Rogelio
Member
- May 2, 2025
- 73
- 3
Accommodating resistance produces explosive powerlifters by mirroring the way your body gets stronger over time. Adding bands or chains makes it harder to lift at certain moments, which makes you keep speeding up throughout the action. This changing load educates your nervous system to apply the most force against more resistance, which helps you get beyond sticking areas and build better lockout strength.
These advanced training methods that take advantage of your body's natural strengths are often what set normal lifters apart from elite ones.
This difficulty is solved by accommodating resistance, which gradually adds strain as you advance into stronger postures. Bands stretch, and chains unfold, making it harder for you to move when your body is able to provide greater power. This variable load matches your natural strength curve, which means you have to keep speeding up and building your explosive strength to the fullest.
What happens after? Higher rate of force creation, stronger neurological drive, and better carryover to lifts in competition. Your body learns how to make the most power possible across the whole range of motion, not simply at the areas where it gets stuck.
When you stretch bands, the strain goes up tenfold, which means you have to keep speeding up throughout the action. This changing load causes your body to adapt more than just using standard weights, which means it has to recruit more motor units even when you're tired. Your powerlifting performance gets better because you're training your nervous system to keep its explosive strength even as the resistance is harder.
The accommodating resistance matches the natural strength of your muscles, which stops the slowing down that usually happens at the end of regular lifts.
Use dynamic effort training with 50–60% of your max plus band tension to make the bar go much faster through sticking areas. The changing resistance makes you speed up all the time, which teaches your body to use the most force where you're naturally weakest.
As the resistance gets stronger at the top of each lift, you'll get better at lockout. It is something that traditional training just can't do. Your competitors will be grateful.
To build the most strength, plan sessions with 70–80% of the bar weight and 15–25% of the accommodating resistance. It makes a strong training stimulus that pushes you to speed up through sticking areas. Check the tension on the resistance bands before you use them. You should feel challenged at lockout without losing your form at the bottom.
Change up your accommodating resistance tactics every three to four weeks to keep your body from getting used to them. Use straight weight, bands, chains, and combinations to keep your nervous system on its toes and growing.
Ed Coan, who many people think is the best powerlifter of all time, used varied resistance to get beyond sticking areas in his massive lifts. His training data show that chain-loaded squats helped him get faster out of the hole.
Jen Thompson, the female powerlifting champion, says that band-resisted bench practice helped her smash the record for the press because it drove her to keep speeding up beyond her prior sticking point.
These leaders don't think tolerating resistance is optional; they think it's necessary to burst through plateaus and make the most force where it counts.
These advanced training methods that take advantage of your body's natural strengths are often what set normal lifters apart from elite ones.
The Science Behind Variable Resistance and Strength Curves
When you lift a barbell with straight weight, you're working against a basic flaw in how the human body moves. Your strength curve shows how much force your body naturally makes at different points in a lift's range of motion. The barbell feels heaviest when you're at your weakest, which is usually when you're at the bottom of a squat or bench press. It limits what you can handle.This difficulty is solved by accommodating resistance, which gradually adds strain as you advance into stronger postures. Bands stretch, and chains unfold, making it harder for you to move when your body is able to provide greater power. This variable load matches your natural strength curve, which means you have to keep speeding up and building your explosive strength to the fullest.
What happens after? Higher rate of force creation, stronger neurological drive, and better carryover to lifts in competition. Your body learns how to make the most power possible across the whole range of motion, not simply at the areas where it gets stuck.
How Bands and Chains Change the Way Force is Made
Bands and chains change the physics of your lift in a big way by making resistance patterns that regular weights can't copy. When you squat or deadlift using chains, the links slowly emerge from the floor as you rise. It will be harder for you to lift at the exact moments when your body is strongest.When you stretch bands, the strain goes up tenfold, which means you have to keep speeding up throughout the action. This changing load causes your body to adapt more than just using standard weights, which means it has to recruit more motor units even when you're tired. Your powerlifting performance gets better because you're training your nervous system to keep its explosive strength even as the resistance is harder.
The accommodating resistance matches the natural strength of your muscles, which stops the slowing down that usually happens at the end of regular lifts.
How to Break Through Sticking Points in Real Life
Every powerlifter has those annoying sticking places where the bar won't move, no matter how hard you try. It is where accommodating resistance comes in handy. Adding bands or chains to your lifts can help you work on these weak spots while also creating explosive power across the whole range of motion.Use dynamic effort training with 50–60% of your max plus band tension to make the bar go much faster through sticking areas. The changing resistance makes you speed up all the time, which teaches your body to use the most force where you're naturally weakest.
As the resistance gets stronger at the top of each lift, you'll get better at lockout. It is something that traditional training just can't do. Your competitors will be grateful.
Programming Accommodating Resistance for the Best Results
To get the most out of accommodating resistance, you need to have a systematic plan that includes bands and chains in your training cycles in a smart way. Start by doing dynamic effort work once a week, utilizing 50–60% of your max with modest band tension to focus on speed rather than load.To build the most strength, plan sessions with 70–80% of the bar weight and 15–25% of the accommodating resistance. It makes a strong training stimulus that pushes you to speed up through sticking areas. Check the tension on the resistance bands before you use them. You should feel challenged at lockout without losing your form at the bottom.
Change up your accommodating resistance tactics every three to four weeks to keep your body from getting used to them. Use straight weight, bands, chains, and combinations to keep your nervous system on its toes and growing.
How Elite Powerlifters Succeeded with Variable Loading
If you look at how world record holders train, you'll see that accepting resistance has been a key part of their growth. Louie Simmons' athletes at Westside Barbell use chains and bands all the time in their conjugate training approach, which has helped them win hundreds of world championships.Ed Coan, who many people think is the best powerlifter of all time, used varied resistance to get beyond sticking areas in his massive lifts. His training data show that chain-loaded squats helped him get faster out of the hole.
Jen Thompson, the female powerlifting champion, says that band-resisted bench practice helped her smash the record for the press because it drove her to keep speeding up beyond her prior sticking point.
These leaders don't think tolerating resistance is optional; they think it's necessary to burst through plateaus and make the most force where it counts.
