Pavel Tsatsouline and Christopher Sommer (#748)

This episode is a two-for-one, and that’s because the podcast recently hit its 10-year anniversary and passed one billion downloads. To celebrate, I’ve curated some of the best of the best—some of my favorites—from more than 700 episodes over the last decade. I could not be more excited. The episode features segments from episode #55 “Pavel Tsatsouline on the Science of Strength and the Art of Physical Performance” and episode #158 “The Secrets of Gymnastic Strength Training.”

Please enjoy!

Bios of guests may be found at tim.blog/combo.

Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Castbox, YouTube Music, Amazon Music, Audible, or on your favorite podcast platform.

This episode is brought to you by Helix Sleep premium mattresses; 1Password easy-to-use and secure password manager for individuals, families, and businesses; and Momentous high-quality supplements.

Transcript for the full Pavel Tsatsouline episode | Transcript for the full Christopher Sommer episode | Transcripts for all episodes

Listen onApple Podcasts

Listen onSpotify

Listen onOvercast

This episode is brought to you by Helix Sleep! Helix was selected as the best overall mattress of 2022 by GQ magazine, Wired, and Apartment Therapy. With Helix, there’s a specific mattress to meet each and every body’s unique comfort needs. Just take their quiz—only two minutes to complete—that matches your body type and sleep preferences to the perfect mattress for you. They have a 10-year warranty, and you get to try it out for a hundred nights, risk-free. They’ll even pick it up from you if you don’t love it. And now, Helix is offering 25–30{c87e2df4b343d0515d304e127afe4653a549475791ab451641a18e09bd64e760} off all mattress orders plus two free pillows at HelixSleep.com/Tim.

This episode is brought to you by 1Password! I’ve been using 1Password for more than a decade. It’s one of my favorite products, and I’ve made it a requirement for everyone on my team. As data breaches affect everyone, you need 1Password. 1Password combines industry-leading security with award-winning design to bring private, secure, and user-friendly password management to everyone.

It is an award-winning password manager trusted by millions of users and more than 100,000 businesses, from IBM to Slack. It beat out 40 other options to become Wirecutter’s top pick for password managers. Right now, my listeners get a free, 2-week trial at 1password.com/Tim.

This episode is brought to you by Momentous high-quality supplements! Momentous offers high-quality supplements and products across a broad spectrum of categories, and I’ve been testing their products for months now. I’ve been using their magnesium threonate, apigenin, and L-theanine daily, all of which have helped me improve the onset, quality, and duration of my sleep. I’ve also been using Momentous creatine, and while it certainly helps physical performance, including poundage or wattage in sports, I use it primarily for mental performance (short-term memory, etc.).

Their products are third-party tested (Informed-Sport and/or NSF certified), so you can trust that what is on the label is in the bottle and nothing else. If you want to try Momentous for yourself, you can use code Tim for 20{c87e2df4b343d0515d304e127afe4653a549475791ab451641a18e09bd64e760} off your one-time purchase at LiveMomentous.com/Tim. And not to worry, my non-US friends, Momentous ships internationally and has you covered. 

What was your favorite quote or lesson from this episode? Please let me know in the comments.

SHOW NOTES

• [05:10] Notes about this supercombo format.
• [06:14] Enter Pavel Tsatsouline.
• [06:34] Pavel’s background as a world-class trainer.
• [07:07] Considerations while customizing a training regimen.
• [09:40] Strength-building principles over equipment.
• [10:36] When in doubt, train your grip and your core.
• [12:57] How to grease the groove.
• [16:08] How not to strengthen the “core.”
• [18:53] Approaching training as a practice.
• [21:16] Prioritizing strength — the “mother quality of all physical qualities.”
• [23:57] The most counter-productive myths about strength training.
• [27:14] Pavel’s hypothesis for the science behind hypertrophy.
• [28:01] Deadlifts, kettlebells, and the most common mistakes with both.
• [29:31] People who exemplify success to Pavel.
• [30:09] Calmness is contagious.
• [32:31] Enter Christopher Sommer.
• [33:23] Defining Gymnastics Strength Training™ (GST).
• [37:08] Types of strength that most non-gymnasts will not have.
• [41:10] Biggest mistakes made by those who self-teach handstands.
• [46:10] Top exercises for identifying weaknesses in strength and mobility.
• [56:47] The problem with focusing on muscular fatigue when training.
• [1:05:03] What is a pike pulse and why does it matter?
• [1:07:45] On kipping pull-ups.
• [1:11:16] Identifying solutions to pain.
• [1:18:38] The Jefferson curl.
• [1:23:06] Why weighted mobility work needs to be approached with a different level of intensity than conditioning work.
• [1:28:09] If someone is 35 years old, a former athlete, and has never done gymnastics, what’s a good exercise and what should be avoided?
• [1:33:31] 3-5 joint mobility exercises for getting strong.
• [1:38:52] Preferred way to work on shoulder extension.
• [1:44:40] A good goal for those seeking to improve mobility.
• [1:46:15] Yoga handstands vs. gymnastics handstands (aesthetics vs. gold medals).
• [1:54:20] Coaches who have impressed Coach Sommer the most.
• [1:55:49] The story of Dmitry Bilozerchev and Alexander Alexandrov.
• [2:00:36] Differentiating immature athletes from mature athletes.
• [2:03:43] Training for success.
• [2:08:43] Describing the systematic approach to GST.
• [2:16:58] Exercises to avoid for the first six months of GST.
• [2:18:27] Breaking down the muscle-up.
• [2:23:59] Understanding the purpose of using various grips.
• [2:31:28] How Coach Sommer mentally preps athletes for a big competition.
• [2:41:13] Questions Coach Sommer would ask a gymnastic coach before sending children off to train with them.
• [2:45:36] Questions Coach Sommer would ask a gymnastic coach who trains adults.
• [2:47:44] Balancing stretching and training time.
• [2:52:52] People who exemplify success to Coach Sommer.
• [2:58:16] Most gifted books.
• [3:01:04] Morning rituals.
• [3:05:02] Coach Sommer’s billboard.
• [3:10:12] An ask for the audience and parting thoughts.

SELECTED LINKS FROM THE EPISODE

Connect with Pavel Tsatsouline:

StrongFirst

Connect with Coach Sommer:

GymnasticBodies.com | Instagram |Facebook

PEOPLE MENTIONED

Related

The Tim Ferriss Show is one of the most popular podcasts in the world with more than one billion downloads. It has been selected for “Best of Apple Podcasts” three times, it is often the #1 interview podcast across all of Apple Podcasts, and it’s been ranked #1 out of 400,000+ podcasts on many occasions. To listen to any of the past episodes for free, check out this page.