# Pavel Tsatsouline'S Russian "strength secrets" . . anyone familiar with this guy? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 9, 2003, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pavel-tsatsoulines-russian-strength-secrets-anyone-familiar-with-this-guy/147417 "2003-01-09T01:57:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Vinnie\_Virginslayer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/53a042/32.png) [@Vinnie\_Virginslayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Vinnie_Virginslayer)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2003, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pavel-tsatsoulines-russian-strength-secrets-anyone-familiar-with-this-guy/147417/1 "2003-01-09T01:57:51Z")
We keep getting this magazine “Things You Never Thought Existed” which is a catalog of weird gifts. One of the items that keeps cropping up is a book by this Russian dude Pavel Tsatsouline called “Russian Strength Training Secrets”. He also wrote “Power to the People”. According to the ad, it claims that he uses only two exercises, 20 minutes a day and that these exercises are better than weightlifting. Has anyone tried his system, and what are these two miraculous exercises? I already tried google which pulls up tons of sites, but mostly theory sites. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2003, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pavel-tsatsoulines-russian-strength-secrets-anyone-familiar-with-this-guy/147417/2 "2003-01-09T03:40:29Z")
There are a bunch of reviews on [Amazon](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/stores/detail/-/books/0938045199/customer-reviews/ref=cm_cr_dp_2_1/104-3818748-6247938) that may be helpful. ---
**Author:** ![Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c77e96/32.png) [@Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Speaker_for_the_Dead)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2003, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pavel-tsatsoulines-russian-strength-secrets-anyone-familiar-with-this-guy/147417/3 "2003-01-09T03:53:39Z")
Russian Strength Secrets? Wouldn’t that just be a bottle of steroids? _ducks and runs_ ---
**Author:** ![vasyachkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/c5a1d2/32.png) [@vasyachkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vasyachkin)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2003, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pavel-tsatsoulines-russian-strength-secrets-anyone-familiar-with-this-guy/147417/4 "2003-01-09T04:44:19Z")
there were some interviews with him online too … but don’t remember where … but then, he admits his technique will not get you big, only strong. strength and size are not the same thing. ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2003, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pavel-tsatsoulines-russian-strength-secrets-anyone-familiar-with-this-guy/147417/5 "2003-01-09T04:45:19Z")
I’ve heard a few lifters swear by him. From what I’ve read, I’m suspicious. ---
**Author:** ![Vinnie\_Virginslayer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/53a042/32.png) [@Vinnie\_Virginslayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Vinnie_Virginslayer)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2003, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pavel-tsatsoulines-russian-strength-secrets-anyone-familiar-with-this-guy/147417/6 "2003-01-09T15:51:04Z")
I should have been more specific . . . has anyone read any ohf his books, and can they describe these exercises? ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2003, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pavel-tsatsoulines-russian-strength-secrets-anyone-familiar-with-this-guy/147417/7 "2003-01-09T16:15:00Z")
A good discussion of Tsatsouline’s _Power to the People_appears [on this site](http://sfuk.tripod.com/reviews/pavel_pttp.html). Here are the two exercises in question: > [@](#): > > \*\*The first exercise is the the deadlift. Pavel much prefers it to the squat - although you wonder if it’s because Pavel looks more like a deadlifter than a natural squatter. > > His second exercise is the Side Press. - the old time strongman lift. Basically you hike a barbell overhead with one hand. Yes that’s right, just one hand. Arthur Saxon could hoist over 300lbs that way and Pavel reason’s that if you can get strong in that, then that’s good enough.\*\* ---
**Author:** ![Epimetheus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c4cdca/32.png) [@Epimetheus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Epimetheus)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2003, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pavel-tsatsoulines-russian-strength-secrets-anyone-familiar-with-this-guy/147417/8 "2003-01-09T16:28:09Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by vasyachkin \* > \*\*there were some interviews with him online too … but don’t remember where … > > but then, he admits his technique will not get you big, only strong. strength and size are not the same thing. \*\* Only to a small degree. Neuromuscular adaptation occurs, which is just adaptation of the nervous system basically- but only to a certain degree. Strength/size differences in people are due to genetics, what ratio of slow/fast twich fibers a person has. Read this for more information: [http://weightrainer.com/training/growth1.html](http://weightrainer.com/training/growth1.html) [http://weightrainer.com/training/growth2.html](http://weightrainer.com/training/growth2.html) Basically if you train for strength you are going to get size. It may not be that much, but believe me, the muscle fibers get bigger. ---
**Author:** ![vasyachkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/c5a1d2/32.png) [@vasyachkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vasyachkin)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2003, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pavel-tsatsoulines-russian-strength-secrets-anyone-familiar-with-this-guy/147417/9 "2003-01-10T01:22:26Z")
no, not just genetics. by training with heavy weights you achieve myofibrillar hypertrophy (strength) on the other hand by training with high repetitions you achieve sarcoplasmic hypertrophy (size) without any gain in strength. that is a muscle fiber is a cell, it has within it the motor units (myofibrills) but they only make up part of the volume of the fiber, you can increase the volume without increasing number of motor units and vice versa. at least this is what tsatsouline would tell you 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![vasyachkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/c5a1d2/32.png) [@vasyachkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vasyachkin)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2003, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pavel-tsatsoulines-russian-strength-secrets-anyone-familiar-with-this-guy/147417/10 "2003-01-10T01:23:41Z")
i agree, training for strength will give you size too, but your strength to size ration will increase.