Weak Bench Press? QUICK FIX

Are you making this mistake with your shoulders when you bench? Starting Strength Coach Phil Meggers helps you diagnose the problem, learn why it's bad, and fix it fast.

(A Blast from the Past video originally published on 04/03/23)

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.

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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?

Stop Fighting Your Knee Sleeves. There's a Better Way. (shhh…it’s a secret)

(A Blast from the Past article originally posted on 08/13/21)

Oooh . . . secrets! We love us some secrets!

Not everyone knows this - and this is especially true if you’re a new lifter or at least new to using knee sleeves - but when it comes to putting on your knee sleeves, there is one method to rule them all. Anything else is a waste of your time and energy, so let’s take a look at how you should put on a sleeve (watch the included video for a quick demonstration):

Step 1: Turn the sleeve inside-out.

Step 2: Grab the sleeve with both hands so that it’s upside down and backward (i.e., the front of the sleeve - the part that will cover your kneecap - is facing backward).

Steps 1 & 2: The sleeve is inside-out, upside down, and backward . . . and this is a good thing.

Step 3: Before you put on your shoe, pull the sleeve over your foot until it comes up just past your ankle.

Step 3

Step 4: Spin the sleeve around so that it’s facing forward again (i.e., the front of the sleeve is facing forward).

Step 4

Step 5: Pull on the uppermost part of the sleeve - sliding the sleeve upward until it reaches a point a few inches below your knee. (If you like, you can perform step 5 before step 4.)

Step 5

Step 6: Grab the lowermost part of the sleeve (it’s actually the “top” of the sleeve, but it’s still upside down right now, remember?) and pull upward so that that portion of the sleeve starts sliding over the rest of the sleeve. As you continue doing this, the sleeve will be turning right-side-out again.

Step 6

Step 7: Feel free to make some minor adjustments, but really, at this point, you’re done.

Step 7 - done!

Now, go out and tell your friends because - after all - this is a secret that everyone kneeds to know.

If you’re looking for some knee sleeves, 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

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?

What Most Lifters Never Learn About Weight Lifting Plates (15 facts)

Confused about weight lifting plates, kilgrams vs pounds, metal plates vs bumpers, numbers in vs numbers out, etc.? Starting Strength Coach Phil Meggers covers it all and clears up the confusion.

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.

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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 Testify Mirror - January 19, 2026

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Testify Strength & Cond. (@testifystrengthconditioning)

THIS WEEK'S SUBMISSION

From our video 4 Reasons Why Every Senior Should Squat & How to Do It (PLUS Bad Squat Advice & Myths to Ignore) (click the title to watch):

John Doiron
I started squatting (and deadlifting) 15 years ago at age 45. I am in the best shape of my life now, and it feels amazing.

Phil
Way to go, John!

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TESTIFY ONLINE COACHING

Interested in getting stronger working one-on-one remotely with us? Click here to book your free strategy session.

Get Stronger. Live Better. Start Today.

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ARTICLES & VIDEOS

Still Benching the Old Way? 6 Tips for Better Results
You don’t need a brand-new program—you might just need to bench better. These 6 changes clean up your setup, improve consistency, and help you get more out of the lift. Click here to watch.

What "Internet Fitness" and "Trainers" Get Wrong About Lifting Weights
What should you focus on when lifting weights? What should you think about? The mainstream fitness industry gets this wrong all the time. Click here to read.

Blast from the Past: The Mistake That is Ruining Your Lifts! | Never Do This Again
Every lifter makes this mistake now and then. Phil helps you learn to prevent it in a few short minutes. Click here to watch.

Blast from the Past: 7 Ways You're Ruining Your Press: Part 2
Don't do this when pressing! In Part 2 of this series, Phil covers 3 more press errors as well as how to fix them. Click here to read.

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TESTIFY TRUCKER CAPS ARE AVAILABLE!

Represent your favorite gym with this trucker cap in several color options - perfect for outdoors or a training session.

Click here to head to the Testify Store.

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WHAT'S COMING UP

Below is one of our upcoming events, and you can find out what else is on the calendar by heading to our events page at www.testifysc.com/events.

Testify Strengthlifting Challenge

• April 11, 2025

• The annual Testify Strengthlifting Challenge is back, and we invite you to be a part of it! This is a strengthlifting meet, which means the contested lifts will be the squat, press, and deadlift.

• Click here to register or for more information.

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THIS WEEK’S CONDITIONING

Option 1
Sled Pyramid – 4, 5, or 6 tiers
Go up and down a 4, 5, or 6 tier “sled pyramid” – rest as needed. The distance for each round is 80 m indoors (a down-back on the 40m course) or 200 ft outdoors (2 down-backs on the 50 ft course). Rest as needed.

For example, Bob does the following (4 tiers):
Round 1: Empty sled
Round 2: 25#
Round 3: 50#
Round 4: 75#
Round 5: 50#
Round 6: 25#
Round 7: Empty sled

Compare to 2025.12.15.

Option 2
Bike/row:
4 x 800m

Rest 3 minutes between each round. Score = slowest time.

Compare to 2025.10.27.

Option 3
1. 5 x 50 ft seated sled pull. Add weight each round. Rest as needed.
2. 5 x 100 ft duck walk. Add weight each round. Rest as needed.

Compare to 2025.09.29.

Option 4
Outdoors
4 rounds:
50 yd farmer carry
80 m sled drag
Rest 2 min

Indoors
4 rounds:
100 ft farmer carry
100 ft sled drag
Rest 2 min

Compare to 2025.09.29.

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As always, we hope this helps you get stronger and live better!

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.

What "Internet Fitness" and "Trainers" Get Wrong About Lifting Weights

We get some good questions in the comment sections of our YouTube videos, and recently, one of them was (paraphrased), “In the squat, should I be using my quads on the way up? Should I be feeling my quads when I squat?”

This question boils down to an even more basic - and important - question that covers all of the barbell lifts, and that is, “Should I be cueing and/or thinking about my muscles when performing a lift?”

(If you’d rather watch a video on this topic, check out the short one below.)

Movements - Not Muscles
In short, no - you don’t think about your muscles when lifting weights. You think about movements - not muscles.

If you’re shooting a basketball, you don’t cue muscle groups since that would be ridiculous. You’re ready to shoot, you’re elevating, and your train of thought goes to “. . . glutes-hamstrings-quads-gastrocs-flexor-carpi-radialis-flexor-carpi-ulnaris-palmaris-longus!”

Again, ridiculous. There is simply too much going on and thinking about individual muscle groups will only slow things down and make the movement more difficult. Instead, you think about a specific movement, and the muscles “come along for the ride,” in a manner of speaking.

This is true in sports, in general movement, and it’s certainly true in lifting.

In the squat, you cue yourself to “drive your hips upward,” and as you drive your hips upward, your knees gradually straighten, which means your quads are doing their job (i.e., the job of knee extension).

In the deadlift, cue “push the floor away.”

In the press, cue “reach with the hips.”

In general, cue movements - not muscles, and you get the muscles automatically since they create the movement.

Any Exceptions?
To almost every rule, there is an exception, and we see that with the “cue-movements-not-muscles” guideline as well.

We generally cue movement, but when we are trying to prevent movement, cueing a muscle group can indeed be effective. For example, tell yourself to “flex your bicep,” and you’ll immediately lock your elbow into a frozen, flexed position, and thus, you are preventing movement. Here are some other examples:

In the press, you reach forward with your hips, but you don’t want your knees to bend (since we’re not performing a push press), so you might cue “tight quads” or “flex your quads.”

In the squat or deadlift, as you prepare to get tight and brace, you take a big breath, perform your Valsalva, and then cue “tight abs” to help transform your wiggly column of vertebrae into one long, rigid, steel beam.

In summary, if you’re specifically trying to prevent movement, you might find cueing a muscle group to be quite useful, but other than that, you want to cue movements rather than muscles.

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 Mistake That is RUINING Your Lifts! | Never Do This Again

Every lifter makes this mistake now and then. Starting Strength Coach Phil Meggers helps you learn to prevent it in a few short minutes.

(A Blast from the Past video originally published on 04/01/23)

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?