Category: Articles 
May 12, 2022
“Strength has a greater purpose.” The very famous words of our leader, Pavel Tsatsouline, ran through my mind over and over. I had lost my older brother to suicide the Summer of 2021 and felt a burning desire to “do something about it.” That’s when I found an organization at West Bend High School called […]
April 14, 2022
In team sports, soccer being a prime example, the time available to train an athlete’s physical strength is quite limited. The majority of training is spent performing tactical and technical sport related exercises. Keeping this in mind, I planned a new strength program for Renate Calcio, one of Italy’s professional soccer teams, around two fundamental […]
March 17, 2022
The Happy Valley Women’s Cycling (HVWC) team is an organization committed to advancing women’s cycling. Their mission is to provide cycling opportunities for females of all ages and ability levels. Based in central Pennsylvania, the team members ride and race in multiple disciplines, including road, gravel, and mountain. They are the only female cycling team […]
February 17, 2022
The kettlebell jerk is one of the most misunderstood lifts. Many people believe it takes a ton of upper body strength in order to execute heavy weights. This is where the misconception lays. The purpose of a jerk is purely to move a weight from the rack position to the overhead lockout. What makes the […]
December 9, 2021
When I’m invited to teach at an SFG I StrongFirst Kettlebell Instructor Certification, I always request to lead the military press. I love teaching the military press and, pardon my lack of modesty, I’m very good at it. An average gym rat might classify the kettlebell military press as just another exercise for delts and […]
April 28, 2022
Meeting Pavel for the first time about twenty years ago changed my life. It is a story that has been told in these pages before. I was impressed with this quiet gentleman who knew so much about training systems far from the American tradition. We discussed the eloquence of Russian sport science that produced performance […]
March 31, 2022
“Only he deserves power who everyday justifies it”—Dag Hammarskjold, Swedish Diplomat Ain’t no two ways about it, friend-o: if you’re training for your SFG II Kettlebell Certification or recertification, probably the last thing you want to think about is preparing to tango once more with your long-time arch nemesis: the SFG Snatch Test (100 snatches […]
March 3, 2022
The Goal: Sinister When I first looked for advice to achieve the Sinister goal of Kettlebell Simple & Sinister by Pavel, the response I received was to focus all your training on swings, get-ups, and goblet squats. I like to listen to others and then make my own decisions based on a combination of research […]December 16, 2021
In my first article, “Mastering Your Press, Part I,” I addressed specific ways to test your press and find weak areas by analyzing how your body responds to pressing a heavy kettlebell. Paying attention to where your press breaks down when things get heavy is an important aspect of mastering your press. Although there are […]
November 12, 2021
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 […]