Dr. Swinglove or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bell
Though I don’t remember the exact date, late March or early April of this year marked the 18th anniversary of the first time I shook handles with a kettlebell. Having struggled with navigating the wide...
View ArticleStrong by Choice: From Self-Doubt to Sinister
From Zero to Strong I entered adulthood convinced I wasn’t good at sports—and never would be. I didn’t grow up with any inspiring role models, and my experience with physical education at school didn’t...
View ArticleAbs, Strong First
You like burn? Light a match. —Dr. Fred “Squat” Hatfield You tried high reps. You went for the “burn.” It did not work. Why do you insist on doing the same thing and expect a different outcome? The...
View ArticleSisyphus and the Kettlebell: Building a Daily Practice of Strength
I placed my feet along either side of the kettlebell and sent my hips back, gripped the handle, took a breath, and deadlifted the brand new 150-pound mass of iron. “Hmmm,” I thought, “not so bad.” My...
View ArticleKettlebell Kata—Simple & Sinister as Mindfulness Practice
I’m a busy person who wants to get stronger. I know every StrongFirst student can relate. While there is a lifetime of nuance to explore in strength training, I find strength to be one of the simplest...
View ArticlePrepare to Train, Don’t Just Warm Up
In April 2024, I achieved my StrongFirst Bodyweight Certification and became a StrongFirst Certified Elite Instructor. I had been working toward this goal for about three years, and it felt great to...
View ArticleRedefining Strength Training for Pregnant and Postpartum Women
Pregnancy and the postpartum period often come with misconceptions regarding strength training, particularly when using traditional tools like kettlebells. Historically, medical advice has recommended...
View ArticleThe Kur for your Kettlebell Swing and Clean
It has been stated that the swing is the center of the kettlebell universe, and it is a well-known fact that the kettlebell deadlift is the foundation of the swing. Every StrongFirst student begins...
View ArticleHow I trained for Super Sinister
In my previous article, “Introducing Super Sinister,” I introduced a new challenge for Sinister athletes. Classic Sinister requires you to perform 10 one-arm swings (48kg for men/32kg for women) every...
View ArticleJust Swing a Kettlebell: Undertaking the “Simple” February Swing Challenge
My Background I’m a 55-year-old male (schoolteacher by day) who weighs 177 pounds and stands just over 5’9”. The focus of my forties, honestly, was CrossFit. This included eight years of WODs, Metcons,...
View ArticleThe Iron Monkey Deep Six Challenge
Many years ago, StrongFirst Certified Master Instructor Jon Engum published an article using his Deep Six practice that tested an instructor candidate’s readiness to pass the SFG Level I Certification....
View ArticleSimple and Sinister—Help, I’m Stuck
“Dedication, absolute dedication, is what keeps one ahead.”—Bruce Lee Simple & Sinister embodies the quote above. Dedication to achieving Simple and continuing to Sinister has led students on...
View ArticleThe Art of Appreciating One Thing
(An Excerpt from Kettlebell Axe) “Do you know what the difference between great people and regular people is?” says a coach to an athlete in Yevgeny Yevtushenko’s novel Don’t Die Before Death. “A great...
View ArticlePreparing Swimmers for the Olympic Games: A Three-Year Strength and...
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...
View ArticleRediscovering Resilience: Unifying Literacy and Strength
“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...
View ArticleThe Get-up and the Shoulder Mobility Dilemma
The get-up is one of the foundational exercises of kettlebell training. I suspect that most people who follow StrongFirst are quite familiar with this exercise. If you are a StrongFirst Certified SFG...
View ArticlePutting the Wind Beneath the Stones, Part II
Lifting the Dinnie Stones is a challenge for which strength enthusiasts from all over the world travel to Scotland. Donald Dinnie not only lifted but carried the “Steens” across the Potarch Bridge in...
View ArticlePunch the Clock
I think it was Dan John who said something to the effect that “the majority of your training will be a ‘punch the clock’ kind of session.” The younger generation might not be familiar with the...
View ArticleBlindfold Training for Mental Focus
In my last article, “From Wheelchair to Sinister: The Importance of Mental Strength,” I wrote about the power of mental strength. I am back today to discuss the mind once more, but this time the...
View ArticleHow to Increase Power with “Grinds”
The good old days of bigger, faster, stronger are long gone. We know better now. Times have changed. The game of strength has new rules. It is not just about strength. It is about strength AND speed....
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