Week 2018.12.24

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Events: To see upcoming events, please select the "Events" option in our menu or simply click here.

Reminder: As Christmas and the New Year are coming soon, here are the hours for the holidays (you can also find them under the "About > Hours" option in the menu):

Christmas Week (2018)
Monday, 12/24/18: Closed
Tuesday, 12/25/18: Closed
Wednesday, 12/26/18: Regular hours

New Year's Week (2018-2019)
Monday, 12/31/18: Regular morning hours; closed in the afternoon/evening
Tuesday, 01/01/19: Closed
Wednesday, 01/02/19: Regular hours

This Week's Conditioning

Week 2018.12.17

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Events: To see upcoming events, please select the "Events" option in our menu or simply click here.

Reminder: As Christmas and the New Year are coming soon, here are the hours for the holidays (you can also find them under the "About > Hours" option in the menu):

Christmas Week (2018)
Monday, 12/24/18: Closed
Tuesday, 12/25/18: Closed
Wednesday, 12/26/18: Regular hours

New Year's Week (2018-2019)
Monday, 12/31/18: Regular morning hours; closed in the afternoon/evening
Tuesday, 01/01/19: Closed
Wednesday, 01/02/19: Regular hours

This Week's Conditioning

Week 2018.12.03

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The 3rd annual Testify Christmas Classic weightlifting meet is in the books, and it was a great meet! As always, a huge thank you goes out to all of the referees, loaders, officials, and those who helped set up and tear down – we could not have done this meet without you. Thank you so much!

  • 2019 Testify Leprechaun Lift-off Weightlifting Meet
    • Date: Saturday, 03/02/19
    • Location: Concordia High School (click here for map) - practice gym
    • Registration: Click here (registration is online only).
    • Registration Deadline: Regular registration ends on 02/09/19, so register soon to save some money and get that shirt! In addition, we completely filled up for all of our weightlifting meets in 2018 and had to turn some people alway, so again, please register soon to reserve your spot.
    • Other Information: If you’re interested in helping, please let Phil or Barb know – we would love to have the extra help!

  • 2019 Omaha Strengthlifting Challenge
    • Date: Saturday, 04/13/19
    • Location: Concordia High School (click here for map) - practice gym
    • Registration: Click here (registration is online only).
    • Registration Deadline: Early registration ends on 02/23/19, so register soon to save some money and get that shirt!
    • Other Information: If you’re interested in helping, please let Phil or Barb know – we would love to have the extra help!

  • 2019 Testify Barbell MAYhem Weightlifting Meet
    • Date: Saturday, 05/11/19
    • Location: Concordia High School (click here for map) - practice gym
    • Registration: Click here (registration is online only).
    • Registration Deadline: Regular registration ends on 04/20/19, so register soon to save some money and get that shirt! In addition, we completely filled up for all of our weightlifting meets in 2018 and had to turn some people alway, so again, please register soon to reserve your spot.
    • Other Information: If you’re interested in helping, please let Phil or Barb know – we would love to have the extra help!

This Week's Conditioning

Lifters' Corner: Antonio and the Deadlift

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Do you know about the Italian physician and anatomist Antonio Maria Valsalva (1666 - 1723)? Probably not, and that’s O.K., but every time you lift, you perform a maneuver - the Valsalva maneuver - that is named after him. To Valsalva is to hold your breath against a closed glottis, or perhaps more simply, to take a big breath and “bear down.”

You Valsalva instinctively when you are trying to push a stalled or stuck car, you Valsalva when you’re constipated and trying to poop, and fighter pilots Valsalva as part of their Anti-G Straining Maneuvers (AGSMs), which are performed to avoid passing out when subjected to high G-forces in the cockpit.

Now, let’s chat about the Valsalva maneuver and the deadlift.

You’ve been coached on the setup for the deadlift, so you’ve got the 5 steps down pat:

  • Stance - take a relatively narrow stance with your shins about 1” from the bar.

  • Grip - take a narrow grip on the bar (DO NOT MOVE THE BAR).

  • Shins - bend your knees to bring your shins into contact with the bar (DO NOT MOVE THE BAR).

  • Chest - squeeze your chest up to set your back in rigid extension (DO NOT MOVE THE BAR).

  • Pull - drag the bar up your legs.

Most people will Valsalva right before (or during the process of) squeezing the chest up. Excellent. They will usually hold that Valsalva all the way up to the top of the lift - the lockout. Excellent again.

And right here - right at the top - this is where we tend to see a hiccup in the process. Some lifters (especially newer lifters) have a tendency to release their Valsalva at the top of the deadlift, i.e., they blow out their breath at the top. If you are one of these lifters - if you tend to release your breath at this point of the deadlift - there is only one thing to do.

Stop. That. Now.

The Valsalva, the holding of your breath against a closed glottis and with tightly contracted abs - provides stability to the lift. Put simply, breath is stability, and stability is a wonderful thing to have when pulling heavy weights off the floor and setting them back down again.

So, if you tend to release your breath at the top of your deadlift, work on fixing it. Specifically, start by focusing on keeping your Valsalva while warming up the deadlift. The weight is lighter at this point, so you can spare some extra mental energy for this endeavor. Breath only when the bar is on the floor - not while loaded.

And be sure to thank Antonio the next time you complete a successful set of deadlifts.