Category: Articles 
You want to build strength and rock-hard muscles, but your busy schedule hasn’t allowed you to train regularly, you are under time constraints, and your sessions need to be time efficient, flexible, and engaging? Keep reading, I’ve got something for you. The plan I’m about to share is something I designed for my wife Alice, […]
Introduction I’ve been a fan of Brett Jones’s “Iron Cardio” program since he first told me about it. I think it’s an excellent regimen for maintaining and improving general fitness, which at 54 years old, is my primary goal. Naturally, I do have other more specific performance goals, one of which is to eventually (finally) […]
In September 2018, I was fortunate to join the elite swimming club Olympique Nice Natation (ONN) as a strength and conditioning coach. Fortunate because this meant working with Fabrice Pellerin, one of the World’s most technical coaches. Fabrice trained athletes that won nine medals at the 2012 London Olympics. As the strength and conditioning coach, […]
“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 […]
“No man may indeed become wise before he has had his share of winters in this world’s kingdom.”—Author: Unknown (Date: Impossible to Determine). The moment I read that out of an incredibly old selection of British literature in graduate school, I knew it would hold weight when I occupied a position in which I could […]
How to perform the kettlebell snatch: start with a kettlebell on the ground in front of you, swing it back between your legs, and bring it into an overhead lockout position in one uninterrupted motion. My Introduction to Snatching Most people are introduced to kettlebells through swings and get-ups, and rightfully so. I, however, was […]
I felt a pop and folded like a house of cards. Two years ago, I herniated a disc during my top deadlift set. I was training earlier than usual so my body was rather stiff. Despite a brief warm-up, I loaded up the usual 405 pounds and got into position. Arms straight, hips hinged, and […]
At the SFG I, where many of us learned to use kettlebells as strength tools, we are first taught the swing. As we’ve heard StrongFirst Certified Master Instructor Emeritus, Rif say, “the swing is the center of the kettlebell universe.” The instruction of the swing is then followed by the get-up, the squat, the press, […]
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 […]
Introduction One of the very first principles learned in the school of hardstyle kettlebell training is that “power comes from the hips.” In the kettlebell ballistics (swing, clean, and snatch), the hips are largely what drives the lifter’s ability to move a weight from back between the legs to the end point of the movement. […]
