elitefts Welcomes Newest Team Member — Tarra Oravec
"Today probably comes in top 5 for one of the best days of my life."
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.
Beyond the Barbell
For most powerlifters, exercise begins and ends with the barbell. What if I told you there were ways to get better without it?
Depression Answers for Athletes
I can only imagine from my personal experience with depression how athletes like Dave Mirra reach the point of tragedy.
WATCH: Physique and Strength Sports — Training and Competing as a Dual A...
Can you do both? This is Julia's approach.
How to Fix Your Bench Press: The Setup
The first installment of a three-part series, this article discusses the first step of mastering the bench press: learning optimal setup.
Fix These Simple Mistakes to Lift Heavier Weights
These mistakes in the squat, bench, and deadlift seem small on their own. But add them to together? You're leaving pounds off your total.
WATCH: Table Talk — The Worst Beginner Mistake
This mistake is really, really simple, even if no one wants to take ownership of it.
7-Step Guide to Learning the Sumo Deadlift
This article includes video that shows the many physical and technical aspects you need to master to get the most of your sumo deadlift.
Reliving the Powerlifting Glory Days: Pride, Inspiration, and the 2008 I...
Fame? We never wanted it. My, how times have changed.
An Unconventional Motive for Muscularity
There are a whole shitload of really good reasons you should get as jacked as you possibly can.
Recognize Your Weaknesses and Limitations
This could be the simple rule to great strength — are you following it?
Finding Strength: Total Performance Sports
Owned by elitefts coach CJ Murphy in Massachusetts, TPS is one of the best gyms in the country, with the accolades and athletes to prove it.
Health Considerations of Powerlifting Technique
Consider the major powerlifting movements, cues, and technical adjustments that may prove helpful in both improving strength and prolonging health.
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: Choosing the Right Weightlifting Singlet
Sleeves? Zippers? Material? Fit? Here are a few specific qualities to look for.
RUM9 Meet Report: Finding My Identity on the Platform
RUM9 is the first meet I stepped onto the platform as an individual with a secure sense of identity as both a PT and athlete. Feelsy meet recap incoming.
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.
Coaching CJ Piantieri at the Special Olympics Southeast Meet
For over six years I have watched CJ overcome many obstacles. I am always impressed by his competitive tenacity and love for powerlifting.
WATCH: Table Talk — What You Need for the Perfect Home Gym
There are three questions you should be asking yourself before investing in equipment.
Raw Unity Meet 9: Coaching, 5thSet, World Record Controversy
Another year of RUM, another weekend of 5thSet lifters kicking ass on the platform. Thank God no one I work with broke a world record, right?
My 30-Year Love Affair with Lifting
If I never did another meet, wrote another article, or coached at another seminar, I would still love lifting.
WATCH: Getting Into A Deadlift Position
It might take you 10 reps to find your groove, or it might take you 100. Keep working until that position becomes automatic.
Interview with LeRoy “The Machine” Walker
Could he be the next man to bench press over 700 pounds raw?
Here and Now: Mindfulness and Being in the Moment
Your time in the gym is precious. If you don't summon the iron will to shut off the outside world, get out.
WATCH: Deadlift Tips on Tightness, Speed Pulls, and Hook Grip
Looking for guidance from one of the best of all time? Steve Goggins breaks down the deadlift in video form.
Brian Schwab's Gear Recommendations
From wraps and singlets to briefs and suits, here are the things I believe you should be wearing when you step on the platform.
WATCH: Table Talk — Prehabilitation and Rehabilitation Techniques
How you choose to prime your body for a training session is up to you, but not all warm up and recovery methods are equal.
Training Solo vs With A Team (or Partner)
There are benefits to having a crew and there are benefits to relying on only yourself. Which are most important for you?
Is Stress Killing Your Progress?
Life stress is unavoidable. It can overwhelm you and have a negative impact on your training...if you let it.
WATCH: Steve Goggins Coaches Méana Franco Through A Mock Meet
To overcome the limitations of an exclusively online coach-to-client relationship, these elitefts team members traveled to the S4 Compound for a day of in-person coaching in preparation for CPU Nationals.
An Updated Deadlift Cycle for Average Joes
This 16-week cycle is for gym rats who have been lifting long enough to have good technique but aren't interested in peaking for a meet.
Finding Strength: NBS Fitness
This is a great training facility in Memphis, Tennessee owned by strength coach, athlete, and EliteFTS columnist, David Allen.
Training Heavy with Chronic Pain
No amount of strategic planning can account for your body's unexpected responses to training and life. Be prepared to stop bowing down to your program and start listening to your body.
WATCH: Table Talk — Can You Bench Alone Using a Bench Shirt?
Equipped powerlifting isn't easy to do by yourself in a home gym. But if you're going to do it, you need to know how to do it safely.
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.
Lessons Learned From Bilateral Bone Breaks
This case study, derived from my extensive rehabilitation, details every aspect of the steps I took to overcome an unexpected and immediate halt to my training.
Reliving the Powerlifting Glory Days: My Best Meets of '05–'08
When I competed in the WPO in front of thousands of people with standing room only, I loved it. But I also took it for granted not thinking that it would one day end.
WATCH: Darden Q&A From the Compound — Beginners, When to Compete, In...
Do you know the number one secret to being a great strength athlete?
The Nines and Tens of Training and Nutrition
The things to which you devote your time fall into one of two categories: those that are building your future or those that are holding you back.
Brandon Smitley's 9-Week Conjugate Training Program
This program is built on the foundation of tried-and-true conjugate training methods and includes personal adjustments from a world-record philosophy.
The Sticking Point: How To Find Your Weakness and Fix It
A logical process of elimination begins by considering all possible causes of your sticking point. I don't have the answer but I can help you find it.
Time Under Tension: It's Not Just For Bodybuilders
As a powerlifter, you have one goal: move the weight. The faster, the better. Or maybe not.
Finding A Personal Record Through Consistency
Powerlifting is one tool I use to measure my strength. Through relocation, job change, a virus, a motorcycle crash, and children (the list goes on), there’s one thing I learned this past year: consistency.
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.
WATCH: Chris Duffin Interviews Ryan 'Bench Monster' Kennelly
The record-holder and 1075-pound bench presser openly discusses technique and his comeback from injury in this Kabuki Strength Lab video.
elitefts Classic: RIP Dynamic Effort Bench?
The role and reputation of the DE bench press has received nothing but a bad rap. I have to admit that I am partly to blame.
elitefts Classic: Falling Forward in the Squat
Novice and advanced lifters make this mistake all the time, in the gym and at meets. To fix this, figure out if the problem is mental, physical, or technical.
Implementing 5/3/1 Principles in a Conjugated Program
These options can help you combine the best parts of Wendler’s program with your regular routine of max effort and dynamic effort training.
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.
'Tis the Season: The Pros and Cons of Being Huge
It’s not all glitz and glamour in the world of gluttony — but there are some perks.
The Mental Woes of Breaking in New Gear
The whole process is a mental fuck if you let it be. From poly to canvas, here’s my most recent battle with unanticipated obstacles.
Meet Day Mistakes: How to Plan for the Finer Points of Performance
You may be hearing these four tips for the first time or you may need a reminder of things you already know — it doesn’t matter. Whether you’ve done two meets or twenty, avoid these mistakes at all costs.
Rehab and Training: Forward-Thinking Prevention, Retrospective-Thinking ...
You’re always going to be in one of the three phases of training. Your goal is to find a way to stay in Phase One as long as possible while avoiding Phase Three at all costs.
WATCH: Table Talk — Do Your Genetics Suck?
There’s a way to know if your genetics suck — but not until you’ve given 100%. If you don’t spend enough time trying, you’ll never know.