Meta-Train Fitness

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY
Here’s my valentines date for today 😍😍
We’ve been together only a week or so, but I think this relationship is set to last.
... Kettlebells are definitely my ‘type’ having been in a relationship with them for the last 13+ years. Sometimes we’re together all the time in training, sometimes only a couple of times a week.
But they’re always there 💜
As I’ve gotten older, I do find myself gravitating to heavier kettlebells, it’s true - but I’ll always remember my earlier, much smaller bells.
However, my greatest love of kettlebells now is when they move well and make me feel strong.
The 40kg obliged me in that regard today. 100 single hand swings, in my own time, just focusing on extending through the hips and making the bell float.
Safe to say, we will definitely be having more dates in the future 😍💜
I hope everyone else out there has a great valentines date like mine 😄😂
#valentines #datenight #kettlebells #swings #sfg #strongfirst #strongfirstgb #lovethejourney #strongisastateofmind
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Yep.
A lot of my guys have ‘similar’ programmes to what they were doing with me 2 years ago. These generally include the following exercises within a week:
Squats... Deadlift / Hinge Press Pull ups / Rows
The weights, reps and type of each exercise will vary - but the core movement patterns won’t.
Ever.
There’s a reason for this - fundamental movement patterns are what make you stronger.
Simple isn’t sexy, but it works.
Sexy workouts can get fucked. Simple ones will get you where you’re going while reducing your risk of injury and more importantly, without looking like an absolute bellend.
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IT’S OK TO FAIL
While I don’t advocate training to failure (read: my views on Crossfit) sometimes in your training, weights that normally fly up just....aren’t there on a given day.
...and that’s ok. Really, it is.
... The important thing is to not get discouraged and trust the process you’re following.
This was to be my first rep of my first ladder of presses with the 40kg, a weight I comfortably press for singles. But today, it just wasn’t to be.
I know why, and that’s the important thing. Had a tough week last week - led to less sleep and calories than I needed (a LOT less). Result? Everything feels heavy and nothing moves well. That’s ok though, I’m still doing my ladders, just a weight lower than normal and focusing on grooving a good pattern - this session next week should then be a different story 🤞🏻💪🏻
When things fail, there’s always something you can do, always a path you can take to do better next time. Just don’t give up, and don’t be discouraged.
#itsoktonotbeok #fail #pressfail #sfg #strongfirst #strengthisaskill #greasethegroove
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Video here of the 40kg get-up on the right 😬

Get ups!
Playing with my new 40kg bell today doing some get ups 😄.
I think get ups should be a staple of anyone’s programme - particularly if you’re serious about pressing overhead but also if you’re just aiming for longevity with your body.
... Little video is me doing a get up on my right side, with the photos being on my left.
Question for you guys - which one is the bell going up, and which one is the bell coming down? 🤔 ideally this movement looks the same going up as coming down - you can see some slight differences in mine (something to work on) but can anyone tell which direction each phase was going?
Didn’t go mad today - just laddered up the weight to warm up for some back squats and some KB snatches for my workout today 💪🏻👊🏻.
What are you training today? Are you following a plan? If you don’t know, it’s time to sort it out and get things moving.
#sfg #getups #kettlebells #longevity #followtheplan #strongnotskinny #strongfirst
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Practice makes permanent.
Speaking to my middle daughter the other day about this, she said: ‘Don’t you mean perfect?’
No. Perfection is an ideal you can strive towards but never truly achieve. Whereas making something permanent through good practice - THAT is something worthy of doing. I think a lot of people confuse the two terms, chasing perfection and overlooking how they’re ingraining something deeply into how your body moves and reacts to stimuli.
... Build your body for the future and longevity - practice strong movements.
That’s why I like to practice kettlebell snatching. Focusing on making a weight light and floating it overhead. I’m there with the 28kg, but want to get the 32kg moving comfortably and well.
There’s no rush 😜
#strongfirst #snatch #sfg #practicemakespermanent #practice #bristol #fitfor35
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I’ve been ‘playing’ with the bent press recently. It’s not something I’ve been properly coached in, just what I’ve picked up online and via SFG forums. Thought I’d see what I can manage on both sides - 32kg 😬. Not bad considering I can’t strict press 28kg on my left (due to a long term injury and subsequent nerve damage).
My shoulder strength will never be balanced, I’ve accepted that. But I still have goals for my stronger shoulder. I can comfortably press 40kg on my right side, so just working towards getting that higher - who knows, maybe a there’s a beast press in my future 😜😂.
Pavel recommends bent pressing as a way to helping the normal press, so I’m going to keep playing and see how that improves over the coming months. #sfg #strongfirst #bentpress #press #gymtimeisfuntime

Tobogganing fun today with the 2 youngest - no training for@me at the moment so making the most of the slope running up it each time 😂.
Deserved coffee and hot chocolate for us now.
#snow #christmasfun #miltonkeynes #snozone #sledging #toboganning

Chalk in the floor = what a gym should look like after a good training session.
If your gym owner/manager is a chalk Nazi - head for the door 😝
#chalk #weights #bristol #coupletraining

When you take the kids out for a birthday climb and it turns into a challenge instead 🔥
Hope you had fun @xava_trainx @xx.sophhh.xx

Fellow SFG instructor here demonstrating the upright plank in a swing - even with a heavy weight.
If you have the shape of a banana when you swing, you’ve got some work to do on your stacked posture in the upright position. So, de-bell and work on achieving a solid standing plank at a lower weight; kettlebells are not kind to those who ego-swing 😜
Hard-style planks are also useful in helping with this. Be warned though, these are not the tame things you see where people can casually hold them for minutes at a time. If you hold a hard-style plank for longer than 30 seconds, you’re almost certainly doing them wrong 😓.

This. So much this.
Choose a coach on what they can teach you, not just on the shiny packaging.
Plus, life without pizza 🍕 isn’t life

Too many people in the industry trying to over complicate things so they can sell a complex solution.
Want to lose weight? Be in a calorie deficit. It’s that simple.
Putting it into practice can be tough for a variety of reasons. Time, lifestyle, not wanting to give up pizza and doughnuts, I get it.
... But. Don’t make it harder for yourself by complicating the process.
Eat less than your body needs to maintain your weight and you’ll lose it. If you’re not losing weight then you’re not doing it. Solution? Eat less and/or move more.
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Couldn't have put it better myself.
Cardio does have its place, don't get me wrong. But Lifting weights is where it's at.

One type of swing I see a lot of in the gym, and the other I see only in those I teach.
If you’re not swinging with will and intent, then you’re not swinging. Check it out:

Just a gentle reminder that squatting in trousers/trackies isn’t the greatest of ideas 😂🤦🏼‍♂️

Interesting diagram showing the importance of breathing in and bracing when lifting to protect your lumbar spine.
When Squatting and deadlifting this is particularly key due to the positioning of the load and the danger of this moving your lumbar in a way likely to cause pain and/or damage.
The tighter and stronger your braced cylinder (core), the more protected your spine will be.
... If you don't know how to do this, mastering this will unlock your potential in all lifts.
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February tomorrow already 😅
Who’s getting these feels? 😂😂