THE POWER RACK

Our "Tip" this month, (Who am I kidding . . . how late am I this time? ), is about the POWER RACK. If your gym doesn't have a power rack, find another gym. Or at least scream and stomp until they buy one, because if you never use the rack, you're missing out on a ton of strength and size gains!

Nothing beats the power rack for safety when it comes to squats, and if you have a sticking point somewhere in your R.O.M., (range of motion), when squatting that you can't get past, use the rack for partials, and maybe some isometric work to blow past that sticking point.

The same holds true for many other exercises, from the bench press at any angle, to curls, to deadlifts, to standing calf raises.

At The Dungeon, we've seen gains of 100 pounds in a power lifter's squat from less that a month of rack work, and I couldn't even count how many have busted past a big barrier...

like 500 lb. deadlift, using the rack.

I myself gained 60, (yep, that's 6 - 0...60), pounds of quality muscle over three years using the rack for a couple of months at a time, coupled with conventional training for 4 - 6 months, on a rotational basis. And the rack work, although incredibly grueling, rarely made me sore.

So to if you're having trouble making gains . . hit the rack!

Until next time, (whenever that is), train hard, but train smart!

- Poppa

Be sure to check out our Tip of the Month Archive! ( lots of great reading! )