THE LATEST ARTICLES
September 17, 2019
There are many ways to assess the quality of your kettlebell training. One is being mindful of how your training feels. Another, admittedly more scientific way, is to keep tabs on how fast your body is moving to determine how fast and hard you’re swinging, cleaning, snatching, or pressing the bell. In other words, how […]
September 8, 2019
I was watching Andy Bolton pull over 900 pounds from the back stage at the Arnold Classic. It struck me that his deadlift looked exactly like a hard style kettlebell swing. Afterwards, I asked Andy, “Correct me if I am wrong, it seems that you try to keep your shins vertical, don’t think about the […]
September 3, 2019
“If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will get you there.” George Harrison Over my years as a coach, I have seen many people demonstrate a variety of kettlebell movements with differing degrees of success. Perhaps they are unaware of the mechanically advantageous groove for a movement, or they’ve just never really appreciated […]
August 21, 2019
Most endurance training plans are predicated on sheer volume. For triathletes, runners, and cyclists, that can mean triple-digit mileage every week. In other sports and activities, it involves more sets, repetitions, and tonnage, possibly across multiple sessions per day. The trouble is that such high volume often leads to injury and in the long run […]
August 6, 2019
Even if you enjoy throwing iron around on a regular basis, or spend your days advising others on health and wellbeing, the reality of modern living means even the best of us can feel the effects of inactivity. It might be time to hold a mirror up to ourselves and see whether we are really […]
September 11, 2019
Serious strength is best built on a solid foundation of fundamental compound lifts, such as deadlifts, squats, and pressing. To ensure safety and maximize the benefits, that strength needs to be accessible across the movement’s full range of motion. Since not everyone starts off with perfect mobility, here’s a simple strategy to make you stronger […]
September 6, 2019
Over 200 years ago, Swedish scientist Jöns Berzelius discovered lactic acid in the muscles of an exhausted stag that had just been hunted down. Acid is the enemy of both tension and relaxation, drawing one into the stiff no-man’s land in between. It muffles the brain’s commands to the muscles, inhibits all three energy systems, […]
August 27, 2019
There are plenty of instructors in the StrongFirst community who have diverse skill sets, but few are as versatile as Artemis Scantalides. 16 years ago, she made the decision to leave a job in I.T. to pursue a career in the fitness industry and hasn’t looked back since. Starting off as a personal trainer and […]
August 13, 2019
The very definition of a lift is moving load upwards against gravity; but what goes up must come down. If you’re only paying attention to one half of every squat, deadlift, and press, you’re missing out on a heap of strength and stability, and likely setting yourself up for injury down the road. It’s time […]
July 30, 2019
A couple of years ago, I wrote an article, Strength in Numbers, about my journey towards a set of 100 pushups. I used ’grease the groove’ (GTG) sets regularly throughout my day to achieve a high daily volume. With Pavel’s advice, I added cycles of explosive pushups using Strong Endurance™ principles. I became a sort […]September 17, 2019
There are many ways to assess the quality of your kettlebell training. One is being mindful of how your training feels. Another, admittedly more scientific way, is to keep tabs on how fast your body is moving to determine how fast and hard you’re swinging, cleaning, snatching, or pressing the bell. In other words, how […]September 11, 2019
Serious strength is best built on a solid foundation of fundamental compound lifts, such as deadlifts, squats, and pressing. To ensure safety and maximize the benefits, that strength needs to be accessible across the movement’s full range of motion. Since not everyone starts off with perfect mobility, here’s a simple strategy to make you stronger […]September 8, 2019
I was watching Andy Bolton pull over 900 pounds from the back stage at the Arnold Classic. It struck me that his deadlift looked exactly like a hard style kettlebell swing. Afterwards, I asked Andy, “Correct me if I am wrong, it seems that you try to keep your shins vertical, don’t think about the […]September 6, 2019
Over 200 years ago, Swedish scientist Jöns Berzelius discovered lactic acid in the muscles of an exhausted stag that had just been hunted down. Acid is the enemy of both tension and relaxation, drawing one into the stiff no-man’s land in between. It muffles the brain’s commands to the muscles, inhibits all three energy systems, […]September 3, 2019
“If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will get you there.” George Harrison Over my years as a coach, I have seen many people demonstrate a variety of kettlebell movements with differing degrees of success. Perhaps they are unaware of the mechanically advantageous groove for a movement, or they’ve just never really appreciated […]August 27, 2019
There are plenty of instructors in the StrongFirst community who have diverse skill sets, but few are as versatile as Artemis Scantalides. 16 years ago, she made the decision to leave a job in I.T. to pursue a career in the fitness industry and hasn’t looked back since. Starting off as a personal trainer and […]August 21, 2019
Most endurance training plans are predicated on sheer volume. For triathletes, runners, and cyclists, that can mean triple-digit mileage every week. In other sports and activities, it involves more sets, repetitions, and tonnage, possibly across multiple sessions per day. The trouble is that such high volume often leads to injury and in the long run […]August 13, 2019
The very definition of a lift is moving load upwards against gravity; but what goes up must come down. If you’re only paying attention to one half of every squat, deadlift, and press, you’re missing out on a heap of strength and stability, and likely setting yourself up for injury down the road. It’s time […]August 6, 2019
Even if you enjoy throwing iron around on a regular basis, or spend your days advising others on health and wellbeing, the reality of modern living means even the best of us can feel the effects of inactivity. It might be time to hold a mirror up to ourselves and see whether we are really […]July 30, 2019
A couple of years ago, I wrote an article, Strength in Numbers, about my journey towards a set of 100 pushups. I used ’grease the groove’ (GTG) sets regularly throughout my day to achieve a high daily volume. With Pavel’s advice, I added cycles of explosive pushups using Strong Endurance™ principles. I became a sort […]