Making the Max Effort Easy
There are a ton of questions on how to work up to a 1RM on max effort day. While many lifters don’t use percentages, it certainly makes it easier on coaches and novices on how to pick attempts. Since many people who are new to doing these movements are not familiar with their maxes, use the following to help guide
Entertainment at the Arnold: B-I-N-G-O
If you go to the Arnold every year just because of tradition – we can provide you some entertainment. If this is going to be your first time, this will prepare you for what you will see.
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.
EFS Classic: Flexibility/Mobility: An elitefts™ Roundtable Discussion
With Jim Wendler, Mark McLaughlin, Bob Youngs, Alwyn Cosgrove, Tom Deebel, Jason Ferruggia, Julia Ladewski, Dave Tate, and Mike Hope.
EFS Classic: Top Five Lifts for Football
If you’re a football coach or a strength coach for football, check this out. It may give you some ideas.
EFS Classic: GPP for High School Freshmen
We tested all of the athletes on the four core exercises. No one reached any of the goals.
World of Wendler: Nachos, Beards, Bikes and Training
That’s just f*%&ing retarded since I’m uglier now than I’ve ever been.
Training On-the-Go
Although they aren’t brand new, there’s a reason Blast Straps have continued to challenge athletes into 2010.
Interview with Collegiate Strength Coach Specialist Joe Kenn Part 2
When you get Joe Kenn and Jim Wendler in the same room, what do you get?
Interview with Collegiate Strength Coach Specialist Joe Kenn Part 3&4
When you get Joe Kenn and Jim Wendler in the same room, what do you get?
The Truth About Valentine’s Day
Valentine’s Day is easily the most stressful holiday for people with penises.
Muscle Blast
Although they aren’t brand new, there’s a reason Blast Straps have continued to challenge athletes into 2010.
On the Prowl to Figure it Out
When you mention to someone that you’re interested in doing a show, the whole world wants to help and give you advice.
A Beginner's Guide to Overhead Pressing
If you haven’t given overhead pressing a fair shot, throw it into your routine for a few weeks and see what happens.
Celebrate 2010 with Champagne and Man Ranch
In the mean time, have a taste of Man Ranch…umm…I mean of my Top 5 favorite Wendler Visions.
Win if You Can, Cheat if You Must, But Always Cheat!
In this day of Internet domination, we’re inundated with the insane rants of tiny, little men giving their views about what’s legitimate in our sport of powerlifting.
The Fifties
For several months, I’ve been doing Jim Wendler’s 5/3/1 program. In it, Jim talks about doing exercises for assistance that build muscle mass. He advocates doing several reps of dips and pull-ups every week. At one point, I believe he states we should do 50 dips a week weighted or 100 dips a week with just body weight. If memory
Adding Strength with Little Equipment
Imagine—you’re a broke kid living in a small town in the middle of nowhere. The closest fitness center is miles away and you don’t have a car to get there anyway. None of your friends know what a weight is. You’ve asked them to give it a try, but they just gave you the middle finger as they sped off
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.
Pop Goes the Weasel
Thoughts, mostly weird ones, tumble inside my head like sagebrush on the open prairie. So, it should come as no surprise that one day last spring, as I sat and pondered, I conjured up the bright idea to jump out of a 55-gallon barrel.
Teaching the Squat
I have been going to Force Training Seminars, either to help Dave or to do them on my own, for almost 3 years and one of the hardest things to do is get someone to squat correctly.
Repetition Work (or How to Rip Off Joe DeFranco, Add a Twist, and Call I...
Last week, I wrote about dynamic bench work and how you shouldn’t just kick it to the curb. I listed several different dynamic cycles, and there are approximately 5,000 more that have been written about. The whole purpose of the article was to revive the dead and bloated dynamic bench press.
A New Look at Three Days a Week
I received a call two weeks ago from a friend of mine, and he had some good news for me. About five months ago, he and I were discussing a three-day split that would accommodate his needs and time schedule. He’s an ex-football player, and competes in the 242 lbs class. Like many of you, he’s tried the standard four-day
The High School Odyssey
About 12 weeks ago, I started training with a local football player, Caleb Sexton.
What Happens When Westside Doesn't Work
I received this article and immediately realized that Alan’s plight mirrors many other lifters.
The Magic of the Pin Pull
Recently I have been flooded with e-mails and questions on the EFS Q/A, and rather than answering them one by one, I decided to put them into an article form so that everyone has access to them. There is a lot of great information in these answers.
A Beginners Guide to elitefts™
I’m going to do is make a list articles and other assorted products that will make things very, very easy for someone navigating this site and trying to learn.
Deadlifting with Chains
Almost a year ago, Matt Bash and I put our collective heads together and were thinking of different ways to approach our weak point in the deadlift; the lockout.
Choosing and Training Your Openers
We get a lot of questions regarding how to choose openers for powerlifting meets and there are a lot of ways to look at this.
Since most veteran powerlifters have their own way of doing things and will probably never read this article, we are not going to address them. What I am going to do is address the lifter
Deload to Reload
I’ve wanted to write this article for awhile and there have been several questions on the Q/A that touched on this subject. For those not familiar with the term “deload” by basic definition of it is this: to take a break from extreme training.
How to Strengthen Rosie and Her Five Friends
One of the biggest things that I struggled with during my deadlift training was my grip. This was never a big deal when I was lighter (under 250lbs), but as I became bigger my grip began to suffer.
Push/Pull
This article was inspired by Alwyn Cosgrove and something that he mentioned to me in passing.
Difference Makers
Despite the busiest summer I ever had both professionally and socially, my training has been better than ever lately.
Keepers and Throwbacks, Part II
[Editor’s Note: A lot of things that Glenn mentions in this article are his opinion and will not sit well with purists. Please note that this article is his opinion. For example, Travis Mash and Joe Bayles have both had success with the Zercher Squat. Also, weight releasers are extremely useful. But Glenn also makes some valid points, too. So
Going Heavy
For those that don’t know how I train or how I think – it all comes down to one thing; Going Heavy.
Accessory vs. Supplemental
We get asked all the time what the difference between an accessory lift and a supplemental lift. After doing some research, I came up with the following ideas. I got these from “A System of Multi-Year Training in Weightlifting” by A.S. Medvedyev. To make things easier here are some basic definitions;
Interview with Chuck Vogelpohl
Dave and I wanted to do an interview with Chuck Vogelpohl for awhile and for several reasons.
Squat Training: A Different Perspective
The program listed below was done by one of my training partners, Kevin Deweese.
Beginner Mistakes, Part III; Have a Plan
Here are 10 things that will help you plan your workouts and help keep you focused
In the Beginning
Jim Wendler has written a great series on tips for beginners. I was talking to Dave Tate about it and he gave me the idea for this article. I want to share what my workouts looked like when I first got to Westside Barbell.
Beginner Mistakes, Part II: The Dynamic Bench Press
Having coached for several years and after attending several Force Training seminars, I see the same problems on dynamic bench day no matter where I am. These problems aren’t always reserved for the beginner; I seem to make some of these same mistakes and have to take a step back and re-evaluate. Let us first take a look at the
Beginner Mistakes - Part I: Max Effort Progression
When I first started training using the Westside methods, I would often end my max effort exercise and feel like I didn’t do anything.
Training High School Athletes
One of the most asked questions throughout the day was “What would you have done differently, if you knew what you know now?” And though I answered the question as best I could, I couldn’t help but rethink the question over and over.
General Training Journal For High School Field Athletes
When discussing training, there are many things to consider, such as speed work, building absolute strength, improving form, raising work capacity, recuperation, and selecting exercises and rotating them them in proper sequence to avoid adaptation.
Preparation for the 2001 IPA Nationals
Here is a training diary and some thoughts on my preparation for the 2001 IPA Nationals.