Lifters' Corner: Training on the Road

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(reposted from our May 2018 newsletter)

As the season of summer vacations is upon us, some of you may be traveling a bit more frequently. With travel comes the opportunity . . . or the curse . . . of training in other gyms around the country (or perhaps the world!). Here are a couple of tips that might help your training experience - wherever you might end up lifting:

  • Check in advance if the gym you'll be using has chalk. If so, great - you've found a rare gem. If not, bring some of you own in a little plastic bag (talk to us if you need some!).
  • Try to avoid squatting or pressing front of a mirror. Squatting isn't usually too bad as you'll be looking down anyway, but pressing in front of a mirror can be extremely distracting. Besides, mirrors are for curls and sculpting your guns.
  • It is highly likely that someone will come over to you and offer you advice. Say "thank you" and then proceed to ignore them . . . especially if they tell you to look up when squatting. Neanderthals.
  • Try to avoid laughing too obviously at the nonsense you see. Seriously. You will be astounded.
  • Your lifting belt will pack up quite nicely if you outline the inside of your suitcase/bag with it.
  • Your gym might not have bumper plates, which can pose a problem if you deadlift less than 135 lbs. No worries - you can use smaller plates on the bar to get the correct weight and simply create stacks on each side of the bar to raise the bar to approximately the right height (you can use other plates or even mats for this).
  • In general, prepare yourself for the likelihood of training in sub-optimal conditions with sub-optimal gear. It's ok. You can adapt to the situation, reduce the weight if necessary, and you can still have a productive training session. Most importantly, you are still training.

Lifters' Corner: The Hook Grip

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(reposted from our April 2018 newsletter)

If you are relatively new to lifting, you might wonder why we employ the use of the hook grip when we deadlift . . . let's chat.

Eventually, as you continue to train and get stronger, there will come a point when grip strength becomes the limiting factor on your deadlift. In other words, you could probably pull the bar off the floor if you could just manage to hang on to the stupid thing. At this point, an adjustment must be made to the grip so that we can continue to train and strengthen the legs, hips, and back.

Traditionally, people have often utilized a grip wherein one arm is pronated (i.e., palm down) and the other arm is supinated (i.e., palm up) - this is commonly referred to as a mixed grip, alternate grip, or switch grip. This grip is very strong, but it is also asymmetrical, and this asymmetry can cause a few problems, including twisting during the lift as well as aggravation of the tendons in the supinated arm. Bicep ruptures - although rare - have been known to occur with this type of grip (to be fair it should also be pointed out that this typically results from a lifter trying to jerk the bar off the floor with a slightly flexed arm - a bad idea under any circumstance).

To avoid this asymmetry, we utilize the hook grip. It is typically uncomfortable, but it is strong, it is safe, and you will be a better person for having used it. It's science. With this in mind, those who can hook . . . should hook, and that probably means you.

Hope this helps!

Lifters' Corner: Notation

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(reposted from our March 2018 newsletter)

You train - you don't exercise. And because you train, you keep a training journal. You record your warm-ups and your work sets, but one thing that keeps tripping you up is the notation. You can never remember which comes first . . . sets? Reps? Weights?

Let's talk a bit about this. Generally, there are two methods of notating your training: "sets x reps" and "weight x reps x sets." Thus, if your program calls for you to squat 3 sets of 5 reps, you'll probably see "3 x 5" in your program, and when you record your work sets in your journal, you'll write "165 x 5 x 3" (if you squatted 165 lbs, for example).

You'll notice that the order of "reps" vs "sets" gets reversed in the two methods, and this is what throws people off. With that in mind, allow me to suggest a rule that might help you keep things straight: Reps are always second.

For example, if you see "4 x 6," you'll know that it means 4 sets of 6 reps since 6 is the second number, and reps are always second. Likewise, if you write "145 x 6 x 4" for your squat workout, you're indicating that you squatted 145 for 4 sets of 6 reps since - again - 6 is the second number, and . . . reps are always second. In this case, you call on your grade school skills and use context clues to determine that 145 lbs must be the weight and 4 must be the number of sets . . . since squatting 4 lbs for 145 sets is just plain ridiculous.

Hope this helps!

Lifters' Corner: Barbell Sports

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(reposted from our February 2018 newsletter)

“What’s the deal with all of these lifting sports?  I can’t keep them straight!”

No worries - let’s take a quick look at the three major sports of the barbell world.

  • Powerlifting: This is the sport of the back squat, bench press, and the deadlift. Each lifter gets 3 attempts on the squat, 3 attempts on the bench press, and 3 attempts on the deadlift.  Take your best attempt from each lift, add them together, and you have what is known as your total.

  • Strengthlifting: This is the sport of the back squat, the press, and the deadlift.  It is similar to powerlifting, but there are several notable differences:

    • The press (i.e., overhead press) is contested, not the bench press.

    • The deadlift is conventional, which means your hands go outside of your legs.  This is how we teach the deadlift anyway, so it’s not unusual to you, but at powerlifting meets, a beast known as the sumo deadlift often makes an appearance (wherein the stance is very wide and the grip is fairly narrow - inside the stance).

    • The judges simply tell you whether or not the lift counted, whereas in powerlifting, the judges are a bit more involved.

  • Weightlifting: This is the sport of the snatch and the clean-and-jerk. Like the other two sports, each lifter gets 3 attempts on each of the lifts, and once again, we add the best successful lifts together to get a total.

    • Weightlifting is also known as “olympic weightlifting” or simply “olympic lifting.”

    • If you’ve ever watched lifting during the Summer Olympics, this is the sport you witnessed.

Week 2018.11.19

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As a reminder, with Thanksgiving coming up, here are the hours for Wednesday - Saturday of this week:
Wednesday, 11/21/18: Regular hours
Thursday, 11/22/18: Closed
Friday, 11/23/18: 7:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m.
Saturday, 11/24/18: Regular hours

  • 3rd annual Testify Christmas Classic Weightlifting Meet
    • Date: Saturday, 12/01/18
    • Location: Concordia High School (click here for map) - practice gym
    • Registration: We are completely full for this meet, so registration is closed, but please come on out and support your fellow lifters!
    • Other Information: If you’re interested in helping, please let Phil or Barb know – we would love to have the extra help! Also, not competing but still want to order a shirt? Click here if you’re a member of Testify Strength & Conditioning - the deadline to order is this Wednesday (11/14/18).

  • 3rd annual Testify Christmas Party
    • Date: Saturday, 12/01/18 (after the meet - roughly 6:30 p.m.)
    • Location: Testify Strength & Conditioning
    • Theme: Ugly Christmas Sweater, of course!
    • Other Information: We'll provide plates, cutlery, napkins, and cups, and there is a sign-up sheet you can fill out by clicking here to bring either a main dish, side dish, or a dessert.  Beyond that, it's BYOB, and we'll see you there!

This Week's Conditioning

Option 4
Row 10 x 100m
Rest 1 min between sprints. Your score is your slowest time.

Compare to 2018.09.17.

Week 2018.11.12

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Announcement: With Thanksgiving around the corner, here are the hours for that holiday week:
Wednesday, 11/21/18: Regular hours
Thursday, 11/22/18: Closed
Friday, 11/23/18: 7:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m.
Saturday, 11/24/18: Regular hours

  • 3rd annual Testify Christmas Classic Weightlifting Meet
    • Date: Saturday, 12/01/18
    • Location: Concordia High School (click here for map) - practice gym
    • Registration: Click here (registration is online only).
    • Registration Deadline: Registration ends 11/24/18, and we've reached our registration cap the last few meets, so register soon!
    • Other Information: If you’re interested in helping, please let Phil or Barb know – we would love to have the extra help! Also, not competing but still want to order a shirt? Click here if you’re a member of Testify Strength & Conditioning - the deadline to order is this Wednesday (11/14/18).

  • 3rd annual Testify Christmas Party
    • Date: Saturday, 12/01/18 (after the meet)
    • Location: Testify Strength & Conditioning
    • Theme: Ugly Christmas Sweater, of course!
    • Other Information: We'll provide plates, cutlery, napkins, and cups, and there is a sign-up sheet you can fill out by clicking here to bring either a main dish, side dish, or a dessert.  Beyond that, it's BYOB, and we'll see you there!

This Week's Conditioning

Option 3
5-10 rounds:
50 yd sled push (25 yd down-back)
50 yd farmer carry (25 yd down-back)
Rest 1 min

Compare to 2018.10.01.

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

Compare to 2018.09.10.