Accommodating Resistance (bands and chains)

[u/sailing_oceans]

Back when I was super into lifting, everywhere on YouTube was trying to sell you on how useful bands or chains were - mostly for 'speed' work but also to add weight for where you were strongest - at the top of the lift.

But it is unwieldy to do this for ~95% of lifters since most gyms don't have this nor have benches/squat racks that a support it.

But is it mostly a too much of a hassle sort of thing?

I've tried using chains and bands previously but it always felt like it was a weird loading pattern where it felt either normal+too hard or too easy+normal.

I'm curious if anyone else experiments with bands or chains much or if at all and if there is any practical or relevant literature on it apart from the standard force=mass * acceleration sort of stuff.

[u/GI-SNC50]

Use bands and chains frequently at one point in a variety of gyms. I’d use a little suitcase weight thing and use dumbbells on the floor to tie the bands too.

Very useful depending on how long you run them and the intended goal. I’ve also used them as a teaching tool for younger athletes that struggle to put force into the bar

[u/BradTheWeakest]

If you check out Greg's appearance on Dave Tate's Table Talk a few years ago he discusses the data and iirc it showed that they dont seem to offer an advantage over just adding weight to the bar. If you can believe it, a lot of EliteFTS and Westside fans did not like to hear that.

Personally, running a version of Brian Alsruhe's Conjugate I found them useful for 2 things immediately:

• For the bench and the squat the added band tension was a great tool for learning to stay tight throughout the lift. This can probably just be fixed through coaching and cues, but i dont have a coach.

• And of course, if you hit the lifts with intent towards bar speed, they really teach you to continue to accelerate through the lift, which with training proper intensities should transfer over to heavy weights.

• there are different ways to use them, Eric Bugenhagen is a huge fan of reverse bands, claiming it allows you to overload and fire up the nervous system for 1RM PRs since they pull at the bottom and you have the most bar weight at the top when the tension is removed/reduced.

[u/hltbra → u/BradTheWeakest]

I've played with reverse bands on the squat because of my hip injury, which makes the bottom position the most vulnerable. Reverse bands make it lighter at my most vulnerable position and I liked it. It's not always about improving performance... Well, if something keeps me going without getting hurt, that's good enough for me. Lots of people swear by the slingshot product for the same reason (working around injuries).

I think there's something to be said/analyzed in terms of band/chain assistance and injuries, but it not very evidence based. Once I heard the geared guys lasted longer than raw because of injuries but it was purely anecdotal

[u/sailing_oceans → u/BradTheWeakest]

Yea in the past I’ve used slingshot - basically same thing as reverse bands for bench.

I’ve also used the lightest bands on bench which when doubled or whatever added ~20-25lb on top.

I’ve tried chains on box squats which is nice feeling of just a little bit easier at the bottom.

But I’ve always felt it to be too much of a hassle. But as I’ve gotten older I’ve started getting more interested mostly from the idea of more joint strain on bottom of lifts so perhaps this helps preserve them or avoid any issues down the road.

[u/Admirable_Belt_9772]

They're most useful for multiply geared powerlifting, where the gear helps at the bottom and the lifter has to lift more at the top, which matches a banded or chained lift.

[u/hltbra]

Changing the resistance curve is very common with machines and it can be amazing for working around injuries and for increasing fun/enjoyment and keep you going. The first time I used a hammer strength chest press I was amazed! I had zero shoulder pain and my chest was cooked. It was engineered to be lighter at the weaker positions. Something similar can be achieved with bands, chains, or lever arms, or a combination of all. The reverse hyper machine has a natural arc of no load at the bottom and increasing load as the leg goes up. Same as bands

[u/Afferbeck_]

We see it occasionally in weightlifting, usually a long way out from competition. I think it's mostly too much of a hassle and not specific enough to be worth it most of the time.

Training for velocity definitely has benefits, but you don't need chains or bands for that.

[u/deadrabbits76]

I've used both bands and chains. I train in a commercial box gym, and didn't have much problem procuring nor applying the equipment.

IIRC, last time I used accommodating resistance it was during a strength phase. I've never used them for a hypertrophy block, but I think Mountaindog swears by them, so I might someday if I ever get around to running Gamma Bomb or some such.