How much you benching? It’s a question that can be heard in every gym, in every language, in every country. From my perspective, the answer doesn’t mean much because I’ve seen guys throw up monster numbers on the bench only to turn around and squat feathers. But as long as it’s going to be treated as the gold standard of strength measurement, we mine as well be the guys dropping jaws, right?
To that end, let me introduce you to my new best friend: chains. After years of struggling with a stubborn bench that just wouldn’t break through a dreaded plateau, I’ve 
recently scoured for news ways to train and the Westside Barbell technique of using chains has instantly become one of my favorites (in addition to Hell Week). First, what you need to do is make your way down to Home Depot (or Lowe’s – let’s not start that argument) and purchase two sets of 5/8″ chain in five foot lengths. Each five foot segment will weigh roughly 20 lbs., so you’re looking at adding 80 lbs. to the bar. Don’t forget to buy two segments of smaller chain as well which will be used to hang the larger chain segments from the bar so that roughly 1/3 of the chain is resting on the floor when the bar is racked.
Now that you’re set up, lets go through a quick lesson in isokinetics and the underlying philosophy behind the chains before we start banging out reps. “Isokinetics” is essentially defined as challenging your muscles against an object that moves but increases in resistance until the point where the object can no longer be moved. In other words, as you lift the bar and lower it to your pecs, more of the chain begins to pile on the floor, making the weight that you are controlling lighter as you descend (eccentric phase). As you proceed to lift the bar and ascend (transitioning into the concentric phase), you push more of the chain off the floor, resulting in increased weight and resistance the higher you get the bar.
This type of training helps to promote bar speed and also forces you to work through every sticking point that you may have. In addition, the exercise minimizes joint stress and muscle soreness because it gets lighter on the way down, reducing the stress on the shoulders and joints but still allowing you to train heavy as it adds weight on the ascent. Finally, the chains force your stabilizing muscles to work overtime to control the weight in a smooth and direct manner. I think you will also find, as I did, that once you return to your regular chest routine, the explosiveness you have out of the gate will be quite impressive and allow you to fight through those heavy weights, putting up bigger and bigger numbers on the bench. That was the goal all along, right? Now get out there and drop some jaws.
For more information on benching with chains, CriticalBench.com has a great article you can check out here.
Recent Comments