StrongFirst Lifter Instructor Certification

Louie Simmons, one of the world’s leading powerlifting coaches, told the founder of StrongFirst: “You have reverse-engineered what my strongest guys do naturally.”

At our School of Strength we take barbell lifts apart and put them back together strong. We have seamlessly integrated biomechanical breakthroughs from Russian sports labs, intuitive discoveries of the finest coaches and lifters around the world, and insights from medical professionals. As a result, our cues and progressions lead the industry, and the learning curve of our students is the steepest. 

Welcome to the StrongFirst Lifter Instructor Certification. Dive deep into the powerlifts plus several high yield barbell exercises:

  • Back Squat
  • Bench Press (plus variations)
  • Deadlift (conventional and sumo)
  • Front Squat
  • Zercher Squat
  • Good Morning
  • Military Press

We promise that you have not seen the level of attention to barbell technique at any other school.

Our instructors’ experience coaching and consulting a widest range of people, from couch potatoes to tier one military operators to world record holders, has enabled StrongFirst to develop the most robust learning progressions in the iron industry. And nearly fail-proof troubleshooting tactics for every imaginable technique flaw, from beginners’ gross mistakes to platform veterans’ imperfections too subtle to be seen by most coaches’ eyes.

Your SFL instructor manual, loaded for bear with progressions, cues, and pro tips will serve you as well and as long as your trusted barbell.

The manual’s programming section is just as power packed.

The SFL programming of choice is classic cycling—the system behind US powerlifting dominance in the golden era of the sport and many records that still stand decades later. The beauty of this system—in addition to the gold medal pedigree—is its simplicity and time efficiency. Ron Fernando, a powerlifter who competed during the golden age of the sport, wrote an article entitled “Quest for Simplicity in the 21st Century” in Powerlifting USA. He started by waxing nostalgic about the best car he had ever owned, a 1980 Chevy Camaro Berlinetta. The ride was fast, easy to maintain, even by an amateur, and it looked good too. He compared it to modern fancy wheels with computers, too many features and options, a forbidding service bill, and an absolute impossibility to fix at home. The old-school powerlifter drew parallels with strength training systems of yesterday and today: “These systems, like classic muscle cars, will never go out of date and in many cases will outperform anything touted as new, high tech, or scientific today.”

The SFL manual’s programming section alone is worth the price of admission:

  • Surefire beginner programming for your athletes’ first year in the iron game
  • Solid intermediate programming for an athlete who does not yet know his or her rhythm of adaptation
  • 10 power bodybuilding cycles and plans—to build muscle that is as strong as it looks
  • 30 top-of-the-line cycling templates for intermediate and advanced lifters—hand-picked from top North American and Eastern European lifters and coaches and developed in-house
  • Plus 3 time-tested non-cycled strength training programs—boosted with a cycling tactic
  • Understand the logic of cycling—most athletes and coaches do not get it
  • Learn how to fix the problems of cycling—undertraining, overtraining, peaking too soon
  • Find out how to reboot a failing cycle
  • Discover how to personalize a power cycle
  • Drive home the difference between long-term strength gains and peaking—failure to know the difference leads to failure on the platform
  • How to max if you are not a competitive lifter
  • Master the art of deloading
  • Discover the science behind light days; pros and cons of having them
  • 7 effective tactics for planning light days
  • 10 weekly strength schedules used by pros—pick the one perfect for your needs
  • How many reps per set?—wonder no more
  • How many work sets?—your decision making matrix
  • How to change your plan when you are having a bad day—2 professional tactics for different circumstances
  • 7 powerful ways to structure the back-off sets for hypertrophy
  • The best exercise selections for hypertrophy back-off sets: 4 for the back squat, 6 for the bench press, 9 for the deadlift, 11 for the military press…

If this is not your first barbell rodeo and you check at least one of the following boxes, welcome to the StrongFirst Lifter Instructor Certification.

  • A strength coach committed to becoming a world class professional and making his or her athletes win
  • A lifter ready for new PRs
  • An athlete seeking an edge in his or her sport by becoming a lot stronger than the competition
  • A personal trainer too proud to be delivering shoddy product common in the industry

The School of Strength is in session.

Sign up today and power to you!

LocationDate
Vicenza, ItalyApril 12-14, 2024
Chicago, ILApril 26-28, 2024
New York City, NYJune 14-16, 2024
Strasbourg, FranceJune 21-23, 2024
Portland, ORJuly 26-28, 2024
Rijeka, CroatiaAug 30 - Sep 1, 2024
Salem, IndiaSeptember 27-29, 2024
San Diego, CAOctober 11-13, 2024
Athens, GreeceOctober 18-20, 2024
Taipei, TaiwanNovember 1-3, 2024
Oxfordshire, Wantage, United KingdomNovember 1-3, 2024
Heredia, Costa RicaNov 29 - Dec 1, 2024
Dallas, TXDecember 6-8, 2024
Nashville, TNDecember 13-15, 2024