The Testify Press - July 21, 2025

/ Testify Strength & Conditioning/

THIS WEEK'S SUBMISSION

From our video 9 Common Lifting Tactics That Can Ruin Your Squat (click the title to watch):

EdTom82
I had been doing squats in squishy trail runners. The other day I did my squats in logger boots and it felt awesome.

Phil
I believe it. When I taught high school math and physics, I also taught a weight lifting class, and the policy we had for the class was that if you didn’t want to get actual lifting shoes (which most purchased within the first two weeks of class), you could instead wear work boots or men’s dress shoes.

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

9 Common Lifting Tactics That Can Ruin Your Squat
Think you're squatting correctly? You might be using these common tactics that are actually sabotaging your squat. We break down 9 mistakes that could be holding you back - and cover how to fix them. Click here to watch.

 

Why Waiting Until Monday Is for Quitters
When should you start training? Specifically, what day of the week should you start on? And what's the worst possible thing to do? Click here to read.

 

Blast from the Past: How to Deadlift | Fix Your Back for a STRONGER Pull! (Part 2)
Do you have a tough time setting your back when you deadlift? In Part 2 of this Saturday Shorts series, Phil walks you through how to solve this problem. Click here to watch.

 

Blast from the Past: 4 Gym Tips No One’s Talking About
Phil covers some useful tips and tricks for new and experienced lifters. 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.

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.

Minneapolis, MN: Starting Strength Squat & Deadlift Camp

  • October 4, 2025

  • Spend the day learning the theory and practice of the low bar back squat and the deadlift.

  • Participants will spend lots of time on the platform receiving coaching and instruction on the squat and deadlift in a small group setting. We will also have a lecture and discussion on programming and cover how to identify and correct common technical problems.

  • Click here to register or for more information.

Benching Bonanza! The Annual Testify Bench Press Jubilee

  • November 21, 2025

  • Benching Bonanza is a strength meet wherein the only contested lift is - not surprisingly - the bench press. There will be one bar, and the meet will be conducted in a "rising bar" format, so the weight on the bar only goes up! It’s a great time for all involved, and we hope to see you there!

  • 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 2025.06.16.

Option 2
Bike/row:
5 min on
4 min off
4 min on
3 min off
3 min on
2 min off
2 min on
1 min off
1 min on

Record distance for each interval and add for total distance.

Compare to 2025.04.28.

Option 3
5-10 rounds of:
30 sec ME tire flips
30 sec rest

Compare to 2025.03.31.

Option 4
Sandbag-over-bars
Set yoke at #33 for women or #35 for men.
1. 1 minute AMRAP
2. 5 rounds of 2 reps every 2 minutes (speed!)
3. 1 minute AMRAP

Weights
Female under 40 years
140 lbs and under: 75 lbs
140.1 lbs – 185 lbs: 100 lbs
185.1 lbs and over: 150 lbs

Female 40 years and over
140 lbs and under: 50 lbs
185 lbs and under: 75 lbs
185.1 lbs and over: 100 lbs

Male under 40 years
185 lbs and under: 150 lbs
185.1 lbs – 235 lbs: 200 lbs
235.1 lbs and over: 250 lbs

Male 40 years and over
185 lbs and under: 100 lbs
185.1 lbs – 235 lbs: 150 lbs
235.1 lbs and over: 200 lbs

Compare to 2025.03.31.

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.

Why Waiting Until Monday Is for Quitters

/ Testify Strength & Conditioning/

The Scenario
It’s July, so January 1st has come and gone by a long shot, and so has your New Year’s resolution of consistently training. 

Not a problem. Today is Wednesday, and you’ve told yourself the following . . .

“Self, I’m kicking it off next week.”

“Come Monday, I am going to get this thing going.”

“The gainz train starts on Monday!”

Don’t do this to yourself. Monday is the worst day to start training - the absolute worst.

How Can This Be True?
Am I being mildly facetious? Of course I am - my training week typically starts on a Monday. However, the point still stands - the reason why Mondays are so terrible is that when people miss a training session (and specifically the start of the training week such as a Monday or Tuesday), they get to the middle of the week and - instead of simply going in and continuing their training - they often give up on the rest of the week.

This is usually paired with inner dialogue along the lines of “Well, I didn’t get my training started this week the way I meant to, but I’ll definitely get it going next week.”

This is a big problem for two reasons.

Problem #1
If you skip the rest of the week, you’re missing out on perfectly good training days and the progress that would have come with them. If you typically train Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, but this week you missed Monday, you can still get quality training done on Wednesday and Friday.

Missed Monday and Wednesday? Training on Friday or Saturday is still better than waiting until Monday. Better by far.

In suboptimal circumstances, training is not all or nothing. It’s all or something.

You don’t stop brushing your teeth for the rest of the week simply because you fell asleep before brushing them on Tuesday night. You wake up the next morning, brush your teeth, and continue with your life. Training is the same. Just go train.

Problem #2
The more insidious problem is that, by deciding not to train for the rest of the week, whether it’s Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, etc., you have now decided to practice skipping workouts.

You have now decided to make skipping workouts your new habit.

You’re practicing the very habit you’re trying to avoid - that of missing training sessions.

The Solution
Don’t complicate this and don’t wait. If it’s too late to train today, grab a barbell tomorrow and train.

The bar weighs the same seven days a week, and putting off your training another day or two only reinforces the habit you want to eradicate.

Need an extra kick in the pants? Remember that if you have kids, you are either demonstrating - whether you mean to or not - how to get back on that horse . . . or how to just stay down.

Don’t wait for the calendar’s merry-go-round to bring Monday back around to you.

Get back on that horse. Today. It might be tough to walk in the door of the gym, but by the time you walk out, you’ll be glad you did.

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?

How to Deadlift | Fix Your Back for a STRONGER Pull! (Part 2)

/ Testify Strength & Conditioning/

Do you have a tough time setting your back when you deadlift? In Part 2 of this Saturday Shorts series, Starting Strength Coach Phil Meggers walks you through how to solve this problem.

(A Blast from the Past video originally published on 12/31/22)

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?

4 Gym Tips No One’s Talking About

/ Testify Strength & Conditioning/

(A Blast from the Past article originally posted on 03/19/21)

When you’re new to some task, like lifting, there are always a few tips and tricks that will seem rather obvious to you years later, so in an effort to speed things up a bit, here are several that might prove useful to both new and experienced lifters:

figure 1: An additional use for your wrist wraps

Deadlifting on a Non-level Floor
If you must deadlift on a slightly non-level floor (hopefully very slightly!), and you find that the barbell always wants to roll a bit, you can simply place your wrist wraps on the floor in front of the plates (Figure 1).

You can, of course, use any other soft, thin items like socks, lifting straps, even sponges, but don’t use a hard item like a 2.5-lb plate. If you set the bar down, and it glances off that item, it will come back at your shins, and shins and horizontally moving barbells don’t get along well (hint: the barbell always wins). In addition, the contact between the plate(s) on the bar and the 2.5-lb plate on the floor may cause one or both of them to chip. Wrist wraps are thick enough to immobilize the bar but soft and compressible enough that setting the bar down on top of the wrist wraps won’t cause any problems.

Quit Using 2.5-lb Plates . . . Sometimes
Stop using 2.5-lb plates in your warm-ups. As you get stronger, you’ll find that you can round most - if not all - of your warm-up weights to numbers that end in “5.” This will allow you to stop using 2.5-lb plates in your warm-ups.

If you’d like to use 2.5-lb plates in your final warm-up in an effort to be a bit more precise, that’s fine, but most of your warm-up weight selections won’t require this level of precision. (If your work sets on a given lift are less than 100 lbs, you might decide to use 2.5-lb plates more often in your warm-ups, but you can apply a similar exclusionary logic to the 1.25-lb plates instead.)

Stop Resting . . . Sort-of
Stop resting between your warm-ups sets. We mention this on a regular basis, but it still blows people’s minds that they don’t need to rest 5 minutes between every single set.

Do your empty bar sets (alright, you can rest 15 seconds between your two empty bar sets of five reps), then add weight and go. Then add weight and go again. Repeat until it’s time for your first work set, before which you should probably rest a few minutes. Remember - the act of changing the weight on the bar gives you enough rest to do the next warm-up set. This will save you a lot of time in the gym.

Write Out Your Next Workout
Write out your next workout before leaving the gym. As you gain experience, you may ditch this habit, and that’s perfectly fine, but when you’re new, it’s a very productive use of your rest periods to start writing out your next workout in your training journal - especially the warm-ups. You’re already in “training mode,” and the warm-ups you performed today will inform and influence the warm-ups you do next time, so now is as good a time as any to write out your next training session (and you won’t have to think too hard when you come in the gym next time).

As always, we hope these tips and tricks help 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?

9 Common Lifting Tactics That Can Ruin Your Squat

/ Testify Strength & Conditioning/

Think you're squatting correctly? You might be using these common tactics that are actually sabotaging your squat. Starting Strength Coach Phil Meggers breaks down 9 mistakes that could be holding you back - and how to fix them.

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 Bulletin - July 14, 2025

/ Testify Strength & Conditioning/

THIS WEEK'S SUBMISSION

From our video The One Tiny Adjustment That Will Determine Your Benching & Pressing Strength (click the title to watch):

Donny Lem
This is good word. Buddy of mine made me switch to this few years back and my bench exploded upward in weight

Phil
Thanks, Donny, and I’m glad to hear that!

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

The One Tiny Adjustment That Will Determine Your Benching & Pressing Strength
Think your bench and press are stuck? It might just take one tiny adjustment to unlock serious improvements. In this short video, Phil breaks down the small change that can make a big difference in your pressing power. Click here to watch.

 

Snatch vs Power Snatch vs Hang Snatch - What's the Difference?!
Snatch, power snatch, hang snatch, hang power snatch - we cover the differences as well as how to easily remember each one. Click here to read.

 

Blast from the Past: How to Press: The Setup | STOP Doing This!
Are you getting setup as well as you should be when you press (AKA overhead press or shoulder press)? In under 2 minutes, Phil covers a common error during the setup process. Click here to watch.

 

Blast from the Past: The Best Way to Put On a Lifting Belt! (and a secret weapon)
We explain & demonstrate the best way to put on your lifting belt (and give you a super-secret weapon to use at meets!). 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.

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.

Minneapolis, MN: Starting Strength Squat & Deadlift Camp

  • October 4, 2025

  • Spend the day learning the theory and practice of the low bar back squat and the deadlift.

  • Participants will spend lots of time on the platform receiving coaching and instruction on the squat and deadlift in a small group setting. We will also have a lecture and discussion on programming and cover how to identify and correct common technical problems.

  • Click here to register or for more information.

Benching Bonanza! The Annual Testify Bench Press Jubilee

  • November 21, 2025

  • Benching Bonanza is a strength meet wherein the only contested lift is - not surprisingly - the bench press. There will be one bar, and the meet will be conducted in a "rising bar" format, so the weight on the bar only goes up! It’s a great time for all involved, and we hope to see you there!

  • 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 2025.06.09.

Option 2
Bike/row:
4 x 3 minutes

Rest 3 minutes between each round. Score = lowest distance.

Compare to 2025.04.21.

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 2025.03.24.

Option 4
1. 5 yoke carries @ 30 yd (15 yd downback) – work up to heaviest carry
2. 5 rounds of 5 reps on the axle “clean and press away” – work up to heavy set of 5

Compare to 2025.03.24.

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.