The Quick and the Dead

This system requires up to three weekly sessions of power push-ups and kettlebell swings. Each session lasts between 12-24 minutes depending on the number of intervals you do. The intervals work like this: Set a timer for 12 minutes in intervals of 1 minute, then 2 minutes, and repeat four times. Each time the timer beeps you’ll do ten reps of either push-ups or swings. The timer will beep eight times in 12 minutes, giving you 40 push-ups and 40 swings. You increase difficulty in three primary paths: 1. Push or swing harder. When you start out you will lack the crisp, sharp motion required to really juice the movement. Improve this first. 2. Add intervals. Go from 12 minutes to 18 and then 24. The book advocates 24 as an upper limit. 3. Add weight. Do this last. Get the most out of what you’re already doing (by going harder or adding reps) before you change your kettlebell size. This is from my own experience but it was a wise choice. Regarding kettlebell sizes, I started with a 35 lb and worked up to 50. I don’t plan to go heavier as larger muscle mass is not my objective. As this routine takes three days, I do Turkish Get Ups on the other four. Enter the Kettlebell or Simple and Sinister (by the same author) have good instructions on this. I started with 10 and worked up to 20 lbs; I can transition to 35 next but again I’m in this for different reasons than mass build-up. Enter the Kettlebell is also an excellent resource for learning swings. Q&D (this book) does not offer advice on how to learn swings or how to incrementally add weight. It proclaims to be “advanced” meaning you need to seek basic advice elsewhere and follow that while executing this program. The result... it works. I have better tone, higher energy, no loss of motion due to atrophy and abuse in day to day living, etc. You can definitely see and feel the difference, especially when you add weight. The Q&D/TGU alternating combo is effective and easy to implement with limited time and tools. No gym membership required.

First thing first. It has been written again and again, but it is good to repeat: this is not a book for for beginners. You need to be strong enough to benefit from Q&D. Sure, it is possible to do the exercises and follow the program even without a good strength baseline, but if you cannot high express power at every rep, it is useless. If you are not there yet, get Strong First. (kind of strong is enough, no need to be a powerlifter either). For those who are there, this is a great way to train power, with minimal time and minimum equipment. I followed the snatch program (under his former name Plan 044C) while I was staying at a hotel every week. I only needed a 24kg kettlebell and less than 20 minutes per session. I was able to keep training strength on other days. The result: an easy snatch test (100 reps in little more than 4 minutes, with a 20kg kettlebell, at 65kg bodyweight). Talk about an effective AND efficient program! The book is very well organized to provide the why, what and how. The science is digestible and references are provided for those who want to dig more. A great masterpiece from Pavel.

Pavel's books tend to boil down to some very simple take-home points, so a lot of people question whether the book as a whole is worth the purchase. Personally, I love all the research and thought that went into this book so I'm happy supporting Pavel. The point of this book is to analyze workouts and determine an 80/20 or "80% of the gains for 20% of the effort" to maximize gains. The inspiration comes from looking at predator animals, who work in bursts of energy to surprise their prey. An athlete who can build their ability to work in strong bursts without injury is a superior athlete - from a sprinter pushing off the line to a regular person lifting a television when they clean their house. Pavel therefore encourages you to find roughly 80% of your max weight range, and work in short bursts with plenty of rest. He backs this up with a ton of science and personal observation, positing that this program allows for maximum possible gains for the average athlete, with minimal risk. Shall I spoil the workouts? There are only 2. Kettlebell swings - a Pavel staple - and pushups. If spending this money to hear that you should do swings and pushups seems like a waste to you, feel free to move on. But for the rest of us, there's a lot of sense here. Pavel's plan has turned out to be even more right with time. In today's gyms you see more and more people picking up kettlebells (or other nontraditional weights, such as maces). Kettlebells are a smart choice, and the swing is a great compound movement with many variations. You also see people doing planking or "chaturanga" to get the same workout as pushups across many gyms. The kettlebell swing and pushup combine into a full-body push-pull workout, engaging multiple muscles and encouraging balanced strength from your core to your limbs. These workouts allow for many variations, such as using resistance bands for harder pushups or different weights for swings. These exercises cater to almost all skill levels. Does spoiling the surprise ruin the book? Absolutely not. There's a lot of wisdom in here, so even if you want to use other workouts such as deadlifts and squats, you can apply the same techniques to maximize your gains. Pavel goes into a lot of detail for why you should - or should not - add other programs such as cardio and additional movements to your workouts. If you're thinking that Pavel should let you do some cardio, at least on your "off" days from lifting, that's exactly what you'll find discussed in the book. Overall I love this book. I wish it was made more clear that the purpose of the book is to deliver you a "minimum effective dose" for a workout plan anyone can adhere to. This is a great book that anyone should have on their shelf, particularly if you're just a regular person who wants to be fit. This book is actually best for the moms and dads of the world who just want to lose a few pounds or get back into shape, but it does work for anyone who wants to be fit. Buy a kettlebell (Pavel helps you determine which one inside) and join us.

Good stuff, but it can be a hard read. I'd have liked to have more of the science than the padding-out that seems to have happened. The workout does work, I haven't even done a lot of it & it had a noticeable effect. I had more energy & it build strength (might have been an increase in that because I wasn't doing much beforehand).

Most people that bought this book know Pavel, so no need to repeat the earned accolades for his knowledge in the field of fitness.... he's the man! I am in my mid 60s, retired military, and having to remember that I am no longer young. This book is perfect for me. I did "enter the kettlebell" and "simple and sinister" to the best of my ability, but I may have started a decade too late. This program is exactly what I needed to maintain and improve my fitness level while acknowledging my age. Just an anecdote... my swings are good, but I needed to get my power push ups to the minimum standard so I opted to not start the full program until I could get that push up "sprint" to the 20 to 30 second mark. I did how ever start the 10 X 10 swing on the 3 minute protocol that was covered in the science templates that led to the final Q and the D program. It was totally counter intuitive after striving for the equal work, equal rest swing template of S and S. I set a timer, grabbed the heaviest kb I had and did this 3 min, 6 min, 9 min, etc cycle on Monday, Wednesday and Friday for over a month now. The results are amazing. My glutes and lats are swollen with noticeable hypertrophy that I didn't see when I was taking shorter rest intervals. I was never sore or out of breath. It doesn't make sense if you don't read the science behind it, but it works... and this is only the intermediate program that led to the final Q and D system. Getting my push ups ready and can't wait to see the results of the full program. My old wore out body thanks you, Pavel.

I like how charts are used to layout the reps/sets/rest over time. Color is used too to separate the different types of moves (swings/pushups). The charts make it very easy to understand. Having a timer beep every 30 or 60 sec (depending on the rep scheme) will be a good idea to follow the rest times to the letter. Altogether it's a very well designed program. The book explains why the exercises were chosen. Why not cleans, etc. It explains the goals of the work out: creating the conditions for mitochondria development. It... explains things. The explanations are nice; I prefer that over simply being handed the goods without explanation and told to run with it.

When you look back at Pavel’s previous books, you’ll notice a pattern. Several patterns, really. First, he is able to convey complex biochemistry and movement in a way that’s approachable and understandable to every reader. Second, you’ll see that same approach applied to exercise selection and the protocols themselves. They are ultra-minimalist. They are simple… but sinister. This book focuses on just two lifts: the kettlebell swing and the pushup. Why? Because they enable maximum expression of power, involve many muscle groups, and have proven carryover to other movements, to sport, and to the real world. As I had early access to the program, I dedicated myself to it two years prior to the book’s publication - and from that perspective, was one the early “test subjects”. The results I had were astounding. I was not getting winded in hard Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu training, my grip was much stronger, I had packed on more muscle (despite that not being the primary goal), and I set a personal record on my kettlebell military press - even though I was not pressing *at all*. All of this with less than 30 minutes of training, just 3 times per week. I love this program, and I love this book. Highly recommended to anyone looking to get stronger and more powerful, while still having energy for other pursuits! You won’t be disappointed.

Pavel is always a powerful communicator, I have been following his advice for years and find him, like many others, to be be both deadly serious and scholarly yet wry and hilarious. This book is somewhat that way but gets a bit overly obsessed with the metaphor of the leopard, with power, and with the mitochondria. The problem is this: every time Pavel puts something out I’m really quite keen to incorporate it into my training life (and the gym I own and manage). So....what happened to Naked Warrior, where all one needs is pistol squats and single arm push ups, or the many (many!) KB moves including windmills and halos and and carries and TGU’s, not to mention all the heavy lifting barbell advice he is also cranking out....and now it’s about short intense intervals with long rests?...seriously, how can anyone possible integrate all this in the course of one lifetime? What I liked and didnt in this one is almost the same thing: as a prescription for power improvement this book is excellent, no doubt your power will increase, but what I’m leery of is the overtone of this protocol being the “best” for you in terms of fitness, as evidenced by the mitochondrion effects. I’m skeptical that O’ lifting is any less power-improving though he offers a proposed reason for this, also its would make sense from the theory here that sprinting up hills for 5-10 seconds, or wrestling, or charging across a full court for layups could do just as well. Instead we get the swing-push up OR kB snatch...OK, fine, but surely this can’t cover the body’s many different modes of fitness. Just start with calisthenics. Are levers and planches and rings to be disregarded? The book is very good in its way but I found a bit contradictory with the rest of Pavel’s work and conflicting with much other good scientific coaches, ie Bret Contreras, Tim Anderson, Paul Carter, Rippetoe, etc.