One Cue to Rule Them All: Fix Every Single One of Your Lifts

(A Blast from the Past article originally posted on 06/23/23)

Let’s quickly cover a cue - specifically a type of cue - that helps every single one of your lifts.

What Could Possibly Help All of My Lifts?
When giving yourself a cue, use a positive cue - not a negative cue. I don’t mean a positive cue in the sense that it makes you feel good - you’re not doing this to feel better about yourself or your lifting. A positive cue simply means that you give yourself a task to accomplish. More specifically, give yourself something to do - not something to avoid doing.

Example: The Squat
If your knees slide forward on the squat, don’t tell yourself, “Stop letting my knees slide forward.” Instead, use the cue, “Set my knees” or “Block my knees.” Again, you’re giving yourself something to do rather than something not to do.

If you ride a motorcycle, you’re already familiar with this concept. When instructors teach you how to ride, they teach you to look where you intend to go - do NOT look where you don’t want to go because whatever you look at is invariably what you ride toward. Same idea here.

Example: The Clean (or Snatch)
If you’ve got an early arm pull on your clean or snatch, don’t cue “Don’t bend my arms.” It might work, but most of the time, you’re better off using a positive cue such as “Long arms,” “Straight arms,” or even “Tight triceps.”

Example: The Deadlift
If you’re letting the barbell drift away from you on the deadlift, don’t cue “Don’t let it get away from me.” Instead, try “Pin it to the shins” or simply “Keep it close.” If the bar is looping because you’re pulling around your knees, try cueing “Push the floor” or “Stay over the bar.”

Again, give yourself a job to do, not something to avoid doing.

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.)

---

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 Weight Lifting Secrets That Feel Like CHEATING (plus a bonus)

These aren’t gimmicks—they’re overlooked techniques and tactics that can help you train more efficiently and get stronger right now. Starting Strength Coach Phil Meggers covers 6 lifting tips (and a bonus) to level up your training.

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?

How To Make Strength Training 5x Times Easier

Strength training doesn’t have to be intimidating or complicated. In this video, Starting Strength Coach Phil Meggers covers 5 simple tips that make lifting more approachable, more accessible, and more effective for anyone—no matter your age, experience, or fitness level.

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?

5 Mistakes That DESTROY Your Lifting Warm-up

You want to warm-up effectively and efficiently, so let’s eliminate five mistakes that lifters commonly make when warming up.

Mistake #1: Using a Percentage Chart
Percentage charts are the diapers of the lifting world - they can be useful when just starting out to keep you from making a big mess of things, but in the long run, your life will be much better if you outgrow them.

There’s nothing wrong with using a percentage chart at first - you’ve got a lot going on in your head - technique, rest periods, weight jumps from session to session, etc. - and a warm-up chart makes for one less thing to think about.

with practice, warming up is simpler, easier, and quicker without a chart like this one.

However, with experience and some trial-and-error, you’ll learn that - after you do a few sets of five reps with the empty barbell - you’ll select the rest of your warm-up weights by simply taking two to four roughly even jumps in weight, and you’ll be at your work weight.

The longer you train, the more your warm-ups will remain mostly the same from session to session, and this is a weakness of charts as the percentage-based warm-up weights change each time your work weight changes. For an experienced lifter, on the other hand, the first few warm-up sets tend to remain the same, and he only has to deal with making subtle changes to the last warm-up set or two.

If you want to use a chart for the first few weeks, go ahead, but try and wean yourself off of it pretty quickly. Your warm-ups will be simpler and quicker when you do.

Mistake #2: Using a Warm-up App (or Spreadsheet)
I see what you did there.

A warm-up app is just a percentage chart shrouded in technology, so all of the same logic from Mistake #1 applies here as well.

With practice, warm-ups are easier, quicker, and simpler without these items.

Mistake #3: Using Plates That Are Too Small
Don’t use 1.25 lb plates in your warm-ups.

These plates (and smaller ones) are very useful for work weights, but you generally don’t need to be that precise for your warm-ups.

Make all your warm-ups end in either a zero (e.g., 80, 90, 100) or a five (e.g., 85, 95, 105), and you won’t need the 1.25 lb plates for warming up. As you get stronger, you can make most (if not all) of your warm-ups end with a five, and at that point, you won’t need 2.5 lb plates for your warm-ups either.

don’t use 1.25 lb plates in your warm-ups, and as you get stronger, you won’t use 2.5 plates (like this one here) as often either when warming up.

Remember - fewer options for warm-up weights means less to think about, which is generally a good thing. Warm-ups weights should be intelligently chosen, but you generally don’t need razor-sharp precision, and if you do, it won’t be until your last warm-up.

Mistake #4: Taking Too Much Time Between Warm-up Sets
Don’t rest between your warm-up sets.

Perform a warm-up set, load the weight for the next warm-up set, then perform that warm-up set, and so on.

Ample rest is very important between work sets, but we’re talking about warm-up sets. Since they are warm-ups, they’re not heavy yet, and the act of changing the weight between sets will provide enough rest for your next warm-up set.

If it’s a warm-up, there’s no need to rest - the act of changing the plates provides enough rest time.

It’s worth nothing that you want to rest a few minutes after your last warm-up set since you now have a work set coming up, but beyond that, you don’t need to rest between warm-ups.

If you want to rest several minutes between your warm-up sets, you are welcome to do so, but if you’re looking to save some time in the gym (and there are far more interesting things to do in life then spend all day in the gym), this is where to look first.

Mistake #5: Too Many or Too Few Warm-up Sets
Warming up should both prepare you for the work set and not exhaust you by the time you get there, so you want to find a reasonable middle ground in terms of how many sets to perform. After the empty bar, you don’t need seven more warm-up sets (i.e., too many warm-up sets), and conversely, you don’t want to jump from the empty bar right to your 275 lb squat (i.e., too few warm-up sets).

As mentioned earlier, after the empty bar (except the deadlift), most people can simply perform two to four more warm-up sets with gradually increasing loads on the bar to prepare for the work sets. A useful approach is to perform a set of five reps, then three reps, then two reps, and any sets after that would be 1 rep sets (i.e., singles). Here are a few examples (weight x reps x sets):

Example 1
45 x 5 x 2 (empty bar)
95 x 5 x 1
135 x 3 x 1
185 x 2 x 1
215 x 1 x 1
—————
235 x 5 x 3 (work sets)

Example 2
45 x 5 x 2 (empty bar)
65 x 5 x 1
85 x 3 x 1
105 x 2 x 1
—————
115 x 5 x 3 (work sets)

Example 3
45 x 5 x 2 (empty bar)
135 x 5 x 1
225 x 3 x 1
275 x 2 x 1
315 x 1 x 1
—————
345 x 5 x 3 (work sets)

For the deadlift, start with full-size plates, so you’ll either use bumper plates or 45 lb metal plates. Here are two examples:

Example 1
75 x 5 x 1
105 x 3 x 1
135 x 2 x 1
155 x 1 x 1
—————
170 x 5 x 1 (work set)

Example 2
135 x 5 x 1
225 x 3 x 1
315 x 2 x 1
355 x 1 x 1
—————
390 x 5 x 1 (work set)

Note that with this 5-3-2-1 scheme, the warm-up sets are tapered, i.e., you perform fewer reps as the weight on the bar increases. This allows you to prepare yourself for your work sets by increasing the load while not exhausting yourself in the process (since you’re doing fewer reps as the weight goes up).

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.)

---

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?

I Didn't Notice This Mistake Until It Was Too Late

Watch the single at the start of the video below.

Pay attention to when the plates come off the floor, and specifically, pay attention to when the plates on the right side of the barbell come off the floor as compared to when the plates on the left side of the barbell come off the floor (if you watch long enough, it’s shown a few times in slow motion).

If you watch closely, you can see that the right side of the bar (i.e., the plates on the right side) leaves the ground a bit later than the left side.

Public Service Announcement: Check your bar.

Before starting your set - the last thing you do - check your bar to make sure the weight you want is what you actually have loaded on the bar.

I knew exactly what I wanted to have on the bar, so I didn’t make a bar math error in the usual sense. You’ll notice that on the near side (i.e., the right side), I have a 10 lb plate and a 5 lb plate on the bar - that’s exactly what I wanted.

However, I forgot to add the 5 lb plate on the left side (look closely and you’ll see it sitting uselessly on the floor).

I didn’t realize it until it was too late, but I wondered about it the moment I pulled that bar off the floor. As I pulled, the thoughts in the back of my head ran along these lines, “That’s weird - the right side came off a bit late . . . right side feels a bit heavier . . . oh well, keep pulling.”

No doubt about it, by lifting the incorrect - and lighter - weight, I had made my job harder. The weight was 5 lb lighter than it should have been, but since it was asymmetrically loaded, it would have been easier had it been 5 lb heavier and correctly loaded.

Many of the things we coaches teach and repeat over and over again are learned from situations like this - situations where we’re ticked at ourselves for doing something stupid like not checking the bar before lifting it.

With this in mind, check your bar loading before you lift. Don’t just double check your bar math - check to ensure that you actually loaded what you meant to load as well . . . on both sides.

In short, don’t make the same stupid mistake I did.

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.)

---

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 Waiting Until Monday Is for Quitters

The Scenario
It’s July, so January 1st has come and gone by a long shot, and so has your New Year’s resolution of consistently training. 

Not a problem. Today is Wednesday, and you’ve told yourself the following . . .

“Self, I’m kicking it off next week.”

“Come Monday, I am going to get this thing going.”

“The gainz train starts on Monday!”

Don’t do this to yourself. Monday is the worst day to start training - the absolute worst.

How Can This Be True?
Am I being mildly facetious? Of course I am - my training week typically starts on a Monday. However, the point still stands - the reason why Mondays are so terrible is that when people miss a training session (and specifically the start of the training week such as a Monday or Tuesday), they get to the middle of the week and - instead of simply going in and continuing their training - they often give up on the rest of the week.

This is usually paired with inner dialogue along the lines of “Well, I didn’t get my training started this week the way I meant to, but I’ll definitely get it going next week.”

This is a big problem for two reasons.

Problem #1
If you skip the rest of the week, you’re missing out on perfectly good training days and the progress that would have come with them. If you typically train Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, but this week you missed Monday, you can still get quality training done on Wednesday and Friday.

Missed Monday and Wednesday? Training on Friday or Saturday is still better than waiting until Monday. Better by far.

In suboptimal circumstances, training is not all or nothing. It’s all or something.

You don’t stop brushing your teeth for the rest of the week simply because you fell asleep before brushing them on Tuesday night. You wake up the next morning, brush your teeth, and continue with your life. Training is the same. Just go train.

Problem #2
The more insidious problem is that, by deciding not to train for the rest of the week, whether it’s Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, etc., you have now decided to practice skipping workouts.

You have now decided to make skipping workouts your new habit.

You’re practicing the very habit you’re trying to avoid - that of missing training sessions.

The Solution
Don’t complicate this and don’t wait. If it’s too late to train today, grab a barbell tomorrow and train.

The bar weighs the same seven days a week, and putting off your training another day or two only reinforces the habit you want to eradicate.

Need an extra kick in the pants? Remember that if you have kids, you are either demonstrating - whether you mean to or not - how to get back on that horse . . . or how to just stay down.

Don’t wait for the calendar’s merry-go-round to bring Monday back around to you.

Get back on that horse. Today. It might be tough to walk in the door of the gym, but by the time you walk out, you’ll be glad you did.

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.)

---

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?