StrongFirst Level 2 Kettlebell Instructor

On the weekend of May 8-10, I had the privilege to attend the StrongFirst Girya Level 2 instructor certification in Chelmsford, taught by than none other than Master SFG Dan John. This was a biggie for me, as I’ve read Dan’s work since the early 2000’s via his articles on T-Nation and bought his books and dvds since around 2009, but had never met him in person.

The saying goes that you should never meet your heroes as you’ll only be disappointed. His work forms a large part of my personal philosophy of training, teaching and coaching. Dan is a world class Coach, highly sought after by many organisations and is a US record holder in discus, highland games and olympic weightlifting. So not just a ‘talking’ Coach, but an athlete as well.

Was I disappointed? Yes. But because we only got three days with this resource of strength and conditioning awesomeness! And I’m kicking myself for not having made a list of questions to ask this coaching legend.

To the SFG2 itself. To a attend the level 2 kettlebell course you have to, wait for it, have passed the level 1 course. The StrongFirst courses are not simply ‘pay, turn up, be certified’. They are coaching courses and they also have a personal performance standard. The three day level 1 course has coaching workshops, a written exam and the following performance tests on the third day (the third day being after two days of at least three workouts a day and thousands and thousands of swings, so if you think the standards are easy bear that in mind):

[These are the standards for a man of my age and weight when I went through the course]

• Swings 10 with 2 x 24kg
• Cleans 5 with 2 x 24kg
• Squats 5 with 2 x 24kg
• Press 5 with 2 x 24kg
• Snatch 5 left and right with one 24kg
• Turkish Get Up one each side with one 24kg (a 32kg for recertification)

and the ‘dreaded snatch test’:

• 100 repetitions in 5 mins with a 24kg

I remember that most attendees of the level 1 were fearful of the snatch test. One of the things that struck me about the level 2 was that everyone ‘just did it’. There was no fear, apprehension, etc. There have been three level 1 courses in the UK in the last two years and two level 2. Over 240 people have passed through the level 1 and less than 30 through the level 2, I think this is an indication of the standard. And in saying that, those who pass through the SFG1 are already standing taller than most other coaches/trainers in the UK fitness industry. It is telling the the UK Register of Exercise Professionals wouldn’t recognise the SFG instructor certification because it was too difficult to pass (I believe there is a 70% pass rate, these guys aren’t scared of failing people who don’t meet their standards of coaching and performance).

The standards for the level two were:

• All level 1
• Push Press 5 with 2 x 24kg
• Jerk 5 with 2 x 24kg
• Snatch 5 with 2 x 20kg
• Windmill 3 each side with one 24kg
• Bent Press one each side with one 24kg
• …………. press half of your bodyweight in a strict military press with one arm (for me 40kg).

I learned so much over the three days it’s hard to write it all down. So I’m going to go with snapshots and bullet points.

Dan is renown as the ‘Coach that makes things simple’ and I think that this is a massive disservice to him. He is the coach who isn’t afraid to cut the bullshit out and take us straight to where we need to be. In an industry that seems to suffer ADHD and trainers are expected to entertain their clients, it really does take an exceptional Coach to be brave enough to say ‘Let’s just do what we have to do’ and not feel the need to try an impress you (though you’ll be impressed with the results you’ll get if you listen!). Remember, this is a guy who is sought after by professional sports and tactical groups the world over. These guys are professionals and need the best results for the time/effort invested.

We revised the level one curriculum and saw where the Turkish Get Up, Windmill and Bent Press all interplay. I didn’t realise how much the Windmill paid off in terms of cost-to-benefit ratio if performed correctly. A new staple of my own, and my clients/students, training!

We looked at the overhead ballistics: double push press, double jerk and double snatch. Again, a new found appreciation of the double clean and jerk as a multi-purpose tool for developing strength, power and power-endurance. This may become, for myself and my advanced clients, the one stop shop exercise for those hectic times in life where you can only afford 10-20mins a few times a week to exercise. The quantity and level of quality of skills you need to perform this well is staggering.

The level of professionalism in the room was amazing. This doesn’t mean we were all cardboard cutout, boring robot people. We had fun, but the attitudes and behaviours betrayed a deep understanding that this is a life choice, not just a ‘thing’ we do. Everybody in the room walked the talk.

Even though I failed the press (there were a few of us who didn’t get it), the attitude was one of support. I left with 3 months to get the press to certify as SFG2 and more support, programmes and advice than I can possibly use (thanks guys!). In fact some of the attendees decided to not even attempt the press as they felt that if they were worrying about performance they may have neglected the real reason they were there, to learn. To me this screams professionalism, focus on the goal (to learn over the weekend).

The press was the only thing anyone failed. There was no question about the snatch test, we all ‘just did it’. And I seriously believe that given 5-10 minutes to rest that most of the participants could have done it again. The work capacity of the attendees was pretty intense.

The importance of the interplay between tension and relaxation, hard and soft, yin and yang. In a course that terrifies people with it’s strength requirement, we spent most of our time learning methods to create mobility and to relax. Moments of extreme tension have to be balanced with relaxation drills, you can’t walk around dialled up to 100% tension all the time. Pull an elastic band to it’s limits and see how long it takes to snap. There is much research in high level sport that suggests the difference between the elite and everyone else is not how quickly you can tense/fire/active, but rather how quickly you can relax post maximum/near-max effort.

On the third day Dan gave a presentation about assessment tools for clients/students. To any fitpros reading this all I’ll say is, buy the book! It’s on pdf and Kindle as well as hard copy, it’s going to be the best five bucks you spent since buying his last book! Which if you don’t have… why the hell not! (Interventions by Dan is also available). [Actually, any fitpros who live near me, please don’t buy his books… I don’t want the competition 😉 ]

To wrap up I had a fantastic three days surrounded by like minded professionals. When I used to go to regular industry events I was used to being either the smartest or strongest guy in the room (often both), but at a StrongFirst event I’m lucky if I’m batting the average.

I’d like to thank Dan John for going above and beyond, please keep turning out material! Thanks too to James Breese for organising, James St Pierre for hosting (when I grow up I want a gym like yours!) , Claire Booth for making the days run smooth and Phil McDougal and Jason Elliot (go Team Beard!) for being assistant instructors on the day.

In whatever you do, seek Mastery but…

Be StrongFirst.