Big House Power Competitive Athletic Training

02/11/2026

🧨THREE CAPACITIES. THREE OBJECTIVES. ONE PURPOSE: ATHLETIC DEVELOPMENT!🧨

🏋Reign Total Body Fuel Performance🏋

🎥 YouTube Words Win Wednesday | Episode 16: HOW MUCH REST?

When it comes to strength training, HOW MUCH REST IS ENOUGH?

The answer depends on what you're trying to accomplish!

In our strength and conditioning programming, we utilize three primary capacity categories, each with specific loading, volume, and recovery considerations.

🔹 POWER CAPACITY

Percentage-based loading using Prilepin's Chart principles or Velocity-Based Training (VBT).

Our programming includes:
• 5–6 × 5 reps
• 6–8 × 3 reps
• 8–10 × 2 reps

The objective? Produce maximal-intent efforts with appropriate recovery between sets.

🔹 REPEATED POWER CAPACITY

EMOM (Every Minute on the Minute) programming, influenced by Louie Simmons' Dynamic Effort methodology.

• 10–15 sets
• 1–3 reps per set
• Every minute on the minute

The objective? Repeated explosive efforts with restricted recovery.

🔹 WORK CAPACITY

Our Pre-Activity Prep (PAP) and finishing medley circuits utilize higher training volumes and minimal rest to support **lean body mass and hypertrophy development**.

We also recognize HYBRID CAPACITY, primarily developed through field-based conditioning.

HERE'S THE KEY!

Rest intervals aren't downtime. They're a programming variable determined by the training objective, prescribed load, and intended stimulus.

When working above 90% with advanced strength athletes, recovery becomes more individualized.

Sometimes the prescription is simple:

"YOU GO WHEN YOU'RE READY!"

These are my practice-based evidence assumptions developed through decades in the weight room.

KNOW THE OBJECTIVE. PRESCRIBE THE LOAD. CONTROL THE REST. TRAIN WITH INTENT!

How are YOU programming rest intervals?

30/10/2026

💪Knee Replacement💪
Heading in now! Got bumped up!

Bionic Big House coming soon

Won't be long till the right knee goes down. I was told 10 years ago to get that one done!

30/10/2026

🧨ARE WE UNDERVALUEING DIVISION II AND III STRENGTH COACHES?🧨

🎥 YouTube Inside the House | Words Win Wednesday | Episode 18

Some of the best coaching in college athletics may be happening at the Division II and Division III levels. When you don't have the same recruiting advantages, financial resources, or elite athletic talent as the major programs, your ability to teach, communicate, and develop athletes becomes even more important.

GREAT COACHING ISN'T DETERMINED BY THE LOGO ON YOUR SHIRT!
At smaller institutions, coaches often have to be more precise with their teaching, more adaptable with their programming, and more resourceful in their approach to athlete development. Those experiences can produce outstanding strength and conditioning professionals.

Here's the conundrum. A young coach makes the decision to pursue a graduate assistant position at a Division II institution, earns a master's degree, gains two years of practical coaching experience, and prepares to take the next step professionally. But when that résumé reaches a major Division I program, the coach may get labeled as a "D2 strength coach" instead of being evaluated on actual coaching ability.

WHEN DID THE DIVISION YOU COACH IN BECOME MORE IMPORTANT THAN HOW WELL YOU COACH?

We're potentially overlooking talented professionals who have spent years developing the skills that matter most: teaching movement, building relationships, adapting training programs, and helping athletes improve.

If we're serious about developing the next generation of strength coaches, we need to evaluate coaching competency, not simply institutional prestige. The goal should be finding great coaches who can make a positive impact on the athletes they serve.

WORDS WIN!

29/10/2026

🧨PURPOSEFUL PREPARATION: EVERYBODY IS A FASTBALL HITTER!🧨

🎥 Watch the full Episode 13 of Words Win Wednesday on YouTube:

Everybody looks good when things are going their way. When the plan works, the opportunities are there, and everything falls into place, success can seem pretty simple.

BUT WHAT HAPPENS WHEN LIFE THROWS YOU A CURVEBALL?

That's where PURPOSEFUL PREPARATION comes into play!

Purposeful preparation isn't just showing up. It's investing the necessary time, energy, and commitment to put yourself in the best possible position to succeed, whether you're an athlete, coach, leader, or simply attacking the challenges of everyday life.

During my nine years with the Carolina Panthers, we emphasized controlling our INNER APE: Attitude, Preparation, and Effort.

Preparation is the second piece of that equation, and its ultimate goal is creating WORDS WIN moments throughout your day.

I've always said, EVERYBODY IS A FASTBALL HITTER! When everything goes according to plan, it's easy to look successful. But when the curveball comes, have you prepared yourself for the unexpected? Have you considered the different opportunities, challenges, and outcomes that might come your way?

Purposeful preparation doesn't guarantee success, but it gives you a better opportunity to respond, adapt, and attack whatever comes next.

Remember, FAILURE TO PLAN IS PLANNING TO FAIL!

Don't just show up. SHOW UP PREPARED WITH PURPOSE!

CONTROL YOUR INNER APE!

WORDS WIN.

28/10/2026

🧨WHEN IS IT TIME TO MOVE ON? KNOW YOUR VALUE AS A COACH!🧨

Sometimes the toughest decision in your coaching career isn't deciding where to go next. It's recognizing when it's time to leave where you are.

📽️In Episode 19 of Inside the House — Words Win Wednesday, I discuss one of my highly recommended books for coaches: The Three Signs of a Miserable Job by Patrick Lencioni. YouTube

This book came into my life in 2007, at a critical point in my career at Arizona State University.

We had experienced an athletic director change and a football coaching change. Under Gene Smith and Dirk Koetter, I had established specific roles and responsibilities. I felt my voice mattered and that I was making a positive impact across the athletic department.

But things changed.

My role wasn't viewed the same way. My value within the organization felt diminished. My voice became less influential and, at times, unheard.

After reading Lencioni's book and evaluating my situation, I realized it might be time for a change.

That decision eventually led me to the University of Louisville.

HERE'S MY MESSAGE TO COACHES:

When you've been somewhere long enough and things begin to feel stale, complacent, or unproductive, you need to evaluate TWO things:

1. LOOK WITHIN YOURSELF. Are you still growing, contributing, and bringing value to the organization?

2. EVALUATE YOUR ENVIRONMENT. Has the organization changed? Are your responsibilities, contributions, and voice still valued?

Not every difficult situation means it's time to leave. But staying somewhere simply because you're comfortable doesn't necessarily mean you're growing.

Sometimes professional growth requires making an uncomfortable decision.

KNOW YOUR VALUE. EVALUATE YOUR ENVIRONMENT. KNOW WHEN IT'S TIME TO MOVE ON.

WORDS WIN!

28/10/2026

🏋️ SN**CH-GRIP POWER PULL: ONE OF MY NON-NEGOTIABLES!🏋

🎥 Watch Words Win Wednesday, Episode 17: NON-NEGOTIABLE EXERCISES! on my YouTube channel

When developing strength and power athletes, one of my go-to total-body movements is the SN**CH-GRIP POWER PULL FROM BLOCKS!

WHY?

Because I want athletes developing STARTING STRENGTH and EXPLOSIVE VERTICAL EXTENSION!

By adjusting block heights from mid-shin to above the knee, we can initiate each repetition from a dead-stop position, accelerate the load, and finish in a fully extended SCARECROW POSITION!

Hips extended, up on the balls of the feet, elbows high, and the athlete getting as TALL as possible!

WHY SN**CH GRIP OVER CLEAN GRIP?

Here's what I've observed through decades of coaching.

With clean-grip power pulls, athletes sometimes become so concerned with catching the bar that they shorten their extension and start ducking underneath the load.

My coaching cue?

"PULL THE BAR THROUGH YOU, NOT TO YOU!"

With the sn**ch grip, athletes generally understand the bar is traveling overhead, so they're less likely to cut the pull short.

That allows us to emphasize the FULL VERTICAL EXTENSION we're looking for!

Now, I'm not against clean-grip power pulls. They're excellent when taught as standalone movements or as part of the layering process toward the power clean.

But for developing explosive extension, the sn**ch-grip power pull remains one of my NON-NEGOTIABLES!

Football, rugby, throwers, basketball, volleyball, gymnastics, and other strength-power athletes can all benefit from this movement.

MASTER THE MOVEMENT. DEVELOP THE POWER. FINISH THE PULL!

WORDS WIN! 👊

27/10/2026

WERE FOOTBALL COACHES HIDING IN THE WEIGHT ROOM?

🎥 YouTube Inside the House | Words Win Wednesday | Episode 18

Let's talk about how we got to the NCAA's five-strength-coach rule in the first place. Years ago, I remember reading reports about football programs placing additional football coaching personnel inside their strength and conditioning departments.

HERE'S WHAT CAUGHT MY ATTENTION! I would read on FootballScoop about someone working as a graduate assistant strength coach at one university suddenly becoming a full-time defensive backs coach somewhere else. I remember thinking, how does somebody go directly from the weight room into a full-time assistant football coaching position?

From what I understood at the time, some programs were using strength and conditioning positions to get additional football coaches working with their players. Whether those individuals were graduate assistants or full-time staff members, I couldn't always tell, but the situation certainly raised questions about how those positions were being utilized.

THE WEIGHT ROOM WAS BECOMING A WAY TO EXPAND FOOTBALL COACHING STAFFS!

And that's where the bigger issue begins. Strength and conditioning is its own profession, requiring specific knowledge, practical experience, and coaching expertise. These positions should exist to develop athletes, not simply provide additional spots for football coaching personnel.

Now that the NCAA has removed the five-strength-coach limitation, we have another opportunity to get this right. Let's invest in qualified strength coaches, meaningful professional development, and better performance environments for our athletes.

WORDS WIN!

26/10/2026

🧨POWER CAPACITY. REPEATED POWER CAPACITY. WORK CAPACITY. KNOW THE DIFFERENCE!🧨

🏋Reign Total Body Fuel Performance🏋

🎥 Words Win Wednesday | Episode 16: HOW MUCH REST? YouTube https://youtu.be/nlWR_NHO2ss

When designing a strength and conditioning program, it's not just about selecting exercises, sets, and reps. It's about understanding WHAT YOU'RE TRYING TO DEVELOP!

In our programming, we utilize three distinct capacity categories in the weight room, each with a specific training objective.

🔹 POWER CAPACITY: Utilizing Prilepin's Chart principles, percentage-based loading, and prescribed rest intervals to develop the ability to produce high-intent efforts.

🔹 REPEATED POWER CAPACITY: Utilizing EMOM (Every Minute on the Minute) programming, influenced by the late, great Louie Simmons and his Dynamic Effort training methods, to develop the ability to repeatedly produce explosive efforts with limited recovery.

🔹 WORK CAPACITY: Utilizing what I call MEDLEYS, commonly referred to as circuits, to increase training volume and support improvements in lean body mass and muscular hypertrophy.

THREE DIFFERENT CAPACITIES. THREE DIFFERENT OBJECTIVES.

The biggest takeaway for coaches is understanding that LOAD, VOLUME, INTENT, AND REST INTERVALS all play a role in determining the training stimulus.

My practice-based evidence assumptions have led me to organize these methods within our training programs to address different athletic performance objectives.

DON'T JUST PROGRAM EXERCISES. PROGRAM WITH PURPOSE!

How are you incorporating these three capacities into your strength training programs?

How long should you rest between sets during strength training? The...

25/10/2026

💪Rogue Invitational Champion💪
Congrats to Trey Mitchell and his coach Chad Coy for their victory at this year's Rogue Invitational Strongman Championship.

Trey stayed the course both days kept within in striking distance and finished the deal with a flawless stone run. 3 event wins and continues to show us all that he is the best overhead presser in the world today regardless of implement for reps or a max!

Nice work gentlemen!

22/10/2026

🏋️ OVERHEAD PRESS OR BENCH PRESS? MY CHOICE MIGHT SURPRISE YOU!🏋

🎥 Catch the full discussion in Words Win Wednesday, Episode 17: NON-NEGOTIABLE EXERCISES!** on my YouTube channel. https://youtu.be/tey-BPtlc40

When developing athletes through our **Block Zero concept**, two of my non-negotiable upper-body movements are the **CHIN-UP and the OVERHEAD PRESS!**

For vertical pulling strength, we start with the chin-up. Why? Because developing relative strength and mastering the ability to control your own bodyweight is a priority before progressing to more demanding pull-up variations.

But when it comes to upper-body pressing, my go-to movement might surprise some coaches.

NOPE, IT'S NOT THE BENCH PRESS! IT'S THE STANDING OVERHEAD PRESS!

WHY?

Because from an athletic development perspective, we're pressing from a standing position with both feet on the ground while challenging balance, coordination, and upper-body strength.

And here's where my PRACTICE-BASED EVIDENCE ASSUMPTIONS come into play! After more than four decades of coaching, I've observed something interesting. When athletes improve their overhead pressing strength, I've frequently seen improvements in their horizontal pressing strength.

BUT HERE'S THE INTERESTING PART!

I haven't consistently observed the reverse. Improving horizontal pressing strength doesn't necessarily produce the same improvements in vertical pressing performance.

Now, I'm not claiming this is an evidence-based research conclusion. This is an observation developed through years of coaching athletes and evaluating their performance in the weight room.

And it's something I believe deserves further investigation!

THE BIG TAKEAWAY?

Exercise selection should be purposeful. When developing athletes, I'm looking for movements that provide multiple training benefits while helping establish the strength and movement proficiency necessary for continued athletic development.

Are you using too many exercises in your strength training program?...