Cluster Training for Strength and Hypertrophy
Cluster training methods, like many
of the less “traditional” methods, don’t get utilized enough in people’s training programs. Try them now!
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.
#108 - Season 2 Finale: Louie Simmons and the Future of Table Talk
In the final episode of Season 2, Dave Tate sits down to discuss Louie Simmons’ passing and the future of Dave Tate’s Table Talk Podcast.
Chains for Hypertrophy
Adding strands of steel to your training arsenal is what separates you from harder contractions and better safety measures. Try these exercises.
Does Hypertrophy Have a Place in Athletics?
Some of the brightest minds in strength and conditioning present both sides of the argument. Join the conversation.
The Beauty of Quiet Technique
If you’re looking to be strong, improve durability, and look better, quiet technique will get you there with less wear and tear. Here are implications and executions of this technique using a variety of exercises.
How to Set Up Isometrics in a Strength Circuit
The muscles and connective tissues that are loaded make for a trifecta of hypertrophy, strength, and conditioning. Time under tension is a beautiful thing. Try this today!
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.
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.
The Scale is Ruining Your Physique (and Bodybuilding)
In bodybuilding, numbers aren’t represented on stage; you’re scored based on your overall look or (I almost hate to use that phrase for reasons I won’t get into here). It makes no sense to add 20 pounds of muscle only to have your midsection increase by 4 inches or more.
What A Powerlifter Can Learn From An IFBB Pro
As strength athletes, we care only about lifting the weight from Point A to Point B, but from a bodybuilding perspective, that is dead wrong, but how does that translate to powerlifting? The idea is to challenge the muscle — not just focus on completing reps and sets.
Phases of Performance Nutrition
Looking at dieting as one big picture can be incredibly stressful. Let’s break that big picture up into three more manageable pieces. We’ll call them phases: the post-show phase, the reverse dieting phase, and the meet prep phase.
A Hypertrophy Method for Strength Athletes
The thing to keep in mind as you read the remainder of this program is that I’m describing a method of training — not a set-in-stone program. It’s up to you to apply the method to your particular context: your body, your goals, and your life situation.
Push/Pull/Legs Split for Muscle Size
Try out this very effective program for hypertrophy that’s ideal for beginners and intermediates alike. All you’ve got to do is train four days per week using this three-day split: push, pull, and legs.
GPP Training: You're Doing It Wrong
If your client cannot pull a sled or carry two heavy kettlebells without having to rest excessively between sets, you need to implement GPP to build your clients’ foundations. But you need to implement it the right way.
The Good and The Bad About Insulin
I don’t think most bodybuilders who use insulin as a performance enhancer truly understand WHY they are using it and what it can actually do to their bodies — both good and bad. So let’s dive into the nitty-gritty on the subject of insulin…
WATCH: How to Build a Mind-Muscle Connection
The mind-muscle connection is a legitimate thing. What I’m sharing with you is real science – not “bro-science.”
3 Time-Efficient Assistance Work Circuits to Get You Stronger and in Bet...
These assistance work circuits are designed to be done after main strength work (primary and supplemental movements) and provide a time-efficient way to work for hypertrophy, muscular endurance, and basic conditioning.
The Coach's Guide to Programming and Periodization: Basic Principle...
We can’t simply throw random exercises and set and rep schemes on a piece of paper haphazardly and then hope for the best. In this series I will teach you how to write programs, including a coach’s assignment for each article.
WATCH: Travis Mash's Barbell Life Podcast Episode 190 with Guest Dr...
In one of his most detailed podcast discussions yet, Dr. Bryan Mann shares a number of discoveries he’s made about athlete training and the use of velocity based training.
Developing Strength and Conditioning in the Same Training Session
Our goal is to help our clients become better versions of themselves in terms of fitness, longevity, and body composition, so well-rounded concurrent fitness is often the best course of action.
5-4-3-2-1 Program for Size and Strength
This program aims to take advantage of periodizing training frequency by training one lift five times per week, one lift four times per week, one lift three times per week, one lift twice per week, and one lift once per week.
Rules for the Hard Gainer, Part Two — Six New Steps to Packing on Mass
If you’ve mastered and are continuing to follow the eight rules from part one of this series, I want to show you exactly how you can create an even better program that will pack mass on any true hard gainer out there.
Density Training — How I’m Training Now
Inspired by John Meadows’ primary and secondary workouts, combined with what I know about density training from Vince Gironda, my current split accounts for time and intensity limitations.
LISTEN: All Things Strength & Wellness Episode 112 with Dr. Bryan Mann
For this appearance, Dr. Mann focuses on the physiology of force production, strategies for monitoring stress in athletes, and his experience with Altis.
An Argument for Specificity
Staying in my own lane and keeping a laser focus on pursuing excellence in the sport of powerlifting is what has allowed me to rise to the top of my field as a coach; specializing, not generalizing.
Conjugate Bodybuilding
How does this system translate to someone that just wants a bigger set of guns? Incredibly well, actually, due to the fact you will spend the bulk of your training sessions performing hypertrophy work to bring up primary movers.
Building the Raw Powerlifting Total
Here are several very vital pieces of information that often go overlooked and undervalued when it comes to doing your best on the platform.
Hyperplasic Gains?
The running idea in the field of muscle is that you can increase the cross-sectional area of a muscle cell (hypertrophy) but not the number of cells per muscle (hyperplasia). Is this idea accurate?
Hypertrophy and the Non-Hormonal Stimuli That Make Muscle Grow
The fundamental molecular basis underlying muscle growth is complicated, but that doesn’t mean building muscle has to be difficult.
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.
Vince Gironda — The World's First Personal Trainer
I’ve studied and experimented with Vince Gironda’s methods my entire training career. He has had a major impact on me as a trainer and lifter.
A Smarter Approach to Enhancing Athletic Performance
When I started to apply this 8-phase setup with my high school and college athletes, not only did their technique, mobility, and flexibility improve, but they also looked and felt stronger.
WATCH: Table Talk with Mark Dugdale — Exercise Execution, Pre-Workout Fo...
Mark and Dave share their combined knowledge in both powerlifting and bodybuilding, gained from multiple decades honing their respective crafts.
Experiments with 5x5 Training
You can use five sets for strength building, you can use it for hypertrophy, you can use it for power, and you can change it to suit whatever particular goal you have.
What I Think I Know About Muscle Growth
I am not an in-the-lab scientist; per my own training practice, I care about what I can apply, not what I can argue about.
WATCH: Table Talk — Lessons from Training with John Meadows
What happens when an expert in powerlifting and an expert in bodybuilding train together for five years?
Manipulating Acute Variables in Training— A Guide to Building Lean Muscl...
If you’re training under a Conjugate System, variation is your key to success. Let’s talk about the two acute variables that you should use to your advantage: exercise variation and equipment selection.
Beginners and the Accountability Weakness
Early in your powerlifting journey, this is the only weak point you need to concern yourself with.
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.
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.
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.
Metabolic Stress Based Hypertrophy Training
This protocol seems to be at least as effective (if not more effective) than training in traditional rep ranges, while at the same time remaining far less expensive in terms of recoverability.
Perspectives on Hypertrophy
My viewpoint runs counter to much of the current climate, which is dominated by the short-term perspective of a “hypertrophy phase.”
Building the Biggest Hood in the Hood — Spoto Press
Why the hell not just use a full range of motion? This is why.
A Call to Arms Series: Eccentric Biceps Training
Try this one-armed eccentric barbell curl to induce sleeve-busting growth.
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.
To Split or Not to Split: The Athlete-Training Question
Bodybuilders are known for splitting weekly training into specific body parts per day. Will the same approach work for athletes?
An Unconventional Motive for Muscularity
There are a whole shitload of really good reasons you should get as jacked as you possibly can.
The Best Exercise
The future success of your training program hinges on the inclusion of this one exercise. Don’t train without it.
How I Benched 500 Pounds As A Teenager
The methods weren’t perfect, the food was mostly shit, but it worked. There are a few things I’d change before recommending this for someone else.
The Problem With Your Cookie-Cutter Program
If you follow the guidelines of your program without understanding the reasons for the methods, you’re missing two things that will make or break your progress: individuality and specificity.
Are You Getting Enough O2? — Oxygen's Role in Muscle Growth
On the quest for hypertrophy? Take note of these facts before shunning cardio.
Mythbusters 204-206: Increased Cortisol, The Big 3 Powerlifts, and Fat A...
Let’s knock down a few more falsehoods the fitness industry has been pumping into your brain.
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of Using the Ultimate Performance Enhancer
Thirteen months into my time as a member of CPAP Nation, I’ve made several ground-breaking discoveries for optimizing the use of your CPAP.
WATCH: Training Chest at elitefts Compound with Dave Tate
I’m still learning how to train like a bodybuilder in my current cycle. Here’s the full workout and everything Dave taught me this week.
WATCH: Hypertrophy Circuits for Athletes in a Team Setting
Offering a standardized program of muscle-building protocols can keep your athletes engaged and motivated to complete the training demands.
So Many Stupid Reps — Just for Bodybuilders?
Julia, in conjunction with Alexander Cortes and Scott Paltos, discusses how training like a bodybuilder and adding in higher reps might help powerlifters with the big three lifts.
