elitefts™ Sunday Edition

Elastic Squatting and Other Stuff

"You must be the change you wish to see in the world." Mohandas Gandhi "To be able to give away riches is mandatory if you wish to possess them. This is the only way that you will be truly rich." Muhammad Ali

What’s going on?

You may be wondering why I have this section in here AGAIN this week. You might be asking how much can really change in one week? Well… You have NO IDEA how much changes around here in one week, especially this time of the year. Here is a just a few of them:

Wishes

Earlier this week we asked on Facebook, "If you were granted one wish this Holiday Season, what would it be?" This turned into a very cool thing.  I'd like to point out that it takes MUCH more than my effort to make things like this happen. It is through the efforts of the elitefts™ staff, volunteers, Q&A coaches and you all that allow us to be able to do things like this. For this, I sincerely thank you all.

Watch some cool videos and win an iPad 2

This is simple. All you have to do is like our Facebook page and you will gain access to three educational videos from the last Learn to Train Seminar, as well as gain the chance to win a free iPad 2. Think of it this way...

If you're looking to have safe sex, you have a few options. On one end, you have the highest quality latex you can find, with the best feel and consistency. On the other end of the spectrum, you have the condoms you can get in the truck stop bathroom for a couple of quarters. In the middle, you have a balance between the two. Our Pro Bands are in the middle, and the Premium bands are at the top of the scale. Unlike condoms, we're not looking for a quick screw, so we don't have a low-end line. Your PR's and training are more important to us than a "quickie" with someone you may never see again. Our bands are manufactured and designed with a long-term relationship in mind. WOW! Did we seriously just write that? Yep, we did, but isn't that better than reading a bunch of detailed specs you could care less about? Bottom line: both the Pro Bands and the Premium Bands will make you strong. We will leave it up to you to decide which line you like the best. These 100% ALL NATURAL LATEX bands are manufactured using a tested molding process that ensures consistency. They also have a premium polished glossy finish that ensures a long-lasting, professional appearance. Each set of premium bands is meticulously inspected for consistency before leaving our warehouse.

"These were just delivered and as soon as I opened them up I could immediately tell they were different. There is a different feel, look and smell. It's more like a natural smell and less chemical because they're 100% latex. They also have a more glossy finish and look very professional." - Ken

"Kudos to you guys for making these all the same badass color. I never liked the rainbow design created with multiple bands. I also like that these are hypo-allergenic and anti-microbial and that they are checked for consistency" - Mike

elitefts™ Premium Bands are great for:

• Stretching

• Distraction

• Resisting Dust Mites

• Traction

• Overloaded Eccentric Training

• Shooting Water Balloons

• Strength Training

• Circa-Maximal Barbell Training

• Resisted Bodyweight Training

• A Makeshift Sling after Tearing Something Off

• Speed Training

• Ego-Boosting Reverse Band Training

Squatting with bands is perhaps the greatest thing to happen to squat training in the last decade. When I first started training with the bands, I hated them. I felt they slowed the bar speed down too much. I stuck with it, well, because I really didn't have a choice. That's just how it was at the time. After my first meet training with the bands, I was sold. There are two ways I used the bands for the dynamic squat day. I'll discuss the first, the basic training phase, in this post. To use the bands for the basic training phase you'll have to reduce the training percentage by 10 percentage. The normal suggested percent for an intermediate lifter is a four-week wave, cycling the percent from 60 to 70 percent of your competitive squat max. It may look like this:

• Week 1 at 60%

• Week 2 at 63%

• Week 3 at 67%

• Week 4 at 70%

After the warm-up sets, perform 8 to 12 sets of two reps with one minute rest between sets. With the use of bands, the percent range would drop to 50-60% of your competitive max squat. I found the bands to be superior to chains for squatting, but they can beat you up really bad if used for too long and with too much tension. This is because of several reasons: with the bands, the weight is being pulled downward to the floor at a greater force than without the bands. This is a form of maximal eccentrics and can be very demanding on the system. This maximal eccentric loading can also help to develop an incredible amount of explosive strength. Picture a basketball, if you were to just drop it to the floor it'll only bounce so high. Now, if you were to throw it down with more force, wouldn't the ball bounce higher? Of course it would. The key is to make sure there's still tension at the bottom of the lift. If the band tension lets off at the bottom, you'll lose much of the training effect. We found this out through trail and error. Another theory I have with the bands deals with the intensity of the movement. Let's say your max squat is 600 pounds. Now let's say you set the training up so the resistance is 400 pounds with an additional 150 pounds of tension. This is 550 pounds at the top of the lift. Because of the acceleration of the bands as you squat down, the force of the movement keeps the intensity very high, possibly the same as it was at the top (550 pounds). Even though the bands are getting shorter, the tension is getting higher because of the added force throwing you down. When you sit on the box, the intensity will become deloaded to the tension of the band at the bottom (say 40 pounds of tension.) As you raise the weight (the concentric phase) then tension is progressively being loaded back onto the bar. This is known as accelerated eccentrics and progressive concentric. Whatever you call it, the average squat increase is 40 to 60 pounds after the first meso cycle with bands. To use the bands, you'll attach one end of the band around the inside part of the barbell sleeve. The other end will be anchored around a set of dumbbells, or around the bottom of the power rack. The best way to train with the bands is with the use of a monolift device. If you don't have access to one, you'll have to make use with what you have. If you have to use the dumbbells or power rack to attach the bands, you may not be able to use the desired tension as listed below. This is because you'll have to walk the weight out. As soon as you break the  J-hooks, the weight will be slamming you backwards. This could potentially send you flying backwards on your ass. While this may be entertaining to some in your gym, I'd rather not see you kill yourself. For you, I recommend using as much band as you can and make up the difference with chains.

The Finisher

This is a partial press on the Smith machine to keep all the tension on the pecs using an ascending rep pattern. To do this finisher you...

1. Need to explain what you are doing first (as I didn't do very well in this video).

• Set the Fat Gripz at the postion where your triceps begin to kick in.

• Attach elitefts™ Short Bands or a Double Pro or Premium Band to the bar.

• Put the brakes so the bar would rest just off the chest.

• Perform one repetition and rest the bar on on the brakes for a 10 count.

• Do two reps, then rest on the brakes for a 10 count.

• Perform three reps and then set on brakes for a 10 count.

• Keep working the reps up each set until you can't get them all.

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