Accommodating Leverages in Weight Training

If you are a lifter you must have heard about Louie Simmons. He is the All American Power lifter. If you are a novice and don't know much about him, he has achieved a 920 lb squat, a 600 lb bench press and a 722 lb deadlift, totaling Elite in five different weight classes in four decades.






"Because the human body is stronger at some positions than at others, we are limited as to the amount of weight we can use in a certain movement. For instance, you may be able to do a quarter squat with 600 lbs, but you may be able to only full squat 400 pounds. We all know through practical experience that while doing a simple curl, at the start of the movement, is very hard, whereas at the finish it is somewhat easier because of changing leverage. This problem was first addressed around 1900 by Max Herz. His solution was the oblong cam, which he patented. Years later, the Nautilus line of exercise equipment tried to solve this age-old problem, -in my opinion unsuccessfully."


"One lifter's strength will certainly be different from another lifter's at the same joint angle. Let's go back to the 1960s and power rack training. A power rack will, in one way, address this problem. For example, let's say a lifter can deadlift 600 pounds off the floor. Utilizing a power rack, with the weight 2 inches off the floor he can pull, let's say 625, and 4 inches off the floor, 650. By sitting the weight as high as 8 inches off the floor, he may be able to pull 750. In this manner, we have solved, at least partly, the problem of overloading, or providing adequate resistance as joint angles change."

Remember, leverage your weights according to your body.