Trainwithchains

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Based on what you find on the web, you'd think that only powerlifters should train with chains -- that such has no bearing on bodybuilding or other applications of weight training. Nothing could be further from the truth as, Louie Simmons article entitled Chain Reaction demonstrates

Chains provide a low cost way of doing what Arthur Jones set out to accomplish with his original Nautilus machines. About a hundred years ago the German exercise scientist Max Herz made the first attempt at solving the problem by use of his oblong cams.

Weights are a great but primitive way of training in view of how muscles actually work. Consider the bicep curl. In roughly the first third of the movement you have tremendous strength. Then in the second third you hit the sticking point, the point in which you have to exert maximum resistance. Once past that point, once again you find yourself much stronger in the last third of the movement. At best, weights intensely work the weakest part of a movement. That means that in both the initial and final third of the movement you're not working at full capacity: optimal resistance is encountered only in the middle third of the movement.

Steve Hollman's "point of flexion" system of training offered in Ironman Magazine is an ingenious way of ensuring all ranges of movement receive maximal stimulation when using free weights by using movements working the middle range, stretched range, and fully contracted range of a muscle.

Arthur Jones took another path to find a way of promoting optimum stimulation through a full range of a given movement. His original Nautilus equipment looked strange because it did not have pulleys, but instead used eccentric cams -- cams that were not circular like pulleys, but instead elliptical like the cross section of a nautilus shell. Each movement -- or each machine -- had its own special cam.

Those cams were computer-generated versions of the average strength curve within that range of movement. Jones called that "omnidirectional resistance." It works by the cam adjusting the amount of resistance through a range of movement so that every inch of it is just as hard as any other part. There's no sticking point relative to stronger areas of movement. The trouble with Nautilus is that it remains prohibitively expensive, particularly for the average home gym.

For a lot of reasons Nautilus never replaced free weights. But it changed how people train, spawning many imitation machines: most didn't comprehend omni-directional resistance, while newer machines with on-board computers go well beyond the scope of the original Nautilus by calculating change for every part of every rep of every set.

Louie Simmons seems to have pioneered use of chains. At least he wrote the classic article on chain and band training. I'm personally in awe of Louis: everything he writes or has been written about him suggests a modern powerlifter who looks, writes, and acts like one of the great Zen masters of that tradition's Golden Age during the T'ang Dynasty. Louie seems to be a lion among common mortals, a visionary seemingly from the realms of higher understanding, thoroughness, and blessed with compassionate understanding of children and trainees.

I had my first taste of chain training in the summer of 2002 at Dave Goodin's Hyde Park Gym in Austin, Texas, a truly fabulous training center. The Texas Shredder has chains available on one of his squat work stations. I was sold in one simple workout.

Coming back home I set to work to get some chains. Finding the ½ inch and 5/8 inch chains that Simmons recommends is easier said than done. One supplier makes sets out of Simmons' native Ohio. They are pretty expensive to begin with, then with shipping become quite expensive. Finding chain greater than 3/8 inch diameter common to hardware stores isn't easily accomplished. As a former materials manager, I resolved to find a cost-effective solution. And if I found one, I vowed to share it with everyone else.

Hunting around for months I was shocked to find what I was looking for only a few short miles from home. In fact, I found more than I had anticipated. With huge copper mines shutting down in Arizona, there's a lot more scrap chain on the market than normal. What's more, the mines normally scrap chain after it's stretched by no more than ten percent due to immense tonnage work loads.

Simmons recommends 5 foot lengths of ½ inch and 5/8 inch chains, resulting in about 12 pound and 23 pound lengths, respectively -- or up to 24 pound and 46 pound workloads. The smaller chains work for pressing and triceps work, the larger for chest pressing, squats, and deadlifts. His method of using them, however, effectively uses half the chain weight as a working weight -- essentially like buying four twenty-five pound plates then using only two of them, storing the other two for a rainy day. Others report buying cheaper ¼ chain in 16 foot lengths to get the same weight -- and a small mountain of small chain. My research indicates far more sensible solutions, and at cheaper prices.

Notice the first photo (right) shows an array of chains. To the left is a standard quarter inch chain connected to a ring that slips over my one inch barbell (Ivanko); that leaves plenty of space for two connecting hooks, one stationary, the other a snap hook for quick changes of chain length. The middle chain is a three foot length of 5/8 inch (12 pounds), then on the right is a 3-foot segment of 7/8 inch, about 23 pounds. Both chains easily accommodate the quarter inch slide through them.

Next notice the figure (left) showing the guide chain connected to the 7/8 inch as a working unit. The second photo shows how chains attach to the bar and hold larger chains on the floor. Below left is a closeup showing quarter inch chains attached to a round device by means of simple hooks. In turn, those ¼ inch chains attach to the larger, heavy chains by running through them ( below right).

One chain on the bar end remains constantly attached, while the second hook is used to change and vary the chain length for specific movements.

By using larger chains you don't have a mound of chain on the ground, or the penny wise/pound foolish problem of connecting all that chain.For variable resistance simply set the chain so that the pile of chain on the ground lies there until you've passed your sticking point. A little experimenting will determine when and where that is for you. Roughly the last 30-40 percent of the movement is where you want the chain to become active weight, more and more of it lifting off the ground as you approach lock out -- and shrug. The stronger you get, the more you can adjust to rise off the ground as active resistance. Such training should be done within the safety of a power rack as shown in the illustrations.

To make my point about chain size, here are some measurements showing chain diameter versus weight in pounds per foot:

1/4 .66 7/8 7.30

1/2 2.6 1 10.2

3/4 6.0 1.25 1.50

3/8 1.50 1.5 21.0

5/8 3.60

As you can see, a larger diameter chain gives you a lot more poundage for its size. My local source sells chain under 1 inch diameter by the foot, then inch and above by the pound. Prices vary within 8% depending on what they've had to pay for it.

The next photo illustrates the use of two simple chains for a variety of movements. My set of 7/8 inch chains are well used for chest pressing, squats and rack deadlifting from the knee; at three feet lengths, they weigh in at 46 pounds; the 5/8 inch chains, one meter long (20 links), weigh in at 12 pounds apiece. The smaller 5/8 works well for shoulder pressing and tricep work. The figure on the right shows both size chains hooked up, something Simmons advocates for deadlifting.

For bodybuilders, chains permit several benefits. If your training is in a power cycle, chains are a great tool for low rep power building movements. Simmons' athletes find several weeks of intense chain training not only increases poundages lifted, but also increases speed of movement. My experimentation has been in the 8-10 rep range, resulting in deep pumps due to deeper stimulation in the peak contraction range. And a remarkable lessening of rotator cuff strain and pain.

Buying Chain Cheap

If you price chain at your local hardware store, you will find that prices remain pretty constant: that's the best way NOT to buy chain. Chain is a commodity. New chain prices vary to some extent, while used and scrap vary a lot. Larger size scrap chain that is not sold gets sold off for recycling as steel. The one kind source of chain to be careful with - especially sight unseen - is marine chain. Whether from off shore oil drilling or other marine sources, such chain is very likely to look bad - rusted, full of tar, or both. When surplus chain is available, the prices drop 25-50 per cent. Used chain is pretty constantly priced, while scrap varies in price all over the place. Unless you're made of money, used and scrap pricing are the bottom line best.

Let me pass on my source. Here are some prices available through Peter Joost at Certex in Tucson; he can be contacted at pjoost@certex.com, or (800)-775-0678, (520)-884-5846. Quarter inch positioning chain is available at $0.60/foot, half inch at $1.90/foot, and 5/8 inch at $2.35. One inch and above varies between $0.40 and $0.80 per pound. All prices may vary within an 8% range.

I have no commercial or other interest in these chains. Instead, I am merely fulfilling my vow to pass on robustly cost-effective pricing if I should find it. Over several weeks he came to understand what those of us doing bodybuilding and powerlifting want and need, and now knows how to get it.

Compare these scrap prices to your local dealers. From what I've seen, these prices fall within a "pennies on the dollar" fraction of commercial costs; moreover, they know how to get lowest shipping costs, while you avoid state and local sales tax. Nevertheless, use this information first and foremost to check your local vendors in search of superior pricing.

On the topic of squats and rotator cuffs, I found one area in which my healing cuff became a real problem: squats. Then I found a solution also illustrated in accompanying photos: the Sting Ray™ and Manta Ray® products. The Manta Ray®, for back squats, holds the bar in place while relieving a lot of stabilizing work from the cuff. The Sting Ray™ adds a comfort and breathing zone to front squats, rendering them a real pleasure now.

The figure 6 above is the Manta Ray®, a simple molded plastic piece which snaps on any normal size barbell (figure 7). Figure 8 shows the Manta Ray® unit perched high upon my shoulders for squats and good mornings. Prior to using the Manta Ray® my squat poundages were increasing to a point of shoulder pain, and the distraction that arises from pain and destabilization of holding the bar.

The Manta Ray®removed those obstacles. And in sitting in a high, stable position it facilitates a lot more concentration on strict squatting movements. The same manufacturer's Sting Ray™ is a similar product which makes front squats a pleasure to do. Both products are made by Advanced Fitness Products.

Ken O'Neill resides in Wimberley, Texas, and can be reached at kayoneill@earthlink.net. He is available for private consultation and training in bodybuilding and mindfulness training.

1/4	.66	7/8	7.30
1/2	2.6	1	10.2
3/4	6.0	1.25	1.50
3/8	1.50	1.5	21.0
5/8	3.60