StrongFirst Podcast

Summary: Brett Jones, Director of Education for StrongFirst, joins the show a second time to talk about his use of Indian clubs, nail bending, and powerlifting. Brett talks to your host Craig Marker about his current training to achieve the Sinister goal. Show Notes: 01:35 - Brett talks about his background in athletic training and his mentors in that space.06:50 - How the Brettzel, the Brettzel 2.0, and the Brettzel 3.0 exercises came to be and what they are.08:10 - Brett’s work in FMS and Indian clubs.11:00 - The differences between training with heavier and lighter clubs.13:21 - Brett’s history with grip work, nail bending training, and strength work.18:00 - About pinch grips and deadlifts.19:15 - Why specialty training and grip training is important, but kettlebells can take you a good bit of the way.20:25 - Loaded carries.24:32 - The importance of foot position in squats.27:25 - Brett’s current training goals.28:56 - How Brett is approaching the sinister standard and the biggest change he’s made in training.30:50 - Brett’s thoughts on structure and switching things up.32:00 - The problem with the “get up and grind” mentality.34:09 - What’s on Brett’s current reading list.35:20 - How Brett thinks of the wedge when he’s teaching it to people.37:55 - How a strength professional builds more tension to increase the wedge. 3 Key Points: Kettlebell can take you a long way, but specialty training is still important.Foot position is important, and hip position anomalies are extremely common.Always err on the side of more rest rather than less.

Summary: Jon Engum, StrongFirst Master Instructor, joins your host, Craig Marker, to talk about martial arts, flexible steel drills, his new book Trembling Shock, and the Dome of Strength in Chicago. Jon and Craig will also discuss training people in different cultures. Show Notes: 01:45 - Discussion of cold exposure in Minnesota. 02:52 - Discussion of Jon’s background in martial arts and flexibility and his martial arts credentials. 06:05 - How Jon has integrated kettlebells into martial artists. 10:36 - How kettlebell changes explosiveness. 13:15 - The premise of Jon’s book Trembling Shock which includes the whole first year of training. 16:14 - A breakdown of the Flexible Steel program - you want to be flexible and strong at the same time. 18:54 - Why someone might want to do Flexible Steel if they’re not a martial artist. 26:10 - Why Jon believes that happiness is lifting things overhead. 29:30 -The Dome of Strength event. 34:46 - The cross-cultural teaching differences Jon has encountered. 42:00 - Why students should go to different events than their teachers. 3 Key Points: With kettlebell, you get all the benefits of plyometric training without any impact on your joints.The combination of stiffness and relaxation carries over to any sport you could do.Find your weakness and vow to make that your strength.

Summary: Dr. Stu McGill joins the show for a second time to talk about breathing and when to use what kind of breathing. Dr. McGill also talks to your host Craig Marker about picking up odd objects, wedging, and getting strong with power breathing. Show Notes: 01:20 - A general history of Dr. McGill’s exposure to the science and history of breathing. 03:20 - Dr. McGill’s work with Dr. Clayton Skaggs and the St. Louis Cardinals baseball team. 05:34 - The baseline mechanics of breathing. 06:15 - The different types of breathing for different activities. 10:00 - Pavel’s technique and breathing. 12:00 - More on power breathing for a pulse of strength. 14:45 - The breathing concerns for people with heart conditions or risk for stroke. 18:20 - How to pressurize the brain to eliminate the possibility of a stroke. 19:20 - Why core strength effects performance in Jiu Jitsu. 22:14 - What is neural density and how to create it. 26:13 - How to use the instruction and mind trick of push the earth away. 29:05 - The neurology of the kettlebell swing. 31:20 - Dr. McGill’s suggestions for picking up oddly shaped objects. 36:25 - What to do about flexion when it comes to rowers. 41:33 - Dr. McGill’s thoughts on squatting and where your feet should be. 49:30 - What is needed for people who sit at the desk all day? 52:30 - Flexibility tunes the body, it doesn’t create more mobility. 53:16 - Why posture matters.

Summary: Professor Carmen Bott is a strength and conditioning coach from Vancouver British Columbia who specializes in physical preparation for combative and collision sports athletes. Show Notes: 00:56 - Coach Bott talks about her history and how she got into the sports science space. 02:41 - Coach Bott’s thesis on basketball. 05:14 - Her first experience with Pavel in 2004. 09:00 - How Coach Bott ended up marrying her trainer and mastering the kettlebell. 12:00 - How strength training can be taboo for wrestlers. 13:40 - How much conditioning for athletes during the season. 17:41 - What kind of off-season high-level athletes get. 21:33 - The difference between training athletes in different sports. 26:28 - Which muscles are most important to train for wrestling. 31:05 - How much Dr. Bott uses Olympic lifting and how much she uses kettlebells. 38:35 - Why you need to understand kinematics. 40:25 - The books Dr. Bott recommends.

Summary StrongFirst Master Instructor Peter Lakatos from Budapest, Hungary talks with your host Craig Marker about training that relates to hormesis. He discusses training related to Buteyko breathing, blood flow restriction, HRV training, fasting, and red light therapy. Show Notes 01:35 — Peter talks about handball and his background in powerlifting. 03:08 — What handball entails and what the teams and court look like. 04:18 — What training of high-level handball athletes requires. 05:25 — Explanations of training people using different HRV profiles to address weaknesses 12:00 — What you should do for training if you’re not comfortable with something. 16:04 — The lab equipment Peter uses to measure sleep quality, heart rate and the most important things to measure. 18:40 — Why breathing is so important. 22:05 — Tips for learning how to breathe better. 25:53 — What Kaatsu or occlusion training is and its origins. 36:50 — The mTor activation cycle and fasting. 39:40 — Peter explains Ground Force Method. 42:27 — What is red light therapy and what’s the academic research behind it. Key Points: Tweetable Quotes Resources Mentioned Atlanta SFG I Certification Advanced Buteyko Breathing Exercises (Buteyko Method Book 2) The Oxygen Advantage: The Simple, Scientifically Proven Breathing Techniques for a Healthier, Slimmer, Faster, and Fitter You Blood Flow Restriction (BFR) Training Therapy Occlusion Restriction Cuffs with mmHg Monitor and Pump Emfit QS Ground Force Method

Summary: Dr. Jimmy Yuan is a chiropractor balancing the world between medical rehabilitation and sports training. Dr. Yuan trains professional golfers, MLB, NFL, NBA, and college athletes. In addition to being a StrongFirst Team Leader, he is a Titleist certified golf instructor and FMS instructor. In this episode, Dr. Yuan talks about rehabilitation and training professional athletes. Show Notes: 01:08 — Dr. Yuan gives a background of his athletic history and how he’s re-invigorated his athletic endeavors. 01:56 — Dr. Yuan’s degree is neuroscience-based psychobiology and went on to get his doctorate. 03:22 — Dr. Yuan talks about his team approach to success. 08:10 — Differences between training a golfer vs. another athlete. 13:00 — How all of his tools fit together. 22:10 — How to use and implement clubs. 26:23 — What is ELDOA and why is it beneficial? 31:50 — The difference between traditional acupuncture and dry needling. 34:24 — The neck being an important area when he does his chiropractic work. 37:30 — Having fun while working. 3 Key Points: Many things you’ll learn are environmentally dependent, you have to assess the whole situation.Training, like life, has to happen at speed.Keep in mind the problem someone has, but find out what they need.

Summary: Dr. Stu McGill discusses optimal back health and its importance when strength training. Show Notes: 00:55 — Craig introduces Dr. Stu McGill. 4:46 — Dr. McGill discusses animal models and how the cervical spine of a pig is similar to the human spine. 09:17 — Discussion of Pavel’s core strength measured in the lab. 13:30 — Dr. Mcgill and Pavel’s collaborations. 14:40 — Optimized lifts and the deadlift. 16:37 — The best time of day to do a deadlift. 23:40 — How you can build more strength in our bones after a fracture. 26:55 — Dr. McGill´s thoughts on yoga. 27:59 — Controlled stiffness´s impact on athleticism. 28:30 — Mobility for mobility sake is a kiss of death. 28:50 — Why we need to know our goals and design our training program. 30:24 — Genetics´ impact on what we are able to do. 37:58 — The power of the kettlebell swing in strength training. 44:22 — Weightlifting belts. 48:22 — Why creating proximal stiffness enhances distal speed. 51:44 — Power breaths make a difference in weight training.

Summary: Mira Kwon, the co-owner of Industrial Strength, an Accredited StrongFirst Gym in Portland, Oregon She is an accomplished weightlifter talks and in this episode, she talks about the benefits of Olympic weight training and how it differs from kettlebell movements. Show Notes: 01:16 — Mira talks about how she got where she is today and her athletic background. 06:34 — Mira talks about her training. 10:08 — Mira talks why someone would do Olympic weightlifting? 14:28 — Mira describes the clean and the power clean. 16:18 — Mira discusses the focus needed for Olympic weightlifting. 23:00 — Mira discusses the optimal training load 28:50 — Mira discusses the community and training philosophies of her gym. 35:20 — Closing thoughts on using the kettlebell swing to assist in Olympic weightlifting. Key Points: You need to build your skill around 70-80% where you have more control.The gym you create comes down to tone and mindset.

Rachel Cosgrove, co-owner of Results Fitness and writer of The Female Body Breakthrough, and Drop Two Sizes. In this episode, Rachel discusses what it takes to be a trainer, what sets Results Fitness apart, and how to create a sustainable business. She discusses her work with StrongFirst Accredited Gyms. 00:57 - Rachel talks about her background and what led to her success. 03:28 - Rachel discusses what is necessary and required for someone to be a trainer? 06:44 - Rachel talks about training ladies and how it has changed over the years. 10:50 - Rachel’s philosophy on nutrition, recovery, and accountability. 13:31 - What makes a successful gym owner and what is taught at Results Fitness University. 17:03 - Rachel elaborates on what makes culture and environment so important. 28:45 - Rachel talks about getting through the “grind stage.” 33:20 - Rachel discusses goals for gym owners. Resources Mentioned: Results Fitness University The Female Body Breakthrough: The Revolutionary Strength-Training Plan for Losing Fat and Getting the Body You Want Drop Two Sizes: A Proven Plan to Ditch the Scale, Get the Body You Want & Wear the Clothes You Love! StrongFirst Accredited Gyms

StrongFirst Podcast Episode #14 Summary Al Ciampa, U.S. Army Veteran and Trainer for U.S. Airforce, talks about anti-glycolytic training and conditioning for the military with your host Craig Marker. Show Notes 01:36 – Al talks about his history and background. 07:10 – Al discusses why bodybuilding is not possible for some people. 09:00 – Al talks about his time in the military. 12:10 – What is Al doing right now? 13:20 – Protocols to get into the special forces. 18:43 – Al talks about Maffetone monitor and heart rate. 27:05 – Al discusses glycolysis. 34:38 – Al talks about psychology and training. 39:19 – Al describes the Zercher Squat and the benefits. 44:07 – Closing advice. Resources Mentioned Simple and Sinister Naked Warrior Beyond BodyBuilding

Summary Dr. Kelly Starrett talks about strength and conditioning and moving well with your host Craig Marker. Dr. Starrett is a coach, physical therapist, author, speaker, and blogger, as well as the owner of San Francisco Crossfit and MobilityWOD.com. Show Notes 01:15 – Dr. Dr. Starrett talks about his early work and his relationship with Pavel and StrongFirst. 02:50 – Dr. Starrett talks about the 70-mile bike ride he has coming up and how he challenges himself. 09:15 – What Dr. Starrett is doing for his minimum dose and GPP. 13:36 – Dr. Starrett’s thoughts on the bent press. 21:40 – Dr. Starrett discusses his thoughts on feet being straight forward in squats. 28:55 – Dr. Starrett talks about the need to maintain a good position. 30:30 – Discussion of what Dr. Starrett is working on right now. 33:09 – Dr. Starrett talks about his work with Gray Cook. 35:39 – Dr. Starrett says everyone should work to keep it simple. 3 Key Points:

Summary: In this episode of the StrongFirst Podcast, your host Craig Marker talks with Dr. Chad Waterbury about strength and conditioning. Show Notes: 00:44 – About Dr. Chad Waterbury, who was trained as a neurophysiologist and Doctor of Physical Training. 3:36 – Dr. Waterbury discusses visualization and its benefits. 04:34 – Dr. Waterbury talks about being a PT and a strength and conditioning coach. 09:44 – Dr. Waterbury discusses how his thinking over the years has changed. 19:06 – Dr. Waterbury discusses undulating ladders. 22:30 – Dr. Waterbury discusses high–frequency training. 27:24 – Dr. Waterbury talks about foot health. 32:40 – Dr. Waterbury talks about calf development. 34:50 – Dr. Waterbury discusses corrective exercise. 41:06 – Dr. Waterbury discusses Pavel and his influence on his career. Resources Mentioned Hftmuscle.com ISSA Corrective Exercise Certification Chadwaterbury.com

Summary: In this episode of the StrongFirst Podcast, your host Craig Marker talks with Pavel Macek, Senior StrongFirst instructor, StrongFirst Accredited Gym Owner, trainer of high-level MMA fighters, and a historian of strength culture. Show Notes: 01:28 – Pavel discusses his background in strength, martial arts, and self-defense. 03:13 – Pavel discusses the hack-squat? 10:20 – Pavel discusses essential equipment for gyms and how old-time strongmen trained. 11:56 – Pavel discusses the usefulness of dumbbells. 17:20 – Pavel discusses his new StrongFirst Resilient course. 21:25 – Pavel discusses the essentials of training. 25:00 – Pavel talks about meditation practice and training. 31:07 – Pavel discusses cold exposure and fasting. 37:35 – Pavel discusses the challenge of consistency in training. Resources Mentioned Simple and Sinister Naked Warrior Beyond BodyBuilding SimplexStrong.com Pavel Macek’s StrongFirst Accredited Gym in Czechia

Summary: In this episode of the StrongFirst Podcast, your host Craig Marker talks with Chris Chapman, Director of Sports Science at Push. Chris discusses strategies to optimize power in your kettlebell swing. Show Notes: 00:49 About Chris Chapman 01:23 Chris talks about his background in tracking motion. 04:52 Chris talks about quantifying movement. 11:45 Chris explains displacement and distance, acceleration. 14:00 Chris talks about deadlifts and Olympic lifts. 16:10 Chris discussing how to find max power. A good place to start would be 50% of your one arm swing. 20:00 Chris discusses velocity-based training. 26:58 Kettlebell exercises generalizing to other athletes. 28:00 Talk about the push band as a way to measure force and power. 38:45 Final thoughts.

Summary: In this episode of the StrongFirst Podcast, your host Craig Marker talks with Dr. Judd Biasiotto about powerlifting and the mindset that helped him overcome many challenges. Show Notes: 00:44 - Craig Marker provides an introduction for Dr. Judd Biasiotto. 01:40 - Dr. Biasiotto talks about his work in baseball. 02:38 - Dr. Biasiotto talks about how he overcame being a “terrible” athlete. 04:15 – Dr. Biasotto discuss his work at the baseball academy and his use of a biofeedback machine to train individual muscles. 10:25 – Dr. Biasotto discusses how to turn a weakness into a strength. 14:00 - Dr. Biasiotto talks about how it is more important to be a good person than a good athlete. 31:41 - Dr. Biasiotto talks about overcoming challenges.

Summary: In this episode of the StrongFirst Podcast, your host Craig Marker talks with Mike Perry, Senior StrongFirst Instructor about training athletes from elite MMA fighters to teenagers. Show Notes: 00:38 - Mike Perry and his wife, Amanda, run a large gym called Skill of Strength outside Boston. 01:30 - He works with 10-12 pro fighters either in the UFC. 03:00 – Mike talks about training short-term vs. long-term planning. Fight camps are generally 8-12 weeks. 05:50 – Mike talks about strength training for fighters. These athletes aren’t power lifters, they’re fighters. The sweet spot is 2x or 2.5x bodyweight for the deadlift. He likes his fighters to do weighted pullups. 07:20 Recovery is the name of the game and his athletes spend a lot of time on heart rate and recovery. 12:55 – Mike talks about flexibility in training. Early in his career, he would try to design the best training program in the world. He learned to work around injuries and recovery needs. 14:38 – FMS for fighters. A lot of the fighters move well, but prevention of injuries is important. 15:47 – Mike’s discusses his emphasis on one leg movement. With mixed martial artists, the single leg training is most important. 16:55 – Mike’s MMA fighters have high VO2 max levels and quick recovery. 20:06 – Training does not need to be like competition. 23:45 – Mike talks about training young athletes. Learning long-term athletic movement. It is organized play while teaching the basics of lifting. For middle school athletes, it’s movement variability. Middle schoolers don’t need to be trained like high school athletes. For high school athletes, it’s skipping variations, running, jump training, basic lifts. 27:20 – Mike discusses training the general population. 29:42 – Mike discusses his push-up program based off Pavel’s Fighter pull-up program. 36:15 – Closing advice and coaching tips.

Summary: In this episode of the StrongFirst Podcast, your host Craig Marker talks with Derek Toshner about endurance and winning the tactical strength challenge. Derek is best known for dominating the TSC. Show Notes: 00:55 Derek’s credentials as an elite competitor. 01:31 Derek and his brother successfully run four branches of TNT Fitness in WI. 02:17 Derek talks about what he’s training for now including rock climbing 03:10 Challenges of climbing. Helps with fear of heights. Work on flexibility. Nutrition and weight management is important. 05:06 Derek talks about his time as a wrestler. 08:00 How he managed the transition from wrestling to 400-meter hurdles. Wrestling is a tough sport mentally and hurdles are much the same. 10:45 Building endurance. Lots of running below the lactate threshold to build a base. Then work on speed with long rests. 16:35 How Derek trains for strength and conditioning at the same time? 21:55 Secret deadlifting training to prepare for the TSC. 25:10 How Derek stays healthy plans for longevity in the future? 27:00 Derek talks about how his brother ran a marathon without any running. 28:14 Derek talks about diet and nutrition? 34:16 General philosophy on training new people. 41:17 Closing thoughts

Episode - 06 Summary: Introducing the StrongFirst Podcast, in this first episode Craig Marker and Brad Kearns discuss the difference between Strong Endurance and Primal Endurance. Brad is the author of Primal Endurance and The Keto Reset. Show Notes: 03:00 - Craig talks about Pavel, his books, and a high-level overview of his programs. 04:25 - How the Soviets trained people for endurance with anti-glycolytic training. 06:35 - How Strong Endurance works with repeat training and recovery. 08:42 - Craig explains phosphates and their importance in endurance training. 09:40 - Brad talks about polarized training and its application to peak performance. 12:00 - Craig explains what anti-glycolytic really is. 13:20 - For an athlete with extremely long duration goals, how do extremely high intensity workouts play into those goals? 17:15 - The importance of practicing perfect is import to efficiency. 24:10 - Craig and Brad talk about the psychological aspect of training sessions. 28:18 - Brad talks about body composition and fat storage. 31:32 - Craig talks about the Strong Endurance movement. 34:58 - Brad discusses how diet affects training. 38:35 - Do you think that healthy things will correlate to peak performance, or do you at some point have to sacrifice your health? 44:00 - Brad talks about what he thinks is important for diet and how it goes along with exercise protocols. We need to escape from carbohydrate dependency. If you’re eating a ton of carbohydrates it begets eating more carbohydrates because of the insulin response. 46:10 - The first step to improve your health is to take a few weeks to tone down your workouts and refine your diet. This benefits both endurance and power athletes. 48:25 - What do you recommend to beginners? Keto is getting misinterpreted right now. You need to take the proper steps to become fat adapted. 53:00 - What does being in ketosis look like from a performance standpoint? 56:32 - What can people do to shorten their intervals in their next workout? Don’t shorten your rest period and work harder in your 10 seconds of work.

Episode - 05 Summary: Craig interviews Peter Park, personal trainer of high-level athletes (Giancarlo Stanton, Lance Armstrong, Justin Verlander, Ken Roczen, and Diania Taurasi) and celebrities and author of the book Rebound. Show Notes: 01:20 - About Peter Park. Best known as a trainer of high-level athletes and celebrities. He grew up in Newport Beach, California and started really young. He did surfing followed by volleyball, he then started getting interested in training. He got a...

Episode - 04 Summary: Introducing the StrongFirst Podcast, in this episode Craig and Scott interview Fabio Zonin, CEO of StrongFirst, master instructor, former powerlifter, bodybuilder and beast tamer. Show Notes: 01:22 – Fabio discusses his current role at StrongFirst. 03:58 - How Fabio initially come under Pavel’s systems? 10:27 - Training transformed since entering Pavel’s system. Principles, breathing technique, etc. have all changed and improved. 14:05 – Fabio discusses...