Overcoming the Pressure of a Six-Pack: How I Gained 100 Pounds in High S...
If you’re a kid with some athletic potential but is knocked over by a slight breeze, you need to start training and eating properly. Here’s how!
Conjugate x Conditioning Football
Use these templates to cover all bases (strength development and conditioning) in one seamless program!
At-Home Offseason Football Training Program
You will most likely never find yourself in a situation like this. Don’t feel bad for yourself by not having access to the weight room and your teammates/coaches. Your competition is probably not training right now. TAKE ADVANTAGE!
Does the 225 Bench Press Repetitions Test Even Matter?
In a published journal article, we examined 31 football players on the 225 Test (and we also collected some velocity data, so hold on to your hats for future publications from this data set) to see if this test made any difference in playing time.
The Mind-Body Link: Posture Yourself Into a Winning Position
Posture makes a huge difference in every aspect of your life. It can be one of the reasons you were (or weren’t) mugged. It also can turn the tide mid-game from a loss to a victory. Try practicing your posture and see the difference for yourself.
Common Strength Pitfalls to Avoid
Here’s an idea: If your team is losing a game, how about instead of celebrating one good play, try focusing on how you and your team can muster a win.
RPE Method for the Max Effort Lane
Believe it or not, sometimes max effort work is not the best option. Here are a few scenarios where that may be the case as well as what you can do to fill in the gaps where the max effort method would be.
Neck Training Guidelines to Reduce Incidences and Severity of Concussions
A strong neck is critical to preventing concussions in athletes participating in contact sports — but what are the best ways to strengthen necks?
LISTEN: Table Talk Podcast #34 with Ross Kolodziej
Before the Buckeyes face off against the Badgers, University of Wisconsin’s head strength and conditioning coach Ross Kolodziej joins Dave for a late-night Table Talk Podcast episode.
Practical Prilepin Plans
It is this article’s intention to impart an easily identifiable progression in accordance with Prilepin’s stipulations and practical examples of it, all of which I’ve used at the Division I level.
Don't Be Afraid to Try
A self-made millionaire once told me that we all have great ideas; it’s just that 99% of people don’t act on them. Those words came to mind this summer when I took the largest step I’ve ever taken out of my comfort zone…
The Definition of Insanity
Insanity: Doing the same thing over and over again to get a different result. That pretty much sums up the strength and conditioning industry, doesn’t it?
WATCH: The Definitive Guide to Hill Sprints
Before you go find yourself a hill to sprint up via Google maps (steep hills, such as those in landfills, are ideal), don’t forget to warm up and stay hydrated. It’s a sprint, so go all out!
45 Minutes or Your Money Back
Someone once told me when it came to programming, their objective was to be able to get as much bang for your buck as possible. That stuck with me, so I ensure my programs are of good quality and don’t last more than 45 minutes.
OSU Football Practice Starts August 2
The upcoming 130th season of Buckeye football is an exciting and nerve-wracking one, as former OSU Head Coach Urban Meyer retired last January, leaving the program in the hands of Ryan Day. We'll get a preview of the upcoming season with the team's 1st fall practice.
LISTEN: Table Talk Podcast Clip — What High School Strength Coaches are ...
If “what you’re saying you’re doing and what you’re doing to the athlete doesn’t match up… I’m calling BS on your integrity.” Phil Matusz, OSU’s associate director of strength and conditioning, shares a powerful message for high school strength coaches.
At War with the ME Culture
Social media is toxic when it comes down to good teamwork. There’s no “I” in team, and there’s no “me” in team, either. So let’s try to figure out how to flip the “M” in me upside-down and change that Me to a We.
Advice for High School Linemen
I’ve made a lot of mistakes when I was younger, and I believe it’s part of a coach’s job to pass on the knowledge and experiences I have gained from my own athletic career, such as never being average, striving for perfection, and detailing everything.
Game Day Lifting (with Sample Training Session)
During Richland High School’s last football season, I combined the conjugate method and the tier system for programming game day lifts. Seeing the results thus far, I intend to continue the program with a few adjustments — but not before sharing it.
Comfort Zones are Death Zones
As I start up my new job, I wanted to give younger strength and conditioning coaches some advice: Don’t be afraid to spread your wings and fly out of your comfort zone. Be bold and be brave. It will pay off at some point.
WATCH: Chris Janek — A Lifter With a Lot of Heart
During SSTSS 2019, Chris Janek sat down and briefed us on his childhood, previous jobs, geared and raw lifting, and the effects of having four open-heart surgeries. Now, he’s on a heart transplant waiting list and doing as much as he can without overdoing it.
LISTEN: Table Talk Podcast #15 with Phil Matusz
In this episode of Table Talk Podcast, Dave Tate talks shop with Phil Matusz, the associate director of strength and conditioning for the Ohio State University football team.
8-Weeks-Til-Camp Summer Program for High School Football
You won’t ever find my old programs on a typed-out card. Why? Because I don’t run the same program each year. I meet my kids where they’re at, which is why this program isn’t a program. It’s an outline.
Live and Coach Your Why
My why is to improve athletes through and of the human body and mind by giving them all a well-thought-out program to make them faster, stronger, and more resilient. What’s your why? And why?
A Legendary Interview with the Legendary Al Vermeil
It’s not every day that you get to listen to an interview with the only strength coach who’s won a championship in both the NFL and NBA. That means today is your day! A few topics we cover are recovery, early morning workouts, trends, intensity, injury, calf exercises, buy-in, and more!
Is Your Foundation Made of Rock or Sand?
Your foundation needs to be deeper and stronger than your core values. It must be a part of your being, some things that you will never give into or allow to change. These can also be small things that will get you, your staff, and your players through just about anything.
Start Building Aerobic Capacity for Your Sport
Science has proven time and time again that having a football player running endless 100-yard sprints isn’t the best option. In fact, it shouldn’t even be thought of as an option. Instead, use current information about energy systems to improve training.
LISTEN: Table Talk Podcast #4 with Dave Tate
In this episode of Table Talk Podcast, Dave Tate puts on a one-man show and answers listeners’ questions about his worst powerlifting meet, his high school football and wrestling career, and more.
Colleges and Universities on the Prowl for Knowledge
True to elitefts’ mission to live, learn, and pass on, the knowledge and education we provide don’t stop in our London, Ohio, office. Here's how Bowling Green State University, Ohio State University, the University of Michigan, and the University of Miami in Florida are taking their training to the next level by pushing the Prowler.
How to Program for a Large Group of Athletes with Limited Resources
The DOMINATE method is a way of working out a team with the bare minimum while still being able to maximize results. It consists of eight principles that all successful strength and conditioning programs must have and must be able to do.
Starting Over in the Basement
I know it is a new year, and everyone starts to look back or forward at this time, and maybe it is a good thing to act to re-evaluate what you are doing with your programs and why. 2019 brought me a new head coach and a great opportunity to review and reassess my football team’s program.
7 NFL Teams with Job Openings
If someone gets fired, that means there's an opening. And almost a quarter of NFL teams have openings after the 2018 season, so get those resumes ready to go.
OSU's Urban Meyer Announces Retirement
Offensive coordinator Ryan Day, whose leadership led to the first three victories of this season, will be the new head coach.
The Difference Between Winning and Maintaining a Winning Team
Why is it so hard to continue to excel, bit by bit, and stay there year after year, time after time? Why could you have a great year one year and a horrible one the next? I am writing this because we did just that.
Should Kids Play Youth Football?
I will never tell a parent they are right or wrong for enrolling their child in a contact sport such as football. What I do recommend, however, is that parents ask themselves three important questions before putting their kid into a contact sport.
The Process with Ryan Davis, Rodney Hill, Brian Johnson, and Dantonio Bu...
People on the outside see the bowl game wins, or the squat PR’s, but what they don’t see is the process.
S&C Programming Considerations for College Football Freshmen
What we all want is to set our freshmen up for success for the future. How we go about it isn’t about ego and “our system” or anything like that; it’s about taking the time to put thought into what you’re doing and what will be the best for them.
WATCH: Phil Matusz 2018 elitefts Sports Performance Summit Presentation ...
As Associate Director of Strength and Conditioning for The Ohio State University football team, Matusz knows what it’s like to be in a high-pressure environment. And that’s when your leadership really counts.
WATCH: Q&A with Coach Kav — The Most Common Weaknesses of Aspiring N...
When young athletes who plan to go into an NFL camp or enter the draft visit Coach Kav, there are two main issues he almost always encounters.
The New Football Conditioning Test
When I first arrived at Princeton University, our preseason conditioning test consisted of repeat 40-yard sprints. Since then, we’ve experimented and implemented a new protocol.
WATCH: Justus Galac SPS Presentation — Goals of the S&C Program
Some goals of strength and conditioning are obvious, such as a improving conditioning. Others, such as building a winning culture, aren’t so obvious. This is how Galac approaches each of his staff’s goals with the New York Jets.
WATCH: Buddy Morris SPS Presentation — The Brain Controls Everything
The interworking systems of the human body cannot be separated, and it all begins in the brain. Every moment of stress is trauma to the brain, and a good coach knows how to deal with this.
225 Bench Press Repetitions Test — What Are We Really Testing?
The strength of the athlete determines what kind of preparation will produce the desired training effect: more reps. We need to stop and ask three questions.
What Do I Have to Work With?
This is the first question you should ask yourself when training a team. To get this point across, I’ve attached my entire fall football training program.
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.
Summer Programming — Eliminate the Two Steps Back
You took a step forward and now it’s summer. This time of year means nine weeks of strength and conditioning bliss and nine weeks of scheduling, programming and executing our own version of “the master plan.”
Communication in Strength and Conditioning — The Heartbeat of a Successf...
With your athletes and with your staff, communication is all you have for keeping everyone on the same page. If you won’t talk to them, you won’t understand them, and your program will fail.
Football Testing Season — Five Weeks to Gain Strength
Entering the time period away from pre-season or in-season training, our head coach made his expectations clear: “I want to see bench presses go up by 20 pounds and squats by 40 pounds in the next five to six weeks.” Easy, right?
How Do We Get to the Steak, Not the Sizzle?
There’s nothing wrong with trying the newest, flashy technique, but if you don’t know how it will help your team, stick to the basics.
Project Jonah: The Final Report
This four-year journey following the development of a young athlete has finally come to a close, with many lessons learned.
Culture of the Team: The Hardest Part of Coaching
This problem started to creep up on us several years ago and I only see it getting worse.
Nontraditional Training Methods of the NFL
There's more to a professional football player's preparation than scrimmages, weight rooms and film sessions. These are some of the more unusual training methods of NFL athletes.
How To Increase Your 225-Pound Bench for Reps Test
Here are 23 tips to master the most famous NFL Combine challenge,
New Study Highlights Brain Changes After Concussions
Young football players who experience a concussion also show signs of reduced blood flow in the brain.
Conditioning for the Gridiron Warrior
What good is that 500-pound squat if you’re taking a knee in the fourth quarter desperately gasping for air?
Third Time’s a Charm or Three Strikes You're Out?
After two heart surgeries, I was starting to recover. I was making progress. That’s when my cardiologist called with more bad news.
The Four Steps of Establishing Your Program
The success of your program depends on your ability to balance what your head coach wants to do, what you want to do, and what your team really needs.