If you want to learn to write effective training plans, first you must understand the principles of program design.  They will vary from system to system.  At StrongFirst there are three meta-principles: Continuity of the Training Process, Waviness of Loads, and Specialized Variety.

Second, you need to learn the program design tools of the given system, e.g. ladders, timed sets, etc.

Third, you need to study successful program designs of strength coaches operating within the same training system.

“The more you are exposed to certain patterns, the more the memory of these patterns are re-formed at lower levels,” writes Jeff Hawkins, founder of Palm Computing and Redwood Neuroscience Institute, in his book Hawkins, On Intelligence.  “This allows you to learn the relationships among higher-order objects at the top.  It’s the essence of expertise.  An expert is someone who through practice and repeated exposure can recognize patterns that are more subtle than can be recognized by a non-expert, such as the shape o a fin on a late-fifties car or the size of a spot on a seagull’s beak.  Experts recognize patterns on top of patterns.”

Which is why you should do your best studying training plans by Master SFGs Dan John and Geoff Neupert.  These two gentlemen have written more effective and simple programs than anyone else at StrongFirst.

Consider the following plan from Geoff’s book Kettlebell Express!:

• Two-hand swings—20 minutes each day, 3 days per week.
• Total time commitment: 60 minutes per week.
• Total number of workouts: 26.
• Use a medium-sized kettlebell.
• Set your timer for 20 minutes.

Workout 1: 8 reps top of the minute.
Workout 2: 9 reps top of the minute.
Workout 3: 10 reps top of the minute.
Workout 4: 11 reps top of the minute.
Workout 5: 12 reps top of the minute.

Workout 6: 10 reps top of the minute.
Workout 7: 11 reps top of the minute.
Workout 8: 12 reps top of the minute.
Workout 9: 13 reps top of the minute.
Workout 10: 14 reps top of the minute.
Workout 11: 15 reps top of the minute.

Workout 12: 13 reps top of the minute.
Workout 13: 14 reps top of the minute.
Workout 14: 15 reps top of the minute.
Workout 15: 16 reps top of the minute.
Workout 16: 17 reps top of the minute.
Workout 17: 18 reps top of the minute.

Workout 18: 16 reps top of the minute.
Workout 19: 17 reps top of the minute.
Workout 20: 18 reps top of the minute.
Workout 21: 19 reps top of the minute.
Workout 22: 20 reps top of the minute.

Workout 23: 18 reps top of the minute.
Workout 24: 19 reps top of the minute.
Workout 25: 20 reps top of the minute.
Workout 26: 21 reps top of the minute.

Take this plan apart, identify the patterns, then try to write another in the same vein.  Your early attempts will be little better than plagiarism.  But eventually, if you persist, you will be able to write original art.  Monet and Manet belong to the same school of impressionism—yet no one would mistake one’s painting for the other’s.

I started training with barbells when I was 17 years old during my senior year in high school. Our weight room was the size of a large closet, which included a bench press and a Universal machine. Needless to say it wasn’t until I had graduated that I discovered powerlifting from joining a commercial gym. I was hooked! The feeling of lifting weights that were heavy was exciting! Seeing the barbell bend while sitting in the rack, waiting for me to lift it, was exhilarating to say the least!

I started using kettlebells off and on in 2003 while I was still competing in powerlifting. I didn’t really know how to use them properly or how to integrate them with my PL training. I attended the NSCA National Conference in 2004 where I met Pavel for the first time. He invited me to attend an RKC Certification workshop. I finally took him up on the offer in April 2006. After becoming an RKC, I slowly started to integrate KB training within my PL training regimen, figuring the KB training could only help my PL training. As I got more into using the KBs, I even started to have training sessions that revolved solely around the KB, especially during the off season.

Going into my 8^th season of playing semi-pro football, PL and KB training are fully integrated within my training cycles. I could never imagine doing one without the other. They feed off of each other, helping the other perform better.

When Pavel started StrongFirst and informed us he would not only be having KB Certs but Barbell and Bodyweight Certs as well, I was very excited! Since becoming part of the leadership back in 2007, I cannot tell you how many emails, calls, and texts that I have received asking my advice on how to combine KB, BB and BW exercises into a comprehensive training program.

Now, with the creation and formation of StrongFirst and the addition of the Barbell (SFL) and Bodyweight (SFB) Certifications and Courses, these will help to further educate and teach all who take these certs the nuances of BB and BW training.

Back to barbells. Before you can attend the SFL Certification, completion of an SFG Kettlebell Course or an SFG Kettlebell Instructor Level I Certification is a prerequisite.

Why is this?

For starters, I didn’t attend or learn any of the KB techniques or ways of training before I started lifting at age 17 and I have had a successful PL career. Yes, while this is true, knowing what I know now, I would have shaved off years of experimenting and trial and error if I had the knowledge that I do now.

Plus, the SFL is using KB principles that are taught during the SFG Certifications/Courses that will decrease the learning curve and speed up your success with the barbell. You will get much more out of the SFL Certification building on these skills.

I get asked a lot by SFGs why they should venture out of the KB world that they know so well. My answer is this:

One, you should always strive to sharpen your sword, add to your existing knowledge base. You may not use it like I do, but you will nonetheless become better for it and so will your clients!

Two, what you have already learned while becoming an SFG will serve you well during the SFL. You will see, hear and review drills and coaching cues that you already know. Based on these, you will expand on them to help you learn and become proficient with using and training with the barbell.

Three, most SFGs want to be strong. You have already created the foundation. Attending this SFL will help make you stronger, physically and mentally. For whatever purpose you may have.

Celebrating my 20^th year of being a chiropractic physician, I can honestly tell you that being strong is a HUGE health benefit. I am not just referring to me, but I am also talking about my patients and humans in general. I have treated thousands of patients during these past 20 years and those who are stronger tend to recover faster from injuries, have a better mental attitude and stay out of the nursing home longer. I still have not found any disadvantage to being strong. It is ALWAYS an advantage in life!

I hope to see you at one of the upcoming SFL Certifications!

In Strength and Honor,
Dr. Michael Hartle, DC, Master SFG

“The blank serenity of the invulnerable.” Peter Benchley was writing about a barracuda but the same can be said about strong people. Unless they are attempting a world record, they are calm and unperturbed. You could swear Ed Coan got Botox.

Neurotics stay weak. They doubt their strength to complete the rep, so they panic and cheat. They rush their rest periods because they do not want to miss the latest episode of American Idol or they just remembered that they need to pick up dry cleaning. Or because their fidgety minds cannot be still for five minutes, recover and reflect.

The hyperactive XXI century makes it difficult to stop long before failure and take leisurely rest periods. We need to go back in time to find the patience of strength.

How would Yul Brynner’s character from The Magnificent Seven go about his kettlebell press ladders?

Chris slowly removed his hat and hung it up on a sun-bleached fence post. He stalked the kettlebell hiding from the burning Mexican sun under a shed, and calmly faced it. Clean—with a lighting speed and a practiced precision of a gun draw.

The lazy body turned rock hard to accept the blow. Chris paused with a bell on his chest, the way one does when he does not question his own strength. He powerfully shoved the heavy kettlebell overhead. The abs and the grip tightened while the face remained impassive.

An explosive hand switch and a press with the right. The gun fighter set the bell down, a spent glass on the counter. Ramrod straight, he strode over to pick up his black hat and put it back on. He leaned on the fence and surveyed the desert for several minutes without moving.

With all the time in the world at his disposal, Chris walked over to the kettlebell. Cowboy boots may not be the best footwear for training but they do make one slow down and walk with dignity, hips first.

Clean, press, press. Clean, press, press. The knuckles turned white and not a single facial muscle twitched.

Chris lit up a cigar and smoked it for some time. He finally approached the bell, the cigar still between his teeth, decisively anaerobic.

Clean, press, press, press. There was no way to gauge the difficulty of the set. The pale eyes showed nothing but “the blank serenity of the invulnerable.”

…The shadows from the sajuaro cacti have stretched long. The sky above the mountains turned purple. Did half an hour go by? Did two hours? Did it matter?

The Old West was history long before I was born. Or maybe it was just a legend. Regardless, I am nostalgic for that lost world of strength and reticence.

This is a little embarrassing, but I admit I was an obsessed bodybuilder for about six years of my life.  My training was completely different about twenty years ago.  One of the key things I learned through all these years is that functional strength training and bodybuilding training are radically different.  Yes, the way I used to train was outstanding for hypertrophy, but not much else.  Let me explain exactly what I mean.

As a former competitive bodybuilder, bodybuilding was a very life changing and rewarding experience for me.  The six years I competed were an amazing time of what I thought was “hard core” training.  You know what, it was “hard core” training, just in a very different way.  At the peak of my bodybuilding career I would spend four hours in the gym, six days a week.  That’s right, 24 hours out of every week were dedicated to high volume lifting with my training partner who was, at the time, training for the Teenage Mr. America.  You can probably guess, we did a lot of sets, reps, and isolation exercises.

I can still remember an example of a chest workout we used to do twice a week:

*    Four sets of flat barbell bench
*    Four sets of incline barbell bench
*    Four sets of dumbbell flat bench
*    Four sets of incline dumbbell bench
*    Finish off with four sets of either a cable fly or dumbbell fly

What you may notice is that all the exercises were done while lying down on a bench.  This is not very functional, obviously.

After our chest training, we’d then proceed on to our back program, usually 20 to 24 sets, and then abs or calves to finish. Slightly crazy as that was 24 work sets, not including warmups.  Rep ranges were in the 8 to 12 range for everything.  You can see why the workouts were four hours in duration.  The word “overtraining” should be coming to mind here.  There were many problems with this type of training, but it served the purpose, at the time.  This was typical bodybuilding training.  This was not strength training.

I still train for muscular hypertrophy, but it’s totally different for me these days. I absolutely want to increase lean muscle mass as much as I possibly can (once a bodybuilder, always a bodybuilder), but the training protocols have completely transformed.  A major contributor to this transformation was the simple discovery of the kettlebell.  It was that tool that helped to change my entire training philosophy, as soon as I learned how to use it properly.

Instead of 24 hours a week, I’m down to four hours a week and usually less than that.  That’s four days a week of one-hour training sessions, where the actual training ranges from 30-45 minutes, with the other time being spent on joint mobility and technique work.  That’s an 83% reduction in my weekly training time.  I’ve also become a “technique fanatic” for the primary benefit of training with maximum safety, efficiency, and results.

If you remember one thing from this article, remember this.  Proper technique combined with smart programming equals optimal results, period.

For me, long gone are the days of hours of training, and double digit sets and reps.  Today, it comes down to just three simple modalities, for the most part.  The kettlebell, the barbell, and bodyweight applications.  It’s a training session that has five fundamental movements and usually includes such movements as a hinge, squat, push, pull, and a carry.  (Thanks Dan John!)

“Fundamental movement is fundamental.” ~Dan John

A typical training session today usually looks something like this:

(By the way, I like to use the term training session as opposed to workout.  Anyone can “work out.”  A “training session” means you are working to improve and build your skills.  Keep this in mind.)

*    Barbell Deadlift, two warmups then 3×5 (pull)
*    Double Kettlebell Military Press, 2×5 (push)
*    Barbell or Double Kettlebell Front Squat, 2-3×5 (squat)
*    Kettlebell Swing, 3×50 (hinge)
*    Kettlebell Turkish Get Up, 2-5 reps (plus one)
*    Racked Walk (or other loaded carry) for distance. (carry)
*    Done…

Take notice of the differences from my previous bodybuilding workouts.  All of these exercises are total body movements, nothing lying down or even seated.  All exercises are a total body integration with no isolation exercises.  This is how the body is designed to be used, as a system.

The big benefits?  Less time, total body integration, functional movement, and skill development, just to name a few.  All are major exercises that work the big muscle groups, stimulate the maximal hormonal effects, and have the greatest systemic benefits.  This is important.  We get stronger, we move better, we feel better, all with the added bonus of gaining muscular hypertrophy.

I change my protocols, rotate different periodization approaches, and sometimes perform more volume to match my training objectives.  But, my primary goals now are improving strength and skill mastery.  All the other goals come after that.  Training the way I used to for bodybuilding did one thing really well.  It was excellent for increasing muscular hypertrophy, but it lacked so many other things.

Now, in addition to increasing muscle mass, I have countless other benefits and I understand what it is to truly train for strength and performance. Pure strength training is king and all goals can be accomplished by being stronger. In my early years, I didn’t realize what I know today, that you must be strong first.

Article by Scott Iardella, MPT, CSCS, CISSN, SFGII, CK-FMS, USAW. Scott is an SFG Level II Instructor, former Orthopedic/Sports Medicine Physical Therapist, and has diverse credentials and experiences in strength and performance training. Scott trains and teaches in South Florida. For more information, go to RdellaTraining.com.

“When you don’t know what you believe, everything becomes an argument.  Everything is debatable.  But when you stand for something, decisions are obvious.”

If you do not heed this insight from Messrs. Fried and Hansson in your training, you are doomed for decades of frustration.

Consider the three leading powerlifting systems: Gallagher’s, Simmons’, and Sheyko’s.  All three operate on different sets of principles and take advantage of different physiological phenomena.

Sheyko has you squat four times a week using very moderate weights, high volume, and stopping far from failure.

Gallagher has you squat once a week for an all-out or nearly all-out one set.

Sheyko’s system is an organized approach to “greasing the groove.”  Frequent submaximal practice turns the motor nerves into “superconductors,” tops off the creatine phosphate stores in the muscle, and supposedly stimulates release of growth factor IGF-1.

Gallagher’s system, in its obstinate denial of light days and higher volume, dooms the muscle to low levels of CP, or fuel for intense contractions.  Yet recent Russian research shows how this apparent liability turns out to be an asset for a powerlifter.  It turns out that a muscle with a smaller “tank” is easier to expose to the type of microtrauma that stimulates growth.  In addition, training hard and then doing nothing makes the “undecided” muscle fibers convert into a faster subtype.

A typical gym rat, arrogantly convinced that he is smarter than Gallagher and Sheyko, will go out of his way to create a “better” hybrid of the two.  Immediately, the Russian system will be ruined by pushing the lifter into overtraining with intensity he is used to saving for the competition day.  The American system will sputter, the very mechanisms responsible for its success disrupted by an addition of light days.  “Drives like a boat and swims like a car,” as they used to say about the car-boat hybrid several decades ago.

Such an experiment would never occur to either Coach Team USA or Coach Team Russia.  Both have drawn very clear borders defining their systems and they are too smart to cross them.  Wise men know that failing to limit one’s options makes decisions impossible.  In the words of Paul Saffo, a technology forecaster, “A point of view is that quintessential human solution to information overload, an intuitive process of reducing things to an essential relevant and manageable minimum.”

It does not mean one cannot learn from other systems; only that such learning has to be limited to the lessons that are not going to disrupt the DNA of one’s own system.  For instance, Boris Sheyko has incorporated some assistance exercises from Louie Simmons’ arsenal, such as board presses, but it would never occur to him to add a “max effort day” and a “dynamic effort day.”

Your grandmother has said it best: “Don’t be so open-minded that your brains fall out.”

At StrongFirst, we like to say, “Strength has a greater purpose.” It’s in the finding of that purpose we discover parts of ourselves we have either turned away from or never seen at all.

Striving to obtain a StrongFirst Certification, like so many did this last weekend in Boston, is on its own a form of strength. Heck, with the troubles the city of Boston went through the week before the Certification, a heavy measure of determination and single-mindedness was required just to get there. Pushing aside the constant news bursts from a few towns over and focusing on the task at hand may have required as much strength mentally as it did physically. I am so proud of our new brothers and sisters in strength.

I received an email from a seventy-one-year-old man today asking for information on attending a StrongFirst Level I Kettlebell Certification. He wrote, “I have been training… for a little over two years. My progress has, in my opinion, been dramatic. I believe that in the not to distant future I will be capable of successfully completing Level 1 certification. However, certification has no real meaning for me in that I’m seventy-one years old and have no desire to teach. I do, as a matter of principle for me, wish to have a successful completion of the certification requirements. I have been watching the streaming videos and would like to be part of that experience.”

The part, “certification has no meaning for me,” followed by “I do, as a matter of principle…wish to have a successful completion of the…requirements” hit me like a hammer. How many of us would gladly walk away from an event with the simple satisfaction of knowing that we did everything we needed to do? How many of us seek the experience first and the accolades second? Do we strive for the paper that says we did well, or for the knowledge inside that we gave it our all? Do we hone our craft or do we collect certificates?

Don’t get me wrong, certifications open doors. They have a practical application for everything from obtaining insurance to maintaining employment and my company is proud to present them to men and women who meet the very rigorous standards we established. Still, I have to wonder what components of those certifications last; the paper or the principle?

Standing in my son’s office, I see the awards he received serving as a Marine. I watch the boys and girls who flock to his dojo and I wonder if those awards have any impact on how they perceive their sensei, Mr. Toomey. I prefer to believe it’s the strength of his instruction, his strength as a protector that draws them near and in many ways, gives them strength. It also doesn’t hurt that he’s a pretty skilled fighter.

What greater purpose will your strength serve? As an example to young people or as a means of showing others that life continues at 71 and doesn’t end at 65?

Before making the announcements of new Master SFG Instructors, I reminded the group that we are not our resumes; our lives’ purpose is not found in the having, but in the doing. Having the strength to do what others won’t even attempt is one of strength’s greater purposes.

A conversation about strength wouldn’t be complete without some practical application, so here’s a great program designed by an operator-member of the StrongFirst community. Each day, men and women whose names we will never know give everything they have for all of us. They don’t do it for fame or money or thanks. They do it because they are called to it.

Monday

-Weighted pull-ups 5 sets of 5
 – Alternate the pull-ups with strict clean and military kettlebell presses using double 24kg kettlebells

-Rock bottom front squats with a one second pause using double 32kg KBs 5 sets of 5

-Snatch with a 32kg KB – 5 sets, hard but not to failure

-Alternate the snatches with strict hanging leg raises completing 5 sets

Wednesday

-One arm clean and jerks with a 32kg KB for 10 minutes, play it by ear

-Heavy abdominal work

-Pullups -100 total

-Alternate with front squats, sets of 10 with 2x24kg KBs

-Snatches or swings with a 24kg KB

-Alternate sets of 10-20 kettlebell swing or snatches with 100 yard jogs (not sprints! the jog is for recovery) for as long as you can handle it

-Cough up a hairball!

Friday

Start over.

After three weeks of this program, it’s important to reduce the reps by 50% and back off for a week.

That is totally what I would shout at a teeth-baring mountain lion, interrupting a lovely Malibu hike.  Or to some crazy machete-wielding psychopath creeping through the campsite.

Okay not really.  But here is the point:  [Truly] getting stronger means that you are also less likely to become a victim, and less likely to be defeated – whatever the challenge.

And it turns out that others can see this, too.  Recently:

A friend’s husband, who insists that her going on a local hike with just one girlfriend is too dangerous to ever risk, volunteered an exception:  “You can go with Nikki only.  (She can handle a mountain lion.)”  (Ha!)

Another girlfriend, whose husband would NEVER approve of her going hike-in camping without a man (himself) present, suddenly had no objection when he heard it would be… me.  ”Oh – well sure if it’s Nikki that’s okay, you’ll be safe.  Here’s my saw, have fun!”

They gave me a good laugh, but then after the second instance, it became kind of curious.  What’s that all about?

Probably this:

When you start training to be strong, you become less likely to be intimidated, overwhelmed, scared, indecisive, or just beaten.  These qualities are inextricably linked.  Strength has a greater purpose.  It really does.

Obviously, we still want to avoid going head-to-head with a vicious beast or an armed madman.  ;]  The goal is not false, foolish confidence, but more like… a systematic de-sissification.  And poise, and the ability to handle oneself in a situation.

Get strong, and you will find that you no longer fear a challenge.

In fact, you will even begin seeking new challenges, wondering what else you can do.  (For example: “There’s a phone book.  Hmm, I wonder if I can tear it?” or “I saw someone do [this] the other day.  I wonder if I can do that?” or “That looks heavy.  I’m going to pick it up and put it over my head, just because.”)  Because: (1) you feel more confident in your chances of succeeding, and (2) you’re not afraid of failing, either.  That’s right – there is strength in the willingness to struggle or look ridiculous; something so trivial could never break you.

Strength has a greater purpose.

The brothers and sisters of the StrongFirst family know this as truth.  It is part of our Code.  The revelation occurs at the Level I SFG, because it is both mentally and physically challenging – on purpose.  If it wasn’t so tough, this exquisite and priceless lesson would be missed.  Those who have confronted and embraced the challenge of the certification know:  It changes so much more than the letters after your name and the value you present to others.  It is no coincidence that the three days spent with an internal focus at StrongFirst spark an internal transformation:  When you get it, it changes you, on a deep and personal level.

At the end of each certification, we receive feedback evaluations from the participants.  The (profoundly gratifying) reflection that most frequently appears:

“I had no idea all that I was capable of until now.”

“I showed up weak, and I left strong.”

“This challenged me in every possible way – mentally, physically, and emotionally – and I am a better [man] for it.”

“I discovered strength that I never knew I had.”

And after every cert, the candidates travel back to their homes – their families, their jobs, and whatever problems or challenges that may have been waiting for them – with a different attitude.  A whole new confidence.  And a swagger.  Well, maybe the swagger is just a bit of soreness, but that is only temporary.  ;]

“The highest reward for a man’s toil is not what he gets for it, but what he becomes by it.”
–John Ruskin

And so, to the not-(YET)-initiated:

An enduring and severely awesome makeover awaits you.  But this badder-ass version of yourself will not result from arbitrary, reckless reps in a weight room or fitness class.  And it certainly does not happen while mindlessly pedaling an elliptical machine.  (Oh, the many years I wasted on cardio machines… Once you liberate yourself from the hamster wheels, you will never look back.)

It also does not happen merely by reaching any particular number.  Injuries may result *wink*, but your true potential for awesomeness will still be lying dormant.

Until…

You begin to cultivate the skill involved in the deliberate and internally-attentive quest for strength.  Not a quantity – a quality.

You will learn to be mentally plugged-in, singularly focused, and you must have measurable standards and progress – and you must actually get stronger.  You must get better.

You will do swings, squats, presses, snatches, deadlifts, pushups, pistols, pull ups… the real stuff.   The really cool stuff.  You will explore your ability to man-up and exert your force, your will, on an “immovable” object.  You will begin to discover what you can actually DO, and you will be astonished by how truly, wickedly empowering that is.  And age and circumstance are irrelevant, my friend – it is never too late to get strong, and get more awesome, and throw up your arms and growl through your teeth… …aaaand then maybe run like hell.

Nikki’s current training typically involves a few weighted pull-ups, some double kettlebell squats and presses, a few asymmetrical pushups, a few swings, maybe a few double snatches, a couple HLRs, maybe a couple pistols, and maybe some get-ups.  Loaded carries are slowly starting to creep their way into the rotation – and that is Dan John’s fault.

Nikki is the VP of Operations for StrongFirst, Inc. and a Level II SFG Instructor in Pacific Palisades, California.

OK, so you have done your kettlebell clean and press ladders and have put in your volume. You can press for sets and reps with a fairly heavy weight, but when it comes time to put up that half-bodyweight kettlebell press for just ONE rep, it just doesn’t go. You either lift your shoulder first or don’t get the required amount of full body tension or something messes it up.

Every powerlifter knows that being able to do heavy weight for a top set of 3 or 5 does not always convert to a great max single; the same is often true for the single kettlebell press.

This program is designed specifically to increase one’s ability to press a kettlebell for a single rep. The focus is on getting to a half-bodyweight kettlebell press, but this will work just as well for getting you to the next bell size, whatever that is. The protocol is based on Westside Barbell’s template of how to train the three powerlifts using a speed day and a maximum effort day. The basic concept is teaching the body how to apply maximum force at all times.

Force=Mass X Acceleration

One can increase force by increasing either the mass (weight of the bar/bell) or by moving it faster. One doesn’t lift heavy weights slowly on purpose. Heavy weights move SLOWLY because they are HEAVY. Learning to move medium to light weights quickly is an advanced skill as is a half bodyweight press; trying to grind a max effort from the start usually results in failure for most. You may to be able to grind out the finish but rarely does that work at the start. Learning how to accelerate weights with 60% loads will carry over to the heavier loads IF one practices moving the heavy weights fast as well. This too is a skill.

Yet it’s an entirely different thing when one only has to do a single rep and there is no eccentric contraction FIRST to “get the feel of it” like the first rep of a press. It’s almost like a single rep deadlift; the first rep is ALWAYS the hardest.

If the reps are done in a touch-and-go fashion, then each successive rep is easier until muscle fatigue sets in. With no eccentric loading first on the deadlift, or the kettlebell press for a single, one has to be able to commit ALL his or her energy and focus into driving hard into the rep without losing ANY form or total body tightness.

It is no small task, especially if one doesn’t have much experience with single rep efforts. Strength is a skill and one rep max efforts are a very specific subset of that skill. Many miss that rep, not because they are not strong enough, but because they don’t have enough experience with maximum effort for just one repetition.

This type of training addresses that problem specifically. The program has two parts, two workouts most effectively separated by two days.

Day one is Speed day; its purpose is to teach and develop perfect form and accelerative abilities in the standing kettlebell press. Using compensatory acceleration (meaning each rep will be done using as much accelerative force as possible) while still maintaining perfect form and short rest periods, the necessary muscle tension will be developed in the groove.

An important point: When doing the press on speed day, do NOT think of pressing the bell up. Think of shoving the bell to lockout-from rack position to lockout in one movement. Of course it’s not really possible, but you need to think about it this way in order to move the bell as quickly as possible. The lower body has to be rock solid and not give an inch as you shove the weight overhead for this to work. You have to be locked in completely.

This does NOT mean to use sloppy form to move the weight fast-just the opposite. Learning to move the weight very fast will require optimal biomechanics. Just like you can’t spring fast with bad biomechanics; neither can you press fast or heavy.

One can only do 3-6 repetitions above 90% 1RM effectively, but in this method you will be trying to do 30 reps with 100% force (or as close as feasible). Westside uses jump stretch bands and/or chains to accommodate leverage in the squat and bench exercises and while this can be done with a kettlebell press it’s not in the starting phase. You will learn to control the bell while still maximally accelerating it. This is especially important when you push hard and the bell seems to go nowhere, at first. The ability to keep pushing and not lose the groove is the key to making max effort lifts.

The second day is Max Effort day; a variety of “same but different” versions of the press will be done. I will suggest a few basic variations, but it’s up to the individual lifter to decide which movements actually transfer for them, into the main lift. This will take some experimentation eventually but for now go through this cycle exactly at least two times before subbing out.

It’s VERY important to understand that max effort lifts must be done with NO psych or increase in blood pressure. Just take the lift in a workman’s type fashion. This will equate to approximately a 90% effort in competition but that’s not important. What is important is that you get used to pressing very heavy weights for single reps almost casually; just another day at the office.

The easiest way to get stronger is to lift maximum weights. The only problem with a program of maximum loads is that you only get 2-4 weeks of progress before you go backwards. Fast. This program circumvents that by switching the variation every 1-3 weeks; same but different. This way you get your body used to very heavy single reps but in a neurological pattern that is slightly different from the classic lift for which you are training.

After the main press on each day, a variety of assistance exercises will be done to build the foundation muscles of the press. Their order of use should be decided based upon your weak points. If your lats are a weakness in the press, do lat exercises first. If it’s your shoulders, start there. Still do a lat move but put it in order of weakness. If it’s your strongest muscles do them last.

This will change as working on your weak points continues. It is a seven week program with a test in the seventh week. Reassess after each testing and new PR as your weak links will change very often.

Here’s the routine:

Kettlebell Press Speed day: Monday
(choose a bell approximately 60% of your CURRENT best 1RM standing military press)
ALL sets are to be done on one arm before switching to your second arm. START with the weak arm first.

Kettlebell press
60% x 8-10 sets of 3 reps, 20 seconds rest between sets, then do second arm.
(Start each press from DEAD pause in the rack position. Press it as strongly as possible and then pause at the top with a 1 count. Let the weight down quickly but do not drop it. Pause and repeat.)

Loaded cleans (one kettlebell size up from the press)
5 sets of 5 with 2 second pause in rack, focus on ‘zipping up’ the entire body; a standing plank.

Tactical pull-ups
3-5 sets of 3 with pause at top of rep, 30 second rest/set

Floor kettlebell extensions (paused on floor behind head)
Lie on the floor with a kettlebell behind your head. Hold the horns of the bell, elbows tucked in. From a pause extend your arms and flex the triceps hard. Lower back to the floor and pause for one second. Repeat. The goal of this is to work the triceps but also to accelerate the bell quickly too as you build more triceps meat.
5-6 sets of 8 of a challenging kettlebell (don’t worry about pushing this weight up its for hypertrophy)

Kettlebell side raises
Hold light kettlebells (or dumbbells) at your side and with slightly bent elbows lift them to shoulder level or slightly above. This is a classic side lateral done for eons by bodybuilders. The kettlebells give it a slightly different feel but the goal is to work the medial deltoid and create more shoulder mass and stability.
3-5 sets of 10-12
(this for medial deltoid work and supraspinatus stability)

Max Effort: Thursday
Each Thursday for six weeks, you will perform a variation of the press.

Do 3-6 singles with the SAME WEIGHT. You can stay with each variation for 1-3 weeks increasing the number of sets each week -if you can. When you miss or go backwards, change to the next variation. You could also change variations every week if you like. If the first cycle around you can only get three singles, the next time you do it, shoot for 4 (and so on). The idea is to prepare both physically and mentally for just ONE rep sets and get used to grinding through maintaining perfect form.

If you miss a rep, miss it like a professional (maintaining perfect form tension and alignment). Keep your focus the entire time.

Rest as much as desired between sets but at least two minutes.

Week One
Bottoms-up Kettlebell Press

Week Two
Stacked Kettlebell Press

Week Three
Floor press with single kettlebell

Week Four
Kettlebell Get-up

Week Five
Medium grip weighted pushups on floor or to a bar in the power rack (2 sets to 90% failure- if you tried one more rep you would miss) reps between 15 and 30.

Week Six (De-load)
Kettlebell military press with one bell up from Monday’s weight for 5 sets of 1 done perfectly strict.

Week Seven (Test)
Test Kettlebell military press: work up in single after using Monday’s weight. Rest 3-5 minutes between attempts.

Assistance work:

Loaded clean OR Bottoms-up clean
Work up to 1-2 sets of 1-2 reps with goal weight or above on clean and one below on bottoms-up OR as heavy as safe as possible on bottoms-up clean. Must be able to pause each strongly for 2-3 seconds for it to ‘count’.

A “loaded” clean is where you do a regular kettlebell clean but tighten up the entire body, from the toes to your nose, as if someone where hanging their entire bodyweight off the kettlebell in the rack position. “Zip” it up for 1-2 seconds and do the next rep.

The ability to tighten up the entire body just before pressing is vital for single max rep success.

Heavy two hand swings (for rooting stability)
5 sets of 8-10

Kettlebell row of your choice
3-5 sets of 5, heavy add weight each set

Weighted abdominal work of your choice
3-5 sets of 5-8

That’s it. On your other training days do as you like but don’t fatigue the pressing muscles. As important as the exercises and the loads are, your mindset is equally key. You must get used to the “idea” of only one rep as the “set”. Each single rep has many components to it and you must get used to all of them, the setup, the breathing, the tension where you need it, etc.

Most important is controlling your mind so it does not wander when it comes to starting and finishing that heavy weight.  Visualize the lift from start to finish EVERY TIME you are to get under a max effort. SEE IT. You can’t spend too much time practicing mentally. It is vital.

Good luck comrades and please report your progress or any questions you have on the StrongFirst Forum or Facebook page.

Rif.

Mark Reifkind, Master SFG teaching at the first StrongFirst SFG Kettlebell Level I Instructor Certification. Find him online at http://rifsblog.blogspot.com and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/mark.reifkind.

A smart alec newspaper columnist made fun of the “guys who bench a lot and then stare at the wall.” You have missed the point, champ. These gents have their act together. You should have made fun of the nerdlings who “update their profile” and tweet about their chicken sandwiches between their sets of “Bulgarian split squats.”

A cultural observation. Today’s young Americans are afraid to be left alone. They have to be constantly chatting or texting and they are afraid of silence. If this describes you, either change your ways, or be content to be weak.

There is a finite amount of nervous energy you possess. Any accomplished athlete is a Scrooge when it comes to using it sparingly and only on things that matter. A strong lifter will rack the bar, then sit down and zone out for ten minutes until the next set. Being alone, meditating, whatever you call it, is how one restores his nervous energy with interest.

Contrast the many ways a typical gym rat wastes his precious nervous energy. The worst drain, by far, is the infernal device called the cell phone. It must have been invented by a Machiavellian mind with a deep hatred of the Western civilization and a burning desire to bring it down. He is succeeding. Americans used to be known for thinking big, dreaming big, living big. Not any more. Consider the new fashion, “life logging.” A nerdling straps a camera strapped to his scrawny or fat carcass to record every moment of his petty, meaningless life…

Leave the pathetic little device in the car. If you are bringing your own music (not a bad idea, given the testosterone inhibiting drivel played at gyms), get a music player that is just that. No communications and no “apps.”

The headset, in addition to covering up boy bands with Motorhead or Saxon, will limit unwanted social interaction. I wish I could wear a “Do Not Disturb!” hotel sign around my neck, but headphones and a reptilian absence of facial expression are the second best thing.

Make no eye contact. Do not look away; look through. Several years ago I watched an amusing scene at a powerlifting meet. A spectator started waving frantically at a top lifter he knew. The lifter was in the warm-up area. Although it was not his turn to lift, his thousand yard stare failed to register the fan. The latter thought the lifter was rude. I knew better.

Do not talk. A conversation, pleasant or unpleasant, is an engagement of nervous energy.

Do not smile.

Prof. Stuart McGill tells a fascinating story in Ultimate Back Fitness and Performance. Jerzy Gregorek, a weightlifting world record holder from Poland whom I had the pleasure of meeting, cleaned the bar and was ready to jerk it for the final attempt. He knew the lift was his and he smiled internally. “Not an external smile that any observer would detect, but a smile in his brain.” Gregorek missed the lift and lost the championship. Prof. McGill concludes, “Several high performance people have suggested that smiling inhibits muscle activation. There is some evidence to suggest that this is true. It may well turn out that ultimate muscle contraction requires a ‘game face’!”

Kraus & Chen (2013) examined pre-fight photos of 152 MMA fighters facing off and correlated them with the fight records. Those with a more neutral expression were more likely to win. The fighters who smiled less were also “more likely to end the fight by knockout or submission, more likely to land a higher percentage of significant strikes and more likely to wrestle their opponent to the ground during the fight.” Other studies show that smiling can be a sign of submission and that men with higher levels of testosterone smile less.

I am not suggesting that you become a jerk. Just save your smiles for outside the gym.

Strength is a decidedly individual pursuit. You may have a coach and training partners, but when it comes down to it, it is between you and the iron. Do not be afraid to be alone with the iron.

# # #

I get dozens of requests by email, phone call and even house visits about how to prepare for the three day Kettlebell certification course. I am more than happy to help prepare them for the experience of moving all day long, challenging workouts and cutting edge education. Sadly, most people ask me to perfect their form in all the movements. Now, in my experience as a coach of many sports, achieving perfection is a lot like grabbing a handful of steam, if you ask me. You didn’t. Having me walk you through a variety of movements in a few hours is nothing like technical mastery.

On the other extreme, others want to know the about the standard that says the off arm pinkie must remain at zenith during the third arabesque and whether or not we are really that specific about things. I made that up; as you may know, it is only during the SECOND arabesque that the pinkie is at zenith. Read the manual!

I emphasize that you don’t worry about technical perfection or the standards in your preparation. I suggest you prepare yourself mentally and physically for the road. The road? Cervantes says it best in Don Quixote: “It’s the road, not the inn.” In my humble opinion (right?), I suggest that you prepare yourself as best you can physically to handle the three days of wear and tear on your body.

Oh, and the Inn? That’s the Grad Workout.

It is a hard thing to explain, but during the three days, you are going to learn the techniques of basic Kettlebell movements. Trust me.  During my certification, during my 10,000^th double swing, I “sorta got it.” When I repeat to the group, for what I always hope is the last time but never is the last time, “The swing is a swing, the snatch is a swing, the clean is a swing,” you might finally have the insight that the ballistic kettlebell movements begin with a swing. The Get Up is a masterful move; learn the move under the direction of the masters. Stop watching those awful Youtube videos that also next recommends that the best method of catching alligators is with your bare hands. You need your hands for snatches.

There are no mysteries to preparing for the Cert. I followed the simple directions that Pavel outlined with lots and lots of Clean and Presses, Pullups, Swings and Snatches. Well, what I “thought” were Swings and Snatches. I recommend a solid base of strength first…wait, this reminds me of something:

When Pavel announced the name of the organization as “Strong First,” I turned to my wife and said: “Someone is going to say “Strong Last” in exactly three, two….” I was right.

So, get strong. I hope you were smart enough to do something as simple as Easy Strength and get your basic press, squat and pull up to standard. Don’t start getting specific on the KB moves if, as a male, you can’t do a pull up. After that, leap into the Rite of Passage with all you have. I smiled on rep 18 of my snatch test as I knew that I was going to kill this test; the ROP had me that prepared.

The road starts when you circle the calendar, count backwards the weeks and start to get strong. Then, I hope you have time for specific prep. Like my assistant tells me: Now get on the plane and go.

The road continues when you check into the hotel, unpack your stuff (bring extra shirts, trust me) and try to figure out what to do and where to go. The road is Day One, Day Two and Day Three.

Then, you reach the Inn. That’s where I come in again. The Grad Workout, in this particular variation, was designed by a lunatic psychopath. That would be me.

Everything can be done; some things should be done. The Grad Workout has built in problems:

1. You have an exhausted cadre.
2. Putting bells up overhead with exhausted people breaks all the safety rules.
3. Some people have little skin on their hands by Day Three.
4. Any idiot can get people tired. Getting people to test themselves under stress and exhaustion takes some thinking to keep things safe.
5. WIN: What’s Important Now. We debate the reasons for this workout at every gathering. Trust me, there are many. As a religious studies instructor, I can only add that we are putting a line in the sand and asking you simply to cross it. That is what is important now.

With these problems/opportunities, I reached into my grab bag of training and came up with this simple workout based on the concept of “we can do anything, we should do this:”

Double Kettlebell Clean for two reps
Double Kettlebell Press for one rep
Double Kettlebell Front Squat for three reps.
Put the bell down like a professional. Step away.

Now, your partner takes the bells while you do “Fast-Loose” Drills and support the community as you can.

Repeat. A lot.

The press is always the issue in these workouts. This 2:1:3 ratio protects the hands (two cleans, but doubles are easier on the hands anyway), challenges the press without worrying about endurance, and, well, you can always get another double front squat. By simply moving to one rep in the press, you still move from safest ballistic I know (the Double Clean), to the ultimate in full body tension and grinding, the press. The Front Squats? Good question: I’m a jerk. You can always do Front Squats!

Ratios are more important in kettlebell complexes than barbell complexes. With a barbell, asymmetry issues can be mitigated by having both hands on the bar. That’s why I keep my barbell complexes with standards of three, five or eight reps with each movement. With kettlebells, any asymmetry, whether physical or technical limitations, will manifest itself under load and exhaustion. So, I play with ratios in all my kettlebell complex work.

The Grad Workout is climbing the summit. It is the last few grueling feet. Inside your head, you KNOW you can do one more round, but maybe not two more. Two rounds later, you KNOW you can do one more round, but maybe not two more. But, you continue to climb.

This is why we wear our shirts proudly and include initials behind our name. You made it to the Inn.

# # #

UPCOMING SFG LEVEL I KETTLEBELL CERTIFICATIONS

Boston, April 19-21

Salt Lake City, May 17-19 

Venice, Italy, June 7-9

Harlow, UK, July 5-7

Edmonton, Canada, September 6-8

Seoul, South Korea, October 11-13

Vancouver, Canada, November 8-10

Toronto, Canada, November 15-17