Speed training has helped me immensely, especially on my squat and deadlift.

I a m certainly no expert on the theory, but I will try to share what I have learned . Personally, I usually only use accomodating resistance on my bench because it is my most advanced lift of the three. The squat and deadlift, I still consider my self a late intermediate on, and I am making good progress on bar speed without any bands or chains. You can check out my log for videos of how I do my speed wo rk on bench. The accomodating resistance on the bench really taught my body to accelerate all the way through the lift. It definitely made me stronger too, but the biggest b enefit I got was learning how to perform the lift fully to its completion while getting the most muscle fiber recruitment I possibly can. Speed work recruits fa st twitch muscle fibers a lot better than standard training, according to the th eory. The more muscle fiber recruitment you get on a lift, the stronger you will be. By training speed you can also develop those fast twitch fibers more effect ively. Also, before I did speed work, I would start to slow down at the top with lighter weights because I was trying to stop the weight. I don't do that anymor e. For squat I do 3 doubles at 55%, 3 doubles at 60% and 2 doubles at 65%. lifts, I do 8 singles at 65%. All of this is straight weight. It is not e percentage though. The percentages are just a guidline for you to get t bar speed to develop fast twitch muscle fibers. If you are trying out rk and are particularly slow on a lift, then you should go down. I have low as 40% for speed work effectively. For dead about th the righ speed wo used as

My take on speed work in general is that it will be of most benefit to intermedi ate/late intermediate lifters and beyond. Beginners and early intermediates shou ld hold off and just focus on base building. Louie Simmons quote that best explains the purpose of speed work: "You can't mov e a heavy weight slowly." It may look slow, but those muscle fibers are firing q uickly and explosively as possible to move that maximal weight.

Add my two cents into the pool. Speed work in addition to using accommodating resistance accomplishes many thing s. The human body is always trying to use the most efficient neurological pathways, by using chains or bands one changes balance portion of the lift making the cns firing different motor units that left to just using a straight weight would no t otherwise be utilized. Bands add another dimension that is, rate of decent of the bar is faster thus th e bar path up is under the same principal. Imagine training in a higher G enviro nment this is what band tension achieves for the muscles worked. As for percentages I tried many different ranges and what worked best for me I d idn't see anyone else doing. Most my weight on speed days came in the form of ba nd tension for explosive power, chains seem to open the door for more muscle fib er recruitment. Benefits on all major lifts even used bands on BOR's. Drawback: Found is more difficult to program my training in waves or increment i ncreases. Many speed session were as taxing or more so than its counterpart high

er percentage training. Fix: delayed sessions by a day or two sometimes to allow recovery.