When is the Dream Dead?
Time is a limited commodity and the clock is ticking. How do you know when it’s time to quit?
How To Not Get Divorced During Contest Prep
Contest prep brings out the best in everyone…said no one EVER. Here’s how to navigate through your relationship when hangry.
The Six-Day Split (with Program Sample)
Maintain strength and fullness with this program as you deplete your dietary stores to reach low levels of bodyfat.
A Bodybuilding Offseason (with Full Program) for the Powerlifter
The bad news: You can’t go hard all the time. It’s the quickest way to burn out — to see your progress stall, to get injured, and to lose interest in your training. The good news: A bodybuilding-style approach to the offseason has a ton of benefits for the powerlifter.
How to Not Get Injured While Training Over 50
As 50+ competitors, we have different rules to follow in order to the play the game. Choose wisely—you only have one life.
Bodybuilding for the Powerlifter: Extra Workouts
Extra workouts, if programmed right, can kick your training and results up a notch.
Programming For Everyone
Anyone, regardless of experience, should be able to program workouts for themselves. Once you understand your goals, use these easy tips to build a program that delivers results.
Do LESS of These 10 Things to Increase Your Progress
Your best progress will usually be found outside your comfort zone or by doing something you haven’t done before.
16-Week Powerlifting/Bodybuilding Hybrid Program
If you have an equal love for bodybuilding and powerlifting with a goal to become bigger and stronger, this program is for YOU.
The TEAM SKIP Training Protocol of 2022
I’m tired of answering questions about TEAM SKIP Training. Here’s the updated version, for free. You’re welcome.
Observation is a Master Teacher
He seemed like he was from another planet, a planet where the gravity was turned all the way up, and all its inhabitants were strong, powerful, and muscular.
The Optimal Bodybuilding Split
The biggest mistake I see among lifters is rushing into advanced training too soon. Let’s back up for a minute.
3 Training Rules to Throw in the Trash
When you get to the point that you know what works and what doesn’t, or you are limited by injuries, the rules need to change.
Skip’s 10 Questions for God
God, I know you’re busy answering all of these prayers from people wanting baseball to start (thank you, by the way), the war in Ukraine…
Beyond Mountains, There are Mountains
Is bodybuilding a lifestyle, a sport, or two mutually exclusive things? Learn how the greats used hypertrophy along their journey.
I Am Dani LaMartina
Who’s Dani? Where is she from? What are her passions? What is she accomplishing in her practice and lifting career? She tells you here.
Thank You Andy, Tony, and Dickhead Steve Jones
I am quite sure that I am not the only one who has had people influence my motivation, positively or negatively. Here are my three.
The Gravitas of Dave Draper
The iconic golden-era bodybuilder, Dave Draper, passed away on November 30th. Read more about his life, legacy, and impact on bodybuilding.
5 Things Bodybuilders Should NOT Do After 50
You don’t have much time to waste or lose when chasing physique ideals at this age. Remember, you’re no longer in your 20s or 30s. Step up!
Have Enough Competitors Died Yet?
You might not be there yet, but as more people die you will feel the impact. Hopefully, you’ll question what you are doing.
5 Things I Didn't Expect to Learn from Bodybuilding
I never thought in a million years I’d compete in bodybuilding. The experience proved to be worthwhile and serves all facets of my training.
Newbies Grow Fast
Here’s a realistic case study that’ll fit your situation a lot better than actual research results. Newbie gains aboard!
Who Vince Gironda Was and Why You Need to Know
He taught the first Mr. Olympia, Larry Scott; seven-time Mr. Olympia, Arnold Schwarzenegger; three-time Mr. Olympia, Frank Zane; Lou Ferrigno; Rick Wayne; Don Howorth; and Freddy Ortiz. Learn more…
Bicep Barbell Finisher: Countdown Sets
Many of my clients have a love/hate relationship with this finisher technique. Use it for other body parts, too! Here’s what to do…
Giant Sets for Size and Strength
Skimping out on accessory work because you don’t have enough time? Get a nasty pump with giant sets and kiss your time constraints goodbye.
Exorcising the Demons
After doing contest prep for thousands of clients over the last twenty years (real years, not rounding up ten years like a lot of online prep guys), here are some of the more common demons that competitors face to get insanely shredded.
I Know Shit
What’s common knowledge to me may in fact be new to you…so here you go: Thirty-five training, nutrition, and supplementation gems to reach your physique goals. And oh do these gems glisten.
3 Relationship Red Flags for Bodybuilders
You’ve been taking care of yourself and have gotten into great shape, and have secretly wanted your spouse to do the same, but they have shown no desire forever, until now. Why?
It’s Not Just About Shredded Glutes
Many people end up over-dieted and look horrible due to chasing this shredded glute finish line and STILL don’t end up with the look they desire. As a competitor, it’s all about balance.
Bare Bones Bodybuilding
This article is not about the bands or weights but HOW you use the bands or weights. You can use these 12 techniques to keep your workouts fresh and keep your sanity without going to the gym.
Smart Fat Loss During a Pandemic
For the sake of this article, I am going to explain the smartest moves and what I have done personally with my clients with regard to fat-loss goals. We will go over two categories – general fat-loss and bodybuilding competitor.
Supersets for Hypertrophy Training
The trick is to get the right combination for the muscle or the area of the muscle you are working. Inside I have the best supersets for each muscle group and some crazy options — just in case you want to go psycho and do something that everyone else doesn’t have the balls to do.
Best Training Methods for Biceps Growth
In this 5-week program, I include training modalities that your biceps respond to by growing. We’ll cover peak contraction, isotension, giant sets, extended sets, plus a great bonus finisher to encourage a biceps stretch!
Small Guys and Their Thought Bubbles
I want to get huge by summer, old bro. How do I get big like you?
The BFR Hype
Aside from a super pump, what’s going on in your muscles when you do Blood Flow Restriction training? A lot. Here’s what we know.
7 Exercises That Have Become Extinct
Trends come and go and with them, certain exercises. With that in mind, which exercises does a seasoned bodybuilder say are outdated?
I’m a Prep Coach, Not a Salesman
I was invited to a bodybuilding group on Facebook the other day and though I get a lot of these types of invitations and usually dismiss them, I decided to click on this particular one because the discussion being showcased was asking who in the group was a nutrition or prep coach.
The End of an Era?
Hardly. Those who think the world of weights has a definitive destination are unfortunately on the wrong path.
5-Week Triceps Program for Bigger Arms
This five-week program provides a balanced approach to adding triceps size. Get ready to stretch those sleeves.
5 Gifts for the Powerbuilder
With no weight class or aesthetic events to worry about around the holiday season, it’s a perfect opportunity to pack on some extra mass… and to pick up some gifts for your favorite powerbuilder.
WATCH: John Meadows and The Muscle Doc Train Back and Chest
John Meadows was interested in the things Jordan Shallow discussed in podcasts and IG posts, so he reached out to him with the intention to “steal” some of Jordan’s ideas. Well, that didn’t go as planned. Don’t waste an opportunity to steal this workout from elitefts. Not that it’s stealing; you have our permission.
11 Things You Shouldn’t Do On Stage (Unless You’re Huge)
Don’t do any of these things… unless you can pull them off.
LISTEN: Table Talk Podcast Clip — Dan Green on Using Intensity to Build ...
“…I’m using powerlifting lifts in a bodybuilding style…” Dan Green shares the secrets to building muscle as a powerlifter and as a bodybuilder.
5 Reasons Why Your Chest Sucks
I have compiled a list of what I have noticed in the 35 years I have spent in gyms that I feel are the five biggest obstacles to growing a great set of titties. Also, ease up on the bench press.
Don’t Make These 10 Mistakes After a Bodybuilding Contest
I have always felt that a big part of my writing should be to save as many people as I can from making the mistakes I have made or witnessed others make in my 3.5 decades of bodybuilding. I’ve narrowed that list down to 10, and hopefully this saves you from yourself.
Franco, Sartre, and The Gym
I read about the loss of bodybuilding legend, powerlifter, and two-time Mr. Olympia, Dr. Franco Columbu. I hardly need to go into the impact he had on bodybuilding. His life was a life well-lived, one with a deeply personal and meaningful purpose.
How to Get Huge in Less Than 1,000 Words
Train hard and train to failure. That’s it. That’s really all it takes to get huge.
Peak Week for the Physique Competitor
You’re at the point where you have nothing left, but you still keep going because you see yourself at the end of this crazy 20-plus-week diet complete with one month of self-induced torture, a week full of waterboarding, starvation, and a pissy temper. Welcome to peak week.
What's Changed at Age 45
As I approach my 45th birthday in December, people keep asking me what things are like now that I’m in this life stage. Some things change; some things don’t. But the things that change are important, and I’m going to talk about them here.
Can I Continue to Build Muscle in My 40s Without Getting Injured?
Oh, lordy, are you over 40? Sure, you might not feel like 40 most of the time (or all of the time), but you need to remember you’re not a 20-something anymore, so you can’t be training like one, either. Back to the question in the title… Yes.
Deadlifts for Huge Lats
When performed properly, deadlifts can be a powerful exercise movement for strengthening your lats. Emphasis on “when performed properly.”
The Mind-Muscle Link: Engagement and Focus
You go about your day unaware of your body. Think about your socks right now. Can you feel them on your feet? You felt them when you put them on, and although they are still on, you’ve let the sensation fade deep into the background… and now, you’re aware of your socks again.
I’m Going To Die
As I close in on turning 50 this next March, I admit that death has had a much more profound impact on me, to the point of almost making me dwell on it… and taking a 3,000-mile-long trip to spend time with my mother-in-law who has stage-4 cancer didn’t really help much, either.
LISTEN: Table Talk Podcast Clip — Justin Harris Talks Hormones and Janae...
In this snippet from a Table Talk Podcast episode, Dave Tate and Justin Harris discuss Janae Kroc’s return to the bodybuilding circuit and how hormones may (or may not) affect her return to the sport.