Benching with 100 lbs. of chain so that when the bar
is at chest height, the weight of the chain is off the
bar and you only have the actual weight of the bar.
As you press the bar up, the chains gradually load
increasing the weight on the bar. With the bar a
quarter of the way off your chest it is now bar weight
plus 25 lbs., half way is bar weight plus 50 lbs. all
the way up to 100 extra lbs. at lockout. Because you
can feel the bar getting heavier as you press, it
forces you to accelerate, you can't back off at any
point during the lift or you may not be able to
finish.
The idea behind training this way is that
your body gets used to being required
to accelerate
throughout the lift. When you go
to a meet, your body
is expecting to feel the increasing weight
and
responds as such but because it isn't
there, you are
able to accelerate through your sticking
points.
