3x3 Performance Programming Matrix
I believe that the individualization of programming in team sports is the real holy grail of strength and conditioning. The application of the 3×3 programming matrix will ensure that each player will have the best opportunity to improve in the areas of dire need.
Bacteria That Makes You Stronger
I think we can all agree that inflammations and diseases impact your muscle development and that you can use your body’s resources in a better way when you’re healthy.
Factors to Consider When Shopping for a Rack
When buying a new power rack for your home or gym, you’ll need to consider the space you have, how much money you can spend, and how versatile it can be to accommodate more than a handful of exercises. This is the process I went through when shopping for a power rack.
The 8 Pillars of Longevity for Athletes
The primary drivers of aging can be narrowly reduced to inflammation, oxidative stress, and mitochondrial function. Here’s how to manage them.
INTERVIEW: Chip Ganassi Racing Strength and Conditioning Coach Chris Snyder
During my time in Indianapolis with the Firebirds, I came across pit crews that were training at the same place we were. I volunteered my time to help with training for a season then went on to work exclusively with Chip Ganassi about 16 years ago.
New to Gear? Start Here!
Coming from someone who didn’t listen to these tips the first time and learned the hard way…
An Underrated Training Tool: Timed Deadlift Sets
You can only set 60-second rep records in the deadlift for so long before you experience burnout and injury. Here’s how to increase your reps without the burnout and injury.
5 Exercises to Improve Back Strength in the Deadlift
There are a ton of great back exercises to choose from, but what exercises translate to more pulling power? More specifically, what exercises bring up weaknesses found in your erectors, lats, and rhomboids?
3 Relationship Red Flags for Bodybuilders
You’ve been taking care of yourself and have gotten into great shape, and have secretly wanted your spouse to do the same, but they have shown no desire forever, until now. Why?
Is Your Local School or Team Training Hurting or Helping the Athlete?
Private gym owners, Chris Janek and Steve Konopka discuss the relationships they’ve built with high school strength coaches, parents, and athletes to maintain one mission: help athletes reach their full potential in sport.
The Best of the Best Content From July
Sifting through Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, coaching logs, and articles, here’s the best!
Is Anyone Strong(er)?
Is it mathematically and scientifically probable that within the last twenty years, humans’ DNA changed so drastically that their total, collectively, is many hundreds of pounds greater?
5 Strict Press Cues for the Strongman
The American log press record holder Rob Kearney used to avoid strict pressing as he was able to rely on his massive split jerk to get him over 400 pounds on the log. Once he incorporated strict pressing, as well as other accessory lifts to build his shoulders, he pressed 475 pounds for a new American record.
How to Improve Your Vision
Did you know? The quickest athletes are also documented to have 400 percent better eyesight than you do. If you’ve read my last two articles, you already know where I’m going with this…
What’s Wrong with Today’s Multisport Athlete
Why is the multisport athlete of today more burnt out and fatigued as ever?
At-Home Offseason Football Training Program
You will most likely never find yourself in a situation like this. Don’t feel bad for yourself by not having access to the weight room and your teammates/coaches. Your competition is probably not training right now. TAKE ADVANTAGE!
4 Money-Saving Hacks for the New Business Owner
If you’re a new business owner, learn BUSINESS so you can keep your hard-earned money in your pocket.
3 Nutrition Mistakes I Don't Regret
I admit it, I messed up. I restricted calories for too long, had too many changes all at once, and ate too many small meals throughout the day. In hindsight, these were the best mistakes that could’ve happened to my diet. Here’s why.
Guns Up, Let's Do This!
We have been analyzing data, scientific and non-scientific research, burned up phone lines talking to everyone and anyone to see what they are doing, and also getting guidelines from our prospective schools or employers about what to do. In the spirit of Leeroy Jenkins, it’s time for action!
Why Do Strength and Conditioning Coaches Specialize So Early?
Just like early specialization in youth athletics stunts a child’s athletic development, the same holds true for coaches. Coaches, don’t set your own ceiling.
7 Intermediate Bench Hacks
Pick one or two of these hacks, run them for about two months, and see where it takes your bench. Hack #4 was a tremendous help getting my raw bench to the best it’s ever felt.
My Crappy Diet
I have been a fat boy all of my life and have struggled mightily to be less fat. Here’s where I’m currently at in the sea of macros and micros.
Poll: Have You Ever Struggled with Disordered Eating Habits?
Told mostly in their own words, this is the story of 110 women (mainly strength athletes).
It’s Not Just About Shredded Glutes
Many people end up over-dieted and look horrible due to chasing this shredded glute finish line and STILL don’t end up with the look they desire. As a competitor, it’s all about balance.
What Have I Done to Help?
I’ve said for years that my job (both current and previous careers) is very easy. What I do is not life or death. What I do is empower those around me to improve. So daily I ask myself, what have I done to help?
LISTEN: Table Talk Podcast Clip — Jim Wendler's Garage Gym Warm-up
Nearly a decade of training combined, and what have Jim Wendler, Matt Rhodes, and Vincent Dizenzo learned about the perfect warm-up?
Smoothing It Out
I am going to offer the second-best option that I know of to prevent injury that does not require a coach or countless hours to master. You can do it all by yourself. It is a way of executing a repetition.
How to Gain 65 Pounds of Muscle in Two Months
Based on my brief observations of the garage training crew (and conversations with my son), these are a few of their Keys to Progress. These macro components (“the Keys”) have contributed to their above-average gains in size and strength.
Relationships and Team Dynamics
I write this after fielding many questions during this COVID-19 lockdown period from young strength and conditioning coaches who have either lost their jobs or are at a crossroads of confidence. In some 30 years, I’ve had 17 strength and conditioning jobs…
Tendinopathy Edition: Programming Variables to Consider When Returning t...
When it comes to returning an intermediate-advanced lifter to a heavy compound, there are often more factors at play than we initially think. Perfect mechanics probably aren’t enough to get you back to where you need to be.
The Conjugate Business Plan
Start with the big movement and work on it with maximum focus. Incorporate assistance work to bring up your weakest links. Do a lot of reps at the most important scenarios in your business.
Hand Position During Rest: On Head or Knees?
When an athlete bends over, it shows who is weak. We didn’t want to have our athletes appearing weak, so we made them stand up. Maybe we’re wrong about that.
LISTEN: Table Talk Podcast Clip — Dave Tate and Doug Heath Talk Meet Sto...
Nothing like getting together with pals and talking old powerlifting stories. From Louie Simmons trying to break your fingers after beating you in the stomach, to having rules made specifically about you.
6 New Uses for the Safety Squat Yoke Bar
The SSB is quite possibly the best bar known to man. FYI, this article isn’t meant to sell you the SSB, but we’ve had so much success with this bar; it’s hard not to share our experiences with it.
Science is the New Religion
Here we are 400 years later and we’re still arguing like popes and polymaths.
The Gym is Open!
I pissed away a great opportunity to start fresh with a healed and rested body by jumping right back in and emptying both barrels. You can do better.
How to Tell If Your Squat is Too Wide or Too Narrow
Are your glutes activated? Are you hinging? Is it hard to reach depth? Falling forward? Answers to these questions may reveal that the stance you’re favoring is doing nothing for your squat.
Athletes and Wearing Belts
A belt is a support mechanism. Your trunk still supports, contracts, and strengthens while wearing a belt and gaining strength. Again, when not used properly, a belt is useless and has downsides. Here’s what to know as a coach with a listing of the belts I recommend for high school athletes, college athletes, and lifters.
Carb Cycling to Get Shredded
Most people are satisfied with the results they see from simply adjusting food quality alone. Others want to see more drastic results, so a specific macro breakdown is necessary IF they are ready and can handle these adjustments as well as the work that goes into tracking it.
The Pandemic Nobody Wants to Acknowledge
The pandemic I’m speaking of is obesity, and unlike COVID-19, it doesn’t seem to be subsiding. What’s even worse is that it’s getting worse each year.
INTERVIEW: Stewart-Haas Racing Athletic Director Greg Honeychuck
From football and baseball to NASCAR, learn from Greg as he continues to climb (and race) the strength and conditioning ranks.
Advice From the Past as Gyms Open in Present Day
This was the good advice my mentor and powerlifting legend Ernie Frantz gave to me some 20 years ago when I had come back from a quad tear.
LISTEN: Table Talk Podcast Clip — How JM Blakley and Dave Tate Built Ten...
JM Blakley and Dave Tate have had their fair share of tendon problems. From tears to tweaks, they’ve learned how to strengthen their tendons to help lengthen their careers and put up bigger numbers. From ultra-heavy reps to ultra-light ones, here’s a variety of tendon tools at your disposal.
The Need for a Calm Leader in 2020
There are a lot of different leadership qualities that lend themselves to different times and situations. Every leader is different, and there isn’t one perfect personality or leadership type. At this time, however, I think there is one leadership quality that is needed most.
The 4 Biggest Myths of Building a Home Gym
We hear excuses for why people don’t start home gyms every single day, but I want to break down why four of the biggest myths we hear about, simply aren’t true.
Life as a Gym Owner: What I Learned in Year Two
From everything we could tell, year two was going to be a great year of advancement, and what we had hoped to be a start to an end of our full-time jobs. But then, life happened: COVID-19, cancer, closure, and more.
Coping with COVID-19
I was alive when Pearl Harbor was attacked and the U.S. entered into World War II. In the 1940s, I remember polio. How does all of this relate to COVID-19 pandemic? I have an idea...
The Dos and Don’ts of 2020 Football
Here's a don't: If you are waiting until the summer to begin preparing for the fall, you're already behind the eight ball...
Why I’ll Miss Multi-Ply Powerlifting
I'm not gonna subject you to a bunch of "back in my day" bull crap. Assuming you're at least somewhat interested in gear, and instead of playing the middle as I've always done, I'm gonna give you the truth.
Digestion and Antacids: Helpful or Harmful?
A new client came to me expressing digestion issues that started occurring over the last few months. It severely impacted her appetite and comfort. She was experiencing symptoms of heartburn, a sensation of a lump in her throat after meals, and more.
LISTEN: Table Talk Podcast Clip — Ego in Powerlifting
Sometimes ego helps you out in powerlifting. Sometimes it doesn't. Here's where the ego will bite you, and how to mold yourself for your best lifting and life.
Foot Placement for the Sumo Deadlift
I wish I could give you exactly the stance you need, but you'll have to dial that in for yourself. Here are some tricks to begin this process.
Editor's Letter for July
For July, we move from the weight room to the kitchen. Fun fact: In totality, considering all of the content we produce, nutrition is the one topic that doesn’t get as much airtime. Why? No one knows. It's provocative.
Goal Structure
When it comes to my training, I don't just show up and happen to be able to perform. No one does that. I prepare for each mile marker target ahead of time. I eat enough. I sleep enough. I hydrate. The night before, the morning of; I run my mental game.
The Body of Work
It all comes down to three rules. These three pretty much cover everything, and they can be applied anywhere in life: Education, work, family, anything...
Programming is Irrelevant
The last time I checked, there are places that squat, don’t squat, wicket run, don’t wicket run, Olympic lift, Conjugate, Triphasic, unilateral, bilateral, and whatever else…BUT ALL OF THEIR ATHLETES SEEM TO DEVELOP.
Randomized Band Shoulder Press Benefits
Do two to three work sets at the beginning of one of the weekly upper body training sessions while the nervous system and muscles are fresh.
3 Tweaks Your Squat Needs
Without a doubt, there are some things you need to pay attention to when performing and coaching squats across the board. I will list them here.