Alpha Progression
Additional weight

Additional weight

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It's important that you achieve progression and try to improve each workout. You can do more reps and sets or increase the weight. When training on machines and with free-weights, you can usually increase the weight for a long time until you reach, for example, the maximum weight of a machine.

However, in bodyweight-exercises, the maximum weight you move is primarily the weight of your body. You will get used to this resistance relatively quickly if you use the right training strategies, which the Alpha Progression App can help with. After that point is reached, it becomes increasingly difficult to train progressively with such exercises.

Increasing the number of reps is one way to achieve progression with bodyweight exercises. However, this is very time consuming in the long run. Another option is to use additional weight. Even if you are training with your bodyweight, you can increase the weight to increase muscle stimulus.

To add extra weight to your bodyweight, you have many different options. Depending on the exercise, you can choose the form of additional weight that works best for you. For example, you can use dumbbells, weight plates, a dip belt, weighted vest or chains.

For some exercises, you can hold a dumbbell or weight plate or position it on your body. For crunches, for example, you can hold such a weight; for pull-ups or dips you can hold weights between your legs, and for dips on the bench you can put weights on your legs.

However, with some exercises, such as pull-ups with additional weight, there is a risk that the weights will slip out from between your legs. In the worst case, this can lead to injuries.

Especially for such exercises, the dip belt or chains are a better alternative to train cleanly and without injury.

The dip belt is a piece of training equipment that you tie around your waist like a weightlifting belt. However, you can attach weight plates to this belt. This is the safest alternative for many exercises.

Chains (power chains) are an additional weight that you put around your neck. They are usually made of steel and weigh different amounts depending on the manufacturer. Chains are well suited for exercises like pull-ups or dips, but also for exercises like bench press or squats, since you can increase the resistance with chains by attaching them to the barbell.

An additional benefit of chains is that they can change the resistance curve of a movement, since the chains weigh more when they are off the ground than when part of them is touching the ground.

For instance, if you hang chains from either end of the barbell during a squat or a bench press, this will cause the weight to be higher at the top position of the movement than the bottom position, which can be an advantage if you want to improve on that specific part of the movement.

The Alpha Progression App offers you a variety of exercises that you can perform with additional weight. You can integrate these exercises into your existing training plan or create a plan that is perfectly tailored to you.

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