This Mistake is DESTROYING Your Press | 5 Simple Tips to Fix It FAST

At every strengthlifting meet, there are always one or two people who get red lights in the press and don’t know why.

It’s the knees.

The dynamic use of the hips in the press gives a nice throw or bounce at the beginning of the movement, and reaching the hips forward also causes your upper body (and thus your head as well) to counterbalance by moving back slightly and clearing a path for the barbell.

Excellent, but in the words of Uncle Ben (of Spiderman fame): “With great power comes great responsibility.”

figure 1: it’s not usually as egregious as this demonstration shows . . . usually. at any rate, this clearly shows the knee flexion you’re trying to avoid.

Reach forward with your hips, but keep your knees straight. If your knees flex (Figure 1) and contribute to the upward movement of the bar, the lift doesn’t count as you’ve now performed a push press and not a press.

Still a solid lift – but not the one you’re trying to do.

If your knees unlock when you press, you’ve got a problem, so here are five cues to help fix your situation.

If you want to see these errors and their solutions in action, check out the short video below.

Cue #1: Flex Your Quads
This is the simple approach and is how we teach the press from the start. We usually cue movements and not muscles, but when we do cue muscles, we do so – as in the case here – to prevent movement. Specifically, you are preventing the bending of your knees.

Before you reach forward with your hips, flex your quads hard. Your quads are responsible for straightening the knees and keeping them straight (Figure 2), so contract them hard and keep them contracted hard throughout the lift.

figure 2: so much better.

Cue #2: Tight Knees
This cue conveys the idea that your knees should remain tight and rigid throughout the lift. Keep your knees immovable.

Cue #3: Lock Your Knees
This cue reminds you to lock your knees (and thus use your quads without thinking about your quads) before your start. Lock them before you start the lift and keep them locked.

Cue #4: Pull Your Kneecaps Up
Look down at your kneecaps and consciously flex your quads. Notice that your kneecaps rise when you do this (Figure 3).

figure 3: Quads relaxed and kneecap down (left) vs quads contracted and kneecap pulled up (right)

Now that you have a picture in your head of what happens when you flex your quads, you cue yourself to pull your kneecaps up before you reach forward with your hips. Pull ‘em up and keep ‘em up.

Cue #5: Keep Your Knees Back
This is a favorite of mine.

As your hips move forward at the start of the press, your knees do too, so it’s an overcue, but your knees should never be as far forward as your hips are. At the most extreme point of reaching your hips, your hips should be farther forward than any other part of your body – including your knees.

Watch this phenomenon in action in the video below.

Cue yourself to keep your knees back when you reach with your hips. It just might be the concept you’ve been missing.

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?

Pulling Blocks: What, Why, and DIY vs. Commercial (Which Should YOU Use?)

What are pulling blocks, why are they useful, and should you buy them or make them yourself? Starting Strength Coach Phil Meggers covers it all.

(A Blast from the Past video originally published on 05/15/23)

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?

Ain't Nothing Worse than a Slippery Bench!

(A Blast from the Past article originally posted on 09/24/21)

If you’re dealing with a bench that has a slippery surface, this is a situation that needs to be remedied.

We use our legs on the bench press as they provide lateral stability and support our arch, but we can only effectively drive up the bench with our legs if our shoulders are firmly pinned to the bench itself. In other words, sliding up the bench is not what we want, so if you’re training on a bench that’s a bit slick, this is a problem. Below are a few solutions, and if you don’t feel like reading, you can watch our videos on this topic instead.

Figure 1

Option 1
Take a couple of strength bands (AKA resistance bands) and place one (lengthwise) around each side of the bench as shown in Figure 1. The bands will stick to the bench quite nicely, and you, in turn, will stick to the bands quite nicely. Since many commercial gyms have these bands, this can be a handy solution if you’re training at a commercial gym while traveling.

Figure 2

Option 2
Find and buy a non-slip rug pad (or non-slip shelf liner). A 2 ft x 4 ft section should be more than sufficient, and you can get something in this size for under $10. Simply place the rug pad on the bench as shown in Figure 2, and you now have a very grippy bench on which to train.

This is probably my favorite option as it’s flexible, rolls up easily and compactly, and is therefore easy to bring with you in your training bag.

Option 3
If Options 1 and 2 aren’t available for whatever reason, you can substitute a yoga mat for the rug pad listed in Option 2. Most commercial gyms have something like this lying around. It will be a bit on the wide side, but it will usually get the job done.

Option 4
There are a few companies out there that manufacture shirts with grippy sections of material. These are designed to help keep the bar secure on your back when squatting as well as keep you in place on the bench when benching. A7 is one such company, but you can simply google “bench grip shirt” or “bar grip shirt” to find other options. I don’t have any personal experience with these types of shirts, but I’ve heard excellent reviews from those I know who train with them.

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.

• 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.

(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?

The Knees Problem: If You Don't Change This, Your Deadlift Will NEVER Grow

Are you making a mistake with your knees in the deadlift?

If you are, you’re doing one of the following:

1. Pulling the bar around your knees during the ascent, or . . .

2. Setting the bar down in a curved path around your knees during the descent.

Both of these make the deadlift harder, less efficient, and fabulously uncomfortable, so let’s fix them both with the same concept and cue.

If you want to see these errors and their solutions in action, check out the short video below.

Error 1: Pulling Around Your Knees
We use cues such as “push the floor,” “straighten the knees,” and “pull your kneecaps back” regularly to drive home the idea that the deadlift starts with knee extension. This knee extension helps lift the barbell and gets the knees out of the way, so understandably, it’s critical to the lift.

figure 1: Mike and phil demonstrate the error of pulling around the knees.

However, if these cues aren’t working for you, and you’re still pulling in a curved path around your knees (Figure 1), try reminding yourself to “make the bar move vertically” and “get your knees out of the way.”

That’s it.

Picture the correct bar path and get your knees slowly but surely out of the way of that bar path, and you’ll be executing the lift correctly.

Error 2: Setting the Bar Down Around Your Knees
After you lock out your deadlift, you should reach backward with your hips, bow to the floor, and set the bar down in a nice, vertical path so that it ends up on the floor directly over the middle of your foot.

However, many lifters try - whether consciously or subconsciously - to keep their torsos vertical when lowering the deadlift, and this results in a bar path that curves out and around the knees (Figure 2).

figure 2: mike demonstrates the error of setting the bar down around the knees.

This is inefficient, inaccurate, and it feels awful on the knees and back. If setting your deadlift down isn’t the easiest thing you do all day, you’re absolutely committing this error.

Again, remind yourself to “make the bar move vertically” and “get you knees out of the way” (or “keep your knees out of the way” if you prefer).

Visualize the bar traveling vertically - and quickly - downward, and keep your knees out of the way until the bar passes your knees, and you’ll have nailed 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.)

---

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?

2 Deadlifting Pieces of Equipment You NEED to Have!

(A Blast from the Past article originally posted on 10/13/23)

Let’s quickly cover two pieces of equipment that will make you better at deadlifting . . . instantly.

Item #1: Long Socks
We are talking very long - socks that go above your calves (i.e., almost to your knees). You will simply be better at keeping the bar close when wearing long socks. Sweatpants and leggings will do just fine as well, but long socks are so much more stylish.

“But Phil, I’m already pretty good at keeping the bar close.” Good for you, and in this case, you already know that - every once in a while - you nick your shin with the bar. Shins bleed easily, and now that you’ve done this, it is annoyingly easy to catch that new scab with the bar and break it open again.

Because of this - whether consciously or subconsciously - you now try to avoid hitting that scab. As a result, you are suddenly worse at keeping the bar close to your legs, and this makes your deadlifts that much harder. So . . . wear long socks.

As an additional note, you might not care if you get a little bloody when you deadlift, but everyone else who has to use that same barbell does indeed care, so do your training companions a favor. Wear long socks and keep your DNA off the bar.

Item #2: Chalk
We’ve covered this before, and we’ll cover it again - chalk is hugely useful for all of the lifts, but it is especially useful for pulling lifts such as the snatch, clean, and deadlift. Rock climbers and gymnasts use it to save their lives - we’re just using it to save our deadlifts. But the reason for its use remains the same - it absorbs the sweat and natural oil from your hands so that you have as much friction as possible when taking your grip.

Side note: If you’re training at a commercial gym and don’t feel like sneaking in the usual chalk, you can also use liquid chalk.

Still don’t like using chalk? You have two options - pull a Kelly Clarkson and just walk away since you’ve decided not to lift today or put on your big boy (or big girl) pants and use chalk because it’s the intelligent thing to do.

It makes your current deadlifts easier, and it allows you to lift more weight with less effort, which allows you to get stronger more efficiently. We’ve had numerous conversations with members who started using chalk a bit later than they should have (which is on day one) and were astounded at how much of a difference it made.

A reasonable approach is to rub some chalk onto your hands when you start warming up the deadlift (brush your hands together lightly to get rid of any loose chalk) and then chalk up again when you get to your work set.

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.

• 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.

(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?

What Lifters with Bad Knees Get Wrong About Squatting

Here are nine squat tips that apply to everyone, but they especially apply to those of you with grumpy knees. We’ve also provided a number of short videos to help with some of these tips.

1. Bar Position
Get the bar below your traps – sitting on the nice shelf provided by your bunched up delts. This is because . . . 

2. Lean Over
. . . you’re going to consciously lean over and point your chest at the floor as you start your descent. To facilitate this . . . 

3. Hips Back
. . . you’re going to simultaneously reach backward with your hips. You squat with your knees and hips, of course, and we want to squat in such a way that we ask each joint to do its respective share of the work. The hips are larger and surrounded by more muscle mass than your knees, so reach back with your hips. In doing so, you take some of the load off the knees and shift it to the larger and stronger hips.

4. Stance and Knee Direction
Take a stance with your heels at roughly shoulder width and point your toes out about 30 degrees. You’ve now set up your toes as arrows for your knees, and with this in mind, make your knees travel in the direction of your toes (i.e., forward and out). Getting the knees out makes depth easier to achieve and also avoids any twisting of the knee.

5. Forward Knee Position
Your knees will travel forward (and out) in the direction of your toes, and about one half to one third of the way into your descent, you’re going to stop the knees roughly above your toes (possibly a half inch or so farther forward for those of you with longer femurs).

Your knees keep bending, of course, but you block the forward travel at this point.

Tip #8 will help with this, as will the video below.

6. Give Your Knees a Hug
Get yourself a pair of knee sleeves.

Knee sleeves provide a nice, warm hug for your knees, and the warmth and compression provided by a 7 mm pair of knee sleeves makes for a wonderful sensation.

Below are links to a few knee sleeve options that are popular with a number of our members at Testify:

• Rehband knee sleeves (my personal knee sleeves)

• Stoic knee sleeves

• Iron Bull knee sleeves

7. Shoes
Get yourself a decent pair of lifting shoes and stop lifting in your squishy Chucks or running shoes.

The most important feature of a lifting shoe is the noncompressible sole and thus the very stable base it provides. This permits efficient force transfer between you and the floor and allows you to better execute the technical aspects that you’re working on, e.g., knee position, hips back, etc.

Below are some of the shoe recommendations and links we usually send to new members as a starting point for shopping:

• Nike Romaleos 4

• Inov-8 Fastlift 360

• VS Athletics Weightlifting Shoe

• Adidas Adipower

• Do-Win Lifting Shoes

8. TUBOW
A TUBOW provides excellent cueing for knee position – both lateral and in terms of setting the knees’ forward position. Because it fixes the knee position, it forces the correct hip position and back angle as well.

A video is highly useful here, so check out the one below:

9. Get a Coach
You can work on all of these things on your own, but you will fix them far faster working with a good coach. Many things that often take weeks or months to address on your own can be fixed in a single coaching session, and we see this all the time.

We’d love to work with you – whether locally or remotely – but if that’s not in the cards, I’d recommend seeking out a Starting Strength Coach (SSC) to help you improve your squat. Click here if you’re interested in working with us or click here for the link to the SSC directory.

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?