Dancing with the Deadlift Devil: Old and Raw
Content is king for big media. BIGHORN was a fun trip down memory lane, but now I have another foray into fictional content in mind.
30-Minute Back Annihilation Workout
This cluster set workout is not a marathon — it’s a sprint. You’ve got to be ready to go pedal-to-the-metal, balls-to-the-wall for the entire session.
The Power of Support
Even in powerlifting, when it feels like you’re one-on-one with the bar, you’re not alone.
WATCH: Fixing Dave Tate — Orthopedic Evaluation
Whereas the previous screen was intended to identify red flags, this assessment will consist of clinically-based testing to produce both a medical diagnosis and a functional movement capacity diagnosis.
10 Commandments of Being a Strength Coach
These are important rules that you will never find in any classroom or lecture, passed down from strength coach to strength coach.
WATCH: Lessons Learned from Online and Personal Training Clients
Through many years training many clients, these are the main lessons that have helped the most for setting lifters up for success.
WATCH: Coach Shoop's Impact on Dave
Continuing their conversation, Shoop and Dave talk about the past and what brought them back together.
Married to a Bodybuilder: Three Women Share Their Support Role Perspecti...
Being married to a physique sport competitor isn’t easy. I want this article to provide some authentic insight from the real pillars of strength: the women who play the support role.
WATCH: Coach Shoop Visits Dave Tate
If you’ve read Under the Bar you know who Bill Shoop is — he’s the high school football coach Dave credits with changing his life forever.
WATCH: Table Talk with Dan Green — Current Nutrition Strategy
Back for his second series of videos with Dave, Dan shares how he’s currently eating and explains the approach he uses under the guidance of Stan Efferding.
The Role of Individual Differences in Programming
The principles of training are the same for everyone, but the details are different. If you want to learn how to tailor your training by fine-tuning these details, this is the article for you.
WATCH: Dave Tate Podcast with Ben Pakulski
The psychology of a world-class strength athlete can provide a powerful foundation for success in business, but when mishandled it can also be a disaster in the professional world.
Read What Has Come Before
Verkhoshansky. Issuran. Roman. Matveye. Stone. Kraemer. McGuigan. Gill. Newton. Haff. Fry. Zatsiorsky. Yessis. Bosco. Bondarchuk. Siff. Hill. Berger. Bompa. Knight. Issurin. Rhea. Baker. DeLorme. Get to know them.
Bodybuilding for the Powerlifter— How to Use High Reps to Get Strong(er)
High-rep training is extraordinarily useful to powerlifters (even if it’s also extraordinarily unpleasant). Like any other programming tool, however, it needs to be used appropriately, or it can cause more harm than good.
Simple Training Has Stood the Test of Time
I want to introduce some new training ideas to accelerate you from good to great by revisiting the past and adding a twist to several favorites.
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.
No Planned Cheat Meals
As I am approaching my 29th week of this body recomposition, I have had no planned cheat meals. This might sound crazy and restrictive to a lot of people, but there is a method to the madness.
Back to the Platform After Injury: David LaMartina's Lessons from t...
There are so many layers wrapped up in recovery and getting back to competition. These are the key points that Dave had to embrace if he wanted to keep training for the next 10 years.
The Posterior Chain Overhead Deadlift
Dr. Eric Serrano created this unique exercise and series of specialized executions to reduce joint stress while engaging the hamstrings, glutes, core, lower back, and posterior shoulder muscles with functional training strategies.
An Interview with Paul Goodman, Head Strength and Conditioning Coach of ...
Goodman has coached at the collegiate and professional levels and earned multiple graduate degrees. Here are the things he has learned along the way.
Goals for the Ex-Competitive Athlete
Leaving competition behind, either temporarily or permanently, doesn’t mean your training should stop being achievement-based. You just need to learn to set different goals.
The Conjugate Method for Group Fitness
Whether it be to feel better, move more weight, or run a marathon, this system has something for everyone. It is the no-brainer preferred choice for group programming.
WATCH: Table Talk — Conjugate Method Training Tips
You can make this system as complicated as you want it to be, but you can also make it a simple as you want it to be. Understand the basics first.
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.
27 Reasons to Be Big
This one still makes us laugh. Funny how some things change while others stay the same. Enjoy…
Understanding Bracing
As you keep working on the technique, you will fully understand the potential bracing has. You will see how important it is in your lifting and how it helps you lift more weight while keeping your back healthy and safe.
In-Season Training: Communication, Trust and Buy-In
This was the first time running my program and my first time being a head guy, so I could have been completely off-base. Not many go into the season expecting to get stronger.
WATCH: Meet Kory Lichtensteiger
The newest elitefts Executive Equipment Specialist started in small town Ohio, made it all the way to the NFL, and is now back to put his knowledge of strength training to work.
Unilateral Training in the High School Weight Room — The Missing Link
It is our job to be more efficient in our programming, and here is why unilateral work plays such a huge roll in that.
WATCH: Equipment Feature — Westside Inverse Curl
This machine enables hamstring training in multiple positions, at any intensity level desired, for both strength and sport athletes.
Coaching Your First Powerlifting Meet
I’m going to give you what I wish I always had: a damn good guide for beginning coaches for their first meet. If you don’t have a mentor or somebody to help guide you, this is perfect for you.
Tacky and Tactics: 10 Tips to Win Your Strongman/Strongwoman Pro Card
This article provides a list of some of the various and sundry factors that help contribute to winning a strongman or strongwoman pro card.
Optimum Personal Training: The Most Important Athlete Is the One That’s ...
Josiah O’Brien’s belief is that every athlete deserves individual attention, and requires it to reach their best performance. This is why every program is tailored to the client and why the client receives full undivided attention for the whole time they are in session.
Does Muscle Turn into Fat?
Muscle is a constant consumer of energy and fat is an organ that stores it, but they do share some common cell lineage. Can one become the other?
Strength and Conditioning Program for Youth Hockey from the Canadian Ice...
This program was designed for our players who spend half a day in traditional school and half a day training with us for AAA GTHL hockey, the premier youth hockey league in Canada.
WATCH: Table Talk — Programming Isometrics
Following these guidelines and using isometrics in multiple positions, you can increase strength not only at a weak point but throughout the entire movement.
The 5 Stages of Change
With this basic framework you can better understand how likely your clients are to stick to a program or diet, as well as where they might be in the behavior change process.
Why Your Meet Prep Sucks
It can be hugely discouraging to feel that all the work you did in the offseason and during your meet prep was wasted because you had one bad day, Unfortunately, all that really counts is what you put up on the platform. Or is it?
Know Your Audience: Learning More About Your Athletes
In the time since I wrote the initial "Know Your Audience" article several years ago, I've refined my coaching methods and changed many things, but the enduring message remains the same: get to know your athletes better.
Peak Mental Performance Podcast — Auto-Regulation and How Personality Ty...
Mike Tuchscherer has been known for years as a large proponent of individualized training. Our conversation covers some great topics and advice for both lifters and coaches. No matter what type of training method you use, there are some good principles that you can apply to your training.
Simple Steps to Reaching Your Ultimate Goals
The goal-setting pyramid I use for my clients and myself helps to easily clarify daily, weekly, and monthly needs for continual progress — and when things slow down, it speeds up troubleshooting and gets you back on track.
WATCH: Mastering Leg Drive in the Push Press
Whether you're using a log or a weightlifting bar, you need to follow these rules to make sure you aren't wasting the strongest half of your body.
All In — When I Got to Westside
Before I started training at Westside, I told my wife I was going to shut off my brain and do whatever I was told, no matter what. It was one of the best decisions I've made.
Off-Season Bodybuilding Program for Powerlifters and Strongman Competito...
The introductory four weeks should have improved your joints and helped you become accustomed to high reps. Now it's time to get more challenging.
WATCH: Fixing Dave Tate — Movement Screening
The initial assessment is complete and it's time for some hands-on evaluation of Dave's movement, using these seven key movements. The compensation patterns and pain indicators observed in this step will be used in the next phase of the process.
Tissue Load vs. Tissue Capacity: A Key to Injury Recovery and Prevention
One of the most common causes of injury is accumulation of load on a tissue, tendon, or ligament that exceeds that tissue, tendon, or ligament's capacity. For optimal rehabilitation and recovery, you need to understand and manage this relationship.
Why U.S. Bodybuilders Are So Dominant
There are great bodybuilders from all over the world, but the U.S. has been the clear leader as far back as I can remember. This isn't a coincidence.
Autoregulation and Variable Adaptation Training
Want continual progress over the long haul? Think of your training as lifting big rocks, pebbles, and sand. Here's how.
WATCH: Table Talk — The Best Foods for a Squat Bloat
If you're looking for a serious answer to a question about building a bloat, you've come to the right place.
Exiting Your Comfort Zone: Expect Casualties Along the Way to Success
Winners create their chances and don’t wait for opportunities. They are relentless, ruthless, and focused.
WATCH: How Would You Program for a Deadlift Only Meet?
Many lifters will be tempted to reduce their squat intensity to preserve energy for the deadlift, but that might not be the best idea.
Programming for Athletes — The Middle School Athlete: Grades 7-8, Ages 1...
These athletes undergo rapid physical development, increased workloads, new mental health challenges, and hormonal changes. As they hit peak height velocity, it's vital to properly manage their training.
Using Squat Variations to Alter Movement Patterns
One of the best ways to correct movement patterns is to use exercise variations that address your issues. Here are the five most commons squat errors and the variations that solve each.
Putting It All Out There — Fighting Complacency and Contentment
Making progress in training or in life means taking ownership of your future. Are you a passenger sitting quietly or are you grabbing the wheel and pressing the gas pedal?
Establishing Team Culture in the Spring — FUNdamentals
This is a great opportunity for you as the strength coach to step in and provide the leadership and culture to propel your team forward in the fall.
The Client Rulebook: 5 Rules to Follow
If you're going to invest the time and financial resources to hire a coach, you should be doing everything you can to get the most out of the relationship. Avoiding these common mistakes is a must if you hope to reach your goals.
Baseball Players and Thoracic Rotation
Rotational power is important for both swinging and throwing. This article includes a three-exercise progression to not only develop better, more efficient rotational ability, but also to improve proficiency in weight transfer.
WATCH: The Universal Gainer — Styles of the Rest-Pause Method
I get asked all the time why I love rest-pause method. Here's the answer, including an explanation of what makes this technique the universal gainer.