Praise for Pavel Tsatsouline and the First Edition of Beyond Crunches

"In my capacity as a leader of Marines, I have to continually balance the matters of mission and training. There is never enough time to train Marines to the standard that exists in a leader's mind. However, if I were to recommend one Physical Training program to develop a Marine's overall strength and fighting capability, it would be one prescribed by Pavel Tsatsouline. His exercise principles are well researched, easy to implement, and focus directly on a functional end-state: high caliber efficiency. He is a man of extensive knowledge, vast experience, and boundless enthusiasm. However, while his skills are legion, he escues the chest pumping, "look at me" attitude and focuses an iron will on the trainee. This fact is rare in today's world of self-promotion and provides a learning atmosphere that is unparalleled. From hoisting his beloved Kettlebells to Janda sit-ups to one-legged squats, results are declarative. Anyone serious about getting fit - and in particular the military or law enforcement professional - should stop looking for a better piece of equipment or diet supplement and get 'Pavelized.' There is no substitute for hard work and knowledge. Pavel has both in tremendous quantity and quality." 

Lieutenant Colonel George H. Bristol, USMC
Director, Marine Corps Martial Arts Program

Up to 60% of punching power comes form the midsection. Also, a great deal of kicking power comes from the same source. Anyone of us who has pulled a muscle in that area and tried to practice can attest to just how much their midsection accounts for. There is also that aspect of a strong midsection acting like armor for the soft internal organs. It's clear that a strong midsection is important to a martial artist.

The problem is, how do we do it? Crunches don't work. How do you work your obliques? Your back? Generally we're told to do low-load exercises as a way to avoid injury, but do they really work? Not very well.

Enter Pavel…

He explains that in order to have a good deal of residual muscle tension (strong, hard, tight abs) one must perform high-tension exercise which translates as as much load as you can stand for 5 to 12 reps (depending on your goal). This is very different to what we've all been taught in our gym classes growing up!

Much of what I said about Pavel Tsatsouline's other work, Power To The People, applies to this book as well. It has the functionality of a cookbook while presenting the information you would expect in a textbook. It is also a very enjoyable and entertaining read with many sidebars and anecdotes.

Included in this text are a myriad of abdominal exercises. These are somewhat necessary because, as Pavel explains, a body will adjust to an exercise, becoming more efficient in performing a specific movement, over the course of a month. To continue getting maximum results from your exercise regime, it is necessary to change something, like the movement, the load or the number of repetitions, etc. Perhaps just as important, anyone following his directions will never risk being bored with their workout! The exercises range from the unusual "Janda Situp" which is a partnered drill where the hip-flexors are "tuned off" through the use of an interesting little reflex, to the elegantly simple "straight legged sit-up, to the down-right brutal and torturous "Dragon Flag", Bruce Lee's favorite abdominal exercise.

Also, unique and unusually effective exercises are provided for the obliques and the lower back (but I think the deadlifts in Power To The People are more complete with respect to the lower back). In my opinion, Beyond Crunches is worth purchasing JUST for the "full contact twist" drill in and of itself. You won't believe how effective this is for increasing punching power.

Recently Pavel has started to market a device he calls "The Pavelizer", a gizmo that lets people perform the "Janda Sit-Up", which is normally a partnered drill, by themselves.

This book, as all his others, is targeted at a martial arts audience. I've found that the techniques he presents are very effective and well thought out and extremely well illustrated. This book spends much more time in my workout bag than it does sitting on a shelf collecting dust." 

-Gulo Gulo on CyberKwoon.com

"Thank you for the great job you did in your presentation (on abdominal training) at the Arnold Fitness EXPO Seminar. We received uniformly favorable comments concerning the quality of your instruction and the content of your message. As you know the fitness enthusiasts we attract to our seminars are very knowledgeable individuals. Hence, their supportive feedback concerning you and your presentation is of special significance." 

-James J. Lorimer, Schwarzenegger/Lorimer Productions

"I am writing on behalf of the entire Board of Directors of the Texas Tactical Police Officers Association to express our sincere gratitude to you for helping with our Conference 2000. We trained 536 officers from 129 agencies. 

Your portion of the instruction was a huge success. All of the student critiques were very complimentary. As a team leader with the Houston Police Department SWAT team, I am constantly looking for new ways to improve my physical performance. According to the student comments, you have truly introduced a new and revolutionary fitness program to our members. In particular, our members commented on your common sense, practical exercises that utilize a minimum amount of equipment to achieve the very goals that other instructors require thousands of dollars of equipment to achieve. These techniques will help each officer reach new levels of fitness and ultimately improve their ability to protect the communities they serve. It is our mission to provide the very best training available, anywhere. Your efforts helped make that possible. " 

-M.L. "Sandy" Wall, Training Advisor

"I have seen many abdominal routines in the last 25 years and the Beyond Crunches program is the best yet." 

-Steve Maxwell, M.Sc., Senior World Brazilian Jujitsu Champion

"As a world record holding powerlifter, I know the importance of strong abs on maximum power performance. Beyond Crunches is THE text and authority on ab/trunk stability." 

-Dr. Fred Clary, National Powerlifting Champion and World Record Holder

"I learned a lot from Pavel's books and video, and plan to use many of his ideas in my own workouts, especially the nontraditional ab exercises described in Beyond Crunches." 

-Clarence Bass, Most Muscular Man, Mr. U.S.A, Past 40, author of Ripped 1, 2 & 3 and Lean for Life

See more praise for Pavel Tsatsouline and the First Edition of Beyond Crunches

Do You Make These Mistakes When You Train Your Abs?

Employ These Little-Known Tips from Elite Athletes and Possess Your Own Set of Awesome Abs

Protect your back and develop exceptional abdominal muscle tone, with a landmark exercise designed for the special needs of Russian ballet dancers and gymnasts. Employ the secret ab weapon of an old time strongman-famous for his exceptional strength and sinewy, wiry physique. This insider's secret from East German research radically empowers the traditional situp. Russian full contact fighters used this drill to pound their opponents with organ-rupturing power, while turning their own midsections into concrete. Unlike anything seen in the US! This simple Yoga asana tightens the internal muscles of the abdominal wall and makes your waist smaller-even if you have not lost a pound!

As a former Soviet Union Special Forces conditioning coach, Pavel Tsatsouline already knew a thing or two about how to create bullet-stopping abs. Since then, he has combed the world to pry out this select group of primevally powerful ab exercises-guaranteed to yield the fastest, most effective results known to man.

According to Pavel, "Crunches belong on the junk pile of history, next to Communism. 'Feeling the burn' with high reps is a waste of time!" Save yourself countless hours of unrewarding, if not useless-if not damaging-toil. Get with the program. Make fast gains and achieve blistering, rock-hard abs now.

Fry your abs without the spine-wrecking, neck-jerking stress of traditional crunches-using this radical situp designed by the world's leading back and muscle function expert, Professor Janda, from Czechoslovakia.

No one-but no one-has ever matched Bruce Lee's ripped-beyond-belief abs. What was his favorite exercise? Here it is. Now you can rip your own abs to eye-popping shreds and reclassify yourself as superhuman.

When it came to wanting titanium abs yesterday, the Soviet Special Forces didn't believe in delayed gratification. Pavel gave them what they wanted. If you want abs that'll put you in the world's top one percent, this cruel and unusual drill does the trick.