Quotes from Pavel Tsatsouline

The clean draws its name from the requirement to bring the weight to your shoulders in one 'clean' movement. Pick up the kettlebell off the floor, the same way you would for the one arm swing. Note that the starting position for all the pulls, swings, cleans, and snatches is identical. Swing the kettlebell back and then immediately toward your shoulder.

Right before the hunk of iron has reached its destination quickly dip your knees and get under it. This action has been compared to putting on a sweater. Finish in the position shown.

The one-arm snatch is the Tsar of kettlebell lifts, fluid and vicious. It will quickly humble even studly powerlifters. The forces generated by this drill are awesome. "How can it be if the weight is so light?" you might ask. –Through great acceleration and deceleration. F=ma, force equals mass multiplied by acceleration. Would you rather roll a 500 pound barbell over your toes or drop a 72 pounder from seven feet? I rest my case.

You shall gain but you shall pay with sweat, blood, and vomit, Comrade.

Everything in this program must be practiced barefoot or in flat shoes without cushy soles. Wrestling shoes, work boots, tactical boots, and Converse Chuck Taylors are authorized. Almost any shoes worn by a guy named Chuck will do. Chuck #1, RKC, wears size 15 chicken-yellow water shoes, and Chuck #2, RKC, digs skateboard Vans with a chess print. Unconventional, but good enough not to warrant a set of push-ups.

A typical mistake is setting the kettlebell down sloppily, with a rounded back and the weight on the toes, following a hard (and often perfect) set of swings or snatches. Don't! Mentally stay with the set until the kettlebell is safely parked. Lower the kettlebell in a way you would if you were planning to do another rep. Then let go, and only then relax.

When We Say "Strength," We Mean "Kettlebell." When We Say "Kettlebell," We Mean "Strength.

In Russia kettlebells are a matter of national pride and a symbol of strength. In the olden days, any strongman or weightlifter was referred to as a girevik, or "kettlebell man." Steeled by their kettlebells, generation after generation of Russian boys has turned to men.

Kettlebells have been rediscovered by a new generation of modern athletes seeking ways to gain an edge over the competition. It's at once both a puzzling and predictable reemergence. Kettlebells have pure Slavic origins and have been at the heart and soul of Russian sport-strength training for more than a century. Regular use of heavy kettlebells develops strength with staying power; call it sustained strength. This type strength makes itself available over an extended period of time.

Sustained strength is different from short-burst strength. Sustained strength is an athletic attribute particularly prized by wrestlers, boxers, mixed martial artists, football, basketball, hockey and lacrosse players. The common thread is participation in athletic events of long duration where last minute flurries make the difference between winning and losing, between 1st and 8th.

Sustained strength doesn't just happen, it is nurtured and developed. Through the use of multiple sets conducted with little rest and often high repetitions using exercises with exaggerated range-of-motion, sustained strength is gradually built up, and over time improved and extended. The transition takes time and patience and lots of practice.