The Top 5 Accessory Lifts to Improve Your Strongman Press
You will have weak points on events, and not focusing on bringing them up will leave you in the dust. The big pressers always have monster triceps, just as they do in powerlifting, so that’s what we need to work on with these movements.
Stop Doing That, Start Doing This: Shoulder Warm-Up Education
Let’s go over three shoulder pre-training movements that you are probably doing that you shouldn’t be, then let’s give you some better alternatives.
United States Strongman Nationals 2018: 9th Time’s the Charm
I’ve competed at nine different national championships across four different weight classes and three different divisions, including both amateur and pro — but I’ve never won. Until now.
Founder, Farmer, Tinker, Thief: The Four Phases of Fitness Entrepreneurs...
As a business owner, the path from Founder to Thief is the path to self-actualization.
WATCH: Table Talk with Dan Green — Injuries and Trying to Stay at the To...
Has Dan Green’s peak in powerlifting come and gone?
Championship Nature Series: Coming Back
What each athlete must remember is that it’s not the mistake that defines you as an athlete; it’s how you respond to the mistake that defines you.
WATCH: Jeremy Frey's 2018 elitefts Sport Performance Summit — Conve...
To be used as a standalone exercise or as a way to build the weightlifting clean from the floor, the conventional deadlift is one of the most important training movements for your athletes to learn.
The Coach's Guide to Programming and Periodization: Residual Effect...
This fourth article helps set us up to be able to put together our macrocycles, mesocycles, and microcycles.
Steve Scialpi's Sumo Deadlift Program
I ran this in ’94 and got about 100 pounds in three cycles, but I caution any of you who try this to put the squat and bench on maintenance, because the volume is brutal.
My Simple and Effective Approach to Conjugate Training: Bending It to Yo...
The ability to read yourself and what you need can take years to master, but you will never master it if you don’t start experimenting.
Are Energy Drinks Bad for You?
Stimulants, sweeteners, and dyes are common ingredients in these drinks. Are they safe to consume?
A New Team
Here I am at my age, in a new town, in a new gym, with new people, starting all over from scratch.
Building A Summer Training Philosophy
These are the five ingredients you need to put together the summer plans for your athletes: core exercises and runs, team goals, position plans, individual goals, and correct grouping.
Newcomer Conjugate Method Lessons
From the early stages of my time with the conjugate method, here are the biggest benefits I’ve found.
Training, Open-Heart Surgery, and the Rehabilitation Process
While I wait for my new heart, CT Fletcher’s updates and posts about his recent heart transplant have me thinking about the recovery process.
The Power of Bodyweight Training
Resistance is resistance, no matter from which source it comes. When you do a push-up, your body doesn’t just go, “What, he’s doing a push-up? Nah, I ain’t growing.”
WATCH: How to Be a Healthier Competitor
If you think you can push your body to the extremes of its capabilities and not suffer consequences, you’re wrong.
WATCH: Jeremy Frey's 2018 elitefts Sport Performance Summit — RDL T...
Range of motion should be limited by the hamstrings for this exercise, which means the bottom position may vary between athletes. That’s not a problem if they follow these rules.
Find the Perfect Squat in Five Minutes
There is no squat stance that suits everyone; all of us are individuals with different conditions, and our personal anatomy can differentiate more than you can imagine. Here’s a simple way to find your ideal stance.
Reflexive Performance Reset: An Athlete-Based Model
The practitioner-based model is an overworked, overburdened system that leads to scarcity problems and a largely insufficient amount of time spent serving those in need of the services. RPR overcomes every downfall of this model.
WATCH: Blast from the Past — Dave Tate's 2010 Body Transformation Tip
What does it take to completely transform your training, lifestyle, and eating habits after years of the same goal?
WATCH: Welcome to the Pit — Dave Tate Coaches the Squat
During a recent visit to Akron, Ohio Dave spent some time teaching proper squat technique to the owners and members of Welcome to the PIt.
Milestones National Autism Conference — Presenting Men’s Aspirations
Rather than attending another highly acclaimed conference centered on helping individuals with autism, it was time to present at one.
A Strength and Conditioning Program for Youth Figure Skating
This program is used for athletes ranging in age from 10 to 14 years and is based on specific goals in the primer, strength, conditioning, prehabilitation, and regeneration phases.
3 Non-Traditional Movements to Overcome Weakness in the Overhead Press
Weaknesses in rack position, leg drive, or the lower back will severely hold back your overhead press strength. Here are solutions to each of those problems.
To Swab or Not to Swab: Genetic Testing and Performance
We all share about 99.9% of the same genes. It’s only 0.1% that makes us unique, but that 0.1% can make a big difference in your physique and performance.
WATCH: The Three Best Recovery Tools
It doesn’t matter how hard you train if you don’t recover. Clint has used a lot of different tools to help with recovery, and these are the ones he relies on most often.
Assisting Assistance Work
I’ve heard before that a program rarely fails due to assistance work, but I disagree. This is the work that carries over to our main and supplemental movements, builds muscle, creates balance, and promotes integrity throughout the entire body.
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.
A Training Cycle Alternative for Group Athletes
Linear periodization has its place, and I’ve used it with varying levels of success, but overall there are simply too many drawbacks when used for group programming. Here’s what I use instead.
WATCH: Jeremy Frey's 2018 elitefts Sport Performance Summit — Bench...
There’s more to it than lying down and busting out reps. Focus on these points for stronger and more injury-resistant athletes.
A Message to Young Trainees: Pump Down the Volume
The garage gym is getting a lot of use as of late, I am happy to say. It is frequently rumbling with young athletes who remind me of an important fact of the early training years.
My Simple and Effective Approach to Conjugate Training
There are definitely a few programs I have used with success in my lifting career and some that I will still recommend to lifters today, but conjugate is my favorite. It is the one I try to progress all my lifters to.
WATCH: 30-Minute Shoulder-Blasting Workout
Josh Bryant’s third workout designed for maximum effectiveness and efficiency focuses on the shoulders and can be performed in any gym.
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.
What Is Strength?
Mental strength and physical strength are two necessary components for a healthy, happy life of abundance, but you have to get uncomfortable to start building them.
Getting the New Job: Sharpen the Sword
Doing an extraordinary job in your present position does not guarantee you immunity to the inevitable changes that take place with funding cuts, administration changes, or coaches moving on. Are you prepared to find a new position?
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.
WATCH: Fixing Dave Tate — Implementing the Upper Body Training Adjustmen...
Putting Dr. Rusin's new plan to the test, this video shows a full session of Dave's revised upper body training days.
The Second Phase of Injury: Changing the Plan
I needed to know I wasn’t going crazy for wanting to know where things were scarring down, and I needed to know what to expect based on the injury itself. So I broke the mold a bit.
Maximizing Triceps Development
To expand the size of your arms you need to master management of three things: pounds, pump, and programming.
3 Things Great Families and Businesses Have in Common
Just like families constantly struggle to balance the needs of its members, so too does a business endeavor to find the right balance of serving customers, stakeholders, and employees. There are three key things that, when understood, help achieve these goals.
WATCH: Road Trip Rants — Intra-Workout Reese's, Pushing Training Pa...
Not all training junk foods are created equal. This topic, and more, are explained in this week's episode.
5 Things You Must Know as a Novice Powerlifter
Your future in this sport deserves to be worked on not only at the gym and with your physical strength and power, but outside of the weight room as well, with your mental focus and contemplation.
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.
WATCH: Jeremy Frey's 2018 elitefts Sport Performance Summit — Front...
Missouri State University Director of Strength and Conditioning Jeremy Frey has a few ways to make front squatting easier to learn and more effective for your athletes. Here are the things that are most important to focus on.
Using Values and Strengths to Help You Determine Your Career Path
Through my work at my university, I spend a great deal of time developing students and helping mentor them for career direction, particularly in the exercise science related areas. This is the approach I use to help them find the right path.
S&C Programming Considerations for College Football Freshmen
What we all want is to set our freshmen up for success for the future. How we go about it isn’t about ego and “our system” or anything like that; it’s about taking the time to put thought into what you’re doing and what will be the best for them.
WATCH: Welcome to the Pit
No matter your training preference—powerlifting, bodybuilding, Olympic lifting, cardio, boxing, strongman, resistance training, or a style you've created yourself—this Akron, Ohio gym has you covered.
Training to Do Your First Pull-Up
No matter your strength, bodyweight, or training history, pull-ups may be a challenge for you. If this is the case, follow this simple progression and you'll have your first unassisted pull-up in no time.
Strongman Gear 101: Everything You Need for Your Strongman Competition
Unless you want to let another competitor have an advantage over you, you need to have the best gear for every event. Here are the must-haves and my favorite versions of each item.
Cultivating Champions: How I Trained the C2 Volleyball Team
All of the athletes at this high-level volleyball academy are from overseas and come to the United States to get a better chance at receiving a collegiate scholarship. Working with head coach and founder Caitlyn Vann, this is what we did in our five short weeks.
3 Ways to Better Utilize Compression Floss Bands
Whatever you want to call this tool (compression tape, floss band, voodoo bands, or something else) it can be incredibly useful in ways often overlooked.
WATCH: Equipment Feature — Spud Inc. Big Ray Strap
Spinal traction may feel great, but it can be difficult to set up and awkward to get into and out of position. This product gives you an easier way to manage pain to stay strong and healthy.
New Gym in the Neighborhood
I invite you to consider simple choices for space arrangement, staff training, and customer service to help you shape your gym for your chosen demographic and make a difference.
5 Things Every Competitor Needs To Be Successful
In my 30 years of competing and 20 years of training competitors, I have narrowed the endless list of requirements for success down to five main variables.