Workshops

Accept no compromises.

Between power and conditioning.

Between strength and flexibility.

Between being an athlete and looking like one.

Enter the kettlebell—the only training tool able to deliver all aspects of extreme fitness with no compromises.

No-one knows how to wield this tool better than StrongFirst, the kettlebell ground zero.

Taking the Kettlebell 101 workshop is like walking into the pages of Pavel's ground-breaking book Kettlebell Simple & Sinister. You will learn:

• The kettlebell exercises that deliver great gains while having the steepest learning curve

• The Swing—build a back of steel, sprinter’s glutes, fighter’s conditioning, and a blue-collar grip

• The Get-up—forge resilient shoulders and bullet-proof abs

• The Goblet Squat—develop a killer blend of strength and flexibility

• Kettlebell safety and other boring stuff that pros swear by and amateurs ignore at their own risk

• Insider strategies for long term sustainable training to reach your goals

• Pavel's “Alt-S&S” programming—totally in line with the book, yet with unique wrinkles

The day after the workshop you will be able to hit the ground running towards your goals.

Once you have reached the impressive yet realistic “Timeless Simple” standard, you have choices to make. Stay on a monastic diet of swings and get-ups, slowly chipping away at “Sinister.” Or try something “same but different”: the snatch plus the clean and military press, the classic Rite of Passage.

Prerequisites: To attend this workshop, you need to be competent in swings, get-ups, and goblet squats. Ignore at your peril.

The Snatch is “the Tsar of the kettlebell lifts.” Thanks to more muscles working and twice the distance travelled, it accomplishes even more than the esteemed swing. Achieve total body explosive power, ruthless conditioning, and a vice like grip. Burn fat like never before. All with a lighter kettlebell—save space in your home, car trunk, or deployment kit.

Once we have taught you the skills with our usual attention to detail, we will send you off to succeed with a Strong Endurance™ snatch plan.

The one-arm Clean-and-Press will rival any other pressing exercise when it comes to shoulder strength and muscular development. It is untouchable when it comes to shoulder health, thanks to its ergonomic perfection.

The military press comes equipped with the “Rite of Passage” type programming—possibly the most reliable progression ever.

Three versions of the ROP—“Jurassic,” “907 Hypertrophy,” and “Heavy”—will keep you gaining for a long time.

Kettlebell 201 ROP sets high goals—and gives you the skills and the roadmap to reach them.

Do you have what it takes?

You have been around the kettlebell block. It is time to set your sights high: the SFG Kettlebell Instructor Certification.

Among the many challenges you will have to face at this life changing event are the double kettlebell drills. The “double trouble”…

If you have enough strength and muscle mass to satisfy you, stick with single kettlebell training.

If you do not, read on.

For all the good arguments made by the “functional training” advocates in favor of training one side of the body at a time, they missed one key point. Once you have reached a certain level of strength and muscular development, it is difficult to go beyond if you stick with unilateral loading, be it with a single kettlebell, or some other modality. You will not find NFL linemen who arrived by doing “Bulgarian split squats.”

The strongest people stand on both feet and press and pull with both hands when they lift. Because no unilateral exercise can replicate the jolt to your endocrine system delivered by a heavy bilateral load.

(None of the above diminishes the value of training one side at a time to pursue the body symmetry while preparing oneself for the life’s asymmetry. No point in blaming the screwdriver for being a poor hammer.)

Double kettlebell training has an unforgivingly high entry barrier: mobility, stability, and symmetry of an Olympic weightlifter or a yoga expert. You had to pay your Kettlebell 101 and 201 dues before taking on the 301.

Prerequisites

To attend this workshop, you need to be competent in swings, get-ups, goblet squats, snatches, cleans, and presses. Ignore at your peril.

At the Kettlebell 301 workshop you will learn:

• The Double Swing—“it makes theory real”

• The Double Clean—a fantastic total body builder and a great expression of athletic power

• The Double Front Squat—brutal on the legs, easy on the joints; unexpectedly, a killer ab drill

• The Double Military Press—a classic test of strength and upper body developer

• A “plug-and-play” Plan Strong™ training template to advance your squats and presses for many months to come

• A 2.0 version of the “GPR” training plan legendary for its ability to put meat on one’s shoulders, back, and forearms, boost the hip power, and burn fat—all at once

• A meticulously designed total training program that will make you SFG Ready—the exact exercises, weights, sets, reps, rest periods, and periodization leading up to success at the challenging SFG I Kettlebell Instructor Certification

It goes without saying, we will also review all the drills tested at the SFG I cert, including the swing, the get-up, and the snatch.

After Kettlebell 301 you have almost arrived—you have all the tools to prepare for the gold standard SFG Kettlebell Instructor Certification. To spread the word of strength to others—or to challenge yourself “because it’s there.”

Today impressive feats of bodyweight strength are common on urban playgrounds. Twenty years ago, you could not find a decent muscle-out, not to mention front levers and more advanced skills. Gymnasts were the only ones who built strength using their bodyweight, while the unsuspecting public wasted their time on high rep calisthenics and had no idea what mastery of muscle tension could do for them.

Then Pavel wrote a disruptive book, The Naked Warrior. The era of bodyweight strength began…

At Bodyweight 101 workshop you will learn the timeless lessons of The Naked Warrior—polished to perfection in the nearly two decades that followed its release:

• The body language of strength—powerful cues from martial arts, gymnastics, and strength sports that will make you stronger on the spot

• Zero-to-hero progressions in two “bodyweight powerlifts”

• The One-Arm Pushup—build crazy strength that totally carries over to any pushing motion—pressing a kettlebell or a barbell, keeping a lineman at bay in football, you name it

• The Pistol—the ultimate mix of lower body mobility, strength, and muscle that does not chafe

• “Grease the Groove”—radical Russian programming, flexible and fail-proof

• Get strong anywhere, anytime—

• In case civilization is temporary ®

Don’t get lost in the weeds of “random acts of variety” rampant in the bodyweight world. It would keep you entertained—while setting your progress back by years. Start your bodyweight strength journey by learning the body language of strength and the two “bodyweight powerlifts".

There are plenty of good reasons to master pullups. To negotiate obstacles while wearing a heavy kit… To build lats ready for a confrontation on the mat… Because pullup excellence highly correlates with low bodyfat…

Whatever your reason is, it must be important—which is why your pullups deserve to be done right. To put it bluntly, whatever passes for “pullups” at most gyms and playgrounds is a joke. If you are ready to stop impersonating pullups and to learn the real deal, the Bodyweight 201 workshop is for you. Learn:

• The Hard Style Pullup—reverse engineered from gymnastics and martial arts for the greatest carryover to sports and hard living

• The Hard Style Hanging Leg Raise—insanely strict and challenging, with a step-by-step progression

• Hard Style Abs drills—to take punishment and to dish it out

• Progressions, regressions, variations…

• Military designed and tested pullup programming

Pull strong. Look the part.

The StrongFirst system is about principles, not tools. We are on the same page with the US Marine Corps Martial Arts Program whose motto is “One mind, any weapon.” 

Having learned the fundamental bodyweight strength exercises, you are ready to consolidate your knowledge.

Prerequisites

To attend this workshop, you need to be able to perform—or at least be close—the following exercises: the one-arm pushup, the pistol, the hard style pullup, and the hard style hanging leg raise.

At Bodyweight 301 you will learn:

• The muscle wisdom to apply your strength built with bodyweight to other modalities: the kettlebell, the barbell, a rock, you name it

• How to prepare for the demanding StrongFirst Bodyweight Strength Instructor Certification, SFB—a total training plan from our top instructors

• The wall supported Handstand Pushup—a renowned strength and muscle builder, fully equipped with progressions, regressions, variations, and bulletproof programming

Be a master of your body, not its tenant.

Either you never touched the barbell, or you dabbled in the past. Now you choose to be strong and to do it right.

At Barbell 101 workshop you will learn:

• Develop total body strength with just two highest yield lifts (Fact: some of the strongest athletes in the world are ultra-minimalists)

• The Deadlift—the most “functional” strength exercise and the most hardcore lift of all time

• The Bench Press—the undisputed champion for building upper body strength faster than any other exercise

• The Bridge Floor Press—a favorite of old-time strongmen and wrestlers, it is a bench press with no bench

• Perform these lifts like a pro—with techniques perfected for maximal strength and longevity

• Keep gaining strength non-stop for up to a year with state-of-the-art programming that blends Soviet science and American ingenuity

• Build quality muscle “organically”—along with strength

• Experience minimal fatigue and soreness—because you need energy outside the gym

Power to the people!

Barbell 201 is old school at its best: the Military Press and the Zercher Squat.

The Military Press is a classic that ought to be treated right. Others will show you how to press strict and weak—or how to put up a lot of weight sloppily. We press strict and strong, the way Soviet weightlifters did in the early 1960s.

The Zercher Squat is the ultimate “squat for the people!” Simple technique. No strain on the wrists, shoulders, or elbows. No need for a rack or a spotter. A great carryover to sports and other lifts. As a bonus, an unbelievable training effect on the abs.

The two lifts come fully loaded with the “Russian Countdown” cycle to make your strength skyrocket.

The final step in your journey towards the SFL StrongFirst Barbell Instructor Certification is mastering the squat.

If you are committed to building as much muscle as your frame can carry, you must back squat—there are no “ifs” or “buts” about it.

Done right, the Back Squat is a builder with no equals. Done wrong, it can wreck you for good. Our instruction is obsessively precise.

The Front Squat is more democratic. For most athletes it is a better choice than the back squat—unless hypertrophy is the top priority.

The Good Morning is another “restricted entry” exercise. It is the “grind” counterpart of the kettlebell swing. The GM trains the entire posterior chain, from the base of your skull to your feet. Strength gains directly carry over to the SQ, the DL, and great many athletic applications.