Fix Your Press - Part 7: Correct Your ABOMINABLE Knees

(A Blast from the Past article originally posted on 03/17/23)

This is the seventh article in our series on helping you improve your press. Today’s topic - the knees. In this article, you’ll also find a couple of videos related to today’s topic.

Are you letting your knees unlock when you press? Knock it off - this ain’t a push press. There’s nothing wrong with a push press, but that’s not the lift you’re trying to perform, so let’s fix your soft knees.

When we talk about letting the knees unlock, we are referring to the phenomenon of the knees flexing or bending as you reach with your hips on the press. This is a no-no and is akin to letting your butt come up off of the bench when bench pressing - if it happens, the lift doesn’t count.

Consequently, when you reach forward with the hips to initiate the press, be sure to keep your knees straight - keep them tight, if you will - and with this in mind, here are a few cues to help you with this task:

“Straight knees” or “Straight legs”
This is the simple approach, and if it works, go with it. Merely remind yourself to keep your knees straight as you reach with your hips.

“Flex the quads”
Before initiating the hips movement, tell yourself to flex your quads - those muscles on the front of your thighs that are responsible for straightening your knees (and thus keeping them straight as well). Flex them so hard that you almost get a quad cramp.

“Lift your kneecaps” or “Pull your kneecaps up”
Before starting the press, cue yourself to pull your kneecaps up. If you’re not sure what this looks like, stand up tall and look down at your leg when it’s straight (your knee should be visible, so shorts or rolled up pants are necessary). Now, flex your quad, and as you do, you’ll see that your kneecap actually goes up an inch or so. Check out the video above for a demonstration of this.

“Pull your knees back” or “Keep your knees back”
This is a bit of an overcue as, when you reach forward with your hips, your knees will actually go forward slightly. However, the knees should not ever travel as far forward as the hips, so you can cue yourself to keep your knees back (even as your hips go forward), and this cue often helps solve the problem of bent knees

Keep those knees straight, and 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?

Don't Want to Train? Do This Instead.

You’re supposed to train today, but you don’t feel like it.

In fact, you really don’t want to train today.

So, naturally, you choose the second best option, which is - of course - that you don’t want to train and you still train anyway.

This is a public service announcement - and it’s as much to myself as to anyone else - that when it’s time to train . . . 

Of course geneva doesn’t feel like squatting heavy . . . but she squats anyway.

Do. Not. Trust. Your. Feelings.

Go train regardless of how you feel about it. Don’t let your feelings enter the equation. You have feelings, of course, but you make a conscious decision to disregard them, and you train anyway.

Hot? Humid? No airflow in your garage gym? You train.

Low on sleep? It’s a training day, so you train.

Is your back bugging you? You’re a responsible adult, so you train (training may have to be modified, but it’s especially important to train in this situation).

It’s also useful to remember that these are all champagne problems - first world problems, if you will. Not wanting to train is not a real problem like starvation or losing someone you care about.

You already know that training is a challenge you subject yourself to. You know that you don’t have to train - you get to train.

To anyone out there who’s thinking about skipping a workout . . . don’t trust your feelings.

You might regret walking in the gym door, but you’ll never regret having trained when you walk out.

Train.

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?

Thinking About Competing? Here's Why You SHOULDN'T.

(A Blast from the Past article originally posted on 03/31/23)

You’ve been squatting, pressing, deadlifting, and benching now for a few weeks - perhaps a few months, even. Maybe you’ve been snatching and clean-and-jerking, too, you crazy cat. Then it happens - you hear about an upcoming meet that’s a few months away, and for the briefest of moments, you actually think that you might sign up for it. “It could be kinda fun,” you find yourself thinking.

But then you mentally pull back a bit. You think, “I think I’ll do a meet at some point - maybe when my squat gets up to Random Weight. Yeah. That sounds good. When I can squat Random Weight and deadlift Other Random Weight, then I’ll sign up.”

Stop. Stop it right now. Your problem is - somewhere along the line - you became an adult. If you were still in kindergarten, your folks would toss you in youth soccer/basketball/volleyball, and two weeks later, you’d play your first game.

Thank goodness. If kindergartners played sports the way we adults often treat lifting, the poor kids would never get to play a game. Instead, they practice for a few weeks, then they play some games . . . and they have a blast.

You will too. Don’t wait until you feel ready. If you wait for that particular ethereal sensation, you’ll never sign up. Once your squat gets up to Random Weight, you’ll tell yourself, “Well, that wasn’t all that impressive, but I’ll sign up when my squat gets to The Next Goal.” This type of thinking runs on forever, and in the meantime, you’ll be missing out on a lot of fun.

Because that’s what happens when you do a meet. Fun. After someone’s first meet, I always hear something like, “That was so much fun! I’ll definitely do another one.” You don’t do your first meet to break world records - you do it to have fun and get some experience, and you then have some numbers to try and beat for your next competition.

If you’re thinking about competing . . . don’t. Not “Don’t compete” but “Don’t think about competing.” Just do it.

The time to compete is Now. Not later. Stop thinking about it. Just sign up. That meet is still a few months off, anyway, so you’ve got plenty of time to train. But sign up today. You won’t regret it.

As a side note, if you’re still reading at this point, you’re definitely thinking about signing up for a meet, so click here to head over to our events page and check out our veritable smorgasbord of upcoming events. You’ll have a blast no matter which one you choose.

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?

Quick Breathing Tip to Improve Your Bench Press

Here’s a quick and easy tip for the bench press: it is possible and possibly desirable to perform more than one rep on a single breath.

In other words, you can hold your Valsalva maneuver for multiple reps in a row, and in fact, it may actually be advantageous to perform two or perhaps three reps on one breath. 

How Could This Possibly be True?
Every time you take a new breath, you have to perform your Valsalva and get tight again. In the bench press, you’re essentially lying on your lungs (technically, you’re lying on your torso, which contains your lungs, but I digress), so every time you breathe, you create potential movement between your torso and the bench. This movement can compromise your bench press setup position, so you now have to work to reestablish that position (e.g., pulling your shoulders back into retraction) before you start the next rep.

With this in mind, if you’re not running out of oxygen, you may find it useful to perform a few reps on one breath.

But What About . . . ?
It’s certainly worth pointing out two caveats with this tip. First, this breathing technique works very well with the bench press, but I would not generally recommend it for any of the standing lifts (e.g., squat, deadlift, press, etc.).

Second, don’t take this as a personal challenge to see how many reps you can bench press on one breath. There are no bonus points for “reps-per-breath,” and the last thing you want to do is pass out from a lack of oxygen when you’re holding a heavy barbell above your face.

Keeping these two caveats in mind, feel free to try this out - intelligently - the next time you bench press.

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?

Fix Your Press - Part 6: Get Your Eyeballs FIXED!

(A Blast from the Past article originally posted on 03/10/23)

This is the sixth article in our series on helping you improve your press. Today’s topic - the focal point. In this article, you’ll also find a couple of videos related to today’s topic.

Eyeballs are extremely useful body parts, so make sure you use yours effectively when pressing.

When it comes to your focal point when pressing, here’s the major takeaway - have one. The focal point will be at eye level directly in front of you, so simply pick something on the wall in front of you at the appropriate height and stare at it.

Stare at it before you unrack the bar for your first rep, stare at it during every single rep, and you’re even going to stare at it between reps - there is no need to introduce a new variable into your lifting by looking somewhere else between each rep. When you’re done with your set, keep staring at that same focal point, walk forward until the barbell hits the uprights, and then rack the bar.

Now that you’re done pressing, you can look anywhere you want.

Your focal point plays a big role in balance, and while balance is important in every lift, it’s especially important in the press because - among other things - the bar starts and finishes so far away from your balance point (i.e., the middle of your foot). Consequently, you want to have a focal point, and you want to stare at it with unwavering conviction until you’re done with your press.

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?

These Aren't the Cues You're Looking For

Stop cueing your muscles.

That’s essentially it. If you stop reading right now (this article, mind you - not reading in general), you’ll already have improved as a human.

Hungry for more? We’ll keep it short and tasty.

Cue Movements - Not Muscles
When training, you want to move in a specific manner. With this in mind, when necessary, you give yourself a cue that reinforces that movement.

Megan correctly executes the “knees out” cue.

Do your knees tend to cave in when squatting? Cue “knees out.”

Perhaps you pull the barbell around your knees on the deadlift? Cue “push the floor,” “straighten the knees,” or “knees back.”

Struggle with the bar path on the press? Try cueing “aim for your nose” or “throw it back.”

Movements generally rely on the contributions of multiple muscle groups, so trying to cue the muscles involved is usually counterproductive and often rather complicated.

This is true of most physical endeavors. Can you imagine a basketball coach - trying to help a player with his shot - cueing “squeeze-the-quads, activate-the-glutes, fire-the-gastocs, flex-the-delts, contact-the-triceps, use-the-wrist-flexors!” One gets the idea.

But What About . . . ?
Of course, there are exceptions, and these can occur when you are trying to prevent movement (not cause movement). This is what happens when you think of contracting a specific muscle group.

Try it. Tell yourself to contract your biceps. You’ll instantly find yourself with a perfectly immobile elbow joint - frozen in place as if you’re prepping for a bodybuilding show.

So, if you’re getting ready to squat, you might cue, “tight abs” to help get your trunk rigid and immovable before starting your descent.

Trying to prevent knee flexion in your press? Trying cueing “flex your quads.”

You don’t cue “squeeze your glutes” in the squat or deadlift, but you might use this cue to prevent a reaching back or “winding up” motion of the hips at the start of the press.

In general, keep it simple - cue the movement you’re looking for, and the relevant muscles will get involved automatically (you’ve got your cerebellum to thank for that).

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?