7 Things Successful Lifters Do Before Pressing HEAVY (plus BONUS tip)

Here are 7 things that intelligent, wise – crafty even – lifters do before pressing, and while we’re at it, we’ll cover a bonus tip at the end that you might not usually think about.

#1 Grip
Make it narrow.

This isn’t the bench press. If you reach straight out in front of you as if you’re Frankenstein’s monster, you’re doing well. To oversimplify it (slightly), guys will have their index fingers right on the edge of the knurling, i.e., close to the smooth part of the bar but not on it, and gals will place their index fingers right on the smooth part of the barbell with the rest of their fingers on the knurling.

There’s a little more variability in reality, but this is a good place for most people to start.

#2 Grip . . . Again
Support the bar in the base of your palm – not up by the pads of your fingers.

Simply pronate your grip slightly so that the base of your palm is pressing hard against the bar and then squeeze the bar tightly. Your wrists will be nearly straight (but not completely) – so if your wrists are bent back at 90°, rack the bar and fix your grip. Squeezing the bar tightly helps tighten up the muscles in your forearms and keeps the wrists from bending backward.

Check out the video below for a demonstration of the error as well as the solution.

#3 Legs, Elbows, and Wrists
As you approach the bar to unrack it, dip down far enough with your legs so that you can rotate your elbows into a position where they are slightly in front of the bar when viewed from the side. Keep a tight grip on the bar so that your wrists remain neutral (and not bent backward at 90°).

At this point, simply stand the bar up with your legs. You unrack the bar using your legs, and nothing – nothing – from your waist up should change position after you unrack it.

If you have to adjust your elbow or wrist position after you unrack it, then you set up incorrectly before standing it up. Rack it, fix it, then unrack it again.

#4 Stay Close
This is not a distance event. After you unrack the bar, stay close to the rack.

Stand the bar up, take one small step backward with each foot, and your stance should be set permanently.

#5 Focal Point
Pick something directly in front of you on the wall at eye-height and stare at that spot — stare at it before you unrack the bar, throughout the entire set, and until you rack the bar again.

#6 Breathing and Bracing
Before every rep, take a breath, hold that breath by performing a Valsalva maneuver (check out the video below), and tighten every muscle in your midsection. Hold that breath and keep clamping down on the muscles of your trunk through the rep until the bar is back at the start position. At this point, take a new breath, brace again, and perform the next rep.

If you’re not sure how to correctly breathe and brace when training, check out the very useful video below.

#7 Knees
When you breathe and “get tight” (i.e., brace), be sure to tighten your knees, too. Flex your quads hard so that your knees don’t bend when you reach forward with your hips. You can remind yourself with any of the following cues:

• Flex the quads

• Tight knees

• Pull the kneecaps up

• Keep the knees back

Bonus Tip: Shoes
Wear lifting shoes.

The press is already very susceptible to deviations in the bar path, so don’t make things worse by lifting on a soft, squishy lifting platform like that found in running shoes, Chucks, etc.

Once you’ve trained on the noncompressible sole provided by a lifting shoe, lifting on anything else feels like standing on a pillow.

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

-Phil

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You Should Be Unloading Your Barbell Like This | EASY and FAST (plus BONUS tip)

How do you unload your bar after deadlifting, cleaning, rowing, etc. in a fast and easy manner? Starting Strength Coach Phil Meggers explains and demonstrates and also provides a bonus tip.

(A Blast from the Past video originally published on 07/08/23)

Whenever you want even more Testify in your life, here are some free resources:

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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?

3 Tactics to Triage Your Deadlift FAST (plus a bonus tactic) | Get a Bigger Deadlift NOW

Let’s briefly cover three tactics to help you fix your deadlift quickly and efficiently. It’s useful to remember that if you don’t have a coach, then – by default – you are your own coach, so let’s cover a few major technical points to look for when you watch your deadlift on video.

We’ll cover three positioning issues plus a bonus movement issue, and while these technique points are not the only things to look for, they certainly are large “bang-for-your-buck” items.

#1 Setup
When setting up to pull, you want the following three things – first, be sure that the barbell is over the middle of your foot. To do this, walk up to the bar and set up with your shins about 1” away from the bar when your shins are vertical.

Second, when you bend your knees, bend them just enough to bring your shins lightly into contact with the bar. The shins absolutely need to be touching the bar before you pull, but the shins should never move the bar.

Third, be sure that you are balanced over the middle of your foot. Not on the balls of your feet, not on your heels – on the middle of your foot.

Thus, when you’re setting up to pull, you can feel these three things - bar over midfoot, shins touching the bar, and midfoot balance. However, when you watch yourself on camera, the balance issue takes some practice to see and correctly identify, so in addition to looking at your feet, check to make sure that your shoulders are slightly in front of the bar.

#2 Flat and Rigid Back
Set your back in flat, rigid extension before you start the pull and make sure it stays that way throughout the lift.

You want your back to act like a steel beam, and with this in mind, the following cues can be useful to get your back flat before you pull:

• Squeeze your chest up.

• Push your belly down between your thighs.

• Arch your back. (an overcue, but sometimes useful)

• Wrinkles in your shirt

Be sure to brace hard with every muscle in your midsection (you will have taken a big breath right before setting your back) to then hold that back rigid throughout the lift.

If you’re not sure how to correctly breathe and brace when training, check out the very useful video below.

#3 Lockout
This is an easily and all-too-often missed component of a correctly executed deadlift. At the top of the pull, the deadlift lockout should have open hips (i.e., straight hips), straight knees, chest up, and shoulders slightly behind the bar.

solid lockout position

Soft knees at the top or hips that aren’t completely open? The lift doesn’t count. Be honest with yourself and remind yourself to “stand tall” when finishing your deadlifts.

this deadlift is not finished as the hips are not fully open - this deadlift does not count.

Bonus: Knee Extension
The deadlift has both knee extension and hip extension throughout the ascent, so when it’s performed correctly, you’ll see the knees and hips both straightening as you pull the bar off the floor.

With that said, it is dominated by knee extension at the start, and if it isn't (i.e., if you’re attempting to raise your chest too soon, instead), you’ll be accidentally attempting to pull the bar around your knees. This is a miserable experience and makes the pull far, far harder than it needs to be.

Cues that help you execute the proper knee extension include:

• Push the floor away (i.e., with your legs).

• Leg press the floor away from you.

• Stay over the bar.

• Pull your kneecaps backward.

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.

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• Get our free weekly email - containing useful videos, articles, and training tips - 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?

Use This Grip for a BIGGER Deadlift! (Tension Grip)

(A Blast from the Past article originally posted on 12/08/23)

What is a tension grip, and why should you use it for pulling movements like the deadlift, row, and clean? This is the second article in our short series on the correct grip for each lift. In the first article, we discussed the compression grip, which is useful for pressing movements such as the bench press, press, close grip bench press, etc., and you can read that article by clicking here.

Today’s Topic: Pulling Movements
The grip we are covering today is the type of grip you would take for pulling movements such as the deadlift, the row, the clean, etc. This grip is commonly referred to as a tension grip (watch the included video for a demonstration).

Whether you execute a pulling lift (e.g., deadlift) or a pressing movement (e.g., bench press), the same principle is true - gravity wants the bar to go down, so your grip should put the bar in the lowest stable position possible. In this way, the bar cannot accidentally reach a lower position than that which it’s already occupying.

What NOT To Do
In a pressing movement - as discussed in the compression grip article - you place the bar at the base of the palm. However, since the hand will be pointing downward in a pulling movement, putting the base of the palm against the bar puts the bar in an unstable position. The compression grip is very strong for pushing and pretty terrible for pulling.

Figure 1: compression grip (shown in reverse for viewing purposes): good for pushing - terrible for pulling

Placing the base of the palm against the bar - this will look like you’re pushing down on the bar (Figure 1) - compromises the grip, and this will show up in several ways. First, if you can even break the bar off the floor, it may result in a soft lockout at the top of the lift (e.g., knees that are still bent) or the complete inability to finish the lift at all. Second, when your grip is compromised, everything else starts to compensate - your back starts to round, the weight feels heavier, and it will actually be harder to pull the bar off the floor.

Figure 2: tension grip (shown in reverse for viewing purposes): good for pulling

The Answer
Take a grip that permits the bar to sit a little lower in the hand - down by the fingers a bit more (Figure 2).

(As a side note, don’t take a monkey grip - you shouldn’t have a visible air gap between your hands and the bar.)

Put simply, it should look like you’re pulling up on the bar and not pushing down on the bar. Note the differences between a compression grip (bad for pulling) and a tension grip (good for pulling) in the photos below.

Whether you use a double overhand grip, a hook grip, or an alternate grip, make sure the bar is carried down by the fingers and not positioned up by the base of the palm. When in doubt, put some upward tension on the bar, and voilà - your wrists will straighten out, and the bar will be positioned correctly.

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:

• Follow Testify on Instagram HERE.

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• 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.

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(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?

Many people don't know the secret of this grip on your deadlift.

Many lifters never think twice about how they grip the bar, but a small change in your grip can have a big impact on your pull. In this video, Starting Strength Coach Phil Meggers explains one simple grip concept (and a few misconceptions that go with it) that can improve your deadlift immediately.

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?

Is This Error KILLING Your Deadlift?! | How to Increase Your Deadlift

Is your deadlift setup destroying the possibility of pulling preposterously ponderous poundage? Phil pontificates.

(A Blast from the Past video originally published on 06/26/23)

Whenever you want even more Testify in your life, here are some free resources:

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

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• 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?