Blog
Growing Older Is Inevitable. Growing Weaker Doesn’t Have to Be.
Growing older is inevitable, but growing weaker doesn’t have to be. Discover how strength training preserves muscle and bone, reduces fall risk, and protects your independence for decades to come.
How to Plan Strength Training Programs for Maximum Results
An introduction to the Alternating Conjugate Periodization Model for organizing strength training variables. This is program design for coaches who want structure, not random workouts.
Why I’m NOT Gaining Weight This Winter
A personal look at winter body composition strategy, including seasonal training, nutrition changes, and why weight gain is not always the goal.
How To Bring Up Lagging Body Parts
Learn how to target lagging body parts by adjusting training priority, workload, exercise selection, and programming strategies to create better balance, symmetry, and muscle growth.
7 More Exercise Modifications For A Winning Physique
Explore seven advanced exercise modifications designed to add variety, increase training stimulus, and help build a stronger, more balanced, and more muscular physique.
Moderate Rules For Maximum Results: It's About Time You Start Growing!
Learn how moderate loads, reps, tempo, and rest intervals can help lifters train smarter, manage recovery, and continue building strength and size as training age and life demands increase.
2013 in Review: A Look at our Articles, Blog Posts, Discussions, and More…
A year-end roundup highlighting The Elite Trainer’s top articles, blog posts, discussions, and industry contributions from 2013.
Tiger-Bend Push-Ups
Tiger-bend push-ups are tougher than they look, taking you from a push-up position down to the forearms and back again. Use knee or foot-elevated variations to scale the movement.
Cable and Leg Curl Tibialis Raise
Most lifters hammer calves and ignore the tibialis anterior. This video shows cable and leg-curl-machine options for tibialis raises to bring balance back to the lower leg.
Cable Crossovers with a Twist
This cable crossover variation adds internal rotation to light up the pecs harder than a standard crossover. Use rope attachments, rotate through the movement, and chase the contraction—not the weight stack.
Half Foam Roller Calf Raise
A half foam roller can turn an ordinary calf raise into a bigger range-of-motion movement with a deeper stretch and stronger contraction. Simple, cheap, and brutally useful.
High- and Low-Platform Wrist Curls
Changing platform height changes where wrist curls hit hardest. A high platform emphasizes the contracted position, while a low platform loads the stretch for a more complete forearm-training effect.
Inverted Sit-Ups and Squats
Gravity boots turn basic sit-ups and squats into a serious inverted challenge. This video shows how inverted sit-ups and inverted squats can hammer the core, hip flexors, and lower body in a very different way.
Neutral-Grip Chin-Ups
No neutral-grip chin-up bar? This video shows three practical workarounds—triangle handles, PVC grips, and wood grips—so you can keep rotating grips and building balanced upper-body strength.
The Last Set: A Synergistic Combination of Volume and Intensity in Strength Training
Discover how combining multiple sets with a high-effort final set can balance volume and intensity, helping lifters stimulate strength, muscle growth, and measurable workout progress.
Breathing During Strength Training
Learn how proper breathing, bracing, and technique support safer and stronger lifting by helping you maintain control, stability, and performance during strength-training exercises.
7 More Advanced Exercise Variations
Add variety and new stimulus to your workouts with seven advanced exercise variations designed to challenge your muscles, improve training progress, and keep your strength program moving forward.
Wrist Roller Exercise on a High Step
Use the wrist roller on a high step and train it for time, not arbitrary reps. Sixty seconds becomes the target—when the clock is up, the set is over, whether your forearms like it or not.
Tube Lateral Raise and the Jettison Technique
A shoulder-training demonstration combining tube resistance with the jettison technique to extend the set and increase delt fatigue.
Telle Shoulder External Rotation
A shoulder external-rotation variation associated with Jerry Telle, aimed at training the rotator cuff through a practical setup.
Swiss Ball Side-Lying Dumbbell Lateral Raise
A lateral raise variation performed on a Swiss ball to change body position, challenge stability, and target the shoulder differently.