TL;DR
- Jon Heck's new vlog takes you inside his return to elitefts for extra content, Table Talk, and an upper-body session.
- The trip footage shows the preparation around the visit as well as the work in the gym: packed meals, travel, the podcast setup, and training.
- His conversation with Dave Tate covers building a coaching business, protecting service quality, evaluating training progress, and changing course when the evidence calls for it.
- Watch the trip below. The new Table Talk episode is scheduled for Monday, November 2.
Back at elitefts
Jon Heck's return to elitefts begins before he gets to the gym. In the first episode of Deadlifts, Dinners and Destinations, he packs for a six-day trip, organizes meals in a cooler, and heads to London, Ohio. The elitefts visit is one stop before the next leg of the trip to Arizona.
At the gym, the schedule is full: film extra content, sit down with Dave Tate for Table Talk, and get an upper-body session in. It is Jon's second appearance on the show, and he describes being honored to be invited back.
The vlog gives you a look at the space around the conversation. Jon walks past the Table Talk setup and the gym's tributes to Chuck Vogelpohl and John Meadows. Then the cameras are ready, the microphones are in place, and the visit moves from the gym floor to the table.
The embedded video starts at the elitefts portion of Jon's trip. Watch from the beginning for the rest of the episode. Watch Jon’s trip on YouTube if the player is unavailable.
A podcast day still has training in it
After the recording, Jon and Dave get to work. The footage includes incline pressing with a thick bar, chest-supported rows, and changes in grips and accessories through the upper-body session. You get to see the equipment and the sets, rather than just the finished photo after the work is done.
That is part of what makes the trip worth watching alongside the podcast. One shows the conversation. The other shows the day around it: getting there, getting set up, training, taking photos, and heading back out for the next flight.
Near the end of the elitefts segment, Jon thanks Dave and Noah and talks about returning to train and spend time with people he has built relationships with. The next stop is Tucson, but the time at elitefts is a substantial part of the episode.
That visit also sits within a change in Jon's own priorities. Earlier in the vlog, he explains choosing machine-based work ahead of the anticipated free-weight session and travel. By the closing segment, he discusses moving away from chasing maximal size toward strength, mobility, explosiveness, and fitness. These are his goals, not a prescription for everyone watching. They give the training discussion a clear context: decide what you want now, then make the work fit it.
Jon Picks a Fat Bar for the Incline Bench
The upper-body session includes a choice that belongs in the story: Jon decides to use one of the fat bars at elitefts. At 32:52 in the vlog, he introduces the incline bench and describes the extra-thick bar as weighing 60 pounds. It gives him a different implement to work with during his return to the gym.
“this fat bar, this weight becomes a little harder to stabilize”
— Jon Heck, 35:11 in his trip vlog
Jon describes that added challenge as part of the enjoyment of the session. His point comes out of an actual set, with the bar in his hands. The clip shows why the implement matters when comparing training: the exercise name may still be incline bench, but the bar is part of the setup. His experience with this bar is not a promise that every lifter will respond the same way.
If the session has you looking at thick-bar options for your own gym, explore the elitefts Fat Bars collection. It includes full-length bars and thick-grip cable attachments. Compare the dimensions, loading requirements, and individual product details before choosing; the video does not establish an exact retail model for the bar Jon used.
Coming on Table Talk: What to Expect
The return conversation follows Jon's development as a coach and business owner, then gets into the decisions behind productive training. These are some of the subjects to listen for when the full episode releases.
Build the foundation before making the jump
Jon describes the preparation behind moving away from team coaching into his own business. Existing clients, years of content, and relationships were already in place. The useful lesson is in the work that preceded the transition, not a simplified story about quitting one job and immediately succeeding at another.
Dave also asks what it means to see a career path through, and whether reaching the next level actually delivers the work and autonomy a person expected. Jon speaks from his own experience. The discussion gives coaches a reason to look closely at the daily job they want, not only its title.
Growth has to leave room for good coaching
More opportunities create decisions about capacity. Jon and Dave discuss communication, relationships, and the quality of the service a coach can deliver as the business grows. Choosing clients and opportunities matters when there are only so many hours to do the work well.
Jon also explains that his own podcast has a purpose beyond bringing in coaching clients. It is something he wants to build in its own right. That distinction matters when deciding what success should look like for a project.
Know enough to judge the work
The business discussion includes administration and AI. Dave questions whether automating a task earlier would have helped if Jon had not yet learned how to recognize a correct result. The point is a practical one for anyone delegating work: handing off a task does not remove the need to judge its quality.
Make progress comparable
On the training side, Jon and Dave discuss matching diet and training phases to an athlete's actual goal and calendar. They examine when expected difficulty becomes a reason to adjust, and what a regression really means before deciding what to change.
The logbook discussion is equally useful. A bigger number needs context. If execution changes, the comparison may no longer mean what the lifter thinks it means. Consistent standards make the record more useful than simply finding a way to write down more weight or another rep.
The conversation also returns to changed beliefs and long-term consistency. Jon explains how his approach has developed, and Dave asks what changed his mind. For coaches and lifters, that is worth paying attention to: the reasoning behind an adjustment, not just the new preference that comes out of it.
Coming Monday, November 2
Watch Jon's vlog above for the behind-the-scenes visit and training session. His new Table Talk episode with Dave Tate is scheduled for Monday, November 2. Keep an eye out for the release and a conversation about coaching, business, and training decisions—and the reasoning behind them.
