Utilizing reverse bands to build strength is nothing new, but there are many different strategies you can use to get the most out of them. I’ve trained with a couple lifting crews that all used reverse bands differently, and there were pros and cons to each. Most recently, my training partners and I have had success cycling reverse band tension to “dial in” our lifts and get comfortable with weights in the 100-110% range. As we’ve used them we’ve gotten a good read for how each band tension can be used not only as a strength builder, but also as an indicator of peak strength at any given point in our training cycle.

One of the first things that is important to note is how we set up our reverse bands for the squat, bench press, and deadlift. There are many different ways to do this, depending on how much you want to overload a movement. You can set up bands in a manner that leaves you with zero weight at the bottom portion of the movement, or you can anchor them closer to the bar which will give you less help from the bands and keep your bar weight percentages lower. For the purposes of this article, we have the bands set up so that they completely deload at the top of the movement and only allow you to overload up to a certain percentage over your max. The video below shows this setup.

This method of setting up the bands doesn’t let you overload the bar weight as much, but it does allow you work with weights that are more realistic to your current strength level. This is especially the case if you are a raw lifter. This also really forces you to stay in a good groove for movements like the bench press, because of how quickly the band tension drops off.

Where we are in a training cycle will determine the level of band tension we’ll use. If we are further out from a meet, we’ll use heavier band tensions for more overload:

If we’re within eight weeks of a meet, we’ll alternate between lighter band tensions:

Reducing the band tension towards the end of the training cycle allows you to get work with weights closer to what you could realistically hit without the bands at the meet. As you spend more time training, you’ll get a feel for how each band indicates how far off you are from a specific weight.

For instance, I know that when I can hit a bench with reverse light bands I’m only about 5-10 pounds away from that weight without the bands. When I can hit a bench with the monster mini bands in training, I know that I should be able to hit that bench when I’m fresh on the platform. This differs from person to person, which is why it’s good to take time and experiment with different band tensions to see how they carry over to your max lifts.

When we’re further out from a meet and using heavier band tension, we’ll only use reverse bands every couple weeks in our max effort rotation. However, when you get closer to competition, you can begin to organize them to help with peaking for the meet. The way we’ve done this in the past is to switch out any specialty bars or movements once we get closer to the meet and focus on getting really comfortable with our meet openers in our competition style.

We’ll concentrate on smoking our openers on max effort day, and then follow that with possible second and third attempts with reverse bands. We’ll be more aggressive with heavier band tension in the beginning, and then slowly reduce the band tension and get as close as we can to peak strength for those attempts without burning out before the meet. This is where it’s important to have experience and good training partners, so you can strike a balance between pushing yourself and saving your PRs for the platform.

Below is an example of how you can organize reverse bands going into a meet. It’s important to remember that this will differ from person to person. Much of this is based on how you’re feeling going into the meet and whether you can push or need to back off further. This is outlined with a raw lifter in mind. If you are using gear, your reverse band tension and how conservative you are with weights will change based on you as an individual. This is also assuming that you are opening with a submax weight at the meet (something you can do for a triple).

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5 Weeks Out:

Max Effort (ME) Squat – Hit opener and then possible second and third attempts with reverse average pro band. You can go a little higher based on how you feel.

Max Effort (ME) Bench – Hit opener and then possible second and third attempts with a reverse light pro band. You can go a little higher based on how you feel.

4 Weeks Out:

ME Squat – Hit opener and then second and third attempts with reverse light pro band.

ME Bench – Hit opener and then second and third attempts with reverse monster mini pro band.

3 Weeks Out:

ME Squat – Hit opener and then second attempt with reverse monster mini pro band, then a little heavier with reverse light pro band.

ME Bench – Hit opener and then second with reverse mini band, then a little heavier with reverse monster mini pro band.

2 Weeks Out:

ME Squat – Hit opener and then, depending on how you feel, hit a near second attempt with either monster mini or light pro band.

ME Bench – Hit opener and then, depending on how you feel, hit a near a second attempt with either mini or monster mini pro band.

1 Week Out:

This will vary, but this time should be spent recovering as much as you can without feeling stale going into the meet.