A Letter to the Haters: What You Can Learn from Bodybuilders
Those of us who toil in the weight room day after day attempting to better ourselves receive a lot of flak for being vain, self-obsessed, and egotistical.
Energy System Development for Powerlifting
Energy system development is seemingly one of the hottest concepts in the fitness industry lately.
Introducing the Shoulder Tornado: The Best Shoulder Warm Up You Aren...
In this article, I'll introduce you to a brand new shoulder warm-up drill that we use before any upper body movements.
All Aboard the CrossFit Bus!
The word "balance" shouldn't be on the lips of elite athletes, "specialization" should.
The elitefts™ Learn to Train 3 Seminar "LTT3” and the Lies We Tell ...
Just twenty minutes in and the seminar is already worth ten times the cost of admission.
You Have the Power
The two-thirds power formula is a handy method for comparing the two lifters to decide who is actually stronger.
Words of Wisdom: Extraordinary Resolve
Since you faced cancer and survived, how has it impacted your view on life and what is really important to you?
Top Five Kettlebell Exercises for Football Strength
Kettlebells are a perfect tool when it comes to building strength, explosiveness, and flexibility for football.
Beyond the Bounds of Known
Stepping outside the bounds of what is known might be what you need to do to continue to make progress.
Seven Steps for Building the Perfect High School Lineman
Here are the seven steps for building the perfect high school lineman.
Shaun's MMA Fight Recap
I needed boxing training as well, that is a must for me. I found that boxing really helped my style all around.
How I Train
Anyway, this is what's been working like a charm for me. If anyone has any questions, I'd be happy to clarify whatever you need.
Improving the Bridge
The bridge (aka plank) is a very simple exercise that has managed to accomplish the feat of being both loved by many and also hated by many.
Club Sports Conundrum: Part II
The solutions to these problems are as multi-faceted as the nature of the problems themselves
Hitting with a Rubber Hose
The two ends of the hose aren't firmly connected, just as the two adjacent joints in a lift must be firmly locked in. No, I'm not saying they can't move, but they must be supported.
I can’t remember where I heard it most recently or if I heard it anywhere, but the term ‘energy leaks’ has been coming out of my mouth more and more often at my gym.
Five Ways to Improve 'On the Field' Speed
Not only does speed kill, it wins games and wins championships.
Get a Grip
Nothing is more empowering than possessing a pair of sinewy forearms bundled with thick veins that descend from your sleeves.
Limited Edition Military Prowlers Benefit Wounded Warrior Project
The Prowler is a great tool that can dramatically improve your athlete’s conditioning levels – just make sure you’re thinking critically about the ways you’re implementing it into their training programs and the results will speak for themselves.
Explosive Dead Hangs
Clapping at the top of a pull-up doesn't make it explosive anymore than clapping in the bottom of a dead hang does.
The Greatest Program in the World
Choosing the “right” program can be an intimidating decision. The truth is, this might not be as critical a decision as you think.
Six Lateral Strength Exercises for Crazy Football Speed
Here are six lateral strength exercises you can use in your training program to ensure that you’re building real world game speed.
Wild Thing: Pitching Strength
It's essential to strengthen the external rotators because the internal rotators will grow exponentially stronger from so much throwing if nothing is done to correct the imbalance.
Going Pro
I started experimenting with single ply gear a few months ago including Metal IPF V-Type Squatter, Metal IPF King Presser, and Metal IPF Deadlifter.
The Ten Commandments of Athletic Development
Here are the ten commandments of athletic development as I see it, independent of which training system you've chosen to follow.
The Effects of Specialized Exercise Variables for the Purpose of Maximiz...
The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between muscular overcoming, yielding, and holding during training for absolute strength on the bench press.
Under The Bar: Tips of the Week
You don't have to negotiate anything you don't want to and if it is going to kill your profit/productivity/culture then walk.
Improving Your Self-Discipline with Your Training
The most important factor for success isn’t strength, motivation, or hard work—it’s discipline.
What I Learned from Running a Warehouse Gym, Part Two
In my first article, I detailed how two weeks coaching taught me more than all the books, articles, blogs, and papers that I’d read in the preceding year. These three weeks taught me just as much if not more.
Strength 101: Part IV - Training Periodization
Parallel systems train multiple skills simultaneously, and they progress mainly by manipulating volume, intensity, and technique as a way of teaching the body what to expect from a competition.
The Road To Winning USAPL Raw Nationals
I started my raw journey back in December of 2008. After an equipped meet in April 2008, I left the meet feeling empty.
This Is How I've Always Done It!
As coaches, we need to stay on the cutting edge of the research and use it to guide and inform our practice rather than dictate what we do and don’t prescribe.
How to Land a Graduate Assistant Strength Coach Position
I wish someone had told me all this from the start.
Power Clean for the Strength Athlete
Whether your sport is powerlifting, strongman, football or any other “strength” sport, the power clean should be part of your workout plan.
The Dumbing Down of Fitness: “Globo Gym” Style
I've had plenty of time to think about my experiences in the corporate fitness world over the last year, simply because that’s where I cut my teeth and then subsequently got them knocked out.
Heave Ho! Top Pulling Moves
Regardless of whether you're a beginning grappler or a black belt, a secretary or a garbage man, the importance of pulling and grip strength can’t be emphasized enough.
Set Up to Squat Huge
The solution may be as simple as lowering the rack a notch, pulling your elbows down or taking a better breath.
Performance Program Changes
This week I started a few new things at work that I believe will help our performance program not so much in the direct sense of progress but in an indirect sense.
Applicable Strengths: Our Top Four
My job as a coach is to build the foundation of strength, make them faster, improve the balance of the athletes and increase mobility.
Forget the Fads
Building muscle is simple, and once you get the correct form down, the exercises you should be doing are simple.
No Lower? No Problem! A Broken Down Trainer's Journey Back to Funct...
I think it’s safe to say that if you're a frequent reader of this site, you know full well the extreme benefits that can be derived by lifting massive weights with our lower extremities.
What Type of C.A.R. Are You Driving?
Strength coaches, our critical off-season is being taken away before our very eyes.
Neophytes: A Call to “Arms”
The greatest amount of misinformation isn't only readily accessible to beginners.
Acclimating Indoor Kids for Outdoor Practice
It seems we've entered an age where every summer we hear about a football player who has been hospitalized or died from heat exhaustion.
My Insights on Training and Coaching: A Business Perspective
This is just a small list of things that I've learned and observed over my ten years of training.
One of My Favorite Shoulder Exercises
This is a fast and simple article. No hype, just an awesome exercise that I use all the time.
Handling Multiple Skill Levels?
You have to figure out a way to manage all of them in a way so that they will get the most out of the training session.
Grand Opening: The New Man Cave
It’s been a while since we have heard from the Swole Sisters, so I will proceed with caution on this one.
Shane Carwin Weighs In on Strength Training for MMA Fighters
Shortly after his 3:48 first round knockout of Frank Mir, I had the opportunity to speak with Shane about his strength training and conditioning program and why it is important for fighters to spend some of their time in the weight room.
Military Special Operations Physical Preparation Concepts
The paradigm of military special operations training poses an ironic problem.
Meeting the Scale: The Art of Making Weight
Have you ever watched a pre-fight weigh-in and noticed how gaunt and stringy that most fighters look as they get on the scale, only to see them with full cheeks and muscles the very next day as they step into the cage or ring?
Increase Your Neck Size
Please visit my training log or submit comments via the Q&A if you have any questions or need some guidance.
