Just the Fats Ma’am
I knew going in that this could be one of those situations where I was going to listen to someone tell me how smart they were and I was going to play my typical role of “dumb older guy who used to work out and now just wants to not be fat and live a long time.”
The Role of Self-Regulation and Control in Sport Performance
You must be in control or have autonomy, to set goals, move through intrinsic and extrinsic motivators, and grittily, hardily, toughly keep on track — especially if your choice is to be or continue being a successful high-performance athlete.
A Varsity House Gym Check-up for Strength Coaches
Running a business is a lot like training. There are steps and signs you deal with…. and if you don’t have a long-term plan, you’re not going to get anywhere. Take action today to create career longevity as a strength coach.
10 Items for Serious Strongman Competitors
Gyms only go so far in mimicking the items used in strongman competitions, so read on to start building your personal strongman training arsenal.
12 Days of Giving Credit to the Things That Shaped My Coaching Career
‘Tis the season to reflect on the past, present, and future. Don’t be a Scrooge — take a moment to thank the people who have shaped who you are today.
Make it More Than Just a Warm-Up
When it came to warm-ups, I didn’t always practice what I preached. As it turned out, warm-ups have done me a solid and increased my strength, endurance, and recovery. Plus, they’re a great way to hone your techniques.
4 Gifts You Want and 7 You Actually Need for Getting Back into Lifting
Santa checks his list at twice, so maybe you should also double-check your wishlist to assess what if you want is REALLY what you need.
The Simplicity Project
By simplicity, I am referring to a minimalist approach to the programming of weight training by getting a maximum effect for the fewest number of exercises by utilizing a full body program performed three days a week. I want to challenge you all to give this a try for a period of no less than six weeks.
A Basic Lifting Skill Review: Grip Strength
Every seasoned lifter appreciates how easy it is to lose simple habits in pursuit of getting stronger. One such habit: Getting a good grip.
12 Items for the New Garage Gym Owner
Tired of the commercial gym? Maybe it’s time to start up your own gym in the garage. Not sure where to start? Look no further than this 12-item list.
How to Keep Clients Longer
I’ve owned a gym for 13 years, and I’ve coached for 22. Throughout the years, I learned it’s easier to keep a client than to get a new one.
Top 5 for November
Sifting through November, here’s the listing of what ranked at the top (in terms of popularity). And speaking of lists… stumped in finding the perfect gift for a loved one infatuated with lifting weights? Oh then, keep reading.
The Greatest Gifts for Powerlifters Transitioning to a Commercial Gym
I literally have no other gym options in my area. Please, give a stranded powerlifter such as myself hope… and everything on this list.
Six Weeks to Bigger Biceps
In this article, I can’t promise you Lee Priest-proportioned bicep development, but I will share some ideas to unlocking new growth over a six-week period of time.
Higher Rep Work with the Conjugate Method
Higher rep work can be beneficial, but it needs to be properly managed. We are still going to use 1-rep maxes for our primary means of developing intra/intermuscular coordination, but there are a few strategies we can use to ensure we incur extra volume when needed.
Meet Report: 1,200 Total at IPA Buckeye Brawl
It was my first time representing Team elitefts at a meet. The support I got from them was unreal. Oh, and the team shirt was pretty cool, too.
Programming for a BAMF Wrestler (with Samples)
Steve “Kono” Konopka and I go more in-depth about our wrestling programs, particularly topics covering: in-season training goals, off-season exercises to avoid, signs for a recovery session, favorite exercises, and a sample in-season schedule.
The Death of Powerlifting
What’s wrong with powerlifting? Not online coaching. Not Crossfitters doing meets. Not other lifters secretly being deep cover Nazi operatives. Not anything about other lifters, or coaches, at all. All that’s really wrong, from my perspective, is this…
A Better Language for Coaches
This all starts with you. Being clear, setting up a growth mindset, and eliminating “no,” are just three ways to become a better communicator to your athletes.
Men of Strength Sports Performance Podcast #2: Bret Huth and Scott Salwa...
This episode covers a variety of in-depth training and coaching topics (injury reports, physical preparation, sports specificity, junk volume, culture), along with the current state of Cleveland sports and the return of LeBron James to Cleveland in 2022.
Equipment Feature — PRIME Fitness RO-T8 Handles and Accessories
Tired of using attachments that hurt your wrists? Sick of models that don’t allow you to target load-varying positions? It’s time you take notice what PRIME has to offer. In this feature, we’ll be highlighting their popular RO-T8 (“rotate”) Handles and a few of the related RO-T8 accessories.
Learn to Train X: Bench Press Warm-Up with Joe Sullivan
You may start shaking, but don’t worry. It’s just something that’s getting you ready to do what you went to the gym for — to press a bigger bench.
5 Gifts for the SHW in a 2X Belly Shirt
I’m a 350-pound dude in a 2X belly shirt — this ain’t gonna be pretty at the next meet.
Abdominal Pressure — What You're Missing in Every Lift
Are you making the most of your abdominal pressure during three big lifts: squats, bench press, and deadlift (or the clean and jerk if you compete in weightlifting or crossfit). Oh, the power of a breath.
8 Gift Ideas for the Coaches Who Train Combat Athletes
These are the eight items I find most useful after just having barbells, a rack, and good technique.
Cash-Register Lady, Your Mom, and Applebee’s
Don’t lie. You know it’s gonna be good based entirely on the title.
Top-5 Monolift Commandments
Monolift commandments for those new to the monolift, monolift commandments to heed today as a way to avoid tragedy in the future, and monolift commandments to help get the most out of this amazing piece of powerlifting equipment.
The Rack Athletic Performance Center: Fear the Moose
The Rack is an athletic performance facility that prides itself on its intelligent, passionate coaches, state-of-the-art equipment, and a community of members who are supportive and thrive in a fun and competitive environment.
7 Gifts for the Next Instafamous Powerlifter
Trust me, you will want me repping your brand while I’m crushing monster lifts all over the garage.
Choking on My Own Face
In recent months, my fiancée noticed long pauses between breaths while I’m asleep, followed by gasping for air. Not good. If it’s like everything else in my life, this major CPAP milestone should make for a good story. Plus, my readers really seem to enjoy it when I suffer.
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.
