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 (ROP).

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

• The Snatch: Known as “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.
• Strong Endurance™: Once we have taught you the skills with our usual attention to detail, we will send you off to succeed with a specific snatch plan.
• The Clean-and-Press: This will rival any other pressing exercise for shoulder strength and development. It is untouchable for shoulder health thanks to its ergonomic perfection.
• Programming: The military press comes equipped with the “Rite of Passage” programming—possibly the most reliable progression ever. Three versions—“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 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. While unilateral training is great for symmetry, once you reach a certain level, you need bilateral loading. No unilateral exercise can replicate the jolt to your endocrine system delivered by a heavy bilateral load.

Prerequisites: Double kettlebell training has an unforgivingly high entry barrier. To attend this workshop, you must be competent in swings, get-ups, goblet squats, snatches, cleans, and presses. Ignore at your peril.

• The Double Swing: “It makes theory real.”
• The Double Clean: A fantastic total body builder and expression of athletic power.
• The Double Front Squat: Brutal on the

Today impressive feats of bodyweight strength are common on urban playgrounds. Twenty years ago, the unsuspecting public wasted their time on high-rep calisthenics, having no idea what mastery of muscle tension could do for them.

Then Pavel wrote a disruptive book, The Naked Warrior, and the era of bodyweight strength began. At the Bodyweight 101 workshop, you will learn the timeless lessons of The Naked Warrior—polished to perfection.

• The Body Language of Strength: Powerful cues from martial arts and gymnastics that will make you stronger on the spot.
• The One-Arm Pushup: Build crazy strength that carries over to any pushing motion—pressing a kettlebell or a barbell.
• The Pistol: The ultimate mix of lower body mobility, strength, and muscle.
• “Grease the Groove”: Radical Russian programming that is both flexible and fail-proof.
• Total Independence: Get strong anywhere, anytime—In case civilization is temporary ®.

Don’t get lost in the weeds of “random acts of variety.” Start your bodyweight strength journey by learning the two "bodyweight powerlifts" and the fundamental skills of tension.

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.

• 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 designed to take punishment and to dish it out.
• Progressions & Programming: Military designed and tested pullup programming, including regressions and variations for every level.

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 to—the following exercises: the one-arm pushup, the pistol, the hard style pullup, and the hard style hanging leg raise.

• The Muscle Wisdom: Learn how to apply your bodyweight strength to other modalities: the kettlebell, the barbell, or any heavy object.
• SFB Readiness: A total training plan from our top instructors to prepare for the demanding StrongFirst Bodyweight Strength Instructor Certification.
• The Handstand Pushup: Wall-supported strength and muscle builder, fully equipped with progressions, regressions, 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 the Barbell 101 workshop you will learn:

• Total Body Strength: Develop power with just two high-yield lifts. 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—the bench press for those who don't need a bench.
• Professional Technique: Perform these lifts with techniques perfected for maximal strength and long-term joint longevity.
• Sustainable Gains: Keep gaining strength for up to a year with programming that blends Soviet science and American ingenuity.
• Efficient Recovery: Build quality muscle with minimal fatigue and soreness—because you need energy for your life 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: A classic that ought to be treated right. While others press strict and weak, or heavy and sloppy, we teach you to press strict and strong—the way Soviet weightlifters did in the early 1960s.
• The Zercher Squat: The ultimate “squat for the people!” It features simple technique with no strain on the wrists, shoulders, or elbows. It requires no rack or spotter, has a massive carryover to sports, and provides an unbelievable training effect on the abs.
• Programming: These two lifts come fully loaded with the “Russian Countdown” cycle—a proven method to make your strength skyrocket.

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

• The Back 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, it is a builder with no equals. Done wrong, it can wreck you for good. Our instruction is obsessively precise.
• The Front Squat: More democratic and, for most athletes, a better choice than the back squat—unless hypertrophy is the top priority.
• The Good Morning: A “restricted entry” exercise and the “grind” counterpart of the kettlebell swing. It trains the entire posterior chain, from the base of your skull to your feet. Strength gains directly carry over to the Squat, the Deadlift, and a great many athletic applications.