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Using Bands With Metal
Militia Training
By Sebastian Burns
Seems like everyone wants a faster way to get stronger and bands just add to the
temptation. In this article I will explain how we use bands in our routine .When
we first start our 10 to 20 week training cycle we are concerned with getting
back into training after our long layoff (layoff could be between 4 to 6 months)
we pretty much start from scratch with not much strength and no training
endurance. During this time we are just trying to get everything stronger and
weak areas are not as clear. So we will run 4 week cycles of bands in the early
part of our cycle.
There is 2 ways we have used the bands in our training and I will list them both
.I will start with the most recent cycle we just did .There is nothing really
set in stone and some of our lifters use bands on Raw day and some use them on
Shirt day. I will list all possible ways we combine them.
To set up the bands for this exercise take 2 bands and tie them together then
put them under the bench and up to each end of the bar. This way the knot of the
bands is inline with your midback and the band runs inline with your shoulders.
Week 1
Band Press 1 Set Big Blue Band
Work up to a 3 rm over 5 to 6 sets
4 Boards
Work up to 1 to 3 RM
3Boards
Work up to 1 to 3 RM
Decline
5 sets 5 Reps up to 5 RM
Week 2
Band Press 2 Sets Big Blue Band
Work up to a 3 rm over 5 to 6 sets
4 Boards
Work up to 1 to 3 RM
3Boards
Work up to 1 to 3 RM
Decline
5 sets 5 Reps up to 5 RM
Week 3
3 to 5 sets of bands etc…. We will start adding more bands per week.
2 more sets of blue next week etc…when you start running single minis on top of
all these big blues the tension gets crazy.
We just keep adding more bands each week until we have 8 to 10 bands or so much
tension that 135 + Band weight is impossible or until no one can get 1 anymore.
I will advise anyone looking to go into this super band tension zone that you
start slow and light and let your body adapt to this type of stress. Things can
get crazy when you have a large amount of tension so be careful and have good
spots.
Another way we have used bands in the past was to use them during our close
grips on shirt day. We would use one set of the blue bands wrapped around a
dumbbell held in place by some 25lb weights on each side of them. This is a
different feel than having the bands go under the bench and I liked these as
well. So the workout would look like this .
Close Grips with Bands
Work up to a 3 RM
Shirt
As many sets as it takes
6 Boards or 5 Board
Work up to a PR or 3 RM
Rack Lockout
Work up to PR
Each week adding weight to the bar instead of bands is very different than
adding bands every week and has great merit also.
Another exercise we do with bands is unique not in exercise but in the way we
set it up. When we first started training we would do hanging band presses but
we found them to unrealistic when the bands help all the way thru the movement.
So after some thought I decided to run a short ladder across the pins in the
power rack and hang the bands doubled over from the rungs of the ladder .So
there is lots of band help for the first few inches of the movement and then
they totally let go and the bar rises about 4 to 6 inches off the bands
completely depending on arm length. We work these up to a PR for a few weeks and
then lay off them for a week or so then come back to them for a Pr . This
movement seems to be more realistic when compared to the way a bench shirt helps
with the lift. We often use this exercise on raw bench day for extra work at the
top without overtaxing the bottom of the lift and the vulnerable pec muscles. To
much low end raw work can cause damage to tendons and will take energy and time
from upper end work that will pay off in a bench shirt. By doing these on raw
day we cut down on the damage to the muscle and still get great work at the top.
One thing we do different is we drop most if not all of the band work as the
contest get closer in favor of developing technique and working on specific
weakness for each lifter. Also heavy Boards and rack work become more of a
factor as the meet draws near. One thing that should be noted is that Band
tension and weight are two very different things and if you just use bands and
never use real weight you will never get a realistic feel for the proper groove
in a bench shirt. Bands are a training aid and should be used as such. I have
seen some lifters ruin their forum by using only band tension and I have heard
of many lifters doing very well with loads of tension so experiment and see what
works well for you and your training partners. There are many other people out
there using bands in many different ways, Westside, Gene ,Mike Miller and a few
others that have some really cool things going on with them so be sure to check
them out for more Ideas.
Be Sure to check out WWW.UNDERGROUNDSTRENGTH.COM and WWW.METALMILITIA.NET
for more articles and training DVDs. If anyone has any questions regarding this
article please feel free to E mail me at
Metalmilitiabench@yahoo.com Band workouts can also be seen on The
Underground Strength DVDs.
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