Do This for a BIGGER Squat! | How to Pause Squat (and Why!)

/ Testify Strength & Conditioning/

Want to improve your squat? The pause squat can help. Starting Strength Coach Phil Meggers explains what a pause squat is, how to do it, and why you might want to utilize the pause squat in your training.

(A Blast from the Past video originally published on 05/01/23)

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  • 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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To Stand Up . . . Stay Leaned Over!

/ Testify Strength & Conditioning/

(A Blast from the Past article originally posted on 09/10/21)

I had a conversation this week with one of our members after his last set of squats that went something like this:

  • Me: “That last rep was spot on.”

  • Member: “Yeah, that rep was so much easier since I stayed leaned over longer on the way up. It’s so strange how that works, and I sometimes just forget it.”

  • Me: “Yep, it can be counterintuitive, but you have to stay leaned over to make standing up easier.”

This conversation illustrates a common problem with newer and even experienced lifters, which is that of trying to raise the chest prematurely when coming up out of the hole on the squat. In other words, they try to make their back angle more vertical right away on the ascent. We sometimes refer to this problem as “not staying in your hips,” and today, we’re going to solve this issue.

Remember, during the ascent of the squat, your back angle will eventually become more vertical - after all, we finish the squat in an upright (i.e., vertical) position. However, if you try to make it vertical too soon, it makes for a slower, more difficult squat. To avoid this problem, we cue people to “drive the hips” or “stay in your hips” as they come up out of the hole (very often, this cue is reduced to simply “Hips!”).

With that being said, if these cues don’t work for you and you still find yourself raising your chest too soon on your ascent, try one of the following cues as you drive up out of the bottom of the squat:

  1. “Stay in your lean.” 

  2. “Stay leaned over.”

With these cues, you are reminding yourself to preserve your back angle - to preserve that leaned-over position - for longer than you think on the way up. You’re not telling yourself to become more leaned over - you’re just trying to keep your back angle relatively constant as you start to ascend. 

Don’t worry - you will eventually raise your chest as you continue to ascend, and it will happen without you thinking about it.  We just don’t want it to happen immediately, and these cues may just help you accomplish this.

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:

  • 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?

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99% of Lifters Don’t Know These 9 Gym Equipment Facts

/ Testify Strength & Conditioning/

Most gym equipment seems straightforward—but a few overlooked details can make a big difference. Here are nine facts about common lifting equipment that many lifters never learn. Starting Strength Coach Phil Meggers explains.

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?

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Testify Today - March 16, 2026

/ Testify Strength & Conditioning/

THIS WEEK'S SUBMISSION

From our video 10 Bench Press Pro Tips ("Don't Bench Vertically" and more) (click the title to watch):

Alen Vidović
Why is looking at the bar a bad thing?

Phil
Solid question, Alen. In general, staring at a fixed focal point (instead of a moving one) makes for a more accurate and consistent bar path.

One way of thinking about it is that you are looking at where you want the bar to go as opposed to looking at the bar itself. Analogously, when driving a car, we look where we intend to go as opposed to at the car itself, and in the case of shooting a basketball, we stare at the hoop instead of the ball.

I hope this proves 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

10 Bench Press Pro Tips ("Don't Bench Vertically" and more)
The bench press looks simple—but small mistakes can hold your numbers back for years. We cover 10 practical tips, including why you shouldn’t bench vertically. Click here to watch.

 

Struggling to Improve Your Press? These 10 Tips Actually Help.
Want to improve your press? Phil provides 10 tips you can start implementing today. Click here to read.

 

Blast from the Past: "This Made Him Look STUPID!" | Squat Mistake
Are you making this mistake when squatting? Well . . . don't. It's unnecessary, inefficient, and it makes you look like a newbie. Click here to watch.

 

Blast from the Past: Get Stronger . . . Faster?
You want to get stronger, but you don't have all day to spend at the gym. Phil discusses how to productively train while still saving time at the gym. Click here to read.

TESTIFY CAMPFIRE MUGS ARE AVAILABLE!

For lifters who train hard . . . and like a little campfire-style to go along with their training sessions. Durable, no-frills, and proudly wearing the Testify logo. From campsite to squat rack, this mug's for you.

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 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.

Testify Barbell MAYhem - The Clean & Press Classic

  • May 1, 2026

  • The annual Barbell MAYhem is back, and this year's event is a Friday night clean-and-press!

  • This is a single-lift weightlifting meet wherein competitors will perform the clean-and-press. Each lifter will receive 3 attempts, and the heaviest successful lift will determine their score.

  • There will be prizes - for feats both serious and outlandish - throughout the night!

  • Click here to register or for more information.

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.

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 2026.02.09.

Option 2
Bike/row:
4 x 800m

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

Compare to 2025.12.22.

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 2025.11.24.

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 2025.11.24.

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.

Struggling to Improve Your Press? These 10 Tips Actually Help.

/ Testify Strength & Conditioning/

Here are 10 quick tips to help you press more efficiently . . . today.

1. Narrow Grip
As a ballpark estimation, most guys will have their index finger right on the edge of the knurling (i.e., almost touching the smooth part of the bar), and most gals will have their index fingers on the smooth part of the bar with the rest of their fingers on the knurling.

Don’t take a wide grip - this isn’t the bench press. Simply reach out in front of you like you’re Frankenstein’s monster, and you are well on your way toward the correct grip width.

2. Bar Position in the Hands
When you take your grip, you’re setting up to push the barbell, so you shouldn’t have your wrists bent backward in full extension as if you’re trying to break your wrists.

In fact, if you simply reach out with one hand and lean on the bar in a casual, “just putting out the vibe” manner (Figure 1), you’ll probably do a good job of pushing on the bar with the base of your palm, which is what you want.

Figure 1: good bar position in the hand. good vibe too. i call it “knurled steel.”

Toward this end, pronate your hands slightly when you take your grip and be sure that you’re setting up with the bar in the base of the palm (i.e., not up by the pads at the base of your fingers). Squeeze the bar tightly, and all of this will help ensure that your wrists are relatively neutral and not bent backward in full extension (Figure 2).

figure 2: terrible bar position in the hand. hideous wrist extension. awkward vibe.

3. Dip Down
After you take your grip, but before you unrack the bar, get very close to the bar (chest touching the bar is a good approach), and then dip down by bending your knees. Dip down far enough so that you can rotate your elbows slightly in front of the bar without having to bend your wrists.

Treat your wrists like they are in a cast - do not let them change shape or bend backward at all as you rotate your elbows into position. Dipping down far enough is key to this process.

Once your elbows are in position, unrack the bar by standing up, i.e., you unrack the bar with your legs - not your arms.

4. Stay Close
This isn’t a marathon - stay close to the rack after you unrack the bar.

The process is: “stand the bar up, half step, half step.” In other words, unrack the bar with your legs, take a small step back with your right foot, then take a small step back with your left foot. At this point, you’re ready to press.

5. Wide Stance
A common error is a stance that is too narrow. To fix this, unrack the bar with your feet at roughly squat width (or slightly wider), and then maintain that width as you take your two half steps backward from the rack.

6. Elbows
Viewed from the front, you should have vertical forearms. Viewed from the side, your elbows should be slightly in front of the bar.

You achieve this position before you ever unrack the bar (back in tip #3), so make sure you maintain this position during the unracking process.

Never let your elbows drift backward out of position.

7. Eyes Forward
Pick a spot on the wall in front of you at about eye-height. Stare at that spot before you unrack the bar, during the unracking process, during and between each rep, and until the bar is back in the hooks.

Don’t close your eyes, and don’t let your gaze wander. Stare at your focal point.

8. Tight Knees
If you bend your knees, the lift becomes a push press, so your rep doesn’t count.

With that in mind, flex your quads hard before you reach forward with your hips. We don’t usually cue muscles, but we do cue them when we’re trying to prevent movement, and that’s exactly the case here. We want to prevent knee flexion.

Tight knees. Flex the quads. Keep the knees stiff.

9. Aim
Give yourself something to aim for when pressing.

Aim for your nose, or cue yourself to press up and slightly backward.

10. Throw the Bar
Think of the press as a throw.

When you reach forward with your hips, that’s analogous to winding up to throw a baseball - cocking your arm back and getting ready to stride forward.

Then, as your hips slam back into position - as you aggressively stand up - that’s the violent aspect of the throw.

The press is a throw that uses the hips to get the movement started.

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

"This Made Him Look STUPID!" | Squat Mistake

/ Testify Strength & Conditioning/

Are you making this mistake when squatting? Well . . . don't. It's unnecessary, inefficient, and it makes you look like a newbie. Starting Strength Coach Phil Meggers explains.

(A Blast from the Past video originally published on 04/29/23)

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