Powerlifting is so much more than physical strength. Yeah, that’s part of it, but only a fraction of the big picture. Are you strong mentally? Are you strong intellectually? Are you strong emotionally? Let’s find out.

A bad program can tarnish more than reputation; it could end a young athlete’s future. These kids are in the most important developmental years of their lives, so it’s up to us to give them the tools to be the best they can be, and these key components are a good place to start.

If you’ve been doing the plank in order to get a 6-pack, you’re probably doing it wrong. Utilize these techniques for a better perspective and understanding of the plank and to optimize your performance.

Through the use of unconventional movements (or awkward movements), you can really force yourself to utilize better form and recruit numerous additional muscle fibers. Here are a handful of Big 3 variations you can try out.

For the first time in our head coach’s time at Indiana State, the entire roster passed their fitness test before the start of the spring season — and did zero conditioning outside of morning practice sessions. Thank you, conjugate method!

“If I train strength and conditioning at the same time, will both suffer?” Unless you are taxing your recovery or training in completely disparate ways, you can train both domains. Here are a few ways you can do that.

What is it about powerlifting that draws people to it like a magnet? Is it the parts of us that start as iron ore and are melted down into knurled steel through training? Is it a religion we worship? What power does powerlifting have over us?

If you have a garage gym, you want equipment that is reliable and will outlive you. That’s why elitefts equipment is the gold standard. But you’ll want equipment that’ll give you the bang for your buck. Enter the elitefts Back Raise…

During Richland High School’s last football season, I combined the conjugate method and the tier system for programming game day lifts. Seeing the results thus far, I intend to continue the program with a few adjustments — but not before sharing it.

In the first three parts of this series, I discussed the current failings of the strength and conditioning fields. In this fourth and final installment, I’ll try my best to solve some of these problems — something that could very well take decades but needs to be done.

Strength and speed training positively influenced my client’s Ironman competition outcome, an event that is very aerobic- and lactic power-based, but why? Let’s take a closer look at energy systems as a whole to find out.

Previously, I’ve discussed relationships with sports coaches and administrators. In Part 3 of this series, I’ll cover some of the biggest issues and names in our field: certification, qualifications, the NCAA, NSCA, and CSCCa.

In this four-part series of articles, I’ll explain why strength and conditioning is a failing field and how we can improve our line of work. This first article covers the problems that we often face with sports coaches.

Getting a new tattoo doesn’t mean you have to throw the bar down and not step foot in a gym for two months. What it does mean is that you need to ensure you don’t do anything reckless for the first couple of months.

Hugging a 40-pound bag of salt while doing a rear leg elevated split squat might not sound like hard or heavy work, but this is an exercise that’s helped even some of the world’s best powerlifters reach their full potential.

The suggested strategy to build trust from the sports coach involves a particular approach to the strength and conditioning process. A natural consequence of this approach defines the scope of practice of strength and conditioning.

We tend to see outrageous exercises, movements, and even classes that claim they will give you a stronger core or a six-pack in days. I encourage a shift in your mindset to optimize your training to obtain the six-pack look.

Strength is a cheat code when it comes to winning. Here’s my basic outline of how you can best implement that cheat code and improve your gym sessions for sport performance.

During my time working under the University of Minnesota’s Cal Dietz, I saw the impact of the myelination phase in athletic performance. I also found it’s most effectively programmed with Overcoming Isometric variations of the big lifts.

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.

Powerlifting is bigger and better than it was when I started in 2004. But there’s is one major exception to the positives regarding the sport’s growth: The death of the powerlifting crew.

Listen, Blockbuster, Sears, and Kodak went under because they failed to add this secret ingredient to their business models. Are you willing to risk all your business’ longevity? Read on to see how your business can stand the test of time.

My goal for this meet was a 400-pound squat until Dave asked, “What’s the Pro total for your weight class?” In that moment, I knew that was no longer the goal — it became a Pro total.

Science has proven time and time again that having a football player running endless 100-yard sprints isn’t the best option. In fact, it shouldn’t even be thought of as an option. Instead, use current information about energy systems to improve training.

With all the knowledge we have available to us, you would think that we have gotten past the idea that distance running will get an athlete in shape for any sport. So how should we program for athletes? Sport-specific? Sort of. In order to approach something that is actually sport-specific, we must take into account the actual demands of the sport.

Soft tissue therapy is an undeniably important aspect of the rehab process of Femoro-Acetabular Impingement, but there’s a commonly overlooked aspect as well: the iliotibial band, or IT band, which is often a major player in the cause of FAI.

I’ve noticed a lack of variety in how people deadlift — conventional or sumo — as well as the fact that they rarely change pulls. As someone who does both, I wondered why that was. I set out to solve that mystery with a survey and found some answers from a variety of respondents…

“If you snooze, you lose,” as the old adage goes — though it never tells us what we lose from that snooze. But it turns out if we don’t snooze, we lose a lot of health benefits. Seven to eight hours of sleep is best for the average person, but the quality counts, too.

These 12 rules are a culmination of experience and mistakes and were written for younger strength coaches, who I hope understand the long journey they have in front of them. While your principles are and should still be forming, it’s always a good thing to have some rules to keep you on track.

Sprinting with a weighted sled has become my go-to exercise for improving an athlete’s ability to accelerate because it teaches and trains those mechanics. My athletes have consistently improved thanks to to sled sprints!

It’s important to note that there isn’t a one-size-fits-all training protocol, and these are just some general suggestions based on a few successes and countless failures over my career that I consider when writing a program.

A calorie at 7:59 p.m. is the same as a calorie at 8:01 p.m. Whether you’re eating at 7:59 p.m., 8:01 p.m., or in the middle of the night, it really doesn’t matter. Instead, consider each of the 24 hours in a day to be equal in terms of importance… or simply the number of calories you eat in a day.

In an effort to accomplish the goals of both athlete preparedness and strength, power, and speed development, the Belt Squat Overcoming Isometric can be utilized effectively and specifically to an athlete’s sport.

Coaches, athletic trainers, physical therapists, equipment personnel, and league officials all have distinctly different vantage points on the same subject matter. Somewhere along the lines, one of the most critical perspectives gets lost in the shuffle: the players’.

We associate the word “heart” with an emotional response and driving purpose, when it is, in fact, the opposite. It’s the act of leaving emotions and connections behind, if only for a short while.

As Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu grows more popular, so does misinformation about training for the martial art. This article will provide both empirical and anecdotal information about strength and conditioning for this particular combat sport.

To quote the third single from The Offspring’s album Americana: The kids aren’t alright. But a solid school weight room can make a huge difference in these kids’ lives and overall education. Here are five things the best school weight rooms have.

While having a big back doesn’t guarantee big bench PRs, the back and bench press go hand in hand. The back plays an enormous role in benching effectively — most lifters just don’t know how to use their back in the lift!

With over 300 pages of content published for August, here’s what ranked at the top (and what you possibly didn’t get a chance to click).