Bar Math: Stop Doing This!
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(This is a Blast from the Past article originally posted on 10/01/21.)
Bar math can be tricky, and if you’re a new lifter (or even an experienced one!), you might find that simply loading the correct weight on the bar is one of the more difficult aspects of your training experience. Let’s solve this (if you like, you can just scroll to the end of this article and watch the video instead!).
First - what not to do. Do NOT use the “subtract-and-divide” (SAD) method to figure out your bar math. Here’s an example - we want 110 lb on the bar (i.e., 110 lb total - including the bar’s weight), so we subtract the 45 lb bar from 110 lb, and we get 65 lb left over. We then divide 65 by 2 since we have to split that 65 lb between each side of the barbell to get 32.5 lb, and now we need to figure out how to load 32.5 lb on each side.
Again - do NOT do this. Mathematically, yes, it makes sense, but in the long run, it’s neither the easiest nor the quickest way to go about this process. We’ve seen people break out calculators to do this, and we’ve even seen people working some long division to accomplish this process, but no matter what tools you have at your disposal, SAD isn’t very practical, and it’s rather error prone as well.
The best method is to simply load the largest possible plate (without going over your target weight) that you can every single time. Your brain works decently with subtraction and division, but it works quite a bit better with addition and multiplication, and this “largest possible plate” (LPP) method takes advantage of this fact. An additional advantage to this method is that you’ll start to memorize some “milestone weights” or “landmark weights” along the way (this will happen whether you mean to do so or not!), and this is extremely useful.
Let’s run through the 110 lb example again - this time using LPP. (Warning - this looks bad on paper, but it’s far easier in practice.)
Can I add a 45 lb plate (on each side)? 45 x 2 = 90, and adding 90 lb to the bar is too much, so no, I can’t. Move on.
Can I add a 25? 25 x 2 = 50, and 50 + 45 (bar’s weight) = 95, so yes, I can.
By the way, 95 lb is one of those landmark weights you’ll eventually have memorized, which is very useful as you’ll build upon that for other weights.
Now we’re at 95 lb. Can I add a 10? 10 x 2 = 20, and 20 + 95 = 115, and that’s too much, so no, I can’t add a 10. Move on.
We’re still at 95 lb. Can I add a 5? 5 x 2 = 10, and 10 + 95 = 105, so yes, I can.
Now we’re at 105 lb, and I’m close enough to 110 that I realize that I need 5 more lb total, so I simply add a 2.5 lb plate to each side, and I’m done. (Technically, there’s a little “subtract-and-divide” going on here at the end, but I get to do it with very small numbers, which is nice.)
To recap:
Adding 25s (i.e., one to each side) takes us to 95 lb (in total weight).
Adding 5s takes us to 105 lb.
Adding 2.5s takes us to 110 lb.
This is actually far simpler in practice than it looks on paper, but you’ll have to try it out to believe me. Again, all you need to do is put the largest possible plate on every single time without actually going above the weight that you’re trying to reach.
By doing this repeatedly as you train each day, you’ll eventually know that 25-lb plates take you to 95 lb, 45-lb plates take you to 135 lb, etc., and this type of accidental memorization speeds up the process even more. In the long run, if you force yourself to keep doing your bar math in this manner, you’ll be a faster and more accurate “bar mathematician” than if you stuck with the ol’ SAD method.
Feel free to check out our video on this topic, and as always, we hope this helps you get stronger and live better!
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Do ONE Thing to Get Stronger and Improve All Your Lifts!
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Let’s cover a cue that will help you with every single one of your lifts. To be precise, this is actually a type of cue, and more specifically, we’re discussing the concept of the overcue.
The overcue (i.e., an over-correction cue) communicates an exaggeration of what we want to happen in a specific lift, and it can be an extremely effective tool to achieve improved technique in any lift. Let’s take a look at a few examples:
Example 1: Squat
From watching video of yourself lifting, you notice you’re consistently squatting about an inch high. The first approach to solving this problem is to simply tell yourself to “squat one inch deeper” - in other words, tell yourself the truth. However, if that doesn’t do the trick, you may have to lie to yourself a bit, and that’s the idea behind the overcue: it’s a productive lie.
With this in mind, you cue yourself to “squat three inches deeper.” You don’t actually want or need to squat three inches deeper, but telling yourself to squat one inch deeper wasn’t doing the trick, so you exaggerate the concept of what you need to do in order to accomplish your goal.
Example 2: Deadlift
You’re raising your chest prematurely on the deadlift, and as a result, you’re pulling around your knees and making things much more difficult than they should be. You know the deadlift begins with knee extension, so you try a few cues such as “push the floor’ or “straighten the knees” to help with the movement.
However, if this doesn’t work, you move on to an overcue such as “hips go up first” or “hips first.” Of course, this is an exaggeration - you don’t want your hips to lead the way in the deadlift, but this exaggeration of the correct technique might just do the trick for you.
Example 3: Jerk
Got soft elbows when receiving the barbell overhead in the jerk? If you are pressing out your jerks and telling yourself to “lock it out” isn’t working, try cueing yourself to “lock it before you land it.” In other words, tell yourself to completely straighten your elbows before your feet hit the deck. This isn’t what actually happens in a correctly executed jerk, but that doesn’t matter - you are simply exaggerating an aspect of the correct movement to help improve your technique.
Example 4: Squat
You’re breaking at the hips before breaking at the knees; in other words, as you start your squat, you are bending at the hips first instead of correctly bending at the hips and knees simultaneously. First, you tell yourself the truth by using the cue “hips and knees together,” but if that doesn’t do the trick, it’s time to try something else.
In this case, an overcue such as “knees first” can be very useful. You don’t actually want your knees to bend before your hips do, but telling yourself the truth wasn’t working, so you introduce the overcue, and this tends to solve the problem quite nicely.
Use overcues judiciously. Remember that you are lying to yourself just a bit when you use one, so be conservative in your approach. First, cue yourself to do precisely what it is that you want to do - tell yourself the truth - but if that doesn’t work, it may be time to move on to an overcue.
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.)
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When Your Training Motivation is Low...
/Running on empty when it comes to training motivation? We give you 3 tips (plus a bonus tip) to help you stay consistent with your training.
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Get Stronger . . . Faster?
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Want to get strong but need to spend less time at the gym? This article is for you.
Let it be said - there’s nothing wrong with spending a lot of time at the gym. If you don’t need to save time, then this article probably isn’t for you, but a lot of people need to get through their workouts in a reasonable amount of time - they need to get in, get done, and get out - so if this describes your situation, let’s improve things with two quick tips.
Tip #1: Go Through Your Warm-ups Quickly
Warm-ups are where you save time. Don’t rest between your warm-up sets. For example, in the squat, do your empty bar squats, then immediately grab your next warm-up weight, put it on the bar, and perform that set. Again, immediately grab the next warm-up weight and then do that set, and so forth and so on.
Sure, after your last set, wait several minutes before your first work set - you want to be rested for your work sets, after all - and definitely rest between your work sets, but again, your warm-ups are where you save time. If you keep moving, you can get to your first work set of squats within 10 minutes of squatting the empty bar.
If you need an additional reminder to keep moving, set a timer (I use one regularly when training) or even tell yourself to get a little out of breath during your warm-ups. It’s okay if this happens during the warm-up process - the warm-up weights are light, so it’s not going to be a problem, and remember, you’re going to rest appropriately before your first work set anyway, so you won’t be out of breath anymore at that point.
Tip #2: Warm Up Your Next Lift Between Your Work Sets
Using the squat and press as examples, after you’ve done your first work set of squats, start warming up your press (you’ll need a second barbell to utilize this tip). Do a couple empty bar sets, then have a seat for several minutes, and then perform your second work set of squats.
As always, make sure you’re well rested before starting a work set, but you can certainly perform most, if not all, of the next lift’s warm-ups by the time you finish the current lift’s work sets. Not surprisingly, this works best if the two lifts are relatively unrelated, like the squat and press example used here (e.g., warming up the deadlift between squat work sets isn’t a great idea).
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.)