One of my favorite applications of power rack work is the neurological carryover training method, also known as progressive range of motion training.

I’ve used it successfully with several athletes, powerlifters and Crossfitters to significantly boost their strength on a specific lift.

This method was developed by Paul Anderson to boost his squat and deadlift. What Anderson did was dig a hole in his backyard and place a loaded barbell (or a bar attached to loaded barrels for squats) over the hole.

Every few weeks he would fill the hole a little, which effectively increased the range of motion of the lift.

He would use a load that was around 20-30lbs heavier than what he could currently do over the full range of motion and started with a partial movement (1/3rd of the range, roughly) and performed as many repetitions as he could with that weight.

Every few weeks, he would increase the range of motion while keeping the same weight and still trying to get as many reps as possible. In the first position, he might get 12-15 reps, and every time he increased the range, he would lose a few repetitions. The goal was to work all the way to a full range movement while being able to do 1-2 reps with the weight (which exceeded his starting maximum by 20-30lbs).

This worked for 4 main reasons:

1. It provided an overload which trained the nervous system, muscles, tendons and skeletal structure to handle a certain weight. Because the overload was “conservative” it facilitated positive adaptations. Essentially you got your body used to handling a certain weight and as it became more comfortable with it, you gradually increased the range of motion.

2. It gave him a lot of repetitions with the load he wanted to adapt to. Sure, most of these repetitions were over a partial range of motion, but your body was still under the full load. The higher number of repetitions, along with the more conservative overload, make it easier to get your body to positively adapt and adjust to a load. The high number of repetitions was especially important for strengthening the tendons and skeletal structure.

3. It inhibited the Golgi Tendon Organs (GTOs). These are “sensors” in your tendons. Their job is to evaluate how much tension is present on the muscles and whether that tension is dangerous (e.g. if it is excessive and there is an increased risk of tearing your muscle or tendon). If the GTOs deemed the tension excessive, they inhibit muscle force production, to protect yourself against yourself. Now, the GTOs are overly protective. As a result, a “normal” (not weight-trained) individual might use 30% of his muscle strength potential. A well-trained individual might be able to use 50-60% and a world class lifter 80% or more. Overloads speed up that inhibition. And a more conservative overload might be even more effective in that regard, at least for non-elite individuals.

4. It gave a psychological boost by getting you used to the feeling of a very heavy weight.

Applying it in your training

The method is fairly easy to apply and really, all you need is a quality power rack with a small gap between each hole, safety pins and a weight bench (if you use it for the bench press).

While in theory it can be applied to any lift, I found that it works best for the deadlift, squat and bench press. While it can work on the military press, I find it less effective there.

1. You first need to establish your maximum on a deadstart lift (deadlift, Anderson squat/squat from the bottom, bench press from pins with full range).

2. Then you calculate the weight you will use on the NCT exercise. This should vary depending on your experience level. Most should use around 7-8%, those who are fairly new to the strength game (but not beginner to lifting) can use up to 10% and very advanced lifters might want to use 5-7%. So for example, if your max established in step 1 is 400lbs your working weight would be something like 425-430lbs.

3. Then you select the starting height for your cycle. It should be around the top 1/3rd of the range of motion on your lift.

4. Now you want to select the time spent at each position/height. I like a training cycle to last 8-12 weeks. So, what you do is count the number of “holes/heights” between the first position you will use and the position of the full range lift. This depends on the spacing between the holes in your power rack and the range of motion. That allows you to decide how long to spend on each position.

For example, If you have 8 holes you might want to spend 1 week in each position except for the 2 lowest ones in which you’ll spend 2 weeks each.

If you have 5 holes, you would spend 2 weeks in each position. When you have to spend more time (so more workouts) in one or several positions, make it the lower positions.

5. Then each time you train a position you start by doing 2-5 gradually heavier warm-up sets (depending on the weigh). You then perform one work sets of as many reps as possible with your working weight.

6. Then I suggest resting 3-4 minutes and doing a second set with the same weight. You want to match the number of reps you got in the first set. You likely will have to use a rest/pause approach to get all the reps in. For example, you got 14 reps with 400 in the first set, you might need to do 10 reps/rest 20 seconds/4 reps on the second set.

A progression could look like this:

• Week 1 (position 1, top 1/3rd) 425lbs x 14, 10+4
• Week 2 (position 1, top 1/3rd) 425lbs x 16, 11+3+2
• Week 3 (position 2, 2” lower) 425lbs x 10, 7+3
• Week 4 (position 2) 425lbs x 12, 8+3+1
• Week 5 (position 3, 2” lower) 425bs x 5, 4+1
• Week 6 (position 3) 425lbs x 7, 5+2
• Week 7 (position 4, 2” lower) 425lbs x 4, 3+1
• Week 8 (position 4) 425lbs x 5, 4+1
• Week 9 (position 5, 2” lower) 425lbs x 3, 3+1
• Week 10 (position 6, full range) 425lbs x 1

What other training should I do for the main lift?

I recommend two weekly sessions for the lift you are focusing on (you should only use NCT for one lift per cycle).

Session 1

A. NCT progression

B. Bottom range work for the selected lift*

C. Targeted exercise for one of the key muscles in the lift

D. Targeted exercise for a second key muscle in the lift

E. Targeted exercise for a third key muscle in the lift

F. Back exercise**

* Bottom range exercise:

Deadlift: floating deadlift, floor-to-knees deadlift, deficit deadlift, overcoming isometric bottom position of a deadlift

Bench: Buffalo/Duffalo/Camber bar bench, DB press with exaggerated range, Spoto press, overcoming isometric bench bottom position, decline bench.

Squat: Paused front squat, low box squat, full range hack squat, Zercher squat

**Back exercise

- On bench day, I recommend horizontal pulling

- On deadlift day I recommend either a lower back or traps movement

- On squat day I recommend either a lower back or a vertical pull exercise

- If you decide to use NCT for the overhead press, go with a vertical pull movement

Session 2 (ideally around 72h after session 1)

A. Strength-skill work on the full version of the selected lift*

B. Multi-joint exercise that addresses your weak point in the selected lift

C. Targeted exercise for one of the key muscles in the lift

D. Targeted exercise for a second key muscle in the lift

E. Targeted exercise for a third key muscle in the lift

F. Back exercise

*Strength-skill

This is essentially practicing your selected lift to master it. You should use. Fairly heavy weight but sets that are submaximal. For example, 80-85% of your max for sets of 2-3 reps. You would do a fairly high number of sets (5-8) with a focus on technique and acceleration. You should increase the weight during your training cycle, but the reps should never become a grind, you should be able to dominate all the reps of all the work sets.

A sample schedule might look like this:

Monday	NCT bench
Tuesday	Squat workout
Wednesday	OFF/Mobility
Thursday	Strength-skill bench workout
Friday	OFF/Mobility
Saturday	Deadlift workout
Sunday	OFF/Mobility

 

Give it a shot, especially if you have a lift that has been plateaued for a while.