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Other/Mixed What are your favorite assistance exercises?

Other strength modalities (e.g., Clubs), mixed strength modalities (e.g., combined kettlebell and barbell), other goals (flexibility)

jozko

Level 6 Valued Member
I was thinking a lot about assistance exercises recently. The opinions on this topic differ greatly, from "assistance work is overrated" to "variety is the key".

Depending on your background, occupation and leisure time activities, you might fall anywhere between this. If you are very active person, then your everyday life is your assistance work and you do not need to worry about it as much as I do.

The answer for me lies somewhere in between - I like my training to be structured and well-defined, but my body definitely does not like doing only 2 or 3 exercises.

After quite a bit of experimentation, I identified my big three for assistance work, which is pretty compatible with all protocols I like (RoP, DFW, Red Zone, S&S,...):
  • horizontal rowing. My shoulders crave for it! I like gorilla rows, because they can be done with two kettlebells and they do not put much stress to lower back.
  • single kettlebell overhead squat. Shoulders, basically whole back, hips and knees.
  • split squats/lunges - at the first sight redundant with the one above, but as a sedentary guy I apparently need both.
Sure, there other movements I do, but this forms main part of my assistance work during these days.

So - what are yours? How often do you do them?
 
jozko said:
I was thinking a lot about assistance exercises recently. The opinions on this topic differ greatly, from "assistance work is overrated" to "variety is the key".

Depending on your background, occupation and leisure time activities, you might fall anywhere between this. If you are very active person, then your everyday life is your assistance work and you do not need to worry about it as much as I do.

The answer for me lies somewhere in between - I like my training to be structured and well-defined, but my body definitely does not like doing only 2 or 3 exercises.

After quite a bit of experimentation, I identified my big three for assistance work, which is pretty compatible with all protocols I like (RoP, DFW, Red Zone, S&S,...):
  • horizontal rowing. My shoulders crave for it! I like gorilla rows, because they can be done with two kettlebells and they do not put much stress to lower back.
  • single kettlebell overhead squat. Shoulders, basically whole back, hips and knees.
  • split squats/lunges - at the first sight redundant with the one above, but as a sedentary guy I apparently need both.
Sure, there other movements I do, but this forms main part of my assistance work during these days.

So - what are yours? How often do you do them?
Click to expand...
I do not know if they are assistance… but I like starting with GSQ, TGU and a little bit of crawling. I find these keep almost everything oiled and running as well as providing a great warmup.

Then I move on to technique work LCCJ, BtP, etc

And then the main dish. Whatever it is.
 
For deadlifts and squats I really like hanging knee raises between sets.

Deadlifts: favorite are RDL variations (snatch grip, standard grip, etc) and swings
Squats: lunges
bench: seesaw db bench
overhead press: rows and shoulder flies. I guess waiter walks would fit here too, but they are more a warmup/mobility thing.

Usually just do 3-5 sets of 8-15 reps after the main lift is done.
 
jozko said:
  • horizontal rowing. My shoulders crave for it! I like gorilla rows, because they can be done with two kettlebells and they do not put much stress to lower back.
  • single kettlebell overhead squat. Shoulders, basically whole back, hips and knees.
  • split squats/lunges - at the first sight redundant with the one above, but as a sedentary guy I apparently need both.
Click to expand...

Interesting.

I consider rows, OHSQ, and split squat / lunges to be main dishes.

Then again I do rowing, snatching, and split jerking for sport....

My favorite assistance exercise?

pullovers
 
watchnerd said:
Interesting.

I consider rows, OHSQ, and split squat / lunges to be main dishes.

Then again I do rowing, snatching, and split jerking for sport....

My favorite assistance exercise?

pullovers
Click to expand...
Agreed!

If OHP, rows, carries and squats are my main dishes, I quite like:

-Push ups (fills direct chest work gap)

- Curls (fills direct bicep work… I personally don’t find cleans or rows to produce bicep growth)
 
Incline Bench was such a favourite Bench accessory for me that it became my main lift. Haven't trained flat press in years/decades.
 
Heavy t-bar row, heavy rack pull, sumo dl, pause squat with wide stance, Spoto press, standing abs roll
 
I wonder what exactly is meant by accessories.

Box squats are great. Good mornings as well. The SSB is great.

Different angles of pressing the barbell are great, from flat to different inclines to overhead. Direct triceps training is always nice.

Face pulls or rows for the upper back are a must but I don't really enjoy them.

Accomodating resistance is awesome. A must with lighter loads.

I like pin work from different heights with different lifts.
 
Francisco said:
I do not know if they are assistance… but I like starting with GSQ, TGU and a little bit of crawling.
Click to expand...
TGU is cool because it can be used both as primary strength builder and a weighted mobility drill (lower weight, slower tempo, pauses in various positions).
As for GSQ, I find KB overhead squat a superset of it, but one needs decent shoulder mobility for it.

watchnerd said:
I consider rows, OHSQ, and split squat / lunges to be main dishes.
Click to expand...
Good for you!

Bkb said:
- Curls (fills direct bicep work… I personally don’t find cleans or rows to produce bicep growth)
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I started doing curls after years of deliberately ignoring them, because of some biceps/forearm tendon inflammation caused by snatching. It seems to help a lot with this issue and it's also good reason for doing them and pretend I don't care about my biceps size ;)

solarbear said:
Incline Bench was such a favourite Bench accessory for me that it became my main lift. Haven't trained flat press in years/decades.
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I have discovered in the past that this is the best accessory lift for freestanding HSPUs. I was able to cut 12 of them after few weeks of focusing on incline bench press.

@Antti , @Steve Freides - yes, I used "assistance" or "accessory" in broad sense. To be more specific, accessory work can be - in my opinion - divided into two categories. The first one are lifts, which are synergistic with your main lift. The other one contains lifts/movements, which helps you to avoid overuse injuries and imbalances.
Example for the first category can be swing as accessory to your deadlift, example for the second category can be horizontal row for your one arm pushup. I am more interested in the second one, because I usually achieve a good progress in chosen moves quite easily without too much (synergistic) accessory work. Like going from weak 28kg in S&S to timeless 40kg in ~7 months. However, I always need to incorporate a lot of upper-body pulling work when doing Naked Warrior, because my shoulders start to hurt.
 
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Lately, the 24 kg get-up is my favorite extra/warm-up/accessory/assistance

My M/W/F weightlifting session usually consists of a snatch variation, a clean variation, a jerk or other overhead variation, a squat variation, and another pull variation.

To warm up for that session, TGUs are great, in progressive weight -- one unweighted, one light (10/12/14 kg), then one medium (16, 20 kg), then one heavy (24 kg... wish I had a 28 kg... not quite ready for 32 kg currently).

The get-up fires up a lot of muscles but particularly my grip, shoulders, and abs, gets my coordination and mind-body connection primed and ready, feels simultaneously like a stimulant and a tonic for the body, gets joints and angles moving strongly, and it makes me HAPPY to be able to TGU w/ 24 kg again... I had it for many years 2014 - 2020, but lost it for a couple of years, 2021-2022... I am really glad to have it back! It's great when your warm-up puts you in the mindset of being GRATEFUL to be able to move well, be strong, and do cool things.
 
I used to be 100% on the minimalist bandwagon, but then I read a Louis Simmons article where he said that minimalism works if your body functions properly, anyone with imbalances or dysfunction needs assistance work.

Since then, I've benefited greatly from doing minimalist programs + work that fixes my body. Dr. Yessis' 1x20, Original Strength and isometrics / Extreme Isometrics have been the most beneficial. I've recently started incorporating straight arm strength and have found easy versions of front and back levers on my suspension trainers very effective. (I'm also surprised at the bicep growth, but i guess it makes sense when you look at gymnast's freaky arms. Biceps flex the shoulders, too, not just the elbows and forearms.)
 
I do arm isolation exercises (usually bicep curls and tricep PDs) as assistance primarily for the aesthetics. Biceps and triceps without direct work can look under developed against a muscular shoulder, back and neck developed from compounds. Forearms can also benefit from some direct work but I don’t bother personally
 
For me, weighted pullups and chinup variations. I've always loved them and they have a lot of carryover to other lifts.

Also with Assistance work, Any kind of grip work. I enjoy it but it's also very important and I put a high priority on it.

Your grip can never be too strong and the stronger your grip is, the more force you can apply through your hands to the bar, handle or whatever lift you are training.

Imo for a lot of people in lifts like heavy snatches, Deadlifts or pull-ups for example the grip is the weak link and it's holds back progress. They have the body strength but not the grip required. Making your grip a priority and as strong as possible will take your training to new heights.
 
jozko said:
The opinions on this topic differ greatly, from "assistance work is overrated" to "variety is the key".
Click to expand...
The Infamous "They"

Who is the "They" of this opinion?

Assistance Exercise

The purpurpose of Assistance Exercises is to Increase Strength in the Sticking Point of the Lift.

For individual interesting in maximizing their potential in a Lift, increasing Strength or Size, Assistance Exercise play a huge role.

Variety Is The Key
Changes in exercises are more effective than in loading schemes to improve muscle strength.

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Changes in exercises are more effective than in loading schemes to improve muscle strength - PubMed

This study investigated the effects of varying strength exercises and loading scheme on muscle cross-sectional area (CSA) and maximum strength after 4 strength training loading schemes: constant intensity and constant exercise (CICE), constant intensity and varied exercise (CIVE), varied...
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Our findings suggest: a) CIVE (Constant Intensity, Varied Exercies) is more efficient to produce strength gains for physically active individuals; b) as long as the training intensity reaches an alleged threshold, muscle hypertrophy is similar regardless of the training intensity and exercise variation.


Deadlift Examples

1) Weak Point Off The Floor

Halting Deadlifts are Exercise that are similar.

2) Knee Area Weak Point

Rack Deadlifts from in the Knee area or45 Degree Back/Hip Extensions.

3) Top End Lockout Weak Point

Rack Pulls from above the Knees and 90 Degree Back/Hip Extensions.

What are your favorite assistance exercises?

Most invividual favorite Assistance Exercises, all Exercises, are the one's the good at.
 
silveraw said:
For deadlifts and squats I really like hanging knee raises between sets.
Click to expand...
Agonist Muscle Exercises

A previous post went into the researh on on to Increase Strength and/or Power in a Movement.

One of the mechanisms revolves around performing an Antagonist Exercise between sets to the Agonist Movement.

In this case the Deadlift is the Agonist Exercise and a Hanging Knee Raise is the Antagnist.

The Golgi Tendon Organ

The Golgi Tendon Organ senses what it considers a weight too heavy or too much force is being produced in an Agnoist Muscle Group.

The Golgi Tendon, as per Dr Fred Hatfield, is like an "Overly protective mother" that won't let you do things.

In this situation, The Golgi Tendon Organ acts like a Circuit Breaker at your house. If is senses wjat it believes too much current is coming in, it trips the Breaker, cutting off the electricity.

The Golgi Tendon does the same. In this case shutting down the Contraction

Desensitizing The Antagonist Muscle

By performing an Antagonist Muscle or stretching them, Desenitized the Golgi Tendon Organ's Antagonist Muscle reaction.

Thus, Hanging Knee Raises performed between Deadlift is one method that allow more Force Producetion in the Deadlift, the Agonist Muscles.
 
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