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Barbell Assistance Work

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JeffC

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I like StrongFirst principals. They perfectly align with mine. StrongFirst programming is generally to practice core lifts often, and suggests teaching progressions, correctives, and stretches.

I like assistance work. I can target my weaknesses or strengthen attributes I feel are important to me. Sometimes trying to progress a lift by just doing it more or better is not getting you through a sticking point. You can only run into the wall so many times before it starts to hurt.

Do you literally follow programming to the letter or do you add things to make it suit your needs?

When you add or remove things from a program it is no longer that program, but I prefer to use a program as a framework to build off of. My needs will change as I progress or regress and it is, personally, better to be flexible and adaptable in my programming.
 
  • Beginner - focus on fundamentals, and do the rest on your variety days
  • Intermediate - same as above, or add some assistance work as backoff sets after your main training program
  • Advanced - same as above. More assistance work may be needed.
 
We all have individual weaknesses. Programs for the general strength training public are general. Optimal results demand individual planning.

However, it is hard to quantify how well a person can, himself, identify his weaknesses, and secondly, develop the optimal, adjusted training program.

In a perfect world we would all have a top coach helping us personally. For those of us without one, it is more difficult. If one has a good eye and a keen mind and a capability for objectivity, it is a good idea to fine tune things by yourself. For others, maybe not so.
 
@Geoff, I prefer what I will call "periodized variety" as opposed to what I think of as assistance work.

I compete at the deadlift once or twice a year, most years, and I train directly for it in 3-month blocks, each block culminating with a meet.

(And during those 3-month blocks, I will start doing a wider range of lifts than I'll finish. As an example, I have a meet coming up in just under two weeks. For the last couple of weeks before today, I have done very little except a single Skin-the-Cat on the rings as my warmup, and then my deadlifts, but a month or two ago, I included pressing and pushups and pullups in my program, all of which I look at as both secondary goals and work that will strengthen my back for my deadlifts.)

Once the meet is over, I plan to do more USAWA-type stuff - straddle, thick-bar DL's, hip lifts, behind-the-back DL's, and also shift my focus from deadlifting to my one-armed pushup because I want to attend and pass the SFB soon, and while I can now do a one-arm pushup from the floor, I need to switch my training over to the one-arm, one-leg variety and get that going. My next planned meet is June, 2018, so that'll give me about 4 months of "periodized variety" which will both address my weaknesses as a deadlifter and help me progress towards my secondary strength goals.

@Antti, I think individualized programming, for most people, isn't necessary at the beginning but only when they reach a certain level.

-S-
 
I use Grip Training heavily as assistance. I view it as general assistance because a strong grip helps everything progress. I probably over emphasize the Grip at the expense of progressing strength and core lifts, but it is important to me. It takes from other things I could be doing. There is always a trade off when time is an issue.

How do you prioritize assistance?

Do you rank assistance work based on needs or wants?

For a competitive athlete or strength athlete you need to be very selective and targeted with your assistance work to maximize your performance. I do not compete anymore. I train with no set goals other than to build strength endurance and strength. I consider myself a Hobbiest Lifter.
 
I personally like exercises that help on a lot of other things. Dips for example seem to help my Kettlebell miltary press, and pushups. same with Rows, they help pull ups. anywho these are just personal antidotes.
 
I have aspirations to compete in powerlifting some day. I even feel that I'm in some kind of a hurry with it. I wish I had started the sport twenty years ago, but I have to play with the cards I've been dealt. So, it means my training focuses a lot on the powerlifts themselves. I don't want to compromise their progress with other lifts so I have to choose the accessory lifts accordingly.

Now, it is a whole another matter if I'm doing a good job with choosing the right accessory lifts and how to train them - if not training altogether. It is an interesting question. I'm afraid I pick my accessory lifts far too much based on familiarity and preference instead of actual help on the main lifts.

When I read books or articles on the net, I find that I'm much, much more attracted to simple training programs than those with a great variety of accessory lifts and even a variety in the main lifts. I'm inclined to say that time will tell if my feelings are right or not, but I don't think I really have the time that would tell.
 
When I read books or articles on the net, I find that I'm much, much more attracted to simple training programs than those with a great variety of accessory lifts and even a variety in the main lifts.
Me, too. I am still busy identifying and correcting issues with my form.

-S-
 
@Steve Freides You are a Deadlift specialist so are focusing your resources on a one rep max Deadlift. @Antti You are a three Lift Powerlifter and you should be focusing your efforts on a one rep max in Squat, Bench, and Deadlift. I was an Olympic Weightlifter so I drilled the Competition Lifts, a few variations, and Squats. Nothing else, all energy went into improving my total on the platform.

S&S is thought of as a General Purpose program. It is up to Simple, but becomes very specialist to achieve Sinister. All your training efforts would go into reaching the time, technique, and weight standards. Most could not reach Sinister by only doing One Hand Swings and Get Ups, and you could not reach your potential in the Powerlifts or Olympic Weightlifting by only doing those lifts.

At a certain point you need to work on strengthening aspects or portions of you desired goals. How you go about that will be somewhat individual, even though there are specific proven assistance exercises. Correcting technique deficiencies and movement dysfunction is more difficult by yourself and where a coach who knows you is invaluable. You will get there by yourself but it's a longer road.

My recent goal is Log Press so I am improving my clean, pressing, upper back, dip and drive, and wrist strength. It's hard to just train Log when the minimum weight is almost 200lb, so I need assistance to improve.
 
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When I think of assistance work, I think of higher rep sets of less CNS intense work. A better description isn't coming to me. It's usually hypertrophy-oriented.

For example, if my main lift is military press, that gets followed by four sets of incline dumbbell press, four sets of pull-ups, then three supersets of 12 tricep extensions and front lateral raises.

My coach gave me these after I mentioned I was feeling a little inflammation in my shoulders that felt like bursitis. After a few weeks of this, I haven't felt it since.

I think a nice side-benefit of assistance work, aside from specifically targeting a complimentary muscle group, is that it kind of keeps those muscle groups and joints healthy.

I don't have specific assistance work for my lower body. After I deadlift, I do front squats with kettlebells for 8-10 reps. I'm about to go front squat (barbell), and I'll probably do some hamstring curls with a stability ball and some single-leg glute bridges after, sticking to a 12-15 rep range.
 
For example, if my main lift is military press, that gets followed by four sets of incline dumbbell press, four sets of pull-ups, then three supersets of 12 tricep extensions and front lateral raises.

I like your Military Press assistance work as much as anyone, but heavy, partial, and overload work is equally or more important. Pin presses from different heights, Press against bands, lockouts, supports, Push Press, Jerk, Close Grip Bench Press, Front Squats, etc.

If you are not doing heavy work you are not building your support structures, ligament, tendons, and bones, as well as you could be.

For the Deadlift you can overload with lockouts, rack Pulls, Block Pulls, bands, chains, etc.
 
The best way I found is to "program" some assistance, but adjust it depending on how you feel. Basically, I have my main lift(s) for the session. Once I'm done, if I still feel strong, I will do the assistance. If I'm feeling off, I will reduce or eliminate completely the assistance work. I can't count the number of times when I felt a bit off one day and just did the main lift, only to get to the next day and see that my daughter is sick with a cold. I was just fighting it myself. Since I started listening to my body more, I get sick only rarely, and the severity and duration of the cold/flu when it develops is much smaller. I also usually program only minimal assistance. I always have a tendency to want to do "more" and have to restrain myself. I probably would have done more 15 years ago and recovered from it, but now, enough is enough. If a program calls for 3-5 sets of assistance work, I will usually do 3. If a program calls for 100-150 swings, I will do 100, unless I feel particularly good.

However, I am not competing in anything anymore. I want to improve, but squeezing every last bit of performance improvement is not the goal anymore. Staying healthy and injury free is. I am working on double BW deadlift and 32kg press at the moment. Whether this happens this year or next year is not important for me, as long as I progress. Funny thing, since I stopped trying too hard, things seem to progress faster.
 
one thing i didn't mention is that different exercises improve others for me, 1 tide raises all ships situation. Loaded carries help my squat, swing and Grip. Military Press, Squats and swings are my main focus. Loaded carries help strengthen the body for those movements. Dips for me have a lot of carry over to all pressing movements, plus i unload my spine which is nice. Pistol Squats are a great demonstration of how a-symmetrical i am (Hopefully correcting some of it) Basicly I try and chose movement that are still super general, but less general then the main movement.
 
It depends on your focus also. Deadlifts will assist Swings, and Swings assist Deadlifts. Bench Press will assist One Arm Kettlebell Military Press, and One Armed Kettlebell Military Press will assist Bench Press. It just depends how you program them.
 
@Manuel Fortin Great counterpoint. If you are not feeling good it is better to get your main lifts in, or adjust down the training stress, and get out. In that case extra assistance work is usually taking more than it is giving.

With age and responsibility we have to be less strict in our programming, adapting to the present conditions. There is a judgment call between calling it for a small improvement, doing a bit more for a bigger improvement, or doing too much and getting worse.
 
I'm currently undertaking a Plan Strong eight week program for deadlift (3 days per week) and am doing a single exercise afterwards for 5x10 (hypertrophy emphasis) alternating floor press and seated row, occasionally substituting standing triceps extension and pull ups. My leg work (apart from the deads) is a walk up a steep nearby hill most days. Funnily enough my joints feel so much better and my progress on the assistance lifts is great. From what I see in the mirror everything is working. Why would I do more?
 
ve Freides You are a Deadlift specialist so are focusing your resources on a one rep max Deadlift. @Antti You are a three Lift Powerlifter and you should be focusing your efforts on a one rep max in Squat, Bench, and Deadlift. I was an Olympic Weightlifter so I drilled the Competition Lifts, a few variations, and Squats. Nothing else, all energy went into improving my total on the platform.

Geoff makes some good points.

One Rep Max Lift Training

As I have mentioned before, one of the training issues of Powerlifters is using the Powerlifts (Squat, Bench Press and Deadlift) as training exercises to increase strength as well as develope technique. Powerlifting appears to be the only sport that fully engages in this protocol.

Other sports, employ weight training as a means of increasing Limit Strength for their sport. They do not employ the sport itself.

Olympic Lifting, Pole Vaulting, etc Lifting For Reps

Olympic Lifters don't preform sets of 10 Reps in the Clean and Jerk or Snatch. Pole Vault for sets of 10 Reps in the vault.

Olympic Lifters employ near max load in the Clean and Jerk for one to two reps.

Pole Vaulters, etc perform one rep at a time, figuratively speaking.

The reason for this is...

Technique Development

Research and empirical data show Technique Development is optimized by training the movement as closely to competition conditions as possible, e.g. Olympic Lifers, Pole Vaulters, Baseball Pitchers, Quaterbacks, etc.

The Traditional Powerlifting Training Protocol Issue

The issue of employing the Powerlifts as Strength Training Exercises is when fatigue set in...

1) Technique deteriorates with each rep.

2) Muscle Activating changes with each rep.

3) Force Production decreases with each rep.

4) Other factors also occur which alters technique.

Ensuring The Development of Technique

Technique is most effectively developed under the following conditions.

1) Performed when fresh in one's training.

2) Performed for single or possibly doubles.

3) Performed with load of at least 80% of your max.

4) Allowing enough rest between each single repetition allowing recovery; it ensures optimal technique.

5) Stopping technique training once fatigue set in.

Developing Strength for Competition Lifts

Auxiliary Exercises that are similar in nature to the lift.

For Olmpic Lifters (Geoff can chime in here), Overhead Pressing, Front and Back Squats, Good Mornings, Glute Ham Bench, Back Raises, Deadlifts, Romanian Deadlifts, etc.

Increasing Strength for Powerlifting Deadlifters: Good Mornings, Hip Extension/Back Raise, Glute Ham Bench, Romanian Deadlift, Glute Bridge, etc. This is the Westside Training Protocol.

The foundation of the Westside Training Protocol and reason for it success is that it built the Olympic Lifting Templet.

For other sports, exercise that work muscles utilized in the sport.

Traditional Powerfiting Training

The traditional method of employing Squat, the Bench Press and Deadlift to increase those Powerlfiters will produce results. However, it is not an optimal training protocol.

At a certain point you need to work on strengthening aspects or portions of you desired goals. How you go about that will be somewhat individual, even though there are specific proven assistance exercises. Correcting technique deficiencies and movement dysfunction is more difficult by yourself and where a coach who knows you is invaluable. You will get there by yourself but it's a longer road.

Assistance Exercises

1) Allow you to increase Strength in the particular lift.

2) Allow you to target a weak point; which bring up another point.

Kenny Croxdale
 
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