Week 2021.10.25

/

The 2021 Testify Fall Classic is in the books! Lots of PRs were set, and many congratulations go out to everyone who stepped onto the platform to compete this past Saturday. Thank you to those of you who helped out at the meet – setup, teardown, judging, spotting, loading, scoring, announcing – without you, this meet wouldn’t be possible. Also, thank you to those who came out to support and cheer on the lifters – you all made it a fun day for the lifters on the platform.

This Week’s Conditioning

Option 1
Sled Pyramid – 4, 5, or 6 tiers
Go up and down a 4, 5, or 6 tier “sled pyramid” – rest as needed. The distance for each round is 80 m indoors (a down-back on the 40m course) or 200 ft outdoors (2 down-backs on the 50 ft course). Rest as needed.

For example, Bob does the following (4 tiers):
Round 1: Empty sled
Round 2: 25#
Round 3: 50#
Round 4: 75#
Round 5: 50#
Round 6: 25#
Round 7: Empty sled

Compare to 2021.08.23.

Option 2
Bike/row:
4 x 3 minutes

Rest 3 minutes between each round. Score = lowest distance.

Compare to 2021.08.02.

Option 3
Outdoors:
5-10 rounds:
10 sledgehammer strikes (5R, 5L)
50 yd farmer carry (25 yd down-back)
Rest 1 minute

Indoors:
5-10 rounds:
10 sledgehammer strikes (5R, 5L)
100 ft farmer carry (50 ft down-back)
Rest 1 minute

Compare to 2021.07.05.

Option 4
10 x 50 ft yoke carry
Each carry is 25 feet down and 25 feet back and is for time. Rest 1 minute between carries.

Compare to 2021.07.05.

Weightlifting vs Powerlifting vs Strengthlifting - What's the Difference?!

/

(A Blast from the Past article originally posted on 11/20/18)

“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 (and if you’d rather watch a quick video instead, scroll down to the end of this article!).

  • Powerlifting: This is the sport of the squat (i.e., 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 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 2021.10.18

/

Reminder: Please note that the gym will be closed for training this Saturday, 10/23/21, as we are hosting the annual Testify Fall Classic strengthlifting meet.

This Week’s Conditioning

Option 1
Sled
Outdoors:
10 rounds of:
Push sled 100 ft
Pull sled 100 ft (hand over hand)

Indoors:
20 rounds of:
Push sled 50 ft
Pull sled 50 ft (hand over hand)

Compare to 2021.08.16.

Option 2
Bike/row:
5 min on
4 min off
4 min on
3 min off
3 min on
2 min off
2 min on
1 min off
1 min on

Record distance for each interval and add for total distance.

Compare to 2021.07.26.

Option 3
5-10 rounds of:
30 sec ME tire flips
30 sec rest

Compare to 2021.06.28.

Option 4
For time:
500m row
5 x 80m sled push (200 ft if indoors)
500m row

Rest 1 minute after the first row and after each sled push.

Compare to 2021.06.28.

Static Friction, Kinetic Friction, and Your Training

/
IMG_7818.JPG

If you’ve been away from the gym for a week, a month, or even a year, and you’re struggling to start things up again, just nerd out for a second and let Physics be your muse. What do static friction and kinetic friction have to do with your training? Thank goodness - I thought you’d never ask.

Remember static friction and kinetic friction from your high school physics class? Right - I didn’t think so, so here’s a very quick physics lesson in 3 easy steps.

  1. Friction is a force that always resists motion between things in contact with each other - like a box and the floor it’s sitting upon. You try to slide the box forward - friction resists you by pushing backward. You try to push the box to the right - friction resists you by pushing left.

  2. Static friction is the friction between two objects at rest with respect to each other. If you’re pushing that box, but it’s not going anywhere just yet, that’s because of static friction. Static = no motion.

  3. Kinetic friction is the friction between two objects in motion with respect to each other. If you’re successfully pushing the box across the floor, kinetic friction is what’s making your job difficult. Kinetic = motion.

Here’s the last part: static friction is greater than kinetic friction . . . and you already know that from experience. You already know that getting that box moving is harder than just keeping it moving. If you’re pushing a heavy sled in the weight room, the last thing you want to do is let that sled stop moving because you know it’s harder to get it going again than it is to just keep it moving in the first place.

Likewise, overcoming the static friction created by a training layoff can be tough, but once you do, pushing through the kinetic friction of a regular training schedule is much easier. Translation? Just get in the gym that first time. Just get in that first workout. That’ll get things moving, and it’s much easier to keep things moving than to get them moving in the first place.

Go get that first session.

Week 2021.10.11

/

Reminder: Please note that the gym will be closed for training on Saturday, 10/23/21, as we are hosting the annual Testify Fall Classic strengthlifting meet.

This Week’s Conditioning

Option 1
Sled
Outdoors:
10-20 x 25 yds EMOM at a weight of your choice

Every minute, push the sled 25 yards, i.e., if pushing the sled takes 20 seconds, then you have 40 seconds to rest. Perform 10-20 rounds.

Indoors:
10-20 x 100 ft EMOM at a weight of your choice

Every minute, push the sled 100 feet, i.e., if pushing the sled takes 20 seconds, then you have 40 seconds to rest. Perform 10-20 rounds.

Compare to 2021.08.09

Option 2
5 rounds:
10 cal bike
1 min rest
4 sandbag-over-bars
1 min rest

Set the yoke crossmember at 35/33, and the weight is 150#/75#.

Compare to 2021.07.19.

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

Indoors:
5-10 rounds:
100 yd sled push (50 ft down-back)
100 yd farmer carry (50 ft down-back)
Rest 1 min

Compare to 2021.06.21.

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

Compare to 2021.06.21.

How to Unrack the Press: Use Your Legs!

/
Figure 1: Becky demonstrates how NOT to unrack the press.

Figure 1: Becky demonstrates how NOT to unrack the press.

A common problem with new lifters and the press is the act of unracking the press. They will often pick up the bar using their arms and their shoulders - in other words, they’re using their upper bodies to unrack the press, which is inefficient and difficult at heavy weights. Let’s fix this.

When you unrack the bar by incorrectly using your arms and shoulders, it looks like what Becky is demonstrating in Figure 1. Notice how she reaches out, grabs the bar with her arms, and tries to pull it back into position.

Also, note that she has her wrists in pretty severe extension (i.e., they are bent backwards), which we don’t want, and her elbows are behind the bar, which we don’t want either. In addition, it’s simply difficult to pick up a heavy press in this manner.

If this was actually a heavy weight instead of the empty bar, Becky might not be able to unrack it at all in this manner, and even if she did, she’d be in a weak position from which to start pressing.

Remember: When you unrack a press, you unrack it with your legs. 

Use the following steps:

1. Take your grip. (Figure 2a)

2. Walk right up the bar - your chest may actually touch the bar. (Figure 2b)

Figure 2a (left) and Figure 2b (right)

Figure 2a (left) and Figure 2b (right)

3. Squat down far enough that your elbows are slightly in front of the bar and you’ve got relatively straight wrists. (Figure 3a)

4. Stand the bar up with your legs. (Figure 3b)

Figure 3a (left) and Figure 3b (right)

Figure 3a (left) and Figure 3b (right)

Figure 4

Figure 4

5. Step back and establish your stance. (Figure 4)

Remember - unrack the press with your legs. 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?

click here to start today