I grew up hiking, skiing, mountain biking, and hunting in the mountains of southwestern Montana. Following college, I joined the military and served in the US Special Operations Command for sixteen years before transitioning to a corporate job in the private sector. When I was much younger and fitter, I experienced some of the most …
The Tactical Strength Challenge, StrongFirst’s opportunity to provide a challenge and “test” of our training, happens twice a year. The TSC brings together competitors from around the world who put forward their best effort in three events: max barbell deadlift, max dead hang pullups, and a five-minute kettlebell snatch test for max reps. In May …
Given the absolute strength differences between men and women, a chin-up is an excellent challenge for ladies with strength goals. I train a number of women, so I decided to challenge my students (and myself) by embarking on an audacious one-year long plan to help as many of my female students perform their first chin-up …
How Over Twenty Ladies Did Their First Chin-up Within a Year Read More »
At 76, I’ve noticed that people my age come in two groups: those who let their vitality slip away without contest, and those who fight to remain strong and active. Growing old well takes courage and a sense of humor. Old folks are cranky because they’re usually in pain, and it’s easy for some to fall …
When I wrote the article “Simple Strength for Difficult Times” I outlined an 8-week plan, confident that within two months we would be all back to our gyms and our regular life. Unfortunately, this hasn’t happened yet. Most of us are still under lockdown and many gyms all across the world are still closed. As …
Simple Strength for Difficult Times Part Two: Get Even Stronger in Quarantine Read More »
Three years ago, at the age of 50, I decided to find out how strong I was. It wasn’t an easy time in my life, and this new path started with a stumble and fall before I embarked on a tough climb. I had just left my 24 years marriage which had left me anxious …
“Strength is Tension—Tension is Strength.” I can still hear those words taught by StrongFirst Certified Master Instructor, Jason Marshall at the barbell course I attended a few years ago. Tension ties the body together to enable strong movement. Tension creates the structure that can hold and move heavy weight. Tension is the mind’s command to …
I am a sports medicine physician from Kaunas, Lithuania. My passion is human movement and helping people move safely and properly. In addition to corrective exercises I use manipulative therapy (a method of treatment for restrictions in soft tissues and joints) by means of mobilization and manipulation as well as systemic dry needling (where acupuncture …
The following article does not contain medical advice. It presents long term training strategies for increasing general resistance in healthy people. The author would like to thank Kristann Heinz, MD and Paul White, MD for their valuable input. Take care of your family and your other responsibilities. Then train. The following strategies should improve your …
These days, I join tens of thousands, if not millions of parents around the world as we facilitate our children’s homeschooling. For the sake of full disclosure, I love math. There was even a time in my past life where I fancied being a mathematician and spent my first two university years going down that …
How 10 Kettlebell Skills Turn Into 88 Million Training Sessions Read More »