Our new promo video we got done the other week. I thought I’d just drop it in. As you will see, everyone isn’t doing perfect reps. It’s a journey and everyone is at different stages. Keep progressing, keep practicing. Back to the story:

Minimalism

:  a style or technique (as in music, literature, or design) that is characterised by extreme spareness and simplicity

I’m sitting in the lounge at Dubai airport waiting for our connecting flight to Italy.

I bought a 28kg kettlebell on-line in Italy . It has arrived at my first place of stay so the training continues. WoooHooooo.

Minimalism has been the order over the last 2 weeks.

My prep has been quite good. However, I did feel a cold/flu coming on so I backed right off.

I thought a minimalist approach would be best served right now, so I keep doing something without pushing the body over the edge.

Training has looked like this:

Leo Preparing for the CERT.

Day A)

1 arm Swings 100 every morning 28kg bell first set 40 then 20 + 20 + 20 with around 10 seconds rest between sets.

Presses every minute or so 1 each side. My pressing is my worst lift due to my long levers so it’s what I practice the most.

Day B) Swings as above plus Get Ups again with the 28kg which is my SFG “Re-certing” weight.

Alternate between the 2 everyday.

Sunday morning before departure was Workout A, Swings easy,  the first 3 sets of presses were a little rough, but once I found the groove I increased the reps to 2 each side. Doesn’t sound like much but for me that is good progress.

As you can see this is pure minimalism. Nothing left to take away.

This approach got me through the Cold/Flu issue. I managed to dodge it by being smart. I’m 55 yeah? I’ve been in this position so many times and have learnt that when your body is telling you to slow down, you listen!

And just like my training….so is this post……. Minimal. I’m off to Italia ragazzi. Ciao!!

SIGN UP TO THE CERT HERE if you haven’t already. If you don’t feel ready, just remember you have 12 weeks after the cert to get across the line.

If you have any comments or questions, pop them below or email me directlyHERE

If I can help you with your training or you need info regarding workshops and Certs in Sydney, just let me know.

Slow n steady! Start easy, progress slowly.

If you like these posts, please comment, share them and get the word out.

Thanks for reading.

Kettlebell Instructor Peter Bolsius SFG1

Fix Your Weakness/es

There is no weakness in StrongFirst!

We have about 8 weeks to get it right for Sydney StrongFirst Kettlebell Instructor level 1 Certification.

It’s time to look at where our weakness lies and what we need to work on and “Get Strong!”

Working on My Weakness.

First up, looking at the video, what do you “own” out of those 6 lifts? Which ones do you love doing?

What really needs work? Which ones do you avoid?  Be honest with yourself.

Working on my weakness….. The press!

Shaun Cairns, Master SFG (who will also be assisting Master SFG Fabio Zonin on the Sydney Cert) pointed out I have long levers. This makes it more difficult for me to press than say someone with shorter levers, i.e. I have to press the weight further.

That’s no excuse, it just means I need to work much harder, I have to “Attack” the lift more than someone with say “T-Rex arms”

Pavel said

To Press a lot, you need to press a lot.

So, my program has gone back to one of more pressing. I still hit all the lifts every week, but the press, needs the lions share of the work. The program CT (my coach) gave me is:

Warm up then Get Up Practice

Double Kettlebell Cleans + Double Squat + Double Press in ladders of 1 2 3 4 5 with 24kg (1 bell size up from my testing weight)

Swings or snatches for 10 x 10 EMOM.

On top of that I do 10 sets of 10 x 1 arm swings EMOM in 5 minutes or less. I do that every morning upon rising. That’s an extra 700 swings every week with the 24kg bell.

Am I cert ready? Yeah, I can do the testing any day of the week.  

Am I ready for 30 hours of intense instruction and practice? I’m not so sure, I continue to improve all my lifts till “Game Day”

Your Weakness & What to Work On

Let’s have a look at you. Honestly, what are you struggling with? The reason I ask is this:

• We love to work on what we excel at
• We tend to avoid the things we struggle with
• We always do what we are strong at  but…….
• It’s working on our weakness where we become unstoppable!

Bringing a weakness “up to par” will transfer to other lifts. Weaker muscles will improve and overall output will increase. e.g. Getting stronger in the Get Up will help the press.

So, if you, like me, struggle in say the press, then get pressing! Check the table below, see where you are at and have a cold hard look at what is required.

These requirements are new as of this year. The weights shown will be our testing weights.

2017 Weights

I know, you might be saying to yourself  “There’s no way I’m going to be ready” please remember, we have 12 weeks after the StrongFirst Kettlebell Instructor level 1 Certification to get over the line. So, that’s about 20 total weeks as of writing!

How to Fix Weakness

Get onto a qualified StrongFirst Instructor HERE. This is my StrongFirst Profile and you can start your search from there.

Have your coach evaluate your lifts and help you improve them. Your coach will be able to map out a program that will get you “Cert Ready”

You just need to do the work, we can’t do that for you.

WHAT NOW?

If you haven’t signed up yet….GET ON IT!  StrongFirst Kettlebell Instructor level 1 Certification.

Get onto the instructor page HERE and get the help you need. 

Do the work.

SIGN UP TO THE CERT HERE

If you have any comments or questions, pop them below or email me directlyHERE

If I can help you with your training or you need info regarding workshops and Certs in Sydney, just let me know.

Slow n steady! Start easy, progress slowly.

If you like these posts, please share them, get the word out.

Thanks for reading.

Kettlebell Instructor Peter Bolsius SFG1

HOLY SHIT!!

The feeling you get when you sign up to the StrongFirst Instructor Cert.!

IT’S ON!

Pushing that button changes everything!

It is amazing how everything just changes as soon as you sign up. I can’t describe it. I was talking to my good friend and fellow SFG instructor Garry Robinson the other day about this. We both had exactly the same reaction when we signed up.

FAAAAAR OUT!….IT’S ON! No Turning Back!

It gives you purpose, eliminates the excuses! It’s ON! You know what needs to be done. You do it.

Your training is deliberate, it has purpose.

If you are serious about doing the cert….change it from talk to walk!

Sign up as early as possible to get that “IT’S ON!” feeling. 

I can’t think of another moment in time when I had so much purpose to my training.

SIGN UP HERE

Do you want to be the best fitness instructor you can be? Do you want to be the best kettlebell athlete you can be?

My question: “How much do you want it?”

I don’t normally post this stuff on my blog, but today is different. A Facebook post won’t do. I want to explain what it takes for fitness instructors like you to successfully complete the StrongFirst Instructor Certificate.

Listen Up, Would Be Fitness Instructor: The StrongFirst Instructors Certificate is Coming to Hillsdale

Last week we got confirmation that Mojo Strength & Sydney Kettlebell Club will be hosting The StrongFirst Instructor Certificate near Hillsdale, June 17-18-19.

I can’t begin to describe how excited I am about having the honour of assisting on this.

Do you have what it takes to become a StrongFirst Certified Fitness Instructor?

My Advice to a Budding StrongFirst Fitness Instructor…

LISTEN REALLY CAREFULLY… If you are considering signing up, you better be convinced that you want to do this… And you better be committed!

This is NOT one of those fitness instructor certificates where you pay your money, rock up and get your certificate at the end. This is “The Main Event!”: You EARN it, you can’t buy it.

Imagine this: A training practice session that lasts 30 hours, over 3 consecutive days. Imagine doing the 10,000 swing challenge in only 3 days! (We didn’t do 10,000 – but hell it sure did feel like it) then doing hundreds of squats, hundreds of snatches, loads of TGUs, more swings, cleans, presses more swings, more cleans, more presses, more squats and throw some swings in there too… Plus finish with the 100 rep 5 minute snatch test!

Imagine not sleeping because you know what’s coming the next day. That’s what it’s like guys. This is a REAL fitness instructor certificate.

This is HARD WORK!

Fitness Instructors at StrongFirst must know how to teach a movement, not just demonstrate it!

Don’t Be Scared, Just Come Prepared

I am not saying this because I want to scare you out of doing it, hell, I can’t encourage you enough! I say this because I want you to take it with the level of seriousness it needs.

If you were taking part in the “Main Event” in Las Vegas, you would take it seriously. You wouldn’t train for a mud run while prepping for a major fight, would you?

Well, you don’t do a “hypertrophy program” or a “Slimming & Toning Program” while prepping for the cert either! It’s the “Main Event”.

If you want to be a serious fitness instructor then you need to take your certificates seriously! Nothing else should be on your mind training wise other than your cert!

Practice Makes Perfect

6 exercises: Swing, Squat, Clean, Press, TGU, Snatch. All done perfectly

So, what does perfectly mean?

Let’s take the Turkish Get Up for example. If your shoulder shrugs up towards your ear… You fail! If your elbow bends just that little bit (not locked out)… You fail! If your wrist is not “neutral” (straight) during any portion of the movement… You fail.

These are only some of the standards of one lift, which all StrongFirst fitness instructors are expected to understand… Only five more to go! Oh and a snatch test! Did I mention the snatch test?

Below I explain the common mistakes you will need to avoid for the Kettlebell setup if you hope to become a certified StrongFirst fitness instructor, feel free to drop me a line if you need any more tips:

Failure Will Still Make You a Better Fitness Instructor

I know all about it. I failed. On 2 standards I failed. 4 months of prep, 30 hours of Cert…… Fail. FAIL!!

I was devastated! Devastated!

I had to re-submit videos, and it took 3 submissions before I passed. After failing 2 submissions, I sought some very good help from my dear friend Garry Robinson SFG and he helped me across the line with his fitness instructor coaching!

Finally, I was an SFG Fitness Instructor!

I screamed and jumped around like a little kid that got his first bicycle!! WOOO HOOO

I still get joy out of just thinking about it. Now, I try and seize every possible opportunity to learn from these guys. Shaun Cairns Master SFG & Tim Almond Team Leader.

If You Want to be a Great Fitness Instructor Then Start Prepping Now

Master StrongFirst Fitness Instructor Shaun Cairns explains the Kettlebell Swing

This Cert changes you – I am a better fitness instructor for it. I am pleased I failed! It made me appreciate excellence.

Excellence is required to pass and you now expect excellence. Most of all, you expect it from yourself and now also from your clients.

The, “that’s pretty good, it’ll do”, attitude does not exist. You start picking up on all the things that make your athlete better!

I cannot recommend doing this cert highly enough. It’s the best. I’ve been in a fitness instructor for nearly 30 years and can safely say it’s the best!

Go! Challenge Yourself. Be the best you can be.

Looking for a Certified StrongFirst Fitness Instructor In Hillsdale?

If you need help training to become a better fitness instructor before your next certificate then contact the team at Mojo Strength. 

We help people move well, lift heavy, be awesome.

Perfect for those that live locally, including those in Mascot.

Thanks for reading.

Peter Bolsius SFG1

Owner & Founder Mojo Strength Sydney & The Alpha Project

Thanks for reading.