With our Westside Table Talk episode coming up I thought I’d add more background to this article on Westside and the lifters I met there
Life gets hectic with viruses, gym closings and holidays, work, and travel, but that doesn’t mean you can’t get some training in.
You won’t be able to properly improve your bench press without the proper form. JM Blakley recruits Yessica Martinez and Lily Starobin to share with us his secrets to a solid bench press form.
This episode will have a little less testosterone than usual, but don’t let that stop you from listening! Tune in to find out what makes these three women strong(er) than you…
Hate to break it to you, but you can’t out-correct a corrective exercise.
If you’ve dreamed of training the same way Dave Tate’s athletes do, today’s your lucky day… well, not exactly. Maybe you can’t train like them, but you can sure warm up like them!
Are you really utilizing your muscles at their maximum strength?
“It’s going to feel heavy as fuck, but it doesn’t mean you can’t do it.”
“I’m not the strongest guy in the world, but I might have a run as one of the stronger chiropractors.” elitefts coach and columnist Dr. Jordan Shallow wants to make his mark in chiropractic, education, training, and fitness — and he might be doing just that through his travels and writings.
Even though it’s 6 reps, you might want to tell the person who wants to use the cable machine they’ll have to wait a bit. This exercise puts the burn in slow burn.
What do Dave Tate, Nick Showman, Louie Simmons, and high school athletes have in common? A love-hate relationship with the trap bar… and a few other movements.
NEVERsate started off as a band name and became the name of Brian Alruhe’s gym — but there’s more to the name than that.
“Our human potential is much higher than we recognize.” elitefts coach and columnist JM Blakley might be the namesake of the JM Press, but he hopes his impact in the strength sports world will go far beyond that and the weights he’s lifted.
If you’re interested in doing some strongman movements but are hesitant because you’re in the middle of a program, don’t be! Brian Alsruhe will show you how to implement those movements into your current program.
Is that Santa Claus or a powerlifter? It’s Dave Tate, back to host another Table Talk Podcast episode.
Even if you’re not a strongman competitor, the Atlas Stone’s benefits have carryover to the Big Three. Besides, it’s fun to train something new. So what are you waiting for? Grab an Atlas Stone, heavy med ball, or sandbag so we can get started!
Training through chemotherapy took everything Clint Darden had. All in all, he believes it was important that he did. There was nothing else he’d rather do and no place he’d rather be.
Don’t do drugs. Negative side effects and addiction concerns aside, PEDs can really harm athletes’ long-term development and careers. They’re not worth losing the future gains over, we promise.
Fun fact: the farmer’s walk is one of Brian Alsruhe’s favorite exercises of all time. It works your grip, back, traps, biceps, core, and calves… what’s not to love?
Since you guys couldn’t get enough of him the first time, we’ve asked JM Blakley to come back to record another Table Talk Podcast episode. So sit back, relax, and listen to JM’s soothing voice instruct you on how to become a better lifter!
John Meadows was interested in the things Jordan Shallow discussed in podcasts and IG posts, so he reached out to him with the intention to “steal” some of Jordan’s ideas. Well, that didn’t go as planned. Don’t waste an opportunity to steal this workout from elitefts. Not that it’s stealing; you have our permission.
“…I’m using powerlifting lifts in a bodybuilding style…” Dan Green shares the secrets to building muscle as a powerlifter and as a bodybuilder.
The Muscle Doc is in the house! Dr. Jordan Shallow is here to answer your (bench) pressing questions, so hop on the livestream and ask away!
Brian Alsruhe’s background in strongman, martial arts, MMA, and counter-terrorism led to his training system being “messed up” and unique from everyone else’s. Despite that, he’s found great success with his programming and will be breaking it down in this video.
Brian Alsruhe’s training style is going to be different than what you’d usually see at the elitefts S5 Compound, but that certainly didn’t stop him or Team elitefts athletes from exchanging ideas and having a good time.
“I do feel the back is the engine of the powerlifter. You could almost not train anything else but just pound the shit out of your back four times a week and still be strong.”
The conjugate method isn’t simple for everyone, which is why Dave decided to write down an explanation on the Table Talk table.
Growing up in the ‘80s, Brian Alsruhe found strength in Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone, and He-Man. The one thing these people (and cartoon character) had was muscles; therefore, he’d need muscles to be strong. That brought him to martial arts, forming a strong mindset, and eventually, to strongman.
With three different heights in one plyobox, the elitefts Tri Plyo Cube is a great tool and one you should definitely have in your home gym.
There are so many movements you can do when it comes to strengthening the back for the bench press — so which ones SHOULD you do?
Before the Buckeyes face off against the Badgers, University of Wisconsin’s head strength and conditioning coach Ross Kolodziej joins Dave for a late-night Table Talk Podcast episode.
Brian Alsruhe, Maryland’s Strongest Man and owner of NEVERsate Athletics, pays a visit to the S5 Compound to train and to talk with Dave Tate on a Table Talk Podcast episode.
Don’t pay attention to the man behind the curtain; instead, keep your eye on the goal through your training journey.
It’s showtime — and why wouldn’t it be since this week’s guest is Nick Showman, owner of Showtime Strength & Performance?
“I don’t need a psychiatrist. Give me a squat rack and a deadlift platform and a bench and a couple of Atlas stones, and that’s my psychiatric chair right there.” Everyone needs a safe haven, and elitefts coach Clint Darden has found his at the House of Biceps in Cyprus.
Think goblet squats are wimpy exercises? Follow this program for five weeks, and you’ll change your mind. You’ll likely improve your squat mechanics, too.
For someone who says he doesn’t like the competition aspect of powerlifting, it comes off as a surprise that Dave Tate’s favorite part about powerlifting is a moment that happens at meets.
Ohio is the mecca of powerlifting, and elitefts is just one stop on the journey. Doug Heath, one of the Ohio powerlifters who inspired Louie Simmons to develop the Westside Method, joins Dave Tate on this Table Talk Podcast episode.
If you train gen pop, how do you get into your clients’ heads? What exercises do you choose? Dave Tate answers these questions based on his experiences from training gen pop.
Ideally, the kids should be learning from the coaches’ example. So what does that say about coaches who are calling kids lazy?
Keep in mind the training frequencies listed here can still vary a lot depending on the person. These are just numbers to keep in mind as you figure out the best frequency for you!
Wrapping someone else’s knees might seem easy, but when it comes to being a self-wrapper, that’s another story. Luckily Joe Sullivan’s familiar with being a self-wrapper, so he’ll show you the ropes — and how to better wrap your training partner’s knees.
In 2009, Dave took on the treadmill, the mortal enemy of powerlifters, as he answered questions about business and branding. This feat is not for the weak of heart or constitution, so abandon hope, all ye who enter here…
There are two kinds of athletes: the ones that love to win and the ones that hate to lose. The athletes who hate losing are the ones you should be afraid of. Dave Tate learned that the hard way when challenging Chuck Vogelpohl at Westside.
Dave’s going to go over more simple conjugate method and answer more questions, so be sure to have your questions ready and are tuned in to listen closely.
What does it mean to go all in? Is there a point where you’ve gone too far down the rabbit hole of all in? Clint Darden and Dave Tate attempt to answer these questions with their different perspectives.
It’s back to the drawing board for Dave Tate — specifically the drawing board for explaining how to set up a conjugate method training program.
Want to mix up your home gym training session with the equipment you already own? Grab your rack, a pair of elitefts Pro Light Bands, and a pipe, and we’ll get you all set up in no time to do some sissy squats.
Strength coaches have a lot of problems to deal with. Some of those problems come from the strength coaches themselves, but don’t even get him started on the sports coaches… too late, though. We got him talking about them.
“Dumbbell rows are bodybuilding burpees.” For more wisdom and the full post-Table Talk Podcast workout with Justin Harris, read on. This back workout is complete with pull-overs, pull-downs, deadlifts, and multiple row variations (one by which Justin deems as the best lat exercise there is).
Dave Tate and Justin Harris reflect on how they first met and a handful of the adventures they shared during Dave’s post-powerlifting retirement diet.
The hip clam is a great functional exercise, but it’s incredibly easy to perform it incorrectly. My solution? Bring in the wall.
When performed properly, deadlifts can be a powerful exercise movement for strengthening your lats. Emphasis on “when performed properly.”
Joe Sullivan says the movements he uses to keep his adductors health are “the bomb.” Want to find out what those explosive movements are? Read on to find out.
After an ugly incident with a Smith Machine, Lily Starobin decided maybe she needed an actual powerlifting coach. She didn’t anticipate, however, to find a coach in Dave Tate.
On this Table Talk Podcast episode, elitefts Videographer Intern Zach Thayer grills Dave Tate with a series of questions on a variety of topics.
Ed Coan and Dave Tate explain their rationales and favorite accessory movements and variation lifts for training weak points.
In this snippet from a Table Talk Podcast episode, Dave Tate and Justin Harris discuss Janae Kroc’s return to the bodybuilding circuit and how hormones may (or may not) affect her return to the sport.