A Different Look at the Dynamic Effort Method for Athletes
Why not do speed work with the movements that your athletes will see in their sport?
A Question of Strength
Sixteen questions covering the basics (and often neglected) beginning with bench press templates to dimel deadlifts.
WATCH: Table Talk — What Have You Learned Post-Powerlifting?
With the muscle-building knowledge he has gained since retiring from the sport of powerlifting, what would Dave change about his years training for the platform? We rewind to Dave’s first Table Talk from 2015.
Ten Years Under the Bar
Through my years in the gym I have learned a lot about training, about life, and about myself. From my personal account, these are the most valuable lessons the iron has taught me.
Social Media in Strength and Conditioning
Life was meant to be lived, not read. Cars were meant to be driven, not parked. The harbor is safe, but a ship was meant to sail. Don’t let articles and books convince you that you understand it all.
WATCH: Westside Misconceptions — High Standards
To be on the board at Westside, at the time, meant you had to break the all-time world record, because that was pretty much everybody that was on the board.
WATCH: Westside Misconceptions — Athlete Recruitment Process
You’ve probably heard it said that Westside became the strongest gym in the world by bringing in the best lifters from outside. This is a lie. What made Westside great wasn’t recruiting.
WATCH: Westside Misconceptions — Program Design with Gear
From 1990 to 2000, there wasn’t a single person who came to Westside and stayed who didn’t get significantly stronger. Everyone got stronger, wearing gear or not.
Upper Back for the Bench
So why do you want to build a strong, thick upper back? Isn’t the bench all pecs, shoulders, and triceps?
WATCH: Off Topic with Dave Tate and Jim Wendler — Training for All-Aroun...
If you want to build total fitness, you need to know about something Jim Wendler calls The Push-Pull Concept — and it has nothing to do with benching or deadlifting.
WATCH: Table Talk — Analyzing Training Methods
The people who really don’t know what the fuck they are doing are the ones that are taking the business from you because you are too wrapped up in the wrong things.
Building A Great Lifting Crew — Advice for Hardcore Lifters
The information in this article is meant for lifters who care about only one thing: building the biggest powerlifting total possible.
Life and Lifting After Double Hip Replacement Surgery
With 20 years of lifting behind me, I was scared to death of my double anterior total hip replacement. What would life be like after surgery? Could I ever lift again?
Finding Peak Performance in Powerlifting Through Personal Coaching
The key to breaking my long-term training plateau was turning to someone with more knowledge and training experience than me. He knew exactly what I needed.
WATCH: Table Talk — The Three Biggest Mistakes Intermediate Lifters Make
If you ever want to reach an elite level in this sport, you have to get the rookie mistakes out of the way. These are the most common problems I see in intermediate lifters.
WATCH: Table Talk — Can You Build the Deadlift Without Deadlifting?
A lot of people disagree about how often you should deadlift in the gym, if at all. For 13 years of competing, this is how I trained my deadlift.
Training at Westside: Priorities and Lifestyle
For us, lifting was a priority. Louie and Westside gave us the edge to move our lifters on up in the competitive world. More than a place to train, lifting was our lifestyle.
Louie on Barbell Shrugged
In this episode Louie shares how CrossFit can minimize injury and increase competitiveness through smarter programming.
Is Getting Strong as Simple as Wiggling Your Toes?
You’ve received a lot of lifting cues in your life, but I guarantee you’ve never heard this one.
Dave Tate Shapes Future of SPTS Presenter
He attended a seminar of Dave’s 15 years ago as a nobody. Today he’s presenting for elitefts.
WATCH: "Westside Louie is a Flip Floppin' Know-It-All SOB!"
Darden replies to a reader's commentary.
Memories of Westside
You all have heard a lot of stories, now let me cut through Dave's Westside bullshit.
The Essential Expansion of STA Sports Performance
Athletic guidance from the man who has been there.
Dave Tate's Guide to Supplemental Movements with FULL Video
Updated with Dave Tate's FULL presentation (video) on supplemental strength from the LTT8.
Strong Mind: Excellence
Anyone can make that good, right choice once in a while…but it takes so much more than that.
Understanding the Principles Behind Programming
It is not the percentages in 5/3/1, or the use of bands in Westside training that make these programs special.
In Defense of Westside for Raw Lifters
It’s not about whether it’s right or wrong…it’s about if you’re doing it right!
Training with Purpose: Modifications and Variation in Training
You’re only limited by as much information and ability as you have to logically modify your programming.
I'm Too Young to Be This Damn Old: The Long and Winding Road
The road back to the platform can be long and winding.
Monster Garage Gym: What was Old is New Again
Fads and trends ebb and flow, but there are a few things that will always remain constant.
elitefts™ Classic: In the Beginning
Bob Youngs describes his first training program while at Westside.
The Cube Method: Yeah or Nay?
Jennifer Petrosino takes an outside look at this four-day block rotation program.
Monster Drinks May Kill You, But This Won’t
A geyser of energy drink erupted from my nostrils as I read an article from the Huffington Post claiming that Monster Drinks may be linked to five deaths.
30 Days Without Weights: Part II
In my first article on body weight training titled “30 Days Without Weights,” I spoke about the many benefits of using body weight training during a training phase.
The Wonderful World of Calisthenics
Typical bodybuilders and gym rats have forgotten about the old school ways of developing a great physique. Back in the old days, great physiques were made without the use of free weights or machines.
The Tendo and Its Use for Autoregulation
The Fitrodyne Powerlyzer by Tendo, or Tendo unit as it’s more commonly known, is a piece of equipment used to measure the speed of the bar. This allows the coach to know several things such as whether the athlete is training what he or she is supposed to be training and whether the bar speed has started to drop. Here,
My Fictional Dinner with Louie Simmons
My brain works like a puppy on crack. It never seems to stop. Unlike Homer Simpson, I can’t seem to get it to stop working for even short periods. What I can do is try to direct my train of thought. Working in my lab, I often have many experiments that involve tasks that I have performed hundreds or thousands
The Thinker Discusses Olympic Lifts
Question 1: I’d like to thank you for all of the helpful tips, but this is where we’re going to crash. As an athlete, I’ve been performing the Olympic lifts since middle school. I use them with the athletes I train from day one and haven’t had any problems.
Cutting Weight for the Pro Am
It was the afternoon before the meet, a Friday. I weighed in at 240 lbs. Weigh-ins were scheduled for 9:00 am Saturday morning. In preparation for the four and a half hour drive down to the meet site, I started my cutting process by putting on four layers of sweat clothes.
Beginnings
This is kind of a queer way to begin an article, but I still remember the first time I met him like it was yesterday. It was the fall of 2002, and we were sitting on opposite ends of the room in our public communication class as freshmen at Ithaca College.
So You Want to Gain Weight?
We have to go way back to get some understanding on this one.
Back in 2000, when we were skeletons and I was almost ripped, Adipose had just sold his gym and was going for his—literally—all for broke, make it or break it, in powerlifiting. Now, in order to complete his master plan, he had to dissolve all ties. I know
Fun in the Weight Room
Keeping your athletes motivated is one of the hardest things to do as a strength coach.
Time Under Tension for Grapplers & MMA Fighters Part II
I still get goose bumps when I think of how John Smith, two time Olympic Gold Medalist was training when I attended his intensive wrestling camps.
No Rules Training: Part II
I’ve got another story for you, and it always brings back some of my favorite times in the gym. Actually, I have countless “favorite times” in the gym but this one is special to me, but honestly, all these memories are special to me.
Just Do It
The time has finally arrived for me to summarize how I train high school athletes in my quaint, but aesthetically unappealing subterranean gym.
