Birth Control and the Female Athlete
Women’s health is being ignored! Birth control is handed out like candy for trivial conditions such as acne. Although you may find some a symptom disappear short-term, remember you’re not fixing anything—you’re just putting a temporary Band-Aid on your health.
Got Upper Back?
It seems that lifters do not understand the importance of the upper back or how to use it in the three main lifts. The lifters I judged at a recent meet and just about all of my clients prove that to me, so let’s fix that.
Max Effort Modifications for Lifters with Anxiety and/or Depression
Many lifters with anxiety and/or depression find that during or following max effort, their mental health symptoms worsen, and/or their sleep quality and recovery suffer dramatically. These three modifications to max effort work may prevent or lessen some of these issues.
Chad vs. The World: Redefining Dedication
Even the smartest, strongest, and best of us can learn and improve on what we do or how we do it. The journey for strength is all about education and learning, and this is how we continue to get stronger. All of this takes dedication.
Chad vs. The World: Widening My Tunnel Vision
It is tough to look back with a clear open mind to see from a different perspective. It is with a clear open mind that I was able to see I did it wrong — and it’s not just in terms of my powerlifting career, but my life as whole.
I’m Going To Die
As I close in on turning 50 this next March, I admit that death has had a much more profound impact on me, to the point of almost making me dwell on it… and taking a 3,000-mile-long trip to spend time with my mother-in-law who has stage-4 cancer didn’t really help much, either.
Shooting From the Hip
Sometimes, I have to remember I am not Superman. I remembered how I have been feeling, sleeping, and how much I have been working. So I took a break and slept in… and managed to get this article done, too.
The Monsters on My Shoulder
I have two monsters perched on my left shoulder, whispering what-ifs and morbid thoughts and suggestions into my ear. No matter what I do, they won’t go away. That’s the most difficult part of having a mental illness.
Mental May — Destroying Demons
Put on your helmet, fasten your breastplate tight, and with one arm supporting your shield, allow the other to gather your sword. Go to battle with your demons. Win the war every day. Every breath you have is a victory.
Fall Forward
When you tuck the ball and fall for a yard, and when you get rolling, take three steps forward and get pushed back two, remember: you still fell forward one step.
Mental Health Month: Shattering the Stigma for 70 Years
The merry month of May is Mental Health Month, which was started by Mental Health America in 1949. That means this year, 2019, marks the 70th anniversary of the first-ever Mental Health Month.
It's Time to Stop Calling Suicide Selfish
I’ve seen a lot of people call suicide “selfish.” I’m not saying I understand why people kill themselves, but when I’m the compassionate one who has to say maybe people should be a little more understanding, that should say something.
3 Things You'll Find in My Mental Health Toolbox
Like any other coach, I love talking about training and programming and being in the weight room while coaching. But like many of you, I’ve neglected the thing between my ears, and I want you to know that it’s all right to feel. If your mental health is a weakness, don’t avoid it.
WATCH: Table Talk — Mental Health with Dave Tate and Joe Sullivan
“Training is my therapy” should sideline a powerlifter from competitions. If training really is your therapy, you’re going to get hurt. If that’s the case, you need to see an actual therapist. Seriously.
Choking on My Own Face — The Diagnosis
Because it’s a sleep study, and not, say a cat scan, I didn’t expect my doctor to get all solemn, take a deep breath, and ask me to “sit down” before delivering the news.
Mental Considerations for Bodybuilding
Hear me on this one. If you’re running from your past or managing it in secrecy, bodybuilding isn’t the answer.
The Yoke: A Reflection of A Person’s Intangibles
These training samples, along with hard work, allowed me to get a 20” neck, sizeable traps, and a sizeable upper back—all done with minimal equipment, mostly at home, and with extremely high rep counts.
How Student-Athletes Can Support Teammate Mental Health
More student-athletes are beginning to recognize mental health as simply another part of the training and self-care process, and not a sign of weakness or lack of mental toughness. Here are three ways to help.
The Power of Choice
It is a choice to take control of your life or to just let life happen to you. With this choice comes the power to shape your future.
WATCH: Sharing Love and Leaving Scars
In this piece I reflect on my stepfather and his impact on me, trying to understand how a person who loved his children so much could also inadvertently created a great deal of difficulty and strife in their lives.
Why I Need to Make a Change — The Plan
Change is difficult but can hold great rewards. Here’s how I’m going to make it all happen.
Introducing the New Peak Mental Performance Podcast with Guest Dr. Steve...
The goal of the podcast is to spread practical, quality information that can help all listeners improve their mental health and athletic performance, and to help everyone understand the link between the two.
WATCH: How the Bite of the Iron Nurtured My Growth
Sometimes we get so caught up in the physical nature of training we forget about the other impacts it has.
Training Beyond A Diagnosis
I found out about the cancer in 2008, but there was one major problem: there was no way I was going to take this and settle for a life of quiet mediocrity.
Selfish or Selfless?
Everyone has a line. You may not know where it is and you may never reach it, but it’s there.
Mental Health and the Strength Athlete: Why Powerlifters Get Ulcers
I’m going to focus on three variables and interactions that affect stress response in the athlete: life events, mental illness, and training.
Parallels of Lifting and Life — Confidence, Arrogance, Priorities
Chad shares how difficulties in a personal situation had him look to lifting for answers.
Mental Health and the Strength Athlete: Strength Beyond the Barbell
Mental illness isn’t something you hear often in the strength world — but that’s not because it doesn’t exist.
Failure Is Always An Option
You may have heard that committing to your goals means eliminating the possibility of failure. The problem? This isn’t realistic. You can’t always win.
Depression Answers for Athletes
I can only imagine from my personal experience with depression how athletes like Dave Mirra reach the point of tragedy.
Encouragement and the Pump: The Ultimate Antidepressant
It’s easier to mask personal issues than deal with the cause of anxiety and depression. It might feel like a solution but, just as I was forced to learn, these temporary distractions lead you down a dangerous path.
Being A Garage Lifter
Training changed my life, but it was elitefts that taught me how to do it correctly. I’m a garage lifter, and I’m happy to be.
New Depression Drug Works in a Day
A new medication still in testing stages proves to be a promising cure for those suffering from depression.
Living and Training as a Bipolar Narcoleptic: Lack of Sleep and Depression
It is difficult to reach the top of any sport within a hyper-competitive atmosphere. It is even more difficult with depression and sleep complications.
What's a Heroine Without a Freakish Physique?
What would Wonder Woman think about this transformation?
Exercise and Depression
It seems to be a generally accepted fact that exercise has a positive impact on depression and anxiety.
Does Strength Training Cause Depression?
Is there a legitimate link between the heavy training involved in strength sports and depression?
My Fight: Living With Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
If you’re in the military, or you’re a police officer or fireman, or you work some other job where you’re under considerable amounts of stress on a regular basis, you’re going to want to read this article.
