I just love these they really safely allow you to lift excessive amounts of weight and they are great for speed work and or Max effort work.
Let me give you a breif but accurate description of the theory as I see it along with the setup.
Lightenings allow you to explode of the chest or at the bottom of the squat by reducing the load at the bottom and gradually loading back up while completing the lift. Sort of like a machine (No not really I added that because thats what I hear alot around the gym) would do. Not really though because you are actually over stimulating the stabilizers. This does two things for speed work it allows you to accelerate very quickly at the bottom and end with an optimal progressively heavier load (increases lock out strength). On Max effort days we like to incrementaly load it to the point of a stall and then work that stall alittle bit. This work the acceleration is slower but the lock out gets used to the maximal weights.
When setting up for lightenings we always use a squat or power rack hang the stretch bands from the top and wrap around the end bell of the weights. I like on the bench to set the safety bars just over chest level this allows me to start the lift relaxed from the bottom position (we do not carry the weight out of the racked position we aloow it to sit on the safety bars), And protects me if a band snaps (which does happen). On the squat the setup is the same minus letting the bar sit on the safety’s. You should however have the safety’s set hip heigth.
In closing if you have done this share your experience if you try this let me know what you think.
Thanks
Butch
Let me give you a breif but accurate description of the theory as I see it along with the setup.
Lightenings allow you to explode of the chest or at the bottom of the squat by reducing the load at the bottom and gradually loading back up while completing the lift. Sort of like a machine (No not really I added that because thats what I hear alot around the gym) would do. Not really though because you are actually over stimulating the stabilizers. This does two things for speed work it allows you to accelerate very quickly at the bottom and end with an optimal progressively heavier load (increases lock out strength). On Max effort days we like to incrementaly load it to the point of a stall and then work that stall alittle bit. This work the acceleration is slower but the lock out gets used to the maximal weights.
When setting up for lightenings we always use a squat or power rack hang the stretch bands from the top and wrap around the end bell of the weights. I like on the bench to set the safety bars just over chest level this allows me to start the lift relaxed from the bottom position (we do not carry the weight out of the racked position we aloow it to sit on the safety bars), And protects me if a band snaps (which does happen). On the squat the setup is the same minus letting the bar sit on the safety’s. You should however have the safety’s set hip heigth.
In closing if you have done this share your experience if you try this let me know what you think.
Thanks
Butch