12/06/2026
“Strength cannot be divorced from health”
None could have said it better than George Hackenschmidt.
Soviet scientists coined the term the cost of adaptation that is self-explanatory. All too often today’s training methods improve performance at the expense of health. Examples include neglect of general physical preparation, forcing the rate of adaptation, amateurish treatment of the nervous and the endocrine systems, abuse of glycolytic training at the expense of aerobic development, failure to understand free radical stress, and sloppy technique.
At StrongFirst we aim to improve the athlete’s health rather than to ruin it. We increase the organism’s general resistance by prioritizing mitochondrial development with state-of-the art programming.
When it comes to exercise technique, in the words of former senior instructor Rob Lawrence, at our school “Safety is viewed as a part of, not the opposite of, performance.” Both are about distributing the load across many muscle groups and joints rather than smoking the weak links. For instance, tensed glutes and a “virtual belt” of braced abs and power breathing reenforce your lower back. And a stronger back enables you to work your hips and legs harder. Another example is crushing the kettlebell handle when pressing. Irradiation simultaneously amplifies the strength of the rotator cuff muscles that stabilize the shoulder and the strength of the “pressing” muscles.
At StrongFirst when we say “strength,” we mean “health” and when we say “health,” we mean “strength.”
>>> StrongFirst® Girya Level II Certified Instructor Manual, 20th Edition
Strength. Health. Longevity.
These are not separate goals - they are one and the same.
Explore the StrongFirst School of Strength and learn how our principles help athletes and coaches build strength without sacrificing health.
➡️ Learn more here: https://www.strongfirst.com/certifications/sfg-i-kettlebell-instructor-information/
Power to you!
