Fix Your Press - Part 4: Correct Your TERRIBLE Elbows

/ Testify Strength & Conditioning/

(A Blast from the Past article originally posted on 02/24/23)

This is the fourth article in our series on helping you improve your press. Today’s topic - the correct positioning for the elbows. In this article, you’ll also find a couple of videos related to today’s topic.

It’s rather easy to put your elbows in a rather awful position when pressing, so let’s fix this problem. When pressing, start by taking your grip at roughly arms’ length from the barbell. Next, walk up very close to the bar - touching your chest to the bar is a reasonable way to do this - and then dip down with your legs so that your elbows can swing under and forward. Be sure to dip down far enough so that your elbows can move into a position that is slightly in front of the bar when viewed from the side (see the video below for a demonstration).

This “elbows-slightly-in-front-of-the-bar” position should be established before standing the bar up from the rack. Do NOT unrack the bar (i.e., standing up with the bar in your hands) until your elbows are in the correct position. A common mistake is trying to get the elbows in front of the bar after you’ve unracked it and taken your stance, but this makes for a lot of wasted energy and effort since you’re already supporting the weight at this point. Getting the elbows right before you unrack it is far more efficient than doing so after the fact . . . so let’s be efficient.

After the correct elbow position has been established, simply stand up and take two short steps (two “half-steps”) back from the rack. At this point, viewed from the front, you should have vertical forearms, and viewed from the side, you’ll see the tips of your elbows slightly in front of the bar.

It’s also worth noting that if your elbows are incorrectly positioned behind the bar, you’re far more likely to have wrists bent backward in extension - a rather weak position and not the position we’re aiming for when setting up to press. Having the elbows in the right spot will help you with both bar path and wrist positioning - both of which will contribute to a better press.

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?

Top 10 Bench Press Mistakes

/ Testify Strength & Conditioning/

Starting Strength Coach Phil Meggers covers 10 common bench press mistakes as well as how to fix them so you can get a bigger, stronger bench.

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.

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?

Testify Herald - February 24, 2025

/ Testify Strength & Conditioning/

THIS WEEK'S SUBMISSION

From our video The Bench Press: You're Doing This Wrong. (click the title to watch):

Dennis J
Are you supposed to force scapular retraction or just let the rear shoulders relaxed down?

Phil
The first option - you'll need to actively retract the shoulders (definitely not relaxed).

TESTIFY ONLINE COACHING

Interested in getting stronger working one-on-one remotely with us? Click here to book your free strategy session.

Get Stronger. Live Better. Start Today.

ARTICLES & VIDEOS

Why Squatting has become Impossible (6 reasons)
Is the squat impossible for you, or does it seem impossible to make progress on your squat? Here are 6 reasons why as well as how to address them. Click here to watch.

 

Stretching is Dangerous?! (Why You Should Not do Mobility Work)
Should you stretch before you lift or not? Also, stop calling it "mobility work." Phil explains. Click here to read.

 

Blast from the Past: Barbell Basics | Anatomy of a Barbell | Barbell Buyer's Guide
Phil covers the basics of an Olympic barbell - sleeves, collars, shaft, knurling, diameter, score marks, etc. He also talks about what to look for - and NOT look for - when purchasing a barbell. Click here to watch.

 

Blast from the Past: It Doesn't Get Easier - But Everything Else Does
Phil revisits a past conversation and talks about why training doesn't get easier, but everything else does. Click here to read.

TESTIFY BEANIES ARE AVAILABLE!

Represent your favorite gym - even when it's cold outside!

And, it gets better - you can choose your beanie from EIGHT different colors!

Click here to head to the Testify Store.

WHAT'S COMING UP

Below is one 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 Strengthlifting Challenge

  • April 12, 2025

  • The annual Testify Strengthlifting Challenge is back, and we invite you to be a part of it! This is a strengthlifting meet, which means the contested lifts will be the squat, press, and deadlift.

  • Click here to register or for more information.

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 2024.12.23.

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

Score = least distance covered in any 30 second interval

Compare to 2024.12.02.

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 2024.11.04.

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

Compare to 2024.11.04.

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

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.

Stretching is Dangerous?! (Why You Should NOT do Mobility Work)

/ Testify Strength & Conditioning/

Make no mistake - stretching is dangerous. However, it’s probably not for the reasons you’re imagining.

Is Stretching Ever a Good Thing?
Before we talk about why stretching is generally a bad idea, it’s useful to cover a few instances wherein stretching might actually be a smart move.

In general, if there is a position you cannot achieve without a typical warm-up - e.g., squatting is the warm-up for squatting - then you might benefit from some stretching. Using the squat as an example, if you can’t get the barbell into that nice, low bar position on your back due to tight shoulders, then you may benefit from simply stretching out your shoulders. This shouldn’t take more than a few minutes each training session, and over time, your shoulder flexibility will improve. We’ve got a video below that covers the stretch to perform as well as the process, so be sure to check it out if you struggle to achieve the low bar position.

As an another example, if you perform cleans and front squats and the act of cleaning and front squatting is not sufficient to improve and maintain your front rack position (the position wherein the bar sits on your delts in front of your throat) - this could be due to inflexibility or long forearms - then you may need to spend some time actively stretching to improve this position. Again, this shouldn’t take a lot of time, and we also have a video that covers this process (see below).

How Do I Know if I Should Stretch?
The key in both of the aforementioned cases is that you are stretching because you can’t hit the positions you need to in order to successfully execute the lift (i.e., the squat, clean, or front squat).

With this in mind, if that situation describes you, then go ahead and stretch. However, if you can already achieve the proper positioning for a lift, then I would not recommend stretching.

But What About . . . ?
Some people might complain that they can’t hit proper squat depth when warming up with the empty bar. This is not a problem. The squat is an excellent warm-up and stretch for - not surprisingly - the squat, so it’s not unusual to squat a bit high for your first empty bar set, and then you squat a bit lower on each subsequent warm-up set so that you are achieving depth by the time your reach your work sets (and typically well before that point).

Squatting to depth isn’t an issue of flexibility - it’s simply an issue of sufficient strength and efficient technique.

Don’t complicate your training. In most cases, the lift you’re performing provides all the stretching you need to perform that lift, so your training already provides all the stretching you need for training.

Why You Shouldn’t Stretch
Remember, you stretch to increase your range of motion (ROM), and if you already have sufficient flexibility to go through your daily activities as well as your training, then you certainly don’t need to stretch.

If you enjoy stretching, feel free to do so, but since stretching is not necessary, I recommend avoiding it sheerly because it is a time suck on your life. For most people, stretching is a waste of time.

Most people need to get into the gym, train, and then get out of the gym in a reasonable amount of time because they have other things that they either need to do or they want to do. If you have all the time in the world to train, more power to you, but you are a unicorn. Additionally, even if you do have a lot of time, there are other things to do in life far more interesting and enjoyable than barbell training (remember - this is coming from a guy who promotes barbell training), so let’s be efficient.

Stretching is dangerous (I’ll cop to using that word liberally) because it wastes precious training time, so ditch the time suck that stretching represents, warm-up using the lift itself (gradually and progressively loaded), train hard, and then get out of the gym and move on with your life.

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?

Barbell Basics | Anatomy of a Barbell | Barbell Buyer's Guide

/ Testify Strength & Conditioning/

Starting Strength Coach Phil Meggers covers the basics of an Olympic barbell - sleeves, collars, shaft, knurling, diameter, score marks, etc. He also talks about what to look for - and NOT look for - when purchasing a barbell.

(A Blast from the Past video originally published on 10/17/22)

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.

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?

It Doesn't Get Easier - But Everything Else Does

/ Testify Strength & Conditioning/

(A Blast from the Past article originally posted on 02/05/21)

A while back, one of our younger lifters - we’ll call him Mike - finished a set of 5 reps at 275 lb on the deadlift. Mike thought this was a pretty tough set, and upon lowering the barbell to the floor after the last rep, he stood up, turned to me, and we had the following conversation:

Mike: Phil - that was awful.

Me: The funny thing is, as you get stronger, someday you’re going to pull 315 lb for that same set of 5 reps, and it will be just as “awful,” but by the time you can do that, then doing what you did today - pulling 275 for 5 reps - will no longer be terribly difficult.

Mike: So . . . it’s kind of like eating really terrible food so that other food won’t taste as bad.

Me: Sure.

While this definitely made me chuckle, Mike actually understood the point quite well: Training doesn’t get easier, but everything else does.

IMG_6151.jpg

When a lifter is new at Testify, it’s pretty common to get some version of this question at the end of a set: “This Weight was pretty heavy - I should probably just stick with This Weight next time, right?”

While this is an understandable line of thinking, it misses out on a key concept, which is that only when you force yourself to lift The Next Weight and The Weight After That does lifting This Weight become easier. If squatting 135 lb is difficult right now, don’t worry - it will become easier after you’ve squatted 140 lb, 145 lb, and so on. Squatting 135 lb until the end of time doesn’t work.

In school, when you pass 6th grade, you move on to 7th grade, and then to 8th grade. By the time you’re in 8th grade, your 8th grade homework might be challenging, but the work you did back in 6th grade is easy by comparison. . . because you’re now in 8th grade.

Not only do previous work weights become easier to lift as you get stronger - other physical tasks in your life become easier as well. You become stronger, but the driveway doesn’t get any longer, and snow doesn’t get any heavier, so shoveling the driveway becomes easier. You become stronger, but gravity doesn’t become more powerful, so keeping your balance becomes easier.

Training will always be challenging, but the fact that you continue to step up to that challenge means you become stronger and more capable. So keep eating that terrible food. You’ll be better for it.

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?