What Gear Actually Matters for Building Strength in the Gym? (14 items)

/ Testify Strength & Conditioning/

Not all gym gear is created equal. In this quick guide, Starting Strength Coach Phil Meggers breaks down 14 pieces of equipment—from “nice to have” to “you absolutely need this”—so you can stop wasting money and start lifting stronger.

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Testify This Week - December 8, 2025

/ Testify Strength & Conditioning/

THIS WEEK'S SUBMISSION

From our video What Strength Coaches Know About Barbell Rings That Most Lifters Don't (click the title to watch):

Chris
Thanks.next question.what are the colors on the collars for

Phil
You’re very welcome.

Blue is the international color for 20 kg, yellow is the international color for 15 kg, and green is the international color for 10 kg, so we put blue, yellow, and green tape on our 20 kg, 15 kg, and 10 kg (respectively) barbells.

Some manufacturers will also color code their endcaps in a similar manner.

We put red tape on our dedicated Olympic weightlifting bars to indicate that those should not ever sit in a rack so that the knurling never gets marred (i.e., creating smooth spots from exposed metal on the j-hooks of the rack) out by where people take their snatch grip.

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Get Stronger. Live Better. Start Today.

ARTICLES & VIDEOS

What Strength Coaches Know About Barbell Rings That Most Lifters Don't
Confused about barbell rings and what they actually mean? In this video, Phil breaks down the different types of barbells and how ring markings affect your grip, setup, and lifts. Click here to watch.

 

Why You Must NOT Use Your Shoulders in the Deadlift
There are two mistakes lifters commonly make with their shoulders when deadlifting . . . are you making one of them? Click here to read.

 

Blast from the Past: What is a Power Snatch? | Olympic Weightlifting Technique
What is a power snatch? How is it different from a hang snatch, hang power snatch, or snatch? Phil covers it all here in about a minute. Click here to watch.

 

Blast from the Past: Things You Should NEVER Do
We cover a few things related to your training that you should never do . . . with some humor. Click here to read.

“GET STRONGER - LIVE BETTER” SHIRTS ARE AVAILABLE!

Why do you train? Because getting stronger makes everything else easier. Get stronger. Live better. “Testify” to this message and represent your favorite gym with this shirt in several color options.

Click here to head to the Testify Store.

WHAT'S COMING UP

Reminder: Testify members! Don't forget - the annual Testify Christmas Party is on Saturday, December 13, and it will begin immediately following the end of the Christmas Classic. We'll be running this year's party in potluck fashion, so bring a dish to pass and something to drink, wear something outlandishly Christmasy, and let the festivities begin!

We're guessing a start time of around 5:00 p.m., but if you're not participating in the Christmas Classic, your best bet is probably to show up earlier than that, cheer on your fellow lifters at the Christmas Classic, and then we'll segue right into the party (tableware provided by Testify).

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 Christmas Classic

  • December 13, 2025

  • The Christmas Classic is a team strength meet wherein the contested lifts will be the squat, press, bench press, and deadlift. Competitors will form teams of 2-4 lifters/team and perform all 4 lifts; each lifter will receive 3 attempts for each lift.

  • Our annual Testify Christmas party starts immediately afterward!

  • Click here to register or for more information.

Testify Strengthlifting Challenge

  • April 11, 2026

  • 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”
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 2025.11.03.

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 2025.09.15.

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 ft sled push (50 ft down-back)
100 ft farmer carry (50 ft down-back)
Rest 1 min

Compare to 2025.08.18.

Option 4
10 x 50 ft farmer carry
Each carry is 25 ft down and 25 ft back and is for time. Rest 1 minute between carries.

Women: 97# per handle (80# of plates)
Men: 137# per handle (120# of plates)
(Note: Each handle weighs 17#.)

Compare to 2025.08.18.

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 You Must NOT Use Your Shoulders in the Deadlift

/ Testify Strength & Conditioning/

Let’s quickly discuss a problem lifters often have in their deadlift - specifically a problem with their shoulders. There are two places in the deadlift that these errors can show up, and either way, the result is that of unnecessary and counterproductive movement of the shoulders.

With this in mind, let’s identify and fix these errors in short order.

Error #1
You’re performing your setup correctly - you have a stance with the barbell over midfoot, you’ve taken your grip, and you’ve bent your knees to touch your shins to the bar.

Then, as you endeavor to squeeze your chest up to set your back in extension, you accidentally retract your shoulder blades, i.e., you try to pull your shoulders back (Figure 1).

figure 1: Joy has accidentally retracted her shoulders during her setup. this is no good.

This is great for the bench press, but it’s terrible for the deadlift for several reasons. One, you’ve introduced slack into the setup - you are now in a position which you will not be able to maintain (nor do you need to) under a challenging load. You might be able to maintain that retracted position when the weight is light, but you certainly won’t be able to when the deadlift gets heavy, so you’re wasting energy putting yourself into this position.

Two, you’ve introduced an unnecessary variable to your setup since you’ve put yourself into a position that won’t work when the weight gets heavy. You’re practicing something that doesn’t work when it matters the most.

figure 2: This . . . is much better.

Three, it’s counterproductive as this movement pulls you down closer to the bar, i.e., you end up giving yourself artificially shorter arms, which is never an advantage in the deadlift. You want your arms to be as long as possible (Figure 2) when pulling heavy weights from the floor.

Error #2
The second type of shoulder mistake happens at the top of the deadlift when a lifter tries to shrug the shoulders upward when locking out the deadlift (Figure 3).

Figure 3: Becky has made the error of shrugging at the top of her deadlift. Don’t do this.

Again, this is unnecessary as a finished deadlift occurs with the chest lifted - but not the shoulders. Also - and again - it’s counterproductive because you can’t shrug upward when the deadlift gets heavy, so you’re wasting energy by trying to do so, and you’re again practicing something that won’t work when the weight becomes challenging (Figure 4).

figure 4: becky understands how utterly pointless it would be to shrug during her 300 lb deadlift . . . so she wisely doesn’t try to do something that silly.

The Solution
First of all, record and then watch yourself on video to see if you’re committing either one of these mistakes as lifters who make these mistakes are often unaware of the problem.

Next, simply remind yourself: Don’t do anything with your shoulders.

(Watch the video below to see these errors and their solutions in action.)

At no point in your deadlift do you need to be thinking about your shoulders. The five step set up process - stance, grip, shins, chest, and pull (watch the video below to see this in action) - has no step dedicated to doing anything with your shoulders. Likewise, you should finish the deadlift by standing tall, but standing up has nothing to do with your shoulders, so simply cue yourself to “stand tall” or to “lift your chest” and don’t try to do anything with your shoulders.

What If I’m Still Committing These Errors?
If you still find yourself retracting your shoulders when setting up to pull, remind yourself that when you squeeze your chest up to set your back in extension, you want to be as far away from the barbell as possible (while still being connected to the bar via your grip, of course). In other words, squeezing your chest up to set your back should stretch out your arms - not shorten them.

With this in mind, you can use the cues “long arms,” “stretch out the arms,” or even “get away from the bar.”

If your shrugging error is particularly persistent, you can use the cue “shoulders down” when locking out your deadlift. Using the cue “don’t shrug” will generally not be as useful - giving yourself something to do (such as “shoulders down”) tends to be more productive than an avoidance cue such as “don’t shrug.”

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

What is a Power Snatch? | Olympic Weightlifting Technique

/ Testify Strength & Conditioning/

What is a power snatch? How is it different from a hang snatch, hang power snatch, or snatch? Starting Strength Coach Phil Meggers covers it all here in about a minute.

(A Blast from the Past video originally published on 03/11/23)

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

Things You Should NEVER Do

/ Testify Strength & Conditioning/

(This article was originally published on Starting Strength on 12/28/21.)

Here are a few training-related situations that you should try to avoid. At all costs. Watch out, now.

1. NEVER train when injured.
If you’ve pulled your right hamstring, for instance, it doesn’t matter that we can modify training to deal with this and help the healing process along. It doesn’t matter that you can still make excellent progress on - at the very least - your upper body lifts, and it doesn’t matter that you have three other perfectly usable limbs with which you can train (you know - your right leg and your two arms). Just don’t do it. Never do it. You might start to develop the inclination and ability to make progress in the face of adversity. This would be Bad.

Instead, just rest. Stay home. Get weaker. Mmmm . . . weaker. Sounds delicious.

(Oh, and definitely don’t read the excellent article - A Clarification on Training Through Injuries - by John Petrizzo.)

2. NEVER train when tired.
If it’s early, and you’re still sleepy, hit the snooze. If it’s after work, and you’re exhausted, head on home for a drink. It’s just one workout. It probably won’t become a habit. Besides, we live in a very physical society these days - you’ll probably get a nice training effect from mowing your lawn on Saturday with your self-propelled or riding mower. It’ll be fine. 

3. NEVER train if your MD, PT, PA, chiro, masseuse, dentist, mechanic, dog walker, hair stylist, relative, or barista tells you that you shouldn’t be lifting weights . . .
. . . especially if they tell you that “you don’t need to be lifting those heavy weights!” These people have an intimate understanding of your goals, your training history, and what goes on in the weight room when you train, so always pay attention to them. Also, these people are your masters. Do what they say. That’s why they pay you . . . wait . . . no, nevermind. Do not think, talk to others, evaluate, and then make a decision for yourself. You might start to develop an independent spirit. Self-reliance, even! This would be Bad.

4. NEVER perform the Olympic lifts if you’re over 40.
Old farts like you die every day doing these lifts! What were you thinking?! Don’t you know these lifts have to be performed with absolute perfection?! Arm pull? Death. Less-than-optimal rack position? Death again. Just not very explosive in general? Death to you and your progeny! 

You thought you could approach these lifts like a sensible human being - learning the lifts with the help of a coach, practicing the lifts, and then deciding whether or not you want to keep doing them?! Sheer idiocy. Good heavens - you might even enjoy the process and improve over time! How dare you.

We hope these words of wisdom help you in your journey to NEVER get stronger and live better.

—————

Hopefully, you caught the blatant and well-intentioned sarcasm!

-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

What Strength Coaches Know About Barbell Rings That Most Lifters Don't

/ Testify Strength & Conditioning/

Confused about barbell rings and what they actually mean? In this video, Starting Strength Coach Phil Meggers breaks down the different types of barbells and how ring markings affect your grip, setup, and lifts.

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