The Naked Warrior [Paperback]

Pavel Tsatsouline (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 2003

Have you noticed-the greater a man's skill, the more he achieves with less? And the skill of strength is no exception. From the ancient days of Greek wrestling, to the jealously guarded secrets of Chinese Kung Fu masters, to the hard men of modern spec ops, warriors and allied strongmen have developed an amazing array of skills for generating inhuman strength.But these skills have been scattered far and wide, held closely secret, or communicated in a piecemeal fashion that has left most of us frustrated and far from reaching our true strength potential.Now, for the first time, Russian strength expert and former Spetsnaz instructor Pavel has gathered many of these devastating techniques into one highly teachable skill set. In The Naked Warrior Pavel reveals exactly what it takes to be super-strong in minimum time-when your body is your only tool.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Pavel Tsatsouline, Master of Sports, is a former Spetsnaz physical training instructor and a nationally ranked athlete in the Russian military applied sport of kettlebell lifting.He is the author of seven books and numerous videos on strength and flexibility.

Product Details

• Paperback: 218 pages
• Publisher: Dragon Door Publications (December 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0938045555
• ISBN-13: 978-0938045557
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.4 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (65 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #75,981 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #91 in Books > Health, Fitness & Dieting > Exercise & Fitness > Weight Training

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

168 of 173 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars The Skill of Strength....and some advertisements to boot, April 27, 2006

By 

Jo-Be-Se - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Naked Warrior (Paperback)

What can I say? Pavel is always a blend of the best and the worst in the fitness genre. He has some of the most intriguing, refreshing, hard-to-find, scientifically proven information out there. Like him or hate him, one cannot deny his genius and authority. At the same time, he is a salesman without peer. I'm glad to see him enjoying the benefits of free-market capitalism, but he could do without adding so much fluff and hyperbole to his books. His rhetoric can leave the uninitiated distrusting numerous other exercise methodologies, many of which are legitimate. Yes, as Pavel says there has been a softening of the fitness industry in america, but one does not have do subscribe to his version of "hardcore" fitness to see results.
The book itself is a tomb of information on how to build maximum strength using just your body and some floor space. Pavel covers only two exercises - the one-arm pushup and the one-leg squat (he calls it "the pistol" not a bad marketing techqnique). Despite this, as with most of Pavel's books, one can apply the techniques to a number of different exercises. Some of his techniques (such as body-tension, etc.) can be applied to traditional weight-lifting exercises, and are even covered in his book Power to the People. That's the reason this book receives 3 stars. It is packed with useful information.
The problems with this book are typical of all of Pavel's works. He argues that his is THE WAY to build muscle and strength. This is simply not so. Stuart McRobert, Mejia and Berardi, Zatsiorsky, etc. all have ideologies that disagree with Pavel on certain issues, and all of them work.
Pavel also charges too much for his books. He could easily meld this, Power to the People, and Russian Kettlebell Challenge into one book. The raw "lifting methodologies" are not so different between the two. Indeed much of the same information is covered in all three. The difference is in the implement used for exercise. With the few exercises Pavel includes in each (body-weight, barbell, and kettlebell) he could easily throw it all into one book for $34.95 and that would be worthwhile.
Last, Pavel has this annoying habit of throwing in product ads and intentionally leaving certain segments incomplete. He keeps selling future books by leaving certain chapters incomplete, and he pushes his "Ab Pavelizer" to no end. All in all this is fine, but it makes me question his commitment to true fitness versus his commitment to his wallet.
My recommendation? Buy it if you have a general background in lifting methodology and you can find it for less than list price. If you can't satisfy both of those requirements this book isn't worth your time.

131 of 142 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Some good info, but..., December 12, 2004

By 

E. Dahlberg "jack of all trades master of some" (state of ignorance, KY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Naked Warrior (Paperback)

I bought this book along with John Petersons Pushing Yourself To Power. I have to say I greatly prefer PYTP.

The Good
An excellent section on muscle control, breathing, "the corkscrew" zipping up.
I found the desrciptions helpful in guiding my muscles. They work.
The Bad
The book is full of annoying repetition of statements and huge type! I absolutely hate the number of times something is written in a paragraph, blown up into an enormous title/caption on the next page and then summarized all in about 2 pages. This book could of easily been half the number of pages it is.
The one arm pushup and the pistol are not for beginners! You really need to already be in decent shape before you start on the path to doing these exercises.

I plan on returning to this book in the future when my body is in better shape (I am about 35 lbs overweight- Currently 5' 6" 180 lbs.) I want to make it clear that I have no doubt that these exercises are effective, just don't get the book and plan on being able to do them the next day.

In conclusion- good info, bad book layout. Pushing yourself to power is much better for bodyweight exercises in my opinion.

210 of 247 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars A slight exageration to offset all of the fives., May 12, 2004

By 

. (Chicago, IL USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Naked Warrior (Paperback)

Yes Pavel has some good ideas for increasing one's demonstrable strength, and yes, one-armed pushups, and one-legged squats are perfect, no-equipment-needed ways to take one through the full range of difficulty in the major muscle groups, BUT why must he be so frugal with his information!. The principles are the same espoused in previous Pavel books and tapes, with two different movements. Every three of his books, (at least), could, and should, be condensed into one, with smaller print, less salesmanship, and a touch of intellectual generosity. I love way his proponents make the sparse number of movements seem like a virtue. It's not, not at $39.95, and not when I KNOW he'll be coming out with another product that reveals some 'secret'; that he's held back until all of the possible income has been derived from this one.