Weightlifting 101

Introduction & Assessment

Weightlifting done right builds strength, improves every sport you play, and protects your joints. Weightlifting done wrong gets you hurt. The entire point of this quest is to get the technique right first — load is the last thing you add. Here's your starting assessment: How many bodyweight squats can you do with perfect form (chest up, knees tracking over toes, hip crease below parallel) before your form breaks? How many push-ups? How many Romanian deadlifts with a broomstick or PVC pipe? Record your numbers honestly. Browse the free **ExRx.net exercise database** — it has animated demonstrations of every major lift. Watch the squat, deadlift, and overhead press animations right now. Also check out **Alan Thrall's YouTube channel (Untamed Strength)** — his beginner lifting tutorials are clear, honest, and safety-focused. You're ready for the next step when you can perform 10 bodyweight squats with clean form and describe why technique matters more than weight.

Foundation Building

Before you touch a barbell, you need to own the movement patterns with your bodyweight. Every major barbell lift is just a loaded version of something you can do without weight. This week, practice these three patterns daily: - **Squat pattern:** bodyweight squats, goblet squats (hold a light dumbbell at your chest), box squats to a chair — sit back, chest up, knees tracking over middle toes. - **Hip hinge pattern:** bend at your hips while keeping your back flat. Place your hands on your hips and push them backward like you're closing a car door with your butt. This is the deadlift motion. - **Push/pull pattern:** push-ups (modify on knees if needed), inverted rows under a table, band pull-aparts. Do three sets of 10 reps of each, three days this week. No barbell yet — lock in the pattern first. Check the free **Starting Strength wiki** for detailed explanations of each movement. You're ready for the next step when you can complete 3 sets of 10 bodyweight squats and hip hinges with flat back and controlled movement throughout.

Skill Development

Time to add the barbell — with an empty bar or very light weight only. The technique work you did in Step 2 now becomes a loaded lift. **The squat:** bar across your upper back (not your neck), brace your core like someone is about to punch you, push your knees out, sit into your hips, stand up. The bar should travel in a perfectly vertical line. **The deadlift:** stand close to the bar, hinge down, grip just outside your legs, flat back, chest up, push the floor away — don't pull the bar up. Squeeze your glutes at the top. **The overhead press:** bar at your collarbones, grip just outside shoulder width, press straight up while moving your head back slightly, lock out at the top. Use an empty bar (45 lbs) or training bar (15–35 lbs) for every set this week. Film yourself from the side to check your own form. Compare to **Alan Thrall's tutorials on YouTube**. You're ready for the next step when you can perform all three lifts with an empty bar and have someone else (or a video) confirm your form is clean.

Practice & Refinement

Now you add weight — but you add it slowly and only when your form earns it. This is the principle called **progressive overload**, and it's the engine of all strength training. Add 5 pounds to your squat and deadlift each session, 2.5 pounds to your press. If your form breaks at any weight, drop back to where it was clean and rebuild. Your ego is not a valid reason to lift sloppy. Train three days this week with at least one rest day between sessions. Each session: warm up with the empty bar for two sets of 5, then do your working sets — 3 sets of 5 reps per lift. Log every session: date, lift, weight, reps, and one form note. If you're in Salt Lake City, check out the **U of U Recreation Center** — they have platforms and coaching resources. **Utah Strength Athletics** also runs youth programs worth looking into. You're ready for the next step when you've logged three full training sessions with progressive weight increases and clean form on all three lifts.

Challenge Mode

You have a foundation. Now you're going to push into more advanced programming — adding accessory work, understanding rep ranges, and troubleshooting your own technique. **Accessory work** fills in what the main lifts miss: rows for your back, dips or close-grip push-ups for triceps, Romanian deadlifts for hamstrings. Add two accessory movements per session after your main lifts. **Rep ranges:** 3–5 reps builds pure strength, 6–10 builds strength and muscle, 12–20 builds muscle endurance. Mix them intentionally rather than always doing the same thing. This week, also address your weakest lift specifically. If your squat stalls, watch Alan Thrall's troubleshooting videos. If your deadlift back rounds, reduce weight and rebuild the hip hinge. Form problems at moderate weights become dangerous problems at heavy weights. Browse **ExRx.net** for accessory exercise ideas — filter by muscle group and pick two you haven't tried. You're ready for the next step when you can program a full 3-day training week with main lifts and accessories, and self-correct a form error in any of the three main lifts.

Mastery Demonstration

Your mastery demonstration is a complete training session performed with full attention to technique, safety, and intentional programming. Plan and execute a full training day: warm-up, three main lifts at working weights, two accessory movements, and a cool-down. Have someone film each main lift from the side. Review the footage and write down one technique fix for each lift — not because you're failing, but because the best lifters always find something to improve. Also write a four-week training plan: what will you lift, how many days per week, and how will you add weight progressively? Use the **Starting Strength wiki** and **ExRx.net** as references. Strong athletes in Utah — from high school football players to competitive powerlifters at Utah Strength Athletics — all started exactly here. The difference between them and everyone else is consistency and patience with the process. You're ready for the next step when you can demonstrate all three main lifts with correct technique on video and write a four-week progressive training plan from scratch.