The Bench Press: You're Forgetting to Do This - Part 3

/ Testify Strength & Conditioning/

You’re all set to bench - your grip is pronated, your shoulder blades are pinched back, and you’re driving with your legs, but you’re still forgetting one thing . . .

Jeremiah correctly fixes his gaze at a point on the ceiling.

Find your focal point.

After you’ve unracked the barbell but before starting the first rep, find a point directly above you on the ceiling and stare at that point. You now have created a “sight picture” as you can still see the barbell in your periphery even while staring at the ceiling. You’re going to recreate this picture at the end of each rep, so remind yourself that the bar needs to finish in this exact same position every single time.

Then, simply stare at that focal point during each rep and even between reps - there’s no need to introduce unnecessary variability into your benching by having to re-find the focal point before each rep, so just keep looking at it like you do in the squat (watch the included video).

Having a stationary reference point makes for a more consistent and efficient bar path, and it makes for better balance as well (we don’t watch the bar since it’s a moving reference point).

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

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Week 2022.05.23

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Reminder: In observance of Memorial Day (Monday, 05/30/22), we will be open for training during our usual morning hours (5:00 a.m. - 9:30 a.m.) that day, but we will be closed that afternoon and evening.

This Week’s Conditioning

Option 1
“Prowler Base”
1. Load up a manageable weight.
2. Sprint 40m at 85% intensity.
3. Rest until breathing and heart rate slow down. (45 sec – 2 min)
4. Repeat 5-15 times.

Courtesy of “Death by Prowler” (on Starting Strength).

Compare to 2022.03.21.

Option 2
Bike/row:
8 x 30 sec on/2:00 off

Score = least distance covered in any 30 second interval

Compare to 2022.02.28.

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 2022.01.31.

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

Compare to 2022.01.31.

The Squat: Are You Making This Mistake?

/ Testify Strength & Conditioning/

Are you trying to arch your back when you squat? Knock that off. We don’t want a soft, rounded back when squatting, of course, but we also don’t want the opposite of that - an arched back, i.e., an overextended back.

Figure 1: What a fool . . . even Parker can see that, and Milo can’t bear to watch.

If a lifter has this problem, it often shows up right at the beginning of the descent. So, if you look like you’re about to twerk when you initiate your squat, pay attention.

We want a straight, rigid back when we squat; again, rounded is no good, but neither is overextended, and that’s the problem we’re addressing here (see Figure 1).

Overextension of the back is neither a comfortable nor a strong position in which to support a heavy barbell on your back. If you’re overextending your back when squatting (watch one of the included videos for a demonstration), remind yourself to clamp down on your abs extremely hard (i.e., contract your abs as hard as you can) before you start the rep and then keep them tightly contracted throughout the entire rep.

If that reminder doesn’t work, you can try overcueing yourself by telling yourself to “round your back” slightly while squatting. Be careful with this cue - we DO NOT actually want a rounded back, but if you are overextending your back, then overcueing with this exaggerated mental picture may be just what you need to achieve the straight back that we actually do want.

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.

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Click here to start today

Week 2022.05.16

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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 2022.03.14.

Option 2
Bike/row:
4 x 800m

Rest 3 minutes between each round. Score = slowest time.

Compare to 2022.02.21.

Option 3
1st: 5 x 50 ft seated sled pull. Add weight each round. Rest as needed.
2nd: 5 x 100 ft duck walk. Add weight each round. Rest as needed.

Compare to 2022.01.24.

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

Indoors
4 rounds:
100 ft farmer carry
100 ft sled drag
Rest 2 min

Compare to 2022.01.24.

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

The Hook Grip - Some Clarifications

/ Testify Strength & Conditioning/

(A Blast from the Past article originally posted on 11/18/19)

We discussed the rationale for using the hook grip quite a while ago, and in light of a few recent conversations, I thought a few clarifications might be in order.

When do I use the hook grip?
Use the hook grip when pulling a barbell from the floor. Specifically, use the hook grip for cleans, snatches, and heavy deadlifts. I suppose you could use the hook grip for rows as well, but I’d probably recommend that if your row requires a hook grip, simply use straps instead and save your thumbs for your other pulls from the floor.

Don’t hook your presses, i.e., don’t use the hook grip anytime you are pushing a barbell - this includes bench presses (regular, close grip, incline, etc.), presses, jerks, and push presses. This is just silly, and your friends will give you no end of grief for doing so. You only perform the hook grip when the wrist is in tension, and this means that you only hook pulling movements, movements where - if the weight is heavy enough - your grip might fail.

Does the hook grip always hurt?
Yes. And no.

Yes, because of course there is quite a bit of pressure on your thumb, and at first, you will find this to be quite . . . uncomfortable. If you feel like screaming like a 3-year-old at the end of your deadlift work set, congratulations, you’re among friends.

No, because eventually you won’t notice the discomfort nearly as much as you do at first, and more importantly, you will stop caring. You are a lifter, and you’ll have more important things to complain about, such as having to unload all the plates from your massively heavy deadlift that you just pulled . . . because you used the hook grip. Everyone who uses it adapts to it, and you are not a special snowflake. Yes, you.

Why does the hook grip work so well?
When taking a normal, double-overhand grip (i.e., without the hook) on the bar, you’ll notice that you have four fingers on one side of the bar and only one finger (your thumb) on the other side of the bar. It is the thumb that fails you when the load gets heavy - it leads a lonely existence on that side of the bar, and it doesn’t have any friends to help.

The hook grip remedies this situation by allowing the other fingers (primarily the middle finger) to help the thumb maintain its purchase on the bar. I suspect that the thumb also starts to fail in the non-hooked grip due to the angle of attack it has on the bar - note its somewhat “from-the-side” approach to gripping the bar compared to the other fingers’ perpendicular approach to the bar - but I haven’t given this enough thought just yet. Nonetheless, suspicions abound.

Now you know, and in time, I think you’ll be hooked on this grip.

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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.

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Week 2022.05.09

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We hosted the annual Testify Barbell MAYhem this past weekend, and it was a great success! We are immensely thankful to everyone who helped out - loaders, referees, table officials, those who helped setup and tear down - we could not have hosted this meet without you all!

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 2022.03.07.

Option 2
Bike/row:
4 x 3 minutes

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

Compare to 2022.02.14.

Option 3
1. Work up to a heavy single on the axle clean-and-press (i.e., ground to overhead).
2. 5 x 100 ft Zercher carry (50 ft down-back). Add weight each round. Rest as needed.

Compare to 2022.01.17.

Option 4
Outdoors:
5 rounds:
15 cal row
50 yd sled push, 100#/50#

Indoors:
5 rounds:
15 cal row
100 ft sled push, 250#/125#

Push sled slow for recovery. Score is slowest row.

Compare to 2022.01.17.

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