training

 "What I'm really watching is the stacking of the wrist, and the elbow, how low the elbow is going to the bench pad is the main indicator".

The ACSM just updated their resistance training guidelines for the first time in over 15 years, and what the headlines say and what the document actually says are two different things.

 "I've said you cannot outlift being an asshole, your numbers are going to get you attention, that's not what lasts".

The bar doesn't care about your program. It cares about what's between your ears. Dave Tate breaks down 10 mental skills he learned over 20+ years of competition, from identity and visualization to the composure that saved his career at the 1999 IPA Worlds.

"Powerlifting is a one-man sport right when you're on the platform, but I think it's the epitome of a team sport because it takes more than just you to get you to that point.

"Arching is not just a trick to reduce range of motion, but a method to anchor the shoulder and use the legs to fortify upper back stability. Instead of jamming the scapula into maximal retraction, lifters should aim to lengthen the neck and spread the collarbones wide to create a larger, more stable footprint on the bench pad."

Dave Tate revisits a 2004 classic and asks the question all over again: why do we do this to ourselves?

Beginners speak in absolutes; veterans talk in probabilities, because the deeper you go, the more you realize how little you know.

"I really started to lean into like let's be as healthy as we can while we wreck our bodies... and then as I've gotten older and my priorities have shifted, my avatar has shifted with me."

Visiting the elitefts compound to train for an upcoming meet, Henry Thomason utilizes a giant camber bar to accommodate his limited shoulder mobility while performing heavy single-ply squats and discussing the benefits of bar instability for hip strength.

The right weight for speed bench isn't found in a book — it's found under the bar, using a simple method that tells you exactly what to use based on your own strength and skill level.

The lifters and coaches who truly understand the phrase realize that competition doesn't kill community, it sharpens it.

"When you're in the poly bench shirt, there is a large horizontal travel with that bar, so you want to land like an airplane, not a helicopter, to reinforce proper elbow tucking mechanics".

To manage a torn hand mid-competition, a brutal "Russian" trick involves violently grinding a wire brush into the open wound seconds before the attempt to overload the brain's pain receptors. This extreme stimulation reportedly shuts off sensation just long enough to execute a heavy pull before the pain inevitably returns.

The elitefts Shoulder Saver Pad lets you bench press through shoulder problems by replicating a board press without needing a board, a training partner, or a prayer.

The EliteFTS gym evolved from a simple backyard shed used for sled work in 1998 into a world-class strength facility over the course of two decades of growth and warehouse relocations.

Grip failure doesn't announce itself until the bar is already moving — here's the complete system to fix it before it costs you another pull.

By maintaining a neutral pelvic position and initiating the descent by pushing through the quads like a leg extension, lifters can isolate the hamstrings without relying on the lower back or glutes for compensation. This technique allows for heavy training in a lengthened position with zero spinal loading, making the Glute Ham Raise (GHR) a superior tool for injury prevention and long-term resiliency.

The bench press is a sagittal plane grind. The Belden Bar trains the rotational capacity your shoulder girdle needs to survive it.

Autoregulation is fundamentally about managing your neurological fatigue by strategically adjusting training volume, intensity, and load to prevent overtaxing your central nervous system.

"Back then, you weren't training hard unless you crawled out of the gym. You thought you were wasting your time if you didn't see stars, puke in the trash can, or question your life choices on the drive home.

Conjugate training is fundamentally the coupling of different methods of muscle tension, combining the max effort method, the repetition method, and the dynamic effort method. The training week is typically divided into Max Effort Lower/Upper Body and Dynamic Lower/Upper Body days, with the critical requirement that the max effort exercise must be changed every week to provide a necessary varied stimulus.

Why the rackable cambered squat bar belongs in your training and how to use it to build a squat that doesn't fall apart under real weight.