The Real Reason You Fail Your Squat Linear Progression – Until You Do This

/ Testify Strength & Conditioning/

Has your squat stalled? Do you keep running into the same wall over and over? Starting Strength Coach Phil Meggers covers a few simple programming changes that can help you get unstuck and keep making 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.

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

Testify Tribune - July 6, 2026

/ Testify Strength & Conditioning/

THIS WEEK'S SUBMISSION

From our video How to Breathe and Brace Correctly When Lifting Heavy | Valsalva Maneuver (click the title to watch):

The Mahtikere
Thanks very much. I have forget how to brace correctly. That "Hick" word was gamechanger. Now squat feel great again

Phil
I’m glad to hear it, and you’re very welcome!

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

Your Lifts Won't Improve Until You Pass THIS Silent Test
The best lifters don't just get stronger – they master the fundamentals first. Learn the overlooked test that can expose a particular weak link and improve every lift you perform. Click here to watch.

 

3 Tactics to Triage Your Press FAST | Get a Bigger and Better Press TODAY
Need to fix your press but not sure where to start? Phil covers three major technical aspects of your press (AKA shoulder press or overhead press) to focus on and evaluate when trying to improve your press. Click here to read.

 

Blast from the Past: How to Load a Barbell for Deadlifts the EASY Way!
We give you a few tips and tricks to make loading the barbell for your deadlifts easier and faster. Click here to watch.

 

Blast from the Past: Use This Grip for a BIGGER Bench Press and Press!
What is a compression grip, and why should you use it for the bench press and the press? 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

Reminder: On the afternoon of Friday, 07/10/26, our training hours will run from 4:00 p.m. - 5:30 p.m. as we are hosting the annual IronFest competition that day. The morning hours remain the same as usual.

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 IronFest VIII

  • July 10, 2026

  • 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.

Minneapolis, MN: Starting Strength Squat & Deadlift Camp

  • October 3, 2026

  • 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.

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 2026.06.01.

Option 2
Bike/row:
4 x 800m

Rest 3 minutes between each round. Score = slowest time.

Compare to 2026.04.13.

Option 3
Outdoors:
10 rounds:
25 yd yoke carry
Rest 1 minute

Indoors:
10 rounds:
30 yd yoke carry (15 yd down-back)
Rest 1 minute

Compare to 2026.03.16.

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 2026.03.16.

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.

3 Tactics to Triage Your Press FAST | Get a Bigger and Better Press TODAY

/ Testify Strength & Conditioning/

Having problems with your press but not sure what to fix or where to start?

It’s important to remember that if you don't have a coach, then – by default – you are your own coach. With this in mind, let’s cover a few major technical points to look for when you watch your press on video. These are not the only things to look for, of course, but they certainly are large “bang-for-your-buck” items.

Get these issues ironed out, and you’re well on your way to a bigger, stronger press.

We did a similar article about triaging squat problems a few weeks back - click here to read the article, or you can watch the video below.

#1 Elbows and Wrists
When you unrack the barbell, are you doing so correctly with your elbows slightly in front of the bar and with relatively straight wrists? Or are you unracking the bar with elbows behind the bar and with wrists hideously bent backward in full extension?

this . . . is awful.

It’s worth noting that your wrists should not be totally straight – there will be a slight amount of extension – but we absolutely want to avoid the rather lazy and weak position of full extension (see photo above).

Your elbows and wrists should be correctly positioned before you stand the bar up. If you find yourself needing to make elbow and wrist adjustments after unracking the bar, simply stop, rack the bar, fix the issue, and then unrack it again.

Remember that you unrack the bar only with your legs – everything else should already be in the correct position.

this . . . is much better.

Also, be sure to lower the bar so that your elbows and wrists are already in the correct position for the next rep. Don’t be lazy and allow your wrists to bend backward and your elbows to drift behind the bar.

Lower the bar with a purpose, and that purpose is to set yourself up correctly and efficiently for the next rep. Lower it to the same setup position you started from – every time.

Want to see these errors and their corrections demonstrated? Watch the short video below.

#2 Knees
Keep your knees straight. Cues such as “flex the quads”, “tight knees”, and “keep the knees back” are all useful toward accomplishing this goal.

If your knees bend, remind yourself that the rep doesn’t count. You’ve done a push press instead.

Nice lift, but not the one you’re training.

Absolutely terrible

#3 Bar Path
Are you keeping the bar close to you or are you allowing it to loop out away from you?

Bar path is important for all barbell lifts, of course, but the press is especially bar path-dependent – a rep that gets even slightly out of the correct groove is significantly harder and often simply becomes a missed rep.

this bar is extremely forward of the correct bar path . . . and it makes for a miserable experience.

Cues such as “keep the bar close”, “aim for the nose”, and “throw it back” can all be helpful if you find yourself consistently allowing the bar to get forward.

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

How to Load a Barbell for Deadlifts the EASY Way!

/ Testify Strength & Conditioning/

Starting Strength Coach Phil Meggers gives you a few tips and tricks to make loading the barbell for your deadlifts easier and faster.

(A Blast from the Past video originally published on 06/24/23)

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

Use This Grip for a BIGGER Bench Press and Press!

/ Testify Strength & Conditioning/

(A Blast from the Past article originally posted on 11/24/23)

Want a bigger bench? A bigger press? Of course you do. Let’s get right to it.

figure 1: Compression grip (bench press configuration)

This article is the first in our short series on the correct grip for each lift - from pushing movements like a bench press or a press to pulling movements like a deadlift or a row, and we’ll also discuss the differences that come into play when you have an Olympic movement like a snatch or clean.

Today’s Topic: Pushing Movements
The grip we are covering today is the type of grip you would take for the bench press (Figure 1), the press, the incline bench press, the close grip bench press, etc. This grip is commonly referred to as a compression grip.

An important concept to remember is that - and this is true for both pushing and pulling movements - gravity alway wants objects to move downward.

This includes the barbell that’s in your hands, so when you’re pushing on the bar, you don’t want to put the bar in a position that permits the bar to accidentally reach a lower position (in your hands) than the position it’s already occupying. In other words, make sure that the bar is in the lowest, stable position you can achieve . . . right from the start.

figure 2: Do not put the bar up here.

What NOT To Do
For example, when you unrack the press, don’t support the barbell up high in the hand (Figure 2). If you do this with a heavy weight, it’s simply going to bend your wrist backward (thus lowering the bar). As a result, your flimsy, little, dainty, baby wrists are in a rather unstable position of extreme extension (Figure 3).

You’ve created an energy leak, and this is not a productive position from which to press or bench heavy weights. What to do?

figure 3: wrists in extreme extension - don’t be like this fool.

Figure 4

The Answer
Before unracking either the press or the bench, get the bar sitting over the base of the palms - not up by the base of your fingers, but at the base of your actual hand (Figure 4).

This position permits the bar to be stacked right over the bones of the forearms, which is excellent for force transfer.

From here, pronate your grip just enough that your thumbs can grip the bar (Figure 5). This positions the thumbs so that they can wrap around the bar in the opposite direction of the rest of your fingers.

Squeeze the bar tightly, and that’s it - this is your grip (Figure 6).

figure 5: pronate the grip slightly until the thumbs are below the bar.

The Result
This grip permits the bar to sit deep in the base of your palm - whether you’re benching or pressing. Your wrists are as straight as they can be, although they won’t be entirely straight - let’s call it a neutral position.

As a side not, wrist wraps can help achieve and maintain this position, but they shouldn’t be a crutch - learn to achieve the correct position without wraps, and then start using wraps as your work weights get heavier.

Figure 6: squeeze the bar tightly.

The wrists certainly are no longer bent back in extreme extension, and they also aren’t so straight that it feels like the bar is pushing down on the webbing of your thumb.

As previously mentioned, the bar is now positioned right over the bones of the forearm (Figure 7), which makes for efficient force transfer between your arms, hands, and the bar, and this makes for a stronger press or bench press.

figure 7: compression grip (press width)

Next up - the tension grip.

As always, we hope these tips help you get stronger and live better.

-Phil

PS: Whenever you want even more Testify in your life, here are some free resources:

  • Follow Testify on Instagram HERE.

  • Subscribe to Testify’s YouTube channel HERE.

  • 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.

(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

Your Lifts Won't Improve Until You Pass THIS Silent Test

/ Testify Strength & Conditioning/

The best lifters don't just get stronger – they master the fundamentals first. Learn the overlooked test that can expose weak links and improve every lift you perform. Starting Strength Coach Phil Meggers explains and provides demonstrations.

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