Put “Vascular” into Your Cardiovascular Training for Greater Endurance and Fat Loss

In intense full body exercise our hearts can supply only 1/3-1/2 of the muscles. To deal with this limitation, blood vessels in muscles and organs that are not too busy constrict while those in the working muscles dilate. This redistributes the blood flow, delivers more oxygen where it is needed most, and eases the work […]

The Snatch: The Tsar of Kettlebell Lifts

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 […]

Pick Your Perfect Program in 2023

“Water, water everywhere, nor any drop to drink.”— Samuel Taylor Coleridge from The Rime of the Ancient Mariner The quote above from the classic poem describes the availability of programs for the trainee. Programs, programs everywhere, nor a one to follow… It can be classic “paralysis by analysis” and the search for the “right” program […]

“Step Up” Your Adventure Training

Do you like good food? I mean really good food? I love great food! Have you ever had an epic meal that was so good you could recall exactly when and where it was, even years later? The best meal I have had in years was during my visit to Italy with my comrades from […]

A Minimalist Kettlebell Program for Busy Professionals

I often describe that my personal training career took a fortunate turn in the road when I attended my very first kettlebell level 1 certification back in 2009. I had already been training for a number of years, held several nationally accredited certifications, and was three years out of grad school with a master’s degree […]

How to Navigate the Strong Endurance Universe

Strong Endurance™ is our umbrella term for all anti-glycolytic training methods. Anti-glycolytic training is “anti-HIIT” that trains you to produce less lactic acid instead of tolerating more of it. AGT is used by many Eastern European national teams in a variety of sports: judo, cross country skiing, rowing, full contact karate… Broadly, there are three […]

Preparing Swimmers for the Olympic Games: A Three-Year Strength and Conditioning Plan Using StrongFirst Principles

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, […]

The Snatch Walking Protocol for Ultra-Athletes

A growing population of endurance/ultra-athletes and coaches are moving towards StrongFirst programming. These athletes and coaches bring questions on program design utilizing Strong EnduranceTM protocols. In this article, I will share the snatch walking plan I’ve designed using one of these protocols. Most of my students use this plan at the end of many months […]

Strong Endurance in Schools to Strengthen the Next Generation

Strengthen Our Youth I currently teach at one of the best physical education schools in America. Prescott Junior High School was featured in the documentary “The Motivation Factor” which stresses the importance of being physically active. A big part of the documentary is the price American society is paying for not focusing on physical education […]

Never Quit

I am a SFG Level I candidate scheduled to attend the certification in Las Vegas in February 2021. In truth, my goal is to reach the StrongFirst Elite status which means instructor status in all three modalities that StrongFirst teaches: kettlebell, barbell, and body weight. The SFG Level I is the important first step in […]