The Force-Velocity Profile: Reversing Imbalances Using the Dynamic Effor...
Last summer I was able to perform some informal research on 10 Division II football athletes examining how to reverse imbalances found in force-velocity profiling using velocity based training with a Tendo Unit and accommodating resistance.
Six Off-Season Bench Cycles to Replace Dynamic Effort Work
The six cycles in this article are a great way to add variety, cycle out of traditional dynamic effort bench work, or add some needed muscle mass.
WATCH: How Does It Feel to Do an 1100-Pound Good Morning?
Steve may be one of the strongest squatters of all time, but it hasn’t stopped him from receiving criticism for his squat style. Are the concerns warranted?
My Name Is Skip, and I Am a Resolutioner
Most people fail miserably with their poorly thought-out ideas, weak plans, and grandiose proclamations of how they are going to change their lives — usually before the end of the first week. So what?
Life, Death, and the Clarity of Obsession
Sometimes rather than serving as an escape from real life, our obsessions can become a source of something that everyday life cannot always provide. Here’s how it’s worked for me.
WATCH: Table Talk — Using Specialty Bars for Dynamic Effort Work
Can you alternate specialty bars for different dynamic effort waves? What about for different weeks within the same wave?
Credibility or Accountability — What Drives Your Organization's Suc...
After 15 years of executive leadership riddled with countless mistakes and faulty approaches, I have come to passionately believe that leadership focused on credibility rather than accountability is the more effective approach to take.
WATCH: elitefts Fitness Professional Summit — Megna's University of...
One football play earned him a full tuition scholarship, but making the NFL wasn’t quite so easy.
Programming for Athletes — The Youth Athlete: Grades 4-6, Ages 10-12
This is the most important time in an athlete’s career for learning motor patterns, and it’s the age range that can set up athletes for long-term success in their sport.
WATCH: Forearms First — Building Forearms Like Popeye
Wrist curls alone aren’t going to cut it. Try this protocol instead.
Ocalicon 2017 — Nation’s Premier Autism and Disabilities Conference
With more than 50 presentations to attend within a 10-hour time frame, here are the presentations from which I found great applicability to my work in both the private and college settings.
21 Again: Reflecting on Lessons from Over Two Decades as a Strength Coach
My time in this industry has taught me a lot. I’d like to share some pearls of wisdom I’ve picked up along the way that I think will be useful to others.
The Coach's Guide to Teaching the Bench Press
With beginners you need to follow a simple guide to get them going. Then once they’re ready, you need to focus on the three phases of the bench press. It’s all included in this article.
How to Teach and Coach the Box Squat
In addition to the numerous, invaluable benefits of the box squat, it’s one of the easier movements to teach if you know how. Use this process to get your athletes box squatting correctly and you’ll see their weight room and sport performance skyrocket.
Reflections on 2017
I have been younger and I have made more money but I have never been more content.
The Difference Between Outcome-Driven and Process-Focused
You’ve probably been told to focus on the process rather than the outcome, but the thing is, no one tells you how; you’re simply chastised for focusing on the wrong thing, then told to go on your merry way.
10 Ways to Drive Communication with Youth Athletes
None of these have to do with Prilepin’s chart or buying better equipment, but they might just be what sets you apart from the next trainer, private sector coach, or school coach.
Why I Don’t Drink Alcohol
There are many ways that drinking alcohol is toxic not only to the body but also to any bodybuilding goals. It is harmful for adding muscle mass, minimizing body fat, and will hinder your performance and your health.
Know Your Motivation
I can’t tell you how many people I’ve met who have no time under the bar, no idea of why they’re training, and no vision for their future powerlifting career. Once I started to understand why I lift, I became a better lifter overnight.
2018: We Change, Goals Change, But the Mystery of Strength Remains
A person’s relationship with strength training and strength sports is dynamic and changes through time. I’m going to share with you some of my adventures that culminated in 2017 and offer a few tools that may be useful to you.
WATCH: Table Talk — Training for Your First Powerlifting Meet in 2018
Dave has responded to this question many times but, like the sport of powerlifting, the answer evolves. Based on the sport today, here are guidelines for expectations, performance, and how to design a program.
WATCH: elitefts Fitness Professional Summit — Marc Megna's Path to ...
Megna’s accomplishments are many and impressive to all, but his story doesn’t start with a silver spoon or generational talent. This is the story of where it all began.
WATCH: The Training and Life of Top-Ranked Powerlifter Rob Hall
In under three years of competing, he already has a 2210-pound raw without wraps total and has even bigger goals for the future.
Finish Your Deadlift Upright
Many lifters begin the pull with a good arch, approach lockout, and then exaggerate the finish position with overextension of the lumbar spine. This is a good way to become injured and weaker.
Ping Pong and Powerlifting
Thinking back to these two activities and my time in college, I find myself wondering if the concept of working in with strangers is a concept lost on today’s youth.
LISTEN: NSCA's Coaching Podcast — Episode 18 with Ashley Jones
Joining NSCA Head Strength and Conditioning Coach Scott Caulfield, Ashley discusses the development of young coaches, trends in rugby training, and life as a coach.
Back to the Platform After Injury: The First Steps
Dave LaMartina is one of the hardest working lifters I’ve met, and has proven over many years that he is willing to train through just about anything. After significant injury led to him stepping off the platform, he reached out to me, and this is how he came back.
Principal by Day, Strength Legend by Night: Jim Voronin
The world of powerlifting and Voronin’s life both look very different today than when he was competing at the highest level of the sport, but his knowledge and accomplishments are timeless.
Kids Ruin Everything?
I recently read two statements that I not only disagree strongly with but am qualified to disagree with. Total immersion in a goal isn’t the only way to success, and if you believe having a family has to take away from your goals — well, you’re wrong.
Injury — The Real Measure of What Kind of Lifter You Are
Something doesn’t feel right as the bar descends, like your left pec is cramping or something. You touch, hear “press,” and then POP! It all goes black.
WATCH: Table Talk — The Most Important Quality of a Great Coach
It isn’t the number of competitions they’ve won or what degrees they have that can tip you off to who’s good and who’s not. There are three types of coaches in this industry and you need to be able to tell them apart.
Conjugate Football—Guidelines for Team Programming
This article is intended for strength coaches who are looking to take their athletes to the next level. There are some very simple things you can do to ensure your athletes reap the benefits of such a powerful system.
WATCH: elitefts Fitness Professional Summit — Authenticity Is Your Key t...
DeFranco gives advice on authenticity and how staying true to yourself while running your business will bring both you and your clients more success. It worked for Enzo Amore and Arnold Schwarzenegger.
New Year, New Bench
There is no reason in the world you can’t give up sucking at bench press. No one gets joy from incompetence in the greatest lift ever. No one. That’s something I can help you with.
A Weekend at the Kabuki Strength Seminar
It was a 10-hour drive to Portland, but everything that went into the trip was well worth it for the training knowledge I gained and the experience I had with other lifters. Here are my highlights from the weekend.
Want to Make the Industry Better? Be Better
Mike Gittleson once told me that becoming a good coach means learning to use your voice as a weapon. This changed everything about my mindset to communicating with my team.
Fueled by Why
This is 2018. You already have everything you need to make this your year. Don’t waste it.
9-Week Strength and Fat Loss Program for the New Year
I designed this program for a few of our lifters who had no meet in mind and wanted to stay strong, shed some fat, and get in better shape. All of them had great results.
LISTEN: NSCA's Coaching Podcast — Episode 9 with Dr. Bryan Mann
Host Scott Caulfield leads this discussion on the past and future of velocity based training, the challenge of balancing personal and professionals lives, and the importance of building and maintaining a network.
SURVEY: What Does elitefts Do Best?
As we move forward in the New Year, we're asking for your help identifying what it is YOU believe elitefts does best. This survey will only take a few seconds and will automatically enter you for a chance to win a $100 gift card.
Peak Mental Performance Podcast — Kava: The Stress-Reducing Drink That M...
After five years in the NFL, Matt Masifilo created a new method of kava production and founded his own company to help support its growth and use. His reasons for believing in the drink are many.
10 Stupid Things Powerlifters Need to Stop Doing
Taking five hours to do a bench workout and trying new stuff on meet day both make the list, but neither of them are number one.
WATCH: Table Talk — How to Run a Three-Day Conjugate Training Split
Due to time constraints or an inability to recover optimally, many lifters seek an alternative to the traditional template. The question isn't whether or not you can use a modified split, but whether or not your results will be optimal.
6 Big Boy Season Must-Haves
I was 417 at my biggest, and very ill-informed about my strength. Powerlifting seems to have a general acceptance of "bigger" meaning "stronger," but bigger isn't always better.
WATCH: Mark Lambert — Strength Coach for the Tampa Bay Lightning of the ...
Tampa Bay Lightning takes home the 2020 Stanley Cup! Learn how they train off the ice with strength coach Mark Lambert.
WATCH: The Vision and Growth of Showtime Strength and Performance
Nick Showman built his facility with a purpose and, in the process of growing, has found a niche in softball, welcomed serious lifters, and expanded the services he and his coaches provide.
The Squat and Athletic Development — How We've All Been F*cking It Up
A new perspective on the squat that will change the sports performance industry.
The Validity of Olympic-Style Weightlifting Exercises for Athletes
Despite the numerous similarities between full lifts, pulls, and extensions, the kinematic profile associated with different variations of Olympic-style weightlifting exercises allows for a more rational, sport-by-sport selection of movements based on specificity.
Staying Calm When the Weight is On — 60 Seconds to a Huge PR
This breathing exercise will help you to perform your heaviest sets with much more confidence and ease. It will take practice to get the hang of the process, but once you do, I promise, it’s absolutely worth it.
What, Why, When, How — A Guide to Using an Intro Week
I have had more tweaks and muscle strains occur during the first week of getting back into training than any other time. If I'd known how to use an intro week, this never would've happened.
Is Inflammation the Bad Guy?
Inflammation is your body’s biological response to harmful stimuli, which in this case is the damage induced to your muscles from training. But trying to ward it off with NSAIDs and ice may be a mistake.
Powerlifting to Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu: Adapting as an Athlete
As my competitive field of choice changed, so did the way I required my body and its structures to move across time and through space. This is how my training had to evolve.
WATCH: Table Talk — Overcoming the Fear of Injury After Rehabilitation
If you're scared of a weight, you're not going to be able to lift it, even if your body is strong enough. This can be a serious problem if you're coming back from injury.
7 Special Exercises To Build Your Main Lifts
Increasing your total in the conjugate system often means finding the right exercises to build the squat, bench press, and deadlift. Here are some builders I’ve found to be most effective.
WATCH: elitefts Fitness Professional Summit — Humanize Your Business
Once people know you, the next step is getting them to like you. If you try to make yourself look perfect to accomplish this goal, you're making a big mistake. You need to be vulnerable.
Programming for Athletes — The Youth Athlete: Grades 1-3, Ages 6-9
Programming for this age must be based on the understanding that most speed and strength gains in young athletes are due to motor learning, improved motor coordination, and nervous system development/adaptation.
Football Conditioning Season Program Design
While there are some great things that can go on during this time period, there are also many times that football coaches run their guys into the ground with months to go before the players even see the competitive field.
WATCH: Equipment Feature with Nate Harvey — Rackable Cambered Squat Bar
This bar is a favorite among lifters and athletes of all kinds not only for its use in a competition-style squat but also for the large variety of special exercises you can perform with it.