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review: power to the people
by Pavel tsatsouline

Summary

This is a book about strength, pure and simple. Once you strip away the hype, marketing language and tone of the book, what you are left with is a proven and solid method for increasing strength.

The emphasis is on simplicity and sound basics and the book gives detailed instruction in both key exercises and general theory. We recommend this for anyone who wants an easy to follow and more importantly effective introduction to real strength training.

What The Book Promises

Here's a list of what the advert promises the book will tell you...

• How to get super strong without training to muscle failure or exhaustion
• How to hack into your 'muscle software' and magnify your power and muscle definition
• How to get super strong without putting on an ounce of weight
• Or how to build massive muscles with a classified Soviet Special Forces workout
• Why high rep training to the 'burn' is like a form of rigor mortis—and what it really takes to develop spectacular muscle tone
• How to mold your whole body into an off-planet rock with only two exercises
• How to increase your bench press by ten pounds overnight
• How to get a tremendous workout on the road without any equipment
• How to design a world class body in your basement—with $150 worth of basic weights and in twenty minutes a day
• How futuristic techniques can squeeze more horsepower out of your body-engine
• How to maximize muscular tension for traffic-stopping muscular definition
• How to minimize fatigue and get the most out of your strength training
• How to ensure high energy after your workout
• How to get stronger and harder without getting bigger
• Why it’s safer to use free weights than machines
• How to achieve massive muscles and awesome strength—if that’s what you want
• What, how and when to eat for maximum gains
• How to master the magic of effective exercise variation
• The ultimate formula for strength
• How to gain beyond your wildest dreams—with less chance of injury
• A high intensity, immediate gratification technique for massive strength gains
• The eight most effective breathing habits for lifting weights
• The secret that separates elite athletes from 'also-rans'
• How to become super strong and live to tell about it

Does the Book Deliver?

Suprisingly yes... This was the first proper strength book I bought and I still refer back to it today, six years on.

The book strips strength training back to basics - the barbell. With only this piece of equipment, the book shows you how to generate maximum tension and force within your muscles so that you train your nervous system to act more efficently and hence enable your muscles to move heavier weights.

The way to train this way is to do low reps with heavy weights and stay fresh. Simple, but effective. It is by training this way that you can get incredibly strong without having to gain muscle mass.

Any Bad Points?

The whole "Evil Russian" persona can wear a little thin at times, but the info is good and more than makes up for it. After a while it even starts to grow on you a little...

Beware if you are annoyed by cross-marketing as well. There are a couple of plugs for other products in here, but not enough that you can't just ignore them.

Should You Buy the Book?

Although the book can be distilled to a few key principles which, as usual can be found online, its a good read and you won't believe that the principles actually work until you understand the theory behind them.

We say yes - buy the book.

Do the Ideas in the Book Work with CrossFit?

Without a doubt. CrossFit emphasise practise and strength is a skill. Because the book shows you how to train strength without going to failure, the method is a good way to work regular strength training into your CrossFit workouts. So you do your warm-up then crank out a couple of Power to the People exercise sets and then move on to your Workout of the Day without feeling at all fatigued. Good stuff eh...

 

Recommended Kettlebells

Our Kettlebells are supplied by LondonKettlebells.com and are rediculously good quality. Currently they offer FREE DELIVERY within the UK. If you are outside the UK, please check out the Dragondoor Kettlebells range.

Our Mini K-Bell Range

These are great training 'bells and are ideal for ladies whow want to get into Kettlebell training.

	6kg Mini K-Bell - Only £27.50 The lightest Kettlebell in our range, this is recommended for someone with little or no previous exercise experience or for rehabilitation & strengthening purposes. Also a great tool for introducing Kettlebell traiing to your kids.
	8kg Mini K-Bell - Only £34.95 This would be a good starting weight for ladies who are used to gyms, but tend to stick to cardio equipment and machines (in which case please, please, please, consider our Online Personal Training Service!) and are looking to introduce Kettlebells into their training.
	12kg Mini K-Bell - Only £39.95 This one is for ladies who know what they're doing in the weight room and are used to free weights. If you've not used Kettlebells before you should probably kick off with a 6kg or an 8kg. You will make progress quickly however and the 12kg is a nice weight to progress to. Also a good weight for men who have no weightlifting experience.

 

Our Pro-Kettlebell Range

The Pro-Kettlebell Range is awesome. The 'bells are finished to a high-quality and are smooth to the touch unlike a number of other brands which are crudely cast and are rough to the touch. This makes them perfect for the higher rep swings and snatches utilised in CrossFit programming.

	16kg/1 pood Pro-Kettlebell -Only £49.95 FREQUENTLY USED CROSSFIT WEIGHT The 16kg kettlebell is the usual starting weight for the average man. If you train but use machines more than free weights this is where you should start. This weight is frequently used in high-rep CrossFit work and is the standard weight specified for ladies on the benchmark workouts for Swings and Snatches.
	20kg Pro-Kettlebell -Only £59.95 If you're looking for the perfect balance of strength and cardio conditioning with a kettlebell, the 20kg is perfect for most men. We recommend that men who like training with free weights begin with a 20kg as it is a good stepping stone to the 24kg. Some women will also want to use this for developing phenomenal levels of strength.
	24kg 1.5 pood Pro-Kettlebell -Only £69.95 FREQUENTLY USED CROSSFIT WEIGHT Getting heavy now! The 24kg kettlebell is ideal for men who want to get strong and should be used by people with some weight training experience or powerlifters looking to get into kettlebell work. The 24kg weight is the standard weight specified for men on the benchmark workouts for Swings and Snatches.
	28kg Pro-Kettlebell -Only £79.95 Your stepping stone between the 24kg and 32kg Kettlebells. More for the Kettlebell specialits, than CrossFitters, this is a nice challenge to work up to on your way to the 32kg press.
	32kg/2 pood Pro-Kettlebell -Only £89.95 The 32kg Kettlebell is the strength tool of choice for many Kettlebell lifters. If you can press this, then you are STRONG. You're only going to want this if you can comfortably handle the 24kg 'bell and are a Kettlebell specialist.