Gym Rats Rejoice: Tennessee Repeals Amusement Tax on Gym Memberships
Tennessee just took a load off gym owners' shoulders by repealing a $10 million amusement tax on gym memberships. The law will go into effect on July 1st.
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!
Supplemental Training Mistakes and Essentials
I learned a large portion of my knowledge of supplemental training from many mistakes I made in the gym. I am hoping to help all of you readers avoid at least a few of the mistakes I made and get more out of your supplemental training.
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.
Ocham’s Razor and the Pareto Principle in Weight Training Programming
According to the Pareto Principle, 80% of results come from 20% of your time. Ocham’s Razor states the simplest solution tends to be the best one. Simplicity is the missing ingredient in most training programs. Hence why I return to the famous paradigm of the pull-push-squat.
Unlocking Your Muscle Chain
Muscle chains are like dominoes: It’s enough for you to drop the first one, so the others fall from the power that is constantly transferred from one domino to another and then the weight takes over the job and pulls over the domino that falls and hit the next one into falling… and the next one… and the next one…
The Two Variables That Change It All: Load and Speed
Your athletes’ load and acceleration will vary greatly depending on the skillset and experience of your athletes. Your athletes’ levels of experience will impact the ability of what they can and cannot do, as well as how you can assess and train these athletes at each level.
Ask Questions, Read, and Ask More Questions
A beautiful transformation occurs when you begin to accept that difficulties are as inherent to our lives as breathing. For strength coaches, there is nothing more substantive to our daily lives than questions and books. Do you diverge from the routine?
Training Our Thought Process
Just the other day, I was listening to a motivational speech that got me going. That speech made it clear to me that an evolution of the thought process and perception of what training should be is how lifters and strength athletes progress to the higher levels.
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.
LISTEN: Table Talk Podcast #2 with JL Holdsworth
In this episode of Table Talk Podcast, Dave Tate and JL Holdsworth reminisce about their time at Westside Barbell, perspective and the meaning of “going all in,” figuring out band and chain percentages, and more.
Bring the Juice
In order to fully help your athletes maximize their performance while bringing the juice as a coach, you have to be able to communicate to them how to do the lifts properly — through effective and efficient cues. Here, take a sample sip of some of my juicier cues.
elitefts Columnist's Article Featured in Training & Conditionin...
elitefts columnist Chris Janek's article, "Circuits and Supersets for BAMF Wrestlers," landed itself 15 seconds of fame and glory in this week's Training & Conditioning newsletter.
The Practice Squad
I recently reconnected with an old client: Don Cherry, whom I first met as a 16-year-old football player. Over the last several years, I’ve been lucky to watch that kid I trained in the belly of the Beast become a college and NFL football player and most recently, one of the voices behind a great podcast.
Your Strength and Conditioning Blueprint for Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
While training myself and others, I’ve started to notice areas where most BJJ guys and gals are lacking when it comes to their strength training: fundamental movement patterns, mobility, stability, core and upper back work, and recovery. Here’s how to improve.
12 Rules for Becoming a Better Strength Coach
These 12 rules are a culmination of experience and mistakes and were written for younger strength coaches, who I hope understand the long journey they have in front of them. While your principles are and should still be forming, it’s always a good thing to have some rules to keep you on track.
Men of Strength Sports Performance Podcast #4: Jeff Ward
This episode’s guest is Georgia Southern University’s director of Olympic strength and conditioning: Jeff Ward. Coach Ward was a part-time assistant when I started working there, and he made a huge jump to the director position. He’s got a good story of how he got there, so listen up!
C.J. Murphy's Specialty Bar Car Show #2
In my second Specialty Bar Car Show, I’m going to teach you everything I know about the Tsunami Bar, Bandbell Bar, and — one of my all-time favorites — Safety Squat Bars. If I haven’t sold you on any of these bars, remember this…
General Criteria to Consider When Writing a Program
It’s important to note that there isn’t a one-size-fits-all training protocol, and these are just some general suggestions based on a few successes and countless failures over my career that I consider when writing a program.
3 Things You'll Find in My Mental Health Toolbox
Like any other coach, I love talking about training and programming and being in the weight room while coaching. But like many of you, I’ve neglected the thing between my ears, and I want you to know that it’s all right to feel. If your mental health is a weakness, don’t avoid it.
WATCH: I am Ashley Jones
elitefts columnist Ashley Jones is Australian by birth, a New Zealander by choice and marriage, but first and foremost, he’s a strength and conditioning coach with 40 years of experience under his belt with plenty of passion and advice to spare to future coaches.
Peaking for Sport
If speed is what we’re going after, then why do the weights on both our heavy and light days continue to climb, and bar speed continues to fall? As we get deeper into the competitive season and continue to put more tonnage on the athletes, we are burning the candle at both ends.
Performance Drive Response
Reading Al Miller’s “The System” made me think about my most successful program. I’ve dubbed this hodgepodge of six years in strength and conditioning “Performance Drive Response,” which is a culmination of a bunch of different systems I’ve used, seen, and been in or part of.
Cal Poly Promotes Sara MacKenzie as Director of Strength and Conditioning
Sara MacKenzie was promoted to Director of Strength and Conditioning at Cal Poly, making her the second woman who holds that position among all NCAA Division I schools with football programs.
Through the Players' Eyes
Coaches, athletic trainers, physical therapists, equipment personnel, and league officials all have distinctly different vantage points on the same subject matter. Somewhere along the lines, one of the most critical perspectives gets lost in the shuffle: the players’.
The Most Important Principle for Strength
With all of the information we have at our fingertips, it’s easy to lose track of some of the basic principles of strength training. One that’s easy to forget: Balance training and recovery as evenly as possible.
Live and Learn (and Pass On, Too)
Live and learn from your failures and mistakes. Be willing to learn, and maybe more importantly, be willing to be wrong. Now go and pass that along.
An Epic Q&A with Dr. John Rusin and Dave Tate
Is Dave still following Dr. Rusin’s protocol? What are Dr. Rusin’s top-two training takeaways working with Dave? In this Q&A, Dave Tate and Dr. John Rusin share their overall experiences from video series “Fixing Dave Tate” and “Breaking John Rusin,” and more.
Training Considerations for Soldiers
Since most units don’t really allow for rest days other than the weekend, I’m looking for the biggest-bang-for-my-buck exercises that I could be able to fit into a morning training session. Also, I’m working based on the assumption that Fridays are company/battery runs.
Why Strength Training is Equally Important as Conditioning (With Template)
For the record, I’m not writing this article to bash box programming; I’m writing this to present an alternative way of doing things while STILL utilizing the best aspects of box programming. Our strength training model is what we’ve used with nearly 20,000 athletes (in a group setting) worldwide with great success.
Conjugate U for Collegiate Tennis
After reading Conjugate U, I moved forward with implementing the Conjugate Method with my women’s tennis team. Here’s what we accomplished this past season.
The Obese Body and Exercise — Physical Cross-Talk
The main reason I would suggest you engage in exercise is happiness. You might ask, “You mean managing depression?” No. I mean simple and plain happiness, although I’ll discuss depression and mental health, too.
The SAID Principle — Training Optimally for Sport
We as strength coaches have a way of screwing training up even with this ancient, written-in-stone principle.
Determining the Needs of an Athlete
If an athlete is training on heavy squats but is unable to get into a good technique, he is risking injury, plus he is not getting the most of his training because he is in bad positions. First things first, let’s start with an assessment.
WATCH: Road Trip Rants — Explosive vs. Strong, Trendy Hashtags, and Dave...
At some point Dave will make it to his destination, but until then, he’s got a few more questions to answer.
The 14-Day Program: An Interview with John Bott
What did your training look like before you began this training? Give us a sample week/template that would be fairly typical of what you did.
New Rules for Being a Strength Coach
If you aren’t willing to change and grow, you won’t survive. Here are the ways my perspective on strength coaching rules has changed since my previous article on the topic.
Is Your Competition Outworking You?
I love the ideals of hard work, being hardcore, and oozing intensity, but over the years I have learned there are many ways to perceive these things.
Strength Training for Youth Athletes — The Youth Physical Development Mo...
Neuromuscular training can be implemented early in the youth physical development process, but age-appropriate speed and strength training must account for the process of growth and maturation, motor learning, and physical development.
Have You Heard the Secret to Strength Yet?
I’m here to spread the true secret of strength, if you think you can handle it.
Reasons Why You're Weak — Inefficient Technique, Outcome-Focused, M...
Without question, the number one reason most lifters don’t lift the weights that they are able to is…
Social Skill Integration Through Movement and Strength — Gym Training
The goal is to get an inactive child on the spectrum socially and physically strong through movement. This initial type of training, the first in a progression of eight, takes place in the gym.
Africa Lifts
These are the gyms of Sub-Saharan Africa, where the training environment is unsheltered and un-floored and the equipment is made of scrap iron, car parts, cement, and anything else that works.
Embrace Being the Individual You Are
There is so much information that you could spend days, weeks, and months learning, without ever actually lifting a damn thing. Don’t become paralyzed trying to weed through all of the varying perspectives.
Strength Union: Building A Unified, Empowered Strength Community
A union operates to give a group of individuals one voice, empowering them to lead in the right direction. This fully-equipped facility aims to provide exactly that for each of its members as they become the strongest versions of themselves.
In-Season Softball Training Guidelines and Myths
The longer the season goes on, the more important it is to maintain performance. Don’t spend the season losing the physical abilities built during the off-season.
WATCH: Coach Shoop's Impact on Dave
Continuing their conversation, Shoop and Dave talk about the past and what brought them back together.
WATCH: Coach Shoop Visits Dave Tate
If you’ve read Under the Bar you know who Bill Shoop is — he’s the high school football coach Dave credits with changing his life forever.
Mastery of the Mundane
Everyone trains hard but few do the things that are boring and tedious. It is the willingness to do the mundane that separates those top athletes from the hordes of others training away in the gym right now.
Heavy Metal Fitness: Tim Ingram's Strength Haven Grows Again
When we first shared his story in 2014, Tim Ingram had just opened his first training facility. Now he’s back with another story of growth — and an even bigger gym.
Programming for Athletes — The Youth Athlete: Grades 4-6, Ages 10-12
This is the most important time in an athlete’s career for learning motor patterns, and it’s the age range that can set up athletes for long-term success in their sport.
The Difference Between Outcome-Driven and Process-Focused
You’ve probably been told to focus on the process rather than the outcome, but the thing is, no one tells you how; you’re simply chastised for focusing on the wrong thing, then told to go on your merry way.
Ping Pong and Powerlifting
Thinking back to these two activities and my time in college, I find myself wondering if the concept of working in with strangers is a concept lost on today’s youth.
WATCH: The Vision and Growth of Showtime Strength and Performance
Nick Showman built his facility with a purpose and, in the process of growing, has found a niche in softball, welcomed serious lifters, and expanded the services he and his coaches provide.
What, Why, When, How — A Guide to Using an Intro Week
I have had more tweaks and muscle strains occur during the first week of getting back into training than any other time. If I’d known how to use an intro week, this never would’ve happened.
Real Life Status — Who's Watching You?
After our recent bowl game, all-time great Denver Bronco and two-time Pro Bowler Rod Smith spoke to my team and shared an important message that got me thinking about my athletes and my personal mission statement.
The Strongest Man in the Gym
Although we have had a number of 1000-pound squatters and 800-pound benchers at the Monster Garage Gym, I can tell you—and so would the majority of the powerlifters at the gym—that Jerry is the strongest man in the gym.
Coaching Essentials for Program Development
How do you determine if your program is too easy, too hard, or just right? Here are some things to look for to see if your coach is the real deal or full of shit.