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.

Motivation is not something you wait for. It is something you build. This article breaks down how action, progress, and better goal-setting create the kind of long-term drive that keeps lifters training when the weight gets heavy, life gets messy, and excuses start talking.

"The void" is described as a transformative mental state of freedom and peace where an athlete sheds their daily stressors to become a different, often more aggressive, version of themselves, pushing past physical limits into a space of absolute nothingness.

A neurologist draws a map to purpose, balance, and fulfillment using Homer's Odyssey. Turns out, powerlifting drew the same map decades ago.

Most lifters focus on what to add. The ones who get strong figure out what to cut.

"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.

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

Most of us start out thinking strength is everything—until the bill comes due in the form of pain, surgery, or burnout. Here’s how to chase big numbers without letting them take everything from you.

Travel back to April 1980, a year of political drama and legendary strength in the powerlifting world. This deep dive into the Powerlifting USA archives features an exclusive look at Bill Kazmaier’s scientific training blueprint at Auburn University and Jan Todd’s historic barrier-breaking 501.25 lb squat

 "If we cover all these bases all year round... you will make faster progress because you don't spend time correcting weaknesses because nothing gets particularly weak in the first place".

Many trainees are consistent with their physical presence in the gym but fail to maintain consistency in the mental discipline and specific habits, such as sleep and stress management, required for genuine growth. This disconnect often leads to the "training sins" of ego lifting and program hopping, where short-term gratification is prioritized over long-term, sustainable progress.