Pavel Tsatsouline – SECOND WIND express

Pavel Tsatsouline – SECOND WIND express

Russian Breathing Techniques for Superior Performance & Resilience

© MMXVII–MMXXI Power by Pavel, Inc.

Our ancestors realized that disciplined breathing yielded tremendous power over self. Breathing practices shrouded in mysticism were developed around the world and more are still sprouting today — some effective, others harmful, many pure psychobabble. In contrast, the breathing systems developed by Soviet and Russian scientists are firmly rooted in physiology and thoroughly tested in the field.

(To anticipate your question: No, we are not teaching Buteyko or Systema breathing.)

Some of these low-tech / high-concept techniques promote physical and psychological resilience:

Cultivate “grace under pressure” found in elite soldiers and athletes
Tune up your “on/off” switch — learn how to totally mobilize or relax on demand
Boost your “anti-fragility” against pathogens — heat, cold, blood loss, infection, toxins, radiation, etc. — by increasing your cells’ resistance to free radical damage and reducing the stress reaction
Reduce fatigue-induced injuries

Other SECOND WIND express techniques improve athletic performance, even in elite athletes:

Endurance — through adaptations in the heart, lungs, blood vessels, blood, muscles, and the nervous system
Speed — through improved muscle relaxation and increased creatine phosphate storage in the muscles
Power — through a possible conversion of type I muscle fibers to type IIA
Coordination and reaction time — through improved muscle relaxation

Course Lessons (9)

Module 1: Breathing – The Basics
If you are serious about breathwork, you might know most of this — but perhaps not. Did you know that CO₂ defends against free radicals? Or that holding your breath after exhaling has a profoundly different effect than after inhaling?
Part of Course

Module 2: Exhale!
…Inhaling is for sissies…
“The lips must never be lacking in willpower”…
Two drills to practice anywhere…
Exhalation secrets of elite full-contact fighters and Russian ballet dancers that make them unstoppable in their respective disciplines
Part of Course

Module 3: Inhale!
Suck all the air out of the room with a classic Soviet technique…
And you thought you knew everything about nasal breathing…
The top two drills for excelling at diaphragmatic breathing (neither is well known)…
What yawning is good for…
Part of Course

Module 4: Power Breathing
“Pretend to exhale”…
The Valsalva myths…
Why some dancers and endurance athletes untrain the Valsalva…
18% strength boost through smarter breathing…
Inhale this much for a deadlift PR — and why the bench plays by different rules…
KIAI for power
Part of Course

Module 5: Breathe Hard
Run just as fast — with a lower HR and 25–50% less lactate…
Emergency recovery breathing — a game changer for fighters…
Traditional strength training reduces vital capacity; how to increase it by 20%…
Gadget-free respiratory muscle training…
Part of Course

Module 6: CO₂ Magic
Why hyperventilation is a very bad idea…
Extraordinary performance, health, and relaxation benefits of carbon dioxide…
4 types of low-tech hypercapnic training…
The right way to do hypercapnic breath holds…
Why shallow breathing is wrong…
Part of Course

Module 7: A Battle against Oxygen
Hypoxia fights free radicals and reduces stress…
Hypoxic training for endurance, speed, power…
Test your hypoxia tolerance…
26 guidelines for safe and effective breath holds (many key points are missing from pop methods)
Part of Course

Module 8: Relaxed Second
Elite athletes and soldiers relax in extreme situations — and this reaction is trainable…
Hypoxia rewires neuroendocrine regulation under pressure…
Tolerance to hypoxia and “grace under pressure”…
Breath holds for self-development…
Part of Course

Module 9: Q&A
Fitting what you have learned into your training and life…
The breathing “program minimum”…