The Strength Connection

In the 4th Episode of The Strength Connection Podcast, Mike and our special guest, certified personal trainer and collegiate athlete turned figure competitor turned national-level powerlifter, Brittany Kohnke will talk about authenticity, crazy diets, crossfit, education and community.Join us in this insightful and captivating talk!In this chapter you will discover:(2:00) Introducing our special guest certified personal trainer and collegiate athlete turned figure competitor turned national-level powerlifter, Brittany Kohnke @brittany_kohnke (2:30) Authenticity is one of my core values(3:30) The things that have real value don’t go viral right away(4:40) 16 joined the gym for the 1st time(5:20) Obsessed with fitness and sport magazines(6:10) Doing a crazy diet(6:50) A hard rebound in weight(7:00) Depression(8:00) Entering to Crossfit for the 1st time(8:50) You’re being judged based on what you can do, and what you can do is only being measured by yourself(10:00) Using the barbell(10:10) Doing powerlifting for the 1st time(11:10) You either make the lift or you don’t(12:20) “Through strength we build confidence” - Brittany Kohnke(13:00) Competition and the external feedback(14:30) Just because 5 people told you you are 5th place, that doesn’t diminish your effort - Mike Kurkowski(15:40) If you’re going to do a show, as yourself these 5 questions(18:50) About the Crossfit environment(20:50) The community feel in sports and training(22:40) Shout out to Greg Everett @catalystathletics(23:10) Learning how to properly do the movements can have a huge impact very fast(29:20) Education in different states(30:00) Training and nutrition classes in high school(33:30) Leaving teaching and pursuing personal training full time(35:10) Specific goals vs Habits(37:10) Even if you have a coach, you have to do your own analysis(38:18) As a coach, make yourself obsolete(40:00) Biofeedback(41:10) It’s ok to just train, even if you don’t have a goal(41:40) Make health your new joy(47:30) Extreme vs pushing your boundaries(51:00) Being comfortable with being uncomfortable(51:40) I hate smart goals(52:00) “Goals are supposed to turn you into something greater than you are right now” - Mike Kurkowski(54:00) What is Brittany currently working on(56:00) Where to reach out to Brittany Kohnke @brittany_kohnke https://www.brittanykohnketraining.com/ 

In the 3rd Episode of The Strength Connection Podcast, Mike and our special guest, StrongFirst Certified Master Instructor, and the fourth woman to claim the Iron Maiden title, Karen Smith will talk about testing your benchmarks, training safe, the importance of prep work, the bodyweight program and baselines of strength.Join us in this insightful and captivating talk!In this chapter you will discover:(2:20) Introducing our special guest, StrongFirst Certified Master Instructor, and the fourth woman to claim the Iron Maiden title, Karen Smith @_coach_karen_(2:50) A podcast in the middle of the storm?(3:40) Facebook and Instagram are down?(6:30) Having a baseline of strength(7:40) Karen Smith baselines of strength(9:20) What a 32 get up should feel like(10:10) Testing your benchmarks without a warm up(11:10) Set baselines to assess your students(13:50) “Teach them safe” - Karen Smith(18:10) Kettlebells are so efficient you can do a great workout in 30 min(20:00) An online job can definitely change your baselines(23:30) Being careful with accidents when doing gymnastics(24:40) About hands stands, a skill that we teach but not a skill that we test(27:40) The importance of the prep work(27:50) A handstand hold against the wall is kind of like a double overhead carry(28:20) How does Karen program a new client?(29:40) 1 arm push up(30:00) “Everybody is asymmetrical, the question is how can we decrease that difference” - Karen Smith(30:50) Mike’s bodyweight training experience(32:00) The StrongFirst Bodyweight training way @strongfirst(35:20) Be creative with what you have around(37:20) Single deadlifting and pistol squat(38:20) What are Karen's workout goals currently?(38:20) My year of yes(47:00) Iron Maiden, Beast Tamer and Sinister programs(50:00) The power of patience(52:35) Karen’s goal setting strategy: 1) What are your goals? (Make sure they don’t contradict each other) 2) Ideally how long can you train each day and how often? (Lower it, you will get life in the middle)(53:40) “It’s not so much over-training, it’s under-recovery” - Karen Smith(55:10) Karen’s programs coming soon(56:30) Where to reach out to Karen Smith @_coach_karen_ https://coachkarensmith.com/ 

In the 2nd Episode of The Strength Connection Podcast, Mike and our special guest, Olympic weightlifting coach, author of many books including “Tough”, co-host of The Weightlifting Life Podcast, writer, producer and director of the documentary “American Weightlifting”, Greg Everett will talk about journaling, distractions and entertainment, and what does it mean to be Tough and how you can develop a world class toughness.Join us in this insightful and captivating talk!In this chapter you will discover:(2:30) Introducing our special guest Olympic weightlifting coach, author of many books including “Tough”, co-host of The Weightlifting Life Podcast, writer, producer and director of the documentary “American Weightlifting”, Greg Everett @catalystathletics(2:50) Greg Everett weightlifting world championships in 2021(3:40) Greg makes it very simple(4:10) Tough, Book by Greg Everett https://becomingtough.com/ (4:40) What made Greg decide to write a book about toughness?(6:30) Tough book started oriented to physical toughness(7:50) “Trying to communicate something to someone else is how I learned what i think about it” - Greg Everett(8:30) Productive mornings(10:00) How does Mike read? The underlying technique(12:00) “Getting into the process will help you define what you’re doing” - Greg Everett(12:30) “You can't have a perfect plan before you even begin” - Greg Everett(15:00) “If you want to do something every single day that is really important to you, it can’t feel like homework, because you won’t commit to it, you won’t be enthusiastic about it” - Greg Everett(15:30) The power of journaling(16:30) Stillness Is The Key, book by Ryan Holiday @ryanholiday https://www.amazon.com/Stillness-Key-Ryan-Holiday/dp/0525538585(16:40) “Writing is for the writer, not for the reader” - Stillness is the key(20:30) Alone TV show(21:00) “The limiter is not the physical aspect, it’s the psychological and emotional side” - Greg Everett(22:00) “Incrementally increase the exposure to what you find difficult” - Greg Everett(25:30) The need for distraction and entertainment(30:00) Prepare yourself for the hard times that will come(30:50) “You need people less afraid of things, you need to make them braver” - Jordan Peterson(32:40) “Better to be a warrior  in the garden than a gardener in the war”(33:40) Charatec, capability, capacity, commitment(34:30) Making daily decisions easier: What is meaningful to me? Why am I doing what I am doing? Does this align with who I am and who I want to be?(35:40) About capability and capacity(38:40) Security and identity(52:21) Where to reach out to Greg Everett @catalystathletics https://www.instagram.com/catalystathletics/ (53:00) Where to purchase the “Tough” book?  @becomingtough https://becomingtough.com/ 

In the 1st Episode of The Strength Connection Podcast, Mike and our special guest, StrongFirst Master Instructor Fabio Zonin will talk about a minimalist bodybuilding approach, controlling your full body asymmetrically, Mike’s love-hate relationship with pressing and The Victorious ProgramJoin us in this insightful and captivating talk!In this chapter you will discover:(2:30) Introducing our special guest StrongFirst Master Instructor Fabio Zonin @x_fab_69(3:00) The Victorious Program(3:50) 95 - 83 Kg increasing muscle size(4:50) A minimalist bodybuilding approach(5:00) Working on 3-6 movement patterns BTS 3x3(9:20) Going to exhaustion with minisets(10:10) Technical rep max(11:20) How to apply Fabio’s new method step by step(12:40) Changing the muscle distribution(14:00) Hard to find a pattern(14:40) Mike talks strength endurance(15:40) Fabio’s technique for focused learning(16:00) How Mike met Fabio in the CKFMS(17:10) “Try to make it more digestible” - Fabio Zonin(17:50) “Not only improve the quality and quantity of the information you teach, but also the way you communicate it” - Fabio Zonin(18:50) “You know you are a great coach, if you can easily communicate” - Mike Kurkowski(19:20) “It’s not the content, it’s the way you deliver the content” - Fabio Zonin(21:20) Using ourselves for 1st test of a new program 1) caring about people safety 2) you know the feedback is accurate (23:00) “When you respect the weight you don’t lose focus” - Fabio Zonin(26:40) Injuries are not a result of a heavy weight, but lost focus(29:20) “Pain is a good teacher” - Fabio Zonin(37:00) Mike’s love-hate relationship with pressing(37:30) The bodypress program, shout out to Pavel Tsatsouline @strongfirst(39:10) Controlling your full body asymmetrically(39:40) “If I would be a musician, I would pick the drummer” - Fabio Zonin(40:00) The creation process for the Bodypress Program(44:50) Your emotions are created with your facial expressions and in your body language(46:40) “Every time you get into the press program you feel really good with it, it lights you up for the rest of the day” - Jon Engum engums_extremetraining(47:00) Funny story of Fabio and John(50:20) Shout out to Pavel Macek @@pavelmacekcom(51:20) Keep it legal, keep it safe(59:30) Learning universal strength principles and apply them in everything(59:40) Teaching people how to control their body, and the right tension and breath(1:00:40) Changing the way you generate tension(1:04:30) Powerful analogy story(1:07:30) Intuitive training(1:12:30) “Physiology drives psychology” - Mike Kurkowski(1:13:10) “Self improvement is addictive” - Mike Kurkowski(1:14:30) Go check The Victorious Program(1:15:40) How to reach out to Fabio Zonin contact@fabiozonin.com