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Strengthening Your Olympic Lifts with StrongFirst Skills
Kettlebells. Barbells. Bodyweight. Three different modalities that share a common theme: they are designed to help us get stronger. We have seen across various StrongFirst Certifications—SFG, SFGII,...
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55-Seconds to Kettlebell Snatch Test Success
The (dreaded) snatch test. Five minutes (of suck) that many StrongFirst instructors consider the most stressful in their certifying or recertifying process. But you can set yourself up for success...
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How to Become a Barbell Instructor With Kettlebells
Strength is a skill…and you’ve decided that it’s time to add SFL skills to your toolbox. But you have limited barbell experience and zero access to a coach. Plus, you don’t really want to train wrong....
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Pull-Up Power: From No Reps to Getting Over the Bar with 36kg
Ah, the trusty pull-up. Once a staple of every child’s PE class, it has fallen by the wayside as physical education in schools has declined. So even though pull-ups are still one of the best exercises...
View ArticleStrength for Life’s Fights
Life happens. It can be unpredictable and hard, and extremely satisfying. For many of us, training is a big part of our lives. But training does not equal reality. And while we can’t always train for...
View ArticleHow Heavy Clubs Eliminate Weakness, Build Strength, and Complement Kettlebells
From winning a jiu-jitsu world championship, to serving in the Italian Army, to running close protection security for diplomats and dignitaries, Alberto Gallazzi knows how to handle himself. Over the...
View ArticleTwo Swing Cues to Unlock your Power, Posture, and Athleticism
There is a big difference between swinging a kettlebell around and executing a powerful kettlebell swing. The first is common with kettlebell beginners who often start by mimicking what they think they...
View ArticlePodcast Episode #22: Jon Engum
StrongFirst Podcast Episode #22 Summary Jon Engum, StrongFirst Master Instructor, joins your host, Craig Marker, to talk about martial arts, flexible steel drills, his new book Trembling Shock, and...
View Article3 Simple Modifications to Squat When in Pain
Our bodies are built to adapt. How else would we ever develop the strength (mental and physical) to meet challenges or compete in sports, let alone recover from them to be stronger, more capable, more...
View ArticleReload vs Plan Strong—What is the Difference?
By Fabio Zonin, Master SFG and Pavel Tsatsouline Earlier this year, we launched “Reload: Your Barbell Strength Blueprint,” a concise e-book featuring individually-tailored, nearly-foolproof strength...
View ArticleWhat Chocolate Chip Cookies and Guinness Beer Can Teach You About Barbell Basics
On the flight home from teaching a StrongFirst Lifter certification (SFL), I was thinking about the programming section and some of our discussions. One of the questions that always gets asked is:...
View ArticlePodcast Episode #23: Brett Jones
StrongFirst Podcast Episode #23 Summary Brett Jones, Director of Education for StrongFirst, joins the show a second time to talk about his use of Indian clubs, nail bending, and powerlifting. Brett...
View ArticleWhat Mastering Your Bodyweight Can Teach You About Lifting Iron
A common path for our students pursuing the StrongFirst Elite designation is to start with the kettlebell instructor certifications before earning the bodyweight and barbell credentials. All four—SFG,...
View ArticleWhat Is Your Strength’s Purpose?
We believe that strength has a greater purpose—and that purpose goes far beyond the ability to lift weight or move loads. Being physically strong is great. Especially when you consider the alternative....
View ArticleWhere to Go to Get Strong: Creating Your Courage Corner
I first came across the term courage corner when reading StrongFirst Chairman Pavel Tsatsouline’s book The Russian Kettlebell Challenge. During his military service, Pavel saw a lot of starkly...
View ArticleThe Specificity-Transfer Trade-off
Specificity and transfer are two of the most important considerations for any strength and conditioning program. If you don’t consider both of these variables carefully, you are not really programming...
View ArticleFive Energy Leaks to Plug so Your Strength Gains Flow
As we continue our pursuit of strength, we are regularly threatened by a stealthy nemesis that rears its head between us and our goals. Lying dormant from the very beginning of our journey, this common...
View ArticleHow I Became a World Record Holder
Training for a world record requires grit. Many may approach the challenge preparation by continually pushing for more “burn.” But there is another effective, sustainable, and arguably superior way....
View ArticleConsistency Trumps Intensity—The Continuity of the Training Process
Adapting to load is what makes us stronger. But because training loads can be manipulated in so many ways—intensity, magnitude, repetition, duration, frequency, direction, speed, acceleration,...
View ArticleRunning Without Running: Training For A Half-Marathon When You Have A Full...
Smart runners know a little strength training goes a long way to helping improve performance and reduce risk of injury. Smart coaches know sport-specific training should be built on a foundation of...
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