The PR Platform is the most complete deadlift training platform ever created. It is not a training tool, it’s the entire toolbox.
I have been in the gym for nearly 2/3 of my life and I have seen my share of people come and go. Some of these people put training on the back burner for things like starting a business, medical school, or an apprenticeship, but that’s not the main reason I have seen people step away. The main reason I see people step away is stagnation. This stagnation is usually the result of bad programming or injuries, which often go hand in hand.
In order to fight back against stagnation, you need the correct tools. These tools need to be able to address current weaknesses, but also weaknesses that appear after your current weaknesses have been corrected. A select few lifters can get very strong with only a barbell, but these people aren’t normal and are usually perfectly proportioned to move weight. I have had a few of these people in my own gym and its amazing to watch, but I have also seen a huge turnover rate with these gifted lifters once progress becomes more difficult. They try to fix their current training problems with a hammer because it has always worked when progress can be as simple as grabbing a new tool that’s appropriate for the job. At some point in time, you’re going to have to be willing to try some new things and think your way through a strength-plateau.
The PR Platform was designed to fix every deadlift weakness that can be holding you, your training partners, or gym members back from their next PR. This article will outline the most common uses of the PR Platform but please never hesitate to contact us with additional training questions.
Banded Training
- Traditional Accommodating Resistance – Accommodating resistance has been a staple in the strength community for a very long time. The lowest band pegs on our PR Platform, while using EliteFTS short bands, provide a similar amount of band tension as the old-school band platforms that were ironically produced in our hometown many years ago. This band setup is great for Dynamic Effort Training as well as high-intensity or high-volume protocols if you struggle at mid-range or lockout.
- Front Band Resistance – If you struggle maintaining tightness in the posterior chain, this should be a staple in your routine. Use an Elitefts Monster-Mini short band, Mini short band, or Micro-Mini short band depending on your strength levels. Choose a band that makes you concentrate on lat-engagement from the start, but not so much that it requires a maximal effort to keep the bar close to your body. Think of it as more of a reminder to stay tight than an overbearing amount of resistance.
- Reverse Band Training – Reverse Band Training is an excellent tool. The PR Platform allows for the easiest, most consistent and precise setup possible. Rather than attaching bands to the top of a rack, the elevated band pegs allow for the lifter to simply attach the band at the desired height and then place the barbell on top of the band. I recommend using bands that allow 95-135lbs to touch the floor at the start. Remember, this is a means of training, not an attempt to lift hundreds of pounds over your maximum.This setup is great for lifters that are weak at the floor to mid-range. By lifting near-maximal weights with this setup, you are lifting high-intensity weights in your weakest positions, but then providing an overload in your stronger, more advantageous positions. By doing this, the weak areas are strengthened with near maximal loads, and the stronger areas are exposed to loads that would otherwise not be possible without reverse band assistance. Just like with isometrics, you will experience a radiating effect, particularly in the area directly above and below where the barbell is fully released from the band.
Reverse bands also work great for supplemental lifts like RDL’s. If you need to address a weak upper back and glutes, perform RDL’s using a reverse band that fully releases a few inches short of lockout. This setup will provide a tremendous overload to these lacking muscles.
- Stacked Bands – The PR Platform was the first platform that offered a stacked band setup years before anyone else. If you are weak at lockout, this should be a staple in your program. Since the PR Platform offers band pegs with multiple height options, this makes for a very easy setup. Attach a mini or monster-mini band to the lowest band peg. Do not run the barbell under both sides of the band, run it through the center, so you’re only pulling against ½ of the band. Place another, heavier band on a peg that is a few inches higher than your knee.When you pull using this setup, you will have steady tension from the start, but then take on a heavy, abrupt load near lockout as you pull through the lowest band, but also both sides of the elevated band. This will expose your lockout to supra-maximal loads and because you didn’t strain from the floor to get there, you will be able to fight through these loads to increase lockout strength.
- Elevated Bands – Much like stacked band training, the setup allows for an elevated, abrupt load. The difference is that there is no tension from the floor. This is a great setup for supplemental lifts, but if your primary objective is to train in the highest intensity ranges possible, I recommend using the stacked band setup.
- Grip Benefit – One of the least discussed benefits of band training is increased grip strength. You will regularly be training with higher intensities and because of the increased load and the hands will adapt.
Russian Box Deadlift
- This feature on the PR Platform is asked about very often. The most common question is, “what is it?” Our removable crossbar provides a secure, adjustable bar to perform this exercise properly.
- I was first made aware of this exercise from an online seminar I watched that was hosted by Misha Koklyaev and Boris Sheiko. The first time I did this exercise. I was expecting to use my normal 545-585 for sets of 6-8, just like I would while performing Romanian Deadlifts or Stiff-Legged Deadlifts. I was quickly humbled with a 425 for 4×8 and my hamstrings were unbelievably sore for days after.
- To perform this exercise correctly, take a shoulder-width stance and place your calves on the square crossbar. When performing your deadlifts, keep a perpendicular shin angle with the calves touching the crossbar the entire time. This position forces the hamstrings to work very hard and engages the entire posterior chain. If you want to make life even harder on yourself, perform this exercise using a band on the front attachment to experience the benefits of this method listed above. Don’t limit this setup to only deadlifts. We have begun using this setup for goodmornings for additional variation with much success.
Rack Pulls
- Rack pulls have been around for ages and have been used by strength legends like Steve Goggins to build a massive pull. Our PR Platform offers 7 heights for rack pulls that can be paired with band training options listed above. If you choose to do rack pulls, follow these simple guidelines to get the most out of your training.
- Lift from a height that is 1-2 inches below your weakest position.
- Start in a position that mimics where you will be at that point of ROM when lifting heavy weights from the floor. For example, if you reach mid-knee with high hips, don’t start with low hips from mid-knee in the rack.
- If you find a pin that is weaker than your pull from the floor, live on it for a while before bouncing around to different heights.
Isometrics
- Isometrics were popularized over 60 years ago, but still are extremely useful and commonly used today. The pipes and rods in the PR Platform work well for deadlift-specific isometrics with no need to break down your bar after previous training and move into a power rack.
Quick Release Training
- If you have never used Quick Release Training (QRT), you are missing out on a method that will undoubtedly increase strength from the floor and force production throughout the entire range of motion. If you have not already, you can learn more about this method here: Quick Release Technique
- Quick Release Attachments do not come standard on the PR and PR2 Platforms but can be added to your platform upon request.
Not a tool, but the entire toolbox
The versatility of the PR Platform does not end with the listed methods above. Many of our customers find that the PR Platform becomes the most used piece of equipment in their gym. Below are some other ways that our PR Platform is commonly used.
- Banded overhead pressing
- Bent rows against bands
- Bent rows from pins
- Shrugs against bands
- Banded Squats
- Banded Goodmornings
- Banded benching (place bench above platform)
- Eccentric Overload with contrast attachment
- Isometrics from various heights with contrast wheel
To continually make progress, stay healthy and be around for the long haul, you have to be willing to work hard, but also think even harder to find solutions to meet you and your athletes’ changing needs. There has been a recent trend to discredit methods that require more than just a barbell by young, inexperienced lifters that have been training for less than a few years. I always caution these young lifters to keep an open mind because I have heard that story before and it usually ends with an abrupt exit from the Iron Game. Five years from now, there will be a new surge of young lifters that may be saying the same thing. Make sure you are around long enough to give them their fair warning to keep an open mind and to expand their toolbox.