A max-effort day and a high-volume hypertrophy session do not require the same fuel. This guide breaks down how to adjust your peri-workout nutrition so your hydration, carbs, electrolytes, amino acids, and recovery strategy match the training session in front of you.

In this article, Ashley Jones revisits Bill Starr’s 5×5 system and shows how loading waves, clusters, and variation can enhance strength and athletic development.

Paul Carter and I sat down for Table Talk #303 and spent two-plus hours cutting through the noise around hypertrophy training. Here's what you need to hear.

Paul Carter argues that because every set accumulates fatigue, which can hinder performance, lifters must mitigate this fatigue by utilizing more extended rest periods to ensure high-threshold motor units are recruited in subsequent sets. He challenges the traditional belief that fatigue is a stimulus for growth, suggesting that straight sets with adequate rest are mechanically superior to intensity techniques, such as drop sets, for maximizing effective reps.

Ashley Jones explores the evolution of his rugby strength and conditioning system from 2005 to 2025, detailing advancements in Conjugate training, CARE programming, and athlete-centered performance development.

"Conjugate training is basically the coupling... it's combining different methods of training... taking the method of Max effort... the repetition method and the dynamic effort method and combining them all together."

Bob Merkh of Atlantic City Barbell breaks down a full-body resistance band workout system you can run from a hotel room, a classroom, or a beach in Panama.

Quadrant Management System by Ashley Jones, a structured yet flexible strength training approach that empowers athletes through individualized programming, progressive autonomy, and performance-focused development.

Discover how to optimize your training success by aligning your program with your realistic time availability and recovery needs, featuring detailed workout schedules ranging from two to six days per week.

To effectively train for strongman loading events in a commercial gym, former pro Russ Hamilton recommends focusing on the posterior chain by simulating heavy object picks with movements like the Zercher squat. These exercises, along with variations like the Wool row, allow athletes to develop the necessary upper back strength and hip drive required for events like Atlas stones or sandbags without needing specialized equipment.

In "In Pursuit of the Perfect Program," Ashley Jones shares his decades-long journey through strength and conditioning, outlining practical programming strategies that blend powerlifting, Olympic lifting, conjugate methods, and French Contrast training to develop strength, speed, and performance.

Conjugate training is fundamentally the coupling of different methods of muscle tension, combining the max effort method, the repetition method, and the dynamic effort method. The training week is typically divided into Max Effort Lower/Upper Body and Dynamic Lower/Upper Body days, with the critical requirement that the max effort exercise must be changed every week to provide a necessary varied stimulus.

The April 1980 issue of Powerlifting USA captures a pivotal moment in the history of strength. Bill Kazmaier is on the rise, organizational politics are heating up, and the training advice is as gritty as it gets. From roundback rack pulls to the secrets of the Spanjian Supersuit, we’re looking back at the legends who built the sport.

Eric Bugenhagen and the Szatstrength host take on an absurdly intense, Tom Platz-inspired leg workout at EliteFTS, relying on Dave Tate's expertise to push through extreme pain and train safely despite recent severe muscle tears.

Ashley Jones' comprehensive in-season strength and conditioning program focuses on force-velocity development, unilateral balance, modified French-Contrast training, and a three-week loading cycle to keep athletes powerful, prepared, and game-ready.

Matt Mills (AOS, PN1, CSCS) is a strength coach and owner of Lightning Fitness, helping athletes and lifters build strength, resilience, and performance that carries over outside the gym. A long-time elitefts columnist, he shares practical coaching lessons from the trenches. Learn more at Lightning-Fitness.com.

Most gyms won't let a metal sled touch the floor. This one goes anywhere inside, loads fast, and gives you everything sled training is supposed to deliver 

Analyze the February 1980 issue of Powerlifting USA. Featuring Mike MacDonald's bench press specifics, Mark Dimiduk’s rise, and the Finnish Deadlift routine.

I made a promise to John Meadows at his grave site that I would never walk away from the business, meaning I had to show up every single day with integrity and the highest work ethic possible to uphold his legacy. This ongoing commitment involves using a hybrid training approach, rotating between low- and high-volume exercises based on the body's response, and guiding clients through strategic fat loss and rebound phases to maximize progress.

Chris Edmonds' proven bodybuilding routine for massive chest growth: a slight incline dumbbell press focuses on progressive overload and pump, followed by an incline barbell press that employs a shortened range of motion to protect the rotator cuff. For triceps, the routine progresses from a high-rep cable push-down warm-up to a shoulder-width close-grip bench press power movement, concluding with a stretching dumbbell exercise done on a slight incline.

Ashley Jones shares his evolved approach to athlete programming, rooted in the principles of French Contrast Method training.