Payton Nathan

Why Everything You Know About Diets Is Actually Just an "Insulin Game"

Dave Tate

 "All of these different diets at the end of the day do their thing because of how they influence the actions of insulin," meaning the best nutritional approach is simply the one that allows you to remain consistent within the demands of your specific lifestyle and budget.

 

HE SWOLLFESSOR’S MANIFESTO: 10 YEARS OF PRS, THE LEUKEMIA SCARE, AND THE ETHICS OF STRENGTH

HE SWOLLFESSOR’S MANIFESTO: 10 YEARS OF PRS, THE LEUKEMIA SCARE, AND THE ETHICS OF STRENGTH

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.

table talk Mike

Technique Is a Consequence, Not a Cause: What Mike Niklos Gets Right About Athlete Development

Dave Tate

Table Talk guest Mike Niklos breaks down why your first assessment question should never involve a barbell, what the conjugate method actually means, and why communication is the only coaching skill that will matter in 30 years.

Sherriff Photo

The Evolution of “The Sheriff”: Matt Sharafinski’s 2,000-Pound Journey

Matt Sharafinski’s story is more than a powerlifting comeback. From high school addiction and identity struggles to becoming “The Sheriff,” an elite 2,000-pound totaler and coach, this feature breaks down how discipline, psychology, health, and the weight room helped him rebuild his life under the bar.

The Poly-Athlete Blueprint: 5 Surprising Lessons from Jujimufu and Dave Tate

The Poly-Athlete Blueprint: 5 Surprising Lessons from Jujimufu and Dave Tate

"I'm a poly athlete, I do everything, not all year round. Usually, I layer things seasonally, in the right time period, and I periodize them correctly in blocks."

 

table talk image

The Ace Card and the "Horsecocking" Method: 5 Truths from the Trenches of Powerlifting

Dave Tate
"It's time to sit down, keep it real, and cut the bullshit."
The Evolution of Strength

The Evolution of Strength

Elite strength is built in the margins. This article breaks down how elite powerlifters evolve over time through smarter programming, better fatigue management, refined technique, harder accessory work, stronger training environments, and strategic weight-class decisions.

Dr Drew Donaldson

The Deflation Paradox: Hard-Won Lessons on Being ‘Every Type of Jacked’

"If you want to achieve your ultimate physical goals, you must become 'every type of jacked' by mastering autoregulation and truly understanding the biological systems that drive your performance and recovery."

 

Bull, Steel, and Fang on Table Talk: What the American Gladiators Cameras Never Showed

Bull, Steel, and Fang on Table Talk: What the American Gladiators Cameras Never Showed

Three elite athletes sat down at the S5 Compound and broke down the American Gladiators reboot on Prime Video, including everything the cameras didn't show.

Pat Davidson

The Comical Truth About "Accidental" Muscle Growth

Dr. Pat Davidson breaks down the billionaire myth of accidental muscle growth, the meathead bell curve, and how high-ground training choices change everything for hypertrophy.

Dr Dwyane Jackson

The Neural Gap: Six Training Lessons From Dr. Dwayne Jackson | Table Talk #409

Dr. Dwayne Jackson returns to Table Talk with six science-backed lessons on RPE calibration, auto-regulation, the gym as medicine, and what actually separates lifters who keep progressing from those who plateau and break down.

the sport is dead

Why Modern Powerlifting is Falling Apart

Dave Tate

Dave Tate and a current multi-ply competitor, Bob Merkh, go deep on fractured federations, band shirts, judging inconsistency, and the hidden cost of putting the bar before everything else.

bench press

When Grit Becomes the Enemy

Dave Tate

Swede Burns walked into a Philadelphia meet sick, fifteen pounds lighter, and without his wrist wraps. What happened next took a surgeon and three years to fix.

Nick Benerakis

The Path of Most Resistance: Master the Counter-Intuitive Science of the 800-Pound Bench

Dave Tate

"As much as I talk about the setup being so key for a raw bench, the handoff process is bar none the most important part for a quip bench in my opinion".

 

Pete Rubish

From 920lb Deadlifts to Marathons: 5 Lessons on Extreme Performance and Resilience

Dave Tate

Former powerlifter Pete Rubish discusses his radical transformation into a marathon runner, unpacking the severe health scares that forced him to step away from extreme lifting in pursuit of a balanced life, longevity, and faith.

 

Tim Walsh

The Only 2 Things You Need for a Bulletproof Gut | Table Talk #407 with Tim Walsh

Dave Tate

Tim Walsh drove 12 hours through a blizzard to sit down at the S5 Compound and deliver one of the most practical gut health conversations we've had on Table Talk.

Bob Merkh

The Weight of the Sword: 5 Counter-Intuitive Lessons from the World's Strongest Teacher

Dave Tate

 "I've said you cannot outlift being an asshole, your numbers are going to get you attention, that's not what lasts".

 

stu

Understanding the Foundation of Spinal Health: Movement, Stress, and the Tipping Point

Dave Tate

Every system in the human body... is highly affected by movement and movement has a Tipping Point that is either going to be anabolic or catabolic depending on which side of the Tipping Point you are too much or too little".

Jack Lovett

The Professionalism Crisis: Why Most Coaches Fail and How to Build an Undeniable Culture

 "You learn very quickly that any idiot can get somebody tired, but it takes a skilled, professional coach to get somebody better."

 

Dr bacon

The Recomposition Trap: Why Your Pursuit of the "Holy Grail" is Keeping You Average

Dave Tate

"While a calorie deficit is typically necessary to lose fat, rapid body recomposition—gaining muscle while losing fat—is primarily achievable for beginners, individuals with obesity, those using steroids, or athletes recovering from an injury."

 

WSBB Pod

The 800-Square-Foot Kingdom: Why the Strongest Gym in History Had No Room for Ego

Dave Tate

"Powerlifting is a one-man sport right when you're on the platform, but I think it's the epitome of a team sport because it takes more than just you to get you to that point.

 

allan Bacon

The 50% Testosterone Tax: Why Your "Hustle" is Killing Your Gains

Dave Tate

 Dr. Allan Bacon joins the podcast to debunk pervasive health fads, break down the "unsexy" basics of optimal nutrition, and explain how a lack of sleep can slash a man's testosterone levels by almost 50%.

 Tune in as Dr. Allan Bacon discusses the hidden costs of the daily grind, revealing the truth behind optimal macro tracking, the dangers of viral diet cleanses, and how neglecting your sleep can literally cut your testosterone in half.

Table Talk Podcast Guests

5 Surprising Lessons from World-Class Strength Athletes on the Art of the Pivot

"I really started to lean into like let's be as healthy as we can while we wreck our bodies... and then as I've gotten older and my priorities have shifted, my avatar has shifted with me."

 

The Biological Overhead of the "Enhanced" Era: Why Optimization is a Career-Killer

The Biological Overhead of the "Enhanced" Era: Why Optimization is a Career-Killer

Dave Tate

"If they do all the things exactly as they should which is the most optimized for their own performance from the very jump I think they limit their career."