Accommodating Resistance

A discussion of the common modalities and general application of accommodating resistance to achieve variable loading.

By Josh Miller Feb. 18, 2022

In powerlifting ,and in the lifting community as a whole, accommodating resistance has long been a favorite training modality for improving strength and power. The concept is very simple. Accommodating resistance are forms of resistance added to a weight to make the resistance variable throughout the range of motion. There are 3 most common methods of achieving this variable resistance training. Lifting against chains, lifting against bands, and lifting with reverse bands. Accommodating resistance is most commonly used for power and speed training, and to explain it in the simplest way it is thought that the benefits for speed are derived from the load increasing throughout the range of motion. This has several effects on it’s own, and each modality of applying accommodating resistance has its own unique characteristics as well. Today we will discuss a practical understanding of how accommodating resistance works, as well as practical considerations for using it in your training.

To begin discussing why accommodating resistance (AR) is likely to work, lets begin with discussing how the variable resistance effects the lifter. First, AR cues the athlete to accelerate throughout the movement simply to complete it. This cue effectively forces the athlete to perform what Dr. Hatfield and others refer to as Compensatory Acceleration Training (CAT)—essentially accelerating the weight throughout the whole range of motion rather than allowing yourself to only push enough to finish the rep. This was shown to be extremely effective and was a critical part of Dr. Hatfield building such a massive 1000+lb squat, one just one of the ways he was a true pioneer of the sport. Accommodating resistance was not used by Dr. Hatfield for CAT or cueing a lifter to do so, but by default it cues the lifter to accelerate. Aside from the cueing, accommodating resistance levels the strength curve, allowing the lifter to train harder throughout a greater portion of the range of motion and keep the muscle at a peak contraction longer. This is because the lifter is normally limited by the load they can lift at the point of greatest mechanical disadvantage. AR is heaviest at the top and lightest at the bottom, and in virtually all movements mechanical disadvantage is at the bottom of the range of motion. This means that by applying AR, the lifter is no longer limited in loading by their point of mechanical disadvantage and can keep the muscle at peak contraction and peak force production longer. This is beneficial for both strength and hypertrophy, by impacting the variables associated with the development of each—force production, mechanical tension and time under tension. One of the most commonly touted benefits of AR is the ability to improve rate of force production. However, the literature suggests that this is not the case. Even so, AR still has all of the aforementioned benefits, and was shown to improve power. The lifter also benefits from PAP (google that if you want to know, that isn’t the focus of this article) and psychologically from feeling a heavier load than they could handle with straight weight, although any benefit derived from handling a combined load over 110-115% of their max is likely psychological. To sum this up, AR cues the lifter to accelerate throughout the range of motion, which has it’s own benefits, while also making the strength curve more favorable for strength and hypertrophy, and improving power. To reap these rewards maximally in your own training, there are several considerations you should  make in both the application of AR and in the means by which to do so.

               When applying accommodating resistance in your own training, you first want to consider which modality you select. Bands, chains and reverse bands all have their own unique impact on the physics of lifting, and therefore the training stimulus they provide.

               First we will discuss bands, as they are the most common form of accommodating resistance added to movements, and are also a common form of variable resistance training used widely in lieu of “fancier” equipment. Bands do a few things, but one of the most interesting and important is the creation of an “overspeed eccentric phase”. This essentially means the band pulls you down fast, which is common sense, right? The effect it has though is huge! For athletes this is especially exciting, because this means that just like any other AR modality the load increases on the way up, but unlike other AR modalities the overspeed eccentric from bands will create a larger stretch reflex. This is the big reason that when it comes to developing explosiveness, bands are a priceless tool. To exploit these characteristics of bands in your own training, add them to either HEAVY work, explosive work, or potentially both! For heavy work, try adding band tension and working up to a heavy set of 1-5 reps. For adding bands to explosive work, perform many sets of 1-5 reps, or 1-2 sets of 12, or 1 set of 20. The latter two options are rarities and I would suggest sticking with 6-12 sets of 1-3 reps for the majority of your explosive work. Bands are the most taxing, partially because of the overspeed eccentric. For this reason, you should consider this when planning your weekly workload.  While taxing, this overspeed eccentric offers yet another benefit. Mechanical tension and time under tension are primary drivers of hypertrophy. Resisting the eccentric on a movement loaded with bands means you are fighting this overspeed eccentric, and therefore logically getting even more benefits than you normally do for hypertrophy when slowing down or overloading the eccentric phase. This in conjunction with the general ability of all AR methods to keep the muscle at peak contraction longer make bands the favorable accommodating resistance modality if the goal is hypertrophy! When using bands on a compound movement for hypertrophy I personally like performing 4 second controlled eccentric for sets of 5-10 reps. Adding a pause at the bottom is an optional, effective and brutal addition as well. Similarly, eccentric training and overloading the eccentric has been shown to potentially facilitate healing and reduce the chance of injuries, so these tempo squats against bands serve a dual purpose of injury prevention.

               Bands can also be applied from above the load to lighten it on the way down, but allow the lifter to feel the full load at the top. This is typically called “Reverse Bands” or the “Lightened Method”. This method still levels the strength curve, reducing the loading limitations created on some portions of movement by the point of mechanical disadvantage. Psychologically the lifter is still able to feel heavier loads than they could lift with straight weight, but the lifter still feels the entire load at the top with straight weight, so more stability is involved at the top compared lifting against bands. From a physics perspective the primary difference is that whereas lifting against bands creates an overspeed eccentric, lifting with reverse bands absorbs eccentric force. This makes reverse bands especially beneficial in meet prep when you have accumulated some fatigue and are transitioning to a taper so that heavy loads can still be felt but eccentric force is absorbed making it less taxing and easier to recover from. This also makes reverse bands a good fit to pivot to a peaking block if you have been handling more submaximal weights for awhile.

The final method of accommodating resistance we will discuss here are chains. Chains are considered “real weight” and are being accelerated by gravity towards earth at 9.8m/s, just like the weight on the bar. This is in comparison to weight that is against bands EFFECTIVELY being accelerated at greater than 9.8m/s towards earth due to the overspeed eccentric of the band, and reverse bands effectively being accelerated at less than 9.8m/s due to absorbing eccentric force. This means their recovery requirements of chains are much more similar to that of straight weight, and are therefore a little less complex to program with for those new to accommodating resistance, and is versatile in application depending on what relative weight of chains you use. Which brings us to the next topic. How much accommodating resistance should you use?

How much accommodating resistance(AR)? There are many blanket statements. In reality it is both goal specific and individual specific. For dynamic effort work, I want to use a load that is light, and add AR to make it hard to accelerate throughout the range of motion. I still want the total load to be light enough that the velocity is increasing throughout the range of motion though, but I want effort to be required for this. Typically this is roughly 15-25% of a lifter’s max in addition to 50-65% of their max in bar weight. For max effort work, the amount of accommodating resistance is dependent on the goal. If I am using it to peak, I will want a lot of tension that ramps up quickly. 30-50% of a lifter’s max setup so it maintains a bit of tension at the bottom and loads up fast on the way up, and working to a heavy 1-3RM with this setup is best.  If I am just trying to work on the skill component of continuing to reverse weights fast, even a small amount works for the cue. For hypertrophy work, the range is a little more flexible. At little as 10% of a lifter’s max is effective to provide the stimulus, although 25% is about as high as I would suggest going for hypertrophy as a primary goal. The load on the bar/machine from there can be highly variable based on the intended rep range and tempo for hypertrophy work. How much accommodating resistance also requires taking the individual lifter into consideration.

When determining the amount of AR an individual lifter should use, the primary characteristic you want to consider is how explosive the athlete is. Does the lifter always blast the bar up, or do they slowly grind their top weights? People who tend to either blast it up or miss it would be considered very explosive. Those who grind, less so. For those who are more explosive, you will want to use more band tension on very heavy or max effort work as well as hypertrophy applications. Conversely you will want to use less accommodating resistance relative to their max and more straight weight on explosive work. The exact opposite is true of grinders. You will want to use more AR relative to their max on explosive work, and less on hypertrophy and heavy applications The ranges above still serve as a suitable guide, however where one falls within those ranges should be determined by individual characteristics.

Accommodating resistance is a highly versatile modality that can fit many applications. Applied appropriately, it is a powerful tool for any strength coach or strength athlete. Lets also be honest, it is fun. Fun, effective, and versatile. That makes it a valuable tool in my coach’s toolbox, and I think you will find mastering the applications of AR valuable as well.

I hope this is helpful in your quest for strength as you consider applying accommodating resistance to your programs.

Stay Strong,

Coach Josh

A brief aside to coaches regarding AR. Literature on these methodologies is still very scarce, and academic exploration of these topics is still in it’s infant stages. With empirical evidence simply not existing at all for decades and inadequately now, accommodating resistance was and often still is hesitantly observed from afar by many “evidence-based practitioners”. Which leads me to a brief aside While being guided by empirical evidence is absolutely something any professional in any industry should strive for, it is also important to realize that hard science always follows observation. It is also important to realize that if you are a job, your job is success. If you are a coach and you know, or should be able to look around you and observe that something works, but refuse to use it because you do not know exactly why it works—you are doing a disservice to your athletes. Your job is results. Work off what you’ve got. Be smart. Be humble, but be observant. Refine your methods after exercise scientists provide hard science. Until then, do your part and act off the observations you make so that you contribute to the scientific method as well.