What a fascinating book! I have not read his other books, nor was I aware of professor Pavel until I started weight training in earnest 2 months ago. I was able to gauge what the book was more or less about by reading other reviews here. Then I ordered it for myself from Amazon. It is obviously the work of a genius mind. It covers a lot of things, which might seem odd when you think that the kettlebell system he advocates works towards really just two (or you could say "two and a half") movements: the Turkish Get Up and the Single Hand Swing (but using the two hand swing at first to progress towards single handed swings.) The basic theory is that you start with lighter kettlebells and progress to heavier ones. For a healthy male you basically start with a 24 kg one and then progress to double that weight over time. Given that most men out there probably do not own a kettlebell heavier than 16 kg, this is of course a challenge. To my understanding, the goal is to do apparently 50 swings with the right hand and 50 with the left with the 48 kg heavy kettlebell. Then, you do 5 Turkish Get Ups on each side (left and right) and that's the whole programme.
Here is my conundrum. While I was a bit fat and flabby before starting my weight training, I've found that my watered down version of Pavel's wisdom works fine for at least keeping me in good, fit shape, allaying back pain, and making me feel energetic, youthful and happy. I do a total of a few hundred swings a day, mostly with the mere 16 kg bell, although some with the 24 kg one, which is the heaviest one I currently own. I seem to just do one or two Turkish Get Ups a day per side (left and right). However, I do 6 bent presses a side and about 12 push ups. It's such a paltry, watered down version of Pavel's already minimal programme, but it works beautifully, and it's super fun and feels great! I just don't feel the motivation to push myself beyond it. I'm already strong and fit. It's a weird conundrum!
I learned myriad things from this book. I really like how he points out that the scientific wisdom as to WHY muscles grow has changed from muscle micro tears to hormonal signals from the brain. As he makes clear, all that matters is that weight lifting makes you stronger and your muscles bigger! Good point! There is probably even much more to discover about the magic that makes the body work! Another fascinating thing is that the one arm swings are 50% more exercise than single arm swings, which is why he wants us to work towards really just doing those on a regular basis. The point about how velocity turns the relative lightness of kettlebells into great weight is another key fascinating point in the book. He says he has measured the kettlebell "weighing" 500 pounds of force during down swings! Wow! No wonder I'm getting so strong even with the kettlebells on the lighter end of the spectrum!
I also love the links he makes with martial arts. I've improved my martial arts practice immensely due to the strength and flexibility I've gotten from the watered down version of the programme I'm using.
I'm super impressed with this genius author/trainer, and I'm so happy I bought this book and am living by its tenets! It's a whole new life for me! I'm attractive, strong, healthy. Good.
An update: I've now been on the programme for a few months since writing the above review and I've progressed to 32kg for the entire programme. I do it exactly as described, and I'm in amazing shape, look like a 20 years old, feel like an Olympian, and I don't get sick any more either. The programme is a Godsend, which makes Pavel a... ENJOY!
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The definitive entry program for kettlebell lifting
*** Update 10/31/19: Immediately below is my review of the first/original edition. See below for a review of the Revised and Updated edition released on Kindle on 10/30/19 ***I committed to begin exercising 15 months ago, nearing age 30 and being out of shape and at a threshold weight and amount of body fat that I knew would be much harder to lose if I waited any longer to address.I had seen an article about kettlebells on the Art of Manliness blog a few years ago, and another book (“Eat Bacon, Don’t Jog”) got me really interested. It didn’t take long to come across Pavel Tsatsouline, StrongFirst, and “Simple & Sinister”. I started in October 2016 with a 16kg kettlebell, reached the time standards with a 24kg bell in February, and reached Simple proper (32kg) in August. I trained 3-5 days a week, following the book exactly (warmup, swings, getups, stretches) in about 45 minutes.I can’t speak highly enough of this book. The program is simple but effective. It requires a shift in your mindset from “working out” to “practice”, for “Strength is a skill”. A “blue collar” mindset where your job is 15 goblet squats, 100 swings and 10 getups done hard enough to get it done quick, but not so hard that you can’t do it again tomorrow.The progressions, warmups, drills, exercises proper, and cool-down stretches are thoroughly illustrated. One small criticism is the dark clothing against a dark background makes it harder to see than something like a gray background.If you follow the program as written, you WILL get stronger, guaranteed. This is a “general physical preparedness” program, not designed to specifically improve a sport or something like powerlifting (though it likely will). It is in essence a “minimum effective dose” foundational strength and conditioning program.I lost 30 pounds, developed forearms like Popeye (stabilizing 70 pounds overhead while moving underneath it for 60 seconds, 10 times a day, 5 days a week, will do that for you), stronger abs and obliques (the anti-rotation effect of heavy one-arm swings), and mobile hips (goblet squats).This is the definitive starting point for kettlebell training. Attaining the Simple standard is your passport to other great kettlebell training programs, such as the Rite of Passage from Pavel’s previous book “Enter the Kettlebell”, which adds the snatch and clean & press (focusing on the press).*** Update 10/31/19: Review of Revised and Updated edition ***It has been six years since the original Simple & Sinister was published, and three years since I first read it and began practicing the goblet squat, swing, and get-up.This thorough revision is a necessary and superb update to the original. It retains all the best parts of the first edition and makes clear what was unclear in the original.The most beneficial changes are in clarifying the weight progression via step-loading - you start with a 10 x 10 swing and 5 get-ups per side weight, practice them regularly for 4 weeks, then add weight to just one set (10 per side or 10 x 2 two-arm for swings, and 1/arm for get-ups) for another 4 weeks, etc. until you are back to 10 x 10 and 1/5 (1 rep/arm for 5 sets) at a new, heavier weight.The second major shift in focus is on what is dubbed "Timeless Simple". Previously, the goal was 10 x 10 swings in 5 minutes followed by 1/5 get-ups in 10 minutes. Now the standard is ownership of a weight (24kg for women in the swing and 16kg for the get-up; 32kg for men for both movements) for that volume but without a specific time constraint; owning the weight means you can do the 10 x 10 and 1/5 any given day without worrying about it. When you have reached that level, you may choose to continue building up weight while training for the time standard (the "Simple Challenge") with the next-size lighter kettlebell for only one session at the end of the week. Men who work up to 48kg for the designated volume (regardless of time) and women who work up to 32kg have achieved Timeless Sinister, and for a select few they can achieve the Sinister Challenge of those weights in the 5:00/10:00 time challenge.These two changes - a clear, logical, proven progression scheme, and a focus on competency with the specified weights focused on strength and power - reinvent the program into something that will even better serve practitioners.For me personally, I did not have trouble working up from 16kg to 32kg in working weights over 5-6 months; but it did take me 3-4 more months actively working on compressing the rest periods with 32kg to achieve the time standard. This was time that would've been better spent continuing my strength development, whether with heavier kettlebells or (as Pavel explains near the end of this book) with a "detour" to barbell work before revisiting the Simple or Sinister Challenge. After Timeless Simple, cut practice back to two days per week as a base/maintenance program for any other kind of fitness or training program you want, or to just live life more fully with a solid strength, stability, and power base.I recommend this edition to anyone who read S&S in the past and didn't work up to 32kg (for men) in working weight - the progression to get there is now much clearer, and "the main thing" (strength and power development, expressed as Timeless Simple) is re-oriented to be "the main thing". I am thankful for these revisions because it makes it easier for me to describe and "sell" it to my family and friends who may be interested in getting generally stronger, more powerful, and move better, without an undue fixation on a time standard.
Top reviews from the United States
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Reviewed in the United States on December 3, 2017
I committed to begin exercising 15 months ago, nearing age 30 and being out of shape and at a threshold weight and amount of body fat that I knew would be much harder to lose if I waited any longer to address.
I had seen an article about kettlebells on the Art of Manliness blog a few years ago, and another book (“Eat Bacon, Don’t Jog”) got me really interested. It didn’t take long to come across Pavel Tsatsouline, StrongFirst, and “Simple & Sinister”. I started in October 2016 with a 16kg kettlebell, reached the time standards with a 24kg bell in February, and reached Simple proper (32kg) in August. I trained 3-5 days a week, following the book exactly (warmup, swings, getups, stretches) in about 45 minutes.
I can’t speak highly enough of this book. The program is simple but effective. It requires a shift in your mindset from “working out” to “practice”, for “Strength is a skill”. A “blue collar” mindset where your job is 15 goblet squats, 100 swings and 10 getups done hard enough to get it done quick, but not so hard that you can’t do it again tomorrow.
The progressions, warmups, drills, exercises proper, and cool-down stretches are thoroughly illustrated. One small criticism is the dark clothing against a dark background makes it harder to see than something like a gray background.
If you follow the program as written, you WILL get stronger, guaranteed. This is a “general physical preparedness” program, not designed to specifically improve a sport or something like powerlifting (though it likely will). It is in essence a “minimum effective dose” foundational strength and conditioning program.
I lost 30 pounds, developed forearms like Popeye (stabilizing 70 pounds overhead while moving underneath it for 60 seconds, 10 times a day, 5 days a week, will do that for you), stronger abs and obliques (the anti-rotation effect of heavy one-arm swings), and mobile hips (goblet squats).
This is the definitive starting point for kettlebell training. Attaining the Simple standard is your passport to other great kettlebell training programs, such as the Rite of Passage from Pavel’s previous book “Enter the Kettlebell”, which adds the snatch and clean & press (focusing on the press).
*** Update 10/31/19: Review of Revised and Updated edition ***
It has been six years since the original Simple & Sinister was published, and three years since I first read it and began practicing the goblet squat, swing, and get-up.
This thorough revision is a necessary and superb update to the original. It retains all the best parts of the first edition and makes clear what was unclear in the original.
The most beneficial changes are in clarifying the weight progression via step-loading - you start with a 10 x 10 swing and 5 get-ups per side weight, practice them regularly for 4 weeks, then add weight to just one set (10 per side or 10 x 2 two-arm for swings, and 1/arm for get-ups) for another 4 weeks, etc. until you are back to 10 x 10 and 1/5 (1 rep/arm for 5 sets) at a new, heavier weight.
The second major shift in focus is on what is dubbed "Timeless Simple". Previously, the goal was 10 x 10 swings in 5 minutes followed by 1/5 get-ups in 10 minutes. Now the standard is ownership of a weight (24kg for women in the swing and 16kg for the get-up; 32kg for men for both movements) for that volume but without a specific time constraint; owning the weight means you can do the 10 x 10 and 1/5 any given day without worrying about it. When you have reached that level, you may choose to continue building up weight while training for the time standard (the "Simple Challenge") with the next-size lighter kettlebell for only one session at the end of the week. Men who work up to 48kg for the designated volume (regardless of time) and women who work up to 32kg have achieved Timeless Sinister, and for a select few they can achieve the Sinister Challenge of those weights in the 5:00/10:00 time challenge.
These two changes - a clear, logical, proven progression scheme, and a focus on competency with the specified weights focused on strength and power - reinvent the program into something that will even better serve practitioners.
For me personally, I did not have trouble working up from 16kg to 32kg in working weights over 5-6 months; but it did take me 3-4 more months actively working on compressing the rest periods with 32kg to achieve the time standard. This was time that would've been better spent continuing my strength development, whether with heavier kettlebells or (as Pavel explains near the end of this book) with a "detour" to barbell work before revisiting the Simple or Sinister Challenge. After Timeless Simple, cut practice back to two days per week as a base/maintenance program for any other kind of fitness or training program you want, or to just live life more fully with a solid strength, stability, and power base.
I recommend this edition to anyone who read S&S in the past and didn't work up to 32kg (for men) in working weight - the progression to get there is now much clearer, and "the main thing" (strength and power development, expressed as Timeless Simple) is re-oriented to be "the main thing". I am thankful for these revisions because it makes it easier for me to describe and "sell" it to my family and friends who may be interested in getting generally stronger, more powerful, and move better, without an undue fixation on a time standard.
The definitive entry program for kettlebell lifting
Reviewed in the United States on December 3, 2017
*** Update 10/31/19: Immediately below is my review of the first/original edition. See below for a review of the Revised and Updated edition released on Kindle on 10/30/19 ***Reviewed in the United States on December 3, 2017
I committed to begin exercising 15 months ago, nearing age 30 and being out of shape and at a threshold weight and amount of body fat that I knew would be much harder to lose if I waited any longer to address.
I had seen an article about kettlebells on the Art of Manliness blog a few years ago, and another book (“Eat Bacon, Don’t Jog”) got me really interested. It didn’t take long to come across Pavel Tsatsouline, StrongFirst, and “Simple & Sinister”. I started in October 2016 with a 16kg kettlebell, reached the time standards with a 24kg bell in February, and reached Simple proper (32kg) in August. I trained 3-5 days a week, following the book exactly (warmup, swings, getups, stretches) in about 45 minutes.
I can’t speak highly enough of this book. The program is simple but effective. It requires a shift in your mindset from “working out” to “practice”, for “Strength is a skill”. A “blue collar” mindset where your job is 15 goblet squats, 100 swings and 10 getups done hard enough to get it done quick, but not so hard that you can’t do it again tomorrow.
The progressions, warmups, drills, exercises proper, and cool-down stretches are thoroughly illustrated. One small criticism is the dark clothing against a dark background makes it harder to see than something like a gray background.
If you follow the program as written, you WILL get stronger, guaranteed. This is a “general physical preparedness” program, not designed to specifically improve a sport or something like powerlifting (though it likely will). It is in essence a “minimum effective dose” foundational strength and conditioning program.
I lost 30 pounds, developed forearms like Popeye (stabilizing 70 pounds overhead while moving underneath it for 60 seconds, 10 times a day, 5 days a week, will do that for you), stronger abs and obliques (the anti-rotation effect of heavy one-arm swings), and mobile hips (goblet squats).
This is the definitive starting point for kettlebell training. Attaining the Simple standard is your passport to other great kettlebell training programs, such as the Rite of Passage from Pavel’s previous book “Enter the Kettlebell”, which adds the snatch and clean & press (focusing on the press).
*** Update 10/31/19: Review of Revised and Updated edition ***
It has been six years since the original Simple & Sinister was published, and three years since I first read it and began practicing the goblet squat, swing, and get-up.
This thorough revision is a necessary and superb update to the original. It retains all the best parts of the first edition and makes clear what was unclear in the original.
The most beneficial changes are in clarifying the weight progression via step-loading - you start with a 10 x 10 swing and 5 get-ups per side weight, practice them regularly for 4 weeks, then add weight to just one set (10 per side or 10 x 2 two-arm for swings, and 1/arm for get-ups) for another 4 weeks, etc. until you are back to 10 x 10 and 1/5 (1 rep/arm for 5 sets) at a new, heavier weight.
The second major shift in focus is on what is dubbed "Timeless Simple". Previously, the goal was 10 x 10 swings in 5 minutes followed by 1/5 get-ups in 10 minutes. Now the standard is ownership of a weight (24kg for women in the swing and 16kg for the get-up; 32kg for men for both movements) for that volume but without a specific time constraint; owning the weight means you can do the 10 x 10 and 1/5 any given day without worrying about it. When you have reached that level, you may choose to continue building up weight while training for the time standard (the "Simple Challenge") with the next-size lighter kettlebell for only one session at the end of the week. Men who work up to 48kg for the designated volume (regardless of time) and women who work up to 32kg have achieved Timeless Sinister, and for a select few they can achieve the Sinister Challenge of those weights in the 5:00/10:00 time challenge.
These two changes - a clear, logical, proven progression scheme, and a focus on competency with the specified weights focused on strength and power - reinvent the program into something that will even better serve practitioners.
For me personally, I did not have trouble working up from 16kg to 32kg in working weights over 5-6 months; but it did take me 3-4 more months actively working on compressing the rest periods with 32kg to achieve the time standard. This was time that would've been better spent continuing my strength development, whether with heavier kettlebells or (as Pavel explains near the end of this book) with a "detour" to barbell work before revisiting the Simple or Sinister Challenge. After Timeless Simple, cut practice back to two days per week as a base/maintenance program for any other kind of fitness or training program you want, or to just live life more fully with a solid strength, stability, and power base.
I recommend this edition to anyone who read S&S in the past and didn't work up to 32kg (for men) in working weight - the progression to get there is now much clearer, and "the main thing" (strength and power development, expressed as Timeless Simple) is re-oriented to be "the main thing". I am thankful for these revisions because it makes it easier for me to describe and "sell" it to my family and friends who may be interested in getting generally stronger, more powerful, and move better, without an undue fixation on a time standard.
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Top reviews from other countries
Chris Ekers
A minimal program with maximal results
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 14, 2017