Going Raw
Going Raw
I’m a lifter just like you. I’m not a trainer nor do I have any connection to the strength and conditioning field outside of elitefts™.
 Training Individuality
Training Individuality
In powerlifting, there are many different paths to achieve our lifting goals.
EliteFTS Spotlight: Al Caslow
EliteFTS Spotlight: Al Caslow

This week’s EliteFTS Spotlight focuses on powerlifter Al Caslow, the newest EliteFTS sponsored athlete and member of the Q&A staff. Al is currently ranked #1 in the world in the 165 pound class.

Block Periodization in the Sport of Powerlifting
Block Periodization in the Sport of Powerlifting

This program is based on the concepts outlined in Dr. Vladimir Issurin’s, Block Periodization: A Breakthrough in Sports Training.

EliteFTS Spotlight: Vincent Dizenzo
EliteFTS Spotlight: Vincent Dizenzo

This week’s EliteFTS Spotlight interview introduces the readership to powerlifting legend Vincent Dizenzo. If you’ve been reading this site for any length of time, Vincent’s name – as well as his exploits under the bar – should be very familiar to you

Proof of Life
Proof of Life

One of my favorite moments in the history of powerlifting is Doc Rhodes’ third deadlift at the 1977 IPF Worlds in Australia. Rhodes was in the 165-lb weight class and had squatted 512 lbs and benched 374 lbs.

Spotlight on Nutritionist Dr. Chris Fox
Spotlight on Nutritionist Dr. Chris Fox

My name is Dr. Chris Fox. I’m a chiropractor who specializes in spinal rehabilitation. I’m 35 years old, I’ve been lifting since I was 13, and I’ve been seriously bodybuilding since I was 20.

Product of Your Desires
Product of Your Desires

You hear people talk all the time about how someone is a product of his or her environment. This is almost always the case when someone has done something wrong, and the argument is used as an excuse for the person as if they had no choice in the matter other than to become what their environment leads them to be

 A Better Way to Achieve Fat Loss
A Better Way to Achieve Fat Loss

Forget what you think you know about losing fat and pay attention. The best way to lose fat is to train for performance.

Matt Holmes’ Journey of a Warehouse Gym
Matt Holmes’ Journey of a Warehouse Gym

ZE: Matty, tell the readers of EliteFTS about yourself, how you started in the fitness industry, and what you have going on right now.

Advice to the Beginner and Elite
Advice to the Beginner and Elite

When we begin to train, usually the goal of most lifters is to get big and strong. On this path, our goals stay in that realm, but how we reach them becomes ever changing and more difficult as we push our genetic and mental limits.

 Interview with Jeremy Frey
Interview with Jeremy Frey

I first started lifting when I was about 11-years-old. I started doing little things before this time, but I entered a weight room when I was about 11-years-old.

Sporting Parents from a Coach’s Perspective
Sporting Parents from a Coach’s Perspective

I know that the EliteFTS.com website and article listings that I look forward to each and every Friday are usually reserved for strength and lifting as well as articles of an informative nature. However, I’m writing one myself from a different perspective.

Recession Strategies for Fitness Trainers
Recession Strategies for Fitness Trainers

Two shoe salesmen from competing companies were assigned by their firms to sell shoes in the middle of the jungle in Africa.

The Five “Cs” of Successful Fitness Entrepreneurs
The Five “Cs” of Successful Fitness Entrepreneurs

After being around some of the most financially successful fitness professionals in North America a few weeks ago, the difference between them and the typical trainer struggling to stay afloat became very evident.

 Under The Bar: The 2009 Underground Strength Session
Under The Bar: The 2009 Underground Strength Session

Before I get to the Underground Strength Session (UGSS) I need to take care of a little business first and bring everyone up to speed with what’s been going on around here. Don’t worry – I’ll be quick and even use bullet points.

 Five Pounds Is Gold
Five Pounds Is Gold

With astounding strength, brilliant technique, and a champion’s will, Andy Bolton returned to the platform and showed us who he always was. And looking at the speed of the 1008-lb deadlift, he’s not finished.

 ABCs of Squatting, Part I
ABCs of Squatting, Part I

Learning to squat properly may be one of the hardest tasks you have ever undertaken, but it is well worth the effort.

Five Random Things I’ve Learned at Westside
Five Random Things I’ve Learned at Westside

You see, unless you train at Westside, you don’t know Westside

The Return of Hardcore
The Return of Hardcore

That’s it. I can’t take it anymore. These sissified commercial gyms and their clipboard holding trainers have just about ruined the weightlifting world.

EliteFTS Spotlight: Matt Wenning
EliteFTS Spotlight: Matt Wenning

The subject of this week’s EliteFTS Spotlight is Q&A staff member Matt Wenning. Matt is one of only a handful of people to total over 2600 pounds in professional competition.

Meet Preparation
Meet Preparation

So, you’re ready to take it to the next level, right?

How to Get the Most Traffic (and Money) From Your YouTube Videos
How to Get the Most Traffic (and Money) From Your YouTube Videos

In 2006, Google spent a lot of money ($1.4 billion) to buy YouTube. Fortunately for you, Google is a smart company and isn’t going to waste that investment.

 Passion into Profit EliteFTS Small Business Conference  Feb. 2009
Passion into Profit EliteFTS Small Business Conference Feb. 2009

This was certainly different. I mean, it’s not every day that I get an email from Dave Tate, and I have never, and I mean never, ever been invited to train with him. If I was excited to attend this seminar before, well, that had just been ratcheted up by a factor of eleven!

 Eight Marketing Mistakes That Fitness Pros Make
Eight Marketing Mistakes That Fitness Pros Make

We all make mistakes. And when it comes to marketing, most of us make some really silly ones. Unfortunately, we seem to keep making those same mistakes over and over again.

Benching with the Big Boys When You’re Not
Benching with the Big Boys When You’re Not

The last five years of my life have seen significant changes, the least of which has been my body weight.

Defending the Bench Press
Defending the Bench Press

The bench press is a great lift. Whether your goal is to develop a powerful overall physique or a barrel chest or just get brutally strong, the bench press can help you get there.

EliteFTS Spotlight: Shannon Turley
EliteFTS Spotlight: Shannon Turley

EliteFTS Spotlight is a new weekly feature here on EliteFTS.com where Q&A member The Angry Coach interviews athletes and strength and sport coaches from various disciplines in order to find out more about what they do, how they train and how they do business.

EliteFTS Spotlight: Julia Ladewski
EliteFTS Spotlight: Julia Ladewski

EliteFTS Spotlight is a weekly feature here on EliteFTS.com where Q&A member The Angry Coach interviews athletes and strength and sport coaches from various disciplines in order to find out more about what they do, how they train and how they do business.

Five “Web 2.0” Marketing Tips for Personal Trainers
Five “Web 2.0” Marketing Tips for Personal Trainers

The internet changes fast and personal trainers interested in harnessing its power for marketing purposes need to keep up. The landscape has changed. Simple websites that act as a static business card are no longer enough

Monolifting Made Easy: Part 1
Monolifting Made Easy: Part 1

This article applies to three different types of lifters. If you’ve never squatted in a monolift, don’t train consistently in a monolift, or do squat in a monolift but don’t feel solid taking weights out of the monolift, keep reading.

An Interview with Pat Ivey, Assistant Athletics Director, Athletic Performance, Missouri Tigers
An Interview with Pat Ivey, Assistant Athletics Director, Athletic Perfo...

It might seem like I’ve been doing many interviews lately. There’s good reason for this. A few weeks ago, I did an interview for EliteFTS, and I was asked the question, “Who do you feel is getting it done in strength and conditioning?”

Hardcore Extreme Jan. 09
Hardcore Extreme Jan. 09

I’ve been fighting it for a few weeks, but I’m definitely overtraining again. I don’t do shit anymore, but I keep overtraining. One of my training partners asks me what I expect, because don’t sleep. That’s easy. I’m Chad Aichs, and I expect to train hard every day while still getting stronger.

The Steel Yard (Jan 09)
The Steel Yard (Jan 09)

Same old, same old. Just training. I just did a meet about eight weeks ago, and I’m still feeling like hell.

Lifting with Limits
Lifting with Limits

“A man has got to know his limitations.”

Training with Spud
Training with Spud

I moved from Greenville, South Carolina, to Columbia, South Carolina, to go to school at the University of South Carolina almost three years ago. I considered myself a hardcore powerlifter, and at the seasoned age of 19-years-old, I thought I knew what I was doing.

The Dungeon
The Dungeon

Wabush, Labrador, Canada. A small mining town nestled in the cold and desolate woodland of northern Canada. Seven months of the year this isolated town in the middle of nowhere is covered in a deep and cold blanket of snow.

The Reintroduction of J.L. Holdsworth, and the Introduction of the FIVE PERCENT
The Reintroduction of J.L. Holdsworth, and the Introduction of the FIVE ...

Hello Everyone! My name is J.L. Holdsworth and I’m an asshole.

Going Deeper into the Deadlift with Mark Rippetoe, Part 1
Going Deeper into the Deadlift with Mark Rippetoe, Part 1

In the November 2006 issue of CrossFit Journal, Mark Rippetoe published, “A New, Rather Long Analysis of the Deadlift.” He concluded this breakthrough article by identifying three criteria for a correct deadlift starting position:

Your First Meet Part II: Getting Diesel
Your First Meet Part II: Getting Diesel

Everyone starts from different points, everyone has different training backgrounds, and everyone is a little bit different from top to bottom.

 Squatting with Bands
Squatting with Bands

I will focus on how to set up bands at home. It took a bit of trial and error until I found a set up that worked well for me.

Brian Schwab's Orlando Strength Dec 08
Brian Schwab's Orlando Strength Dec 08

I have to thank Dave Tate and Justin Harris for helping me keep my weight on better this time. I ended up incorporating more sodium into my diet, and even loading with sodium tabs, which did wonders in preventing me from losing my fluids.

Under The Bar: How to make Dreams come true.
Under The Bar: How to make Dreams come true.

How do you make your dreams and wishes come true?

What I Learned from Donovan McNabb
What I Learned from Donovan McNabb

I’ll have to start this story with an admission—I didn’t play for the Philadelphia Eagles, but I did play a Philadelphia Eagle. Long story short, I played semi-professional football for a few seasons and made the All Star team. Campbell’s Soup took photos of all of the All Stars and selected the ones who looked most like NFL players to play as Eagles for their 2004–2006 Campbell’s Soup campaign with the NFL players and their mothers.

How to Recession Proof Your Approach to Selling Personal Training
How to Recession Proof Your Approach to Selling Personal Training

During a recession, people still spend money. They just don’t spend it in the same places that they do when the economy is surging ahead.

An Interview With The Angry Coach
An Interview With The Angry Coach

The Angry Coach is the newest member of the Elite Fitness Systems Q&A Staff. I first met this guy at a seminar back in 2005, and I was immediately impressed with his life experience, his training knowledge and his ability to communicate the things he felt were right and wrong with both athletics coaching and the fitness industry.

Five Questions for The Thinker
Five Questions for The Thinker

1. It must be very exciting to be involved with a winning program at this point in the season. How has this football season been progressing for you, personally?

2008 NASA Unequipped Nationals
2008 NASA Unequipped Nationals

This was my second raw training cycle this year. I did the USAPL State meet to qualify for the Raw Nationals and didn’t get to train for it. I had eight weeks to train for this meet, and the maxes that I based my training on were very conservative.

Elitefts Spotlight: Yosef Johnson
Elitefts Spotlight: Yosef Johnson

Yosef Johnson is the owner and president of Ultimate Athlete Concepts, a company he founded in Muskegon, Michigan in 2001 with the goal of bringing together the best scientists from a variety of fields and incorporating their knowledge into a comprehensive line of products which were previously unavailable to North American athletics coaches.

My Journey into Bodybuilding (Part 2)
My Journey into Bodybuilding (Part 2)

Dave Tate and I recently exchanged e-mails. I proposed to him an idea about a series in which I share an entire year’s worth of training, dieting, and other information needed to prepare for a bodybuilding show. The series will end with me actually competing in a show.

The Making of Elite Sports Performance
The Making of Elite Sports Performance

There are many great gyms in the United States. Ohio has the great Westside Barbell, California has Diablo Barbell, New York has Adirondack Barbell—home of the Metal Militia, and Nebraska has Big Iron.

Dads and Sons
Dads and Sons

As I look back, I realize that the time spent between a father and a son is by far the most precious thing that we, as men, can give to our sons. The time spent with dad is the most important time a boy can have in his entire life.

The Relationship Between Size and Strength, Part 1
The Relationship Between Size and Strength, Part 1

It always bugs me when someone says that there is no relationship between size and strength.

 The 5/3/1 Bench Routine for the Equipped Lifter
The 5/3/1 Bench Routine for the Equipped Lifter

The entire routine is structured around the strength curve that you would use while benching in a good shirt. The main exercises are floor presses with chains, 4-boards, 5-boards, and shirted bench work.

How I Improved My Deadlift in Fifteen Months
How I Improved My Deadlift in Fifteen Months

I had just a little over a year to get where I wanted to be.

An Interview with Paul Vaillancourt
An Interview with Paul Vaillancourt

Today is a real treat for the readers of EliteFTs.com. A good friend of mine, Paul Vaillancourt, just won the 105 kg Canada’s Strongest Man Competition and also placed eleventh at Canada’s Strongest Man (the real deal)!

Hardcore Extreme Sep. 08
Hardcore Extreme Sep. 08

This games didn’t really go as planned. In hindsight, I made some mistakes that really affected my throwing. On the plus side, I won the national caber championship.

My Talk with God
My Talk with God

In the second part of Dr. T-Rex’s series on his talks with God and Satan was printed. After reading them, I thought I had better start getting right with the Lord so that I too could know the mind of the almighty.

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