10 WORST Deadlift Mistakes Most Lifters Don't Know They Are Making (most are guilty of 3)

Are you unknowingly sabotaging your deadlift? Starting Strength Coach Phil Meggers breaks down 10 deadlift mistakes most lifters don’t even realize they’re making — and chances are good you’re guilty of at least 3. Whether you’re a beginner or a seasoned lifter, this video will help you lift smarter, safer, and stronger.

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.

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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?

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Testify Journal - June 2, 2025

THIS WEEK'S SUBMISSION

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

Major.Tom.1973
"stay over the bar longer than you think" is what worked for me, thank you!

Phil
Glad to hear that it worked for you, and you’re welcome!

Walter Heisenberg
I can echo this. I’m not and never have been a heavy deadlifter but I was always getting hurt in my lower back. Since scaling down the weight and focusing on staying over the bar longer, I’ve felt no pain.

Phil
I’m glad to hear that staying over the bar longer has worked well for you also, Walter!


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ARTICLES & VIDEOS

12 Outdated Lifting Trends to Ditch in 2025 (and What to Do Instead)
Still doing these outdated lifting trends? It's time to level up. We break down 12 common lifting habits, techniques, and myths that need to be left behind - and what you should be doing instead to actually get stronger. No gimmicks. No fluff. Just real, effective strength training advice. Click here to watch.

 

The Bench Press Truth No One Told You
Want to improve your bench press? Make sure you're doing this . . . and not that. Click here to read.

 

Blast from the Past: Use THIS CUE to PR Your Lifts!
Try out this simple cue the next time you're going for a heavy single at the gym or in competition. It just might help you nail that PR you've been chasing. Click here to watch.

 

Blast from the Past: Better Deadlifts Start When You Ignore This Muscle
Phil describes a mental picture as well as a few cues to help you use your lats in the deadlift without having to think about them. Click here to read.


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.


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 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.

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
Sled
Outdoors:
10-20 x 25 yds EMOM at a weight of your choice

Every minute, push the sled 25 yards, i.e., if pushing the sled takes 20 seconds, then you have 40 seconds to rest. Perform 10-20 rounds.

Indoors:
10-20 x 100 ft EMOM at a weight of your choice

Every minute, push the sled 100 feet, i.e., if pushing the sled takes 20 seconds, then you have 40 seconds to rest. Perform 10-20 rounds.

Compare to 2025.04.28.

Option 2
Bike/row:
3 rounds of:
8 x 20 sec on/40 sec off
Rest 3 min between rounds

Score = lowest distance

Compare to 2025.03.10.

Option 3
1. Work up to a heavy single on the axle clean-and-press (i.e., ground to overhead).
2. 5 x 100 ft Zercher carry (50 ft down-back). Add weight each round. Rest as needed.

Compare to 2025.02.10.

Option 4
Outdoors:
5 rounds:
15 cal row
50 yd sled push, 100#/50#

Indoors:
5 rounds:
15 cal row
100 ft sled push, 250#/125#

Push sled slow for recovery. Score is slowest row.

Compare to 2025.02.10.


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 Bench Press Truth No One Told You

Here’s a simple tip regarding your bench press technique that - especially if you’re self-taught - you might not be aware of . . .

Retract your shoulders in the setup.

When you bench, you want your shoulders pulled back. Specifically, you want to pull them back and down (i.e., toward your rear end), but if you’re driving up the bench with your legs and properly supporting your arch by doing so, you’ll be taking care of the down aspect.

To see what this looks like in action, watch any of the short videos included in this article.

This retraction allows your shoulders to create a broader base of support on the bench, reduces the risk of shoulder impingement, and as an added bonus, shaves off the extra, unstable range of motion that is accidentally created with inefficient shoulder positioning.

Mike correctly has his shoulders protracted.

Thus, by retracting your shoulders, you create a stronger, safer, and more efficient position from which to bench.

sadly, mike does not have his shoulders retracted here and thus has a weaker and less stable position from which to bench press.

Pull your shoulders back before you unrack the bar and then keep them pulled back throughout the entire set. If you lose some retraction either during the unracking process or during a rep, make sure to re-retract them before your next rep.

Your shoulders - and your bench press PR - will thank you.

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?

book a free intro

Use THIS CUE to PR Your Lifts!

Try out this simple cue the next time you're going for a heavy single at the gym or in competition. It just might help you nail that PR you've been chasing. Starting Strength Coach Phil Meggers explains.

(A Blast from the Past video originally published on 12/05/22)

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?

book a free intro

Better Deadlifts Start When You Ignore This Muscle

Do you think he’s thinking about his lats?

(A Blast from the Past article originally posted on 05/05/23)

Got a barbell that wants to drift away from you when you deadlift? It’s a miserable experience. Let’s fix it fast.

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

Your latissimus dorsi (your “lats”) form a connection between your upper arm and your spine, and because of this, they perform an important function in the deadlift - they keep the barbell close to you as you pull, i.e, they are responsible for keeping the bar over the middle of the foot.

However, if you tend to let the bar swing away from you when you pull, simply cueing yourself to “use your lats” may not be terribly useful as it can be difficult to picture what the lats are actually doing. With this in mind, let’s cover a useful mental picture as well as a few cues to help you use your lats . . . without ever thinking about them.

figure 1

Mental Picture
Instead of holding a barbell, picture yourself holding a pool noodle - you know, those flexible, floaty pieces of foam that you use to whack your friends over the head . . . in the pool. With this mental picture (Figure 1), use one of the following cues:

Cue #1: Bend the bar backward.
If you’re holding a pool noodle, you can actually bend it backward around your shins (as shown in Figure 2). This action of pulling back on the bar is performed by the lats, but you don’t need to think about your lats - you simply think about the action of bending the bar backward around your shins, and the lats will automatically do their job. As a side note, it is rarely useful to think about individual muscles while lifting - think “movements” not “muscles.”

Figure 2: Bend it backward

Cue #2: Pin it to your shins.
Same idea - just a different way to think about it. Cue yourself to keep the bar pinned to your shins, and if you accomplish this, your lats will be doing their job.

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?

book a free intro

12 Outdated Lifting Trends to Ditch in 2025 (and What to Do Instead)

Still doing these outdated lifting trends? It's time to level up. Starting Strength Coach Phil Meggers breaks down 12 common lifting habits, techniques, and myths that need to be left behind - and what you should be doing instead to actually get stronger. No gimmicks. No fluff. Just real, effective strength training advice.

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?

book a free intro