NEVER Make This Belt Mistake Again! | FAST FIX

/ Testify Strength & Conditioning/

If you use a belt when lifting - and you should - you're going to make this mistake eventually. Learn to prevent it in a few short minutes. Starting Strength Coach Phil Meggers explains.

(A Blast from the Past video originally published on 04/08/23)

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Stop Destroying Your Squat - Do This Instead

/ Testify Strength & Conditioning/

(A Blast from the Past article originally posted on 09/08/23)

A common problem in the squat is raising the chest early during the ascent. Raising the chest early simply means that you’re making your torso or back angle too vertical too soon when coming out of the hole on the squat. Let’s fix this.

Typically, when addressing this issue, we simply cue you to “drive your hips.” You drive your hips up, and everything else goes up as well. However, if that's not working and you’re still raising your chest too soon, try this cue: “Stay in your lean.”

In other words, stay in that leaned over position that you achieved during the descent. When you initiated your squat, you reached back with your hips, you shoved your knees apart, and you pointed your chest at the floor. Simply put, you leaned over, so stay in that leaned over position a little longer than you think you should on the way back up out of the hole.

Julie will maintain this back angle - this leaned over position - as she drives up out of the hole.

Now, of course, your torso will eventually become more vertical - we do finish the lift in a standing up position, of course. The key is that you don’t try to make it get vertical right away. Stay in your lean.

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.

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(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?

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8 Unavoidable Truths About Seniors and Lifting Weights…

/ Testify Strength & Conditioning/

Bad advice wastes time and holds people back. Starting Strength Coach Phil Meggers covers eight unavoidable truths about seniors and lifting weights so you don’t fall for the same myths twice.

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.

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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 Sounder - January 26, 2026

/ 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):

Greg Blundell
This explanation is great, thank you, can easily see from 4:00 that those steps lock in the start position without any room for getting it wrong, fantastic!

Phil
Thanks very much - I'm glad you found it useful!

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

What Most Lifters Never Learn About Weight Lifting Plates (15 facts)
Confused about weight lifting plates, kilgrams vs pounds, metal plates vs bumpers, numbers in vs numbers out, etc.? Phil covers it all and clears up the confusion. Click here to watch.

 

When Your Press Feels Off, Try This One Small Cue Instead
When your press feels off, and you're having issues with your bar path, try this one small cue and get your press back on track fast. Click here to read.

 

Blast from the Past: Weak Bench Press? QUICK FIX
Are you making this mistake with your shoulders when you bench? We help you diagnose the problem, learn why it's bad, and fix it fast. Click here to watch.

 

Blast from the Past: Stop Fighting Your Knee Sleeves. There's a Better Way. (shhh…it’s a secret)
Stop struggling to get your knee sleeves on! Phil teaches you this super secret method - it's simple and easy. Click here to read.

TESTIFY TRUCKER CAPS ARE AVAILABLE!

Represent your favorite gym with this trucker cap in several color options - perfect for outdoors or a training session.

Click here to head to the Testify Store.

WHAT'S COMING UP

Below is one 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 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
Sled
Outdoors:
10 rounds of:
Push sled 100 ft
Pull sled 100 ft (hand over hand)

Indoors:
20 rounds of:
Push sled 50 ft
Pull sled 50 ft (hand over hand)

Compare to 2025.12.22.

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

Score = least distance covered in any 30 second interval

Compare to 2025.11.03.

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

Compare to 2025.10.06.

Option 4
Row 10 x 100m
Rest 1 min between sprints. Your score is your slowest time.

Compare to 2025.10.06.

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.

When Your Press Feels Off, Try This One Small Cue Instead

/ Testify Strength & Conditioning/

As anyone who presses knows, the press is supremely dependent on the bar path. If that barbell is just a bit out of the correct groove on a heavy press, your attempt is toast.

It’s possible to miss a press by pushing the weight too far back, of course, but it’s certainly far more common to struggle with a bar path that is forward of where you want it to be. With this in mind, if you find yourself leaving the bar out front on your presses, try this cue . . .

Aim for your face.

Don’t worry about hitting your face. Remember that, as you reach your hips forward, your shoulders and head will naturally counterbalance by moving backward slightly. As a result, you can cue yourself to aim for your face since your face won’t actually be there anymore by the time the barbell gets there.

“Aim for your nose” and “throw it back” are similar cues and ones that we use often, but if you find they’re not working for you, you’ll find that “aim for your face” drives home the concept a bit more aggressively, and that might just do the trick.

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

Weak Bench Press? QUICK FIX

/ Testify Strength & Conditioning/

Are you making this mistake with your shoulders when you bench? Starting Strength Coach Phil Meggers helps you diagnose the problem, learn why it's bad, and fix it fast.

(A Blast from the Past video originally published on 04/03/23)

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