StrongFirst Certified Instructors—What Sets Them Apart

Ladies and gentlemen, when you train under a StrongFirst Certified Instructor—kettlebell, barbell, or bodyweight—you are learning from the best.

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It was our founder Pavel Tsatsouline who disrupted the complacent trainer education industry and set the bar two decades ago. Instead of spewing sciency trivia useless in the trenches and coddling the students with multiple choice questions, his school taught lifting skills with military precision—and rigorously tested them. Unheard of until then, the candidates had to test their spirit in grueling workouts, pass strength tests, and demonstrate their teaching ability.

Since then, while others were attempting to catch up and imitate what Pavel and his team had done, we kept advancing. Polishing the chrome of our lifting and teaching skills. Perfecting our programming with the best of Russian and Western sports science. Doubling down on our commitment to this maxim: “Strength cannot be divorced from health.”

Where other trainers view you as a “client” passively receiving a service as one would at a hair salon, a StrongFirst certified instructor will treat you as a “student of strength.” The experience of training with one of our professionals is akin to martial arts practice—with the mutual respect and attention to detail that it implies.

Instead of preening in front of a mirror, our instructors live by the StrongFirst Code:

  • I am a student of strength.
  • I am a quiet professional.
  • Strength has a greater purpose.

We certify instructors in three modalities, united by the same set of universal training principles:


  • Kettlebell—StrongFirst Girya Level I and II (SFG) instructors
  • Barbell—StrongFirst Lifter (SFL) instructors
  • Bodyweight—StrongFirst Bodyweight (SFB) instructors

An instructor certified in all three modalities, including the Level II kettlebell certification, is StrongFirst Elite.

Another reason to choose a StrongFirst certified professional is our obsession with keeping our blade sharp. A StrongFirst certified instructor has to get his or her skills retested every two years—in contrast with other trainer certification bodies where paying a fee or attending an online seminar for CEUs is all it takes to keep the credentials.

Start your strength and self-improvement journey—
Find a professional instructor in your area today!