10 Simple Tips to Improve Your Weight Lifting

Phil breaks down a quick yet comprehensive list of 10 things you need to know, do, or have when training.


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Fast and Easy Barbell Math Tricks to Save You from Misloading the Barbell!

Don't misload your barbell! Thought you set a PR only to discover the weight on the bar was wrong? Here are two quick and easy methods to see right away if you've loaded the wrong weight on the bar.

(A Blast from the Past video originally published on 04/11/22)


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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.


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Get Stronger . . . Faster! Save Time at the Gym!

You want to get stronger, but you don't have all day to spend at the gym. In just over two minutes, Phil discusses and demonstrates how to productively train while still saving time at the gym.

(A Blast from the Past video originally published on 04/09/22)


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Use THIS CUE to PR Your Lifts!

Looking for a cue to help improve all of your lifts? Try this one out:

“Speed.”

Admittedly, it’s not a very technical cue, but it can be very useful for heavy singles, heavy doubles, and even the last rep of a set of five. Why is “speed” a useful cue?

Reason #1:
It’s a productive cue for two reasons; one - when you hear or think “speed,” it reminds you to try to make the bar move fast. Granted, with a heavy single or the last rep of a challenging set, you won’t actually be able to make the bar move quickly, but when you cue “speed,” you will simply push (or pull) a bit harder in an effort to make it move faster.

In short, you’ll try harder. If that seems a bit anticlimactic to you, no worries - the key is that it often works very well.

Reason #2:
The second reason I like the cue “speed” is that it changes your mental approach when performing a heavy single or double. At these weights, you might not know if you’re going to successfully complete the rep(s), but when you think “speed,” your thoughts tend to shift from “Will I get it or won’t I get it?” to “Can I move it fast or can’t I move it fast?”

Jason squats 170 kg (375 lb) for his third attempt.

In other words, the possibility of missing the rep is no longer front and center in your mind since you’re focused on trying to make the bar move faster. As a result, you tend to have a more aggressive approach to the rep, and this is always useful.

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

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Loading Plates: Numbers In or Numbers Out?

When we load plates on the bar or on the weight tree, which way should the numbers face, and why does it even matter?

(A Blast from the Past video originally published on 03/26/22)


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