The ChrisFit Blog

Ever wonder why you see those big imposing lengths of chain hanging in the squat rack? Ever wonder why your trainer might apply said chains to an already difficult lift? Aside from our own amusement, and the inevitably fun inappropriate conversations that follow the prescription of chains into your workout, those heavy, noisy lengths of terrifying steel actually serve a number of purposes that benefit your performance in the gym, and ultimately your physique.

The most common use of the chains is to provide accommodating resistance to compound movements (usually the big 3 of powerlifting) like barbell squats, deadlifts, and bench presses. Accommodating resistance is a technique used to develop explosive speed in these lifts by increasing the difficulty at the upper end of the range of motion and deloading the movement at the bottom. As you may have noticed, when lifting with chains, all or most of the added chain weight is on the floor at the bottom of the lift, and nearly all of it is off the ground at the top, thus increasing weight throughout the motion. Increasing the weight as the lift progresses forces the trainee to perform the lift explosively so as not to get stuck under heavy loads. When one is used to moving a weight quickly and with as much force as possible against accommodating resistance, they will generally lift faster under a heavy straight weight load as well. This develops more strength and allows a heavier load to be used in other training - which means more muscle developed and more calories burned - i.e. you look better and can do more awesome stuff! Accommodating resistance for speed can also be accomplished by using resistance bands to either resist or assist a lift, depending on setup and the desired effect. Bands and chains, while serving similar purposes in this regard, do have slightly different effects however.

The application of chains to your lifts can serve a number of other purposes though. I have found that many beginner trainees can benefit from chain work to increase stability and teach technique when learning difficult movements like the squat. When forced to stay tight and balance a less stable load, new lifters tend to create better core and joint stability, as well as use proper bio-mechanics to lift the weight. This can also be accomplished by hanging an unstable object from the barbell such as a kettlebell or plate weight attached by a band.

Another application of chains is to target a certain muscle group for development of strength or hypertrophy. The overload effect on the top of a lift from chains can be used to stimulate a specific muscle preferentially in a compound movement. For example, if a lifter wanted to develop more triceps strength or size, they might add chains to a close-grip bench press in order to de-emphasize the chest and shoulders, and force the triceps to do most of the work at the top of the lift. Similarly, adding chains to a deadlift can be used to put more strain on the upper back musculature, while being less stressful on the lower back and hamstrings with a lighter load off the floor, but added chain weight to the top of the lift. The applications to this use are nearly endless with a bit of creativity and experimentation.

And lets be honest, the chains just look badass and sound cool too!

-Steve Decker