By Pavel Tsatsouline, Chairman

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Ladies and gentlemen, I present you my new book, Kettlebell Simple & Sinister.

If you are new to kettlebells, S&S is your entry point.  If you have been around the kettlebell block, S&S will deepen your understanding of the hard style system and introduce you to important subtleties of technique and programming.

Kettlebell Simple & Sinister starts with an accelerated sequence of learning the swing and the get-up, refined over the years of teaching.  The goblet squat and several other key stretches are introduced to unlock your hips.

The programming is best described by the ad for the latest generation of the battle tested F-16 fighter jet: “Proven.  Powerful.  Perfected.”

I do not care how smart you are and how hard you try, you are not going to one-up the Program Minimum by Steve Baccari.  No other kettlebell routine will deliver such extraordinary returns for such a minimal investment of time and energy.  Period.  Without touching this classic program’s DNA, I remastered it with research and experience of the last decade.

Our strength bias has gotten stronger than ever.  You are not going to rush your rest periods—you are going to dominate the biggest, baddest kettlebell.

I am not going into the scientific nitty-gritty in the book—but the set duration, volume, and rest periods experimentally arrived at by StrongFirst’s most experienced instructors like Mark Reifkind, Michael Castrogiovanni, and others are eerily in line with cutting edge Russian research.  Instead of killing yourself in the lactic acid zone, you will be training to exert your maximal power over and over—and rapidly recover aerobically.  The mindset of the remastered PM is that of a predator, not prey.

The PM progression has become nearly foolproof.  A special option with lighter overspeed eccentric swings and static-dynamic method get-ups has been introduced.  It will enable you to train and keep making progress on the days when you are not at your best.

The training loads were carefully laid out to give you more energy for sports and other pursuits rather than to drain you.  Because you have a life beyond kettlebells.

Following is a short excerpt from Kettlebell Simple & Sinister.

A Little Every Day Goes a Long Way

More is not better, it’s just more.

—Steve Baccari

Would a higher volume be more effective?  Would shorter rest periods?

Perhaps—but at what cost?

First, consider that StrongFirst puts a premium on strength and power.

It is tempting to write off the kettlebell as only an endurance tool, given its relative lightness.  But do not forget the “virtual force” that multiplies the bell’s “heaviness” by as much as ten times in the hands of a skilled hard style girevik.

If you are told to do a higher volume or to compress the rest periods, you will unavoidably start holding back power, pacing yourself.  Your goal would change from getting the desired training effect to just surviving.  Remember Dr. Hatfield’s “cardio” training instructions to a power athlete: “an all-out effort… maximum contracture against submaximal resistance.”

Another issue is efficiency.  Once you reach a certain volume, you hit the point of diminishing returns.  The human body is a non-linear system.  This means doubling your swings from 100 to 200 will not double the results—far from it.  A decade ago Michael Castrogiovanni, today an SFG Team Leader, identified the swing workout that gives the most for the least: 100 swings total, three times a week.

Tim Ferriss, always dedicated to finding the minimum effective dose, discovered that as few as 150-300 weekly swings was the dose for him.  A total of ten to twenty minutes of weekly swings got him a ripped six-pack and added over 100 pounds to his deadlift.

Finally, there is the big issue of leaving enough energy for other things—practicing sport skills, being ready to fulfill your duty on the battlefield, or just enjoying your day and not dragging your tail through it.

Bulgarian elite gymnastics coach Ivan Ivanov believes that the purpose of a training session is to store energy in the body rather than exhaust it.  That is a powerful mindset.  In Ivanov’s experience, 100 repetitions per movement hit the spot—and these must be done daily.  I concur.

It may seem strange to recommend training without days off when the goal is storing energy, but moderate daily training will keep the muscles’ fuel tanks topped off, while making tissues resistant to microtrauma and almost soreness-proof.  It is the ticket to being always ready.

Prof. Arkady Vorobyev explains that incomplete restoration training stimulates the recovery ability; your body literally has to learn how to recoup faster…or else.  Those who have served in the military can relate.  You got sore after your first day in basic training, but you persisted—as if you had a choice—and kept up with the daily grind of pushups and runs, and finally you could handle it.  If you were given the unlikely choice of PT-ing only when you had totally recovered, you still would have been stiff, sore, and a sissy.  This is why the S&S program, while tolerating a minimum of two workouts a week if you are in a pickle, prescribes near-daily training.

Think of the S&S regimen not as a workout but as a recharge.

One of the meanings of the verb “to work out” is “to exhaust by extraction.”  Ponder that for a moment and ask yourself if that is your goal.  In contrast, “recharge” is the name Russians gave to an invigorating morning exercise session.  Out with a workout, in with a recharge!

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A U.S. military special operator (you know him from Easy Strength as “Victor”) will tell you what Kettlebell Simple & Sinister has done for him and can do for you:

I have been training consistently for the past 20 years: cross-country, swimming, and lacrosse in high school; running, rock climbing, weight training throughout college.  I have spent the past thirteen years serving on active duty in U.S. Special Operations.  I have completed more than a few arduous military training courses that required a blend of strength, endurance, and durability.  I do not have the luxury of being able to focus on only one or two aspects of physical fitness.  I have to be well balanced across the entire spectrum of fitness.  My workouts have to be efficient, and I do not want to risk getting injured in training, because I need to be totally healthy and injury-free in order to be effective in my job.  Pavel’s training principles have been a huge influence in my training, and kettlebell training has not only increased my fitness and durability, but it has allowed my train anywhere, anytime.  I have developed a personal training program that has been heavily influenced by the Program Minimum and Pavel and Dan John’s principles of “Easy Strength”.  This program has allowed me to develop a blend of strength and endurance in the most efficient way possible.  I have avoided major injuries, and I have made steady and consistent progress since high school. 

In my opinion, Pavel’s Kettlebell Simple & Sinister is an ideal program for a military professional.  The Swing and the Turkish Get-up are two exercises that produce maximal results in the most efficient way possible.  S&S will allow for safe and progressive increases in strength and conditioning and it can be done anywhere, with minimal equipment.  I have been training almost exclusively with the S&S principles for the past five years, and I can honestly say that it has been the foundation upon which I have built my operational and recreational fitness.  The S&S principles, combined with consistent and progressive training, have given me the strength to accomplish a broad range of athletic feats in addition to maintaining my operational fitness requirements.  I have been able to complete a 100-mile endurance run (with 23,000 feet of elevation gain/loss) in less than 25:00 hours and I have closed the Captains of Crush #3 gripper with my right hand (parallel set).  Pavel’s lessons in relaxation, tension, and safe biomechanical movement have been critical to my athletic success.

The clarity and simplicity of S&S make this one of Pavel’s finest programs.  I would recommend this program without hesitation to ANYONE in the military, or in jobs that require physical strength and durability. 

Repeat until strong.

Order your copy of Kettlebell Simple & Sinister—

Paperback, Kindle, or Audio Book

Simple and Sinister, Pavel Tsatsouline’s new book, is eloquent in its simplicity. People try to overcomplicate a position by adding more where it’s unnecessary, but the true artist sculpts, whittles and pares things down to leave something that’s absolutely beautiful—not by adding more but by taking away.

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Clik here to view.To those of us experienced in kettlebells—if we have a background with Pavel or a background in strength training—in Simple and Sinister he’s telling us things we know, but need to hear again.

(If you’d prefer to listen instead of read, 
here’s a longer audio version of this article, 
Episode 40 of Gray Cook Radio
 http://graycook.com/?p=625)

And if this is your first introduction to kettlebells, I can’t think of a better starting point than Pavel revisiting some of his most profound philosophical statements about strength training.

Yet here he goes one step further: He writes the entire program for us, and he does an excellent job of building a case for his exercise choices.

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He discusses the beauty and simplicity of the Turkish getup, and shows that done right, it’s the slow, posturally correct, proprioceptively rich checking of left and right symmetry in multiple movement patterns and multiple positions—a sort of triplanar functional exercise.

The swing is an exercise that’s often bypassed in kettlebell work. People quickly move to snatches and cleans, bent presses and other complicated lifts, and don’t realize the engine that drives Pavel, Brett Jones, Mark Toomey, Dan John and the folks working with StrongFirst is that they never get away from the foundation.

That simplicity is what we need from our modern palate of exercise. We don’t need more variations and more options. We need a simple linear progression to get us to an exercise that has more benefits at minimal risk.

What Pavel has done is given us a program minimum, and that’s the same philosophical standpoint I’ve gotten to with the Functional Movement Screen. I don’t care how good you are, but please don’t leave a dysfunction or a deficiency. That’s what Pavel is doing, too: This is your minimum.

We know life is going to throw you less training time. Your occupation will add stress. The commitments we have in life outside of our personal fitness will often cause us to pare down our chosen exercise program.

Unfortunately, often turn to a specialty. Runners don’t have time to stretch and lift, but they have time to run. Lifters do the lifts that give them positive feedback and probably avoid those that are their weakest links.

What Pavel says is, ‘I’m going to give you a couple of exercises done a certain way. When in doubt, do that. Get better at it. There are some variations. There are some progressions you can do, but be satisfied with the amazing results.’

That couldn’t be more perfectly stated.

When I lecture to young exercise professionals, they want more variety. They want more options, more variations of exercises.

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Clik here to view.Are you sure? Are you asking me for more deadlift variations? Doing more variations of a deadlift isn’t going to make you a better swinger. It’s just going to give you more functionality in the deadlift.

Yet we love to progress your deadlift into a swing. The deadlift is a beautiful foundation, but for fat loss, metabolic power generation and athletic movements, it’s the swing that’s going to bring everything to the surface. The swing will mutually benefit one person who wants to get stronger and one who wants to have more speed and power.

I have just too many good things to say about Pavel’s new book. I downloaded it as an audio book, and have listened to it twice. Now I’m going to go back and thumb through the pages because I want to see his photographs and explanations.

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It’s a work I’m going to lay right next to his previous work, The Naked Warrior. Pavel creates a constrictive program, and I’d like to elaborate on that. He’s giving us two contrasting and complementary exercises. These are going to present difficulty. You can control some of that by how much weight you use, but at no time do you have the option of using poor technique.

Pavel has a certain way he likes to train his explosive movements, which he calls hard style. It’s the safest and most well-thought-out way to deal with power moves and moving weight. The steps he gives to build a swing and to build a getup are constrictive. They’re going to run you right up against your problems.

He’s doing that because he can’t be in the room with you. The best coaches in the world can design a program not with restrictions, but with constrictions. These constrictions force you to have better form, force you to do the right amount of work at the right time, and force you to rest on a certain day and work harder on another day.

Constrictions are one of the reasons I designed the Functional Movement Screen, so we’re not putting a bad pattern under load. What Pavel has done is given us a beautiful way to get under load and at the same time to enhance movement quality, precision and progression at all costs.

If you’re already a fan of kettlebells, if you’re a fan of strength culture, in Simple and Sinister you will hear what you’ve heard before… in a refreshing, new and simplified way to reassure you that you’re already on the right path.

If you’re new to kettlebells, there isn’t a better starting point than Pavel’s. Unbelievably simple, yet the workouts and work that can be derived from this is absolutely sinister. It’s a concise read, with so many pearls. I’m on my second pass through and I will definitely do a third.

When an author, a coach, a philosopher or somebody who’s immersed themselves in physical culture like Pavel has with his presentation of the StrongFirst community and some of the previous work he’s done, takes the time to simplify his knowledge into clear, concise statements, you better put that on your shelf.

Don’t just read it and then run out to sell this information to your clients, because you’re just renting it. Do what he’s telling us. Embrace it. Just pick up the kettlebell, follow the rules and let it teach you. I can’t think of a better Christmas gift for some of my closest friends and the people in my family who like to train than for me to pick up a copy of this and get it over to them.

I would encourage you to do this read. It requires a lot of work to take something that produces significant results and turn its application into something so simple.

Well done, brother!

Gray Cook

By Pavel Tsatsouline, Chairman 

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The barbell military press is a classic test of upper body strength and a powerful strength builder.  At StrongFirst we teach it on a foundation of our kettlebell skills.  And while the principles (bracing, wedging, etc.) remain the same, tactics change to accommodate a different implement.

The double kettlebell press is ergonomically perfect.  The barbell poses two challenges. First, racking it without hyperextending your back.  Second, getting it around your head.

When the bar is heavy, there is no way to avoid extending your spine.  If you do not, you will fail to position it over your feet and the barbell will simply fall in front of you.

The first thing you need to do to unload your back is extend your hips strongly—cramp your glutes and drive your pelvis forward.  Just as in the kettlebell press, but more so.  The more extended your hips are, the less the spine has to.  It goes without saying that you need flexible hip flexors; something we address early on in our kettlebell curriculum.

The second move to spare your lower back is to extend your upper back.  A flexible thoracic spine—something we hammer in our kettlebell courses and certs—not only will enable you to reduce the lumbar extension, it will make you stronger.  You will be able to elevate your rib cage, pre-stretch your pecs, and provide a more stable support for the racked bar.

Now for the tactics to get around your head.  It all starts with the rack.  Open and lift your chest.  Tilt your head slightly back.  Lift your chin and spread your shoulders.  When you rack the bar, most of its weight should rest on the chest, rather than the arms. The chest is high, the back is taut, the glutes are cramped.  Robert Roman, scientist and champion, warns that if your lower back and glutes are slack, the pressing effort will make your body “settle down” while the bar will stay in place.  Only once the slack has been taken out of the body, the bar will move.  Obviously, this is a waste of strength.  So stay tight!

Soviet weightlifting authority Rodionov demonstrated that the lifter is at his strongest when he starts the press with the bar 1” to 2” below the clavicles.  Presses with the bar right below the collarbones were weaker.  Above the collarbones—weaker yet.

Push your elbows slightly forward and inward.  This is the familiar to us “corkscrew” technique; the principles of strength are universal.  Do not lift your elbows high because it will put your deltoids into a contracted position and you will have nothing to start the press with.  Do not make the common these days mistake of copying the jerk or front rack!  It offers no leverage to press heavy.  For the strict press your elbows must be strictly under the bar or slightly in front of it, but never behind it.

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It is very important to understand that the first half of a strict military press is essentially a front delt raise. Which means that it is your elbows that should be driving the weight and not your hands.  And this is the secret to passing your head smoothly.

The delts stop working when the upper arms are parallel to the deck.  Triceps time.  Instead of pushing the bar up, push yourself away from it, advises Olympic champion Arkady Vorobyev.  Sounds familiar?—Yes, this is the “wedge” from our kettlebell system.

Press as close to your forehead as possible.  When the bar is somewhat above your head, flare the elbows, push your head and shoulders under the bar and finish the press pushing slightly back.

Stand up victorious, a heavy weight overhead.

Enjoy your press strength as Yuri Vlasov did:

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…I step out on the platform.  Just behind me is my coach.  In front—a large hall, silence, and the barbell.  A record weight on the bar.

I adjust my singlet, my belt. I sniff ammonia from a cotton ball in my coach’s hand.  I approach the barbell and try the bar… An excellent bar.  The knurling cuts into the skin.  It is sharp, not worn out by hands.  We call such knurling “mea”’.  Like sandpaper, it ruthlessly rips the skin off the chest and the neck, leaving purple gashes.  In return you get a death grip.  The fingers will not open.

… I close my eyes and let my muscles go.  The body hangs loose like a whip.  I read my favorite poem.  A ritual.  It wakes me up and helps me gather myself  “…To overcome yourself!”

To overcome yourself!

To overcome!

…The bar is on my chest.  Air.  I took a sip and froze.  The muscles are locked.  I shift the weight to my chest freeing the arms from the weight… The wrists are relaxed.  The elbows are tucked against the body… Command!  I grew into the effort.  The bar has jumped off the chest and is on its way up.  Ringing in my ears.

Humming of taut muscles.  Like rumbling of bass strings.

To make it through the dead spot.  The nastiest moment.  One muscle group, shutting down, passes the effort to the next.  And the next one is at an extremely unfavorable position and can’t not produce maximal power.  The barbell could stop here and the fight could… end.

I press myself into the effort!  Such a feeling as if I have pressed myself into some mold!  And pressed in with full force.  But I still keep compressing somehow!

…A scream fell like a wall of a tall building.  People scream.  The scream drives me on.

I am not surrendering.  I am pushing with my arms with the last drop of strength left.  My whole being is in the music.  The bass strings roar at their limit—the most powerful muscles.  The groan of small, tiny fibers joins them.

I am balancing with my torso.  My feet are rocking in the shoes but the shoes are immobile.  You may not lift them off the floor.  Forbidden by the rules.

I am listening to the barbell overhead.  Listening as one big ear.

To hold!

Sharp pain in the spine.  As a kick with a boot.

Nothing around me but a jagged mottled spot.  And from it—people’s scream.  It holds me up.  Makes me not listen to the pain and straightens out my arms all the way.

“Guee!”

“Yes!”—the ref’s voice.

Fatigue immediately fell on me as a huge wet bed sheet. 

I was coming home… Excitation was dying out in waves.  But I kept walking and walking. And the joy was impossible to suppress…

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From an SFL student:

“Employing these techniques [learned at the StrongFirst Lifter certification] has helped me to:

1. Stop repetitive injuries that I was experiencing.

2. Allow me to push past any plateaus in strength I have had set two powerlifting national records.”

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By Pavel Tsatsouline, Chairman

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About five years ago I wrote up the following workout for operators and martial artists in my newsletter.

Run.  Shadow box.  At intervals you have set for yourself—so many minutes or so many phone poles—stop and do one to three pistols.  At the next stop do a couple of one-arm pushups.  Here and there do both pistols and pushups.  No rest at all and just a couple of reps.

This is StrongFirst Roadwork.  It does not replace your dedicated strength training.  It adds a severely lacking high force component into one’s conditioning.  Steady state endurance interrupted by occasional intense contractions is much more specific to the needs of a fighting man or woman than high reps of low intensity exercise, such as circuits of high rep pushups and bodyweight squats.

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Your muscle uses three energy pathways.  The first, most powerful and least enduring, is alactacid.  You can go very hard for 10-30sec—and then the tank is empty.  The second energy system, glycolytic, takes over.  It has a lot less power—less than half—but last for several minutes, typically 2-6.  Finally, it is the turn of the aerobic system.  It produces even less energy—but it can go on forever.  This is an oversimplified picture, as all pathways operate at the same time, but good enough for our purposes.

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 More and more Russian research is revealing that athletes from combat and team sports are making a mistake killing themselves in the glycolytic pathway—doing high rep circuits to “burn”.  The new paradigm is—train your maximal alactacid power (MAP) in 10-20sec bursts of intense effort and your ability to replenish your tank aerobically.  The conditioning portion of the training regimen in my new book Kettlebell Simple & Sinister is designed in that exact manner.

There is a lot more to say on this topic and we shall continue this conversation in the future.  For now stop being enamored with the glycolytic pathway and the “burn”.  As one Russian professor has said in a lecture to wrestlers: “Whose muscles are more acidic in the end of the match?—The loser’s.”

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Maximal anaerobic power + speedy aerobic recovery

= Kettlebell Simple & Sinister

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By Pavel Tsatsouline, Chairman

Have a strong year, brothers and sisters in strength!

I am not going to patronize you with “Go get, ‘em, tiger!” speeches.  You have your training plans and goals and Jan 1 is just another date on your training schedule.  Another swing day, deadlift day, pullup day.  Business as usual, nothing to discuss.

Today I want to talk to you about the way you carry your strength.  If you are already strong, it is an opportunity for introspection.  If you are on your way, here is your chance to “reverse engineer” the good manners of the strong, along with their lifting technique.

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Recently I read a book I enjoyed very much.  Ronen Katz, SFG II, SFB gave it to me.  Ronen is a 6^th Dan in Kyokushin Karate.  He studied in Tokyo under Mas Oyama himself.  At the karate legend’s dojo he made friends with another foreigner on the same quest.  Nicholas Pettas would later become a world-class karate competitor and receive an unheard of compliment from the Japanese who nicknamed him “Blue-Eyed Samurai”.  That was the title of the book Ronen brought to me from Japan.  A couple of months ago Katz taught a seminar introducing StrongFirst training methods in Tokyo.  Pettas was one of the students and he was kind enough to sign a book for me.

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There is a Japanese proverb in Blue-Eyed Samurai: “The mightier the rice becomes, the more it bows its head.”  The stronger one becomes, the more humility he shows.

I have witnessed that the proverb is right on the money time and time again.  One day I brought an acquaintance to Muscle Beach Venice.  A skinny middle-aged guy, Bob decided to get strong and asked me to teach him the deadlift and a few other lifts.

It was Saturday and a powerlifting meet was in progress.  The lifting platform was outside the weight pit, but the competitors warmed up inside.  Bob wanted to turn around and leave but I insisted that we go in.

The pit was crowded but we did manage to find an empty bar and started setting up.  Bob was intimidated, surrounded by guys three times bigger and five times stronger than himself.  Growls from the competition platform outside did not help.  Bob was loading a bar with 135 when a man with no neck towered over him.  The lifter’s voice boomed: “Are you, guys, using these plates?  Do you mind if grab them?”

Bob could not believe his eyes or ears.  And for the rest of his lesson he was treated with utmost respect by the shaved head crew that had set up their warm-up station next to us, even getting called “sir” a few times.

Really strong people have class.  They never bully the weak.  Who does then?—The less weak.

Rob Lawrence, the master of one-liner, once quipped that the very strong and the very weak will never give you any trouble.  It is the guys in the middle who have a chip on their shoulder.  Beta males, frustrated with their inability to rise to the top and taking it out on the even weaker letters of the Greek alphabet.

These betas are easy to recognize in gyms by their swagger and their baseball caps turned backward.  Just a week ago I witnessed one make a lot of noise quarter squatting 315—and then walk away and never come back.  The unfortunate newbie in gym gloves who later came to the power rack to do his curls got stuck unloading the bar.  Next week he probably quit the gym for a health spa that promised “no gym intimidation” in its ads.

If you are reading this blog, you are strong, or at least on your way to strong.  Do not let it go to your head.  Do not give the noble pursuit of strength a bad name by acting like a jack.  Let your conduct inspire the weak to be strong.

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By Eric Gahan, SFG

Recently I designed a training session, which involves the Get-Up (GU) and the One Handed Swing (1H Swing). I designed this session to help clients gain a better understanding of the Get-Up. I found myself revisiting the same corrections each week with each client; therefore I designed this easy but not simple session to work on the program minimum.

It is no secret I am fascinated with the movement of the human body. For twelve years I worked in the rehabilitation and strength and conditioning setting with both general population and division one athletes. I live and coach by the model of technique first and load second. In my eyes movement trumps everything. I found that the Get-Up and One Hand Swing session I designed gave just enough load to the Get-Up as well as the 1H Swing to see significant improvements in both movement and strength of both. The emphasis is to be placed on coaching the client and performing the movements in a controlled manner. Do not rush, your goal is to look, as Dan John would say, “graceful” in the Get-Up and Swings.

The training session works like this:

Use a kettlebell that you can comfortably perform 10 1H swings.
You will use this same kettlebell for the whole training session. You will break the Get-Up into stages. In-between those stages you will place the kettlebell down and perform 10 1H Swings. Here is the breakdown:

Kettlebell in Right hand:
Get up to the elbow: 3x

1H Swing: 10

Get-Up to the palm: 3x

1H Swing: 10

Get-Up to the palm, sweep the leg to knee, return to butt: 3x (Sweep leg, return to butt, do not go all the way down)

1H Swing: 10

Get-Up to ½ Kneeling: perform 3 ½ kneeling windmill

1H Swing: 10

Take a drink and shake it out now return to training with the kettlebell in the Left Hand.

Kettlebell in Left hand:
Get-Up to the elbow: 3x

1H Swing: 10

Get-Up to the palm: 3x

1H Swing: 10

Get-Up to the palm, sweep the leg to knee, return to butt: 3x (Sweep leg, return to butt, do not go all the way down)

1H Swing: 10

Get-Up to ½ Kneeling: perform 3 ½ kneeling windmill

1H Swing: 10

Every one of my clients performed this sequence of Get-Up segments to 1H Swing twice with the same kettlebell.

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Some of the improvements you should expect to see include:

• Increased mobility of the shoulders and hips
• Increased stability of the shoulders and hips
• Increase ability to maintain a packed shoulder through out the whole movement
• Increased awareness of wedging the shoulder into the torso and sitting tall
• Increased ability to place the knee following leg sweep
• Increased ability to pull themselves into both hips in the ½ kneeling position
• Increase ability and understanding of being under the weight throughout the whole movement
• Decrease motion and movement in the lumbar spine due to increase understanding of importance of hip movement
• General improvements in the 1H Swing

I found and witnessed a strong relationship to the Get-Up and the 1H Swing. As the client improved on each segment of the Get-Up the technique for the 1H Swing improved as well. My feeling is that this was a result from further understanding the appropriate places for tension in the body while performing the movement. As well as all the improvements noted above.

Work on this Get-Up and 1H Swing training session with yourself and/or your clients. Embrace the changes in mobility and stablity as the sequences progress.

Move well, Move Strong,
Eric Gahan
Eric@ironbodystudios.com

As a final note, part of my inspiration for some the training session was from reading and performing the furnace workout by Dave Whitley Master SFG.  You can find his training session here: http://strengthdojo.com/what-is-the-furnace-workout/

By Pavel Tsatsouline, Chairman

At a recent SFG kettlebell cert Dan John and I were waxing poetic about the sheer perfection of a program of swings, goblet squats, and get-ups for anyone, from the proverbial “Edna” on Social Security to “GI Joe,” an Army Ranger barely old enough to buy a beer and brimming with testosterone.  One of the students respectfully asked: “Could it be that if the only tool is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail?”

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Our answer was: every trainee IS a “nail.”  Some are sturdier than others, but all undoubtedly are in the “nail” family.  All members of our species share the same anatomy and physiology.  What works for one, will work for another.  The difference is in the degree: how hard you pound the “nail” and how heavy of a “hammer” you are going to select.

Edna and Joe may have different “sport-specific” goals.  She wants to be able to pick up her grandkid and to get up from the floor with no help and no groaning, should she decide to get down there to play with that grandkid.  She aspires to stand up from a chair spritely, to walk strongly, without fearing of falling and breaking her hip.

Joe’s goal is to be able to sprint with his 100-pound kit, quickly move in and out of different shooting positions, negotiate obstacles without blowing out an ankle or a hamstring, carry a wounded brother-in-arms.

Different as they appear, Edna’s and Joe’s goals rely on the same elements: mobile hips and knees, powerful legs, a stable trunk, a well “knit” body that moves as a unit, rather than a “collection of body parts.”  Once these general demands are met, specific skill practice may be needed—the Ranger needs to be taught how to correctly pick up a wounded comrade—but that becomes a piece of cake once the fundamental movement patterns are there, along with mobility and general strength.

There are many ways to develop these fundamental qualities.  For instance, one could take up yoga to get flexible (in spite of a decided lack of squat type poses), get strong with the powerlifts, and go to a physical therapist to attempt (in vain, unless his name is Gray Cook) to make everything fire the right way.  Edna might get her arm twisted into yoga, but Joe would just as likely take up interior decorating.  In turn, Edna would rather join a gun range than a powerlifting gym.  Joe would not mind.  Fortunately, many US military bases in most unfriendly places are equipped with barbells.  Unfortunately, the stress of nightly missions in Afghan mountains does not leave much adrenaline for heavy squats.  And when he tried it, Joe almost let his team down as he was hobbling at half speed with sore quads on a night raid.  It would not occur to either Edna or Joe to seek out the services of a physical therapist or some “movement coach.”

There are other ways, but most of them are just as cumbersome and unrealistic.  Enter the kettlebell.  Edna can easily afford one or two and Joe has them in his deployment kit.

The Swing, the Get-Up, and the Goblet Squat are the three most beneficial exercises anyone could do—period.  Some might need to add other moves, but they must be planted on the foundation of these three whales.

The Swing fills the hips with power and the back with vigor.  The Get-Up makes the shoulders resilient and the abs bulletproof.  The Goblet Squat unlocks the hips and puts a spring into one’s step.  Muscles appear in all the right places while the fat beats retreat.

When done correctly, these exercises are exceptionally safe.  They are beyond safe—they are “anti fragile,” to borrow a word from Nassim Taleb.  The Program Minimum plus goblet squats is true health training.  I can run out of fingers on both hands listing the various health benefits of swings alone.

“Customization” is just a euphemism for “differentiation” in the business world.  The only “customization” you need is the size of the bell.

You are the nail; I rend you the hammer.

The “hammer”: Pavel’s new book Kettlebell Simple & Sinister

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by Ronen Katz, SFGII, SFB

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“Breathing has never been an issue for me… as an old guy sparring with my fighters, I breathe and recover fully during the breaks between rounds… with no problem. I’ve always had abs… and I’ve always thought I used them properly in the SFG lifts. So I figured I knew how to breathe, and my abs were dialed in. Then I had to abdominally breathe from a cross-legged, seated position in Ronen’s seminar. Suddenly my stomach was contracting when it should have been expanding, and expanding when it should have been contracting – couldn’t seem to get the lower abdominal region to fully contract. But Ronen’s prompts were very clear and if I really thought about my breathing and concurrent abdominal movement – I could coordinate the belly breathing properly. And I’ve continued to practice since the workshop. What I’ve found is that my breathing is slower and deeper. Most importantly, I’m achieving a much greater level of engagement and connection on lifts. I’m very confident that this improved connection will allow me to get stronger in everything… It’s very cool to keep learning tools that help me, and that help me be a better coach.”
—Steve Milles, SFG II, Director Five Points Academy, NYC

Man can survive weeks without solid food, days without water, but only mere minutes without air. In ancient traditions they knew the importance of breathing. Breathing technique drills were a necessary component for guarding both one’s health as well as developing one’s progress on mental and spiritual levels. In the years during which I lived in Japan, Masutatsu Oyama – the founder of Kyokushin karate – used to begin and end his lessons with a special breathing exercise. The instruction was to start with the inhalation breath at tanden (three fingers beneath the navel) – the area that is considered the center of force in the world of martial arts. The ratio between inhalation and exhalation is 1:2 (in other words, if the inhalation lasts four seconds, the exhalation lasts 8 seconds). This drill served as a base for practicing one of the single most important katas in the world of martial arts – the Sanchin kata, in which the practitioner attempts to unify Movement and Breath, during which he or she attempts to generate maximum force. In fact, in his brilliant book The Naked Warrior, Pavel Tsatsouline describes an identical drill: squeeze the glutes, point your navel toward the ceiling, zip up the body, and so on. The goal of the martial arts practitioner as well as the StrongFirst practitioner is to generate maximum force, and this is how we do it.

In Raja yoga it is said that the consistent practice of breathing exercises makes it possible for the practitioner to arrive more quickly at the state scientists call REM (rapid eye movement), which is the pinnacle of maximum relaxation. The average person experiences REM at some point during their nightly sleep, but many yogis can attain it within only 8-10 seconds! It is for this reason that many of the best yogis don’t sleep much – they are able to reach the REM state faster than the average person.

The first step to improved breathing is a renewed integration between the three levels: lower, middle, and upper (belly, lungs, and rib cage) together as one unit in the breathing process – a process that comes naturally to infants and children. Breathing this way enables a larger movement of the diaphragm, thus providing a full and thorough massage of the internal organs of the belly. Later the student learns two types of breathing – stopping the breath with air (representing physical power, as we’re used to with kettlebells and barbells) and without air (which requires mental power), the goal of which is to maximize the oxygenation of the blood flow through the use of long, slow exhalation and deep and thorough expelling of carbon dioxide residues from the body.

Modern man spends a large portion of his life sitting in front of a computer screen or behind a steering wheel, and he is generally tense, stressed out, and unsatisfied with life. Nowadays the average person utilizes a minute amount of their lungs’ capacity (when seated, it’s only half a liter of air per minute, during physical activity 1.5 liters per minute, and during intense physical exercise 3 liters per minute). For this reason it is common to hear people sigh throughout the day – in order to compensate for the lack of air their bodies are taking in.

Through both observation and personal inquiry the masters came to better understand the nature of the mind: that it lacks the ability to be silent, and the path to calming the mind is through mastery of breathing. As such, when we feel stressed or angry, our breathing becomes fast and irregular – the same as when we are approaching the climactic moment of a suspenseful movie – our breathing stops by itself. The regular practice of breathing exercises will imbue the practitioner with fortified strength, calm, and control over one’s will power.

Here’s one recommended breathing drill: between one and three times per day, stand in a split stance (hip width) with your palms resting on your stomach, thumbs pointing toward the navel, the remainder of the fingers under the navel. Begin with a long exhalation while gently pressing your hands inward against your stomach. With the inhalation, push the stomach out with your hands placed against your stomach. Repeat for five cycles, and be strict; do not force your breathing. Do this drill on an empty stomach, and preferably before training.

I have intentionally included very few details in this article. Correct breathing, much like all expressions of strength, is a skill, and therefore must be learned and practiced. Just as we can’t properly learn the depth of details of a heavy deadlift or a Kettlebell swing from one article on the internet, we can’t unlock and understand the many principles and practices of proper breathing without correct and mindful instruction. Breathing practice presents an excellent addition to one’s daily training and will undoubtedly lead to improvement in all levels and aspects of training and life.

Ronen Katz has dedicated his personal and professional life to the improvement of mental and physical well-being. He is a 6th Dan Black belt “Shihan” in Kyokushin Karate and its official representative in Israel.  Katz has been an instructor for forces in the elite Israel Secret Service and Defense Department in Krav Maga and other self-defense techniques. For the past twenty years he has traveled regularly to Varnassi, India to learn the ancient techniques to better breathing, concentration, relaxation and mental stability through Bhrigu Yoga and has become a senior disciple of Dr. Shri Brahma Gopal Bhaduri. Katz is SFG II and SFB certified.

By Pavel Tsatsouline, Chairman

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Mikhail Kalashnikov, the inventor the (in)famous AK-47 assault rifle, recently passed away at the age of 94.  RIP.

Revered in Russia, the inventor of the deadliest personal weapon of the XX century is often reviled in the West.  Gen. Lt. Kalashnikov never let it bother him.  “I invented weapons not for murder but for defending my Motherland.”  If not for the Nazis, he would have become an agricultural equipment designer.

On one hand, MK was a dedicated communist.  On the other, he is the author of a famous quote worthy of the NRA: “My dream is a country very much like the USA where men and women do not fear armed citizens.”  So if you want to peg or judge the man, good luck with that…

Peasant son Misha Kalashnikov finishes nine grades and gets a job at the railroad.  Then he is drafted into the military and studies to become a tank mechanic.  A born MacGyver, he loves tinkering with things.  A gizmo for the tank cannon earns him a watch from his commanding officer Georgy Zhukov, future marshal who played a decisive role in winning the World War II.

The war breaks out and Kalashnikov tank command of a T-34 tank.  In October 1941 his tank takes a hit from a German tank.  The young soldier suffers a contusion and is taken off the front line.  Burning to help the war effort, Mikhail sets out to design a reliable automatic rifle.  Haunted by the memory of Russian soldiers with obsolete rifles getting slaughtered by Germans with automatic weapons, he reads, draws, and tinkers like a madman.  Kalashnikov is fortunate to show his ideas to the right people.  On merit alone, he becomes a weapon designer.

He makes his game changing invention in 1947—this is what “47” stands for in the name of the firearm.  “A” stands for “assault rifle” and “K” is Kalashnikov’s initial.  He recalls: “A soldier made a soldier’s weapon… a simple, reliable, effective weapon.  AK works in any conditions, shoots without fail after being in the mud, in a swamp, after being dropped from a height on a hard surface.  It is very simple, this assault rifle.  But I must say that making it simple is sometimes many times harder than making it complex.”

The same can be said about strength training methods—and exercise equipment.  It would not have occurred to me to write a blog about Kalashnikov and his rifle, if not for a post by Jason Ginsberg on StrongFirst forum.  He remembered that I had referred to the Russian kettlebell as “the AK-47 of exercise equipment” and posted a link to a New York Times article.  The following quote caught Jason’s eye:

Shorter than traditional infantry rifles and firing a cartridge midway between the power of a pistol and the standard rifle cartridges of the day, the Kalashnikov line was initially dismissed by American ordnance experts as a weapon of small consequence.  It was not particularly accurate or well made, they said, and it lacked range and stopping power.

It cemented its place in martial history in the 1960s in Vietnam.  There, a new American rifle, the M-16, experienced problems with corrosion and jamming in the jungles, while Kalashnikovs, carried by Vietcong guerrillas and North Vietnamese soldiers, worked almost flawlessly.

Jason commented, “While the AK-47 was initially dismissed because it didn’t do some things as well as other weapons, some of its perceived flaws were actually virtues in the right circumstances.  Similarly, you can find people bashing the kettlebell for not being a barbell but many of the features that seem like disadvantages to some actually lend themselves to very useful applications that the kettlebell is better suited for.”

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Clik here to view.Although kettlebells are not heavy enough to enable you to bench press 500 pounds, they will make you plenty strong.  Strong enough to at excel at most sports.  If I am to pick a football team and one candidate can bench four wheels and the other is a Beast Tamer, I will choose the latter without hesitation.  A gent who can do a strict one-arm military press, a tactical pullup, and a pistol with a 48kg kettlebell is a dangerous individual.  Ditto for an Iron Maiden who has done it with a 24kg kettlebell.  In addition to strength, the kettlebell delivers the total package of mobility, conditioning, and resilience.

If reaching the highest levels of absolute strength and muscularity—250-300 pounds of meat and enough plates on the bar to lose count—is your goal, then the barbell is the equivalent of the more accurate M-16 rifle to hit your goal’s bull’s eye.

If everything goes right…  Russians tested both rifles side by side.  Dug them into sand, dropped them into water, dropped them from heights…  After a drop from 6m (20 feet) to a concrete slab the M-16 failed to fire.   The AKM (a later version of AK-47) kept firing even after being dropped from 10m (33 feet).

Master SFG Geoff Neupert has pointed out that the barbell is a lot less forgiving than a kettlebell or even a pair of kettlebells.  Your body has to adapt to the barbell while the kettlebell works with your body.  In my strongly held opinion the kettlebell is the most ergonomically perfect piece of strength training equipment.

The barbell demands that you are seriously dialed in the mobility, stability, and coordination departments.  Program design has to be spot on, as heavy weights make it easy to burn out your nervous system and overtrain.  Many pages of the StrongFirst barbell cert manual are dedicated to teaching you how to dodge that bullet.

Geoff Neupert and Jeff O’Connor even concluded that, “one of the smartest ways to train is to actually “work out” with double kettlebells and practice your lifts with a barbell.” (You may have noticed that the StrongFirst barbell cert, SFL, has a kettlebell cert or course as a prerequisite.)

Whether you need the barbell or not, you cannot go wrong with the kettlebell.  Kalashnikov could have said it about the kettlebell: “a soldier’s weapon… simple, reliable, effective”.

The kettlebell.  It hits the target without jamming.

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Simple and deadly as a Kalashnikov:
Pavel’s new book Kettlebell Simple & Sinister

By Dr. Michael Hartle, Master SFG

The barbell front squat is a very effective squat variation, and when compared to the back squat, is just plain hard work! In addition, the carryover to sport and life cannot be ignored.

From the StrongFirst SFL Barbell Certification manual:

“For most athletes the barbell front squat is a better choice than the back squat (unless hypertrophy is the top priority). The FSQ allows one to fully extend the hips and it enforces a better technique (the back squat is a lot easier to cheat on by coming up tail-first). The front squat places relatively more stress on the quads than the back squat. As the bar can be dropped, the FSQ does not require a spotter or a power rack.”

The hamstring and gluteal muscles are also utilized during this exercise but because the center of gravity of the weight is actually shifted forward on the body it tends to place more stress on the quadriceps, thereby developing them even more.

The shin angle in the front squat will have more forward inclination when compared to the back squat, where it has more of a vertical shin. This allows more knee flexion to occur, stressing the quads even more. This in no means puts undue stress upon the knee joint per se, as long as the lifter goes below parallel with each repetition. Not going below parallel will tend to stress out the knee joint et al and not activate the gluteus maximus completely.

There are three different rack styles of the front squat taught with the StrongFirst Lifter (SFL) Barbell Certification. The first style we teach is the bodybuilding rack, which utilizes a crossed arm position. The second style is the traditional weightlifting rack, which is usually the standard rack that you will see in most gyms and facilities around the world, and especially in weightlifting competitions. The third rack style that we teach is what I term the powerlifting rack, which is a hybrid of the weightlifting rack, utilizing lifting straps to help hold the bar.

The bodybuilding rack is for those who do not have the requisite shoulder, elbow, wrist and lat mobility to hold the weightlifting rack position. It can also be used for someone who doesn’t have much interest going very heavy in the front squat. There does seem to be a limitation of the bodybuilding rack in regards to how much weight one can utilize in this position because of the stress on the shoulders, even when placing the barbell in the proper position on the clavicle.

The weightlifting rack does require good shoulder, elbow, wrist and lat mobility and even thoracic mobility. The other rack positions require good thoracic spine mobility as well but this one even more so. Please understand: Developing a good weightlifting rack will take time, if you are not able to achieve it right away. You may have to start initially with the bodybuilding rack while concurrently working on your weightlifting rack mobility, eventually moving toward the weightlifting rack.

One advantage of the weightlifting rack is the ability to place the barbell on the clavicles. This helps to center the load over the body better. With the bodybuilding rack, it is more difficult to achieve this position. The powerlifting rack utilizes lifting straps to create a sling underneath the barbell. While it is difficult to describe it in written word, the lifter is basically using the lifting straps in lieu of the fingers to help hold the barbell in the proper position on the clavicles. This decreases the amount of elbow flexion and wrist extension that is necessary to be able to hold the barbell.

I personally have gone up as high as 350lbs x 5 using the powerlifting rack. I have not been able to successfully perform the weightlifting rack, partially due to my powerlifting training, with emphasizing my triceps for the bench press and starting to front squat later in life. Once you get used to it, it feels very comfortable.

Good thoracic mobility is a given to be able to do the front squat properly. We utilize and teach several mobility drills at the SFL to help develop this, everything from thoracic mobilization using foam rollers and yoga blocks, to the StrongFirst Arm Bar, to the Bretzel. We also recommend utilizing various stretches to assist with this. If you are not able to hold an upright position without having to excessively lean forward with it and drop the bar, I recommend working on the goblet squat and/or the back squat until you’re able to develop the requisite thoracic mobility to complete the task.

Before we progress a lifter to the barbell front squat, I want to see a very strong and adequate goblet squat. The ability to maintain a very flat spine is essential to improve performance and decrease injury. No tucking under at the bottom with the buttocks/sacrum is recommended, thereby putting undue stress on the lower lumbar spine. If you are rounded and/or have other issues with the goblet squat, you have no business going to the barbell front squat until you are able to complete the task.

Once you are able to perform a goblet squat properly, graduating to the barbell front squat is next. One does not have to goblet squat heavy, meaning 48kg, to move one to the barbell. A lot of training sessions I will do goblet squats as a warm-up exercise to help with my hip mobility. I will use something as small as 12 kilo to help with that.

Good ankle dorsiflexion is also needed in the front squat since the shin angle has increased in comparison to the back squat, which optimally uses a near vertical shin.

The barbell front squat is different in comparison to what we teach in the SFG Level 1 with the double kettlebell front squat. You definitely need more thoracic mobility as the shoulders and elbows are flexed and up, parallel with the ground, and your body is more upright with the weight, whereas in the KB front squat the elbows are pointing at the ground.

Because you are staying more upright with the barbell front squat, you will find increased abdominal activation as you are maintaining an upright posture and not letting the weight drop!! One of the things that always amazed me when I was doing a lot of heavy front squatting was how sore my abs became. I never realized how much your abs are contracting to hold you upright during the front squat. You are keeping the cylinder upright, almost 90 degrees to the floor, maybe a slight 5 degree forward inclination. When watching other lifters perform the barbell front squat, you will discover when they come out of the hole, some will have a tendency to drop the elbows and/or drop the head, and the bar will start to come forward. This indicates either a lack of strength of the torso to stay upright or a lack of thoracic mobility or both.

Speaking of that, one of the advantages, in a safety sense, of doing a front squat versus say a back squat is you don’t need spotters. If for some reason the weight starts to get heavy or comes forward and you don’t feel that you can complete the rep, merely just dump it in front of you, step backwards and get out of the way. In the back squat, this is more difficult for obvious reasons.

When front squatting, there is more knee flexion and hip flexion when compared to the good morning/KB swing. During the front squat, we like to see the tailbone point somewhere between 6:00 and 7:00 at the end of the movement, whereas in a good morning or KB swing, the tailbone will point at ~9:00. When you descend in the front squat, you are not just pushing the butt backwards, you are pushing the butt backwards and down.

During the back squat, knee flexion is a secondary motion because of the hip flexion occurring. In the front squat, you will be flexing the knees and the hips at approximately the same time and to the same angle. The neck position during the front squat is that of a neutral neck with a chin tuck. There is retraction of the skull on top of the spine, activating the deep cervical neck flexors and not going into a hyperextension during the front squat.

One of the common cues that I use with lifters during the descent is to “keep the elbows up.” Maintaining the upper arm parallel to the ground as much as possible allows you to keep the elbows up and not dip down. Keeping the elbows up throughout the lift ensures you are keeping your thoracic spine and your shoulders up at the same time. This helps to decrease any forward leaning when you come out of the hole. If you start to dip the elbows down, unless you have a very strong midsection, the bar will end up dumping or the bar will come forward enough to cause rounding of the back and putting yourself in harm’s way.

One of the things that we emphasize strongly at the SFL is to make sure your setup is where it should be. It is similar to when I coach youth football. One of the things that we always teach is form and technique. We spend a lot of time in the first few weeks of a new season of junior high football working on form, technique, and stances. I am not concerned at this point if a young man can fire out of their stance quickly. I want him to be able to get into a good three-point or four-point stance. Once he gets his set-up down, then his chances of success are much greater.

Same thing as far as the front squat is concerned. We want to make sure that you get your hand position, shoulder position, etc., where it should be. When you get underneath the bar, you want to wedge yourself strongly. Don’t take this lightly. You will hear those 2 words – “wedge yourself…” quite a bit at the SFL. Get that bar on your collarbones. The bar should be placed as close to the throat, on top of the collarbones, as possible. At first it will be uncomfortable but you’re gonna have to get used to it. You are not going to hurt the collarbones or your AC/SC joints at all.

As you are getting yourself properly wedged under the bar to prepare to lift it off the rack, make sure there is 5-10 degrees of knee flexion once you are properly set-up underneath the bar. Mid-chest level is a good approximation. I see too many lifters get underneath the bar and not allow themselves enough knee flexion to properly stand up with the bar. The bar is set too high. By allowing the 5-10 degrees flexion, this makes sure that by extending the knees fully before stepping back, it helps to elevate the bar past the hooks in the rack, thereby stepping out in a safer manner.

You want to become one with the bar. When you are moving that bar up and backwards, it is your body weight plus the weight on the bar. It is not two separate things. It is one unit, until you rack that weight.

The second part of this setup is walking back. I make a very strong point to make sure that when you are walking back with the bar, that you look robotic. Robotic to the point where you are standing up with the bar first, getting to the terminal knee extension, then stepping back, with small steps, with one foot then the other. Line themselves up and then achieve your proper width that you have been practicing with.

Front squats have a huge carryover to sports and helping the athlete improve their performance and decrease injury. For example, a downhill skier would benefit tremendously from using front squats in their training. Skiing is a very quad dominant type of movement. There is always knee flexion to absorb the forces from the terrain when coming down the hill. Strengthening the lower extremities with the front squat will immensely help with that. Hockey and football players will also benefit.

Even for sports that are single leg dominant, such as tennis, where you are having to lunge quite a bit, and golf, with the shift in body weight from side to side, athletes participating in these sports will benefit greatly from doing heavy and medium front squats. The core stability and the strength created throughout the body while training front squats is immeasurable.

So the take-away with the front squat is:

(1) come to the SFL so you can learn how to do front squats properly;

(2) When you are doing them, take your time getting set up.

Again, I will always, always emphasize this last point. One person at the last SFL called me Dr. Setup and I had to laugh at that. One of those things that I have learned over the years is to always put yourself in the right position to succeed. Don’t get in a position where you’re going to fail. Too many lifters do that and they end up either getting injured or not having the performance gains that they wished to have. You always want to make sure that you are in the proper set-up to be able to do things properly so you can get the most work done.

Stay strong. Stay healthy.

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Register for an upcoming StrongFirst barbell cert:

Salt Lake City, UT — March 7-9
Vicenza, Italy — April 4-6

Be StrongFirst.

By Jason Marshall, Senior SFG

If you decide to test your mettle in the Tactical Strength Challenge, you better have a plan.  There are an infinite number of options in preparing for such a challenge, including not preparing at all and using it purely as a barometer for progress in your current training plan.   To give a greater chance of success and improvement, the best option is one that addresses the specific nature of the events contested.   The best approach for you could be one consisting of a progressive, consistent plan that waves volume, density and intensity while taking into consideration the athlete’s current abilities and foundations of strength.

Below, I have outlined a couple of training approaches based on the ability level of the competitor.  If you’re unfamiliar with the rules of the Tactical Strength Challenge, please check out this link.  For technical instruction on the lifts contested, or to join a group to train with, seek out a StrongFirst instructor here.

(5×5, 3×3, etc. denotes Sets times Repetitions)

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Clik here to view.Beginner Plan for Novice Competitors

• Deadlift
  • “Off Season” – Easy Strength
  • 8 Weeks prior to competition
    • Linear peaking cycle

• Pull-up
  • Ability Level:
    • Multiple pull-ups
      • Fighter Pull-up program
    • One or close to one pull-up
      • Isometric Holds
      • FAH
      • Negatives
      • Assists
      • Ring Rows
  • FAH
    • Assists
    • Ring Rows
    • For Time

• Snatch
  • At least one day per week –
    • SSST (Secret Service Snatch Test) progression – lite
  • 2-3 Days per week
    • Heavy Swings and Get Ups
  • Simple and Sinister Style

Example Cycle – 4 Days/Week

• Day 1
  • Deadlift
    • 75% – 3,3,2,2
    • After each set of deadlifts,
      • Superset pull up progression based on ability level
      • Ex – No pull ups yet –
        • Palms forward, hollow position, elbows pulled back, neck to bar, isometric hold for time, lower under control
  • S&S Swings and Get Ups
    • 10 sets of 10 Swings – at least snatch sized kettlebell, preferable one size heavier
      • Work up to Single Arm Swings – 100 total reps per training session.
    • 10 Get Ups Following Swings – preferably same kettlebell used for swings
      • 5 Right, 5 Left, alternating each rep for 10 total reps

• Day 2
  • Goblet Squat  or Double KB Front Squat
    • 5×5
  • Pull Up Progressions
    • After each set of deadlifts,
      • Superset Pull Up progression based on ability level
      • Ex – No pull ups yet –
        • Palms forward, hollow position, elbows pulled back, neck to bar, hold for a moment, then slow negative
  • Snatches
    • Practice rhythm; find the optimal groove or arc path of the bell, full pause at the top of each rep.
      • Start with 6 right, 6 left at the top of the minute for 7 minutes
      • You might have to use a bell lighter than the bell you’ll test with, but will soon progress to the snatch test sized bell when your form improves

• Day 3
  • Deadlift
    • 80% – 5×2
    • After each set of deadlifts,
      • Superset pull up progression based on ability level
      • Ex – No pull ups yet –
        • Palms forward, hollow position, elbows pulled back, neck to bar, isometric hold for time, lower under control
  • S&S Swings and Get Ups
    • 10 sets of 10 Swings – at least snatch sized kettlebell, preferable one size heavier
      • Work up to Single Arm Swings – 100 total reps per training session.
    • 10 Get Ups Following Swings – preferably same kettlebell used for swings
      • 5 Right, 5 Left, alternating each rep for 10 total reps

• Day 4
  • Goblet Squat  or Double KB Front Squat
    • 5×5
  • Pull Up Progressions
    • After each set of deadlifts,
      • Superset Pull Up progression based on ability level
      • Ex – No pull ups yet –
        • Palms forward, hollow position, elbows pulled back, neck to bar, hold for a moment, then slow negative
  • Snatches
    • Practice rhythm; find the optimal groove or arc path of the bell, full pause at the top of each rep.
      • Try 5 right, 5 left at the top of the minute for 7 minutes for today.

Deadlift Notes:
During the off-season phase, add 10-20 pounds each week to your 75% and 80% deadlifts and keep the reps the same.  After 4 weeks, start back with your Week 2 bar weight.

When you reach eight weeks from the competition, you’ll need to rework your deadlift training.  I suggest a linear peaking cycle.  Pick a realistic goal for the weight you’d like to pull during the challenge.  Work backward for eight weeks in increments of 10-20 pounds.

Here’s an example for a lady looking to pull 250lbs starting her first week of the linear peak.

Week 1 – 5×5 – 180
Week 2 – 5×5 – 190
Week 3 – 5×5 – 200
Week 4 – 3×3 – 210
Week 5 – 3×3 – 220
Week 6 – 2×2 – 230
Week 7 – 2,1,1 – 240
Week 8 – No training, TSC on Saturday

• 1st Attempt – 225
• 2nd Attempt – 240
• 3rd Attempt – 250 – PR!

Pull Up Notes:
Try to hold your isometric-hold pull-ups for longer periods of time with a stronger hollow position as well as lowering your negative for longer periods each week.

Example Cycle Progression, with Back-off days for a lady with a max of 30 seconds in the flexed arm hang.  Close to a tactical pull up, but not quite there yet:

• Week 1
  • Day 1 – Palms forward, neck over the bar, hold for time:
    • :25, :20, :15, :10, :05
  • Day 2 – Palms forward, slow negatives (No need to physically time these on a clock…a good way to count your way down on the negative is by number of “hissing” power breathes…or count one Mississippi, two Mississippi, etc.)
    • :10, :09, :08, :07, :06
  • Day 3 – Palms forward, neck over the bar, hold for time:
    • :25, :20, :15, :10, :10
  • Day 4 – Palms forward, slow negatives
    • :10, :09, :08, :07, :07
• Week 2
  • Day 1 – Palms forward, neck over the bar, hold for time:
    • :30, :25, :20, :15, :10
  • Day 2 – Palms forward, slow negatives
    • :11, :10, :09, :08, :07
  • Day 3 – Palms forward, neck over the bar, hold for time:
    • :30, :25, :20, :15, :15
  • Day 4 – Palms forward, slow negatives
    • :11, :10, :09, :08, :08
• Week 3
  • Day 1 – Palms forward, neck over the bar, hold for time:
    • :35, :30, :25, :20, :15
  • Day 2 – Palms forward, slow negatives
    • :12, :11, :10, :09, :08
  • Day 3 – Palms forward, neck over the bar, hold for time:
    • :35, :30, :25, :20, :20
  • Day 4 – Palms forward, slow negatives
    • :12, :11, :10, :09, :09

Squat Notes:
On Week 2, use a heavier bell or pair of bells for the 1st set of your squats on Days 2 and 4.  Use the heavier bells for the 1st and 2nd set on Week 3 until you’re using the heavier bell or pair of bells for all 5 sets.  You won’t always progress as pretty as it sounds, so use your intuition and listen to your body when it comes to progressing to heavier bells.

Here’s an example of a pretty progression with no snags to a heavier pair of bells.

Week 1 – 5×5 – 2-16kg
Week 2 – 1×5 – 2-20kg, 4×5 – 2-16kg
Week 3 – 2×5 – 2-20kg, 3×5 – 2-16kg
Week 4 – 3×5 – 2-20kg, 2×5 – 2-16kg
Week 5 – 4×5 – 2-20kg, 1×5 – 2-16kg
Week 6 – 5×5 – 2-20kg
Week 7 – 1×5 – 2-24kg, 4×5 – 2-20kg

Back off weeks or sessions can be used based on feel.  Listen to your body.  If you’re not ready to progress, don’t.  If progress is stalling towards a heavier bell or pair of bells, stick with same sizes and try to complete the sets in less time, with less rest between sets.

Snatch Notes:
Start your snatches on Day 2 with 7/7 at the top of the minute and 6/6 on Day 4.  Each week, you’ll ratchet this up until you reach 10/10.  When that’s achieved, you’ll go up a bell size and go back down to 5/5, or add a minute to the duration and repeat the entire progression with same bell.

Here’s an example of a gentleman looking to compete in the Novice division with a 20kg, but hasn’t quite mastered the 20kg yet, so he’s using the progression with a 16kg.

• Example of Cycle Progression
  • Week 1
    • Day 2 – 16kg – 7/7 – 7 minutes
    • Day 4 – 16kg – 6/6 – 7 minutes
  • Week 2
    • Day 2 – 16kg – 8/8 – 7 minutes
    • Day 4 – 16kg – 7/7 – 7 minutes
  • Week 3
    • Day 2 – 16kg – 9/9 – 7 minutes
    • Day 4 – 16kg – 8/8 – 7 minutes
  • Week 4
    • Day 2 – 16kg – 10/10 – 7 minutes
    • Day 4 – 16kg – 9/9 – 7 minutes
  • Week 5 (2 Options, depending if he’s ready to increase the kettlebell size)
    • Option 1 – ready to give the 20kg a ride
      • Day 2 – 20kg – 5/5 – 7 minutes
      • Day 4 – 20kg – 4/4 – 7 minutes
    • Option 2 – not feeling it, so let’s take the 16kg back up through the progression, but start one step higher.
      • Day 2 – 16kg – 7/7 – 8 minutes
      • Day 4 – 16kg – 6/6 – 8 minutes

Swing and Get Up Notes
Keep the S&S swings and getups above your snatch sized bell if possible and use it as a “tonic” training session.  Keep the pace high, but not as a high as a “smoker.”

An example for a lady in the Novice division would look like this:

• Week 1
  • Swings – 10×10 – Two Hand Swings – 20kg
  • Get Up – 5×1/1 – 12kg
    • 10 total get ups, alternating left and right
• Week 2
  • Swings –
    • 1×10 One Arm Swings Right  – 20kg
    • 1×10 One Arm Swings Left  – 20kg
    • 8×10 – Two Hand Swing – 20kg
  • Get Up –
    • 1/1 – 16kg
    • 4/4 – 12kg
• Week 3
  • Swings –
    • 1×10 One Arm Swings Right  – 20kg
    • 1×10 One Arm Swings Left  – 20kg
    • 1×10 One Arm Swings Right  – 20kg
    • 1×10 One Arm Swings Left  – 20kg
    • 6×10 – Two Hand Swing – 20kg
  • Get Up –
    • 2/2 – 16kg
    • 3/3 – 12kg
• Week 4
  • Swings –
    • 1×10 One Arm Swings Right  – 20kg
    • 1×10 One Arm Swings Left  – 20kg
    • 1×10 One Arm Swings Right  – 20kg
    • 1×10 One Arm Swings Left  – 20kg
    • 1×10 One Arm Swings Right  – 20kg
    • 1×10 One Arm Swings Left  – 20kg
    • 4×10 – Two Hand Swing – 20kg
  • Get Up –
    • 3/3 – 16kg
    • 2/2 – 12kg
• Week 5
  • Swings –
    • 1×10 One Arm Swings Right  – 20kg
    • 1×10 One Arm Swings Left  – 20kg
    • 1×10 One Arm Swings Right  – 20kg
    • 1×10 One Arm Swings Left  – 20kg
    • 1×10 One Arm Swings Right  – 20kg
    • 1×10 One Arm Swings Left  – 20kg
    • 1×10 One Arm Swings Right  – 20kg
    • 1×10 One Arm Swings Left  – 20kg
    • 2×10 – Two Hand Swing – 20kg
  • Get Up –
    • 4/4 – 16kg
    • 1/1 – 12kg
• Week 6
  • Swings –
    • 5×10/10 One Arm Swings – 20kg
  • Get Up –
    • 5/5 – 16kg

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Clik here to view.Plan for Intermediate to Advanced Competitors

• Deadlift
  • “Off Season” – Easy Strength
  • 8 Weeks prior to competition
    • Linear peaking cycle

• Pull-up
  • Ability Level:
    • Multiple pull-ups
      • Fighter Pull-up program
    • One or close to one pull-up
      • Isometric Holds
      • FAH
      • Negatives
      • Assists
      • Ring Rows
    • FAH
      • Assists
      • Ring Rows
      • For Time

• Snatch
  • At least one day per week –
    • SSST progression – lite
  • 2-3 Days per week
    • Heavy Swings and Get Ups
      • S&S style

Example Cycle – 4-5 Days/Week

• Day 1
  • Deadlift
    • 75% – 3,3,2,2
  • Fighter Pull Up
    • 10,9,8,7,6
  • S&S Swings and Get Ups
    • 10 Single Arm Swings – 5 sets each arm – at least snatch sized kettlebell, preferable one size heavier
    • Followed by 10 total getups – 5 reps each arm, alternating arms each rep  – preferably same kettlebell used for swings
• Day 2
  • Close Grip Bench (I used this to build up some lagging triceps at the time)  Pick an exercise to build up your weak links.
    • 75% – 3,3,2,2
  • Fighter Pull Up
    • 10,9,8,7,7
  • Snatches
    • 14 rpm – 7/7 for 7 minutes
• Day 3
  • KB Front Squat
    • 5×5
  • Fighter Pull Up
    • 10,9,8,8,7
  • S&S Swings and Get Ups
    • 10 Single Arm Swings – 5 sets each arm – at least snatch sized kettlebell, preferable one size heavier
    • Followed by 10 total getups – 5 reps each arm, alternating arms each rep  – preferably same kettlebell used for swings
• Day 4
  • Light Deficit Deadlifts (standing a pair of 45lb plates or slightly higher to elevate your starting position by 1-3 inches) – 50%-60% of Day 1 Bar Weight
    • 8×2 at the top of the minute
  • Fighter Pull Up
    • 10,9,9,8,7
  • Snatches
    • 12 rpm – 6/6 for 7 minutes
• Day 5
  • Fighter Pull Up Only
    • 10,10,9,8,7

Deadlift Notes:
Next week add 10-20 pounds to your 75% and 80% deadlifts and keep the reps the same.  After 4 weeks, start back with your Week 2 bar weight and work your way up each week 10-20 pounds at a time.

When you reach eight weeks from the competition, you’ll need to rework your deadlift training.  I suggest a linear peaking cycle.  Pick a realistic goal for the weight you’d like to pull during the challenge.  Work backward for eight weeks in increments of 10-20 pounds.  The eight week time frame for the peaking cycle isn’t set in stone.  It just makes it easy if you plan your training in 4-week blocks.  Over time, you’ll figure out the optimal number of weeks it takes to peak.  Sometimes it’s longer, say 10 weeks, or shorter, like 6 weeks.

Here’s an example for a gentleman who has pulled 380, but is looking to pull 400lbs starting his first week of the linear peak.

Week 1 – 5×5 – 270
Week 2 – 5×5 – 285
Week 3 – 5×5 – 300
Week 4 – 3×3 – 320
Week 5 – 3×3 – 340
Week 6 – 2×2 – 360
Week 7 – 2×2 – 380
Week 8 – No training, TSC on Saturday

• 1st Attempt – 365
• 2nd Attempt – 385 – PR!
• 3rd Attempt – 400 – PR and Goal!

Pull Up Notes:
The second week you will add 1 rep to your first set of pull-ups and work your way down the ladder and progress each day as the pattern above.  You will add one rep to the last set and sequentially each training day.  If the increase in pull-up volume is too much too soon, add a back-off day rather than a progress day.  A back-off day would be 50% of the volume of the previous day.  An easy way to figure it up is to start with the number of the 3rd set and work back for 3 sets.  Using the example week above, if you needed a back-off on Day 3, the sets would be 8,7,6;  or 21 total reps.  Day 2 (10,9,8,7,7) totaled 41 reps.  Start Day 4 where you should’ve been on Day 3.  Add the back-off days in as needed.

Example Cycle Progression, with Back-off days for a gentleman with a max of 6-7 tactical pull ups:

• Week 1
  • Day 1 – 5,4,3,2,1
  • Day 2 – 5,4,3,2,2
  • Day 3 – 5,4,3,3,2
  • Day 4 – Back Off Day – 3,3,2
  • Day 5 – 5,4,4,3,2
• Week 2
  • Day 1 – 6,5,4,3,2
  • Day 2 – 6,5,4,3,3
  • Day 3 – 6,5,4,4,3
  • Day 4 – Back Off Day – 4,4,3
  • Day 5 – 6,5,5,4,3
• Week 3
  • Day 1 – 7,6,5,4,3
  • Day 2 – Back Off Day – 5,4,3
  • Day 3 – 7,6,5,5,4
  • Day 4 – Back Off Day – 5,5,4
  • Day 5 – 7,6,6,5,4

Another example for a gentleman with upwards of 20 tactical pull ups:

• Week 1
  • Day 1 – 14,12,10,8,6
  • Day 2 – Back Off Day – 10,8,6
  • Day 3 – 14,12,10,10,8
  • Day 4 – Back Off Day – 10,10,8
  • Day 5 – 14,12,12,10,8
• Week 2
  • Day 1 – 15,13,11,9,7
  • Day 2 – Back Off Day – 11,9,7
  • Day 3 – 15,13,11,11,9
  • Day 4 – Back Off Day – 11,11,9
  • Day 5 – 15,13,13,11,9
• Week 3
  • Day 1 – 16,14,12,10,8
  • Day 2 – Back Off Day – 12,10,8
  • Day 3 – 16,14,12,12,10
  • Day 4 – Back Off Day – 12,12,10
  • Day 5 – 16,14,14,12,10

Squat Notes:
On Week 2, use a heavier bell or pair of bells for the 1st set of your squats on Days 2 and 4.  Use the heavier bells for the 1st and 2nd set on Week 3 until you’re using the heavier bell or pair of bells for all 5 sets.  You won’t always progress as pretty as it sounds, so use your intuition and listen to your body when it comes to progressing to heavier bells.   A good goal for gentlemen is to use a pair of bells equal to 80% of your bodyweight or 50-60% of bodyweight for ladies…or heavier, of course!

Here’s an example of a pretty progression with no snags to a heavier pair of bells.

Week 1 – 5×5 – 2-24kg
Week 2 – 1×5 – 2-32kg, 4×5 – 2-24kg
Week 3 – 2×5 – 2-32kg, 3×5 – 2-24kg
Week 4 – 3×5 – 2-32kg, 2×5 – 2-24kg
Week 5 – 4×5 – 2-32kg, 1×5 – 2-24kg
Week 6 – 5×5 – 2-32kg
Week 7 – 1×5 – 2-40kg, 4×5 – 2-32kg

Back off weeks or sessions can be used based on feel.  Listen to your body.  If you’re not ready to progress, don’t.  Just repeat the previous week’s numbers, or take a break and do half the number of sets.  If progress is stalling towards a heavier bell or pair of bells, stick with same sizes and try to complete the sets in less time, with less rest between sets.

Snatch Notes:
Start your snatches on Day 2 of the second week with 8/8 at the top of the minute and 7/7 on Day 4.  Each week, you’ll ratchet this up until you reach 10/10.  When that’s achieved with the snatch sized bell, add a minute to the progression and start back over at 5/5 at the top of the minute, or you can keep the duration the same and increase a bell size for the first minute until you’ve completed all sets with the heavier bell.

• Example of Cycle Progression
  • Week 1
    • Day 2 – 20kg – 7/7 – 7 minutes
    • Day 4 – 20kg – 6/6 – 7 minutes
  • Week 2
    • Day 2 – 20kg – 8/8 – 7 minutes
    • Day 4 – 20kg – 7/7 – 7 minutes
  • Week 3
    • Day 2 – 20kg – 9/9 – 7 minutes
    • Day 4 – 20kg – 8/8 – 7 minutes
  • Week 4
    • Day 2 – 20kg – 10/10 – 7 minutes
    • Day 4 – 20kg – 9/9 – 7 minutes
  • Week 5 (2 Options, depending if you’re ready to increase the kettlebell size)
    • Option 1
      • Day 2 – 24kg – 5/5 – 7 minutes
      • Day 4 – 24kg – 4/4 – 7 minutes
    • Option 2
      • Day 2 – 20kg – 7/7 – 8 minutes
      • Day 4 – 20kg – 6/6 – 8 minutes

Swing and Get Up Notes:
Keep the S&S swings and getups above your snatch sized bell if possible and use it as a “tonic” training session.  Keep the pace high, but not as a high as a “smoker.”

An example for a gentleman in the Open division would look like this:

• Week 1
  • Swings –
    • 5×10/10 One Arm Swings – 32kg
  • Get Up –
    • 5/5 – 24kg
• Week 2
  • Swings –
    • 1×10/10 – 40kg
    • 4×10/10 – 32kg
  • Get Up –
    • 1/1 – 32kg
    • 4/4 – 24kg
• Week 3
  • Swings –
    • 2×10/10 – 40kg
    • 3×10/10 – 32kg
  • Get Up –
    • 2/2 – 32kg
    • 3/3 – 24kg
• Week 4
  • Swings –
    • 3×10/10 – 40kg
    • 2×10/10 – 32kg
  • Get Up –
    • 3/3 – 32kg
    • 2/2 – 24kg
• Week 5
  • Swings –
    • 4×10/10 – 40kg
    • 1×10/10 – 32kg
  • Get Up –
    • 4/4 – 32kg
    • 1/1 – 24kg
• Week 6
  • Swings –
    • 5×10/10 One Arm Swings – 40kg
  • Get Up –
    • 5/5 – 32kg

The plan is simple, but not easy.  The gains are in the volume and steady progress made each week.  The consistency is maintained through deliberate mini-de-load weeks and/or training sessions.  As you mature in your journey towards mastering the skill of strength, an intuitive approach to training will develop.  Not to get too quirky, it boils down to listening to that inner-voice that’s telling you to slow down, take a day off, or get after it, but not losing sight of the goal…which is putting up a great number during the competition.  A pull up, snatch or deadlift PR is awesome, but a PR during a Tactical Strength Challenge is that much better, because it was done when it counted…in front of your peers, having your technique scrutinized, and finally recorded in the annals of TSC history!

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Jason Marshall is the owner of a performance training studio in Lubbock, Texas called Lone Star Kettlebell.  He earned his Bachelor of Science in Exercise and Sport Science from Texas Tech University in 2001.  He is a Senior SFG in Pavel Tsatsouline’s StrongFirst organization and is also a Certified Kettlebell Functional Movement Specialist (CK-FMS) under the training of Gray Cook and Brett Jones.  He also holds a Certified Personal Trainer designation from the National Academy of Sports Medicine.  Jason trains athletes and students of strength from all walks of life.  He’s worked with several collegiate athletes who have taken their careers to the next level as well as many youth athletes and martial artists looking to explore their talents in various sports.  He also works with many different populations ranging from fat loss to improvement in movement quality for a better life.  Jason has been involved with competitive athletics via many sports since his childhood.  He is still competitive as a drug-free, unequipped powerlifter, with competition bests in the 181 lb weight class of;  446 – Squat, 303 – Bench, and 601 – Deadlift.  Jason can be contacted by email for coaching and consultation via email at jason@lonestarkettlebell.com.

By Pavel Tsatsouline, Chairman

Last week we posted an outstanding article on training for the TSC by Jason Marshall, Senior SFG.  Jason referenced the “Fighter Pullup Program”, an plan by an unknown Russian author I wrote about a decade ago.  The FPP is remarkable; you may have read how Amanda Perry, SFG progressed from 6 to 13 strict pullups in one month.  We are reprinting the program by popular demand.

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One look at Mike Tyson’s back when he punched should make it obvious how important the lats are to a fighter.  The lat provides a connection between your arm and the rest of your body at the moment of the punch’s impact.   If the “armpit muscle” is not activated you cannot put your mass behind the punch and your shoulder is asking for trouble.

The pullup is the logical choice of an exercise to strengthen your lats.  If you ask an experienced bodybuilder how to work the latissimus most thoroughly he will tell you to look up, force your chest open, and draw your shoulder blades together on the top of the pullup.  This may be okay for bodybuilders, but what does this have to do with fighting?  You move in the ring in what gymnasts call “the hollow position”—the scapulae flared and the chest caved in.  This is the way you should finish your pullups.  Look straight ahead and hunch over the bar.  Touch your neck or upper chest to the bar to make sure there is no question that you have completed the rep.  Lower yourself under complete control and pause momentarily with your arms fully straight before going for another rep.

Here is a powerful Russian pullup program adaptable to any level of ability.

The 5RM Fighter Pullup Program

Day 1     5, 4, 3, 2, 1
Day 2     5, 4, 3, 2, 2
Day 3     5, 4, 3, 3, 2
Day 4     5, 4, 4, 3, 2
Day 5     5, 5, 4, 3, 2
Day 6     off
Day 7     6, 5, 4, 3, 2
Day 8     6, 5, 4, 3, 3
Day 9     6, 5, 4, 4, 3
Day 10    6, 5, 5, 4, 3
Day 11    6, 6, 5, 4, 3
Day 12    off
Day 13    7, 6, 5, 4, 3
Day 14    7, 6, 5, 4, 4
Day 15    7, 6, 5, 5, 4
Day 16    7, 6, 6, 5, 4
Day 17     7, 7, 6, 5, 4
Day 18    off
Day 19    8, 7, 6, 5, 4
Day 20    8, 7, 6, 5, 5
Day 21    8, 7, 6, 6, 5
Day 22    8, 7, 7, 6, 5
Day 23    8, 8, 7, 6, 5
Day 24    off
Day 25    9, 8, 7, 6, 5
Day 26    9, 8, 7, 6, 6
Day 27    9, 8, 7, 7, 6
Day 28    9, 8, 8, 7, 6
Day 29    9, 9, 8, 7, 6
Day 30    off

You start with an all-out set and then cut a rep in each consecutive set for a total of five sets.  The next day add a rep to the last set.  Then a rep to the set before that, etc.  The system is intended to be used for four weeks.  In the end of the month take two or three days off and then test yourself.  It is not unusual to up the reps 2.5-3 times.  In other words, you are likely to end up cranking out 12-15 reps if you started with 5.  If you can already do between 6 and 12 reps start the program with the first day your PR shows up.  For instance, if your max is 6 pullups start with Day 7; if your max is 8 start with Day 19.

If you run into a snag with this routine, back off a week and build up again.  If you hit the wall again switch to another routine.

Here is how the program applies to those who currently max at three pullups.  The below is also excellent for anyone whose goal is pure strength rather than reps; just hang a kettlebell or a barbell plate on your waist to bring the reps down to three.

The 3RM Fighter Pullup Program

Day 1     3, 2, 1, 1
Day 2     3, 2, 1, 1
Day 3     3, 2, 2, 1
Day 4     3, 3, 2, 1
Day 5     4, 3, 2, 1
Day 6     off
Day 7     4, 3, 2, 1, 1
Day 8     4, 3, 2, 2, 1
Day 9     4, 3, 3, 2, 1
Day 10    4, 4, 3, 2, 1
Day 11    5, 4, 3, 2, 1
Day 12    off

Now you are ready to move up to the 5RM program.

For a fighter capable of 15 pullups the routine would look like this:

The15RM Fighter Pullup Program

Day 1     15RMx12, 10, 8, 6, 4
Day 2     15RMx12, 10, 8, 6, 6
Day 3     15RMx12, 10, 8, 8, 6
Day 4     15RMx12, 10, 10, 8, 6
Day 5     15RMx12, 12, 10, 8, 6
Day 6     off
Day 7     15RMx14, etc.

A stud with a 25-pullup max would do it slightly differently:

The 25RM Fighter Pullup Program

Day 1     25RMx20, 16, 12, 8, 4
Day 2     25RMx20, 16, 12, 8, 8
Day 3     25RMx20, 16, 12, 12, 8
Day 4     25RMx20, 16, 16, 12, 8
Day 5     25RMx20, 20, 16, 12, 8
Day 6     off
Day 7     25RMx22, etc.

You can see that the higher the RM, the quicker the reps drop off.   The reason is simple.  You should have no problem doing four reps a few minutes after 5RMx5.  But x24 is not going to happen after an all-out set of 25.  The higher the reps, the greater the fatigue.  Therefore you need to start more reps down from your rep-max and cut the reps more between sets.  Experiment.   An extra day of rest here and there is also in order; the recovery from sets of fifteen or twenty is not nearly as quick as from fives and triples.

Yakov Zobnin from Siberia, the Heavyweight World Champion in Kyokushinkai, “the world’s strongest karate”, stands over 6’6” and tops the scale at 220 pounds.  In spite of his basketball height and exhausting full contact training, the karateka maxes out at twenty-five strict pullups.  What is your excuse?

Bodyweight power to you!

# # #

SF BODYWEIGHT CERT

TURN YOUR WHOLE BODY INTO A DEVASTATING CLENCHED FIST.

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By Andy Bolton

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A couple weeks back, my friend Elliot and I went to a seminar held by our good friend Mehdi of Stronglifts.  After I’d given my talk, the guys (and gals) at the seminar got practical and did a ton of squatting and deadlifting.  Whist I was impressed with much of what I saw, there was one thing that me and Elliot noticed time and time again…

And it was this thing—or rather the LACK OF IT—that was causing most of these lifters to be lifting a lot less than they were really capable of.

For instance…

There was this guy, 48 years old, who told me he had a deadlift 1RM of 264 lbs. Not bad for a guy who’d only been lifting 6 months, but not exactly setting the world on fire either.  For the record, he probably weighed 210.

Anyway, I helped him out by getting him to do the one thing he wasn’t doing and guess what he pulled?

Any offers?

352 lbs.

Yep. That’s not a typo.

He went from a 264 max to a 352 max—an 88-pound difference!

Guess how long it took?—10 minutes tops.

A 33% increase in his 1RM on the deadlift in 10 minutes.

How is this possible?

Simple.

I taught him how to get TIGHT.

And it’s this TIGHTNESS that is the key to INSTANT strength gains.

What I saw at the seminar was a bunch of lifters with fairly decent form.  Most had neutral spines when squatting and deadlifting.  Most had a reasonable width of stance, gripped the bar in a fine way and so on.

But almost without exception…

They didn’t understand how to get TIGHT.

And the reality is that you can have good technique in terms of body positions – but if you don’t know how to get TIGHT, you’ll always be weak as a kitten!

When it comes to STRENGTH, tightness is really the master principle.  Why?—Because the tighter you get, the more force you generate.  And the more force you generate, the more weight you lift.  Pretty simple, really.

To prove my point, let me tell you about one of my training partners, Ronnie.

Ronnie is a very strong man.  He’s deadlifted over 661 in competition, in the 198-weight class.

Ronnie also deadlifts with a very rounded back.  He’s never considered technique and he never will.  Suffice to say: you wouldn’t teach somebody to lift how he does.  Yet the truth is, he’s still bull strong, in spite of his potentially dangerous mechanics.

How is this so?

Well, he grips that bar AS HARD AS HE CAN, squeezes every muscle in his body REALLY TIGHT and then pulls with all the force he can summon.

You get the point…

This ‘tightness thing’ is really important.

So let me give you some tips that you can take to the gym the next time you train.  And if you use the tips as I suggest—you’ll see INSTANT strength gains.

4 Tips For Getting Tight and INSTANT Strength Gains…

1. Squeeze The Bar Harder

In fact, squeeze it as hard as you can.

Squeeze it so hard your knuckles turn white.

Do this just before you unrack the bar on your squats and bench presses and do it before the bar leaves the floor on the deadlift.  Then keep your grip this way (or squeeze EVEN HARDER) as the lift progresses.

That might sound weird…

How can you squeeze even harder as the lift progresses, if you were squeezing as hard as possible at the start?

I’m not exactly sure, but trust me, you can.

For instance, when you’re bench pressing, squeeze even harder at the sticking point, and you will more than likely overcome it.

Just try it—you’ll become a believer.

Why does squeezing the bar make you stronger?

Because when you squeeze as hard as you can, it makes your forearms contract as hard as they can. In turn, this fires the uppers arms… then the shoulders, and so on.

Pavel first explained this concept—the Law of Irradiation—in Power To The People!  It worked then and it works now.

Bottom line?

Squeeze the bar (or the kettlebell when you’re doing your grinds) as hard as you possibly can because the reward is INSTANT strength.

2.    Get To Know Your Lats

The lats are very miss-understood, but very important.

The lats give your torso super stiffness, help to keep your lower back in a neutral position and make you brutally STRONG.

On the squat, squeeze your lats tight the entire time.

The same goes for the bench and the deadlift.

In fact, if you aren’t squeezing your lats incredibly hard throughout each and every rep of the deadlift, you’re asking for INJURY and will never reach your deadlift potential.

The question is:

“Can YOU squeeze YOUR lats?”

You see, it’s my experience that many lifters (even pretty good ones) cannot actively squeeze their lats.  They’ve never thought about it and don’t know how to do it.

Here’s one way to ‘find your lats.’   It’s simple and effective.  Do one set of 5 seconds before your squats, bench presses and deadlifts.  Then try to recreate the feeling on the barbell lifts.

Here’s the drill…

• Set up a bar in the squat rack at about chest height.
• Stand facing the bar.
• Bend your arms to 90 degrees (so your upper arms point skywards).
• Rest your elbows on the bar.
• Drive your elbows down into the bar as hard as you can.
• Hold for 5 seconds.

You will instantly become aware of how to tense your lats.  It’s as obvious as a punch in the face.  Try it, recreate the feeling when squatting, bench pressing and deadlift… feel the INSTANT strength gains and bask in the knowledge that you’re safer whilst lifting than you were before.

3.    Get A Much Stronger Conventional Deadlift

The strongest way to pull a conventional deadlift is with a neutral lower spine and a relaxed thoracic spine.  The trick is being able to keep those positions whilst you’re pulling very heavy weights. (Note: many lifters can find those positions at the start, but the relaxed thoracic spine turns into a relaxed lower spine as the bar leaves the floor.  A big-time ‘no no!’)

To keep this position, the LATS must be tight and so must the abs.

To get the feeling of the abs being tight in this position, try this simple drill inspired by boxers and fighters.

You’ll need a medicine ball (between 10 and 25 pounds in weight) and a partner you TRUST.

Here’s how it’s done:

• Stand up as if you were at the top of your deadlift.
• Now relax your upper back.
• Squeeze your fists, tense your lats and abs as hard as you can.
• Get your partner to hit you in the stomach with the medicine ball.   5-10 reps will be fine.

What does this do?

Well, it’s pretty straightforward…

When that ball comes towards your stomach—you will get TIGHT.  It’s just a natural reaction. You’re using the tightness to save you from the impact.  Use the same level of tightness on your ‘deads’ and you’ll be stronger.  Period.

4. Treat every set as if it were very heavy

Getting TIGHT is a skill.

This means it’s important to treat every set as an opportunity to practice that skill.

If you ever see me warm up, you’ll see that I make 95 lbs. on the bench press look remarkably similar to 500 lbs. or more.

Same technique, same emphasis on tightness.

Other lifters mess around and perform sloppy warm up sets.  This is the equivalent of Tiger Woods or Roger Federer hitting lousy shots for the first 15 minutes of their practise sessions.

Do Tiger and Roger do that?

Of course not.  It’d be ridiculous.  They understand that EVERY REP COUNTS.

Think about it…

If your barbell workout calls for 3×3, that’s only 9 reps to hone your form and work on your tightness (if you mess around on your warm-up sets and use sloppy form).

But if you give your warm up sets the attention they deserve and practice good form and TIGHTNESS on every rep of every set—no matter how light—you will now have dozens of reps to hone your technique.

Which do you think is the better option?

It’s a no-brainer, right?

Practice great technique and TIGHTNESS on every rep of every set.  No sloppy reps allowed.  Do this and you’ll build strength much faster.

And “YES”, this means you’ll be using more tightness than necessary to actually lift the weight on your early warm up sets.  And whilst this is a disaster for ENDURANCE feat— for STRENGTH it is the way forwards!

If you want Pavel and I to teach you how to get tight in person—come join us in Boston on May 2-4.  A fair warning: it is truly a once in a lifetime opportunity.  We accept only 40 students and the event is quickly selling out.

Choose to be strong, register today.  For all the details click here.

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By Pavel Tsatsouline, Chairman 

Kettlebell complexes rock.  A few months ago StrongFirst published the “Total Tension” Kettlebell Complex in this blog.  Those of you who followed the plan as written saw excellent results.  Senior SFG Tommy Blom, for instance, gained 3,8kg or 8.4 pounds of lean body mass in six weeks. 

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Following is another StrongFirst complex.  We put SFG I students through it at the last two certs, in South Africa and Australia.

You need a pair of kettlebells you can strictly press 6-8 times.

Do:

1 clean + 2 presses + 1 squat
Rest
1 clean + 3 presses + 1 squat
Rest
1 clean + 5 presses + 1 squat
Rest

Then repeat the process with squats, using the same bells:

1 clean + 1 press + 2 squats
Rest
1 clean + 1 press + 3 squats
Rest
1 clean + 1 press + 5 squats
Rest

And finally with cleans:

2 cleans + 1 press + 1 squats
Rest
3 cleans + 1 press + 1 squats
Rest
5 cleans + 1 press + 1 squats
Rest

The pattern is clear: a single rep of two of the component drills and a (2, 3, 5) ladder of the third.  Systemically, you are getting tired, but the muscular stress target keeps shifting and you can keep going without compromising your technique.

If you do the math, you will see that the above totals 16 reps of each exercise.  That is not a lot, but the 1:1 work to rest ratio (“I go, you go”) will make sure this brief session will get your attention.  If it has not, repeat the whole series once more after 10min of rest.  Rest actively: walk around, do a couple of brettzels, hip flexor stretches, etc.

There are many ways to build a four to six week training plan around this workout.  If you are experienced in program design, give it a shot and post your solution in the comments section.  I will select the best ones and include them in a future blog.

Enjoy the pain!

# # #

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Class Programming

By Jon Engum, Master SFG

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Several years ago I designed a practice based on an idea I got from Maxwell’s omelet workout—the difference being, where the omelet served up a bit of everything, my Deep 6 focused on only the 6 core lifts in the SFG level I curriculum.  My purpose was threefold— first, I wanted to get conditioning benefits without messing with high reps or light weights; second, I wanted a deep skill practice on all 6 Basics; third, I wanted to really stress-proof my Getups.  The Deep 6 delivers all of this and more…but as I worked with students, I quickly realized the ones who where strong enough to finish the Deep 6 really did not need the Deep 6, and the ones who really could benefit from it…failed to complete.  The short answer to this problem was, be strong first!  Easily said, a little more complex in reality.

So what follows is a practice/plan to take your group class on a guided tour of the Deep 6 , ensuring that they have and keep stellar technique as well as stay together as a unit.  Before I reveal the guided session plan let us have a look at the original plan in case you are not familiar with it. Remember this is for someone who has a firm grip, pun intended, on the Basic 6. Be warned, the Deep 6 looks easy on paper but it is a whole other beast in reality.

The plan goes like this:

All lifts are done right-handed without setting the bell down between moves.
-       5 Swings
-       5 Snatches
-       5 Clean and Presses
-       5 Front Squats
-       1 Get up * from the top down ala Shawn Cairnes “the Get down”
-       After the last Squat, Press the bell to lockout and do the down phase of the Getup until you are at the firing range position and then get back up.
-       Now switch hands and repeat the sequence on the left.  Try for 5 rounds.

Beginners:  Rest 30 seconds after every hand switch, rest 1 minute between rounds.
Intermediate Level: Rest after you have competed both right and left. 30 seconds to 1 minute
Advanced Level:  No rest, go through all 5 cycles.
Suggested weight: 24k for men and 12K for women. For people with masochistic tendencies use a 32k or 16k respectively.

Now that you have seen the original Deep 6 let’s look at the plan to progressively implement it into a group setting.

Weight Selection

Let’s start with weight selection. Have your students grab a kettlebell that they can strictly press for about 8 reps, we want this to be heavy but they need to get 5 presses with that weight. I use the press to determine the kettlebell selection because if they can press it five times they should be able to do the other lifts no problem…if not they are not ready for this practice.  One more word about weight selection, choose your “sport weight” not your “game weight.”  What does that mean?  One humorist said if you can do an activity while chewing tobacco, it is a game not a sport. Choose a sport weight!

Formation

Have the students form a big circle. You are standing in the center of the circle. Make certain the students have plenty of room between each other; they will need to be able to have enough room to do a Getup safely.

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Round One:

Do 5 one arm Swings with your right arm. Put the bell down and do fast and loose until everyone finishes.

Do 5 Snatches with your right arm. Put the bell down and do fast and loose until everyone finishes.

Do 5 Clean and Presses with your right arm. Put the bell down and do fast and loose until everyone finishes.

Clean the bell with your right arm, keep the bell in the rack and do 5 Front Squats.  Put the bell down and do fast and loose until everyone finishes.

Press or Pushpress the bell to the overhead lockout position and perform one Reverse Getup. Put the bell down and do fast and loose until everyone finishes.

Have the class walk around the outside of the circle twice for recovery.

Repeat the above sequence on the left side.

Have the class walk another 2 laps around the circle for recovery.

Round 1 is very easy; it has plenty of recovery built in. It gives you a chance to make adjustments in techniques or weight of the bell. It also gives the students a chance to learn the sequence of moves…it is a great start of the Deep 6 Tour.

Round 2

Do 5 one arm Swings on the right and without setting the bell down immediately do 5 Snatches on the right. Set the bell down and perform fast and loose shakeouts until everyone is done.

Do 5 Clean and Presses on the right, leave the bell in the rack when finished and immediately do 5 Front Squats. Put the bell down and perform fast and loose shakeouts until everyone is finished.

Get the bell overhead in any safe manner and do one Reverse Getup. Set the bell down and do fast and loose until everyone is finished.

Jog 2 laps slowly around the outside of the circle doing shakeouts as you go for recovery.

Repeat the above sequence on your left side.

Round 2 takes up the intensity a bit by pairing the exercises and cutting down the rest period. It is a good intermediate step. 

Round 3

Do the whole Deep 6 on the right side without putting the bell down. After you finish the Reverse Getup, set the bell down and do fast and loose until everyone is done. Jog one lap around the outside of the circle for recovery.

Repeat on the left.

Round 3 is a good stopping point for most students. It is hard and they may need to spend some quality time at this level which is fine.

Round 4

Do the full Deep 6 on your right side, swing switch and do the full Deep 6 on your left side, set the bell down and do shakeouts until the group finishes.  Jog around the outside of the circle for 3 laps, progressively getting slower with each lap until they are finally just walking and things have simmered down to normal.

It will take about 45 minutes or so to get a large group through the whole lesson plan. It progressively gets more challenging with each round and of course, you can always stop at whatever round you deem appropriate.   This is tried and true and I hope your classes will enjoy it. Drop me a line at info@extremetraining.net or ping me on the StrongFirst forum and let me know how it goes.

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Jon Engum is a 7th Dan Kukkiwon Certified Taekwondo Grandmaster and in addition holds Master rank in Hapkido and Kumdo.  He is the author of Flexible Steel, owner of Jon Engum’s Extreme Training and a StrongFirst Master Instructor who teaches Workshops, Courses and Certifications worldwide.

info@extremtraining.net         http://extremetraining.net

(218) 828-7063

By Pavel Tsatsouline, Chairman  

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Recently we have seen a number of students coming to SFG certs clean and swing with their thumbs up.  I am here to put an end to this fashion.

Other kettlebell systems have been known to use a variety of fist positions and they often have good reasons in their own context.  For instance, keeping the thumbs up at all times is an efficient way to clean when you are going for 100 reps.  For StrongFirst this grip is unacceptable.  We are after power, not reps.  And when you attempt to move kettlebells fast with the hammer grip, you are risking injuring your elbows on the bottom of the backswing.  You could literally arm-bar yourself.

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At SFG we teach starting the clean with the thumb pointing slightly down, about 7 to 8 o’clock for the right arm.  For doubles we are looking at a very open “V”.  A “V” opens up more space between your legs when you clean heavy doubles.

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A “barbell” grip, with the handles in line and the palms facing straight down, is totally acceptable for a beginning girevik.  Once you get stronger though, you might find it difficult to pass a pair of heavy kettlebells between your legs.

You may have seen Geoff Neupert, Master SFG employ yet another grip: keeping the thumbs turned up to 10 and 2 o’clock.  Like the classic “V”, an inverted “V” gives large kettlebells more space to pass between the legs.  An additional benefit, points out Geoff, is that this grip prevents some gireviks, especially big-chested ones, from rounding their upper backs and unpacking the shoulders on the bottom of a clean.  The inverted “V” is an individual choice of an advanced practitioner, not an SFG standard.  Because, like with a hammer grip, there is a risk of injuring your biceps.

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The proponents of the hammer grip like to argue that it allows them to engage their lats more. You may have noticed the connection between the wrist and the shoulder rotation—the former tends to drive the latter.  This is why the hammer and the inverted “V” make it easier to screw your shoulders into their sockets.  The fist turns and turns the shoulder in turn.

Jon Engum, Master SFG and a high level martial artist, is not impressed: “I can engage my lat in a punch with a horizontal fist just as well as a vertical fist.”  Neurologically you should be able to disassociate the movement of these two joints—turning one does not have to turn the other.  Following is a drill to teach you how.

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Stand up and straighten out one arm in front of you, its palm facing down.  Maximally rotate your shoulder (external rotation) and your wrist (supination) until your palm faces up.  Note the tight “screwed in” sensation in the shoulder.

Repeat the above drill—turn your palm up and screw your shoulder into its socket.  Anti-shrug your shoulder with your lat.  Note the tight sensation in your armpit.  Without losing this sensation and without disturbing the shoulder alignment slowly turn your palm down.

Power to your pulls!

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By Gabby Eborall, SFG II

There comes a time in our lives, almost as if by surprise, when we realize we’re not as young as we used to be.

Aging can be a difficult and uncomfortable topic of discussion. Especially for those of us who pride ourselves on being strong, healthy, and a positive example for our students, young and old. It’s true that more and more people are getting on board with the idea that strength training can reverse the signs of aging, but what does that look like? And to be more specific, what does that look like for a woman rapidly approaching her fifties and beyond?

It has been my experience that as a woman’s body changes with age, she may fall into one of several categories: some may become frustrated with her training as it no longer yields the same results it once had. This can cause her to settle for less than she is capable of from a strength and conditioning perspective, or simply throw in the towel altogether. Conversely, she might beat herself down by taking an unrealistic approach to her training and recovery, upping the ante in an effort to remain at a fitness level that is becoming more and more difficult to maintain.

I chose the latter for the first part of my 40’s and paid dearly. It took adrenal fatigue, insulin resistance, joint problems, and finally, hypothyroid for me to rethink my outlook on training.  I had to completely relinquish my preconceived idea of what a woman my age should aspire to be, aesthetically. It was through this process that I became kinder to myself. I stopped making demands on my body, which usually culminated in a self-imposed hostile environment within my own skin. Instinctively, and with patience, I was finally able to discover and accept where the sweet spot was, for me.

So, how is it that at 49 years old I’m able to easily maintain a weight of 132 lbs. and 16% bodyfat? To do a full wheel backbend, one-hundred 40 kg swings or one-hundred 16kg snatches in 5 minutes? Dead hang pull-ups for sets of 3, head/handstands, splits, double 16kg presses, ten 24kg Turkish get-ups in under 10 minutes — all of which I couldn’t imagine accomplishing at this age?

By doing less.

Yes, kids — it’s true — less is more.

Thanks to the StrongFirst principles and its diverse and complete programming, I’ve been able to dial in my strength, athleticism and mobility in a way that doesn’t compromise my wellness, but rather fosters continued improvement and gains. Allowing my body — exactly where it is — to guide me, has been the single most important change I’ve made.

My programming is very simple, very basic, and it gets the job done:

For the last 2 years or so I have alternated between a 4 to 8 week program based on Pavel & Dan John’s Easy Strength (changing the lifts as needed), and a scaled down version of Pavel’s Right of Passage as it applies to my goals at the time. Simple and Sinister has also made it into my rotation as of late.

I have found that with ROP, keeping the ladder rungs maxed at 3 or 4 works best for me. Going beyond that in volume, things begin to get dicey with my shoulder.

Pushing, pulling, hinging, squatting, moving in different planes of motion, with and without load, as well as getting in a fair amount of ballistics training are my staples. Most training days take less then 30 minutes to complete and I’ll spend a good 20 minutes in joint mobility pre and post workout. I’ll test my SFG lifts at the end of each 4 to 8 week plan, make any adjustments to the next program and take a complete week off in between.

Twice a week I’ll attend a Yoga or YBR Restorative body rolling class and I’ll walk the beach trail with my much appreciative pup most days. Bi-weekly 90-minute sports or acupressure massage and a contrast ice bath/sauna session (Korean spas are the best) at least once a week, keeps everything humming along nicely.

That’s it.

How I stay in the game:

1) Every rep should have a purpose. Click to Tweet
Having a plan is non-negotiable for me at this stage and I prefer to leave my training sessions feeling energized and not like I have nothing left in the tank. Which brings me to #2…

2) Removing the ego can be empowering. My mom has a saying, “Just because something fits, doesn’t mean you should wear it.” Click to Tweet
I find that this applies to my practice as well. Maybe it’s not such a good idea to press or pull more than planned that day, just because I can.

3) Less or no Alcohol = Better performance. Period. Sorry.

4) If something hurts, find the source and take care of it. Being sidelined has served me well as a coach. Patience truly is a virtue.

5) Don’t eat garbage. Focus on what you know is good for you and not on what you can’t have. But, if you’re going to eat cake, eat the cake, and move on.

6) Do your best to manage stress and get adequate sleep.

7) Keep a detailed training journal. Not just what you did, but how you felt while doing it.

I wish I’d realized the importance of the above a few years sooner.

Nevertheless,  strength can absolutely continue to grow and exist at any age. I am not impervious to the years as they pass. I welcome them and I get on with it.

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Gabby Eborall is a StrongFirst Level II Instructor and founder of North Beach Kettlebell in San Clemente, California. For more information about the studio and training with Gabby, please go to www.nbkettlebell.com.

By Geoff Neupert, Master SFG, CSCS

We just had our second child – a daughter. She’s amazing as is the pure lack of sleep we are experiencing. It is not uncommon for me to get around four hours a sleep a night. This makes training very challenging. It makes making progress in my training even more so. The purely sane and rational thing to do during this period of time would be to go on a “maintenance” program.

I am neither sane nor rational and I expect my body to make the progress I demand from it, or close to it, regardless of what my daughter or the rest of my life is doing.

In order to keep from hurting myself (again like I did routinely in my 30s), I am now working with my old weightlifting coach. I tell him what’s going on in my life, what I think I can handle, and he writes my programs, with some guidelines of course.

If you have a lot going on in your life and lack the ability to fully recover from your workouts like you once did, you have zero business training the way you used to – or the way others do.

What I want to share with you is what is routinely working for me to push my strength levels back to where they were 15+ years ago, without having to work as hard as I did back then.

It’s very simple, it’s called –

The Top Set Method

This has been used for time in memorium by some of the strongest guys in the world. Very simply, you work up to one top set in your training and call it a day.

Traditionally, you would go “all out” on that set. But for guys (and girls) who’s recovery ability is challenged, that would be a mistake.

Instead, you should grade your exertion on an RPE (Rate of Perceived Exertion) scale of 1 to 10 and keep your RPEs between 7 and 8. Sometimes, 6’s are good too – usually when you think a weight is going to be a 7 and it feels really light. Save the 9’s for the end of your strength cycle – one, two workouts at the most.

Here’s how I suggest you set up your training:

1. Use either 5×5 or 5×3 for your workouts. Or for better results, alternate between workouts of the two.
2. Start your cycle light – around 60-65% to give yourself some momentum and train the skill of strength.
3. Train 3 times a week using an “A-B Split” – that is, where you alternate between an “A” training session and a “B” training session.

Also, turn your warm ups into –

Group Sets

Group sets, are a little trick I learned from my weightlifting coach. You simply perform your warm up sets back-to-back, adding load each set, with as little rest as possible between them.

This excites your nervous system and allows you to put more force into each rep of that top set. And they work like a charm. (You might feel a little winded after doing them, but don’t worry about that – the metabolic effects don’t have a negative neurological transfer.)

Here’s how I recommend you perform this:

Sets 1-3: As little rest as possible between them and then rest 2-3 minutes after set 3.

Set 4: First work set. Rest 3-5 minutes after.

Set 5: Top set.

However, if you’re really hurting in the sleep department or using some highly technical lifts, you may want to do it the following way (which is what I do):

Set 1: Rest long enough to add load or around 30 to 60s, depending on the exercise or how I’m feeling on that exercise

Set 2: Rest long enough to add load OR about 60-120s, depending…

Set 3: Rest 2-3 minutes

Set 4: Rest 3-5 minutes, usually more toward 5 minutes the heavier the load

Set 5: Top set.

When I was younger, I used to love the high volume, multiple “70 Percent for five by five” type routines. Now, I just don’t have the time, energy, or desire to perform them. I’ve found I can make great, steady, measurable progress using the “Top Set Method.”

If you’ve stalled or burnt out, you should give it a shot – It’s the most “stress-free” strength training method I’ve found.

Geoff Neupert: StrongFirst Bio

Geoff Neupert, Master SFG, CSCS, has been training both himself and others with Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.kettlebells since 2002. He’s been in the fitness/strength & conditioning industries since 1993 and has worked as a personal trainer, Division 1 strength and conditioning coach (Rutgers University), and a personal training business owner. He has over 22,000 hours of one-on-one personal training since he started counting in 2002.

He currently writes a daily strength and conditioning report called “Kettlebell Secrets,” in which he dishes out no-nonsense advice to get as strong, lean, and well conditioned as possible using kettlebells; he also consults with clients online. Geoff has authored multiple books and training programs, including, Kettlebell Muscle, Kettlebell Burn 2.0, Kettlebell Burn EXTREME!, Kettlebell Express!, Kettlebell Express! ULTRA, and Kettlebell STRONG!, The Olympic Rapid Fat Loss Program, Six Pack Abs 365, and The Permanent Weight Loss Solution. He has also co-author the ground-breaking training books: Original Strength and Original Strength: Performance.

Geoff is a former state champion and nationally qualified Olympic lifter. He is married to a wonderful woman and has two young kids, who keep him on his toes, which coincidentally, is pretty good for hamstring development.

Geoff is also the CEO of Original Strength Systems, a movement restoration system who’s mission is to set people free through movement.

By Pavel Tsatsouline, Chairman and Eric Kenyon, SFG

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At the 2014 Winter Paralympics closing ceremony an enormous sign hung above the stage proclaiming: “IMPOSSIBLE”.  Paralympian Alexey Chuvashev rolled onto the stage in a wheel chair.  A vet who lost his legs eight years ago in a combat operation, he went on to win a bronze medal in rowing at the London 2012 Summer Paralympics.

A 50-foot rope hung from the sign.  The athlete got off his wheel chair and started climbing.  A burly guy, even without legs he carried a lot more weight than a gymnast.

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Watch the climb on video; fast-forward to 14:10.

Once Chuvashev reached the top, he forcefully pushed over one of the Tetris blocks forming the sign.  The block inserted itself as an apostrophe into the sign.  And now it said:

“I’M POSSIBLE”

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You do not need comic book movies to find inspiration for your training.  Paralympians, StrongFirst salutes you!

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By Brandon Hetzler, SFG Team Leader

“As above, so below.”
-Unknown

We like what is new. Look at how well Apple has benefitted every time they release the latest iPhone, iPad, or Mac. The followers of Apple are fiercely loyal. The nice thing about Apple and this craze over their products is that they are continuously pushing the technology forward. The downfall is the marketing craze they generate surrounding the release of their latest and greatest product. Is the need to push the industry forward generating their drive, or is it the all mighty dollar?? I would like to think it is mostly an internal drive to be better than they were yesterday, but in reality they are a for profit business that is selling products that no one else on the planet can create. If we look at the technology that Apple has popularized, they weren’t the first to actually come up with some of their most popular products – Sony had MP3 players on the market well before the iPod exploded. What Apple did was popularize and market it in a manner that the public had to have it. Big mistake for Sony.

When Pavel introduced kettlebells to the West several years ago, the Turkish get up was reintroduced. Pavel didn’t “create” the get up, he just dusted it off and pulled it out of obscurity. Brett Jones and Gray Cook shed new light on the get up as a wonderful mini-assessment and corrective drill with the CK-FMS, Kalos Thenos, and Kalos Thenos 2. Dr. Mark Cheng added the high bridge to promote hip extension and the get up was forever changed – and controversial. To high bridge or to low sweep, that is the question. The answer is always going to be: it depends on your goals. The popularity of the get up soared! The get up was a rock star – everyone was doing get ups, get up variations, get up breakdowns, and heavy get ups. YouTube loved it! The pendulum had swung to the overexposure side of the board. But like it has been said before, after every peak is a valley – we are in that get up valley.

Let’s take a deeper look at why the get up is so powerful and so diverse in its application. Before we do that, let’s look at crawling. Crawling, much like the get up has been around for a while – no one invented it and no one entity owns it. It is a powerful but small part of the entire neurodevelopmental sequence (the progressive development of movement patterns and strength that begins at birth and continues until we are vertical).