The power rack is one awesome piece of equipment…

Like I’ve said before, next to a barbell and plates, it’s the most important piece of equipment you can own …at least for the serious strength athlete…

It’s also a versatile piece of equipment, there’s no doubt about that…

But there’s one thing in particular it does better than any thing else…

‘And what’s that?’ you ask…

It’s a technique called ‘Bottom Position work.’ Now, before your mind finds it way into the gutter, here’s what it means…

Bottom position work means starting the lift from the ‘bottom position,’ pretty simple, huh?

Here’s an example, usually when you do a bench press, you start at the top position, i.e. at lockout….

The power rack allows you to start with the bar at your chest, i.e. the bottom position. You do this by setting the safety bars, rods, pins, or whatever they call them in your neck of the woods, at chest level.

Same goes with squats. You can set the pins so when you put the barbell across them; you literally have to squeeze yourself under it.

Although it sounds simple, don’t mistake it to be anything less than super productive…

Here’s why…

Your muscles are like a rubber band. When you lower the weight, the muscles are stretched and store energy. When you hit the bottom and immediately lift the weight, this stored energy helps you finish the lift.

This is known as the ‘stretch reflex.’

This is why you sometimes see Olympic Weightlifters lift and lower their rear ends just before a lift. They’re using the stretch reflex to lift more weight.

Bottom position work eliminates this advantage…

Starting from the bottom means no help from momentum. Instead, your muscles have to fight to lift the weight from a dead stop.

Lifting like this gives you a true indication of how strong a person really is. It’s pure muscle power. No momentum. No bouncing. No stretch reflex.

This is one of the reasons why there’s a 2 second pause at the bottom of the bench press in powerlifting competitions. To be able to handle a weight in this fashion, you need to really ‘own it.’

Bottom position work also forces you to start at what is for most, the toughest point in the lift.

Like anything, specialized training will help boost your strength in this range. This leads to big gains once you go back to ‘regular’ lifting, i.e. starting form the top.

Try swapping regular squats and bench presses for bottom position work.

Don’t panic if you can’t lift as much, it’s normal. Remember, starting from a dead stop at the bottom makes the lift significantly harder.

And don’t be surprised if you feel as if you were being quartered by a set of Clydesdales.

This style of lifting cranks up the intensity. It forces you to work a lot harder than normal, especially in the bottom range of the lift. Because of this, I suggest dropping your working weight by a significant amount so you don’t overdo it.

If you stick with bottom position work, you’ll notice a different level of strength flowing though your body.

Go ahead, give ‘em a try, you won’t be disappointed.

Train Smart, Train Hard

Ray Toulany

PS: Combine bottom position work with a power packed meal plan to crank up the horsepower, and add slabs of muscle to your frame…

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