The Testify News - May 8, 2023
/THIS WEEK’S QUESTION
From our video Do This for a BIGGER Squat! | How to Pause Squat (and Why!) (click the title to watch):
spunk j
Why do you recommend to point your chest to the floor? I’ve always been told to keep your chest open and look up to help keep your posture/not to lose your form.
Phil
You do indeed want to keep your back straight, so the idea of keeping the chest "open" as you mentioned is useful. But the key is that the back should be straight and rigid - not vertical. It will be vertical at the beginning and the end of the squat of course, but it will take on a variety of angles during the movement. Pointing the chest at the floor allows us to use our muscle mass more effectively (forces the hips to reach back) and also makes it easier to achieve depth. Below are a few videos and an article that cover and explain this further (as well as the problem of looking up when one squats):
The ONE Thing Fitness Magazines WON'T Tell You About the Squat
https://youtu.be/qWb-onZhxvw
Squat: Fix Your AWFUL BACK!
https://youtu.be/4IBGb0-ONZY
Squat: Fix Your FOCAL POINT!
https://youtu.be/hRJUDHAja-s
The Trifecta of Squat Cues
https://startingstrength.com/training/the-trifecta-of-squat-cues
I hope this helps!
ARTICLES & VIDEOS
Do This for a BIGGER Squat! | How to Pause Squat (and Why!)
Want to improve your squat? The pause squat can help. We explain what a pause squat is, how to do it, and why you might want to utilize the pause squat in your training. Click here to watch.
The TRUTH About Breathing, Bracing, and Lifting Heavy
Are you breathing like a buffoon when lifting? Well . . . don't. It's simple, so let's fix it fast. We cover what breathing stupidly looks like as well as how to do it correctly. Click here to watch.
The Deadlift: Use Your Lats . . . But DON'T Think About Them
Use your lats when you deadlift . . . but don't think about them. We describe a mental picture as well as a few cues to help you do just that. Click here to read.
Blast from the Past: The Press: Get a Grip!
Add pounds (or kilos) to your press by getting the correct grip and wrist position when you set up! Click here to watch.
Blast from the Past: Save Time During Your Workouts!
For those whose workouts are taking longer than they would like (or can afford), we cover two tactics to save time at the gym (with an included video). Click here to read.
NEW TESTIFY GEAR!
Sun's out, guns out, and we've got men's and women’s tank tops in multiple colors. Get yours today and represent your favorite gym!
Click here to head to the Testify Store.
WHAT'S COMING UP
Heads up! Concrete work on the parking lot will be performed starting May 8th, and as a result, some areas of the parking lot will be restricted for the next 3 weeks.
The annual Testify Barbell MAYhem was a great success this weekend, and 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!
Below are a few of our upcoming events, and you can find out what else is on the calendar by heading to our events page at www.testifysc.com/events.
Starting Strength Self-Sufficient Lifter Camp
May 20, 2023
Spend the day learning the Squat, Press, and Deadlift and how to self-evaluate your lifts while training in your garage or commercial gym without a coach.
Click here to register or for more information.
Testify Strongman Summer Showdown
June 17, 2023
Show up to lift, throw, carry, push, and pull big things, but most importantly, show up to have a great time with your fellow competitors and perhaps try something new!
Click here to register or for more information.
Testify IronFest V
July 8, 2023
IronFest is a team-based strength meet wherein the contested lifts will be the squat, press, bench press, and deadlift. Competitors will form teams of 2 lifters/team and perform all 4 lifts; each lifter will perform one upper body lift and one lower body lift, and each lifter will receive 3 attempts for each lift.
Click here to register or for more information.
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 2023.03.06.
Option 2
Bike/row:
3 rounds of:
8 x 20 sec on/40 sec off
Rest 3 min between rounds
Score = lowest distance
Compare to 2023.02.13.
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 2023.01.16.
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 2023.01.16.
The TRUTH About Breathing, Bracing, and Lifting Heavy
/Are you breathing like a buffoon when lifting? Don't. It's simple, so let's fix it fast.
At Testify, we offer small group training, private coaching (in-person or remotely via Zoom), online coaching, and form checks. Click the button below to get quality coaching from a Starting Strength Coach and start getting stronger TODAY.
The Deadlift: Use Your Lats . . . But DON'T Think About Them
/
Do you think he’s thinking about his lats?
Got a barbell that wants to drift away from you when you deadlift? It’s a miserable experience. Let’s fix it fast.
(Watch the included video for a quick demonstration of how to do this.)
Your latissimus dorsi (your “lats”) form a connection between your upper arm and your spine, and because of this, they perform an important function in the deadlift - they keep the barbell close to you as you pull, i.e, they are responsible for keeping the bar over the middle of the foot.
However, if you tend to let the bar swing away from you when you pull, simply cueing yourself to “use your lats” may not be terribly useful as it can be difficult to picture what the lats are actually doing. With this in mind, let’s cover a useful mental picture as well as a few cues to help you use your lats . . . without ever thinking about them.
figure 1
Mental Picture
Instead of holding a barbell, picture yourself holding a pool noodle - you know, those flexible, floaty pieces of foam that you use to whack your friends over the head . . . in the pool. With this mental picture (Figure 1), use one of the following cues:
Cue #1: Bend the bar backward.
If you’re holding a pool noodle, you can actually bend it backward around your shins (as shown in Figure 2). This action of pulling back on the bar is performed by the lats, but you don’t need to think about your lats - you simply think about the action of bending the bar backward around your shins, and the lats will automatically do their job. As a side note, it is rarely useful to think about individual muscles while lifting - think “movements” not “muscles.”
Figure 2: Bend it backward
Cue #2: Pin it to your shins.
Same idea - just a different way to think about it. Cue yourself to keep the bar pinned to your shins, and if you accomplish this, your lats will be doing their job.
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.)
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?
The Press: Get a Grip!
/Add pounds (or kilos) to your press by getting the correct grip and wrist position when you set up!
(This video is a Blast from the Past video originally published on 09/13/21.)
At Testify, we offer small group training, private coaching (in-person or remotely via Zoom), online coaching, and form checks. Click the button below to get quality coaching from a Starting Strength Coach and start getting stronger TODAY.
Save Time During Your Workouts!
/
(A Blast from the Past article originally posted on 03/05/21)
You like being at the gym, but you also like other things besides being at the gym, and people are often on a tight schedule, so if your workouts are taking longer than you would like (or can afford), we are going to give you two tactics to save time at the gym. These tactics both revolve around the warm-up, because the warm-up is the best place to save time when you train.
First, don’t rest between your warm-up sets. You need to change the weights as you warm-up, and the act of unloading and loading plates between warm-up sets will provide enough rest for the purpose of warming up. Remember, these are warm-up sets - they’re not terribly difficult - you don’t need a whole lot of rest. After your last warm-up set, you’ll want to rest a few minutes (perhaps 2-4 minutes) before performing your first work set, but if you’re resting 3-5 minutes between all of your warm-up sets and you’re wondering how to shorten your workout time, this is where you start.
Second, if you really need to speed things up, start warming up your next lift between the work sets of your current lift. Let’s say you’ve just done your first work set of squats, and bench press is your next lift - while you’re resting, go ahead and grab a barbell and do your empty bar warm-up for the bench (if it’s the press, you don’t even need a rack - you can just pick it up off the floor and press it). Then, sit down and rest until it’s time to squat again. After your second set of squats, go ahead and do your next bench warm-up set. You might still have some warming up to do on the bench press when you’re done squatting, but this method will certainly shave some time off the length of your training session.
Most importantly, don’t let this tactic tire you out for your current work sets. The squat/bench press example we’ve given here will not tire you out for squatting because the bench press warm-ups are light and because the bench press is unrelated to squatting, but warming up your deadlift between work sets of squats may not be the greatest idea.
Try these tactics the next time you train, and you’ll save yourself some valuable time. Of course, you could probably shorten those 15-minute-between-set-conversations you have with your lifting buddies as well.
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.)