Scraping Your Shins in the Deadlift? It's Not the Bar - It's You.

Are you getting bloody - or at least scraped - shins when you deadlift? This quick tip is for you.

If you’re carving up your shin bones when you pull, you’re not properly extending your knees when you start the pull. This means that (a) your knees don’t contribute to the elevation of the bar as they should and (b) your knees pose an obstacle to the bar’s path, which is why your shins currently hate you.

Here are two ways to cue and fix this problem.

Solution 1: “Push the floor away.”
At the start of the pull, don’t think about standing up. Of course, you finish in a standing position, but don’t try to get your back vertical right away. Instead, cue yourself to “push the floor away” from you by gradually straightening your knees.

The knees don’t finish straightening until lockout, but make no mistake, they need to start straightening right away. Other cues that emphasize this motion are “straighten the knees” and “pull your kneecaps backward.”

Solution 2: “Stay over the bar.”
With this cue, you remind yourself not to “stand up” too soon; in other words, you cue yourself to keep your back angle horizontal longer than you think you should as you start the pull.

This forces you to lift the barbell using knee extension instead of hip extension, which is what you’re trying to accomplish. To be clear, both knee extension and hip extension occur when you start the pull, but if you’re scraping your shins, you need less hip extension and more knee extension, so remind yourself to “stay over the bar” or “stay horizontal” when starting the pull.

As always, we hope this helps you get stronger and live better.

-Phil

PS: Whenever you want even more Testify in your life, here are some free resources:

• Book a free intro and strategy session with us HERE.

• Pick up a free copy of Testify’s Squat Guide: 12 Tips to Improve Your Squat Now HERE.

• Get our free weekly email - containing useful videos, articles, and training tips - HERE.

• Follow Testify on Instagram HERE.

• Subscribe to Testify’s YouTube channel HERE.

(Some links may be affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, Testify earns from qualifying purchases.)

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At Testify, we offer small group training, private coaching (in-person or remotely via Zoom), online coaching, and form checks. Interested in getting stronger, looking better, and having more energy?

Bad Wrists = Weak Deadlift! | Correct Your Deadlift Technique

Your wrists are messing up your deadlift, and you probably don't even know it. In the 2nd video in our Saturday Shorts series on correcting the deadlift, Starting Strength Coach Phil Meggers covers how to achieve the correct wrist positioning.

(A Blast from the Past video originally published on 11/05/22)

Whenever you want even more Testify in your life, here are some free resources:

• Book a free intro and strategy session with us HERE.

• Pick up a free copy of Testify’s Squat Guide: 12 Tips to Improve Your Squat Now HERE.

• Get our free weekly email - containing useful videos, articles, and training tips - HERE.

• Follow Testify on Instagram HERE.

• Subscribe to Testify’s YouTube channel HERE.

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At Testify, we offer small group training, private coaching (in-person or remotely via Zoom), online coaching, and form checks. Interested in getting stronger, looking better, and having more energy?

NOT My Best Day Deadlifting | How to Handle a Misloaded Barbell (it's NOT just the math)

A unevenly loaded barbell is a common mistake, but after you've corrected the load on the bar, do you just proceed as usual? Not quite. Starting Strength Coach Phil Meggers explains.

(A Blast from the Past video originally published on 10/31/22)

Whenever you want even more Testify in your life, here are some free resources:

• Book a free intro and strategy session with us HERE.

• Pick up a free copy of Testify’s Squat Guide: 12 Tips to Improve Your Squat Now HERE.

• Get our free weekly email - containing useful videos, articles, and training tips - HERE.

• Follow Testify on Instagram HERE.

• Subscribe to Testify’s YouTube channel HERE.

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At Testify, we offer small group training, private coaching (in-person or remotely via Zoom), online coaching, and form checks. Interested in getting stronger, looking better, and having more energy?

Deadlift Swinging Away? Fix Your Balance | Deadlift Technique

Does your deadlift swing away from you? In this first video in our Saturday Shorts series on correcting your deadlift, Starting Strength Coach Phil Meggers covers how to achieve the correct balance in the setup for the pull.

(A Blast from the Past video originally published on 10/29/22)

Whenever you want even more Testify in your life, here are some free resources:

• Book a free intro and strategy session with us HERE.

• Pick up a free copy of Testify’s Squat Guide: 12 Tips to Improve Your Squat Now HERE.

• Get our free weekly email - containing useful videos, articles, and training tips - HERE.

• Follow Testify on Instagram HERE.

• Subscribe to Testify’s YouTube channel HERE.

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At Testify, we offer small group training, private coaching (in-person or remotely via Zoom), online coaching, and form checks. Interested in getting stronger, looking better, and having more energy?

6 Tips to Load a Barbell for Deadlifts EASILY!

When people are new to lifting, one of the comments we often hear is that it’s a pain to put full size plates (i.e., 45-lb metal plates or any bumper plate) on the bar when deadlifting. We hear this primarily regarding the deadlift, but the problem shows up in the snatch, clean, row, or any other lift wherein the barbell starts on the floor.

Whether it’s putting the first 45-lb plate on the bar or subsequent 45-lb plates on the bar (this applies with any bumper plate as well), below are a few tips that will help. Also, there are several videos throughout this article that cover these tips and include demonstrations, so I’d recommend checking them out.

For clarification, from here on, “plate” refers to a metal, 45-lb plate unless otherwise specified.

Tip #1: Lift as Few Plates as Possible
If it’s a short distance, save yourself some energy and simply roll the plate across the floor.

Tip #2: Putting the First Plate on the Bar
Don’t put the first plate on the bar. Instead, do the following (as shown in Figure 1):

1. Set the plate on the floor (numbers facing up).

2. Put one end of the barbell through the plate.

3. Set the other end of the bar on the floor.

4. Slide the bar through the plate until the plate is up against the collar of the bar.

figure 1

In short, they key here is to not put the first plate on the end of the bar, but rather put the end of the bar through the first plate.

Tip #3: Putting the Next Plate on the Bar
The second plate (i.e., the first plate on the opposite end of the bar) should be the only one that even potentially poses a problem, and we’re going to solve that right now.

With the plate standing vertically (after rolling it over, of course), raise the end of the bar to the height of the plate’s hole. Then, you have two options:

figure 2

Option 1
Get the plate onto the bar, pick up the bar slightly with one hand, and slide the plate on with the other hand.

Option 2
Get the plate onto the bar, straddle the bar, and slide the plate toward you using both hands (Figure 2). It’s useful to note that this option requires less strength than Option 1.

figure 3

Tip #4: Commercial Deadlift Jack (but . . .)
Now it’s time to get the rest of the plates on the bar, but it’s annoying to slide additional plates on the bar since they are the same size as the plates already on the bar. As a result, you’ll experience a lot of friction between the plate and the ground. Also, as you add more plates, picking the bar up off the floor to create some space between the plates and the floor (so there’s no friction between those two surfaces) becomes more difficult.

The solution is a deadlift jack, but perhaps not the kind you’re imagining.

Of course, if you can afford and want to buy a full-size deadlift jack, go for it (Figure 3). They’re amazingly convenient, we have one at Testify, and our members greatly appreciate using it. That said, they’re a bit pricey, and there are other options, such as . . .

Tip #5: Fishhook (DIY Deadlift Jack)
The fishhook is an easy-to-make, DIY deadlift jack, and it’s incredibly useful. My wife and I have one in our garage gym, and we have several of these at Testify as well. We have a video on how to make and use the fishhook, so be sure to check that video out if you’re interested.

However, if you don’t feel like making a fishhook jack, the next solution is . . .

Tip #6: Plate Jack
The plate jack is simply any 2.5-lb plate that you are going to use as a deadlift jack. It doesn’t have to be a 2.5-lb plate - you could use a 1.25-lb plate, a 5-lb plate, or even the thickness of your belt (sometimes referred to as the “belt jack”).

figure 4

To use the plate jack (Figure 4), set the 2.5 on the floor, roll the first 45 up onto the 2.5 (make sure it stays there!), and then slide any other 45s onto the bar since the 2.5 will have jacked the bar up slightly, and now the additional plates slide on and off very easily.

As always, we hope these tips help you get stronger and live better.

-Phil

PS: Whenever you want even more Testify in your life, here are some free resources:

• Book a free intro and strategy session with us HERE.

• Pick up a free copy of Testify’s Squat Guide: 12 Tips to Improve Your Squat Now HERE.

• Get our free weekly email - containing useful videos, articles, and training tips - HERE.

• Follow Testify on Instagram HERE.

• Subscribe to Testify’s YouTube channel HERE.

(Some links may be affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, Testify earns from qualifying purchases.)

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At Testify, we offer small group training, private coaching (in-person or remotely via Zoom), online coaching, and form checks. Interested in getting stronger, looking better, and having more energy?

Why is EVERYONE Failing Their Deadlifts? (WHAT’S REALLY GOING ON?)

A lot of people are failing their deadlifts for a reason that's completely and easily preventable. Starting Strength Coach Phil Meggers explains and demonstrates.

Whenever you want even more Testify in your life, here are some free resources:

• Book a free intro and strategy session with us HERE.

• Pick up a free copy of Testify’s Squat Guide: 12 Tips to Improve Your Squat Now HERE.

• Get our free weekly email - containing useful videos, articles, and training tips - HERE.

• Follow Testify on Instagram HERE.

• Subscribe to Testify’s YouTube channel HERE.

---

At Testify, we offer small group training, private coaching (in-person or remotely via Zoom), online coaching, and form checks. Interested in getting stronger, looking better, and having more energy?