style physical training: pull-ups, one-legged squats and running. It is only later in his teens; he began to get into kettlebells.
When Pavel first went to America, he opened his first gym inside an abandoned bank vault – ‘courage corner’ as Pavel called it. For him it was a perfect place. The vault is almost sound-proof; you can drop any weights without anyone hearing. He started with basic equipment such as barbells, pull-up stand and power rack. Just to add ‘kicks, Pavel displayed a book titled The History of Torture on his desk.
Pavel is a very resourceful person, he believe that you should not limit yourself. When he first got to America, he trained on the children’s playground. For weight training, he lifted whatever objects he can get his hands on. He made makeshift rings out of nylon webbings tied them to the doorway of a storage locker; though later it proved to be a bit too smart for himself as the nooses tightened around his wrists – leaving him stuck in the doorway.
He used to do dead-lifts and heavy ab work with Bullet-Proof Abs in his bank vault – followed by a kettlebell workout. Nowadays, his training is a mixture of kettlebells, dead-lifts, pull-ups, pistols, heavy abs.
Pavel method is very diverse – everything from yoga techniques to old school power lifting. He mastered the theory and practice of weight training. He gain knowledge from everywhere he can find them – from Russian textbook, neuroscience journal, pre-World War II Strength & Health, and even his website’s forum.
It’s fair to say that Pavel is well-versed in the subject of strength training and human body. Pavel understand the different dynamics between training a civilians and a soldier. He explained that an athlete has the luxury to gain strength by having large muscles, but that’s not the case for a soldier. In wartime muscle rapidly melts away. Most soldiers suffer from malnutrition, sleep deprivation, and stress. A soldier must gain strength by retraining his nervous system to contract his, even shrunken, muscles harder.
If you have any doubts on Pavel Tsatsouline credential, get this: Pavel is subject matter expert to the U.S. Marine Corps, the National Nuclear Security Administration/U.S. Department of Energy, and the US Secret Service.
Pavel Tsatsouline the Evil Russian
People who have worked with him call him the Evil Russian. In the 80’s, he was a physical trainer for the elite Soviet special-forces units, Spetsnaz – preparing Soviet soldiers to fight in Afghanistan.
Pavel Tsatsouline is now an American. He owns Advanced Fitness Solutions Inc., specializing in fitness and conditioning, in Santa Monica, California. This Evil Russian commands the respect from his peers and also his followers. From martial practitioners to soldiers, they avidly seek his advice and follow his suggestions.
Lean and wiry, 6 feet 2 inches tall and a lean 187 pounds. Born to a ballerina, his power is well complemented with grace. You couldn’t find a better advertisement or testament to the fitness program he advocates.
Now Pavel Tsatsouline helps train troops in the U.S. Marine Corps Martial Arts Program, working with the Marines at the Quantico [Va.] U.S. Marine Corps Reservation.
Pavel Tsatsouline’s approach comes entirely from his own experience training in the Soviet Union. He is the author of several fitness books and videos. He often emphasizes that “tension and power are the same thing”. He explained that there are two ways of gaining strength. Simply build yourself a bigger muscle, or learn to contract the muscle that you already have even harder.
Pavel would use this example to demonstrate what he means. Find a partner and squeeze his hands as hard as you can. Then flex you abs muscle as hard as possible (like bracing for a punch) – then contract them as hard as you can. Your friend is going to notice that you’re stronger.
Training with the Marines, he focused on exercise that employs the same principle. In a matter of minutes, the trainees add about a palm’s length to their toe-touch exercise. It is all about the muscle tension, he said. Learn how to increase muscle tension and you will increase the muscle flexibility.
In short, the training provides is greater strength and ability in a relatively short time. They are designed to produce rapid gains. Marines do not have the luxury of spending 10 and 20 years achieving mastery. They have to prepare a troop of fighters in a matter of months and need to get them in top condition for the battles coming ahead. The techniques that Pavel teaches are especially tailored to deliver the instant gain that they need.
Another technique from Pavel is to limit the repetition during workout. Naturally the body will be under stress as you train hard. But training hard does not mean training to muscle failure. Instead of performing sets of 10 repetitions until you can’t do another, do three repetitions with a weight you could have lifted for 5 repetitions. This technique is used by top power-lifter and strength athlete, and has been proved to be a lot more effective and safer.
One thing that can’t be left out when one is mentioning Pavel Tsatsouline is the Russian Kettlebells – the cannonballs with handles. They have been around for decades, used by the Soviet Union since the 60’s. Pavel teaches the old Russian art to the Marines, SWAT teams and the nuclear-security teams of the Department of Energy. Kettlebells help you acquire body skills for doing a lot of things. As Pavel would say, train with kettlebells; improve whatever physical abilities you need.
