How to Squat Heavy ALONE! | How to Fail a Squat Safely

/ Testify Strength & Conditioning/

Everybody needs to squat, but if you train alone, you need to be able to fail a squat safely. What to do? It's simple, and Starting Strength Coach Phil Meggers explains and demonstrates.

(A Blast from the Past video originally published on 11/28/22)

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Your Hideous Deadlift: Do It WRONG . . . to Get It Right?

/ Testify Strength & Conditioning/

(A Blast from the Past article originally posted on 04/28/23)

Are you having a tough time setting your back correctly when deadlifting? To get it right, it can help to do it wrong first.

(Watch the included video near the end of this article for a quick demonstration of how to do this.)

In this approach, you're going to set the barbell on the pins (AKA “safeties) of your squat rack with some weight on the bar. You don’t need a lot of weight - just enough to allow yourself to put some tension on the bar (i.e., some upward pull) without actually allowing the bar to start moving upward.

figure 1: his back is so terrible he won’t even show his face.

You're setting the bar on the pins because - when going through the 5-step setup for the deadlift (click here for a video) - most people find it easier to set the back correctly in rigid extension from this higher position as compared to the usual position wherein the plates are on the floor. In Figure 2, I have the barbell set just below my knees, but if you need to start higher than this, that’s perfectly acceptable.

figure 2: The bar is set just below the knees.

Back flexion - or rounding your back - is pretty easy for most people to achieve, and you're going to take advantage of that here. First, cue yourself to flex your back (Figure 3). In other words, you're going to do it wrong. Remember that a person who struggles with back extension can usually do this pretty well - in fact, it’s typically the default position - but if you need a little additional help, you can cue yourself to round your back as high in the air as possible or cue yourself to make your back into a mountain.

figure 3: back flexion

Additionally, make sure your shins stay in contact with the bar throughout this process, and the bar must remain motionless. From your hips on down, nothing should move or change shape.

Once you're in this position, you can feel what it’s like to do it incorrectly, so you're simply going to cue yourself to do the exact opposite of what you just did. You're going to push your belly down between your thighs, thus extending - or straightening - your back (Figure 4). Previously, your back was a mountain, and you now cue yourself to make it a valley (which is an overcue, but we’ll cover that in a bit).

figure 4: Back extension

Perform five reps alternating between the positions of flexion and extension. The cues now become: “Flex - Extend” or simply “Round - Arch.” The cues “arch” and “make a valley” are overcues as you don’t want your back actually arched or overextended. You just want it to be straight, but for someone who struggles with extension, these two overcues can be quite useful.

Once you can set your back in extension at a given pin height, move the pins lower and repeat the process - a set of five reps works pretty well. If you’re working without a coach, record yourself so you can watch it afterward and see if you were indeed setting your back correctly. Once you’ve “graduated” from a certain height, continue to work lower and lower until you’re setting up correctly for a regular deadlift with the plates on the floor.

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?

Stronger After 50: The Secret is Simpler Than You Think

/ Testify Strength & Conditioning/

Getting strong and staying strong becomes more important the older we get, and the secret is not complicated. Starting Strength Coach Phil Meggers explains.

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?

The Testify Republic - May 12, 2025

/ Testify Strength & Conditioning/

THIS WEEK'S SUBMISSION

From our video When Deadlifting Heavy, Don't Stand Up & Try This Instead (click the title to watch):

Keene T
I just tweaked my lumbar this morning and came on YouTube looking for reminders on DL setup and this was the first vid I saw. Great advice. I've been lifting for years and never heard it explained like this. So simple now. I'll be doing this when I heal up. Thanks!

Phil
You’re welcome, Keene, and thank you as well. I hope this helps!

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

You’re Probably Warming Up Wrong, and It’s Ruining Your Lifting
Warming up badly is inefficient, sometimes ridiculous, and it sets you up for poor results from your lifting. Phil helps you warm-up effectively, efficiently, and simply and provides plenty of examples, tips, and mistakes to avoid along the way. Click here to watch.

 

The 2 Most Overlooked Bench Press Tips
”You’ve had this experience . . . the last rep is a grind, but you know you’ve got it. The barbell is moving upward slowly . . . and then it happens.” Click here to read.

 

Blast from the Past: The BEST Grip for Deadlift!
There is one correct way to grip the bar in the deadlift, and it's probably not what you think. Click here to watch.

 

Blast from the Past: Why Do You Put the Bar There When You Squat?
You’ve probably never thought about this aspect of squatting . . . Click here to read.

TESTIFY 3/4 SLEEVE SHIRTS ARE UP!

Baseball season is here, so represent your favorite team - well, gym - in style!

PLUS - you get four different options to choose from!

Click here to head to the Testify Store.

WHAT'S COMING UP

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 Barbell MAYhem - Teams Edition!

  • May 23, 2025

  • Grab a partner and take on the barbell at Testify Barbell MAYhem – Teams Edition! One lifter snatches. The other cleans & jerks. One epic night of strength, teamwork, and mayhem.

  • Click here to register or for more information.

Testify IronFest VII

  • June 20, 2025

  • 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 15, 2025

  • 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 2025.04.21.

Option 2
Bike/row:
4 x 800m

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

Compare to 2025.02.17.

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 2025.01.20.

Option 4
5-8 rounds:
50 ft sled push
50 ft sled pull (hand over hand)
Row 1 minute
Rest 1 minute

This can also be done in a group of three where the sledder determines how long the other two people row and rest.

Compare to 2024.01.20.

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.

The 2 Most Overlooked Bench Press Tips

/ Testify Strength & Conditioning/

You’ve had this experience . . .

You’re benching. You’re at Gold’s Genesis 24 Hour Anytime Planet Crunch Fitness, and you’re set up for your work set. You’re driving with your legs, your arch is set, and your shoulders are pinned back.

The last rep is a grind, but you know you’ve got it. The barbell is moving upward slowly . . . and then it happens.

“i’m all pinkies, bro!” this spotter is a fool and just stole a rep from his lifting buddy.

Your spotter steps in and begins helping you with the rep. You didn’t give your spotter permission to do this, of course. You know that if the spotter touches the bar on any rep, that rep doesn’t count, so to say that you’re annoyed at this point is putting it mildly.

Make no mistake - your spotter messed up . . . but you could have prevented this.

Let’s cover two subtle, yet important, bench press tips to help make the bench press a more productive and less frustrating lift for everyone involved.

Tip #1: Get an educated spotter
Spotters are important in the bench press. If you’re not benching with safeties, you need a spotter, and even with safeties, spotters can help tremendously with the unracking process of a heavy bench press.

With that said, your spotter should know that he is to only touch the bar if it’s moving in any direction other than up. Moving slowly is not a reason to provide assistance.

If you can’t find an educated and experienced spotter, then it’s your job to find a person and explain it to him. If your spotter messes up, you probably didn’t explain it well enough.

It’s your work set, so make sure it counts.

Tip #2: Don’t destroy your lifter’s unrack
As the spotter, when assisting with the unracking process, be sure to provide just enough assistance to help guide the bar into position over the lifter’s shoulders (and if you’re the lifter, be sure your spotter knows to do this).

The spotter helps lift the bar off the hooks, but the lifter does most of the work in this process. The spotter should not provide a lot of lift as the bar comes smoothly up and off the hooks - perhaps somewhere in the neighborhood of 10-30 lb as long as we’re throwing out random numbers.

The specific amount of assistance will vary by load (and as mentioned, those were random numbers) - the major point here is that you shouldn’t provide so much assistance that you accidentally pull your lifter out of position on the bench. This can happen in a few different scenarios, but it often happens when a larger, stronger lifter is spotting a smaller lifter.

Don’t be that guy.

Assist. Don’t yank.

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 BEST Grip for Deadlift!

/ Testify Strength & Conditioning/

There is one correct way to grip the bar in the deadlift, and it's probably not what you think. In the 5th video in our Saturday Shorts series on fixing the deadlift, Starting Strength Coach Phil Meggers explains what's up.

(A Blast from the Past video originally published on 11/26/22)

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?