WATCH: Table Talk — Muscular Balance in Training Programs
Should you do twice as much pulling volume as pressing volume? Some people think so, but it's not that simple.
Juarez Valley 8 Deadlift Workout
You've probably heard of ascending or descending pyramid methods. The Jaurez Valley 8 is different. It's a valley that is as brutal as it is effective.
WATCH: Table Talk — How Should A Big Guy Lose Weight?
For someone over 350 pounds, the rules of dropping weight are a little different. There are a few things you need to remember.
Why Comfort Can Kill Your Progress
Familiarity and comfort aren't always bad things — I drive the same route home every day. But in your diet and training? Be ready for change.
Why Do You Lift — Meaning, Identity, Hope and Passion
For the next three or four articles, this is our topic: motivation. This first part will explore the construction of meaning, identity, and the origins of motivation.
Hypertrophy Is The Holy Grail
After so many years and so many clients, I've begun to realize that everyone's training needs are the same.
Building the Biggest Hood in the Hood — Spoto Press
Why the hell not just use a full range of motion? This is why.
Passion vs Zeal — Reconsidering What Matters Most
If passion most closely relates to desire, then zeal implies action. I often say I’m passionate about training, but in reality I possess more of a zeal for the iron.
Building the Biggest Hood in the Hood — Unchained Chest Mass
Chains change the game — and not just for powerlifters. I'm going to show you an unconventional fly that is fit for the bro to the top pro.
WATCH: Dumbbell Rows vs Barbell Rows for Back Development
These two back exercises are a staple of every bodybuilder's program but there are many ways to screw them up. Are you performing them correctly?
Where Everybody Knows Your Name
If I left work and went to the bar instead of the gym, would it really make a difference?
Don't Romanticize Self-Destruction
What must competitors put themselves through to attain championship notoriety? Being confined to a wheelchair? Torn relationships? Shortened lifespan?
A Call to Arms Series: Building Billy Club Forearms and Perfect Peaks
You won't win the arms race with puny forearms and flat peaks. Enter the Fat Bar Reverse Curl.
Calves to Cows — 5 Methods to Improve Your Calf Development
You can't easily change the shape or insertion of the lateral or medial head of the gastrocnemius muscles. But you can develop impressive calves with these techniques.
Debunking Dieting Myths: Is Skiploading Unhealthy?
For sixteen years I have been honing the method of Skiploading and only now am I starting to hear complaints from inexperienced kids who don't understand it. Let me break it down for you.
A Call to Arms Series: Eccentric Biceps Training
Try this one-armed eccentric barbell curl to induce sleeve-busting growth.
Glute Gains: Mastering the Pelvic Tilt Technique
If you aren't doing this right, say goodbye to building a fully developed backside.
A Call to Arms Series: Terrorizing the Triceps — Cluster Sets
Instead of the crusty old three sets of 12, use the same weight for this method. WARNING: Not for those who lack testicular fortitude.
Hypertrophy Hierarchy: How Your Muscle-Building Program Should Evolve Ov...
The techniques of top bodybuilders may look fun. They may entice you. But first, you need to earn them.
THREE DAYS LEFT — Win 12 Weeks of Free Online Training from Team Elitefts
Participating coaches include; Swede Burns, Clint Darden, Julia Ladewski, Brandon Smitley, Joe Schillero, Ken Skip Hill, Zach Gallmann, Matt Ladewski, Shane Church, David Allen, Casey Williams, Dani Overcash, David Kirschen, Sheri Whethem, Ken Whethem.
Ignorance Can Be Bliss
An overload of information may tempt you to abandon your plan when something new comes along. Pick a program, one program, and stay committed.
2016 Arnold Classic 212: John Meadows Prejudging Routine and Final Results
In a stacked 212 division at the 2016 Arnold Classic, John placed ninth amongst nine competitors. Watch John's individual posing routine performed at the 2016 Arnold Classic 212 and listen to IFBB pro Ken Jackson (friend and client of John's) share his thoughts on John's conditioning and stage placement minutes after prejudging. Official Final Results Scorecard
Combining Fortitude and CTP Training
With the help of David Allen and Scott Stevenson, I have turned my six months of recovery into a period of growth and new training insight.
A Call to Arms Series: Terrorizing the Triceps — The Ultimate Superset
Over the next few weeks I am going to introduce you to some of my favorite hypertrophy training techniques for arms. Let's start with the triceps.
WATCH: IFBB Pro Chest Day with Meadows, Jackson, and Abiad
As John enters the final weeks before the 2016 Arnold, this trio of professional bodybuilders joined Dave at the S4 Compound for a high-intensity training session. Full workout included.
WATCH: Inside Look at elitefts with Mutant on a Mission
"He's got like $10K worth of lat pull handles there. I've never seen more handles in my life."
I’ve Earned the Right
You’re welcome to whine about my methods or my opinions. And I’m welcome to not care.
WATCH: Team elitefts Trains for The 2016 Arnold/XPC Finals
With only four weeks to go, our athletes are getting serious (and animated) in the S4 Compound.
WATCH: Table Talk — What You Need for the Perfect Home Gym
There are three questions you should be asking yourself before investing in equipment.
Get Bigger With Giant Sets
Find out if "Giant Sets For Giant Gains" can help you get bigger. Video of Milos Sarcev and Dennis Wolf giant set training video included.
Shelby Starnes Q&A: Insulin Resistance, Contest Prep, Keto, and Blow...
Direct from the minds of aspiring physique athletes, these questions zero in on common (yet complicated) dieting dilemmas.
Finding Strength: NBS Fitness
This is a great training facility in Memphis, Tennessee owned by strength coach, athlete, and EliteFTS columnist, David Allen.
Life Lessons of the Iron
Train with me for one day and I will know more about you than I could learn from a year outside the gym. If you spend time with the weights, you’ll learn more about yourself, too.
New Women's and Men's IFBB Sport Divisions for 2016
Who knew gowns, figure suits, corduroys, and trunks would share the same stage.
An Experiment in Overreaching
In the weeks leading up to my vacation, I intentionally out-trained by ability to recover in attempts to spur super compensation. Here’s what I learned.
Foundational Guiding Principles
Nobody who is serious about forward progress enters the gym without a plan, without a set of guiding principles. I’ll argue the same is true in life.
Carbohydrates and Cortisol Control: Rediscovering Passion
Now that I’ve found solutions to many of my own problems, I’m faced with a new challenge: helping my IFBB coach out of a lengthy retirement.
Four Sure-fire Ways to Harvest Calf Meat
Building calf size takes time—a lot of it. This is the system I’ve used countless times to bring up my calves and the calves of my clients.
Do Strength Gains Equal Size Gains?
Can you get huge without being the strongest guy in the gym? Consider these ten reasons why bodybuilders have larger muscles than powerlifters.
WATCH: Table Talk — How to Keep Strength While Cutting Weight
Dropping bodyweight doesn’t have to mean dropping pounds off your total. If you have reasonable expectations, there are ways to maintain your strength while cutting weight.
Swede's Diet Strategies
There are simple rules to follow to keep your nutrition 90% perfect, without letting diet control your life. This is how I do it.
Food Prep Hacks for the Busy Bodybuilder
A little creativity can go a long way when time and sanity are on the brink.
WATCH: High Volume Back Training with Dave Tate and John Meadows (Full T...
Training in the S4 Compound means knowing when and how to turn up the intensity. In this back session, Dave and John do exactly that.
Wenis and Wagina Training: Elbow Position Is Everything
Are you conscious of where you’re placing your elbows during presses, rows, flyes, curls, and pullovers?
Formerly Paralyzed Woman Now a Bodybuilder
After a horrific car accident, Vanessa Rogers overcame quadriplegia to become an inspirational bodybuilder.
16 Methods to Optimize Your Glute Ham Raise
We have known for years that the Glute Ham Raise (GHR) was regarded as one the best movements for the posterior chain (lower back, glutes, hamstrings and calves).
'It Looked Good in Theory'
Trends dominate the personal training industry. Rely on self-education to determine the difference between what sounds good and what IS good.
Broken Idols
Be careful who you place on a pedestal. The ramifications may leave you highly devastated.
Everybody Knows Somebody
Your appearance can be the gateway to meet new people and share a conversation. It’s up to you whether you see it as a pain in the ass or as an perfect opportunity to help someone.
Build a Bigger Bench: The Female Edition
The bench press is typically the weakest lift for women. It’s no mystery why—they require a targeted approach.
Training to Fix Muscle Imbalances
There’s a right way and a wrong way when pursuing the balancing act of physique symmetry. Do this, never do that.
Two Worlds Collide on Social Media
It's all so familiar to us. But what if you don't lift or compete in strength sports?
Graston Technique: My Experience with Instrument-Assisted Soft Tissue Mo...
As a bodybuilder, I frequently abuse my body through training. I had heard of the benefits of Graston for years and finally decided to give it a chance to treat several specific issues.
To Reach Your Goals, Be An Observer
Don’t become so caught up in your own head that you lose objective grounding in your assessment of the world. Here’s how to properly use detachment to reach your goals.
Why Context Matters
If you don’t know your audience, you can’t communicate your message. If your audience doesn’t have your knowledge, you can’t assume they’ll understand.