Kettlebell Simple & Sinister: Revised and Updated Edition (2nd Edition)

Review Kettlebell Simple and Sinister Pavel “KettleBell Simple and Sinister” is a superb product from Pavel Tsatsouline through his company StrongFirst. It is Pavel's claim, backed up by a host of experts he quotes, that a simple program of 3 warm ups (prying goblet squat, hip bridge and KB halo) and two exercises, Kettlebell swings, one and two handed, and turkish get up will make your body strong, hard and flexible. Looking at the components of the exercises and the warm ups, it cannot be argued that they do not produce a complete program. It may not lead to records in deadlifts, benches, pullups or pushups. It may not lead to heavy muscle mass. But it is a well rounded program. Pavel does state that if you have extreme tight joint issues, or cardiac issues, extra instruction and advice may be necessary. The book is well produced, beautiful to look at and for the most part easy to read. The writing is clear. The directions detailed and easily followed. The pictures are well done and with the text, demonstrate clearly what is expected. All of the exercise pictures are works of art with the athletes in black outfits on a black background. I would like more attention paid to titles and separating important portions of the text. For instance, the pages seem to flow directly from the warmups to the exercises to Program Minimum Remastered without white space or fonts clearly showing the separation. The book is in two sections. The first section is detailed instructions and clear pictures for the warmups and for the two exercises. This ends with “Program Minimum Remastered”, borrowed from Steve Justa, explaining how to do the program. The second section is a rather long discussion of “hard style” and directions and hints on how to approach the program and the exercises. This discussion is an excellent presentation of the rather atypical concept of working out without burnout, nearly daily, to achieve more rapid gains. There is also here the suggestion to give yourself a maxing out trail every two weeks. Suitable advice to go slow, not to rush the weights or reps. Pavel includes a fascinating discussion contrasting manual labor, farm labor, and gym exercise. I applaud the inclusion of standards for the warmups, each exercise and the daily performance. Pavel does state one should only do this workout, 30 minutes daily and no other program. It requires a leap of faith to leave the routine lifts and programs behind and just do this workout.

Simple & Sinister, the book, is well written and presents the material in a clear, concise and lively manner. As a 20-year veteran of the marital arts, I am someone used to breaking down movements to their finest points and understand the true power in any movement is in the details and cues. I am often frustrated by the typical exercise books that show the start and end position and say, do this. By contrast, Pavel's teaching style refreshing. His text is both spartan and comprehensive, and goes into enough detail to allow the reader to really understand the techniques. Simple & Sinister, the workout, just plain works. The program is short and refreshing but is densely packed with hard work. I found I could squeeze it in different parts of the day and not miss a beat. Once you get into it, you can motor through it in less than 25 minutes, day-in, day-out. I also found that it did not spike my appetite like more aggressive programs often do, so my weight stayed where I wanted it to be without feeling hungry or having to worrying about my consumption. My personal experience: I am a 40-year-old desk jocky who has been doing various forms of resistance training for the past 10 years or so with limited results, and kettlebells for about a six months previous to Simple and Sinister. I did Simple & Sinister for 8 weeks. I started with a 20kg for all movements and met the standard of 5 min for the swings and 10 minute for the Get-ups, but could only perform a couple of sets with the 24kg. By the end of the 8 weeks, the 24kg seemed like a toy, and I was mixing in a healthy amount of Swings and Get-ups with the 32kg, well on my way to the "Simple" goal (all 32kg, 100 swings/min, 10 Get-up/10min). I put on some muscle, especially my back, and felt a lot more solid through the mid-section, especially when I started working with the 32kg. To me and others who like variety, it is a great training plan that helped my plug some gaps in my tension and strength and was a nice break from more aggressive training programs. One of the benefits of this plan for variety junkies is that you can not screw this up or mask lack of progress in variety, because there is none, the results just come. I plan to revisit this training program from time to time for 8-12 week training blocks to continue to make progress My wife is 6 months in on the program. She started swinging the 8kg and is now is using the 16kg, get-ups went from 4kg to 12kg. She is a mom, career woman, runner, martial artist and this is the first strength program that she has been able to plug into, stick with in a very long time. The convenience of such and effective workout in your living room has got her hooked.

As a background information I’m a 38 years old male. I have been practicing martial arts and strength training since my early/mid 20’s. Family life and sedentary academic job have taking their toll, however, and during last ten years I have gained some 10kg of fat being 185 cm tall with weight of 95 kg. I injured my neck in December 2015 and had a pinned nerve that took my left lat out of the game for a half a year. I couldn’t do a single pushup, perform a single straight punch, or play guitar. The pinned nerve was eventually released, but I had lost a great deal of strength and conditioning. In Jan 2018 my lat activation was still a bit weaker on the left side and my pushups had went down from 60+ to 20. I was, however, able to carry on my normal life pain-free and I was able to continue MA practices. Simple and Sinister seemed like a great back-in-to-game protocol. I started simple & sinister January 2nd 2018 with a 16 kg kettlebell. I never did S&S exclusively but trained also kickboxing and krav maga a couple of times a week, and I tried to nail 10 000 steps daily. On January, I did Simple and Sinister 27 times. This was quite easy for the 16kg bell felt really light and I could do the exercise on my lunch break without breaking much sweat. My training volume, however, was quite high as it was not a problem to do S&S and MA during the same day. I noticed quite early on that my conditioning got much better and sparring rounds didn’t wear me out as much as earlier. After a month, I moved to 24 kg on both getups and swings. The fatigue started to cumulate and I had to keep one or two days off weekly from any exercise to be able to recover. The exercise took longer time with the 24 kg bell and there was a tad too much sweat to do it in office at a lunch break. I started to notice some development in my forearms, biceps and triceps. Not any great hypertrophy but my arms felt more solid. In early March I proceeded gradually to using 32kg bell for getups. By the end of March, I did the time test successfully with 24 kg bell. I noticed I had a small stability issue with the packing of the left shoulder when the kettlebell was moving downward. That made me quite cautious of moving forward to 32 kg bell in swings. In late April I suffered a small setback by having an inflammation in my left bicep tendon. I think this was due to improper hip drive in swings causing me to overcompensate the pull with upper body. I let the arm rest and only did four exercises in May. I continued with other activities like MA, bicycling and running, though. In June the tendon started to feel quite good again and I went right to 32kg sessions. The arm was quite ok as long as I focused on the hardstyle hip drive. I did the first full 32kg session on June 14. The 32kg bell started to feel quite comfortable quite fast. In July 11 I gave the simple test a try on my 94th Simple and Sinister practice. I was still somewhat tired from last night MA training (and S&S). I completed the time test quite easily, even though I wouldn’t have passed the talking test. All in all, I didn’t lose weight,but my waistline got smaller whereas my glutes got a bit bigger. There were definitely some strength gains. Especially my grip and mid section got much stronger making grappling much easier.

Kettlebell - Simple and Sinister (hereafter referred to as Simple and Sinister or S&S), is the latest offering from Pavel Tsatsouline, formerly head of the RKC, and now head of StrongFirst. It is available in paperback, kindle, and audiobook format. I read it on my Kindle. Disclaimer: I am an SFG under StrongFirst, and do a great deal of my training at Skill of Strength, a StrongFirst affiliate. Clearly, I have a pro-StrongFirst bias. Read this review accordingly. Simple and Sinister is aimed at the kettlebell novice. In a sense, this is the latest evolution of Pavel's entry-level kettlebell writings. The original Russian Kettlebell Challenge was filled with tons of exercises and programming ideas, many of them quickly glossed over and with no particular focus. Enter the Kettlebell focused on six exercises, and offered two main programs (the Program Minimum and the Rite of Passage) for the aspiring kettlebell enthusiast. Simple and Sinister cuts things down even further, for good or for ill. In a nutshell, Simple and Sinister presents the latest version of Pavel's "Program Minimum", a minimalist training regime designed to fit into the lifestyle of almost anyone. It's appropriate for someone looking for a single workout routine, or something to supplement another physical activity. Unlike some of Pavel's other works, Simple and Sinister leaves nothing to the imagination. The whole program, including warm ups and cool downs, is laid out over the course of the book. There is no guess work. Three mobility drills done in a circuit to warm up, one-arm swings and Turkish get-ups to workout, two or three stretches to cool down. Shower, rest, repeat. There is good and bad in this. The good, of course, is that it is very, very, straightforward. If you read this book and don't know what to do next, I would be deeply concerned. It's all laid out, plain as day. The bad, of course, is that there is just one thing to do. If you want more options, you will have to buy more books. The writing is classic Pavel. All of the drills and exercises are explained clearly, and accompanied by pictures for reference. There is a logical progression for learning these exercises, and you'll get the whole progression, start to finish, in S&S. I saw one reviewer who complained about the picture quality, but it seemed fine to me. Classic Pavel also means a lot of references to Russia and use of the word comrade. If you didn't like Pavel's writing before, you're still not going to like it. Just warning you. Who is this book good for? If you are interested in learning how to use a kettlebell, but aren't sure what to do with it, this is a good starting point. It gives you a very simple, direct, and easy to follow program that you can use to get your feet wet. The program is simple enough that you could follow it (on a modified schedule), while continuing to participate in other activities. If you're a kettlebell instructor, you may be familiar with most of the concepts in this book (particularly if you are an SFG). This is a solid review of coaching cues for some of the core StrongFirst exercises, and if you want to see how StrongFirst teaches their mechanics, this would be the place to look. [An aside: one thing that I really liked in this book was that Pavel credits every idea that he's taken from other people back to the source. That includes people who have long since left his organization, like Steve Maxwell (who I think he credits both for the halo and the turkish get up). Pavel could have said nothing about anyone, but he shares the name of every person who gave him an idea, a quote, or an exercise. That's cool.] For the Martial Artist Honestly, if you're a martial artist, you could do far, far, worse for your strength and conditioning then to follow the protocol outlined in this book. If you're a man and get to the point where you can complete this program with the "beast" (a 48kg kettlebell), on top of your training, you will be in damn good shape. A professional competitor should seek a more comprehensive program, but for the hobbyist, this would work pretty well. If you are new to the kettlebell world, and looking for a place to start, this is it. If you've been around for a while, you not get quite as much out of it, but the book could still be worth checking out.

I've been following this program as written since the book was released, and I've never felt better. Having been a fitness hobbyist for years, mostly for the feel-good factor, I've explored many programs: Couch to 5k, Stronglifts/Starting Strength, Crossfit, some bodyweight training and gym rock climbing, etc etc. None has ever had such a positive impact on my fitness and feeling of wellbeing as S&S has. I am no devotee of StrongFirst or Pavel's, my only involvement has been reading a few of Pavel's books (Naked Warrior, Enter the Kettlebell, Power to the People) and experimenting with those programs a bit. No one has asked me to write a review. That said, this book blows away the totality of fitness literature I've read up until now with regards to directness and completeness of the content. Here's what to expect from the book: a general physical preparedness program to follow every day with a single kettlebell (though ideally you'll want two sizes to start) in 20-30 minutes, including a warmup, two primary exercises to practice, and some stretches. Detailed explanations and progressions for every movement. Some material on the history and philosophy of kettlebell training, with deep insights drawn from martial arts, military, and powerlifting applications. Several chapters on cultivating tension/relaxation control, breathing exercises, tips on how to progress to higher weights, and when and how to challenge yourself or take it easy. This is a complete book, and a complete program. If a total beginner, with literally no experience in fitness training, were to ask me for a "magic bullet" one-stop solution to develop strength, explosiveness, balance, coordination, mobility, injury resistance, and maintain good general health for life without overworking themselves, this is the book I would hand them. And I truly believe they would be well taken care of if they did nothing but follow it to the letter. Doesn't that sound like generic hyperbole? How can I keep a straight face while affecting the same salesman mentality that's shilling so many silly books on the same topic? The reason is because this book is NOT, in fact, a "magic bullet" or a workaround in any way. The advice is frank: to be strong, you have to apply yourself honestly. You have to learn to listen to your body, to acknowledge the smallest sensations and gauge your energy levels. In my opinion, the greatest value of this book is not the specific exercises prescribed, though they are phenomenal and I have no inclination to change anything about the program as I continue to practice it. The greatest value of this program is the mentality that comes with it: fitness is an internal pursuit, not a game to be won or cheated, and fitness training done well exposes your personal weaknesses and vulnerabilities every day. You become stronger, in body and in mind, by that process. I can't speak to the usefulness of this book for athletes, law-enforcement/military, or fitness professionals, since I am none of them - other reviews here might be more helpful if you're looking for that perspective. I'm a musician, and fitness training is a hobby that helps me feel good, keep my energy levels up, maintain good health, and prevent injuries. That said, I can't imagine anyone reading this book and not taking away something deeply helpful. Pick it up, the price is right. It's a quick read, but I've already read it 5 or 6 times now. Enjoy.

(For some perspective on my review, I started this program in January and refused to post a review until I had completed the simple goals, which I just completed in May. It is easy to be excited about a workout program for a month or so, but I wanted to stick with it for a longer period of time to get an honest perspective.) The title of this book is perfect and explains it perfectly, you can judge this book by its cover. I can’t speak how this book is for beginners, because that wasn’t me, but I certainly have no qualms directing beginners to this book and encourage them to see a certified instructor. Just about anyone at any level of athletics (or desk-jockeying) will benefit from following this book to the letter. First off, Trust Pavel! He knows far more about working out than I ever will, and while the workout plan may seem simple, there have been years of thought and gallons of sweat devoted to perfecting this plan. The biggest struggle many will have with this book is the monotony of the “punching the clock” type of workouts, but once you get used to it, this part can be quite liberating. No need to spend 30 min planning your workout…just show up, grab a bell and 30 min later you are done. Do it again tomorrow and the day after and “repeat until strong.” My second point: When you hit a plateau or feel you are stuck, re-read the book. Every time I was stuck at a certain mark and not feeling any progress, I would re-read the book and pick up another tidbit that I had overlooked the first few times through it and next thing you know, I’m not stuck at the plateau anymore. Trust Pavel! This program alone will not put you on the front page of a fitness magazine, but expect a thicker trunk, popeye forearms and a shredded back if you follow it (the change is gradual so I did not notice so much as others made comments over the months). While nice, those are just aesthetics, the real gold is in the flexibility and rock solid shoulders, hips, hamstrings, and lower back that will protect you from injury in your daily life. That is the real beauty of this program, it gives you the freedom to enjoy the rest of your life by not only giving you strength, flexibility, and conditioning but also keeping workouts brief so that you still have time and energy to enjoy life away from the kettlebell. This is my "foundation" workout plan that will keep me busy for several years and I have no doubts my progress will continue as I pursue the Sinister goals! Buy the book, trust Pavel, work the plan, and repeat until strong!

I'm a mostly desk-bound IT male, age nearly 50, five feet seven inches, about 173 pounds / 78kg. Previously, I had worked on Pavel Tsatouline's Rite of Passage, stalling out at 24K in the press for 5x5, with accompanying pullups. I'd manage a single 32k press with my stronger arm at the end of this training, but it never felt very stable. The idea of a single-hand 32k was so ludicrous upon starting that I didn't really consider I would ever make it, and I was fighting a lot of golfer's and tennis elbow as well. Here's how Simple and Sinister went for me: -I began S&S in April 2014 and completed it in April 2015. -My physical appearance didn’t change dramatically overall: I've basically always been pretty doughy looking. My diet is decent, but I do like to eat and drink, and I haven't really worked at reducing while doing S&S. -However, I am far more solid all over, and I feel firm and compact all the time now, in a very good way. I've had numerous WTH moments, in that things that would have been awkward or heavy to move or lift before are now trivial, and awkward lifts don't bother me. -My conditioning is much improved, and I feel like I have a lot more energy when needed. Unexpected or greatly increased exertion doesn’t leave me sore afterwards. -Golfer's and tennis elbow haven't been a concern for months, which is a nice plus. Simple and Sinister is a great program for me. It gives a really good basic level of strength and conditioning, and has done wonders for my confidence, stability, and ability to move intelligently and appropriately. It's a perfect no-fuss workout: I just show up 4-6 mornings a week, 'punch the clock' for 25-30 minutes, and get on with my day knowing I've done plenty for all around fitness. I really like the focus on doing two exercises very well and consciously, with extreme focus on technique and safety, and trusting them to carry over to daily life.

I really like the concept and simple nature of the program design and involvement of only two exercises. It is very intriguing. I was already doing lots of kettlebell swing intervals trying to maintain strength endurance well within an aerobic metabolic pace. The material herein is largely consistent with the years of study I've completed in relationship to running and have applied a base building aerobic phase that is at least 90% aerobic training, and I've designed the swing days like a marathon training program with periodical lactate threshold training which after building the base a couple of times a year will increase to weekly with a good 20% of training being lactic and glycolytic and 78-80%aerobic taken directly from primarily Daniel's Running Formula with a Long Easy aerobic pace and a second long session weekly up to 400 swings each with the 24kg simple KB. I break the work into intervals of EMOM. However for strength endurance as presented in this book in going to try to focus my strength session more on power endurance maxing at 10*10 as directed and try to take the timed test soon with the 24. Then I may just jump to the 28 and start filling in sets of 2h and 1h alternating swings with it. I have a long upper body, and I don't want to jump straight to the 2 pud bell yet. I'm a little concerned about there not being a specific plan to achieve Sinister presented in the book. First I can see how individual differences might play a roll in choosing not to present more specific plans. Other than signing of for their instructor course and getting stronger as mentioned in the book, I perceive already potential pitfalls in working towards that feat. However I believe 33kg Sinister is more readily achievable for me than the getups. I'm glad the path of aerobic intensity was chosen. I've read and possess most of the earlier books particularly those that seem to be in the chain of developments toward S&S including PTP, ETK, and RTK. I'm really turned off by the cover of Q&D and don't know if I have the elbows for hard style pushups. I gave this book five stars because it's a simple read with straight forward plan and because it represents an accumulation of research on a journey i started years ago with the first book. I think the talk test is a great inclusion as a governor for most westerners who tend to overgrown and perform way too much of their training outside primary aerobic ranges. Interestingly i was already using RPE, talk test and heart rate to ensure i was well within the aerobic range as I began building up the base after Christmas and trying to build it higher than in recent years. There are many good articles on the talk test which will help beyond that describes in this book to help practitioners use this tool. Maybe not the best, but for me Bud Coated Running on Air provided considerably greater insight into LT pace based upon talk test. Despite the lack of better assessment based upon talk test which should be included for a subsequent edition and the lack of a clear program to Sinister other than spend money on our ST instructor course I still believe S&S rated 5 stars.

I am kettle bell enthusiast.. I have a rod in my left hand.. Which forced me to think about functional exercises.. I was using Indian clubs.. Then I came across Kettlebell..thru Steve Cutter learnt some basics.. But real transformation came when thought of embracing KB in day today life.. Pavel with his no nonsense attitude n minimalist zen like approach made that possible.. I never wanted big chest n biceps.. Wanted to carry my kids to third floor.swings n getup always fascinated me...to convince me grinds after ballestics was tough..keeping it less n still challenging was real gem..never liked jogging or walking like a retired pensioner man.. Always believed there is place for being strong n able to chase a guy for 100-200 m.. Pavel somehow brings those things in this books.. Thanks for giving us that conviction.. KB is for real not a passing fad

Talvez o melhor programa de treino minimalista do século !

Finding a program that is simple enough mentally that I don't have to plan or think about my workout is key for the rest of my life. This routine, once the movements are learned properly, allows you to step in the gym and build strength and endurance without using much mental energy deciding on weight progressions and programming. Extremely effective training program for anyone who wants to be in shape and doesn't need sport specific training.

J'ai acheté le Kindle de la première édition en Décembre 2017. Je me suis entraîné presque exclusivement avec S&S depuis, passant du kettlebell de 16kg à celui de 40kg. Résultats plus que conformes aux promesses du livre : une très bonne condition physique générale, une meilleure posture au quotidien, des gains musculaires. À lire et à bien relire pour en extraire toute la "substantifique moelle" : la simplicité de S&S renferme une grande richesse. Découvrir StrongFirst et le travail de Pavel Tsatsouline a été un grand tournant dans mon approche du mouvement et du sport en général. La nouvelle édition est encore plus claire et je vais me la procurer en format physique pour pouvoir profiter du confort de la traduction : ce livre mérite clairement sa place dans votre bibliothèque.

I initially avoided pavels work. I found his constant references to special forces and martial arts masters slightly contrived. But when I bought enter the kettlebell cheap to see what the fuss was about I was suprised. He gives a clear goal (rop) and challenges you to follow his program until you can achieve it. I took his advice 4 years ago and am now at 43 stronger than I have ever been. Since then I've been a fan of his methods and I've read most of his work. If you are not used to his methods this program will seem to be too simple. But his programming excells on achieving the most with the least (time / equipment)and this book seems to follow a trend of simplification that he began several years ago. Pavel has said in the past that his system is constantly evolving meaning his most recent works take precedence, making this the perfect place to start. The program is easy to follow and the book is of a very high quality. (altogether 'tighter' than some of his earlier books) There is a clear progression to follow and guidelines are inculded for when and how to increase weights. The program as presented should give you all you need to become very strong and stay there for most of your life all for a commitment of a couple of hours a week.