• 2 hours 35 minutes
    #416 Why "Data-Driven" Coaching is Failing the Next Generation of Athletes

    The weight room isn't just a place to build muscle. It's a battlefield where psychology meets physical adaptation — and most coaches are losing because they're coaching numbers instead of people.

    Dr. Justin Lima joins Dave Tate at the elitefts compound to dismantle the myth of "optimal" training and explain why giving athletes a stimulus they aren't prepared for can rob them of long-term development.

    From scaling Strength Coach Network to his PhD research on reactive force development, Lima connects elite-level sport science with the reality of coaching in the trenches.

    INSIDE THE EPISODE:

    • Why coach-to-athlete communication is disappearing in favor of technology • The "Robbing Twice" principle and how advanced methods can ruin future adaptation • Using HRV and readiness metrics as conversation starters — not command centers • The political realities of collegiate strength coaching vs. private sector performance • How to transition from institutional coaching to business ownership • Implementing max effort methods in team sports without wrecking practice schedules

    ABOUT DR. JUSTIN LIMA:

    Dr. Justin Lima, PhD, is the President & CEO of Strength Coach Network and a veteran high-performance consultant with nearly 20 years of experience across the B1G, ACC, and Ivy League.

    He has helped develop: • 30+ NFL Draft Picks • Multiple Super Bowl Champions • Coaches and practitioners across every level of sport

    His work focuses on translating complex sport science into practical coaching systems that actually work under pressure.

    Become an elitefts channel member for early access to Dave Tate's Table Talk podcast and other perks. ➡️ @eliteftsofficial

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    18 May 2026, 9:00 am
  • 2 hours 24 minutes
    #415 The Raw Truth About the American Gladiator Arena (What TV Cut) | THE BULL, STEEL & FANG

    The staged spectacle of the ring and the curated edits of prime time are stripped away to reveal a raw physical reality that cannot be faked. Eric "Bull" Bugenhagen, Jesse "Steel" Godderz, and Michael "Fang" Wardlow endured a month of sensory deprivation and high-stakes violence to resurrect a cultural legend. From the agony of competing with a ruptured bicep to the psychological warfare of gladiator lockdown, these three modern-day icons reveal the grit required to weaponize a 280-pound frame.

    INSIDE THE EPISODE
    • The Secret Injury: How Fang competed in the most grueling events with a full bicep tear
    • Gladiator Lockdown: The reality of living in isolation with 16 world-class athletes for 30 days
    • Breaking the Rules: Bull reveals the backstage moments that almost got him pulled from the show
    • The 3-Hour Pump: Why training like a bodybuilder is a liability in a 30-foot vertical arena
    • Diet of Champions: Living on sulfur-soaked eggs and high-molecular-weight starch to stay explosive
    MEET THE GUESTS Eric Bugenhagen ("Bull")

    Eric Bugenhagen, the chaotic force known as Bull, is a former D1 wrestler from the University of Wisconsin and a YouTube legend built on the philosophy of unorthodox intensity. Known for his 800-pound behind-the-back deadlifts and unhinged charisma, Bugenhagen serves as the engine of the trio, bridging the gap between elite strength sports and mainstream entertainment.

    Michael Wardlow ("Fang")

    Michael Wardlow, rebranded as Fang for the arena, is one of professional wrestling's most feared powerhouses. Standing as a multi-time champion in AEW, he brought a D1 wrestling background and a headhunter mentality to the show, proving that functional agility is the only currency that matters when suspended 30 feet in the air.

    Jesse Godderz ("Steel")

    Jesse Godderz, known to the world as Steel and Mr. Pectacular, is a rare hybrid of reality TV royalty and professional wrestling veteran. A staple of CBS's Big Brother for over a decade and a 17-year veteran of the squared circle, Godderz transitioned his Golden Era physique into a dominant run on the 2026 revival of American Gladiators.

    FOLLOW THE GLADIATORS Instagram Become an elitefts Channel Member

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    14 May 2026, 9:00 am
  • 2 hours 19 minutes
    #414 Your Strength Has an Expiration Date | Sean Noriega
    *]:pointer-events-auto [content-visibility:auto] supports-[content-visibility:auto]:[contain-intrinsic-size:auto_100lvh] R6Vx5W_threadScrollVars scroll-mb-[calc(var(--scroll-root-safe-area-inset-bottom,0px)+var(--thread-response-height))] scroll-mt-[calc(var(--header-height)+min(200px,max(70px,20svh)))]" dir="auto" data-turn-id="c6c4bde0-8851-4ea3-9fae-7db05ddc8108" data-testid="conversation-turn-2" data-scroll-anchor="false" data-turn="assistant">

    The world isn't your oyster forever.

    For elite powerlifter Sean Noriega, realizing that 300kg squats were no longer guaranteed forced a complete psychological and technical rebuild.

    After a five-year regression that left him chasing the numbers from his junior career, the MIT-educated mechanical engineer turned world-class coach applied the same analytical mindset he used in the lab to rebuilding his body under the bar.

    What followed was a transformation from "meathead" lifter to one of the most technically respected coaches in powerlifting.

    In this episode of Dave Tate's Table Talk, Sean breaks down the razor-thin margins separating good from legendary while detailing his evolution from world-record athlete to founder of Team Nori and PowerliftingNow.

    INSIDE THE EPISODE
    • Why huge PRs at 23 can lead to years of stagnation if you don't evolve
    • The truth behind high-frequency benching, the controversial "Nori" setup, and practice singles
    • How MIT engineering principles shaped Sean's approach to RPE and data-driven programming
    • Why loosening his brace and changing his stance finally helped him break through the 300kg barrier
    • The political split in tested powerlifting and why top lifters still choose competition over comfort
    • The shift from "strength at all costs" to long-term technical mastery
    ABOUT THE GUEST

    Sean Noriega is an elite powerlifter, coach, and founder of Team Nori — one of the most technically driven coaching systems in strength sports.

    A mechanical engineering graduate from MIT, Sean has spent the last decade combining high-level competition experience with scientific optimization. As co-founder of PowerliftingNow, he has helped redefine modern coaching through technical precision, data analysis, and long-term athlete development.

    His system has produced national- and world-level athletes across some of the most competitive weight classes in powerlifting.

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    11 May 2026, 9:00 am
  • 2 hours 18 minutes
    #413 How to Handle 10x More Weight: The Secret to a Flawless Setup | Jordan Buchla

    Taming your "dumb strength" is the only way to survive when 900 pounds is trying to crush your spine into the floor.

    Jordan Buchla spent a decade as an emergency room trauma nurse while simultaneously becoming the #2 all-time strongest female squatter on the planet. From intubating patients during a pandemic to unracking 855 pounds, she built a high-performance life by forcing a "Type B" personality into a disciplined "Type A" structure.

    Inside the Episode:

    • The Physics of Focus: Why the "pick" is the most underrated phase of a world-record squat
    • Clinical Recovery: A Doctor of Nursing Practice's breakdown of BPC-157, TB-500, and hormone optimization
    • The High-Stakes Pivot: Balancing a doctorate, 16-hour hospital shifts, and elite-level meet prep
    • Gym Ownership Realities: The gritty truth of taking over Hellbent Barbell while preserving a hardcore culture
    • The Identity Shift: Knowing when to step away from competition to build a legacy through mentorship and business

    Meet the Guest:

    Jordan Buchla, DNP, is a board-certified Nurse Practitioner and one of the strongest women in strength sports history. With an 855 lb multi-ply squat and a 545 lb bench press, she bridges elite performance and medical science through her work at BioRestore Health.

    She is now the owner of the legendary Hellbent Barbell, where she applies lessons from both the trauma ward and the mono-lift to athlete longevity and total human optimization.

    Follow Jordan:

    Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gi_joe_barbie/ Hellbent Barbell: https://www.instagram.com/hellbent_barbell/ BioRestore Health: https://biorestorehealth.com/

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    7 May 2026, 9:00 am
  • 2 hours 36 minutes
    #412 How Westside Training Saved Me From 4 Years of Cancer | Kalil Sherrod

    One heavy squat at 400 pounds was all Kalil Sherrod needed to know the poison hadn't won.

    Seven weeks before this recording, Kalil walked into elitefts HQ to hit his first major milestone since a brutal cancer diagnosis. That moment bridged the gap between his life as an elite performance coach and his reality as a survivor. Through two stem cell transplants and multiple rounds of high-intensity chemotherapy, he developed a conjugate-based survival blueprint—one that reinforces a hard truth: muscle mass is one of the most powerful insurance policies for the human body.

    Inside the Episode:

    • The 93% Rule: Why maintaining a high performance floor matters more than chasing a peak during a competitive season
    • Conjugate for the Court: Applying Westside methodology to basketball players without sacrificing vertical jump or shooting touch
    • Training Through the Storm: How Kalil adjusted his training split during "ICE" chemotherapy to preserve lean tissue
    • The Youth Development Gap: Why the loss of PE and martial arts is producing more fragile athletes—and how to reverse it
    • The IV Protocol: A critical hydration strategy often overlooked during medical treatment

    Meet the Guest:

    Kalil Sherrod is a high-performance coach, author, and founder of Revenants Coaching. A former Division II basketball player, he serves as a Sports Performance Coach for the Thailand Titans and works with athletes at The Spot Athletics..

    He is the author of The Basketball Player's Training Guide and co-author of the elitefts eBook Mastering Conjugate Programming for Athletes. After surviving Hodgkin's Lymphoma, Kalil has dedicated his work to helping athletes and survivors use strength as a foundation for resilience.

    Connect with Kalil Sherrod:

    Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kalil_sherrod YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@kalilsherrod4882 Linktree: https://linktr.ee/kalilsherrod The Get Clean Podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/kalil-sherrod7 The Spot Athletics: https://www.thespotathletics.com Revenants Coaching: https://linktr.ee/kalilsherro

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    5 May 2026, 3:22 pm
  • 2 hours 37 minutes
    #411 How to Get Every Type of Jacked (Even With Zero Genetics) | Drew Donaldson

    You are likely sacrificing long-term health for short-term gains because you're following a "get bigger" blueprint designed for a body you don't actually want. After 21 years in the trenches—from wrestling on the WWE developmental circuit to coaching at the legendary MI40 gym—Drew Donaldson realized that the massive, 275lb version of himself was a high-performance engine running on the wrong fuel. He rebuilt his entire philosophy around the GMT Framework, proving that elite recovery and gut health are the only way to stay undeniable without burning out.

    INSIDE THE EPISODE:

    • The WWE Developmental Trap: Why the "just get bigger" coaching advice is a career-ending mistake for 90% of athletes.

    • The 275lb Awakening: A raw look at the health cost of extreme size and the specific metrics Drew used to downsize while staying elite.

    • The GMT Framework: A deep dive into the three-pillar system of Gut health, Mitochondrial efficiency, and targeted Training.

    • Metabolic Flexibility: Why traditional "bulking" kills your ability to utilize fuel and how to fix your internal machinery.

    • The "Third Answer": Why both the bodybuilding and biohacking worlds are currently missing the middle ground of sustainable performance.

    MEET THE GUEST:

    Drew Donaldson is a Tampa-based high-performance coach and the founder of the DDT Method. With over 15,000 hours of in-person coaching experience, Drew's journey took him from the center of the professional wrestling world to becoming a leading educator in hybrid training and cellular optimization. Today, he helps elite performers and business executives build resilient, athletic physiques by focusing on the biology of recovery rather than just the intensity of the lift.

    FIND DREW:

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    27 April 2026, 9:00 am
  • 2 hours 16 minutes
    #410 The Comical Truth About "Accidental" Muscle Growth | Pat Davidson

    Wealth and muscle follow the same law: if you're terrified of the extreme, you'll never master the baseline.

    From hauling fish on Cape Cod to earning a PhD while competing as a world-class strongman, Dr. Pat Davidson has spent a lifetime proving that obsession is the only path to clarity. He didn't just study exercise science—he weaponized it to survive a trajectory of self-destruction and transform into one of the most polarizing and brilliant minds in human performance.

    Inside the Episode:

    • The Ground Spectrum: Why powerlifters and skateboarders live on opposite ends of physics
    • Evolutionary Anatomy: How your body reverts to a "chimp-like" state under chronic stress
    • Hypertrophy Myths: Why machines often out-muscle free weights for pure tissue growth
    • The Addiction of the Climb: Why elite performers are addicted to the "claw back" from failure

    Meet the Guest:

    Dr. Pat Davidson is an exercise physiologist, author, and elite athlete who bridges the gap between brutal intensity and academic precision. After a career as a university professor and a top-10 finisher at the World Strongman Championships, he authored A Coach's Guide to Optimizing Movement and created the Rethinking the Big Patterns (RTBP) framework.

    Today, he consults for international defense teams and continues to push his own biological limits as a competitive bodybuilder.

    Follow Dr. Pat Davidson:

    Website: https://www.drpatdavidson.net/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dr.patdavidson Podcast: The Pat Davidson Podcast (Apple Podcasts / Podbean)

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    23 April 2026, 12:11 pm
  • 2 hours 35 minutes
    #409 How to Accurately Hit 100% of Your Maxes | Dr. Dwayne Jackson

    Stop looking for the magic pill and start fixing the foundation that's actually killing your progress.

    Yale-trained neurovascular physiologist Dr. Dwayne Jackson returns to expose why your high-tech peptide stack and "science-based" training mean nothing if you haven't mastered the internal metrics of auto-regulation.

    From surviving stage four kidney failure to walking away from the Ivy League "iron curtain," Jackson breaks down what it actually takes to perform at an elite level—without destroying your health in the process.

    INSIDE THE EPISODE:

    • The Auto-Regulation Blueprint Learn how to bridge the gap between perceived effort and physiological reality—and avoid the ego-lifting plateau.
    • Peptide Truth Bombs A deep dive into BPC-157, CJC-1295, and why most "mitochondria activation" content is hype.
    • The Kidney Crisis Dr. Jackson shares his transplant story and the hidden health markers strength athletes ignore.
    • The Anabolic Rebound Why healthier bodies build more muscle—and how lowering your dose can improve your physique.
    • Psychological Compartmentalization Using the gym to build resilience without turning it into an escape mechanism.

    MEET THE GUEST:

    Dr. Dwayne N. Jackson, PhD, is a rare breed in the performance world: a Yale-trained medical scientist with 30 years of competitive bodybuilding and professional motocross under his belt. After retiring as a tenured professor of Medical Biophysics to escape the "iron curtain" of academia, he now serves as the Nutrition Director at Pre-Script and a leading consultant and coach for elite athletes navigating complex health crises. A kidney transplant recipient himself, Jackson specializes in reconciling high-performance output with long-term survival and metabolic health.

    Connect with Dr. Dwayne Jackson: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drdnjackson Website: https://drdwaynejackson.com/

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    20 April 2026, 9:00 am
  • 2 hours 12 minutes
    #408 "You Can't Out-Lift Being An A**hole." | Bob Merkh

    The strongest man in the classroom returns to the table.

    Bob Merkh is back to discuss one of the most unique careers in strength history—highlighted by a sanctioned 1,100 lb squat and 1,100 lb bench press. From the high-stakes platforms of the WPO to a 7th-grade social studies classroom, Merkh has evolved from a "weaponized" athlete into a mentor who understands that true strength is knowing when to walk away.

    This episode explores the "Sword and the Ball" philosophy—the tension between chasing elite performance and embracing the grounded responsibilities of being a father, teacher, and leader.

    Inside the Episode
    • Holy Wars & The Final Meet A look inside Bob's last full power competition, the 10x bodyweight total, and choosing to retire on his own terms.
    • The 1,100 lb Bench Miracle The true story of how a Special Olympics athlete's belief helped push Bob to a world-record lift he wasn't prepared for.
    • The WPO Return Why Bob is stepping back onto the platform for a bench-only showdown with AJ Roberts this October.
    • The Practice of Excellence Translating elite strength principles into a Stoic framework for teenagers and the next generation.
    • Identity After the Platform Navigating the "quicksand" of powerlifting and redefining yourself after your best numbers are behind you.
    Meet the Guest

    Bob Merkh is a legendary multi-ply powerlifter, 7th-grade social studies teacher, and founder of Atlantic City Barbell.

    • 45+ competitions
    • Multiple world records
    • The only person to squat and bench over 1,100 lbs

    He is also a two-time published author and a leading voice for Special Olympics powerlifting in New Jersey.

    Books:

    Instagram: @merkh1776

    Support & Links

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    13 April 2026, 11:50 am
  • 2 hours 27 minutes
    #407 The #1 Reason Your Off-Season Is Failing | Tim Walsh

    Alcohol is a biological detergent that systematically strips away the healthy gut microbiota required for elite performance and recovery. Tim Walsh, famously known as "The Vanilla Gorilla," transitioned from a 338-pound teenager to a national-level bodybuilder before becoming the secret weapon for Canada's strongest powerlifters. He revolutionized his coaching career by proving that mastering internal health is the only way to break through a genetic plateau.

    INSIDE THE EPISODE:

    • The Alcohol Trap: Why off-season drinking is a "cheat code" for systemic inflammation and stalled progress

    • The Magnesium Math: Why most athletes are accidentally under-dosing their most critical recovery mineral by 85%

    • Gut Health Architecture: Using the "Lawn Analogy" to balance probiotics and fiber for maximum nutrient absorption

    • The 120-Pound Jump: How Tim coached Justin Zottl to the highest active lifter total in Canada in just 9 weeks

    • Lessons from the White Walrus: Authentic stories of training with the legendary John Meadows at elitefts

    MEET THE GUEST:

    Tim "Vanilla Gorilla" Walsh is an elite performance coach and founder of Vanilla Gorilla Athletics. A disciple of the late John Meadows and Dr. Dwayne Jackson, Tim specializes in the intersection of gut health, micronutrient optimization, and strength. He made his name in powerlifting after coaching Justin Zottl to the highest active lifter total in Canada in 2022, adding 120 lbs to his total in just 9 weeks by focusing on the "boring" basics of internal physiology.

    Connect with Tim Walsh:

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    9 April 2026, 9:00 am
  • 2 hours 36 minutes
    #406 Any Idiot Can Make You Tired (The Professionalism Crisis) | Jack Lovett

    The industry says you need more certifications, but the truth is you just need to be undeniable.

    Jack Lovett walked away from a stable government career and flew to New Jersey with no winter coat and an empty bank account because he knew that "good enough" coaching was a death sentence for a dream. From training Tier 1 special forces to building the UK's premier warehouse gym, his journey is a masterclass in why high standards and results-based strength are the only true currencies in a saturated market.

    Inside the Episode:

    • The Spartan Credo: Why "with it or on it" is the operating system for elite performance and business longevity.

    • The Pro-Coach Evolution: Moving beyond "annihilating" clients to the sophisticated art of problem-solving and joint-friendly gains.

    • Warehouse Gym Genesis: How to build a "Bucket List Gym" from scratch when the local culture doesn't even know what a kettlebell is.

    • The Culture of Excellence: How to hire for personality, train for skill, and build a team that makes the founder obsolete.

    Meet the Guest:

    Jack Lovett is the founder of Spartan Performance, recognized by Men's Fitness as one of the UK's top "Bucket List Gyms." A two-time Britain's Strongest Natural Man champion and author of Spartan Strength, Jack has spent over 20 years coaching more than 2,000 clients—ranging from UFC fighters and Special Forces operators to the World's Strongest Woman. By blending gritty strongman work ethic with high-level athletic programming, he has redefined the professional strength coach for the modern era.

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    6 April 2026, 9:00 am
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