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Kettlebell SFG1 benefits for non-professional

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Sauli

Sauli

Level 9 Valued Member
Hello.

I just noticed few days ago that Sfg1 certification is coming to Helsinki in October.
Share some experiences and thougths about how non-professional kettlebell user like myself may benefit from experience?

I know that it is quality course and propably I could also learn plenty of things, but I have to admit that it is pretty expensive for guy who don't earn money with all that knowledge.

Give me some pros and cons. :)
 
@Sauli, I have never been a full-time fitness professional. I took the old organization's cert as part of class #4 in 2003 because I was so impressed with Pavel's books and what I'd found on the forum. I took it for my own benefit. Many people will tell you that our SFG Level I cert is not only the best physical education they've received but the best education in anything they've ever received. It's a tremendous experience.

Once I got home, I decided to spread the knowledge I'd acquired by offering half-day workshops at my local YMCA a few times a year, but that was about all I did with it, and I don't do a lot more with it today. I don't advertise my services as a trainer, and I teach only a couple of private training students who have found me on their own.

There is no "con", other than paying for it, that I'm aware of.

-S-
 
Completely agree with @Steve Freides , I have no cons to offer other than cost.

I've been thru too many karate promotions and re-certs to count and some have been pretty brutal. Nothing I've done even comes close to what's required to pass SFG.

It's 3 days of physical and mental extremes. I would say to anyone going, be prepared physically and more importantly, mentally. You will be challenged on both.

You WILL come out with much more knowledge and better technique on the physical side. Those are much easier to quantify than the mental and spiritual aspect.

Occasionally during lulls at the cert I looked around at the other candidates and wondered what demons they were fighting in their heads and what they did to overcome them. I knew what to do for myself because I had done the mental prep as well as the physical and used my past martial arts experience.

In the end the high I felt during the grad workout and after was almost equal to the day each of my 3 kids were born. It's a lifetime achievement and nobody can ever take that away from you.

I say plunk down the cash and go for it, you won't regret it.:D
 
@Sauli you should do it!

It's kinda like all the best stuff in this forum, condensed into 3 days and brought to live 3-D, taught in a way that leaves no room for doubt as to what is best and most correct. You will meet some top StrongFirst masters and team leaders, plus a whole bunch of other like-minded people who love to practice the skills of strength and kettelbells. It will advance your practice and your movement exponentially, all the way from cert weekend until the time you die! Totally, totally worth it, and I promise you will not regret it. It's an investment that pays off every time you touch the kettelbells, whether it's just for you, or to help you bring the knowledge to others.
 
Absolutely agree 100% with Anna's post!! @Anna C and I have a Kettlebell Club at the Air Force Base where we work. It's rarely more than 4 people and we both use it as an opportunity to help anyone who needs it. We see a TON of kettlebell buffoonery and offer a chance to remedy that. We have helped quite a few people who want to do it right but don't know where to look. We have also trained some units who were looking for a quick, effective "bang for your buck." A session of Swings/Farmers Walks/Goblet Squats delivers that in spades and can be done in groups.

Like Steve, I don't advertise other than my StrongFirst Instructor page but take on the occasional private client. I charge a modest fee simply because that separates those who "want to" from those who "would like to."

If you're on the fence, jump onto the SFG side. You will gain an exponentially better understanding of kettlebell training and your abilities will increase severalfold. I would go on but Anna says it much better than I ever could. The certificate is much more than something on your wall; it is a key to unlock a lifetime of learning, an opportunity to properly help others discover this incredible tool, and a license to continue learning!
 
Sauli said:
Was it snatch test? Did you do that video thing afterwards?
Click to expand...

I failed completely. My certification was right before they got rid of the pull-ups requirement and I got my first pull-up about a month and half before the certification. I failed the get-up technique because a set of weight plates dropped on my foot a couple weeks before the test and I still couldn’t flex my right ankle and yea, I failed the snatch test. Fun times
 
I haven't done it, but I plan on doing it when I get closer to the required standards. I'm not a fitness professional either.

One of the reasons I want to do it, amongst others, is that for once you will have to comply with the standards on a given date. There is no wiggle room. You have to train for it and achieve it.
 
Oscar said:
I haven't done it, but I plan on doing it when I get closer to the required standards. I'm not a fitness professional either.

One of the reasons I want to do it, amongst others, is that for once you will have to comply with the standards on a given date. There is no wiggle room. You have to train for it and achieve it.
Click to expand...
Very true.. There are no gimmies or participation trophies from SF
 
Jeremykots said:
I failed completely. My certification was right before they got rid of the pull-ups requirement and I got my first pull-up about a month and half before the certification. I failed the get-up technique because a set of weight plates dropped on my foot a couple weeks before the test and I still couldn’t flex my right ankle and yea, I failed the snatch test. Fun times
Click to expand...

Did you bring this to the attention of your team leader?

Did they allow you to submit a video within 90 days?
 
Mark Limbaga said:
Did you bring this to the attention of your team leader?

Did they allow you to submit a video within 90 days?
Click to expand...

Yep, had a written doctor’s note and everything and no, no option to submit a video. I failed three things and was told I need to retake the certification
 
I totally agree it's expensive for anyone who doesn't make a living out of being a trainer. And even for existing trainers there currently isn't a real clientele for kettle bell training around here.

I'd love to participate one day though. There was a certification in my country last month and I let it pass, because I know I'd fail at forehand.
 
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Sauli, get over the money stuff, persuade your wife, find the budget, plan the training, do it! The money anyone would pay for the SFG1 is nothing compared to the money spent each year on different stuff that are useless or even damaging to us (various telecom devices, services we do not need, personal cars and fuel, booze, fancy coffee, fancy bottled water, clothes that we do not wear, un-healthy meals at restaurants and other food joints, etc etc).
I too am not a fitness professional, like you. I train for health. I only have two hobbies: books and kettlebells. Everything else bores me to death :)).
And being the non-professional, I am still eager to participate in an SFG1. I do not care now IF I will pass the knowledge to someone else, this is not a topic for me. It breaks my heart that I do not have the proper skills, strength and conditioning to participate in the SFG1 in Hungary this August. It will be so close to me geographycally. But I will have my revenge: I will participate in an SFG1 next year, I will pass it, I will become a better version of myself (physically and mentally). This is the true Rite of Passage for us, mortals.
 
As some others, I went to a cert (and then more), despite not being a coach as my primary activity. I decided to go to the SFG, after a Kettlebell course, for the challenge it represented. The benefit is not only at the cert itself , but also on the way to the cert.

To be successful, I had to pay a lot more attention to my technique, programming, and to push myself a bit.
A few months before, I had never snatched anything heavier than 16kg. At the cert, even though I failed the snatch test with 24kg, I managed to perform 97 reps. This is a lot of progress in technique and physical ability that would not have occurred without the goal.

Pro, during the journey:
- increased attention to details (the real key to progress)
- improved overall fitness (unless you are already very strong)
- satisfaction of working the plan (maybe that one is just me)
Pro, at the cert:
- all the knowledge - and there is a lot!
- more ability to TEACH others. We all have friends or family that need to learn a proper swing.
- brotherhood - don't underestimate this one!
- you got to meet in real life some of the people you read about.
Pro, after the cert(s)
- students (even if only friends or family) notice the difference (attention to useful details, professionalism).
- own training much more effective (much better technique, not only in kettlebells: principles)

Cons:
- there is a cost to be budgeted.
- your training is going to be your priority getting closer to the cert date (prepare your family for this)
- you will want to go to the other certs as well...
 
A common suggestion I read from people who attended a cert is not to worry too much about passing (especially the snatch test), because it takes away the focus from all the valuable info that you get by simply being there and listening.

Even though you're not a trainer, there are probably some people who will contact you after passing the cert, because they found you on the instructor paige.
You don't have to do it, but you might find out that you like training some people at least part time like @Steve Freides does.
 
Oscar said:
I haven't done it, but I plan on doing it when I get closer to the required standards. I'm not a fitness professional either.

One of the reasons I want to do it, amongst others, is that for once you will have to comply with the standards on a given date. There is no wiggle room. You have to train for it and achieve it.
Click to expand...

I should point out that you have up to 6 months to complete the requirements after a cert....unless it was different before. I do like this new strategy, as it allows you to fix any errors you had in form/training. Taking the cert and submitting six weeks later for my SFB was awesome. Learned so many things that with 6 weeks of practice I made more progress than the 9 weeks before.

Also, I do love the idea of having to pass technique tests and standards tests (even though some will think the strength standards are too high). As Nassim Taleb would say, "if you don't have skin in the game you are nothing".
 
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