Starting Over as a Full-Time Coach
Too often in our industry, before we’ve even seen the athletes, we talk about what programs we’re going to use and how these programs need to be implemented.
WATCH: Is My Gym Too Expensive?
I want to take a moment to address a comment that I recently received related to the pricing of my gym here in Cyprus. I’ve only just now cooled down enough so that I can talk about it and officially address the question.
Conjugate U for Collegiate Tennis
After reading Conjugate U, I moved forward with implementing the Conjugate Method with my women’s tennis team. Here’s what we accomplished this past season.
Did I Do a Good Job?
I’m guessing that other strength coaches think about this too. I can’t be the only one, right?
WATCH: Check Your Ego When Choosing Attempts
A lot of powerlifters have trouble with this. They can’t get out of the way of their own ego in order to call proper attempts.
Change the World, Host a Joy Prom
I challenge you to use your gym to uplift and strengthen the community in another special way.
The Dynamic Effort Method with Beginners
Many people will say, “Don’t do it with beginners” and it’s a good thing I’m somewhat anti-establishment because DEM has been a great tool in the development of a lot of beginner-athletes. The simple answer is: just do it.
Top 3 Foods for Grainy, Shredded Awesomeness
The first two you might expect. The third one will rock your world.
10 Things I Miss About My Teenage Years
I sometimes reminisce about my teenage years when my parents paid the bills, paid for my clothes and food. I believed I was just put on earth to get huge and complain about my clothes, food, and the fact that they didn’t provide me with everything I wanted.
WATCH: Breaking John Rusin — The Squat
Through this series, we’ll venture from power lift to power lift (beginning with the squat) and finalize the project with a program tune-up. Dr. John Rusin’s overall goal is to get stronger with the help of Dave Tate.
The Obese Body and Exercise — Physical Cross-Talk
The main reason I would suggest you engage in exercise is happiness. You might ask, “You mean managing depression?” No. I mean simple and plain happiness, although I’ll discuss depression and mental health, too.
CBD for Lifters
Committed to doing a few full-power meets before I retire in 2020, I’m searching for some alternative means to deal with the pain related to inflammation. Enter Cannabidiol (CBD).
WATCH: Ed Coan and Dave Tate Coach the Squat
As Tate and Coan provide hands-on instruction and demonstrate proper squatting technique, the difference that their expertise makes in the athletes’ performance is clear and immediate.
Teaching the Squat, Bench, and Deadlift to Athletes
Do you teach them the squat, bench, and deadlift the same way you would teach a powerlifter? If not, what differences are there?
Progressions in Exercise Selection Based on Technical Proficiency
I firmly believe you have to start at the simplest movement that you can master correctly and then over time progress from the simple to the more complex movements. Download my basic outline with notes included here.
It's Meet Day — Do You Shine or Crumble?
Why do so many people do so well in training but nosedive when it’s time to compete? Two words: Anxiety and self-doubt.
All Good Things Come to an End at Mizzou
As a result of decreased enrollment for a few reasons (some projected, some not) and decreased funding from the state, 187 people were out of their jobs this spring, and I was one of them. I have learned some extremely important lessons along the way that I’ll share now, along with where I’m headed.
WATCH: Equipment Feature — elitefts Custom Bench
Whether you’re outfitting a branded company weight room or simply designing your dream home gym, Custom-Built Benches create a training environment that’s polished, professional, and personalized.
Infrared Saunas: Fad or Fantastic?
Are IR saunas really THAT beneficial? Do they truly have weight loss, detox, and anti-aging abilities?
Learn to Train X — 20 Years in the Making
With this year marking the 20th anniversary of elitefts, Tate acknowledges the significance of the timing of the LTTX seminar for his team, reflecting back on the success of the company in a market where this is not necessarily the norm.
Before the Pursuit of Excellence
In this article, I hope to take a step away from talking about strength, conditioning, and box programming. I’d like to touch on some things that will hopefully help you to become a better coach, business owner, and athlete.
The Downfall of Driven
When I first glance at the word, I think of some clown with a “Lift Angry” shirt on and bright red Beats headphones rapping out loud to some gangster rap song portraying a life that he’s never had or in which he’ll never partake.
The Top 5 for August
With over 300 pages of content published for August, here’s what ranked at the top (and what you possibly didn’t get a chance to click).
Don’t Call It a Comeback
I was beyond grateful that Dan Green still welcomed me to compete at Boss of Bosses V (a fantastic event) this year. Strap in and pay attention if you like a good drama.
You’re Training Athletes, Not Lifters
I had those days, especially early on in my career, that I didn’t understand why the athletes weren’t as enthusiastic as I was at 6 AM. I mean, what the hell is better than getting up early and training your ass off?
The Farmer Phase — Don't Get Stuck Here
The most common phase of entrepreneurship is the Farmer Phase. This is where most entrepreneurs abide—not by choice but because it’s where they get stuck.
Strategic Variation: The Misunderstood Key to Long-Term Growth
Muscle growth doesn’t happen overnight. So, instead of thinking you have to hit every fiber from every angle right now, realize that hitting them all over the course of several months will be far superior for your results, keep you progressing indefinitely, and help you to avoid injury.
Begin Your Journey to Become a BAMF Wrestler
I am excited to share highlights of early discussions that Steve Konopka and I have had as we work to turn our shared vision into a reality, helping athletes along in their journeys to become BAMF wrestlers.
The Importance of Recovery for Youth Athletes
To all teenage high school athletes, you must learn to respect and take care of your body if you expect to have a long career in any sport. I cannot tell you how many talented individuals I’ve seen who were never able to live up to their potential due to injury.
Meet Ryan Davis, Rodney Hill, Brian Johnson, and Dantonio Burnette
Each of these men are great attributes not only to the field of strength and conditioning but also to the development of future generations of men. In this introductory interview, we discuss philosophy, programming, and summer training.
WATCH: Must-Have Equipment for Any High School Weight Room
Board of Education President Josh Hobbs recounts what he’s learned and shares his checklist of must-have equipment for any high school gym or weight room.
Actionable Steps to Defeat Your Doubt
There are many cases where medications are overprescribed and are used only to treat the surface of a deeper issue rather than resolving the underlying cause. So, what should we do to address these common issues that persist amongst our society?
How We Coach Our Clients
Our success at JYT, with this approach, has been demonstrated by our consistent growth year after year in our membership, as well as the wide range of people we are able to help and train.
Till Bodybuilding Do Us Part
As a bodybuilder with a regular job, you can find yourself away from home 10-12 hours a day, which includes commute, work, and gym time. As a husband and father, this typically doesn’t go over too well. Here’s what I do to keep my wife from wanting to divorce me.
WATCH: Road Trip Rants — Max Effort Work, Bands and Chains, Jump Trainin...
Dave Tate and Nate Harvey compare exercises for strength sport and team sport athletes, discuss training with bands and chains, examine the value of jump training, and debate the importance of personal records vs. podium finishes in the sport of powerlifting.
4 Things Your Body Needs to Stay Symmetrical
As a PT, I made the mistake of letting go of these good habits. By ignoring issues when they arose, I put my body in a compromising state.
It Has Something to Do with the Struggle
What do I ask a man who built a physique back in 1965 and if he walked into any contemporary gym today in his Mr. America condition, every lifter in the place would stop to behold a build somehow created with nothing fancier than barbells, dumbbells, steak, eggs, and elbow grease?
WATCH: Eliminating the Numbers Game
Since applying bands and chains in his training, Johnson has not only remained competitive in the sport of powerlifting, he has also seen the gains that he was aiming to achieve.
3 Ways to Add a Secondary Squat Day
From what I’ve seen, most lifters benefit from performing some form of squat twice per week. The key is finding a way to program that second squat that builds your strengths and addresses your weaknesses while still working within your ability to recover.
Total Body Conjugate 8-Week Program
This eight-week sample program is a snapshot of a few cycles written for a former competitive weightlifter (local/state level). Michael wanted to get back into shape, lose weight, and include some weightlifting movements.
Shit Coaches Need to Stop Telling Their Clients
Honestly, there are so many that I could go on forever. Within my sarcastic tone, I hope the message that comes across is simple.
Learn to Train X — What We Taught and What We Learned
From the presentations and coaching, I derived more knowledge than I shared. Everyone who has a serious interest in powerlifting should see the S5 Compound, and one of the best ways to do that is at a learn-to-train seminar.
WATCH: Learn to Train X — Practice Pelvis Correction for a Stronger Squat
Driving to the grocery store? Practice this in your car every time you hit a red light.
WATCH: Ed Coan and Dave Tate on Their Powerlifting Inspiration
Whether it was aspiring to be the next legend of the sport, reading industry magazines, or simply setting personal strength goals, once Coan and Tate got their first taste of powerlifting, they were hooked.
The Bench Press Comeback
Tear after tear, I was seriously never benching again—it’s just not for me, blah blah blah, excuses, excuses. I had injured myself so many times, but I couldn’t let that stop me.
5 Ways to Improve Training Efficiency
Life is chaotic. Instead of missing another training day because you're too busy, become more efficient. This article is designed to help you to get the most bang for your buck from every training session.
WATCH: The Seven Granddaddy Laws
Dr. Hatfield categorized these Laws himself, and together they serve as a framework to measure an effective training program. If you want to know how your training program stacks up, I encourage you to assess it against the Laws.
WATCH: Max Effort and Dynamic Effort Programming
In this instructional video, Dave discusses the benefits of dynamic effort and max effort training and breaks down the specifics of his programming during his work with Dr. Rusin.
WATCH: Question & Answer Session with Dave Tate
Dave sits down to answer key questions that he received over the course of the Fixing Date Tate Series. Dave discusses everything from his biggest takeaways, to lessons learned, overall project goals, lifestyle changes, and the importance of effectively auto-regulating your own training program.
Why I Don’t Incorporate Agility Training
Perhaps you’ve seen the video of an athlete moving through the agility ladder with his feet hardly visible because they are moving so fast. This remains the common mainstream perception of agility training. Does this, however, actually make athletes more agile on the field?
The Sumo Deadlift — You're Doing It the Wrong Way
The sumo deadlift is a misunderstood type of pull with so many advantages. Let's start with technique so you can smash a PR!
Don't Be a One-Trick Pony
You see it all of the time. That one person in strongman training who posts the same lifting videos on social media every day—oh, look, he’s deadlifting again. Sure, he is an amazing deadlifter, but unfortunately for him, the sport isn’t called “being a good deadlifter.”
Meet Report: Earning My Regrets at the USPA Tribute
Four weeks out is when I suffered a quad tear—I should have dropped out at that point. In fact, I talked to Dave Tate, and that's exactly what he told me to do.
WATCH: Strength Training Program at Waverly High School Boosts Athletics...
With a budgetary commitment from the school district in place, combined with fundraising and donations from local businesses, Waverly High School was able to make an initial investment in their strength training program.
My RPR Level I Certification Workshop Experience
So, how does this voodoo work? Honestly, I’m not sure. I don’t really care, though, because I know it works and has been a big asset to my training during the past couple of years.
WATCH: Learn to Train X — The Power of Bench Press Cues with Vincent Diz...
An impressive self-coached athlete himself, Dizenzo has benched 600 or more raw in three different weight classes and has a 900-pound equipped bench to his credit. With the precision and detail required to properly execute a press, it is no wonder that thoughtful cues from a seasoned elitefts coach can make all the difference.