Accessory to the Crime 4: The Reverse Band Cycle

So for a while I was pretty excited about reverse bands. I happen to enjoy them, and gave myself the Christmas present of several sets of bands. BYU just happened to get some power cages that have band attachments at the top and bottom. So, I decided to do a three week run with them to get a feel. Prior to the cycle, I was benching 315 x3, squatting 545, and deadlifting 555.

Week 1
Bench
135 x2 x10 
225 x8 
315 x5 
315 x4 
315 x8 (monster minis) 
405 x5 (mm + strong) 
455 x3 
455 x1 

Squat
135 x7 
225 x6 
315 x5 
405 x5 
495 x3 
+strong band (reverse band setup) 
495 x3 
+ doubled monster mini 
495 x3 
585 x3 
Deadlift
135 x5 
225 x5 
315 x5 
405 x5 
(added strong bands) 
405 x5 
495 x3 
585 x3 
675 x2 x1 


Week 2
Bench
45 x7 
135 x8 
225 x8 
315 x3 
(added strong bands) 
315 x5 
405 x3 
495 x0 (got it to about 4 inches off my chest) 
455 x2, 1, 2, 1, 1 (cluster reps? kinda. <30 sec. rest between each go) 
Squat
135 x5 
225 x5 
315 x5 
405 x5 
495 x3 
(added strong bands) 
495 x3 
(added doubled monster minis) 
585 x3 
675 x3 
Deadlift
135 x5 
225 x5 
315 x5 
405 x4 
495 x3 
(added strong bands reverse) 
495 x3 
585 x3 
675 x3 x1 


Week 3
Bench
45 x5 
45 x8 
135 x5 
225 x5 
275 x4 
315 x3 
365 x0 
(added reverse bands) 
365 x3 
405 x3 
455 x3 x1 
Squat
45 x5 
135 x5 
225 x5 
315 x5 
405 x5 
495 x3 
545 x1 
(added strong bands reverse) 
585 x3 
(added doubled monster minis) 
675 x3 x2
Deadlift
Apparently, according to my log, I didn't deadlift the third week. Oh well.


So, how did it go? Well, within a week or so I managed to pull 580, bench 365, and squat 585 (later 600). Not bad, if you ask me. In retrospect I probably would have followed a more logical progression- e.g. do a week of 5 RM, a week of 3 RM, and a week of 1 RM with the new setup. I continued to implement bands to help overload my lifts, but I didn't for deadlifts primarily because it was a pain to setup, but also because I am not strong off the floor, so the reverse band setup didn't make a ton of sense.

Would I recommend it for everyone? No. But I learned a lot about myself from experimenting with the bands, and learned some things about implementing bands that I still use today. I also use the heavy bands to help stretch and add resistance to bodyweight stuff (especially good mornings a la John Meadows). So implementing reverse bands or chains or etc are useful insofar as they teach you about the lift and yourself. So don't be afraid to try these things, but don't try them as a magic fix. It's called assistance for a reason.