Book
Power to the People Professional How to Add 100s of Pounds to Your Squat, Bench,and Deadlift with Advanced Russian Techniques
Pavel Tsatsouline
An anthology of advanced Russian and Eastern European powerlifting methods that shows experienced lifters how to add hundreds of pounds to their squat, bench, and deadlift through high-volume, high-frequency, technique-driven training.
What it’s about
Power to the People Professional is Pavel Tsatsouline's curated collection of 'forbidden' training knowledge drawn from elite Russian, Ukrainian, and Latvian powerlifting, mixed with neuroscience and biomechanics. It profiles legends like Valentin Dikul, Konstantin Konstantinov, and coaches like Boris Sheyko and Leonid Kotendzha, and lays out concrete, battle-tested programs—Smolov, Ryabinnikov, the WPC Russia system, Sheyko-style practice, and specialized variety assistance work. Rather than chasing gimmicks, the book teaches the experienced lifter to understand the principles behind each program—cycling, specificity, fatigue specificity, grease-the-groove neural adaptation, and dynamic correspondence—so he can select, adapt, and execute a plan that fits his leverages and recovery. It is unapologetically for advanced lifters who want serious numbers, not entertainment.
The through-line
- Who it’s for
- An experienced, dedicated powerlifter or strength athlete who wants to add hundreds of pounds to his squat, bench, and deadlift total.
- The problem
- His progress on the big three lifts has stalled and he doesn't know which training system or assistance exercises will actually make him stronger. He feels confused and overwhelmed by contradictory training advice and afraid of wasting years on dead-end experimentation.
- The plan
- Master the basic competition lifts with at least a year of low-rep, moderate-intensity, high-frequency practice before adding anything.
- Choose a complete, proven cycle (e.g., Smolov, Ryabinnikov, Sheyko-style, WPC Russia, Surovetsky) suited to your recovery capacity and goals.
- Learn and drill the efficient competition technique for each lift, matching training rep velocity to your max-effort style.
- Add specialized variety assistance exercises only to the lifts not favored by your leverages, cycling them in sync with the main lift.
- Wave volume and intensity across the cycle, monitor for overtraining, and taper properly to peak for the meet.
- The payoff
- You add hundreds of pounds to your total and set personal records and possibly break world records. · You train with confidence, knowing why each element of your program works. · You recover well, avoid chronic injuries, and bounce back quickly after layoffs.