Back on the Chain Gang

No, not those kind of chains. I pity the fool.


I've been using chains( and bands) for about five years now, after I watched the powerlifters in my gym use them. I've primarily used chains on squats, bench presses, hack squats, and deadlifts(DL). But I've never seen any research on their effectiveness for the DL until now.


While we know that the chains can "enable significantly greater relative forces to be maintained throughout the concentric action," this study shows that, on the DL, the chains increase peak force and impulse. The chains reduce average and peak velocity, average and peak power, and peak RFD.


The key to the effectiveness of the chains appears to be the weight of the chains. The recent study found that the weight should be between 20 and 40% of the lifter's 1RM for the selected lift.


"Got in the house like a pigeon from hell... Back on the Chain Gang"The Pretenders