Weapons of Metabolic Disruption
This compilation of training sessions is drawn from the minds of many great coaches, and includes initial and periodic testing to ensure intensity and distance per session challenge the metabolic systems of the athletes.
Training Is Where Your Life Happens
There’s nothing that will ever replace good old-fashioned hard work and practice. Not only that, this is where your life happens one plateau at a time.
Finding Strength with Derek Poundstone
I had no idea how prolific Derek Poundstone was and would become in the strongman world. Now that he has stepped out of the spotlight, he sat down with me to talk about the sport of strongman and his life.
The Max Effort Method vs. Dynamic Effort Method in Group Training
Trying to build superior performance without diversity in your training is like trying to build a house with nothing but a hammer and a box of nails: the final product isn’t going to impress anyone.
Three Mental Mistakes That Keep Powerlifters from Making Progress
If you plan on chasing unicorns, don’t hold your breath, because they don’t exist.
My Indicators
My key indicators (as well as yours) take time to know and develop. They also will change over time, so always be on the lookout and always monitor your training.
The Danger of Disposability
I’ve recently noticed culture embracing the idea of disposability at an ever-increasing measure. Quick, convenient, and disposable may lead to instant gratification, but I fear there are long-lasting consequences.
Energy Budget: Why You Can’t Exercise Your Way to Weight Loss
Your friend who runs seven miles a day is likely not burning any more energy than you are doing chores around the house. How the hell is this possible?
WATCH: Table Talk — Tapering for a Meet Using Conjugate
The appeal of conjugate is the ability to build multiple performance traits at once, but this confuses a lot of lifters as they get closer to a meet. It doesn’t have to be so complicated.
WATCH: Q&A with Coach Kav — Execution vs. Beast Mode
When you start patting yourself on the back for basic shit you’re supposed to be doing anyway, you’re missing the whole point. You’re a failure.
An Argument for Specificity
Staying in my own lane and keeping a laser focus on pursuing excellence in the sport of powerlifting is what has allowed me to rise to the top of my field as a coach; specializing, not generalizing.
WATCH: Pushing the Field Forward at The Spot Athletics
What started in a 2,000-square-foot facility is now two, 20,000-square-foot locations. And JL Holdsworth has his sights set on even more growth.
Another Supplement Store
I have tried it all, and I will not sit here saying I never spent money on crazy supplements thinking I would make huge gains. Learn from my mistakes.
The Human Element
College athletics may be a giant machine, but the humans run it. We need to understand that the athletes, just like us as coaches, have good days and bad days, and instilling good character should always be number one.
You Are Dying
You’re on this planet for a reason. You have a purpose. Don’t let it die inside you so that you can live a safe life.
Build Your Deadlift with the Deadlift Plus Deadlift Below the Knee
This is a great specialty exercise for lifters who get stuck a few inches off the floor, allow their shoulders to get too far in front of the bar, or lose their lats.
Every Hip Replacement Has a Silver Lining
If life is a juggling act, some balls are rubber and some are glass. You can get another job, buy a new car, or pay someone to fix your house, but if you drop the ball with your family, it is broken forever.
Why You Need to Return to Powerlifting
This article is for those of you who are on the fence. For those of you who have considered a return to the sport but are having difficulty pulling the trigger. For those of you who need to feel at home again.
Mirage Chasing
We seek enough, for what? To prove we did something? That we’re good “enough” at something? I’m fighting every day to overcome this and you should too.
The Science of Winning According to Vasili Alexeyev
This is a repost of what Dave feels is one of the most educational articles we have ever posted.
Can I Catch a Break? — My Harrowing Situation with Lisinopril and Angioe...
At 9:30 my right lip was swollen, by 12:30 the skin on the entire right side of my face was pulled tight, and by 1:30 I was in the emergency room.
WATCH: Table Talk — Feeder and Recovery Workouts
You can’t just throw in extra workouts or recovery protocols and expect to get the most out of them. Like everything else in training, they need to be programmed strategically and used at the right times.
Mental Visualization to a Better Total
The body is limited but the mind is unbelievably more powerful. With positive mental imagery, you can take successful rep after successful rep with a weight you have never even touched.
WATCH: Q&A with Coach Kav — Marketing and Branding in the Fitness In...
Whether you’re starting your business or have been around for years, one of the most important parts of your success is understanding and controlling consumer perception of your brand.
Put the Phone Down!
I have never witnessed a singular item more capable of disrupting a training session than the cell phone. There’s a better alternative that gives all the benefits of technology with none of the downside.
Build Your Deadlift with the Snatch Grip Deadlift
The snatch grip deadlift is an outstanding assistance lift if you have a weak upper back or erectors, but it’s not a traditional deadlift. Many cues for it are contrary to the traditional pull.
How to Heal Any Injury Overnight
When recovering from a recent hamstring tear, I started using a simple practice that can not only make training more intense, productive, and satisfying, but can also help you handle anything in training — including injury.
Using Continuous Positional Feedback: Three Exercises You Can Improve by...
The continuous feedback of the wall can provide the athlete with a sense of position, tension, and compensation, resulting in improved performance and benefit of the exercises.
5 Simple Ways to Increase Grip Strength
Building a better grip doesn’t have to be complicated or time consuming, and can have a big impact on your performance for both powerlifting and strongman.
WATCH: How to Perform Strongman Axle Clean Pulls
By breaking the movement up into several segments, you can avoid overuse of your biceps and reduce risk of injury.
Current State of the Injury Rehabilitation and Pre-habilitation Field
How do people begin to decipher what constitutes good injury rehabilitation or pre-habilitation? In this article, I’m going to describe in detail many different factors that will help you sniff out the bullshit.
What to Expect When Hosting A Powerlifting Meet
For this article I’m going to go through some of the things you need to plan for when hosting a powerlifting event and give you examples of how we did it for our most recent competition.
Ego Is the Enemy
Let me introduce you to a young gentleman from my gym. Like a lot of inexperienced lifters, he didn’t understand what it really means to keep your nose to the grindstone.
Why You Should Hire an Online Coach
Not all online trainers are bad. Many members of team elitefts have been in this line of work for decades, training people long before social media even existed. Here’s what to look for.
WATCH: Table Talk — How Should a 15-Year-Old Begin Training for Powerlif...
What’s the difference between a teenager who is an absolute beginner and an older lifter coming back from a decade-long layoff?
WATCH: Strong(er) Business: elitefts Fitness Professional Summit Speaker...
Listen to Dave, in his own words, explain why he chose each presenter for the summit and how he believes their knowledge can help any professional in this industry.
WATCH: Q&A with Coach Kav — The Reason for Motivational Quotes and S...
What’s the deal with all of Coach Kav’s quotes and slogans? Do they actually make a difference?
Who's to Judge?
Judging is not my favorite job at a meet, but it is growing on me. In fact, I think all lifters at some point should try judging. Here’s my experience at Boss of Bosses IV as a judge.
The Do's and Don'ts of Leadership
Since college, I've worked at seven different universities and a few Globo gyms. I've run clinics, I've trained privately, and I've even worked construction. From all this, I've learned from some great leaders and some less than great leaders.
WATCH: Blast from the Past — Dave Tate's Presentation at the 2006 S...
There are four components of a weight room atmosphere: coaching, equipment, training, and athletes.
The Swing Block Method for High School Coaches
After publication of the Swing Block Method, emails came non-stop from coaches asking how to implement the program in their schools. Here is the answer. The program within will give your team the greatest strength results it has ever seen.
Explosive Power or True Plyometric: Is There a Difference Between Types ...
Coaches need to be careful about how often and at what intensities they play their ace cards. You cannot draw on all training methods year round, so know when and why to use these variations.
A Guide to Buying the Perfect Barbell
Recently I was in the market for another barbell for my home setup, and at the start of this journey I thought all barbells were equal. I couldn't have been more wrong.
To Compete or Not to Compete
Some people only have a small window to compete in powerlifting or play sports, and then they might never compete again. Avoiding this opportunity with weak-ass excuses is the worst thing you can do.
A Meathead’s Guide to Reading Scientific Papers
The more people calling out incorrect uses of references and sharing well-compiled articles, the better shot we have at preventing the growth of new fitness and nutrition myths.
Pausing to Remember 20 Years
Our 20th wedding anniversary coincided with the end of a 13-month stretch of time that included eight bodybuilding competitions. It's no surprise that Christina was experiencing angst for vacation.
What Inspires You?
The world records, the surgeries, the comebacks, the nights alone in motels, the tears, the blood, and everything in between needs to have a purpose. This is what I want to leave.
WATCH: Table Talk — When to Add Gear During A Training Cycle
This doesn't only apply to multi-ply lifters. How you add equipment in training should have a sequence to it, even if you compete raw.
Band Tension for the Pull-Up and Push-Up
Band tension adds tremendous metabolic (muscle) and nervous system (brain) challenges, making them perfect for shorter training sessions. Imagine what happens when you return to bodyweight pulls and presses.
Top Training Tips For Advanced Lifters — The Last Two Weeks, Coaching, a...
You would think this is all common sense, right?
Motivation Found in the Gains of Others
I have trained with three classes of people in the last few months, including young college men, 50-year-old women, and two very strong powerlifters. Each group has encouraged me in its own way.
Training the Attacker
My thirteen-year-old daughter recently started a single weekly session, supplemented with interval running and sports specific training exercises. This is how she's training for lacrosse.
10 Exercises to Strengthen Your Spinal Erectors
The spinal erectors are often overlooked when it comes to building the physique AND deadlift. Try these 10 to add slabs of meat back there.
Programs to Stimulate Size and Strength Gains
I have collated a few of my most result-producing programs for you to try, from both a sports performance perspective and also general training for size and strength for the non-sports person.
WATCH: The Type of Training Programs I Have Used
With all of the different kinds of training programs that exist today, which ones have produced the most success?
Olympic Weightlifting for Strongman Athletes
You can't be a good strongman without being a good athlete, and that means building power, mobility, and technique. These movements can help build all three.
Intrapreneurship
For a good staff member, a salary can just get in the way of a great career. Coaches need an unending opportunity with some limitations, and this is where you come in.
Why You Should Raise Your Prices
While it may seem like a simple, quick way to gain more clients, competing on price is usually recipe for failure.
WATCH: Interview with Powerlifting and Strongman Legend Bill Kazmaier
The greatest strength athlete of all time sat down with me to talk about his success in the iron game.
