Carnitine L-Tartrate Supplementation for Powerlifters
When I read that l-carnitine l-tartrate (LCLT) could help me burn fat, recover from exercise, favorably affect my hormone levels, and deliver more oxygen to my muscles, I was intrigued.
Defending the Bench Press
The bench press is a great lift. Whether your goal is to develop a powerful overall physique or a barrel chest or just get brutally strong, the bench press can help you get there.
EliteFTS Spotlight: Shannon Turley
EliteFTS Spotlight is a new 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.
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 Does It Take to Be an Effective Strength Coach?
What are the attributes of an effective strength and conditioning coach? I was recently asked this question, and as I stumbled over myself for a few minutes, I thought it would make a great topic for an article.
An Interview with Pat Ivey, Assistant Athletics Director, Athletic Perfo...
It might seem like I’ve been doing many interviews lately. There’s good reason for this. A few weeks ago, I did an interview for EliteFTS, and I was asked the question, “Who do you feel is getting it done in strength and conditioning?”
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:
Don’t Forget the Basics
As a college strength and conditioning coach for nine years, I’ve come across many different types of training programs, and I’ve used many different types of training when working with my athletes. The one thing I’ve learned is that most programs and coaches usually try and put the cart before the horse, doing too much too early and forgetting the
What I Learned from Donovan McNabb
I’ll have to start this story with an admission—I didn’t play for the Philadelphia Eagles, but I did play a Philadelphia Eagle. Long story short, I played semi-professional football for a few seasons and made the All Star team. Campbell’s Soup took photos of all of the All Stars and selected the ones who looked most like NFL players to
An Interview With The Angry Coach
The Angry Coach is the newest member of the Elite Fitness Systems Q&A Staff. I first met this guy at a seminar back in 2005, and I was immediately impressed with his life experience, his training knowledge and his ability to communicate the things he felt were right and wrong with both athletics coaching and the fitness industry.
Five Questions for The Thinker
1. It must be very exciting to be involved with a winning program at this point in the season. How has this football season been progressing for you, personally?
Off-Season/Pre-Season Training for the High School Athlete
It seems that the terms off-season and pre-season are synonymous in the world of high school athletics. Most of the athletes who I train play multiple sports or participate in the same sport in multiple seasons. Unlike the college athlete, the high school athlete doesn’t have 16–24 plus weeks in the off-season/pre-season to devote to a comprehensive strength and conditioning
An Interview with Cal Dietz
I’m the head Olympic strength and conditioning coach at the University of Minnesota and am currently working with eight sports. These include men’s and women’s hockey, men’s basketball, men’s track and field, men’s swimming, baseball, and men’s and women’s golf.
Interview with Strength Coach Todd Hamer
Todd Hamer is the head strength and conditioning coach at Robert Morris University.
Elitefts Spotlight: Landon Evans
As many times I’ve been made fun of because of my past, I think it’s imperative to outline so some people can see why I am the way I am.
Elitefts Spotlight: Yosef Johnson
Yosef Johnson is the owner and president of Ultimate Athlete Concepts, a company he founded in Muskegon, Michigan in 2001 with the goal of bringing together the best scientists from a variety of fields and incorporating their knowledge into a comprehensive line of products which were previously unavailable to North American athletics coaches.
My Five “Ah-ha” Moments of Becoming a Strength Coach
Lately, a few of the leaders in our business (Cosgrove, Cressey, and Robertson to name a few) have published articles with this catchy “ah-ha” title. I’m sure they’ve made each one of us sit in front of our computers and say, “Dang, he’s right.”
The Making of Elite Sports Performance
There are many great gyms in the United States. Ohio has the great Westside Barbell, California has Diablo Barbell, New York has Adirondack Barbell—home of the Metal Militia, and Nebraska has Big Iron.
Life of a Cyclone Wrestler
I wake up at the crack of dawn, put on my sweats, suck down a shake, and I’m out the door. Time to hit the road. It’s early. It’s dark. It’s cold. But I can feel only one thing—my adrenaline pumping as “Eye of the Tiger” pumps through my headphones.
Hardcore Extreme Sep. 08
This games didn’t really go as planned. In hindsight, I made some mistakes that really affected my throwing. On the plus side, I won the national caber championship.
Delusion Tube
A few years after my football career ended, I found myself playing linebacker in a recreational flag football game in Long Island’s Eisenhower Park. This is rarely ever a good idea.
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.
Countdown
We arrived at Metropolis (a night club) at 6:00 p.m. The fights were scheduled to begin at 8:00 p.m. The time had finally arrived—Ryan Farhat’s mixed martial arts (MMA) debut.
Elite Kids
I understand that not every 8-year-old knows exactly what a glute ham is or how to perform the movement. Few adults know.
Elitefts™ Classic: Words of Wisdom
Last night, I was sitting in my office going through some of my training journals and notes that had accumulated over the years.
Got Strength?
Who do you respect? Does that person have the strength to be who they are? As I sit here and type this, I can tell you that over the last year, I truly discovered what it means to have strength.
Racing Toward Red Lights: A Real World Perspective on Apathy
We’ve all done it. Every last one of us. Been in a tight spot and the first thing we think is who can we blame?
No Respect? Go to the Basement!
I have had some interesting conversations with Jim Wendler. One in particular struck a chord with me quite heavily. In fact, it has helped mold a process I use at my gym when training new athletes.
Elitefts Spotlight: Lacrosse’s Nicky Polanco
If you don’t know anything about lacrosse – if you’ve never actually seen a game – chances are you’ve bought into the almost universal, yet severely mistaken, notion that it’s a leisure class sport populated by rich preppie-types from elite private schools in the Northeast.
To My Readers.. by The Thinker
One week ago I was offered and accepted an incredible opportunity to co-author a book outlining the physical preparation training of 6-time UFC Champion Randy Couture.
Are We Truly Improving Performance?
A noted sports columnist in the San Diego area lamented the fact that one of the state universities was unable to field a championship women’s volleyball team (they already dropped the men’s program even though it was the only program to bring in an NCAA championship).
The Prowler Uber Alles
Did you ever take a good look at the shape of the Prowler? How about someone giving you the finger?
The Learning Curve
How I understand, practice, and implement strength and conditioning programs for myself and my clients has drastically changed over the past four years.
Ten Questions With Matt Rhodes
I won’t change much. I plan on running a 12-week cycle of higher volume once I’m cleared to go full speed. I want to gain about 40lbs for November. I’ll need the extra volume to gain some muscle and size.
Pet Peeve
I have a pet peeve that I need to get off my chest. I can’t stand how every hardcore lifter pisses and moans when they’re forced to train in a commercial gym. Now, hear me out before you say, “Paul Leonard isn’t ‘hardcore.’”
On Freud’s Couch (an excerpt from the book, The Tao of B)
Humans alone are granted the gift or capability of pondering their existence and the meaning of life. Weightlifters sometimes contemplate why they lift in a quest to uncover underlying factors or reasons that may shed light on their lifelong pursuit of power.
Powerlifting as Evolution
“Carryover” is a word often used to describe how equipment improves lifts. What kind of carryover has powerlifting had in other aspects of your life?
The Diesel Compound 2 with Jim Smith
Wrestling season is still going strong as of this writing. We have two athletes competing right now at the state tournament, and had several of our guys place at districts and regionals. The team really did well this year and is only losing a few seniors.
Cardiovascular System Training Principles, Part 2
As we’ve already alluded to, there are three main components of cardiovascular health that we must improve in order to raise your specific level of cardiovascular fitness—structure, function, and regulation.
My Encounter with the “Beast from the East”
As a chick, I must admit it was somewhat intimidating to pull into the parking area of Ocean State Gym alone.
Understanding the Cardiovascular System, Part 1
Although there are more than 600 muscles in your body making up almost 40 percent of your total body weight, there is one muscle that stands out as more important than all the rest.
A Powerlifter’s Guide to Making Weight
The reality of competing in powerlifting is that at some point in time we all have to make weight. Making weight can make or break your lifting performance.
Spud Inc. Jump Rings for Explosive Results in Athletic Performance
A slow athlete needs to develop speed-strength. Here is how.
Review of Explosive Running by Anatoly Bondarchuk
Short, middle, and long-distance runners all need explosiveness.
Zach Even-Esh: Tales from The Underground
I am busy as all heck, as always, and I am in the process of getting away from working so much and doing all of this full time.
Performance Training Center Five Questions for Mark McLaughlin
Mark McLaughlin has spent several years reading and learning Eastern Bloc training methods as well as other alternative types of training, leaving no stone unturned in the preparation of his athletes.
Seven Principles for Better Program Design
It’s important to recognize that effective programming can be accomplished within realistic timeframes by almost anyone willing to put in the work.
The Thinker: An Update From Behind the Iron Curtain
The Thinker, over the past few years, has in all likelihood answered more Q&A inquiries on this site than anyone else on our staff.
How Harry Selkow Trains the Arizona Sundogs
Good talking to you yesterday. I even tried to keep you on the phone longer since I knew you had to hit the “head” to relieve yourself. I have to tell you, I always walk away refreshed after talking to you. It makes me realize that there ARE other nuts out here with a different view and that’s good stuff.
The Overlooked Trait of a Champion
When talking about champions, everyone has an opinion just like the BCS College Football Standings. Are champions built or are they born? Are they a product of their environment or are they loners hungry for a piece of the pie?
The Machines Aren’t Alright
Technology is a beautiful thing. I used to work part-time as a DJ, and I remember hauling around hundreds of records and thousands of CDs. Transporting all the equipment and the music felt like powerlifting.
