The Naked Warrior: Master the Secrets of the super-Strong--Using Bodyweight Exercises Only

Just one of the things I love about Pavels book, The Naked Warrior, besides the title, is it's simplicity and focus on profound concepts that can only come from a true expert, grounded in experience. And I mean profound, not only in terms of their application to strength, conditioning and development but also to lifestyle. For example, not training to fatigue and depletion, leaves you in a position where you can intensely train your muscles to adapt in size and strength while still having capacity left over, and, avoid the need to go into the typical 48 hours of recovery and healing (like body builders do) before being capable of training a particular muscle set again. This has huge implications for the person that has huge demands on their time and personal capacity and doesn't have the capability to go into 48 hours of healing from a grueling workout taken to fatigue. You can workout in short but powerful stints and get on with your life and still get great results in size and strength. This reminder and adjustment makes this book priceless for me... I feel better, have more control over the use of my time and I'm never really fatigued or walk around like a piece of macaroni waiting to recover. I am doing this now in almost all of my excercise forms including my biking - Short, intense, adaptive, short-of-fatigue workouts - thanks Pavel! A raving fan - John Allen, Founder of [...]

Pavel does an excellent job of showing the novice how to gain strength. He presents simple, practical solutions to building up one's strength one step at a time. Get the book along with the DVD! It helps. Pavel demonstrates the goal, then shows tips on how to build up to that goal. Followed mindfully, his instructions produce positive results. In our era of instant gratification, it is difficult to have the patience to train and condition one's body towards its physical potential. The most frustrating thing is the time it takes. Doing these exercises at Pavel's level does not come in a day, a week, a month, several months. He's had years of training. One must remember this when following his instructions, otherwise, one will get frustrated. Pace yourself and be patient with yourself and you will be rewarded! After a couple of weeks, I certainly could not (and still cannot) do anything remotely resembling his level of prowess, but, I was (and am) stronger, do not suffer as much pain in my joints as I used to, am noticing that my clothing is looser and I'm sleeping better. I highly recommend this video and the book.

The Naked Warrior by Pavel Tsatsouline is not what it seems. When I purchased this book, I expected a book about working out with just ones bodyweight. This book is not that at all. It is a hypothesis that one wants to do some serious strength training, but due to travel, bad timing, or some other circumstance a barbell is not available. Therefore this book focuses on two exercises to get a good strength workout in until you find a barbell handy. Having said that, The Naked Warrior delivers on its intended topic. Obviously, if you don't have weights handy, you must do body weight exercises. When doing bodyweight exercises, one must focus on either making the exercise exceptionally difficult or doing higher and higher repetitions. Doing higher and higher repetitions is not strength work, but rather endurance work. To make the exercise more difficult, you must shift your weight between your arms and legs so that one arm or leg is at a disadvantage or so that your arms (or legs) are carrying a higher percentage of your bodyweight. Two of the most extreme examples of this are the one-armed push-up (OAP) or the one-legged squat (pistol). Of course you can do easier versions of these exercises, for example pistols to or from a high chair, if your strength and flexibility is not quite where it should be. These are the two exercises that are discussed in mind numbing detail in the book. I, for one, normally use about thirty minutes of calisthenics and thirty minutes of aerobics for my workouts. However, I hate doing more than thirty reps of anything. Therefore, I intend to work in OAPs and Pistols into my regular workouts. Of course, at his point, I can only do pistols from a medium level bench, but believe that I can work them into my regular routine and improve to the point where full pistols are possible. At this point, five pistols to a medium chair is test of my strength, flexibility, and balance. Additionally, this book discusses Greasing the Groove (GTG). GTG is the idea that if you do five or less reps of an exercise thoughout the day, you will eventually get to the point where the exercise is effortless. This is tied to the idea that strength is a skill and that training to failure is counter productive because it requires a lengthy recovery time. Additionally, there are some discussions about using breathing to generate extra strength and how to stay tight during exercises. All of these topics are helpful - at least to me - when attempting these two exercises. Bottom line: Nothing in this book is rocket science. Nothing in this book is a super secret of Soviet Strongmen. However, the discussion of proper form combined with discussion about the tension techniques (staying tight) are well worth the cost of the book. My recommendation is to use this book as a handy reference prior to or just after exercising.

Pavel Tsatsouline has never steered me wrong. I only wish I could have discovered his precepts earlier, but as we are contemporaries, that would be impossible. In my 50's with two metal hips and years of wrestling injuries, however, finding his wisdom now has been the next best thing. His ideas concerning strength, flexibility, recovery, and specific training have made me the strongest and least hurting/injured now (at 57) than at any other point in my life. I've bought and read 4 of his books and now search for any podcasts or interviews I can find of his. There is a gem in each of them, and as a former college coach I say to my colleagues: please listen to some of these gems, though they might be a little counter-cultural in the American weightlifting scene. You won't regret it.

I have read this three times now and most recently, I have paid closer attention to everything since I am now out of a job and the company where I worked had a five star fitness center. However thanks to Pavel, I now have kettle bells and have gotten decent with the swing, and the Turkish Get-up is a rest of my life work in progress. I will be adding the tools to the pistol and one arm push-up to my arsenal. Near 60 and with my hips, not sure how I will progress in the pistol. But, if you purchase, read all the fine points to "grease the groove". I need to read these again myself. But with a blend of all provided by Pavel, coupled with Running and Military PT, I have the tools to train at home.

When I first read this book in my early 20s it changed my life. It spurred to my transition from a very weak and physically out of balance long distance runner, to a strong and healthy athlete. The techniques Pavel uses to master the Pistol and One-arm push-up carry over into virtually any exercise, bodyweight or iron. I am writing this review now, years later because I find myself re-reading portions of it to help break a plateau in another program. I am currently working my way through "Get Strong" by the Kavaldo Brothers. I hit a plateau part of the way through, and after re-reading sections of The Naked Warrior, I was able to tap into the appropriate mental cues to break said plateau. The only flaw in this book is the same flaw that is in all of Pavel Tsatsuline's books: the Russia gimmick is a bit annoying. But the content in this book more than makes up for it. This book is worth the price, and recommended reading for anyone serious about strength training, whether they are using bodyweight, kettlebells, or barbells.

Pavel is a gifted "warrior", who has mastered calisthenics to the highest level. Most of us will not be able to achieve what he has. A wonder to watch, but I feel I am on the outside who cannot empathasize with his physical prowess.

This is a good book by Pavel for advanced fitness gurus. The two primary exercises of the one-arm pushup and the one-legged squat are awesome strength builders. Individuals who have been exercising for several years will see these exercises as a possible goal to accomplish during their fitness adventure. For beginners and average fitness enthusiasts these two exercises will be more challenging and take longer to accomplish perfect technique in each movement. A key benefit to this book is that the exercises do not take up a whole lot of time. You do not have to perform numerous amounts of repetitions in order to be effective. On strength and conditioning days you can begin to perform 1 rep of each exercise and progress to additional repetitions. In that sense, not a lot of time is used. If you are a beginner, I greatly suggest you master the two arm push-up varieties before attempting a single one-arm pushup. Furthermore, beginners should start the one-arm push-up from your knees and progress from there. For the "pistol" or one-legged squat, I suggest beginner's should also master the two-legged squat varieties. Additionally, beginners should use some form of support like a bench or box until you are comfortable with the one-legged squat. Overall The Naked Warrior is full of helpful information but based on one's fitness level will determine how long you can master the exercises.

In questo libro Pavel spiega un'ottima propedeutica per imparare il pistola squat e il one hand push up (piegamenti o flessioni a una mano) e numerose varianti di questi 2 esercizi. Trovo che sia molto importante per allenarsi senza attrezzatura, ovviamente è solo in inglese

L'auteur se focalise ici sur le développement de la force, il ne s'agit aucunement de parler prise de masse ou de développer son endurance au travers de séries longues. Il préconise donc des séries courtes (3 reps maxi), jamais de travail à l'échec et surtout de s'exercer le plus souvent possible. Le contenu de son programme est quant à lui restreint à seulement ... 2 exercices : Pompes à une main et squats profonds sur une jambes. Ca peut paraître court mais les exercices dont il est question sollicitent énormément de groupes musculaires avec une excellente intensité. Il propose évidemment des variations plus faciles, vu que ces exercices ne sont pas à la portée du premier venu, le but restant de parvenir à exécuter ses mouvements. Il s’étend également longuement sur la respiration et l'importance de travailler en tension maximale pour développer sa force, ainsi que la nécessité de s'exercer aussi souvent que possible sans jamais atteindre l'échec toutefois, l'idée étant de rester frais mais de bosser en intensité maximale sur un laps de temps très court mais répété tout au long de la journée. J'ai trouvé en cet ouvrage un parfait complément à la série Convict Conditionning 1 & 2. Je le déconseille cependant à des pratiquants débutants vu le manque de structure de la méthode, il apporte par contre beaucoup à qui veut débloquer une situation de stagnation.

Dentro del libro hay opiniones sobre como las técnicas de Pavel los hace aumentar sus repeticiones. La verdad es que no es mi caso, al aplicar sus técnicas la calidad de mis ejercicios mejoró y tengo mejores resultados con menos repeticiones. Es un básico no sólo para "naked warriors" sino también para aquellos interesados en el entrenamiento de fuerza

Es un libro que propone retos muy considerables para ejercicios simples pero muy exigentes. Es un libro muy practico escrito de una forma muy clara. Eso si, en ingles.

Although this book ist written for advanced people (as a beginner you would certainly not think about progressions behind (!!!!) onearmed pushups and pistols (onelegged squats)), it is definitely the ultimate source for anyone who wants to speed up his strength training. I integrated this logic into my own calistenics training and love the results. Highly recommended !