Sub-Maximal Training, Maximal Results: A 6 Week Beginner / Intermediate ...
This is a basic six-week training cycle for an intermediate or beginner lifter who has reached a plateau in their training. Beginner/intermediate, in this case, refers to someone who has been lifting and following a training routine for 6-12 months. For this article, “squat” refers to the barbell back squat. This is not a […]
Everything You Need to Know About The Max Effort Method
As with anything in training, the answer always is “it depends.” With the max effort method, I can do one of these things for two hours just on advanced principles that deal with the max effort method, or I can do one very that’s simple. I choose simple.
WATCH: Why You Should Check Out Yessica Martinez's Training Log
Doing more gen pop or accessible workouts doesn’t make someone any less strong. Just ask elitefts athlete Yessica Martinez. Or, better yet, read her training logs to see how doing yoga or some gen pop exercise could lead to some bigger numbers in the squat.
5 Things Beginner and Intermediate Lifters Should Understand
Newer lifters seem to think that they can squat 1,200 pounds in less than a year of training. I hate to burst your bubbles, but that’s not going to happen. It’s a long game, and you need to understand that if you’re going to survive in this sport.
The Mind-Muscle Link
You must slow down to truly get a feel for the mind-muscle connection. I know some of you who do slow-motion reps or time under tension think you do not need to slow down. Well, then, this article is ESPECIALLY for you!
Everything Starts at Zero
For most things in life, you start with nothing. Get comfortable with this.
WATCH: Table Talk — The Three Biggest Mistakes Intermediate Lifters Make
If you ever want to reach an elite level in this sport, you have to get the rookie mistakes out of the way. These are the most common problems I see in intermediate lifters.
Strength Progressions for Beginner and Intermediate Lifters
The path of continual progress includes some these important programming specialties: don’t add techniques you are ready for and don’t become stale.
Friday Technique Video: Mastering the Sumo Deadlift
This man can punch you so hard your teeth will hit your girlfriend like shrapnel. Listen to him.
Mistakes by a First Time Lifter
This article is about a lifter who I have talked with over the internet a few times. I won’t mention any names or places, but he knows who I’m talking about. I watched a disaster happen at his first meet. There are a number of things that he and his group could have done differently to help him through his
Breaking Them In: Beginners Guide to Lifting
As a high school strength coach, my biggest challenge is preparing kids to lift correctly.
Three Lessons I’ve Learned as a Beginner Strength Coach/Trainer
Jay shares the top three things he has learned breaking into the strength and fitness world.
Beginner Follow-Up Program
Here’s the exemplary monthly plan with two trainings of the beginning lift operators:
Guidelines to Designing Your Own Routine
This is a guide for those who are just getting started and need a push in the right direction as far as workout program design.
Training the Deadlift
The deadlift can be scary. It comes last in a meet and is the most stressful event on the various components that make the body a lifting machine. And well, it even has a scary name. On top of all of that, there are now a hundred and one ways to raise your one rep max on the deadlift. Rack
A Beginners Guide to elitefts™
I’m going to do is make a list articles and other assorted products that will make things very, very easy for someone navigating this site and trying to learn.
Choosing and Training Your Openers
We get a lot of questions regarding how to choose openers for powerlifting meets and there are a lot of ways to look at this.
Since most veteran powerlifters have their own way of doing things and will probably never read this article, we are not going to address them. What I am going to do is address the lifter
Beginner Mistakes, Part II: The Dynamic Bench Press
Having coached for several years and after attending several Force Training seminars, I see the same problems on dynamic bench day no matter where I am. These problems aren’t always reserved for the beginner; I seem to make some of these same mistakes and have to take a step back and re-evaluate. Let us first take a look at the
Beginner Mistakes - Part I: Max Effort Progression
When I first started training using the Westside methods, I would often end my max effort exercise and feel like I didn’t do anything.