The Yearly Training Plan of the Strength Athlete — In-Season Management ...
There are three very important priorities for a strength athlete to keep in focus during a competitive year.
Build the Back, Spare the Spine
The healthier you can keep your spine, the longer you can train heavy and grow muscle. Here are my top-10, spine-friendly exercises.
What Is Elite in Powerlifting?
It takes a long time to be elite—truly elite—in this sport. Don’t try to change the standards. Change the way you work.
You’ll Be An Old Bastard One Day Too
If you had asked me when I was 20 if I was going to still be training at almost 50, I would have said absolutely. I just didn’t know these five things would change.
WATCH: Off Topic with Dave Tate and Jim Wendler — Near Death Experience
Being able to say no changes everything.
Why Do You Lift — What the Absence of Motivation Teaches Us (Suicide)
Every aspect of motivation we discussed in parts one, two, and three are evidence here, through their absence and again through their recovery.
The Three Best and Worst Parts of Owning a Gym
Over five years of owning a facility, through the survival stage and growth phase, I’ve learned a lot. Good and bad, owning a gym is a…
Embracing the Bracing
Day 1: Constant, crippling pain. Day 10: Pain free. This is the new game plan for lower back nerve pain.
Three Training Methods to Strengthen Your Weak Points
As simple and extremely important as this principle is, I continue to see so many lifters overlook or misunderstand it year after year.
A Young Athlete's Redemption
When the tall, piper-cleaner thin baseball player showed up, I didn’t think he’d last long. I was wrong.
Contest Prep Aftermath: Reverse Dieting and Training
In this first installment of the three-part series, let’s dig into the rationale behind reverse dieting and why it is so important for not only your growth as a competitor but your long-term health.
Ten Time-Proven, Big-Three Technique Tweaks for Happy Joints
Are you getting beat up from squatting, benching, and deadlifting? Here’s a handful of tips to help cure what ails you.
Finding Strength: Colosseum Strongman
During my trip to this Columbia, Maryland gym, I witnessed first-hand the hospitality of Jon Ward and his strongman crew.
Maximizing Muscle Growth Q&A: Rep Ranges, Chest Size Without Heavy P...
You have questions, team elitefts has answers. Today’s topic: building muscle through rep ranges and exercise selection.
144 Things I Love and Hate About Powerlifting
Every lifter has their own reasons to love or hate this sport. Here are mine.
elitefts Classic: How to Set Up A Program — A New Look at Weak Points
I don’t know how many questions we’ve gotten about how to train certain weak points. Of course, almost every question is in regard to a weak muscle group or a certain portion of a lift.
Three Coaching Cues You Need to Avoid
Most coaches rely on verbal internal cues, which may be the least effective. Here are several alternative options to help your athletes.
Building Technical Proficiency in Supplemental Deadlift Movements
Getting outside of your comfort zone, and literally getting uncomfortable can be a key to get you past plateaus and sticking points.
WATCH: Off Topic with Dave and Jim — PEDs and Training Frequency
Kicking off the new series, Dave Tate and Jim Wendler take on a topic of heated debate.
Flow, The Void, and You
Your psych-up, intended to prepare you for a new PR, could actually be costing you precious pounds on the platform.
Fatigue vs Fatigue Compensation — Manual Resistance
First in this series, we are going to improve the body’s resistance to fatigue compensation by better understanding and coaching movement.
When to Build Strength, When to Display It
Think about it. How do you prioritize these aspects of your training?
Building the Raw Squat
While the squat is still the most technical lift we see in powerlifting, the gear whores and raw zealots have much more in common than we think.
Intra-Workout Nutrition Q&A: BCAAs, HBCD, and Supplements on a Budget
You have questions, team elitefts has answers. Today’s topic: intra-workout supplementation.
Unification of Training Stimuli (with Program)
You might call this The Grand Unified Training Theory: attempting to combine the training elements of Olympic lifting, powerlifting, strongman, and bodybuilding into one single training program.
Troubleshooting Knee Pain While Squatting
Although it’s hard to generalize knee pain, here are several things I commonly see in a clinical setting. You can attack these issues in a number of ways.
WATCH: Dave and Jim Are Back
There’s a lot of history shared between these two men. Now they’re adding to it.
In-Season Training for Football — Don't Lose Off-Season Gains
Your off-season was a huge success. Your athletes gained strength, size, and speed. Here’s the challenge: maintain.
How to Naturally Manipulate Insulin to Improve Body Composition and Perf...
This is a highly effective tool when trying to gain new muscle and recover from tough workouts…but only if used appropriately.
Tweaking the APRE Cluster Method
I had used the APRE Method with great results in the past. After trying some new things in the summer, we decided to implement these changes in the fall.
WATCH: Table Talk — Geared to Raw Lifting
The progression of gear usage is not linear; a lot of lifters actually return to raw after spending years in gear. This can be almost as challenging as learning the gear in the first place.
Breaking the 600-Pound Bench Barrier
My road to 600 can be broken down into two phases of training: the Raw Strength Phase and The Equipped Peaking Phase. Here’s how I did it.
WATCH: The CVASP Podcast — How to Use Vertical Jump Data
Jay DeMayo invites Dr. Mann to discuss power and how strength coaches everywhere can better use information collected through athlete testing.
5 Key Lessons From Contest Prep
Stepping on stage is reserved for a special breed of lifter, but the lessons you learn from competing apply to all training goals. Here are the things my rookie bodybuilding season taught me.
Building An All-Around Team: Find Your Role
In any successful group or team, there are three key positions that must be filled. Does your team have them?
Expectations vs. Suggestions
I've been struggling with this and now it's time to talk. When rules and expectations become mere suggestions, we need a change.
Reset Your PR's
In a perfect world, you're always getting stronger and your PR's are always moving higher. Well, this world isn't perfect, and you need to remember that if you want to get stronger.
An Introduction to the Yearly Training Plan of the Strength Athlete
In this first article of the series we look at the underlying purpose of a strength athlete's training and the importance of the mesocycle.
USPA Drug Tested National Powerlifting Championships — Meána Franco PRs ...
I needed to regain confidence in myself as a lifter and take a step out of my comfort zone. I accomplished this at USPA Nationals.
Finding Strength: East Coast / West Coast Strength
This New Jersey gym brings together the best training methods to spread the Strongman culture.
Impact — Do You Understand Yours?
I will always push the envelope on the implementation of science into strength training, but there's something even more important to remember about our jobs as coaches.
Is Your Coach Giving You What You Need?
There are a lot of coaches to choose from and they all think they're the best. What criteria should you use to judge them?
Finding Strength: The Mission
The purpose is simple: bridging the gap between Strongman and the public.
Understanding Self-Sabotage — Too Legit To Not Quit?
There are legitimate reasons that sidetrack us, and there are situations where we want to find an obstacle so we don't have to work. Do you know the difference?
WATCH: Chris Duffin and Raw Bench Phenom Leroy Walker
In this second interview, Walker and Duffin discuss the life cycle of athletes, adversity, and talent.
WATCH: Table Talk — The Reason Powerlifting Records Are Being Shattered
Raw records have been dropping at unprecedented rates in recent years — and Dave thinks he knows why.
WATCH: Clint Darden Reviews Client Bench Press
From setup adjustments to training intensity, Clint's coaching adjustments are all explained in this video.
We Are Just Cavemen With Smart Phones
Technology moves forward, but we are the same. Physically, we are all made of the same DNA as the humans who came before us. Let's train like it.
How Dave Tate Is Setting 90-Pound PRs
When I left the certification with Douglas Heel, I told him that his system has had the biggest impact on my thoughts on strength training since finding Westside Barbell.
The Reason for the Letters — JL's Technique That Is Fixing Dave
For a lot of reasons, we haven't shared the details of what has been going on to help my training. I'm going to bring everyone up to speed now.
Mental Health and the Strength Athlete: Why Powerlifters Get Ulcers
I’m going to focus on three variables and interactions that affect stress response in the athlete: life events, mental illness, and training.
Which Way Should S&C Go?
As I see it, there are three directions that this profession can go. I know I favor one and I'll explain why.
Squat Q&A: Zercher Squats, SS Yoke Bar Breathing, and Tight Hips
You have questions, team elitefts has answers. Today's topic: the squat.
The JL Letters — Passages 3 and 4
Every relationship has its highs and lows. You can't stay on the honeymoon forever.
Three Effective, Underused Exercises
As a passionate bodybuilder, it brings many a tear to my eye that the following chest, back, and hamstring exercises have been all but forgotten or underused by many lifters.
Relentless Hypertrophy Protocol: How Sequencing and Repetition Stimulate...
The goal was to create a training model that would maximize hypertrophy in minimal time and that would be “low tech, high effect” in its design.
Enjoy BBQ Season Without Wrecking Your Diet
You don't have to turn BYOB into BYOF (bring your own food, often in a cooler).
Acumobility — A Game Changer in Mobility
Once the orange ones lose their painful effect, you need to get yourself blue balls. Yeah, I said it. Blue balls.