Strength Sensei Bookshelf

Strength Sensei Bookshelf

The Naked Warrior

Pavel Tsatsouline’s approach to bodyweight strength training

Starting with the negative, there are many disappointing aspects of the softcover edition of The Naked Warrior. It’s a pricey $39.95 and contains two dozen pages of ads, including six pages of testimonials for this book! Yes, it’s 225 pages, but much of that is consumed with especially huge type and monster-size photos that would earn it a place in the Large Print section of a library. That said, the content it does contain could be considered valuable, easy-to-read, and creative.

As with all of Pavel Tsatsouline’s books, he uses a Russian comrade narrative, often referencing the physical superiority of the Russian Special Forces. Pavel tells the reader that the Russian Special Forces would wash their bodies with ashes from bonfires? That they stuffed dry grass inside their foot wraps to keep their feet warm. And, of course, they could make a time bomb from a cigarette and a hand grenade! Seriously, enough already!

Starting with the negative, there are many disappointing aspects of the softcover edition of The Naked Warrior. It’s has a pricey $39.95 and contains two dozen pages of ads, including six pages of testimonials for this book! Yes, it’s 225 pages, but much of that is consumed with especially huge type and monster-size photos that would earn it a place in the Large Print section of a library. That said, the content it does contain could be considered valuable, easy-to-read, and creative.

As with all of Pavel Tsatsouline’s books, he uses a Russian comrade narrative, often referencing the physical superiority of the Russian Special Forces. Pavel tells the reader that the Russian Special Forces would wash their bodies with ashes from bonfires? That they stuffed dry grass inside their foot wraps to keep their feet warm. And, of course, they could make a time bomb from a cigarette and a hand grenade! Seriously, enough already!

The premise of The Naked Warrior is that maximum strength can be achieved with simple bodyweight exercises, such as variations of the pushup.

Supporting his ideas with an oversimplistic explanation of how weightlifters and powerlifters train, Pavel says the way to get strong with bodyweight exercises is with low reps and lots of sets. To modify the exercises to fulfill the requirements of progressive resistance, Pavel says you can do the following:

— Redistribute your bodyweight between your limbs

— Manipulate the range of motion

— Train in an unstable environment

— Change the leverage of the exercise

— Minimize momentum and don’t bounce during the exercises

With modern-day challenges that make going to a commercial gym a challenge, The Naked Warrior shows you can develop high strength levels with just your bodyweight. However, with its oversaturation of advertisements and hefty price tag, save some money and purchase the Kindle version.

[You can purchase Pavel Tsatsouline’s The Naked Warrior: Master the Secrets of the Super-Strong — Using Bodyweight Exercises Only at Amazon.com.]

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