Testify Register - June 12, 2023
/THIS WEEK'S QUESTION
From our video The ONE Thing Fitness Magazines WON'T Tell You About the Squat (click the title to watch):
Anoop H.N.
Great video. What's the cue for the bar rolling forward towards neck due to the explosive hip drive? Lifting chest early kills the hip drive but staying leaned over will make the bar move towards neck when the hip drive is more than required? Is there any cue for ideal hip drive?
Phil
Thanks very much. If the bar is rolling forward, there are a couple of possible issues. One could be the bar's position on the back - if it's a bit too low, it tends to slide down during the set, and if it's a bit high, it tends to roll upward (the problem you mentioned). We have a video that covers nailing the bar position, so this may help:
Bar Position in the Squat
https://youtu.be/wVShiXRo9r8
Another issue is a general lack of tightness during the setup (i.e., before you unrack the bar). Be sure the chest is out, shoulders are back, and the bar is extremely secure before you stand the bar up. It should take work to get into the correct position. Here's a short video that covers this issue:
How to Squat: The Setup | STOP Doing This!
https://youtu.be/QZpqpwdP9Bc
Finally, there is the problem of exaggerating the hip drive. It's not as common as the first two issues, but it does happen. In this case, we might need to cue the person to "raise the chest" as they come up out of the hole or "drive the bar up" and not think about hip drive. This is not usually what we want, and it's never what we'd cue a new lifter, but in the case of someone who has this issue, they already know how to drive their hips and are actually doing it to the detriment of the rest of their body coming up, so we sometimes will use an overcue like this. It's usually accompanied by a "nobody else pay attention to what I'm telling this person" comment to the rest of the gym :-).
Hope this helps!
ARTICLES & VIDEOS
Why THIS is What You're Missing
You're not normal without this. Click here to watch.
How to Deadlift 600 POUNDS in 10 Minutes | Save Time at the Gym
You can save some serious time during your training sessions, and it's not complicated. Phil explains and demonstrates how to do it. Click here to watch.
How to Safely Bench Press Alone!
If you need to bench press alone, you need to do it safely, and it's very simple. We break it down. Click here to read.
Blast from the Past: How to Start Lifting: Learn to Squat
Phil and the Testify gang teach you how to squat and explain how to do your first squat workout (3rd video in the "How to Start Lifting" series). Click here to watch.
Blast from the Past: Conditioning with the Rower
The rower (or "erg") is a great conditioning tool. We cover a few options for utilizing the rower for effective conditioning. 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
Reminder: We will be closed for training on Saturday, June 17, as we are hosting the annual Testify Strongman Summer Showdown that day.
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.
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!
Registration is closed, but come on out to cheer the athletes on!
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.
Deadapalooza! The Annual Testify Deadlift Festival
August 25, 2023
Deadapalooza is a strength meet wherein the only contested lift is - you guessed it - the deadlift. There will be one bar (possibly multiple bars if numbers dictate), and the meet will be conducted in a "rising bar" format, so the weight on the bar only goes up! It's a ton of fun, so come on out!
Click here to register or for more information.
THIS WEEK’S CONDITIONING
Option 1
”Prowler Base+1”
1. Load up a manageable weight.
2. Sprint 40m at 85% intensity.
3. Rest 30 sec.
4. Repeat 5-15 times.
Courtesy of “Death by Prowler” (on Starting Strength).
Compare to 2023.04.10.
Option 2
Bike/row:
4 x 800m
Rest 3 minutes between each round. Score = slowest time.
Compare to 2023.03.20.
Option 3
Outdoors:
10 rounds:
25 yd yoke carry
Rest 1 minute
Indoors:
10 rounds:
30 yd yoke carry (15 yd down-back)
Rest 1 minute
Compare to 2023.02.20.
Option 4
10 x 50 ft farmer carry
Each carry is 25 ft down and 25 ft back and is for time. Rest 1 minute between carries.
Women: 97# per handle (80# of plates)
Men: 137# per handle (120# of plates)
(Note: Each handle weighs 17#.)
Compare to 2023.02.20.
How to Deadlift 600 POUNDS in 10 Minutes | Save Time at the Gym
/You can save some serious time during your training sessions, and it's not complicated. Phil explains and demonstrates how to do it.
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.
How to Safely Bench Press Alone!
/
not like this . . . not like this.
Don’t be that guy. Or gal. Just . . . don’t. The bench press is the most dangerous lift we perform in the weight room. It’s the only one wherein - should something go wrong - your face and/or neck could be trapped between something heavy (the bar) and something immovable (the bench). Ideally, you have a spotter when you bench press, but even when alone, you can perform the lift in a perfectly safe manner, so if you don’t want to end up with a barbell on your face, read on.
Equipment
You need a power rack like the one in the included video, or you can use a squat stand with adjustable spotter arms. Your power rack should have safeties (also known as “pins” or “crash bars”). If it doesn’t, throw it out.
Setup Requirement #1
Set the safeties low enough that you can perform the bench press without having the barbell run into them when the bar touches your chest. Your legs are driving you up the bench, your arch is set, your shoulders are pinned back, and in this position, the safeties need to be just low enough that you don’t hit them with the bar.
Setup Requirement #2
The safeties also need to be high enough that - should you fail a rep - you can simply lower the bar back down, relax your body, and allow the bar to sit on the safeties. At this point, you roll the bar out of your way and get out safely from the situation.
In other words, the safeties must be low enough that they don’t cause a problem, and they must be high enough that they save you from any problems.
Test It Out
When you have your safeties set where you think they should be, test your setup. Perform a few reps with the empty bar to make sure the bar doesn’t hit the safeties, and then after that, set the bar down on the safeties (i.e., pretend to fail a rep), and make sure that you can get out from under the bar. It’s an especially good idea to roll the empty bar (when it’s sitting on the safeties) back toward your face to make sure the safeties are high enough to protect your face and neck.
Write It Down
Record the height of your safeties in your training log. If you train at home, you can write numbers on your rack (if it doesn’t already have them) with a permanent marker and then record your pin height in your log. If you train at a commercial gym, find a way to make sure that you set the safeties at the correct height and then write it down.
One Last Thing . . .
Don’t use collars when you bench press. The safeties will protect you, but just in case you forget to set them up, you can simply tip the bar to the side, and the plates will fall off (one side and then the other) in a rather loud and semi-disastrous manner, but you’ll be alive, and that’s the important part. This is not nearly as good of a solution as setting the safeties correctly, but it’s better than nothing.
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?
How to Start Lifting: Learn to Squat
/In the third video of the "How to Start Lifting" series, Phil and the Testify gang help you learn how to squat and also discuss how to go about your first squat workout.
(This video is a Blast from the Past video originally published on 10/18/21.)
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.
Conditioning with the Rower
/
Evan gets to work with some 1-minute intervals.
(A Blast from the Past article originally posted on 04/23/21)
The rower (AKA rowing machine, ergometer, or erg) is a great conditioning tool. It uses primarily concentric movement and thus doesn’t cause a lot of unnecessary soreness. As a result, you can get some effective conditioning from rowing, and if approached in an intelligent fashion, this conditioning should not get in the way of your strength training.
With this in mind, we’re going to take a look at a few sample rower workouts that you can implement in your training, and as you become better conditioned over time, you can modify these workouts to increase the stress.
Workout #1
5, 7, or 9 rounds of:
Row 1 minute
Rest 1 minute
For this workout, you’ll simply row for one minute, rest one minute, and then repeat this process until you’ve accumulated the desired number of rounds. You can use the rower’s timer (if it has one), you can use a continuously running stopwatch, or you can set a programmable timer to repeat one one minute intervals.
Over time, you can increase the conditioning stress by adding rounds (e.g., going from 5 rounds to 7 rounds) or increasing the distance rowed. You can record the distance for each individual round, or for ease of recording, you can simply record and score yourself on the shortest distance you rowed in any round.
Workout #2
6, 8, or 10 rounds of:
Row 30 seconds
Rest 2 minutes
For this workout, row for thirty seconds, then rest two minutes, and then repeat until you’ve completed the prescribed number of rounds. The goal is to cover the maximum distance in each round, so as with Workout #1, you can record and score yourself on each round, or you can simply record and score yourself on your slowest round (i.e., the shortest distance rowed).
Likewise, over time, the goal would be to increase the number of rounds or the distance rowed. An approach that combines these goals would be to perform six rounds one week, eight rounds the next week, and then ten rounds the third week - all while holding approximately the same pace (i.e., covering the same distance) - and then resetting back down to six rounds the following week and starting the process again but covering more distance.
Workout #3
5, 10, 15, or 20 minute time trial
This one is simple - set a timer for five, ten, fifteen, or twenty minutes, and then row as far as possible within the specified time. Over time, your goal would be to increase the distance rowed for a given time.
Have fun with these conditioning workouts, and a word to the wise - start conservatively with the first few sessions. You don’t want your conditioning to interfere with your strength training, and you’ve got plenty of time to increase the conditioning stress in later sessions.
We hope these tips and tricks help you get stronger - or at least better conditioned in this case - 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.)