Legendary strongman Zydrunas Savickas dramatically downsized his midriff. He’s visibly more vascular than ever before, maybe even too lean to hang onto his perennial nickname: “Big Z”. Weight by the ... Continue Reading
Core Training for Weightlifters and Functional Fitness Athletes
Core training is a staple for athletes of all sports. The “core” is a term used to refer to the individual muscles that surround our spine to promote stability and absorb potentially harmful rotational and ... Continue Reading
Mark Bell Says What’s On Every Strength Athlete’s Mind
Mark Bell hits home in his last video titled, “Why I Will NEVER Stop Lifting.” Strength athletes and professionals are unlike others for a lot of reasons, and I think the most fundamental reason is what ... Continue Reading
Which Strongman Weight Class Is Right for Me?
Weight classes. For lifters of any discipline, being in the proper weight class is a large determinate of how well they do in their sport and how long they can compete at it. For a few it’s easy: They are ... Continue Reading
10 Tips for Coaching Athletes at Weightlifting Meets
Coaching athletes at competition can be a rewarding, exciting, challenging task for a coach. Weightlifting meets are no different, often requiring a large amount of pre-planning, adaptation, and ... Continue Reading
5 Weightlifting Accessory Exercises to Improve Overhead Performance
As weightlifters, our programming is pretty straight forward. Snatches here, clean & jerk variations there, and a steady diet of squatting and pulling. Accessory training is the term given to ... Continue Reading
8 Telltale Signs You’re Obsessed With Strength Sports
Can you remember the first time you discovered your love for strength sports? I definitely can. My dad, an ex-college football player, used train me when I was growing up. I was 13 when he bought a ... Continue Reading
How Social Media Can Make Lifters Feel like Crap (And Why It’s Okay to Opt Out)
You're bored at work and can't focus. You just want Susan to wrap up this meeting so you can go train. You open Instagram on your phone. You see a perfectly tanned, oiled, and dehydrated physique ... Continue Reading
How to Program Plyometric Jump Training Into Your Weightlifting Workouts
Plyometric and jump-based training has been shown to be extremely effective at increasing explosiveness, power output, and neuromuscular adaptations that increase athletic performance. Jump training, often ... Continue Reading
Deadlift Every Damn Day
When they first make that ever so important first trip to the gym, most teenage boys make a beeline straight for the dumbbell rack, hoping that 20 sets of curls will make their sleeves just that little bit ... Continue Reading
5 Life Lessons Olympic Weightlifting Can Teach You
Many lifters are drawn to Olympic weightlifting for reasons that we may not truly know. Some of us grew up playing sports and training the power clean, while others were more fortunate to get formal ... Continue Reading
6 Reasons You Should Invest In a Pair of Weightlifting Shoes
At this point in life I should be receiving some form of compensation for the amount of athletes I’ve convinced to invest in lifters. I’m always dishing my shoes in the gym to help others see the ... Continue Reading
Love of the Loss: How Losing in Strength Athletics Makes Your Life Better
As anyone who has competed in amateur strength sports knows, competing can be an amazing way to connect with your community, to push yourself past your perceived limitations and build confidence, as well ... Continue Reading
The Sots Press – How To Benefit Your Training
The Sots press is an amazing strength and mobility exercise to for weightlifters, CrossFit® athletes, and even powerlifters. The benefits of performing such movement may very dependent the sport and/or ... Continue Reading
5 Signs It’s Time to Change Up Your Strength Training Program
Think of a strength training program as a roadmap: it’s the path that’s going to safely and effectively navigate you to your final destination. As with every road map, issues can arise. We may experience a ... Continue Reading
10 Questions Strength Coaches Should Ask Themselves to Become Better
Coaches play a pivotal role in the overall mental, physical, and even social development of an athlete, often wearing many hats. As a coach, I have come across numerous coaching and athletic environments, ... Continue Reading
Former Strongman Mariusz Pudzianowski Still Fighting in MMA
Arguably the greatest strongman competitor of all time, Mariusz Pudzianowski retired in 2009 with a record five World’s Strongest Man championships. He’s one of only four strongmen in the WSM Hall of Fame ... Continue Reading
Eddie Hall’s Deadlift Versus Ray Williams’ Squat: Is One More Impressive?
Every now and then, I’ll have to fill out a form of some kind, and when I do, I always get stumped by what I actually do for a job. I write, I film, I photograph, I run competitions, scout athletes, and ... Continue Reading
3 Assistance Exercises to Improve Technique, Confidence, and Performance in the Split Jerk
The split jerk requires a great deal of explosive power from the legs, footwork speed and technique, balance and coordination, and overhead strength and stability. Olympic weightlifters and functional ... Continue Reading
Programming Corrective Exercise in Weightlifting and Functional Fitness: A Coach’s Perspective
Corrective exercises play a vital role in the long-term health, development, and overall success of training clients and athletes. One role of a coach is to prepare their athletes for optimal performance ... Continue Reading
6 Performance Enhancing Behaviors for Weightlifting WODs
Weightlifting is a vital aspect of both competitive and everyday fitness athletes’ training program. Weightlifting workouts of the day (WODs), often seen at the beginning of sessions (either in Olympic ... Continue Reading
Use the Deadstop Squat to Overhaul Your Strength: An 8 Week Program
Progressive overload is as old as Milo himself. If you don’t know the story of the mighty Greek, everyday he would carry a baby bull up to the top of mountain. There it would drink and eat, growing bigger ... Continue Reading
8 Mobility Exercises and Stretches to Improve Your Clean and Front Squat
As a coach and competitive weightlifter I often struggle with mobility (either the lack of or the constant battle to maintain it) and the effects of hard training. In my weightlifting club, many ... Continue Reading
6 Things Only People Who Train Legs Will Understand
Sit down, stand up, actually, whatever is most comfortable for your sore legs because we have a list of things that only those who train legs will understand. When you’re no stranger to the squat ... Continue Reading