Dave coaching

What Is Real, And What Is Not?

Most training advice you see online is one player on the field, described as if it were the whole game.

Jason Manenkoff benching beside Dave Tate in the Raw Bench Session video thumbnail.

Jason Manenkoff on Building a Bench Setup You Can Repeat

Jason Manenkoff walks through the details behind a repeatable bench press, from rack height and the unrack to meet-day preparation, grip selection, and back training.
Program variation

Program Variation Based on Recovery Status: Reviving, Surviving, and Thriving

A practical guide for coaches on using recovery status, INOL, and flexible programming to adjust training loads so athletes can revive, survive, or thrive at the right time.

TRAINING CHAOS. NOT SYMMETRY. by Rees Odhiambo

TRAINING CHAOS. NOT SYMMETRY. by Rees Odhiambo

Strength in the weight room is only part of the equation. Former NFL offensive lineman Rees Odhiambo explains how offset loading, carries, sandbags, and reactive resistance can build strength that holds up under unpredictable force.

Dave Tate with Anthony Oliveira and Roman Mustaccio in the Table Talk #447 thumbnail, with the words Stop Optimizing

F*ck Your Micronutrients: Get Your Training Priorities Straight

Dave Tate, Anthony Oliveira, and Roman Mustaccio explain training priorities, useful loading, and the habits that help powerlifters prepare for meet day.
Multi Use Strap: Chains, Cables, Stretching, with the strap hanging chains from a barbell

elitefts Multi Use Strap Review: One Strap, More Training Options

— elitefts

Eleven loops, three training applications and a $14.95 price. A practical look at the elitefts Multi Use Strap for chains, cable work and stretching.

Gym Pic

Scars Aren't Wisdom

The same lifter who dismissed beat-up guys in his twenties is now selling his own injuries as credentials in his fifties, and both takes are wrong.

Evan Barr

Why Olympic Lifting Still Belongs in Football I Table talk #445

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 the Youth Rugby Player: For Now and for the Future by Ashley Jones

Training the Youth Rugby Player: For Now and for the Future by Ashley Jones

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.

Guillermo Blanco on Dave Tate's Table Talk discussing adaptable training and periodization.

You Don't Need a Periodized Program to Build Strong Athletes

Guillermo Blanco explains why adaptable GPP, posterior-chain strength, and minimal effective strain beat rigid periodization for real-world athletes today.
Conjugate Off-Season Training for Rugby

Conjugate Off-Season Training for Rugby

The rugby off-season is the time to build the strength, power, size, conditioning, and durability needed to perform at the start of the season. Ashley Jones explains how the Conjugate Method can be adapted for rugby players using mechanical, neural, metabolic, and CARE-based training to build athletes who are stronger in contact, faster under fatigue, and more resilient week after week.

Anthony Olivea demonstrating an elevated-heel squat finisher to teach glute and erector engagement

Why Your Quads Steal All Your Squat Progress

Stop letting your quads take over every squat. Learn the 5-minute elevated-heel finisher that teaches glutes, erectors, and position control under fatigue.
Dave Tate and an elitefts lifter in a thumbnail for a video about adjusting workload when progress stalls

How to Adjust Workload When Progress Stalls

When progress stalls, more work is not always the answer. Learn how to adjust workload, accessories, psychology, and execution based on the lifter in front of you.
Buckeye Community School custom elitefts power racks with teal, gray, and yellow rack details

How Elite Weight Rooms Are Built: Buckeye Community School Full Gym Install

Inside Buckeye Community School's full elitefts weight room install: custom racks, flooring, machines, bars, plates, storage, cardio, and full video tour.
elitefts curls with work harder hood

The Camera Changed. The Work Didn't.

— Dave Tate

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.

Lifter using the elitefts Squat Box with a safety squat bar in the elitefts gym

The Squat Box: What It Fixes, How to Use It, and Why It Belongs in Your Gym

A practical elitefts guide to the Squat Box: posterior chain training, explosive power, depth control, teaching beginners, proper setup, and real use cases.
Dave 1990 squat

Strength Is What You Build. Strong Is What You Become

Strength is something you can measure. A meet total. A one-rep max. A rep PR at a bodyweight you didn't have last year. It sits on paper. It shows up on a record board. You can prove it.

Evan Barr Table Talk video thumbnail for why Olympic lifting still belongs in football

Why Olympic Lifting Still Belongs in Football | Evan Barr #445

Evan Barr explains why Olympic lifting still belongs in football when the lifts are coached as tools for force production, coordination, load absorption, and intent instead of treated like a separate sport.

Tom Sheppard explaining how long to rest between sets for strength and muscle gains on the elitefts YouTube channel

The Rest Period Mistake Ruining Your Strength and Muscle Gains

Rest periods are one of the most overlooked training variables. This article breaks down how long to rest between sets based on goal, intensity, exercise selection, conditioning, psychology, and the rest-period equation from the elitefts video.
Dave 16

My Perception of Strength Was Completely F*cked

— Dave Tate

At sixteen I squatted 350 in a gym where everyone squatted 550 and one guy squatted 900, and that broken math taught me more about getting strong than any program ever did.

A picture of charles gardner

Expect to Be Poor: The Truth About Personal Training l Charles Gardner #442

TABLE TALK  •  COACHING  •  BUSINESS 25 Years as a Personal Trainer: Why You're Still Broke Charles Gardner has spent 25 years training real people in real gyms. What kept him...
Conditioning Games for Rugby: Building Fitness Through Competition

Conditioning Games for Rugby: Building Fitness Through Competition

Conditioning games give rugby coaches a smarter way to build fitness without separating training from the demands of the game. These competitive formats develop aerobic and anaerobic capacity, acceleration, support play, defensive organization, tactical awareness, and decision-making under fatigue.

Matt Mills

The Best Educated Guess

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.

dave bloat

Heavy Cream and Chocolate Syrup: How We Used to Settle Arguments

— Dave Tate

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