Dave Tate reflects on Matt Dimel, his Westside years, and why growing older doesn't mean apologizing for the lifter you used to be.

Dave Tate on learning through a bombed meet, coaching real clients and building elitefts, then using those lessons and passing them on.

Most coaches have a toolbox overflowing with certifications, tech, and special exercises, while the basic tools sit untouched on the top shelf.

University of Toledo Director of Football Strength & Conditioning Evan Barr joins Dave Tate to discuss Olympic lifting for football, movement development, programming, deloading, competition, and what it takes to build stronger athletes and a better strength staff.

Training a young rugby player is about more than getting them stronger for next season. Ashley Jones lays out a long-term approach to youth development, from maturation and movement skills to strength training, recovery, testing, and building the habits that can support a player for years to come.

Noah found an old elitefts camcorder in the back office, so we shot a week at S5 on it, and it reminded me what training harder really looks like.

The honest truth about training that most coaches won't admit: it all comes down to the best educated guess for the specific person, on the specific day.

Thirty years ago you settled it on the platform. Now you settle it with a burner account and advice from influencers who never competed.

Labor Day is the one holiday that actually understands what training is, because both come down to the same thing: work nobody applauds you for.

The powerlifting you argue about online is being defined by less than 1% of the people actually in it.

A chance re-read of Ethan Hawke's Rules for a Knight uncovered a fable that maps directly to everything elitefts was built on, and everything the training process asks of you.

The Man Maker Beastly is a full-body strength circuit built around one implement and the Zercher position. Using lunges, squats, good mornings, step-ups, and loaded carries, this sequence challenges athletes to stay braced, move efficiently, and build strength that transfers beyond the weight room.

The hardest part of elite performance isn’t always the training. It’s managing identity, pressure, suffering, recovery, relationships, and the person you become along the way. This article breaks down the psychological architecture behind contest prep—and why building the mind matters just as much as building the body.

The lifters who last are not the ones who felt nothing; they are the ones who learned to read the difference between the pain that builds them and the pain that ends them.

 "I can promise you one thing: my body has been dying for 2 years, but I'm living more than any other person in this room."

In 1995, a book picked up at a Franklin Covey store in downtown Columbus reshaped how Dave Tate thinks about coaching, autoregulation, and building elitefts.

Elite performance is not built on one perfect program, exercise, or recovery method. It is built through daily choices. Ashley Jones explains what it means to live above the line, take ownership, master the basics, and build the character required for long-term success.

"The human potential is limited by the human mind, and it takes a very, very, very strong, rare, special person to break the barrier."

Learn how to calculate performance macros from the ground up. This blueprint breaks down calories, protein, carbs, fats, muscle gain, fat loss, and real-world adjustments so lifters can build a nutrition plan that actually supports training.

After tearing his pec and being told he would never bench 400 again, Dave Tate kept driving to the gym. Here is what happened.

Build a bigger chest and back by learning how elbow path, grip angle, wrist freedom, and joint position determine where tension actually goes. This article breaks down smarter pressing, dips, pulldowns, rows, and EliteFTS gear choices for more precise hypertrophy training.

Every strength athlete eventually faces the question: Can I come back, or should I? Tyler Desplenter, PhD, reflects on 14 years of strongman, serious injuries, lessons in rehabilitation, and the moment when the pursuit of strength becomes bigger than the platform.

What does it take to hit PRs for 10 straight years without burning out? Marcellus “The Swolefessor” Williams breaks down competing often, building work capacity, treating powerlifting as a skill, protecting your mental battery, and using strength to build a better life—not just a bigger total.