Genetically Mental
Mental toughness and strength are no different than physical traits. They can be trained and improved, if you’re ready.
Life Is About Growth, Not Comfort
It’s okay to fail. It’s okay to be uncomfortable. Defeat can lead to victory if you learn from it and gain experience along the way.
Coaching Essentials for Program Development
How do you determine if your program is too easy, too hard, or just right? Here are some things to look for to see if your coach is the real deal or full of shit.
elitefts Trap Bar Deadlift 101
Using the Trap Bar Deadlift may be one of the best exercises for beginners in a team setting.
LISTEN: All Things Strength & Wellness Episode 112 with Dr. Bryan Mann
For this appearance, Dr. Mann focuses on the physiology of force production, strategies for monitoring stress in athletes, and his experience with Altis.
Micromanagement and the Failure of Weak Leaders
If you lack credibility and influence, attempting to reduce variance and error by controlling every process and detail of your business unit will erode the loyalty, urgency, and purpose needed for success.
When a Building Is More Than Its Four Walls
All that the S4 embodied—all the history, all the depth of meaning, all the blood, sweat, tears, sacrifice and giving—will live on as those traits come to life and are reborn with S5.
Loaded Carries for Improved Body Position and Health
The farmer’s walk is the single best exercise you’re not doing for shoulder performance, posture, and health.
Controversies in Recovery Strategies
This article will provide a scientific evaluation of three frequently-implemented recovery strategies: anti-inflammatory interventions (NSAID/ice baths), foam rolling, and nutrition timing.
Confessions of an Old Bodybuilder: I Have Never Been to the O
30 years of training, 20 years of competing, 15 years of working in the industry, and I’ve never once been to the Olympia. I don’t plan to go anytime soon either.
Energy System Specific Sled Conditioning Work
With intelligent programming, you can use the sled to target each energy system without interfering with your current training program, and in the process enhance recovery, improve conditioning, and lose body fat.
WATCH: Table Talk — Should You Train Assistance Movements to Failure?
For a powerlifter on a conjugate or Westside style program, you first need to make sure you know the role of each exercise you’re doing. This will give you direction on how close to failure to train.
WATCH: elitefts Fitness Professional Summit — Owning A Business Is Harde...
It only makes sense to start your own gym, fulfill your passion, and make boatloads of cash in the process, right? Maybe not.
Reflecting on Strong(er) Business: elitefts Fitness Professionals Summit
When I registered for this event, I knew that not only would the presentations be top-notch, but so too would the social event.
WATCH: Badass Back Attack with Greg McCoy and Tyrus Hughes
This full back workout uses innovative thinking and multiple intensity techniques to maximize results.
MEET REPORT: 2017 IPA Flex Lewis Classic
Team Nebobarbell and I went to Murfeesboro, Tennessee, where I took a crack at one of my competition bucket list lifts.
Strongman Programming for Max Reps Events
I’m going to outline a 12-week program for an event that is max reps — a weight that is currently out of your reach.
Fuck Your Instincts: A Cautionary Tale
I want to introduce you to Brian, also known as Spartandeadlifter950 on Instagram, driven by his elite instincts and self-reliance.
Conundrums of My Meet Prep
Raw classic or single-ply? 181 or 198? And what about my hand? There are still a lot of questions to be answered.
Top Training Tips For Advanced Lifters — Technique, Injury Scale, and Sh...
There’s no doubt that there are times when you have to push through because you’re just not “into it” but there are other times when you really need to shut it down. The trick is knowing the difference.
Training Triple Extension — Olympic Lifting Variations and Substitutions
The optimal way to enhance an athlete’s power is by creating a force-velocity profile designed to address the athletes’ specific needs. When time does now allow for this, there are simple, safe alternative methods you can use.
Breaking Up with Bars
Protein bars are a great way to escape meal prep, track calories, and save time, but there are some downsides that have made me decide to part ways with them.
Team Outlaw — There's No 'I' In Team
There may be some powerlifters out there that train by themselves and go to meets alone, but I would bet dollars to donuts that any successful powerlifter comes from a team of supporters.
WATCH: Table Talk — The 3 Most Impressive Things Dave Has Seen at the S4...
The mind-blowing lifts and accomplishments that have occurred in the S4 are too numerous to recount, but there are a few that stick out in Dave’s mind.
Peak Mental Performance Podcast — Brain Benefits of the Ketogenic Diet
In this episode, Dr. D’Agostino and I dig into one of the most popular dieting methods and its lesser-known benefits, as well as covering ketone supplements and athlete considerations.
WATCH: Q&A with Coach Kav — The Biggest Mistake Coaches Make Teachin...
Once you’ve started with a baseline position, adjustments should first be made based on limb length and secondly based on strength history.
The False Prophecy of Motivation and Inspiration
It is nice to think we should always be ‘motivated’ and ‘inspired’ to achieve our dreams or goals. Shit, I wish it were like that. The truth is that that we all have ups and downs.
A Weekend of JL Holdsworth — My Introduction to Reflexive Performance Reset
I had the opportunity to take one of the RPR courses this week when JL asked to hold a clinic at my university. Whether you love or hate the idea of Reflexive Performance Reset, it works!
Throw Away the Calorie Calculator — A Better Way to Manage Caloric Intake
Within this article I am going to share my goal-based methods for assessing caloric needs, macronutrient ratios, and training protocols for my clients.
Saying Goodbye — Memories of the S4 Compound
As we leave the S4 Compound and christen the S5 Compound, join us in giving a proper farewell to a place we have called home for many years.
7 Pillars of Leadership
I recently spoke to my university’s leadership committee and it got me thinking about some things that are imperative to the success of strength and conditioning coaches.
What I Learned from Training My First Client
Three weeks ago, I came out of a two-year retirement from in-person training. Everything I’ve learned in the meantime about training nutrition, supplementation, and helping lifters came crashing into crisp clarity.
I’m Just Like You
I’m a judgmental dick, but technically, I’m no different than some of the people I judge.
So You Want to Be a Strength Coach?
I have outlined some things that I believe will serve to help aspiring strength coaches and young strength coaches thrive in this industry.
WATCH: Table Talk — The Three Best Conditioning Tools for Powerlifters
Conditioning doesn’t have to be complicated or require expensive equipment. These are the best options for a powerlifter.
From the Judge’s Chair: The Bench Press
In the first article of this series, I explained the value of the judge’s perspective in relation to the squat. Now let’s look at the bench press and see what lifters can learn from considering the judge’s role.
WATCH: Q&A with Coach Kav — The Most Common Weaknesses of Aspiring N...
When young athletes who plan to go into an NFL camp or enter the draft visit Coach Kav, there are two main issues he almost always encounters.
Closing in on Our 20th Year in Business
Thanks to your valued partnership, after nearly two decades of business we are still focused on the future.
Find a Real Gym
Here are several reasons free weight training coupled with a real gym can be a superior alternative for a female trainee.
Weapons of Metabolic Disruption
This compilation of training sessions is drawn from the minds of many great coaches, and includes initial and periodic testing to ensure intensity and distance per session challenge the metabolic systems of the athletes.
Training Is Where Your Life Happens
There’s nothing that will ever replace good old-fashioned hard work and practice. Not only that, this is where your life happens one plateau at a time.
Finding Strength with Derek Poundstone
I had no idea how prolific Derek Poundstone was and would become in the strongman world. Now that he has stepped out of the spotlight, he sat down with me to talk about the sport of strongman and his life.
The Max Effort Method vs. Dynamic Effort Method in Group Training
Trying to build superior performance without diversity in your training is like trying to build a house with nothing but a hammer and a box of nails: the final product isn’t going to impress anyone.
Three Mental Mistakes That Keep Powerlifters from Making Progress
If you plan on chasing unicorns, don’t hold your breath, because they don’t exist.
My Indicators
My key indicators (as well as yours) take time to know and develop. They also will change over time, so always be on the lookout and always monitor your training.
The Danger of Disposability
I’ve recently noticed culture embracing the idea of disposability at an ever-increasing measure. Quick, convenient, and disposable may lead to instant gratification, but I fear there are long-lasting consequences.
Energy Budget: Why You Can’t Exercise Your Way to Weight Loss
Your friend who runs seven miles a day is likely not burning any more energy than you are doing chores around the house. How the hell is this possible?
WATCH: Table Talk — Tapering for a Meet Using Conjugate
The appeal of conjugate is the ability to build multiple performance traits at once, but this confuses a lot of lifters as they get closer to a meet. It doesn't have to be so complicated.
WATCH: Q&A with Coach Kav — Execution vs. Beast Mode
When you start patting yourself on the back for basic shit you're supposed to be doing anyway, you're missing the whole point. You're a failure.
An Argument for Specificity
Staying in my own lane and keeping a laser focus on pursuing excellence in the sport of powerlifting is what has allowed me to rise to the top of my field as a coach; specializing, not generalizing.
WATCH: Pushing the Field Forward at The Spot Athletics
What started in a 2,000-square-foot facility is now two, 20,000-square-foot locations. And JL Holdsworth has his sights set on even more growth.
Another Supplement Store
I have tried it all, and I will not sit here saying I never spent money on crazy supplements thinking I would make huge gains. Learn from my mistakes.
The Human Element
College athletics may be a giant machine, but the humans run it. We need to understand that the athletes, just like us as coaches, have good days and bad days, and instilling good character should always be number one.
You Are Dying
You're on this planet for a reason. You have a purpose. Don't let it die inside you so that you can live a safe life.
Build Your Deadlift with the Deadlift Plus Deadlift Below the Knee
This is a great specialty exercise for lifters who get stuck a few inches off the floor, allow their shoulders to get too far in front of the bar, or lose their lats.
Every Hip Replacement Has a Silver Lining
If life is a juggling act, some balls are rubber and some are glass. You can get another job, buy a new car, or pay someone to fix your house, but if you drop the ball with your family, it is broken forever.
Why You Need to Return to Powerlifting
This article is for those of you who are on the fence. For those of you who have considered a return to the sport but are having difficulty pulling the trigger. For those of you who need to feel at home again.
Mirage Chasing
We seek enough, for what? To prove we did something? That we’re good “enough” at something? I'm fighting every day to overcome this and you should too.
