I feel like one of the luckiest people alive being able to pursue quality training in something that has captured so much of my interest and made such a difference in my life this past year. After attending the SF Kettlebell course in January http://www.strongfirst.com/topic/sfg-kettlebell-course-experience/, I signed up for this one March 22nd. Another amazing day!
So an overview of this course -- Bodyweight training is all about tension, so of course this translates well to all other modes of strength training. The course covered the one-arm pushup (OAPU), the pistol squat, the pull-up, and hanging leg raise. All progressions and techniques for each of these were thoroughly explained, demonstrated, and practiced. The class is very neurologically demanding, as you are really concentrating on building tension in very specific ways. I had read Naked Warrior and have the DVD – the class is very consistent with that, though I was able to apply it better with the teaching environment and working in pairs to practice.
Master SFG Karen Smith taught the class, assisted by Senior SFG Betsy Collie at Betsy’s studio in Durham, NC. Those two together are so much fun : ) What a great combination of talent, skill, professionalism, and just stellar strong women! Several of Betsy’s regular students were in the class, and I just can’t get over how awesome they were as far as shape and muscle tone. Clearly, what Betsy is teaching on a daily basis WORKS. Karen is supremely skilled (and of course, the get-up model in S&S!) and an EXPERT instructor. So polished and direct – every movement and message is delivered. Within the other attendees, I got to meet Ken who will also be at the SFG cert in Chicago, and Don Quinn – he and I recognized each other from this forum. Want see a super strong 72-year old with a PERFECT pull-up? That’s Don! Karen says that he will have a front lever, soon!
My greatest takeaways…. Shoulder packing (throughout the movement – my weakness). From a shortstop position, “move your shoulders into your back pockets.” With a bar in front of you, “break the bar in half.” Corkscrew. Hollow position. “Point your belly button towards your face.” Power breathing. Breathing behind the shield. Working the negative, on a push-up (or military press). I have these now FAR better than I did before.
Abs are interesting… mine are multitudes stronger than they once were, but I still have a long way to go. Reference Pavel’s latest Blog article… it fits well with what we practiced in this course. I think abs are sneaky in that they can be weaker than they should be, and other muscles will make up the difference. But they shouldn’t. Make your abs strong.
Thank you StrongFirst for providing and delivering these great courses.
So an overview of this course -- Bodyweight training is all about tension, so of course this translates well to all other modes of strength training. The course covered the one-arm pushup (OAPU), the pistol squat, the pull-up, and hanging leg raise. All progressions and techniques for each of these were thoroughly explained, demonstrated, and practiced. The class is very neurologically demanding, as you are really concentrating on building tension in very specific ways. I had read Naked Warrior and have the DVD – the class is very consistent with that, though I was able to apply it better with the teaching environment and working in pairs to practice.
Master SFG Karen Smith taught the class, assisted by Senior SFG Betsy Collie at Betsy’s studio in Durham, NC. Those two together are so much fun : ) What a great combination of talent, skill, professionalism, and just stellar strong women! Several of Betsy’s regular students were in the class, and I just can’t get over how awesome they were as far as shape and muscle tone. Clearly, what Betsy is teaching on a daily basis WORKS. Karen is supremely skilled (and of course, the get-up model in S&S!) and an EXPERT instructor. So polished and direct – every movement and message is delivered. Within the other attendees, I got to meet Ken who will also be at the SFG cert in Chicago, and Don Quinn – he and I recognized each other from this forum. Want see a super strong 72-year old with a PERFECT pull-up? That’s Don! Karen says that he will have a front lever, soon!
My greatest takeaways…. Shoulder packing (throughout the movement – my weakness). From a shortstop position, “move your shoulders into your back pockets.” With a bar in front of you, “break the bar in half.” Corkscrew. Hollow position. “Point your belly button towards your face.” Power breathing. Breathing behind the shield. Working the negative, on a push-up (or military press). I have these now FAR better than I did before.
Abs are interesting… mine are multitudes stronger than they once were, but I still have a long way to go. Reference Pavel’s latest Blog article… it fits well with what we practiced in this course. I think abs are sneaky in that they can be weaker than they should be, and other muscles will make up the difference. But they shouldn’t. Make your abs strong.
Thank you StrongFirst for providing and delivering these great courses.
