Many thanks to my friend and mentor Grandmaster Strongman Dennis Rogers for leading the way....

SFG Class One

When the inaugural StrongFirst Girya certification was announced a few months ago I really wanted to be there for a number of reasons. It was to be the first event, the launch of what Pavel calls “Phase Two of Global Domination”. Many of my friends would be there, including the Mongoose, who was invited as an assistant. One of Nashville Kettlebell’s own, Melissa Melton was in preparation for to make the jump to Certified Instructor. There was only one problem- I was not on the list of instructors.

As it turns out, SFG Team Leader Dustin Rippetoe (Red Delicious) had some issues come up that prevented him from going. With his blessing, I offered to take his spot.

With the Grand Master

I arrived in Houston on Thursday morning at 8:15. You may not know this but Dennis Rogers lives in Houston. In the past, getting the both of us in the same city at the same time has typically involved a but of planning ion the front end. This time, the only free time either of us had while I was there was Thurs, early afternoon. Dennis came to the hotel, we grabbed some lunch and got to spend a couple of hours together.  Dennis even brought me some stuff to bend and a Houston phonebook to add to my collection. I cannot think of a stronger way to begin the weekend.

Invoking the Spirit of Ron Swanson

From the opening remarks by Pavel on Friday…..”"We took the RKC spirit, we took the RKC people, traditions and the system. Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to phase two. Power to You!”….. to the group dinner of Texas BBQ on Saturday night until the final set of swings on Sunday, it was an amazing weekend. There were so many high quality folks there, it boggles my mind.

I have seen Pavel teach many, many times and never before has he been so on point as this weekend. All weekend long he, along with Master SFG Mark Reifkind, myself and Senior SFG Karen Smith taught the core SFG drills in front of the crowd of attendees.  Team Leaders Lauren Brooks and Jason Marshall brought their best too.  The StrongFirst staff Mark, Nikki and George worked together with the hosts to deliver a truly transformative experience for the attendees.

For the first time ever, we used social media to show what it is REALLY like on the field at a certification weekend. George even strapped a camera to my chest and said “Go show them what you see….in Tamer Vision.”

StrongFirst!

Let it be known. The spirit of what was once “RKC by Pavel” is alive and well, and it is called StrongFirst.

I have been a fan of Steve Justa’s work for a long, long time. The way he describes things makes sense to me and most of the guys I respect, admire and call “Teacher “ or “ Mentor”- Pavel, Dennis Rogers, Marty Gallagher – all have had good things to say about Steve’s training ideas and methodology. I read his book Rock, Iron, Steel at least once a year. In the clip below he lifts a truck. He also provides the soundtrack.

He has always appeared to be such a true individual, living with a singular devotion to pushing his strength ever higher. He’s a strength training genius the way Jimi Hendrix was a musical genius. A mix of a few easily identifiable influences that have been mutated into a purely individual expression of self. Plus the sheer honey badger’s middle finger quality of a guy talking and demonstrating strength training practice while literally smoking a cigarette at the same time is astounding. He is Steve Justa.

Now Steve is not very easy to find, almost like the Bigfoot of the strength world, so when I found out the Bud Jeffries (who is also on the list of teacher/mentor/friends) had made contact with Steve for an interview I was very excited. Then I found out that they shot nearly three hours of footage of Justa explaining what he does and how he does it for isometric training and what he call “G-Force” training. SCORE!

I really like the videos. They are one dude with a camera (Bud) shooting live without a net, no editing, no special effects and nothing fancy. Justa demonstrates his isometric training station which he built himself and really opens up the realms of what is possible beyond what I had ever thought of doing. The creativity in what he covers is thorough and very organized, although it may not appear that way at first. More than simply showing a crapload of different exercises (which he does) I was able to see HOW he arrived there and the thought process behind it. I have long been influenced by Justa in my programming. This takes it even deeper.

For the G-Force training, it is again a lot of demo of a very simple and complete theory. Justa developed his own system of Iron Body training, based on his own observations and experience. Very good material. Here is a clip of Justa and Bud playing with a piece of concrete.

The only drawback is the audio. Again, it is Bud, Steve and a camera, and the G-Force video was filmed outdoors so there is some wind noise. But the content more than makes up for it. Well worth the investment.

Curls. Every gym rat has done them at some point.  Many of  the “Functional Training” crowd are down on them, but if done correctly and with a purpose, there are a LOT of great variations that can be very useful.

Here are some examples of kettlebell-specific curl variations that will help with grip and wrist strength.