BENCH PRESS REGRETS: Top 7 regrets from veteran lifters

Think your bench press is solid? Think again. In this video, Starting Strength Coach Phil Meggers breaks down 7 common bench press mistakes and how to avoid them. Learn from the mistakes of others — and make faster, safer progress.

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.

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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 Star-Advertiser - May 19, 2025

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THIS WEEK'S SUBMISSION

From our video Stronger After 50: The Secret is Simpler Than You Think (click the title to watch):

fastbusiness
Consistency has always been the most difficult challenge for me, in strength training. There have been countless times when I've asked myself one deceptively simple question: "Exactly WHY am I doing this weight lifting stuff?" When you can answer that you will have a reason or goal and you will have your motivation. For me, building and maintaining strength allows me to perform most of the physical activities that I want to do. A secondary reason is that I believe that being strong and "in shape" is one of the best ways to avoid chronic illnesses that require expensive medical care. I can't prove scientifically that these are true, but that's not the point. To be motivated and consistent in training you only need to believe in a reason that's strong enough to cause you to get your lazy ass off the couch and into the gym and put in the effort. Then, every time you think "I don't want to do this today" you can think of your "why" and it will get you through it. Anyway, that's just the way that works for me. 🙂

Phil
"Exactly WHY am I doing this weight lifting stuff?" That's a great way to start the conversation in one's head to get things moving.

Joe
Showing up is the hardest part!
All I have to do is go in the basement.
The first set is the most difficult.

Phil
We talk about this at Testify on a regular basis - if you walk through the door (or roughly equivalent - get in your car to head to the gym), you've done the most important part.

fastbusiness
@TestifySC That's why I usually do better by being a member at a regular gym. I've tried more than twice to have a small home gym and it never seems to work very well. Too many distractions. Other people seem to have success doing it that way, but I'm not one of them.

Phil
Those phenomena are both very common. For some people, having a home gym is fantastic, but for others, the very convenience of it is the problem. If you can work out whenever, sometimes you will work out never. It becomes very easy to push the training back five minutes, 10 minutes, three hours, three weeks… And we have had a number of members start up their training again with us for that exact reason.

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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.

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ARTICLES & VIDEOS

Stronger After 50: The Secret is Simpler Than You Think
Getting strong and staying strong becomes more important the older we get, and the secret is not complicated. Click here to watch.

People Believed this Lie about Squatting for YEARS
Want the history of the worst squat technique ever to be suggested by a coach? Phil explains. Click here to read.

Blast from the Past: How to Squat Heavy ALONE! | How to Fail a Squat Safely
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 Phil explains and demonstrates. Click here to watch.

Blast from the Past: Your Hideous Deadlift: Do It WRONG . . . to Get It Right?
We cover a useful deadlift drill and show how setting your back incorrectly can actually help you set it correctly. Click here to read.

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SLEEVES ARE OVERRATED - GRAB A TESTIFY TANK!

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.

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WHAT'S COMING UP

Reminder: In observance of Memorial Day (Monday, 05/26/25), we will be open for training from 7:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m. that day, but we will be closed that afternoon and evening.

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 Game Night

• Join us for the first-ever Testify Game Night at 6:30 p.m. on Friday, June 6th!

• Bring on the cards, the board games, the bags (AKA cornhole), and whatever else you’ve got!

• Bring a game, a snack/drink, and get ready for a fun, relaxed evening with the Testify crew!

• Click here to RSVP.

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.

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THIS WEEK’S CONDITIONING

Option 1
Sled Pyramid – 4, 5, or 6 tiers
Go up and down a 4, 5, or 6 tier “sled pyramid” – rest as needed. The distance for each round is 80 m indoors (a down-back on the 40m course) or 200 ft outdoors (2 down-backs on the 50 ft course). Rest as needed.

For example, Bob does the following (4 tiers):
Round 1: Empty sled
Round 2: 25#
Round 3: 50#
Round 4: 75#
Round 5: 50#
Round 6: 25#
Round 7: Empty sled

Compare to 2025.04.07.

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

Score = least distance covered in any 30 second interval

Compare to 2025.02.24.

Option 3
5-10 rounds:
50 ft yoke carry
50 ft yoke push
100 ft sandbag carry and S.O.B. (sandbag-over-bar)

Perform 1 round every 2-3 minutes.

Compare to 2025.01.27.

Option 4
Row/Tire 10 min ladder:
2 cal row
2 tire flips
4 cal row
4 tire flips
6 cal row
6 tire flips
…
Climb the ladder as high as possible in 10 minutes.

Compare to 2025.01.27.

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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.

People Believed this Lie about Squatting for YEARS

If you’ve lifted weights long enough - or been in a high school weight room or at a powerlifting meet for about five seconds - you’ve heard it . . .

“You’ve got to look up to go up!”

Let’s put this silly nonsense to bed real quick-like.

You don’t look up to go up when you stand up from your bed in the morning.

You don’t look up to go up when getting up from the couch.

You don’t look up to go up when getting up off of the toilet.

Look up to go up? ridiculous.

In fact, with the notable exception of rock climbing and ladders, you rarely look up to go up in life, and you certainly don’t need to look up to go up when squatting.

Keep it simple. Find a focal point that helps reinforce what you’re trying to do. You’re trying to reach back with your hips and point your chest at the floor on the descent, and you’re trying to stay in that leaned over position as you drive your hips up out of the hole on the ascent.

Looking up tends to yank the head up, and that, in turn, causes the chest to come up sooner than you want - making for a harder, more inefficient squat.

With this in mind, pick a spot 4-6 feet in front of you on the floor and stare at it the entire time. Before your first rep, during each rep, and between reps - keep the same focal point.

This focal point helps you achieve the correct back angle, drive your hips effectively, and makes for a more efficient squat.

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.)

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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 Squat Heavy ALONE! | How to Fail a Squat Safely

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)

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.

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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?

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

(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.)

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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

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?