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 enemy waits patiently for the perfect moment to strike—just as we think we are going to progress and often, costing …
Five Energy Leaks to Plug so Your Strength Gains Flow Read More »
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 at all. Specificity refers to the principle that you get specific adaptations to imposed demands (often referred to as the SAID principle). You get better …
I first came across the term courage corner when reading StrongFirst CEO Pavel Tsatsouline’s book The Russian Kettlebell Challenge. During his military service, Pavel saw a lot of starkly different places, from the frozen expanse of Siberia to sleek submarines under the Baltic Sea to the peaks of the Caucasus Mountains. But one thing remained …
Where to Go to Get Strong: Creating Your Courage Corner Read More »
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. Being weak is less appealing. But the importance of strength shows itself when it transcends what you do in the gym. The strength …
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, SFG II, SFB, and SFL—earn you Elite status. But the path isn’t written in stone. Our principles transcend modalities so you can get stronger whichever way you …
What Mastering Your Bodyweight Can Teach You About Lifting Iron Read More »
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 talks to your host Craig Marker about his current training to achieve the sinister goal. Show Notes 01:35 – Brett talks about his …
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: “What about assistance exercises?” My answer is simple—until you have spent at least a year working on the movements that we taught at …
What Chocolate Chip Cookies and Guinness Beer Can Teach You About Barbell Basics Read More »
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 programming. Some of our readers asked the question that became the title of this article. Here is our answer. Let us start by clearly stating which training philosophy each represents: Reload—American powerlifting cycling …
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 resilient than before? That means that our training can be hard. It should be hard at times. But what can …
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 the Dome of Strength in Chicago. Jon and Craig will also discuss training people in different cultures. Show Notes 01:45 – Discussion of cold exposure …