Strength Programming in the 2022-2023 Season for an Italian Professional Soccer Team

Most of us know the important role strength training plays in sports. This also applies to soccer, where the quality of technical skills is fundamental. During the 2022-2023 season, with the help of Fabio Zonin, StrongFirst Certified Master Instructor, I designed a training program based on StrongFirst principles for Pro Vercelli Calcio a soccer team […]

Kettlebell “What The Heck” Effects and Training Firefighters

Background Physical preparedness is one of many attributes that firefighters need in order to execute their job in a safe, effective manner. Although the job of structural firefighting is the same for both career and volunteer, the ability to maintain physical preparedness is not. Unlike career firefighters whose work schedules allow them to meet the […]

Strong Endurance in Schools to Strengthen the Next Generation

Strengthen Our Youth I currently teach at one of the best physical education schools in America. Prescott Junior High School was featured in the documentary “The Motivation Factor” which stresses the importance of being physically active. A big part of the documentary is the price American society is paying for not focusing on physical education […]

Avoid Common Deadlift, Pull-Up, and Snatch Mistakes to Own your TSC

Co-authored by Ryan Toshner The TSC is StrongFirst’s bi-annual strength challenge, where participants put their training pedal to the competition metal. Judged on performance while adhering to solid lifting technique, the upcoming TSC is the perfect opportunity to focus your training on new goals—learning to lift, beating a previous personal best, or ascending the podium. […]

Pullup Power: From No Reps to Getting Over the Bar with 36kg

Ah, the trusty pullup. Once a staple of every child’s PE class, it has fallen by the wayside as physical education in schools has declined. So even though pullups are still one of the best exercises you can do, for many people they’re nothing more than a distant memory of being yelled at by a […]

Avoid the Traps of Intuitive Training

An Excerpt from Iron Cardio By Brett Jones, StrongFirst Director of Education “It’s a trap.” —Admiral Ackbar Intuitive programs can fall into a few traps: Always intense Always increasing Increasing reps per set Not doing the math Chasing the clock Always Intense The “always intense” trap is the sneakier of the five. You think you […]

How I Achieved Five Reps of the Iron Maiden

The Goal The idea of the Five-Rep Iron Maiden was planted in my head back in 2018 after completing the Iron Maiden Challenge at The Dome in Chicago. Training for something as big as Iron Maiden takes years of practice and after training for something for so long, it’s hard to be “finished.” Ben Eisenmenger […]

How to Win the TSC? With this Program

Co-authored by Ryan Toshner Participant registration is now open for this spring’s Tactical Strength Challenge on May 9. Register here. In our previous article, we laid out the most common snatch, pullup, and deadlift technique and tactic flaws that leave a lot of TSC performance potential under-realized. And because our goal is to see people […]

Dairy Cows and Burrito Bowls—How to Win the TSC

The StrongFirst Tactical Strength Challenge returns around the world on Saturday, October 26. The TSC is a personal challenge held twice a year, but the October instalment also sees men and women in the Competition Division vie to be crowned annual TSC Champion. What does it take to reach the top of the scoreboard? Someone […]

How to Increase your Pullups by 50 Percent (at Least)

Want to increase your pullup reps? How about improve your pullup technique? We have a program that delivers and, provided you follow its principles, is virtually foolproof. But it isn’t for the faint-hearted. Having a solid understanding of those principles will help, as will lessons learned in the field by top TSC competitor, Alex Tanskey.  […]