Chain-Loaded Squat
Draping chains over the bar deloads the bottom as the links pile onto the floor and reloads the top as they lift off, so the resistance climbs exactly where you are strongest. This accommodating load lets you accelerate hard through the whole ascent and builds explosive drive out of the hole without overloading the deep position. It is an advanced-flavored tool best used once your standard squat technique is dialed in.
- Body part
- Quads
- Type
- Strength
- Browse by muscle
- Rectus Femoris, Vastus Lateralis
- Browse by movement
- Squat
- Target
- Rectus Femoris, Vastus Lateralis
- Secondary
- Gluteus Maximus, Adductor Magnus, Erector Spinae
- Tertiary
- Biceps Femoris, Upper Rectus Abdominals
How to do it
- 1
Loop heavy chains over the sleeves so a portion piles on the floor at the bottom of the squat.
- 2
Rack the loaded bar on the traps and unrack it into a shoulder-width stance.
- 3
Take a big breath, brace, and squat down under control as the chains settle onto the floor.
- 4
Descend until the thighs reach at least parallel while staying tight.
- 5
Drive up explosively, accelerating as the chains lift off the floor and reload the bar.
- 6
Control the descent again on the next rep rather than dropping into the lighter bottom.
Tips
- Push to accelerate through the whole way up, since the load is meant to be attacked, not grinded.
- Hang the chains so a good length is on the floor at depth and mostly off the floor at the top.
- Keep bar-weight technique honest; the chains add challenge, they do not fix positioning.
Variations
Common mistakes
- The descent becomes a free-fall because the chains have taken weight off at the bottom, and you arrive at a depth you never controlled.
- Chains swing forward and back whenever the bar path is not straight, and once they are moving the bar rocks on your back for the rest of the set.
- One side gets more links on the floor than the other, so the bar is quietly uneven all session. Count the links or weigh each set of chains before you start.
- The chains are hung so they never touch down, so nothing deloads at the bottom and you are squatting a heavier bar with something noisy hanging off it.
- The full chain weight goes into the logbook, but only part of it is on the bar at any given height, so the number stops meaning anything from week to week.
Frequently asked
- How much bar weight and how many reps for the chain-loaded squat?
- Chains suit heavier, lower-rep work than most accessories: four to six sets of three, with the bar at 60 to 70 percent and one pair of chains to begin with. Rest two to three minutes, because the top of each rep is the hardest part and you want to be able to attack it. If lockout turns into a grind, take a chain off rather than plates. Use it for a block of three or four weeks, then squat straight weight and see what the top feels like.
- What can I use instead of chains for the chain-loaded squat?
- Bands anchored to the base of the rack give a similar rising resistance, though band tension climbs far more sharply near the top than a chain does, so take more weight off the bar. With neither, straight-weight speed squats at around half your best, kept to triples and driven hard, train most of the same intent. Partial squats from pins just below your sticking point are the other way to overload the range where chains do their work.
- What do chains actually do on a squat?
- Links pile onto the floor as you descend and lift off as you stand, so the bar is lightest where you are weakest and heaviest at lockout, which lets you keep accelerating through the top instead of easing off there. It suits experienced lifters chasing speed and lockout strength. It is a poor choice for learning to squat, since the load changes under you and a shifting bar is the last thing a new lifter needs, and it is not a size tool: the deep position where the muscle gets most stretch is exactly where chains take load away.
Related exercises
Other movements among FitRay's 2,000+ exercises that load the same target muscle — same equipment and level first.