The Mindset Behind a Great Bench Press
What does everyone want? A bigger bench press of course. Let’s face it—people don’t walk up to you and ask, “So what do you curl?” Everyone wants to know how much you can bench. Well, I can bench press a lot, and I’m going to share some tips with you.
EliteFTS: Top 8 Good Morning Exercises
The Good Morning Movement is one of the best movements to include in any strength program. Here are our top 8 Good Morning varieties.
The ABCs of Tire Flippin’
Unless you live under a rock or in France, you know that incorporating Strongman events into training has become a popular way to add variation to any program.
Methods for Training Clients with Hardcore Minds, Not Bodies
What happens when you get a potential client who is all about doing the most hard core exercises, who moves mountains and is willing to go the distance to achieve his goals? As I imagine, you’d probably be happy to have a motivated, determined, and disciplined trainee.
Training the High School Powerlifter
Having been head coach of the Warren Central powerlifting team for almost ten years, I can tell you without hesitation that training teenagers has to be one of the most frustrating, and at the same time, rewarding jobs of my life. Many of the guys I have coached came into our weight room as freshmen having never even seen a
Explosive Upper Body Training for Football Lineman
“I tell ya. His legs are as strong as an ox, but he throws a punch like a 7-year old girl!”
How Do I Get Explosive Strength?
At Synergy Athletics and on nearly every training forum, people ask, “What exercises do I need to become more explosive?”
Introduction to Preparing Athletes for the Challenging Sport of Rugby U...
For those not familiar with the sport, rugby union is a professional, widespread sport in Europe and countries in the southern hemisphere (Australia).
Want to Train at elitefts? Make a Plan or Suffer the Consequences
My first experience in the EFS gym…
1100 Pound Abs
The other day in the gym, the topic of ab training for strength came up. I figured there was nobody better to ask than 1100 pound squatter Matt Wenning.
The BS of the Strength and Conditioning Field
This article isn’t going to make me any friends, but hopefully it will open the eyes of some people and help them look outside their fields of thought and expand their thinking. During the last seventeen years, I’ve been exposed to several concepts and ideas as they pertain to strength and conditioning, including Olympic lifting, powerlifting, core training, assessment based
Of Politics & Idiocy, Part 2 Strength & Conditioning at the Coll...
This is part two of a two-part series.
EliteFTS Spotlight: Justin Cecil
Justin Cecil is a full time staff member at St. Vincent Sports Performance in Indiana, and serves as the head strength and conditioning coach at Lawrence Central High School.
Three Football Speed Training Myths Busted
Where the hell did we go so wrong when it comes to football speed training? When did it become acceptable to pass off the hard work that entails training for football speed and replace it with fairly easy cone drills and gadgets?
So You Wanna Be a Fighter: Part 2
Let’s be very clear—I don’t know shit. Not about constructing the ultimate training paradigm, not about recovery, and certainly not about conditioning. But what I do know is that I love physical training, and I have a great passion for learning about the strength and conditioning field.
Army Physical Training and the Powerlifter
In October 2008, I joined the U.S. Army. I’m going to share my story about seven months of Army physical training compared to my experience as a veteran powerlifter.
Strength and Conditioning for High School Hockey
I don’t care for the term “sport-specific.” To me, this buzzword is a clever way to market strength and conditioning programs to parents who don’t know any better.
Raising the Bar: A Review
Dave Tate’s first book, Under the Bar, was billed as a book that wasn’t about training but kind of was. It wasn’t about business but kind of was, and it wasn’t about life but kind of was. His second book, Raising the Bar, is very similar but with a dark twist.
Your First Meet
There are a few factors that must be addressed before you decide on a competition. First and foremost, are you physically ready for a competition?
Bench Training for Gear and Raw
Here at Lexen, we train raw for much of our upper body development, but by using both environments (the shirt and raw training), you can actually make personal records in each.
Underground Strength Session 2009 Review
It was Friday night. I set my alarm for 5:00 a.m. This was nothing new, but when I woke up in five hours, I would be starting my trek to one of the strongest gyms in the Midwest—the EliteFTS compound.
My Experience at the 2004 WPO Bench Bash for Cash by Ed Rectenwald (as t...
Let me first tell you briefly about myself for those who do not know me.
EliteFTS Spotlight: Juliet Deane
I’ve been reading the site for a while, but we have our own training studio business, and in the past couple of years, it’s been about a hundred-twenty-five miles an hour, every single day.
Strongman Training for Rugby
Rugby is a fast-paced game that requires athletes to pass, kick, tackle, and run. All 15 players on the field need to be competent in these very different areas.
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
In powerlifting, there are many different paths to achieve our lifting goals.
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
This program is based on the concepts outlined in Dr. Vladimir Issurin’s, Block Periodization: A Breakthrough in Sports Training.
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
Hip Strength for Speed Development: Part II
In my last article, I outlined the four qualities that must be trained to improve speed—relative body strength, hip stability, elasticity/reactivity, and rate of force development. I quickly touched on the subject of developing strength in a hip hyperextended position. In my opinion, this can unlock the speed potential of any athlete.
Proper Sprinting Mechanics of the 40
Coaches on various levels are trying to find the latest workouts to improve strength and speed in their athletes.
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.
Sometimes More Is Better
One of the first things we learn in the fitness industry—whether you’re a trainer, a gym rat, or that “newbie” who is still wet behind the ears—is that more isn’t always better.
Bridge the Gap: Sprint-Resisted Training
“Heredity only deals the cards; environment and training plays the hand”(1). It’s possible for an athlete to improve in every phase of playing speed, whether it be maximum miles per hour, stopping and starting, feinting, faking and cutting, or multi-directional high speed acceleration with a complete “holistic” speed development plan (1). Genetically gifted athletes may be fast with little work
Development of Division 1 Football
We believe the initial year in our program is the most critical to an athletes’ over all development. During this period, the strength and conditioning staff must implement the foundation for development.
Predictor Lifts for the Grappling Sports
For every sport, there are certain key lifts that when performed by the athlete will tell you how well he or she will do in the sport. Once a predictor lift is improved, it will correlate with an improvement in performance.
Ten Tips to Improve Your Football Training
If we all simply followed this one, there’d be better results and more time for real training. Jogging has no place in a football training program. None. Not as a warm up, not as a cool down, and definitely not as punishment
Off-Season Soccer Strength
In recent years, strength and conditioning has became more and more popular among the soccer populations. The benefits have been seen in many other sports, and it’s finally showing up in soccer.
The Big "T"
Testosterone decreases protein degradation and increases protein synthesis, and most evidence concludes that it has a significant effect upon muscle tissue.
Speed Development for High School Athletes, Part I
National high school signing day was February 4, 2009. After listening to all the “gurus” discuss recruiting, one thing stood out—speed.
Release Your Inner Masochist
It was not until the early to mid-1900’s that we even NEEDED a “gym” to exercise in. Before then, people were active enough just working in a factory in New York or a corn field in Nebraska.
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.
Triple Extension Movements for Football Using Strongman Training
When you watch the world’s strongest man contests on television, it should be obvious that these athletes are not only aggressive, fast, explosive, athletic, and flexible, but they have a great anaerobic threshold.
What’s Best for Increasing Muscle Mass and Strength—Linear or Reverse L...
“Training is an exact science.” —Mike Mentzer
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
You see, unless you train at Westside, you don’t know Westside
30 Days Without Weights: Part II
In my first article on body weight training titled “30 Days Without Weights,” I spoke about the many benefits of using body weight training during a training phase.
Analogies for Understanding: Origins of Strength
Motor units, rate coding, fast-twitch muscle fibers, recruitment capacity—do you have this all down?
Extreme Hamstrings: High-Tension Hamstring Training
Hamstring injuries are common among sprinters. One of the biggest challenges that I face as a strength coach is helping an athlete overcome a hamstring injury and at the same time improving performance.
Extreme Hamstrings: High-Tension Hamstring Training
Hamstring injuries are common among sprinters. One of the biggest challenges that I face as a strength coach is helping an athlete overcome a hamstring injury and at the same time improving performance.
My Top Five Strength Movements for Basketball Players
Players need overall lower body strength, single leg strength, upper back and shoulder strength, mobility, and a solid core. The game also subjects players to pounding and stress on the lower body.
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.
My Journey to the Grappler's Quest: Part 1
Thud! Snap! Pop, pop! These were the first sounds I heard before I felt the searing pain of two dislocated ribs.
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.
