training
How Stuff Works: The Belt
If you are reading this, either you train/enjoy strength training or you like/manufacture personal equipment. In either case, I want to help you. As always, I am committed to causing as much damage as I can to shallow thinking and shortcuts to critical-thinking. This is how the belt works.
LISTEN: Table Talk Podcast Clip — Jim Wendler's 2-Minute Conjugate Breakdown
Conjugate. You keep using that word. We do not think it means what you think it means. Why is conjugate training so hard to understand? It's not! In fact, because it's so easy to understand, Jim Wendler can explain it in two minutes. Two minutes! It's that simple.
LISTEN: Table Talk Podcast Clip — The Worst Powerlifting Injury Dave Saw at a Meet
Dave answers this question barely even a second after hearing it aloud: "Marc Bartley." This one isn't for those with weak constitutions... or stomachs...
Editor's Letter for April
Take a look at what we can expect to read from Matt Mills, JP Carroll, Chris Cooper, Mark Dugdale, Swede Burns, Matt Ladewski, and Dave Tate this month. Inside we'll also rewind to March to see the most popular content from your favorite guest writers, columnists, coaches, and athletes.
Start Building Aerobic Capacity for Your Sport
Science has proven time and time again that having a football player running endless 100-yard sprints isn’t the best option. In fact, it shouldn’t even be thought of as an option. Instead, use current information about energy systems to improve training.
3 Technique Fixes to Squat Like a Baby
Do you seriously call that a squat? I've seen babies squat better than you! No, seriously, I have. Babies don't know how to do the squat wrong! By the time your kids are toddling and in soccer camp, their squats start to fall apart. Here are the three things I do to correct athletes' poor squats.
Our Children, Athletics, College, and Memories
I will refrain from boring you with a litany of reasons for children to participate in athletics, outside of the apparent physical conditioning benefits, but I will mention that sports are a great way to acquaint them with adversity and the dedication and commitment necessary to overcome.
Ocham’s Razor and the Pareto Principle in Weight Training Programming
According to the Pareto Principle, 80% of results come from 20% of your time. Ocham's Razor states the simplest solution tends to be the best one. Simplicity is the missing ingredient in most training programs. Hence why I return to the famous paradigm of the pull-push-squat.
LISTEN: Table Talk Clip — Dave Tate's Worst Powerlifting Meet
As the title states, Dave Tate talks about his worst meet. It happened not long after he'd joined Westside in the mid-1990s at the Junior Nationals in Aurora, Illinois...
The Specific Demands and Application of Conditioning for Sports
With all the knowledge we have available to us, you would think that we have gotten past the idea that distance running will get an athlete in shape for any sport. So how should we program for athletes? Sport-specific? Sort of. In order to approach something that is actually sport-specific, we must take into account the actual demands of the sport.
LISTEN: Table Talk Podcast Clip — Is An Exercise Science Degree Worth It?
Dave Tate advises potential college students to bust their asses, get the best grades they can in high school, try to get scholarships and grants to knock the price tag down; Jim Wendler suggests going to a junior college to get basic requirements out of the way; and both of them stress the importance of internships.
LISTEN: Table Talk Podcast #4 with Dave Tate
In this episode of Table Talk Podcast, Dave Tate puts on a one-man show and answers listeners' questions about his worst powerlifting meet, his high school football and wrestling career, and more.