How to add Bands into your Deadlift Training
Deadlifting with elastic bands on the bar is a mainstay of champion powerlifters. But questions remain: is it better to put heavy weight on the bar and use less bands, or more bands and less weight? Dr. Andy Galpin and his team set out to answer those questions, in a study appropriately titled, “ACUTE EFFECTS OF ELASTIC BANDS ON KINETIC CHARACTERISTICS DURING THE DEADLIFT AT MODERATE AND HEAVY LOADS.”
In this study, twelve trained men performed the deadlift with a barbell at 65% and 85% of their 1RM, , as well using as a barbell with varying bands using those weights (15% resistance from bands, with the remaining 85%/weight or 35% bands/65%/weight). All bands were examined by Galpin and his crew, to insure that their true stretched force was known at the exact height of the movement.
What they found was:
- Power and velocity generally increased, whereas force decreased with the addition of bands.
- Force production was inversely related to band resistance (regardless of the % of weights/1RM)
- Peak and average velocity both increased as band resistance increased
- Bands with lighter weights decreased the time to peak force time to peak ground reaction force significantly decreased
- Heavier bands resulted in greater peak and relative power when combined with heavier (85% 1RM) weight
- Adding elastic bands decreased time to peak force
- Amount of tension from bands has less impact on interpeak variables at heavier absolute loads
Based on this data, and probably most applicable to your own training and programming, their conclucion was:
“Practitioners should consider using heavy bands when prescribing the deadlift for speed or power, but not maximal force”
In short, use bands. But not all the time.
