Do It Yourself Hand Care

Remember when you were a kid and your parents always told you to brush your teeth? Well, like a lot of kids you might have let it “go in one ear and out the other” and either forgot or just plain refused to do it. Then one day you might have had a regular check-up […]

Upstream Strength Strategies

“Every system is perfectly designed to get the results it gets.”—Paul Batalden, Medical Expert In his book, Upstream: How to solve problems before they happen, Dan Heath talks about how upstream decisions can have a greater impact on downstream results. He also explains the difference between upstream decisions and preventative measures (being proactive is not […]

Will You Gain More Strength by Varying Your Lifting Speed?

With this article we would like to give you a taste of what you are about to learn at Programming Demystified, a new seminar with Pavel, Fabio, and Hector, this October in Phoenix, AZ or in your living room. Over a century ago Ivan Lebedev, a big name in strength training in imperial Russia, suggested […]

How to Increase Power with “Grinds”

The good old days of bigger, faster, stronger are long gone. We know better now. Times have changed. The game of strength has new rules. It is not just about strength. It is about strength AND speed. It is about power. Force and Power Swinging a 32kg kettlebell is challenging, but we can all agree […]

How to Deadlift a Barbell Every Day

“If something is important. Do it every day.”—Dan Gable. The most feared and revered barbell lift. The most neurologically taxing exercise. The “king of all lifts.” The list of ways to describe the barbell deadlift goes on and on. In December of 2021, the question that wouldn’t leave my mind was: “Is it possible to […]

Spreading the Load

StrongFirst is built upon universal strength principles that are applied to the three modalities we teach: kettlebell, barbell, and bodyweight. Although our focus is on these specific modalities, our principles can be applied to any training tool. StrongFirst principles translate complicated, scientific methods into simple, applicable programs that can be immediately applied to training. Our […]

The Triple Gear Squat Protocol

In a recent article, I explained how varying your lifting speed can help you gain more strength. Today I will show you a couple of ways of applying this knowledge to boost your squat, barbell (back, front, Zercher) or kettlebell (goblet, double front). 3 x Gear Squat Protocol #1 The simplest thing you can do […]

Pick Your Perfect Program in 2023

“Water, water everywhere, nor any drop to drink.”— Samuel Taylor Coleridge from The Rime of the Ancient Mariner The quote above from the classic poem describes the availability of programs for the trainee. Programs, programs everywhere, nor a one to follow… It can be classic “paralysis by analysis” and the search for the “right” program […]

Staying Fit While Deployed

Having spent 20 years in the U.S. military, most of it during the Global War on Terror, I’ve seen my share of deployments. I rotated into combat zones seven times as a Navy SEAL, twice as a member of Team 2, and five times as a member of the Tier 1 SEAL unit. Staying fit […]

10 Reasons to Avoid Training to Failure

Do you remember when you started lifting weights? I do. My very first workout was a biceps workout with Chris Read, a senior, and the 140lb starter on the wrestling team, who was built like a mini-Ah-nold, at the base gym (RAF Lakenheath, England). I was a gangly, 15-year-old sophomore. We did straight bar curls. […]