Conjugate in College: My First Experience with the Conjugate System in Division I Women’s Soccer
Conjugate in College: My First Experience with the Conjugate System in D...

For the first time in our head coach’s time at Indiana State, the entire roster passed their fitness test before the start of the spring season — and did zero conditioning outside of morning practice sessions. Thank you, conjugate method!

LISTEN: Table Talk Podcast Clip — What High School Strength Coaches are Screwing Up for Incoming Freshmen
LISTEN: Table Talk Podcast Clip — What High School Strength Coaches are ...

If “what you’re saying you’re doing and what you’re doing to the athlete doesn’t match up… I’m calling BS on your integrity.” Phil Matusz, OSU’s associate director of strength and conditioning, shares a powerful message for high school strength coaches.

Mental Health First Aid Training for Strength Coaches
Mental Health First Aid Training for Strength Coaches

After 20 years of mistakes and heartbreaks, I’ve learned that we need to do better when it comes to mental health training for our student-athletes. There’s no one-size-fits-all solution, but we can start to do better by being more empathetic.

LISTEN: Table Talk Podcast #18 with Vincent Dizenzo, Matt Rhodes, and Jim Wendler
LISTEN: Table Talk Podcast #18 with Vincent Dizenzo, Matt Rhodes, and Ji...

Watch out, Dave — there’s a new host in town. Actually, there are 3 hosts in town, and they’re taking over Table Talk Podcast while Dave is on vacation. Expect some wild stories with Vincent Dizenzo, Matt Rhodes, and Jim Wendler as they answer your questions.

Simple 8-Week Barbell and Bike Conditioning Program
Simple 8-Week Barbell and Bike Conditioning Program

Tired of the same old training program? Want a break from your normal training specificity? Why not mix things up with this program? All you’ll need is a barbell, plates, a bike, a box for squatting, and a bench.

At War with the ME Culture
At War with the ME Culture

Social media is toxic when it comes down to good teamwork. There’s no “I” in team, and there’s no “me” in team, either. So let’s try to figure out how to flip the “M” in me upside-down and change that Me to a We.

Advice for High School Linemen
Advice for High School Linemen

I’ve made a lot of mistakes when I was younger, and I believe it’s part of a coach’s job to pass on the knowledge and experiences I have gained from my own athletic career, such as never being average, striving for perfection, and detailing everything.

The Most Important Training Article You Will Read This Year
The Most Important Training Article You Will Read This Year

elitefts has a strong focus on the freedom of education — so strong that we’re willing to invest in all of the content we provide for you. For 20 years, the strength of this value has enabled us to earn your trust, and therefore, produce more content.

Game Day Lifting (with Sample Training Session)
Game Day Lifting (with Sample Training Session)

During Richland High School’s last football season, I combined the conjugate method and the tier system for programming game day lifts. Seeing the results thus far, I intend to continue the program with a few adjustments — but not before sharing it.

Strength and Conditioning is Failing: Solutions to the Problems
Strength and Conditioning is Failing: Solutions to the Problems

In the first three parts of this series, I discussed the current failings of the strength and conditioning fields. In this fourth and final installment, I’ll try my best to solve some of these problems — something that could very well take decades but needs to be done.

How Strength and Speed Training Can Help Build Your Aerobic Capacity
How Strength and Speed Training Can Help Build Your Aerobic Capacity

Strength and speed training positively influenced my client’s Ironman competition outcome, an event that is very aerobic- and lactic power-based, but why? Let’s take a closer look at energy systems as a whole to find out.

Strength and Conditioning is Failing: Certifications and Qualifications
Strength and Conditioning is Failing: Certifications and Qualifications

Previously, I’ve discussed relationships with sports coaches and administrators. In Part 3 of this series, I’ll cover some of the biggest issues and names in our field: certification, qualifications, the NCAA, NSCA, and CSCCa.

LISTEN: Table Talk Podcast Clip — Why Strength Coaches are D-Bags
LISTEN: Table Talk Podcast Clip — Why Strength Coaches are D-Bags

Matt Rhodes’ takeaway lessons for strength coaches in this clip: Put your best foot forward. Stop screaming and start communicating. Hold yourself accountable. Do better and be better.

Strength and Conditioning is Failing: Our Relationship with Administrators
Strength and Conditioning is Failing: Our Relationship with Administrators

In Part 1, I covered problems strength and conditioning coaches deal with when it comes to sports coaches, whom we work with on a regular basis. Now, I’ll go over a group we don’t deal with every day but impact everything we do: the administrators.

Physics 101 for Performance Enhancement
Physics 101 for Performance Enhancement

If you understand the science of physics and how to apply it, you’ll have a better understanding of sports and performance enhancement. You owe it to your athletes to understand the fundamentals. Let’s get started.

Comfort Zones are Death Zones
Comfort Zones are Death Zones

As I start up my new job, I wanted to give younger strength and conditioning coaches some advice: Don’t be afraid to spread your wings and fly out of your comfort zone. Be bold and be brave. It will pay off at some point.

Strength and Conditioning is Failing: Our Relationship with Sports Coaches
Strength and Conditioning is Failing: Our Relationship with Sports Coaches

In this four-part series of articles, I’ll explain why strength and conditioning is a failing field and how we can improve our line of work. This first article covers the problems that we often face with sports coaches.

The Lost Art of Training Hard
The Lost Art of Training Hard

I’m not suggesting that you destroy yourself. What I am saying is that a lot of new trainers are coming out of school with information about corrective exercises but zero practical experience of knowing how to push people in the gym.

A Fair Assessment of the CSCCa and NSCA
A Fair Assessment of the CSCCa and NSCA

Not sure if you should attend the NSCA Coaches’ Conference or the CSCCa National Conference? Which exam to take? Take a look at some of the pros and cons of each organization and figure out which is best for you.

Grad Assistants: Read This Before Applying Anywhere
Grad Assistants: Read This Before Applying Anywhere

Out of all the applications I have received from prospective graduate assistants, I kid you not, 40 percent of them went into the junk file right off the bat. Here’s how your future application can stay out of junk folders.

The Grand Unified Theory of Everything
The Grand Unified Theory of Everything

A few years ago, I attempted to bring 4 strength sports together into a training plan for rugby. This time, I want to delve deeper into the framework that makes up the programming of these sports and how we can program them into a usable athletic development plan.

8-Weeks-Til-Camp Summer Program for High School Football
8-Weeks-Til-Camp Summer Program for High School Football

You won’t ever find my old programs on a typed-out card. Why? Because I don’t run the same program each year. I meet my kids where they’re at, which is why this program isn’t a program. It’s an outline.

Rugby Top-5 Strength and Conditioning Equipment Picks
Rugby Top-5 Strength and Conditioning Equipment Picks

For Ashley Jones, being at the S5 Compound is like being a kid in a candy store, meaning he needs some moderation. Rather than use all of the equipment, Ashley shows off his top-5 pieces of equipment that should be in every strength and conditioning program for rugby.

Implementing Self-Determination Theory in Coaching
Implementing Self-Determination Theory in Coaching

Self-determination theory is an approach to shift motivation from extrinsic to intrinsic. As coaches, we can make small changes to the way we already do things to cause great changes to the athlete’s performance and motivation source.

Why Sports Coaches Don't Trust Strength Coaches
Why Sports Coaches Don't Trust Strength Coaches

The suggested strategy to build trust from the sports coach involves a particular approach to the strength and conditioning process. A natural consequence of this approach defines the scope of practice of strength and conditioning.

What It Means to "Pass On"
What It Means to "Pass On"

Lately, I’ve noticed a lot of coaches telling other coaches to be careful of people who ask for advice in case they’ll steal their trade secrets. Knock it off. Where did you learn the stuff you know now? That knowledge is not yours alone.

Strength Training: Your Secret Weapon for Sport
Strength Training: Your Secret Weapon for Sport

Strength is a cheat code when it comes to winning. Here’s my basic outline of how you can best implement that cheat code and improve your gym sessions for sport performance.

Overcoming Isometrics: Myelination to Reach Maximum Potential
Overcoming Isometrics: Myelination to Reach Maximum Potential

During my time working under the University of Minnesota’s Cal Dietz, I saw the impact of the myelination phase in athletic performance. I also found it’s most effectively programmed with Overcoming Isometric variations of the big lifts.

Reminder: Stay Focused and In Your Own Lane
Reminder: Stay Focused and In Your Own Lane

Every team has areas that need attention, and if we are not careful, we can step on the toes of others by doing their jobs, and then we have no time to develop what OUR job calls us to do.

Become 35% Stronger by Using Your Imagination
Become 35% Stronger by Using Your Imagination

Research shows that you can actually get stronger just by visualizing that you are training. The best of the best athletes do it, so why aren’t you doing it, too?

Take the Red Pill
Take the Red Pill

Here’s a red pill for you to swallow: The conjugate system is like an XL shirt that fits differently on different people. With a few modifications, that shirt can be made to fit just about anyone. Same goes for the program in this article.

3 Don'ts for the Early Deadlifter
3 Don'ts for the Early Deadlifter

My son sent a text last week — just a video of him deadlifting in our garage gyms. We discussed one of the mistakes we discovered he was making at the start of the pull. It was our discussion that influenced this article.

Are You Ready for the Inevitable?
Are You Ready for the Inevitable?

After resigning from my last position, I thought it was an opportune time to reflect on the situation and hopefully, a time for me to assist you in the process of finding your next gig. Best of luck in your job hunt!

Your Do and Don't Guide to the CSSCa Conference
Your Do and Don't Guide to the CSSCa Conference

For those new to the game and for seasoned vets alike who’ll be attending the CSSCa National Conference, here are some do’s and don’t’s that will make your annual trip a success — both in terms of enjoyment and employment.

LISTEN: Beyond Sets and Reps Podcast #3 with Dr. Bryan Mann
LISTEN: Beyond Sets and Reps Podcast #3 with Dr. Bryan Mann

Get to know Dr. Bryan Mann, from his humble beginnings to his current position at the University of Miami, and how he became one of the leading experts on Velocity Based Training.

Refueling and Recovery for BAMF Wrestlers
Refueling and Recovery for BAMF Wrestlers

In the final part of the #BAMF Wrestler series, Steve “Kono” Konopka and I answer questions about post-match recovery, supplement suggestions, and refueling. Sleep, cryotherapy, contrast showers, foam rolling, vitamin C, beetroot powder, and protein powder are just a few things we suggest.

Live and Coach Your Why
Live and Coach Your Why

My why is to improve athletes through and of the human body and mind by giving them all a well-thought-out program to make them faster, stronger, and more resilient. What’s your why? And why?

A Legendary Interview with the Legendary Al Vermeil
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!

Is Your Foundation Made of Rock or Sand?
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.

How Strong is Strong Enough?
How Strong is Strong Enough?

Generally speaking, if we can get an athlete stronger, that athlete will get faster. But at what point is the athlete strong enough for continued speed improvements? I hope you weren’t looking for a quantifiable answer on this one…

Our Children, Athletics, College, and Memories
Our Children, Athletics, College, and Memories

I will refrain from boring you with a litany of reasons for children to participate in athletics, outside of the apparent physical conditioning benefits, but I will mention that sports are a great way to acquaint them with adversity and the dedication and commitment necessary to overcome.

3 Technique Fixes to Squat Like a Baby
3 Technique Fixes to Squat Like a Baby

Do you seriously call that a squat? I’ve seen babies squat better than you! No, seriously, I have. Babies don’t know how to do the squat wrong! By the time your kids are toddling and in soccer camp, their squats start to fall apart. Here are the three things I do to correct athletes’ poor squats.

Ocham’s Razor and the Pareto Principle in Weight Training Programming
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.

The Specific Demands and Application of Conditioning for Sports
The Specific Demands and Application of Conditioning for Sports

With all the knowledge we have available to us, you would think that we have gotten past the idea that distance running will get an athlete in shape for any sport. So how should we program for athletes? Sport-specific? Sort of. In order to approach something that is actually sport-specific, we must take into account the actual demands of the sport.

Championship Nature Series: Dealing With Fear and Accepting Responsibility
Championship Nature Series: Dealing With Fear and Accepting Responsibility

This month, I have three stories to share on the topics of dealing with fear and accepting responsibility. Using illustrations from Joe Montana, the founder of Aikido, and Harry S. Truman, hopefully, next time you’re faced with adversity you won’t question, “Why me?”

The Two Variables That Change It All: Load and Speed
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
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?

How to Program for a Large Group of Athletes with Limited Resources
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.

Bring the Juice
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.

The Practice Squad
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.

The Art of Programming for Injury Prevention/Risk Management
The Art of Programming for Injury Prevention/Risk Management

I believe the most important role of a strength and conditioning coach is to create programs that minimize the risk of injury. Armed with knowledge from a study on rugby injuries, I wrote a program that focuses on strengthening injury-prone areas. Here’s what I came up with.

6-Step Method to Develop Pure Strength
6-Step Method to Develop Pure Strength

Before you enter pure strength development, there are a few steps that must be considered. And I know this may sound like rocket science for some, but it doesn’t have to be that complicated. I’ve used this method to develop three world champions in powerlifting in only 18 months.

Your Strength and Conditioning Blueprint for Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
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.

Learn to Train X — Dave Tate Teaches the Max Effort Method
Learn to Train X — Dave Tate Teaches the Max Effort Method

“How do you get better at lifting heavier weights? Well, you do it by lifting heavier fucking weights!” In this video from Learn to Train X, Dave focuses on instructing the max effort method, which is working up to a “heavy fucking weight that’s generally going to be 90 percent or above,” including technical breakdown.

Always Have a Plan
Always Have a Plan

It’s never been about making these “New Year, new me” resolutions; it’s about dedicating yourself to the daily process, having a vision, and having a plan in every aspect of your life. Want to be a head strength coach? Have a plan and dedicate yourself daily to the process.

12 Rules for Becoming a Better Strength Coach
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
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!

General Criteria to Consider When Writing a Program
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.

Goodbye 2018, Hello 2019
Goodbye 2018, Hello 2019

My life went through a lot of changes and adjustments during 2018, which meant I had to learn and re-learn things. Lesson 1: the grass isn’t always greener on the other side, but sometimes it is, so watch your lawn and don’t forget that some grass is better than yours.

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