Articles

Strengthening Your Olympic Lifts with StrongFirst Skills

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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, SFL, and SFB—principles, techniques, and skills that build on one another. Getting strong in one modality supports getting stronger in every other. StrongFirst calls this the skill of …

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Get Started: Foundational Principles of Results-driven Kettlebell Training

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There’s a lot more to getting stronger than the actions of simply, and progressively, lifting more. Much of it has to do with caring about setting a proper foundation of solid skills and a successful approach that guides training decisions. For kettlebell beginners particularly, that means starting out by knowing and addressing limitations that could …

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From the Battlefield to Back Injury to Beast Tamer: Ollie Quinn’s Kettlebell Journey

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Have you ever seen one of the “Army Strong” commercials? Well in the UK, there’s no stronger or more capable military unit than the Royal Marines (even though they’d be quick to point out that technically they’re part of the British Royal Navy, not the Army.) Entry into this elite commando group requires making it …

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Getting to the Bottom of a Great Pistol Squat: 3 Tips to Improve Yours

12 Comments / Articles, Blog, Bodyweight / By

The pistol squat is one of the hallowed movements among fitness lovers—especially bodyweight aficionados. While they’re not for everyone, if they’re in your repertoire you want them to be as clean as possible. A great pistol is smooth like a hot spoon through ice cream and effortless like this is how I always pick up …

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Are You Training in Your Now or in Your Then: Residual Self-Image

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“Your appearance now is what we call residual self-image. It is the mental projection of your digital self.” Morpheus from the Matrix The Matrix trilogy provided not only groundbreaking special effects but also quite a few insights into “self” as Neo navigated his journey. Questioning reality in some ways, but also what it means to be “you.” …

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Consistency Trumps Intensity—The Continuity of the Training Process

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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, exercise, equipment, sequence, rest, etc.—some people get paralyzed by the seemingly overwhelming options; frozen by the insecurity of making a wrong choice. Too many do nothing. Others bounce around, …

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How I Became a World Record Holder

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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. Training to avoid (or at least delay) the unfavourable internal conditions that lead to failure or reduced performance. And it doesn’t just work to break records. …

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Where to Go to Get Strong: Creating Your Courage Corner

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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 …

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