The author of the method
Dan Wirth, MA, CSCS
Assistant Athletics Director of Sports Performance, University of Tennessee
Dan has coached strength and conditioning since 1989: ten years at Arizona, sixteen running his own training facility in Tucson, and Tennessee's Olympic sports since 2017. He designs the programs behind WorkoutSmart.
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- 1989Coaching since
- 19Sports directed at Arizona
- 550+Athletes at Arizona
- 16 yrsRunning his own facility
- 2023NSCA College Strength Coach of the Year
Biography
Three decades in the weight room.
“I loved playing football, but I really loved the training end of it. Back then, there was no internet so I was always trying to get my hands on training information from coaches and scientists like Boyd Epley, Mel Siff, Dr. Michael Stone and Dr. Tudor Bompa.”
Education & credentials
- M.A., Exercise and Sports Science, University of Iowa
- B.A., Fitness and Wellness Administration, University of Iowa
- Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS), NSCA, since 1989
- Former Level 1 Club Coach, United States Weight Lifting Federation
Dan Wirth, MA, CSCS, has been a strength and conditioning coach for more than three decades. He played linebacker at Iowa under Hayden Fry from 1985 to 1988, started coaching as a graduate assistant at Iowa in 1989, and ran the strength programs at Iowa Wesleyan and Wisconsin-Whitewater before joining Arizona's staff in 1991.
At Arizona he became Director of Strength and Conditioning in 1994 and held the job through 2000. He oversaw 19 sports and more than 550 student-athletes and worked directly with football and men's basketball. His teams included the 1997 NCAA champion men's basketball team and the 1998 football team that went 12-1 and finished fourth in the country. He also competed, winning Arizona state titles in both powerlifting and Olympic lifting.
In 2000 he left the university to train the public. For 16 years he owned and ran his own training facility in Tucson, where thousands of everyday clients trained with the same periodized methodology he wrote for college athletes. The programs behind WorkoutSmart were built and tested across both careers.
In 2017 Tennessee hired him to lead strength and conditioning for its Olympic sports. He is now Assistant Athletics Director of Sports Performance, supervising training for eleven programs and serving on the department's Sport Science Committee.
He still designs the WorkoutSmart programs. As he put it on the Strength Coach Collective podcast, he writes a program, cross-checks its INOL values with workoutsmart.com, and the Wave Engine carries that same check into every workout it builds for a member.
Career
From Iowa to Rocky Top.
Dan has used the same periodized method with college athletes, everyday clients and Olympic sports.
- 1985–1988
University of Iowa
Four-year scholarship linebacker under Hayden Fry. Four straight bowl games.
- 1989–1991
Iowa, Iowa Wesleyan, Wisconsin-Whitewater
Graduate assistant strength coach at Iowa, then head strength coach at Iowa Wesleyan and Wisconsin-Whitewater.
- 1991–2000
University of Arizona
Director of Strength and Conditioning from 1994. 1997 national champion men's basketball; 1998 football, 12-1 and No. 4.
- 1999
WorkoutSmart
Builds the first version of this system, a web program generator for his athletes and clients.
- 16 years
His own facility, Tucson
Owned and ran a training facility, programming for thousands of everyday clients.
- 2017–now
University of Tennessee
Directs strength, speed and conditioning for the Olympic sports. Now Assistant Athletics Director of Sports Performance.
National Strength and Conditioning Association
2023 College Strength and Conditioning Coach of the Year.
Selected by the NSCA's Coaching Taskforce, a group of previous award winners and leaders in the field, and presented at the NSCA Coaches Conference in Charlotte, North Carolina, on January 5, 2023. The year before, Tennessee won the SEC All-Sports Trophy.
Also: NSCA Pac-10 Strength and Conditioning Professional of the Year, 2000
“I am humbled and grateful to be named the 2023 College Strength and Conditioning Coach of the Year.”
How Dan writes a program
His rules, in his words. Run by the Wave Engine.
- 01
The block is 12 weeks
“An ideal minimum length for a full training cycle is 12 weeks.”
Every program runs long enough to adapt, then changes before adaptation stops.
- 02
A very hard week is followed by an easy one
“This very hard workout is always, always, always, followed by a very easy workout.”
The engine enforces it. After a very hard week, nothing harder than moderately easy is scheduled.
- 03
Four programs, written at once
“When I write a program I am actually writing 4 different versions of the program at the same time.”
The Leveling System places each muscle group at one of four levels from your strength test.
Ask Dan
Your training questions, answered by Dan.
Dan has answered members' questions since the first version of this site, and he is still answering. The questions are the ones every lifter asks; the answers are the rules his programs are built on.
Read Ask Dan“Very simply, you should be able to get all your reps.”
Thanks, Dan · On progression
“Fat will not turn into muscle, and muscle will not turn into fat.”
Thanks, Dan · On body composition
“Remember, nothing is ever totally bad or totally good. It all depends on the individual!”
Thanks, Dan · On training methods
Designed by Dan Wirth, MA, CSCS