Wide Stance Stiff-Legged Deadlifts
This is a killer hamstring movement that my good friend Todd Brock used to live by when trying to build his sumo deadlift.
Stiff Leg Dead Lifts - Close Stance
This has become a classic hamstring and lower back movement over the years for one reason, it works!
Barbell Leverage Deadlift
This is a great supplemental or accessory exercise to help build your deadlift.
Double Band Rack Pulls
Take a band (band strength depends on your strength and how much extra tension you want to add to the DL).
Pin Pulls with Double Mini Bands
Using Bands with Pin Pulls is a great way to get extra work out of the glutes.
Fast Track to Speed Development
Trying to improve your speed? Jerry discusses how to do just that and provides some sample workouts.
Improving the Deadlift
There are two major areas that have made a profound difference in my training—proper starting position and sound programming.
How to Set Up on the Deadlift
Most of the time, you’ll see the deadlift performed like a cat taking a shit. You know what I mean—the arch and twitch technique? There are a ton of reasons why someone would deadlift this way:
EliteFTS: Top 8 Good Morning Exercises
The Good Morning Movement is one of the best movements to include in any strength program. Here are our top 8 Good Morning varieties.
EFS Pro Short Band Strength
Bands were first introduced to Dave Tate close to 10 years ago. After experimenting with accommodating resistance and the use of chains, Dave took his squat from 760 to 855 in 12 months.
Beginner Deadlift Considerations: Conventional or Sumo?
The deadlift is the lift that a new powerlifter initially moves the biggest weights with and makes the most immediate progress.
EliteFTS Spotlight: Justin Cecil
Justin Cecil is a full time staff member at St. Vincent Sports Performance in Indiana, and serves as the head strength and conditioning coach at Lawrence Central High School.
Under The Bar: The S-4 Weekender Program Part 2
This article is the continuation of the Weekender Series that has documented the training of a few of our featured training log lifters, as well as the weekend group training in our weight room:
Proof of Life
One of my favorite moments in the history of powerlifting is Doc Rhodes’ third deadlift at the 1977 IPF Worlds in Australia. Rhodes was in the 165-lb weight class and had squatted 512 lbs and benched 374 lbs.
Five Pounds Is Gold
With astounding strength, brilliant technique, and a champion’s will, Andy Bolton returned to the platform and showed us who he always was. And looking at the speed of the 1008-lb deadlift, he’s not finished.
Five Random Things I’ve Learned at Westside
You see, unless you train at Westside, you don’t know Westside
My Top Five Strength Movements for Basketball Players
Players need overall lower body strength, single leg strength, upper back and shoulder strength, mobility, and a solid core. The game also subjects players to pounding and stress on the lower body.
EliteFTS Spotlight: Matt Wenning
The subject of this week’s EliteFTS Spotlight is Q&A staff member Matt Wenning. Matt is one of only a handful of people to total over 2600 pounds in professional competition.
Top 11 Exercises for Athletes
Here are the top 11 movements for athletes. Add them to your rotation and work them hard.
EliteFTS Spotlight: Julia Ladewski
EliteFTS Spotlight is a weekly feature here on EliteFTS.com where Q&A member The Angry Coach interviews athletes and strength and sport coaches from various disciplines in order to find out more about what they do, how they train and how they do business.
What’s the Big Deal with Partial Lifts?
I’ll come right out and say it—I’m a big fan of partial lifts. Some say they’re dangerous while others say they’re unproductive. Why do a partial lift when you can do the whole lift?
Going Deeper into the Deadlift with Mark Rippetoe, Part 2
What you’ll see is that he takes about two or three pulses of pull in order to get his weight from his toes back onto the middle of his foot before the bar leaves the ground. In other words, he’s using those little tugs to pull the slack out of his hamstrings after he sets his lumbar spine.
Going Deeper into the Deadlift with Mark Rippetoe, Part 1
In the November 2006 issue of CrossFit Journal, Mark Rippetoe published, “A New, Rather Long Analysis of the Deadlift.” He concluded this breakthrough article by identifying three criteria for a correct deadlift starting position:
Five Essential Movements for Hockey Players
Hockey is a sport of intensity, physical contact, stamina, strength, and speed.
Your First Meet Part II: Getting Diesel
Everyone starts from different points, everyone has different training backgrounds, and everyone is a little bit different from top to bottom.
2008 NASA Unequipped Nationals
This was my second raw training cycle this year. I did the USAPL State meet to qualify for the Raw Nationals and didn’t get to train for it. I had eight weeks to train for this meet, and the maxes that I based my training on were very conservative.
Rapid Rate of Force Development
Rate of force development (ROFD) is probably the most important and under-recognized area of applied science pertaining to strength training and athletics.
Get Your Back into Your Lifting
I’m becoming a deadlift supremacist more and more. Louie Simmons recently wrote in Powerlifting USA, “A weak man has a weak back, and a strong man has a strong back. It’s that simple.”
Beginner Follow-Up Program
Here’s the exemplary monthly plan with two trainings of the beginning lift operators:
Warming Up to PRs
What’s keeping you from setting a personal record (PR) in your lifts? Why isn’t your “top end” going up?
How I Improved My Deadlift in Fifteen Months
I had just a little over a year to get where I wanted to be.
Concurrent Strategies in Strength Training, Part 3
Please note that different classifications may be used depending on the athletes’ weak and strong points, level of development, training period, emphasis, and additional items. Those classifications are used to help the coach organize the training system and prioritize things according to the demands of sport and position.
Adding Strength with Little Equipment
Imagine—you’re a broke kid living in a small town in the middle of nowhere. The closest fitness center is miles away and you don’t have a car to get there anyway. None of your friends know what a weight is. You’ve asked them to give it a try, but they just gave you the middle finger as they sped off
Plateau Buster: A Look at Goals and IIx Fibers
When developing strength and speed, fiber type matters.
An Interview with Rob MacIntyre
Rob “Spray” MacIntyre is a strength coach for some top level athletes. Rob, tell me a little bit about your background.
Incorporating the “Big Three” into Sports Training: Part 2
For as long as I have been involved in sports and training, I have seen more cookie cutter training programs than you can shake a stick at (and that’s a lot).
Concurrent Strategies in Strength Training, Part 2
For more examples regarding loading protocols, I highly recommend reading Christian Thibaudeau’s, Black Book of Training Secrets–Enhanced Edition. Most of these graphs are taken from there. Another interesting book to consider is Joe Kenn’s, Coach’s Strength Training Playbook, which is another awesome read.
NBA Elites and Lifting?
The elite NBA players of today includes Steve Nash, Allen Iverson, Kobe Bryant, Tracy McGrady, LeBron James, Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett, and Dirk Nowitzki and their athletic ability.
After the Meet Is Before the Meet
Fans of Run Lola Run might recall a piece of wisdom featured in the beginning of the movie—“After the game is before the game.”
Tricks of the Trade
In my many years of powerlifting and traveling to meets and gyms to train and through association with many shady characters, I have amassed a “bag of tricks” to help me on meet day.
Your First Meet Part I: Setting a Date and Developing Goals
Congratulations! You’ve finally decided to take the plunge and compete in a powerlifting meet
Incorporating the “Big Three” Into Sports Training, Part I
Sports training or sports-specific training is a different beast than competitive powerlifting. However, the “Big Three” have a great impact on the overall strength and explosiveness of the athlete. The $1500 question is how to develop a strength and speed program to help athletes excel in their sport of choice.
Advanced Sumo Deadlift Training
Deadlifting is one of those lifts that becomes more than a little frustrating, especially when you hit lulls and plateaus in your training.
My Experience with Dan John’s 40-Day Workout Plan
I started lifting weights in my early teens, using the York concrete-filled plates down in my parent’s basement. This was only the start.
Speed with Style: Dynamic Squat and Pull Cycles
Before performing this cycle, you’ll need to take a few weeks to prepare. Don’t try to jump in unless you’re all ready well trained.
The SOS Way
On day one in November of 2005, I completely committed myself to making sure that everything, every day was going to be as productive as possible to enhance my strength.
Interview with Chad Aichs
If you did hit that 3000-pound total, what would the breakdown look like for each lift?