Should I Train When I'm Sick?

When you've got a cold, should you train? What about the flu? What about when your insides want to be on your outsides? Starting Strength Coach Phil Meggers breaks it down.

(A Blast from the Past video originally published on 03/06/23)

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.

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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?

Do This . . . NOT This: Lifting Etiquette

(A Blast from the Past article originally posted on 06/25/21)

Discussing lifting etiquette may not be particularly exciting, but if you’ve ever received a bad hand-off on a bench press or had someone stand right in your line of sight on a press, you already know it’s important, so let’s briefly cover a few key points: 

Gentle hand-off on the bench press
If you’re spotting someone on the bench press, be smart, and be kind. Provide just enough assistance on the hand-off to help the lifter guide the barbell into place over the shoulders, but don’t provide any more assistance than that. Too many spotters lift up too hard and ruin the lifter’s setup in the process.

This . . . is NOT how a spotter performs a good hand-off.

“Working in” with another lifter
It is perfectly normal to share a bar, rack, and/or platform with another lifter (and it makes lifting more fun as well). If you lifted in high school or college, you’re already used to this, but this might be a new concept for those who started lifting later in life. For the squat or press, this situation tends to work best if the lifters are somewhat close in height (set the pins for the shorter partner as the taller partner can always get lower to unrack the bar), but pretty much everyone can bench with someone else, and this is certainly true for floor pulls like snatches, cleans, rows, and deadlifts as well - especially if there’s a deadlift jack available.

Not sure how to break the ice with another lifter? Just walk on up and say, “Can I work in with you, bro?”

Don’t coach someone else
Just don’t. It’s a bad idea. It’s all sorts of a bad idea.

Get out da way
It’s ludacris to stand in the way of a lifter’s focal point, so don’t position yourself directly in a lifter’s line of sight if you can avoid it. This is not a big deal on most warm-ups, but it is rather important on work sets. If you’re about to walk by or are about to lift directly across from Bob, who’s performing his work sets of press, simply wait until he finishes the set, and then go about your life.

This . . . is NOT the greatest place to stand while someone is pressing.

Brush the chalk off your bar
You use chalk when you lift because you have a brain, and due to this brain, you also probably realize that chalk absorbs moisture (which is why you use it). Because of this, you’ll always want to brush the chalk off of your barbell when you’re finished lifting to help prevent rust formation.

Put your equipment away
. . . or you owe the gym a dozen donuts . . . at least if you train with us at Testify. It should go without saying that you should put the equipment back where you found it (benches, barbells, weights, collars, etc.), but sometimes, it still needs to be said.

Wipe down your bench when you’re finished
Simply spray a rag or paper towel with whatever cleaner your gym uses and quickly wipe down the top surface of your bench. By doing so, you’ve ensured that no one else is subjected to the salty remnant of your sweaty backside.

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?

This Simple Tactic Fixed His Squat & Deadlift in One Rep

How can a cue actually help improve every lift?

Let’s dive in.

What Aspect of a Lift Does This Cue Help?
Today’s cue is useful at the beginning of the lift. It can be used over a broad range of lifts - from squats to deadlifts to bench presses to snatches - but it is specifically useful to address technical issues present at the start of the lift.

figure 1: becky demonstrates the error of breaking at the hips before before the knees at the start of the squat.

Here are a few examples of when today’s cue could be useful:

• In the squat, you tend to break (i.e., bend) at the hips before the knees as you start your descent (Figure 1) instead of bending the hips and knees simultaneously.

• In the deadlift, you try to yank or jerk the barbell off the floor (which causes all manner of problems).

• In the bench press, you pop your shoulders and the bar slightly upward before starting each rep’s descent.

• In the press, you “wind up your hips” and reach backward with your hips before pushing them forward at the start of the rep.

• In the snatch, you have the same problem as in the deadlift, and you try to yank the bar off the floor (instead of accelerating it smoothly).

The Solution
The cue is simply “Smooth start.”

As with many solutions, this may seem a bit underwhelming, but the execution of it is both important and potentially profound in terms of its impact on your lifting, so let’s discuss how this applies to the errors above.

figure 2: becky correctly bends the hips and knees simultaneously as she starts her descent.

• Squat: Cueing “smooth start” or even “slow start” allows you to focus on simultaneously bending both the knees and hips as you initiate the descent (Figure 2). Remember that this is a cue for the first few inches of the lift’s movement, and that’s where this simultaneous movement needs to happen in the squat.

• Deadlift: You now are focused on pulling smoothly and not trying to yank the bar off the floor. This allows you to keep your back rigid and pull in a nice, vertical path.

• Bench Press: The error of “popping” the shoulders up before starting the descent tends to be a quick movement, so cueing “smooth start” helps eliminate this bench press twitch.

• Press: “Slow start” can again be a useful variation of the “smooth start” cue as both cues will tend to slow you down a bit at the start, and this allows you to focus on only pushing the hips forward (and thus not allowing them to move back).

• Snatch: As with the deadlift, cueing “smooth start” encourages you to gradually accelerate the bar at the start of the pull instead of jerking the bar off the floor. The “slow start” variation of today’s cue can work when learning how to snatch and clean, but this cue usually needs to be abandoned as the weights get heavier, whereas “smooth start” remains useful at all weights.

Be sure to watch the included video (click here or scroll up) to see this cue in action, and 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?

5 WORST Breathing & Bracing Mistakes Lifters Don't Know They Are Making

(A Blast from the Past article originally posted on 08/04/23)

You’re focused, you’re feeling strong, and you are totally ready for today’s PR squat attempt. Today is your day, bro. You are completely dialed in.

It’s too bad you breathe like a doofus when you lift.

What’s that? That ain’t you? You’re just reading for a friend? Whatever the case, let’s get to it. There are a few mistakes commonly seen when it comes to breathing and bracing correctly (i.e., performing the Valsalva maneuver) when lifting. Let’s take a look at them and fix them fast.

1. Breathing in on the descent and out on the ascent
This flashback-to-the-80s error is less pervasive than it used to be, but it’s still all too common. Remember - if the bar is moving, you’re not breathing.

Breath is support, and we like support when lifting heavy weights, so simply take a breath in before the start of the lift, hold that breath with tightly contracted abs (and the rest of your trunk) throughout the rep, and then exhale only when the bar is back where it started.

2. Holding your breath with puffed cheeks
When you perform the Valsalva maneuver, you hold your breath against a closed glottis, not against your lips with your cheeks puffed out. Don’t know what a glottis is? Not a problem, simply say the word “hick” and hold the “ck” position with your mouth at the end - you’ll be holding your breath against a closed glottis.

You can correctly perform the Valsalva maneuver with an open or closed mouth, so to see if you’re doing it correctly (and not holding your breath against your lips), try performing the Valsalva maneuver with your mouth open the next time you lift.

3. Letting out your breath at the top of your deadlift
Just don’t. Remember - breath is support, and you’re still supporting the barbell at the top of the pull. Wait the extra half second it takes to lower the bar and then release your breath when the bar is back on the floor where it started. This can be a hard habit to break for some, so practice it during the warm-ups when the weight is light.

4. Pushing your belly out into your belt
Nope. You get tight and rigid before starting a rep in the exact same manner whether or not you’re wearing a belt. Among other things, the belt provides a great tactile reminder of the need to contract the muscles of your midsection - you can feel your abs tense against the belt - but don’t try to actively shove your belly outward into the belt. Simply tense up like you’re going to take a punch to the gut, and you’ll be doing just fine.

5. Too many breaths between reps
This error usually shows up on the squat or the deadlift. The brief moment between reps provides a tiny respite before the next rep, but you waste energy if you spend more time in that position than you have to. The best resting position is that chair you’re going to sit on when you’re done with the last rep, so finish the rep, take a breath, and then start the next rep.

As you get deeper into the set - say rep 4 or 5 - you might need another breath or two, but try to keep it to a minimum. The “deadlift dry heaves” - where you spend too much time and take 5 or 6 breaths between reps - are all too common, and they exhaust you before you even start the next rep. Get the set done.

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?

Do These FOUR Things When Starting Strength Gets Hard... (plus 3 bonus tips)

What do you do when Starting Strength gets hard?

Specifically, we’re discussing the Starting Strength Novice Linear Progression, but this advice applies generally to people at all stages of their lifting careers.

The Situation
You’re a couple of months into the linear progression, and lifting has gotten challenging indeed. You finish your first work set of squats, and you’re flabbergasted, “Son of a gun, that set was significantly harder than I expected it to be!”

In this situation, what do you do?

3 Bonus Tips First
First, make sure you’ve taken care of “The First Three Questions.” You can go more in depth and read Mark Rippetoe’s article on this topic by clicking here, but in brief, you need to make sure you’re doing the following:

1. Resting an intelligent amount of time

   • Are you resting 2-3 minutes between work sets? Don’t do that. You need to rest a sufficient amount of time between work sets, and for a hard-working lifter like yourself, 2-3 minutes is ridiculously too short of a rest period.

2. Making intelligently-sized jumps regarding the load on the bar

   • If you’re a few months into your linear progression and you’re still trying to add 10 lb to your squat and deadlift each session, and you’re still trying to add 5 lb to your press and bench each session, you’re going to have problems. Make smaller jumps, e.g., 5 lb on the squat and deadlift and 2.5 lb on the press and bench.

3. Taking care of your recovery

   • In short, make sure you’re sleeping and eating enough.

Assuming you’ve taken care of these issues, there are four things to do when the novice linear progression gets hard.

#1: Check your book.
Take a second look at your training log - you may have read it incorrectly. Perhaps you were supposed to squat 205 lb today and you mistakenly thought you were supposed to squat 215 lb (and thus you loaded the barbell 10 lb too heavy). Perhaps you were supposed to press 75 lb, but you accidentally loaded up your bench press weight and tried to press that (it happens frequently).

Check your book and make sure that what you intended to lift today is actually what’s on the bar.

#2: Check your bar math.
Maybe you meant to load 145 lb, but you accidentally put a 10 lb plate on each side instead of a 5 lb plate, thus ending up with 155 lb. If 145 lb was already going to be tough, then 155 lb will be a problem indeed.

If you tend to make loading errors and are doubting your math, ask your training partner (or someone else in the gym) to tell you what’s on the bar once it’s loaded. If their answer matches your plan, then you’re probably good to go.

#3: Check your bar symmetry.
In other words, make sure the left side of the bar is loaded the same as the right side of the bar. If you meant to load 155 lb, and you put a 45 lb plate and a 10 lb plate on one side, but you accidentally only put a 45 lb plate on the other side (i.e., you forgot the 10 lb plate), this makes the load asymmetrical, which makes for a tougher set.

Ideally, you’d check these three items before starting your work sets, but at the very least, be sure to check them when things are harder than expected. You might be surprised how often one of these three errors is the culprit.

#4: What if #1, 2, and 3 aren’t the problem?
In this case, check the calendar. If the day of the week ends in the letter “y,” then you simply move on and do the next set.

It’s challenging and it’s hard, but then again, it’s supposed to be hard. This is how you make progress.

In Mark Rippetoe’s words, “Easy doesn’t work.”

It will still be hard two months from now - your 205 lb squat in a month or two will be about as hard as your 135 lb squat was today, but because you can now squat 205 lb, your old 135 lb squat is now just an easy warm-up because You. Got. Stronger.

When I find myself in a situation like this, it also helps me to remember that this is a first world problem. I have food in my belly, I have a place to sleep at night, and training is a privilege. Keeping that in mind certainly helps provide perspective.

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?

Everything You Need to Know About Lifting Belts . . . QUICK!

(A Blast from the Past article originally posted on 07/14/23)

Today’s topic is a quick dive into lifting belts - specifically, the four Ws of belts: width, when, where, and what. We covered how to efficiently and quickly put on your belt in another article about a month back, so feel free to click here to read that article or watch the associated videos.

Width
If you can get your back set in rigid and flat extension on the deadlift using a 4” belt (i.e., the belt is 4” wide), then go ahead and get a 4” belt. If you can’t, then you probably need to go with a 3” belt. It’s possible that you need a 2.5” belt, but 3” and 4” are the most common widths.

When
When should you put your belt on? A good rule of thumb is to put your belt on for your last warm-up set and then wear it for all of your work sets as well. Time and experience will help you decide if you want to eventually take a different approach, but this is a good guide to start with. I recommend taking your belt off (or at least loosening it) between sets.

Where
Where should you place your belt? You can start by centering it on your belly button as a rough guideline, but the most important landmarks are your hips and your ribs. The belt should sit between your hips and your ribs, and it’s the space between these two regions that will largely determine your choice of a 3” or a 4” belt. It’s worth noting that you especially do not want your belt running into your ribs. It makes for a memorable - and uncomfortable - experience.

What
What do you do once your belt is on? Take a big breath, hold that breath with tightly contracted abs (i.e., Valsalva maneuver), and then perform the lift (watch the video on breathing and bracing). Release your breath only after the rep is completed - remember that if the bar is moving, you’re not breathing.

Don’t complicate the breathing, and don’t try to push your belly out against the belt. Simply take a breath, hold it, tighten your abs as if you’re about to take a punch or as if you’re constipated, and then continue holding that breath throughout the entire rep. You can do this with either a closed mouth or an open mouth - you shouldn’t be holding your breath against your lips with puffed out cheeks. Instead, you hold your breath against a closed glottis, which is located in your throat. Say the word “hick” out loud and hold the “ck” sound at the end - that’s how you do it.

Need to Buy a Belt? Watch This First.
If you’re getting ready to buy a lifting belt, I’d recommend watching the included video here to get a good sense of what to look for when purchasing one. You’ll also find some links below to a few belts we recommend to our members.

Belts
My belt is from Best Belts and I’d love to recommend them to you, but they’ve closed up shop, so with that in mind, here are the belt options we typically recommend:

• Pioneer Cut Leather Powerlifting Prong Belt 10mm

• Pioneer 10mm Lever Powerlifting Belt PAL V2 (if you’re looking for a lever belt)

• Dominion Strength Training Leather Weight Lifting Belt - 3 inch wide x 10 mm thick

• Dominion Strength Training Leather Weight Lifting Belt - 4 inch wide x 10 mm thick

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?