A letter we received shortly before our X th anniversary highlights StrongFirst’s reason to be: I am a reserve Marine and was first exposed to Pavel’s training while getting ready for the Officer Candidate School. When it comes to physical preparedness for military training, in my opinion, there is simply no peer to StrongFirst.
“Greasing the groove” finally got me to north of 20 dead hang pullups. The “what-the-hell effect” of kettlebell ballistic movements helped my conditioning. Pavel’s various programs helped me pack on some muscle.
I discovered Kettlebell Simple & Sinister at a time when my body was beginning to feel every day of its over 40. I have spent so many years going too hard, maxing out and essentially hazing myself, all in the name of intensity. On top of all of that, my first child Kohl was born with global brain damage in 2012, and the stress of caring for a severely disabled child was taking its toll on me physically. I was dubious that a program with two exercises would have much benefit, but also hopeful given the benefits I’d gotten from Pavel’s other programs.
I had gotten to the Simple goal after some months of training. My chronic knee pain drastically reduced, I felt more mobile and limber, movement patterns like the get-up had a direct carryover to daily activities like picking my son up off the floor which, previous to S&S, was getting harder and harder as he is getting bigger, and I am getting older. Now, he is light as a feather. |
| | And when I went back to barbell training after about a year of doing the program, I was stronger in every lift. My running conditioning remained the same, which is shocking, because I usually lose that when I stop running for two weeks.
This program has been a critical element of my mental health and now I have experienced true healing from the trauma and grief of raising a severely disabled child. Put more simply, it has helped me develop strength beyond the physical. And that’s what it’s all about.
An appreciative father,
Andrew Chrestman
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| | StrongFirst is proud to have made a difference for this father and warrior—and for you, hard men and women who believe that strength has a greater purpose.
We thank all our instructors, team members, and students for supporting our mission to make the world a stronger place.
Power to us!
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