Peak Mental Performance Podcast — Auto-Regulation and How Personality Ty...
Mike Tuchscherer has been known for years as a large proponent of individualized training. Our conversation covers some great topics and advice for both lifters and coaches. No matter what type of training method you use, there are some good principles that you can apply to your training.
Simple Steps to Reaching Your Ultimate Goals
The goal-setting pyramid I use for my clients and myself helps to easily clarify daily, weekly, and monthly needs for continual progress — and when things slow down, it speeds up troubleshooting and gets you back on track.
WATCH: Mastering Leg Drive in the Push Press
Whether you’re using a log or a weightlifting bar, you need to follow these rules to make sure you aren’t wasting the strongest half of your body.
All In — When I Got to Westside
Before I started training at Westside, I told my wife I was going to shut off my brain and do whatever I was told, no matter what. It was one of the best decisions I’ve made.
Off-Season Bodybuilding Program for Powerlifters and Strongman Competito...
The introductory four weeks should have improved your joints and helped you become accustomed to high reps. Now it’s time to get more challenging.
WATCH: Fixing Dave Tate — Movement Screening
The initial assessment is complete and it’s time for some hands-on evaluation of Dave’s movement, using these seven key movements. The compensation patterns and pain indicators observed in this step will be used in the next phase of the process.
Tissue Load vs. Tissue Capacity: A Key to Injury Recovery and Prevention
One of the most common causes of injury is accumulation of load on a tissue, tendon, or ligament that exceeds that tissue, tendon, or ligament’s capacity. For optimal rehabilitation and recovery, you need to understand and manage this relationship.
Why U.S. Bodybuilders Are So Dominant
There are great bodybuilders from all over the world, but the U.S. has been the clear leader as far back as I can remember. This isn’t a coincidence.
Autoregulation and Variable Adaptation Training
Want continual progress over the long haul? Think of your training as lifting big rocks, pebbles, and sand. Here’s how.
WATCH: Table Talk — The Best Foods for a Squat Bloat
If you’re looking for a serious answer to a question about building a bloat, you’ve come to the right place.
Exiting Your Comfort Zone: Expect Casualties Along the Way to Success
Winners create their chances and don’t wait for opportunities. They are relentless, ruthless, and focused.
WATCH: How Would You Program for a Deadlift Only Meet?
Many lifters will be tempted to reduce their squat intensity to preserve energy for the deadlift, but that might not be the best idea.
Programming for Athletes — The Middle School Athlete: Grades 7-8, Ages 1...
These athletes undergo rapid physical development, increased workloads, new mental health challenges, and hormonal changes. As they hit peak height velocity, it’s vital to properly manage their training.
Using Squat Variations to Alter Movement Patterns
One of the best ways to correct movement patterns is to use exercise variations that address your issues. Here are the five most commons squat errors and the variations that solve each.
Putting It All Out There — Fighting Complacency and Contentment
Making progress in training or in life means taking ownership of your future. Are you a passenger sitting quietly or are you grabbing the wheel and pressing the gas pedal?
Establishing Team Culture in the Spring — FUNdamentals
This is a great opportunity for you as the strength coach to step in and provide the leadership and culture to propel your team forward in the fall.
The Client Rulebook: 5 Rules to Follow
If you’re going to invest the time and financial resources to hire a coach, you should be doing everything you can to get the most out of the relationship. Avoiding these common mistakes is a must if you hope to reach your goals.
Baseball Players and Thoracic Rotation
Rotational power is important for both swinging and throwing. This article includes a three-exercise progression to not only develop better, more efficient rotational ability, but also to improve proficiency in weight transfer.
WATCH: The Universal Gainer — Styles of the Rest-Pause Method
I get asked all the time why I love rest-pause method. Here’s the answer, including an explanation of what makes this technique the universal gainer.
Fall Training for Wrestlers: Programming and Deload Weeks
In theory, it’s good to force your athletes to take a deload every fourth week. In reality, it rarely works out for the best. Here’s an alternative option and a sample program that will keep things rolling in the right direction.
Olympic-Style Weightlifting Exercises for Youth Athletes
In this article are evidence-based recommendations for introducing youth athletes to the snatch, the clean and jerk, and their derivatives.
Sleep Practices for Better Performance, Health, and Well-Being
Finding the right patterns and repeating them daily, by using the right aids and avoiding certain practices, can help improve your performance at work and in the gym — all while making you feel healthier and happier.
Sexual Violence and the Coach-Athlete Relationship
The goal of this article is to provide tools to understand, prevent, and act on the problems of sexual violence, with a focus on the coach-athlete interaction.
WATCH: Table Talk — Advice for Starting a Powerlifting Gym
Choosing equipment? Finding a building? Designing the gym layout? No, there’s a step before all of these things.
WATCH: Fixing Dave Tate — Initial Assessment with Dr. John Rusin
Years of pushing his body to the limit has left Dave with two hip replacements, numerous shoulder surgeries, more injuries than he can recall, constant daily pain, and restricted movement. It’s time for a change.
The B.T.H. Program — Three-Week Jump Start Phase
The other day I was sitting in my office working on the 2006 marketing plan and in busts Jim with a huge grin on his face and a handful of reports.
Blocks and Chains vs. Blockchain and Bitcoin Cryptocurrency
This is the washed-up meathead’s guide to the digital currency taking the financial markets by storm, with a little bit of added wisdom on training.
Living Better in a Profession of Martyrdom: Advice for Young Strength Co...
We need to think about the quality of life and how to increase longevity in this profession. What we are doing does not lead to it.
Game Changer: Rugby Programming Adjustments from the 40th NSCA National ...
Several incredible presentations from Paul Comfort, Mike McGuigan, and Bryan Mann led me me to make some key adjustments to the programming of my Metabolic Group.
The Impact Show Episode 25 with Guest Mark Watts: A Coaching Journey
Sets, reps, and exercises alone have never made a great strength and conditioning coach. With host Jim Kielbaso, this podcast focuses on the things that truly have an impact on athletes.
Considerations for Strength Athletes Losing Weight
You’re going to be tired, you’re going to lose motivation, and you’re going to feel yourself going backward sometimes. That’s why it’s important to develop these skills and plan for the difficult times.
Back to the Platform After Injury: The Three Main Components of David La...
In order to get to the point of actually getting better and taking rehab seriously, a lifter must be willing to shift from short-term to long-term focus. Here’s what we did and how I think most rehab for strength athletes should be structured.
7 Interviews with Lifters and Coaches I Respect
I made a list of people with informed opinions, from opposite ends of the country, with a wide variety of backgrounds. Their answers to these five questions demonstrate what is alike and what is different about their perspectives on training.
Accommodation vs. Specificity: Battle of the Training Concepts
Specificity tells us we become best at the things we do most often, but accommodation tells us that we become stale from the things we do most often. What’s the answer?
Coaching Is More Than Just Programming
Your clients are all looking for a combination of guidance, accountability, and a relationship with a coach. It’s your job to figure out which of the three they need and how to best deliver it.
Skip’s Tips for Training Each Muscle Group
There are a lot of great tips, but these are what I consider the best for training back, shoulders, chest, triceps, biceps, calves, legs, and abs.
WATCH: Table Talk — Rotating Specialty Bars for the Bench Press
If you’re a beginner or intermediate lifter, this probably doesn’t apply to you. But for advanced lifters, knowing how to alter workload without changing volume might be a big help.
WATCH: Time Under Tension Is King — Program Parameters and 3 Workouts
This program isn’t for the faint of heart, but if you’re really willing to push each set as hard as you possibly can, the results will be worth it.
Developing Strength and Conditioning in the Same Training Session
Our goal is to help our clients become better versions of themselves in terms of fitness, longevity, and body composition, so well-rounded concurrent fitness is often the best course of action.
Lunatic Training
It's story time. So travel with me, if you will, dear reader, back to turn of the century— in the winter of the year two thousand, and meet a very different Swede than the man writing this today.
Mastery of the Mundane
Everyone trains hard but few do the things that are boring and tedious. It is the willingness to do the mundane that separates those top athletes from the hordes of others training away in the gym right now.
Strong, Shredded, and the Ability to Perform Pain-Free
Want to be lean, muscular, strong, and conditioned, with the ability to move without pain? There are many variables, but these guidelines apply to everyone.
Moving Tips for Strength Coaches
Accepting a new coaching position and uprooting your life to a different city and state is one of the worst parts of our profession, but following these six steps can help simplify the process.
WATCH: Equipment Feature — The Iron Neck and 5 Exercises for Athletes to...
Neck training is vital for athletes of contact sports. Without requiring the use of large, expensive pieces of equipment, these five exercises with the Iron Neck will prepare your athletes through many planes of motions.
Bracing and the Hip Hinge
When your body is under load, minor mistakes can lead to major problems. Whether you're an explosive lifter or more of a grinder, learning these techniques will greatly improve your squat.
The Split Squat, Its Variations, and Why Shin Angle Trumps All
Your body type and movement patterns will determine which variation of the split squat to focus on, but cycling through all variations in an intelligently-designed program will provide the greatest benefit.
Visualization for Powerlifting: How to Train Your Brain for Big Gains
Sorry to burst your bubble. There’s really no such thing as 60 seconds to a huge PR. Training, whether it’s mental or physical, requires practice.
Heavy Metal Fitness: Tim Ingram's Strength Haven Grows Again
When we first shared his story in 2014, Tim Ingram had just opened his first training facility. Now he's back with another story of growth — and an even bigger gym.
Increase Muscle Mass with Massage
If you're looking for a way to restore muscle function and promote muscle growth, a trip to the massage table may be the answer.
LISTEN: The State of the Training and Coaching Industry with Dave Tate
Direct and to the point, this short podcast led by Andy Rose focuses on only two key questions about the fitness industry.
WATCH: Table Talk — Training Changes at 50 Years Old
Since retiring from powerlifting in 2005, Dave has tried a lot of different approaches to his training. There's one clear winner.
5-4-3-2-1 Program for Size and Strength
This program aims to take advantage of periodizing training frequency by training one lift five times per week, one lift four times per week, one lift three times per week, one lift twice per week, and one lift once per week.
WATCH: elitefts Fitness Professional Summit — The Four Pillars of Anatom...
Marc Megna's vision for the future of fitness isn't founded on the equipment, the layout design, or even the location of the gym. This is the story of how he opened his facility and built its success.
The Fermi Paradox and Powerlifting
The period of time that a lifter is a the top of their game is a delicate balancing act between utilizing the tools that got them to an elite status and backing down from those tools at appropriate times so as not to tip the scales from continued success to prematurely landing at the expiration date.
How to Set up a Conference at Your University
One question I often get asked is, should I set up a conference at my college/university? Then I'm asked how to go about doing that. I hope to answer those questions here.
8-Week Base Building Program for Busy Lifters
This program requires minimal setup and equipment, includes three training days per week, and is designed for each session to be completed in roughly one hour.
WATCH: Isometric Deadlifts vs. Paused Deadlifts
A lot of lifters want to use these deadlift variations interchangeably, but Clint has a strong preference for one — and good reasoning to back it up.
Revisiting Tonic and Phasic Muscles for Increased Performance and Position
There may be a strength discrepancy between your anterior and posterior chain, but are you sure this isn't because some muscles are stuck doing a job they weren't originally intended to do, in a position that isn't optimal?
Off-Season Bodybuilding Program for Powerlifters and Strongman Competito...
A good off-season program gives your joints a break, helps you put on quality muscle, and gives you a mental break from the rigors of competing so you can just have some fun training. This program provides all of those things.