Barbell Rings - What Are These Things For?!

(A Blast from the Past article originally posted on 08/27/21)

Every barbell has one or two pairs of rings - also known as score marks or knurl marks. Today, we’re going to talk about the two types of rings, the purpose of the rings, and how they might pose a problem for a new or inexperienced lifter.

For further explanation and demonstration of the topics covered in this article, be sure to check out any of the included videos.

From top to bottom - barbells with (A) power rings only, (B) weightlifting and powerlifting rings, and (C) weightlifting rings only

The 2 Types of Rings
Using a dual-ringed bar (i.e., a bar with both sets of rings) for reference, the inner rings are known as the powerlifting rings or simply the power rings, and these marks are 81 cm apart (approximately 32 in). The outer rings are known as the weightlifting rings or the olympic rings, and these marks are 91 cm apart (approximately 36 in).

Purpose
Both sets of rings are used for reference points when you take your grip on the bar. In the sport of powerlifting, the power rings on a dedicated powerlifting barbell (or “power bar”) represent the maximum legal grip width for the bench press (i.e., at the widest legal grip, the index fingers still need to be in contact with the rings). In lifts other than the bench press (e.g., the squat) the rings still serve as a reference point upon which to base your grip.

In the sport of weightlifting - i.e., the snatch and clean-and-jerk - due to the wider grip widths used in the clean, the jerk, and specifically the snatch, it is useful to have a wider set of rings for reference, and thus, the weightlifting rings are set a bit wider than the power rings.

The Problem
A potential problem arises when a lifter switches from one barbell to a different barbell. Suppose, for example, that Jack is accustomed to training on a bar that only has one set of rings, and then he travels somewhere and ends up using a dual-ringed bar. Suddenly, Jack’s not sure which set he should be using for his reference point for his grip. 

Conversely, let’s say Jill has been training with a dual-ringed bar, and then she goes to her first competition, and the competition bar only has one set of rings. As Jill steps onto the competition platform, she isn’t sure whether she’s looking at the power rings or the weightlifting rings.

The solution here is pretty simple - know your equipment. If you’re not sure which rings you’ve been using, you can easily figure it out. If it’s a dual-ringed bar, you hopefully already know whether you’ve been using the inner set or outer set, and if it's a single-ringed bar, break out your tape measure and check the distance between the rings - the powerlifting rings are 32 inches apart (81 cm) while the weightlifting rings are 36 inches apart (91 cm).

If you have to go train or compete on a different bar, know the following points:

• At a powerlifting meet, you’ll either encounter a power bar (i.e., a bar with power rings) or a bar with both sets of rings (less common at a meet).

• At a weightlifting meet, you’ll either encounter a weightlifting bar (i.e., a bar with weightlifting rings) or a bar with both sets of rings (again, less common at a meet).

• In general training, if you encounter a single-ringed bar, you’re probably - probably - looking at the power rings as these bars are far more common than dedicated weightlifting bars.

• While the above points are useful, your best bet is to still measure.

Knowing these facts, you can keep your technique reproducible and therefore consistent wherever you 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:

• Follow Testify on Instagram HERE.

• Subscribe to Testify’s YouTube channel HERE.

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

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Stop Using Your Arms to Deadlift

Your arms are not for pulling.

Not in the deadlift, anyway. Let’s use the squat to shed some light on today’s deadlift mistake.

Gravity likes things to be as low as possible, so to be stable in the squat, you stand with the entire sole of your shoe resting firmly on the ground.

You certainly do not squat on your toes with the heel of your shoe up in the air. Squatting in such a silly fashion means that your squishy, wobbly ankle ruins the efficiency of force transfer between you and the floor.

figure 1: don’t bend your elbows like this fool.

In the deadlift, an analogous error is pulling with flexed arms , i.e., bent elbows (Figure 1). This mistake shows up with both new and experienced lifters, and it makes the deadlift less efficient and harder than it should be.

(If you’d like to see both this error and its solution demonstrated, check out the short video below.)

In the 5-step deadlift setup, this problem usually occurs during step 4 – the “squeeze your chest up to set your back flat and rigid” step. If you commit this error, you are attempting to apply tension to the barbell as you set your back, which is good, but you’re doing so by actively pulling with your arms, which is bad for two reasons.

First, flexed arms give your shorter arms, and shorter arms are your enemy in the deadlift. You want long, straight out arms.

Second, you’ve created a force transfer inefficiency – a force transfer leak. Bent arms are weak and deformable, so they absorb some of the force that should be transmitted directly to the bar. Long, straight arms (Figure 2), however, are nondeformable, very strong indeed, and transmit force efficiently.

figure 2: long, straight arms . . . much better.

Bent arms make lift less efficient and actually feel heavier and harder to pull than it otherwise would with straight arms, so let’s fix this.

First, simply cue yourself, “Long arms,” when you squeeze your chest up to set your back.

If that doesn’t work well, try the reminder, “Straight arms.”

Another option is to tell yourself to “stretch out the arms” when you set your back (or even “Go go Gadget arms!” if you’re old enough to get that cartoon reference). The concept of stretching the arms leads us to the fourth cue . . .

“Get away from the bar.”

When you squeeze your chest up to set your back, you are obviously still connected to the bar via your hands, but you should be actively trying to move upward and away from the bar as you lift your chest. Flexing your arms pulls you down closer to the bar, so this cue has the opposite effect and helps you stretch the arms long and straight.

Don’t bend your arms when you deadlift. Don’t create a force transfer leak. Don’t give yourself stubbly little arms.

Your deadlift will thank you for it.

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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Why Your Press is WEAK: Fix Your Unrack and Grip with this Simple Mnemonic Device

(A Blast from the Past article originally posted on 09/22/23)

A common problem in the press is a terrible unracking process, and we've covered this before in both videos and articles, but here’s a different take - a simple mnemonic device - that just might help you out.

The Problem
You know you want a neutral wrist when pressing. It shouldn’t be completely straight (although we might use the overcue “straight wrists” at times), but it certainly should not be bent backward in full extension, either.

The problem of full extension is the more common of the two errors and is the situation we’re addressing here. For a video demonstration and explanation of this problem as well as how to solve it, be sure to watch one of the included videos.

When It Happens
You’re setting up to take your grip for the press - your grip is relatively narrow, you’ve pronated your hands slightly, and although you know you’re supposed to maintain a rigid, neutral wrist position as you approach and unrack the barbell, it’s at this point that everything goes in the crapper. Somehow, as you approached the bar, you allowed your wrists to bend backward into full extension - which is a very weak and inefficient position from which to press - and now your coach wants to gouge his eyes out. Let’s prevent this.

The Culprit
You simply didn’t get low enough to allow yourself to maintain a neutral wrist. Remember that the legs are responsible for unracking the bar correctly - in a manner of speaking, you pick it up with your legs, not your arms. You need to dip down low enough so that you can keep your wrists neutral when approaching and unracking the bar. A decent pair of wrist wraps can help maintain neutral wrists, but they won’t cover up the root problem of not dipping down low enough with your legs.

A Simple Mnemonic Device
“Chest to bar, chin to bar.”

When taking your pronated grip, be sure to squeeze the bar tightly - crush the bar, if you will - then walk your chest up to the bar with your feet directly under the bar. This “chest to bar” aspect ensures you are close enough to the bar. Next, squat down - you’re actually just bending your knees - until the underside of your chin touches the bar.

By doing this, you’ve dipped down far enough that you’ve given yourself sufficient room to maintain a neutral wrist. If you don’t dip down far enough to create that space, your wrists will have to bend backward into extension to allow you to pick up the bar (because bending your wrists backward makes your forearms artificially shorter), and this is what you’re trying to avoid.

That’s all there is to it - simply walk your chest up to the bar, dip down until your chin touches the bar as you rotate your elbows slightly in front of the bar, and then stand the bar up while maintaining that nice, neutral wrist.

As a side note, some people won’t need to dip that far down; “chin to bar” will be overkill in these cases, but it will still work for pretty much everyone.

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?

The Best Training Advice That Nobody Thinks to Use

Thinking about skipping another training session?

Worried about how that heavy set of squats is going to go?

Considering shutting down your deadlift set after two reps instead of finishing all five?

You already possess an outstanding source of training advice - you just haven’t used it.

In situations like these, ask yourself one question:

“What would I tell my kids?”

I often refer to this as “kid talk,” and it’s both clarifying and compelling.

(Of course, you don’t need to actually have children for this to work. Picture a conversation with your niece or nephew, or imagine that you do have kids.)

“Dad, can I skip basketball practice today?” your son asks.

“No,” you respond. “You signed up, so you’re committed. This is how you build perseverance and discipline. Let’s go.”

“Mom - I’m scared I’ll forget my lines and mess up on stage,” your daughter says.

“I get it, kiddo, and that worry is normal. But you’ve rehearsed for weeks, and you know your part backward and forward - you’re going to knock their socks off tonight.”

You give your kids the truth, and you expect them to act accordingly.

Solid. Now treat yourself the same way.

Don’t complicate this - and don’t dodge it.

The next time you’re thinking about bailing on a session or a set, just ask yourself, “What would I tell my kids?”

You’ll know what to do.

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?

Wrist Wraps: What, Why, When, and How!

(A Blast from the Past article originally posted on 07/09/21)

If you’re new to lifting, you might have seen these things called wrist wraps, but you might not be sure what purpose they actually serve, so let’s chat.

What are wrist wraps?

Your basic wrist wrap consists of a thumb loop at one end, the elastic body of the wrap, and a hook-and-loop closure system (i.e., Velcro). Countless manufacturers sell wrist wraps with this basic structure - some common ones include Harbinger, SBD, Rogue, Schiek, and the list goes on. A very popular length of wrap is 18”, but you can find plenty of wraps that are both shorter or longer than this (longer is fine, but for most lifters, I wouldn’t recommend anything shorter than 18”). Some manufacturers (e.g., SBD) also make variations of their wraps that are either more rigid or more flexible depending on the lifter’s preference.

Why might I use wrist wraps?

You use wrists wraps when your wrists are in compression, i.e., when you’re pushing on something - not when you’re pulling on something. A wrap gives support to your wrist by acting as an external skeleton for your wrist - you can think of it as a cast or a lifting belt for your wrist. Since the wrap is wrapped around your wrist, it lends support to your wrist and makes it very difficult for the wrist to be in positions of extreme extension (i.e., positions where you wrist is bent very far backward). Lifts that benefit from wrists wraps include all the pressing movements (press, bench press, close grip bench, etc.), snatches, jerks, cleans (this is a gray area as you need your wrists to be in extension to rack a clean), and the squat for those who wrap their thumbs around the bar and have their wrists in extension. Even if you don’t normally use a wrist wrap, it’s probably a good idea to use one if you are dealing with and training through a wrist injury.

When might I use wrist wraps?

A reasonable approach is to treat your wrist wraps the same way you treat your belt - put the wraps on for your last warm-up set, and then use them for all of your work sets as well. With some experience under your belt (under your wraps?), you may decide to put them on earlier than your last warm-up, and that’s fine as well.

How do I use wrist wraps?
(You can reference the steps below as well as the accompanying photos, and I would recommend also watching one of the included videos to see this in action.)

Step 1
Place your thumb through the thumb loop so that the wrap drapes over the back of your wrist.

Step 1: Place your thumb through the thumb loop so that the wrap drapes over the back of your wrist.

Step 2
Position the body of the wrap so that it lies half on your forearm and half on your hand.

Step 2: Position the body of the wrap so that it lies half on your forearm and half on your hand.

Step 3
Apply tension and wrap the length of the wrap around your wrist until you reach the end of the wrap.

Step 3: Apply tension and wrap the length of the wrap around your wrist until you reach the end of the wrap.

Step 4
Close off the wrap by attaching it to itself using the Velcro strap.

Step 4: Close off the wrap by attaching it to itself using the Velcro strap.

Step 5
Remove the thumb loop from your thumb (it is simply there to keep the wrap from spinning in place while you apply the wrap, so you no longer need it).

Step 5: Remove the thumb loop from your thumb (it is simply there to keep the wrap from spinning in place while you apply the wrap, so you no longer need it).

Remember: this is not a forearm wrap or a hand wrap - it’s a wrist wrap, so be sure to pay attention to Step 2. If you position the wrap too low, it’s simply a forearm warmer, and if it’s too high, it’s just a weird glove.

A wrist wrap worn too low on the arm . . . don’t do this.

In effect, the wrap should almost lock those two sections of your arm together (i.e., the forearm and the hand), and to do so, it has to straddle both sections of your arm. If you put the wrap on correctly, it will make it harder to extend your wrist (i.e., bend it backwards), which means the wrap is doing its job of support.

Quick re-wrap solution - pinch the thumb loop between your thumb and index finger and use that setup to anchor the beginning of the wrap in place while you re-tighten the wrap.

The wrap should be very snug - not so tight that you start losing circulation in your hand, but pretty darn tight. It needs to be tight so it can provide support. You will always loosen or perhaps even remove the wraps between sets. If you only loosen the wrap between sets, you don’t need to re-insert your thumb in the thumb loop - a quicker solution is to simply pinch the thumb loop between your thumb and index finger and use that setup to anchor the beginning of the wrap in place while you re-tighten the wrap.

That pretty much wraps it up, and 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?

Want Your Press to Go Up? Make It Go Down First.

Struggling to drive your press up? Maybe you’re quite literally trying to take it in the wrong direction.

What on earth do I mean?

When you use the hips in the press, you perform a “reach-and-bounce” movement with your hips, i.e., you reach your hips forward, you get a stretch across your anterior musculature (because you’re flexing your abs and quads hard), and the hips bounce back as you stand up.

In turn, this helps your launch or “throw” the barbell upward . . . but only if you get the timing correct.

this fool has mistakenly reached his hips forward while simultaneously driving the bar upward.

Some lifters make the error of reaching with the hips and press the bar upward at the same time.

Don’t do this.

(to see this error in action, watch the short video below)

The correct sequence is “reach-then-press” or “reach-bounce-press.” Correctly executed, you will see the bar dip a couple of inches (as the hips reach forward) before it is launched upward - and therein lies a cue that can help you out if you struggle with the timing of the press.

“Make the bar dip.”

In other words, as you reach your hips forward, remind yourself that you’re going to make the bar go down slightly before it goes up. Think of it as compressing a spring (i.e., you) before it launches something upward (i.e., the bar).

Again, cue yourself to make the bar dip as you start the press. You can also try the rather catchy cue of “hip-and-dip,” i.e., when you reach with the hips, you should make the barbell dip at the same time.

This will help your timing, which will in turn help you get a bigger throw from the hip movement of your press, and that will help you drive your press upward - both physically and numerically.

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?