99% of Lifters Don't Know These Training Tricks

/ Testify Strength & Conditioning/

Most lifters are leaving progress on the table without realizing it. Starting Strength Coach Phil Meggers covers 12 overlooked training tactics, techniques, and tricks that can change the way you approach the bar. Watch this before your next session — your future PRs will thank you.

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?

DIY Lifting Straps in 3 Minutes - Stop Wasting Money

/ Testify Strength & Conditioning/

Don't want to waste your hard-earned cash on lifting straps? In this quick DIY guide, Starting Strength Coach Phil Meggers shows you how to make your own heavy-duty lifting straps in less than 3 minutes using cheap, simple materials. Strong, durable, and budget-friendly — perfect for deadlifts, rack pulls, rows, and any heavy pull where your grip needs backup. Save money, and lift more.

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?

Simple and Cheap DIY Chalk Stand

/ Testify Strength & Conditioning/

(A Blast from the Past article originally posted on 02/26/21)

When you chalk up for your next set, it’s nice to have a chalk stand. It’s not absolutely necessary, of course, as you can just use a bag of chalk or - better yet - a chalk bucket sitting on the ground. Although those options work, a chalk stand makes much less of a mess than a bag of chalk, and as the stand is raised, you don’t have to reach all the way down to the floor level as you do with a bucket of chalk, which can be a bit of pain if you already have your belt tightened.

With all this in mind, here’s how you can make a simple and cheap chalk stand (feel free to watch the video above if you’d rather not read the steps below):

Step 1
Go to your nearest hardware store and purchase the following items (you may already have some of these items at home). If you’d rather not make the trip, you can click the items below and order from Amazon.

Step 2
Set one bucket on the ground - upside down.

Step 3
Set the other bucket on top of the first bucket - right side up. The closed ends of the two buckets should now be touching.

IMG_6317.jpg

Step 4
Tape the two buckets together by wrapping duct tape around the buckets several times. Tape the “seam” between the buckets as well as above and below the seam. Five or six times around the buckets should do nicely.

Step 5
Spray paint the buckets. This step is optional and is for aesthetic purposes only - it covers up any logos or printing on the buckets. It’s nice to have the paint match the buckets (or as closely as possible) for two reasons:

  • This is supposed to be a quick process, so don’t worry too much about whether you’ve painted the entire apparatus or not. If the logos are covered and the paint closely matches the bucket, it will look just fine.

  • Eventually, the paint will chip or wear in places, and if the bucket is close to the same color as the paint, this won’t be a big deal.

Step 6
Place the lid on the ground - upside down - with a brick, 10 lb plate, or some other relatively heavy object on top of the lid, and then set your new chalk stand on top of the lid and press down so that the lid is attached to the stand. You’ve now weighted the base of your chalk stand and made it much less likely to tip over and spill.

IMG_6318.JPG

Step 7
Put a chalk-topper over the top of the stand. This is optional, but if other people use your chalk stand, you’ll find this greatly helps keep the chalk dust inside the stand. Our chalk toppers are from www.junkbrands.com.

IMG_6316.JPG

Step 8
Place some chalk in the top bucket, and you’re good to go!

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?

Simple DIY Wall Mounted Weight Plate Storage | Home Gym Storage

/ Testify Strength & Conditioning/

Need a better system for plate storage in your home gym? We did too, so in this video, we walk you through how to easily and relatively quickly construct a wall-mounted plate storage system.

(A Blast from the Past video originally published on 11/14/22)

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.

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!

/ Testify Strength & Conditioning/

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.)

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?

"Go Home, Get Weak, and Die" | Why Your Doctor is Wrong about Lifting Weights

/ Testify Strength & Conditioning/

“Sally” is one of our members and has been training with us for a number of years. Sally is 70 years old, she’s a grandmother several times over, and to be frank, Sally is fairly awesome. (Please don’t tell her that - she’ll be unbearable.) Over the years, she’s gotten quite strong - she regularly squats 200 lb, she’s deadlifted 300 lb, and she continues to train hard in the weight room.

Sally also goes to her primary physician every year for her checkup, and the topic of her strength training inevitably comes up. Sally knows the conversation is coming, she tells her doc about what she does - squatting, pressing, deadlifting, benching, etc. - and her doc always has the same response, which is something along the lines of “Why are you doing this? What are you trying to prove?”

This type of response drives me fairly nuts because what this doctor is really telling Sally - in no uncertain terms - is “Sally, just go home, get weaker, and die.” Of course, he’s not saying this out loud, and he doesn’t mean to tell Sally this, but it’s the message he’s preaching nonetheless.

Go home, get weaker, and die.

Fortunately, Sally is rather stubborn and doesn’t listen to her doc when he says such things. She returns to the gym, she continues to train, and she keeps striving to get stronger because she understands that strength is independence.

Strength is important at all ages of life, of course, but the older we get, the more important strength becomes. Strength is independence, it’s the ability to play with your kids, it’s the ability to pick up your grandkids, it’s the ability to get up off the toilet by yourself.

If you’re in your 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, or older (and if you’re not, you know someone dear to you who is) and you strength train, you too may have been told something like what Sally’s been told. It might not be your doc; instead, it might be one of your family members - one of the people that love and care for you. Yet, unfortunately, they say things like, “Why are you doing that? You don’t need to be lifting those heavy weights. Just lift some lighter weights, or maybe don’t lift at all - you don’t need to be doing that kind of thing. What are you trying to prove? Who are you trying to impress?”

Again, and although they don’t mean it, they’re simply saying, “Just go home, get weaker, and die.”

I challenge you - do not listen to them.

You know more about getting stronger than they do. Strength is not their specialty - it’s not their field of expertise, nor have they tried to learn about it like you have.

There are only two options - stronger and weaker. I exhort you to choose the former - get stronger. It’s good for your muscles, it’s good for your bones, it’s good for your tendons and ligaments.

We’re not talking about the sports of powerlifting, weightlifting, strengthlifting, or anything like that. Sure, many of our members have participated in those because they are fun ways to motivate one’s training, but most of our members didn’t start training with that in mind. Sally has done many lifting competitions, but she will be the first to tell you that she never thought she would do something like that when she started training with a light, empty barbell years ago. To this day, competitions are still not the reason she trains (although they do provide some fun and motivation!).

Sally and her friends at Testify train to get stronger. They know that stronger and weaker are the only options. Endeavor to get stronger so you can 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?