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Training with Strength & Powerlifting Bands - 5 Tips to Success

By Mike Berry, President/Owner of Power-Up USA, Inc.

Training with Strength & Powerlifting Bands - 5 Tips to Success – Free-weight variable resistance training with elastic bands or chains attached to a barbell is becoming more and more widely accepted as a method that can be used to develop both maximum strength and explosive strength. Such well-known experts as Charles Poliquin and Joe Defranco make good use of it when training athletes from the high school level up to the professional and Olympic levels. Over the years, I have extensively used free-weight variable resistance training (bands) as an important part of the Fire Cadet Strength and Conditioning Program that helps prepare the Cadets for the physical rigors of the 18-week Firefighter Recruit training program that follows. My five tips to success are a direct result of my experiences working with the Fire Cadets, my own personal training experiences and some recent research findings.

Training with Strength & Powerlifting Bands - Five Tips to Success

• Know how it works

• Normalize the resistance or bomb-out

• Warm-up without the bands to maintain feel

• Go heavier - not lighter

• The mind-muscle connection - think speed!

TIP ONE: Know how it works 

When used together free-weights and elastic bands compliment one another by overcoming the inherent shortcoming of each when used alone. To explain further… 

Free-weights... provide a better overload to the muscles at the beginning of the movement when higher forces are needed to overcome the inertia of the weight, but they provide a poorer overload to the muscles later in the movement, when lower forces must be applied in order to slow the weight before bringing it to a stop.  

Bands... provide a poorer overload to the muscles at the beginning of the movement, when lower forces are needed to stretch the band, but they provide a better overload to the muscles later in the movement, when higher forces must be applied in order to stretch the band.  

Free-weights and bands... used together provide a very good overload to the muscles from the beginning to the end of the movement because higher forces can be applied through the entire range of motion of the exercise. Being able to generate high forces throughout the movement when using free-weights and bands together provides a superior training stimuli to that of either just free-weights or just elastic bands.

TIP TWO: Normalize the resistance or bomb-out

When using percentage based programs the weight on the barbell should be reduced to take into account the extra resistance provided by the bands (see note below*). Failure to adjust the weight on the barbell properly can cause the lifter to bomb-out, i.e. not get all the called for repetitions. There are three ways this can be done. Use the way that is the most practical for your situation. 

First – probably the easiest and also the most conservative way to normalize the resistance is to reduce the barbell weight by the total stretch/resistance the lifter has at the top of the lift. For example, if the stretch/resistance at the top of the lift is 50 lbs reduce the prescribed weight on the barbell by 50 lbs. If the prescribed barbell weight was to be 225 lbs – reduce it by 50 lbs down to 175 lbs. The resistance profile would look like this: bottom/175, middle/200, top/225. Average resistance overcome would be 200 pounds. Use standard progressive overload increases and add weight each workout (+5-10 lbs) until the average resistance is equal to the prescribed resistance (225 lbs). 

Second – perhaps the best and the most accurate way to normalize the resistances is to reduce the barbell weight by 1/2 of the total stretch/resistance the lifter has at the top of the lift. If this is done correctly the average resistance overcome will be equal to the prescribed barbell weight without the bands. For example; if the stretch/resistance at the top is 50 lbs reduce the prescribed weight on the barbell by 1/2 of that. If the prescribed barbell weight was to be 225 lbs – reduce it by 25 lbs down to 200 lbs. The resistance profile would look like this: bottom/200, middle/225, top/250. The average resistance overcome would be 225 lbs.  

The above example assumes that at the bottom of the lift there is little or no stretch/resistance. If there is more then a little stretch/resistance at the bottom of the lift then the stretch/resistance at the bottom needs to be measured as well. In this situation lower the barbell weight by 1/2 of the difference between the top and the bottom measurements.

Third – the last way to normalize the resistance is to max-out with the bands on the barbell, then simply ignore the resistance that was provided by the bands and prescribe the training program based solely on the weight that was on the barbell. In addition, a regular free-weight max can also be done at this time by removing the bands after the free-weight with bands max has been established and continuing with the max-out procedure until a free-weight without bands max has also been established.

*Note: recommended optimal total band resistance is 20% of 1-RM (+/-5%). For example – a 500 lb squatter should use 100 lbs of band resistance and a 300 lb bencher should use 60 lbs of band resistance. However, it is sometimes difficult to be that precise with the band resistance on an individual basis and especially so in a group setting. As a rule of thumb in those situations it is better to use more band resistance for the squat (>20%) and to use less band resistance for the bench (<20%).

TIP THREE: Warm-up without the bands to maintain feel 

It's important to warm-up without the bands in order to maintain a feel for the barbell without the extra elastic resistance. This is especially true if you are in a cycle using bands exclusively and if you are to max-out at the end of the cycle. Two or three sub-maximal warm-up sets with progressively heavier weights before attaching the bands for the work sets should serve as an adequate warm-up. 

TIP FOUR: Go heavier - not lighter 

As mentioned in the introduction, the chief benefit of free-weight variable resistance training when properly implemented is its potential to develop your maximum strength and explosive strength simultaneously. In the past I have recommended that the majority of ones training should take place using moderate intensities of between 60-80% of 1-RM. However, recent published and un-published research indicates that higher percentages (80-90%) can be very productive as well (1,3). Additionally, some of this same research indicates that lower percentages (<60%) are not nearly effective as the higher percentages are for generating peak power and force. Because of these recent research findings it looks as if the majority of ones training should be about 10% higher then I have recommended in the past and should take place between 70-90% instead of 60-80% of 1-RM.  

TIP FIVE: The mind-muscle connection - think speed! 

Each repetition of each set should be done explosively (2). There must be a conscious effort to move the weight as fast as possible on the concentric lifting phase of the movement. Each rep should be thought of as a single all-out effort. Doing each rep as if it was a single rep – with a one second pause at the top – will help you concentrate on doing each rep explosively. Do all your work sets in this manner.

Additionally, if you want a little more work, add a down set after your normal work sets. There are two different types of down sets that you can do if you want a little variety. The first is called a power-pause set. With the power-pause set take a 1-2 second pause at the bottom of the lift before blasting the weight up. The second is called a pump set. With the pump set do the reps as fast as possible with no pause at the top or bottom. 

In summary 

Free-weight variable resistance training with elastic bands attached to a barbell is a method that can be used to develop both maximum strength and explosive strength at the same time. To get the most out of your free-weight variable resistance training take advantage of the five tips presented in this article: know how free-weight variable resistance works, normalize the resistance, warm-up without the bands, go heavier and think speed.

References

(1) Anderson, C.E., The Effects of Combined Elastic – Free Weight Resistance Training in Experienced Athletes, Master of Science Thesis, 2004.

(2) Ariel, G., Principles of Ballistic Motion In Resistance Exercises, Understanding the Scientific Bases behind our Universal Centurion, pp 16-17, 1974.

(3) Wallace, B., Winchester, J., and McGuigan, M., Effects of Elastic Bands on Force and Power Characteristics During the Back Squat Exercise. Presented at the 2004 NSCA National Conference - Minneapolis, MN.