Rules for Interviewing
For this month’s article, I want to write about something that I’ve been doing a lot of recently with some success: interviewing. Consider these eleven rules for your next job opportunity.
Who Defines You?
In this interview with Mark Dugdale, we discuss the mental side of training and competing, along with the various challenges that we meet when life, training, family, work, and all of the other areas of our lives intersect.
Good Training Gone Bad
In training, many choices must be made. Just because you can do something doesn’t mean you should.
A Semester with Conjugate U
After meeting Nate Harvey and reading his ebook, I decided to try out a conjugate-based system with two of my teams, men’s soccer and women’s volleyball, during the spring semester. Here’s what we did, how it worked, and changes I’m making moving forward.
3 Scientific Theories Behind Blood Flow Restriction Training
More than a popular trend, these three theories from Dr. Leonneke receive support from studies showing increases in muscular strength, hypertrophy, and testosterone levels after BFR training.
Best Caliber Athletes
‘’Westside only gets the best caliber athletes to work with,” is something we’ve heard over the years. What does this mean?
5 Great Exercises for the Most Hated Machine in the Gym
Everything can hold a purpose in the gym, even the easily avoided Smith Machine. At Lightning Fitness, I recently made room for this piece of equipment and would like to share how my bodybuilders, powerlifters, and strongman competitors are using it.
15 Habits You'll Need as a Full-Time Strength and Conditioning Intern
High school did a terrible job of preparing you for the real world. The only way you will make it is by trial by fire and by implementing the following habits immediately.
Get in the Flow State for Peak Performance
Flow is where challenge and skill meet. These are points during your training year where you push the envelope and attempt things that might be slightly outside of your athlete’s capabilities.
Wrestling with Identity
I confess to feeling grossly inadequate while my girls seek to find their identities, and I contemplate where I may have messed up in their younger years.
WATCH: Table Talk with Dave Tate — How To Find Your Perfect Weight Class
You may be between weight classes or on the far end of the spectrum. Find out if your future should include Big Macs and candy bars or chicken and rice.
How to Cut Maximum Weight for Competitions with a 24-Hour Weigh-In
The key to stepping on the platform at maximum strength after cutting weight is to spend as little time as possible with your body weight at less than you intend to weigh when you lift — this process is difficult and requires a great deal of desire, discipline, and pain tolerance.
College Football Off-Season Max Effort Variations: Programming and Compa...
Inspired by Joe Kenn, this is how Pace programs the conjugate method (the use of variations) over an eight-week off-season for our athletes.
Becoming Elite and Beyond: A Journey from the Tiger to the Dragon
I think every sport benefits from incorporating the tiger and the dragon into their training or coaching in some way. For lifters and strength athletes on the path to progression (in strength and level of competition), this hits the nail on the head.
3 Reminders for a Healthy and Productive Training Camp
To an outsider, things may seem easy during camp as far as being a strength coach goes. You have them maybe a half hour to forty-five minutes a day if you’re lucky. Easy peasy, right? Wrong!
The Basics of a Diet Break
There are many types of diet break protocols, but for the simplicity of this article I am going to discuss four types and why I use them.
I Read a Book: Re-Implementing Conjugate Training with More Knowledge
When I practiced law, it was a standing joke at our bar that an expert was some son of a bitch from Charlotte who had read a book. Well, I read a book.
I Know Squat — Five Keys to Squatting Big Weight
I’ve squatted with some of the strongest squatters in the world at Westside Barbell. I’ve squatted with three-time World’s Strongest Man Bill Kazmaier and I was coached to a 700-pound raw squat by Josh Bryant when I was 22 years old. Here’s what I know.
WATCH: Chainz for Gainz — Is Your Accommodating Resistance Doing Anything?
Using chains as accommodating resistance incorrectly can be detrimental to your athletes…and your street cred.
Three Tips for More Effective In-Season Training
You can vastly improve the effectiveness of your in-season programming by understanding submaximal maintenance training and programming flexibility, the use of concentric-only exercises, and high-rep work for recovery.
6-Week Lower Body Accessory Lane Progressions
The main purpose of this is to get you some change-up in your program and get you thinking outside your usual movement selection. I have been doing this in the gym myself and it’s amazing how mentally refreshing it can be.
Skip's Do-Overs from 1984: What I Wish I Knew 34 Years Ago
Of all of the things I wish I could go back and redo, these five things stand out as the most important or all-encompassing.
Boris Sheiko's Thoughts on Westside Barbell
Two giants in the world of strength. Two very different training styles. How can both be so successful?
Intimidation and the Fitness Industry
In this article, I will offer definitions and a technical approach to the terms involved in this problem. With this, hopefully, I may help you understand the forms intimidation can take and turn your dream gym into a nightmare.
WATCH: Table Talk — What Have You Learned Post-Powerlifting?
With the muscle-building knowledge he has gained since retiring from the sport of powerlifting, what would Dave change about his years training for the platform? We rewind to Dave’s first Table Talk from 2015.
The Power of Giving — Live, Learn, Pass On
As human beings, we live through the experiences life teaches us. We then learn from these moments, whether it’s positive or negative. And ultimately, we pass on.
5 Powerlifting Lessons I Flunked Day One
With my old ways of thinking, I kicked ass and got better. But I’ve figured out along the way that it’s like nitrous: it’s great for a quick burst, but powerlifting isn’t a quarter mile.
Rediscovering the Incline Dumbbell Bench Press
In response to some unusual elbow tenderness, I recently gravitated back to the incline dumbbell press — an exercise with tremendous benefits that I had not performed in a long time.
WATCH: The 6-30-30 Overload Method
Use this example to pump up your chesticles and test your metaphorical testicles. Then follow the principles of the method to create your own workouts for the other muscle groups.
Improve Your Bench Immediately Using These Training Cues
I’ve always said it only takes a single well-thought-out cue to change the way someone approaches a lift. I’m certain that one of these bench cues below are going to be that single cue that you’ve been waiting for.
New Team, New Approach: Working the Curve with the Samoan Rugby Union
What I outline in this article is the third generation of this style of programming, taken through the furnace of professional rugby and modified accordingly to fit specific needs of the playing group I now work with.
The Best Advice I Can Give to Future Physical Therapists
If you want to make a career out of working with strength athletes, there’s one thing that’s more important than everything else.
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.
WATCH: Training After Westside
What type of training comes after years of lifting in the world’s strongest gym, with the sole goal of moving as much weight as possible?
A Useful Coach: The Horse, The Water, and What People Miss
Knowing what to tell the horse is a lot less important than making the horse understand why the information is important.
The Science of Muscle Memory: Is it Real?
Is it actually easier to regain lost muscle and strength than it is to build it for the first time?
The Biggest Mistakes First-Time Competitors Make in Training and at the ...
These seven mistakes are by far the most prevalent I see for powerlifters in their first meet. They’re also very easy to avoid if you know how.
WATCH: The Female Athlete and Exogenous Substances — On Drugs Too Soon?
The neuroendocrine system is incredibly complex and will not always respond in only the ways that you want it to.
What’s Missing in Box Programming
At the end of the day, 99.9% of people who show up at a box do not want to increase their snatch or compete at the games. Here's a better way to help them.
Intent Is Everything: Does Your Training Have a Purpose?
Working hard without intent is wasted energy, and what's the use in that?
The Nebobarbell Knee Wrap Method
Our way of wrapping knees has evolved over time and it is now required that every lifter in Nebobarbell know how to wrap knees the proper way.
Dynamic Effort and Practical Application to Football Sports Performance
In layman's terms, dynamic effort can be described as fast, explosive movement. This seems simple, but many people get lost between "fast and explosive" and "movement."
The 2018 Special Olympic Nationals with CJ Piantieri
I don’t think I’ve ever been more proud of CJ. He may not fully understand what he’s overcome, but I do.
Skinny and Weak? Here Are the Top 5 Things You’re Doing Wrong
I’ve made a career out of helping genetically average dudes pack on lean muscle and strength, and combat the dreaded “skinny fat” look. After working with so many guys who face similar frustrations, I was able to narrow down this list down to five mistakes.
So You Want to Be A Collegiate Strength Coach: Untold Truths of the Job
Here are some rarely discussed things to keep in mind when asking yourself if you really want to become a collegiate strength and conditioning coach.
WATCH: Equipment Feature with Mike Bartos — PR Platform
You can use this platform for standard deadlifting or utilize its numerous positions and setups for band, reverse band, rack pull, and stacked band training.
Training, Therapy, and Coaching at Rekovery Athletics
Owned and operated by Ken Nowicki, this facility services its members with the highest level of soft tissue, neuromuscular, and fascial stretch therapy available, through an individually-tailored injury assessment and treatment process.
No Man Is an Island: Recognizing Those Who Have Inspired Me
No one ever gets anywhere alone. These are the people that have supported me and paved the road to where I am today.
WATCH: Dedication to Powerlifting Federations
Should you spend your powerlifting career competing only with one organization, or go wherever you feel like for each meet?
Specialized Band Rotation with Dr. Eric Serrano
Muscles never work in complete isolation, especially during competition, which makes this specialized band rotation a great way to minimize risk of injury and improve performance.
WATCH: Menstrual Cycle Myths
An extreme lack of knowledge on women's health issues has led to many fallacies that need to be corrected. Here's the truth about several common misconceptions.
How to Heal Any Injury Overnight: Safely and Effectively Training the In...
Day by day, week by week, here is how you can deal with the quickly-changing and very challenging aspects of getting over an injury.
3 Critical Deadlift Lessons Most Lifters Never Learn
The game of powerlifting is and always will be a choice of two pains: the pain of discipline or the pain of regret. These lessons challenge us in many ways, not least of which is the challenge to our ego. Will you follow them?
My Five Essential Supplements
From a health standpoint, these are the supplements I find most valuable. There are also three others that I believe make a world of difference if you train for elite performance.
6 Lessons of a Fired Strength Coach
Last week I went into a meeting with my direct supervisor and came out jobless. Here are the things I've learned and the mistakes I've made that led me to this point.
The Three Disciplines of Getting Stronger
How do you continue to progress as a lifter when life gets tougher, progress is slower, and motivation is lacking?
WATCH: Welcome to the Pit — Dave Tate Coaches the RDL
One of the most common squat issues is weakness in the hamstrings. This exercise is one of many that can help solve the problem.
Getting the Most Out of Your Extra Workouts: Rules to Follow and Types o...
If you are looking to move up the ranks then extra workouts are the way to add extra volume, bring up weak muscle groups, and improve your general physical preparedness, mobility, flexibility, and body composition.