training

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.

Most lifters spend their time obsessing over sleep, supplements, and nutrition while the two variables that actually drive progress sit untouched. Here's why volume and intensity are still the volume controls on your training board.

A 760-pound squat, a meet in Toledo, and the moment I learned that fear doesn't wait for the bar to come down.

Elite coaches Jon Heck, Joey Szatmary, Dave Tate, and Sam Brown share their most critical advice for upcoming fitness professionals, emphasizing deep client empathy, effective communication, and purposeful social media use.

Ashley Jones' comprehensive in-season strength and conditioning program focuses on force-velocity development, unilateral balance, modified French-Contrast training, and a three-week loading cycle to keep athletes powerful, prepared, and game-ready.

"When moving heavy weight on the bench press, holding your breath through the entire repetition maximizes full-body stability, leading to the lifting mantra that 'blindness is anabolic' because staying tight and safe is more important than having perfect vision."

The GHR has been the most neglected piece of equipment in most gyms for decades, and this is the machine that fixes that.

Justin Zottl explains that common bench press mistakes, such as improper forearm angles and flaring elbows off the chest, cause lifters to waste energy and increase the risk of shoulder injury. To fix these issues, he recommends specific cues like squeezing the pinkies to maintain a vertical forearm and driving the knees out to keep the glutes glued to the bench for proper leg drive,.

Loaded carries are one of the most underutilized training modalities for building unbreakable postural strength, core stability, and muscle mass with minimal soreness.

When social media showed up, lifters swore it would destroy everything authentic about training. Now, those same lifters are fighting algorithms instead of PRs. The problem isn’t the platform,  it’s how you use it.

Matt Mills (AOS, PN1, CSCS) is a strength coach and owner of Lightning Fitness, helping athletes and lifters build strength, resilience, and performance that carries over outside the gym. A long-time elitefts columnist, he shares practical coaching lessons from the trenches. Learn more at Lightning-Fitness.com.

The Glute Ham Raise (GHR) is an exceptional tool for building hamstring resiliency and strength in a lengthened position without the spinal loading associated with movements like stiff-leg deadlifts. By maintaining a neutral pelvic tilt and using the quads to initiate the descent like a leg extension, lifters can ensure the hamstrings take the full load while avoiding common compensation patterns from the lower back and glutes.