The Three Most Important Factors for Becoming A Great Lifter
If you ever want to be a top-ranked lifter, you’re going to need all three of these things.
WATCH: Should You Arch Your Back When You Bench Press?
Bench-builder or back-breaker? Steve has the answer.
BIGHORN: Love and Momentum
We’ve lost a couple of good ones along this journey. We may lose a few more too.
Programming for Speed and Power
This 12-week program can be utilized by any individual wishing to prioritize the physical elements of speed and power.
I Can’t Touch A Barbell Without Hurting: Train or Take Time Off?
If you try to ignore an injury, you’re going to end up in one of two places: with compensated strength or accumulated injury. Is continuing to train, but simply using lighter weights, the answer?
Toothpicks to Horseshoes — How to Build MASSthetic Triceps
Having big, strong arms is more than just something to flex and brag about. It shows health, vitality, and does absolute wonders for your confidence. And all you have to do to achieve them is train your arms intelligently.
My Favorite Intensity Techniques
Moving increasingly heavier weight from point A to B served me well until I tore my pec benching 500 pounds and blew out my lower back squatting 700. Now I find new ways to add intensity.
WATCH: Table Talk Compilation Series — Justin Harris
All in one spot, check out the entire 7-part discussion with Dave Tate and Justin Harris. Pre-workout energy, GPP, muscle loss while dieting, and training age are just a few of the topics discussed.
The Road to Westside Barbell
I had only one goal and nothing else mattered: to make it to Westside and get as strong as I possibly could.
WATCH: Rapid Fire Table Talk — The Blown-Out Bench Shirt, Box Depth, and...
Reading directly from Instagram with no preparation, Dave answers 14 more questions on training, nutrition, and improving performance.
A (Battle) Cry for Help
Is it a bad decision to stop performing lifts that cause an axial load on the spine when the back is injured?
The S Word — Effects on Mental Illness
I am going to take a little detour to talk about personal issues I dealt with during this time, how these issues affect me, and if any of these issues were affected by what I was taking.
Defy Your Demons
There is no better time than this moment, right now. The perfection you seek is within you.
WATCH: The Story Behind the Strength Coach — Donald Day
In this video, Don walks through his growth as a strength and conditioning coach. He discusses lessons from each of the positions he has held and shares the names of several of the most influential people that have helped him in his career.
Win Free Elitefts UGSS with Special Guest Mark Dugdale, Jan 14th 2017
Win Free Elitefts UGSS with Special Guest Mark Dugdale
3 Tips for Coaching the Pull-Up
Coaches must strive to properly ensure a basic neuromuscular connection occurs through correct anatomical position, neurologic comprehension, and sensory awareness before attempting a pull-up.
Mental Illness and Coaching
At the college or high school level, you are likely to deal with many athletes who have a mental illness. Will you know how to help them?
Why Compete in Powerlifting?
Powerlifters train for years to test their strength at powerlifting meets, yet receive little recognition or financial reward in return. So where’s the motivation?
Determining Exercise Value
Do you know how to properly evaluate a program or the exercises that make it up?
New Year’s Resolutions Are BS
The start of a new year isn’t going to make you a better person or a stronger, leaner, fitter lifter. If you really want to reach your goals in 2017, there are three things you’re going to need.
WATCH: Rapid Fire Table Talk — Training at Night, 3x10 vs 10x3, and Illness
Dave’s back at The Table, and this time he’s answering your questions back-to-back with no preparation.
elitefts Top-20 Articles, Logs, and Products from 2016
We’ve crunched the numbers and by popular demand, here are the articles, logs, and products you’ve consumed the most of in 2016.
WATCH: Table Talk Compilation Series — JL Holdsworth
Stories of Westside, vomit, blood, cysts, spine health, circa max training, pizza, and more…
No One Cared Who I Was Until I Put on the Mask
What if I could lift with a complete lack of inhibition, able to call upon whatever I needed from the dark recesses of my mind?
WATCH: Painless Hook Grip Technique
Despite all of the positive aspects of using a hook grip, there’s one significant deterrent: pain. What if you could avoid it?
The elitefts Definitive Guide to Board Pressing
Dave believes the most important and widely used purpose for boards is to increase/correct the mini-max or sticking point.
Time to Pass the Mic
I decided to interview a coach who I respect immensely for this month’s article. Meet Coach Buckley.
The Yearly Training Plan of the Strength Athlete: Transitioning From Com...
Once the competitive season commences, the athlete will need to be transitioned into a contrasting training paradox, otherwise known as the off-season.
Our Gym, Our Destiny
Through minor challenges and major setbacks, Elite Custom Fitness has thrived since 2012. Now it’s time to find a new five-year goal.
WATCH: Table Talk Compilation Series — Maliek Derstine
All in one article, we revisit Dave and Maliek’s discussion on sticking points, longevity, equipped powerlifting transitions, and challenges a lifter must face when following a percentage-based training program.
Kickbacks, Curls, and Training Girls
How do you train a woman in her 30s or 40s with zero background in lifting? Isolate, then integrate.
Wishing You Happy Holidays and a Joyous New Year
It’s in the spirit of appreciation that elitefts.com has made contributions to the following organizations who do so much to improve the quality of life in our communities.
It's Not A World Record (And Other Things That Piss Me Off)
Most of the time I ignore what I don’t agree with, but considering I am three weeks out from my meet and I have been a grumpy bastard the last few weeks, I am going to write about a few stupid things I’ve seen.
WATCH: Strength Training — Simple or Complicated?
Training programs, nutrition plans, supplement protocols — sorting through all this information to find really works may seem difficult. It doesn’t have to be.
Pacey Performance Podcast — Mark Watts and Aiden Oakley
With an abundance of experience in strength and conditioning, Watts and Oakley share an in-depth evaluation of the opportunities for growth in the industry.
Overtraining: A Molecular Perspective
Overtraining can be due to both hormonal fluctuation and dysfunctional mechano-transducing properties at the cellular level. These will be the two areas focused upon in this article.
The S Word — Side Effects and A Higher Dose
When I took HRT therapy to a new level, my initial ideas began to change. It wasn't anything like what I had read or heard about.
Four Oddball Lifts that Work
You’ll notice that these are stabilizer-focused lifts—that’s a common theme in sussing out the value of new lifts as well as old ones that have been rediscovered.
The Real Reason You Aren’t the Best
If you're stuck in Shitsville, there's probably a good reason why. Avoid these habits to make your way out.
Hunt, Be Relentless, and Have Fun — How I Got Here
I looked at what all great players and people do and how I want to coach and live my life. All common denominators boiled down to my big three. This is how they were chosen.
United States Strongman Hope for the Holidays
Going into this contest, my goal was to hit a PR on the log and hit a PR on the deadlift while qualifying for the XPC Deadlift Salute at the Arnold Classic.
Finding Strength: Gleason Performance Training
Equipment, coaching, elitefts team members — this gym in Derby, Connecticut has it all, and is one of my favorite places to visit.
My Bittersweet 2016 WPC Worlds
One day you can have the best day of your life and the next day could be your worst. This week included both for me.
7 Ways to Optimize Health
If you’re seeking advice on how to successfully navigate a mid-life crisis, I’m probably not the guy. I am, however, uniquely attuned to my body from years of competing at a high level of bodybuilding.
5 Must-Have Items for Lifters Who Have Had Multiple Shoulder Surgeries
While my back and hips are holding up just fine, my shoulders, well, that’s another story.
WATCH: How to Rehabilitate A Recurring Hamstring Injury
If you misidentify the cause of the injury, not only will you fail to solve the problem, but you may actually make it worse.
Home and the Home Gym: Making Your Home into a Gym
Nine athletes and coaches who have owned home gyms were asked to share the purpose and evolution of their early setups.
Do You Have the Guts to be a Successful Powerlifter?
All the success in your lifting that stems from work you put in at the gym can be compromised, often significantly, by your failures outside of the gym.
The Six-Day Triphasic Microcycle
We ran the first variation of this setup in preparation for our last powerlifting meet and it resulted in around 1,400 pounds of total PRs spread amongst nine different lifters.
WATCH: Mario D'Amico — A Return to Raw
When the long-term goal is a 1000-pound squat at 220, and the ultimate goal is a 2400-pound total, you need two things: patience and a lot of hard work.
BIGHORN — AMG Brabus and the Ripsnorters
Alex adjusted the military-grade Golight, which nested on a short pedestal atop the vehicle. It cut through the darkness with razor precision illuminating the monsters.
Circuit Training for Metabolic Gains
The idea may seem simple and basic in theory, but these circuits are brutally effective at elevating heart rate for extended periods of time.
Rebuild the Squat from the Bottom Up: Your Ankles May Be Shutting Off Yo...
If you've addressed pelvis position but your mobility, mechanics, or pain aren't changing, consider that your neurological reference center may need to shift. Shift it to your heels.
Should I Lift or Should I Sprint — The Case for Speed
At the end of the day, the player who can move the fastest within the context of their sport will almost always be more successful.
Build Your Arch: Why Flat Feet Kill Your Squat
In today’s article, I’m going to show you how flat feet can harm you during your squat, and more importantly, give you exercises to fix it.
