Looking for an unconventional use for bands?
Isometrics are so terrible, in fact, that I am going to give you the exact cycle I use. If you are willing to go through everything I lay out, I am willing to give it away.
In this final part, I try to wrap it all up with insight into how I currently feel about steroids.
Having a good meet means accounting for every aspect of your performance. Mismanage one aspect and you’re not going to have a great day.
Get a bigger bench and boulder shoulders with this easy movement.
This method is fast, simple, and won’t let the bar ever slip from your hands.
If you ever want to be a top-ranked lifter, you’re going to need all three of these things.
Bench-builder or back-breaker? Steve has the answer.
I had only one goal and nothing else mattered: to make it to Westside and get as strong as I possibly could.
Is it a bad decision to stop performing lifts that cause an axial load on the spine when the back is injured?
I am going to take a little detour to talk about personal issues I dealt with during this time, how these issues affect me, and if any of these issues were affected by what I was taking.
Powerlifters train for years to test their strength at powerlifting meets, yet receive little recognition or financial reward in return. So where’s the motivation?
Stories of Westside, vomit, blood, cysts, spine health, circa max training, pizza, and more…
What if I could lift with a complete lack of inhibition, able to call upon whatever I needed from the dark recesses of my mind?
Despite all of the positive aspects of using a hook grip, there’s one significant deterrent: pain. What if you could avoid it?
Dave believes the most important and widely used purpose for boards is to increase/correct the mini-max or sticking point.
Once the competitive season commences, the athlete will need to be transitioned into a contrasting training paradox, otherwise known as the off-season.
All in one article, we revisit Dave and Maliek’s discussion on sticking points, longevity, equipped powerlifting transitions, and challenges a lifter must face when following a percentage-based training program.
Most of the time I ignore what I don’t agree with, but considering I am three weeks out from my meet and I have been a grumpy bastard the last few weeks, I am going to write about a few stupid things I’ve seen.
When I took HRT therapy to a new level, my initial ideas began to change. It wasn’t anything like what I had read or heard about.
One day you can have the best day of your life and the next day could be your worst. This week included both for me.
If you misidentify the cause of the injury, not only will you fail to solve the problem, but you may actually make it worse.
Nine athletes and coaches who have owned home gyms were asked to share the purpose and evolution of their early setups.
All the success in your lifting that stems from work you put in at the gym can be compromised, often significantly, by your failures outside of the gym.
We ran the first variation of this setup in preparation for our last powerlifting meet and it resulted in around 1,400 pounds of total PRs spread amongst nine different lifters.
When the long-term goal is a 1000-pound squat at 220, and the ultimate goal is a 2400-pound total, you need two things: patience and a lot of hard work.
Even the best of the best display small form errors while performing common lifts — Clint Darden challenges Dave Tate.
I can now write about this subject and share how things worked out for me. It has been a journey with more than a few twists and turns.
This article series describes how you can incorporate bodybuilding exercises into your powerlifting training for big benefits in strength and aesthetics.
There are rules about training age that apply whether you’re 15 or 50.
In this article, we are going to discuss the training of the bench press for someone approaching a press 1.8-2x their bodyweight.
‘Tis the season for winter bulking, New Year’s resolutions, long lines at the squat racks, and a bunch of gym bros begging to work in on your bench sets.
To be your best on the platform, you need your mind to be just as prepared as your body.
Commit too many of the mistakes I’m about to present to you and your training will result in zero results. You certainly wont be getting the desired effect of optimizing force development.
You should be doing Reverse Hypers twice a week, year-round. Keep them fresh and challenging with these programming variations.
This is sweat. This is heavy, hardcore training, fueled by chalk dust and ammonia. Welcome to Outlaw Powerlifting, Boomer’s Iron Grounds, and The Wharehouse.
There are a lot of things to argue about in powerlifting, but you can’t argue about integrity, you can’t argue about desire, and you can’t argue about dedication. You need these things no matter what.
This is the dimension occupied by nursing babies with their mothers, lovers having intimate sex, and friends and family hugging. The relationship between lifter and bar is that intimate.
Some people may have thought my trip from Florida to Ohio for a weekend of lifting was silly, but this is passion. This is what unifies us.
I walked away with a two-pound squat PR and breaking my all-time world record, a fraction of a pound PR on bench, and a 12 pound PR total. Soon enough, 1400 will be mine.
My training cycle was stellar, and I had not missed a rep in training in months. Despite that, the nerves were still there. If I wasn’t scared traveling to this meet, I wouldn’t be human.
My home gym has been one of the best investments I have ever made. Let me explain how I got here.
It may surprise you how great I felt, but if you actually take a look at my training leading into the event, you will understand why.
How long will getting stronger continue? At what point, or age, or condition does deterioration begin? Am I racing a clock? Is my time on the platform limited?
One of the most impactful statements in debate history can teach you a thing or two about deadlifting.
The key is to find ways to consistently track strength increases throughout the training cycle, so that the ebb and flow of peak strength doesn’t negatively affect the overall picture of your training.
It is of great importance for all involved in sport participation, especially athletes, to understand what is exactly being asked of them when they make the choice to compete.
You can be certain that every great lifter you admire has mastered auto-regulation. If you want to be great, you’ll need to do the same.
Mental strength is a complex monster. You may think you’re motivating yourself by trying to beat other lifters, but you’re actually holding yourself back.
I polled our team members to get an idea of why some of the best lifters in the world compete raw or in gear. Here are their answers.
What happens when an expert in powerlifting and an expert in bodybuilding train together for five years?
If you’re training for a new world or personal record, every pound matters.
There are two categories for max effort exercises: strength builders and strength testers. Every lifter has their own. Once I found mine, I built an 1160 squat and an 850 deadlift.
Does being an elite powerlifter mean something different today than it did 10, 15, or 20 years ago?
If you show up on day one of your wrapped training and start off in the strongest wraps on the market, things are probably not going to go as well as they could.