Chalk: Don't Be a Fool
/
(If you like, you can scroll down to the end of this article and watch a related - and very ridiculous - video.)
Chalk is not a particularly exciting topic of conversation, so if you’re looking for a scintillating article on the finer points of lifting, you’ve come to the wrong place today, my friend. That said, man, this conversation needs to be had every now and then, so here we go.
There are two types of chalk abusers in the gym. The first type consists of those who simply don't use chalk for whatever reason - they don't like the feel of it, or they don't think they need it. This particular type simply needs to get their minds right or pull a Kelly Clarkson and just walk away. Don’t kid yourself - if you’re not willing to use chalk, you’re wasting your time. It’s not efficient, and at some point, it’s a recipe for disaster.
However, we’re really here today to talk about the second type of chalk abuser. You know this lifter. He takes a perfectly good block of chalk - the Sacred Block - and breaks it into smaller pieces. He coats his hands - sometimes even the back of his hands - with a thick layer of magnesium carbonate and inevitably leaves a bunch of excess chalk on the platform when he’s done lifting. And of course, he gets chalk everywhere on the floor and equipment around him while he’s actually chalking up.
You, of course, are not such a lifter. Because you know better. But you know such a lifter, and just on the off chance that you talk to this lifter, you can remind him how “chalking up” is properly accomplished:
Correctly chalked hands - this guy’s ready to lift.
Put your hands in the bucket.
Take the block (Do Not Break the Block) or the powder and rub some chalk on both of your hands.
Rub your hands together so that any loose chalk falls back in the bucket.
Note that this entire process takes place inside the chalk bucket, and this way, any loose chalk ends up back in the bucket and not on the floor.
Be kind to your chalk, be kind to your gym, and I hope this helps you get stronger and live better. Now, I’m going to get back to yelling at those meddling kids walking across my lawn.
At Testify, we offer small group training, private coaching (in-person or remotely via Zoom), online coaching, and form checks. Would you like to get quality coaching from a Starting Strength Coach?
How to Easily Build a Lifting Platform (and the EASIEST way to cut stall mats)
/
A lifting platform is a very important part of your gym - it protects your equipment as well as your floor, it dampens the noise and vibrations of deadlifts, cleans, snatches, etc., and it clearly delineates the lifting space. This last factor - the abundantly clear “stay out of my lifting space” effect of the platform - is very useful when you have a training partner or little kids with you in the gym.
Fortunately, building a lifting platform is quite easy. In fact, “building” is a rather generous term for the process - we’re pretty much just assembling a platform. We’ll lay out the steps below, but I’d strongly recommend watching one of the videos linked throughout this article for a better understanding of the process.
First, lay two 4’ x 8’ sheets of OSB next to one another. I’d recommend what is commonly referred to as 3/4"-thick OSB, but the actual dimension will be listed as 23/32”.
Laying down the base layer of OSB sheets
These two sheets will run lengthwise, i.e., they’re run front-to-back. The sheets will probably have a slight bow to them (i.e., a curvature), and you’ll want to make sure that the crown of the board is up (so the board should make a mountain, not a valley).
Next, lay two more sheets of the same OSB on top of the base layer. These sheets will be perpendicular to the base layer sheets, so they’ll run side-to-side. Again, the crown should be up. Then you’ll use 1-1/4” screws to attach the second layer to the base layer. We use three screws on the short end of each board and four screws along the long end.
Laying down the 2nd layer of OSB sheets
Then, for the top layer, you’ll use a sheet of 3/4”-thick MDF to run down the middle. You could use something nicer like oak, but we like MDF as it’s nice and heavy and causes everything to lie nice and flat. You’ll need to do some cutting on the MDF as they are sized at 49” x 97”. You’ll cut the length to 96” (8 feet), and we recommend cutting the width to 42” (3.5 feet) as this gives you ample room between the plates and the MDF when you set down your deadlifts, cleans, etc (you can go with 4 feet wide, but 3.5 feet makes it much less likely that you’ll chip the MDF over time). You can do this yourself, or your lumber store may be willing to rip it for you.
Finally, you’ll use 3/4”-thick horse stall mats for the rest of the top layer. Stall mats are typically 4’ x 6’, so you’ll have some cutting to do here. The bigger piece on each side will be 72” x 27” (i.e., 6’ x 2’3”), and the smaller piece on each side will be 24” x 27” (i.e., 2’ x 2’3”).
To attach the top layer to the second layer, use 1-5/8” screws. We put six screws into the MDF - three in front and three in back. For the stall mats, we simply put screws around the outside, front, and back of the platform - we don’t put any screws down the rubber edge near the MDF so that we can’t accidentally set our metal plates or bumper plates down on a screw that might be a bit proud.
Last note - when cutting stall mats, use a jig saw. It is - by far - the best way to do it. Check out the video above to see this process.
We hope this helps you quickly and easily build a lifting platform, and as always, we hope this helps you get stronger and live better.
Finished platform - complete with Addy, Milo, & Parker
(Some links may be affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, Testify earns from qualifying purchases.)
If you found this helpful, you’ll love our weekly email. It’s got useful videos, articles, and training tips just like the one in this article. Sign up below, and of course, if you don’t love it, you can unsubscribe at any time.
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?
Your Training Log - Part 3: The PR Sheet
/
(If you like, you can scroll down to the end of this article and watch a video on this topic. This article is a Blast from the Past article originally posted on 01/15/21.)
A few months ago, we covered the importance of keeping a training log in Your Training Log - Part 1: Just Do It, and we also covered how to keep one in the cleverly titled article, Your Training Log - Part 2: How to Keep One. Today, we’re going to add to this series and discuss adding a PR sheet to your log.
The concept is very straightforward - simply designate one sheet of paper in your training log for keeping track of PRs (Personal Records). I would recommend using the first page of your book, the last page of your book, or you can keep a separate piece of paper in your book that is only used for PRs (but don’t let it fall out).
On this sheet, record your 1-5 rep PRs for the Big Four Lifts - the squat, press, bench press, and deadlift. If you snatch and clean-and-jerk, do the same for those lifts. Pull-ups? Absolutely. Curls? Sure. What about a 7-rep PR? Knock yourself out. If you compete, have two PR lists - one for training and one for competition (the competition list will only have 1-rep PRs). We’re not talking hard-and-fast rules here, but at the very least, having your 1-5 rep PRs written down for the Big Four is a good place to start.
Here’s a sample for the squat:
Weight Reps Date
310 1 03/25/20
285 2 05/18/19
275 3 02/20/20
4
265 5 10/18/19
250 3 x 5 10/06/19
It’s fine if your sheet has some blanks - as you can see, our imaginary lifter doesn’t have a 4-rep PR yet. You’ll also notice that this lifter recorded his “3 x 5” PR as well (i.e., the best he’s done for 3 sets of 5 reps), and that’s another solid idea.
When you start out, you’re setting PRs every single session, so this might not seem all that useful at first. However, the longer you train and the stronger you get, the harder it is and the longer it takes to get stronger and set new PRs, so having multiple opportunities to set new personal bests can be very helpful in the motivation department. Plus, it’s a lot of fun to discover that you just pulled your old 3-rep deadlift max for a set of five, and how will you ever know unless you track these things? Give it a shot.
At Testify, we offer small group training, private coaching (in-person or remotely via Zoom), online coaching, and form checks. Would you like to get quality coaching from a Starting Strength Coach?
Wraps and Straps and Gloves, Oh My!
/
You’re a lifter, so of course, you’ve got to accessorize. But with all the options for lifting gear and accessories out there, what’s useful and what’s garbage? This article is the first in a short series covering exactly that, and today’s topic is gear associated with your grip.
Lifting Straps
Also known simply as “straps” or sometimes “wrist straps” (which is inaccurate), straps are useful for pulling movements, such as deadlifts, rows, and even snatches. Do NOT use them for cleans, and it’s worth pointing out they are actually worn on the hand and not the wrist itself.
They save some wear and tear on the hands, and if you’ve got multiple sets on the deadlift, then a reasonable approach is to use your usual grip for the first set (hook grip or alternate grip) and then use straps for the remaining sets.
You can buy straps or make them (quite cheaply!), and we’ve got a few videos covering how to make them as well as use them.
Wrist Wraps
These are useful for pressing movements such as the press, bench press, close grip bench press, etc. Wrist wraps provide stability for the wrist by acting as a sort of belt or cast for the wrist. When the weights get challenging, a good approach is to warm up (mostly) without wrist wraps and then put your wraps on (tightly!) for your last warm up as well as your work sets.
Not surprisingly, we have a few videos covering this topic as well.
Gloves
Nope. Don’t use ‘em. They add something squishy and deformable between your hand and the bar, which is never good for force transfer. Also, because they add a layer between your hand and the bar, they effectively make the bar diameter larger, which makes it harder to keep your grip when pulling the bar off the floor with deadlifts, rows, etc.
Lifting gloves are stupid. I know this firsthand because I have worn them in a previous life. Don’t use them.
Ahem, we do not have a video on this topic.
Chalk
We’ll save this discussion for another day, but suffice to say chalk is very important for your grip. Use chalk.
As always, we hope this helps you get stronger and live better.
(Some links may be affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, Testify earns from qualifying purchases.)
If you found this helpful, you’ll love our weekly email. It’s got useful videos, articles, and training tips just like the one in this article. Sign up below, and of course, if you don’t love it, you can unsubscribe at any time.
At Testify, we offer small group training, private coaching (in-person or remotely via Zoom), online coaching, and form checks. Would you like to get quality coaching from a Starting Strength Coach?
How to Use Lifting Straps
/
In a past article and a couple of videos, we’ve covered how to quickly and cheaply make yourself a pair of durable lifting straps. Today, let’s cover how to use them.
As is often the case, this process is best understood when you can see it, so I’d recommend watching one of the included videos.
Step 1
Place the straps over both hands. The threads face up, and the smooth side of the straps (the side without the threads) should face forward.
This step assumes you’re using the type of DIY straps we make in this video (or a similar commercial design). If you’re using the “loop-and-cinch” style of strap such as this pair, you can move on to step 2, but make sure that your straps are oriented in the correct direction (click here to see a demonstration).
Step 2
Place your left hand on the barbell - your hand goes over the bar, and the strap goes behind the bar.
Step 3
Use your right hand to help wrap the strap around the bar once, pinning it into place with your left thumb.
Step 4
Repeat steps 2 and 3 to get your right hand and its strap securely attached to the barbell, but note that the right hand will have to do this on its own as it doesn’t get any help from your left hand, which is already attached to the bar.
Step 5
When you tighten up the right strap (i.e., when you make it so that it’s wrapped snugly around the bar), you may find that you have to allow the left strap to loosen just a bit so that both straps have the same amount of “snugness” against the bar. Once that’s done, you can rotate both hands to tighten up both straps.
Step 6
Even though you’re using straps, be sure to still use chalk and grab the bar tightly. No hook grip is needed (don’t attempt a mixed grip either).
As always, we hope this helps you get stronger and live better.
(Some links may be affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, Testify earns from qualifying purchases.)