Ten Tips for Show and Go
I’ve trained many high school athletes. They all come to me wanting to perform better, look bigger, be stronger, and run faster. I’ve seen athletes put on 30 lbs of lean muscle, increase their vertical jump by six inches or more, and slash time off of their 40 all while increasing their
agility and flexibility.
The Power of Information
As coaches, we all know about the myriad problems we’ll encounter in the course of trying to make our athletes better. These problems are generated by everyone our players come into contact with on a daily basis. From their parents, to their friends, to the ubiquitous “guys on message boards,” our kids are bombarded with stuff that’s not coming from
Five Essential Movements for Hockey Players
Hockey is a sport of intensity, physical contact, stamina, strength, and speed.
Olympic Lifting for the Growing Gymnast, Part 2
Figure 3 exhibits an example of the progression of strength from the developmental strength workout for the compulsory age group.
How I Passed Basic Training at 235 Pounds
Before I get started here, I want to say that I am in no way, shape or form a badass. I’m simply an average guy with a little better than average genetics, and a good work ethic. I know a hundred guys that are tougher and more hardcore than I am. They just haven’t written their stories down on paper
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.
So You Wanna Be a Fighter?: Part One
It’s been a while since I’ve contributed an article to this site and so much has changed.
Olympic Lifting for the Growing Gymnast, Part 1
As gymnastics coaches, sometimes we get caught up in sport-specific strength training because that’s what we know best. The belief is that if we strength train for sport-specific movements repetitiously, the gymnast will not only become stronger during those movements but will have less cause for injury. However, it is that frame of mind in which we fail as coaches.
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.
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
The Angry Coach Sounds Off
If you had control of everything in your football program, how would you set up your work week with regard to the organization of in-season practices? What would be the ideal way to marry the biological needs of the athletes with their game day needs (individual and group drills to implement and execute your game plan for the week)?
Transforming Together (Part 1)
In March of 2009, I was contacted by Nate and Donia, training partners from Iowa who were looking to get into better shape. Eight months later, they both competed in their first competitions (bodybuilding for him and figure for her) with completely transformed physiques.
Dynamic Chest Training: What’s Your Upper Body Vertical?
At some point in their training careers, most people reading this have probably been asked, “What’s your bench,” as if the bench is the one and only indicator of strength.
How EliteFTS Helped Me to Lift During Football Season
If you’re still playing football, this article isn’t for you so stop reading now. Just listen to your coach.
Defensive Position Specific Football Coaching Drills
In football, a defensive player’s success will depend on whether or not he can position his feet correctly to place himself in the best possible position to make plays. Foot speed is critical for improving athletic performance on the field. If a defensive lineman’s first step is exaggerated or slow, he will lose balance and be driven off the line
Developing Explosive Power for MMA
In almost every sport, the ability to be explosive and powerful often goes hand in hand with success, and this is especially true in mixed martial arts (MMA). Being a faster and more explosive fighter gives you the ability to overpower, outwork, and outgun your opponent from start to finish.
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.
Off-Ice Conditioning for Hockey Players
For years, coaches have been failing to attain maximum results when putting their hockey players on an off-ice conditioning program. Much of this comes from misunderstandings. Typically, an unknowing coach will put far too much emphasis on aerobic training despite its near uselessness in hockey specific conditioning. For example, timed miles, which I have performed as a player and have
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
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?
The Entity of Respect
Following my article, “The Age of the Perpetually Entitled,” there was a common theme to the emails that I received. The point made in these emails was that most, if not all, of the “entitled” lack respect yet expect to be respected by their peers. This is a common and recurring issue in athletics and in the workplace.
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.
Strongman Versus Power Cleans for Football, Part 1
You might disagree, but hear me out on this. As an ex-college football player and currently a strength coach, I’ve found the utilization and teaching of Olympic lifts to be tedious, inefficient, and downright boring. As a college athlete, I hardly found the patience to learn the correct lifting technique for the power clean. Although I held the St. John’s
No Secret to Balanced Training
Anatomy can be pretty intense and sometimes more complex than necessary. Balanced training is an old idea, so why beat a dead horse? Because bodybuilding dogma continues to prevail and everyone seems to define balanced training differently. So really…what the hell is balanced training?
Off-Season/Pre-Season Training for the High School Athlete
It seems that the terms off-season and pre-season are synonymous in the world of high school athletics. Most of the athletes who I train play multiple sports or participate in the same sport in multiple seasons. Unlike the college athlete, the high school athlete doesn’t have 16–24 plus weeks in the off-season/pre-season to devote to a comprehensive strength and conditioning
Making the Switch from Powerlifting to Fighting
A competitive powerlifter has one goal—to get as strong as hell. We try to perform GPP, eat healthy, and do all of the other little things to stay in shape. However, the bottom line is if it isn’t increasing the total, it’s not really high on the priority list. This is my mindset as a powerlifter, and most of the
Get Your Back into Your Lifting
I’m becoming a deadlift supremacist more and more. Louie Simmons recently wrote in Powerlifting USA, “A weak man has a weak back, and a strong man has a strong back. It’s that simple.”
An Interview with Cal Dietz
I’m the head Olympic strength and conditioning coach at the University of Minnesota and am currently working with eight sports. These include men’s and women’s hockey, men’s basketball, men’s track and field, men’s swimming, baseball, and men’s and women’s golf.
Interview with Strength Coach Todd Hamer
Todd Hamer is the head strength and conditioning coach at Robert Morris University.
Elitefts Spotlight: Landon Evans
As many times I’ve been made fun of because of my past, I think it’s imperative to outline so some people can see why I am the way I am.
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)
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.
My Five “Ah-ha” Moments of Becoming a Strength Coach
Lately, a few of the leaders in our business (Cosgrove, Cressey, and Robertson to name a few) have published articles with this catchy “ah-ha” title. I’m sure they’ve made each one of us sit in front of our computers and say, “Dang, he’s right.”
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.
Making It Work
As a powerlifter, grad student, father, and husband, I hear piles of insane BS from the general populace. “Wow, I could never do that.” “You can lift how much?” “You must be on steroids.” “I used to do that and then I broke ____.”
Life of a Cyclone Wrestler
I wake up at the crack of dawn, put on my sweats, suck down a shake, and I’m out the door. Time to hit the road. It’s early. It’s dark. It’s cold. But I can feel only one thing—my adrenaline pumping as “Eye of the Tiger” pumps through my headphones.
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 2
The strongest lifter in any given weight class is not necessarily the lifter with the most muscle mass because lifting maximal weights involves more factors than just muscle mass.
The Relationship Between Size and Strength, Part 1
It always bugs me when someone says that there is no relationship between size and strength.
Beginner Follow-Up Program
Here’s the exemplary monthly plan with two trainings of the beginning lift operators:
The Fastest Way to Becoming a Local Fitness Celebrity
Many personal trainers have heard that a great way to grow their business is to become a local fitness celebrity. However, many don’t have any idea how to do this.
Are Plank Exercises for You?
One of the latest rages in the fitness industry is the plank exercise. In essence, plank refers to maintaining your body in a straight line from head to toe, as for example, in the up position of a push-up.
Why Bodybuilding Is NOT for Athletes
The biggest problem I come across with athletes is their current training regime. Everyone wants to train like a bodybuilder. I don’t know if it’s the current trend in muscle magazines or misinformation, or maybe the athletes simply don’t have the proper goals in mind. Nevertheless, changes need to be made.
Warming Up to PRs
What’s keeping you from setting a personal record (PR) in your lifts? Why isn’t your “top end” going up?
Carb Cycling for MMA Fighters
As MMA fighters, we’re constantly looking for ways to improve our game. We sharpen our skills, improve our conditioning, and increase our strength, all with the goal of being better warriors. However, many of us fail to take advantage of a very important key to success in the ring (or cage)—optimal nutrition.
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.
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)!
Six of the Best Ways to Use Bands
Bands are nothing new to most coaches and trainers. They have quickly become one of the most versatile and effective training tools in a coach’s toolbox. Initially, many thought of them only as rehabilitation tools. However, Westside Barbell changed the perception of bands with its innovative techniques for using them for accommodating resistance.
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.
Age of the Perpetually Entitled
Recent posts on EliteFTS and events at the workplace have prompted me to write this article.
Delusion Tube
A few years after my football career ended, I found myself playing linebacker in a recreational flag football game in Long Island’s Eisenhower Park. This is rarely ever a good idea.
Strength, Part II: The Conqueror
“The acquisition of strength” may alternately be called “the overcoming of weakness.”
How We Use the Prowler
The latest installment in our “How We Use The Prowler” series comes from Elliott Hulse of St. Petersburg, Florida.