training
How to Choose the Right Christmas Gift
A short Christmas gift guide for different types of strong people (including yourself).
5 Gifts for the Friend on Santa's Naughty List
Bad news: Your buddy is on the Naughty List. The only thing he deserves for the holidays is a kick in the ass to get back into the gym. Good news: You take the high road and give him the gift of training with you next year with some nice incentives.
Express Gratitude This Thanksgiving
We all have things that we are grateful for. You won’t know it, though, because it isn’t posted on social media or the headline of the e-blast you are about to receive. Likely, it’s a culmination of little things that collectively bring happiness to our daily lives.
5 Essential Items That'll Keep You Warmed Up Without Doing Warm-Ups
It’s winter, it’s cold, and Dave says fuck warm-ups. With these items, you'll stay warmer than you've ever been, in and out of the gym.
5 Christmas Gifts for a Crazy Strongman Hermit Who Lives in the Woods
Now that I’m out in the middle of nowhere, I’m looking forward to beginning my descent into hermitude and madness as I train alone. Picture Jack Nicholson’s character in "The Shining" except more swole because of these 5 items.
Two Lifters, One Ultimate Holiday Shopping List
If you have gym friends with different focuses, no worries! The gifts on this shopping list are sure to please both of your powerlifting pals, regardless of their goals, focus, or social media presence.
The Cycle of Detraining and Retraining
This is a completely different type of article you'll find within my column. It's personal and it makes a case for increased injury burden as an athlete progresses in their career, gets older, trains more, competes more, the list goes on...
5 Gifts for the Garage Gym of Your Dreams
Having a garage gym has been my dream since 1999. Now I’m going on my 10th year in my second marriage with two kids and working as a part-time Mr. Mom and a part-time gas utility worker in Northern California. That dream is slowly becoming a reality, and the items on this list will help speed things up.
10 L(G)ift Ideas for the Formerly MAMF (Military-Aged Male or Female) in Your Life
Don't despair. Christmas is the season of hope, and these 10 ideas will help ease the pain that years of abuse from Uncle Sam have wrought on that body. So break out the AMEX and get your older military officer or veteran back in the fight!
Creating the Perfect Warm-Up
We value warming up before lifting or any exercise, but we don't really think much about how to structure a warm-up. This article will help solve just that with a comprehensive review of the literature on approaches to warming up.
Editor's Letter for November
Find out who's coming to elitefts for November, read what content we're working on for you, and try to win $500 just in time for the holidays!
Share Your 2019 Christmas List — Win $500
With $50 you could buy a pair of Croc Lock Collars, so many bands, a Shoulder Saver Pad, (2) Dead Wedges, lots of apparel, a Backnobber, Spud Straps, (7) bottles of Wake Up Motherf****r Smelling Salts, (1 1/2) pair of compression pants. Imagine what you could do with $500...
How Research Can Help You Manage Detraining and Retraining
Both are scary to endure, but as an athlete, it's part of the game. A little bit of knowledge can go a long way in managing this kind of stress.
Editor's Letter for October
If you're after Gobstoppers, Reese cups, Jolly Ranchers, Snickers, or Candy Corn this October, knock on your neighbor's door. If in fact, you're after exercises to strengthen your spinal erectors, a conjugate triphasic program, an injury equation, intramuscular pressure, and alternatives to the Olympic lifts, click here. And of course, you'll find the most popular content from September in here too. Nobody by the name of Freddy is here. I promise.
Brainstorm: Changing Perspectives on Human Strength — Human Grip
Today I’m going to address one line of scientific inquiry that has a direct impact on our current understanding of human strength: the changing view of the human grip.
Which Max Effort Method is Right For You?
I've seen a lot of articles about the max effort method on here lately, but I haven't seen many address the fact that there are two types of max effort methods! One method might work better than the other for you, so before you give up on conjugate, give this a read.
Death to the Belly Breath
Stop saying "breathe into your belly." It's physically impossible for us to breathe into our bellies! We need to rethink this cue and review breathing mechanics before we can go around fixing people's breathing.
Hard Lessons Learned From Half a Lifetime of Lifting
With a bachelor's degree in exercise science, a master's degree, and a doctorate in the works, you think I'd be smart about how I trained. Well, think again! I've spent most of my life training like an idiot. Don't make the mistakes I did. Learn from them.
Editor's Letter for September
As we begin to swing into autumn, take a quick fall into the piles of content we have stored away for this month: more Table Talk episodes, exercise variance, conjugate, strength training equipment (for injured rugby players and small budgets), food allergies, internship opportunities, and more!
Newton's Third Law (of Gains)
You've probably heard Newton's third law: "For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction." Turns out Newton DIDN’T tell you that he specifically wrote this law in anticipation of gym bros only training the muscles they see in the mirror. Let me explain.
Brainstorm: Was "Back in the day" Really That Good?
If so, were the early-day strength athletes stronger, faster, and more powerful than present-day competitors? Studies about nostalgia suggest the answers to these questions root in nostalgic accounts from both positive and negative emotions.
Editor's Letter for August
The content calendar for August is packed with special content from Justin Harris, Vincent Dizenzo, JM Blakely, and Jordan Shallow that'll bring you gains in muscle, strength, and knowledge. For a sneak peek at what's to come, read on ahead!
The Characteristics of Mastery
It's hard to think of a word that has been devalued in the strength and healthcare industry as much as the word “expert.” Luckily, “mastery” hasn't taken the same hit. But what does it take to become a master? What defines mastery? Read on to find out.
How Stuff Works: The Knee Sleeve
Beyond the notorious odor knee sleeves omit when soaked with sweat and stored in your gym bag for days on end, what don't you know about them? Four parts in this personal equipment series, let's find out.