The Coach's Order of Operation
Exactly where does coaching begin? With the sport, athlete, or person?
Life in the Void
It is nothing and everything all at once. It is something that comes on strong and pulls you in. It strips everything away, but if you stick with it and trust it, then it will give you more than you can imagine.
10 Christmas Gifts for the Bored Powerlifter
He squats, benches, and deadlifts week in and week out with no variation. Specialty bars? Ha! Accommodating resistance? Ha!
WATCH: 8x8 Leg Blast
Like all portions of the 8×8 program, this leg day is going to consist of eight sets of eight reps, with a thirty-second rest in between each set. JJ, who is helping us out in this video, followed the program for six weeks and saw great results.
4 Accessories to Fix the Deadlift Lockout
As I got stronger with pulling conventional, a funny thing happened. My weak point went from being off the floor (where it was when pulling sumo) to just below the knee. I had to go back to the drawing board and figure out what exercises would get me stronger.
10 Secrets to Stimulating a Stalled Squat
As a former 150-pound marathon runner–turned–powerlifter, here’s how I increased my squat 1RM from 500 pounds to 600 pounds in a single year.
Why Big Air Is the Key to a Bigger Total
Imagine that you are on a team at work in which each individual had his or her own unique duties and tasks. What happens if someone doesn’t show up to work?
5 Deadlift Cues with Ed Coan
“Pull your lats in” to “slow down” are two of five cues that can make an incredible difference in the execution and lockout of your deadlift.
How to Identify the Real-Deal Experts
Seeking expert-advice? Think of this article as a battery replacement for your bullshit detector. Believe it or not, there are pseudo-experts out there who think that just because they did programs, they worked, and they got world records that they are now qualified to be considered experts.
12 Gifts to Warm the Heart of Your Anti-Social Friend
There are many versions of such misanthropes around (with home gyms of their own), and while this list will make their days, months, and years, it will make any true appreciator of strength training happy.
WATCH: A Question from Donnie Thompson
Why were you such a dick to me in 1998 when I met you and Lou for breakfast for the first time? You hurt my feelings.
5 Survival Must-Haves for the Parents of a Newborn Baby
With Christmas just around the corner and elitefts.com having some great sales, now is the best time to stock up. Here is a surefire way to pass the “beast mode” and “savagery” onto your newborn.
A Different Look at the Dynamic Effort Method for Athletes
Why not do speed work with the movements that your athletes will see in their sport?
A Thanksgiving Message from Dave Tate
For 2018, I am thankful for a handful of things from the gym that I will always remember—things that to this day help me keep perspective and clarity in business and life.
The Difference Between Winning and Maintaining a Winning Team
Why is it so hard to continue to excel, bit by bit, and stay there year after year, time after time? Why could you have a great year one year and a horrible one the next? I am writing this because we did just that.
Are You a Prius or a Ferrari?
In terms of fat loss, we have to take into consideration the efficiency and inefficiency of how our systems work. It may seem odd, but looking at how these cars operate, and why, will help us to understand how our bodies can maximize their fat loss potential.
5 Gym Rat Gifts for Less Than $20
You could always go one step further and get all five of my recommendations for less than $65!
A Conversation with Me About Competing at 77
When I entered these very senior divisions, there was no bar, no standard, no records. Now there is.
Manipulating the Accessory Lane to Kick Ass, Not Get it Kicked
The purpose of accessory work is to bring up the weak areas of the athletes. It is the time when we do what most people would consider bodybuilding.
The Powerlifting for Bodybuilding Christmas Gift Guide
All that matters is how you look, and if using equipment allows you to train heavier and harder, build more muscle, and ultimately look better, then you should use it! Here are my top-5 powerlifting Christmas gifts for bodybuilders.
In With the Old, Out With the New
LOOKING at these guys on the TV while I am training is bad enough, however, LISTENING to them give advice or say anything, at all, is like nails on a chalkboard.
Build Your Bench Press with the Chest Supported Row
When Dr. John pulls his shoulder blades in while keeping his elbows out, there is a clear depression between his shoulder blades. What I want to see in a powerlifter is more like a hump.
WATCH: Why Is Dave Tate So Angry?
Dave recognizes that his style can be gruff, fast-paced, and intense.
The Role of Mental Toughness in Sport Performance
I decided to finish the series with what I consider to be the remaining badly misused concepts. The previous one was discipline, and now, the worst of all: mental toughness.
Men of Strength Sports Performance Podcast #1: David Kitchen
Our first-ever guest is David Kitchen, who serves as the Assistant Director of Strength and Conditioning for the UNLV Rebels football team. Kitchen talks about everything from his life journey to discipline and even the different sociology principles he’s studied in an attempt to better his athletes.
Make America Squat Again
I’d bet a Derek Lewis chin shot that the majority of lifters are out pulling their squats. Ugh, writing this is tough; this is the catalyst for the total not being shit anymore, either.
Strength, Velocity, Power — How You Can Build Each to Produce Ballistic ...
Essentially, force (strength), velocity and speed-strength (power) are the three main characteristics that are present in ballistic movements, and you can train all of them in the weight room.
Minimal Effective Dose and the Search for Magic Bullets
To paraphrase Ronnie Coleman, “Everybody wanna be strong but nobody wanna lift heavy weights.” Ain’t that the truth. News flash: This is what you need.
Top-5 Christmas Gifts for Powerlifters Trapped in a Corporate Gym
They’re here because they travel during the week and are training out of the hotel’s fitness center, or they work days and can train only late at night, which requires him to go to one of those 24/7 fitness places where there is “no yelling, no chalk or pretty much no anything you would require for serious training.”
Training Considerations for Soldiers
Since most units don’t really allow for rest days other than the weekend, I’m looking for the biggest-bang-for-my-buck exercises that I could be able to fit into a morning training session. Also, I’m working based on the assumption that Fridays are company/battery runs.
2018 Mr. Golden Era — My First Bodybuilding Competition
If you have a free minute or two, I’d really, really appreciate it if you’d use that time to vote in the Mr. Golden Era 2018 competition – whether for me or for someone else!
Equipment Feature — elitefts Custom Functional Trainer
At over nine feet tall and five and a half feet wide, this machine cannot be described as “compact.” This is a premier, fully-customizable machine that offers near limitless exercise options.
Pay Yourself First
Start by finding your replacement value: what are others in your industry paid to do the work you’re doing?
A Note to the Lifter That Chooses Coaching
You find a coach you feel is the best choice, and you make an inquiry. It’s a good fit, and you compensate him or her. You’re a powerlifter with a coach now. You await your program to begin your journey under the guidance of your chosen coach.
Mental Considerations for Bodybuilding
Hear me on this one. If you’re running from your past or managing it in secrecy, bodybuilding isn’t the answer.
WATCH: Jujimufu's Next Garage Gym Purchase
Taking one step backward, space considerations are still on Jujimufu’s mind, upgrading from “Gym Fort” to “Gym Farm,” with the dream of an open training facility that maintains a garage feel, but where tight spaces are a thing of the past.
Why Strength Training is Equally Important as Conditioning (With Template)
For the record, I’m not writing this article to bash box programming; I’m writing this to present an alternative way of doing things while STILL utilizing the best aspects of box programming. Our strength training model is what we’ve used with nearly 20,000 athletes (in a group setting) worldwide with great success.
12 Gifts for the Shoulder Surgery Patient
Part one is all of the stuff I already have from elitefts that is helping me to get better and that I would recommend to anyone, especially those recovering from shoulder surgery. Part two is all of the stuff I still want to get from elitefts.
CBD for Lifters — My Experience
I’m almost scared to type this, but both my hip and spine are functioning at…
The Flaws in Follow the Leader
This model is where the leader of the organization is upfront, having all of the power and all of the answers, whereas the workers are behind, clueless and scampering to appease the leader in his or her all-powerful greatness. Does this leadership style seem flawed to you?
Evaluating the Effectiveness of a Program
If we are not seeing progress in the right direction within an expected length of time, we must change things up. If we are not evaluating, then how do we even know if we are making progress at all?
Avoid the Traps
Society has set these standards, and as a result, many people are overworked, underpaid, in debt, divorced, and unhappy. I call them traps.
Earn Student-Athlete Respect with These Principles
You can prescribe the best programming out there, but if your group of student-athletes do not believe in it or you, then it’s never going to work.
The Top 5 for October
See what’s trending in the content world at elitefts. Where did your favorite authors rank in October? What did you scroll past last month? Click here to find out.
How to Train While Working a Physical Job
You may have several points in your life where you'll see the contrast of differing lifestyles on training and programming. While the principles of your training philosophy may remain the same no matter what job you have, how those principles are applied differs based on the situation.
My Experiences in Three Internship Settings
This article is a cool opportunity to see what an intern we had this summer, Tim, has to say. His experiences are unique as he interned at a great local college, a local high school, then at Tank's Training Facility.
Physics Made Easy to Increase Your 1RM
Acceleration is one of the most important components for building maximum strength. However, you should not confuse acceleration with explosiveness.
Skip’s Top 3 Fitness Trackers
After a few months of really digging into different brands and models, checking reliability, accuracy, battery life, practicality, etc., I was able to narrow down my recommendations to three.
Small Business Survival Strategy
My goal is to simply get you started thinking more holistically about your business and executing your dream in a way that might prevent it from becoming a nightmare.
WATCH: How to Control the Squat Bar
Smitley broke an all-time world record in 2015, squatting 567 pounds at a 132-pound body weight – as such, it’s safe to say that he knows a thing or two when it comes to this particular lift.
Bodybuilding for the Powerlifter: The Big Picture (With Sample Routine)
Instead of just trying to get strong by getting as big as humanly possible, many lifters are paying more attention to their muscularity. Just take a look at Larry Wheels or Dan Green, and you’ll immediately know how successful this strategy can be.
Save It for the Barber Shop
There are two worlds in which we all reside. There is the “gym world”, a world where everything pertains to the gym and your training, where your goals and aspirations for the platform are created, pursued, and lived out. The other world is the outside world, comprised of everything else.
Solve Your Training Problems with Less Than $20
Out of shape? Slow? Dumb? Weak? Ugly? Andrew Jackson (the president on a $20 bill for any non-US-based readers) has a solution for you.
Our Best Sales of the Year
These offers WILL BE better than what you see on Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Green Monday, Yellow Thursday, Orange Tuesday or whatever else that hits the market this season.
WATCH: Howe Military Academy Strength and Fitness Center
Given their expertise in the industry, what better way for the Tate’s to give back and support the school, then to put in place the foundational infrastructure needed to create strong, well-rounded cadets?
2018 IPL Midwest Open — 2131-Pound Total at 242 Pounds
The 825 opener flew, and I told JP to call 881 on my second. This is when I knew I would “earn my regrets" because I actively prepared myself to become injured due to this decision.
Kettlebells for Strongman
For the Strongman athlete, kettlebells are a great accessory after your main lifts. Here are a few of my favorites for accessory work. These exercises are best done with higher reps.
WATCH: Branch Warren's Desire to Win
Rooted at Metroflex, Warren's early years building a thick and grainy physique grew to the height of the Olympia.