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elitefts LIVE with Swede Burns: Q&A on 5th Set, Training for Powerli...
Join Sam Brown as we sit down with Swede Burns of 5thSet fame to talk training, life, and more! This elitefts Livestream was originally broadcast on March 16, 2021.
Swede Crushers for Strong Lats, Big Triceps and a Monster Bench
Elitefts Coach & Columnist Swede Burns demonstrates and coaches "Swede Crushers", which Swede refers to as a hybrid between rolling tricep extensions and the JM press. The purpose is to build both the triceps and the lats. Swede coaches Tragen Moore on how to do Swede Crushers to increase his bench press.
Swede Burns Discusses Training To Failure For Maximal Strength Gains
Elitefts Coach & Columnist Swede Burns explains his thoughts on training to failure in powerlifting.
Swede Burns Attempt Selection For Powerlifting Or Max Attempts
"Like I mentioned before, this system was designed to be used with maxes taken during a peaking cycle. Preferably those maxes would have been taken on their own days, around a month or so out from the meet, after months of training. That’s how we peak with 5thSet. Of course, there is plenty of specific […]
Goal Structure
When it comes to my training, I don’t just show up and happen to be able to perform. No one does that. I prepare for each mile marker target ahead of time. I eat enough. I sleep enough. I hydrate. The night before, the morning of; I run my mental game.
LISTEN: Table Talk Podcast Clip — Swede Burns & Dave Tate Discuss Ba...
Being jacked as hell got your shoulders a little tight? Here’s how you fix your squat bar position for better performance, less pain, and a bigger total.
LISTEN: Table Talk Podcast Clip — What Age Should Kids Start Lifting Wei...
Did you miss out on your peak potential by picking up powerlifting too late? Or would you be nowhere near where you are by starting too early?
LISTEN: Table Talk Podcast Clip — Swede Burns Talks About His 9000-Calor...
Need a little bit of bulking inspiration? Swede Burns and Dave Tate trade tips. Swede lays out the entirety of his diet he used to maintain a 330-pound bodyweight as a powerlifter.
LISTEN: Table Talk Podcast #41 with Swede Burns
Join Dave Tate and Swede Burns for today’s Table Talk.
Pause
More recently, as a result of various social media platforms, some things seem to have gained popularity because one or two highly esteemed lifters or coaches with powerful spheres of influence begin to do them.
Optimizing My Travel Training Efficiency
With this training-while-traveling program, keep in mind I’ve been in 6 cities in 5 different states in the last 5 weekends and on the road for 20 of the last 35 days. My needs and resources in terms of time, help, equipment, recovery, and a host of other factors may vary from yours.
Instagramification
Try to keep an open mind when trying a new, proactive approach to anything, even if it doesn’t quite feel right at first — whether it be your job, social media, or a new program. Just because it doesn’t feel good right away doesn’t mean it won’t later on.
Motivation vs. Discipline
Whenever I ask for topics people want to learn about in my column, “how to stay motivated” is always at the top of the list. Motivation is in high demand: you see it all over Instagram in memes, pictures, and captions. Despite the high demand, it sure seems like it’s in short supply….
Top Three: A Hierarchy for Sustainable Success
For some, training is just a hobby; but for others, training is much more than that. It’s what keeps me going, and it’s very close to the top of my list of priorities. But sometimes, we need to remember those other priorities, too. Here’s a reminder of what they are.
Meet Report: 5thSet at the Kern US Open
Now that I had the trip paid for thanks to a seminar event, I could focus on helping my lifters at the US Kern Open: the reason I’d flown all the way from the East Coast to begin with.
Training and Competition
It is crucial to delineate these training and competition as separate but mutually impactful things. I’d wager that the majority of lifters who had a bad meet were doing a whole bunch of competition in training, leading up to the actual competition.
How I Trained for a 600-Pound Bench
I’d been using the same blueprint that goes to 500 to get me to 585, and that’s where I went wrong. I had to analyze everything in order to customize a new plan to break that 600-pound barrier. This is how I did that.
Returning From Injury After a Layoff
Coming back after a layoff can be a chance to address imbalances, but it also presents the opportunity for new imbalances to develop. Common sense suggests that testing strength after a layoff isn’t the best idea. But if you are going to do it, keep these things in mind.
Your First Meet Cycle — How to Lay the Program's Foundation
Don’t be the newbie lifter who falls into the tiger pit traps during your training cycle. That’ll only hurt you in the long run — or at least in those first competitions. Don’t be afraid to start training too light and save your attempts for the platform. Not enough advice? I’ve got six other tips, so read on…
Powerlifting Meet Manual (with Formula for Selecting Attempts)
For those of you who’ve never done a meet, save this, and read it again before your first. And for those of you who just can’t finesse attempt selection, here’s a formula I developed to make attempt selection as close to fool-proof as it’ll get.
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.
The Death of Powerlifting
What’s wrong with powerlifting? Not online coaching. Not Crossfitters doing meets. Not other lifters secretly being deep cover Nazi operatives. Not anything about other lifters, or coaches, at all. All that’s really wrong, from my perspective, is this…
CBD for Lifters — My Experience
I’m almost scared to type this, but both my hip and spine are functioning at…
CBD for Lifters — Why, When, and How
In this installment, I will talk a little bit about what I learned from my tour of the Extract Labs facility, from my research of the available scientific data and my thoughts on “why,” “when” and “how” for Cannabidiol, as I understand it.
CBD for Lifters
Committed to doing a few full-power meets before I retire in 2020, I’m searching for some alternative means to deal with the pain related to inflammation. Enter Cannabidiol (CBD).
How Not to Suck as a Training Partner
Having the right crew or partner to rely on, and to train with, can make or break a lifter. It’s one of the most sought-after and difficult-to-find things for competitors and hobby lifters alike.
WATCH: Learn to Train X — The Squat Checklist with Swede Burns
Don’t wish for the best as you get under the bar and attempt to squat. Instead, get under the bar with a plan.
A Manual for Implementing Technical Cues
Everyone can benefit from technical cues, with the contingency that they are employed properly, consistently, and under the correct circumstances — which is more rare than you might expect.
A Day in the Life of Swede Burns
When Kendall Alston and his crew approached me with the idea of filming a documentary about what a normal day in my life looks like—and not simply my lifting or my coaching—it hit my like a breath of fresh air. This video is the result.
The 5thSet Black Meet and Women's Pro Am Weekend: Back-to-Back Wins
After the inaugural 5th Set Black Meet on Saturday, I drove all night to Cincinnati for the Women’s Pro Am. My motivation for a weekend short on rest and long on PRs can be summed up in a single sentence: I love powerlifting.
Training Terminology
Trying to understand programming without knowing the terminology is similar to navigating a country without knowing the language: you can do it, but it won’t be easy.
Meet Report: Back-to-Back XPC Finals Super Heavyweight Champion
Not only was I there to defend my “title,” but I was also there to finally reach a milestone only achieved by a handful of lifters: a 2300-pound total.
5thSet Trial and Error — The Failed Experiments
Are you thinking about adding a second AMRAP to the program? What about extending the Very High Rep Protocol to squats and deadlifts? If you’re thinking of it, I’ve probably already thought of it.
Swede Burns: Powerlifter, Coach, and Poet
Swede Burns is readying the release of his new book, a book of poems. Each poem puts forth feelings of intimacy and despair, unveiling a new layer of Swede; one the public isn’t so familiar with.
Lunatic Training
It’s story time. So travel with me, if you will, dear reader, back to turn of the century— in the winter of the year two thousand, and meet a very different Swede than the man writing this today.
Injury — The Real Measure of What Kind of Lifter You Are
Something doesn’t feel right as the bar descends, like your left pec is cramping or something. You touch, hear “press,” and then POP! It all goes black.
Reason
I realize powerlifters are all lions, beasts, and savages, but let’s not lose sight of the big picture.
Sequencing Assistance Work
How and when should you perform assistance exercises? What protocols are used for assistance work? Should exercises be changed or rotated? What about bands, chains, and specialty bars?
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.
Why You Should Hire an Online Coach
Not all online trainers are bad. Many members of team elitefts have been in this line of work for decades, training people long before social media even existed. Here’s what to look for.
What Inspires You?
The world records, the surgeries, the comebacks, the nights alone in motels, the tears, the blood, and everything in between needs to have a purpose. This is what I want to leave.
My Position on Sex
I posted on Facebook last week asking for input on what topics I should write about for my column. The clear champion was the issue of sex within close proximity to competition and how it should be handled. Let’s start at the beginning.
WATCH: Table Talk with Swede Burns and JP Carroll — Bodybuilding and Pow...
Despite many similarities and differences between bodybuilding and powerlifting, there’s one key aspect of bodybuilding that powerlifters need most.
WATCH: Table Talk with Swede Burns and JP Carroll — Why an Advanced Powe...
Even the strongest lifters in the world can’t figure everything out themselves.
30-Pound Total PR at 2017 UPA Iron Battle on the Mississippi
Some days you go yard and sometimes the pitcher gets you reaching. You take what you can get and learn from your time in the batter’s box.
WATCH: Table Talk with Swede Burns and JP Carroll — Keeping Good Form Th...
Learning proper lifting technique may be a challenge, but being able to recreate it rep after rep is even more difficult.
Keep Me Accountable
Use these tools to hold yourself accountable. My hope is that you can use these ideas to take the helm of your own affairs in training, business, and your personal life.
WATCH: Table Talk with Swede Burns and JP Carroll — Sequencing Assistanc...
Would it be wise to follow the same percentage for a given workout for both the main lift and the assistance work? Or should the assistance work be planned differently?
WATCH: Table Talk with Swede Burns and JP Carroll — PLing Difficulty, De...
Have you ever wondered what makes powerlifting so hard? Look no further — these guys have the answer.
WATCH: Table Talk with Swede Burns and JP Carroll — Trusting the Process
A lot of lifters think you have to train over 90% week after week to get stronger. Adjusting to a program like 5thSet may challenge you mentally to trust the process, but it won’t be long before you experience the benefits.
WATCH: Table Talk with Swede Burns and JP Carroll — The Growth of 5thSet...
What has changed about 5thSet over the course of its rise to popularity? And what is it like being an elite lifter that hands his training over to someone else?
Training Advice Worth Repeating
If I could go back in time to when I first started in this industry, I’d force myself to follow these five rules of training. Those of you starting now should listen.
Exodus
Training in commercial gyms has its pros and cons. This is a call to arms for those who need to hear it.
Coach of the Year
This weekend would be more of that testing, coaching twenty-one lifters over the course of a single day. People say I am crazy for working with the number of lifters I do.
Excuses Don't Count Towards Your Total
At least, not at this point. As it stands, we are left with adding up our heaviest successful attempt for each of the three lifts and the sum of those is how a powerlifting total is born.
Relentless Hypertrophy Revisited
This strategy is a synthesis of various methods and tactics I’ve learned over the years from John Meadows, Swede Burns, Charles Staley, and a few others.
16 Week 5thSet/Conjugate Mash Up
Rather than explain, in great detail, when and how I think it would make sense for you to do this, I’m simply going to recount how I did it while coming back from a pec injury.